This one has been quite the week: Battlegrounds revamp, Mercenaries reveal, and Warlock balance changes gave the Hearthstone community lots of topics to discuss about, and Duels is a part of that fun too! Even though we received just one change, it is quite the relevant one: in fact, Meek Mastery has been moved from Treasure Pool 1 to Treasure Pool 2, meaning that it won't be as run-deciding as it has been until right now. For more information about this nerf's possible implications, we advise you to read our dedicated analysis.

Now, what should we play during this week? As always, we have the answer! Here below you'll find a variety of Duels starting decks, split among multiple classes and focused around different play styles. Pick a couple and have some sweet runs!

In case you missed them, we published other collections of 12-win Duels starting decks to take inspiration from!

If you've had 12 win luck in Duels since the recent balance changes, be sure to add your starting decks to our site via the deckbuilder and share them in the comments below!

If you manage to find even more 12-wins decks (maybe even your own!) and you'd like us to showcase them, please contact us on Twitter at @OutOfCardsHS or @Avalon_OOC or through an in-site ping in Private Message.


LessThanThree's 12 Wins Fel Token Demon Hunter

You can finally be happy to receive Fel Passive Treasures: no more Reddit posts highlighting Corrupted Felstone as an offered pick! On a serious note, it was about time for Fel Demon Hunter to make its appearance in Duels, and LessThanThree was able to bring it to 12 wins.

Even though Wither the Weak is a very fitting Passive Treasure for this build, Greedy Gains is no less: during your run, you'll generate lots of tokens, and giving them +2/+2 for no additional cost is worth making your Nethrandamus & co. cost a bit more.

Passive Treasures Chosen

First pool - Rhonin's Scrying Orb

Second pool - Greedy Gains

Illidari Strike Card Image Gift of the Legion Card Image


Avalon's 12 Wins Questline Mage

Yep, Sorcerer's Gambit is good in Duels as well, especially with the over-the-top spell synergy in the format.

When trying to build this deck, I could've gone either Secret Studies or regular ping: I personally decided for the second option since Mage already has a decent amount of card draw and I like having a Hero Power that affects the board in some way. Since I didn't like paying 2 mana for 1 damage, Frost Shards was the way to go, and it felt pretty good throughout the entire run.

For more information about the deck, mulligan and playstyle tips, treasure choices and more, make sure to have a read to the dedicated guide.

Passive Treasures Chosen

First pool - Open the Doorways

Second pool - Khadgar's Scrying Orb

Frost Shards Card Image Embercaster Card Image


landsellers' 12 Wins Battlecry Miracle Priest

A different take on an already well established archetype. Mind Tether Priest is so strong that even running a non-spells focused build still produces valid results. In particular, the starting deck you see below features a decent amount of Battlecry minions that add something to your hand: be it either card draw (Devout Dungeoneer) or card generation (Pandaren Importer).

Why would you run so many Battlecry units? Rally the Troops allows a steady flow of (discounted) resources, which increases the consistency and the damage output of your swing turns. Overall, a rather interesting build of Miracle Priest, and we suggest you to try it yourselves!

Passive Treasures Chosen

First pool - Fireshaper

Second pool - Rally the Troops

Mind Tether Card Image Shadow Word: Void Card Image


Avalon's 12 Wins Battlecry Rogue

Woah, another Avalon 12er? This guy must be crazy levels of good in this mode!

My goal was trying to go all in on Battlecry synergy, and for this I created a deck will lots of decent tools with no other synergy whatsoever. While I was able to hit All Together Now and Rally the Troops, I would've liked Meek Mastery to be offered, but I wasn't skilled enough.

As you can see, there are quite some surprising inclusions in this list: for more information and the usual in-depth guide, we advise you to have a look at the deck's main page.

Passive Treasures Chosen

First pool - All Together Now

Second pool - Rally the Troops

Connections Card Image Green Tortollan Shell Card Image


TheMoraisJr's 12 Wins Quest Overload Shaman

Questline Shaman is one of the best decks in Standard, and Stormcatcher is an excellent reason to play Command the Elements in Duels too!

The starting deck itself doesn't present many surprises: you want to run as many Overload cards as possible, together with card draw and burn for the post-Stormcaller Bru'kan. The archetype tends to start out pretty slowly, but the more the run continues the more it grows in power.

Passive Treasures Chosen

First pool - Fireshaper

Second pool - Emerald Goggles

Stormcatcher Card Image Chaos Storm Card Image


Do you like Duels? What are you playing right now? Let us know in the comments below!