Hearthpwn

BEHOLD, THE HEART OF THE SHAMAN! PROGENITOR OF MEME DECKS, FATHER AND MOTHER, ALFA AND OMEGA! OUR CREATOR, AND OUR DESTROYER!

Now really, look at this deck. Something I made entirely on my own and just got to Legend this month.

Now you wonder. How should I play this unholy abomination? How the hell do you get to Legend with this?

Let me share with you...

 

Basics of the deck:

Sludge Slurper: You wanna know a secret? I'm not even sure what this does here... well, besides providing some needed early game in some matches, and the chance of those lackeys to actually be game breaking, something this deck does quite often... finding from some unexpected place the chance to completely break it.

 Devolve: An absolute must. There are very few decks this does'nt screw up. Or at least annoy. Often being able to use this wisely is one of the keys to victory.

Dirty Rat: Need explanations? This little shit is pretty much the one stopping you, the madman shaman, from turning into grinded sludge due to explosive Mecha'thuns and some other wombo combos. Unless you use it as a defensive tool against aggro, it should come right before Devolve, Hex, AoE, or some massive minion beating.

Maelstrom Portal: ¡PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER! Itty, bity damage space. Totally worth including, keeping in mind this does take care of so many early game boards, and can be nicely comboed with Azure Drake, Devolve, and basic hero power.

Sandstorm Elemental: It's Maelstrom Portal. But it's not affected by Counterspell or spell damage. And has overload... wich means often is kinda worse, but still more than good enough to fit in. Also, as long as you are'nt facing demon hunter or something, a 2/2 is far better than most of the junk Maelstrom Portal will give you... and goes with Shudderwock!

Zephrys the Great: I'll admit, during my hearthstone career there has been times I've been wishing to bash this smirking bastard's head to the ground for failing to give me that classic card I really needed and built up to. But he's great, seriously. I'm not really sure how often does this guy have been the one that gave me the win, either by discovering lethal, some removal, some steal, or just to hold back some opponent in time for others to save the day. Is a no brainer to put it in this deck, although timing it right... that sure is another thing.

Bog Slosher: Bog what? Oh, right, that guy who used to bounce lackeys and pump steroids in them. Except this time you pretty much want him for far more important stuff. Like pulling multiple Renos, or bounce something ratted back to your hand, or abusing N'Zoth or Shudderwock or Dragonqueen Alexstrasza... or Loatheb... even Doppelgangster sometimes.

Lightning Storm: I'M HERE TO DO TWO THINGS AND TWO THINGS ONLY! DESTROY SMALL MINIONS AND STEAL PROPERTY, AND I ALREADY STOLE YOUR PROPERTY, SO LET'S DO THIS! Nuff said. Also, works like a charm with spell damage or even other AoEs.

Mana Tide Totem: Usually takes the most thankless job in the deck. Desperately digging for win conditions and being killed in the spot. Be careful, you actually want it to die, because your deck is kinda slow and you dont want to risk overdrawing.

Escaped Manasaber: Remember I just said this deck is slow? Well, you can speed things up. This cheater will give you some early-mid trading skills, and can cheat you some nice drops and even 11 mana plays out there.

Hex: No, really, I don't think I even need to explain what does this do in the deck. So I won't do it... here. Check specific matchups for more info.

Antique Healbot: Man, I remember when this card was everywhere! And guess what, even with Khartut Defender, Zilliax and Reno Jackson out there, it still feels like a blessing to have this little guy stick around. Also, it's a nice evolve target if your Hagatha the Witch strarts giving you stuff like that.

Azure Drake: Why I play this instead of Big Ol' Whelp? *evil chuckles* Spell damage, son. Just remember, Shudderwock will replay this effect, so having this close to fatigue may have undesired consequences... although to be honest, it's not that big of a deal if you got it huge at that point.

Doppelgangster: Just you bread and butter for crazy Shudderwock shenanigans. Also, this guy alone can bait AoEs and is crazy good for evolving.

Hagatha's Scheme: UNLIMITED POWEEEEEEEEEERRRRRR! Might be one of my favorite cards of the deck. You can (and probably should) actually keep it any time, even if having stuff over 4 mana is not often great idea in mulligan. You usually want to use this according to what you can expect from your opponents, so test if you should be greedy or just slam it to repel some stuff.

