White Weenies: A Hearthstone Deck Dossier

“Put your faith in the Light!”

I’ve been making attempts to climb up the ladder of ranks in Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft for the last few months, in my spare time. … And finally, I have a deck that, while certainly inspired mostly by another of the same name, has had enough tweaks that I feel justified in documenting it here.

In Magic, there is a type of deck that is either powered entirely by white mana or features only the tiniest of splashes from other colors, and is populated by small creatures that grow larger thanks to global or targeted ‘buff’ enchantments. These decks grow from a rather innocuous beginning to present the opponent with a formidable army that is a lot tougher than it looked initially. Due to its color and the size of its creatures, it is called a ‘white weenie’ deck.

The Hearthstone deck in question works on a similar theme. It is a Paladin deck, since the Paladin’s Hero Power produces 1/1 tokens (a staple of a White Weenie deck in Magic) and the Paladin-exclusive epic weapon [Sword of Justice] buffs multiple minions as they are summoned. Combined with low-cost minions like [Argent Squire], [Knife Juggler], and [Leper Gnome], the deck presents itself as fairly aggressive.

White Weenies

A few similar decks like to run more minions with Divine Shield along with the [Redemption] secret, maintaining their board presence and therefore their aggression in that way. I opted for more of a midrange feel, featuring taunts and silence effects towards the lower end of the curve while maintaining powerful finishers like [Leeroy Jenkins] and [Tirion Fordring] towards the top. I also include a Guardian of Kings to recover from early aggression and both [Consecration]s to help stabilize against aggressive Hunters and Zoolocks.

For the most part, the strategy of this deck is simple: swing for the face. Early aggression tends to pay off, and if you can force your opponent into trading their minions for yours, especially in a disadvantageous way, all the better for your success. Remember that, in this deck list at least, you have a healing minion that will help you recover any ground you lose against more aggressive decks. Decks that rely on high-cost mid-game responses, such as Handlock or most Mage decks, struggle to keep up with White Weenies, especially if you save your silence effects and direct removal to deal with large taunts and threats.

Running up against Zooluck, Hunters, and Miracle Rogues is a challenge. You want to look for good early plays, such as [Argent Squire] followed by [Noble Sacrifice]. Most of the time, a [Sword of Justice] in your starting hand is a good thing, while high-end cards in the same hand are not. Against these decks, it’s basically a race, and you’ll want to put your opponent on an awkward footing as quickly as possible with some fast damage.

Shaman and Priest, so far, are the worst matchups for this deck. They simply have too many early-game answers that either completely undercut your progress or put themselves in a superior position that White Weenies struggles to unseat. Just be aware of this, and try not to take the losses too hard.

Let me know what you think of the deck in the comments! If you have suggestions to make the deck better, I’m interested in hearing them.