Starting on March 26, new Hearthstone players and those returning after at least four months away will be given a free deck from a class of their choice, built with cards from the Year of the Dragon, when they log into the game. Blizzard said it hopes the initiative "will help players feel empowered to jump right in and experience the latest of what Hearthstone has to offer!"
Now, courtesy of the fine folks at Hearthpwn, you can see what's included with each deck. I'm not sure how much value this sort of thing offers to new players who won't really know what's going on, although returners might find it useful, but more importantly our resident Hearthstone expert Tim said that all of the decks are of solid quality, and viable for play at the higher reaches of the ladder. It's also worth noting that Blizzard hasn't nickel and dimed the card rarity either—these decks include up to four legendaries, and again they're mostly very good ones.
If you're wondering which deck to pick, Tim recommends Mage, which is a 'Highlander' variant (meaning you can only use one of each card—hence "there can be only one!"). The reason to pick Mage is the inclusion of two incredibly powerful neutral legendaries in Dragonqueen Alexstraza and Zerphrys the Great, both of which will be auto-includes in any other Highlander decks you want to build in the foreseeable future. Also strong is the Rogue deck, which is only a couple of cards off the lists that pros are running, and also includes a bunch of Galakrond synergy cards which will also be useful when building Galakrond decks using other classes.
With that established, let's have a look inside.
Druid
Minion:
- 1x Goru the Mightree
- 1x Keeper Stalladris
- 2x Anubisath Defender
- 2x Garden Gnome
- 2x Acornbearer
- 2x Shrubadier
Spell:
- 2x Force of Nature
- 2x Aeroponics
- 2x Dreamway Guardians
- 2x The Forest's Aid
- 2x Treenforcements
- 2x Power of the Wild
- 2x BEEEES!!!
- 2x Blessing of the Ancients
- 2x Rising Winds
- 2x Savage Roar
Hunter
Minion:
- 1x Shu'ma
- 1x Sky Gen'ral Kragg
- 1x Sea Giant
- 2x Diving Gryphon
- 2x Faceless Corruptor
- 2x Knife Juggler
- 2x Licensed Adventurer
- 2x Questing Explorer
- 2x Cult Master
- 2x Bone Wraith
- 2x Hench-Clan HogsteedA
Ability:
- 1x Unseal the Vault
- 2x Clear the Way
- 2x Swarm of Locusts
- 2x Unleash the Hounds
- 2x Tracking
Weapon:
- 2x Desert Spear
Mage
Minion:
- 1x Dragonqueen Alexstrasza
- 1x Reno the Relicologist
- 1x Zephrys the Great
- 1x Doomsayer
- 1x Cobalt Spellkin
- 1x Dragoncaster
- 1x Khartut Defender
- 1x Twilight Drake
- 1x Arcane Amplifier
- 1x Azure Explorer
- 1x Big Ol' Whelp
- 1x Bone Wraith
- 1x Evasive Wyrm
- 1x Scalerider
- 1x Twin Tyrant
Spell:
- 1x Power of Creation
- 1x Arcane Breath
- 1x Blizzard
- 1x Conjurer's Calling
- 1x Ice Barrier
- 1x Ancient Mysteries
- 1x Flame Ward
- 1x Learn Draconic
- 1x Ray of Frost
- 1x Arcane Intellect
- 1x Fireball
- 1x Flamestrike
- 1x Frost Nova
- 1x Frostbolt
- 1x Polymorph
Paladin
Minion:
- 1x Tirion Fordring
- 2x Lightforged Crusader
- 2x Micro Mummy
- 2x Aldor Peacekeeper
- 2x Brazen Zealot
- 2x Lightforged Zealot
- 2x Sky Claw
- 2x Argent Protector
- 2x Amber Watcher
- 2x Sandwasp Queen
- 2x Shotbot
Spell:
- 2x Sanctuary
- 2x Air Raid
- 1x Pharaoh's Blessing
- 2x Blessing of Kings
- 2x Consecration
Priest
Minion:
- 1x Archmage Vargoth
- 1x Catrina Muerte
- 2x Batterhead
- 2x Psychopomp
- 2x Convincing Infiltrator
- 2x Khartut Defender
- 2x Sandhoof Waterbearer
Spell:
- 2x Plague of Death
- 2x Breath of the Infinite
- 2x Forbidden Words
- 1x Mass Dispel
- 2x Mass Resurrection
- 2x Penance
- 2x Holy Nova
- 1x Holy Smite
- 2x Shadow Word: Death
- 2x Shadow Word: Pain
Rogue
Minion:
- 1x Edwin VanCleef
- 1x Heistbaron Togwaggle
- 1x Kronx Dragonhoof
- 2x Faceless Corruptor
- 2x SI:7 Agent
- 2x Bloodsail Flybooter
- 2x Devoted Maniac
- 2x EVIL Miscreant
- 2x Pharaoh Cat
- 2x Shield of Galakrond
Spell:
- 2x Seal Fate
- 2x Eviscerate
- 2x Shadowstep
- 2x Praise Galakrond!
- 2x Backstab
- 2x Sap
Playable Hero:
- 1x Galakrond, the Nightmare
Shaman
Minion:
- 1x Kronx Dragonhoof
- 2x Corrupt Elementalist
- 1x Faceless Corruptor
- 2x Mana Tide Totem
- 2x Devoted Maniac
- 2x Shield of Galakrond
- 2x Walking Fountain
Spell:
- 2x Dragon's Pack
- 2x Far Sight
- 1x Witch's Brew
- 2x Earthquake
- 2x Hagatha's Scheme
- 2x Earth Shock
- 1x Eye of the Storm
- 2x Invocation of Frost
- 2x Hex
Weapon:
- 1x The Fist of Ra-den
Playable Hero:
- 1x Galakrond, the Tempest
Warlock
Minion:
- 1x Dark Pharaoh Tekahn
- 1x Kronx Dragonhoof
- 2x Sea Giant
- 2x Veiled Worshipper
- 2x Dragonblight Cultist
- 2x Knife Juggler
- 2x Flame Imp
- 2x Beaming Sidekick
- 2x Devoted Maniac
- 1x EVIL Cable Rat
- 2x EVIL Genius
- 2x Murmy
- 2x Shield of Galakrond
- 2x Voidwalker
Spell:
- 2x Fiendish Rites
- 2x Sinister Deal
Playable Hero:
- 1x Galakrond, the Wretched
Warrior
Minion:
- 1x Captain Greenskin
- 2x Southsea Captain
- 2x Hoard Pillager
- 2x Skybarge
- 2x Bloodsail Raider
- 2x Dread Corsair
- 2x Southsea Deckhand
- 2x Blazing Battlemage
- 2x Parachute Brigand
- 2x Sky Raider
- 2x Kor'kron Elite
Spell:
- 2x Mortal Strike
- 2x Upgrade!
Weapon:
- 1x Ancharrr
- 2x Livewire Lance
- 2x Arcanite Reaper
Hearthstone's next expansion, Ashes of Outlands, will kick off the Year of the Phoenix—which will include the Demon Hunter, the first new class added to the game since it launched six years ago—on April 7.
