Hearthstone is one of the most popular card games in the world, with the option to play Ranked or casually, depending on your play style. The game even gives options for Solo Adventures for those who prefer a single-player experience. Over the years, the game has seen many different expansions come and go, eventually being taken out of the meta and into Wild mode, allowing you to play cards from any expansion.
If you want to know how we rank the Hearthstone Expansions, keep reading as we explain our judgments for every expansion and Solo Adventure.
S Tier – Whispers of the Old Gods
Whispers of the Old Gods was Hearthstone’s third expansion, which introduced C’thun, Yogg’Saron, N’Zoth, and Y’Shaarj. It was a fantastic expansion that brought a whole new level of depth to the game, including Forbidden Spells. These cards allowed players to create some amazingly strong decks, whether they revolved around one of the Old Gods or even the Servants of the Old Gods.
S Tier – Blackrock Mountain
While not a typical expansion in Hearthstone, it did offer a fantastic adventure mode for players to enjoy. The adventure allowed players to participate in nine different class-specific challenges based on Dungeons and Raids in the Blackrock Mountain region, introducing a new Heroic Mode for an extra challenge.
As someone who enjoys adventures in Hearthstone, Blackrock Mountain was a lot of fun and is still enjoyable.
S Tier – The League of Explorers
By adding a host of cards from the Explorers’ League, players get to incorporate characters such as Reno Jackson, Elise Starseeker, and Brann Bronzebeard into their decks. This allowed for some fantastic Hunter decks that revolved around minions being buffed. It also introduced one of the most helpful Mage cards: Ethereal Conjurer.
The League of Explorers introduced the keyword Discover, which has become an essential in Hearthstone.
It also gave players a new Solo Adventure, jam-packed with content, with four wings and thirteen boss encounters to complete.
S Tier – Journey to Un’Goro
This expansion introduced a lot of new features to the game, spicing it up even more and allowing for greater versatility. It included the Adapt keyword, as well as Elemental minions, perfect for Mages.
Journey to Un’Goro was wholeheartedly an expansion made for Hunters that allowed for buffed minions and very strong dinos to rule supreme. This expansion also allowed Druids and Mages to excel, especially with the Elemental minion type.
A Tier – Curse of Naxxramas
The Curse of Naxxramas expansion added a fantastic Solo Adventure to the game, where players would work their way up to defeating Kel’Thuzad. This expansion also introduced a lot of Deathrattle cards, which allowed players to summon a tonne of minions to the board and buff them once their Deathrattle minions were killed. Many of the minions revolved around insects and gave the expansion a very creepy feel.
It also added Heroic Boss modes in the Solo Adventure for players who wanted an extra challenge and wanted to get their hands on a green oozy cardback.
A Tier – Knights of the Frozen Throne
Knights of the Frozen Throne was a very detailed expansion of the lore of the Lich King and how he came to be. With it, Arthas was added as a hero to the game. Not only this, but it also introduced Missions to the game for players who enjoy single-player content in Hearthstone and missed Solo Adventures that were scrapped for quite a while.
While it is a great Hearthstone expansion, it doesn’t rank quite as highly as other Hearthstone expansions. This expansion would have been the perfect time to introduce Death Knight as a class to the game, but instead, they did it in the much later expansion, March of the Lich King.
That being said, it did introduce Hero Cards to replace Hero Powers and the Lifesteal keyword, which allowed players to create leech decks, perfect for Warlocks and Mages.
A Tier – Kobolds and Catacombs
Kobolds and Catacombs had one of the best features, introducing Dungeon Run to the game. This was great for players who enjoyed their solo content, and it got increasingly challenging the higher you climbed in the ranks.
This expansion also introduced the Recruit keyword, which wasn’t as fun as some other keywords added to Hearthstone over the years. This was a great keyword for those who enjoyed Hunter or Druid, as it allowed for some strong minions across the board.
A Tier – Saviors of Uldum
Saviors of Uldum was incredibly fun and added one of the best (in my opinion) keywords to the game: Reborn. This keyword could allow for some very broken builds, with minions being reborn again and buffed to high heavens with spells by the player.
Priests excelled with this expansion, having the most utility when using Reborn cards, as they could use their Hero Power to heal their Reborn minions and then buff them again with other spells in their deck.
B Tier – Voyage to the Sunken City
One of the more recent expansions, Voyage to the Sunken City, added some very beautiful cards to the game. This expansion has some of the prettiest cards for those interested in the game’s card art.
This expansion also introduced Naga, one of the most well-known enemy types in World of Warcraft, to the game. Not only did it introduce Naga, but it also introduced two new keywords to the game: Colossal and Dredge.
Colossal allowed for very strong minions that required a lot of mana to play them, while Dredge allowed players to look at the bottom three cards in their deck and choose one to put on the top of the deck.
