Hearthpwn

The guide won't be frequently updated anymore. I have moved on to play this deck, which takes advantage of the meta and can face most matchups optimally.

I believe it is the difference in meta, which makes zombie chow a good or mediocre card. In legend there is pretty much all hunters (top), priest and zoo, which is why zombie chow is god mode, but in the lower ranks there are so many people running random decks and direct counters to zoo, which is probably where the difficulty of playing this deck arises from. I would consider this deck most effective from 5 rank to legend and 25-12. At ranks 6-11 people are running direct counters to zoo, so you might want to consider playing handlock there since handlock beats those types of decks. This is the handlock deck I am currently playing, but it's a bit expensive :P. 

I believe that there is some misconception with silencing sludge belcher being excellent. You do not want to silence a sludge belcher unless you can not fully clear it efficiently, there are no better targets to silence in their deck or you have lethal.  Silencing it only removes a 1/2 slime, which can easily be cleared at that stage of the game.


There is currently consideration on removing void walkers for either (in order of preference):
shatter sun cleric
echoing ooze
1 acid swamp ooze
leper gnome
Loatheb+one of above
1 Power overwhelming+ 1 of the above
scarlet crusaders
the black knight+ one of above
I am currently testing these options and will update once I am done, so stop asking -.-

 

8 loses in legend 25 wins

So why play this zoo?

• favoured against current mages
• favoured against current warrior
• favoured against current paladin 
• favoured against current shaman
• favoured against current non-unleash the hounds hunter
  
• cheap deck to make
• Extreme consistency

When to not play zoo?

• Shadow madness priest spam
• mind control tech spam
• handlock spam
• Unleash the hounds or snake trap+knifejungler hunter spam

The current meta is somewhat slow due to the recent nerf of hunters. This means that it extremely easy to gain board control and start pulling the game in your favour. Also, with the lack of starving buzzards it is really hard to be punished for spamming your board. With the aid of death rattles and defender of argus you can make it extremely hard to them to board clear you without minions.

Do not be deceived into thinking that zoo is a low skill cap deck. This misconception arises from the fact that the deck is cheap to make and mostly requires basic cards. Zoo requires extensive knowledge on all the matchups. Every move you make requires consideration on things such as unit placement, the state of the board, what's in your opponent's hand and when to tap. You look to forward your board position and gain value each turn while considering how to play around your opponents aoe and cards.

Mulligan Strategy

Priest- Always play flame imp over all your 1 drops against priest
Always keep:
1 soul fire to be saved for dark cultist or azure drake. Don't waste it on northshire cleric.
flame imp
knife jungler 

Always keep Combos:
Flame imp+ sergeant if going first
Zombie chow or flame imp + dire wolf alpha if going first
Undertaker synergy, toss harvest golem unless going second

Toss:
Eggs, harvest golem, haunted creeper, void walker, owl, zombie chow if no combo synergy

Save owl for cairne and syvanas windrunner. If there are no other targets then sludge belcher or buffed units. toss on mulligan though

Warlock:
1 soulfire always. Make sure to use owl on twilight drake or egg or haunted creeper if you can.
Update 1 owl is optional keep it if you already have a good hand though.
I have become convinced that haunted creeper and harvest golem(if going second and have a turn 1 play) are the best cards in a zoo vs zoo matchup. I recommend keeping them and looker for direwolf or abusive.

Combos:
Best combo haunted creeper+ abusive sergeant  If you are going second

It should be noted that the matchup against handlock is abysmal. Attack them down to a range where they cannot molten+sunfury then full out rush the face afterwards and hope for the best.

Hunters:
Always keep:
Owl, soul fire, zombie chow
Always play zombie chow first unless they have an untaker up on turn 1. Use soulfire on animal companion if it isn't huffer. Silence their mad scientist not web spinner.

How to play against hunters

Mulligan for all the zombie chows you can get, toss flame imp unless you don't have a turn one play and a follow up. Look for 1 soul fire (use on undertaker if necessary or animal companion) and 1 owl (used on mad scientist or loot hoarder). Control the board. If Highmane comes down, clear it if it does not make your board significantly worse. If it does, then rush face. If you have a taunt up or draw into an owl then I recommend you rushing the face when highmane is played only if the first option isn't available. 

