Beginner Druid deck list guide - 2017
Our starter guide to playing the free Basic Druid deck.
Our recommended beginner Druid deck takes its cues from the so-called Ramp archetype. In this kind of deck you use the Druid's exclusive signature cards such as Wild Growth and Innervate in order to play bigger minions, much earlier on in a match than your opponent can keep up with. It takes a little bit of nerve to invest in your Mana curve this way, but the results are always worth the somewhat slower start.
In our guide to playing this kind of deck, we've got a deck list that won't cost you a penny to get going with - you'll just have to reach Level 10 with the Druid to unlock all of the cards you need. After the deck list itself we've also got some strategy advice, tips for picking the right cards at the start of a match, and a teardown of every combo contained in this version of the deck.
That should be enough to give you a very solid grounding in playing Druid, but please ask in the comments if you're unsure of anything and we'll do what we can to get you back on the correct path! You might also like to look at our Hearthstone Guide page for links to all kinds of helpful information.
Beginner Druid deck list and strategy
Try this completely free deck list on for size. It should teach you the ins and outs of playing the Warlock pretty effectively, leaving you confident to pilot other decks once you've expanded your starting card collection.
| Druid | Neutral |
|---|---|
| 2 x Innervate | 2 x Acidic Swamp Ooze |
| 2 x Claw | 2 x Bloodfen Raptor |
| 1 x Mark of the Wild | 1 x Kobold Geomancer |
| 2 x Wild Growth | 2 x Ironfur Grizzly |
| 2 x Swipe | 2 x Shattered Sun Cleric |
| 2 x Starfire | 2 x Chillwind Yeti |
| 2 x Ironbark Protector | 2 x Gnomish Inventor |
| 2 x Sen'jin Shieldmasta | |
| 2 x Boulderfist Ogre |
Select and copy the long ID string below, then create a deck in Hearthstone to export this deck into your game.
Deck Import ID: AAECAZICAtUBoAUOzQG3BpYNQPsEtAJa4ASeCeQI2AGKB5oI/gEA
As we've already mentioned, the main strength of a deck like this is that it allows you to play your meatier minions earlier on in the match using “ramp” spells like Innervate and Wild Growth. This should force your opponent to waste time and minions of their own trading into your bigger threats, before you hit the end-game and can start putting creatures like Boulderfist Ogre and Ironbark Protector onto the board.
If you get into trouble along the way you do have access to removal via cards such as Claw, Starfire and Swipe, the latter of which is particularly useful against aggressive opponents who'll be fielding lots of smaller minions. For more advice on the basics of playing this deck, check out the combo section at the bottom of the page.
More great beginner guides:
- 1. Beginner Druid - Beginner Rogue deck list guide
- 2. Beginner Hunter - Beginner Hunter deck list guide
- 3. Beginner Mage - Beginner Mage deck list guide
- 4. Beginner Rogue - Beginner Rogue deck list guide
- 5. Beginner Shaman - Beginner Shaman deck list guide
- 6. Beginner Warlock - Beginner Warlock deck list guide
Beginner Druid Mulligan guide
It's important with all of our recommended beginner decks that you do what you can to ensure you spend all of your Mana cleanly on the first three or four turns.
In this deck that means valuing minions such as Acid Swamp Ooze, Bloodefen Raptor, Ironfur Grizzly, Shattered Sun Cleric, Chillwind Yeti and Sen'jin Shieldmasta.
Wild Growth should never be thrown back and always played on Turn 2 if it's in your hand. You gain so much value from it over the course of just about every match that it's almost always the correct play.
Innervate works particularly well with The Coin if you happened to get it, and will allow you to reach into a 4 Mana-or-higher minion from Turn 2 onwards.
Beginner Druid tips, card combos and synergies
As with all beginner decks that just use the Basic cards, it's really important that you spend at least a little time studying the combos contained with them. You need to get all the value you can out of every play when you hit the ladder, so have a good look through these tips and synergies:
- Innervate costs zero Mana to cast and will allow you to spend one extra Mana Crystal on the turn in question. This allows you to play bigger cards earlier on in the game than you'd otherwise be able to.
- Wild Growth costs two Mana to play but grants you an extra Mana Crystal for the entirety of the match! It goes without saying that you should play this as soon as possible, so you gain the maximum value from it.
- Acidic Swamp Ooze doesn't just provide a decent early-game minion for you to play with, it'll also destroy any weapon that happens to be sitting in your opponent's hand when it's played onto the board.
- All spells in this deck gain an extra point of strength if they're played while Kobold Geomancer is out in play. Swipe and Starfire are the cards you need to be thinking about in this context.
- You can use Shattered Sun Cleric to give an active minion more stats than the opponent might be prepared for! This card can really help you get ahead of the early-game, and put the other player squarely on the backfoot.