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The Dragon Warrior deck might be one of the answers to the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan meta, learn more about it with our Dragon Warrior Deck Guide!
Dragon Warrior is a strong and sometimes top tier deck for Hearthstone standard. Tempo Warrior became popular early in the Whispers of the Old Gods meta, but not too long after Dragon Warrior took over its spot. The deck is not control based, but is more Midrange-Tempo which requires you to be proactive and play more aggressively.
Update – Dragon Warrior in March 2017, Season 36
Dragon Warrior got a bump due to the nerfs to Small-Time Buccaneer and Spirit Claws. The deck isn’t as fast as it was before, but it can deal with aggressive deck, and it can pressure control decks.
Deck list is based off of Reddit user novemberpapa’s version of the deck.
Check out our List of the Best Standard Decks for Hearthstone Ladder
Dragon Warrior Mulligan Guide and Strategy
Always throw back Patches the Pirate, you want to get him for free.
N'Zoth's First Mate, Southsea Deckhand, Sir Finley Mrrgglton, Alexstrasza's Champion, and Fiery War Axe are your general mulligans. If you have a lower cost Dragon with Alexstrasza’s Champion then you can consider keeping it to enable it. However, your main focus is Fiery War Axe in just about every matchup, it is one of the best turn 2 plays in the game and will keep the initiative on your side of the board. Ravaging Ghoul or Fierce Monkey are potential keeps against Pirate Warrior if you have a 1 or 2-drop or you are on The Coin.
Always look for a good curve, you can keep a 3-drop if you have a 1 and 2-drop.
What Hero Power do I Choose with Sir Finley Mrrgglton?
In most decks that run Sir Finley the answer at the top is Warlock. It’s the best Hero Power in the game, and generates card draw where decks like this one lack it. Against aggressive decks, however, you might actually prefer something a bit more defensive like Druid or Mage. Hunter is solid for pressing damage, and this deck wants to be aggressive. Druid can buff your weapons, and Mage can sometimes work as a way to finish off minions without using your own.
Dragon Warrior Matchup Win Percentages
Here’s a look at how Dragon Warrior stacks up against other decks in the meta. Thanks to Metastats for allowing us to provide these statistics!
Winrate stats are currently unavailable for this deck at the moment!
Dragon Warrior Play Strategy
There are a lot of 1-drops in this deck, so you are hoping to start playing minions early. N’Zoth’s First Mate with Small-Time Buccaneer is very solid in the early game. Frothing Berserker does not need to be kept for combo turns, so playing it on a turn 3 is perfectly reasonable. This is especially the case when you have a Fiery War Axe to clear or can follow it up with Twilight Guardian that will protect it the turn afterwards.
Being a Tempo deck you are wanting to play minions while removing your opponents, this is why Alexstrasza's Champion (w/Dragon) and Kor'kron Elite can do a lot of work with the charge ability. One of the key things with this deck is being able to manage how you output your Dragons. Whether or not you will be able to activate something like Blackwing Corruptor in the following turns will determine whether or not you should play a Dragon. The best way to do this is to consider what deck your opponent is playing and determine their next potential plays and how you can deal with them.
This is not a face deck, so your Weapons should be used to clear minions and take lethal if given the opportunity. You will want to be careful of weapon removal like Acidic Swamp Ooze due to all the Aggro Pirate Warrior and Aggro Shaman on the ladder. Most Control decks are running Ooze or Harrison Jones.
The deck curves nicely into strong minions that can allow you to continue to maintain the board and deal damage. It runs The Curator which allows you to replenish your hand in the later game. The deck doesn’t really have a traditional finisher, it uses minions and weapons to control and bash down your opponent into submission. Drakonid Crusher is effectively your finisher, because your opponent has likely been using removal to try to keep your board clear, but will be hard pressed to remove a 9/9 at that point.
Dragon Warrior Card Replacements and Substitutions
- The Curator – A very solid card that allows you to draw in the late game and is one of the best draws when you are top decking. You can try Malkorok or Grommash Hellscream if you don’t have The Curator, a Grimy Gadgeteer or Arathi Weaponsmith are also good.
