Wildfest is here! Until March 11th, all Hearthstone Arena drafts will include cards rotated into the Wild. This limited-time event has a massive impact on the Arena format with several classes regaining access to several powerful tools.
Best Hearthstone Wild Arena Classes
If you’re not sure which class to pick during the Wildfest Arena event, this article can help! Here, we list all classes in order of their strength in the Wild Arena. This list of best Wild Arena Classes is broken into three distinct tiers. Classes in the higher tiers, in general, tend to have more success than those in lower tiers. Players looking to maximize the number of wins in each of their Arena runs should select higher tier classes when possible.
Class strength was determined by a combination of the power of cards that were introduced during the Wild Arena event along with win rate (courtesy of HSReplay.net) in the Arena format during the event.
Along with a summary of their general strategy, a list of several key, Wild-exclusive cards is provided. These cards are all high-value picks for their corresponding classes with high pick rates and corresponding win rates, along with being highly rated on reputable Arena Tier Lists.
Likewise, at the end of the guide, a list of the best Wild Arena Neutral cards is provided. The strength of some of these cards is dependent upon the class you’re playing, but they would all be solid selections in your next draft.
Hearthstone Tier 1 Wild Arena Classes
In Wild Arena, Paladin, Warlock, and Mage all standout above the remaining six classes. If you’re looking to rack up wins in the Wild Arena, any of these three classes would be a good choice.
Paladin
Wild Arena Paladin Summary
For a time, Paladin was a dominant force in the Hearthstone Arena metagame. Early-game tools from Goblins vs. Gnomes gave Uther the ability to get ahead on board and maintain the lead into the late game. Shielded Minibots and Muster for Battles are memorable, high-value cards that can get you a massive lead.
In Arena, value trades are critical to snowballing minion pressure. Divine Shield buffs from Coghammer and Seal of Champions provide the ability to trade up without losing any minions.
Once ahead on the board, Murloc Knight can produce threats turn after turn, without the cost of additional cards from hand. This insane value generator can lock out the game if opponents are lacking mass removal.
Should Paladins somehow get behind on board, Enter the Coliseum can nearly reset the game with a single card.
Overall, the powerful Wild-exclusive cards for Paladin allow Uther to regain his throne in the Wild Hearthstone Arena.
Wild Arena Best Paladin Cards
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Epic
Warlock
Wild Arena Warlock Summary
Warlock, thanks to Life Tap, is always a reasonable choice in Arena. However, thanks to the return of some old favorite cards, the class gets a massive boost with the introduction of Wild cards.
Dark Bargain offers powerful removal, albeit with some potential downside. Still, the Tempo gain from the Spell is often worth the Discards.
Imp-losion, rivaled perhaps only by Crackle in its ability to frustrate players, can swing the board as early as turn 4, giving Warlocks a formidable recovery tool. Similarly, given all of the potent Demons and synergies available to Gul’dan, Demonwrath can offer a one-sided board clear to continue mounting pressure.
Speaking of Demons, Voidcaller and Imp Gang Boss both return to old form. The former offers massive Tempo gains (who doesn’t like cheating out Voidlords early?) while the latter creates a problematic minion for opponents to clear on turn three. Of course, there’s always the most Demon of all in Mal'Ganis, should you be fortunate enough to be offered this Legendary.
Wild Arena Best Warlock Cards
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Mage
Wild Arena Mage Summary
Long-regarded as the best class in Arena, Mage is still a powerful choice with the inclusion of Wild cards. Though not quite on the same level as Paladin in terms of Wild-exclusive cards, Jaina does regain access to both potent Tempo cards and incredible value generators.
Flamecannon and Unstable Portal can both generate enough Tempo to give Mage players a critical early lead in the game. Likewise, Flamewaker becomes even more valuable with the increase in Spell offering rate introduced after the Blackrock Mountain minion rotated into the Wild.
In terms of value, it’s hard to top Ethereal Conjurer. While the 6/3 body is a bit fragile, it can trade up when ahead and can Discover potent Spells from the numerous available to Mage.
Single-target minion removal is often a big part of Mage’s gameplan in Arena. Flame Lance and Polymorph: Boar both offer relatively inexpensive options for clearing large minions on the opposite side of the board.
In general, Mage gains several powerful options in Wild Arena and, coupled with its already potent Arena toolkit, remains one of the strongest classes in the format.
Wild Arena Best Mage Cards
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Hearthstone Tier 2 Wild Arena Classes
The Tier 2 Wild Arena Classes are Rogue, Priest, Druid, and Shaman. While not quite as dominant as their Tier 1 peers, these heroes are all solid choices in the Wild Arena.
Rogue
Wild Arena Rogue Summary
Rogue remains in the top-half of the Arena Class Tier List with the inclusion of Wild cards. While the cards Valeera regains, overall, aren’t quite on par with some of her counterparts, this stealthy hero is still a good choice for the Wildfest event.
Above all others, Dark Iron Skulker is the strongest card reintroduced in Wildfest. The ability to Backstab an entire board while developing a body results in an unrivaled board swing for Rogues.
Unearthed Raptor and Shady Dealer both offer solid, on-curve bodies with potential upside on turn three. Similarly, Buccaneer dramatically improves the turn two dagger up play that is frequent in Rogue.
Pit Snake, despite being weak to hero power pings, can remove the most massive of threats. Should this 1-drop snake not survive a turn, Rogue still has the ability to Sabotage opponents to manage single-minion board states.
