Category: Hearthstone

One of the few viable budget decks that you can build without Galakrond is Token Druid. The archetype has been around for a long time, and it is still going strong: flooding the board with tokens, buffing them up with spells, and ultimately using Savage Roar for burst damage.

In Galakrond’s Awakening, the Budget Token Druid to go for is the Treant version. Mech Token Druid is still possible to build, but because it comprises mostly Year of the Raven cards that will rotate out of Standard format in April 2020, it is not a great investment right now.

Budget Token Druid decklist

Deck code: AAECAZICAv0CypwDDu0D9wPmBd/7Ar/9AtWDA8OUA86UA9OcA6+iA+2iA/ytA/6tA/+tAwA=

This is the Budget Token Druid I recommend at the moment as the best compromise between cost and power. It requires two Epic cards: two copies of Force of Nature are mandatory for the synergies with Garden Gnome and Mulchmuncher.

One card that I want to highlight in particular is BEEEES!!! – Token Druid is quite straightforward and does not allow for many interesting plays, but BEEEES!!! enables you to respond to the board in a much more proactive way. I find this to be essential especially for the budget version that needs to use any advantages it can find.

In some earlier metas, the budget version of Token Druid has wanted to cut The Forest’s Aid for speed, but currently, all the expensive spells are core for the Treant synergies.

Budget Token Druid mulligan

You want to get on the board early, and therefore mulliganing for your one-drops and Shrubadier is so important. If you have some early game already, you can also keep cards such as Landscaping and Garden Gnome, but you need to get out there early, or you will have a hard time gaining board control.

Budget Token Druid tips and tricks

Do not overtrade when you play Token Druid. Your main, and only, threat comes from your ability to buff up your board and make it much bigger than it is. If you trade with unbuffed minions so that they end up getting destroyed, you lose board control. This is, of course, situational and needs to be balanced depending on what your opponent can do to wide boards, but in general, you want to preserve your minions so that you can get the most out of your buffs.

BEEEES!!! is really, really good. You can use it to clear a four-health minion, but often you can also make some of your bees survive and stay on the board, ready to be buffed. Sometimes trading a two-attack minion to get two bees on the board can be the right move, you want to go wide, after all.

Aeroponics is a great card draw tool. Note that when you have three Treants on the board, the spell is free. Force of Nature can make it free alone, and Landscaping can make it cost just one mana. Plan your Treant use accordingly when you have it in hand.

Budget Token Druid upgrade path

I played with several different versions when building this budget list. In fact, the most successful version was one where I used Wispering Woods instead of Soul of the Forest (but double Dreamway Guardians was worse). However, because Wispering Woods is an Epic card that is about to rotate out of the Standard format, and it is not generally used in the full-cost version, I do not recommend that version because of the cost. If you happen to have a copy of Wispering Woods, you could use it in this deck though.

Upgrading the deck to the full version is straightforward.

Replace Dreamway Guardians and Soul of the Forest with Anubisath Defenders, and replace one copy of Blessing of the Ancients with Goru the Mightree. You can do the replacement in any order.

Budget Token Druid gameplay video

Finally, here is a recap of the guide and several matches of gameplay with the deck on video. I hope it gives you a deeper understanding of the archetype!

Shaman is the worst class in Galakrond’s Awakening. So can a budget Shaman have any chance?

Murloc Shaman has been around for a long time, and it remains unchanged and cheap, but it falls off in performance sharply once you reach higher ranks. It is definitely an option on low ranks though.

However, I wanted to do better and build a budget Shaman deck that could actually win against the top meta decks. Much to my surprise, Lackey Galakrond Shaman was actually able to perform really well!

I did make some concessions because of the overall poor state of Shaman. I included two copies of Dragon’s Pack in the deck even though it is an Epic card because Dragon’s Pack has been essential in every successful Galakrond Shaman list. I also included two copies of Explosive Evolution because it has great synergy with many of the cards in the deck. Explosive Evolution is from the second chapter of Galakrond’s Awakening, so it costs 1400 gold to get to it, but given how important the adventure is anyway, I figured this was an acceptable compromise to give the deck a bit of a boost.

Budget Galakrond Shaman decklist

Deck code: AAECAaoIAv8F08ADDrSRA7SXA8aZA9SlA9WlA/mlA7etA7mtA/muA/6uA6qvA9CvA4KxA6K2AwA=

The deck is a Galakrond Shaman, so you really want to invoke Galakrond and eventually turn yourself into Galakrond for some big Rush minions. That is your main win condition.

