Hearthstone: Showdown in the Badlands - 10 decks to use on Day 1

It's time for another Hearthstone Standard year to come to a close. The Year of the Wolf will conclude with the game's latest expansion, Hearthstone: Showdown in the Badlands. It adds 145 cards across all 11 of the game's classes, which introduces some fascinating new keywords that shake up the game in some big ways.

As Showdown in the Badlands goes live, it's time once again to look at some decks from Hearthstone's most recognizable pros and streamers. Shacknews recently had a chance to play against some of these decks ourselves during last week's Hearthstone Theorycrafting day. We didn't quite get killed this time as much as recent expansions, but regardless of our results, we learned a lot. Here are some decks worth trying out on day one of this new expansion.

Thijs' Excavate Warlock

• 1x (1) Sir Finley, Sea Guide
• 2x (1) Smokestack
• 2x (2) Defile
• 2x (2) Drain Soul
• 2x (2) Kobold Miner
• 2x (2) Saloon Brewmaster
• 2x (2) Youthful Brewmaster
• 2x (3) Forge of Wills
• 2x (3) Mortal Eradication
• 2x (3) Reverberations
• 1x (3) Zola the Gorgon
• 2x (4) Imposing Anubisath
• 2x (4) Mo'arg Drillfist
• 2x (5) Burrow Buster
• 1x (5) Symphony of Sins
• 1x (6) Loken, Jailer of Yogg-Saron
• 1x (7) Tram Conductor Gerry
• 1x (9) Sargeras, the Destroyer

Deck ID

There are decks that are "unfair" and "broken," but nothing may be more busted than the new Excavate Warlock. Here's the win condition: Excavate multiple times using cards like Smokestack and Mo'arg Drillfist. Eventually, the Warlock player will pick up The Azerite Snake.

The Azerite Snake is flat-out evil. It steals 10 health from the opponent, meaning they can never heal it (because they technically aren't inflicting damage) and it makes Armor totals irrelevant. Unless the opponent deploys an effect that increases their hero's base health, this will kill in three plays. And while it's a Legendary treasure, the new Saloon Brewmaster ensures that it keeps coming back to the Warlock's hand.

Expect this to get nerfed fast, but in the meantime, enjoy it while it's out and get to Excavating.

Trump's Wishing Well Rogue

• 1x (0) Shadow of Demise
• 2x (0) Shadowstep
• 2x (1) Breakdance
• 2x (1) Gear Shift
• 1x (1) Ghostly Strike
• 2x (1) Gone Fishin'
• 2x (2) Dart Throw
• 2x (2) Greedy Partner
• 2x (2) Kaja'mite Creation
• 2x (2) Potion Belt
• 1x (2) Potionmaster Putricide
• 2x (2) Serrated Bone Spike
• 2x (3) Bounty Wrangler
• 1x (4) Drilly the Kid
• 1x (4) Sheriff Barrelbrim
• 1x (5) Queen Azshara
• 2x (5) Wishing Well
• 1x (6) Crabatoa
• 1x (7) Tess Greymane

Deck ID

This Rogue deck has the Mayor of Value Town's name all over it. Trump is the master of getting the most out of what's available, so use this deck to pack your hand with Coins and use them for the new Wishing Well minion.

As you can see by our own experience, the Wishing Well can pay some heavy dividends. Toss a Coin for your Wishing Well and win some games.

Roffle's Rainbow Excavate Death Knight

• 2x (1) Body Bagger
• 2x (1) Death Growl
• 2x (1) Fistful of Corpses
• 2x (2) Kobold Miner
• 2x (2) Pile of Bones
• 2x (3) Chillfallen Baron
• 2x (3) Corpse Farm
• 2x (3) Crop Rotation
• 2x (3) Reap What You Sow
• 1x (4) Maw and Paw
• 2x (4) Skeleton Crew
• 1x (4) Thassarian
• 2x (6) Gnome Muncher
• 2x (7) Harrowing Ox
• 1x (7) Patchwerk
• 1x (8) The Primus
• 1x (10) Climactic Necrotic Explosion
• 1x (20) Reska, the Pit Boss

Deck ID

Earlier, we discussed the new Excavate Warlock and how it's a killer in three plays on most classes. The Death Knight is not most classes, though. The Death Knight can ramp up its health with the new Maw and Paw legendary, but that isn't the only idea behind this deck.

