Hearthstone is a free-to-play online digital collectible card game developed by Blizzard Entertainment for PC in March 2014, with ports for iOS and Android released later that same year. When the game was first released, it was titled Heroes of Warcraft. This was due to Hearthstone initially sticking to and building up on the existing lore of the Warcraft series. That was done using the same elements, characters, and relics present throughout Warcraft.
Eventually, the game got so big that it expanded to characters out of the Warcraft universe, extending to other Blizzard Entertainment game franchises such as Diablo. Due to this, the game also added different modes to its traditional card game system. One of those modes was the Mercenaries mode.
Mercenaries mode
Mercenaries was a new game mode released for Hearthstone on Oct. 12, 2021. The major difference between this mode and the original game mode was the fact that the mercenaries from this mode were all actual characters from other Blizzard games as opposed to the purely constructed cards used prior to the release of this mode. Mercenaries also has quests tied to these characters providing exclusive rewards only available in this mode.
Due to the mercenaries in this mode being so numerous, we have curated a list of the best ones to use. This list is based on a combination of an older tier list created by YouTuber and Hearthstone pro player, Thijs Molendijk, along with personal opinion. As such, opinions may vary based on players, but this list will go with the general consensus of what thrives in the meta. The list will go from weakest to strongest, starting with the D-tier and ending at the S-tier.
D-tier
The worst tier of mercenaries. Best avoided if better choices are available.
Name: Alexstrasza
Role: Protector
Tribe: Dragon
A legendary dragon known as the Aspect of the Red Dragonflight, the guardian of all life.
Name: Antonidas
Role: Caster
Tribe: Human
A powerful archmage and leader of the Kirin Tor.
Name: Baron Geddon
Role: Caster
Tribe: Elemental
A powerful Fire Elemental guarding the Rune of Zeth.
Name: Gruul
Role: Protector
Tribe: Giant
The overlord of the Ogres of Outland.
Name: Illidan Stormrage
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Night Elf
The first Demon Hunter, Lord of Outland, and twin brother of Malfurion Stormrage.
Name: Lord Jaraxxus
Role: Protector
Tribe: Demon
A powerful Eredar Demon Lord of the Burning Legion.
Name: Mannoroth
Role: Protector
Tribe: Demon
The leader and most powerful of the Pit Lords.
Name: Morgl the Oracle
Role: Caster
Tribe: Murloc
A powerful Murloc shaman who is met at different points of the world.
Name: Mutanus
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Murloc
The strongest creature in the Wailing Caverns.
Name: Old Murk-Eye
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Murloc
A powerful Murloc that terrorizes Westfall Lighthouse.
Name: Rathorian
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Demon
A powerful Felguard that defends the Demon Seed atop Dreadmist Peak.
Name: Varian Wrynn
Role: Protector
Tribe: Human
The King of Stormwind and High King of the Grand Alliance.
Name: War Master Voone
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Troll
An elite Troll fighter that guards Lower Blackrock Spire.
C-tier
Below-average mercenaries that are just barely better than the lowest tier.
Name: Blink Fox
Role: Caster
Tribe: Beast
A common rogue fox with the ability to let players draw an additional card.
Name: Bru’kan
Role: Caster
Tribe: Troll
A legendary Troll shaman who acts as a mentor to younger warriors.
Name: Grommash Hellscream
Role: Protector
Tribe: Orc
The late legendary chieftain of the Warsong clan and best friend of Warchief Thrall.
Name: Guff Runetotem
Role: Caster
Tribe: Tauren
A legendary Tauren Druid with powerful nature spells.
Name: King Krush
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Beast
An extremely dangerous Devilsaur that stalks Sholazar Basin.
Name: King Mukla
Role: Protector
Tribe: Beast
A massive Skymane Gorilla inhabiting Jaguero Isle.
Name: Lady Anacondra
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Night Elf
One of the Fanglords of the Druids of the Fang.
Name: Millhouse Manastorm
Role: Caster
Tribe: Gnome
The most powerful Gnome mage alongside his wife Millificent.
Name: Ragnaros
Role: Protector
Tribe: Elemental
The most powerful Elemental Lord of Fire.