The secondary win condition is the use of the evolve mechanic in the form of Mutate and Explosive Evolution. Turning your Mogu Fleshshapers into 10-drops or 12-drops (that means either Mountain Giant or Grave Horror, by the way, you have a 50% chance to get a Taunt minion when you explosively evolve a Mogu Fleshshaper) can get you a big body on the board that the opponent will struggle to answer. Even turning your Corrupt Elementalist into a seven-drop or nine-drop can be powerful.

Finally, you have a large Lackey package in the deck for general trickstery and tempo.

Budget Galakrond Shaman mulligan

Your basic mulligan is Blazing Battlemage and Invocation of Frost, just a pair of good early-game cards to keep you in the game at the start.

If you’re playing against a slow deck, you really want your Galakrond and you can also afford to keep it in the mulligan. It can be a strong keep in faster matchups too, but only if it is supported by a strong early game.

EVIL Totem is another strong card against slow decks, as it can potentially give you multiple Lackeys if the opponent is slow to react to it.

Against decks that like to flood the board, Mogu Fleshshaper is extremely powerful. If you keep a Mogu, you should also keep a Mutate to make it big after it value-trades.

Budget Galakrond Shaman tips and tricks

Generally, you want to become Galakrond as quickly as possible. That is your best chance to win the game.

Mutate and Explosive Evolution are some of your most powerful tools. It is great to use them on a Mogu Fleshshaper or even a Corrupt Elementalist, but especially in fast matchups you often need to use them for tempo. Do not shy away from turning a one-drop into a four-drop if that’s what it takes to keep contesting the board.

Explosive Evolution can target the opponent’s minions, whereas Mutate cannot. This can sometimes give you lethal by turning a Taunt minion into something slower.

Budget Galakrond Shaman gameplay video

Finally, here is a video of gameplay with the deck. I hope it helps you understand deeper how the deck functions.

Galakrond Warrior is one of the best decks in Hearthstone right now, but it contains a fair number of Epic and Legendary cards. Is it possible to cut down its cost without sacrificing performance?

I started testing Galakrond Warrior with a full budget list that included no Epics or Legendaries whatsoever, but unfortunately, I was unable to make it strong enough. However, adding four Epics to the mix helped the deck immensely, and I can confidently say that the archetype is completely playable at 2920 dust if you include Town Criers and Scions of Ruin in the deck.

Budget Galakrond Warrior decklist

Deck code: AAECAQcCkAPFwAMOFhzUBI4F+wyd8AKz/AL0pwPYrQParQP+rgOqrwPSrwOrtgMA

The key to building a budget deck is to find a different twist compared to the full-cost version of the deck. If you cannot find that, you are simply playing a watered-down version of the meta deck, which can still be reasonably good, but it will always just feel worse than the full version.

The twist in Budget Galakrond Warrior is Frothing Berserker. Frothing allows you to snowball in some matchups and end games even faster than the full version is capable of. Frothing also benefits from the absence of Risky Skipper, because you generally want to keep it as healthy as possible, especially in a meta where ways to deal three damage are abundant, but ways to deal four damage are rarer.

I tried Frothing without Town Crier and Scion of Ruin, but then it just did not work out, and in fact, a full budget version is better off without it, but a full-budget version is simply not good enough overall. Town Crier and Scion of Ruin allow Frothing to shine.

Budget Galakrond Warrior mulligan

You always want to keep your main one-drops, Town Crier and Eternium Rover. Temple Berserker is usually a good keep as well.

If you face aggressive decks and need to defend, Ritual Chopper and Armorsmith are good cards to keep. In slower matchups where you want to be aggressive, Bomb Wrangler can be more effective, and sometimes you can even keep Galakrond itself in such matchups.

Budget Galakrond Warrior tips and tricks

Try to keep your Frothing Berserker healthy: there are not that many ways to deal four damage in the meta right now, so Frothing can dodge some major removal tools if it avoids all damage.

Temple Berserker can have good synergy with Battle Rage: if you trade with it, the Reborn token comes out pre-damaged and ready to give you a card from Battle Rage.

Because you cannot copy Charge minions with this list, holding on to Inner Rage is not important. Use it to push damage, sometimes to trade, or even to activate Acolyte of Pain or Bomb Wrangler. Likewise, you do not need to hold on to Kor’kron Elites, because you cannot copy them anyway. Be proactive.

