LOKShadow #1 NA Legend Dragon Warrior
- Last updated Nov 3, 2015 (Warsong Nerf)
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Wild
- 17 Minions
- 9 Spells
- 4 Weapons
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Unknown
- Crafting Cost: 16980
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 7/4/2015 (Blackrock Launch)
- LOKShadow
- Registered User
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- 10
- 31
- 53
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Battle Tag:
N/A
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Region:
US
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Total Deck Rating
3552
Hi, first time posting here. Just thought I'd share my decklist for those dragon warrior enthusiasts out there. I just hit #1 NA Legend today (7/3/15) with it.
Proof:
See updates below strategy guide for revision explanations! Also please check out my stream to learn more!
twitch.tv/lokshadow
youtube.com/lokshadow
twitter.com/lokshadowhs
Mulligans/Strategy (Updated as of 9/14/15)
Warlock: There are many variants of Warlock these days such as Zoo, Handlock, Demon Zoolock, Demon Handlock, Malylock, Dragon Control, Dreadsteed, etc. so it’s a very difficult matchup to mulligan for. In general it falls down to whether or not it is an aggressive deck like Zoo that plays mostly on curve or a control deck like Handlock that taps more frequently for card advantage. The general advice is to watch the mulligan as a hint since keeping more cards is generally more likely if they have a lower-curving deck like Zoo. If unsure, always mulligan as if they are Zoo. Weapons are the priority here. If you have weapons, then you can keep armorsmith/acolyte/execute. Brawl is also worth keeping if you have a good hand but too slow otherwise. Against Handlock, you want to keep weapons, execute, acolyte, and BGH. Only keep shield block shield slam combo if you have both. For both matchups you usually want to draw into revenge rather than keeping it.
-Zoo: Think critically about when to set up your deathsbite for whirlwind effect and when to use your board clears. If there is no pressure on the board, you don't need to use them. Try to hold on for as long as possible and get the full board clear (opening up deathrattles, etc.). It’s a good idea to save armor gain if you’re holding onto revenge for after you’ve hit <12 health for board clear and stabilization.
-Handlock: I prefer to play this matchup slowly and not hit face at all to prevent cheap moltens. You have a good amount of removal and minions to keep up with the mountain giants, twilight drakes, and dr. boom (and possibly ragnaros). Save brawl for the board that includes giants if possible! Don't alexstrasza his face until he's either at 15 or has played both moltens. Bait out BGH/siphon with your other threats and don't be afraid to use grom as removal if necessary. Maintain a board presence such that he feels the need to throw out belchers and taunt-givers (or even better, healbot such that he's even further from playing moltens). Deathwing will normally be played to clear a jaraxxus board at the end of the game while he is taking fatigue damage.
-Malylock: The main way to lose this matchup is just to get out-drawn by your opponent's hero power, so it is critical that you don't play naked acolytes because they will get silenced. At the very least make sure you draw 1 card from them. Malylock has a finite amount of damage though, so it is possible to out-tank the damage. You want to maintain board control as usual and pressure his face (you should look for tell-tale signs like implosion or imp gang boss to differentiate from Handlock). Their most annoying minion is probably twilight drake, so it is fine to use your executes on these. Be aware that you may have to bait out 2x bgh or 1x bgh + siphon before deathwing, which again is best saved for the end game to clear malygos+board when they are fatiguing and push all-in.
-Dreadsteed: This is not that common of a matchup, but I think in general you have to play it like a combination of Handlock and Malylock where you don’t want to hit face to enable moltens (some lists run moltens) and where it is critical to keep up in card draw. You will have to try to fatigue them out.
Warrior: Pretty much you mulligan against patron since you have a lot more time against control warrior. You want to look for weapons, acolyte for card draw, and harrison/brawl. If you have a good hand, it’s worthwhile to keep justicar/emperor as well.
-Patron: Try to have a weapon set up and either harrison/brawl in hand to stop their turn 5 patron spam. If you're not able to prevent the turn 5 patron or have brawl to clean it up, it's usually gg. It's definitely possible that you have a combination of shield slams/executes/baron to clean it up though, so check for that first. Stop playing your 1 attack minions when they have 8 mana and can warsong/patron combo. You want to build up armor, play your 6 drops, and pressure with your 8/8s. Another key aspect of this matchup is to prevent their card draw as much as possible (reduce the number of damaged minions that they have on board, trying to keep them at full health in the early game by waiting until they have armor to prevent an extra baby rage card). After they have played emperor and if you’re at a high enough health total, you can go into turtle mode with justicar and stop playing minions to prevent activation of unstable ghouls. Don’t forget that chillmaw serves as a 2nd brawl!
