Hearthpwn

Discard Bloodreaver Gul'dan (or any other card) and one Soulwarden to Doomguard  or to one or more of the Succubus cards (original list), Soulfires (current list), or to a Lakkari Felhound from a Stonehill Defender. 

 

The 2nd Soulwarden will bring a Soulwarden back when played... then you can replay both the Bloodreaver Gul'dan (or whatever) and the Soulwarden, which will get you another Soulwarden and Bloodreaver Gul'dan... and so on, ad infinitum, at least until you run out of cards. 

 

Ever cringed to discard Bloodreaver Gul'dan? You WANT to in this deck.

 

Is that good?  About as good as when you could use N'Zoth to basically refill the board twice.  So, yeah. 

 

Its NOT the only win condition. Not really even the main one  And most of the other cards are also pretty good to have endless copies of, if you can't hit the dream.  Gnomeferatu (eat a card every turn that is left).  Or Elise the Trailblazer (infinite packs!).  Warden and Zola the Gorgon (original list), or Warden and High Priestess Jeklik (original list), or various utility cards (depending on the matchup) like the Spellbreaker.  You get the idea.

 

The fruits of these loops (thus the deck name) are infinite as long as you do not discard more than three cards total, and one of them is Soulwarden.  Do not play the second Doomguard or other discards above three till you are ready to lower loop odds (getting the Soulwarden back every time) from 100% to 75% or less (or 0% if you accidentally lose the second Soulwarden). 

 

Be sure to TRACK your discards.  They are like invisible cards in hand when planning your current and future turns! This is true if you have a Soulwarden in hand or not and whether its loop activated or not.  You wont pilot this as well as you could if you lose track of all your options.

Watching the videos, even the winning games, I realized I neglected to put much in the article about how to adapt your play style to this deck.  You do have to change some things about how you are used to playing Warlock.  I am going to cover some of the first things that come to mind in this spoiler to try and correct that lack of information and maximize your odds of success.  Apologies in advance for the more serious tone here, but if you read no other spoiler than this one, this will be the most helpful.  I cant stress the importance of this section enough to have a good, competitive time with this deck.  I may come back and try to lighten the tone up later, but its late at the moment, and I wont have a chance for a day or so to do any more but want front page readers to have this info now.

 

OK, to re-emphasize a very important point, while this list makes some crazy infinite loops possible, you will not do as well with it as you can if you try-hard too much to set the loop up.  In general, DO NOT WAIT to play your discard creatures and hold onto them just because your hand may not have specific combo pieces in it.  There may be other good reasons to hold them, but that isn't one of them.

 

It is VERY important to remember that a loaded Soulwarden is GREAT without having a Soulwarden as one of the three cards he can bring back.  He is even GREAT with only two cards in his bank OR with an overfull bank from which you will get a random three cards.  Yes, there is variance between HOW great he is at any time, but you have to live to play him, and the goal is to live and win, not get this combo off.   

 

After all, the combo is NOT the win condition, its just a knockout punch when you get it.  As such, this deck is more of a hybrid control/combo deck and should be played accordingly.  You are going to win via either board presence, deck disruption, or fatigue, not via combo.  The combo in this deck just turbo charges the three usual options, it is not required to win.

 

SO:

 

Priorities to achieve the objective of winning:

 

Mulligan to maximize your odds of having board presence and/or control with limited exceptions to deal with specific match-up concerns.  Any mulligan that is focused on the non-Succubus (original list; non-Soulfire in current list) combo pieces is a gamble.  Because the Soulwardens are best played late, you have time to develop whatever will be in their bank.  You don't have to sweat what is getting discarded.  This advice seems obvious, the only paradigm shift here is in the context of the cards in the list.  Along those lines...

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When you have discard creatures/effects, do NOT be reluctant to play them.  Do your best to make all plays in the right order, and to keep in mind odds based on what is in hand, but be a little fearless.  Soulwarden is a card bank... discarding may be no more fun than putting part of your paycheck in the bank, but we all know it is smart to save for a rainy day.  Almost every card is good to have in that bank, with the lone exception of a card you need right now.  You are Warlock, you have twice as good odds of drawing what you need next turn as non-Warlocks, so play what you need this turn, and fear not the discard. 

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Don't push for the combo by holding discard minions too long.  The raw combo is a 1 in 5 or 6 game phenomena.  Getting it set up with Gul'dan is more like 1 in 20. Maybe.  You have to play the deck for enough games to let Fruit Loops combos come to you, not force it.  Yes you have some minor influence over what is discarded to improve the odds via good math, hand management, etc. BUT living and winning are most important.  Use Doomguard as spot removal to make up for the decks lack of it otherwise; use Succubus (original list) or Soulfire (current list) to establish early tempo or prevent it from your enemy.  Try to minimize them discarding each other, but if they do, it is ok.  Even if you don't get the loop, which you usually won't, you will get a significant amount of your discards back late, if you make sure you live that long. Along those same lines...the weight you give to plays made based on setting up the combos should be minimal!

