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Druid
Hunter
Mage
Paladin
Priest
Rogue
Shaman
Warlock
Warrior
The Druid class is famous with its flexibility and being able to go both on the aggressive and the defensive. The cards discussed below are staples in all of the current Druid decks and if you are interested in playing what’s arguably the most consisted class out there, you should craft them all eventually.
[card]Wrath[/card] is one of the most efficient early game removals not just for the class but overall. As many Druid cards, it has the built-in “Choose one” option and can either deal 3 damage to clear most early game minions or become a 1-damage cantrip that clears wounded/1-health enemies and draws you a card. An absolute must in every Druid deck.
One of the best common minions in the game, [card]Druid of the Claw[/card] perfectly showcases the two different roles the Druid can perform. His taunt form gives him great stats and makes him difficult for opponents to deal with: as 4/6 body, he will often kill whatever’s attacking him without dying, almost guaranteeing a two-for-one.
The charging mode, on the other hand, works as an immediate removal or to finish the opponent when he’s low on health. In the current meta, the 4/4 charger is becoming the preferred mode more and more to counter Black Knights and Faceless Manipulators and to extract immediate effect out of the card.
With the nerfs to [card]Sylvanas Windrunner[/card], Druid of the Claw is also among the kings of the 5-drop and the only competition he gets in Druid decks is [card]Azure Drake[/card].
[card]Keeper of the Grove[/card] is another great and versatile minion. The silence is much needed in the current legendary-stacked meta as it becomes a counter to popular cards like [card]Nat Pagle[/card], [card]Cairne Bloodhoof[/card] and [card]Tirion Fordring[/card] to name a few. It can also remove taunts, thus opening the way to opponent’s face and making for easier [card]Force of Nature[/card]/[card]Savage Roar[/card] OTK. The 2-damage option is also valid choice, allowing you to kill minions (ensuring a two-for-one trade) or even help with beating down the opponent.
[card]Force of Nature[/card] gained huge popularity after the 1/13 patch and gave Druids a reliable source of burst damage, something the class is not really known for. Force of Nature can work as a game finisher (in most cases combined with [card]Savage Roar[/card]) or as a mass removal similar to [card]Consecration[/card] or [card]Starfall[/card]. Additionally, the 6 damage that come for the 6 mana can be distributed between up to three targets, making what would be a good deal a great one.
[card]Ancient of Lore[/card] is a minion that provides great value and every Druid deck must consider it. The heal mode is useful against more aggresive decks, since 5 health could be the difference between life and death. It will often be the card that decides whether you die to a Steady Shot or [card]Leeroy Jenkins[/card] next turn or live for long enough to build your board and retaliate.
The card draw mode, on the other hand, is great in control match ups where every card matters. The value of cantrip option grows bigger the smaller the opponent’s board is: played on an empty table, Ancient of Lore is almost game winning as its 5/5 body will require answers while at the same time giving you cards in return, thus securing a great card advantage for you.
Strong in rushes and the midrange, the Hunter excels in making the most out of his beasts. Thus, here are five cards that you will help achieve the class' maximum potential.
Incredibly cheap, [card]Explosive Trap[/card] is one of the first commons you should be crafting. For two mana, it is easy to cast and able to stall any form of aggression from the opponent. Dropping it early is a great way to kill the tempo of the enemy, possibly forcing them to trigger it immediately, which would allow you to drop threats easily.
Another must-have secret is [card]Misdirection[/card]. Since it has the same cost as Explosive Trap, it adds an additional layer of mindgames, as they won't know if it is a sweep they are triggering or a possible 2-for-1 removal. Even with its random nature, it is a great card to play in any stage of the game. The best use of this is when you somehow have no minions on board, as it will automatically hit one of his minions or himself.
[card]Unleash the Hounds[/card] is why Hunter aggro is so good right now. Against swarms of opponents like murlocs, this one card can sweep away all the threats when buffed with minions such as [card]Dire Wolf Alpha[/card]. Another great use for it is when you cast it while [card]Starving Buzzard[/card] is in play, as it gives you a massive card advantage, which is something most aggro decks lack. Lastly, it can be used as a finisher to get those last points of damage, especially when [card]Leeroy Jenkins[/card] is around.
