Free Hearthstone Decks for New and Returning players updated for Festival of Legends Expansion
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Hearthstone updated the Free Decks for the Festival of Legends expansion. We analyze them and help you find the perfect fit
If you want to try out Hearthstone for the first time, or if you have been away and want to come back, check out these Free Decks. Hearthstone updated the Free Decks given to new and returning players for the Festival of Legends expansion. Check if you are eligible, what these decks contain, how to get them and the possible upgrades you might need here!
The Hearthstone team has confirmed that free decks are no longer limited to one deck per account. This means that if you have received a free deck in the past, but you spent over 90 days without logging in, you will be eligible once again to get one!
Warning: These deck contains several cards that are rotating to Wild in less than a month. Most likely these decks will be updated once again when the Core set for 2023 is announced. So if you haven't logged-in in the past 90 days I'd recommend you wait until the expansion releases to see if you can get decks that would last longer.
Hearthstone Free-Loaner decks presentation image by Blizzard
How to get a Free Deck?
You got it right Hearthstone is giving out Free Decks for new players to try the game or for returning players to catch up. This is a great time to start or return to the game. Festival of Legends, the first expansion of the 2023 launches on April 11 and with its arrival, the three sets from 2021 will rotate out to Wild. This means that getting a free deck will boost your collection enough for you to be competitive and start farming new packs.
To be eligible for a Free Deck, you need to create a brand new Hearthstone account, complete the tutorial, the Starter Questline, and graduate from the New Player Ranks (40-1). But wait, if you haven’t been active in the last 90 days, you will also be eligible for Hearthstone Free Deck.
What's more, now, Hearthstone players are able to test the free decks before claiming them with the new Loaner decks feature. Loaner decks allow players to play 6 different free decks for a week before deciding which one to keep!
Hearthstone Loaner / Free Decks from previous expansion - Image via esports.gg
How to choose a Hearthstone Free Deck?
Eligible players will get to choose from 6 different Hearthstone Free Decks, so which is the best one? This is a tricky question to answer, the first thing you need to think about is what you enjoy playing. Most of the time is better to choose the deck you enjoy the most rather than the most powerful.
If you are new to Hearthstone, I’d recommend you to go for a Tempo/Aggresive archetype, these Free Decks are the best introduction to the game basics. On the other hand, if you are a returning player that wants to nourish your collection, you might want to go for the ones with the “most Arcane Dust value”.
It could be the case that you are new to Hearthstone but not to card games, so you have the experience and want to go competitive from scratch. In that case, I'll also be sharing how can you upgrade your decks to turn them into their best version.
Every Hearthstone Free Deck
Druid - Guff's Guidance
Ramp your mana with Nourish and Guff to set up for powerful minions to close the game out!
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Druid - Guff's Guidance Free Hearthstone Deck
- Play Style: Ramp towards your big payoff cards like Topior. Stabilize mid-game with Scales and Onyxia, and abuse Guff's 20 Mana maximum until your Sire Denathrius delivers lethal.
- Value: Good - 3 Legendaries (Wildheart Guff, Topior and Raid Boss Onyxia), and 6 Epics (Widowbloom Seedsman x2, Insatiable Devourer x2 and Spammy Arcanist x2)
- Warning: This deck contains several cards that are rotating to Wild in less than a month. Blizzard has not clarified if the list is outdated or not, but is the one they posted on their blog.
Should rotate into Wild in April
Hunter - Beasts of the Deep
Overwhelm your opponent with a combination of Wildseeds and big Beasts to create an unstoppable board!
Code: AAECAda+BQjhnwTHsgTAuQTnuQTp0ATE7QSX7wSk7wQQ6ukD9PYDxfsDw4AEqZ8E2KME4aQE5aQEwKwElrcEg8gEuOMEweMEzOQE0OQE4O0EAAA=
- Play Style: Midrange. Develop your early game minions while you set up your tempo swings with big beasts coming out cheap or even free.
- Value: Good - 3 Legendaries (Defense Attorney Nathanos, Sylvanas, The Accused and Hydralodon) and 6 Epic (Wild Spirits x2, Insatiable Devourer x2, School Teacher x2)
- Warning: This deck contains several cards that are rotating to Wild in less than a month. Blizzard has not clarified if the list is outdated or not, but is the one they posted on their blog.
Beasts from the Deep
Priest - Undying Shadows
Forsake healing in favor of Shadow magic and aggressive Undead minions. Resurrect your fallen Undead to fight again and close out the game!