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Don't hold other cards you maybe should play just because you are try-harding to set up the combo!  If Soulwarden has one card or no cards in his bank, and you need a body and/or that one card she has, play her.  If you have 10 mana and Gul'dan in hand you seriously want to consider playing Gul'dan, based on the usual considerations.  Holding him for the dream should rarely factor into the decision.  Unless you can afford to hold cards, considering how your opponent can win, do NOT hold them just for possible combo pieces.  Also, if you do luck into discarding one Soulwarden and have the other in hand, you can start playing and replaying her right away, if the board state allows... even if you are only getting one Soulwarden back each time, you want to do that!  If forced to discard again and you get lucky not to throw her away, you will increase the size of the bank for future replays at that time; there is no value to holding the second one when the board state allows you to play her.

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Change your way of thinking... Warlock is accustomed to often hero powering before playing creatures and spells.  OFTEN with this deck you may NOT want to do that.  You may want to discard and THEN draw.  This is very important.  It is less about what you might throw away (all the cards are good to throw away, because that's the only way you can get them back) as what you might NOT throw away (some are much better than others to discard, and if they are already in hand, you may not want to draw first).  You need to be able to do the math on odds fast or play it by feel (learning from mistakes) about draw timing in this list.  Each draw, the best timing may be different.

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Change your way of thinking... TRACK your discards and think of them as cards that will likely be back in your hand, possibly twice.  Play to THOSE outs as well as the ones in your deck.  Most deck trackers will NOT currently track this for you. You will have to do it yourself. 

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Change your perspective...Favor potential cheap cost discards over expensive ones!  Realize any four cost or lower discard is preferable to Gul'dan, just because they can be played the same turn as Soulwarden with or without the loop. Gul'Dan is not usually the best card to loop.  Drawing a loaded Soulwarden even with no loop is like drawing two playable cards, sometimes three, when cheap cards are in its bank (or even four if you discarded The Coin!).  Be sure to account for The Coin if it's in the bank, as this means you can play five cost cards the same turn as Soulwarden also!  Under this principle, The Coin is one of the best possible cards to discard!  Why?  Because...

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Change your way of thinking... You have to work to keep hand size at about six cards (nine minus the # of cards in the Soulwarden fruit bank, and minus any banked cards that battlecry a card into your hand) or below late.  This deck has several card generators in addition to your hero power, and you need to be able to have room for all three battlecry adds when you cast Soulwarden, plus be able to get to nine cards or less after casting him and any Stonehill Defender type cards (taking into account some opponents may force you to draw cards).  This is a reason to discard fearlessly and to do odd things like playing High Priestess Jeklik (original list) on curve when it makes sense instead of holding her.  Having The Coin in the bank makes this a lot easier!

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Discard fairly freely! Don't worry about getting more than three discards in the Soulwarden bank!  The early game and having ANY extra cards in the bank are more important than the loop!  If you don't get the loop or if you break the loop, adapt!  We are talking oppressive value if you live to play a loaded Soulwarden, with or without loop activated.  You live by controlling the board and keeping as much defense and pressure up as possible, without going any wider than the match-up dictates (or, in cases like Secret Hunter, where your pressure works against you, staying alive while doing almost nothing, to play toward fatigue).  Alternatively, some decks require you win by deck disruption and/or fatigue, which must be supported by board control.  Do not sacrifice any of the standard principles for winning toward getting the combo off in a specific way, except in those rarest of cases where you have immediate, actual control over what is discarded.

 

I will add more to this, as I think of it, or as players who work with the deck and see where there is some need for play style adaptation make suggested additions.  The principles for playing this deck are a meld of what has always worked for a blend of control and combo with the added considerations that the chance to play cards more times than they appear in your deck list allow. 

Thank you for the speed of the 15 upvotes that helped get this in!  Next upvote goal of +50 will get some matchup tips added, but note, there are several matchup tips in this section (specific to mulligans) also!

 

This mulligan guide will remain a work in progress and I will update it further as either the list changes or as comments from players point out better strategies.  I am a better writer than player, so I am sure I can benefit from the wisdom of others.

 

The deck has a high curve, so, you may often find yourself in situations where you are pitching most or all of the cards.  There are no one drops, so unless you have coin, you will be passing the first turn. 

 

TLDR Mulligan Guide Up Front:

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Always Keep:

• All Gnomeferatu's,
• 1 or 2 (original list) Succubus (depending on risk appetite),
• 1 Defile (2 in some mathups like Paladin, Shaman, and Warlock)
• 1 Hellfire
• 1 (or two w/The Coin) Saronite Chain Gang

Situational Keeps:

• Demonic Project vs. Deathrattle Hunter
• 1 Soulfire (vs. Rogue and Deathrattle Hunter)
• Stonehill Defenders
• Tar Creeper
• High Priestess Jeklik (original list)
• 1 Despicable Dreadlord vs. Even Paladin
• Rin, the First Disciple (original list) vs. Paladin, Priest, Mage, Warrior, Warlock
• 1 Soulwarden with 1 Succubus (original list) or Soulfire (current list)
• Zola the Gorgon (original list) with Gnomeferatu
• Spellbreaker vs. Paladin and Priest
• Zilliax with The Coin vs. Hunter, Shaman, Warlock
• Rotten Applebaum (original list) with The Coin vs. Hunter, Warlock
• Doomguard vs. Odd Rogue and Deathrattle Hunter, otherwise only if you are gambling hard
• Bloodreaver Gul'dan usually NOT, unless all your other cards are keepers.

