So far, we've gone over how to start out with the Mage and Priest, two heroes who look to control the board through spells while trying to build up the minion line. This is a somewhat common theme, but the Warrior does things a bit differently. He's not afraid to armor up, grab a weapon and head right into the battle himself to start the destruction. Let's go over everything you need to know in order to start playing the Warrior effectively. In this series of guides, we’ll be taking a look at what makes each class tick, as well as providing a starting point for playing them effectively. We’ll be taking the sample deck lists provided by the Trump’s Teachings video series that came out before any new sets, or expansions, to show that solid mechanics can still win you games when you haven’t yet played a single match or opened even one pack.

(Note: For the purpose of these guides, we’ll assume you’ve hit level 10 with each hero, giving you all of the free cards. If you haven’t yet reached level 10, simply play against the beginner AI until you get there. You can use the decks provided, but might need to make a few substitutions until you’ve unlocked your free cards.)

Why should I play the Warrior?

• You don't need silly things like minions to attack for you
• The ability to stack Armor can be a very effective strategy, allowing you to safely build up your board and hand while also protecting you when going for risky plays
• Cleave, Execute, and using weapons (Fiery War Axe and Arcanite Reaper) means your minions can spend more time attacking the opposing Hero directly

What should I look out for when playing the Warrior?

• Unlike most, your Hero ability provides you with absolutely no offensive capabilities. Remember that you need your cards to be taking care of the board.
• Your weapons are a great way to take out enemy minions. Be cautious of doing this recklessly, especially without armor. Otherwise, you're going to be taking huge chunks of damage that your opponent can capitalize on.
• Armor can be a good counter to aggressive decks that use a lot of minions, but it can only stall for so long. Make sure to deal with the relevant threats, and don't ever feel invincible.

Victory or death? How do I choose victory with only my starting cards?

Through sheer intimidation! Also, a bit of armor never hurt.

Where do I go from here?

If you want to proceed with the Warrior, you're in luck. Garrosh just so happens to be the Hero of choice for one of the most popular competitive decks right now, and compared to some others, it's not incredibly expensive to craft.

Patron Warrior

This deck focuses on two main cards: Grim Patron, and Frothing Berserker. The Patron is obviously the deck's namesake, and can quickly be used to flood the board with copies of itself when combined with cards such as Whirlwind and Cruel Taskmaster. The same principle applies to the Berserker, enabling it to become huge with only a few of the right effects being activated. When these are combined with Warsong Commander, they'll have Charge, meaning you don't need to wait an extra turn for your minions to attack; you're ready to start the beat down right away. It is a combo deck at heart, but with a variety of ways to activate the key win conditions, it is remarkably consistent in the right hands. Unlike some other combo-oriented decks that can lose immediately if they don't draw the right opening hand, Patron Warrior has multiple avenues to victory, making it both a fun and lethal deck to play. Here's an example of a full decklist from Forsen, the winner of the recent HTC Invitational:

Closing Thoughts

I've found the Warrior to be a fun class to play right at the beginning, stacking your armor and doing the dirty work yourself. For players that really like to feel proactive, this is probably a great class to start with. I myself plan on working towards building a Patron Warrior deck, as I've always been a huge fan of combo decks, and this is a great one to start with. He might not be for everyone, but for those that feel drawn to Garrosh Hellscream, he's prepared to reward those that wish to tread the path of a Warrior.