Hearthpwn

----- Update 01/05 -----

Hey guys! I just hit legend again, playing only evolve shaman. Ladder is full of aggro decks, now is the time to climb! I modified the list to best suit the current meta. GL!

----- Update 23/04 -----

Hey guys! I have been experimenting a bit with different versions of the deck and made some changes that I belive work the best in current meta. I would like to share them with you, so we can together increase the WR of shaman :) 

- Take out Sludge Slurper and put in Worgen Infiltrator - overloading on turn 1 vs aggro decks is almost always a lose. You need stronger tools to combat Demon Hunter, and Worgen Infiltrator also helps you to setup boards for Mogu Fleshshaper. The value you might occasionally get from Sludge Slurper is not enought to win slower games anyway.

- Take out Hench-Clan Hogsteed and put in Imprisoned Vilefiend - as i wrote in the guide, Imprisoned Vilefiend is a big minion that will perfectly help you to setup board swings, by value trading and evolving on the same turn.

- Novice Engineer is a debatable card. You can't win vs control matchup if you won't find Boggspine Knuckles or Mogu Fleshshaper + Mutate early so in theory it should help. With that being said, neither as a stand alone or to combo with Bogstrok Clacker, it probably won't threaten your opponent. If you draw poorly, you will lose slower matchups anyways. That's why i suggest you to replace it with one or two coppies of Earth Shock which will sometimes help you finish ress priest, deal with Edwin VanCleef or big demons. Lastly if you took one Earth Shock, put in one Escaped Manasaber for those big board swing setups.

Playstyle with version mentioned above should be similar to that on the right.

Versus control decks you want to hard mulligan for Boggspine Knuckles and pray they don't have Acidic Swamp Ooze or Zephrys the Great in hand. On turn 5 you equip your weapon followed by making a GIGANTIC board on turn 6, that your opponent cannot deal with (vs warlocks try to also keep the board cleared if possible, so they can't Plague of Flames). From there you will be able to finish them in two turns. Don't play tempo vs control decks. You need to combo your resources to be effective.

Versus Demon Hunters if your opening hand has some 1-2 drops and Boggspine Knuckles, you should be fine. If your hand is heavy with Boggspine Knuckles, i suggest you to also throw them away, to find some early stuff.

If you draw decently, this deck demolishes. If very poorly, it might feel weak.

----- -----

Thank you so much for the possitive feedback! Did not expect this deck to become a thing. Therefore i decided to make a short guide.

This deck is by any means not tier 1 deck! Probablyl a solid tier 2 though. In fact after playing over 100+ games with it (in Legend), my w/r dropped to 58% atm. But it is still very fun and i enjoy playing it a lot. 

Some changes i made to this deck and you can also, depending on what matchups are you facing are:

- If you are facing a lot of rogues/control, cut on Hench-Clan Hogsteed and add Archmage Vargoth  and Dragon's Pack for value.

- If you are facing a lot of DH/aggro, cut Novice Engineer and add Imprisoned Vilefiend. It not only helps you deal with annoying DH minions, that you can't clear because of his weapons clearing your board, but it also sets up for insane board swings with Boggspine Knuckles.

- You can also try cutting Far Sight for Frozen Shadoweaver and Invocation of Frost for Imprisoned Vilefiend

- If facing a lot of druids, add The Lurker Below. 

Cards above can be modified to your liking, rest i would say is core of the deck to function properly.

I encourage you to experiment!

General mulligan guide is always look for Boggspine Knuckles but also try to keep cards that feel your mana curve. For example if you going to play Sludge Slurper on 1, you probably do not want to keep Novice Engineer in your hand. Keep combo cards depanding on matchups for example Mutate and Mogu Fleshshaper  if they play a lot of minions. Keep Boggspine Knuckles, Desert Hare vs slow matchups for big swings on turn 6.

Some often mistakes include:

- Throwing Sludge Slurper vs rogue/dh on turn 1 if you are on coin. It will just get killed and you are overloaded  turn 2.

- Throwing Novice Engineer if you know it is going to be killed, and you can't evolve it with Bogstrok Clacker next turn might be a mistake in slower matchups.

- Using Invocation of Frost too early vs DHs might cost you game, especially if you have Devoted Maniac in hand, it might be better to tank some face dmg and clear on turn 4.

- When facing control decks, depending on your opening hand (you already have Boggspine Knuckles and Desert Hare) it might be good to keep Far Sight to use on turn 3. If you discount Corrupt Elementalist and draw Mogu Fleshshaper, you win the game on turn 6.

- In slow matchups on coin, you want to coin weapon on turn 4 with followup of evolving on turn 5.

- Don't evolve every turn! If you have good minions, or 1 mana minions, it might be better to save your weapon swing!

- When playing Bogstrok Clacker on turn with weapon swing, it might be better to not evolve the crab to fix some bad evolutions after swing.

- Don't play Desert Hare on turn 3 unless you have no other options.

Some matchup guides: 

Demon Hunter - Hard. Keep Invocation of Frost, Hench-Clan Hogsteed, Imprisoned Vilefiend, Devoted Maniac. Try to not fall behind too much, start regaining control on turn 4 and pray they don't have Altruis.

Druid - Rather easy. Keep Go moderatly slow until turn 5. Perfectly if you stick 1-2 totems until than, or throw in Imprisoned Vilefiend on turn 4. Turn 6 go with Desert Hare and everything else you can fit, including Mogu Fleshshaper. Gain control over the board and win.

Hunter - Moderate. Remove their board, play fairly quickly. Don't go either too big by turn 5 because Rotnest Drake and too wide to avoid Unleash the Hounds.

Mage - Moderate. Preferably you want to kill them before turn 10 when they puff your minions. Setup your Imprisoned Vilefiend and Boggspine Knuckles for big swing on turn 6 and hope they can't keep your board frozen until turn 10. If they manage to do that, you can still come back with fully invoked Galakrond followed up by Kronx. Might be good to not go too wide if you are expecting board clear, as the deck lacks draw.

Paladin - Go fast. Mulligan for good mana curve and control the board from turn 1. Don't let them stall too long or you will lose.

Priest - Moderatly hard. Similar to mage. Go moderatly slow with big swing on turn 6. Perfectly kill them before turn 9. If you have Mutate, use it on turn 6 on big minions if they have the same attack/health to not get rekt by Soul Mirror.

Rogue - Moderate. Very draw dependant matchup. Sometimes you dominate, somethimes they have answer to your every move. Hope they can't make gigantic Edwin VanCleef and Blackjack Stunner your big minions.

Shaman - Due to lack of removal, who gets board control first - wins. Don't throw your 1 hp minions into Sandstorm Elemental. Always kill totems in case it is a totem archetype. When facing control, play fast from turn 1.

Warlock - Very Hard. They can remove your board every time with no effort. Try to bait out board clears without throwing in everything. Perfectly if you don't use all your resources while preventing them to go wide. Than swing on turn 6 and finish them with fully invoked galakrond later. Imprisoned Vilefiend may help to setup for clean board before you go ham. Don't evolve low minions into Crazed Netherwing as they will likely have 3 hp and die.

Warrior - Rather easy. Keep board cleared, evolve damaged minions. Egg warriors run out of gas even faster than shaman. When playing vs control just be mindful, fully invoke Galakrond, than swing with Kronx Dragonhoof. You can often win even in late.

Sorry for any mistakes, english is not my first language.

If you want to see some high legend gameplay with this deck, check out Jambre on Twitch. He is playing similar shaman deck a lot these days.

Also check out videos that Kiwiinbacon and SuperSenter made on playing this deck:

GL & HF