It’s a deck archetype that’s been around in Hearthstone for quite some time and has always found a position in the meta. Do be warned if you’re considering playing it though as the cost is extremely high due to all the epic and legendary cards you’ll need. Nevertheless, it can be well worth the investment as it does a great job of holding off all the aggro decks in the early days of an expansion release, while remaining a solid meta pick at all times. In our Control Warrior guide, we’ll start with a look at the most commonly played deck list right now and offer some insight into how you should be piloting the archetype. Later on you’ll find Mulligan suggestions, as well as a closer look at the important cards and combos found in the deck.
Control Warrior deck list and strategy
Here’s the Control Warrior deck with the best win rate at the moment. Keep an eye out for changes though - Forged in the Barrenshas plenty of time left so there’s always the chance things go differently! Select and copy the long ID string below, then create a deck in Hearthstone to export this deck into your game. Deck Import ID: AAECAQcIqooEtIoEuIoEiqAEi6AEkqAEo6AEqqAEC//nA6+KBJ6fBJ+fBLSfBIagBIegBIigBImgBIygBO2gBAA= The following guide refers to an older version of Control Warrior - we’ll be updating this in future if the deck makes a splash in the meta though!
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General strategy: Control Warrior aims to do exactly what its name would suggest: take control of the game by removing or denying its opponent’s plays to completely starve them of resources, and then win in the late game with many powerful legendary cards. There is so much removal in this deck that even after multiple big plays you should be able to find a way to ruin your opponent’s plans – whether it’s a big board clear or hard removal on a single beefy target. When you’re ready to play more aggressively in the late game the deck has some absurdly powerful options. Many of these will be too much for your foe to deal with, or will enable you to outlast them as they slip into Fatigue. Early game: You’ll want to take a slow and reactive approach in the early game. There’s no need to rush anything at all. Clear your opponent’s creatures where you can, or lure them into playing more so you can take everything out with a single board clear. It’s perfectly fine if you just spend a few turns bulking up your Armor with you hero power too. Mid game: Stick with the reactive approach to each of your opponent’s plays and they’ll find it impossible to get a foothold in the match. If they’ve managed to build a wide board you can use Brawl to reduce it down to a more manageable size. For weapons there’s Harrison Jones. Late game: Now is your time to assert full control of the match as you drop continual threats that your opponent will struggle to remove. For starters, you can combine Dr. Boom, Mad Genius with Omega Assembly to generate a electrifying army of Mech minions with Rush. Or, you can make use of Archivist Elysiana as a way to fill your deck with more copies of your most powerful cards. As you keep piling on the pressure your opponent should be running out of resources and looking to concede. If the game looks like it’s going to Fatigue that’s perfectly fine with you as you have the reach and the Armor to see it through. Make sure you save Omega Devastator for turn 10 as well, just in case your opponent has one last surprise ready to go Aggro opponents Here are some important tips to help you best aggro decks:
- You have so much control packed into this deck that you should be more than capable of keeping them in check in the early game. 2. Once they realise you’re a control deck they may decide to play more aggressively to try and finish you quickly. Don’t get too laid back and leave yourself open to surprise lethal damage. 3. Weapons Project is great for smacking away their little creatures, but be careful you’re not giving them too much extra damage as well with their weapon.
Control opponents These tips will see you to victory against other control decks:
- Use the early turns to draw cards and Armor up. Both of you will be playing quite slowly so you can take your time at the start to better prepare for the late game. 2. Weapons Project can work extremely well in these matches as a way of destroying your opponent’s preferred weapon. Of course, you have Harrison Jones too. 3. If you think the match is heading the way of Fatigue you should be happy as this Control Warrior list has a much better chance of surviving it thanks to Archivist Elysiana. 4. You can generate a lot of extra value way into the late game with Dr. Boom, Mad Genius and Omega Assembly.
Control Warrior Mulligan guide
For the best start with Control Warrior these are the cards you’ll want to aim for in the Mulligan phase:
- Town Crier: An immediate minion to contest the board, and you’ll also draw into either Militia Commander or Zilliax. 2. Eternium Rover: Another solid early game minion that will also help beef up your defenses. 3. Dr. Boom, Mad Genius: Despite his high cost for the purposes of Mulliganing, the amount of value generated by this card justifies the early keep.
Control Warrior tips, combos and synergies
Control Warrior has a pretty obvious game plan but there are some cards combos in the deck that are especially powerful. We’ve listed the best and most important ones here.
- Always aim to hold back Omega Assembly until you have ten Mana. That way you’ll receive all three Mechs that were selected as part of the Discovery process and they will synergise perfectly with Dr. Boom, Mad Genius.
- Shield Slam becomes more powerful for each point of Armor you have at the time it’s cast. You can boost its damage using your hero power as well as cards like Shield Block and Weapons Project.
- Speaking of Weapons Project, you can combine it with Harrison Jones in order to negate half of the benefits for your opponent and give you some much-loved card draw.
- If an enemy minion has received even the most minor of wounds, you can use Execute to take it out of play. Cards that empower this removal effect in this deck are: Shield Slam, Warpath, Dyn-o-matic and any of your actively inflicted weapon damage.
- If Militia Commander or Zilliax are still in your deck, Town Crier will pull one of them into your hand when played.
- Dr. Boom, Mad Genius grants Rush to all the subsequently played Mech minions. That means they can attack enemy minions immediately. You also gain five new Hero Powers which are selected at random each turn:
Blast Shield Delivery Drone KABOOM! Micro-Squad Zap Cannon
- Consider carefully which cards you want to replace your deck with when using Archivist Elysiana. Anything that gives you more late game reach and Fatigue survival is good, such as Omega Assembly, Weapons Project, Zilliax and so on.
Card choices and substitutions
As it’s loaded with epics and Legendaries you can expect to invest a lot of dust into Control Warrior. There are some cards that are vital to make it work but some others can be substituted, as we’ve listed below:
Omega Assembly: Never cast this until you have ten Mana as it’s necessary to grab all three minions for some immense late game value. Shield Slam: Shield Slam is strong removal that will be able to take out most minions thanks to all the Armor you’re building up over the course of the game. Brawl: This classic removal option is still around as a powerful way to even out the board if you’re falling behind. Omega Devastator: The card reads 10 damage but that basically equates to instantly killing another minion. It’s not vital to have even more hard removal in the deck, but nice to have one copy just in case. Devastate is an OK replacement. Harrison Jones: Weapon removal with the added bonus of drawing you a few cards. A strong pairing with Weapons Project. Supercollider: Can help you deal with minions that are out of your reach due to Taunts while turning your opponent’s strong minions against each other. Zilliax: An all-round solid card. Immediately impactful on the board while also providing some healing and a roadblock for aggro decks. Unseen Saboteur: Can completely spoil the plans of combo decks or just completely waste a powerful card in your opponent’s hand. Dr. Boom, Mad Genius: One of the best ways to keep you going into the late game thanks to a rotating hero power that offers extra damage, the option to generate you more minions and so much more. Archivist Elysiana: Some more late game power for the deck that lets you create more copies of your most powerful cards while also helping you survive Fatigue.
