Hearthpwn

 

EDIT 05-05-2017: I just changed the decklist for Un'goro. I used this list to hit legend on EU

 

Hey! I'm Sipiwi94.

Last week I made a deck guide about Secret Murloc Paladin. I made that deck last season and reached #1 Legend with it this season. When people saw it a lot of them asked if I would make a guide about another deck I created that they had seen me play on ladder. 

This is the reason for this guide - Reno Zoolock!

I used this deck to keep #1 for ~1 week with almost 75% winrate. It is not the deck I use now to keep my #1 spot though. I think this Tempo Reno Mage list is better at the moment.

The idea behind the deck

I saw that people like Kolento were messing around in standard with Renozoo, doing quite well. I thought that if this deck works in standard it should be insane in wild. A lot of insane zoo cards rotated out already and Reno decks are just stronger in wild in general because of the big card pool. 

I tried to make a deck with 1 of each zoo card + Reno and Kazakus, but I found out that I had to cut some because a deck only contains 30 cards. This was a very good sign because some zoo cards require a lot of synergy, which means they would be worse in a Renozoo list. 

The card choices

Most of the cards don't require an explanation. They are just good zoo cards = they are cheap, efficient and keep board control.

However, some of the cards are not obvious:

Darkbomb is not often seen in Zoo decks. The main reason why I use the card is Ship's Cannon You need as many ways to answer that card as possible.

Enhance-o Mechano has been used in some Zoo decks. I really like the card with Brann Bronzebeard . It is also 1 more way to taunt up, which is very important in this matchup. 

Krul the Unshackled was a big experiment. I thought that I had to try it when I used demons in a reno deck. He works very well against control decks. The way you use him is to drop him with some demons in hand right after they used Brawl , Lightbomb or another board clear. They concede almost every time this happens. Krul the Unshackled is also a way to play Doomguard without the drawback and he is a big minion to get from Voidcaller

Alternatives

Dire Wolf Alpha is a good card. I really don't like 2/2 stats in board control decks. Knife Juggler is an exception because of the amazing synergies with deathrattles etc. However the wolf is not a bad card and some people will probably think I'm stupid to not use this card.

Abusive Sergeant I used this card for a long time, but ended up cutting it because I thought I had enough ways to pop Nerubian Egg so I didn't see a reason to play a 1/1 in my deck. I don't hate using this card though. 

Demonfire Bloodfury Potion Crystalweaver I don't like these. You don't have enough demons.

Lord Jaraxxus I never tried this card, but it is a good way to improve the worst matchup - Reno Priest.

Kazakus

Obviously the star in this deck. I always keep him in my mulligan. Picking the right potion in this deck is surprisingly hard. All options can be good, so you need to know where the game is heading. 

In general damage and poly is good because the deck lacks removal. 

If you have a board or expect to have one + health is amazing. I pick this option very often and try to combine it with resurrection or summon demon. 

Resurrection is tricky with this deck because a lot of 1/1s die. So you need to be careful and I prefer not picking this after I played Imp-plosion or Forbidden Ritual

Demons in your hand can be very powerful if you have Krul the Unshackled

Draw is not good very often. But if you need to get Reno fast and there is no armor/removal available it is a good pick.

Armor/Freeze is only good against aggro.

Matchups

In Wild I like to talk about archtype matchups instead of each deck 1 by 1.

Aggro

This deck eats aggro for dinner. The way people should think about this matchup is that we are playing a renolock with TONS of early game. 

You win by:

- Reno back to 30hp

- Kazakus into sick potion

- Getting board control early followed by Defender of Argus / Enhance-o Mechano

The only way you lose against aggro is if you lose board control early. This can happen quite often against Egg Druid, but the only way it happens against pirates is if they get the cannon + pirates combo or if they get a lot of weapons.

Mulligan: Flame Imp, Voidwalker, Malchezaar's Imp, Darkbomb, Haunted Creeper, Peddler, Nerubian Egg, Dark Peddler, Imp Gang Boss, Ooze, Mortal Coil, Squire, Soulfire, Kazakus, Reno.

Control (Reno + Jade)

Against control decks this is just a regular zoo that sometimes gets insane Kazakus value. Loatheb is such a strong card in this matchup because control decks are all about the board clear swing turn. A well-timed Loatheb will just win you the game.

Reno decks are the hardest matchup because of board clears. Mage is okay because they only have Flamestrike . Priest is really hard and Warlock is also pretty bad. The matchups are not impossible though.

Zoo vs druid has always been a good matchup. This is also the case against Jade Druid. You pressure them and if they don't get the perfect ramp into Jades you win.

Muligan: Flame Imp, Voidwalker, Malchezaar's Imp, Haunted Creeper, Peddler, Nerubian Egg, Dark Peddler, Imp Gang Boss, Councilman, Squire, Kazakus. If you have Nerubian Egg you can keep Dark Iron Dwarf and Argus. If you have a big demon and Voidcaller you keep both. 

Midrange (Dragons and Shaman)

Against Dragon Priest and Warrior the fight is all about the board. Sometimes they get the prefect curve. There is really not a lot to say here. Dragon Warrior is a bit more aggressive = sometimes Reno will win the game even if they got board control at some point.

Against Shaman you need to play around their different board clears. Otherwise it is still all about board control. The hard part about Shaman is to figure out if the are Jade, aggro or something in between. The key cards to do this is Lava Burst 4 mana 7/7 , Pirates (these = aggro) and Jade Spirit, Hex, Brann Bronzebeard (these = Jade)

Muligan: Flame Imp, Voidwalker, Malchezaar's Imp, Haunted Creeper, Peddler, Nerubian Egg, Dark Peddler, Imp Gang Boss, Councilman, Squire, Kazakus. If you have Nerubian Egg you can keep Dark Iron Dwarf. If you have a big demon and Voidcaller you keep both. 

Combo decks

Did I say that Loatheb was good against control decks? Well it is even BETTER here. have you ever tried using this card right before a Freeze Mage want to kill you? "Too bad. Btw your block costs 8 mana now". Concealed Auctioneer? Well your spells are pretty expensive this turn.

Against Miracle Rogue you are favoured. You want board control. Always play around the first Fan of Knives but remember that rogues can't clear a big board. Just go all in. Rogues don't use heal or taunt either. So if you can set up a lethal it is probably a good idea.

Malygos Shaman, Freeze Mage, Kun/Aviana Druid should be fought in the same way. You try to force them to use their burst to stay alive so their combo is ruined. If they set up a 2-turn kill you can destroy their hopes with Reno or Mal'Ganis 

Muligan: Flame Imp, Voidwalker, Malchezaar's Imp, Haunted Creeper, Peddler, Nerubian Egg, Dark Peddler, Imp Gang Boss, Councilman, Squire, Kazakus. If you have Nerubian Egg you can keep Dark Iron Dwarf. If you have a big demon and Voidcaller you keep both. 

Final words

If you have any questions about the deck or wild in general I am happy to answer them.

I might start streaming soon at https://www.twitch.tv/sipiwi94 and my twitter is https://twitter.com/sipiwi94