Name: Rexxar
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Half-Orc
The Half-Orc, Half-Ogre champion of the Horde.
Name: Scabbs Cutterbutter
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Gnome
A legendary Gnome fighter that isn’t afraid to use dirty tactics.
Name: Tavish Stormpike
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Dwarf
A legendary Dwarf fighter with a propensity for beast taming.
Name: Tyrande
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Night Elf
The highest-ranking Night Elf priestess and the wife of Malfurion Stormrage.
B-tier
The middle-of-the-road warriors. Powerful mercenaries that only fall short of the highest tiers.
Name: Anduin Wrynn
Role: Caster
Tribe: Human
A powerful mage and the King of Stormwind.
Name: Brightwing
Role: Caster
Tribe: Dragon
A powerful Faerie Dragon in the Emerald Dreamway.
Name: Cornelius Roame
Role: Protector
Tribe: Human
A legendary human warrior whose daughters suffered a tragic fate.
Name: Jaina Proudmoore
Role: Caster
Tribe: Human
The most powerful human sorceress alive.
Name: Kurtrus Ashfallen
Role: Protector
Tribe: Night Elf
A legendary Demon Hunter that left Illidan’s cause to seek revenge against the Dreadlord Anetheron.
Name: Malfurion Stormrage
Role: Protector
Tribe: Night Elf
One of the leaders of the Night Elves and the twin brother of Illidan Stormrage.
Name: Natalie Seline
Role: Caster
Tribe: Human
A human sorceress who mastered dark magic and wrote the Secrets of the Void.
Name: Prophet Velen
Role: Caster
Tribe: Draenei
The leader of the Draenei.
Name: Tamsin Roame
Role: Caster
Tribe: Undead
An undead Horde warlock who was one the most gifted mage of the Alliance.
Name: Tirion Fordring
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Human
The supreme commander of the Argent Crusade and bearer of the Ashbringer.
Name: Uther
Role: Caster
Tribe: Human
The leader of the human Paladins and the mentor of Arthas.
Name: Varden Dawngrasp
Role: Caster
Tribe: Blood Elf
A powerful Blood Elf mage with the power to bend reality.
A-tier
Amazing mercenaries that get the job done. Just falling short of the best ones.
Name: Blademaster Samuro
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Orc
The last blademaster of the Burning Blade tribe.
Name: Cariel Roame
Role: Protector
Tribe: Human
A legendary paladin who broke her sacred vow to find her long-lost sister.
Name: Diablo
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Demon
The ruler of Hell. Most nefarious of the Prime Evils.
Name: The Lich King
Role: Protector
Tribe: Human
Once a mere human, Arthas has ascended to become much more.
Name: Rokara
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Orc
A legendary Orc warrior of the Horde.
Name: Saurfang
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Orc
A family of the strongest Orc warriors in the Horde.
Name: Sylvanas Windrunner
Role: Fighter
Tribe: Undead
A powerful High Elf warrior corrupted by the future Lich King. Returned as a vengeful Undead.
Name: Thrall
Role: Protector
Tribe: Orc
The warchief of the Orc race. Stood tall with the Humans and the Night Elves to stop the Demon race.
S-tier
The best mercenaries in this game. The cream of the crop, they just do everything better than the other choices on this list.
Name: Cairne Bloodhoof
Role: Protector
Tribe: Tauren
The leader of the Tauren race and the strongest warrior of their people.
Name: Garrosh Hellscream
Role: Protector
Tribe: Orc
A gifted Orc warrior and a future potential candidate for warchief of the Horde, chosen by Thrall.
Name: Gul’dan
Role: Caster
Tribe: Orc
The first Orc Warlock and one of the founders of the Orc Horde.
Name: Vol’jin
Role: Caste
Tribe: Troll
The actual future warchief of the Horde and chieftain of the Darkspear Tribe.
Name: Xyrella
Role: Caster
Tribe: Draenei
A legendary priest whose visions are always accurate.
There are more mercenaries in this list, but most of the unlisted ones are either too underpowered or not used frequently enough to warrant a mention in the meta. As such, the meta is ever-changing and there are new mercenaries being added all the time in Hearthstone. We will keep you updated in case there are any changes to the top mercenaries in this list.