[card]Scavenging Hyena[/card] has the potential to become a true beast once his ability triggers. Even if it's only once, you get immense value from a 2-mana 4/3 minion. It is perfect when combined with Unleash the Hounds, as the 
dogs can clean up any taunts which will allow the hyena to deal a massive blow to the enemy in one nova turn.
Lastly, [card]Eaglehorn Bow[/card]. A solid 3/2 weapon with the ability to last longer, it acts as a persistent removal engine. With Hunter secrets being incredibly cheap and their triggers inevitable, you can be sure that this rare card stays equipped for as long as possible, without of course any weapon breakers like [card]Acidic Swamp Ooze[/card]. Hunters of all styles loves this card, so crafting it should be one of your top priorities.
One good thing about the Mage is that some of his most powerful cards are free and there are just a few crafts that are needed to make a strong deck.
Starting from the bottom of the curve and moving up, we land at [card]Mana Wyrm[/card], arguably the best minion the Mage has. Because of its great synergy with Mage’s spells most of which are removals and board control cards, the Mana Wyrm is a great tempo creature: it can come early and be protected by cards like [card]Frostbolt[/card], [card]Mirror Image[/card] or [card]Arcane Missiles[/card] while growing into a fat threat. It will make the opponent burn a removal on it immediately and if he doesn’t have one, aided by burn spells the Wyrm can beat him down quite fast.
The other great minion that Mages have is the [card]Sorcerer's Apprentice[/card]. While the Apprentice was optional in older Mage decks, he’s now a necessity with spells like [card]Cone of Cold[/card], [card]Frost Nova[/card], [card]Pyroblast[/card] and [card]Blizzard[/card] being pushed up the curve. Having spells reduced by one mana is invaluable when playing a control oriented deck but even in aggro mages it can help smooth out the curve and allow you to play both a minion and a removal spell, thus swinging board momentum.
No Mage deck leaves the house without a pair of [card]Ice Block[/card]s. The card is basically every control player’s dream as it allows you to live for one more turn and get to do nasty stuff to the opponent. Ice Block is singlehandedly responsible for the bulk of Mages’ wins before and after the patch and it was its very power that amplified the strength of cards like [card]Pyroblast[/card].
Although it reads out as a control card, even aggro decks fancy [card]Ice Block[/card] as it is their best weapon when losing a race against another aggro deck or needing another turn to burn down the control opponent.
We spoke of [card]Pyroblast[/card] in the paragraphs above and we can say that even after the nerf it remains a strong card. Modified post-patch Mage Giants have been resurfacing recently (for example Blooded’s Mage control played in eHL Season 1) and Pyroblast remains their natural finisher. Crafting two might be overdoing it but slower Mage decks still should have at least one.
It’s somewhat weird to call [card]Archmage Antonidas[/card] a top five Mage expert card just because spending 1600 dust on a class-specific card isn’t the most wise of investments but we’ve really been liking what the card can do. Strictly a late-game card, Antonidas synergizes with the rest of the Mage arsenal and replaces every spell cast with a [card]Fireball[/card], ensuring an unending stream of Hadoukens as long as he lives. He works well with Freeze spells like [card]Frost Nova[/card] or [card]Blizzard[/card] and at 7 health he’s difficult to remove. An example deck that uses him is StrifeCro’s mid-range from Chat Lethal Invitational.
The Paladin is a beatdown-oriented class that focuses on powering up your minions while weakening theirs. Whether aggro or control, the cards below are must-haves for any Pally player, as all of them focus on board advantange via minions.
[card]Argent Protector[/card] is a 2 drop that is useful in every Paladin deck. Its ability to give one of your other minions a divine shield can make a huge impact in the game, depending on the target. Swarm-type Paladins usually cast this after a [card]Knife Juggler[/card], forcing the opponent to a 2-for-1 trade or cast a high-impact removal spell.
Almost an essential for Paladin control, [card]Aldor Peacekeeper[/card] can turn a huge damage threat into essentially nothing with its Battlecry effect. He can be dropped early on to relieve pressure, or in the late game for a strong turnaround as you set up your own power plays.
