Transitioning players will find the 40-grid game board intimidating at first. But while the game is young and the card pool is small, now is the best time you’ll ever find to learn the basics of the game and start crushing people with the first iterations of power decks. That being said, let’s get into our list of some of the best starting decks for Hand of the Gods.

Midrange Ganesha Deck

Leader of the Hindu Pantheon, Ganesha is one of the newer gods to Hand of the Gods. And this deck that’s built around him as a leader is completely free – meaning it will cost you nothing and can be created with cards you have access to upon starting the game. 

Because Ganesha is a powerful support in SMITE, this Hand of the Gods deck is packed with defensive power at its highest end. Brute, Fury, and Venator synergize together to create a wall that should prove difficult for any deck to penetrate. You’ll see this combination of cards show up often in this list.

Other Hindu cards like Rama and Pillar of Exile create a disruptive annoyance that opponents will need to deal with as quickly as possible, allowing you to curve into turns where you can make proactive plays on the board.

Check out the interactive decklist for Midrange Ganesha.

Control Ra Deck

This deck harnesses the same defensive powers as the Ganesha deck (in Venator, Fury, and Brute) but focuses more on playing the game as a war of attrition. Ra is one of the best control decks to play in the game due to powerful removal cards like Execute and Sunder.

Neith is the centerpiece of the deck, as she almost always baits out key removal from the opponent or pushes to win the game. Ideally, you want to pull Sobek and Sacred Warrior in your opening hand. If you’re alive on board going into turns where you have 7 or 8 mana, this deck is fantastic. 

Check out the interactive decklist for Control Ra.

Midrange Zeus Deck

This Zeus deck offers a smooth curve into some of the most effective 4-to-7-mana cards in the game.

You want to mill for your Marksman ,and it’s great if you can also get your hands on an early Brontes. Brontes into Aphrodite, Hades, or Athena is an incredibly powerful play. Two Elder Harpies give this deck the draw engine that it needs to get to late game.

Check out the interactive decklist for Midrange Zeus.

Aggro Odin Deck

This Odin deck is one of the few completely free aggro decks that stands a chance at winning games.

The key to this deck is milling for Hunter’s Sigil. It’s one of the most overwhelming cards you can play, as it’s almost guaranteed to always kill the first drop your opponent players (being that the Cursed Hunters it spawns are ranged).

Check out the interactive decklist for Aggro Odin.

Midrange Bellona Deck

Bellona of the Roman Pantheon utilizes some of the most overwhelming defensive card mechanics in the game.

You’re going to want to mill for White Tiger specifically, trying to control the early game using this card and Inferno Cannon. Cards like March, Bolster, and Promote highly incentivize you to have several minions in play within a close proximity of each other.

Later in the game, you’re going to want to drop cards like Hercules and Brute to overwhelm your opponent with high-end damage.

Check out the interactive decklist for Midrange Bellona.

Midrange Ah Puch Deck

This Ah Puch deck takes advantage of Zombies early to put you into a position to have a solid late game.

On your first turn, using your Leader Ability to place a Zombie is a perfectly reasonable play. Your Zombies can be used to buff your Hun Batz or for a more powerful Raise the Grave turn.

Combined with the direct damage from Unholy Offering and Chaac, controlling them enemy board should be easy and then you’re able to roll them over in the late game with 6 and 7 drops.

Check out the interactive decklist for Midrange Ah Puch.

All of the decks listed here were created by Phonetic. Big thanks go out to him for putting together these lists for new players!

Being that all of these decks cost nothing and can be used right after installation, you can expect that they aren’t the most powerful in the game. They are good building blocks, though – and as you get new cards you can slowly replace cards in your deck to tailor it more towards what you think it should be. After all, one of the best experiences in CCGs is experimenting and tweaking your deck to your own preference.