-Control: You are definitely favored in this matchup and it all boils down to who can use their removals more efficiently. Try to save shield slams/executes for those beefy targets. Don't overextend into brawl (especially since 2x brawl is not uncommon). You want to keep up in card draw but don't overdraw yourself such that you're fatiguing way faster. Remember that you will win the fatigue game because all your cards have more value than the typical control warrior list. Sylvanas is the one card that you will need to play carefully around since you have no silences, but it is generally possible to either trade a small board in or use a removal on her. Also note that there are some warrior lists that run Varian now, so it’s a good idea to save brawl for that!
Hunter: I think since midrange is a bad matchup anyways, there's no point in trying to mulligan for this unless you're absolutely sure you're facing midrange. Thus, you want your weapons and early game minions like armorsmith/acolyte. Be mindful of using your hero power just like hunter is using theirs!
-Face: Armor up as much as possible to survive their damage until you can stabilize with armorsmiths/shield maidens/alexstrasza and build board for the lethal. Be careful that there are some face decks with misdirection as a trap, so have a small minion on board attack first if possible.
-Midrange: Really hard... I think it boils down to if you can build up a board or hand before their highmane in order to efficiently clear it. I think baron is MVP here in that it can clear hyenas after you kill the highmane. Usually the matchup is won if you can continually freeze shieldmaidens or small minions and drag the game out such that hunter runs out of cards and you can stabilize with your superior late game. It is also possible to save revenges to clear off pesky hyenas, shredders, and houndmasters!
Mage: Mulligan against tempo/mech mage and look for your weapons, armorsmith/acolyte, and revenge. If you have weapons, then save your cheap drops for those mirror entities. The goal is to survive their early game onslaught, which can be quite overwhelming sometimes, but if you can do that, then they don't have enough late game to sustain. Keeping revenge is an insurance in case they push too hard (usually revenge will clear the board if you’re at <12 health). Keeping brawl is also a consideration if your hand is good.
-Tempo/mech: It's fine to use removals like shield slams or executes to remove annoying minions like flamewaker hiding behind taunts, but try to save something to deal with boom/antonidas/rag. Getting emperor down safely is important to get those tempo removal plays and getting the dragons out. Similar to zoo, if you have revenge in hand, try to save armor gain for stabilizing after you’ve hit <12 health.
-Freeze: Hero power as much as possible and try to save armorsmiths for whirlwind effect value or when you have a couple minions on board. Save removal for the doomsayers/emperor/antonidas/alexstrasza.
-Echo Molten: I got asked about this matchup a couple times on stream. The key is to figure out what type of mage it is early on before you set them below 20 health. If you don't see the unstable portals/apprentices and don't see loot hoarders/acolytes, then be wary of moltens. Playing around duplicate is important. It's fine to give them belchers/alexstrasza/healbots but much more annoying to give them sylvanas/emperor. Once you figure out it is molten mage, stop hitting the face (don't even bother setting them close to 20). You will win by fatiguing them until you can safely one-shot them into fatigue lethal. You will maintain board control by playing your mid/lategame minions. They will either have to start pinging themselves or alexstrasza themselves to enable moltens but even then they are expensive moltens and you can deal with them one by one. As a note, some popular streamers like Rage and Neviilz have updated their lists with 1x frost giant to bolster their control matchup. This is another one of those prime targets to try to steal with sylvanas + shield slam or using nefarian to try to get a polymorph/polymorph boar. Keep in mind that in such a long game, the frost giants will be 0 mana!
Shaman: Mulligan for mech shaman by looking for weapons, armorsmith/acolyte, and execute is also a good keep against those fel reavers, buffed mechs, or fire elementals. Brawl is often a good keep as well.
-Mech: Early game is really important to keep them from snowballing out of control and it really falls down to whether or not you got your weapons to start clearing the board or brawl for when they overextend. You want to get the point where they are just left topdecking and you can stabilize with your armor gain. Keep removal in mind for those fel reavers!
-Midrange: Try to control the board from getting out of control with weapons and early game minions to limit the totems. You have brawl/baron for the midgame board reset and save removals for the fire elementals/boom/neptulon. Keep up in card draw by saving acolytes until you can make sure you draw 1 card before they get earthshocked. You have many more threats than they have hex/bgh for, so eventually they will run out of answers/cards. If it goes to late game, try to make sure you have weapon equipped before deathwing to clear that damned taunt totem! The additional AoE like revenges and chillmaw also help with clearing the board.
