Blizzard announced with the Year of the Phoenix that we'd see new and returning players receive 1 free deck of their choice from a special set. This guide can help you make a better decision on which deck to take.
Criteria to Receive a Free Deck
In order to receive a free deck, you must meet either of these requirements.
- Created a new Hearthstone account.
- You did not sign-in to Hearthstone for the past 90 days.
- Starting from March of the Lich King patch, you are no longer restricted to one free deck per account if you have met the above criteria already before. The sign-in limit was also decreased from the initial 120 days.
This should also work on other Hearthstone regions if you haven't signed into them for the same amount of time.
Receiving Your Free Deck as a New Hearthstone Player
If you're brand new to Hearthstone, you'll need to complete some extra steps before receiving your free deck.
- Log into Hearthstone and complete the tutorial and the Starter Quest line.
- You will need to graduate from the New Player Ranks (Ranks 40-1).
- Upon completing these quests, you will be able to select your free deck once you return to the main menu.
What Are In the Decks?
The free decks contain a mix of class cards and neutral cards from the Year of the Wolf sets and the Core set. This will not only give you a starting deck to play the game but it will also boost your collection for future success - especially when you consider that the decks use popular archetypes. Full decklists can be found further below.
- Protip: If you already own a card that is in a deck, you still receive extra copies! Free Arcane Dust!
Which Classes Are the Decks For?
Until Patch 24.6, all of Hearthstone's 10 classes had their own deck. After the patch, you've been able to select from 6 alternatives that currently are: Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Shaman, and Warrior.
Which Deck Should I Choose?
A tough question with a complicated answer! We'll try to boil this down easily for you.
Best Free Decks for Returning Players
- Based on the Festival of Legends meta, Hunter, Paladin, Shaman, and Warrior should all give a good core for a strong meta deck.
- The Paladin list has the most non-Core cards while also being the most expensive deck of the bunch.
- The Hunter deck contains both legendaries from the previous expansion - great value for a returning player!
Best Free Decks for New Players
- Anything aggressive (Aggro). They are simpler to play and will get you climbing the ladder!
- The strongest aggro decks in the current pool are Shaman and Warrior.
Starting from Patch 24.6, you've been able to borrow and test out all the available decks for a week before deciding, so it's worth to test out as many as you can to reach the most informed decision!
What are the Full Decklists for the Free Decks?
You can find all the lists down below along with a quick description.
Druid - Rampant Growth (TITANS)
The Druid Deck, Rampant Growth, is a Ramp deck that aims to get ahead with extra Mana Crystals and take control of the game with early big minions.
Hunter - Mister Mukla's Beastly Band (TITANS)
The Hunter Deck, Mister Mukla's Beastly Band, is a midrange deck that aims to keep the pressure on before resurrecting big Beasts with Stranglethorn Heart to win the game.
Mage - Arcane Power! (TITANS)
The Mage Deck, Arcane Power!, is a tempo deck. Keep the board in check until you can swing the game to your favor with a flurry of cheap spells backed up by some extra Spell Damage or Vexallus.
Paladin - A Legendary Invitation (TITANS)
The Paladin Deck, A Legendary Invitation, is a midrange deck. Keep up the tempo and reap the rewards of using only Paladin cards in your deck.
Shaman - Totemic Mastery (TITANS)
The Shaman Deck, Totemic Mastery, is an aggro deck. Go wide with your buffed Totems and end the game with a well-timed Bloodlust.
Warrior - Embrace the Pain (TITANS)
The Warrior Deck, Embrace the Pain, is an aggro deck. Damage your own minions and buff them to overwhelm your opponent.
Previously Available New & Returning Player Decks
Here are all the decks that were available to new and returning players during Voyage to the Sunken City.
Here are all the decks that were available to new and returning players during Murder at Castle Nathria.
Here are all the decks that were available to new and returning players during March of the Lich King.
Here are all the decks that were available to new and returning players during Festival of Legends.
Old Decks From Year of the Phoenix
Looking for the old decks from Year of the Phoenix? We've added them to our archive over here.
Old Decks From Year of the Gryphon
Looking for the old decks from Year of the Gryphon? We've added them to our archive over here.
Comments
Are there any infos on the new decks for returning players yet?
They were announced couple of days ago but we missed it with all the expansion launch stuff. The guide has now been updated.
If you have signed say at the end of april for the last time, can you login at the end of august and still get a free deck?
The blog with these Scholomance-updated decks said that 120 days is the limit. As long as that is fulfilled, you're good to go.
If you want to get into Wild, Pirate Warrior is Tier 1 currently. It shares many common cards with the starter deck listed here, you only need to craft a few commons, Patches the Pirate and Leeroy Jenkins. Both of which are extremely safe crafts and are used in many other aggro decks.
which deck would you pick for this then, please? I have a good pirate warrior deck from a couple of years ago, so likely have most of the cards.
I just don't know what deck to choose and I can't get into my account until I choose a free deck.
How do you find out what is the date when you logged in for the last time? And don't tell me that I have to login to figure it out, I am not falling for that :)
I believe there is something in Battle.net account management that shows you.
This was always really annoying how long it would take to get the free deck, I had some friends that tried to join when they heard about it and after learning how long they would need to play to get it they immediately dipped out.
Hunter seems the best one
Rogue seems to be the best value...
Priest is just scary....
This time around Hunter seems to be the best one