Hey guys, I climbed to legend this season, playing exclusively Paladin ctrl. and Zoo (not ashamed to admit that, if a deck beats the meta, run it (and who doesn't enjoy giving back a little bit of the cancer that they were subjected to in the past??)). It took me 47 games from rank 5 to legend, with the zoo deck having an impressive record of 28:7 (80% win rate).
In a meta game, dominated by midrange decks such as Shaman, Hunter & Druid, this iteration of zoo really begins to shine. While it aims at establishing and holding board control (zoo is NOT a face deck), it can generate insane amounts of burst with Power Overwhelming and kill out of nowhere.
If you have any questions concerning the deck, ask away, I'll answer them all. For more detailed information and a matchup guide, click on the deck list.
Edit: Don't get me wrong guys, this is by no means a drastic innovation and I don't claim exclusivity. Just wanted to let you know what worked for me and for what reason ;)
I'm interested to see how your Control Paladin deck looks, I'm running one right now and is stuck at ranks 9-11, I know this is the Warlock section of the subforum, but any tips?
I'm interested to see how your Control Paladin deck looks, I'm running one right now and is stuck at ranks 9-11, I know this is the Warlock section of the subforum, but any tips?
Played Kolento's list (someone posted it on the forums a couple of days ago). Just replaced one Sunwalker by an Unstable Ghoul to generate additional Equality combo options and provide a little more early game presence vs aggressive decks.
Just seems like a normal zoo with a deathlord and Loatheb rather than hellfires or mortal coils.
Not a fan of Hellfire in this meta. The only matchup in which you're behind occasionally is the mirror and at higher ranks, zoo isn't run all that often. You can easily play around the opponent's board clears with all the deathrattle minions in the deck, which allow you to quickly redevelop your board even after it has been wiped. Running Hellfire yourself would in fact hurt you more than it would benefit you and end up being a dead card most of the time.
Mortal Coil is a nice card but after the Naxx cards have been introduced, there is simply no place for it in the deck (at least not in the version with double PO). If I wanted to run something that could finish minions at 1 hp, I would actually prefer Elven Archer, since it is more versatile and doesn't draw cards that you would eventually discard with Soulfire or Doomguard.
Loatheb on the other hand won me quite a few games especially versus classes that rely on spells to clear the board when they're behind. If you have developed a decent board presence and play Loatheb, you basically get a free turn to further develop it and deal tremendous damage from which your opponent can rarely recover.
Deathlord is more of an experimental choice and will most likely be replaced with the release of the Construct Quarter. It's decent to protect your fragile minions such as Knife Juggler against direct damage but it obviously doesn't work in every matchup. Vs Ctrl Warriors for instance, it can backfire very easily and I always mulligan it.
I would consider it if Ramp Druid was still as prevalent as it was before Naxx. The only taunts you encounter these days are minions buffed by Defender of Argus or Sunfury Protector (handlock/shaman), the occasional Sludge Belcher in Paladin & Warrior and token Druids' Druid of the Claw. It mostly sits in your hand doing nothing or killing minor minions such as Feral Spirit. Due to the abundance of buffs, especially Power Overwhelming, even big creatures can easily be overcome. The dream is eating one of your buffed creatures that just killed a taunt with Void Terror.
I haven't unlocked any Naxx wings (except the first), alternatives to Loatheb?
There are none. His battlecry has more value then he has, but his 5/5 stats are sick addition for this card. He prevents you from getting swiped/unleashed/holy nova'd etc. It cannot be simply replaced. But if you don't have it, I would take the second Dire Wolf Alpha or Defender of Argus
I haven't unlocked any Naxx wings (except the first), alternatives to Loatheb?
There are none. His battlecry has more value then he has, but his 5/5 stats are sick addition for this card. He prevents you from getting swiped/unleashed/holy nova'd etc. It cannot be simply replaced. But if you don't have it, I would take the second Dire Wolf Alpha or Defender of Argus
I can second that. He basically wins you the game if you have board control and are getting close to lethal range. Dire Wolf Alpha & Defender of Argus are also the most reasonable replacements, although I'd tend towards the latter.
Argent Commander is generally seen in most zoo decks, due to having the ability to clear out most mid-late game taunts in combination with a dire wolf alpha already on the board, and stay on the board in order to remain an imminent threat and draw out some removal (which it's especially good at doing due to only 2 health after losing it's shield to a taunt). In addition, comboed with Overwhelming power or a soulfire, it can whack any target or face for 8 damage, doubling it's value.
Why do you leave it out here? I'm curious
It's simply too slow. While its goal is total board control, this deck is more aggressive than the Deathrattle-themed Zoo version. It establishes control by dropping a threat every turn, which requires you to curve out nicely. Argent Commander as a 6-drop will sit in your hand as a dead card for a long time if drawn early, taking the slot of a card that might be used to further develop your board. While it is a great draw T6+, this deck often wins around that turn. Also, you will often face the choice of whether to play Doomguard T5, discarding your Commander or wait a turn in order to be able to drop both. This will slow you down even further.
Damn... really good information on this thread. I can't really use it because apparently I suck ass at this game (after going to rank 2 last season, feels like 100 years ago) but at rank 14 I am going to bang out some games with this deck win or lose and see what's what.
Damn... really good information on this thread. I can't really use it because apparently I suck ass at this game (after going to rank 2 last season, feels like 100 years ago) but at rank 14 I am going to bang out some games with this deck win or lose and see what's what.
I found the Void Terror/PO combo to be really good, but very inconsistent, and too slow against hunters in the early game.