 

Must Pitch:

• Lord Godfrey
• Elise the Trailblazer
• The Lich King

 

For more details on each of the above, read on:

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DETAILED MULLIGAN GUIDE NOTES (original list only, at this time)

 

Must Keeps:

 

Gnomeferatu and Succubus are MUST keeps, as is Stonehill Defender and Saronite Chain Gang (just one usually if you have no 2-3 drop). 

 

I generally consider Defile and Hellfire must-keeps, also, at least one of them.  I might pitch the second Hellfire, as it best to get bodies for the board, with the exception of Druid, where Living Mana and other tokens are a threat in that rare matchup, and maybe Hunter (for the wolf packs), though in both cases the 2^nd keep is debatable.  Vs. Paladin, Hellfire can be frustratingly ineffective, due to Divine Shields, buffs, and recovery, so, I don't care for the second copy and will even pitch the first if I have a Defile or two.

 

Succubus you have to decide on the 2^nd copy… if she discards herself, meh.  I usually do keep both and gamble on it, but not sure its a good choice.  With The Coin if I have only one, I’ll usually coin her out for tempo (especially against Priest), unless I really dislike the other discard options.  If I have two Succubus, I usually (except against Priest) hold The Coin and play the first copy on 2 so I can try to discard The Coin.  The Coin is a great discard loop option if you can get a five drop as the third discard, because it lets you play the five drops the same turn as the Soulwarden, which is amazing.  Even if you don't have a five drop as a third discard, it is very helpful in maximizing the loop, as you can only repeatedly loop when you stay at 8 cards or less in hand... otherwise you will not get all three cards back and could break the loop.  The Coin in the loop is sweet to help manage hand size.  Having said that, you may want to weigh whether it is ever worth coining her out... an argument could be made that Priest is about the only class for which you want to sacrifice a possible looping coin.  Probably depends on the other possible discards, some of which may be far more enticing than The Coin.

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Situational Keeps:

 

High Priestess Jeklik is a good keep if you have a Succubus or a Stonehill Defender. I include Stonehill Defender as there is a small  chance you will get to choose a discard taunt like Lakkari Felhound, and also because having a sure 4 drop taunt to follow the Stonehill Defender lets you choose a 5 drop or higher more freely.  I would pitch her if she is the lowest cost card you have.  Note, I tend to play her on curve if there are no better plays… her special ability is good, but can clog your hand in a bad way for setting up the combo.  The synergy can be clunky.

 

Despicable Dreadlord is decent to keep one of against Paladin, as long as you have either a 2-4 drop or Defile or Hellfire. Otherwise, I often keep when I have The Coin if I also can curve up to it from my other cards.

 

Rin, the First Disciple is great in several matchups.  Warlock, Priest, Warrior, Mage, Paladin and Hunter all have deadly Deathknight hero cards for which I like to keep Rin as long as she has support in the other two cards.  I base this choice off the hero cards available because those classes almost always play those as breakpoint plays, and very effetively.  This keep choice is solidified if the rest of my hand is 2-4 cost cards, to help in case they are an aggro variant of their class (which is usually the rare exception to the Deathknight being in some lists, like Warlock).  Rin is especially good against combo decks, too, since there are more pieces involved and Rin has a better chance to impact them, but most of the effective combo decks are in those classes with the good heros, which is why I base the choice on heros.  Exception to hero choice is, I often pitch her against shaman (Hex wrecks her and their starts can be too fast)..  Druid is situational… if you think it’s Toggwaggle Druid, you can bust the combo or help it, it’s a tossup.  It is only good against Rogue if they are Shuffle Rogue, and they have recovery options so timing there usually means holding it; I pitch vs. Rogue and look to draw it later in the game.

 

Soulwarden is only a keep (and ONLY one of) if you have Succubus.  One reason I like Succubus so much is it does let you keep Soulwarden, where before you never could.  Even with Succubus, I may pitch Soulwarden if I have no Defile or Hellfire against the speedier match-ups. 

 

Zola the Gorgon is usually pitched.  For me, the exception is if I have a Gnomeferatu.  I like to play Gnomeferatu turn 2, Zola her turn 3, replay and hero power or play another 2 drop on turn 4.  That is a solid opening against a lot of decks.  I will also keep Zola the Gorgon with a Spellbreaker against Paladin if I have a 2 or 3 cost card as my third card.  Otherwise, she is mainly in the deck as a way to either recover from a loop whiff (no Soulwarden battlecried when you get over 3 discards) or as a way to double down on Doomguards for the kill, though she is a very flexible role player in many other ways.

 

Spellbreaker is a must keep (one of) against Paladin.  I’ll keep two as long as my third card is a 2 or 3 cost card (creature or removal).  It is also strong against Priest (for buffed draw engines), Rogue (against Henchclan Thug)  and Shaman (against most of their early creatures)  if you have other cards to play early.  Against everything else, it’s situational.  It is arguably strong against Warrior, but the cards you need it most for are more mid to late game, so I either pitch or keep no more than one.  Mage, it can help against if you have other early plays, but I usually pitch it unless I have one or more Gnomeferatus, as the gnome is very important early against Mage.

 

Zilliax and Rotten Applebaum are usually pitched, except against Hunter if you have some other early plays and/or The Coin.  Zilliax can also be a good keep with The Coin against Shaman and Warlock.

