Gunnolf's Wild Even Handlock ft. Multiple Builds
- Last updated Mar 25, 2019 (Level Up Nerf)
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Wild
- 22 Minions
- 8 Spells
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Handlock
- Crafting Cost: 8560
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 11/3/2018 (Boomsday)
- Gunnolf
- Registered User
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- 16
- 41
- 88
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Battle Tag:
00100100
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Region:
EU
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Total Deck Rating
1076
Come in and Warm your Frozen Boots by the Fire!
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gunnolf, and I am originally from the Land Down Under a.k.a. Australia. I am an avid gamer that has acquired a real passion for card games, which originated from my humble beginnings as a Yu-Gi-Oh collector and eventually grew from my dabbling in Cardfight Vanguard and Buddyfight, until we reached the game we know as Hearthstone.
I've played Hearthstone since the days of classic, with multiple accounts on both EU and NA servers. Despite having reached the Rank of Legend and my own personal mentality of equating 'having fun' with 'winning', I am not really a fan of meta power-grinding & net-decking, not that there is anything wrong with that. Therefore, I enjoy thinking about new, cool and fun deck ideas that push boundaries while also allowing you to win and those are what I want to share with you guys every-time I post a decklist.
I have presently become a contributing writer to WILDHS and Vicious Syndicate will be posting articles there on a semi-regular basis, regarding deck-archetypes the status of the meta as well as how to get the most fun out of this game even if you aren't a big spender. If any of this sounds interesting, then I highly recommend that you check out of the websites, as the writers and the owner himself are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet with great in-game knowledge (link to be websites can be found HERE). You can also follow me on Twitter for latest updates.
If you genuinely like my content and would like to see me produce more of it, then please consider supporting me on Patreon. This is by no means necessary but it will definitely help me out in the long run. Thanks for Reading ^^
Deck Introduction
Hey guys, I'm back again with another nostalgia deck and still on the Even path. After my Even Oil Rogue list I wanted to play around with Molten Giants and thus this deck was born. I did not expect it to win as much as it did but it packs a hell of a lot of punch if piloted correctly. It definitely gets some getting used to, especially with regard to tapping ~ since match-ups are very polarised depending on hand-size. However, I will get into this further into the guide. For now, just kick back and enjoy the trip down memory lane with this new invigorated steroid infused Handlock Style Deck.
Since I first made this deck, it actually has really risen to an extremely high competitive level and even got featured on Vicious Synidicate as a Tier 1 Competitive deck in the meta. Whether that will continue to be the case is anyone's guess but for now it is probably the go-to Warlock deck for ladder. As such I have updated multiple sections of the list and guide, including but not limited to potential builds, card techs and possible inclusions.
Card Choices and Deck-building Explained
In this section, I will explain some of the card choices I opted for and the reasoning as to why they were included over potential counter-parts.
1) Dark Peddler: Might seem like an odd choice of card (pun intended) but it really does carry the deck. First of all, it is an early drop that doesn't penalise us for playing it since it replaces itself for the purpose of Mountain Giant and Twilight Drake. Additionally, the 1-drops tend to synergise very well with Defile. If you do not have this card due to lack of the League of Explorers, definitely check out the tech card section of the guide.
2) Darkbomb: Decent burst and a nice early removal tool which the deck somewhat lacks.
3) Faceless Shambler: Perhaps an obvious inclusion. This card allows you to have an additional 8/8 or 4/10 worth of stats on the board with taunt. Due to its manacost it curves obsecenly well from a turn 2 Mountain Giant and can even allow for a huge swing turn in the lategame with zero-costing Molten Giants.
(At the present time, only a few cards have been listed but I will include more if questions pop-up within the comments section regarding substitutions and why other cards were included.)
Flex Slots & Tech Cards
As happens with decks, you will need to tailor them to your specific meta. In order to do this you will need flexible slot where you can insert the relevant cards. In the list at hand the cards that are definitely interchangeable are: Dark Peddler, Spellbreaker, Mojomaster Zihi & Ragnaros the Firelord.
Below I have provided a visual representation of all the cards you may need at any time depending on the match-up. Feel free to mix and match as you see fit and according to your preferences. Different cards provide different solutions i.e. combatting combo, aggro and even control.
Essentially:
- Doomsayer & Corrupting Mist: are cheap efficient forms of early and lategame removal.
- Cheaty Anklebiter: is a great card in practice. It provides the deck with a ping and additional healing. However, perhaps most important is that it is another activator for your spellstone. Therefore serious consideration should be given to this card.
- Dirty Rat & Demonic Project: are combo killers. Yes you have Mojomaster Zihi but there are always more options.
- Mossy Horror: is not really prevalent right now as it was mostly used to wreck spreading plague but it's another anti-aggro tool.
- Rin, the First Disciple: is mostly an inclusion to win the attrition war. Not highly recommended but she does have some function.
- Glinda Crowskin: is mostly a fun inclusion. She usually doesn't stick but when she does you tend to just win the game as she can provide insane value. Especially true with Molten Giant.
