Hearthpwn

Hey you!  Unpacked Ysiel Windsinger recently?  Well get ready to re-enchant her, because she has potential BEYOND that Wild Aviana combo deck!  She is teaming up with Malygos to sing the song of INSTANT DEATH upon your opponent.  And the best part: with the current meta, no one will see it coming!  Prepare to style on your opponents with this off-meta powerhouse of a deck!

1. Game Plan
2. Ysiel Explained
3. Update Log 2.1
4. Card explanations
5. Card Replacements
6. The Elise Combo COMING SOON Added Elise Combo explanation
7. The Ysiel Emergency Combo
8. Mulligan coming soon Added mulligans
9. Added "Tech switch for aggro"
10. Author's Concluding Note

Difficult deck to play.  This is not the deck if you only care about the climb.  This deck achieves success after a LOT of practice, and punishes mistakes.  If you want a druid that will get you an easier climb to legend, grab Spell Druid. 

You need to actively think ahead with this deck, knowing when to save removal options depending on the opponent, and how to reach your win condition.  With that being said, it's the difficulty that makes the deck fun, imo.

1. Game Plan 

Vs. Control: It is here where the OTK thrives.  We are prioritizing drawing our combo pieces and controlling major threats.  The central combo involves using Elise the Enlightened to copy combo pieces, such as Malygos, Moonfire, and Swipe.  Focus on trading efficiently, playing reactively, and saving big removal for big threats.  Use combo spells as removal sparingly.  Always have a win condition in mind, and note that you can replicate combo pieces with Elise.

Vs. Aggro: We are using small spells to clear major threats, and prioritizing completing the quest as fast as possible. Use the completed quest to stabilize with Starfall,Oasis Surger, and Hidden Oasis.  From there, keep slowing the game until you win with minion damage or with Malygos.  If possible, discounted Ysiel Windsinger is an option to achieve a game-winning swing using Nourish.

2. Ysiel explained

Ysiel Windsinger: Below are the justifications for why she improves the matchup against aggro and, more consistently, control.

• Nourish chains: Nourish with Ysiel Windsinger gives a net gain in mana, allowing for two extra spell casts.  When quested, simultaneously drawing three cards can find the spells to play THAT turn, including Starfall and Hidden Oasis, which can cheat games against decks that go all-in during the mid-game (Fig. 1)
• Satyr flexibility: Imprisoned Satyr can fill up hand space if waiting to discount Malygos.  Discounting Ysiel Windsinger contributes to the combo equally AND allows you to play Satyr early, freeing hand space for draw

Figure 1: Discounted Ysiel Windsinger played against a Face Hunter.  Opens Nourish -> Starfall, Hidden Oasis, and an additional spell IN THE SAME TURN.  Stabilization was effective, and Druid won this game.

3. DECK UPDATE: YSIEL 2.1 (Beetles join the fight)

Going pure control is a good way to get brutalized by Evasive dragons and huge Druid swings.  I think that this deck needs to fight somewhat for the board early on, and so Steel Beetle andCrystal Merchant are solid.

Removed 2x Crystal Power for 1x Steel Beetle and 1 more Crystal Merchant

4. Card explanations

Innervate- Mana cheat for the combo against control decks. Don't save against aggro, and instead use to complete quest and push big cards.

Moonfire- Combo piece for OTK, ping removal against aggro.

Crystal Power- Removal against early game, or execution/healing late game
• When quest is completed, this spell deals two damage to a minion, and then heals it for 5 if it did not die. If the 2 damage does not kill, it get healed for 5. So this card is good for "executing"
• Quest or not, it does not damage face, only heals.

Untapped Potential- This card should be completed ASAP, no matter who you are facing. If you have the coin, use it turn 1 for the quest. Use Innervate for the same purpose, unless you are need it for OTK. You want the hero power for a power swing by turn 5-6.

Worthy Expedition- Provides flexibility.  Priority targets depend on the matchup and the situation, but ideally aim for card draw (Rising Winds, Nourish) during slower games to reach the combo faster, or control and sustain options for games with more pressure (Hidden Oasis, Oasis Surger, Starfall)  

Rising Winds- Gread card draw or cheap minion, depending on situation. Great value with quest, but be careful of hand space, as it is a Twinspell.

• A common decision to make is whether to summon eagle or draw a card during the early game.  Ideally, minion value = health value = you live longer = you draw more.  With this logic, the eagle is often more impactful, even in games where it trades poorly.  So, eagle often
• A major exception: i choose draw when I am going to die in two turns (Murloc Paladin tends to do this) and you desperately need to set up a Hidden Oasis or some board control.