[card]Equality[/card] is probably one of the best board control cards out there, especially against zerg rush-style and other beatdown decks. Combined with the likes of [card]Wild Pyromancer[/card] and [card]Consecration[/card], it is a sure combo that will wipe the entire board clean. What's even cooler is the Equality + Wild Pyromancer + [card]Redemption[/card] synergy that allows you immediate advantage.
A staple for all aggro Paladins, [card]Sword of Justice[/card] makes every minion drop all the more powerful. As long as it doesn't get destroyed, even just using the hero power Reinforce grants you solid board presence with a 2/2 soldier in play every turn. With a cost of 3, it fits perfectly to the deck, especially since the Paladin doesn't have many options by third turn.
[card]Tirion Fordring[/card] is an amazing Legendary for control Paladins. Essentially a super version of [card]Sunwalker[/card], this 6/6 beast of a man can stand guard and go toe-to-toe with most beefy minions. Forcing 2+ cards or a strong removal, he can still make an impact from the grave with his Deathrattle, equipping you with a 5/3 weapon for free.
Priest might not be the most popular or strong class in the meta right now but damn it if their cards aren’t fun to use.
We’re starting with [card]Thoughtsteal[/card], the staple in pretty much every Priest deck. A twisted version of [card]Arcane Intellect[/card] in the sense that it draws two cards for three mana, Thoughtsteal reaches into opponent’s decks and gets cards from them. This effect is a double edged sword – sometimes it’ll yield dead cards that only work in a certain class or with certain synergies but other times it’ll bring removal cards or legendaries. What makes it better than Arcane Intellect in that situation is that it disregards the limitations of your own deck and allows you to play, say, a second [card]Cairne Bloodhoof[/card] or [card]Swipe[/card] or [card]Tirion Fordring[/card], in short cards that are otherwise unavailable to constructed Priests.
[card]Auchenai Soulpriest[/card] is an interesting 3/5 for 5 that turns your healing effects (including your hero power) into damaging effects. Although the Soulpriest doesn’t usually live for more than one turn, he gives Priests that extra removal they so much need. Whether you’ll burn a minion with hero power, cast a [card]Circle of Healing[/card] to wipe the board or turn minions like [card]Earthen Ring Farseer[/card]s into vicious killers, it’s almost a guarantee that Auchenai Soupriest will return some value.
[card]Holy Fire[/card] is card that’s a no brainer for Priest decks. By dealing 5 damage and healing 5 back, this spell can deal with most minions while keeping hero’s health high. If aimed at a player, it will essentially create a 10-point difference in life totals which is huge.
[card]Shadow Madness[/card] is a card that best displays the dirty tricks Priests can do. The spell has a two-for-one written all over it and often defines if the Priest will survive the mid game. It not only keeps opponent’s board in check but it also allows to go for the pesky 4-attack minions that are out of Shadow Word range by throwing their friends at them.
We saved the best for last - [card]Cabal Shadow Priest[/card]. A simple math tells us that you can’t go wrong with this card if you have something to steal: a 4/5 for 6, she’s a [card]Chillwind Yeti[/card] that comes with a 2-attack minion so if she gets to steal something that costs 2 mana she’s already paid for itself.
The fact that you get to keep the minion and not just remove it, however, is fantastic. Abducting enemy’s [card]Nat Pagle[/card], [card]Flametongue Totem[/card] or [card]Harvest Golem[/card] can win you the game there and then. There’s literally no Priest deck without a Cabal Priest so the moment you get a bit rich – craft it.
The first 80 dust that every Rogue must spend should go to a pair of [card]Eviscerate[/card]s, period. If it’s not too amazing when played by itself (2 damage for 2 with no other effect is less than OK), the amplified damage on combo makes this card a must have as Rogue decks often have cheap ways to enable it. Paired with [card]Backstab[/card], Eviscerate can deal 6 damage to a minion for just two mana (twice as less as [card]Fireball[/card]). Add a [card]Deadly Posion[/card] and it’s 7 damage for 3 mana. As there’s no limitation to the targets, Eviscerate can deal damage directly to the enemy hero and is often used to finish off the opponent past a wall of taunters.
