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The Last Hurrah of Highlander Decks in Standard Format – The Best Highlander Decks in March 2021

By: Old Guardian - - Updated:

Well, this is it. With the next Standard rotation that is at most mere weeks away, Zephrys the Great, Dragonqueen Alexstrasza, Reno the Relicologist, Dinotamer Brann, Elise the Enlightened, and Sir Finley of the Sands are rotating out of Standard format, leaving the format with no support for Highlander decks. As a result, Highlander decks will not be played in Standard until Blizzard chooses to create more support cards for the archetype.

Highlander decks – named after the 1986 film Highlander, where the motto of the fighting immortals is “There can be only one” – have been an interesting experiment in Hearthstone. The decks contain no duplicates: they consist of single copies of all cards, not only Legendary cards. This goes against all conventional deck-building rules that emphasize consistency. Instead, Highlander decks embrace variety and use cards that can accomplish the tasks in similar, yet different, ways.

This approach has only been viable because of huge payoff cards that require your deck to be built under these rules. Without these payoff cards, a Highlander deck is just a weaker version of a regular deck. Therefore, as all the payoff cards are now rotating out of Standard, there will be no reason to play Highlander decks in Standard anymore.

This is not the first time this has happened! Highlander decks were first introduced to the game in November 2015 with the original Reno Jackson in the League of Explorers adventure and the second batch of Highlander cards arrived in December 2016 with Mean Streets of Gadgetzan that introduced Kazakus, Raza the Chained, Inkmaster Solia, and Krul the Unshackled to the game. After Mean Streets of Gadgetzan rotated out of Standard format in April 2018, Highlander decks disappeared from Hearthstone until their reintroduction in August 2019 when Saviors of Uldum arrived with our current set of Highlander synergy cards (with Dragonqueen Alexstrasza added in Descent of Dragons in December 2019).

Therefore, while Highlander decks are now rotating out of Standard, it seems likely that Blizzard will reintroduce them again later. They have received support in four expansions over the period of multiple years, so they are one of the most consistent recurring themes in the game.

For now, however, it is time to say goodbye to Highlander decks, and what would be a better way to do so than play some of them now that they’re still here? Let’s take a look at the best Highlander decks you can play in Standard right now!

#7: Highlander Warrior

Highlander Warrior – #128 Legend (Faeli) – Darkmoon Faire

Deck Import

Warrior is a class that can make just about anything work. There are many viable Warrior archetypes: with Enrage, Silas OTK, ETC OTK, Bomb, Pirates, and who knows what else to choose from, why would you want to play Highlander Warrior?

To be honest, there is no rational reason to play this deck. However, I scoured through all the data I could find on Highlander decks in an attempt to find potential candidates that can hit a 50% win rate right now. That’s not enough to climb with, but it should be enough to avoid feeling too bad about losing all the time. Some decks, like Highlander Rogue, just cannot get there at the moment. Warrior, on the other hand, is just so strong that it almost always works, even without having any class Highlander cards of its own!

The deck has Zephrys the Great and Dragonqueen Alexstrasza, Warrior has defensive tools for days so even with singletons there are plenty of ways to clear boards, and there’s even N'Zoth, God of the Deep for some fun Taunt boards in the late game. You can do better with almost any other Warrior deck, but Warrior can make Highlander work too, even if just barely.

#6: Highlander Demon Hunter

Highlander Demon Hunter – #192 Legend (nejiboston) – Darkmoon Faire

Deck Import

Highlander Demon Hunter is the weakest viable Demon Hunter deck. Aggro, Soul, and Lifesteal OTK all outperform it, but it is hovering right around that magic 50% line where a deck becomes playable for fun.

Demon Hunter does not have any Highlander synergy cards of its own, but Zephrys the Great and Dragonqueen Alexstrasza bring some strength to the deck. Other than that, it is a Y'Shaarj, The Defiler deck that makes use of Corrupt cards, including Demon Hunter’s own Insatiable Felhound.

Highlander Demon Hunter is just about the only deck where you can play with some of the class’s biggest hitters, like Hulking Overfiend and Nethrandamus, before they rotate out of Standard. Sometimes, you can even make a copy of your Zephrys the Great with Zai, the Incredible, even though I generally found Zai to be perhaps the weakest card in the deck.

There are some fun things this deck can do, and it is playable for fun.

#5: Highlander Paladin

Highlander Paladin

Deck Import

Highlander Paladin had its 15 minutes of fame right before the Darkmoon Races mini-set and the rise of Ramp Paladin. Ramp Paladin has been nerfed, but Darkmoon Races changed the meta and Highlander Paladin is not quite as good anymore. Despite Pure Paladin and Broom Paladin performing better on the ladder, Highlander Paladin is a deck that you can actually climb with, albeit slowly, as it has reliably reached a win rate that is a sliver above 50%.

The deck exerts steady midrange pressure with a few tricks up its sleeve thanks to Zephrys the Great and Lord Barov. There is more to Paladin than just Librams, and in a deck that is not focused on those, the good Paladin midrange cards get a chance to shine, and that makes Highlander Paladin different from the other Paladin decks on the ladder.

#4: Highlander Druid

Highlander Druid – Early #1 Legend (levik) – Darkmoon Races

Deck Import

There are a lot of Highlander Druid lists around, many of them boasting about that coveted #1 Legend rank. Do not be fooled though, Highlander Druid is not a top-tier deck by any means and it is weaker than the other Druid decks, Token Druid and Guardian Druid.

