Hearthpwn

Hi, my name is MissAggy and this is my first guide. I've been watching a friend play mech druid, and they've recently hit Legendary from rank 7 playing this deck exclusively. I have some pretty good insight into how the deck works, and I'm putting it together myself right now. We've worked together on the current decklist, but credit goes to Personi4- http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/232233-s13-legend-rank-mech-druid-by-personi4-updated for the original list. While I feel we've made some improvements, the original list was amazing and got Personi4 legendary last month, so please check out his list as well.

OVERVIEW:

Mech druid essentially combines the mech shell most commonly found in mech mage with the ramp and powerful late game of a traditional druid combo deck. I firmly believe this is the best deck to take advantage of the savage roar + force of nature combo, as well as the most intense innverate starts. I've watched games where savage roar allowed for turn 4 kills, not even needing the FoN half of the combo. Similarly, innervate, while requiring slightly better judgment, allows for absurd starts, such as turn 1 Mechwarper, Clockwork Gnome, Clockwork Gnome, turn 2 Spider Tank. Ideal games with this deck involve curving out on turns 1-4, then refilling with an Ancient of Lore as early as turn 5. Keeper of the Grove keeps your opponent honest when it comes to taunts, and Swipe gives us some much needed reach. In the 75+ games I've watched with this deck, the pilot rarely feels down and out, as the late-game of this deck keeps most draws live.

Match-ups with this deck are all reasonable, which is a huge draw to playing mech druid. While Paladin, Control Warrior and Control Priest are all slightly tougher matches than the rest of the meta, they are by no means unwinnable and you should always approach these matches with a positive outlook. This deck has above average matches against face hunter and zoo, and typically beats handlock barring multiple taunts before turn 5-6.

GENERAL STRATEGY:

Against nearly every opponent, you want to mull for early drops, particularly via Innervate. Mechwarper, Cogmaster, and Annoy-O-Tron are all cards you want in your opener, the latter particularly against Face Hunter and Warrior. Curve is paramount- every turn you aren't playing a dude is a turn you are pushing yourself further from victory. Try and save Swipe for your opponent's face, rather than a 4 toughness creature, but always do what the situation calls for.

The same applies to trades- face damage is most important, as pressure is key and puts them in range for Savage Roar, but if you have a Spider Tank and a Cogmaster and they have a 2/2, don't be afraid to miss some damage by killing it with your Spider Tank to keep your Cogmaster alive. The most important thing to remember is to keep your opponent in range for your combo. Force of Nature + Savage Roar is 14 damage when you have 9 mana available, so keeping your opponent at 14 or under is ideal. Also, I cannot stress this enough: when you have 3 or more dudes out and roar in hand with nothing better to do, use the roar! It's the same as enhancing your Force of Nature later, if not better, and gives you the chance to draw a second roar or a Swipe later to pair with your Force of Nature.

MULLIGANS AND MATCHUPS:

With enough interest in this guide, I will add in-depth strategy for each matchup :)

EDIT- Here it is!

First, a brief rant: In this guide, you'll see me mention keeping your top decks live a lot- it is far and away the most important skill to have when playing an aggro deck, because by its very nature, you are required to top deck more than your controlling opponents will. This is a fundamental and accepted concept in Magic the Gathering (playing to your outs), and one that the average Hearthstone player seems to not acknowledge. If you mismanage your attacks and do not optimize damage to the correct targets, you will have fewer live top decks and will be that much more unlikely to win. This seeming dependency on top decks (I say "seeming" because a third party is more likely to place emphasis on the card you drew that won instead of the correct plays you made to enable that card to win) leads to a LOT of whining in general. No one likes losing to say, face hunter, however, when you compare it and the reactions it causes to its Magic: the Gathering equivalent, Red Deck Wins, very few Magic players whine the way the average Hearthstone player does about losing to a fast, non-interactive deck. Magic players simply adjust their decks accordingly and accept that sometimes your opponent draws a burn spell with a 43% chance to do so. Next time your Facehunter or Aggro Mage opponent top decks the lethal burn spell, before you take up arms on the internet message board battlefield, consider the plays he made to get there. Did he clear an unnecessary minion with an ice bolt that should have went to the face and then drew a fireball anyway, or play his glaivezooka post combat and miss a free damage from the trigger, then win anyway? If so, by all means, be salty and curse the RNG gods that let your unskilled opponent get a free win due to his top decks. If you can't see any mistakes they made, however, and then they drew lethal, instead of raging, consider that they simply played to their outs and took the right steps to win. Add a healbot or two and move on.