Budget Galakrond Warrior upgrade path

There are several variations of the full-cost Galakrond Warrior. Some come with Eternium Rovers, the number of Battle Rages varies, and some include more specific tech cards, such as Injured Tol’vir. However, there are also a number of staples that are missing from the budget version. The upgrade path shows you how to add in the staples, after which you can tech the final slots to your liking.

The first upgrade you should do is to improve your burst damage capability. You can add Leeroy Jenkins and Bloodsworn Mercenary to replace Kor’kron Elites. Now you have access to some serious burst with an Inner Raged Leeroy and a copy of it!

The next step is to improve your card draw and area-of-effect damage potential to help you find those key pieces. Replace the Temple Berserkers and Frothing Berserkers with Risky Skippers, Kronx Dragonhoof, and another Bloodsworn Mercenary: now you have the full package to get to your Galakrond, draw a bunch of cards or gain a bunch of armor, and deal a lot of burst damage.

You can see that there are still a couple of differences between the example list and where you are now, namely Eternium Rovers in your deck and another Battle Rage and an Injured Tol’vir in the example. These slots can be used to tech against whatever you are facing.

Budget Galakrond Warrior gameplay video

Finally, here is a recap of the guide in video format and gameplay with the deck. I hope it gives you further insight into how to pilot the deck.

Galakrond Rogue is one of the most powerful decks in the game at the moment, but it is also full of Legendary cards: many lists include seven Legendary cards in addition to Galakrond itself, which is given to all players for free.

Can such a deck really be built on a budget? After extensive testing, I have come to the conclusion that yes, it can, and here is how!

Budget Galakrond Rogue decklist

Deck code: AAECAaIHAr0Dy8ADDrQBzQOXBogH3Qjv8QKPlwP1pwO5rgO/rgP+rgOqrwPOrwOCsQMA

This is the best Galakrond Rogue list I was able to build on a budget. Budget decks always need some little twist that makes them viable on their own and not just a weaker version of the meta deck, and in this list, that twist comes in the form of Questing Adventurer.

You are not as likely to find Galakrond as the full-cost list and burst damage from Galakrond is unreliable at best without Leeroy: I opted to include Reckless Rocketeer for some burst potential, but it is not worth including Shadowstep in the list just for that.

Instead, this list uses Bloodsail Flybooters to more reliably enable combo effects, buff up Questing Adventurers, and have targets for Faceless Corruptors.

It is more of a grind or a snowballing Questing Adventurer that delivers the wins with this list than huge burst from free cards, but Galakrond nonetheless proved essential to the list, also because of all the Lackeys you get from Invoke effects, which in turn can again make Questing Adventurers better.

Budget Galakrond Rogue mulligan

There are two cards that you always keep in the mulligan: Pharaoh Cat and Questing Adventurer. You really want to get on the board early, and you need to find your win condition. If you have the Questing Adventurer, you can also keep Bloodsail Flybooter.

If you’re on the coin, EVIL Miscreant becomes a viable keep.

Budget Galakrond Rogue tips and tricks

The deck is not the same as a full-cost Galakrond Rogue. You have far less burst and find your Galakrond less often. It is still nice to become Galakrond and get some free card action going, especially if you can build a huge Questing Adventurer from it, but overall you just are not as well-positioned to take things to the late game.

Questing Adventurer is your best friend. Try to make the most of it given your current hand. If your hand is really dry, you may need to take a chance with the Questing Adventurer, and win if it cannot be answered. If your hand is already good, you can try to set up a stronger and more consistent Questing Adventurer turn.

Faceless Corruptor is one of the strongest cards you have. Always think about how you can give it a target, whether from a Pirate or a Lackey generated by one of the Invoke cards.

You can be far more liberal with your use of Lackeys because you do not have a Heistbaron Togwaggle to save them for. Lackeys generate a lot of tempo, take advantage of that.

Budget Galakrond Rogue upgrade path

There are lots of upgrades available for the deck, and many of them can be done independently of the others. If you have some of the good cards, feel free to put them in even if you do not have all the pieces. This upgrade path is the recommended order if you need to craft everything.

The most straightforward upgrade is to add Leeroy Jenkins over Reckless Rocketeer. This can be done at any time. You can also consider adding a Shadowstep over a Bloodsail Flybooter when you add Leeroy, and at the latest when you add Heistbaron Togwaggle, which replaces the other Bloodsail Flybooter.

Flybooters give you cards in hand, and you want to get rid of them when you add Togwaggle so that you have space to draw with the Wand.

One Questing Adventurer can be replaced with Edwin VanCleef at any time. Edwin works in much the same way Questing does and replaces it as a win condition.