A few expansions ago, the Death Knight got the Climactic Necrotic Explosion spell, which is capable of one-hit killing based on how many Corpses the Death Knight spends. That's the main win condition, but an alternate one involves new legendary Reska, the Pit Boss. Reska's cost lowers based on how many minions died, which is a pretty easy task with cards like Crop Rotation. Either way, the Death Knight has the tools to stay standing long enough to deploy its winning legendary spell and give the Excavate Warlock some fits.

Alliestrasza's Excavate Mage

• 2x (1) Arcane Wyrm
• 2x (1) Discovery of Magic
• 2x (1) Flame Geyser
• 2x (2) Cosmic Keyboard
• 2x (2) Cryopreservation
• 1x (2) Infinitize the Maxitude
• 2x (2) Kobold Miner
• 2x (2) Prismatic Elemental
• 2x (3) Molten Rune
• 1x (3) Prince Renethal
• 2x (3) Reverberations
• 2x (4) Cold Case
• 2x (4) Inquisitive Creation
• 2x (4) Reliquary Researcher
• 1x (4) Tae'thelan Bloodwatcher
• 2x (4) Volume Up
• 1x (5) Burrow Buster
• 2x (5) Star Power
• 2x (5) Wisdom of Norgannon
• 2x (6) Blastmage Miner
• 1x (6) Norgannon
• 1x (6) Sif
• 2x (7) Elemental Inspiration

Deck ID

Alliestrasza's Excavate Mage doesn't rely totally on the Excavate mechanic to win, but more to carry players through to their real victory condition, which involves using Sif and a slew of generated spells.

Of course, that's not to say that the Mage doesn't have plenty of good Excavation rewards. The Azerite Hawk will offer a 1-Cost Titan, which can sometimes be enough to turn the tide of any game. Plus, once you've Excavated twice, Reliquary Researcher can make the opponent sweat with a pair of Secrets.

RegisKillbin's Highlander Frog Shaman

• 1x (1) Cold Storage
• 1x (1) Shock Hopper
• 1x (1) Sir Finley, Sea Guide
• 1x (2) Amphibious Elixir
• 1x (2) Ancestral Knowledge
• 1x (2) Astalor Bloodsworn
• 1x (2) Cactus Cutter
• 1x (2) Dryscale Deputy
• 1x (2) Saloon Brewmaster
• 1x (3) Chill Vibes
• 1x (3) Dehydrate
• 1x (3) Feral Spirit
• 1x (3) Flint Firearm
• 1x (3) Ogre-Gang Outlaw
• 1x (3) Primordial Wave
• 1x (3) Thorim, Stormlord
• 1x (4) Ogre-Gang Rider
• 1x (4) School Teacher
• 1x (4) Sheriff Barrelbrim
• 1x (5) Altered Chord
• 1x (5) Command of Neptulon
• 1x (5) Doctor Holli'dae
• 1x (5) Ogre-Gang Ace
• 1x (5) Queen Azshara
• 1x (6) Golganneth, the Thunderer
• 2x (6) Kingpin Pud
• 1x (7) Giant Tumbleweed!!!
• 1x (7) Glugg the Gulper
• 1x (8) Reno, Lone Ranger
• 1x (9) Walking Mountain

Deck ID

Frogs don't sound impressive on paper, but as RegisKillbin learned, they can be daunting once they get bigger and bigger. The new Doctor Holli'dae legendary offers a new weapon with a whopping 9 durability. It deploys a Frog with Taunt every time the Shaman player attacks and the Frogs get perpetually bigger. That means the Frogs can go all the way up to 9/9.

Shaman also has enough tools to get through the late game thanks to the new Reno, Lone Ranger and Walking Mountain. That makes Shaman one of the better classes to wield a Highlander deck.

