Highlander Warlock deck list guide - Ashes of Outland - Hearthstone (April 2020)

Highlander Warlock is a surprise entry to the Ashes of Outland meta. The Warlock class still has no specific cards that benefit from a Highlander-style deck. The only cards here that do are Zephrys the Great and Dragonqueen Alexstrasza, the Neutral Legendaries that have taken the meta by storm.

UPDATE: April 2020

We've updated the deck list for the Ashes of Outland expansion and the Standard format rotation - the guide page and deck list will continue to update as the meta develops.

Highlander Warlock deck list and strategy

Here is the version of Highlander Warlock we’re going for at the opening of Ashes of Outland. Expect further refinements with card reveals and meta shifts, and we’ll be sure to update this page as and when they happen.

Select and copy the long ID string below, then create a deck in Hearthstone to export this deck into your game.

Deck Import ID: AAECAf0GHooBowHbBpIHtgeNCMQIzAjalgOhoQP8owPypQOEpwPlrAPrrAPsrAPurAPxrAOIsAP9sAORsQOttgOytgPDtgO/uQPEuQPWuQPzuwPtvgPuvwMAAA==

General strategy

Zoo Warlock is ubiquitous in the Hearthstone meta. Warlock’s Life Tap Hero Power allows them to continuously reload when ammunition is low. Without a special Highlander-style card in the Warlock class, this deck’s success in the meta really showcases the power of Warlock’s card draw engine.

Early Game: Voidwalker, Murmy, Mecharoo and Flame Imp are excellent plays for the early game, trading well and offering a significant amount of early game tempo. Your health total shouldn’t matter too much, it’s just a resource for Warlocks anyway.

In general, your goal is to play fast, trade well, and deliver as much damage as possible to your opponent’s face. In the early game this shouldn’t be a problem at all considering your abundance of 1-drops and damage potential.

Mid Game: If your opponent is out of board clears, or is failing to keep pace with your blistering tempo, you might be about to win it all during these early turns. In the mid-game, you’ll have played a whole bunch of your small minions already and will hopefully have some threats surviving on board. Your Neferset Thrasher and EVIL Recruiter (along with a Lackey) can lead to a whole lot of stats on board for far less mana than you should be paying, and even slightly weaker plays like Duskbat add a solid amount of stats to your side of the board, whilst simultaneously keeping your deck card draw going with your Hero Power. Never be afraid to Life Tap - if possible you should be weaving this into as many turns as you can.

Save your Leeroy Jenkins until you can start pushing lethal damage, and remember you’ll even be able to beef him up with History Buff to surprise your opponent with more burst damage. Don’t forget the star of the show, Zephrys the Great! He can single-handedly win you a game, and for more tips on how to maximise his utility just check out our Zephrys the Great guide! https://www.metabomb.net/hearthstone/gameplay-guides/zephrys-the-great-guide

Late Game: You shouldn’t usually need to get too far into the late game, but given your ability to keep drawing, you can make use of every single card in your deck. Zephrys the Great is a sound late game option if you haven’t played him yet, potentially grabbing lethal damage with Fireball or Bloodlust, or even just finding a Tirion Fordring to get that extra big guy to finish things off.

At this point, just go face. You’ll start running low on both health and cards, so make sure you count for lethal and remember the damage available from cards like Soulfire and Grim Rally! Keep the pressure up until either you or your opponent falls.

Highlander Warlock Mulligan Guide

Early pressure is key. Here are the cards that’ll give you exactly that.

1. Flame Imp remains one of the strongest 1-cost minions in the game, as 3/2 worth of stats is hard to deal with so early on. It’s a scary threat so early on, and your opponent might not be able to get rid of it for a turn or two.

2. Beaming Sidekick is effectively 1/4 worth of stats for just 1 mana. Ridiculous. As long as you have a minion on board, which Highlander Warlock usually does, Beaming Sidekick is fantastic early value that can help you win the board in the early game.

3. If your opening hand has enough 1-drops to contest the board, try keeping Diseased Vulture. Playing this thing on turn 4 and keeping it alive for a couple of turns can ruin your opponent’s chances of ever catching up on. Spirit Bomb, Neferset Thrasher and more can trigger this card’s effect, but even Life Tap generates a free minion whilst simultaneously cycling through your deck.