Run zombie chow the matchup is about x4 better when you have zombie chow. The reasoning is if you kill mad scientist it survives and you can trigger the trap. Hunters run 1 explosive trap and 2 freezing traps generally. Also, you can kill loot hoarders, survive the explosive trap and your chance of killing their undertaker is increased. Also you can try activate your eggs with their explosive trap.

Always kill the beast to avoid hound master and kill command. Keep control of the board at all times to avoid being hunters marked. Play around eagle horn bow by killing his minions early. Remember that you don't have to trigger the trap if you think it favours him too much.

Shamans:

1 soul fire for unbound elemental or feral spirit. 

Update: Only soulfire is a must keep. You can take whatever early game card you want. Abusive sergeant is good too if you have 1 attack minions.

Quote from MCFUser175154 »

Really I think the matchup is in you favour. The only aoe they have is lighting storm, which if they don't draw into they pretty much lose. Also, the setbacks on their spells are usually to their disadvantage. Just keep 2 death rattles around, so they won't aoe you. The main rules when playing against shaman is make sure you clear everything unless it's windrunner. This ensures that they cannot use flame tongue and they are forced to use rock bitter on themselves. The 2nd rule is always make them use their spells inefficiently and abuse the overlord on them. Basically you want to summon your weak minions on turn 1 then summon threats on turn 2, so they have to use lightning bolt as a 2 mana spell and get set back the next turn. Always remember to use your doomguard to kill something or they will just hex it for free.

Druid:
Toss eggs and haunted creeper. Play your threats early. You might want to keep a abusive sergeant incase you get ramped.

Rogue:
Keep 1 void walker and all zombie chows. Zombie chow takes priority. I recommend tossing knife jungler since it gets removed so easily. Look for haunted creeper and an egg if you have a good hand already. You basically want to look for cards that can't removed easily.

Paladin
Look for snowball and fast cards they have no removal early.
Undertaker, flame imp, knife jungler.
Leave death rattles unactivated to avoid board clears. Activate them if you must though.

Mage

Look for snowball and fast cards since they have less removal early, except frostbolt. 
Undertaker, flame imp, knife jungler.
Leave death rattles unactivated to avoid board clears. Activate them if you must though.

Possible replacements:

King Mukla for 1 Undertaker (prefered) or Voidwalker. I haven't fully tested King Mukla though, so I am not sure about it.
Update on Mukla: It's way too situational and only good if you can constantly clear the board. Basically it's a situational win more card.

In a hunter heavy meta replace flame imp for void walkers. Possible to remove shattered sun clerics for acidic swamp oozes or sludge belchers.

In a handlock, ramp druid, very late game deck (ysera, rag) meta. Replace zombie chow or shattered sun cleric (preferably since the +1hp generally doesn't matter) for power overwhelming

In control warrior heavy meta replace 1 haunted creeper for acidic swamp ooze and 2 shattered sun clerics for poweroverwhelming

What are the best cards in the deck standalone?

Haunted creeper, soulfire, doomguard, harvest golem and knife jungler (if only it doesn't get removed, but I highly doubt so). Never remove these cards except knife jungler.

What are the Weakest cards in the deck standalone?

Void walker and leper gnome (if you are running them). If you want to make replacements consider these cards first. 

Leper Gnome vs Zombie chow vs Argent squire

These three options are all viable.

Theory behind Leper Gnome

I feel like leper gnome is only there for activating undertaker, beyond that it won't make much of a difference. Leper gnome is only 'good' if you are facing really slow matchups, such as handmage or control warrior, or a handlock and you also have to be able to activate undertaker. If it does not fill this criteria often enough then I recommend running zombie chow or argent protector, if you don't zombie chow.

Think about facing a zoo mirror match where you have a leper gnome on turn one while your opponent has a zombie chow. You will most likely lose the game if you don't have a soulfire or abusive sergeant.

