The decks you need to win the Hearthstone Into the Emerald Dream Pre-Release Tavern Brawl

Try out the cards from the brand new Into the Emerald Dream expansion with the new Hearthstone Pre-Release Tavern Brawl. This is the second time Blizzard has tried this event where you can open your expansion packs early and explore the new cards before its official release on March 25.

Let’s see what changes they have in store and start dreaming of wins.

Tavern Brawl basics

• Name: Pre-Release Tavern Brawl
• Description: Build a deck using valid cards from your collection, including cards from the upcoming expansion, and earn more new cards!
• Fun level: ?/10
• Difficulty: ?/10
• Replayability: ?/10
• Format: Stardard* (see below)
• Type: PVP
• Deck: Constructed
• Rewards: Varies based upon how much you win

There’s some confusion around this Brawl so let’s try to clear that up. If you have pre-orders or packs you’ve got from events and last season’s rewards, you can open them and play them in this Brawl. You still can’t buy Into the Emerald Dream packs with gold and you can’t do any crafting yet. You’re only allowed to use whatever cards you open. Standard packs won’t help you either, as they won’t have any Into the Emerald Dream cards in them until the official expansion release on March 25.

Why can’t I open my packs?

Like last time with The Great Dark Beyond Pre-Release Tavern Brawl, mobile users have a delay before they can open packs. Last time, it was a couple of hours. I strongly recommend you don’t enter until you’ve opened your packs.

If you update mid-run, you might get locked out. According to RidiculousHat, “you’ll have to retire to enter another run. We have this listed on known issues and we’re looking into how we can retroactively do something to help out folks who got locked out, but for now, retiring will get you back in the queue.”

By the time this article is live, you’ll most likely be able to open any Into the Emerald Dream packs you have.

I thought the first entry was free?

The first one is free. You’ll see a “Spend 2 Tickets button” when you go to enter the Brawl the first time. Just click the button, and you’ll be allowed entry. I agree this isn’t intuivtive, but you have two tickets, even if you can’t really see them any where. If you want to keep playing after your first run, it will cost you. You’ll need to pony up two Tavern Tickets, 300 Gold, or 400 Runestones.

How exactly does this Brawl work?

Like Heroic Brawliseum, this Brawl follows Arena’s “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” mechanic. Unlike Heroic Brawliseum, you’re capped at six wins instead of twelve. You continue your run by playing additional games until you experience the thrill of six victories or the agony of three defeats, whichever comes first. Fortunately you can stop between games and come back later to continue your run, so you don’t need to have a marathon play session to win. Every victory increases the difficulty of your next opponent. If you have four wins, you’re matched up against other players who also have four wins.

What cards can I use to build my Into the Emerald Dream Pre-Release Tavern Brawl decks?

Here’s where we find one of major lessons Blizzard learned from The Great Dark Beyond Pre-Release Tavern Brawl. That Brawl featured mostly meta-decks from the previous expansion, leaving new card enthusiasts frustrated. This time around, the developers are shaking things up with restrictions to encourage fresh gameplay.

The eligible card pool for the brawl will be:

• Core Set (before rotation)
• Event Set (before rotation)
• The Great Dark Beyond, but Heroes of StarCraft cards are not eligible.
• Into the Emerald Dream

While players who didn’t purchase a preorder, and those with smaller collections will face a challenges, but they’ll still get increased rewards over a regular Tavern Brawl. So everyone benefits in a way. It’s a win-win for those wanting to experiment with the latest cards!

What decks do I need to win the Into the Emerald Dream Pre-Release Tavern Brawl?

While I applaud the developers’ efforts, there are still many meta decks from the Great Dark Beyond dominating the format. If something below doesn’t appeal to you, Viscious Syndicate has almost a dozen deck lists on their site. We’ll feature a couple of them below.

F2P Death Knight

• Credit: marlongn
• Deck code:

  AAECAeaKBwTLpQXmqQbm5gbh9AYN9eMEseYEh/YEsvcEtIAFrqEF0J4G1J4G2+UG3OUG3uUG4usG9qcHAAA=

• marlongn simply took an aggressive Death Knight list he had and subbed out the banned cards with Raptors Herald and Ursoc.

Crewmate Demon Hunter

• Credit: chaosman456
• Deck code:

  AAECAea5AwSU1ASongbmqQa84gYNtp8E4fgFnNwGo9wGnd0G5N8G4+MGzeQGyeUGouoGvuoGweoG1/MGAAA=

• This deck employs the strategy of using a strong meta deck, and replacing whatever banned cards it no longer has access to. As a fast, aggressive deck, this list can punish those less refined lists you’ll see the Brawl, and requires no new cards.

Imbue Nature Druid

• Credit: NightDrawn
• Deck code:

  AAECAZICBP/TBIHUBLT3BqqBBw2unwSA1ASpsQap4gbW+gac+waggQfggQfigQf3gQeIgwfhiAekiQcAAA==

• This uses the power of the new Imbue Mechanic to boost the Druid Hero Power. This one needs a ton of Into the Emerald Dream cards.

VS Discover Starship Dark Gift Hunter

• Credit: Viscious Syndicate
• Deck code:

  AAECAR8E9t0G4uMGyOUGquoGDamfBJekBYvcBpzcBqfcBp%2FdBpXiBtzjBt%2FjBuHjBrTmBq3rBrX6BgAA

• This combines Hunter’s strong Discover mechanics with its Starship and then adds in the new Dark Gift mechanic from Into the Emerald Dream.

VS Imbue Mage

• Credit: Viscious Syndicate
• Deck code:

  AAECAf0EAqrqBqT4Bg6coATe%2BAWG5gbX8waw9QbW%2Bgbc%2Bgb0%2FAb1%2FAb3gQfdiAeaiQfujQfxkQcAAA%3D%3D

• This features the new Imbue keyword making the Mage’s Hero Power stronger and stronger.

Imbue Paladin

• Credit: NightDrawn
• Deck code:

  AAECAZ8FBKiKBPD+BrSBB5KDBw3JoATRqQbW+gac+wah+wbP/gbv/gbG/wbI/wb3gQfCjwfDjwfpjwcAAA==

• This is another Imbue deck, this time for Paladin. It’ll be interesting to see which of these Imbue powered lists proves to the most powerful. This list is another one needs a ton of Into the Emerald Dream cards.

Imbue Priest

• Credit: NightDrawn
• Deck code:

  AAECAa0GBK/BBtfSBpb9BsCEBw3LwAbQwAbZwAa3wQbW+gac+wag+wb8/AaG/QbF/QbD/wb3gQeFhgcAAA==

• Rounding out the Imbue decks, we have the Priest entry. Will this be powerful enough to make Priest give up their Trusty Fishing Rod? Like the others, this one also needs a bunch of cards from Into the Emerald Dream.

Are you feeling lucky?

There’s no doubt that luck will play a huge roll in what you can play in this Brawl. Are you a Warrior main who got nothing but Rogue and Death Knight cards? Did you get any Epics at all? Still, your first run is supposed to be free so at least give the format a try.

Do you have a great list you think we should try out? Let us know in the comments!