Before you can replace the second Questing Adventurer, you want to have Leeroy Jenkins in the deck for a powerful burst finisher. Once there, you can add Kronx Dragonhoof as a replacement, so that you get to your burst win condition more reliably.

At this point, you can also add the second Shadowstep to replace a Lifedrinker.

The Mech package gives you more early game and some potential healing. Add SN1P-SN4P and Zilliax to replace an SI:7 Agent and a Lifedrinker.

You can add Flik Skyshiv at any time to replace an SI:7 Agent. Optionally, you can also tech for the mirror by adding Boompistol Bully to replace one copy of Sap.

After all of these changes, you have the meta version of Galakrond Rogue!

Budget Galakrond Rogue gameplay video

Finally, here is a video recap of the guide that also showcases gameplay with the deck. I hope it gives you further insight into how to pilot the deck.

The Hearthstone meta is always evolving, and compared to just a few weeks ago, there have been some major changes in what the best decks are.

Embiggen Druid fell off rapidly, and this has opened up space for Galakrond Rogue to make a powerful comeback and for Galakrond Warrior to emerge as the new challenger to Rogue. With such a large number of Rogues around, Priest cannot limit the power of Galakrond Warrior either.

There is always an element of rock-paper-scissors in the meta, so you can expect changes to continue, as when specific decks become popular, it opens up space to counter them with new decks.

As for right now, here are the top six decks to play to climb to Legend!

#6: Quest Druid

Strong against:

• Galakrond Rogue
• Galakrond Warrior

Weak against:

• Hunter
• Mech Paladin
• Highlander Mage

It would have been unimaginable for Quest Druid to thrive just a while ago, although it already found a foothold in high Legend ranks last month. It is weak against many of the more aggressive, and cheaper, decks, but as you get closer to Legend you start to face increasing numbers of Galakrond Rogues and Galakrond Warriors, and Quest Druid can defeat them at relative ease.

Deck code: AAECAZICBiSu0gL1/AL4oQP8owP2rQMMQFZf/gH3A8QGv/ICqaIDyKID76ID2akD+bUDAA==

#5: Dragon Hunter

Strong against:

• Embiggen Druid
• Quest Druid
• Highlander Hunter

Weak against:

• Mech Paladin
• Resurrect Priest
• Galakrond Warrior

Dragon Hunter has been fine-tuned over the past weeks and it remains a powerful deck. Unfortunately, it is weak against the new Galakrond Warrior lists, which gives it considerable trouble in the final stages of a Legend climb. Galakrond Rogue is a fairly even matchup, so that does not help a lot either.

As an upside, Dragon Hunter is good against other Hunters and against Druids, so if your opponents try to counter the meta with Druid, you can counter them with Dragon Hunter.

Deck code: AAECAR8ExwOHBK8Eh7ADDeEElwiKrQOLrQP5rgP7rwP8rwP+rwPnsAP/sAOHsQO6tgOvtwMA

#4: Quest Hunter

Strong against:

• Embiggen Druid
• Galakrond Rogue

Weak against:

• Resurrect Priest

Quest Hunter lost its biggest ticket to fame when Druid numbers started to go down, but it is the best Hunter deck against Galakrond Rogues, which gives it a good starting point to a Legend climb. Its rather mediocre matchup against Galakrond Warrior holds it back a little bit, but it is still a solid choice overall.

This month’s list features Boommaster Flark again, as it seems to somewhat outperform Shu’ma in the current meta.

Deck code: AAECAR8IrwTh9QKggAPjiwOkpQPYsgOftwPztwMLlwjbCaCFA8edA+SkA7ulA5ipA46tA/ivA4KxA7i2AwA=

#3: Highlander Hunter

Strong against:

• Galakrond Warrior
• Embiggen Druid

Weak against:

• Dragon Hunter

The best Highlander Hunter list has not changed by a single card since last month.

Highlander Hunter has climbed to be the best Hunter deck right now, because it is, ironically, the most consistent one despite running only single copies of cards. It has a steady matchup spread, which makes it a good choice for just about any meta, because nothing can hurt it too much.

In the current meta, its good matchup against Galakrond Warrior shines in particular, and its weakness against other, faster Hunter decks is not fatal.

