Hearthpwn

Update 2:  After the nerfs of Rockbiter and Tuskarr that came now I changed the deck a lot. It wasn't just enough to swap Al'Akir with Rag and Rockbiters with Lighning Bolts and GG. Those changes, 1 more Mana Tide 2 less Tuskarrs and Rag instead of Al'Akir made Barnes simply good enough to justify using and I think it's for the better for the current post-nerf Midrange Shaman. Anyways if anyone cares about what I'm using right now here is the screenshot:

Update 1:  Just made Legend in Wild too with this exact list, not a single wild card used!

Note:  Original list that I 1st uploaded and that I used to climb to Legend had Barnes instead of 2nd Master of Evolution! After I hit the Legend I decided to make this small change and I think it was for the better. Also you will see that I had 58.5% win rate, that is mixed with 30-40 games of Aggro Shaman that had a bit under 50% win rate, so the WR of this very deck should be ~60-62% approx. The deck kept working very good on highest Legend ranks! Entered Top 50 (#39) on Sept 16. Here is the screenshot:

Hey guys, 

This season was my 1st season I tried Shaman for real. Played it cos it was non-golden class and I want to make them all golden in due time and it was Shaman's turn now, and I'm surprised that I came to actually like the class. I tried Aggro at 1st but it was weak despite all the salt I've seen how it's broken. I couldn't make it past Rank 4 with it and at one point I dropped to Rank 7, it's simply weaker than most decks out there from my experience (it is quite possible that I played it wrong somehow or that I had too high expectations). It is good to R5 cos of sheer speed, cost and ease of use but it's simply not on par with the others for serious ladder from what I've seen, again might be wrong, I know many of you would disagree. Anyways, I decided to try and play with Totem/Tempo and Midrange Shamans, and after many fails both from netdecks and my own lists, I made this thing looking up to one of Loyan's lists (this is 5 cards different than that, but still worth to mention!). Here is the deck tracker for it to Legend (EDIT: Read note at the beginning of the guide) and screenshots to prove:

   *** Right click and open photo in new tab to see zoomed in!  ***

Game Plan

This is not an aggro deck, it doesn't even have those 6 mana 7/7 or those spells for face, and it doesn't use Doomhammer and such. It might not even be considered a tempo, but pure Midrange deck and atm Shaman can pull it off successfully thanks to the new cards - Maelstrom Portal and new weapon that is the best Shaman card next to Thing from Below in my opinion and experience - 3/3 for 1 mana if you use it only with spell power which you will usually do unless you need to remove something with 1 health on board which is also fine. You play very defensively vs aggro decks such as Zoo or Face Shaman yet you act like aggressor vs control tho you still seek value which this deck can also pull off thanks to the card draw and hero power that can be utilized more often than with other classes cos of synergies it gives to your deck.

Card Choices

Why include?

• Barnes - EDIT: Swapped for 2nd Master of Evolution!
• Master of Evolution - very good 4 drop and especially nice on your totems which it will very often turn into 3/2 from 0/2 or if you don't need a taunt it's especially nice on Thing from Below as it will turn 5/5 into 7 cost minion that is usually better. Never use it on Totem Golem!
• Al'Akir the Windlord - Very good finisher, combines nicely with Rockbiter so it can serve as Grom + Inner Rage, yet good card for both control of the board since it attacks twice and for defense when needed since it has divine shield and taunt. I kept Rag at 1st when I copied one of Loayn's lists but decided for Al'Akir at the end and I do not regret either crafting it or using it in this deck.
• Bloodmage Thalnos - Completely unique card with 2 effects both of which you need and use. Be it to add attack for weapon, to increase your AoE which you have 3 of in deck or just as a card cycle. Make this one of the priorities for craft, especially if you enjoy Rogue, Freeze Mage and recently it's even found in all kinds of Druid decks!

Why not include?

