All-Star Squad

The subject of this article is only available in Tavern Brawls.

"Spiders and Portals have had their chance, now you choose! Pick one card for your deck, and you will get 22 copies of it plus 8 random class cards!"

All-Star Squad is a Tavern Brawl. It debuted on October 12, 2016.

History

Tavern Brawl	Start	End	Notes
70	October 12, 2016	October 17, 2016
107	June 28, 2017	July 3, 2017
243	February 5, 2020	February 12, 2020	Used only Standard format cards
295	February 3, 2021	February 10, 2021
326	September 8, 2021	September 15, 2021
350	February 23, 2022	March 2, 2022
369	July 6, 2022	July 13, 2022
410	April 19, 2023	April 26, 2023

Overview

This Tavern Brawl sees players doing battle with custom decks composed of 22 copies of one card chosen by the player, plus 8 randomly chosen class cards from the selected class.

Notes

• If Prince Malchezaar is chosen for the player's deck, his effect will shuffle 33 (if going first) or 34 (if going second) random legendaries into the player's deck, rather than the usual 5. (The 22 Malchezaars should generate 110 cards in total, but the number is limited by the 60-card deck size limit.) The same is true for C'Thun, the Shattered and his body parts.

Strategy

This Tavern Brawl is essentially "Top 1" with a few random class cards stuck in. It is similar to, but not the same as, the Tavern Brawl formats of Top 2 and Top 3. Strategy mainly revolves around a single card, with the 8 other randomly-generated cards acting as random filler cards that should not see much play.

As per usual, aggressive plays are likely to be the most successful, so your chosen card needs to end the game quickly or defend against a specific aggro strategy.

Tier 1

These decks are for people who only care about winning.

• Rogue + Pogo-Hopper: Summons monumentally huge minions very quickly. Without direct counters, it can win as early as turn 3.
• Any hero + Murloc Tidecaller: Floods the board by compounding the Tidecallers' Attack by playing one after another. It's also hard to remove early thanks to having 2 Health. Use Mage for added mirror-match efficiency.
• Hunter + Timber Wolf or Grimscale Oracle: Similar principle as above. While their damage ramps up faster, having 1 Health makes them easier to take down.
• Mage + Frostbolt: A direct upgrade to Fireblast that instead deals 3 damage and freezes the target, destroying most low-cost minions and preventing the enemy hero from attacking.

Tech

These decks primarily counter Tier 1 decks.

• Shaman + Earth Shock: Completely shuts down Pogo-hopper decks, but isn't effective against anything else.
• Mage + Varden Dawngrasp: Shuts down Pogo-hopper and other minion-based decks and wins with 3/3 bodies.
• Hunter + Explosive Trap: Wipes minion swarming decks and effectively prevents them from dealing damage. Less effective against Mechwarpers; still loses to Patches Hunter.
• Hunter + Doomsayer: Prevents the opponent from ever building a board while using Steady Shot to chip away at the opponent's health. Not effective against Warriors, Priests, or Druids. The 8 random cards - yours or the opponent's - can put the brakes on this deck.
• Warrior + Public Defender: Hard counters Patches by completely blocking off their attacks and preventing the enemy from playing any minions. Use the other 8 cards to win the game.
• Any class + Hungry Crab: Hard counters Tidecaller decks, but useless against every other deck. Hunter can potentially win with board pressure and hero powers.

For fun

Many of these borrow ideas from previous Tavern Brawls featuring one card, with a few new additions.

• Any class + Parachute Brigand
• Any class + Prince Malchezaar
• Any class + Shifter Zerus
• Druid + Raven Idol
• Druid + Tortollan Forager
• Hunter + Webspinner, Scavenging Hyena or Jeweled Macaw
• Mage + Babbling Book
• Mage + Unstable Portal
• Priest + Forbidden Shaping
• Rogue + Hallucination, Swashburglar or Undercity Huckster
• Rogue + Journey Below
• Shaman + Bandersmosh
• Warlock + Renounce Darkness (also a winning deck)
• Warrior + I Know a Guy, Molten Blade, Explore Un'Goro or Improve Morale
• Any hero + Mogu Cultist

Wild

These decks can only be used in Wild versions of this brawl.

• Any hero + Patches the Pirate: Incredibly strong compared to decks before the introduction of Mean Streets. Without counterplay, has a guaranteed turn 5 win. Even against other rush decks, can use trade Patches to remove opponent win condition and refresh the board for face damage with just one mana. Mirror match depends on who plays first and the remaining cards in the deck/hero power. Use Hunter to quicken the clock with Steady Shot. If combined with the Warrior's Frothing Berserker (at turn 3 or turn 2 with a coin) it is possible to win the game at turn 3 when playing against decks with minions.
• Druid + Jade Idol: Same as above but better because the minions will have increased attack and also health. Loses to Patches Hunter, but wins against Mind Blast.
• Priest + Mind Blast: Deal 5-10 damage each turn, winning the game as early as 5 turns. Very few hard counters exist; it only loses against decks that can kill faster.
• Hunter + Mechwarper: A classic deck, minus the Leaper. While slower than the more aggressive decks, it's more resilient against anti-tech decks.
• Warlock + Renounce Darkness: The versatility created by the deck and the cost-efficient cards ensures an almost certain win — as long as you draw a board clear. (Also a fun deck)

Trivia

• The character in this Brawl's art is holding four copies of Leper Gnome, and in fact appears to be the very gnome depicted in that card's art.