Deck code: AAECAR8eqAK1A8cDhwSvBOEElwjbCaCAA6CFA7acA/yjA+SkA6alA4SnA4qtA4utA46tA/muA/uvA/yvA/6vA4ewA/+wA4KxA5GxA9iyA4S2A5+3A6+3AwAA

#2: Galakrond Rogue

Strong against:

• Resurrect Priest
• Galakrond Warlock

Weak against:

• Embiggen Druid
• Quest Druid

Galakrond Rogue is by far the most popular deck on high ranks just before Legend. It is a solid performer that always has a chance because it can generate opportunities out of nowhere at any time. Its main weakness is Druid, but Druid numbers are down and Galakrond Rogue can enjoy the meta. If you choose to play Galakrond Rogue, you can expect tons of mirrors, but the overall power level of the deck is just incredible.

Deck code: AAECAaIHCrICzQOvBKCAA5KXA8GuA+O0A8O2A5+3A8vAAwq0Ae0CiAePlwP1pwO5rgP+rgOqrwPOrwOCsQMA

#1: Galakrond Warrior

Strong against:

• Galakrond Rogue
• Dragon Hunter

Weak against:

• Druid
• Priest

While Galakrond Rogue is the most popular deck, it is not my #1 recommendation right now. When everyone is playing a specific deck, you can find opportunities to counter it, and the most balanced counter to Galakrond Rogue is Galakrond Warrior: it is not the strongest counter, but it is favored in that matchup while also being favored in the majority of other matchups you may encounter.

With Druids and Priests forming but a small minority of the ladder, Galakrond Warrior stands favored against all the popular alternatives.

This list features Injured Tol’vir, which is a good card against Rogue in particular, and also helps to make Battle Rage a little better.

Deck code: AAECAQcErwTSpQPjtAPFwAMNFpAD1AT7DJ3wAtypA9itA9qtA/6uA6qvA9KvA6S2A6u2AwA=

Best decks on video

You can find more information about these decks, as well as tons of other Hearthstone material on my Youtube channel from analysis to gameplay and budget decks.

I initially thought that building a Dragon Hunter deck without using cards from the Galakrond’s Awakening adventure would be impossible. After all, the entire archetype was built on Rotnest Drake providing the Hunter with a critical mass of aggressive dragon minions to complement Stormhammer and Corrosive Breath.

However, I recently played a lot with the archetype, including trying to figure out card substitutions for the guide I wrote about it for Hearthstone Top Decks. Even when I originally finished the guide, I still thought that the best you can do is replace the Legendary cards and Snake Trap, but there would be no way to replace Stormhammer or the adventure cards Rotnest Drake and Frenzied Felwing.

I kept working on the budget list even after completing the guide because I really wanted to find out some way to make it work, and eventually, I did!

1400 dust Budget Dragon Hunter

Deck code: AAECAR8AD7UDhwThBJcI/gzv8QKKrQP5rgP7rwP8rwP+rwPnsAP/sAOFsQOHsQMA

So, here. This is it. This actually works and it only costs 1400 dust with no adventure cards.

The final three replacements were Eaglehorn Bow for Stormhammer, Animal Companion for Frenzied Felwing, and Evasive Wyrm for Rotnest Drake.

I have to admit that some of the performance has been lost. Eaglehorn Bow is nowhere near a Stormhammer, which you can just keep going with your dragons almost indefinitely, and that has forced me to change the mulligan a little: I do not keep the Bow, whereas I do keep the Stormhammer. By mulliganing more aggressively for Phase Stalker, you make the Bow a better topdeck even though you no longer keep it. You want a weapon in the deck for flexibility, and Bow is the second-best option.

Evasive Wyrm for Rotnest Drake was a fairly easy substitution in the end. It enables you to remove stuff much like Rotnest Drake, although it cannot answer really big individual minions. In some very specific scenarios, it is even better because you get to decide where it hits, and it cannot be targeted by spell and Hero Powers, which makes it annoying for Rogue and Priest to deal with. Still, it comes one turn later and has weaker stats, so it is obviously a downgrade.

There are just no other good dragon options: Crowd Roaster is even slower and Dragonmaw Scorcher’s area-of-effect damage often actively hurts you more than the opponent, while Cobalt Spellkin often gives you Beast-synergy cards and is not very much of a threat. You want that slot to be a dragon to have reliable synergy activation, so Evasive Wyrm is, in hindsight, the obvious choice.

Frenzied Felwing was interesting to replace. It is a great anti-control card for the archetype because it allows you to snowball quickly in the early game and simply overwhelm the control deck. Because Dragon Hunter is good at controlling the board early on, Felwing is a decent topdeck later in the game too, unlike with Face Hunter, where it shines early but drops off sharply after a few turns after the board is lost.