[card]Shadowstep[/card] became popular when Rogues switched away from mid-range control decks and towards the bursty combo decks. Most often you’ll see it used together with [card]Leeroy Jenkins[/card] to deal 12 damage for 6 mana, activate the trigger of [card]Gadgetzan Auctioneer[/card] or just re-trigger any minion with a battlecry effect like [card]SI:7 Agent[/card].
Once present in every single Rogue deck, [card]Defias Ringleader[/card] lost a bit of his charm but he’s still a great card that we like very much. Coin into Ringleader is a great T1, especially against classes that don’t have early game removals and unless you’re playing a Rogue opponent who can [card]Backstab[/card] + Dagger to clean the board, you will be getting some value back.
The reason why Ringleader is not omnipresent is that he’s somewhat week past the early game. After T4, having a 2/2 and a 2/1 will impact the board just a little (most board sweepers are available at that point of the game) and you need to play something big in the mid-game or prepare your OTK combo. Nevertheless, the card is just 40 dust a piece and Rogues that are just starting to play the game should have it.
[card]Blade Flurry[/card] is the strongest AoE removal the Rogue has and one copy of it should be considered to fight off aggro decks. Its damage can be amplified by [card]Deadly Poison[/card] to deal 3 damage to all for 2 mana, or cards like [card]Bloodmage Thalnos[/card] who add spellpower.
[card]SI:7 Agent[/card] is the last in the Rogue top 5. A small [card]Fire Elemental[/card] of sorts, SI:7 Agent will trade two for one when combo’d out as most early game minions can’t survive the 2 damage. [card]Backstab[/card] makes the Agent crazy scary as he can come in on T3 hitting for 4 in total.
[card]Earth Shock[/card] is one of the best spells in the game. It is able to counter most of the strongest cards in game and will solve the problem of those persisting [card]Cairne Bloodhoof[/card]s, [card]Harvest Golem[/card]s or [card]Nat Pagle[/card]s. Because the silence comes before the damage, it's great to remove divine shield or buffs before hitting and possibly killing the minion (regardless how fat that [card]Argent Squire[/card] has gotten, she still dies to one Earthshock).
[card]Lightning Bolt[/card] is another very good removal spell as three damage for 2 mana (divided in two turns) is a good deal. With Lightning Bolt you are able to get the tempo from the early turns and hopefully keep it until the end of the game. The overload is just 1 mana and it’ll rarely slow you down too much in the early game (and it will not matter at all in late turns). In fact, having Lightning Bolt at that exact cost and mechanic makes it even better at times, because it’s the cheapest possible way to trigger [card]Unbound Elemental[/card].
[card]Stormforged Axe[/card] is Shaman’s version of [card]Fiery War Axe[/card] in the sense that it deals a total of 6 damage but spread over three turns. The latter is the reason why all Shaman decks only run one copy of it – hitting minions three times results in quite some damage and as Shamans have no way of healing their hero it makes it risky to have two axes in a deck. One of is a must, however, consider crafting it after Earth Shock and Lightning Bolt.
[card]Feral Spirit[/card] is the bane of the aggro decks. The overload is somewhat big but because the 2/3 wolves will take some time to kill (and take enemy minions in the process) it doesn’t set you back that much. The card is a brick wall for Hunters who’ll often suicide two minions to clear the wolves (that’s 4 to 6 less damage to the face) and slows down Reynad’s aggro Warrior just enough so you can draw your removals and establish board control. 
Against control decks, it gives you four power on the board, allowing you to go on the offensive and force them to burn removal.
We can’t talk Shaman without mentioning [card]Lightning Storm[/card], the AoE removal of the class. Lightning Storm has a few drawbacks like not dealing a set amount of damage and overloading you for two but the fact that it can come on T3 makes up for it. Against aggro decks like Paladin miniatures, Murlocs and Hunters this card is the difference between life and death. If there’s a spellpower totem on the field, it’s almost a guaranteed board clear, allowing you to enter the mid game comfortably.