In terms of keywords, Dredge fell flat compared to some of the others, as it was incredibly situational and really depended on having a good shuffled deck to excel.
B Tier – Fractured in Alterac Valley
Fractured in Alterac Valley was fun as it allowed players to show their support for either the Alliance or the Horde, and the build-up to the expansion had a lot of hype to it. That being said, overall, the expansion fell somewhat flat. The latest keyword to be added was “Honorable Kill,” which allowed the players to deal exact lethal damage to an opponent and give Objective spells an ongoing effect for three turns.
In terms of all of the keywords in the game, this one felt very situational and depended on whether you had Objective spells in your deck. This worked well if you were a Mage, Paladin, or Priest, but it didn’t quite have the same great effects for other classes.
B Tier – Scholomance Academy
Scholomance Academy introduced Spellburst, a very fun mechanic for classes like Mage, Priest, and Paladin. That being said, there were more cards for Demon Hunter than for any other classes.
Not only this, but dual-class cards were added for the first time in Hearthstone. Scholomance Academy is still a great Hearthstone expansion but doesn’t quite hit the mark compared to other Hearthstone expansion rankings.
B Tier – The Boomsday Project
The Boomsday Project is the ninth expansion in Hearthstone and added some high-tech cards to the game, which could be very strong if played correctly. This all stems from the newest keyword, “Magnetic,” allowing Magnetic minions to be fused to make a stronger unit overall.
It added fantastic spells to the game, including Academic Espionage and Topsy Turvy. Most Magnetic cards were neutral, making it anyone’s game if they could play them correctly. That being said, Hunter, Paladin, and Warrior were the most focused on the Mech minions and were more likely to be able to utilize the keyword.
If you weren’t a fan of Goblins or Mechs, this expansion wasn’t for you, as it predominantly revolved around their technologies and equipment.
B Tier – Rise of Shadows
Rise of Shadows added some phenomenal cards and minions, adding Lackeys to the game. This was fantastic for Warriors and Paladins, allowing them to buff the minions while defending themself. Mages also excelled in this expansion with the Twinspell keyword. This expansion was delightful and included the Solo Adventure The Dalaran Heist.
Compared to other Solo Adventures, this one wasn’t as enjoyable and didn’t leave any long-lasting effects in my mind.
C Tier – Madness At The Darkmoon Faire
It was a very fun expansion that saw the return of the Old Gods, with C’Thuun, Yogg’Saron, Y’Shaarj, and N’Zoth returning to the expansion run by Silas Darkmoon. Madness At The Darkmoon Faire also added the new keyword “Corrupt,” which could be a little finicky to use.
This allowed you to play a Corrupted card and gain bonus effects. These cards usually come at a higher cost, and you have to play them tactfully to succeed. That being said, they allowed for some expansive buffs to minions and other Keywords like Divine Shield and Taunt on a minion.
C Tier – Murder at Castle Nathria
Murder at Castle Nathria introduced a new keyword to the mix: “Infuse.” This allowed for cards to get more powerful as friendly minions died. Location cards were also added in Murder at Castle Nathria, which can be played on the battlefield. These cards come with an ability that can be activated for free on each turn.
Overall, this expansion fell short of what it could have been. While Infuse and Location cards are fun, you have to play a very particular way to succeed. You have to be okay with having minions that exist to power up your other minions, which works with cards that summon x amount of minions.
However, if that type of gameplay doesn’t suit you, you may not gel with this Hearthstone expansion.
C Tier – Ashes of Outland
Ashes of Outland was a major expansion, introducing Demon Hunter to the game. This was a pretty big deal, and if played correctly, Demon Hunter is a very powerful class in Hearthstone. It also introduced two major mechanics, Prime Minions and Imprisoned Demons. Prime minions had the potential to be game-winning if played correctly, and Imprisoned Demons also dealt immense damage when they woke up.
In terms of Solo Adventures, the Solo Adventure for Ashes of Outland wasn’t as fantastic as some of the others. Despite getting some lore about the Demon Hunters in Outland, it didn’t add much to the game.
C Tier – Festival of Legends
A somewhat comedic Hearthstone expansion based on music, this expansion takes place in Thousand Needles and adds two new keywords to the game. Overheal, which is Priest-specific and allows minions to trigger special effects if they are healed over their max health. They also added Finale, which allows cards to have bonus effects if they spend the rest of your mana.
This expansion has a lot of fun cards and is pretty balanced and fun overall but somewhat unmemorable.
C Tier – Mean Streets of Gadgetzan
Based on all about the crime families in Gadgetzan, this expansion introduced the use of tri-class cards. Equally, this expansion used a lot of Jade Lotus cards, allowing cards to summon Jade Golems as an additional minion.
