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Baba Yaga

  • Last updated Jun 9, 2018 (Spiteful Nerf)
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Wild

  • 19 Minions
  • 10 Spells
  • Deck Type: Ranked Deck
  • Deck Archetype: Control Warlock
  • Crafting Cost: 10660
  • Dust Needed: Loading Collection
  • Created: 4/15/2018 (Witchwood)
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  • Kovachut
  • Card Design Champion
    • 15
    • 35
    • 110

  • Battle Tag:

    N/A

  • Region:

    EU

  • Total Deck Rating

    201

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Welcome to the Baba Yaga (Fatiguelock) Guide

(It won't hurt if you read it before you ask questions, Leute :P)

Intro

Baba Yaga - every person who was born in a Slavic country has heard scary stories about her in their childhood. From wikipedia - she is a supernatural being who appears as a deformed and ferocious-looking woman. Baba Yaga flies around in a mortar, wields a pestle, and dwells deep in the forest in a hut usually described as standing on chicken legs. As you can see, it's no wonder how Glinda Crowskin was inspired by that figure. But she doesn't come alone, she's accompanied with her royal sidekick Dyado Torbalan, aka the Sackman in other countries.

One of the things I like about this deck is how it preserves all that Witchwood fantasy. You have living trees, demons, vampires, all sorts of witchcraft and the aforementioned mischievous figures. Oh and believe me, they can be quite frightening for some players like the aggro ones. ;)

Anywho I'm looking forward to refine the deck more. So I would like to hear your opinion about it, I want to get some tips on what to change and I would be very grateful, if some of you tried this deck on their own and shared the experience. Don't be scared to express your thoughts. Even if you are skeptical about the deck, every feedback will be welcomed.

Strategy

- Versus Faster decks - killing their stuff, gaining board control, stabilization;
- Versus Control - building walls of taunts, going infinite (Glinda Crowskin + Baleful Banker) and exhausting their resources.
- Versus Combo (and Taunt Dudu) - May RNGeesus have mercy upon your soul. That or find Rin, the First Disciple ASAP.

General Mulligan

- Versus Faster decks - Defile, Possessed Lackey/Hellfire, Kobold Librarian/Stonehill Defender; going second - maybe Lesser Amethyst Spellstone, but only if you have an AoE already;
- Versus Control - Bloodreaver Gul'dan, Kobold Librarian, Possessed Lackey/Rin, the First Disciple, when going second - a 5 drop, Lesser Amethyst Spellstone or a Stonehill Defender.
- Versus Combo - Rin, the First Disciple, Kobold Librarian, Possessed Lackey. When going second - a 5 drop.

Class specific strategies

Warrior

Baku Quest Warrior - I would search for the Possessed Lackeys and the DK. Save your healing cards only when you really need them. And I mean - if you can afford to take some damage, but restore the missing health with the upgraded HP, then do that instead. Since they are playing an odd only deck, then cards like Execute and Scourgelord Garrosh shouldn't scare you. But play around Brawl, Reckless Flurry and Shield Slam if possible.

Tactic - when the opponent becomes Ragnaros, try to make a wide, but at the same time a worthless board. Try to distract the DIE, INSECT! pings and win by fatigue. Imho the Voidlords are the most important minions in this MU. Getting the maximum value out of them - and I mean not throwing them into an obvious Brawl - will bring you a victory on the spot. Getting more of them out of Stonehill Defender drives the warrior players even more crazy.
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Normal Taunt - same thing as above. They have more removal (Warpath, Execute, Primordial Drake), so keep this in mind.


Hunter

Spell Hunter - it's a fairly easy MU. Normally I try not to activate any of their secrets and thus deny the value out of Eaglehorn Bow. Not to mention, that Freezing Trap is quite popular, so I don't want to lose expensive taunts (Voidlord) to a dumb misplay. There is an exception to this, when I'm almost full on health and I target worthless minions (Kobold Librarian) to their face.

Anyway - Hellfire, Stonehill Defender, Possessed Lackey and you are set.

In this MU it's really vital, that you find your DK faster than them. The problem is, that not every hunter deck is spellhunter and in some cases you will be punished for keeping a slow card, so I'm not suggesting keeping him in the mulligan stage. Tap a lot, if you can afford it.
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Mid-range. Nothing more to add, just watch out for the hungry hyena or for highmane.