MULLIGANS

Warrior- Annoy-o-tron, Innervate, Spider Tank, Mark of the Wild
Druid- Innervate, optimal small dudes (I'll probably make this reference alot, it means efficient combinations of Mechwarper, Annoy-o-tron, Cogmaster, and Clockwork Gnome, as well as Spider Tank if you already have Mechwarper on turn 1), Shredder if you already have Innervate
Hunter- Annoy-O-Tron, Innervate, Robo Cub, Ancient of Lore (don't be sad to see him in your opener, you will get to 7 and he will likely win the game) Mechwarper
Mage- Innervate, Mark of the Wild, optimal small dudes, Swipe
Paladin- Innervate, Robo Cub, Mark of the Wild, Annoy-o-Tron, Mechwarper
Priest- Innervate, optimal small dudes, Keeper of the Grove
Rogue- Innervate, optimal small dudes, Robo cub
Shaman- Innervate, Keeper of the Grove, Mechwarper, Spider Tank, Annoy-o-Tron, Mark of the Wild
Warlock-Innervate, Keeper of the Grove, optimal small dudes

Anyways, We'll start with what is certainly your roughest matchup. Warrior. Whether Patron or Control, they're going to Axe you a lot of questions, and you're going to have to answer with 4 toughness dudes or an annoytron. If he has Death's Bite and you have a 5 or 4 toughness dude, try and position Robo Cub so it takes the hit instead. Also, do your best to keep your guys above one toughness, particularly on turns 5-8 when he is likely to go off. Try and maintain your curve as much as possible, ALWAYS kill armorsmith (although a smart Patron player will hold it until he goes off with the combo and gains 10+ armor in the process) and when your board inevitably falls behind, look to position them for lethal with any top decks. Try your best to make Swipe, the combo, or sometimes even Keeper of the Grove + hero power live draws for the win. Console yourself regarding how poor this match up is with the knowledge that sometimes you can dump your hand and Roar them out of the game on turn 4-5, and if they try and add you to Friends list after so they can cuss you out for a non-interactive game, tell them you played pretty well.


Next on the list, Druid. In this match, you're looking to take advantage of his slow starts and low amount of interactive early plays. Keep a fast hand, be weary of Wild Growth into Keeper of the Grove (Mark of the Wild looks pretty weak when that happens), and expect a lot of taunts. Clear what you have to and apply a steady stream of face damage. Respect both Ancient of Lore's lifegain and armor as a result of your opponent's hero power when positioning for your combo, which is likely how you will finish the game. This is certainly not your favorite matchup, but it's not nearly as rough as warrior. If he's playing the 8+ taunt version and you win, don't feel bad for your opponent, he is in Valhalla smashing Face Hunter players, where there are no control decks for him to auto-lose to, and everything is going just fine for him.

