Hearthpwn

Archetype: Tempo Midrange

Skill Cap: Average

Description:

Since Deathwing got a new entrance animation, I decided to wipe the dust off this deck and update it with new cards from the newer expansions.

This deck used to be a Standard deck in Karazhan. It has been rotated to Wild since the Year of the Mammoth rotation, but is still a semi-decent deck (no longer strong enough to be competitive, but can still win some games).

During the Karazhan expansion/adventure, DragonLocks suddenly gained popularity in the competitive scene. Even though Warlock has no Dragon class cards, or class cards with Dragon synergy, the Warlock's hero power, Life Tap, gave Warlocks enough consistency to run the Dragon package without having to run too many Dragons in their deck.

This deck is very similar to the competitive DragonLock deck, but also runs the Lakkari Sacrifice, Malchezaar's Imp, Silverware Golem, Fist of Jaraxxus and Deathwing combo as a finisher that nobody expects (see footnote for detailed explanation of the mechanics behind the combo).

This deck is a Tempo Midrange deck. It has the ability to win by outtempoing opponents with the Dragon package, or stall to drop the Discard combo with as many of the combo pieces as possible.

One advantage of the combo is that it does not require all pieces of the combo to be pulled off. Usually, you should only drop the combo if clearing the board will benefit you more than the opponent, or you have lethal with the combo, or if you think that you have enough pieces of the combo to secure a win afterwards.

Edit: Renamed the deck from Dragon DiscoLock to Discard DragonLock, because this deck is a DragonLock as its core, with the Discard package.

Card Choices:

Edit (Un'Goro): Removed Jeweled Scarab, The Curator. Added Lakkari Sacrifice, Chromaggus, Primordial Drake.

Deathwing: The bread and butter of this deck. Dragon synergy, board clear and combo piece.

Lakkari Sacrifice: Usually, you will not want to keep this in your starting hand because the only card in the deck that can complete this quest is Deathwing. Gives you a powerful follow-up after playing Deathwing, even in the case that Deathwing is dealt with. Ideally, you will want to discount this with Emperor Thaurissan so that you can play it for free together with Deathwing on the same turn, as to not give away any hints of the combo. Unfortunately, if you draw this card after playing Deathwing, it is a completely dead card. Replace this card if you want to make this deck more competitive.

Malchezaar's Imp: The biggest downside of playing Deathwing is that it discards your hand, which usually leads to you losing the game if it gets answered. Besides Life Tap, Malchezaar's Imp can help you refill your hand afterwards, allowing you to continue the game as usual after pulling off the combo. You will need Emperor Thaurissan to either discount Malchezaar's Imp, Deathwing, or both, to be able to play both of them on the same turn. Very rarely, if there are very few cards in your hand (< 7 cards), you are not too near fatigue, and you think you will be able to conclude the game soon, you can consider playing 2 Malchezaar's Imps with Deathwing.

Silverware Golem: Another common counter to Deathwing is to put up Taunts to stall. Having 1-2 Silverware Golems summoned alongside Deathwing takes care of that, and reduces the odds of Deathwing being killed by Deadly Shot. Silverware Golem can also be played from hand if you desperately need the tempo.

Fist of Jaraxxus: Because Deathwing clears the board before discarding cards in your hand, any Fist of Jaraxxus' are guaranteed to hit face. This can sometimes be used to finish off opponents with low hp, or threaten lethal with Deathwing (and potentially Silverware Golems) on board. Very rarely, you may need to Hail Mary Fist of Jaraxxus to kill an enemy minion on board that absolutely has to be killed (I really wish Fist of Jaraxxus can be targeted if played from hand).

Emperor Thaurissan: Required to play Lakkari Sacrifice and/or Malchezaar's Imp together with Deathwing on the same turn. The discount effect is also generally very powerful when combined with this deck's draw power.

Blackwing Technician: Very strong 3 drop. Consider replacing this card if you want a slower deck.

Brann Bronzebeard: Battlecry synergy. Works best with Blackwing Corruptor.

Twilight Drake: Dragon synergy. Very strong 4 drop. This card is already included in most Control Warlock decks, because of its insane synergy with Life Tap, what more in a deck with Dragon synergy.

Twilight Guardian: Dragon synergy. Very strong, regardless if played for tempo or to stall.

Azure Drake: Dragon synergy. Very strong 5 drop (used to be auto-included in most decks until it was rotated to Wild). Helps you draw your combo pieces. If you play Deathwing while you have any Azure Drakes in play, any discarded Fist of Jaraxxus' will benefit from the Azure Drake(s)' Spell Damage. A surprisingly not too rare scenario is me playing 2 Azure Drakes on turn 10, opponent, after seeing my deck so far, thinks that I'm simply running them for Dragon synergy, ignores them and goes face. I then go face with both Azure Drakes and drop Deathwing, dealing a whopping 20 damage to the opponent.

Blackwing Corruptor: This card alone is what makes the Dragon package worth running.

Book Wyrm: Dragon synergy. This card is especially strong in Wild, with almost every Control deck running Doomsayer(s) and/or Sludge Belcher(s). Consider adding a second copy for a slower deck.

Chillmaw: Dragon synergy. For stalling. Consider replacing with another Primordial Drake.

Chromaggus: Dragon synergy. Usually played on turn 10 (or earlier if discounted by Emperor Thaurissan, followed by Life Tap to immediately benefit from its effect. Best targets to hit are Silverware Golem and Fist of Jaraxxus.

Primordial Drake: Dragon synergy. For stalling.

Card Substitutions:

Sunfury Protector: If the meta gets too aggressive.

The Curator: Taunt and card draw.

Jeweled Scarab: Can Discover Silverware Golem, Blackwing Technician, Brann Bronzebeard. Also has synergy with The Curator.

Kabal Chemist: Can Discover powerful potions, especially Dragonfire Potion.

Wrathion: Taunt and card draw. Not included in this deck because the number of cards drawn is not known up front, which may lead to overdraw since our hand will almost always be quite full.

Ysera: Dragon synergy. Possible substitution for a slower deck.

 Bone Drake: Dragon synergy. It's Deathrattle gives you an extra card in hand if it is in play when you drop Deathwing. Possible substitution for a slower deck.

Cobalt Scalebane: Dragon synergy. Possible substitution for a faster deck.

Detailed Combo Mechanics Explanation:

Deathwing's Battlecry first marks all minions as "dead", but the death resolution doesn't happen until after all cards in hand are Discarded. Because of that, while your hand is being Discarded, the minions in play are in a "neither dead nor alive" state. In this state, the card text of minions are still active (which is why Malchezaar's Imp's and Azure Drake's effect still work), but they are no longer eligible targets for random effects (eg. Fist of Jaraxxus).

Why it doesn't Discard Nether Portal(from Lakkari Sacrifice) is a mystery to me though. My guess is that it marks all cards for Discard at once, before actually resolving the "on discard" effects of each card 1 by 1.

TLDR;

• Malchezaar's Imp will negate Deathwing's Discard (or draw twice the number of cards Discarded if you have 2 Malchezaar's Imps in play).
• Silverware Golems will be summoned (will not be destroyed by Deathwing's Battlecry).
• Fist of Jaraxxus will always go face.
• Lakkari Sacrifice will give you Nether Portal (will not be Discarded by Deathwing's Battlecry), assuming you have 6 other cards in hand when playing Deathwing.