Fractured in Alterac Valley promises interesting things for Warrior, but I am uncertain whether those promises can be kept. The two main archetypes that are receiving support are Control Warrior (Iceblood Garrison, Frozen Buckler, Shield Shatter and Snowed In) and Taunt Warrior (Glory Chaser and Scrapsmith). There is also some potential support for combo in To the Front! and Captain Galvangar. Axe Berserker and Rokara, the Valorous complete the set in a more ambiguous manner.
While the set provides Warrior with multiple control tools, trying to win through outlasting the opponent is not part of today’s Hearthstone. Captain Galvangar hints at a possible finisher for a slower Warrior deck, although just how slow can you go in a world of OTK Quest Warlocks and Lifesteal OTK Demon Hunters is uncertain. If these defensive tools prove to be inadequate, Warrior might be in for a rough time, unless an unchanged version of today’s Quest Warrior remains strong enough to be competitive.
Galvangar Control Warrior
11,420
Let’s try to build a slow Warrior deck and see how far it can get. There are some sweet synergies with Frozen Buckler providing temporary armor that discounts Shield Shatter, makes for bigger Shield Slams, and enables easier swings with Outrider's Axe.
I remain a big believer in the Overlord Saurfang package for card draw and armor gain: Stonemaul Anchorman and Kresh, Lord of Turtling are still great cards for a slower deck.
But how does the deck win a game? You might be able to outlast some of the most aggressive decks, but you also need a finisher. Rattlegore has been disappointing as of late, it comes in so late and takes a lot of time to end the game. Troublemaker is a great card, but cannot end a game alone, it is more suitable as a curve-topper in a midrange deck. Together, they might be enough, but there are also other options.
In this one, I’m trying to go for Captain Galvangar, Battleground Battlemaster, Faceless Manipulator, and two copies of To the Front!, which can be combined to deal 36 points of Charge damage for 9 mana. You can also do a partial combo with Captain Galvangar, one of the other minions, and one copy of To the Front! for 18 Charge damage.
I also considered the good old Silas Darkmoon, Soulbound Ashtongue, and Shield Slam combo, but despite the additional armor gain cards, I am not convinced you can maintain the level of armor needed for a kill with that combo.
It should also be noted that Warrior now has a decent number of Frost spells. This may make Neutral Frost synergy cards like Herald of Lokholar and Snowblind Harpy playable for a more minion-based approach. I could not quite see how it would be superior to a more traditional control approach, but it is something to keep in mind. Another thing that I considered was Primordial Protector to tutor for Shield Shatter and summon some big minions. Ultimately, I considered it to be too slow, but it is fun to see that Warrior now has a ten-cost spell that can be taken advantage of in some cases.
Galvangar Quest Warrior
It is possible that the best version of Quest Warrior does not use anything from the new expansion. After all, there are no new Pirates coming, so nothing looks particularly compelling. Many lists use at least some control tools, so some of the new ones may see play instead of the old spells, but that is of minor importance.
What I’m more interested in is whether there is a way to add another finisher to the deck with Captain Galvangar. You will never want to replace Mr. Smite in Quest Warrior, so the only way for Galvangar to see play in the deck is to add it in addition to Mr. Smite. The problem with using Captain Galvangar is the armor requirement: you need to have gained 15 armor during the game to give it Charge.
In this list, I am trying to gain enough armor with Frozen Buckler, Cargo Guard, Rancor, and Rokara, the Valorous. For example, one Frozen Buckler, one turn of Cargo Guard, and one use of the Hero Power is enough to activate Captain Galvangar. This compares favourably to Heavy Plate, which does not line up nearly as well as Frozen Buckler for getting to 15 armor. Heavy Plate has other advantages though, including being Tradeable, so perhaps it would still be sufficient. While various calculations can be made, it will take some playtesting to determine the optimal mix.
Taunt Warrior
Taunt Warrior has rarely been playable, and it is hard to see how the archetype can return even with the new synergy cards Glory Chaser and Scrapsmith.
I tried to think about the speed at which Taunt Warrior should play in the current expansion. A slow grind seemed unsustainable, so I opted for handbuffs and a big tempo swing in the midgame as the main strategy.
In this attempt, I am trying to make good use of handbuffs with Conditioning (Rank 1) and Overlord Runthak while aiming to go for a huge tempo swing on turn six with To the Front! and a number of three-cost minions. Ideally, dropping a handbuffed Glory Chaser together with three Taunt minions on turn six will effectively end the game.
Stormpike Marshall can provide some additional defense against aggro and Rokara, the Valorous provides more punch to help the Taunt minions close out the game.
Rush Warrior
Rush Warrior is not getting any class-specific support, but there is one interesting Neutral card for the archetype: Ram Commander. Rush Warrior is all about those handbuffs, anyway, and adding more cheap Rush minions to hand is great for the deck. It already uses the 1/1 Rush minions from Bumper Car effectively with handbuffs, Parade Leader, and Playmaker. Now it will have even more options.
Rokara, the Valorous also feels at home in Rush Warrior. She can come in to help break through Taunts and end the game, and her weapon and Hero Power chip in damage over multiple turns if needed.
I have cut Troublemakers and Alexstrasza the Life-Binder from the deck to make room for this faster approach.
Big Warrior
- 0Provoke2
- 1Athletic Studies2
- 1Shield Slam2
- 2Corsair Cache1
- 2Frozen Buckler2
- 2Minefield2
- 3Bulwark of Azzinoth1
- 3Heavy Plate2
- 4Outrider’s Axe2
- 4Rancor2
- 5Brawl1
- 6Cowardly Grunt2
- 8Troublemaker2
- 9Rattlegore1
- 10Shield Shatter2
Speaking of control tools, there is one more Warrior archetype that can appreciate some good control tools: Big Warrior!
Big Warrior does not get any new playable minions, but the deck still has access to Mo'arg Forgefiends, if it needs more minions. The main choice when building a Big Warrior deck is whether to include the Forgefiends or go for Scrapyard Colossus. Colossus is generally better against minions, and Forgefiend is better against direct damage spells.
For this list, I have chosen to include Frozen Bucklers and Shield Shatters in an attempt to increase the survivability of the deck. These additional control tools might be just what Big Warrior needs to survive just a little longer to start dropping those big bombs on the board one after another.
Conclusions
The Warrior set is not obviously strong, but it includes several interesting cards. There is support for combos and tempo swings, there are control tools, and there are Taunt synergy minions.
Axe Berserker is the only new Warrior card that I really cannot figure out a use for. Warrior could really use some quality card draw, but card draw linked to an Honorable Kill does not seem reliable enough, and tutoring for weapons would need to happen early in the game to be effective. This is what the Warrior Quest is so good at, as it tutors that weapon in the first few turns. Axe Berserker just seems too unreliable.
What about you? Have you found or come up with any cool Warrior deck ideas? Have you found a use for Axe Berserker? Let me know in the comments!
Old Guardian
Ville "Old Guardian" Kilkku is a writer and video creator focused on analytic, educational Hearthstone, and building innovative Standard format decks. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/OldGuardian Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/old_guardian
Nice decks. Good (ann 1° scary) ideas! But like you say, Questline Warrior is a rough deck to beat. :/ I hope other Warrior decks find place. 😀
How’s a deck where the most expensive card is 7 mana, can be considered ‘control’ ?
It’s not about the mana curve but the playstyle. By this logic, Clown druid with tons of 7-8-9-10 mana cards should be a control deck, but we all know it is not.
Sorry Axe Berskerker is terrible