I ended up with Animal Companion to replace Frenzied Felwing. Animal Companion is just a strong card, and Dragon Hunter can situationally benefit from all possible companion rolls. It does introduce some randomness into the mix, but the overall power level and the way it fits the mana curve of the deck just make it worth it.

Semi-Budget Dragon Hunter

Deck code: AAECAR8AD4cE4QSXCO/xAoqtA4utA/muA/uvA/yvA/6vA+ewA/+wA4exA7q2A6+3AwA=

If you have a little more cards, a semi-budget version of the deck can achieve almost the same performance level as the full-cost version.

For this one, you need Stormhammer and the adventure for Rotnest Drake and Frenzied Felwing.

Compared to the full-cost version, you can easily cut Snake Trap – I actually sometimes prefer the double Freezing Trap anyway. Leeroy Jenkins and Dragonbane are also non-essential, and the semi-budget list has enough room to run both Big Ol’ Whelps and Lifedrinkers, a luxury the full version can ill afford.

To be honest, I kind of liked playing this list the most, even over the full-cost version, but it depends on the meta: Lifedrinkers can be life-savers, but if you need reach, the full-cost version has more of it.

Full-cost Dragon Hunter

Deck code: AAECAR8ExwOHBK8Eh7ADDeEElwiKrQOLrQP5rgP7rwP8rwP+rwPnsAP/sAOHsQO6tgOvtwMA

This is what I’d consider the typical meta version of Dragon Hunter. If you have all the cards, something like this is what you’re going for.

The deck used to run Lifedrinkers instead of Big Ol’ Whelps, but the increased dragon synergy consistency has been proven important, so you do not want to cut down on the dragon count.

What I find interesting about this archetype is how well it functions without the Legendary cards, and how it is actually playable without the adventure cards, too. Just like Embiggen Druid, this archetype could, in theory, have been found before Galakrond’s Awakening. There is a lot to discover in Hearthstone, and there are always potential decks that have not been discovered yet.

Dragon Hunter gameplay videos

Finally, here are some gameplay samples of the budget and semi-budget lists. I hope they showcase the variants well!

The cheapest way to play Hunter has not changed much over the years: the face is the place when it comes to playing on a budget. Face Hunter has been a top tier deck occasionally, but often the deck has also been too weak to even reach Legend. At the moment, Face Hunter is a Legend-capable deck, especially if you include a pair of Epic cards in it, as Toxic Reinforcements is such a central piece of the puzzle right now.

Face Hunter may seem simple, but there are several decisions involved. Aggro decks often win the game with just a one-turn margin, so you need to carefully consider how you maximize the damage you can deal and how you avoid giving the opponent ways to kill you before you kill them. Any trades you make should be justified by either allowing your current board to deal more damage thanks to the trade or by giving you an additional turn to Hero Power or topdeck your way to the win.

Semi-Budget Face Hunter decklist

Deck code: AAECAR8CogLeBA6oArUDyQSSBe0GsQjbCf4M7/EC86cD+a4D+68D/K8DhbADAA==

I consider Toxic Reinforcements an essential part of a Legend-capable Face Hunter deck. It might be possible to grind all the way without it, but it is simply phenomenal in the archetype.

Other than that, it is face-hunting business as usual with almost every card ready to deal some immediate damage.

Semi-Budget Face Hunter mulligan

Mulligan with Face Hunter is easy. You want four cards: Toxic Reinforcements, Phase Stalker, Dwarven Sharpshooter, and Blazing Battlemage. Getting some of those sets you up for a good game.

I would not keep a Leper Gnome in the mulligan, even though it costs only one mana: aim high, don’t be happy with a mediocre one-drop when you can have it all.

Semi-Budget Face Hunter tips and tricks

Unleash the Hounds is one of the best cards in the deck when board battles are involved. Together with Knife Juggler or Timber Wolf, the Hounds can dish out impressive amounts of damage. Look for opportunities to bait your opponent into building a wide board that you can punish with the Hounds, as long as you keep track of their reach and know how many turns they need to win the game.

If the game goes long, you need to be ready for the opponent’s healing and board clears. In particular, watch out for Alexstrasza against slow decks: it can either help them find a surprise lethal or to stabilize. Always consider the chance that your opponent can heal up to 15 before committing your burst power in the late-game. Other cards to keep in mind are The Amazing Reno when facing a Mage and Plague of Death when facing a Priest: they can silence all of your Deathrattles and prevent Leper Gnomes from dealing damage.

If you have a Kill Command, think ahead on how to use it. There are not that many Beasts in the deck, so you may run out of them and not gain the additional damage bonus. Plan accordingly to get the most damage output.