 

Doomguard is almost always a pitch (probably belongs in the must pitch section).  There are fringe hands where you might debate high rolling good draws to keep him in certain slower matchups (say Doomguard, Soulwarden, and The Coin with either a fast drop or a juicy discard bank target), but it is very risky.  I pitch him most of the time, but sometimes risks pay off.

 

Bloodreaver Gul’dan is only a good keep in any hand where you have early plays with the other two cards.   

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Must Pitch:

Lord Godfrey, Elise the Trailblazer, and The Lich King have to be tossed back.  This deck is challenged in the early game too much to keep them, unless you are taking a big risk by trying to discard one of them to Succubus early.  Probably not worth it.

 

Tier One decks: Starting with these, as there are plenty.  Might add Tier Two in the future, not if it stays on the Warlock page a bit longer.  These are all tough match-ups, pretty unfavored against the original build and, a little less unfavored against the current one. To improve competitiveness against these, you probably want to replace Elise the Trailblazer and one more card (The Lich King in the original build, maybe a Lesser Amethyst Spellstone in the current one) with Mountain Giant.

 

In general, the must-keep mulligan cards (per the mulligan spoiler) are important, with exceptions noted below.

 

For all the hunters and mages, a good Secret Tracking app is very important.

 

Personally, I find Gnomeferatu to be a mulligan MVP, even though it involves RNG.   There is no better way to deal with Deathknights and other breakpoint game swingers than to remove them from the deck.

 

Against an aggro heavy meta, early board sweepers are pretty critical.  After that, early board presence in general, especially with taunts, is always important.   

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Odd Paladin: Defile is the MVP mulligan card for this match-up, and its more reliable than Hellfire (due to Divine Shields).  Doomsayer is also better than Hellfire to open. 

 

If you end up with Demonic Project in hand at some point (dont mull for it), the breakpoint to play it is right before the enemy can play a five mana minion (you are hoping to get either Fungalmancer, Frostwolf Warlord, or Leeroy Jenkins, but will be happy if you hit Stormwind Champion or even Baku the Mooneater).

 

However, if they spammed stuff out in the first two turns, and you were not able to answer, you may consider a turn 3 hail mary Demonic Project, targeting Raid Leader. 

 

Gnomeferatu, values similar targets as Demonic Project, but trades down to Defile in priority, as vanilla odd paladin does not usually run DKs.  Main tactical tip is do everything to keep enemy minions from sticking until you cant anymore, then focus on killing the biggest threats and chipping away at the opponent. This one has little to no lifegain effects, so if you live to start outvaluing them, you have a shot. 

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Even Paladin: Gnomeferatu has a lot of good targets here (Spikeridge Steed, Sunkeeper Tarim, The Lich King, Tirion Fordring, Val'anyr).

 

Defile and Doomsayer again are very important early, as is early board presence. This is one matchup I tend to keep one Spellbreaker for if one or more other cards are good keeps, due to Spikeridge Steed, Blessing of Kings, and Corpsetaker.  Also, it is good against OTK DK and you do not know which Pally deck you are up against until you see some cards played.

 

Breakpoints for Demonic Project start when they can summon 4 mana minions (Corpsetaker unless you have other answers, Sunkeeper Tarim at 6 if board favors it, and The Lich King or Tirion Fordring at 8).

 

Same general strategy as Odd Paladin, but keeping in mind that Even has a better long game, so you have to plan to deal with those mid to long game threats still, even if you manage to survive.  Gnomeferatu is pretty key for that, as is Demonic Project.

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Secret Hunter: Gnomeferatu and Hellfire are early MVPs, followed close by Defile, Spellbreaker, then taunt minions. You have to save AoE for Lesser Emerald Spellstone unless you Gnomed it away.

 

You really prefer to Gnome away the DKs, if possible, but there are many good targets here, about anything but a Secret.

 

The easiest way to deal with the Secrets is to not attack... if you never trigger the first Freezing Trap, Explosive Trap, Snake Trap, Venomous Trap, Wandering Monster, they can never play the second one, which clogs their hand and reduces the utility of Subject 9 (sometimes) and Zul'jin (always).

 

Giving them hand management problems is a key strategy in this matchup. If you can keep a wall up and/or AoE enough to live to see Bloodreaver Gul'Dan in play, you have a chance to make the most of Soulwarden value, looped or not.

 

When you win these games, it will usually be by taking them to fatique (Deathstalker Rexxar being your worst enemy here, but not insurmountable if they get him later, when you are already stabilized).

 

Note, sometimes playing nothing early is viable if they do not develop their board early... this can make Flanking Strike a dead card till you want to deal with it, contributing to the hand management foil, and makes it harder for them to get Scavenging Hyena going. 

 

Best Spellbreaker targets are the Scavenging Hyena, Tundra Rhino, Emperor Cobra (off Venomous Trap), anything Crackling Razormawed and Zombeasts.

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 Even Shaman: Defile and Hellfire are equally huge here to be able to stop their early board push, usually twice. Doomsayer not as much, though it can be a good to draw Hex out. If you have Defile and Hellfire, save Defile for later boards with Corpsetaker if they dont already have it out. Balance your greed for a maximized sweep against calculating how soon they can play a Sea Giant... it is sometimes wise just to kill 2-3 creatures if it will impact Sea Giant.