Theory behind Zombie Chow

Card is used for early board control, which is very important against faster matchups. Zombie chow will often win you the game if you opponent cannot answer it. The 5hp heal is not a setback because zoo is a control deck and your goal is not to rush the opponent down but to control the board and get value trades.

To make it simple zombie chow is x4 better than leper gnome against faster matchups.

Run zombie chow when against:
Priest, hunter, zoo, shaman and control/value rogue.

How to correctly use zombie chow in the late game

I have added this section because people seem to be having difficulty using zombie chow. Generally people hate the 5hp heal in the late game. Playing zombie chow mid and early game is pretty straight forward, so I am only including the late game section. It should be made obvious that zombie chow is an early game card btw.

You kind of want to protect the zombie chow in the late game though don't let it hinder you if you can't protect it still play it. You also don't have to play it if you know you have guaranteed lethal. Play it down along with threats like knife jungler and dire wolf alpha or behind taunts. If they go for the zombie chow then zombie chow did an excellent job of protecting your threats and kind of became a 1 mana 2/3 taunt and waste their removal. If they go for the threat well you protected your zombie chow and can value from it. It's a win-win situation. Once when I demonstrate it in the video it will become more clear.

Theory behind argent squire

Argent protector is like a worst zombie chow. You need to have abusive sergeant synergy if you want to get value from it. It's only good if your opponent doesn't break your divine shield, but against a good player they will often do so.

When to tap?

The simple answer is when you don't have any good plays or when you need an answer immediately. You can be tapping to play around aoe or tapping for an answer, such as soulfire. Know your deck, so you know what you are tapping into, the chances of getting it and if it is worth it. You also need to know your opponent's deck, so you can calculate how much damage they can do to you to play around it. Another question to ask yourself is: Is it better in the long run? Sometimes you just have to tap despite being on a very low hp or you will just end up in a worst situation.

When to attack their minions or go for face?

You attack their minions when you want to play around specific cards, get value or prevent them from getting value. Know your opponents deck, so you know what you are playing around and learn what gives you the best board.

You go for face when there are no favourable trades to be made and no way for them to make your situation worst.

WHY DON'T I RUN HELLFIRE?

First, why do zoos run hellfire? The predominant reason is that they want to beat the zoo mirror match. Generally by casting it on a losing board and turning the game around. Sounds good to have such a trump card right? Not really. Hellfire is generally a dead card against other matchups because you will only be burning your own minions. The only time i see it being useful is to get in 3 damage for lethal, but then that's a 4 mana deal 3 damage and a dead card for most the game. Also, the value of hellfire has dropped significantly due to the introduction of more death rattles. When playing it against a zoo it isn't guaranteed that it will clear the board anymore. 

A more efficient answer to beat the zoo mirror match is running zombie chow. It offers the tempo swing required to beat zoo. Consider zombie chow as the new trump card against zoo. Also, what makes it better than hellfire is that it isn't a dead card in other matchups.

Why no sea giant?

Because it clashes with doomguard.  You will find yourself discarding that card to doomguard often. You only run a sea giant because you want to play it early preferably on turn 5-6. Any later and it isn't worth it. This requires you to have a board. To be played on turn five it requires you to have 5 minions on the board, but the board clears generally come on turn 3-5. 3 mana lightning storm, 4 mana swipe, hellfire and consecration and the 4 and 5 mana priest board clears. Also since the deck doesn't run many big minions it playing sea giant allows your opponent to use the removal, which shouldn't being getting much value, such as shadow word death, hex and slam+execute. I will also add that it is horrible against paladin since it requires a board, which will get equality consecrated and rogues who just sap. You also playing into the hands of handlock- big game hunter, siphon soul and faceless manipulator. You do not want to make your matchup against handlock worst than it already is. Doomguard has immediate impact on the board, so it will have an impact before being removed and it can be played in more situations.

Videos

Updated zoo vs zoo video previous one was the wrong video

 Zoo vs handlock

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Zoo is far from perfect. Title is purely for publicity :P

Update: Replaced zombie chows with leper gnomes due to facing more slower matchups

Update 2: Brought back in the zombie chows, their impact is too significant to not to have them.

Update 3: Void walkers removed for shattered sun clerics

Will continue guide write up tomorrow.