The best decks to beat the Trial by Felfire adventure challenge in Hearthstone

Boss one – Doom Lord Kazzak

True to his World of Warcraft counterpart, Doom Lord Kazzak has absurd amounts of sustain, similar to Baltharak from the Story version of Trial by Felfire. The best way to tackle this is to bring a mid-range deck that focuses on making taller boards as opposed to wider token-based ones. Highlander Druid is a fun option to tackle this fight since oftentimes you can develop a strong enough board that will survive against Doom Lord Kazzak, and eventually you can use Alexstraza to bring him into lethal range.

Highlander Ramp

Class: Druid
Format: Standard
Year of the Phoenix
1x (1) Strength in Numbers
1x (2) Breath of Dreams
1x (2) Dreamway Guardians
1x (2) Power of the Wild
1x (2) Rising Winds
1x (2) Wrath
1x (2) Zephrys the Great
1x (3) BEEEES!!!
1x (3) Imprisoned Satyr

1x (3) Scalerider
1x (3) Wild Growth
1x (4) Archmage Vargoth
1x (4) Evasive Feywing
1x (4) Frizz Kindleroost
1x (4) Overgrowth
1x (4) Swipe
1x (5) Big Ol’ Whelp
1x (5) Cobalt Spellkin
1x (5) Elise the Enlightened
1x (5) Starfall
1x (6) Emerald Explorer

1x (6) Evasive Wyrm
1x (6) Nourish
1x (6) Starfire
1x (7) Evasive Drakonid
1x (7) Marsh Hydra
1x (7) Overflow
1x (8) Twin Tyrant
1x (9) Alexstrasza
1x (9) Dragonqueen Alexstrasza

AAECAbSKAx5AVl/3A8UEtwbEBuQI1pkDypwDr6ID9KID/KMD26UDl60DsK0D/a0DjK4D3q8DiLAD57AD/7ADgbEDhbEDh7EDkbED+bUD5LoD6LoD7boDAAA=

Boss two – Gruul the Dragonkiller

Since Gruul is forcibly taxed to do an expensive arcane missiles each turn, developing a board with high health and being able to reliably heal it while developing will let you get ahead. Dragon Hunter is good since you can always create moderate-sized threats each turn while pushing tons of damage against Gruul.

Secret Dragon

Class: Hunter
Format: Standard
Year of the Phoenix
2x (1) Blazing Battlemage
2x (1) Dwarven Sharpshooter
2x (2) Corrosive Breath
2x (2) Explosive Trap
2x (2) Faerie Dragon
2x (2) Freezing Trap
2x (2) Pack Tactics
2x (2) Phase Stalker
2x (3) Primordial Explorer

2x (3) Scalerider
2x (3) Stormhammer
1x (4) Dragonbane
2x (4) Evasive Feywing
2x (5) Big Ol’ Whelp
2x (5) Rotnest Drake
1x (6) Evasive Wyrm

AAECAR8Ch7ADhbEDDocEyQThBIqtA4utA/muA/uvA/yvA/6vA+ewA/+wA4exA6+3A6S5AwA=

As long as you keep out developing his board since Gruul will always be two mana behind you, this fight is ultimately trivial. Gruul has Warrior-removal tools, ranging from Brawl to Sleep with the Fishes, so if you develop a board, make sure not to lose too much in an AoE clear that would make you lose all steam if you were to lose too hard to them.

Boss three – Magtheridon

The main gimmick with Magtheridon’s fight are his Manticron Cubes provided with his Blast Nova hero power. The cubes are 3/5 minions that cannot declare an attack. But if Magtheridon tries to Blast Nova while he has three cubes on the field, he will deal 10 damage to your hero. The best way to tackle this boss is to play an aggressive weapon-based deck that can get on the board quickly and allows your own face to trade into cubes to outrace Magtheridon and keep the cubes in a manageable spot.

An aggressive version of Lightforged Paladin is a strong bet since you can use Paladin buffs to get value trades against the Manticron Cubes and Lightforged Zealot gives you a 4/2 minion alongside a Truesilver, which provides extra chances to stay ahead on board.

Lightforged Aggro

Class: Paladin
Format: Standard
Year of the Phoenix
2x (1) Aldor Attendant
2x (1) Blessing of Might
2x (1) Brazen Zealot
2x (1) Imprisoned Sungill
2x (1) Noble Sacrifice
2x (1) Righteous Cause
2x (2) Air Raid
2x (2) Hand of A’dal
2x (2) Libram of Wisdom

1x (2) Murgur Murgurgle
2x (2) Shotbot
2x (3) Sky Claw
2x (3) Underlight Angling Rod
2x (4) Blessing of Kings
2x (4) Lightforged Zealot
1x (7) Lightforged Crusader

AAECAaToAgKbrgP8uAMORsgErwfIpAOMrQOHrgOcrgONtgOWtgPIuAP7uAP9uAPruQPKwQMA

In a last-ditch effort, if you’re healthy enough and trying to fish for a lethal on Magtheridon over two turns, you could let three cubes sit on the board and face tank the 10 damage.