Priest: Against Priest, I don't mind keeping some of the heavy drops like deathwing or nefarian just to prevent them from being thoughtstolen. Otherwise, we're looking for the executes and weapons to deal with early game minions like deathlord or a minion buffed by velen's chosen. Don't alexstrasza until you have a shot to play aggressively with grom finisher or they are about to start taking fatigue damage. Don't overextend into light bomb and it is best to use your midrange minions like shieldmaiden to bait out the deaths/removal before you start playing dragons. You also want to play around mindcontrol, so keep that bgh for the mindcontrolled 8/8. Also be wary of sylvanas and obviously remove it before playing deathwing in the end game. As an update, since dragon priest is very popular these days which don’t run thoughtsteals and mind control generally, we have to adapt and mulligan less greedily and throw away those high drops. Always keep removal for that ysera in mind since that’s pretty much their only win condition. You will win the fatigue game with justicar and superior late game.
Paly: Since aggro paly is so fast, you have to mulligan for the weapons and armorsmith/revenge to stop them.
-Aggro: Saving a good deathsbite charge to clear all the 1/1s is important as well and prioritize popping divine shields! It's much easier to deal with a blessing of kings with execute if there aren't any shields around. Knowing when to spend the coin is critical because you have to survive until your brawl/revenge to try to stabilize the midgame until you can get your shieldmaiden/justicar and emperor down. Play around divine favor if possible by spending some of those cheap removal cards to clear their board.
-Midrange: Since we don't run owl, it is very important to save harrison for that tirion. Be wary of when he might have quartermaster combo and keep the 1/1 count low. Save brawl for a large board or after quartermaster combo, and try to bait out BGH before using baron as a clear since he can often clear for 2 turns! Nefarian can also draw useful AoE like consecration or avenging wrath, so keep that in mind. If it goes into late game, you want to have baited out the 2x belchers, 2x aldors, and bgh before deathwing. The 2x revenge and chillmaw are also helpful as extra AoE against those annoying murloc knights!
-Xmas: Alright, the new cancer deck in town after TGT. The key is to play around the mysterious challenger. Generally you will use your weapons/armorsmiths to pop divine shields and try to control the board, but you will be inviting damage early on to activate your revenges (save armor gain for stabilization after). You want to try to save the board clears for that turn 6 mysterious challenger where you will activate most of the secrets and use some combination of AoE/execute/shield slam to clear the board (assuming filled board). On an empty board, it’s often easy just to weapon into noble sacrifice and BGH the mysterious challenger. Usually save harrison for value since many lists do run tirion. It is very difficult to beat a xmas paly that curves out perfectly into loatheb, mysterious challenger, dr. boom, tirion though! Think of the matchup mostly as a puzzle though for you to figure out how to diffuse those secrets.
Rogue: Weapons, especially deathsbite, are key to this matchup since they get so much value. Keep removal for those hard to remove minions like 6/6 edwin or emperor. Try to play "unsappable" targets in the midgame to keep from losing tempo like emperor/shieldmaiden/justicar/corruptors. Sylvanas/alexstrasza are prime sap targets so avoid playing these until necessary. Always try to keep the Rogue board clear since tinker's oil can burst for so much damage. Rogue does have a finite amount of damage, so often it is just about out-tanking the damage rather than having lethal yourself. Deathwing can be used when Rogue dumps their hand and pushes all-in with loatheb. Even if it gets sapped, you will clear their next board.
Druid: Druid... kind of comes down to how well they wild growth/innervate/curve out. I like to keep weapons and execute as well as armorsmith/acolyte. The main way to keep up in mana/tempo is to get your emperor down as soon as possible to get those swingy free removal turns. Only use deathwing as a last resort. Against faster token druids, it is fine to use revenge as a whirlwind before they get power of the wild value!
UPDATE 2: If people are interested in learning more about the deck playstyle and different matchups, please feel free to check out my stream sometime at twitch.tv/lokshadow
UPDATE 3: Made some revisions to the deck that seem to be working well:
-1 Taskmaster/+1 Revenge (both are 2 drops and can activate Grommash but Revenge can serve as AoE)
-1 Sludge Belcher/+1 Blackwing Corruptor (see the next revision but I added a 4th dragon so now the battlecry is more consistent and worth running 2x)
-1 Baron Geddon/+1 Ysera (missed running Ysera and Baron Geddon's effect is taken over by the 1x Revenge)
UPDATE 4: Another update before TGT
-1 Dr. Boom/+1 Baron Geddon (Helps improve some of the aggro matchups and is in preparation for replacing Dr. Boom with Chillmaw!!)
