I just realized I had all the cards for Mechathun Druid so I decided to build it for the last little bit of this standard. I've never played a combo deck before in hearthstone so it was very new to me. After a game in practice mode I had a hand full of minions but only one naturalize left. What should my priorities be with this deck so that I pull off the combo?
The hardest part would be removing the auctioneers if you play a buff on them. The pyros can kill each other and the acolytes. I suppose your opponent usually kills the auctioneers though.
What I gathered from playing a few rounds is that it is easy to draw many cards and then have issues getting rid of them.
Druid has no Cataclysm and needs to play and kill everything.
Early game it is easy to just sit there and pass, but that fills up your hand real quick and then you run into the issue of overdrawing and decision problems.
Overdrawing can also be an issue should your opponent recognise you as Mecha'thun and ping Accolytes to fill your hand.
In the end it comes down to understanding card interactions and requirements (like you need to have a minion for Earthen Scales) and a deck tracker will do wonders.
As a staple of mulligan- focus your starting hand around card draw and removal; Keep a spellstone, and card draw, and in special circumstances: 1 naturalize in case the opponent can miracle a big minion early.
Your gameplan after that is build armor and blast your expensive spells. Against control: You want a big turn to play an auctioneer and go off with 0-2 cost spells, ESPECIALLY THE GAIN 2 MANA SPELL. Against Aggro: I usually mulligan for Acolyte and/or Pyromancer to sweep the board for the inevitable hard push. Sometimes the 3 mana card draw is strong enough to mitigate if I haven't been casting from hand.
Towards the mid-late phase is where everyone screws up. 1 naturalize is pretty much reserved for an enemy of your choice that will for sure be a problem. After that, make sure you get off all your buffs on your minions otherwise you lack ways to remove those cards from your hand. Then you need to generally use your spellstones, provided you are ahead, to kill your buffed auctioneers.
Make sure your card draw miracle ends at about 1-2 cards from fatigue. It is usually a bad sign if you still have to blast your 4 cost spells or play minions and you are already in fatigue- you likely over drew that game.
Finally be prepared for techs and play arounds by your opponent. NEVER rely on them having minions to run yours into to kill them when you are ready to combo. I have had games where the warlock match was just hero powering my face and I had to kill off an auctioneer still for the combo. Unless its Hunter, you generally need to ensure your spells kill your own minions other than emergency situations.
It is a really fun deck to play, but the thing that makes it difficult to pilot is knowing when you've drawn enough. If you just blast miracle turns with Auctioneer and hope for the best you may fatigue to death, and trust me your opponent is smart enough to recognize when you've done that- its their only way to win at that point. Practice in casual and find your sweet spot. Obviously it is possible to use the Auctioneer to run out all your cards right into fatigue and have only your combo left in your hand at the end of the turn around turn 8ish-10 of the game. That is extremely situational, and you should always plan on those "wasted turns" of double branching paths and a random spell to empty before the combo (this is likely while battling fatigue damage).
TL;DR: Do not over-commit. Auctioneer turns need to be calculated not spammed. Aggro and Control match-ups have very different mulligans. Make the most of your armor gain. Pyromancer is an excellent minion clear strategy when you've used too much of your removal to stay alive. It takes a handful of games to actually calculate getting to the combo instead of getting lucky on your sequencing. SEQUENCING IS YOUR KEY TO LEARNING THIS DECK.
Also, a good key is to not overprotect the Auctionner. You don't want them sticking around for too long.
Patience is the key of when to deploy them. It's a hard deck to pilot, but it's really fun when it clicks.
Alos, do not be afraid to use your Spellstone into your minions to clear your side of the board. And do not sit too long on your cards in your hands, because the last 3-4 turns are tight and you don't have much wiggle room to clear any extra cards.
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I just realized I had all the cards for Mechathun Druid so I decided to build it for the last little bit of this standard. I've never played a combo deck before in hearthstone so it was very new to me. After a game in practice mode I had a hand full of minions but only one naturalize left. What should my priorities be with this deck so that I pull off the combo?
The hardest part would be removing the auctioneers if you play a buff on them. The pyros can kill each other and the acolytes. I suppose your opponent usually kills the auctioneers though.
It always helps the most watching some video on youtube maybe twitch if you find a streamer playing it rn, to learn
What I gathered from playing a few rounds is that it is easy to draw many cards and then have issues getting rid of them.
Druid has no Cataclysm and needs to play and kill everything.
Early game it is easy to just sit there and pass, but that fills up your hand real quick and then you run into the issue of overdrawing and decision problems.
Overdrawing can also be an issue should your opponent recognise you as Mecha'thun and ping Accolytes to fill your hand.
In the end it comes down to understanding card interactions and requirements (like you need to have a minion for Earthen Scales) and a deck tracker will do wonders.
It is a really fun deck to play, but the thing that makes it difficult to pilot is knowing when you've drawn enough. If you just blast miracle turns with Auctioneer and hope for the best you may fatigue to death, and trust me your opponent is smart enough to recognize when you've done that- its their only way to win at that point. Practice in casual and find your sweet spot. Obviously it is possible to use the Auctioneer to run out all your cards right into fatigue and have only your combo left in your hand at the end of the turn around turn 8ish-10 of the game. That is extremely situational, and you should always plan on those "wasted turns" of double branching paths and a random spell to empty before the combo (this is likely while battling fatigue damage).
TL;DR: Do not over-commit. Auctioneer turns need to be calculated not spammed. Aggro and Control match-ups have very different mulligans. Make the most of your armor gain. Pyromancer is an excellent minion clear strategy when you've used too much of your removal to stay alive. It takes a handful of games to actually calculate getting to the combo instead of getting lucky on your sequencing. SEQUENCING IS YOUR KEY TO LEARNING THIS DECK.
Also, a good key is to not overprotect the Auctionner. You don't want them sticking around for too long.
Patience is the key of when to deploy them. It's a hard deck to pilot, but it's really fun when it clicks.
Alos, do not be afraid to use your Spellstone into your minions to clear your side of the board. And do not sit too long on your cards in your hands, because the last 3-4 turns are tight and you don't have much wiggle room to clear any extra cards.