Arcane Shot to the face is two damage. Arcane Shot that kills a Zilliax prevents three healing. As long as you are not using all of your mana, it can be worthwhile to hold onto Arcane Shot for potential use against minions.

Semi-Budget Face Hunter upgrade path

There is not that much to upgrade with Face Hunter. Leeroy Jenkins is a Classic Legendary minion that always improves the archetype and can replace a Knife Juggler.

Other than that, I want to highlight an opportunity to sidegrade the deck to make it cheaper without losing too much power: Wolfrider can replace some of the rare cards, mostly Knife Juggler and also possibly Lifedrinker, with only a minor performance loss. You can also consider Tracking as a replacement for them.

You will need Toxic Reinforcements, Phase Stalker, and Eaglehorn Bow for good performance.

Semi-Budget Face Hunter gameplay video

Finally, here’s a video showcasing the deck in Legend. I hope it helps you make the most of it.

With so many deck-defining Epic and Legendary cards in the game right now, it can be hard to find strong budget decks. The one exception is Galakrond Zoo Warlock, which can reach Legend at the modest cost of 1400 dust.

Zoolock has been a part of Hearthstone from the beginning. With Warlock’s Hero Power providing easy access to card draw, the core idea of a Zoo deck is to use lots of cheap minions that have good synergies with each other to gain control of the board and win the game from there.

Zoo lives by the board and dies by the board. If you lose the board, you lose the game. Luckily, Zoo can summon a huge number of minions, so even if your board gets wiped a couple of times, there are still opportunities for you to get it back.

Budget Galakrond Zoo decklist

Deck code: AAECAf0GAvIF8b8DDjCKB7EIwgjchgPEiQOInQP9pwPorAP5rgP+rgOqrwPTrwOCsQMA

There is a Legendary card in the deck, but that’s just Galakrond, which every player got for free. The cards that you did not get for free in this deck cost a total of 1400 dust.

A budget version lacks some of the punch that a full-cost version can have, so it is more important to tech it for the meta. For the current meta, I have chosen to include two copies of Acidic Swamp Ooze and one copy of Spellbreaker, which help fight against Hunters, Rogues, and Paladins.

Budget Galakrond Zoo mulligan

It is important to gain and retain board presence when playing as Zoo. You really want to get on the board at the start, and Flame Imp is the best minion to do that. Blazing Battlemage and Voidwalker can also be fine.

If you already have a one-drop, you should keep Beaming Sidekick to make it stickier and Dragonblight Cultist to flood the board more early in the game.

Sometimes you can also go for some synergy-based mulligans, such as Scarab Egg together with EVIL Genius. Knife Juggler can also fit in with some board-flooding cards. However, one-drops are the most important thing.

Budget Galakrond Zoo tips and tricks

Remember that every Invoke card floods the board for you because they all summon two 1/1 tokens in addition to the card effect. You can build some wide boards with this archetype, and make good use of Knife Juggler, Fiendish Rites, and Grim Rally to weaponize your tokens. The tokens are also good targets for Faceless Corruptor to get some additional power on the board.

EVIL Genius is at its best when it can eat a Scarab Egg, but you can also feed it some tokens or even a slightly bigger minion after taking a value trade first. The lackeys you get from it can help you discover suitable spells or dragons, or give something Rush for hard removal. If you need to remove something big, Dragonblight Cultist can become a big rush minion with the right Lackey.

Use your Hero Power to draw cards whenever you don’t need the mana for tempo. As Zoo, you are unlikely to tap on turn two or three, but once you have a decent board, you can start tapping to gain additional resources in case it gets cleared.

Budget Galakrond Zoo upgrade path

There are five cards in the deck that you can consider switching, the rest are all core. The five cards are the two copies of Acidic Swamp Ooze, the Spellbreaker, and the two copies of Faceless Corruptor. They have all been chosen to overcome weaknesses caused by not having expensive cards in the deck as well as for their ability to perform in the current meta. If the meta changes, their value may also change.

The most common expensive cards included in full-cost lists are Sea Giant, Veiled Worshipper, Leeroy Jenkins, and Kronx Dragonhoof.

In the current meta, not all of them seem necessary.

By far the biggest upgrade you can make is to add a pair of Sea Giants. What to replace depends on the meta and how useful weapon removal and silence are when you are making the changes. I would probably start by replacing one Faceless Corruptor and one Acidic Swamp Ooze, but situations can change.

