Wondering what are the best cards in Arena for your next run?
Alongside Hearthstone’s newest mini-set, Maw and Disorder, comes a shake-up in the Arena metagame. Even with the inclusion of weaker expansions such as Blackrock Mountain, there are still some standout cards that shine above the rest in the current Arena card pool. Without further ado, here are the top 25 cards for Hearthstone’s current Arena season.
25. Taelan Fordring (Neutral)
This is not what we stood for!
A staple in earlier Standard decks, Taelan Fordring helps in making your card draws more consistent throughout your Arena run.
You might be tempted to look for a 10-mana cost minion after picking Taelan but you should keep in mind that this is not necessary. Taelan's impact can be utilized by playing midrange minions with immediate effects, such as Amani War Bear or Smug Senior.
What’s great about Taelan Fordring:
- Perfect for Control decks to obtain your game-winning card while also being suitable with Midrange decks to supply your hand with another threat next turn
- One of few top-tier turn 5 cards in the current Arena card pool
- The enemy is forced to attack because of the Taunt effect, guaranteeing that you will frequently activate the deathrattle effect
- The 3/3 statline and Divine Shield both do well versus aggressive decks.
How to get Taelan Fordring:
Automatically unlocked in the Core set for Neutral cards
24. Shadow Council (Warlock)
Why is everybody in Outland replacing their hands?!
One of the best value cards for Warlock in Arena, Shadow Council provides a huge amount of board stats for just 1 mana. With cheap demons available for this Arena season, this card can easily give you a formidable Token Warlock deck for your Arena run.
What’s great about Shadow Council:
- Almost always gives you board control thanks to the +2/+2 buff on the generated minions
- Enables you to switch out cards in your current hand for better ones
- Excellent turn 1 play so you can pressure the enemy early
How to get Shadow Council:
Rotated to Wild. Unlock through buying Wild card packs, Ashes of Outlands card packs, or card crafting
23. Anonymous Informant (Neutral)
It turns out she wasn't so great at keeping secrets after all.
For the few classes that run secrets, this card serves as one of the best turn 2 plays due to the immense mana discount from the battlecry. For other decks though, this is just a reskinned River Crocolisk, which is not that bad on its own.
What is great about Anonymous Informant:
- Up to 3 mana worth of discount if you have a secret on hand
- Huge tempo swing, especially on earlier turns
- Still a solid play as a 2/3 minion if you have no secrets on hand
How to get Anonymous Informant:
Currently in the Standard card set. Unlock through buying Standard card packs, Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, or card crafting
22. Maze Guide (Neutral)
"And if you look to your left, you'll see an even larger statue of Sire Denathrius!"
A popular 2 drop in Arena, Maze Guide causes either frustration from summoning a 1/1 minion or great elation from summoning unexpected highrolls like Pyros.
What’s great about Maze Guide:
- Average total stats produced by this card is 4/3, blowing the vanilla statline of most 2-drops out of the water
- The 1/1 statline helps in dealing with small tokens or Divine Shield minions
- Lucky summons such as Imprisoned Felmaw or Pyros gives you a huge advantage
How to get Maze Guide:
Currently in the Standard card set. Given through leveling up the free track in the Murder at Castle Nathria rewards path
21. EVIL Miscreant (Rogue)
Oh, up to no good? Me too!
The best thing about EVIL Miscreant is that it gives you cards like Draconic Lackey and Witchy Lackey. Furthermore, Rogues make greater use of Lackeys than other classes since these minions are effective combo card activators.
What’s great about EVIL Miscreant:
- Very versatile card generation ranging from value cards such as Draconic Lackey to quick answer cards like Kobold Lackey
- The 1/4 statline helps with destroying the Divine Shield from Paladin minions, the most dominant class for this Arena season
- One of Rogue’s best early-game cards when paired with The Coin
How to get EVIL Miscreant:
Rotated to Wild. Unlock through buying Wild card packs, Rise of Shadows card packs, or card crafting
20. Cathedral of Atonement (Priest)
You'll actually find more than one tonement here.
As a mid-tier class for this Arena season, Priest relies almost entirely on Cathedral of Atonement to contest for board control. The card draw effect is also a very much needed bonus in a game mode that does not provide many ways to draw additional cards.