Highlander Warlock tips, combos and synergies

Highlander Warlock plays fast and tries to stop your opponent ever getting a foothold in the game. Here are some key synergies to keep an eye on:

- Some of your 1-cost cards aren’t necessarily ideal for turn 1 play, such as Abusive Sergeant and Grim Rally. You’ve got such a glut of early cards that this doesn’t really matter though - mulligan them away and find the right cards for the fast start you’re after, saving these plays for later.

- The Soularium is a perfect mid-game refuel card. The three cards you draw from it will be discarded, but they’ll probably be cheap enough to play on the same turn. 3 cards drawn for just 1 mana is outrageously powerful, and it’s amazing that Warlock, of all classes, was given such a tool.

- EVIL Recruiter is a great card to keep in your mulligan, despite its cost. As long as you have a way to generate a Lackey, you can perform an extremely high tempo play, replacing a 1/1 with a 5/5.

- Bomb Warrior is of course a problem, given that they can turn off your Zephrys the Great Battlecry with multiple Bombs, but generally you want to be taking the front foot against this kind of deck anyway. Also, Highlander Warlock is harmed less by this counter than other Highlander decks like Hunter https://www.metabomb.net/hearthstone/deck-guides/hearthstone-highlander-hunter-deck-list-guide-saviors-of-uldum-hearthstone-august-2019 and Mage https://www.metabomb.net/hearthstone/deck-guides/highlander-mage-deck-list-guide-saviors-of-uldum-hearthstone-august-2019-2 because the only loss is Zephrys. Highlander Warlock is more than capable of winning without him.

- Having said that, Zephrys the Great is the whole reason you use this deck over a standard Zoo Warlock https://www.metabomb.net/hearthstone/deck-guides/zoo-warlock-deck-list-guide-hearthstone-643 build. From Bloodlust to Mass Dispel, this guy can find you exactly what you need and often win you the game. Check out our Zephrys the Great guide https://www.metabomb.net/hearthstone/gameplay-guides/zephrys-the-great-guide for more info on how to maximise the effectiveness of the card!

- Leeroy Jenkins works brilliantly as a finisher, and can even be buffed up by cards like History Buff and Goblin Lackey for that extra bit of reach.

- SN1P-SN4P has Magnetic, meaning you can attach it to your Mecharoo, but it’s equally viable as a play on its own, either with or without the Echo ability. The tokens it leaves behind with its Deathrattle can be really annoying for enemies to deal with, especially in combination with the likes of Grim Rally and Knife Juggler taking advantage of the situation.

- Sandbinder helps you draw your Zephrys the Great. It’s not a great tempo play, but your chances of drawing the best card in the deck are doubled, so no complaints there.

- Neferset Thrasher is over-statted for a 3-cost minion. The ‘drawback’ of dealing damage to your Hero when it attacks is actually a blessing in disguise. Combined with Diseased Vulture, you can get a ridiculous lead extremely early on, crushing your opponent with constant minion generation.

- Magic Carpet is really helpful for trading in the mid-game. You shouldn’t have a shortage of 1-cost minions, both starting in your deck and generated by your cards in Lackeys. Allowing these guys to immediately trade with Rush after their Battlecries have gone off can help you maintain your stranglehold over the board.

- Crazed Alchemist is a strange pick, but can be used skillfully to get out of sticky situations. Maybe the enemy has a big 2/14 Mosh’Ogg Enforcer in the way of the enemy’s face. You could play the Crazed Alchemist and take it down with just one of your minions. Alternatively, you could squeeze out a bit of extra damage or survivability in your own minions, such as boosting your Sandbinder to 4 attack if it helps you push lethal.

- Dire Wolf Alpha’s effect is ongoing, meaning +1 attack is granted to whichever minion is currently directly next to it. This is helpful for making trades, as you can kill off your own minions, buffing the next one’s attack and so on. It’s something of a conga line, but instead of dancing, your minions are charging to their deaths for your amusement.