Suicidal in nature, the Warlock class is relies on risky trade-offs to beat its opponent, such as cards for health. Listed below are five of the best cards the class has to offer, all of them granting you power at a cost.
Turn 1 [card]Flame Imp[/card] is one of the best opening plays for any aggro Warlock. Its 3/2 body is a massive threat to your opponents in the first few turns of the game. It has great value even when it hits only once, though it'll easy to land a few more with the likes of [card]Soulfire[/card] helping you clear the board.
[card]Power Overwhelming[/card] gives you massive reach to your opponent. This card allows you to go all-in with your minions in one turn, dealing much more damage than what your opponent suspects. It is used mainly by aggro Warlocks as a finisher, as its suicide component will weaken your tempo the moment you end the turn.
Moving on to control, [card]Shadowflame[/card] has the potential to become an extremely potent spell when used correctly. Depending on the attack of the minion sacrificed, it is at worst[card]Consecration[/card]. You could target [card]Ancient Watcher[/card] or cast it on the same turn for a 6-mana [card]Flamestrike[/card]. Though a minion is required for this to work, it is still one of the best sweeps out there, especially when up against decks like Druid that have high health minions such as [card]Druid of the Claw[/card]
[card]Siphon Soul[/card] instagibs any minion without immune or stealth, and is the best single-target removal the Warlock has, or any class for that matter. It even restores 3 health, which is useful since you'll be casting it around the mid to late game with its 6 mana cost.Also, and you'd need all the healing you could get. This card works best in the current meta, which all the legendaries and giants running around.
Finally, [card]Lord Jaraxxus[/card]. This card can save you from the jaws of defeat, especially when you are low on health, as it resets your life total to 15. Its free 3/8 weapon should be used as often as possible, mostly for removal purposes, but getting those bits of damage in is just as good. However, it's the new hero power aqcuired that makes it so special. The ability to summon a 6/6 Infernal for 2 mana is insane. As you are already in the late game when you cast Jaraxxus, you are most likely casting two huge minions in one turn, maybe three if you have giants in hand. Once you play this card, you only need a few turns to overpower your enemy.
In the early game, [card]Slam[/card] is a normal removal, because 2 damage is enough to kill most early drops. In mid-late game, the spell is great to cycle through your deck and to hurt enemy minion before finishing it with attacks or [card]Execute[/card]. You'll play this spell in more mid range or control decks, but rarely in all aggresive deck.
[card]Cruel Taskmaster[/card] has a lot of uses in the mid-range Warrior decks. It can be used to finish 1-health minions or wound them into Execute range. Combined with [card]Acolyte of Pain[/card] you are ensuring at least one card draw while putting a threat on the board in the form of a 3/2 Acolyte. Other great use of the Cruel Taskmaster is to enrage your minions and activate the windfury of [card]Raging Worgen[/card] or [card]Amani Berserker[/card].
Most Warrior decks rely heavily on removal for either board control (control decks) or just an additional source of damage (aggro decks). [card]Arathi Weaponsmith[/card] helps with both especially in the mid-range decks where you don't need [card]Arcanite Reaper[/card] but could still use another weapon. The 3/3 body is reasonable at turn 4 and will trade well with many minions.
[card]Armorsmith[/card] is used in slower Warrior decks whose purpose is to live till their finishers. Against aggro decks, he offers decent stats for two drop and it's likely to survive for a few turns. During these turns he'll get you some amount of armor and will keep the board clear from 
one health minions.
In the typical mid-range warrior you have a lot of synergies between your cards and this is where the Armorsmith shines the most. Paired with a Frothing Berserke, for example, every Whirlwind is going to net huge advantage in health and on board damage so if you aim for a slower Warrior deck, this minion is a must have in there.
[card]Frothing Berserker[/card] is arguably the best Warrior minion. It has the potential to grow huge in terms of attack and because of that he’ll require immediate response from the opponent. If answer is not found in time, the Berserker can snowball out of control as he’ll be the heavy punch that breaks enemy’s face. Be prepared to see him die a lot, however, as he comes with a priority target on his back.
