Hearthpwn

Hi all, Power here with a "first draft" of what I think can be a very powerful archetype during Ashes: Highlander Shaman.  In the past I've focused on low tier archetypes for many reasons - not least of which is I personally hate the net decking obsession on the ladder.  I feel it creates a robotic and frankly boring experience.  There are plenty of other deck options with both immense power and high skill ceilings that - in the right hands - can be very successful on high ladder positions and on into legend.  This deck is no exception.  We compensate for the loss of Shudderwock with an evolve package and some very interesting flexible removal options.  I am a Legend player, but I do consider myself a casual.  Take that for whatever it's worth.

 

Let's talk about the deck packages.  First is a very basic Highlander package with Zephrys the Great and Dragonqueen Alexstrasza.  Obviously strong on their own (especially with the reduction in presence of Bad Luck Albatross in the wake of Ashes launch), these cards offer win conditions, high pressure, and/or board state reductions.  Second we have a very bare bones Galakrond, the Tempest package.  This existed last expansion, and was difficult to navigate; but with the additional removal Shaman received and the evolve package, it's a lot easier and less pressurized for us to get the full invocation achieved.

 

The first new addition is the evolve package, with Boggspine Knuckles and Desert Hare.  Desert Hare is a tough card as without Boggspine Knuckles active it's obviously trash.  The tradeoff is Boggspine is a really strong card with essentially any board state at all.  Desert Hare is probably one of the first cards that can be substituted for the many options the deck couldn't include (I'll go into these throughout the article).  While constructing the deck I went back and forth on if I wanted Kronx Dragonhoof +1 other card (in this case Serpentshrine Portal) or Mogu Fleshshaper + Mutate.  In the end for the first draft I decided to go with Kronx and Serpentshrine because of the draw and the early tempo removal option.  But again I think these two cards can be changed.  There is also a Bogstrok Clacker which is a lot more flexible, essentially drop it whenever you've got two minions.

 

There's a lot of removal in the deck which honestly wins games by itself.  The high aggression decks at the top of the meta really depend on maintaining a strong/overwhelming board state with high attack/low health minions.  If you can outlast the first two or three waves of this aggression, you pretty much win the game.  Shaman has become a really strong board clearing class.  Lightning Storm, Hagatha's Scheme, Earthquake, and Sandstorm Elemental are all *really* strong right now.   Plague of Murlocs + Lightning Storm is a very cheap way to turn an overwhelming board state into a very pedestrian one - or even empty it completely - for 6 mana.  That's a ton of value but it's not something you see people talking about.  Plague of Murlocs and Hex also completely destroy Priest and Druid right now.  Sprinkle in Fire Elemental, Earth Shock, and Invocation of Frost, and you've also got some good value options for targeted, tempo-positive removals as well.  I currently also have a Lightning Breath in the deck, but it's obviously very conditional upon having Dragonqueen Alexstrasza in hand (or a dragon from the battlecry).  I think it has situational value, but there is probably a more consistent card we could sub in.  In any case, you're generally able to keep up.  Don't forget about Torrent and Serpentshrine Portal as well, which fit in nicely.  Crushing Hand was unplayable because of the overload drawback.  Torrent's condition is much more manageable and flows better.

 

The deck rounds out with Doomsayer for early turn slowdown, Cumulo-Maximus for a light condition, very tempo-positive removal, Siamat (very versatile), and draw with Mana Tide Totem and Far Sight.  It amounts to a very well rounded and complete deck.

 

There's a Sludge Slurper for some early game presence, and a Marshspawn to stretch resources/options even further (great stats in this meta as well).  Both of these cards are candidates for substitution, although they both either directly activate or have the potential to activate Cumulo-Maximus in addition to providing card generation.  Be sure to consider this.

 

Substitutions

 

There are a lot of cards I think deserve consideration here (in order of potential):

 

The Lurker Below
Mutate
Mogu Fleshshaper
Acidic Swamp Ooze
Shield of Galakrond
Hench-Clan Hogsteed
Ironbeak Owl
Faceless Corruptor (Fantastic in Shaman decks)

 

There are more.  The question is what can we cut?  Again, this is a rough draft and I'm probably winning 55-60% of my games.  But it certainly does not feel completely refined yet.  The Lurker Below seems like a really strong card and just barely missed the cut simply for the fact that there are already a ton of removal options, and Lightning Storm and Lightning Breath are cheaper and essentially accomplish the same thing.  Still, I have a feeling the card will find a home here someday.

 

Matchups

 

Right now you're seeing a lot of Demon Hunters, Mages, Warlocks, Priests, and some Rogues and Hunters mixed in.  Let's talk about these classes first.