Loatheb: Well, time has spoken, and this is, with no possible argument, the best of all Naxxramas cards. I should'nt be explaining what does this guy do here, but I should actually warn against some decks you kinda want to give it two times in order to get the Shudderwock death by snu-snu you want to give your opponents.

Sludge Belcher: Ok, little buddy. I know, tummy feels funny, and Khartut Defender often gives you a run for your money... but know what? Screw anyone who ever doubts you. I want you in my team. And not only because it's nice antiaggro. But also because it really helps bringin out early N'Zoth, the Corruptor.

Volcano: More often than not, this will be used to deal with a small bunch of average stat minions, or a big one and some petty tokens and shit. Be a lot less conservative with this card than with Hagatha's Scheme... unless that overload really screws up your next turn.

Zilliax: It's a guy who can  kill stuff and heal you. Nothing ambitious, but worth adding to the roster. Also, can magnetize with good old Antique Healbot.

 Emperor Thaurissan: Do you really wonder what does this guy do here? I mean... the hands of this deck tend to be HUGE, and some combos might turno to be pretty expensive in mana crystals... so this guy comes, and your life turns easier by cheating early Dragonqueen Alexstrasza or Hagatha the Witch, or whatever, and making stuff like bouncing finishers back and forth possible.

Grumble, Worldshaker: Nothing to add, besides classic Shudderwock stuff and helping to bring things like Reno Jackson no game. Counteracts those sneaky pulls with the Dirty Rat or Deathlord.

Khartut Defender: I often ask myself, if the essence of annoyance were manifested upon this world... what would it be like? Possibly its presentation would end up being "Our homes, our tombs". Well, now let's talk serious. This thing is amazing for this deck. Covers quite a bunch of health, adds a sticky taunt, and gives double the fun for N'Zoth, the Corruptor.

Reno Jackson: I'll admit it. I always considered him my hero, even after Rafaam showed he was even cooler than him. So it's not surprising I went for some reno deck... that did NOT involve Kazakus or some other explorers... just cuz I can. Pretty much keep him in mulligan every time, just in case.

Skulking Geist: Aka "the Doom Guy of the Jade World". There's not much to say about this guy, except several matchups I'll explain later you should actually try keeping it, or at least I can explain what's its use in several matchups.

Sylvanas Windrunner: Unlike in WoW, one does not simply betrays the Banshee Queen. She can put so much pression into your opponent's actions or even completely ruin its day. Also, one of the few targets for N'Zoth, the Corruptor.

 Earthquake: Another impressive AoE. Right between Volcano and Hagatha's Scheme. its only drawback is... it's hard to play minions after this.

Hagatha the Witch: Hold on, boss phase coming though! This one shows up noy only with some AoE, but with also infinite spells... wich are also random and bring problems of overdrawing because oops, sorry... however, if you can dance her pace, it's one of the reasons games are so crazy yet powerful with this deck. Also works as life savior.

Dragonqueen Alexstrasza: Carrier has arrived... it's a Reno deck, and this brings so many huge dragons... keep in mind though this can be hard to combine with Hagatha the Witch, but in several ocasions is so good you actually wanna pull it several times just to drown your enemy in 0 cost dragons.

Shudderwock: The Dark Lord himself. Your god, the reasons anything exists in this deck... the ultimate insanity machine. You have to understand how to brew chaos with this. Sometimes it's your only chance, or at least the ultimate play that puts an end to the game. Others... it actually works better just as a smaller guy that aims to look for other cards or spares your face from another beating.

N'Zoth, the Corruptor: Would this deck exist without one ancient Old God wanting, no, desiring to bring it back to life? I hardly think so. Use this, and you'll be executing the wills of the real owners of this game. The fun thing is, as you only have three targets for the battlecry, but then you have Shudderwock anyways... you can eventually play him with just one or two deathrattles triggered this game, and still get profit in the future. Guess no one expects someone playing an Old God just to ressurrect Sylvanas? Foolish mortals, their time for revelations will come...

 

Strategies:

This deck can play radically different according to what deck you're messing with, so I'll give a general guide of how to mulligan against a class... then one on how to play depending on the specific deck.

