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Akali's Armored Dragons - Rank 15 to Rank 5 (60...

  • Last updated Feb 25, 2019 (Level Up Nerf)
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Wild

  • 23 Minions
  • 5 Spells
  • 2 Weapons
  • Deck Type: Ranked Deck
  • Deck Archetype: Tempo Warrior
  • Crafting Cost: 13080
  • Dust Needed: Loading Collection
  • Created: 2/20/2019 (Level Up Nerf)
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  • Total Deck Rating

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Introduction:

Warrior has always been my favorite class. I've always been a homebrew deck player and every expansion, I try to make a deck which revolves around the "themes" they seemingly want to push for the class expansion. Plus, I'm very bored of the Odd Warrior archetype and its super long games.

Last expansion, it is Rush, Dragons, and to an extent, Armor. Thus I present to you Akali's Armored Dragons! This deck is more a midrange deck in which you fight for control of the board using weapons, rush and strong battlecries. Then you attempt to overwhelm them with board pressure through dragons, Yip or Heavy Metal.

I've played this from Rank 15-Rank5 with around 60-70% winrate (I was making adjustments throughout the run).

Card Choices:

Rush Package:

2x Rabid Worgen - helps stave off early aggro pressure or trade efficiently with small minions. Don't be afraid to play this even just on an empty board or use it as a 3-mana removal.

2x Militia Commander - helps trade with big minions or deal with minions with low attack but high health (e.g. Tar Creeper)

1x Darius Crowley - puts a threat on board that opponent needs to remove or it just keeps getting bigger. One of your cards that will bait a removal.

1x Zilliax - helps get back from the game through Lifesteal and Taunt and trades efficiently due to Divine Shield

1x Akali, the Rhino - makes any of your rush minions a threat by itself! Pulling a Zilliax for a potential 16 heal is no joke, and a 9/9 Darius that keeps getting bigger can end the game if opponent has no more removal. The card draw also helps since this deck doesn't have any direct draw cards.

Dragon Package:

2x Dragon Roar - generates card advantage and activators for your dragon requirements. High rolls are definitely Emriss vs control, Duskbreakers vs Aggro, and the occasional Marsh Drake vs Res Priests

2x Firetree Witchdoctor - an early game drop that is very versatile. Allows you to get what you need whether card draw, removal, or threat generation. Not always guaranteed though so knowing what to pick makes a big impact on games. Definitely one of the things that need mastery for this deck.

2x Smolderthorn Lancer - removal and a minion all in one. Also allows you to target spell immune minions!

1x Warmaster Voone - one of the reasons card draw isn't needed. Generates card advantage as long as you have dragons in your hand. Copying an Ysera or Crowd Roaster is HUGE! Ideally should copy at least 2 dragons, but again, don't be afraid to play on curve if no other good plays.

1x Dragonmaw Scorcher - helps as a ping to deal with aggro, generate armor through armorsmith, or deal the damage needed to activate Smolderthorn's battlecry. I opted only for 1 since I already have Bloodrazors.

2x Emberscale Drake - provides a threat and additional survivability. Curves great to Heavy Metal for a swing on turn 6!

2x Crowd Roaster - big minion and pseudo-removal. One of the reasons you don't have to worry about saving your Smolderthorn Lancer's as the 7-damage battlecry can remove most minions already.

1x Ysera - one of your finishers. Can provide all this deck needs, whether a burn spell, board presence, or a pseudo-silence or bounce. Dream a strong battlecry card that's generated by Yip or Heavy Metal is always a fun play!

Armor Package:

1x Shield Slam - helps get back tempo efficiently if lost. I only opted for one as I only consider it for emergency plays if I lost control of the board.

2x Armorsmith - can potentially generate infinite armor which makes it a must-remove for the opponent.

2x Mountainfire Armor - high attack early in the game. If opponent chooses to remove it, provides survivability and activators for Heavy Metal / Yip. Otherwise, don't be afraid to use it to trade efficiently.

2x Emberscale Drake - see above

2x Heavy Metal! - big card that allows for big swings! Always catches opponents by surprise. Don't be afraid to play this just at 6-mana, as one of the problems I had was being too greedy and always wanting 8-10 mana minions.

1x Geosculptor Yip - potentially infinite board presence if opponent doesn't have any removal. I usually try to play this as the last of my threats to ensure they have a low chance of removing it but can also play on curve if I don't have any good plays for the turn.

Miscellaneous:

2x Blood Razor - just an overall strong weapon. Helps deal with aggro or acts an activator for your removals. Works well with Armorsmith too to generate tons of armor!

Playstyle:

Early Game - Against aggro, mulligan for your rush cards and bloodrazors. Against control, mulligan for your early drops such as Mountainfire Armor or Firetree Witchdoctor, otherwise, mulligan for Heavy Metal / other armor generation cards. Try to gain control of the board for your midgame.

Mid Game - just continuously generate board threat via your dragons or Darius Crowley. The very ideal scenario I like is Turn 5 Emberscale Drake -> Turn 6 Heavy Metal -> Turn 7 Crowd Roaster to remove any threats they have if any. If you lost control of the board by this point though, look to play your tempo / removal cards to gain it back such as Emberscale Drake + Shield Slam, or Blood Razor + Smolderthorn Lancer.

Late Game - this is where you play your high threat minions such as Akali, Geosculptor Yip, or Ysera. Akali may seem like a loss in tempo as an 8 mana 5/5, but it forces your opponent to remove it as well as giving you a big minion to play next turn, which hopefully helps gain tempo back. Geosculptor Yip can end games by himself if unanswered. Ysera is very versatile and can provide you the finishers you need, such as Nightmare or Ysera Awakens. Dream is also a very versatile card, which allows you to get through enemy taunts OR bounce back strong battlecry cards.

Final Words:

It's my first time writing a deck guide. Mostly I did it to document one of my successful decks but I'm also hoping it can show that playing Warrior doesn't automatically turn into a long boring game just stacking up armor. I didn't provide any write-ups on matchup specific gameplans as I thought it too long already but would be willing to help out for those interested. Thanks for reading!

Gameplay Video:

I don't really have a stream or youtube for my Hearthstone plays but some youtubers have showcased the deck in action! You can find them below!

kiwiinbacon (VS Elemental Shaman, Gallery Priest): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo-u2C7b598

Jeleniowatyy (VS Midrange Hunter, Even Warlock): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysqg2iufNPU

TommyWave (VS Big Elemental Mage, Odd Elemental Mage, Secret Aggro Paladin): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FBIy5El0p4

Edit:

I didn't think it would gain this much attention! Thank you for all the comments!

I noticed a lot of people asking for help regarding aggro match-ups or having a hard time winning with the deck. I'd have to say the weakness of the deck is not really VS aggro per se, but that it's dependency on mulligan based on the match-up. The deck has a lot of tools but the problem comes with getting the wrong tool for the wrong match-up. For example, Odd paladin can be easy if you get Bloodrazors, Armorsmiths, or Scorchers, but almost unwinnable if you get single-target Rush minions. I also previously had 2 Dragonmaw Scorchers but replaced one with Zillax since I encountered a lot of Odd Secret Mage from Rank 8 - Rank 5.

Granted, I'm not sure if this deck is Legend capable and will just try it out next season. I have HSReplay so I can post some games I won if you like to see a particular match-up, so feel free to ask!