Hearthstone fans everywhere are beginning the pick the game back up after the newest expansion, the Grand Tournament, added over 100 news cards to the playing field.
Since this is the perfect opportunity to update a stale meta with the same cards being used over and over again, many players are excited to have so many new deck options for both constructed and arena.
There are many new and powerful legendary minions that are worth noting, but there are many other rare, epic, and basic cards to take advantage of in the wake of the Grand Tournament, and these are all the ones that we feel are worth crafting:
Read: Hearthstone: Best Grand Tournament Legendaries
Hunter Cards to Craft
Ram Wrangler
In a world where Hunters are dominated by beasts, which isn’t changing any time soon, the Ram Wrangler card is going to be 5 mana for a 3/3 and another minion.
It’s a gamble, but chances are you’ll hit something higher than a 2/2, since there aren’t many beasts that are lower than that, which would make the card easily one of the best, Grand Tournament Hunter cards to craft.
King’s Elekk
A 3/2 beast for only 2 mana is already a pretty good deal, but with extra draw power King’s Elekk definitely makes this list.
King’s Elekk makes each player draw a card and if your card costs more mana you can draw it. Even if you don’t get to draw, a 3/2 beast is a fantastic card for early game, and if you hit another card then that’s even better.
Another reason this card is being played is a tactic called “scouting,” which lets you take a peek at your opponent’s cards to see what kind of deck he/she is playing.
Bear Trap
Bear Trap is a great card in the current meta because of the return of the mid-range Hunter decks. This card is a fantastic edition to the Hunter trap family because of the defense mechanism it contains against aggro and the value it brings to your Eaglehorn Bow.
Why just spawn a 3/3 taunt bear when you could spawn a 3/3 taunt bear and add another durability to your weapon?
Mage Cards to Craft
Coldarra Drake
The Grand Tournament expansion featured a lot of creatures and cards that allow the player to manipulate their hero power. The Coldarra Drake is another card that’s good on its own, but even better with the card text.
Using your hero power as many times as you want as a mage means that you can take out a whole army of aggro 1 health minions, or kill something bigger without having to use a card.
This card also pairs well with other hero power cards from the expansion like the Frost Giant (who costs 1 less per times you used your hero power) or Justicar Trueheart (replaces your hero power with a better one).
Rhonin
Rhonin has been featured in almost every Grand Tournament article because of the sheer power it brings to the Mage class. Spell-heavy decks are currently all the rage because of the ability to keep control.
Whether you’re shutting down your enemy’s minion spam or just rushing your opponent down and applying pressure, Rhonin will fit into any Mage deck with ease.
With a huge creature and a free Avenging Wrath, there isn’t much room to complain. Getting 3 Arcane Missiles paired with Flamewaker means devastating damage to your opponent. With all this in mind, it’s one of the best Grand Tournament cards in general, not to mention one of the best Mage cards to craft.
Effigy
Effigy is another great addition to the pool of Mage secrets because it allows your minions to “stick” to the board (a.k.a. not get killed or removed easily).
Piloted Shredder is used in many ranked decks currently because of this reason, since your opponent can likely not clear all of your minions. This card is just like the Piloted Shredder, but it’s even better because the minion is of the same cost.
Paladin Cards to Craft
Mysterious Challenger
The Mysterious Challenger is revolutionizing the entire Paladin class because the card value alone is worth playing with.
Even if you are only playing 2 secrets, it’s still a +2 which is a huge upswing. Plus with the addition of all the new Paladin secrets, this harmonizes perfectly and allows players to change the tide of the game in virtually one turn.
Murloc Knight
When Paladin hits inspire, he/she is already getting a 1/1 minion. With the Murloc Knight, you’re getting 2 minions and then hitting the Inspire will give you 3.
Paladin decks are currently all about tokens, meaning that you want as many extra minions on the board as you can so that you can buff them with other cards. The Murloc Knights fits this to a T, and not to mention the fact that there is potential to pull another Murloc Knight.
Competitive Spirit
With the Grand Tournament update came a whole new wave of Paladin secrets, and a whole new wave of Paladin players.
Competitive Spirit pairs perfectly with some of the other new Paladin cards, such as Muster for Battle, because at the start of your turn you’ll automatically buff all of your 1/1 tokens into minions of much greater value.
You can completely flood the board with small minions and subsequently turn them into big minions and that’s what makes this card so powerful, and one of the best Paladin cards in the Grand Tournament.
Priest Cards to Craft
Holy Champion
The reason that this card holds precedent over the other buffed Priest cards, such as Lightwarden, because of the fact that the effects are permanent.
It also fits well into the curve of the Prest cards because previously you were stuck with too many low or high minions.
The current Priest meta is all about aggro and removal, such as Holy Nova and Lightbomb, and combining Holy Champion and Northshire Cleric has the potential for greatness. As far as control goes, this card is definitely one of the best Grand Tournament Priest cards.
Wyrmrest Agent
The Grand Tournament brought a new deck to the table– Dragons. Dragon decks are very popular right now because of all the new Dragon cards that are so powerful.
A perfect defense against the annoying aggro decks, the Wyrmrest Agent can be thrown down early game in order to survive long enough to burn down the smaller minions or even to have some early game damage.
Shaman Cards to Craft
Totem Golem
This card is easily the strongest 2 drop in the game, and it plays well into the new cards that buff your totems (i.e. Thunder Bluff Valiant).