- Sir Finley Mrrgglton – This is a pretty powerful card because Warrior’s Hero Power doesn’t synergize that well with this deck. Faerie Dragon is a decent option in its place.
- Fierce Monkey – If you don’t have LOE then you can try a Arathi Weaponsmith or Grimy Gadgeteer. You are really looking for a 3-drop because the deck has a lot of 4s and 5s, so Blackwing Technician might also be a good option.
- Deathwing – I wouldn’t craft it if you don’t have it, but it can be a nice way to steal games when you’ve run out of resources. Any of the above options are worth pursuing, Malkorok or Grommash Hellscream can be a nice addition.
Dragon Warrior Combos and Synergies
Be very aware of when you need to hold onto a Dragon to enable stuff like Blackwing Corruptor because he’s very important removal in this deck.
Replaced
– deathwing with ysera.
– 1 drakonid crusher with Leeroy Jenkins
– 1 fierce monkey with 1 grimyou gadgeteer
Worked perfectly!
using this version,kicking asses!
Which rank are you? I’m bloked rank 3 for now and I try to be Legend.
i kept drakonid and cut curator for don cho and deathwing for leeroy
. This Buffhand dragon pirate kick asses
I did these swaps: (since I don’t have the means to put them in the deck)
– 2x Slam + 2x Fairy Dragon
– Grommash + 5\2 Weapon
– Deathwing + Ysera
I honestly think Bearnuggets list should be the featured list here. It’s a lot better.
You’re right, I updated the guide.
reached rank 5 in last day of S33 with this deck
-1 blood to ichor
+1 arcanite reaper
tnx for deck.
Hi Evident,
Which list was this guide based on before update 2 (where the blood to ichors were added)?
I’ve been playing (with much success) the previous list for a little while now and I’ve been asked which one it was… unfortunately I have no idea… other than “whatever this guide” used to say!
thanks in advance…
This based on the most recent list, but it could use some updating. I’ll fix it soon, thanks!
Thanks for getting back to me!
But… ah… misunderstanding?
Was aware this was the most recent list – and I think there’s nothing to fix.
I was asking what the list was *prior* to this one. Was it also Zalae’s (but just an earlier version of it), or someone else’s previously?
Am asking because I’m running the list-that-was before update 2 above and I got asked about it…
Thanks again!
Ohhh, the list before was this one: https://twitter.com/F2K_Cipher/status/805513501322133508
Ah HA! Cipher’s list! Nice one – thanks!
replacement for curator
I’ve seen Bloodsail Cultist in some lists.
This deck is amazing! I didn’t have Patches (weirdly enough, I got two in my first ten packs, and I dusted them both), so I replaced him with Alextrasia, but I imagine Ysera would be great, too. I won six of my seven games, most in under 7 turns. The Curator is a must if you go more than 7 turns, refilling your hand and giving you Sir Findlay and Fierce monkey, if you haven’t played them already. Usually you can get your opponent under 15 health by then and finish them off with a Drakonid crusher. Fun deck. Thanks!
I had to remove a Blood To Ichor and Tech in a brawl. It has worked so far when i fall behind on board but of course feels too slow and sometimes is just a dead card. I know you have to be aggressive with this deck but sometimes the board gets flooded with taunts. Any suggestions on play style or a different tech?
I wouldn’t play Brawl, like you mentioned it’s a dead card a lot of the time. This deck is all about tempo, so you really have to play for the board aggressively. You don’t really have removal other than your minions so you have to play towards utilizing stuff like Blackwing Corruptor and Ragnaros for removing taunts.
I don’t have Twilight Guardian because of that I replaced it with Bloodhoof Brave…Same mana cost, same health and same attack also have +3 enrage..You can enrage it with your Blood To Ichor. What do you think?
That’s a pretty good idea actually, I mean I would only worry you are lacking enough Dragon synergies.
Hi, I was wondering if anyone could tell me the point of blood to Ichor? I subbed them both out for Malkorok and Alexstraza for my tough matchups with Reno decks and Control Priest.