 

-Demon Hunter: Mulligan for: Everything under 5 Mana, Hagatha's Scheme, Reno Jackson, and in case you have a good curve, you can even consider something like Antique Healbot and Volcano.

-Odd Demon Hunter: Chances of winning: Somewhat around 50%. Odd Demon Hunter has a strong tempo in the early turns thanks to strong hero power and things that can easily ramp out of control if left alone a bunch of times. Also, Warglaives of Azzinoth and Consume Magic will haunt you forever. However, cards like Reno Jackson will haunt them, so it's somewhat a matter of who draws better and how much you can squeeze your cards until Mr.Horned Guy gets more than he can handle.

-Normal Demon Hunter: Chances of winning: Around 40%. You won't find much of these because Odd Demon Hunter is a LOT more popular in wild, but in case you find this, remember it somewhat plays like his cousin, except its early game is kind of weaker, but you can't really rely on taunts to save your ass because Kayn will introduce himself. Just fight hard to keep your health high or build up for Reno to save the day... or maybe some Healbot and stuff.

 

-Druid: Mulligan for: Everything under 5 Mana, Reno Jackson, Hagatha's Scheme and specially Skulking Geist

-Jade Druid: Chances of winning: Around 90%. Most popular druid deck is jade, wich is great, because once you draw Skulking Geist is game over (at least, unless it is in your last... 5 cards or so, then you might have a problem). Just hold your ground, dig for that sweet 6 mana 4/6, stall if needed, save your Zephrys and removals to deal with massive jade boards or for massive pressure or even lethal on board. And remember Loatheb is your friend too. Just as a note, in this case you can actually play Shudderwock earlier than usual if battlecries like Loatheb, Azure Drake and Doppelgangster are in play, because you can dig better for geist or get some combo with good ol' Zephrys for lethal. If overdrawn geist, just try and get crazy shudder plays asap, or jades will get to overrun you.

-Mecha'Thun Druid: Chances of winning: Around 90%. Rare deck, to be honest, but this one suffers heavily both from your Skulking Geist and your Dirty Rat. Timing the rat will obliterate this deck, and if not safe, you can always Bog Slosher or Grumble, Worldshaker it for more ratting. Keep in mind druid will try you to overdraw cards with 1 of its Naturalize. Loatheb is a life savior as well.

-Wombo Combo Druid: Chances of winning: Around 60%. This time the geist is not nearly as useful as the other popular decks. Try to get the Dirty Rat, and take as much disgusting profit of it as possible. You'll know this druid because will play Juicy Psychmelon. Keep an eye on Imprisoned Satyr because you don't want to rat these out. In this case, don't bother timing Loatheb, because Ysiel Windsinger will override its effect. Focus on drawing the rat, pressuring the opponent so they hace to use damage spells on your board instead of your face, and pull and take down as many wombo combo minions as possible. I would'nt advise playing tempo Reno Jackson, as you might need a quick health restore after druid tries its combo, even if you take down some pieces.

-Embiggen Druid: Chances of winning: Around 70%. This is a pretty straightforward game. Druid will try to tempo you out of the match, you have to hold on until guy is out of pressure and you beat him to pulp. If druid happens to get early Embiggen, you're in for a rough time, but this deck can take quite some punishment before throwing the towel, so don't give up and take advantage of the lack of silence and reactive cards in druid's deck.

-Taunt Druid: Chances of winning: Around 80%. Taunt Druid and you will play similar strategies... building massive impenetrable walls. But then, you have the rat, Zephrys, and the good old friends Hex and Devolve. So you'll have an upper hand if there are no big screw ups. This much won't happen much, anyways.

-Pirate Druid: Chances of winning: Around 80%. That's right, you heard me. Malfurion is a pirate too. To be honest, Pirate Druid has little to do against your stalling potential unless you really get a sucky hand or gets amazing curve with Embiggen as well. You won't see this often.

-Spell Druid: Chances of winning: Around 60%. Ok, now we're talking of a serious match. This guys won't be terribly hurt by neither Skulking Geist, nor Dirty Rat, and definitively will melt your face if you can't get some AoEs ready to go and taunts.Then again, if you can keep yourself out of range of massive Savage Roar, Branching Paths, and stuff, then you'll win for sure.

