Hearthpwn

*i will change this deck whenever it is needed to fit the current meta!

October Update:
-1x Bloodmage Thalnos, -1x Lightning Bolt
+1x Stormforged Axe, 1x Bloodlust

I added the Stormforged Axe to fight zoo and rush hunter during the climb. In addition Bloodlust helps to finish them off early.

*guide under construction. i'm currently applying the october update. Bare with me if something isn't updated yet!

Hello fellow Hearthpwners!

At first i would like to introduce myself. I play Hearthstone under the nickname ThisIsReapy, i'm 26 years old, live in Germany and play Hearthstone since early January. Since then I build up my card collection and reached legend 5 times. The last three seasons i even managed to climb to the top 200 in Legend. I played a lot of games with Shaman and can say that i'm quite experienced with this class. So, if you want any tips or need help you can ask me in the comments or add me in game.
I started this deck guide over 3 months ago and since then the deck changed quite a bit and I'm glad so many of you like it!


It is very helpful for your match ups to know what cards your opponent might play. To help you i added a complete deck to each mulligan and match up guide.

Mulligan and Strategy:


Handlock:
Unless you're 100% sure you should always mulligan for zoo. Zoo needs direct answers whereas against Handlock you can draw into them. If you're certain it is a Handlock then mulligan for Earth Shock and Hex. Those are the key cards to deal with their threats: Twilight Drake and Mountain Giant. It is also possible to use your totems + Flametongue Totem for the first Mountain Giant.
Try to keep his board clear to avoid getting board cleared by Ancient Watcher + Shadowflame or any other minion that has enough Attack to clear your board.
Also don't flood your board too much with low health minions when he has no minions on his side because Hellfire will punish you hard.
Be careful with the health of the Handlock. You don't want him to be able to drop double Molten Giants if you can't deal with them. Always keep him at 15+ health until you can finish him or be able to deal with his Giants. For example: If you have Hex and/or Earth Shock in your hand, you can bring him as low as you want because you're able to get trough is wall of taunted Molten Giants.


Deck overview:

 

Zoo:
Mulligan for Stormforged Axe, Haunted Creeper, Harvest Golem, Feral Spirit and your cheap removal spells Rockbiter Weapon, Earth Shock, Lightning Storm and Lightning Bolt.
It is important that you remove his biggest threats Knife Juggler and Dire Wolf Alpha as early as possible. In most cases you want to silence their Nerubian Egg because zoo has a lot of ways to activate it.
It is most important that you think one or two turns ahead. You don't want to overload yourself too much if you can't deal with his threats the next turn. Most of the time you don't want to overload yourself on turn 5 to be able to drop Fire Elemental on turn 6 even if 1 or 2 minions live a turn longer. In the long run it is the more efficient play. The only exception is a spellpowered Lightning Storm on turn 5 to clear the board.
The more you play this match up, the more you will feel comfortable playing against zoo. It is actually pretty easy to deal with them even with only one Lightning Storm.
Last but not least: Play efficient and keep his board as clear as possible.

Deck overview:

 

Control Warrior:
Mulligan for Earth Shock, Haunted Creeper, Flametongue Totem, Harvest Golem and Lightning Bolt / Rockbiter Weapon.
You want to have minions early on to be aggressive. Silence his Acolyte of Pain to deny him his card draw.
Use Hex to deal with his big threats.
Watch out for Brawl after turn 5. Don't flood your board too much after that turn. Play only what you need to play to kill is minions.
Don't play minions if they can be easily destroyed by Death's Bite and its deathrattle.
Don't be afraid to drop below 20 health before turn 9. They will use Alexstrasza at some point anyway.

Deck overview:

 

Face/Deathrattle Hunter:
Mulligan for Stormforged Axe, Rockbiter Weapon, Earth Shock, Haunted Creeper, Harvest Golem.
It is very important that you remove his Undertaker right away! Otherwise it will grow bigger and bigger and eventually you will be unable to deal with it.
Fight for Board control right away and don't hesitate to fill your board with more than 3 minions. You no longer need to be afraid of the Starving Buzzard + Unleash the Hounds, it's a thing of the past. They might use Unleash the Skill but won't draw any cards. After that you can fill your board again and they end up with no board at all.
Bloodlust in our deck also encourages us to flood our board!
Use your Earth Shock on their Mad Scientist to force them to play their traps for mana.
Overall this match up got a lot easier since the nerf but is still hard if they draw the nuts.

Deck overview:

 

Druid:
Mulligan for Harvest Golem, Feral Spirit, Haunted Creeper, Flametongue Totem and early removal spells.
The most important thing in this match up is board control. Once you have it you will almost never lose it. Druids lack hard removal spells to deal with our big threats.
Watch your health and keep in mind that they run the 14 damage combo Force of Nature + Savage Roar. Naxx druid runs this combo twice.
Try to guess early on which deck they run. Ramp or naxx druid.
Against ramp you want to safe your Hex for situations where you can't deal with their current board state efficiently. Against naxx druid you most likely will use it against Ancient of Lore.