Wild Arena Best Rogue Cards
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Epic
Priest
Wild Arena Priest Summary
Priest, a top dog in the Kobolds and Catacombs Arena meta, is still a solid class during the Wild Arena event. Anduin gains even more tools to slowly grind out opponents but also has a slightly better early game from rotated cards.
Much to the dismay of opponents, Entomb joins an already deep bench of single-target removal that Priest has access to. Additionally, Excavated Evil and Lightbomb further bolsters Anduin’s numerous mass removal options to punish players bold enough to overextend against Priest.
Landing a Velen's Chosen on a minion in the early game is occasionally enough to win the game on turn three. Likewise, an unchecked Holy Champion can quickly turn into a legitimate win condition.
Now outshined by Kabal Talonpriest, Dark Cultist still offers a strong vanilla body with a powerful effect.
Wild Arena Best Priest Cards
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Druid
Wild Arena Druid Summary
Regaining numerous powerful Beasts isn’t quite enough to make Malfurion one of the top heroes in the format, but it’s still far beyond the bottom tier.
Raven Idol and Living Roots give Druid flexible tools for the early turns. Both of these spells help Druids adapt to the unique situations that often come up in the Hearthstone Arena.
Likewise, a full stable of rotated Beasts makes it possible to snowball a board lead. Mounted Raptor offers a sticky minion beneficial in fighting for board while Savage Combatant turns hero powers into potent removal.
Wild Arena Best Druid Cards
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Shaman
Wild Arena Shaman Summary
Rounding out the mid-tier classes for the Wildfest Arena event is Shaman. An assortment of useful weapons, minions, and spells make it possible to reach above average wins with Thrall, but he’s still not quite as consistent as other heroes.
Anyone who played constructed Hearthstone in 2016, however, remembers the Tunnel Trogg into Totem Golem curve all too well. This powerful opener can help carry Shaman, a class historically reliant on board presence, in Arena.
Before there was a 4-mana 7/7, a (sometimes) 4-mana 7/6 terrorized the Arena in Fireguard Destroyer. Even if you low-roll the attack, you’re getting a solid body on turn four.
Finally, Powermace and Charged Hammer add to the pool of weapons available in Shaman to help gain (or maintain) a lead on board.
Wild Arena Best Shaman Cards
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Legendary
Hearthstone Tier 3 Wild Arena Classes
At the bottom of the Wild Arena Tier List are Hunter and Warrior. Both of these classes have a significantly lower win rate than any of the classes listed above. While it’s certainly still possible to do well with these classes, wins will be much harder to come by with both Rexxar and Garrosh.
Hunter
Wild Arena Hunter Summary
While things, in general, don’t look great for Hunter in Arena, the class is capable of building explosive decks that can catch opponents by surprise. If you end up picking Rexxar as your hero, just remember that face is once again the place.
Helping Hunter live out the SMOrc dreams are additional early-game Beasts in Webspinner and King's Elekk. Both provide reasonable curve plays and can help keep your hand full going into the mid-game turns. At this point, Glaivezooka and Quick Shot can protect your precious minions or provide additional burst to close out games.
If it’s value you seek, look not further than Explorer's Hat and Ball of Spiders. The former, while weak to Silence, has an immediate, potent impact on the board. On the other hand, Ball of Spiders doesn’t do much to develop threats, but gives Hunter some much-needed hand refill.
Wild Arena Best Hunter Cards
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Warrior
Wild Arena Warrior Summary
It’s probably no surprise for Arena veterans to see Garrosh once again lagging behind. Despite the inclusion of several strong cards, it’s hard for Warriors to overcome a Hero Power that has next to no impact on the game.
The good news is that, for a class highly-dependent on weapons, Death's Bite and King's Defender both make their return to Warrior drafts. Likewise, Bash and Crush give Warrior strong removal options the class is often severely lacking.
In the late-game, Obsidian Destroyer provides a nearly unrivaled late-game threat, while Varian Wrynn can throw a lot of stats on board for 10 mana.
Wild Arena Best Warrior Cards
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Hearthstone Wild Arena Best Neutral Cards
What’s Arena without strong Neutral minions? Some old favorites return to the Arena to help increase the overall power-level of the format. While, due to the new Arena rules, Neutral minions are offered less frequently than in the past, all of these cards are strong additions to your next Wild Arena draft.
Naxxramas and Goblins vs. Gnomes provided all classes with some crazy powerful Deathrattle minions that have a persistent impact on the board state. Likewise, Battlecry minions from Wild sets can offer massive board swings. Bomb Lobber and North Sea Kraken both have the potential to remove enemy minions while developing your own.
While, in general, Inspire was a poorly received mechanic from The Grand Tournament, Kodorider can churn out 3.5 mana-worth of stats at the cost of a hero power.
Finally, any of the Legendary minions frequently associated with the Wild format, Ragnaros the Firelord, Sylvanas Windrunner, and Dr. Boom, are all All-Stars in the Wild Arena format.
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Obviously, the variance in Arena drafts makes it possible to build a viable deck (or not) with any Hearthstone class. But for those of you venturing out into the Wild Arena, this guide should give you a good start in evaluate both classes in the format and cards from rotated sets. Good luck and happy drafting!
Is it just me, or is Zombie Chow listed twice?
Fixed, thanks!
there is an obsidian statue (priest card) in the warrior category
Fixed, was supposed to be Obsidian Destroyer! Thanks!
Nice catch. Apparently, I couldn’t get Big Priest out of my mind when writing this.