 

-Hunter: Mulligan for: Everything under 5 mana, Hagatha's Scheme and Reno Jackson

-Dragon Hunter: Chances of winning. Around 50%. Okay, this is one intense match. You have the odds in your favor, as long as you can keep this guy at bay, but it won't be an easy task. Try to develop a board as early as possible, but keep an eye on the inevitable secrets. Dragonbane has to be destroyed asap. Zephrys the Great will save you a lot of trouble trying to get through hunter's secrets, or destroying Stormhammer.

-Face Hunter: Chances of winning. Around 70%. This match is really straightforward. You protect your face, they hunt it. Luckily, at the time you get some right draws, you can cope with just enough hunter firepower to clog it in your taunts, heal yourself, and send him with the black coffin crew back to home.

-Reno Hunter: Chances of winning: Around 60%. Reno Hunter is dynamic and aggressive, yet can hold the long run with a bit of luck, is never to be underestimated. However, it's pretty much like playing against other hunters, except you have to get a bit greedier with your stuff if you don't want to lose your pace, wich can be an inconvinient against hunter, as they can push you hard. Then again, you have more madness than him, so you have quite good chances to win this.

-Spell Hunter: Chances of winning: Around 60%. The key here is, Hunter has a lot of good spells, and then there are Zul'jin and Deathstalker Rexxar jsut to keep messing with you. However, if you hold them long enough there is little they can do to your massive Shudderwock plays... unless there is a huge screw up, of course.

-Deathrattle Hunter: Chances of winning: Around 50%. This game depends entirely on being able to draw Devolve, and possibly Reno Jackson and/or Zephrys the Great asap. If they get crazy before that... you are pretty much roadkill. However, it's not like you were'nt already wanting to get those cards before, so there quite some chances you have at least one of them soon, and can try and get this going.

 

-Mage: Mulligan for: Anything under 5 mana, Reno Jackson, Hagatha's Scheme. Loatheb can be a keeper if your curve is already good enough.

-Tempo Time Warp Mage: Chances of winning: 10%. Suddenly jazz music stops... and you hear boss music instead. A great terror looms. An unsightly beast... summarizing, you're screwed. This deck can overrun you in the early game, and thanks to the 4 giants with Time Warp, you're pretty much dead late in the game unless you manage to pull double Loatheb with Shudderwock and several other stuff. There are so many things that can go wrong against this deck. Mage can melt you as early as turn 5 with Flamewaker, Sorcerer's Apprentice, Mana Cyclone and/or Evocation. While often should be really advisable to Dirty Rat early to pull any of those and kill it, you risk pulling a giant, making the whole game even more difficult for yourself. Don't insta concede... but don't expect to win either.

-Reno Time Warp Mage: Chances of winning: 30%. Still heavily unfavoured because Archmage Vargoth into Time Warp, but at least now you only have two giants to worry about, and also it's easier to disrupt this deck because it's slower. Lucky pulls from Dirty Rat or big deathrattle games will make this winnable, although the odds are still against you. Remember Zephrys the Great can give him a nasty surprise by destroying the Ice Block.

-Reno Mage: Chances of winning: 60%. Now he has no fun and interactive combo he has to fight the madness fair and square. Wich means this is a game of wits, where the one who can burn and withstand the most tricks of its opponent wins. You have an advantage here, as you can bounce back yours. However, you have to play as smart as possible. And remember The Amazing Reno is a card, so don't put all your eggs in one play.

-Secret Mage: Chances of winning: 50%. Possibly the deck I played the most against... next to Odd Demon Hunter. Draws are capital in this game. If you can get some defensive cards early, and the secrets don't come as hard counters for them, you'll have no problem against this. If not... well, let's just say it will hurt. Due to its somewhat random and fast nature, the games are highly unpredictable, specially because some players tech in different secrets. although Counterspell, Duplicate, Explosive Runes and Flame Ward are always there. Keep tracking the secrets during the match the best way you can. Specially annoying will be Counterspell, wich will often find you with limited spells to play until you get Hagatha the Witch on line.