UPDATE 5: TGT Updates
A lot of testing still, but this is the current version of the list. It is trying to adapt to the sheer number of midrange token style decks, especially both midrange inspire paly and secret paly.
-1 Alexstrasza's Champion: After some testing I concluded that this card doesn't belong in a control-oriented dragon warrior and is more suitable for a aggressive midrange build.
-2 Armorsmiths: I really hate taking these out but felt like they were not high impact enough to deal with the tokens compared to revenge.
2 Revenge: MVP card against the rise of tokens. The key is to play similar to handlock and invite damage early game such that you can get huge swings with 2 mana hellfire.
2 Shield Block: After cutting armorsmiths you really need to run 2x for the instant armor gain for shield slam value. This is for fast stabilization after tanking health down to 12 or less.
-1 Acolyte: I took out 1 acolyte in favor of the shield block for the card cycle.
1 Twilight Guardian: Extra dragon for triggering the corruptors/chillmaw and serves as a good taunt/midrange minion. Trades better than the armorsmiths/acolytes.
1 Baron Geddon: Baron's back! A very solid 7 drop that serves as another board clear. Against all the midrange token decks that can flood the board much more easily due to the inspire cards, one can never have enough AoE. This brings the number of AoE up such that we have 2x revenge, 2x deathsbite, 1x brawl, 1x chillmaw, 1x baron, and 1x deathwing.
Hopes this helps people out who are still interested in playing Dragon Warrior but struggling in the current meta. Suggestions and new ideas are welcome! Please check out my stream as well for more play testing!
twitch.tv/lokshadow
UPDATE 6: New season
Trying to keep the list updated for the current meta, and since at the beginning of the season there are lots of aggro including face hunters, the following changes have been made:
+2 Armorsmiths
+1 Acolyte
-1 Shield Block
-1 Twilight Guardian
-1 Ysera
Essentially reverting back to an older build that has the early game package with Armorsmiths/Acolytes and doesn't run the slower dragon like Ysera which doesn't help with racing/guaranteed board clear.
Update 7: October Season
Addressed a question in comments but thought others would benefit from these alternative lists.
I'm currently running a greedy version of this deck (rank 6 NA atm for the new season): http://i.imgur.com/OVnAnKb.png
This includes the Twilight Guardians.
Here is also my tempo version that I run on EU: http://i.imgur.com/EakmdEF.png
I don't have 2nd Twilight Guardian on EU but I think Shredder is a more solid value 4 drop especially for a tempo deck.
Update 8: November Season
Got some request to update the Dragon Warrior deck list and I have just updated it to the greedy version. This is only appropriate in a control-oriented meta when I see more Control Warriors, Handlocks, Dragon/Control Priests, Midrange Paly, Midrange Shaman, etc which this deck handles better in my opinion than traditional Control Warrior.
If you are interested in my anti-aggro warrior build, I've uploaded a screen shot of my Suck FMOrc list here: http://i.imgur.com/5iBtzly.png
Hope this helps and please give me a follow! Cheers!
twitch.tv/lokshadow
youtube.com/lokshadow
twitter.com/lokshadowhs
heya, thx for the reply!
around rank 10 mages (freeze and mech antonidas) and hunter (smork and midrange) run rampant. kezan kinda worth it.
loatheb and double belcher seems nice... will give it a try.
not sure about revenge :T
edit: man, 2 questions:
1 - what matchups did deathwing won you a game
2- how do I stop this doble line break when I type a new line? >.<
cya!
Deathwing is useful in scenarios like vs Rogue when they Loatheb and push all-in towards the endgame, vs Warrior as the final fatigue killer or Patron as the final board clear, vs Handlock to clear the final Jaraxxus board, vs Zoo when they dump their demons and Malganis, vs Mage when they drop their last cards or play Antonidas/Ragnaros, etc. There are tons of times that it has saved the day, but don't expect to use it every game either.
I don't know how to stop the double line break, haha. =P
By the way, feel free to check out my stream if you have more questions: twitch.tv/lokshadow =)
This deck is so stupid, its basically control warrior but add in two legendary dragons that are impossible to play without even putting in dragon consort. Your better off taking out deathwing and nefarian and putting back your 2nd brawl and shield block. I cannot believe people swallow this stuff up.