Speaking of Hunters, this would have been an easy section to write a month ago, but with the rise of Hybrid Hunter, you need to make some really good judgment calls in this match. Traditional Face Hunter is practically a write-off- you're faster than them on average, and if you play around Explosive Trap and Unleash the Hounds (Don't auto-slam that Boom on turn 7 if it makes Hounds lethal), you're going to apply pressure while playing taunts and put yourself out of burn range with Ancient of Lore. Midrange Hunter is a little tougher, but if you respect Freezing Trap (sometimes you just don't attack with Shredder and play a one-drop instead, then attack with it next turn), and keep your life total high (As soon as they play Highmane, they tend to shift gears and put out a lot of damage), you should still have the edge. Hybrid Hunter, however, is very difficult to play against. It's still a great matchup for us, but we have to really be alert when it comes to traps, and not go on auto-pilot. It's easy to assume that when your opponent plays t1 leper gnome t2 glaivezooka t3 secret, that the secret is clearly Explosive Trap, since Face Hunter doesn't play Freezing Trap. So it's totally safe to send your innervated-out Shredder at his face to pop the trap, right? Except no, he's not Face Hunter, he's Hybrid Hunter, and you had no way of knowing up until now, and now you've got a Shredder that costs 6 chilling in your hand on turn 4. Hybrid Hunter is real, and it unfortunately causes all other classes to have to show a little more respect starting from the mulligan screen to all hunters. There aren't any gameplay tips to beating Hybrid Hunter except to be cautious. Play conservatively, keep your life total high, and don't make any assumptions about what they have in hand or behind secrets unless you can't afford not to.

Now, on to Mage. Let's start with Flamewalker Mage, whether the aggro gnome version or the more midrange Belcher version. In either event, you want a fast curve, and don't worry about playing your own gnomes, if they want to waste turn 2 using hero power that's one less Apprentice or Juggler you have to worry about. Swipe is key for clearing Flamewalker, which is pretty much the only real card in the aggro version. Watch out for Flame Cannon (don't play a Spider Tank into an empty board on turn 3), and apply liberal amounts of face damage, ending with combo. Against the bigger version, hold Keeper of the Grove for Sludge Belcher, and try and respect Flamestrike. Either way, neither match should give you much trouble, as long as you don't do anything silly like Boom into a Mirror Entity.
Against Mech Mage, it's pretty much a coin toss. You have a much better late game even if they have Antonidas, since you have better tempo plays for keeping a better board state (Keeper of the Grove, Swipe, etc). Blastmage does a number on you, however, and it evens out this match, particularly if they draw two. Just maintain a better board state and finish with combo, and don't stress the results, it's practically a 20 card mirror.
Against Frost Mage, curve out, respect board wipes, try and get them to 1 on turns where they have Ice Block so that literally anything is lethal on the next turn, and try and keep activating hero power in later turns so they have more trouble getting lethal on you with their limited damage abilities. Every turn counts! Keep Keeper of the Grove for Doomsayer, or just use Reversing Switch :) One neat trick- on turn 10, if you combo out and they have Ice Block, use the spare part that bounces a friendly minion to your hand on one of your Treants after it attacks. Now you get to keep 2 hasty damage for next turn when they are at one and have no taunts :)

Paladin is next. You want a fast hand, but you don't want one that scoops to Consecration, and you have to respect Truesilver Champion. Shredder is ideal here, but obviously only with Innervate or Mechwarper assistance, and your taunts are great for absorbing weapon hits. Be conscious of lifegain via Lay on Hands or the occasional healbot, and keep the damage flowing. Always always always save a Keeper of the Grove for Tyrion if the game is going to go that long, and respect Equality + Consecration. This match varies on the amount of lifegain they have, but generally shouldn't give too much trouble.

This brings us to Priest. It's one of those matches that varies greatly on whether you are on the play or on the draw. On the play, gnome + hero power solves the Northshire Cleric problem, as does anything with innervate, assuming they don't have Power Word: Shield. On the draw, try and keep a hand that doesn't let them trade and draw cards with Cleric. I'm going to say this right now, Fatigue Priest is hell. It's winnable but you'll want to rip your hair out. Lightbomb is insane against us in most cases and Deathlord requires a lot of patience. Make sure you have a beer or two handy, you're in for a long, boring game. Against traditional or dragon priest, don't over-commit into circle + soulpriest or Holy Nova, and remember that Keeper of the Grove is a house against their buffs, particularly Velen's Chosen. Like most matches, get them in range for combo and fire it off, while respecting how annoying their hero power is.