What’s great about Cathedral of Atonement:
- Most of Priest’s minions have low-attack and high-HP, making the +2/+1 buff more effective
- Three instances of card draw allow you to cycle through your deck and get your more valuable/impactful cards faster
- Being a location card, Cathedral of Atonement is almost impossible to counter/remove
How to get Cathedral of Atonement:
Currently in the Standard card set. Unlock through buying Standard card packs, Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, or card crafting
19. The Lurker Below (Shaman)
"Throw it back! THROW IT BACK!"
In such a minion-heavy meta, efficient ways to clear out small minions are few and far between. Thankfully, The Lurker Below provides one of the best board clears for Shaman and can instantly win you games when used perfectly.
What’s great about The Lurker Below:
- The repeating 3 damage from the Battlecry counters popular Arena classes such as Paladin and Demon Hunter, which both have a lot of low HP minions
- The 6/5 statline serves as a decent board threat for midgame
- Shaman has a lot of minion damage spells which makes the card’s effect easier to use
How to get The Lurker Below:
Rotated to Wild. Unlock through buying Wild card packs, Ashes of Outlands card packs, or card crafting
18. Imprisoned Vilefiend (Neutral)
If you do the time, you gotta make up the time.
Despite the Dormant keyword, this card stands out as one of the best quick-answer minions across all Neutral cards.
What’s great about Imprisoned Vilefiend:
- Very powerful minion removal in turn 2 since most 2-cost minions only have 3 health
- High stats for the cost which means that this minion remains relevant even in the midgame
- Immediate impact upon waking up from the Dormant state due to having Rush
How to get Imprisoned Vilefiend:
Rotated to Wild. Unlock through buying Wild card packs, Ashes of Outlands card packs, or card crafting
17. Imprisoned Scrap Imp (Warlock)
Uhh, guys? I can't move.
Handbuff seems to be the name of the game for Warlock Arena with Imprisoned Scrap Imp. This card still maintains its popularity as one of the best turn 1 plays (using The Coin) across the history of Hearthstone.
What’s great about Imprisoned Scrap Imp:
- The handbuff thrives more in Arena since fewer spells are present
- Warlock naturally draws a lot of cards due to its hero power, resulting in more minions being buffed
- +2/+2 buff can shut down your enemies early on due to the immense amount of stats
How to get Imprisoned Scrap Imp:
Rotated to Wild. Unlock through buying Wild card packs, Ashes of Outlands card packs, or card crafting
16. Ara’lon (Hunter)
No creature deserves to be caged!
Hunter might be the most oppressive class in Standard but the same cannot be said for Arena. Ara’lon is not the same menace in Arena as it is in Standard, but it is still a great value card for midrange decks.
What is great about Ara’lon:
- Each wildseed minion becomes active every turn so the loss of tempo can be mitigated
- Taunt from Bear Spirit Wildseed helps with stabilizing against aggressive decks
- If played on an empty board, Ara’lon can win the game on its own due to the Stag Spirit Wildseed being an oppressive high-attack minion
How to get Ara’lon:
Currently in the Standard card set. Unlock through buying Standard card packs, Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, or card crafting
15. Mischievous Imp (Warlock)
Why is it when something happens, it is always you three?
A major reason for Imp Warlock’s dominance in the Standard meta, Mischievous Imp serves as a stand-alone powerhouse even in Arena.
What’s great about Mischievous Imp:
- High value minion that can overwhelm the enemy early on
- Can be summoned even if not infused, especially when hand-buffed
- Demon synergy allows for this card to be generated by other cards such as Shadow Council
How to get Mischievous Imp:
Currently in the Standard card set. Unlock through buying Standard card packs, Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, or card crafting
14. Netherwalker (Demon Hunter)
You got to Nethercrawl before you can Netherwalk.
From the teeny tiny Flame Imps up to the gigantic Pit Commander, the excellent pool of discoverable demons should be enough reason to include Netherwalker in your Arena deck.
What’s great about Netherwalker:
- The quality of demons for this Arena season is above average, ensuring that this card discovers a usable minion almost every time
- Card generation is very valuable for Demon Hunter since it is a class that burns through its cards relatively quickly
- A Statline of 2/2 is acceptable since the Demon Hunter’s hero power can compensate for the lacking stats
How to get Netherwalker:
Rotated to Wild. Unlock through buying Wild card packs, Ashes of Outlands card packs, or card crafting
13. Dredger Staff (Neutral)
Carvin' time!
While it might seem trivial, Dredger Staff’s strength lies in making your subsequent minions more awkward to kill in the earlier turns.
