Hearthpwn

Sup everyone, I'm RenoJackson, a Wild enthusiast and avid deckbuilder. This month, I did nearly 90% of my grind with Aggro Druid on my phone (yes I'm a mobile pleb now), as I wanted to spice things up a bit instead of playing the same old deck. Aggro Druid does not feel quite as strong as other tier 1 decks, but its explosive nature and element of surprise can win you games back to back really quickly.

Legend proof:

Card choice:

Dire Mole: Dire Mole is better than Enchanted Raven in this meta. It's 3 health means it doesn't get ping off by Rogue hero power or early Shaman cards, while when buffed up with Mark of Y'shaarj, it can trade nicely into a Wyrm without dying to Frostbolt the following turn. Raven is only better against a turn 2 Totem Golem when buffed up (very niche).

Druid of the Saber: Now don't laugh at me on this one, this is actually one of the best 2 drops and one of the best cards in the deck for me. Even Shamans and Odd Rogues will seek to clear your early board as cleanly as they can, and this stealthy minion doesn't allow them to do that. It can also represent extra damage in its Charge form. A very solid minion.

Giggling Inventor: A good board refill and the only new card. I initially tried 2 of them but then I thought it's too much. Provide you with stalls against other board based decks until you draw into your burst, and refill against control. It's very good, but the cost means that it should only be limited to one copy. As an offensive force, Living Mana does it better.

Golakka Crawler: Solid 2 drops to buff up with Mark of Y'shaarj, and occasionally you cuck Rogues, Pirate Warriors and random pirates spawn from Even Shamans. A flex slot which can be replaced for Void Rippers or Vicious Fledgling. However, 2 drops are crucial to this deck, so I would recommend replacing it with something like Crazed Alchemist if you're looking for another tech card.

Loatheb: MVP. Seals the game against Druids, Priests and Mages, while being a decent drop against other classes.

Branching Path: Try it and you will love it! It's draw, it's burst, it's armour, it's anything you want! I don't play Jeeves so it's a very welcomed card in topdeck mode, while it makes your small tokens a threatening presence that your opponent always need to address. Also, they only assume you play Roars and other board buffs, so if you already used them, they won't play around this one.

Evolving Spore: I like it as a one of. The idea of this deck is to kill as fast as possible, hence that many buffs. In this meta, everything is too fast for you to have time to refill. You need to kill the Druids very quickly, and Jeeves give them another turn. I don't like Jeeves in this particular meta, so I need to hedge against the lack of draw with more explosive potential.

Crypt Lord: A very sticky minion that survives almost every early board clear. If you play Crazed Alchemist as a tech, this card is even better.

Matchup guide:

Druid: Favoured. You aim for 1 drops and Mark of the Lotus, buff them up, and the Druids will NEVER EVER be able to remove them. You just kill them most of the time, even if they play Spreading Plague. Remember, 1 drops, Mark of the Lotus, and if you have a good hand, Savage Roar. Don't overextend if you don't have buffs, and always keep in mind the potential burst from hand that helps you kill them in 2 turns. Druid has a lot of ways to gain armour out of reach, so damage management is important. Don't play into Swipes, of course.

Mage: Favoured. Imagine how you'd play Odd Paladin against Aggro Mage. Play the exact same gameplan against Mage with this deck. Against Reno Mage, not many of their board clears can deal with an early big board, and they don't really have that many boardclears against refill anyway. Many of their clears are very heavy, so they often can't try to clear and drop something to take back tempo, so you can take the initiative again.

Rogue: Favoured. You are heavily favoured against Kingsbane Rogues, as with all token decks. Against Odd Rogue, you want an early game that resembles that of Odd Paladin: a lot of tokens then buff them up, preferably out of Skulkers reach. Protect your tokens with Crypt Lord and Druid of the Swarm and do your best to keep these taunts alive while you buff them up. If the Rogue can stabilize or take the board early, you are facing an uphill battle. Unlike Odd Paladin, you can't keep refill the board forever. Keep Golakka Crawler, it wins the game for you. Always look for ways you can race the Rogue back, they don't have any healing. This applies to Paladin, Shaman and Pirate Warrior as well.

Paladin: Even. It depends on who gets the board earlier. You get on board early with your one drops and make favourable trades, and don't ever let the board go. Finley into Totems would help somewhat, since your buffed up totems trade the board away very well, and if you get healing as well it's KREYGASM.

Priest: Even. Most Big Priests are very reactive, and against you they aren't likely to keep board clears because they will assume you are not playing a trash deck. Same thing with Reno Priest. Play around key board clears in the early turn even if it means you don't get as much value out of your buffs as you want (Excavated Evil, Shadow Word: Horror). Priests are very reactive, they will just die. Keep Loatheb if you have a good hand. After the 2nd successful board clear, you should start to look to go all in. Finley to fish for Life Tap.

Warrior: Even. You are slightly favoured against Pirates, and slightly unfavoured against Control Warrior. Against Pirates, read Odd Rogue. Control Warrior usually only has a few key board clears, so keep refilling the board until they can't clear anymore, THEN buff them up when you look for lethal. Don't be wasteful with your buff if they are just going to get brawled. Force inefficient board clears from them, and you will just exhaust  their hand. If they have everything though, bad luck LOL.

Shaman: slightly unfavoured. It's not as bad as one might think, mainly because the Shaman will keep 7/7s and dumb shits as if they're versing a good deck. You either want to force an inefficient Devolve or just don't play around Devolve. If Shamans can't devolve or full clear with Maelstrom Portal, they will just die to your large board. Giggling Inventor is actually amazing in this matchup, they absorbs many hits from 7/7s and Sea Giants. Watch out for Thing from Below, and if you decide to go wide, you have to prepare to outrace their inevitable Sea Giant (or two).

Warlock: fuck Warlocks. They just have EVERYTHING in the world, don't bother play around anything. Just make a big board and hope they die. You can't play around Defile, Demonwrath, Godfrey, Nether, Shadowflame, Dirty Rat, Giggling Inventor, Voidcaller into Voidlords, massive taunts that they play because their lists are shit... You just can't. This matchup is just a lost cause. HOWEVER, we have a lot of board refilling potential in Giggling Inventor and Living Mana, so look for an opening in around turn 5 or 6 (they can't Godfrey yet), or just try to refill the board. If they miss one clear, they will be punished. Loatheb seals the game sometimes, but much fewer than against Druids or Priests because Warlocks play fuckloads of taunts. Seriously fuck Warlocks.