I have my own legend deck that I just hit legend with an hour ago, I'll be posting it tomorrow for everyone to check out. I built my deck specifically to counter the ridiculous mad scientist/trap hunter, but found it to be extremely effective against the current priest decks (including beating some top players like ErA and Tidesoftime along the way).
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Hey guys, I climbed to legend this season, playing exclusively Paladin ctrl. and Zoo (not ashamed to admit that, if a deck beats the meta, run it (and who doesn't enjoy giving back a little bit of the cancer that they were subjected to in the past??)). It took me 47 games from rank 5 to legend, with the zoo deck having an impressive record of 28:7 (80% win rate).
In a meta game, dominated by midrange decks such as Shaman, Hunter & Druid, this iteration of zoo really begins to shine. While it aims at establishing and holding board control (zoo is NOT a face deck), it can generate insane amounts of burst with Power Overwhelming and kill out of nowhere.
If you have any questions concerning the deck, ask away, I'll answer them all. For more detailed information and a matchup guide, click on the deck list.
Edit: Don't get me wrong guys, this is by no means a drastic innovation and I don't claim exclusivity. Just wanted to let you know what worked for me and for what reason ;)
I'm interested to see how your Control Paladin deck looks, I'm running one right now and is stuck at ranks 9-11, I know this is the Warlock section of the subforum, but any tips?
Just seems like a normal zoo with a deathlord and Loatheb rather than hellfires or mortal coils.
Played Kolento's list (someone posted it on the forums a couple of days ago). Just replaced one Sunwalker by an Unstable Ghoul to generate additional Equality combo options and provide a little more early game presence vs aggressive decks.
Wow...Zoo...how interesting.
Not a fan of Hellfire in this meta. The only matchup in which you're behind occasionally is the mirror and at higher ranks, zoo isn't run all that often. You can easily play around the opponent's board clears with all the deathrattle minions in the deck, which allow you to quickly redevelop your board even after it has been wiped. Running Hellfire yourself would in fact hurt you more than it would benefit you and end up being a dead card most of the time.
Mortal Coil is a nice card but after the Naxx cards have been introduced, there is simply no place for it in the deck (at least not in the version with double PO). If I wanted to run something that could finish minions at 1 hp, I would actually prefer Elven Archer, since it is more versatile and doesn't draw cards that you would eventually discard with Soulfire or Doomguard.
Loatheb on the other hand won me quite a few games especially versus classes that rely on spells to clear the board when they're behind. If you have developed a decent board presence and play Loatheb, you basically get a free turn to further develop it and deal tremendous damage from which your opponent can rarely recover.
Deathlord is more of an experimental choice and will most likely be replaced with the release of the Construct Quarter. It's decent to protect your fragile minions such as Knife Juggler against direct damage but it obviously doesn't work in every matchup. Vs Ctrl Warriors for instance, it can backfire very easily and I always mulligan it.
Don't like it? Get the EYE out!
Yeahhh... Beat it...
I like it, what are your thoughts on tbk?
Seems like a pretty good deck Eyepod! Glad you shared it with us!
I would consider it if Ramp Druid was still as prevalent as it was before Naxx. The only taunts you encounter these days are minions buffed by Defender of Argus or Sunfury Protector (handlock/shaman), the occasional Sludge Belcher in Paladin & Warrior and token Druids' Druid of the Claw. It mostly sits in your hand doing nothing or killing minor minions such as Feral Spirit. Due to the abundance of buffs, especially Power Overwhelming, even big creatures can easily be overcome. The dream is eating one of your buffed creatures that just killed a taunt with Void Terror.
Back in the top 30 with this deck. Replaced Deathlord by Acidic Swamp Ooze, the deck is a bomb in this meta.
There are none. His battlecry has more value then he has, but his 5/5 stats are sick addition for this card. He prevents you from getting swiped/unleashed/holy nova'd etc. It cannot be simply replaced. But if you don't have it, I would take the second Dire Wolf Alpha or Defender of Argus
x16 Legend
The highest legend ranks:
I can second that. He basically wins you the game if you have board control and are getting close to lethal range. Dire Wolf Alpha & Defender of Argus are also the most reasonable replacements, although I'd tend towards the latter.
It's simply too slow. While its goal is total board control, this deck is more aggressive than the Deathrattle-themed Zoo version. It establishes control by dropping a threat every turn, which requires you to curve out nicely. Argent Commander as a 6-drop will sit in your hand as a dead card for a long time if drawn early, taking the slot of a card that might be used to further develop your board. While it is a great draw T6+, this deck often wins around that turn. Also, you will often face the choice of whether to play Doomguard T5, discarding your Commander or wait a turn in order to be able to drop both. This will slow you down even further.
Are you doing well against Hunter in this deck? I heard they would counter Zoo...
They can only win with double Unleash the Hounds. My win rate is 92% in the last 13 games vs Hunters, it's my best MU.
Oh lol :) Didnt expect that.
I gave the deck a try and im at a 7-1 record currently, though that was at rank 10 to 8
Damn... really good information on this thread. I can't really use it because apparently I suck ass at this game (after going to rank 2 last season, feels like 100 years ago) but at rank 14 I am going to bang out some games with this deck win or lose and see what's what.
Glad you found it helpful.
I found the Void Terror/PO combo to be really good, but very inconsistent, and too slow against hunters in the early game.
I have my own legend deck that I just hit legend with an hour ago, I'll be posting it tomorrow for everyone to check out. I built my deck specifically to counter the ridiculous mad scientist/trap hunter, but found it to be extremely effective against the current priest decks (including beating some top players like ErA and Tidesoftime along the way).