Since most minions are balanced around their mana cost, the extra point of health often means that your enemy has to invest more resources than is normally needed in clearing your board.
What’s great about Dredger Staff:
- 1/2 statline has a decent matchup against most 1-cost minions
- Excellent first-turn play since the health buff often means that you will outpace your opponent in terms of board control
- Some minions such as Stubborn Gastropod utilize the health buff really well
How to get Dredger Staff:
Currently in the Standard card set. Unlock through buying Standard card packs, Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, or card crafting
12. Primordial Glyph (Mage)
It's the Ancient Tol'vir symbol for "Whoops!"
The pinnacle of flexibility, Primordial Glyph is an excellent card to play at any point in the match. No matter your situation, a handy mage spell can be discovered to claw your way into victory.
What’s great about Primordial Glyph:
- Very versatile card since Mage has a lot of useful spells ranging from Conjurer’s Calling to Flamestrike
- The 2 mana discount on the discovered spell sticks all game unlike other discount effects which expire after your turn
- Great card to play on turn 2 for slower games where you are not pressured for board control
How to get Primordial Glyph:
Rotated to Wild. Unlock through buying Wild card packs, Journey to Un’Goro card packs, or card crafting
11. Suspicious Alchemist (Mage)
A smidge of this, a pinch of that.
Single-handedly causing headaches for many Hearthstone players, Suspicious Alchemist tests your deception skills to their limit. Outside of its effect, this minion also has great stats for a 1-cost card.
What’s great about Suspicious Alchemist:
- Allows you to either get the best spell for your situation or the 2nd best card and deny your opponent an extra spell
- Inherent advantage since the selected spell usually favors you more than the enemy
- 1/3 statline is already competitive even without the bonus spell
How to get Suspicious Alchemist:
Currently in the Standard card set. Unlock through buying Standard card packs, Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, or card crafting
10. Guardian Augmerchant (Neutral)
"What doesn't kill you makes me money!"
Unassuming as it is, don’t sleep on this card just because it only has 1 health. The effect of adding Divine Shield to an allied minion makes or breaks games and is more than enough reason to pick this card for your next Arena run.
What’s great about Guardian Augmerchant:
- The Divine Shield effect helps with trading favorably against enemy minions
- The initial 1 damage can be used to finish off an enemy minion
- The 2/1 statline helps with dealing against smaller minions
How to get Guardian Augmerchant:
Rotated to Wild. Unlock through buying Wild card packs, Ashes of Outlands card packs, or card crafting
9. Illidari Inquisitor (Demon Hunter)
Armed with fear, big eyes, ruthless efficiency, almost fanatical devotion to your hero, and nice brown robes.
Being a top-tier Arena class this season, Demon Hunter relies on great class cards like Illidari Inquisitor as well as its hero power to establish board dominance. As your huge finisher, the 16-damage burst from this minion should be enough to close out slower matches.
What’s great about Illidari Inquisitor:
- Very hard to remove due to having 8 health
- Rush with the 8 attack works well in removing a lot of the enemy’s big threats
- 16 damage burst from attacking with the minion plus using your hero power to trigger the minion’s effect
- Synergizes with other Demon Hunter class cards because of the Demon tag
How to get Illidari Inquisitor:
Automatically unlocked in the Core set for Demon Hunter cards
8. Forensic Duster (Neutral)
The culprit was... not tidy.
Possibly the most disruptive card on this list, Forensic Duster can literally warp a match due to its battlecry effect.
Forcing a suboptimal play or altogether denying a turn from your opponent is a death sentence for a turn-based card game like Hearthstone, making this card the best 3-cost card for Arena.
What’s great about Forensic Duster:
- Forensic Duster can be deadly when summoned on early turns, potentially denying your opponent from summoning a minion
- Competitive statline of 3 attack and 4 health for a 3 mana cost minion
- Almost always the best play for turn 3 on Arena
How to get Forensic Duster:
Currently in the Standard card set. Unlock through buying Standard card packs, Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, or card crafting
7. Overlord Runthak (Neutral)
Our rallying cry!
What can I say, this card is just good in almost all situations. Overlord Runthak provides so much stats that it’s hard to find a better handbuff card in this Arena season.
