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Anti-Aggro N'Jade Shaman [Write-up added] Control Shaman Deck by thatsTimmy - Jan 28, 2017 View Deck String Export to BBCode Export to Cockatrice Export to MarkDown Export to Html Clone this deck
Minion (12) 1x Aya Blackpaw 1x Barnes 1x Bloodmage Thalnos 1x N'Zoth, the Corruptor 1x Sylvanas Windrunner 1x White Eyes 2x Azure Drake 2x Sludge Belcher 2x Thing from Below	Ability (16) 2x Elemental Destruction 2x Far Sight 2x Healing Wave 2x Lava Shock 2x Lightning Storm 2x Hex 2x Jade Lightning 1x Lightning Bolt 1x Reincarnate	Weapon (2) 2x Jade Claws
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I've been playtesting and trying to refine this Control Shaman deck for the past week or so with some good results.

I'm gonna copy-paste the write-up I made for it here:

Card Decisions

Why only one Reincarnate?  -  Just one of this card can give you a lot of value when used at the right time (on Sylvanas Windrunner, White Eyes, or Aya Blackpaw ideally). Running two of these is a bit greedy, and will occasionally result in streaks of horrible draws/mulligans when you really need answers. 

Why no Feral Spirit?  -  I feel that this card is deceptively mediocre against aggro meta. The wolves only have two attack, which does kill some of the Pirate Aggro early game, but is quite weak in most other situations. Pirate Warrior and Aggro Shaman will frequently have enough damage to kill both wolves and keep chugging anyway. You will then be overloaded for 2 mana on turn 4, which gives you a very weak turn during the pivotal early game against aggro.

Why no Jade Spirit, or Jade Chieftain?  -  Though they are high value, they can be slow, and I don't feel that they contribute as much as having some of the other cards in the deck. Jade Spirit in particular can be a bad turn 4 play if you haven't played any Jade cards yet. I think there is a misconception in the Hearthstone community that you need to run the entire Jade package for it to be worth it. The extra Jade value you get off of Jade Claws, Jade Lightning, and Aya Blackpaw is still very good even if the Jade number isn't crazy high. 4 and 5 attack Jades are still a pain to deal with for some decks.

Why no Earth Elemental?  -  This card is situationally amazing, but it's also situationally unplayable. I've been in conflict about it mainly because it can improve your winrate against Dragon Priest, a difficult matchup, but it can also lose you games when your opponent has a good answer for it (Entomb, Hex, Polymorph, etc.). With the amount of hard removal in the current meta, playing Earth Elemental on turn five without the ability to play Lava Shock can actually screw you over sometimes. If this decklist had Ancestral Spirit, there could be more reason to use this card because of the great value you get from two 7/8 taunts.  But in a nutshell, Thing from Below might fill its role a bit better.

Why no Hallazeal the Ascended?  -  This card has been likened to Reno Jackson, but there are some crucial differences. You need 8 mana, Hallazeal, a board-clear in-hand, and an opposing board to do the combo. That's much different than simply playing your 6 mana Reno Jackson and calling it a day. That isn't to say that Hallazeal is bad, but I think having two Healing Wave in the deck allows for enough heal to cause problems for your opponent. If I were to sub him in, I might take out a Healing Wave to make room.

Substitutions

For fun/greediness:

• +1 Baron Rivendare
• -1 Sludge Belcher

and/or

• +1 Reincarnate
• -1 Lightning Bolt

 For better board presence :

• +2 Jinyu Waterspeaker
• -1 Healing Wave
• -1 Barnes

For slower but higher potential card draw:

• +1 Mana Tide Totem
• -1 Far Sight

 

If any of you have played decks like this, I'd love to hear your experiences and suggestions. :)