The deck is not completely hopeless though, and it can reliably reach a win rate that is above 50%, so you can use it to climb. When you hit one of those games where Elise the Enlightened makes a copy of your Zephrys the Great or some one-cost Dragons from Dragonqueen Alexstrasza, the deck can even feel strong.

All the strongest versions of the deck include Yogg-Saron, Master of Fate, as it is one of the few tools in Druid’s toolkit that enables you to come back from near-hopeless situations.

If you can find your Breath of Dreams, Wild Growth, or Overgrowth early in the game, the ramp from those can whisk you off towards victory.

#3: Highlander Priest

Highlander Priest – #1 Legend (NoHandsGamer) – Darkmoon Races

Deck Import

Highlander Priest is the strongest Priest deck in the game. It is also pretty much the only competitive Priest deck in the game at the moment, sitting comfortably in tier two, just behind all the top decks. While Priest currently does not have their own Highlander synergy cards in Standard format, the power spike from Zephrys the Great and Dragonqueen Alexstrasza help Priest find some win conditions from their otherwise lackluster arsenal. Priest also has some Dragon synergy cards, which makes Dragonqueen Alexstrasza even better for the class.

#2: Highlander Hunter

Highlander Hunter – #86 Legend (HattriK) – Darkmoon Races

Deck Import

Highlander Hunter has been at the top or near the top for more than a year now. It has not budged since Saviors of Uldum, and that is quite an achievement. The Standard rotation of 2020 did nothing to the archetype, so it has the honor of being one of the few archetypes that survive a rotation intact. The rotation of 2021, however, will prove to be fatal because all the Highlander synergy cards are now leaving.

If you are not yet bored of Highlander Hunter after all this time, now is a good time to bid farewell to this old friend. Petting Zoo, Rinling's Rifle, and Trampling Rhino have brought some new nuances to the deck during Darkmoon Faire, but by and large it is still the same reliable performer.

#1: Highlander Mage

Highlander Mage – #65 Legend (lowseeker) – Darkmoon Races

Deck Import

The fight for the number one spot, the mightiest Highlander deck in Standard format at the moment, is a close one. Highlander Hunter and Highlander Mage both have a good claim to the throne, but I would rate the Mage deck slightly better right now. Either way, both are excellent options to take to the ladder.

In its final months, Mage has fully embraced its Secret synergies with Sayge, Seer of Darkmoon and Inconspicuous Rider benefitting from an enlarged Secret package. The addition of Counterspell as a main-deck secret in Highlander Mage forces the opponents to play even more carefully when Mage has active Secrets.

When the rotation comes, this Mage deck will fade into memory not only because it loses its Highlander synergy cards, but also because it will lose its Dragon synergies (Kalecgos, Malygos, Aspect of Magic) and it will lose the phenomenal The Amazing Reno. A Control Mage that resembles this deck cannot rise from the rubble because all the pieces will be gone.

Sadly, now is not a good time to craft the pieces for this deck, but if you have the cards, it is an excellent time to play with it before it’s gone.

A look at the Wild side

If you like Highlander decks, all is not over. There’s always Wild format! Currently, the two most common Highlander decks in Wild are Priest and Warlock.

Reno Priest – #1 Legend (Nowayh) – Wild S83

Deck Import

Remember machine gun Priest? It is alive and well in Wild, with Raza the Chained making your Hero Power free and then Shadowreaper Anduin going pew-pew all over the place. Bonus points for Reno Jackson and Kazakus, and the hilarious amounts of damage you can dish out with a Spawn of Shadows turn as long as you have the Health to survive it yourself.

Reno Warlock – Early #5 Legend (ksr) – Wild S84

Deck Import

My favorite Highlander deck in Wild is Renolock. It’s just an unstoppable force of Zephrys the Great and Kazakus being used multiple times thanks to Brann Bronzebeard and Zola the Gorgon with a bunch of big Demons thrown in the mix, cheated out with Voidcaller and brought back with N'Zoth, The Corruptor and Bloodreaver Gul'dan. There is just so much Hearthstone to be played with this deck!

You have a little more time to play Highlander decks in Standard, and they may come back again later if some support cards are printed. Even after they leave, you can still play the archetype in Wild!

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

Check out Old Guardian on Twitter or on their Website!

Leave a Reply

7 Comments

  1. HearthAttakk
    March 15, 2021 at 6:53 pm

    I wouldn’t be so sure that we are saying goodbye to highlander decks. The first card to be revealed is an image showing the belt of Kazakus. As you mentioned in this post, Kazakus was a part of the second batch of highlander cards that came a year after league of explorers.

    The timeline kind of matches and I can see the classes that did not get their own highlander card be rewarded with one and the classes that didn’t get galakrond will have a similar type of hero card or hero cards of their own to help give them an edge. Just my guess.

  2. Phoesias
    March 15, 2021 at 11:52 am

    Besides Tickatus Warlock just because of Tickatus, Priest is definitely THE best Highlander Class imho.

  3. CountrClockwrk
    March 14, 2021 at 4:07 pm

    No Highlander Rogue? Sadness.

  4. X15d
    March 14, 2021 at 8:29 am

    it’s too early to say we won’t see highlander decks in standard anymore since the new expansion cards haven’t been announced yet, for all we know it’s going to have the most op highlander cards.

  5. Junehearth
    March 13, 2021 at 7:44 pm

    There is no skill involved in playing highlander decks. Zephrys is a very annoying card to play against.