Brian Kibler's Taunt Warrior

• 2x (2) Annoy-o-Tron
• 1x (1) Astalor Bloodsworn
• 2x (2) Frightened Flunky
• 2x (2) Remixed Tuning Fork
• 1x (2) Unlucky Powderman
• 2x (2) Whelp Wrangler
• 1x (3) Asvedon, the Grandshield
• 2x (3) Battlepickaxe
• 2x (3) Bronze Gatekeeper
• 2x (4) Azerite Chain Gang
• 2x (4) Dread Corsair
• 1x (4) Grimtotem Buzzkill
• 2x (5) Detonation Juggernaut
• 1x (5) Drum Soloist
• 1x (5) Magatha, Bane of Music
• 1x (5) Zilliax
• 1x (6) Armagedillo
• 2x (6) Blast Tortoise
• 2x (7) Abyssal Bassist

Deck ID

The Warrior is going back to his old tricks of building massive walls. This deck from Brian Kibler uses numerous Taunt minions, spells and minions that generate Taunt minions, and also effects that buff those minions.

New minions like Detonation Juggernaut and Unlucky Powderman are especially good for powering up minions in both the Warrior's hand and deck. If the Warrior starts to get low on life, the buffed-up Zilliax will fix that right up. Wish the opponent luck, because they'll need a lot of removal spells to get these big boys out of the way.

Clark HELLSCREAM's Highlander Demon Hunter

• 1x (1) Crimson Sigil Runner
• 1x (1) Miracle Salesman
• 1x (1) Sir Finley, Sea Guide
• 1x (1) Taste of Chaos
• 1x (2) Astalor Bloodsworn
• 1x (2) Bartend-O-Bot
• 1x (2) Predation
• 1x (2) Saloon Brewmaster
• 1x (2) Spectral Sight
• 1x (2) Watcher of the Sun
• 1x (2) Wayward Sage
• 1x (3) Eye Beam
• 1x (3) Flint Firearm
• 1x (3) Ogre-Gang Outlaw
• 1x (3) Photographer Fizzle
• 1x (3) Rush the Stage
• 1x (3) Snake Eyes
• 1x (3) Weight of the World
• 1x (3) Zola the Gorgon
• 1x (4) Blademaster Okani
• 1x (4) Ignis, the Eternal Flame
• 1x (4) Ogre-Gang Rider
• 1x (4) Pozzik, Audio Engineer
• 1x (5) Gunslinger Kurtrus
• 1x (5) Ogre-Gang Ace
• 1x (6) Kingpin Pud
• 1x (6) Midnight Wolf
• 1x (7) Argus, the Emerald Star
• 1x (7) Xhilag of the Abyss
• 1x (8) Reno, Lone Ranger

Deck ID

Clark HELLSCREAM's new Demon Hunter uses some of the expansion's best new mechanics, but the MVP is once again Saloon Brewmaster. Your main hitters are going to be Gunslinger Kurtrus and Kingpin Pud, but be ready to deploy them more than once thanks to Saloon Brewmaster and Zola the Gorgon.

There's room for improvement with this one (only one Forge card is here to activate Ignis), but it still looks like a lot of fun, especially once you start throwing down cards like Reno.

Judge's Spirit Paladin

• 1x (1) Flight of the Bronze
• 1x (1) Righteous Protector
• 1x (1) Sanguine Soldier
• 1x (1) Sinful Sous Chef
• 1x (2) Argent Protector
• 1x (2) Blood Matriarch Liadrin
• 1x (2) Class Action Lawyer
• 1x (2) Equality
• 1x (2) Feast and Famine
• 1x (2) For Quel'Thalas!
• 1x (2) Hi Ho Silverwing
• 1x (2) Kotori Lightblade
• 1x (2) Lay Down the Law
• 1x (2) Showdown!
• 1x (3) Consecration
• 1x (3) Deputization Aura
• 1x (3) Holy Cowboy
• 1x (3) Muckborn Servant
• 1x (3) Spirit of the Badlands
• 1x (4) Jitterbug
• 1x (4) Keeper's Strength
• 1x (5) Lawful Longarm
• 1x (6) Horn of the Windlord
• 1x (6) The Badlands Bandits
• 1x (6) The Purator
• 1x (7) Prismatic Beam
• 1x (7) The Countess
• 1x (7) The Leviathan
• 1x (10) Lightray
• 1x (10) Living Horizon