Boss four – Supremus

Supremus is a mix of Warlock and Shaman using Demons, Elementals, and AoE clears from both classes. The main challenge with Supremus is making sure your board is never at one health at any time, since whenever Supremus begins his turn, he hits all of your minions with one damage. If any minions die then Supremus summons a 6/6 Infernal, this much tempo loss will make you lose the game more often than not.

To counter this, Galakrond Priest is fairly good against Supremus because you can always heal any of your weaker minions while also developing stronger minions and easily removing any Supremus’ big minions. There is also a slight chance that you can steal AoE clears from Supremus with effects light Thoughtsteal and Madame Lazul.

Dragonkrond

Class: Priest
Format: Standard
Year of the Phoenix
2x (1) Disciple of Galakrond
2x (1) Renew
2x (2) Penance
2x (2) Sethekk Veilweaver
2x (2) Shadow Word: Death
2x (2) Thoughtsteal
2x (2) Wild Pyromancer
2x (3) Apotheosis
2x (3) Breath of the Infinite

1x (3) Madame Lazul
1x (3) Shadow Madness
2x (4) Fate Weaver
2x (5) Shield of Galakrond
2x (5) Time Rip
1x (6) Kronx Dragonhoof
1x (7) Galakrond, the Unspeakable
1x (7) Soul Mirror
1x (8) Murozond the Infinite

AAECAZ/HAgbcAeubA46xA+O0A8i+A8jAAwwe9gfTCpmpA9esA9qsA/KsA/6uA82vA5O6A5u6A6+6AwA=

Boss five – Teron Gorefiend

One of the largest difficulty spikes to occur in the challenge mode, Teron Gorefiend, not only has a fearsome hero power, but also a very strong deck to synergize with it. His deck is filled with Death Knight cards that were found from the Lich King legendary in the Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion. His Hero Power is an automatic two-mana tax that summons a 4/4 Shadowy Construct which deals three damage to you whenever one of your minions dies.

While the Hero Power is busted, the game supplies you with three zero-costed Vengeful Spirit spells, which instantly kill all copies of Shadowy Constructs. This gives you an opportunity for some breathing room to come back onto the board. There are two ways to use this spell: either use each copy early to prevent Teron Gorefiend from using his Shadowy Constructs to value trade, or wait for two or three to build up at a time and get value from each copy of Vengeful Spirits.

A standard Reno Mage list is recommended since the list can develop multiple threats while answering all different kinds of boards.

Reno

Class: Mage
Format: Standard
Year of the Phoenix
1x (1) Arcane Breath
1x (1) Ray of Frost
1x (2) Ancient Mysteries
1x (2) Apexis Smuggler
1x (2) Astromancer Solarian
1x (2) Frostbolt
1x (2) Sorcerer’s Apprentice
1x (2) Zephrys the Great
1x (3) Arcane Intellect

1x (3) Counterspell
1x (3) Flame Ward
1x (3) Imprisoned Observer
1x (3) Mirror Entity
1x (3) Netherwind Portal
1x (3) Scalerider
1x (4) Archmage Vargoth
1x (4) Azure Explorer
1x (4) Fireball
1x (4) Twilight Drake
1x (5) Cobalt Spellkin
1x (5) Malygos, Aspect of Magic

1x (6) Blizzard
1x (6) Dragoncaster
1x (6) Evasive Wyrm
1x (6) Reno the Relicologist
1x (7) Flamestrike
1x (9) Alexstrasza
1x (9) Dragonqueen Alexstrasza
1x (10) Kalecgos
1x (10) Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron

AAECAf0EHnHDAbsCyQOrBMUE5gSWBewHjQjWmQOfmwOKngPCoQP8owOSpAO/pAP0qwP1rAP6rAPwrwOBsQOFsQOHsQORsQPhtgPCuAPDuAONuQONuwMAAA==

Boss six – Mother Shahraz

Similar to her story version, Mother Shahraz has a powerful hero power which lets her clear minions with ease on her turn and slow any progress you can make in killing her on your turns. Whenever you try to attack Shahraz, always try to attack with weak attack and high health minions first. One deck that helps with this strategy is Shaman, since they try to get value trades and can evolve their wounded minions into stronger ones that can threaten Shahraz.

Evolve Galakrond

Class: Shaman
Format: Standard
Year of the Phoenix
2x (0) Mutate
2x (1) Sludge Slurper
2x (1) Storm’s Wrath
2x (2) EVIL Cable Rat
2x (2) EVIL Totem
2x (2) Explosive Evolution
2x (3) Bogstrok Clacker
2x (3) Desert Hare
2x (4) Devoted Maniac

2x (5) Boggspine Knuckles
2x (5) Faceless Corruptor
2x (5) Shield of Galakrond
2x (6) Corrupt Elementalist
1x (6) Kronx Dragonhoof
1x (7) Galakrond, the Tempest
2x (9) Mogu Fleshshaper

AAECAfe5AgLjtAPTwAMOtJEDtJcDxpkD1KUD+aUD2KkDta0Dua0D/q4Dqq8DgrEDorYD3bgD4bgDAA==

Boss seven – Lady Vashj

Lady Vashj is a daunting Shaman opponent which starts with extra mana crystals and has a powerful Hero Power which can deal three damage to one of your minions and draw her a card if it survives. This lets her develop boards faster than you while also answering any tiny boards you may attempt to muster towards her.