• Flamewreathed Faceless - 6 mana for 7/7 without effect seems too much for me, I did keep it at first but it simply always backfired and unless it's T4 and opponent doesn't have any form of defense it's simply a worse card than others. I saw Loyan not using it on stream, give my own deck a try without them and boom it was better. It's very overrated card and it can look OP to new players when they see "4" mana 7/7 but it's 6 mana and it's not so OP as you'd think. Still decent for Face Shaman tho where you don't seek value nor any form of control but just go face asap before opponent gets to do anything. But for Midrange? It's not good.
• Doomhammer - Again, one of the most overrated cards, just like Faceless it is good in Face Shaman cos of Rockbiter combo and pure face but in this slower deck that also has 2 other weapons it's simply not worth paying 7 mana for such a weapon. Again, a good card but not for this deck.
• Lightning Bolt - I kept this at 1st instead of Rockbiter but 1 mana less Rockbiter simply proven better, especially with Al'Akir in the deck, if you opt for example for Rag instead of Al'Akir you might wanna reconsider but in this setup Rockbiter all the way!
• Argent Squire - I used them at 1st but the deck didn't have enough aggressive moment to rush them down so it didn't matter much yet it didn't have enough late game fuel for slower decks, it basically lacked identity, so these little things only good if you go full face - or you can use them instead of Trogg which I wouldn't recommend, but I wouldn't go for 4x 1 drop in Midrange deck like this.

Mulligan

Without coin:

• Tunnel Trogg - Keep always
• Spirit Claws - Keep always
• Totem Golem - Keep always
• Rockbiter Weapon - Keep if you don't have other stuff to fil the whole in curve and remove something on board
• Tuskarr Totemic - Keep if you have a turn 1 at least

With coin:

• Tunnel Trogg - Keep always
• Spirit Claws - Keep always
• Totem Golem - Keep always
• Rockbiter Weapon - Keep if you don't have other stuff to fill the whole in curve and remove something on board and keep always if you have Totem Golem (1st turn coin Golem, 2nd turn Rockbiter
• Tuskarr Totemic - Keep always
• Master of Evolution - Keep vs Priest always
• Azure Drake - Keep vs Priest only if you have 1-2 turns already

Matchups

Tempo Mage - 13-24 (35.1%) - By far the worst matchup but still not worth giving up on. Play around Flamestrike if possible cos they keep it usually in their decks, so don't overdo board too much if you don't think it's absolutely necessary. You must remove Flamewaker even if it looks like very unfavorable trade, it's the card that will win them the game, especially vs board heavy Midrange Shaman like you. The same stands for Sorcerer's Apprentice. You basically play this matchup defensively, try to control the board rather than seek too much tempo/value by attacking to face. 

Token/Yogg/Maly Druid - 25-16 (61%) - This is from my experience favorable but not like Zoo or Hunter. You should save Hex only for huge minions like Malygos, 8/8 Arcane Giant, 5/10 Ancient of War, Cenarius etc. Use it only on those or if you have no other way to kill Fandral that is primary target just like Flamewaker is vs Mage - it must die at all costs, even tho it might look like unfavorable trade at first glace, it can backfire and it will if you keep it alive, it's a game winning card that must be removed. Other than that not too many specific pieces of advice, just follow the curve, seek for both value and pressure/tempo and you should win most of these games.

Secret/Midrange Hunter - 48-21 (69.6%) - Second easiest matchup after Zoo/Discard Warlock. You basically counter them, too many value cards yet too much tempo for them to keep up. If it's secret Hunter try to play around all the secrets, for example 1st attack then summon cos of Explosive Trap, 1st attack with weaker minion in case of Freezing, use some other spell before AoE if possible in case it's Cat Trick, summon weaker minions 1st in case it's Snipe etc. Using some sort of deck tracker might help here cos it will automatically write off possible secrets so you don't have to think too much, but it shouldn't be hard and I personally did it without tracker. Save Hex for Savannah Highmane for sure and if you have two feel free to throw one on his Infested Wolf or something else before, but one must be ready for his Savannah Highmane and it's the card that will win you the game most likely. 

