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)
- bloodfire1004
- Registered User
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- 12
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Battle Tag:
N/A
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Region:
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Total Deck Rating
52
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!
Looks like you're having problem with Elemental Shaman as you mentioned it twice. It can be difficult if they draw Hagatha early and get good spells.
Here's a game I had against an Elemental Shaman at Rank 5. I think he played suboptimally, but he did get an early Hagatha: https://hsreplay.net/replay/iT7R6dRk7LZKnwUvWmPudU
Here's also one against Zoo: https://hsreplay.net/replay/bHWDnJ9MsWXM7REboET9DW
For C'thun Lock, my suggestion is to try and get Heavy Metal or Yip, get to 10 armor, and pray for a Hakkar. They don't run silence afaik so getting one is an insta-win. But that's about the only win condition I have against them.
Thanks for posting these games, I'll review and see where I can improve my game play.
ANOTHER Elemental Shaman loss. I can't keep up with their minion pressure.
I suspect that I am very much misplaying this but I still can't get a win.
Finally got one. This mixes well with Mech-Paladins =)
Replacements for Geosculptor Yip and Akali? Maybe Lich King or another big dragon such as Onyxia?
Lich King is good replacement for Geosculptor if you have it. Some people below replaced Akali with The Boomship. I think Grom or DK Garrosh would also be a good replacement.
Treid it today. So far I've gone 2-4 with it at rank 15. I've won against an Odd Quest Warrior and a Big Spell mage. I've lost to two Hunters, a Zoolock and Tess Rogue. Looks like Agro is this deck's weakness. Also should've probably gone to casual until I knew how to pilot it :P Deck's a lotta fun.
Thanks for posting this deck and gz reaching r5 with it.
At first glance have to say (for me) it didnt work, i played it at rank 2 till rank 5. Lost to almost every aggro deck and odd pala is just an insta loss. Blood Razers and Emberscale Drake can not hold up with the board pressure. When you reach turn 4-5 the game is simply over. I played some games in Wild, where the games were much slower and had a nice winrate there. But in current meta after r5 i don't think its any good.
Nice deck! I don't have Yip so I'm using the Boomship, which has great synergy with Voone and Dragon Hoar.
Really enjoy the deck :)
nice fresh breath of air. Also i really like such tempoish decks
One could arque that the early game is a little bit weak with only 1 onedrop
speaking of which becuase i lack the geosculpter and Voone i replaced them with a second Shiledslam and the Lichking which i didnt draw so far but the Shieldslam really put in effort.
would you have any other Suggestions?
Yes, the problem I have with this deck is that I have to correctly mulligan for the specific match-up and get my answers. Otherwise, it has a really hard time getting back tempo.
Lich King for Geoscultpor is good! I think Shield Slam is also good, but I've been experimenting also with Town Criers for the card draw.
yeah i really like it so far and i think exept for agro the second shield slam is a great addition.
I just got my ass handed against a Silver Dude Paladin :) which honelsty was pretty ok for me because its a deck which you dont see every day so its fine.
but it leaves a bad taste in your Mouth just because what do i do against Odd Pala? which is much faster no Question
Without Bloodrazors and Dragonmaw Scorchers, Odd Paladin is a hard matchup. To make it more consistent, I swapped a Crowd Roaster for another Dragonmaw Scorcher to have an additional AoE. I've also considered swapping out a Zillax for a Warpath but haven't really felt the need though as of now.
Only played a few games with this deck so far, but I got to say... I'm liking it! I've really struggled to find a deck that I could play and actually have a fun time in Hearthstone lately. This deck feels really good, and I'm having fun with it! The Dragon Roar shenanigans are so fun! First match: Odd Paladin. Going second with both Bloodrazor's in starting hand, draw Scorcher turn 2, Dragon Roar gives me another Scorcher and Emerris. Next two turns draw Ysera and Voone!!!
Despite crazy shenanigans from random effects (Tyrantus off Heavy Metal), I still felt my decisions won me the match I played against a Wall Priest. So fun!
Glad you're liking the deck! I think its not optimized yet but at this point, just getting Rank 5 with it was good enough for me!
Yeah, I just haven't been playing much lately due to lack of interest in the current meta, fell down to like 13-12. Been meandering around 11 for a while, couldn't find consistent wins with anything. Finally broke through that rank 10 floor last night from 12. Went 8-2 overall last night with it. Hoping for continued success over the next few days, maybe at least reach 5 again this month.