 

Demon Hunter

 

Obviously the most OP class in the game right now.  Cheap cards at high value and a hero power that is extremely advantageous to an aggressive deck.  You basically need to focus on fighting for board for the first 6 turns or so.  If you can get into your heavy removals and combo cards with a manageable board state, you'll likely win the game.  DH has absolute garbage for removal, use that to your advantage with cards like Dragon's Pack and Walking Fountain.  Mulligan for Doomsayer, Invocation of Frost, Zephrys the Great, Serpentshrine Portal, Far Sight, Mana Tide Totem, Hagatha's Scheme.  You really don't want to Lightning Storm early against them as they'll just reload the board and you're overloaded to nothing.  Make it to turn 7 or 8, get a walking Fountain in play, basically win.  Tough matchup all around.

 

Mage

 

Mage is a fun one because we get to really stretch the deck out to it's maximum.  It's a great test matchup to see who can carry the most value.  Bit frustrating sometimes with RNG from Power of Creation, but totally winnable.  Mulligan for draw and combo cards, build good board state, make all trades, wait for clear, and rebuild again.  Don't overextend and give them too much value but you also don't need to be overly conservative either, you've got plenty of good minions and reloading options.  Out value them!

 

Warlock

 

Not a tough matchup.  Warlock decks are currently built to totally frustrate aggressive decks.  We don't have one of those.  They'll have to waste big removals on so-so board states.  Just play it slow.  Mulligan for draw and Galakrond, the Tempest cards.  Save Earthquake or Plague of Murlocs for their Galakrond, the Wretched pop, and save Sandstorm Elemental for their greedy 1 health board states.  Don't overextend!

 

Priest

 

Priest is essentially auto-win.  Every deck is some variation of a resurrect archetype (if they aren't, then it's even worse as of right now).  Priest is super strong against aggressive decks, like Warlock, but they struggle against high value decks and ESPECIALLY high value decks with transform cards.  Mulligan for Hex, Plague of Murlocs, and Zephrys the Great.  When you see a Convincing Infiltrator or Sandhoof Waterbearer, Hex away!  They're at the mercy of RNG and Galakrond, the Unspeakable at that point.  Our odds (and cards) are better.  Hang on to Plague of Murlocs for as long as possible ideally playing it to counter their Catrina Muerte play (potentially in conjunction with Grave Rune).  Determine which cards are highest value and transform them, then navigate from there.  Not as hard as it reads!

 

Rogue

 

Rogue so far seems essentially unchanged from last expansion, obviously they have substituted out the Leeroy Jenkins shenanigans for Malygos shenanigans, but a lot of times you can get ahead of all of it.  Delay the Heistbaron Togwaggle play as long as possible, try not to play Dragon's Pack without Flik Skyshiv being gone; although Flik isn't as big of an issue as he was last cycle since Electra Stormsurge is gone and this deck isn't reliant on double Dragon's Pack or Raging Storms.  It's essentially a coin flip, but try to stay healed up and keep the pressure high to force out some direct damage cards and blunt their OTK.

 

Hunter

 

Hunter also seems basically unchanged, and is a more difficult challenge in some ways since this variation of the deck has no weapon removal (last cycle's version carried an Acidic Swamp Ooze).  They aren't super prominent right now as the typical Hunter playerbase seems to have migrated to Demon Hunter for the time being.  But, the same strategy applies.  Don't go too wide (Unleash the Hounds), but have more than one minion out (Rotnest Drake, Freezing Trap), and heal with Walking Fountain as soon as possible.  Outlast their pressure.  If Hunter becomes more popular, Acidic Swamp Ooze *must* be slotted into the deck, likely in place of Serpentshrine Portal or Lightning Breath.  Stormhammer is too broken.  In the meantime, try to mulligan for Zephrys the Great and fish out weapon destruction.

 

Druid

 

Druid is in a weird spot right now, they are mana bending again, this time on turn 4 with Overgrowth, but instead of ramping up to big stuff, they're ramping up to free Bogbeams and getting a bunch of garbage out to Soul of the Forest, Power of the Wild, and Savage Roar with.  So, you keep the board clear, you win.  Mulligan for Hagatha's Scheme, and keep the board as clean as possible.  Don't be afraid to dump out bodies.  Go wide, because they will try to have a big swing turn where they dump out a Glowfly Swarm, buff them with the aforementioned, and then Savage Roar the next turn.  That's the win condition.  Keep the board clean!

 

All in all, this deck wins by out valuing and out lasting its opponents.  Make every trade you can on the board.  Punish overextension with board clears and high-value removals.  Get your big bodies out and create big tempo swings to push your opponent on the defensive.  PLAY Dragonqueen Alexstrasza AS SOON AS YOU CAN (keeping in mind the current situation on the board of course)!  It's a heavy card and you need to get heavy cards OUT!  By contrast, HOLD ON to Galakrond, the Tempest until you are certain you will get value out of your Raging Storms!  Make good use of the evolve package to put substantial pressure on your opponent!

 

Let me know below what substitutions you think will work.  Thanks for checking this out and good luck - the deck has a high skill ceiling and requires a pretty good knowledge of opposition cards and potential plays.  If you're *really* struggling, you need more practice and repetition. 

 

Later!