It establishes tempo in the early game and can force your opponent to make an unfavorable play in order to re-establish control.
Tuskarr Totemic
This card has huge upside potential because it could summon totems like Flame Tongue Totem, Mana Tide Totem, and the above Totem Golem.
As I mentioned previously, Shaman decks that have a focus around totem cards are incredibly powerful at the moment, and this is one card you shouldn’t pass up while crafting the deck.
Thunder Bluff Valiant
One thing to keep in mind with this card is that when you use your hero power to trigger the Inspire effect, the totem will spawn and then the Inspire will give it the +2 attack.
Like the Paladin secret decks, the Shaman totem decks are currently the most powerful option for the Shaman player, and this card is absolutely necessary to play it. Necessary for the totem deck, this card is one of the best to craft from the Grand Tournament expansion.
Druid Cards to Craft
Living Roots
Living Roots is fantastic card in the current meta because of the boost it applies to your curve at the beginning of the game. Most of the time Druid decks focus on wading through the early game and sealing the deal in the mid and late game.
This card, however, gives the Druid class a bit of an advantage against aggro decks because it can take out most of the smaller minions used in the early game like Knife Juggler and Haunted Creeper. Or you can use it to spawn 2 1/1 minions which you can then buff with Power of the Wild or use to clear your opponent’s early game advantage.
Either way it’s a win-win. The token Druid deck makes this card so powerful because of the extra spell power, making it easily the best Grand Tournament Druid card.
Darnassus Aspirant
One of the best Druid cards in the Grand Tournament expansion, Darnassus Aspirant differs from other cards by possessing both a Deathrattle and a Battlecry.
This card helps swing the Druid class into full force by giving players a temporary, mini-Innervate which you can also pair with the typical Wild Growth start. This way you can drop huge minions quicker and capitalize on the Druid’s tempo faster than ever.
It’s also important to note that a 2/3 for 2 mana in itself is great for the early game because it can safely take out smaller minions and prevent being overrun. Additionally, you can avoid the Deathrattle by silencing or bouncing the card.
Warrior Cards to Craft
Varian Wrynn
The main reason Varian Wrynn is so powerful, and some would even say one of the best cards in the Grand Tournament expansion, is because of the sheer card advantage.
Varian Wrynn fits into the control Warrior style or the dragon Warrior, both of which are very popular and equally as destructive. This card is mentioned in many of my Grand Tournement articles because of its sheer influence. Such a powerful card, Varian Wrynn is the best Grand Tournament Warrior card.
Bash
Bash is simple and pretty self-explanatory, it’s extra removal and it also gives you a nice armor boost. It should be used as a 1 for 1, meaning that you should use it only when you can kill something with it.
The added armor is nice because armor is generally more important on a warrior than health. The reason is because when a player take damage from a minion that would normally freeze him/her, they won’t be frozen if the attack only hits armor. This is important in Warrior decks because they almost always are centered around weapons.
Alexstrasza’s Champion
This card is exclusively played in the dragon Warrior decks, and it gives you the ability to have immediate board clear and control.
If you’re playing a dragon Warrior deck, this is a card you’ll want to craft.
Rogue Cards to Craft
Buccaneer
A staple in the aggressive Rogue deck that’s currently gaining momentum, the Buccaneer adds to the “face” element of the deck by basically just being another early game minion you can use to start the game strong with.
What’s great about this card is that the +1 attack to your weapon is permanent, so it will pair well with your hero power and your other weapon cards for maximum damage.
Warlock Cards to Craft
Dreadsteed
The Dreadsteed card is great because it’s another minion that “sticks” to the board, which means it’s hard to get rid of.
It allows you to combo with Power Overwhelming to clear larger minions and still have a big minion at the end of your turn. It also forces your opponent to use a silence in order to clear it successfully, which will eventually put them in a tight spot.
Other than the Dreadsteed, I wouldn’t consider any other Warlock cards to be worth crafting, therefore making it the best Grand Tournament Warlock card to craft.
Neutral Monsters to Craft
Chillmaw
For any dragon deck you’re playing, no matter the class, Chillmaw is a fantastic addition.
The Grand Tournament seems to be all about giant value cards, and this gives you the opportunity to clear an entire board and start fresh if you’re in a tight spot. It also gives you another AOE spell against aggro if you need it.
Twilight Guardian
This is another dragon card that is used with any class that’s using a dragon deck. Again, it’s a great card against an aggressive opponent because you can clear all the little minions without flinching, but it’s just a great card for tempo as well.
Justicar Trueheart
It’s safe to say that Justicar Trueheart is one of the most unique cards to hit the game yet because it changes the whole idea of the game.
His battlecry replaces your hero power with a “better” one, which generally just doubles the value of your hero power. This applies for the rest of the game, so it forces your opponent into an awkward position since you’re getting double the value of your hero power from then on.
Frost Giant
The Frost Giant becomes more valuable as the game goes on, which means it’s going to be a staple in most control decks.
Paired with all the other hero power cards that were recently released, the Frost Giant is a massive minion that, if played correctly, will be a huge turning point in the game for you.
The Ladder Climb begins!
Now that you’re ready to take on the ranked ladder with the Hearthstone class of your choice, prepare yourself for battle and charge onward to victory!
For more information about the Grand Tournament expansion, you can visit our GameSkinny landing page.
Click here for a list of our favorite Grand Tournament legendary cards, and here for a list of the top 15 legendaries post GT patch.
Published: Sep 2, 2015 04:16 pm