The best Basic starter decks in Hearthstone - August 2016

Our round-up of the best decks for climbing the ladder that won't cost you a penny.

Guide by John Bedford Contributor

Published on Aug. 1, 2016

Whether you were drawn into Hearthstone by the recent Whispers of the Old Gods expansion, or you're an old hand who fancies growing a fresh account from the humblest of beginnings, you'll no doubt be wondering which are the best, entirely free decks that you should be using to earn your Gold with, so that you can start fleshing out your card collection a lot more quickly.

With that in mind, we've pulled together a list of all the completely free decks for each Hero that are generally considered to be the best starting point for a new player. Note that you'll need to advance each Hero up to level 10 to be able to access all of the Basic quality cards we use in these decks, so either get stuck into some matches using the default decks, or play a few matches against the AI.

We'll be adding individual deck guides here as soon as we can get them finished, but in the meantime we highly recommend that any new players checks out Trump's Basic Teachings video series. It's about the best advice any newcomer can hope to receive in Hearthstone!

Editor's note - Now that the Old Gods balancing patch is a few months behind us, we feel like these remain the best collection of starter decks you can get stuck into Hearthstone with. As always we'll update this article if we feel any change are necessary. Let us know in the comments how you're getting on as a new player!

Druid

Druid	Neutral
2 x Innervate	2 x Acidic Swamp Ooze
2 x Claw	2 x Bloodfen Raptor
2 x Mark of the Wild	1 x Shattered Sun Cleric
2 x Wild Growth	2 x Chillwind Yeti
2 x Swipe	2 x Gnomish Inventor
2 x Starfire	2 x Sen'jin Shieldmasta
2 x Ironbark Protector	1 x Darkscale Healer
	2 x Boulderfist Ogre
	2 x Stormwind Champion

Cards like Innervate and Wild Growth allow you to reach up into your meatier minions much earlier on in the game, but you have a decent selection of early-game minions to keep things ticking over too. Try to get three of your opponent's minions with your Swipes if at all possible.

Hunter

Hunter	Neutral
1 x Hunter's Mark	2 x Acidic Swamp Ooze
2 x Arcane Shot	2 x Bloodfen Raptor
1 x Tracking	2 x Bluegill Warrior
2 x Animal Companion	2 x Murloc Tidehunter
2 x Kill Command	2 x River Crocolisk
1 x Multi-Shot	2 x Razorfen Hunter
2 x Houndmaster	2 x Shattered Sun Cleric
	2 x Wolfrider
	1 x Chillwind Yeti
	2 x Oasis Snapjaw

Take an aggressive stance and try to finish the match early using your direct damage, Charge minions and Hero Power to whittle the opponent's health down nice and steadily. Let your opponent do the trades here, as you cannot afford to miss out on a scrap of damage.

Our Hunter guides page has everything you need to know about this Hero.

Mage

Mage	Neutral
2 x Arcane Missiles	2 x Acidic Swamp Ooze
2 x Frostbolt	2 x Bloodfen Raptor
2 x Arcane Intellect	1 x Razorfen Hunter
2 x Fireball	2 x Shattered Sun Cleric
2 x Polymorph	2 x Chillwind Yeti
2 x Water Elemental	2 x Gnomish Inventor
2 x Flamestrike	1 x Sen'jin Shieldmasta
	1 x Gurubashi Berserker
	2 x Boulderfist Ogre
	1 x Stormwind Champion

Make sure you save your Polymorphs for worthy late-game targets. If you have an alternative way of dealing with a bothersome minion, use it! Your Water Elementals are great for dealing with multiple opposite numbers, and you have the game's most powerful board-clearance spell available in the form of Flamestrike. Use it well...

Paladin

Paladin	Neutral
2 x Truesilver Champion	2 x Acidic Swamp Ooze
2 x Blessing of Kings	2 x Bloodfen Raptor
2 x Consecration	2 x Murloc Tidehunter
2 x Hammer of Wrath	2 x River Crocolisk
1 x Guardian of Kings	2 x Razorfen Hunter
	2 x Shattered Sun Cleric
	2 x Chillwind Yeti
	1 x Sen'jin Shieldmasta
	2 x Frostwolf Warlord
	2 x Boulderfist Ogre
	2 x Stormwind Champion

This deck has a solid line-up of early-game minions, but you can really turn the tide of battle with your Truesilver Champion. Late-game healing comes in the form of Guardian of Kings, which also grants you a pretty solid minion on the board too.