Deck ID

Judge somehow managed to put together a deck that fits the Highlander and the Pure Paladin archetypes. That means you can run wild with cards like the new Spirit of the Badlands and some old favorites like The Countess and The Purator.

This does mean you'll be running without Reno, but there should be enough to work with here that you won't need him. That'll especially prove true if you're able to get Spirit of the Badlands out early.

Funki Monki's Handbuff Hunter

• 2x (1) Awakening Tremors
• 2x (1) Bunch of Bananas
• 2x (1) Thornmantle Musician
• 2x (1) Trinket Tracker
• 2x (2) Bunny Stomper
• 2x (2) Messenger Buzzard
• 2x (2) Selective Breeder
• 1x (2) Ten Gallon Hat
• 2x (3) Bovine Skeleton
• 2x (3) Harpoon Gun
• 2x (4) Twisted Frostwing
• 1x (4) Yelling Yodeler
• 2x (5) Cattle Rustler
• 1x (5) Spurfang
• 1x (6) Aggramar, the Avenger
• 1x (6) Defense Attorney Nathanos
• 1x (6) Hollow Hound
• 1x (6) Hope of Qual'Thalas
• 1x (7) Hydralodon

Deck ID

The Hunter is getting some big handbuff tools for this expansion. While it's tempting to go big with something like King Krush, Funki Monki is keeping things small. The Bovine Skeleton should be more than enough to keep the Hunter on the attack. It simply needs a single Attack buff to keep it coming back again and again.

If your Cattle Rustlers go down, all is not lost. Cards like Defense Attorney Nathanos can bring them back for another round.

Ozzie's Highlander Dragon Druid

• 1x (1) Cactus Construct
• 1x (1) Mistake
• 1x (1) Planted Evidence
• 1x (2) Amalgam of the Deep
• 1x (2) Astalor Bloodsworn
• 1x (2) Dew Process
• 1x (2) Dragon Tales
• 1x (2) Dryscale Deputy
• 1x (2) Rake
• 1x (2) Saloon Brewmaster
• 1x (2) Splish-Splash Whelp
• 1x (2) Whelp Wrangler
• 1x (3) Amber Whelp
• 1x (3) Flint Firearm
• 1x (3) Gattlesnake
• 1x (3) Starlight Whelp
• 1x (3) Take to the Skies
• 1x (4) Desert Nestmatron
• 1x (4) Mechagnome Guide
• 1x (4) Sheriff Barrelbrim
• 1x (4) Spinetail Drake
• 1x (4) Time-Lost Protodrake
• 1x (5) Azure Drake
• 1x (5) Nourish
• 1x (6) Sunspot Dragon
• 1x (7) Dragon Golem
• 1x (8) Concert Promo-Drake
• 1x (8) Reno, Lone Ranger
• 1x (8) Rheastrasza
• 1x (9) Fye, the Setting Sun

Deck ID

Full disclosure: You'll probably find better Dragon Druid decks out there, but I'm using this one here because it was good for my highest winrate across my time with the Theorycrafting session. New cards like Splish-Splash Whelp can complement Nourish to help the Druid player ramp up fast.

That can help pave the way for the Rheastrasza play that can carry players the rest of the way. Even the biggest Dragons like Ysera can come relatively cheap with Rheastrasza's effect. Pick up whatever Dragon helps your situation, whether it's a board-clearing Deathwing or the new Fye, the Setting Sun that can grant a quick Lifesteal pick-me-up.

Those are just some of the decks that you're welcome to use on day one of Hearthstone: Showdown in the Badlands. What are you planning to use? Join the conversation and give us your best decks in the comments.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?