 

The breakpoint for Even Shaman if they dont roll over you is at 8 mana, which is when they can start to Al'Akir the Windlord (Corpsetakers will usually be tells for this), Hagatha the Witch, Kalimos, Primal Lord and The Lich King. Up to that point they are mostly aggro/buff oriented. Gnomeferatu can get any of the four, and Demonic Project can get all but Hagatha the Witch.

 

To outvalue Hagatha the Witch, you need to tap into Soulwarden value as much as possible. Spellbreaker is tempting against Flametongue Totem, Corpsetaker and midgame threats, but you may really need her to deal with Al'Akir the Windlord, The Lich King, and some Elementals that can be produced off the Menacing Nimbus, so save her if you can without dying for trying to.

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Secret Odd Mage: The usual mulligan MVPs apply, but play keeping Counterspell/Explosive Runes, and Stargazer Luna in mind as cards that can see early play and require you to have answers/tests (like The Coin for Counterspell) available to avoid their impact.

 

Doomsayer is sometimes more important to soak up an early Rune than to clear the board. You really hope to Gnome or Project Jan'alai, Clockwork Automaton, or Leeroy Jenkins, their three major gameswingers. Your creatures and AoE can often handle the rest if you dont lose the board too early, as they do not play sweepers in this deck the way Big Spell Mage does... that is key to know so you dont waste energy playing around any AoE. Be aware that Their damage buffs can let them use Arcane Missiles and Cinderstorm in ways similar to AoE, though.

 

Breakpoints for them are less predictable... if you lose the board early and let them get any tempo, then the breakpoint has either passed or will as soon as they Fungalmancer. Otherwise its 7 for Jan'Alai.

 

Jaina DK is not a staple in this, normally. I do see some versions subbing in Mirror Entity and/or Spellbender at times, for situational awareness. Secret Trackers are key in this matchup. 

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Odd Rogue: This is one matchup where Defile and Hellfire may be less useful to you than usual unless you can stick some board before you have four mana.  As such, Soulfire becomes an MVP keep.

 

To stick minions and improve AoE success, Tar Creeper and Stonehill Defender go up in value. Gnomeferatu is also an MVP, and you want to hit Hench-Clan Thug or any of their Five Mana cards (Cobalt Scalebane, Fungalmancer, Leeroy Jenkins, Vilespine Slayer, Myra's Unstable Element).

 

Always keep in mind Cold Blood, Deadly Poison and, to a lesser degree, Void Ripper, as outs for them to reach Lethal and play accordingly. Some variants run Ironbeak Owl, too, which you want to keep in mind, but play around the auto-includes first.

 

This is definitely one it can be tough to live to take advantage of Soulwarden, so you have to be more fearless using cards like Soulfire and Doomguard as spot removal regardless of impact on Soulwarden.

 

Bloodreaver Gul'dan is very important to winning this, but he is still not usually a keep; you have to luck into drawing him at a good time, or living until you can get him back timely off a Soulwarden. If he sits in your hand early, he's too dead except as discard fodder.

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Deathrattle Hunter: Highly unfavored here, but adapt your play to have a chance. Demonic Project, Gnomeferatu, Spellbreaker, and a singleton of Doomguard or Soulfire are among your early game MVPs.

 

Demonic Project before they can play and rattle in the same turn. If you can't Suck it up and kill or silence Devilsaur Eggs and Mechanical Whelps ASAP, better a single 5/5 or 8/8 than many.  Keep the inevitable Kathrena Winterwisp in mind. Hope to Gnomeferatu her, Deathstalker Rexxar, Carnivorous Cube, Dire Frenzy.

 

In this matchup, the only secrets usually played are usually Explosive Trap and Wandering Monster, and this Hunter does NOT run Lesser Amethyst Spellstone, usually. If you are seeing a lot of this deck, you may need to sub in a Skulking Geist for one of the two tech slots, as without it, this can be a brutal matchup.

 

Gnomeferatus, Spellbreaker, Demonic Project and one Doomguard/Soulfire become a must keep. Doomsayer is pretty bad except as discard fodder. Bloodreaver Gul'dan timely is critical, and getting a Fruit Loop can be very important to getting enough answers to their large threats in addition to your taunts.

 

To win this, you have to outlast all the minions in their deck, and Rexxar, which is very hard, but unless you curve tempo against a bad draw for them, that is likely your best chance to win, via fatigue. Its not easy. Be aware, if they have a bad draw, they will benefit if you play against them like they are Spell Hunter or Secret Hunter... you have to Bandersnatch and go as aggressive against them early as you can if they start slow. This can sometimes get you into Doomguard/Soulfire range in time.

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Spell Hunter: This one usually requires the biggest playstyle change. You have to play around caedss like Flanking Strike and Zul'jin as much as you can. This means reading that it is Spell Hunter early, so you can attack board or face only until Secrets start to appear. At that point, you usually begin to benefit by just defending your face and triggering as few secrets as possible (applying the same tactic of messing with their hand management as against Secret Hunter).

 

Bloodreaver Gul'dan and the Soulwarden value are huge in this matchup, because your goal becomes to fatigue them while denying as many extra secrets from Zul'jin as possible. They typically only play Wandering Monster, Explosive Trap and Freezing Trap, but Secret Plan figures in.