Control/Dragon Warrior - 29-32 (47.5%) - Both Dragon and Control are not so good matchups. Unlike Aggro Shaman this one basically play more of a control role vs Dragon Warrior, you basically play defensively and clear board whenever you can. Try to align cards for the most value, for example leaving his 5/4 on 5/3 with 1/1 so next turn you can kill it with Fire Elemental that would deal 3 dmg to it and such. Board control is the key here, once they run out of steam you win by far the value game, more card draw, a lot of taunts and buffed totems will lead you to victory. Of course - note that it isn't good matchup but it isn't disaster either, you should be able to get 45-50% with it like I did. As for Control it's a bit different and you should play around Brawl as much as possible (so don't throw down 0 mana 5/5 just for the sake of having it if you know Brawl is coming), use Hexes smart on his Sylvanas and other big stuff and don't trade as aggressively as you'd do vs aggro but rather hit face more often and force him to answer to you.

Zoo/Discard Warlock - 23-9 (71.9%) - The easiest matchup with any deck you choose, including this Shaman. Not a single living deck loses to Zoo anymore and I have no clue how did I face any at all ranked so high. Supreme mystery for me. No comment here, just clear his board non-stop, play very defensively, seek value with AoEs -  often leave them in hand for spell dmg bonus or for him to flood the board even more and GG. Of course it's not 100% wr it's impossible but you lose only if he has godlike luck and you have very bad hand!

Miracle Rogue - 10-6 (62.5%) - This is one of the easier matchups and this is the only game where Aggro Shaman is actually better than Midrange - vs Rogue. You basically play classic tempo/value game here, clear things when favorable hit face when not, use Hex on his Tomb Pillagers so they don't get fuel for Auctioneer/Combos and you should be fine.

Midrange/Aggro Shaman - 48-33 (59.3%) - Midrange Shaman is naturally close to 50% and there is not much you can do here, it will go automatically and you will have to answer eachother always so there is no particular gameplan needed. Note that often they use 4x AoEs unlike my deck with 3, so don't flood board way too much, especially if opponent has spell dmg totem! Aggro Shaman is very easy matchup and all you should do is simply keep the board clean like with Zoo for example, you will outvalue him by far and very soon he will be left with no cards in hand, save Hexes for Thing from Below and 7/7 as those are his best minions. You have a lot of removals, aoe and taunts yourself so you will be more than fine vs Aggro ones!

Murloc/Other Paladin - 12-8 (60%) - From 5+ I have only seen Murloc Paladins so I'll comment on them: use Hex on 3/3 Murloc Warleader that buffs other and on Tirion ONLY! Do not use Hex on anything else at any cost or you will lose 100% this game. The only way he can win is with those two cards, and if you Hex them it's GG cos his Anyfin 10 mana won't revive at all those buffing murlocs. it is favorable if you play it like that - otherwise Paladin will wipe floor with you. That's about it, the rest of the game comes naturally, value/tempo game, nice trades face when possible and that's about it.

Priest -  Priest in 2016 LUL

Replacements & Options

Al'Akir the Windlord - This is Shaman's Grommash Hellscream and it is very unique card in it's own way yet it can be completely replaced by Ragnaros the Firelord if you already have it. Many players even use it mainly and not Al'Akir tho I disagree with it, Al'Akir does wonders in this deck with 2x Flametongue Totem and 2x Rockbiter. Anyways, if you miss Both Al'Akir and Ragnaros you might wanna put second Fire Elemental as basically 0 dust very decent substitute.

Bloodmage Thalnos - First options that come to mind if you miss this card are another Mana Tide Totem, Argent Squire or maybe even Kobold Geomancer since it's spell power that you use Thalnos for always and kinda decent body. Of course Thalnos is hardly replaceable in it's respective decks such as Freeze Mage, Miracle Rogue and now this Shaman, so consider it one of the priorities to craft, but until then try those 3 options and decide for yourself. I will test the other options myself so I can tell you my personal opinion as well! Also if anyone has idea or another suggestion please tell in comments so we can make the guide more complete!

Good luck and for Doomhammer Spirit Claws!