What’s great about Overlord Runthak:
- The 6 health of the minion often means that you can trigger the effect at least twice
- Having Rush means that Overlord Runthak immediately buffs when it is summoned
- Like other handbuff effects, the stat increase makes other minions so much trickier to deal with
How to get Overlord Runthak:
Automatically unlocked in the Core set for Neutral cards
6. Priest of the Deceased (Neutral)
Haa, let's feast!
Priest of the Deceased feels unfair to play when it is infused, providing so much board pressure early in the game. As a potential 5 health minion, this card should definitely be picked on sight.
What’s great about Priest of the Deceased:
- Very powerful Taunt minion that still has average stats when summoned without being infused
- Only needs 3 minions to be infused and can be summoned early on
- 4/5 statline when infused easily overpowers a majority of midgame minions
How to get Priest of the Deceased:
Currently in the Standard card set. Unlock through buying Standard card packs, Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, or card crafting
5. Sire Denathrius (Neutral)
A toast to my everlasting reign.
Pick this card when offered, no questions asked. That’s just how powerful Sire Denathrius is, able to secure the late game all on his own.
What’s great about Sire Denathrius:
- Huge minion with lifesteal means that there are very few ways to lose the late game
- Since Arena is more geared towards minions, Sire Denathrius can achieve a high infuse count and burst the enemy hero down
- Disruption cards such as Theotar, the Mad Duke are rarely offered in Arena which means that this card is harder to counter
How to get Sire Denathrius:
Currently in the Standard card set. Given through leveling up the free track in the Murder at Castle Nathria rewards path
4. Ysera the Dreamer (Neutral)
Time may pass, but the Dream is eternal.
The original late game value card, Ysera the Dreamer not only gives you great catch-up cards, but also gives another good minion to play in the form of Emerald Drake.
What’s great about Ysera the Dreamer:
- Nightmare and Dream are great removal and disruption cards, respectively
- Ysera Awakens is effectively a 3 mana Flamestrike for most situations
- Emerald Drake along with the 4/12 statline of Ysera the Dreamer is often a hurdle too large for most opponents
How to get Ysera the Dreamer:
Automatically unlocked in the Core set for Neutral cards
3. Muckborn Servant (Paladin)
Party guests never tip as well as the patrons in Bob's tavern.
Paladin’s success in Arena right now is in no small part thanks to Muckborn Servant. Being able to discover Paladin cards is a larger advantage than you think, seeing that Paladins have the best class cards right now.
With many excellent or straight-up unfair choices like Tirion Fordring or Sunkeeper Tarim, Muckborn Servant truly deserves its spot on this list.
What’s great about Muckborn Servant:
- Paladin has the best class cards in Arena right now, adding more value to this card’s effect
- Muckborn Servant is offered frequently in Arena, giving you access to Paladin class cards consistently
- Taunt with 2/4 statline is a good buffer against all classes
How to get Muckborn Servant:
Currently in the Standard card set. Unlock through buying Standard card packs, Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, or card crafting
2. Buffet Biggun (Paladin)
Tummy needs yummy!
Generating a total of 10/6 in stats with 2 Divine Shields, Buffet Biggun just makes you feel good when you play it and miserable when you play against it. Even if you somehow deal with the two Silver Hand Recruits with buffed attack and Divine Shield, there is still the 2/4 minion to constantly threaten you.
What’s great about Buffet Biggun:
- Very easy to infuse due to Paladin’s hero power
- 3/1 statline with Divine Shield for your two Silver Hand Recruits means that you often have board control
- Curves very well from Muckborn Servant as a 4-cost minion, ensuring that you can protect your Silver Hand Recruits
How to get Buffet Biggun:
Currently in the Standard card set. Unlock through buying Standard card packs, Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, or card crafting
1. Sylvanas, the Accused (Neutral)
You are unfit to serve.
Undoubtedly the star of the Maw and Disorder mini-set, Sylvanas boasts great versatility in its effects. Initially having an Assassinate for its battlecry, the infused version even introduces a Mind Control effect, originally valued at 10 mana. Talk about having an overloaded kit!
What’s great about Sylvanas, the Accused:
- Infused version of the card is almost impossible to counterplay and is almost always a guaranteed win when used in late game scenarios
- The base version that is not infused works just as well since the Battlecry is a hard removal, only countered by Deathrattle effects
- 5/5 statline is a lot when considering how powerful the card’s effects are
How to get Sylvanas, the Accused:
Currently in the Standard card set. Unlock through buying Standard card packs, Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, or card crafting
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