Veiled Worshipper also seems to be worth it, although it is less important than Sea Giant. To add them, you can cut the second Faceless Corruptor and one more tech card, or you can add just one and leave two tech cards in the deck.

I do not currently see the need to add any of the Legendary cards to the list.

Budget Galakrond Zoo gameplay video

Finally, here is a recap of the guide and some Legend gameplay with the deck on video. I hope it gives you a better idea on how to pilot the deck!

Galakrond Warrior has established itself as one of the best decks in Hearthstone. It is an aggressive Warrior deck with seemingly endless reach because once you turn into Galakrond, your Hero Power gives three attack every turn, which eventually wears down the defenses of almost any deck.

Furthermore, every time you invoke Galakrond, you gain that three attack, and it can stack within an individual turn, so multiple invokes and a weapon can give you considerable burst damage. With some charge minions, such as Kor’kron Elite or Leeroy Jenkins, and Bloodsworn Mercenary to copy them, some Warrior lists are even able to end the game with a one-turn kill.

While Galakrond is a very aggressive hero, Warrior has some great defensive class cards, which makes Galakrond Warrior shine in aggressive mirror matches: Eternium Rover, Armorsmith, Risky Skipper, and Acolyte of Pain combine to clear boards, provide tons of armor, and draw multiple cards.

Galakrond Warrior decklist

Deck code: AAECAQcE3KkD47QDn7cDxcADDRYc1AT7DJ3wArP8AtitA9qtA/6uA6qvA9KvA6S2A6u2AwA=

I played this Galakrond Warrior list to Legend with an 80% win rate and it is my current favorite for the archetype. It is a decidedly proactive list with very few dead cards and with high defensive capabilities to wreck Hunters and Rogues.

The double Eternium Rovers and double Armosmiths provide the deck an unparalleled edge in the aggressive mirror matches, and Kor’kron Elites provide the deck some charge burst, especially if you can draw a Kor’kron with Galakrond for that sweet +4/+4 buff.

The deck is usually not capable of a full one-turn-kill, because I do not consider it essential in the current meta. With only one Bloodsworn Mercenary, the ultimate reach of the deck is 32 damage, but that can only be achieved with a +4/+4 buffed Kor’kron Elite, two copies of Inner Rage (for 12 attack), a copy of that Kor’kron with Bloodsworn Mercenary (another 12), having the Galakrond weapon in hand (five attack), and using the Galakrond Hero power for additional three attack.

If a full one-turn-kill capability is desired, you need to add a second Bloodsworn Mercenary to the deck, but I have avoided that and Leeroy Jenkins to keep the deck as proactive as possible.

I really like SN1P-SN4P in this archetype. Between Eternium Rovers and the Boom Bots from Bomb Wranglers, you have multiple potential magnetization targets for some nice surprise moves.

Galakrond Warrior mulligan

There are a couple of different mulligans you can go for as Galakrond Warrior depending on what you are playing against. Your one-drops, Town Crier and Eternium Rover, are good cards to keep in every matchup. You just cannot go wrong with having a minion to play on the first turn in this game.

When you play against aggressive decks, the cards that you want the most in addition to those one-drops are Armorsmith and Ritual Chopper. They help you fight against the early threats and start gaining as much armor as possible.

Against slow decks, you want something more proactive. SN1P-SN4P and Bomb Wrangler are major early threats, and you also want to keep your Galakrond so that you are ready to unleash the true power of the deck as soon as possible.

Galakrond Warrior tips and tricks

Risky Skipper is one of the key cards in the archetype. It can help you to clear boards, draw cards with Acolyte of Pain, and gain armor with Eternium Rover and Armorsmith. It can also help you make a lot of bombs from Bomb Wrangler. It is not your one-drop! You typically do not keep it in the mulligan, nor do you play it on the board on the first turn. Instead, you use it together with other cards to get the most out of its effect.

You need to recognize your role when you play Galakrond Warrior. It is a midrange deck that sometimes takes the control role and sometimes the beatdown role. You can defend against aggression, you do not need to race, even though you can also look for opportunities to race them down, especially if you are able to gain a bunch of armor and can afford to take hits.

Depending on the burst capabilities of the list you are playing, you can sometimes set up for a big burst turn to end the game. Any chip damage you can deal to the opponent, especially the endless damage from Galakrond’s Hero Power, can help you set up for an easier burst finish.

Galakrond Warrior gameplay video

Finally, here is a video recap of the guide and gameplay video of the final part of my Legend climb with the deck. I hope it gives you a good idea on how to pilot the deck for success!