Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
If you’re wondering what the best Hearthstone decks are for climbing, testing new cards, or just having fun with the expansion — woohoo, you’re in the right place.
Power level clearly went down after the Into the Emerald Dream launch. Some cards that looked broken are just okay, and the decks that are dominating right now? Most of them feel strong, but not “broken.” You’ve got some familiar stuff coming back (Location Warlock, Nebula Shaman), some newer ideas that actually work (Leech DK, Zerg Egg Hunter), and of course, Armor DH doing Armor DH things.
This article goes over all the decks you’re seeing on ladder right now — the good ones, the annoying ones, and the “wait, how can this work?” ones. Let’s go!
Location Warlock
When Forge of Wills rotated with the 2025 Standard set changes, most people wrote Location Warlock off as dead. And yet, it’s dominating the metagame and many pros are calling it the deck to beat at Top Legend right now. Even matchups that look tough on paper (like Nebula Shaman or Armor DH) are surprisingly winnable if you make the right tech choices.
Why is that? Scrapbooking Student and Rotheart Dryad are doing some heavy lifting here, consistently dropping free Giants without asking too much in return. Plus, you’ve got some room for tech slots, the core is slim and efficient, and even if opponents try to counter with cards that destroy Locations, it often doesn’t matter. Until a balance patch hits (with Seaside Giant likely on the Team 5’s radar), this archetype is a safe craft.
What’s refreshing is that Location Warlock doesn’t feel broken. It’s strong, sure, but not in an “OP” way, which probably means that as soon as more powerful cards come into the format with the next Hearthstone expansion, Location Warlock will simply disappear from the meta.
Nebula Shaman
You know how every meta has that one deck that shuts down meme builds and forces people to play real decks? Nebula Shaman is that deck right now. It’s not new (we saw it during The Great Dark Beyond meta), but with the power level of Into the Emerald Dream taking a noticeable drop, this archetype suddenly feels much stronger. And yes, Murmur is doing a lot of heavy lifting – so much, in fact, that many expect it to eat a nerf soon.
Spamming Nebulas into chains of eight-drops by turn six isn’t exactly everyone’s idea of interactive gameplay. But, well, it works. Nebula Shaman absolutely dumpsters decks that were built to target Demon Hunter, and makes it one of the more reliable options to grind Hearthstone ranked mode with.
Since the deck hasn’t picked up many new cards, it’s also one of the better budget options for the expansion. Just don’t get too attached — if Demon Hunter drops off and Murmur gets nerfed, this deck could fall to Tier 3/4 real quick.
Armor Demon Hunter
If you’ve read our Into the Emerald Dream predictions, you probably saw this one coming. Armor Demon Hunter is doing exactly what everyone expected: controlling the board, playing big minions, and stacking absurd amounts of armor. It’s no surprise that this deck has consistently been part of the conversation when it comes to the best Hearthstone decks in the early days of the expansion.
What’s tricky, though, is that Armor DH isn’t just a linear “gain armor and chill” list. Sure, it punishes any deck that can’t keep up, but it actually requires solid decision-making — especially when it comes to timing your Starship launches. Misjudge that tempo and suddenly your opponent’s board of Giants is still standing while you’re out of answers.
That said, it’s still everywhere from Diamond 5 to Legend, with a play rate hovering near 20%, and it remains a solid ladder choice if you’re not facing too many Hunter decks.
Speaking of which…
Discover Hunter
Discover Hunter is one of those decks that doesn’t really look like a top-tier list — but right now, it just works. It plays cheap Locations, makes solid trades, and uses the Seaside Giants to swing the game out of nowhere. And yeah, the Giants are kind of ridiculous at the moment; post-rotation, there’s just not enough removal to answer them properly, so they end up carrying games on their own.
This version of Hunter doesn’t have any crazy synergies or highroll moments, but that’s exactly why it’s so consistent. You get board presence, value, and tempo, and that’s honestly enough with the current power level. Some players are not sure if Ceaseless or Kerrigan fit this list, but yeah, these cards don’t make or break the deck anyway.
Definitely one of the best Hearthstone decks across the ladder, and a safe pick if you want to win without overcomplicating things.
Zerg Egg Hunter
Finally, something fresh. Zerg Egg Hunter is one of the few real “new” decks from Into the Emerald Dream, and it’s all about tempo — cheap eggs, Amphibian Spirit, and Terrorscale to pop them early and push fast. It started picking up traction on the last day of the season, and right now it’s farming greedy decks left and right.
At the time of writing, this is the second-best deck at Top Legend, with crazy stats into stuff like Nebula Shaman (over 60% win rate in some lineups). But don’t let that fool you — it’s not a safe craft. The matchup spread is super polarized, and it folds pretty hard to Location Warlock, which is everywhere.
Still, if you like aggro and want to try something new from the expansion, Zerg Egg Hunter might be your go-to.
Leech Death Knight
Here’s another “new” deck from Into the Emerald Dream, although let’s be real — most people already saw this one coming during the Pre-Release Brawl and Theorycrafting streams. Leech Death Knight, or Succ DK if you’re feeling spicy, is one of the more flexible archetypes out there right now. There are so many variants floating around that we just included all of them.
The version with Starships seems to be the best-performing at the moment, but regardless of the package, the core is clear: Hideous Husk is carrying this archetype like crazy. It steals health through armor, plays around healing, and basically punishes any deck that doesn’t kill you fast enough. Oh, and it does all of that consistently.
The only reason Leech DK isn’t dominating right now is because it struggles into Location Warlock and Armor Demon Hunter, which just so happen to be the most popular decks on the ladder. But against anything else? This list farms.
Unless a nerf hits or the meta shifts hard, I’d expect Leech DK to stick around — especially if Death Knight keeps getting strong, Blood Rune support tools. And who knows, the Menagerie variant might end up being more than just a bonus. We’ll keep an eye on it.
Food Fight Warrior
This one’s a bit of a mess… Food Fight Warrior (sometimes mixed with Dragons or Terran cards) is one of those extreme mana cheat decks that can just end games by turn five. It’s also a natural counter to Armor Demon Hunter thanks to that three-cost Deathrattle payoff.
There are a few versions of this deck floating around. The Terran Warrior variant looks promising too, with Yamato Cannon and Bulwark of Azzinoth being perfect answers to all the Seaside Giants running around. If the meta continues to be all about big minion spams, this might quietly become one of the best Hearthstone decks post-patch.
Also, shoutout to that weird MrYagut list that hit early Rank 1 Legend. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure about it either, but after playing a few games… yeah, there’s something there. Between Food Fight disrupting DH res chains and Clutch of Corruption dealing absurd face damage or generating value, it can go off hard if you pilot it well. Not an easy deck, but one worth testing if you like Warrior and want something that just feels different to play.
That’s it for the best Hearthstone decks that are actually winning games in Into the Emerald Dream. Expect some nerfs soon (Seaside Giant, Murmur, ADC — we’re looking at you), but until then, these are your safest crafts and spiciest picks.
And if you’re done grinding ladder and want something chill to read, check out Jason’s article on the 10 Most Wanted Cards from Pokémon Journey Together. Spoiler: Lillie’s Clefairy is even more toxic than Nebula Shaman.