 

Zul'jin impact is minimized if they are forced to play him while Secrets are still up. Tracking helps you in this toward winning by fatigue (especially when Zul'jin replays it), and helps them quite a bit less than it does the other two Hunters. Baited Arrow is the early tell card here.

 

Rhok'delar is also minimized by messing with their hand size the same way, and will sometimes add a burnt card to your list of munched cards, if you are already giving them hand management issues and they cant time it well.

 

(Chunking the rest in shortly, trying to avoid triggering the spam filter).

I am sure the deck can still be tweaked to increase its effectiveness. The two main tech slots  are currently occupied by a 2nd Spellbreaker and Elise the Trailblazer.  The Lich King occupies a 3rd high cost tech slot.  I call these tech slots mainly because they are the slots I tend to swap from most often, trying to improve the deck with various experiments, not so much because they are 'tech' in and of themselves against various matchups (with exception of the Spellbreaker) Many more ideas on subs in the sub spoiler.

 

Sub Options added in later spoiler, with first upvote goal met.  [UPDATE: I moved info on the original two tech cards, Mojomaster Zihi and Nerubian Unraveller, to the subs section 'Other Interesting Substitution Options' section at the bottom of that spoiler.]

Thanks for the upvotes to get this section in!  Much appreciated!  Going to start with the cards which are not standard Warlock package cards, as everyone should pretty much get why the five demons are in the deck already and how there is not really any subbing advised for any of them. May revise periodically as lessons are learned, given I am still trying to adapt this deck to become better, and that I appreciate your ideas, too.  I moved my original primary and secondary tech choices to the bottom of this spoiler section (you can also see them in the recent changes, along with a few other changes). 

 

Adding a quick and dirty 'TLDR' sub summary at the top, followed by details on reasons for card exclusion/inclusion and thoughts on subs in detail,

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TLDR Substitution Guide:

General Tech: Cards that are true ‘tech’ against various matchups which are worth consideration as swaps for any of the appropriately costed tech slots, or where you may be missing similarly costed cards.  All of these are valid sub possibilities to swap for any similarly costed card or higher not mentioned in the 'Specific Substitutions' list that follows it.  Specific recommendations in that second list are for where there is some functionality that is important to retain or imitate, or few other cards with equal (or interesting) value in general:

• Doomsayer: More early control
• Chief Inspector: Hunter, Mage, Paladin
• Skulking Geist: Rogue, Hunter, Secret Paladin
• Mind Control Tech 
• The Black Knight
• Big Game Hunter
• Acidic Swamp Ooze: Kingsbane Rogue, Warrior, Hunter
• Gluttonous Ooze: Kingsbane Rogue, Warrior, Hunter
• Siphon Soul

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Specific Substitutions: These are all cards that have some more specific purpose for which sub should either try to achieve that or at least have similar relevance/impact at that or near that cost/slot.

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Elise the Trailblazer:

• Mountain Giant
• Omega Defender - (See Other Interesting Substitution Options far below)
• Seafourium Bomber
• Weaponized Pinata
• Griftah

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The Lich King:

• Mountain Giant
• Ysera,
• Mojomaster Zihi
• Voidlord 

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Gnomeferatu:

• Plated Beetle
• Acidic Swamp Ooze

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Rotten Applebaum (original list)

• Omega Defender - (See Other Interesting Substitution Options far below)

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Succubus (original list) or Soulfire (current list):

• Soulfire (sub for Succubus)
• Succubus (sub for Soulfire)
• Lakkari Felhound

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Detailed Card Exclusion/Inclusion Reasons and Substitution Ideas: 

 

NO to Skull of the Man'ari: 

REASONS - Cheating out a Doomguard or a Succubus defeats the purpose of this deck by robbing you of the benefits of their discards.  Not playing the Skull is crucial, because we prefer to bring Doomguards back with Bloodreaver Gul'dan and need to keep some lanes clear. 

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The second Spellbreaker (original list):

REASONS - This is the primary tech slot in the deck.  There are a lot of Paladins out there (and some priests) where the Spellbreaker is just invaluable.  So much so, that you often want to Zola the Gorgon it if possible.  Its also a good) card to loop, since you can drop it the same turn as the Soulwarden.  

 

SUBSTITUTION - If substituting, I would say address one of the current lists two biggest gaps, which is weapon removal (if you didn't with another sub already) or spot removal, via Siphon Soul or Soulfire. True control lovers may want to add in Doomsayer, I just personally hate playing it. The Black Knight and Big Game Hunter both strike me as decent removal options which give you a body, with GBH having potentially high loop value. Chief Inspector can be helpful in the right match-ups, but I wouldn't add it unless you already have Skulking Geist in the deck, personally (personally feel its a more effective tech choice as most secret decks can actually benefit a little from clearing their slate once early in a game). One commenter, Elexxtron, has sugggested in comment #2 to sub Mind Control Tech, which I like, and which adds some really interesting flavor to the late game if looped against a lot of decks, because you don't have to hold it, since you could play one every turn, so it REALLY limits their board width if they don't want punished! 

