Now that we're a few weeks (and one set of nerfs) into the new expansion, it's time to take a closer look at United in Stormwind's budget experience. What are the best cheap decks to take on the ladder? What current memes are populating the budget meta? This article is the first in an ongoing series; we'll be regularly updating you on the latest in deck archetypes, build arounds, and general information pertaining to playing budget Hearthstone.
Questless Adventurers
How does the budget player fare, this early in the new meta? To be frank, it doesn't currently appear that United in Stormwind has given budget players much at all. As an expansion built primarily around the new Legendary Questlines, United in Stormwind seems designed to focus on providing tools for Quest decks to succeed (mission mostly accomplished). Because of the Quest-centered design of United in Stormwind, many of the previously good budget decks remain nearly the same as they did in Forged in the Barrens, with only one or two card changes in their current lists.
The Quests aren't the only culprits for a sense of same-ness to the budget meta. Class cards like Oracle of Elune (for Aggro Token Druid), Ignite (for Burn Mage), and Garrote (for Miracle/Burn Rogue) that might have been useful build-arounds for dust-light decks are Epic, so if you want them to power up your budget deck you've either got to get busy craftin', or get busy crackin' (packs).
But the biggest culprit stifling the creativity of budget decks is a familiar one: The Meta (dun dun dun). Certain Quest decks are a little too good at quickly assembling their win conditions, which means the best practice for a budget player who wants to climb is playing previously refined aggressive lists (with a few new faces) to stand any chance of winning games.
Does all this mean that budget players are up Nazferiti River without a paddle? Not necessarily: United in Stormwind has a few new wrinkles for the same old archetypes, and (as in Forged in the Barrens) the Rewards Track Legendary has a couple of tricks up her sleeves.
Budget Decks for Ladder
Our trio of "best practices" ladder decks will, as previously mentioned, look very familiar to anyone who's been playing on a budget for the last couple of months because they are nearly identical to the best budget decks played in the twilight of Forged in the Barrens. Aggro Doomhammer Shaman, Face Hunter, and Elemental Shaman continue to reliably beat up on their opponents without breaking the bank.
Both Shaman lists (as well as some others featured in this article) were recently highlighted on Hearthstone streamer Old Guardian's YouTube channel. Old Guardian routinely devises competitive budget decks, so if you don't have a lot of dust to spend you should definitely check out this YouTube channel.
Aggro Doomhammer Shaman
Still one of the best budget decks for climbing, Aggro Shaman pairs Doomhammer with Attack buffing spells Rockbiter Weapon and Stormstrike to form a very powerful win condition against something like Quest Warlock. United in Stormwind adds some Fantastic Fours to the deck, Canal Slogger and the recently nerfed Granite Forgeborn, for more power in the turns leading up to Doomhammer.
The deck runs enough Elementals that Lilypad Lurker, if you have it, can replace Torrent as a way to deal with big threats while continuing to threaten your opponent's life.
Face Hunter
Face Hunter is a deck as old as Hearthstone and, even though Rinling's Rifle and Warsong Wrangler conspire to make the "fully operational" version of the deck more and more expensive, it remains a strategy that can get even the cheapest Hearthstone player to higher ranks. Aimed Shot is currently the only new card in our featured list, but there remains plenty of space for innovation with new spells like Ramming Mount and Devouring Swarm.
Elemental Shaman
Less aggressive than its Doomhammer counterpart, Elemental Shaman is a midrange deck that relies on its solid curve of good Elementals to win the board and then the game. The deck is mostly a massive pile of Elemental minions, for now is the meta of their discount made glorious by this son of Forge.
The non-budget version of the deck runs Instructor Fireheart in place of Alexstrasza the Life-Binder and Lilypad Lurker instead of Earth Elemental, but if you don't have those cards the deck will still have a good chance of climbing in the face of a ladder infested with Quests.
