Hearthstone: Ranking all 11 Gifts

Hearthstone 10th anniversary is just around the corner! To celebrate this date, we got gifts from each classic Hero in the game.

I analyzed each one and separated them from worst to best in this ranking.

This article is entirely based on my opinion and 10-year experience playing Hearthstone. You are welcome to disagree, tell me your own ranking, and make your case in the comment section. Let's see my list!

Anduin's Gift is a golden box with the Stormwind coat of arms.

In it, we have:

We start our ranking with a gift for Priest, who got a spell that doesn't add much to any meta deck currently. Mind Control is a spell that got worse with time because, nowadays, we have several cards with similar effects, like Yogg-Saron, Unleashed, which also costs 9 mana, but has more effects and is a Titan.

Shadow Word: Pain and Power Word: Shield are strong spells, and can be good choices for the "Highlander" deck, as they will be unavailable in the current set. Other than that, we don't have many uses for them.

Keep in mind that spells created by these gifts are temporary, so you can't simply play them and pass your turn to play your Power Word: Shield on the next turn. As a result, everything you plan to play will cost 1 extra mana, which is how much the gift itself costs.

That being said, Anduin's Gift itself is an excellent card if it is created randomly, or played by 0 mana - but, as currently we don't have that many ways to play it like this, and as there are several Priest cards that are better than this gift, it unfortunately occupies the 11th place in our list.

Rexxar's gift is a wolf pup that comes with the following cards:

Rexxar's Gift is a solid spell for Hunter's "Highlander" deck, but it has extremely conditional cards that practically only play in this "Highlander" list in particular.

The spells created by Rexxar's Gift can be useful in situations in which you need to deal with minions on your opponent's board. The problem is that this is all these cards do, and, additionally, this gift only works in "Highlander" lists.

The rest of the Hunter decks will probably not use this gift that often because they focus on strategies that don't favor creating cards to control the board.

We're talking about "Arcane Hunter", which is an Aggro Burn archetype, and Big Beast Hunter, which focuses on playing units instead of spells.

Therefore, Rexxar's Gift will very rarely be efficient, and this is why it occupies our list's 10th place.

Malfurion's Gift is a magical horn that brings the following cards:

As we all know, ramp is an extremely strong effect, and Malfurion's Gift can be considered mana ramp because it creates a Wild Growth. Unfortunately, Malfurion's Gift is still a bit slow because we need to first use Malfurion's Gift and then Wild Growth, which costs 4 mana in total. If we consider cards like Splish-Splash Whelp and even Widowbloom Seedsman, this gift becomes even more inefficient, considering Widowbloom Seedsman costs 4 mana, the same we'd use to play Malfurion's Gift and then Wild Growth. Widowbloom Seedsman is also a 3/2 unit, and draws you a spell, which is even better.

Even though Malfurion's Gift ramps us mana, 4 mana is still expensive because we have cards that ramp (and have other effects too) that cost the same.

The strength of Malfurion's Gift comes from Swipe, an extremely strong card which isn't available in the current set.

This spell is always extremely useful to Druid, considering removals that deal direct damage to the entire board aren't very easy to find in decks with this class. As Swipe is returning to the core set, we can use this card in our lists then, but, for now, Malfurion's Gift is the only card that allows us to play Swipe in Standard.

When the new core set comes along, Malfurion's Gift can climb up the ranks in this list because Wild Growth will no longer be in the core set in the year of the Pegasus.

Illidan's Gift is a demon skull that brings the following cards:

From now on, it will be extremely difficult to rank the gifts that remain, considering all cards created by them are playable and useful, like the cards created by Illidan's Gift.

This gift allows us to choose between clearing the board, dealing damage to enemy units and drawing cards.

It only occupies this position because Demon Hunter, despite being a spellslinger class and benefitting a lot from all the choices included in Illidan's Gift, doesn't have that high of a win rate, and is having trouble finding a home in the meta.

It is very likely that, even though all Demon Hunter decks benefit from this gift, Illidan's Gift is not impactful for this class because Demon Hunter decks, in general, are weak.

Maybe in the future, after the year of the Pegasus comes along, with new changes, Demon Hunter can use Illidan's Gift well, the way it should be used.

Uther's Gift is a sacred book that has the following cards:

Uther's Gift brings us Equality, a card that is available in the current set, and is included in some of the slower Paladin lists. We also have Blessing of Kings, which is leaving the core set, and may be missed in the year of the Pegasus.

Imagine that Blessing of Kings is now nerfed, and costs 1 more mana: that's how it will be with Uther's Gift. The good thing about this is that you may choose not to play it in your match, and instead choose an Equality if that's better.

The worst card out of these three is Consecration because it is the most conditional one, and doesn't really match current Paladin archetypes. Even then, it is still a very useful spell that can surprise your opponent by clearing their board on turn 4.

As we've mentioned, from now on, all gifts are strong, and, even though Uther's Gift occupies our 7th place, don't be mistaken: it is a very strong and useful card. Even more so because Paladin really matches the "gift" game style.

Gul'dan's Gift is a stone surrounded by Fel magic which brings the following cards:

All cards created by Gul'dan's Gift are spells that really match slow Warlock decks. This gift is only in this spot because Warlock only plays with fast, Combo Burn decks, such as the Barrels of Sludge decks nowadays. However, the versatility of Gul'dan's Gift can bring control decks back into the meta, considering they really only need a small push to be viable again.

Warlock is doing well already, and now, with this gift, it can take advantage of some extremely useful control spells. Twisting Nether will be buffed as soon as the year of the Pegasus comes in, and will destroy locations besides minions, which is a very relevant change and can be powerful in the future.

