Basic Deck Building: Warriors

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Hey guys! This series is meant to provide new players with information and tips for building basic “starter” decks involving the 9 classes in Hearthstone. The idea is to explore basic card combinations and synergy and get beginners thinking about how to approach building or improving their own decks! These guides assume that you’re at least level 10 with the class being discussed and therefore have access to all of the class’s basic cards.

This week we’ll be taking a look at the Warrior class. Warriors in Hearthstone use a combination of weapons, high amounts of armor, and various minions to defeat their opponents through brute force. Although it doesn’t offer as much “out of the box” power as Hunter, our basic warrior deck still has some strong card synergy and possesses the same aggressive feel that made Warriors a lot of fun to play in World of Warcraft. I’ve played an MMO Warrior for 8 years so I’ve got high hopes for the CCG version!

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[tabs] [tab title=”1″] Execute x2
Whirlwind x2
Elven Archer x2
Stonetusk Boar x2
[/tab] [tab title=”2″] Fiery War Axe x2
Cleave x2
Heroic Strike x2
Frostwolf Grunt x2 [/tab] [tab title=”3″]Ironfur Grizzly x2
Wolfrider x2
[/tab] [tab title=”4″] Korkron Elite x2
Senjin Shieldmasta x2
[/tab] [tab title=”5″]Arcanite Reaper x2
Stormpike Commando x2
[/tab] [tab title=”6″] Lord of the Arena x2[/tab] [tab title=”7″] No Cards![/tab] [/tabs]

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If you look at the deck list you’ll notice that for the most part the minions are made up of cards that possess either the Taunt attribute like Frostwolf Grunt or the Charge attribute like Wolfrider. Taunt forces your opponent to attack that minion before anything else while Charge allows you to attack immediately with a minion on the same turn you put it into play. The basic premise of this deck is to use your Taunt minions to stay safe while playing Charge minions to do quick, unopposed damage. Keep in mind that your Taunt minions can be powerful attackers too!

We’ve also got two non-taunt/charge minions in this deck. Elven Archer deals 1 damage to anything you want as its Battlecry, while Stormpike Commando deals 2 damage to anything. These cards can combo nicely with your spells, which we’ll look at later. They can also offer a little bit of free damage on their own that can be useful in killing off weaker minions or finishing off big ones.

The key to playing any minion-oriented deck like this one is to make smart decisions regarding when and how to trade your minions with your opponents’. A simple example of this type of this would be if your Priest opponent had a Northshire Cleric (1/3) in play while you’ve got a Wolfrider (3/1) and an Ironfur Grizzly (3/3). You could attack their Northshire Cleric with your Wolfrider and trade cards, but the better decision would be to attack the Northshire Cleric with your Ironfur Grizzly instead. You’d still get to kill off your opponent’s minion, but you’ll do it in a way that keeps both of your minions alive and able to (hopefully!) do even more damage next turn!

Our Warrior deck only relies on three spells, but they’re extremely valuable in aiding our objective of our minions doing damage to the opposing Hero. Probably the most valuable spell in our Basic Warrior deck is Execute which lets us destroy any damaged minion. This spell combos extremely well with cards like Elven Archer and Whirlwind in that it allows you to kill nearly any minion for only 2 mana! Heroic Strike rounds out our Spell list and gives you the ability to significantly boost your Hero’s attack for one turn.

When you’re playing these spells you’ll want to make sure that you don’t forget the goal of your deck. Everything you do should be aimed at creating opportunities for your minions to do damage to the opposing Hero. You can certainly use Heroic Strike to attack the other player directly, but just make sure you’re not leaving a valuable minion vulnerable when you do!

The Basic Warrior Deck uses two different equipment cards, Fiery War Axe and Arcanite Reaper . Warriors have access to some of the most cost-efficient weapons in Hearthstone. Playing a Fiery War Axe on your first turn by using The Coin is a strong opening play that allows you to do early damage or take out an early minion or two depending on the situation.

Although it might be tempting to use your weapon’s precious durability to attack the opposing player, keep in mind that weapons are also an effective way of clearing the board and keeping the path open for your minions to attack. Think of your equipment this way: On the second turn that you have a weapon equipped you gain a hidden spell that does your weapon’s damage to any target at the cost of your health points, depending on what you attack. For example if your opponent has an annoying 2/2 minion you’d like to get rid of you can use your Class’s Hero ability to gain 2 armor, then attack with your Fiery War Axe. You’ll get rid of the creature without losing any life yourself or risking the lives of your minions! A big part of the design behind Warrior is the concept of using armor gained through cards or your Hero Ability to allow you to attack your opponent’s minion’s yourself. With good decision making this helps the Warrior gain strong board control and lets you overrun your opponent with ease!

Now that you’ve got a good understanding of the basics of playing the warrior class it’s time to hit the ladder or challenge a friend! Remember that Warrior is all about damage, damage, damage! So don’t let up until you’ve pummeled your opponent into submission!