Summary
Minions inHearthstoneare divided into multiple different types. UnlikeMagic the Gathering, which has nearly 300 minion categories, Hearthstone only has eleven or twelve, depending on how you count. Most of them come with specific synergies, but there are plenty of individually powerful minions within each type as well.
The minion type landscape has shifted over the years, with new types being added, the concept of dual-type minions being introduced, and older minions getting updated with types that didn’t exist when they were first released. Let’s look at how the various types stack up against each other in Hearthstone.
12Quillboar
Littering the Battlegrounds but absent in Hearthstone
Quillboar aren’t in a great spot. There aren’t a lot of them in the game, and most of them aren’t particularly good. That’s not to say no Quillboar has ever been useful; Hench-Clan Thug was quite a powerhouse back in the day, and a few others have had their time in the sun, but the minion type just hasn’t left much of a mark on the game.
It probably doesn’t help that there are more Quillboar in Battlegrounds than in Hearthstone’s main game mode. Hopefully, more of them will be released in the future, and this minion type can be more than a footnote to the game’s history.
11All
The smallest minion type there is
The All type is a bit of an unusual one in that one might argue it isn’t a type at all but rather a combination of every minion type. However, All minions clearlyaretyped and don’t fit neatly into any other category, so it feels right to include them here.
This is the smallest type by a significant margin, consisting of only five minions. Most of them are just piles of stats with the word “All” slapped onto them, which isn’t especially exciting, though certain decks have found use for them. A more fun option is The One-Amalgam Band, which is sometimes used as a finisher in multi-type decks. However, the All minion type is really carried by the much more innocuous Amalgam of the Deep, which has the versatility and value-generation to slot easily into a wide variety of decks.
10Naga
The most complex minion type
Naga might be the most complex minion type in Hearthstone. They generally don’t have much synergy with each other but come with a wide variety of unique effects. Many of them havespell-based synergies, gaining effects if you play a spell while they are in your hand or on the board.
Naga can also engage in some particularly wacky shenanigans with mana manipulators like Spitelash Siren and Barbaric Sorceress. Despite being a relatively new type, these scaly sea-dwellers have had quite an impact on Hearthstone already.
9Murlocs
Mrglmrglmrglmrgl
Hearthstone’s Murlocs are mostly centered around smaller, highly-synergistic minions. As a result, they have seen a lot of play in aggressive decks that play a bunch of Murlocs and not much else. But there’s more to these fishy little guys than that.
In Wild, the combo of Firemance Flurgl and Toxfin would inflict Poison on entire enemy boards until it was nerfed. And as the expansions have rolled by, the Hearthstone team has gotten more creative with their Murlocs, releasing the likes of Mutanus the Devourer and Gigafin, which are hand-disruption and board clear tools, respectively.
8Dragons
Home of the Legendary minions
The Dragon minion type contains an abnormally large amount of Legendary minions, which is not especially surprising if you are at all familiar with their prominence in World of Warcraft’s lore. Some of these Legendaries have been among the most dominant minions in the game, from Malygos and the various Alexstraszas to options like Anachronos.
There have been a decent number of Dragon-synergy cards released as well, although most of the newer ones haven’t been as powerful as those released in earlier expansions when decks like Dragon Priest were particularly potent.
7Elementals
Strong, individual power
Elementals have a lot of individually powerful minions. Zephrys the Great or Neptulon the Tidehunter are just a few of the exceptional cards on that list. That alone is enough to boost Elementals over some of the less fortunate minion Types.
However, significant Elemental synergy can be hard to come by. In earlier expansions, Elemental-centric decks focused on playing minions of the type on consecutive turns to gain specific bonuses, but the Hearthstone design team has only released support for the archetype intermittently since it was introduced in Journey to Un’goro (although the Showdown in the Badlands expansion might change that).
6Undead
Undead are the latest minion Type to be made official, although, by the dictionary definition, there have been undead creatures in the game since the beginning. Some of those early Undead minions, like Sylvanas Windrunner and Loatheb, were meta staples.
A massive number of Undead were introduced along with the Death Knight Class, which uses the minion type to make up a significant portion of its card pool. And the new arrivals are just as strong as the old heads, with minions like Patchwerk and Soulstealer.
5Totems
Bound almost exclusively to the Shaman class
More than any other minion type, Totems are bound to a specific Class. Aside from a few, not especially powerful, exceptions, they belong almost exclusively to Shamans. This makes a lot of sense, as the class also summons them from their Hero Power.
And despite being relatively limited in number and lacking any particular standouts, the synergy around Totems has made the minion type exceptionally strong. The Hearthstone team has been trying to make Totem Shaman work as an archetype for years, and while it has only found success relatively recently in Standard, the steady buildup of synergy cards in Wild has made it a staple there.
4Demons
Warlocks and Demon Hunters rejoice
Originally the iconic minion Type for Warlock, Demons saw a significant uptick in presence with the introduction of Demon Hunter. And while there are a few notable Neutral options (namely Patches the Pirate, although he’s more famously, well, a Pirate), most of the strongest Demons are split between one of those two classes.
They range from small but mighty minions like Flame Imp to game-breakers like Sargeras, the Destroyer. If you go back through Hearthstone’s history, it’s rare that you won’t see at least one Demon at the top of the meta, even if a Demon synergy deck isn’t.
3Pirates
Aggressive, cheap, and highly synergistic
Pirates are probably the most aggressive minion Type in Hearthstone. They tend to be cheap and highly synergistic, which can quickly overwhelm any opponent. There’s a reason why multiple different iterations of aggro Pirate Warrior and Rogue decks have seen play.
The most famous of Hearthstone’s Pirates by far is Patches the Pirate, which is one of the strongest type-based synergy cards (and minions, period) ever released. However, there are also Pirates like Mr. Smite and, more recently, Tony, King of Piracy, that have warped the meta.
