United in Stormwind has been the most difficult expansion Warrior has ever faced. Initially, the class was all but dead. Control Warrior faded out of the meta, Rush Warrior tried to desperately hang on to a 50% win rate, and the new Questline did very little.
However, after a couple of balance patches, we have now seen a resurgence of Warrior decks on the ladder. Warrior does not currently have any absolutely top-tier decks, but the class has multiple archetypes that are able to breach the magic 50% win rate figure. Warrior is even played in top Legend when specific counters are needed, especially whenever armor is an asset.
In this article, I take a look at the best Warrior decks in the game at the moment.
Big Warrior
7,120- 0Provoke2
- 1Athletic Studies2
- 1Sword and Board2
- 2Bladestorm2
- 2Corsair Cache1
- 2Minefield2
- 3Bulwark of Azzinoth1
- 3Heavy Plate2
- 4Outrider’s Axe2
- 4Rancor2
- 5Brawl2
- 6Cowardly Grunt2
- 8Troublemaker2
- 9Rattlegore1
- 3Coerce1
- 7Commencement2
- 10Scrapyard Colossus2
The best Warrior deck at the moment is a control deck! With the balance patches slowing the game down by a turn or two, Big Warrior saw its opportunity and grabbed it with Cowardly Grunt and Commencement. The only thing holding Big Warrior away from the top is its abysmal Quest Mage matchup: Big Warrior is now just fast enough to contest aggro decks, has enough armor to escape some of Rogue’s combo lines, and has enough big threats to fight against midrange decks on an even footing.
The best-performing lists at the moment run four or five big threats: Rattlegore, two copies of Troublemaker, and one or two copies of Scrapyard Colossus. I prefer a list with five threats for increased consistency and insurance against bad draws.
Notably, Barricade sees no play in the archetype despite having been designed specifically for this deck. A pair of 2/4 minions for four mana just does not do enough in the current meta, so you’re better off just running more removal instead of them.
Questline Warrior
The most popular Warrior deck is the aggressive version of Questline Warrior. With the recent buffs, Bloodsail Deckhand, Stormwind Freebooter, and Stonemaul Anchorman all received +1 Health. Warrior’s Questline has some more support and you have an easier time fighting for the board while you’re completing it.
With this variant, you have a better time against Quest Mages, as you have plenty of tools to keep pressuring them, but the matchup is still only roughly even. You spend some of your resources to complete the Questline and cannot fully mimic a real aggro deck. Aggro Druid, Quest Warlock, and Paladins can cause you trouble, but overall this is a fine deck that is a bit more aggressive right from the start and then has infinite threats after completing the Questline. There are also some defensive tools to help you complete your Questline and stay alive after completing it.
Questline Control Warrior
- 1Bloodsail Deckhand2
- 1Raid the Docks1
- 1Shiver Their Timbers!2
- 1Stage Dive2
- 1Sword and Board2
- 2Bladestorm2
- 2Harbor Scamp2
- 3Cargo Guard2
- 3Heavy Plate2
- 3Stormwind Freebooter2
- 4Kargath Bladefist1
- 4Outrider’s Axe1
- 4Rancor2
- 4Sword Eater1
- 5Stonemaul Anchorman2
- 6Kresh, Lord of Turtling1
- 7Overlord Saurfang1
- 9Rattlegore1
In addition to the more arr-heavy variant of Questline Warrior, there is also a control variant of the archetype. With this variant, you are less likely to apply good pressure early on, but you have access to more removal tools. You complete the Questline a little slower, but can defend against a variety of threats and have excellent tools to keep the opponent out of the game once the Questline starts pumping out threats for you every turn.
Your slower speed means that Quest Mages and Quest Warlocks are a problem again, but you are a little stronger than the aggressive version against aggro decks.
Control Warrior
Even classic Control Warrior has returned to the meta! However, this archetype should only be considered with some major caveats. If you meet a lot of Garrote Rogues, Aggro Druids, and Face Hunters, Control Warrior can farm them like no tomorrow. This is why you occasionally see top-Legend Control Warrior lists shared on social media and also on this site: they are targeting specific matchups that are abundant in their pocket meta.
The current Control Warrior – without the Questline – is a highly polarized deck that has a fair number of 75-25 matchups, but can also be as weak as 15-85 against some top contenders, like Quest Mage. Therefore, this archetype should be used with great care. Big Warrior is far stronger in the general meta, and Questline Control Warrior is also clearly more balanced right now.
Tempo Warrior
Tempo Warrior is the opposite of Control Warrior. It is a great deck for farming Mages, and it can hit other spell-heavy decks where it hurts. However, when it meets midrange decks and Aggro Druids, it can struggle a lot. Overall, this deck type is unable to reach a 50% win rate on the ladder. It is a precision tool that can be used when you know that the meta is just right for it.
Rush Warrior
The good old Rush Warrior is a rare sight on the ladder nowadays. I took it out for a spin and had a great time. I had a play Dragons daily to complete, and there are not a lot of Dragons around elsewhere, but this one has Tent Trashers and Alexstrasza the Life-Binder. The meta has slowed down just enough that I was actually able to play Alexstrasza in my games! That simply did not happen early in United in Stormwind, as the games were all over before there was an opportunity to play a nine-mana card.
Warrior: Now Playable
The meta has now had a couple of weeks to develop after the big balance patch, and Warrior decks look like they are here to stay. Warrior did not become a top-tier class all of a sudden, but it became playable. What’s more, there are many Warrior archetypes around. Each Warrior deck has its own strengths and weaknesses, so you can find a deck for just about any situation from Warrior’s current repertoire.
Big Warrior is a steady performer. Its worst matchup is Quest Mage, which is already popular and unlikely to find a way to become an even bigger part of the meta. Therefore, there is little risk of Big Warrior crumbling in this meta. It is my #1 choice to play as a Warrior.
Questline Warrior, Questline Control Warrior, and Rush Warrior are all playable decks, but with some more weaknesses than Big Warrior. Statistics are telling me that Questline Warrior is the #2 Warrior deck, followed by Questline Control Warrior at #3, and Rush Warrior at #4. I took them all out to the ladder for some testing, and my results were the exact opposite. However, I do not have a personal sample of thousands of games. All of them are decent decks anyway.
Finally, old-school Control Warrior and Tempo Warrior are precision tools that can dominate specific matchups. I would not use either of them in the general ladder, but some top-Legend players have had success with both when they have been able to correctly predict their pocket meta.
United in Stormwind continues to be the fastest Hearthstone meta, but it has slowed down enough to make Warrior decks viable. While armoring up is not a viable strategy in this meta, you can get a bit of that old control feel from some of the current Warrior decks. The rest of them are midrange decks, and midrange returned to the game big time with the latest balance patch.
I hope you will have fun on the ladder with Warrior!
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
While I do love the return of Warrior, it comes with the gutting of some interesting/unique cards like the Demon Seed.
I’ve said this countless times, if they just reworked infinite fatigue damage mechanic to not count as a win condition to Warlock instead of raising the cost of quest, Warrior or other Control deck can still see play.
And with this, you can judge how little they cared about the future of the game.
Anyway, my love for the game keeps getting thin as the year goes. It won’t be a surprised to me if I abandon the game for a better upcoming card game released by their former devs.
Second Dinner, please don’t messes up. I’m counting on you Ben Brode.
can’t believe i didn’t realize that you had a youtube and a twitch until now. looking forward to enjoying your content in more mediums.
Isn’t the Frenzy Rush 4/6 pirate not good enough in Rush warrior anymore?