If the opponent switches to Deathstalker Rexxar, well, now they start to play the value game. I would advise you to build a board of your own and try to keep it. Since the only burst they have is Kill Command, they can't really kill you out of nowhere and if you have enough health, don't be afraid to tap. The Zombeasts are unpredictable, but very often expensive, so they can't play that many stuff on the same turn. Bloodreaver Gul'dan will shine against their DK.
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Baku Hunter - Try to find cheap taunts, heals (at best when combined with a Possessed Lackey). As annoying as this deck can be, it has a major weakness - consistency. The only consistent thing is the HP, but if you control the board and if your health is high enough, then you can overwhelm the opponent with your board. Avoid tapping.


 Paladin

Baku or Murloc???? Either way that's an aggro class and you have to follow the typical mulligan strategy. Tbh since the nerfs occurred, this is the class I'm seeing the least.

Baku - Beware of Level Up! and Vinecleaver.


Rogue

Tempo - Treat it as an aggro deck. When I faced Tempo Rogues in previous metas, normally I kept a Siphon Soul just for that annoying Edwin VanCleef. If you have a Spellbreaker or a Voodoo Doll, then keep either of them.
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Baku - aggro deck. You know the game plan. Beware of the Cold Blood, Ironbeak Owl and Vilespine Slayer.

 
Shaman

Shudder - This is the most common case for me. If you stumble upon a shudder shaman, then find cheap minions and take the role of the aggressor. You have to pressure them as much as you can. Hope that you find Rin, the First Disciple on time and that one of your Gnomeferatus hits a vital combo piece. If you are too slow, then ...

BrokeBack Ｍｙ BrokeBack ＪａＷｓ BrokeBack ＴｈＡｔ BrokeBack ＢｉＴｅ BrokeBack

 Ｍｙ BrokeBack ＣｌＡｗＳ BrokeBack ｔＨａＴ BrokeBack ｃＡｔＣh BrokeBack

In this case don't be afraid to play Glinda Crowskin prematurely. In this MU you won't win by fatigue. If she sticks, then combine her with a Gnomeferatu.
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Even Shaman - maybe it's best to keep a Defile just in case you face this deck. It's kinda easy to handle it - just try to avoid getting bursted down, because they have a lot of annoying tools as a reach. If you build a nice wall of taunts early on, you are good to go.


Druid

Taunt Dudu. This is a really bad MU and sadly also a very popular one. Draw your cards, but avoid having more than 7, because they will mill you with their Naturalize. Hope that your Gnomeferatus hits a vital piece. You also have a silence, so use it wisely (on a Carnivorous Cube). Build a big wall of Voidlords and have an upgraded HP to withstand those bodies. If you somehow deal with all of their annoying waves, then you will win the fatigue war.

In this case don't be afraid to play Glinda Crowskin prematurely. In this MU you won't win by fatigue. If she sticks, then combine her with a Gnomeferatu.
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Spiteful (I rarely see this). Treat it as an aggro deck. Though that one has a really disgusting mid-game strategy (Spiteful Summoner). Because of this I normally keep a Voodoo Doll in my starting hand. Try not to kill Greedy Sprite, as sometimes you allow them to play the 7 drop earlier. 

Beware of Leeroy Jenkins as well.
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Token Dudu - easy MU. If you find your AoEs on time and if you play appropriately, then you won't have any hard time in dealing with them.
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Togwaggle Dudu (yes, I have seen some shit) - also an easy MU, as long as you have the infinite package and the DK on time. Draw a lot of cards, but be careful not to get milled by Naturalize. If you see them playing Spreading Madness/Malfurion the Pestilent and Twig of the World Tree, then you can know for sure, that you are facing this deck.


Warlock

Even Warlock - this is a mid-range deck. If you overcome the pressure, you will win in most of the cases. Keep a Voodoo Doll in the mulligan stage. Draw a lot. They are very annoying with their turn 3 Mountain Giants and silences, but our deck also has the ability to deal with them. So take the defensive role. You also have a Spellbreaker for their Rin, the First Disciple.
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Cube. Try to find 1) Kobold Librarian + Lesser Amethyst Spellstone (always expect a turn 4 Mountain Giant), 2) Possessed Lackey (with a Dark Pact), 3) Voodoo Doll. We don't have N'Zoth, the Corruptor anymore, so try to stop their aggression ASAP. Since you are playing the long game, you have to ensure to draw the right cards on the right time. Once you gained control over the board and the opponent can't rush you down, the fatigue war is easy.

