Hearthstone

[Gustaran]

I think there are 4+ decks right now that are viable without any legendaries. Aggro versions of Hunter, Warlock, Paladin, and Warrior and maybe even Rogue work just fine. All of them are better with Leeroy and maybe Tinkmaster but they work just fine without them. Unfortunately they're all aggro - legendaries tend towards the high end of power/mana curves so building a viable deck without them means you need to avoid late game. The cheapest non-aggro deck is probably Miracle Rogue - you need Van Cleef and then maybe Sylvanas and Tinkmaster.

Edit: Here's an interesting write-up on how to play Control Warrior in general and against specific other types of decks.

IMHO most aggro decks become boring very fast. I tried the currently fashionable hunter version and I find it incredibly dull after ~1o games. The Paladin version is more interesting, but if I were to construct a cheap deck I would go for Miracle Rogue. And like you said, even the cheap aggro decks profit from Leeroy, Tinkmaster and possibly even Thalnos.

The guide is pretty good, though I think Alexstraza should be listed as a core card as well. The bread and butter combo would be to equip Gorehowl at some point, play Alexstraza (set to 15 life) and finish the game with an enraged Grom Hellscream and Gorehowl attack on the next turn.

[Sir Bruce]

I agree about Hunter. There are more decision points than I first gave it credit for but mostly it's just solitaire run-your-dudes-in. I think midrange/tempo Rogue is a very interesting deck to play because they have so many combos and ways to deal with things and want to maintain just enough board control that they can then unload over turns 5-7. I actually think Miracle Rogue is a little more boring because you just wait for one big turn and then play all your cards. That's fun but not very strategically interesting.

[Sir Bruce]

Sunrise (and any one else), here are 3 cheapish aggro decks that you can use for quests.

Tempo Rogue:

This was a fantastic deck that is merely decent since the Novice Engineer nerf and meta-shifts. I haven't found the right way to replace the NE yet. Right now I'm running one NE and one shiv. Basic gameplan is to control the board (Backstab, coin->SI7, buffs) and then swing like mad in midgame. Very efficient and fun.

Warrior:

Reynad, a very obnoxious and whiny streamer, created the original version of this deck. It's slightly more midgame focused than Hunter aggro but you're basically looking to charge as much as possible.

Paladin:

This deck really needs two Swords of Justice and I wouldn't even bother if you don't have at least one. Playing Argent Squires, your hero power, and Argent Commanders with a SoJ out feels so strong. You can trick a lot of people with Get Down because the summoned 2/1 gets the SoJ buff as well. Don't be afraid to trade one or two duration of the SoJ either to keep the board clear. Play it similar to hunter - go for face unless the board is a total mess.

For all of these don't sweat it if you don't have 100% of the cards. They can all be easily replaced. Loot Hoarder and/or Faerie Dragon are always good substitutes. I have Tinkmaster and Leeroy but they are easily replaced with an Owl and an Arcane Golem. You can probably not even bother with the Golem and just use a solid 2 or 3 drop too. Most of these decks are missing 2-3 cards that I don't have anyway.

[Cyneheard]

Humblebrag of the day (should've taken a screenshot, not sure what I was thinking):

27 damage in 1t in the Arena for Win #7.

A triple-buffed Blood Knight (12/5 at that point), an unshielded Argent Commander, a 1/1, and Pyroblast. Game.

He had played Faceless Manipulator on a Argent Protector'd Boulderfist Ogre. I wish I could've seen the look on his face when I yanked those shields.

EDIT: And once again, I go 8-3. Can't seem to get past 7/8 wins, but get there often enough that I can play Arena almost forever.

[sunrise089]

12-2! Thanks mage deck that I will post in a bit. Reward was pack, golden Naturalize, golden Lava Burst, 25g, 230g.

In serious related news during the 11-2 game my wife was texting me from bed that she was cold. I raced downstairs during the enemy's turn to turn the heat up, landed badly on the stair landing, heard a pop and felt a shooting pain in my foot, and collapsed to the floor uttering some choice words. I literally crawled back up the stairs to play my turn and eventually win the match. #priorities

[WilliamLP]

Yeah, it feels like once I get to 6 wins, and then to 8 toward 10, the quality of decks and opponents takes a big leap upward that is very noticeable. It seems you can bet on the key class power cards being in those decks in multiples, the flamestrikes, holy novas, consecrate / truesilver, lightning storm / fire elemental, swipes, etc.

I haven't had a 12 win run yet but I got 420 gold from an 11 win run which was pretty awesome, and I've had 2 tens and a few 8s. I just recently got my first legendary from an arena reward pack and it was... The Beast. Not what I was hoping for! I haven't spent any money on the game yet and honestly I think it's more fun that way anyway.

[Gustaran]

Here is an extensive guide for Paladin aggro, it was written just 3 days ago and the author made it to Legend:

http://hearthstoneplayers.com/dkmrs-lege...din-aggro/

[Sir Bruce]

Interesting. Using the Blessings of Might instead of Sword of Justice should help your early tempo. But leaving your minions at one health? Seems bad. And Milhouse has got to be a mistake against all the Warriors and Druids in the current meta. I'm not going to craft him anytime soon so who knows.

[Gustaran]

I played a few games and I agree: There is now way going without Sword of Justice is a good idea. One single Swipe is an immediate game over.

Millhouse Manastorm, however, is pretty much ok against most decks. What is the worst case scenario against Druid or Warrior? The Druid can probably remove Millhouse with a free Swipe, but using a Swipe to remove a single 2 mana creature is not that great. I don't think a druid would start burning you with his spells, usually these are needed for board control later. The only bad thing I can think of is the Force of Nature + Savage Roar combo every druid runs. The only real killer would probably be a free Nourish, but that card seems to be rather rare outside of Arena at the moment.

I am also not sure it is that problematic against warriors. The warrior deck I run for example has a bunch of spells, but mainly for creature removal and things like Shield Block should probably be held back (that's what the guide you linked says).

That being said, there are certainly decks against which Millhouse is nearly unplayable. Just imagine dropping this against a Miracle Rogue or any kind of Mage deck - this will probably end in instant disaster.

[Sir Bruce]

I am worried about 0-mana removal plus creature which is a great early play (see: Backstab!). You're basically giving a Druid a huge tempo boost because they can swipe and play a golem or innervate-yeti. Same with Warrior. The author of that guide talks about how Milhouse will typically 2-for-1 which is true but irrelevant. These control decks have ridiculous card draw but lousy early tempo. Milhouse is evening that playing field in their favor.