Please and thank you,
It helps bring down minions while increasing your board presence. A lot of the time you’ll find yourself one damage short from finishing off something, so Blood to Ichor allows you to do that while developing a minion of your own. It’s also good at removing Divine Shields.
Ok, thank you so much for the reply Evident . Would you happen to know the best deck for these Reno decks and Dragon Priest? I Appreciate any help I can get!
Well the best deck against Reno and Dragon Priest is Miracle Rogue.
Blood to Ichor is one of the highest tempo cards in the game when used correctly and in this meta tempo is VERY important + you get a lot of opportunities to use it. 1 mana 2/2 minion that deals 1 damage would be insane and played in every faster deck.
Sure, making your deck more end game heavy is a good option against slow decks, but it will make you much more vulnerable to Aggro, while Blood to Ichor is amazing in those fast matchups.
Best thing about dragon decks, never draw a dragon and die lol
Is there anything to replace twilight guardian and blood to ichor?
Just started playing and i dont rly invest 1600 dust. Could craft a legendary instead :/
I’d say you could possibly live without Blood to Ichor, but Twilight Guardian is too important. Maybe Slam or Ravaging Ghoul for Blood to Ichor.
If you can afford it, deathwing over ichor. Can really pull out a win sometimes! Craft the twillight guardian, you need all the dragons. The deck is very good in the meta. Only feels really weak vs dragonpriests. unless you draw the “nuts”
No point crafting Twilight Guardian he is out of game in 2 weeks, standard rotations…
The Standard rotation doesn’t happen until the next expansion is released. Read more here: http://www.hearthstonetopdecks.com/guides/hearthstone-standard-rotation-schedule-guide/
I dont like curator i feel like its too slow to play a 7 mana 4/6 and thoughts on a replacement? Maybe grom or malkorok?
Malkarok yeah
Hi Evident! How does this deck stack up against reno decks such as renolock and priest. I’ve been struggling to find a deck to climb up the ranks and my most common matchup by-far is renolock.
It should be good, it puts a lot of pressure on Renolock in the early game but has stronger minions that are hard to deal with in the late game.
what changes for patches? I currently don’t have it so is their an alternative
You could just add a Blood to Ichor.
Can this list get updated, i do not see Grommash or Blood to Ichor at all
That’s because Grommash and Blood to Ichor aren’t in this version of the deck. Blood to Ichor might be added back based on a list I just saw, but Grommash might be too slow for this deck.
Is there room for an acidic swamp ooze in this deck (the new pirate/warrior deck version)? With all this wep in the meta going on, it seems logical. Just not sure what I could replace in this deck for it. Thoughts community/author?
also, is Cipher using Rag in this deck now?
I think you could cut the Grimy Gadgeteer or a Faerie Dragon for it.
I threw a Swamp Ooze in my deck and it’s saved my butt more than once…usually against Pally weapons. Plus, the minion is a decent value on its own and cheap.
I just want to add because it’s not in the mulligan section that you never keep patches. Always toss him back, if you have to pay his mana cost it feels really bad.
Hi Evident, why are they playing the new Warrior 4 drop, Grimy Gadgeteer? I replaced the card with 1 x Ooze…
It’s a heavy minion based deck, so it’s going to find value the majority of the time. I think it’s been cut for the most part, however, I’ll probably be updating this deck/guide soon.
im replace patches the prite to upgrade .. its works well
There’s a problem with this deck. i think it needs brawl for board clear, like seriously nowadays there are hunter deathrattles with Savannah Highmane and Shaman midrange filling the whole board with freakaing totems and Sh*ts. I lost few games because i cant clear the board when theres too much enemys. Deathwing is the board clear but the mana cost is too high and at the same time you lose all your cards so that sucks, its good when the enemy has no cards and you put down deathwing but i dont think there will be a situation like that so common
I dont have deathwing and grommish. For gromish i added gorehowl. Its 1 mana cheaper and you also have charge. For deathwing i added a brawl. Especially gorehowl won me several games already. What do you guys think of brawl?