Less Competitive Decks to Try
Don't be too worried if the most reliable budget decks don't appear to be too inventive; there's still a lot of innovation going on within the budget meta as new archetypes are discovered and refined. We've got a couple of decks to share with you that, while not the best way to climb the ladder, can be powerful in the right circumstances.
Deathrattle Demon Hunter
Budget versions of Deathrattle Demon Hunter have always lacked some of the power of the deck's top-end, but it remains a deck whose annoyingly sticky early game minions build into the finishing power of Illidari Inquisitor. Like Shaman, Deathrattle DH got a pair of neat 4-Drops from Stormwind; both Stubborn Suspect and Persistent Peddler make clearing your board difficult so you can chip in damage before the Illidari swoops in like some sort of Inquisition to end the game.
While there are more important things to consider when improving budget decks, we personally are interested in building with Illidari Inquisitor, Stubborn Suspect, and Persistent Peddler to make a deck consisting entirely of cards with alliterative names.
For more expensive improvements, Death Speaker Blackthorn should be included if you have him. Felsteel Executioner can deal a lot of damage in a short amount of time, which is great in the current meta.
Grand Finale Mage
Grand Finale Mage is teetering on the edge of meme status, but thanks to budget powerhouse Battleground Battlemaster, it has just enough of a plan for finishing the game when you pull off the combo: Turn 5 Confection Cyclone and Friends into Turn 6 Hot Streak Grand Finale. The deck wants to slow down its opponent's pressure in the early game while playing spell drawing minions Starscryer and Frostweave Dungeoneer to guarantee you get your combo in hand.
This deck has a number of versions being iterated, with the main point of contention appearing to be the choice between Lone Champion and Explosive Sheep as the aggro tech du jour. Other options include Wandmaker and Pandaren Importer for ways to access useful spells without disrupting the deck's ability to draw its combo.
Budget Meme Build-Around: Lady Prestor
Everybody got Lady Prestor on Day 1, and while she may not be as obviously powerful as Mankrik and his dead wife, she gives budget players a meme build-around worthy of the name Boulderfist Ogre. We've spotlighted two decks that make use of her unusual skillset in their own way. The Lady of Stormwind doesn't discriminate based on class, and we expect to showcase more decks built around her in the coming weeks.
Prestor Demon Hunter
A budget riff on a homebrew formulated by Born to Die, this deck is very much a meme and proud of it. Because the core of the strategy is entirely based on playing Lady Prestor into an Outcast Skull of Gul'dan, the deck plays well with a variety of cheap minions and can be taken in virtually any direction. Once transformation has taken place, your bevy of draw tools will find an army of Dragons that can overwhelm your opponent.
Silence Priest
Silence Priest has a plan with or without Lady Prestor. Its big bodies can be used defensively with Stockades Guard or offensively with Focused Will. Humongous Razorleaf and Package Runner also make for very handsome Dragons, as do Imprisoned Homunculus and Imprisoned Vilefiend, who keep their stats but lose Dormant when in Dragon form. Apotheosis and Elekk Mount give the deck a chance against aggro.
We hope you found something to try out in this initial glimpse at United in Stormwind's budget options, whether your goal is to climb or to meme. We will continue to post updates as the expansion's budget meta unfolds. If you have any of your own Budget decks to share, be sure to add them to our site via the deckbuilder and write up a guide to help others achieve your success.
Do you plan on taking any of these decks on the ladder? Do you have any ideas for building around Lady Prestor? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Comments
I've played a few games with a Questline Paladin with Lady Prestor, similar to this deck by FunkiMonki, but with some different cards so it's more likely to complete the quest on turn 5 (but less likely to draw Lady Prestor). The dragons give you just a bit of extra reach after completing the questline.
With the questline in it, it's not a pure budget deck, but if you happen to have that card, the rest of the deck is cheap. I think the only other expensive card I'm running is Oh My Yogg!, but that can be swapped out without too much consequences.
Maybe it would be interesting to do a series of almost-budget decks where the only expensive card is the questline? Probably a lot of players got at least one questline from packs or track rewards.
This "son of forge," ha! Nice one, sule.