Rouge (If no one else can spell it right, I'm not going to bother either). First off, accept that everything you play will die. She's going to one-for-one you every step of the way, then refill with sprint. Fortunately, a lot of your dudes will be getting hit with weapons, which leads to a surprising amount of damage on your opponent. Maybe it's just me but there are lots of times I think my opponent is at 20 and they're at 14 because of weapon hits. Combine this with a general tendency to run Earthen Farseer instead of Healbot, and suddenly your combo is looking really good. Respect Blade Flurry, and above all, respect their ability to shift gears the same way Midrange Hunter can. Sap, Oil, Eviserate, Eviserate has ended many games where I was too greedy to clear the board the turn before. Remember that your combo is almost always lethal, so don't be afraid to whittle their board down to prevent blow outs. And one last thing, Mark of the Wild sucks against 2x sap, so be aware.

Now we're on to Shaman. Admittedly, the match I have the least experience with, I rarely ever see it. Vs Mech Shaman, which I've never played against, I feel theoretically should favor them. They have the highest damage output in the game on early turns because of Whirling Zapomatic + buffs, and Lightning Storm is going to make it difficult to keep your board relevant. If anyone else has any input on this match, feel free to suggest something in the comments, but my assumption is that you answer Zapomatic or you die, and if you answer it and they have no Lightning Storm or you have some dudes with big butts, you're fine.
Against conventional midrange shaman, they have lots of removal, Lightning Storm and Feral Spirit, and Fire Elemental lets them switch gears into being the aggressor pretty quick. In my limited amount of games against Shammys, you need to put on the damage, use Keeper of the Grove appropriately, then combo out while keeping their board reasonable. Again, I apologize for the lack of information but Shammys are pretty much non-existent in my experience on ladder.

Oh, the joy of Warlock. Against zoo, you curve better than them and they don't have many ways to realistically interact with you short of Defender of Argus. Swipe is great for clearing imps, particularly when it bugs out when you kill a Boss with it and it also kills the Imp it makes. Don't worry boys, I have high hopes for this game when its kickstarter completes and its out of beta. (sidenote, people argue the wording on swipe makes sense for why it behaves that way, but that doesn't explain why Blizzard does the same thing against an Imp Gang Boss). Try and keep Keeper of the Grove for egg, and it's pretty much smooth sailing.
Handlock, on the other hand, requires a lot of thinking. It's one of those decks that pretty much does everything and anything, and you need to know how to minimize that freedom. First of all, let me say, far and away the majority of my turn 4 wins come from preying on Handlocks. If you have warper + gnome + gnome and any follow up dudes, then roar on turn 4, they're dead and their only plays have probably been a tap or two and sometimes a Mortal Coil. Not all games work out this way, unfortunately, and between huge taunts and life gain, you need to manage your Keeper of the Groves and above all, manage THEIR life total. on Turn 4, if you have a reasonable board but not lethal, DO NOT attack them to 12 or under, they will play a 0-2 cost Molten Giant or two, and then taunt them up. Put them to 15, even if it means not attacking with all your dudes, and then try to attack the next turn and swipe them, or put them in burn range. Healbot puts a damper on this plan, but it's not like you were beating two 8/8 taunts anyway, so don't feel bad. Hold Keeper of the Groves for taunts and look for an opportunity to lethal if the plan falls apart.

Well, my wrists hurt from typing, and I hope this was both informative and entertaining for you guys! I can't express how much I appreciate the support from all of you, this game has an incredible community and I love reading your comments :) Best of luck to all of you!

WATCH ME STREAM THIS DECK AT: www.twitch.tv/missaggy , I'm online most nights Sunday-Thursday from 10 PM est to 2 AM, sometimes a little earlier!