I’ve lost a few where Brawl would have been huge. But it’s hard to add w/o losing something else important. I did drop both crushers for historians though as that lets me have another cheap drop and then pick 2 dragons that may fit better against the deck I’m facing. Of course that stresses me if I struggle to get a dragon in hand since I have 2 fewer… choices choices!
What can i replace with grommash and deathwing
Nefarian or Ysera and throw in a Slam.
Edit: You could also add Book Wyrm or Blackwing Technician.
thanks <3
This is my favorite version of this deck. It keeps N’zoth’s First Mate which is amazing against Aggro/Midrange Shaman and Zoo locks. It has fairly strong defenses to keep you in the game against aggro decks, but it’s also aggressive enough to topple control/midrange decks before they can fight back.
Curator fills in the gaps nicely, and I cannot tell you how many games I’ve won with Blood to Ichor combo’d with Grommash.
The deck in this state really feels perfect to me . . .and even though some people think dragon warrior isn’t as good as it used to be . . . I feel this deck can be taken to the top fairly easily. Not only that, just a few card switches can have you keeping up with the meta extremely well. Sometimes I’ll trade out a faerie dragon for an ooze if I am facing too many doomhammer shamans.
Anyway, love this version of the deck.
I actually have found sylvanas very good to secure mid game, maybe try it instead of n’zoths first mate I beilieve. And yes, I have tried it with grommash and rag in the deck too. They are just very different cards.
I think it is going to be better with 1x Frothing Berserker and 1x Book Wyrm and adding second Ravaging ghoul instead of 1x Nzoth First Mate… Thoughts?
I replaced one Draconid Crusher (too slow) with Netherspite Historian for more flexibility. It works very well.
Wow, this is deck is super-strong! Really loving how solid it is and the relatively low curve it has. A refreshing take on Warrior for sure. 😀
Hi, for this deck all im missing is the Grom, is there any card i can use to replace him?
Second Ravaging Ghoul or something like Onyxia if you have it.
I go with nefarian because I don’t have grom too. It is also good because of the card draw late game.
Why no ysera/alex/late game dragons for control matchups?
This deck is more midrange/tempo, it’s not looking for slower cards like Ysera or Alex.
I’m missing Grom and a second Twilight Guardian.
I put in Onyxia but I don’t know what else. anybdy care to help?
Btw can anybody explain to me why the first mate is in this Deck?
Go with a second Ravaging Ghoul. First Mate is in the deck to help finish off minions, you’ll have a lot of situations where things are at one health because of Ravaging Ghoul, and it works well with Blood to Ichor.
Cheers Mate
Replacement for Twilight Guardian? And Grommash Hellscream? Don’t think I want to invest that much dust into this deck- but is it worth it?
There’s no replacement for Twilight Guardian, but you could maybe get away with something like Ragnaros for Grom. This deck is top tier and is worth it if you want to play one of the best decks.
i dont have malkorok. how i can remplace it?
N’Zoth’s First Mate and if you have Karazhan you could maybe try The Curator.
Between Malkorok and Grom who would you craft?
Grom, it fits in multiple Warrior decks and won’t rotate out of Standard.
What do you think about cutting 1 slam and adding onyxia?
Might not be bad.
Why not run Ysera instead of Deathwing? I have deathwing and played it in this deck a lot. But I found a lot of times that I never used him. So I looked to replace him with another high dragon, I tried Alex for awhile but another card you dont really need in this deck, it comes in handy for Reno.. but that doesnt happen often. SO I tried Ysera.. and she works pretty damn good. I play her late game, her power is great… you can get great cards, dragons, clears… I think its a better option.. no?
It could be, I haven’t tried it yet. Deathwing does have a tendency to sit in your hand.
Ysera is way too slow for this deck. 9 mana for no immediate effect is not that good for a deck like this. A lot of this deck is about pressuring your opponent, and Ysera doesn’t provide immediate pressure. Additionally, Deathwing is best played on a full enemy board, whereas Ysera is best played on an empty enemy board. If your opponent’s board is empty, then you are going to want to play cards like Drakonid Crusher that are a huge immediate threat that needs to be dealt with, or Ragnaros, or maybe a few smaller minions and that will apply great pressure on the opponent. If youre against control classes a lot, Ysera may be a pretty decent card though, because she will help you by giving you stuff to use better than Deathwing.