 

-Paladin: Mulligan for anything under 5 mana, Reno Jackson and Hagatha's  Scheme. Volcano is a fairly good pick as well. Devolve is almost mandatory.

-Mech Paladin: Chance of winning: Around 50%. It's quick and straightforward. ¿Do you have Devolve and/or Hex and/or Zephrys the Great? If yes, you can do this. If not... you better pray. Dirty Rat is kinda awkward here, because it either fails by pulling some huge statted mofo... or gets a nice job done by letting you take down a Flying Machine, Galvanizer, or a Grimestreet Outfitter.

-Murloc Paladin: Chance of winning: Around 30%. Alright, this is a hard one. Those mrrglgrglers have quite some powerhouse level plays, and all of them come very early. One lack of AoE or big counter on one time can quickly lead to a crushing defeat. Although you still can overcome it in case you have said defensive cards. If possible, try to save Devolve for Murgur Murgurgle.

-OTK paladin: Chance of winning: Around 50%. The problem with this deck is, you really have to rat Auctionmaster Beardo, or you dead. It's a problem, because this deck has so many minions that can be used as fodder. However... once you do it, and the goblin is removed, this deck has little hopes for the future. Another option is to wield a massive Shudderwock, as few things exist that can defuse a Shudder-Zoth-Doppel-Loatheb combo, for example.

 

-Priest: Mulligan for: Anything under 5 mana, Reno Jackson, Hagatha's Scheme, and can consider keeping Volcano or Loatheb if your hand is good enough.

-Razakus Priest: Chance of winning: Around 30%. This deck draws fast, and once it gets Raza the Chained and Shadowreaper Anduin, you're guaranteed to have an awful time. Specially since Spawn of Shadows is perfect for ignoring any ammount of HP you have. Dirty Rat is amazing here, but can pull so many wrong targets, it's just hard to use it. Pushing the priest hard is a nice idea, although often will be countered by Reno Jackson. Luckily, if you manage to defuse his OTK, you are easily winning by fatigue, as Psychic Scream will provide you with all the reinforcements you need. Loatheb is a very good card here.

-Razakus Dragon Priest: Chance of winning: Around 40%. The additional dragons come more often than not at the price of having less draws, wich means you have more time to build up your Shudderwock. Then again, it's pretty much the same as the other Razakus, so you're still at disadvantage here.

-Razakus Deathrattle Priest: Chance of winning 50%. It's even slower than the dragon variant. Therefore, you can screw him harder. Also, has a lot less reach as it tends to favor fatigue game instead of OTK. However, Deathlord and King Togwaggle + Murozond the Infinite can give you a hard time by ruining your big plays. Drawing quickly will really help you this time.

-Big Priest: Chance of winning: Around 30%. I never had much luck against pure Big Priest... I guess it should be higher, but that's my experience. If you happen to lack stuff like Hex, Zephrys the Great or have a bad luck Devolve, you won't get any far. If you can take the first ones, and the priest start rezzing junk instead of their own cards, you'll get him eventually, but his card pool is insanely strong.

-Rez Priest: Chance of winning: Around 60%. it's a lot more forgiving than Big Priest, because there are no such minions as Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound in Rez Priest. That means you can deal with those minions a lot more efficiently, as they're mostly walls and Catrina Muerte. Eventually you'll just throw your superior walls and break him... that is, if you had the defensive tools against the early summons. If not, you'll have to fight hard not to get mauled.

-Reborn Priest: Chance of winning: Around 80%: Looks like Rez Priest, but even more anti-aggro than its fellow. You should have no problem holding it back until you can start throwing your biggest plays. And then, there is'nt much priest can do about it, eventually you'll run it out of gas.

-Deathrattle Priest: Chance of winning: Around 70%. Not common, but it's an easy matchup, basically because, like its Razakus variant, relies on fatigue to win. Your biggest concern is Deathlord pulling an important card from our deck, so be cautious when killing it. Also, try to pull Archbishop Benedictus with your rat.

 

-Rogue: Mulligan for: Everything under 5 Mana, Reno Jackson and Hagatha's Scheme

-Pirate Rogue: Chance of winning: Around 60%. As long as you can keep early draws, this matchup is not really hard, it feels like a slow version of the Odd Demon Hunter.