Aside from the Jade Lotus cards, this expansion was pretty forgettable.
C Tier – March of the Lich King
It’s very similar to Knights of the Frozen Throne, but it added the Death Knight class to the game this time. It also introduced Undead minions, dual minion types, and Manathirst as a new Keyword, while also bringing back Reborn as a permanent keyword.
That said, while this expansion added much more than Knights of the Frozen Throne, it still felt lackluster, as the Death Knight class wasn’t that strong, and Signature cards fell flat.
C Tier – Descent of Dragons
Descent of Dragons was a really fun expansion- if you enjoy using Dragon cards. However, if you don’t enjoy them, this expansion may have been a pass for you. It had a lot of tricky gameplay elements, especially with Galakrond’s Awakening being involved. For example, the two new keywords added to the game were Invoke and Sidequest, which allowed players to transform their hero into a version of Galakrond over time.
Sidequests are similar to Quests and Secrets but appear as an exclamation mark on the character’s image. Adding sidequests felt somewhat redundant when Secrets and Quests already existed, and it felt as if they could have just expanded on the quests that existed.
Not only this, but the Solo Adventure Galakrond’s Awakening fell flat, with there being quite a difficulty spike. Overall, not one of the best expansions Hearthstone has to offer.
C Tier – Forged in the Barrens
Forged in the Barrens added the keyword “Frenzy” which allowed minions to do something once they had taken damage for the first time. Not only this, but it expanded on pre-existing Spell schools in the game whilst adding some extra spell schools as well.
If you enjoy the lore of the game and World of Warcraft, this Hearthstone expansion would be perfect for you, as plenty of lore is expanded on in the Book of Heroes.
C Tier – The Witchwood
The Witchwood added a lot to Hearthstone, which made it slightly overwhelming as an expansion. It added three new keywords to the game: “Start of Game,” “Echo,” and “Rush.” Rush cards are very useful, but Start of Game cards aren’t memorable in the slightest. Echo also had some fun interactions with specific classes, but overall, they aren’t a key feature in Hearthstone.
The Witchwood added a pretty fun Solo Adventure, allowing players to explore four exclusive classes to the Solo Adventure. Overall, compared to other expansions, this one just wasn’t as memorable.
C Tier – Rastakhan’s Rumble
Rastakhan’s Rumble introduced King Rastakhan himself as an alternate hero for Shamans, giving them more choice in the game. If you like Trolls, this is the expansion for you. Predominantly centered around the race, players get to have Loa minions and legendary Trolls who are in service of the Loa on their team.
This expansion introduced the keyword “Overkill”. This keyword allowed cards with the keyword on to grant a bonus should the player do excess damage to a minion on the board.
This Hearthstone expansion did release some very fun cards, making for some great decks for the Hunter, especially with cards like Oondasta. Overall though, it didn’t have much variety to it at all.
C Tier – United in Stormwind
Similar to Forged in the Barrens, this expansion revolves around Stormwind and the Alliance mercenaries. This expansion added two new keywords: Questline and Tradeable. Tradeable allowed you to swap a card from your deck with a tradeable one. However, this keyword quickly became redundant in Hearthstone. While Questline is similar to Quests, the result is a Legendary minion for your board, which could make or break a game.
Overall, the expansion wasn’t anything special and felt like the counterpart to Forged in the Barrens.
C Tier – Goblins vs Gnomes
The first-ever expansion for Hearthstone, adding some significant changes to the game with new minion types such as Mech and Beast. Along with it came the spectate mode for the game, too.
A lot of the cards from this Hearthstone expansion are quite forgettable and don’t serve as a reminder of what the expansion was when it came out. The most memorable card for me is the “Annoy-a-tron.” It’s nostalgic because it was the first expansion for the game, but other than that, didn’t hold anything special.
D Tier – One Night in Karazhan
One Night in Karazhan was an ambitious adventure for sure, but it wasn’t exactly what players were expecting. Like all Solo Adventures, it included multiple wings and bosses, as well as class challenges and a Heroic mode for those who want an additional challenge.
From the outside, it is very aesthetically pleasing and also looks like it is going to turn the game into a dating simulator. However, that didn’t happen. Instead, it’s a poor take on the entire Karazhan raid, with a very easy Heroic mode as well.
D Tier – The Grand Tournament
The Grand Tournament introduced “Inspire” as the keyword for this expansion, but overall, it was one of the flattest expansions to be added to Hearthstone. While the expansion had some great cards that were later to be essential, the expansion is honestly quite forgettable.
That concludes our tier list for every Hearthstone expansion ranked. Some of this you may feel resonates with you, while you may completely disagree with other rankings! Of course, there is also the latest expansion, “Showdown in the Badlands,” but it is in its very early days, and we’re still feeling it out.
What do you think is the best Hearthstone expansion?
