Hearthpwn

Legend-proof: had this very fun match against another Jade Druid player. I managed to take the tempo and beat him down. He was probably also running a worse decklist (Kappa)

Introduction

The name "Mono-green" refers to Green-mana-only decks in Magic: The Gathering. But since an average deck of cards for M:tG costs roughly an arm and a kidney, i made this into a Hearthstone deck instead! It works well in both Legend and on ladder.

How the deck works: You ramp, then draw, then put large Jade-y-boys on the board. Half of the deck's slots is filled by Draw-cards and Ramp-cards, which is what you'll want to look for in the early-game. The other half of the deck is formed by the powerful cards that you want to be in your hand for the later half of the game: Aya Blackpaw, Jade Behemoth, and the combination Fandral Staghelm & Jade Idol.

 

Game-plan

Always mulligan aggressively for your wincons against the particular matchup. Against Control and Midrange that means any of the 8 cards in your ramp kit, and against Combo and Aggro you'll want your defensive options like Malfurion the Pestilent and Branching Paths. Try also to construct a game-plan while doing so: For example, if you have The Coin + Wild Growth on Turn 1, you'll be able to play Jade Blossom on Turn 2, which theoretically lets you slide into that smooth Turn 3 Nourish, which would let you keep certain cards you might otherwise plow.

With a blended starting hand, you can Ramp into your mid-game threats by maybe turn three or four, and after emptying your hand you can casually reload it with your Blizzard Seal-of-Balance™ Ultimate Infestation. Then, close out the end-game by putting several Jade Idols into your Fatigued deck, and then drawing all those idols together with your second Ultimate Infestation, or your Nourishes. This puts unbelievable pressure on most decks, and is what gives Jade Druid it's high winrate and it's reputation as a strong deck overall.

Your ramp-kit consists of Wild Growth, Jade Blossom, Mire Keeper, and Nourish. If you can hit these cards consistently in the early game, you'll be a happy man. Or if you're playing Lunara, you'll be a happy centaur-half-girl-lookin'-ass-thing.

 

Matchups

Against Aggro the playstyle is fairly typical: Stall out the game by using your life points as a resource, so that you can eventually hit that Spreading Plague. After this point, all you need to remember is to emote a whole lot :)

Against Control opponents, you'll need to play smart. Find enough Jade cards that you can pressure their board for a few turns. While the Control deals with that pressure you've provided, you'll need to set up a careful hand and save big Draw-cards. At the point where you reach Fatigue, fill your deck back up with Jade Idol's, and then spend the big draw cards you saved to reach all those Jade Idol's. You now have a deck and hand filled with Jade Idols. Mount these Jade boys in waves to bait out large board-clears, and continuously swing for the face until you hear fresh Rank-stars appear on your screen.

Against Combo decks, you'll want to find Malfurion the Pestilent by going through your Card-draw aggressively, so you can play him nice and early. Then, smash that "Armor Up" button until your opponent realizes that it's woke nibba hours, and that it's time for them to concede. 

Against Midrange, things get tougher. Midrange is typically your worst possible matchup, considering how they're both faster on the curve and on the board than you are, while they don't sacrifice their end-game like Aggro does. To counter Midrange, you'll just have to play as slow as they allow you to, respond to their threats as cheaply as you can, and then play to outlast them into the late-game, at which point your Jade value should seal the game in your favor.

 

Attitude

A big part of playing any Druid deck is your mandatory real-deal attitude. You'll need a pair of sunglasses. You'll need a pre-order, Heroic dungeon, or Legend card-back. Remember also to bang out your emotes as often as you can, and to always rope any deck you find annoying in ladder! (Such as the Kingsbane cucks.) This will make you a successful Druid player, and will make many of your Recent Opponents add you like crazy!

 

Variations (Cards to Cut/Add)

This decklist is the basic core for a Jade Druid right now. There are a few cards i'd consider swapping into, and out of. If a Sideboard was available like it is in Magic: The Gathering, then i'd have an Acidic Swamp Ooze/Gluttonous Ooze and a Tinkmaster Overspark ready. If you'd like to speed the deck up, Bloodmage Thalnos and Harrison Jones might be your friends, and Dirty Rat/Loatheb helps you if you're facing a lot of Freeze or Combo-decks in general. I would call all of these cards viable tech-ins for the deck, depending on what you face. In addition, you can slip in that spicy Gadgetzan Auctioneer to help you do a ten-mana "Oh no, back into the deck you go!" shuffle together with Jade Idol and Excess Mana. Oaken Summons and Ironwood Golem can be fit in as a kit of four cards to help your survival rate against Aggro, as the Recruit-function does still shrink your deck. Naturalize is also an instant classic hard removal option if you're running into a lot of large-handed control decks such as Renolock, since you get that spicy possibility of burning your opponent's cards.

As for cutting out cards, Medivh, the Guardian does set you up with that extra value in the Control matchups, but is rather heavy at 8 mana and will break your heart if someone else has weapon removal ready for him. Wrath is nicely light-weight draw, but you'll most likely always play it for the 1-damage Draw-a-card without it having much of a board-effect. Mire Keeper is the only ramp-card i'd consider cutting. Swipe helps against that pesky Odd Paladin, but is otherwise rather middle-of-the-road value. You'll have to make your own decisions based on how you like to play, and what juicy boys you face in ladder.

 

Help! I'm poor! (Substitute card guide)

While the deck still works without Aya Blackpaw, Medivh, the Guardian and Malfurion the Pestilent, you would be hard pressed to find replacements for Ultimate Infestation and Branching Paths. The few cards that come to mind would be Azure Drake or perhaps Starfire, so try those and remember to save Arcane Dust until you can craft these quintessential overpowered Epics for Druid.

 

Always be pluggin'

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