Deck overview:
Ramp:

 Naxx Druid:

 

Miracle (not common in the current meta):
Miracle is almost gone thanks to Loatheb but if you face one keep Loatheb if you have decent early game cards and mulligan for Unbound Elemental, Feral Spirit, Haunted Creeper, and Rockbiter Weapon or Lightning Bolt to remove the first SI:7 Agent.
The most satisfying play to make against miracle is to drop Loatheb after they played their Gadgetzan Auctioneer + Conceal combo.
Try to remove their Azure Drakes immediately. You never want to get hit by spell powered spells. Keep track of their Shadowsteps. Did they use one on their Gadgetzan Auctioneer? Or maybe on their Earthen Ring Farseer to keep them alive? It helps you to calculate how much damage they can possibly do to you with their Leeroy Jenkins combo. If you can calculate it correctly you can always decide at the right moment if you need a taunt or not.

Deck overview:

 

Control Paladin / Tauntadin:
Mulligan for Harvest Golem, Haunted Creeper, Flametongue Totem. If you want you can keep Lightning Bolt or Rockbiter Weapon.
This game could take a while! Paladin runs a lot of heals and most of the time games will last till you drew all your 30 cards. Their biggest threat is Tirion Fordring. Great ways to deal with him are Hex and Earth Shock.
Keep track of his Equality + Wild Pyromancer or Consecration combo. Don't flood your board too much unless both are already played or if you're certain that he doesn't have it in his hand.

Deck overview:

 

Tempo/Control Priest:
Mulligan for Rockbiter Weapon, Hex, Haunted Creeper, Harvest Golem and Lightning Bolt.
Try to use Rockbiter Weapon to kill his Northshire Cleric or Undertaker. Lightning Bolt can be used with spell power to kill other minions.
Try to clear his Zombie Chow before he can drop his Auchenai Soulpriest to prevent the 5 damage to your face. I strongly recommend using minions to clear the zombie because you will need your removal spells for other minions.
If he has his combo Injured Blademaster + Circle of Healing on turn 2 with coin or on turn 3 without just Hex it. It saves you the trouble to kill it and to fall behind.
Keep in mind that most priests run Cabal Shadow Priest nowadays. Don't drop your Harvest Golem, Haunted Creeper or Mana Tide Totem on turn 5 to play around her.
If you face a Dark Cultist and some other minions almost always clear the other minions first. You don't want to let the Cultist buff other minions. Sometimes it is not possible to play around but mostly you can deal with it the turn after.
Always keep in mind that they have insane ways to board clear. Auchenai Soulpriest + Circle of Healing or Holy Nova. Don't flood your board unless you can't fall behind anymore or their board clears are gone. A good indication that they have board clear spells / combo cards in hand is, that they don't play anymore minions and let you flood the board.
In this match up you have to be careful with your cards that you play. As already mentioned you don't want to overextend because if their good ways of board clears but you also want to have a good board to deal with their minions. With more and more experience you will know when to play what card. You will notice when they hold back cards to bait you into their combo or when they just don't have it and you can go full out.
Don't be afraid to drop low on health. Other than the really unlikely Auchenai Soulpriest, Baron Rivendare, double Zombie Chow combo they don't have any burst damage or combo like other classes.

Deck overview:

Tempo Priest:

 Control Priest:

 

Shaman:
Mulligan for Harvest Golem, Haunted Creeper and Rockbiter Weapon or Lightning Bolt and Earth Shock.
This match up is all about board control. Whoever gets the better draw and controls the board is most of the time the winner at the end. It's good to clear every totem on their side. Especially if it is the spell power totem.
Normally you want to use Hex for their Fire Elementals but with board control and/or spell power you can remove them most of the time with your cheap spells.
Think about what your opponent can play next turn. Did he overload or not?
For example: Your opponent did overload and only has 3 or 4 mana left for his next turn. In this case you don't want to play a big minion because it is the perfect turn for him to play Hex.
Don't use Lightning Storm too soon. Only use it as a board clear if it is very efficient and/or you can't deal with his board otherwise. Try to make his Lightning Storm as awkward as possible.

Deck overview:

 

Secret Mage:
*under construction


Deck overview:

 

Aggro Mage:
*under construction


Deck overview:

 

Freeze Mage (not quite sure if it is back):
*under construction


Deck overview:

 

Tips:
- Use Defender of Argus on your totem or lower minions to protect your big threats.
- Always plan one or two turns ahead because of the overload mechanic
- Know the decks of your opponent. It helps a lot if you know what is still in your opponents deck.
- Try to avoid buffing your Fire Elemental to 7 or 8 Attack to keep it out of Big Game Hunter range.
- Draw first
- Use your hero power first in case you want to make a totem during your turn. Certain totems like the spell power totem can change your options during a turn or your next turn.
- Plan your whole turn before you play any card.

Budget replacements:
- Loot Hoarder or Kobold Geomancer for Bloodmage Thalnos. It depends on if you want the spell power or the card draw.
- Al'Akir the Windlord can be replaced by Argent Commander.

Legend proof:

 

Hope you enjoy my deck and if you have any questions just ask me in the comments!