Pretty much agree with what you say, but your tone is very ironic. Downvoted for that.
If you prefer the standard control warrior list then by all means, play that. Just pray not to run into any other players playing this list since it will stomp all over the standard control warrior.
As much as I love this deck, I'm sad to say that DW is more of a dead card than not. Nearly every game I've played he wouldn't make any difference and would even be too risky. I really WANT DW to be a staple card in this deck but he just feels unnecessary. The closest I came to use him was against a priest in my last match that dragged on to fatigue. Even had DW as a single card but alas, I won the game by other means.
Otherwise it's a great deck and I've had more success with this than regular CW.
Glad you're having success with the deck! If you honestly feel no need for DW then of course feel free to swap with Ysera! DW has saved me many games though, so he's definitely earned my respect.
Yes, replace with Ysera =)
Hi! Glad you were able to stop by the stream to get your questions answered. =)
Your thoughts on 2nd Brawl vs. Baron Geddon? I don't have Baron Geddon (although I have the dust to craft it) and I'm curious how much more effective Geddon is compared to 2nd Brawl. In particular I'm worried about the Patron Warrior matchup. Geddon also seems rather useless against decks like Handlock or Druid or Tempo Mage - basically any deck that runs minions with >2 HP. It also dies to BGH, although it's able to burn BGH out after it snipes (e.g.) Boom or Alex.
Would you run both Brawls + Geddon? What would you cut for 2nd Brawl if so?
What about Rag instead of Nefarian, replacing Blackwing Corruptor with something else (2nd Belcher perhaps)?
You can certainly cut Baron for 2nd Brawl. Brawl does have advantages in the situations that you mentioned, so it is not critical to this deck. However, Baron does help in the Zoo, Midrange Paladin, and Midrange Shaman matchups. You don't need to run both Brawls + Geddon.
If you want to play Rag instead of Nefarian and replace Corruptor with Belcher you might as well play standard Control Warrior. I think there is no point to mix a hybrid between Dragon Warrior and Control Warrior since you're not really getting the best of both worlds. Hope this helps! Again, feel free to check out my stream if you want more advice/tips: twitch.tv/lokshadow
Ok, I'll switch between 2nd Brawl and Baron depending on what decks I'm facing.
About Rag / Nefarian: you only have one card that relies on dragon synergies - the Blackwing Corruptor. One in thirty. The dragons (Deathwing, Alex, Nefarian) are in the deck not to provide dragon synergies, but because they have powerful effects. Not that big a deal to run Rag instead of Nefarian then, is there? The main question then would be which provides more value. This I'm a bit ambivalent about. Playing against Nefarian is intimidating. He plays Nefarian against my Priest ... what if he has Mind Control? He plays Nefarian against my Mage ... what if he has Pyroblast? Of course, he could just as well end up with 2x Circle of Healing or Mirror Image, but man it's intimidating. On the other hand, when I play Nefarian it's tended to be a little underwhelming. If Nefarian brought out spells from the opponent's deck, it would be a lot better, but nothing feels more stupid than holding stuff like Totemic Might.
After giving it a try I noticed that using 2nd Brawl instead of Baron means I have one less threat to play and a correspondingly worse matchup against e.g. control Warrior ... I guess it's only fair, if I'm shoring up my Patron matchup I have to be sacrificing something else, although I'm not happy about it /wrist.
To answer your earlier post, yes, it's not a huge deal to run Rag if you really think that it's a stronger card than Nefarian. I don't think it is though since it often targets unreliably. I have never been a big fan of 2nd Brawl, so I prefer to keep my Baron for the threat and a different type of board clear.
Fun deck but I couldn't even break even with it. Zoolock and Oil Rogue is autoloss and I mostly played against that so there you go.
Sorry to hear that! Zoolock and Oil Rogue should definitely not be autoloss matchups though. If the guide doesn't help in these matchups, you can check out my stream sometime to learn more about the deck: twitch.tv/lokshadow
Hi OpieWarrior,
Wow, thanks so much for going through that to leave the positive feedback! I'm really happy to see people doing well AND enjoying the deck (because isn't that the point of playing Hearthstone? to have fun?)! The Deathwing vs Deathwing game sounded insane, haha, wish I could've seen that! Good luck with the deck!
Awesome writeup, great mulligan guide. Have not tried the deck but I'm playing something similar to moderate success.
Thanks! =)
I'm actually winning again on CW!! I miss Deathwing tho, replaced him with Chromaggus, but not sure if Ysera isn't better.
6-1 with it. Nice. +1