- Acidic Swamp Ooze & Gnomeferatu: are mostly there to act as anti-weapon tech. As Kingsbane is the most prevalent tier 1 Rogue deck at the moment, they do serve a real purpose.
- Bonemare: Esseentially a free-to-play replacement for Ragnaros but even with that being the case, the card is nothing to scoff at. It can do serious damage.
- Skulking Geist: is a card not listed above but it was run in a previous version of the deck to help counter Jade Druid, Inner Fire Priest and Reno Combo Priest.
(Let me know if you have any other cards to recommend in terms of teching against the meta so that I may include them for the benefit of others.)
Healing & The Self-Damage Package
In total, the deck can heal for 22 life but that number is contingent on the the spellstone being upgraded to its full capacity. As the deck stands right now, I have only included 4 activators in the form of 2x Vulgar Homunculus and 2x Hellfire. This has proven to be enough to consistently activate the spellstones when necessary.
However, additional activators are always welcome. Not discounting the fact that Dark Peddler can discover a lot of 1 mana cards that would allow for spellstone activation, Cheaty Anklebiter would in fact serve as a more consistent option. It is at this point in time that you need to decide what you value more. The former allows for quicker board presence, without sacrificing hand size and disrupting your drake and giant turns while the latter has lifesteal and a ping that allows for additional healing generation.
Alternate Control-Style Build
This was more or less the original iteration of the build and is supposed to give it a bit more of a lategame feel to the deck with Bloodreaver Gul'dan as a finisher. Obviously, while the hero-power is highly desirable you do want to have a bit more of an impact with the demon resummoning. Hence the need for Dread Infernal. The substitutions to the original list are as follows:
-2x Dark Peddler | +2x Doomsayer
-2x Ragnaros the Firelord & Spellbreaker | +2x Dread Infernal
-1x Mojomaster Zihi | +1x Bloodreaver Gul'dan
Further to the above, as we are trying to reach the end-game Mojomaster Zihi servers as a real detriment and such needs to be cut. You can include other combo breaker cards if so required, just check out the card tech section.
Other Decks to Try
While we wait for all the new cards from the most recent expansion, here are some other decks to wet your appetite and while I do like warlock I thought I'd include another class in there as well. Enjoy!
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Author's Notes
This deck is a hell of a lot of fun and does a great job of satisfying nostalgia, while also allowing you to win more than your fair share of times. It does take some getting used to, especially learning when to tap and when not to but once you master it, I'm sure you'll do just great.
I enjoy deck-building a multitude of interesting decks that are both entertaining and Legend viable (with some odd Free-to-Play lists mixed in). So if you like this deck (or anyone of my other ones) consider leaving a thumbs up, as it really helps in the long run! :)
Thank you guys for all your support and if you have any suggestions, let me know.
Hey guys, so Huge Update to the deck & guide. If you have any commnets, please feel free to post below. The following alterations have been made:
- Updated the decklist bringing it more into line with the current meta.
- Updated Flex Slot & Deck Tech section with more recommendations plus a reasoning breakdown.
- Updated the Damage and Healing section.
- Added an alternate control-style build for you try out on ladder.
That's it for now guys. Thank you so much reading and I should have a new deck for you soon! ^^
Did you try Mecha’Thun Even Renolock? Looks very fun because you tap tap tap until fatigue, heal a lot, control the board and finish with Mecha’Thun/Bloodbloom/Cataclysm
I did try it but I don't think I settled on a decent list just yet. I rarely made it to fatigue.
Hey Gunn what's up.
I played some games and felt really comfortable against board based aggro. Get low-ish in health, play your fatties, taunt/copy them and GG. Against control though, your giants and taunts are not that frightening and I usually get outvalued by Renolocks and Cubelocks. They remove your big guys and start stabilizing while putting their own stuff (they also don't damage you enough for you to put down Moltens and Reavers, which is taken care of by other versions running Wrathguards and Pitlords). Then I missed some tools such as Nether, Siphon Soul and others. How do you see it?
This version of the deck was really intended to face-down board based aggro, so on a base level it really fulfils that purpose. It will naturally struggles against the renolock and cubelock decks though because it just doesn't pack enough of a punch in the lategame and there is very little one can do to fix that unless you want to run n'zoth but then the deck changes fundamentally.
Siphon soul is actually not too bad in this deck and can in fact function well but Nether for me was a dead card. In 50 games I maybe used it twice.
Do you know Control (the player)? I faced him twice in Legend (yeah!! I got it finally!), me with Exodia Paladin and he was playing an Even Handlock with Wrathguards. He even managed to tap tap tap until playing Moltens and the Reavers, beating me twice (I drew terribad and was so nervous because he was streaming).
Did you try them?
Oh yeah, I am familiar with the wrathguard build. It isn't terrible and they are pretty decent for upgrading spellstones. Personally, they don't fit my playstyle but there is merit to them.
I love playing this deck. Thank you for making such a useful guide :D
I'm glad you like it and thank you for reading it! ^^