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Elise the Trailblazer:

REASONS - This is the decks secondary tech slot.  She can give you potentially infinite Un'Goro packs direct to hand from the Soulwarden, if you draw one and get it into the loop (or much more slowly, with her in the loop).  Not only does the pack add a card into your deck for the fatigue value (or Elise in the loop could add one every other turn), but this opens access to multiple other Un'Goro win conditions and answers from all classes, unlike most other card generators which tend to be tied to your class,

 

SUBSTITUTION - Mountain Giant is probably the most competitive substitution, if you can squeeze a second one in elsewhere, too.  Seafourium Bomber is a good option to try and exploit the loop similarly, but reduce hand management issues for yourself.  Weaponized Pinata will not be hampered as much by your hand size (hard to keep room for opening packs), and can be played the same turn as Soulwarden, unlike Elise.  Or, you could just up the curve a bit to go with one of Control Warlocks' other great options, Skulking Geist, which will help you a lot against some of the more frequent match-ups (Rogue, Hunter). A lot of decks build around Skulking Geist these days, but it is undeniably solid as a one of, even if it doesn't help in the loop much (except against Shuffle Rogue mostly).  Otherwise, review sub ideas that follow, as most of them could work here, too. 

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The Lich King:

REASONS - This is basically the decks third tech slot.  Previously occupied by Voidlord, The Lich King is an upgrade for this deck's objectives.  It is a win condition, where Voidlord really isn't.  Because we have to play Demons on curve without the Skull of Man'ari, it is a quicker drop.  Because part of the combo's potential is multiple Bloodreaver Gul'dans, Voidlord (and it's deathrattle demons) can clog up our post Gul'dan board and thin the odds of getting multiple Doomguards and Despicable Dreadlords back.  Also, we do get chances to pick Voidlord from Stonehill Defender fairly often, and not having Voidlord in the deck increases Stonehill Defender's value marginally.  While The Lich King is a heavy discard bank target, some of its end of turn cards generated are excellent discard bank targets.  It is also worth saying that while you do not want to loop Army of the Dead (probably), as long as you already have Bloodreaver Gul'dan in hand or play, it is a great one shot card in this deck since we only have four spells.

 

SUBSTITUTION - Mountain Giant is probably the most competitive substitution, if you fit another one into the other tech slot for Elise.  Voidlord, despite some of its counter-synergies, is still not a terrible option here, but I think the general principle still applies: if you do not have The Lich King (who doesn't?), Ysera becomes an excellent choice for similar reasons... the end of turn cards generated become pretty good fruit (discard bank targets)  for the loop.  Alternatively, Mojomaster Zihi presents a very complex, high-skill 'win' condition option, via clamping your opponents mana crystals to a ceiling of 7, but you have to get it in the loop to make that work.

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Gnomeferatu:

REASONS - This is the only 2/3 in the game I know of which can result in an auto-concede. Against several combo decks, if you high roll, you will often get the rage quit from players not willing to grind out a long control vs. control game without their key piece. This card can also be frustrating as that high roll is rare, and, if you low roll, can even hurt you by getting some valueless card off the top of their deck, but I still prefer it to other options. It also helps you in the fatigue game a lot, especially if looped. 

 

SUBSTITUTION - Its best substitute will likely be another 2 drop, like the Warlock staple Plated Beetle, or, if you want to have a good win condition against Kingsbane Rogue, keep one Gnomeferatu and add an Acidic Swamp Ooze or Gluttonous Ooze in place of the second one.

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Succubus (original list, replaced with Soulfire now):

REASONS - I ended up putting these in instead of Tar Creepers.  The original curve was just a shade too high, even for Control Warlock, and Tar Creeper's lack of offense in addition to Stonehill Defender was often painful.  Succubus adds some early punch, and more importantly, adds discard chances, and one that, with a Doomguard, can get you to that three discard sweetspot for perfect infinite Soulwarden loops.

 

SUBSTITUTION - After seeing how much better the deck works with the added discard options, I would suggest finding one of the other lower costed random discard creatures or removal.  Not one that discards your lowest cost cards.

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High Priestess Jeklik (original list):

REASONS - This mainly supports the taunt infrastructure while doubling as a good value discard for the Doomguards which can also be a decent infinite loop card if you get the first Soulwarden discarded, too. That combo is a nice fruit loop, because you can play both of them each turn if you have ten mana. That said, she is NOT a required card in the list.  However, her impact, though subtle, can be significant if her special ability comes into play, especially more than once, over the course of the game.

 

SUBSTITUTION - Some good alternative 4 drop options include Lifedrinker, as it will fill a similar role in the loop, losing the taunt in exchange for damage dealt/auto life... this can be huge in fatigue games. Omega Defender is interesting here. No life/damage, but a MUCH bigger taunt, every turn, late game in the loop, and not bad as a substitute vanilla drop early (which is going to be needed a lot). Weaponized Pinata can give you extra win conditions off just one deathrattle, and would be juicy fruit in the loop. Lastly Shadowflame does increase potential board clear options, but our deck doesn't have a ton of great Shadowflame targets, tbh. 

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Rin, the First Disciple (original list):

REASONS - She is one of your other win conditions, so not an advised sub. Against some decks she can be one of your only ones, and can be worth getting one off earlier than a natural draw if you are offered her from a Stonehill Defender or doubling down on with Zola the Gorgon if you fear a silence. Note, many of the decks she works best against have accelerated draws themselves, so getting her and committing as early as possible can be very important, or they will draw their combo too soon. She can be a little clunky with the loop... getting her discarded can be good against decks with silence if you can recover her quickly.  If you get her prodigy in hand, commitment is important (as much as possible) because they clog the hand and make the Soulwarden's loop harder to maximize.  This becomes a 'Choose Your Path' win condition... you have to Bandersnatch it well!