Code: AAECAdG+BQS79wOjtgT5lgXipAUNoegD9PEDiPcDrfcDk/EE1PEEhoMFpJEFpZEF7pEFhpMFiZMF6pQFAAA=
Priest - Undying Shadow
- Play Style: Aggresive. Try to take control of the board early and use your Undead and Deathrattle synergies to make it impossible for your opponent to clear the board. Voidtouched Attendant can be played on turn 1 or saved to increase the damage from Shadowcloth Needle or Shadow Word: Undeath
- Value: Good - 3 Legendaries (Astalor Bloodsworn, High Cultist Basaleph and Darkbishop Benedictus) 6 Epics (Voidtouched Attendant x2, Haunting Nightmare x2 and Grave Digging x2)
- Warning: This deck contains several cards that are rotating to Wild in less than a month. Blizzard has not clarified if the list is outdated or not, but is the one they posted on their blog.
Rogue - Jackpot!
Generate random cards to try to hit the jackpot! Tess Greymane and Contraband Stash let you double down on powerful cards you get.
Code: AAECAd75AwbYtgTbuQTMoAXooAWLpAXipAUMvYAE9p8E958EuqQE7KcE+awEt7ME1bYE9d0Ekt8E+fEE36AFAAA=
- Play Style: Invent a game plan while you discover cards from other classes. Hard deck to master but incredibly fun given that every game is different.
- Value: Superb - 5 Legendaries (Shadow of Demise, Astalor Bloodsworn, Potionmaster Putricide, Queen Ashara and Crabatoa) and no Epics
- Warning: This deck contains several cards that are rotating to Wild in less than a month. Blizzard has not clarified if the list is outdated or not, but is the one they posted on their blog.
Free Jackpot Rogue Hearthstone Deck
Warlock - Impfused with Power- Free Hearthstone Deck
Swarm the board with Imps to power up your cards! Imp King Rafaam will resurrect and empower your Imps to close out the game.
Code: AAECAaPDAwSwkQTp0ASb5ASk7wQN1+0D9O0D//oDxYAEhKAE5qAE+dME+tME/9kEgNoEgdoEy+IEq+oEAAA=
Impfused with Power - Free Warlock Hearthstone Deck
- Play Style: Tempo. Dump Imp after Imp and infuse your cards in hand. Abuse Vile Library buffs and overwhelm your opponents with wave after wave of Demons. While Infuse synergies aren't super straightforward, this deck is ideal for newcomers and players who want to master Hearthstone fundamentals.
- Value: Low - 3 Legendaries (Dreadlich Tamsin, Imp King Raffam and Sylvanas, the Accused) and 2 Epics (Impending Catastrophe x2)
- Warning: This deck contains several cards that are rotating to Wild in less than a month. Blizzard has not clarified if the list is outdated or not, but is the one they posted on their blog.
Imp King Rafaam Warlock Legendary
Warrior - Embrace the Pain
No pain, no gain is the motto for this Warrior deck! Damage your own minions to empower them and overwhelm your opponent.
Code:
AAECAePjAwaLoATHsgSOyQSB3ASl5AS53QUMje0Dlu0DjKAE4aQEvNsE/9sEvuIEnO8EiYMFzZIFj5UFkaMFAAA=
- Play Style: Tempo. You need to be aware of self inflicting damage synergies. Order maters a lot in this deck, this will help mastering this skill.
- Value: Very Low - 3 Legendaries (Thori'belore, Decimator Olgra and Nellie, the Great Thresher) and 2 Epics (Sunfury Champion x2)
- Warning: This deck contains several cards that are rotating to Wild in less than a month. Blizzard has not clarified if the list is outdated or not, but is the one they posted on their blog.
Decimator Olgra Warrior Legendary
Embrace the Pain Warrior Deck
To sum up
Finally, time for conclusions. So after all this, which Free Hearthstone Deck should you choose? The answer is the one that fits your needs. Do you have a preferred playstyle? Are you new to the game and need to learn the basics? Are you returning and want to nourish your collection? Those are the questions that will lead you to your correct answer.
Also, remember that new cards impact the power balance of every deck, so make sure to recheck stats and power level of the decks at the time you are claiming them. Right now we can't speak much of how good these decks will be in the Festival of Legends expansion launching December 6. We are getting a new class and the metagame will change dramatically.
However, the six mentioned decks have proven to perform well in previous metagames. While this isn't an indicator of future power level, at least we have seen them shine. What's left to do is to analyse how the new cards can support these archetypes.
One last thing to mention, if you already have any of the cards included in the Hearthstone Free Deck of your choice, don’t worry, you are not losing value. You will get the Arcane Dust for the copies you already own.
If you found this esports.gg article useful, make sure you check our Hearthstone’s Guide section for more tips. See you next time in the tavern.
Filed Under
Manuel "Rane" Delgado
Editor | Twitter @RaneTDF
Manuel “Rane” Delgado is an experienced Hearthstone caster, content creator, and tournament organizer from Argentina. He started his career on Esports casting his own tournaments, now he currently casts the Hearthstone Esports circuit for the LATAM region, among other content creation and tournament organization.