The decks you need to win the A Peek to the Past Hearthstone Tavern Brawl

A very old Hearthstone Tavern Brawl has returned once again, and because of its ruleset, this one really shows its age. In A Peek to the Past, you’re limited to only using cards from the Basic and Classic sets — that’s those very old cards that were added to the game over a decade ago — and you can’t use any Epics or Legendaries either.

What is this madness?! Yes, this Brawl goes “crazy” not by introducing wacky rules, but rather, by limiting the cards you can use so much that you have to be a little insane to be able to come up with a viable winning strategy. Is it any fun? Let’s find out.

Tavern Brawl basics

Name: A Peek to the Past
Description: Let’s take it down a notch there brawler. Make a deck using only cards from the Basic and Classic sets, but none of those fancy Epics or Legendaries, ya hear?
Fun level: 3/10
Difficulty: 8/10
Replayability: 6/10
Format: Wild
Type: PVP
Rewards: 1 Escape From Violet Hold card pack

This is a very limited format for a Brawl, taking us back to something that is not even quite how Hearthstone was in 2014: it’s even more restrained than that, since you can’t use Epics or Legendaries, and you can’t even use cards from the Core set either — so staples like the Mage Frostbolt are out! You will be doing a lot of grinding, board-based, minion-fighting strategies as you try to setup the better board and slowly overwhelm your opponent, with no combos or fancy plays. Reminds us of Arena in a sense.

It’s not exactly a super fun Brawl, if I’m being honest. You’ll want to make good trades, always “trading up” (that is, make sure your lower health minions can take down things that are “bigger” than them whenever possible, and make sure your big minions kill smaller enemy minions and survive to fight again, even if they only have 1 health left). Make good use of your limited card draw options (Acolyte of Pain, Loot Hoarder), and board manipulation effects like buffs (Abusive Sergeant, Defender of Argus, Dark Iron Dwarf), and depending on your strategy, perhaps also consider things like Silence (Ironbeak Owl) and board manipulation (Mind Control Tech).

For your “battle-oriented” minions, pick things that have Divine Shield (Argent Squire, Scarlet Crusader, Sunwalker), and things that will allow you to close the game with big damage (Argent Commander, perhaps Stranglethorn Tiger, and class-specific threats like Doomguard for Warlock and Savannah Highmane for Hunter). There’s no escaping a lot of those staples, since each class has such a limited pool of options, so you’ll be seeing a lot of those same minions on each game.

The decks you need to win Hearthstone’s A Peek to the Past Tavern Brawl

Here are some good decks for you to try this week, under this very limited card set. If you don’t know how to use deck codes, we have a handy guide for that.

Zoo Warlock

• Deck code:

  AAEBAYrmBwAPkwHyAaIC3ALhBPcE3gX1BfsFigaWBtkH4gexCMIIAAA=

• Your goal with this deck is to flood the board with small minions that will stick, taking down enemy minions and slowly dealing damage to the opponent. Use Shadowflame to clear the opponent’s board when you need, and remember that you can combine it with temporary buffs from Abusive Sergeant or Dark Iron Dwarf. Close the game with your Doomguards.

Face/Beast Hunter

• Deck code:

  AAEBAcvwBgAPmQKiAtwCigOHBIIF9QXZB+IHsQjbCe0JgQrbCv4MAAA=

• The limited card pool didn’t allow us to build neither a proper Face Hunter nor a proper Beast Hunter, so a hybrid of sorts will have to do. Knife Juggler + Unleash the Hounds is pretty good combo when your opponent has a lot of minions. Your Eaglehorn Bow can let you either clear minions on your way or damage face, especially if you have an active Freezing Trap to give it more charges. Savannah Highmane and Argent Commander are your endgame tools to win.

Secret Mage

• Deck code:

  AAEBAYv/BwAPRHHDAfsBmQLcApUDrgPJA+EE5gTtBOwF9wX7DAAA

• It’s a bit tough to play Mage without core spells like Frostbolt or Fireball, so you’ll want a strategy based on setting up Secrets instead. You have spells like Cone of Cold and Blizzard to control the opponent’s board, but try to save them for when they’ll really make a splash. Draw cards with Loot Hoarder and Acolyte of Pain (which you can ping yourself with your Hero Power if needed), and utilize your endgame cards like Sunwalker and Argent Commander to close the deal.

Enrage Warrior

• Deck code:

  AAEBAYb/BwAPFpkCogKQA5oE1ASOBd4F9QWWBoIIsgjUCIMJ+wwAAA==

• Your minions will benefit from taking damage: Amani Berserker, Armorsmith, Frothing Berserker, and Raging Worgen, among others, are your core tools to gain lots of armor and lots of attack, with Frothing Berserker in particular being a major threat to your opponent that you want to protect. Use cards like Commanding Shout and Arathi Weaponsmith to control the opponent’s board from a safe position, and remember you have your own “pings” like Inner Rage and even Slam to activate your “on damage” effects. Battle Rage is a great card draw tool, so use it wisely.

Whichever deck you decide to play, may your pack come swift!