 

SUBSTITUTION - The only other taunt that provides some real win condition options is The Lich King. This also adds some interesting fruit loop possibilities off some of the King's cards (or the King itself). (UPDATE: recently main-decked The Lich King, so, if you have to sub for Rin, check out the other sub recommendations in this section). 

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Stonehill Defender:

REASONS - Obviously one of the two best neutral 3 drop taunts available (Tar Creeper being the other). I found Stonehill Defender is more important, and ended up swapping Tar Creeper out entirely in favor of Succubus (see that card farther down).  One reason I liked Stonehill Defender more is because of the cards it can add to your loop possibilities, and the chance to surface other discard options early if you are missing Doomguard in hand.  Also, Stonehill Defender is a much better discard than Tar Creeper, for both looping and for vanilla Soulwarden battlecries. 

 

SUBSTITUTION - So if you have to sub for Stonehill Defender, Tar Creeper is probably at the top of the list.  Phantom Militia is another good remaining 3 drop taunt for this list, given its moderate board recovery potential late game and its added protection mid game. I believe subbing a taunt here is pretty important if you have to sub here. 

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Other Interesting Substitution Options:

 

Omega Defender has turned out to be a win condition for me in recent testing.  If I keep having the kind of luck with it that I have in early trials, it may get bumped to the main list.  Its a decent better-than-vanilla 4 drop on curve to support the taunt infrastructure, but a fantastic play at 10 crystals, and amazing in a fruit loop!  If you manage you hand size, you can play Soulwarden and a 12/6 taunt every turn! This generally ends up serving a similar role as Mountain Giant in some other builds, but in a better and more versatile way.  I have been rotating it in for different 5 drops (always one of the Rotten Applebaums, sometimes both) to try and get a feel for what to take out.  More later after more testing, but feel free to give it a shot yourself!

 

Witchwood Piper was suggested by commenter Vanyok in comment #12.  This could have some good synergy with the rest of the list... although its vanilla body doesn't help a lot with our tempo struggles early, the fact that it will grab either Gnomeferatu or Succubus early is a pretty big deal.  This is good enough that, had it come to my attention while writing the guide above, I probably would have mentioned it directly there.  This is probably a great one of in one of the two main tech slots.

 

Nerubian Unraveler can be effective against Spell Hunter, Hunter Killer Priest (to slow the Anduin/Lyra type interactions). most Mage decks, and some Rogue variants, where most other tech cards are only good against one or two of those.  It usually only slows most of them for one turn, as they all have spell removal they can cast anyway, but that's still good many times.  Also, we only run four spells, all cheap enough to cast with the increase, so this tends to hurt the opponent more than it hurts us.  I had it as my primary tech slot card for many games, and ended up deciding to try other options, as show in recent deck changes. 

 

Mojomaster Zihi was in my secondary tech slot for awhile.  I liked the idea of clamping a player down to a max of 7 mana via the loop, but felt the deck needed some changes (see recent changes).  Its still a decent option, but a very high skill card, which, if you are not careful, can screw you worse than your opponent. Often a win more card (which is ok for that), its real value in the deck was against certain matchups where 7-10 mana are real break points. particularly for 8-10 mana break points, as if looped, you can keep them from ever getting higher than 7 more than once, by playing one every other turn. This will often destroy a deck which is relying on any 8 mana or higher card to win, but if you have trouble with higher skill cards, I would avoid this one.  I have been having more success with my recent changes though.

 

Griftah combines high skill requirements with RNG (in a much less impactful but similar way of choosing options to Deathstalker Rexxar.  At four, he is a good body, and can be cast the same turn as a Soulwarden.  For the daring, you can either play him vanilla to go for one good card to try and maybe hold to loop, or get him in the loop to play him repeatedly... how daring are you?  Discovers are limited to your class (4 times more weight toward your class).  A lot of warlock options are better for us than for opponents (like those that discard, etc.).  Not for the faint of heart, considered a 'troll' card by many.

 

Marin the Fox was suggested by Elexxtron in a recent comment, as a possible substitution for The Lich King.  For those who are fans of Marin the Fox, getting treasures into the fruit loop could be quite fun!

 

You can play around with subs in either spot freely, as well in other slots a little less freely.

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You can see from all the above there are a very large number of possibilities within the Fruit Loops framework!  Please share in the comments those which you try and have luck with.  Video highlights will be added to the article if you provide them, as will HSReplay links of good games.

Against Even Mage (From Elexxtra): https://hsreplay.net/replay/irEjdjezaX5tS6kqiFXmHh

The Soulwardens do involve a loss of tempo (due to both a tendency to hold them and them being otherwise vanilla), which is the reason for so many good taunts (10 of them in the original list). 

There is NO other discard, because as soon as you get over three cards discarded, the odds of keeping it going drop from 100%. 

 

However, if you are not pulling Doomguards or Succubus, you can chance getting something to discard with from the taunts produced by Stonehill Defender. 

 

The recent addition of Succubus (original list) or Soulfire (current list) does create a total discard count of 6 in the deck, but increases your odds of being in the 2-3 discard sweet spot earlier, making the combo more consistent and mitigating some risk of discarding one of these to one of the other discard generators.