A Stealth Galakrond Rogue is good against this due to the fact that your minions cannot be targeted, and you can use early stealth minions to destroy any of her medium sized threats.

Stealthy Galakrond

Class: Rogue
Format: Standard
Year of the Phoenix
2x (0) Backstab
2x (1) Pharaoh Cat
2x (1) Praise Galakrond!

2x (1) Spymistress
2x (2) Ashtongue Slayer
2x (2) Eviscerate
2x (2) Skyvateer
1x (3) Akama
1x (3) Edwin VanCleef
2x (3) EVIL Miscreant
2x (3) Seal Fate
2x (3) SI:7 Agent
2x (4) Devoted Maniac
2x (5) Shield of Galakrond
1x (6) Flik Skyshiv

1x (6) Heistbaron Togwaggle
1x (6) Kronx Dragonhoof
1x (7) Galakrond, the Nightmare

AAECAYO6AgayApKXA8GuA+O0A9K5A8vAAwy0AYgH3QiPlwP1pwO5rgP+rgOqrwPOrwObtgO5uAO6uAMA

If you fail to develop a curve early it may warrant an early reset, especially since she can drop Flame Wreathed Faceless and put you on a fast clock.

Boss eight – Kael’thas Sunstrider

Kael’thas Sunstrider is the fastest PvE race that you’ll have to deal with in this adventure, since every time he casts a spell he adds a five-costed Pyroblast to his deck. That means your health breakpoint matters and you should try to be above 10 health when he’s past five mana, or 20 health when he’s nearing 10 mana. A modified Zoo list which includes Enhanced Dreadlord to give you late game lifesteal and a taunt which can absorb removal is your best bet at defeating Kael’thas. Since Zoo can get on the board fairly quickly, Kael’thas will have to use most of his spells to deal with your minions as opposed to your face.

Enhanced Zoo

Class: Warlock
Format: Standard
Year of the Phoenix
2x (1) Beaming Sidekick
2x (1) Fiendish Servant
2x (1) Flame Imp
2x (1) Soulfire
2x (1) Voidwalker
2x (2) EVIL Genius
2x (2) Expired Merchant
2x (2) Knife Juggler
2x (3) Darkglare

2x (3) Dragonblight Cultist
2x (3) Neferset Thrasher
2x (3) Questing Adventurer
2x (4) Fiendish Rites
1x (4) Veiled Worshipper
1x (7) Galakrond, the Wretched
2x (8) Enhanced Dreadlord

AAECAcn1AgLqrAPxvwMOMJcGzgexCMIIiJ0D+6QD/aQD/acD6KwD068DsLYDxLkDy7kDAA==

A card unique to Kael’thas, Gravity Lapse, is one to take note of since it returns all of your minions to your hand and makes them two mana more expensive. This is always a factor to consider when you’re developing a wide enough board.

Boss final – Illidan Stormrage

Similar to his story-based version, this challenge mode Illidan’s Burning Rage provides a conundrum that happens every time he swings with his hero. Similar to ladder, Warrior has a fairly good match up against Demon Hunter, and this glorified story version of Demon Hunter isn’t too different. Armorsmith and Bomb Wrangler provide both sustain and threats whenever Illidan AoEs your board or plays Priestess of Fury or Imprisoned Antaen. While this fight may take a couple of tries, proper play of your cards will always help, and throwing in any copies of Kobold Stickyfingers will always improve your odds.

Modified Warrior

Class: Warrior
Format: Standard
Year of the Phoenix
2x (0) Inner Rage
2x (1) Risky Skipper
1x (1) Shield Slam

2x (1) Sky Raider
2x (2) Armorsmith
2x (2) Battle Rage
2x (2) Corsair Cache
1x (2) Zephrys the Great
1x (3) Ancharrr
2x (3) Bomb Wrangler
2x (3) Livewire Lance
2x (3) Warmaul Challenger
1x (4) Kargath Bladefist
1x (5) Captain Greenskin
1x (5) Harrison Jones

2x (6) Armored Goon
1x (7) Siamat
1x (8) Deathwing, Mad Aspect
1x (9) Alexstrasza
1x (9) Dragonqueen Alexstrasza

Closing Thoughts

While all of these lists are unique classes for each encounter, you can always use the same class, or even same list for most of these encounters. As long as you can identify if aggro, mid-range, or control are best for each encounter, you will find success in the long run for this challenge mode, and you can claim a golden Kael’thas.

The Felfire Festival continues into tomorrow, July 1, where there will be one more legendary quest for playing the Tavern Brawl coming this Wednesday.