Great Budget Decks to Play After Hearthstone's Alterac Valley Nerfs

Fractured in Alterac Valley has had time to settle in, get comfortable, and a nerf a handful of strategies, so it's about time we had a look at how the budget meta is shaping up in this new expansion.

The Post-Post-Nerf Meta

The good news for budget players who don't have the time or money to acquire all those fancy new legendaries is that there are a number of different budget decks that have good winrates, and will allow them to climb the ladder. The bad news is that all of them favor an aggressive strategy.

Budget players are no stranger to using aggro decks to climb, but there's something about Fractured in Alterac Valley's meta in particular that practically forces us to stay aggressive, and that something is Hero cards. Hero cards, once played, have a certain amount of inevitability to them that a player who doesn't, or can't, include Hero cards in their deck can never hope to outvalue a deck playing with their chosen Hero. That's OK; thanks to the Quests of Stormwind, budget players are used to staring down inevitability. The main difference is that Heroes are a little more prevalent in the current meta, as they have a less build-around focus than the Quests.

So, as the great philosopher Rexxar once said, "If you can't join 'em, Smorc 'em." With that in mind, let's take a look at the kinds of budget decks that are good enough to take onto the ladder.

Old Guardian's Budget Decks for Climbing

Hearthstone Youtuber and Streamer Old Guardian regularly builds viable budget decks and climbs with them all the way to Legend, showing that you don't need to break out the Legendaries to do it. This month, he's formulated four powerful (and, as previously mentioned, aggressive) decks that are all capable of winning in the current meta.

Burn Shaman

Burn Shaman is a flexible deck with plenty of powerful synergies to get you the win. Lightning Bloom can turbo out a Wildpaw Cavern to start winning on the board early, while Snowfall Guardian and Brilliant Macaw can keep your opponent's board frozen so you can finish them off with big minions and burn boosted by Imprisoned Phoenix.

Aggro Druid

Drek'Thar is a powerful build-around legendary, and one provided for free to most players, so long as they either chose the Horde or completed the Honor Questline. Drek'Thar can fill the board, as can Razormane Battleguard and the number of Taunts this deck has. Also, don't overlook Frostwolf Kennels, as those Stealth minions play well with Arbor Up to sneak in for the kill.

Aggro Doomhammer Shaman

Aggro Doomhammer Shaman continues to be a reliable budget deck thanks to the power of a Doomhammer boosted by Rockbiter Weapon and Stormstrike, both of which can be tutored by Primal Dungeoneer. The rest of the deck is synergistic Elementals, which are capable of winning the game by themselves if need be.

Face Hunter

And then there was Face Hunter, the deck Old Guardian says is probably the best budget deck for climbing to Legend. While you don't get Warsong Wrangler, Scavenger's Ingenuity can tutor just as well. And losing access to Rinling's Rifle just means it's that much easier to justify playing Bloodseeker. Now is a good time to be Face Hunter.

Not Ready for Primetime

While those four decks are your best bets to get you to the promised land of Legend, if you instead prefer to try out fringe strategies or tinker with unrefined lists, we've got options for you to take for a spin.

Deathrattle Demon Hunter

Old Guardian has one more deck up his sleeve, an aggressive Deathrattle list that uses the power of Drek'Thar to pull sticky minions from the deck and into play. He says the deck has an exactly 50% winrate, but that could be improved by gamblers who hard mulligan for Drek'Thar specifically.

Sacrifice Zoolock

Who doesn't like a good Zoolock? The latest take on the classic archetype uses sacrifice payoffs like Desecrated Graveyard and Ritual of Doom to turn a swarm of tiny minions into bigger threats while staying ahead of their opponents on the board. Nightshade Matron and Hand of Gul'dan remain BFFs.

Bridge Paladin

Bridge Paladin is a wonky aggro deck with a few strange synergies that is nevertheless a lot of fun when it finds the right cards. Dun Baldar Bridge buffs token generators like Day at the Faire and Derailed Coaster (both good on-curve followups), while the rest of Buff 'n' Chunk 'n' Stuff Paladin does its work, and does it well. Some of you might be asking the question, "What is Blistering Rot doing in this deck?" The answer: Whatever it damn well pleases.

Meme of the Week - Mill Rogue

If you're anything like us, you woke up one morning and wondered, "Can I play Mill Rogue in Standard?" Since budget players don't have access to cards like Shadowcrafter Scabbs, Potion of Illusion, and Cloak of Shadows, we had to take this deck in a direction that tries to play at a faster tempo with Frostwolf Warmaster plus cheap minions and Shadowstep.

This deck still has the good stuff, and by "the good stuff" we mean minions that fill our opponent's hand (Prize Vendor, Banana Vendor, King Mukla) so we can play Cult Neophyte to keep those cards there to get a cheap Clockwork Giant in play.

Is it going to win a lot of games? Probably not, but it should be fun regardless.

We hope you found something to try, whether your goal is to climb or to make sure your opponent is getting plenty of potassium. Are you planning to take any of these decks on the ladder? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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.