What do you think about -Slam +Fierce Monkey?What are the pros-cons?
This deck can be starved for card draw so Slam is pretty important to generating that. Fierce Monkey can be nice against some early aggro, I generally like Slam more.
Is there a reasonable replacement for grommash? i recently got ysera, is she worth adding?
Ysera’s too slow, I’d go with second Faerie Dragon or N’Zoth’s First Mate.
this isnt midrange this is a aggro deck
If it’s anything it’s Tempo. Ragnaros and Deathwing aren’t in aggro decks.
Hey I really want to try out this deck, I’m pretty new to the game so I was wondering which cards I should get first?
It really depends on what you’re missing.
Everything Besides the basics and frothing beserker
That’s tough to say, I would try working on the Whispers of the Old Gods cards (Ravaging Ghoul, Blood to Ichor) and try for the Azure Drakes if you don’t have those. Basically, get everything you can get that won’t be transitioning out of the set next year first.
What are your thoughts about;
– Deathwing (don’t have)
+ Alexstrasza (could provide vital damage if it gets to that point and dragon synergy)
– Malkorok (don’t have)
+ Gorehowl (no board presence like Malkorok, but can easily switch to face if need and is consistent)
Sounds okay, I think Gorehowl might not be that great though.
I swapped out Malkorok and put in Gorehowl. I think it is working out fairly well, especially with the extra face dmg it provides. Going 25-7 so far arounf rank 3.
I replaced Deathwing with Deathwing: dragonlord LUL
If I have the dust, is it worth crafting Death Wing? I’ve been playing Warrior exclusively to get 500 wins. I’m at 412 now.
I don’t have Chillmaw or Ysera either. On the flip side, I haven’t seen other decks I’m interested in playing that include these cards.
Bottom line: not sure what my next legendary to draft should be. I have most of the staples (i.e. Ragnaros, Sylvana, Harrison). I also have all four Old Gods because I was lucky.
Not a lot of decks run him, do you have Malkorok? I would craft him before I crafted Deathwing. The one positive about Deathwing is that he won’t rotate out of Standard, so he could be used anytime in the future. I would probably wait to craft anything until after the full Karazhan set comes out.
I do have Malkorok. I’ll take your advice and wait. It certainly can’t hurt. Thanks as always, Evident for your advice.
No problem!
Think deathwing is worth a craft if ur a fan of warrior because I think he will see more play in CW next year as a lot of the cards are rotating out, and even now it’s seeing some play in some CW decks.
I have Deathwing, Dragonlord and don’t have dust for regular Deathwing. Is it possible to play the Dragonlord instead ?
I don’t think so, the card doesn’t do a lot when it hits the board. I’d try the second Faerie Dragon or N’Zoth’s First Mate.
Replacements for Malkorok ?
First Mate or Faerie Dragon.
-Malkorok +Harrison Jones ?
Seems fine.
Replacements for Deathwing?
N’Zoth’s First Mate.
Thoughts on -1 Kor’kron / +1 Inner Rage? It can be quite a flexible card, and I would consider it the ultimate Grommash activator. It’s useful to deal 1 damage to an enemy minion as a removal option, or mainly as a free buff to your own minions in times of need… especially allowing you to hit that 12 damage with Grommash on turn 8, in case you opt for a more aggressive style of play.
I also have -1 Slam / +1 N’Zoth’s First Mate, any advice on whether thats a good tech? Kinda helps in aggro/zoo matchups and the weapon can synergise with Druid hero power from Finley making another hero power option kinda viable.
Ooops, just realised N’Zoth’s First Mate is well recommended… no edit button 🙁
without a Deathwing, I’ve gone and tried Chillmaw
I’m thinking about taking out a Drakonid for Swamp ooze, thoughts?
Seems okay.