Priest

Priest	Neutral
2 x Holy Smite	2 x Acidic Swamp Ooze
2 x Power Word: Shield	2 x Bloodfen Raptor
2 x Northshire Cleric	1 x Razorfen Hunter
2 x Shadow Word: Pain	2 x Shattered Sun Cleric
2 x Shadow Word: Death	2 x Chillwind Yeti
2 x Holy Nova	2 x Gnomish Inventor
2 x Mind Control	2 x Sen'jin Shieldmasta
	1 x Darkscale Healer
	2 x Boulderfist Ogre

Contrary to popular belief, Northshire Cleric isn't a great Turn 1 play as it's so easily removed by your opponent before you can gain any card-drawing benefit from it. Instead, look to play your other early-game minions, and use your Shattered Sun Cleric to boost up weaker creatures. Make it to the late-game and Mind Control can often win you the match outright.

Rogue

Rogue	Neutral
2 x Backstab	2 x Acidic Swamp Ooze
2 x Deadly Poison	2 x Bloodfen Raptor
2 x Shiv	1 x Kobold Geomancer
2 x Fan of Knives	1 x Razorfen Hunter
2 x Assassin's Blade	2 x Shattered Sun Cleric
2 x Assassinate	2 x Chillwind Yeti
1 x Sprint	2 x Gnomish Inventor
	2 x Sen'jin Shieldmasta
	2 x Boulderfist Ogre
	1 x Stormwind Champion

The Rogue's a tough Hero to start your Hearthstone career with, but if you make progress with this Basic deck, you'd be well advised to focus on this character. You've got lots of options for eliminating minions from the board, but not much board presence, so make every turn count.

Shaman

Shaman	Neutral
2 x Rockbiter Weapon	2 x Acidic Swamp Ooze
2 x Flametongue Totem	2 x Bloodfen Raptor
2 x Hex	2 x Murloc Tidehunter
2 x Fire Elemental	2 x Razorfen Hunter
	2 x Shattered Sun Cleric
	2 x Chillwind Yeti
	2 x Gnomish Inventor
	2 x Sen'jin Shieldmasta
	2 x Frostwolf Warlord
	2 x Boulderfist Ogre
	2 x Stormwind Champion

Make sure you save your Hex spells for worthy targets, and try to use the bonus three points of damage from the Fire Elementals on minion removal if at all possible. The Shattered Sun Cleric can be used to fatten up earlier, weaker minions, and if you can keep plenty of bodies around for Frostwolf Warlord, you'll have a strong transition into the mid-game.

Warlock

Warlock	Neutral
2 x Mortal Coil	2 x Acidic Swamp Ooze
2 x Soulfire	2 x Bloodfen Raptor
2 x Shadow Bolt	2 x Bluegill Warrior
2 x Hellfire	2 x River Crocolisk
2 x Dread Infernal	2 x Razorfen Hunter
	2 x Shattered Sun Cleric
	2 x Chillwind Yeti
	2 x Gnomish Inventor
	2 x Sen'jin Shieldmasta
	2 x Boulderfist Ogre

The key to playing the Warlock successfully lies in embracing that Hero Power. You lose health by triggering it, but the extra card draw can make a real difference in finishing the match before your dwindling health pool becomes a problem. Keep the board stocked with minions, and keep your hand stocked with Life Tap.

Warrior

Warrior	Neutral
2 x Execute	2 x Acidic Swamp Ooze
2 x Fiery War Axe	2 x Bloodfen Raptor
2 x Cleave	1 x River Crocolisk
2 x Shield Block	2 x Razorfen Hunter
2 x Kor'kron Elite	2 x Shattered Sun Cleric
2 x Arcanite Reaper	2 x Chillwind Yeti
	2 x Gnomish Inventor
	2 x Sen'jin Shieldmasta
	2 x Boulderfist Ogre
	1 x Stormwind Champion

The Fiery War Axe is always worth holding onto at the start, as it'll usually allow you to remove a couple of early minions, while you build your board. Make smart trades as you grow your army of fighters, and always check whether you have all the damage you need in order to finish the match with cards like Arcanite Reaper and Kor'kron Elite.

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