LOVE this deck idea - what would you recommend instead of Ysera? Alexstrasza? Or is Ysera absolutely essential?
Ysera is a tough replacement given the cards she generates as a (9) 4/12 dragon. If you're okay giving up a single dragon from your package you could try The Lich King as his effect is similar.
For a similar dragon... Sleepy Dragon is literally like Ysera but asleep. So she's just lying in the way with Taunt instead of generating cards, lol. Might determine on what you're running into a lot. If you are running into a lot of Wall Priest, or Gallery Priest you could even do Marin the Fox to weaken your opponent's resurrection pool. More aggro... Primordial Drake perhaps? For the extra bit of board clear potential and still keeping a dragon in that slot.
I'll give Lich King the spot for now - the versatility and value of that Ysera-esque card generation is powerful enough to warrant it. If I'm finding myself consistently low on dragons, then I'll switch him for a Primordial. Thank you for the recommendations!
Nice one, thumbs up for the effort. However, without a playable 1-drop this deck is likely to struggle vs. aggressive decks such as MR Hunter. Therefore I've tried to alter your list (rotation-ready) accordingly and came up with two different lists, as Firetree Witchdoctor early on often missed its battlecry with just 6 dragons in the deck.
### Wings of War
# Class: Warrior
# Format: Standard
# Year of the Raven
#
# 2x (1) Eternium Rover
# 2x (1) Shield Slam
# 1x (1) Town Crier
# 2x (2) Battle Rage
# 2x (2) Firetree Witchdoctor
# 2x (2) Warpath
# 2x (3) Frothing Berserker
# 2x (3) Nightmare Amalgam
# 2x (3) Smolderthorn Lancer
# 2x (4) Scaleworm
# 1x (5) Darius Crowley
# 2x (5) Dragonmaw Scorcher
# 2x (5) Emberscale Drake
# 1x (5) Zilliax
# 1x (6) Sul'thraze
# 2x (7) Crowd Roaster
# 1x (8) Grommash Hellscream
# 1x (9) Ysera
#
AAECAQcG0gKiCc3vAp3wAqCAA4iHAwyQA6IEjgWJ8QKb8wKz/ALeggOBhwOLhwPoiQPsiQPolAMA
#
# To use this deck, copy it to your clipboard and create a new deck in Hearthstone
# Generated by HDT - https://hsreplay.net
I don't own Warmaster Voone and found that Dragon Roar is somewhat unreliable, similar to Heavy Metal!. Without Blood Razor it's hard to justify Grommash Hellscream so I replaced them with Warpath. Nightmare Amalgam is a solid 3-drop, serves as another Dragon-synergy activator and can be coupled with Zilliax.
Here's the other one:
### SMOrc...?
# Class: Warrior
# Format: Standard
# Year of the Raven
#
# 1x (0) Inner Rage
# 2x (1) Eternium Rover
# 2x (1) Spirit of the Rhino
# 2x (1) Town Crier
# 2x (2) Amani Berserker
# 2x (2) Battle Rage
# 2x (2) Woodcutter's Axe
# 2x (3) Frothing Berserker
# 2x (3) Rabid Worgen
# 1x (4) Kor'kron Elite
# 2x (4) Militia Commander
# 1x (4) Spellbreaker
# 1x (5) Darius Crowley
# 2x (5) Festeroot Hulk
# 1x (5) Zilliax
# 1x (6) Sul'thraze
# 2x (7) Amani War Bear
# 1x (8) Akali, the Rhino
# 1x (8) Grommash Hellscream
#
AAECAQcIFhzSAvIFze8CoIADiIcDmocDC5ADjgWWBrrsAp3wApfzApzzAtH1ArP8AtiMA5KYAwA=
#
# To use this deck, copy it to your clipboard and create a new deck in Hearthstone
# Generated by HDT - https://hsreplay.net
This one is more on the aggressive side but I'm having a hard time without any kind of AoE. That's why I think it needs as least 1 copy of Warpath as well, unless T5 come up with some sort of replacement for Blood Razor or Odd Paladin dies out come April.
Nevertheless, thank you for providing a fresh and fun idea!
I found Midrange Hunter can be an easy match-up if I get Bloodrazors and low cost Rush cards, but yes it does feel lacking early game if you don't have a good mulligan. Interesting ideas, I'll keep those ideas in mind for the next expansion! Thanks!
fun but no ranks Gained after 4hrs