Gul'dan's Gift only occupies this spot in this list because currently the only Warlock deck that is popular is Barrels of Sludge, and it might not have enough space to play this gift. However, I believe it will have a long shelf-life in the game, considering it creates powerful, iconic cards.

Who knows, maybe Warlock control lists will see some play after Twisting Nether is changed, and perhaps Gul'dan's Gift will be a strong option in the meta.

Jaina's Gift is a necklace with an anchor pendant with the following cards:

Jaina's Gift occupies our 5th place because, even though the cards it creates aren't remarkable, they are strong enough to be useful in most cases. This, added to the great diversity of Mage lists that match the gift game style, will probably make this card viable in decks with this class.

Freeze cards are difficult to find nowadays, and, as Frostbolt is one of the spells created by Jaina's Gift, this can be a huge factor that will motivate us to include this gift in our decks.

Frostbolt will be in the core set of the year of the Pegasus, and, so far, this gift will be the only way to create this spell in Standard.

Fireball is a spell that just doesn't make the cut in Mage lists, but now that we have a spell that creates this card, Mage can have an even wider variety of removals and direct damage available without necessarily filling a precious slot in their decks.

Versatility has always been one of the main traits in Mage lists, and Jaina's Gift allows us to reinforce this. So, it deserves this 5th.

Valeera's Gift is a box full of artifacts, such as money, candy, weapons, treasure maps, more weapons, and Concoctions. The cards it creates are:

Rogue is the class that most benefits from the gift play style, considering cheap spells are one of the main identities in all Rogue decks (because they're excellent Combo activators).

This, added to the fact that Valeera's Gift creates a Backstab might make this card one of the best in this class to activate Combos again and again while you deal with your opponent's board for 0 mana quite early on.

Notice that the rest of Valeera's Gift spells aren't that strong. Actually, we can even say Deadly Poison is one of the most useless spells included in gifts, considering Rogue doesn't really interact with weapons in the current meta.

Valeera's Gift managed to grab our 4th spot only because it is a spell that really matches its class, and might have the best shelf-life out of all the gifts, considering it is quite a timeless card.

This spell can be one of the best options to complete your deck as well, if you don't have that many resources and just need one or two cards to complete your list.

Therefore, Valeera's Gift really matches all Rogue lists nowadays, except for the Mech deck, which just plays a lot of units.

Thrall's Gift is a Doomhammer, but please act surprised when you open it. The cards created by it are:

Thrall's Gift is a spell that brings a bit of everything Shaman can offer, which makes this spell one of the most versatile spells in this class.

Lightning Bolt is extremely useful because it really matches both "Highlander" and "Nature" Shaman decks, considering it is also one of the best early game removals, or direct damage finisher, in this class.

Hex is a powerful removal that Transforms enemy units, which means, they can't die or be brought back. Nowadays, this interaction is incredibly strong because of the popularity of Death Knight lists, which brings back units.

As for Bloodlust, it is one of the best finishers in this entire class, and can, alone, change the course of your games. This spell will rotate out of the core sent after the year of the Pegasus comes along, which means, the only way to access this card in Standard will be through a Thrall's Gift.

Thrall's Gift occupies our 3rd place and introduces our podium because it is a very modern spell for Shaman archetypes, and also because it brings timeless spells that guarantee this card a long shelf-life.

Arthas's Gift is a bag with the Lich King's Helm, so be careful. The cards created by it are:

Arthas's Gift brings us 1 card for each Death Knight Rune. This gift game style, which creates a card for you to control the board, create value, or answer one of your opponent's play, is the main identity of Death Knight decks.

When you play Death Knight decks, you create and play cards from this class all the time. If we think about Rainbow Death Knight, which brings all Runes and is popular, this game style can become even more popular.

Versatility is, currently, one of Death Knight's main core traits, just like it is the main feature these gifts offer to players, so it makes sense that they will go along with each other nicely.

Dark Transformation controls the opponent's board really well early on because you can Transform the Hero Power minion, or even a cheap unit, into a 4/5 with Rush.

Howling Blast is created quite often by Nerubian Vizier and other Death Knight cards. For this reason, this card will very likely be one of the most popular choices in Arthas's Gift.

Death Strike is one of the best removals mid-game, considering it also heals your Hero, buys you more time in the game, and controls the enemy board. This card, many times, is essential, and having up to 4 copies of it in your deck gives you an incredible advantage against your opponent, which will struggle to deal with your healing.

Death Knight is the most popular class nowadays, and has a good variety of lists, all with win rates that surpass 50%. This also affects Arthas's Gift's ranking in this list - 2nd place - considering it makes sense in almost all decks with this class.

Garrosh's Gift is a small chest decorated with a skull, and has the following cards:

Garrosh's Gift occupies our 1st place because it is the first gift in this list that creates cards that play (all of them) in all meta decks with this class.

Both Execute, Shield Block and Brawl are cards that are, many times, in the same deck, and sometimes even in more than one deck. We're talking about Highlander lists and Control Warrior lists with Odyn, which can bring all these three cards simultaneously.

Therefore, Garrosh's Gift is an extremely solid option that will only bring benefits to Warrior lists. Not to mention, the entire Warrior game style really matches the gift game style.

With Garrosh's Gift, Highlander got another copy of Brawl, which is one of this deck's main removals. Additionally, it also gained more armor with Shield Block, which can be used both to keep your hero alive and to help you finish matches while playing Odyn, Prime Designate.

Due to the great synergy current Warrior lists have with spells created by Garrosh's Gift, it is impossible to not rank this card as the top 1 gift in our list.

If you read this far, thank you - now you know all my thoughts about the new gifts in Hearthstone!

Don't forget to share and comment. See you next time!