This deck isn't that popular, do I decided to cut the Ooze.
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Zoo. Not that common, but still. It's easy if you find your AoEs and taunts on time. Beware of their minion buffing cards.
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Against handlock or other forms of controllock. Well... if they don't run giants, then the match is super easy. Once the opponent goes for Rin, the First Disciple, save your infinite combo for after they play Azari, the Devourer. You also have 2x Twisting Nethers, so you will be fine most of the time.


Mage

Tempo Mage - Super annoying. If you face this deck very often and if you have a problem surviving, then replace the Gnomeferatus with Plated Beetles. The only scary thing in the late game is Archmage Antonidas. Play around the secrets.
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Control - I would say - mulligan for the aggro MU first. If you stumble upon this deck, then it's gg especially if you find your DK on time. 

 
Priest

Quest Priest - well, they don't pressure you that much. If you find your DK and play Rin, the First Disciple ASAP, then gg.
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Control w/ Burn - yeah, it's an annoying deck. If you manage to keep your health high, then you are doing a good job. If you are having trouble with against this deck, then run plated beetles instead of Gnomeferatus.
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Spiteful - treat it as an aggro deck. Voodoo Doll for their turn 6. If you try to cheat out the Voidlords, then be sure to kill them instantly with Dark Pact else you are risking to lose them to Mind Control.

Resume for the different MUs:

  • Favoured (more or less) - Almost every aggro and control deck.
  • Unfavoured/Bad - Taunt Dudu, Shudderwock Shaman, Control Priest (w/ Mind Blast), Burn Mage (in a way).

Stats and a personal deck evaluation

Well, I hope you wouldn't mind, if I hide the stats part because once the nerfs occurred and once aggro become less relevant, this deck also lost its power. I started seeing many bad MUs and I can't even escape rank 3. So this deck isn't what some of you can consider a legend material. It's still strong, but other decks just have a better win-condition than this one.

The note I'm giving to my own deck right now would be ~5/10.


Explanation for some cards and advice for replacements:

> https://d1u5p3l4wpay3k.cloudfront.net/hearthstone_gamepedia/thumb/a/ac/Glinda_Crowskin(89352).png/200px-Glinda_Crowskin(89352).png?version=24c81799f250ef2bf3081df5ee82f2f5> https://d1u5p3l4wpay3k.cloudfront.net/hearthstone_gamepedia/thumb/1/18/Howlfiend(62894).png/200px-Howlfiend(62894).png?version=8d833c626c5ab62bda360c7aca24ca14https://d1u5p3l4wpay3k.cloudfront.net/hearthstone_gamepedia/thumb/9/9d/Treachery(62875).png/200px-Treachery(62875).png?version=de0935d7c56591db15e3b4a37545b9a4


- Rin, the First Disciple - Enables tons of value over time and a complete annihilation of the opponent's deck just within a single card resource. Also a taunt against proactive decks. The seals may be slow, but she's actually the real win-condition versus some bad MUs (taunt dudu, shudderwock shaman).


- Glinda Crowskin and Co - she is slower just because you want to use her in the late game before you draw your important cards. I DO believe, that she will become a really powerful inclusion some day, if we get a strong cheap battlecry like a 2 mana Kazakus, but the infinite combo isn't that impressive yet. She's also stronger is some instances than Rin just because you will always have the same value out of her against control. Imagine if you play Rin when the opponent has less than 10 cards. You might not even get to play Azari before Fatigue. With Glinda you will always win the fatigue wars.
{Right now you are better off including Mountain Giants instead}

- Lord Godfrey - Staple.


- Bloodreaver Gul'dan - Staple. Period.


- Gnomeferatu - if you are facing lots of burn decks, then use Plated Beetles instead.


- Voodoo Doll - yeah, it's replaceable, but I included it just because it deals very well with the Even Warlocks. Other than that - Siphon Soul is better.


Proof for Legend (reached it 2 times, but before the nerfs):


I don't own the picture of Baba Yaga. Source here.

Big thanks to jainaishot, to the users from my thread and to all of you on this page for the advises. Thank you very much for the great time as well.