Wrath- Great early game removal against aggro that gets really strong with quest as a 4 damage cycle.  Note that this deals 3 damage and THEN 1 damage.  Thus, only 1 damage would be dealt to a divine shield minion.

Imprisoned Satyr- Combo piece for OTK, can discount Malygos and/or Elise. Is also a useful discount for Ysiel Windsinger to set up an early board swing.  Be careful not to discount Oasis Surger!

Germination- Combo piece for OTK. Weaker against combo, but note that the copy gains taunt, for a slight defense boost.

Swipe- Combo piece for OTK, good removal. If you are about to die and are desperate, play a bare Malygos and Swipe as a hail mary.

*NEW* Elise the Enlightened- Absolutely key card in any Druid Malygos deck.  Valuable when she replicates Moonfire, Swipe, Germination, Innervate, and even Malygos himself 

Oasis Surger- This minion is the best removal in the deck when quested, and is why we *rush* to complete the quest on turn 4 with the coin. 8/8 minion? DEAD! Cant be targeted by spells or hero power? DEAD! Two medium sized minions? Two medium sized DEAD minions!
• Against control, try saving Oasis Surger in the hand, as the minion rush value is not worth losing to AOE

Starfall- Flexible board clear, especially when quested. Save for the major threats against control.

Hidden Oasis- With the quest, this is an aggro devastator. The taunt and heal are weak alone, but devastating when combined, further justifying rushing quest completion against aggro.

Nourish- Key card in speeding the win condition with ramp and card draw, especially with quest. Also acts as mana cheating for Ysiel, either for the OTK or for a board swing in a pinch.

Ysiel Windsinger:- See section 2 and 3.  To summarize, she helps speed the deck towards combo pieces, can steal games from aggro matchups if discounted and/or played with Nourish, and can even pull off an emergency combo with Malygos if Elise the Enlightened never appears. (see part 6)

Malygos- Essential for the OTK combo with +5 spell damage. OTK is not necessary against aggro decks, and simply summoning him discounted is threatening.

5. Card Replacements:

Most of the cards in this deck are common or rare.  Here I will tackle replacement options for the most expensive of the cards in my list.

• Legendaries:
  
  • Ysiel Windsinger is niche. I think she is only worth running at the moment if alongside both Malygos and Untapped Potential, making these two legendaries irreplaceable for this Ysiel deck. 
    • If you don't have Ysiel, but have Elise the Enlightened, she has a nice deck with Malygos/Quest packages:
      • https://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/1347674-malygos-quest-druid
• Galakrond Awakens:
  
  • Rising Winds -> Crystal Merchant
    • Both achieve draw and some board presence.  This replacement sacrifices board presence with weak stats, making it weak against aggro, but can be farmed nicely against decks with slow starts.

6. The Elise Combo: A Basic Combo. 

The most consistent of this deck's OTK involve Elise the Enlightened and Malygos and two Moonfire.  For this reason, drawing often is important, as you want to remove duplicate cards in order to activate Elise.

1. Discount Malygos and/or Elise the Enlightened with 2x Imprisoned Satyr
2. Play Elise the Enlightened, copying discounted Malygos and 3-4 Moonfire
3. Play both Malygos.  Each Moonfire deals 11.  44 damage max.

• If for some reason you only have one discount (maybe you discounted an Oasis Surger by accident), you can pull off a 2 turn combo.  Simply play Elise on a different turn
• Make sure you have enough space to appropriately copy your combo pieces.  This is significant when you have a full hand.
  • Elise the Enlightened replicates cards left to right, so getting combo pieces as close to the left side of the hand as possible is helpful.

7. The Ysiel Emergency Combo: An Advanced Combo

The heart of this deck is the OTK combo.  There is tons of flexibility and combinations with the standard combo between Elise the Enlightened and Malygos, but in scenarios in which Elise does not show up, it is helpful to know that there is a COMPLICATED YET POSSIBLE way to achieve 30+ damage.  

1. Discount Malygos and/or Ysiel Windsinger with both copies of Imprisoned Satyr. 
2. Summon Malygos, Moonfire face for 6, 2x Innervate, summon Ysiel, Germination the Malygos, Moonfire and Swipe face (11 and 15 damage)

34 damage!  Kinda complicated, huh?  This combo maintains consistency because its pieces are interchangable:

• You can pull off a 30+ combo regardless of where the Imprisoned Satyr discounts go.
• For mana cheating, one or both of the innervates can be interchanged for Nourish.  Remember that Innervate needs to be played BEFORE her, and Nourish needs to be played AFTER her.
• With two mana cheats, any three spells can achieve 30+ damage.  Against control, always have 2 mana cheats and 3 spells left over.

As a concluding point to this combo, it is a complicated means of getting lethal.  However, if a Satyr discount lands on Ysiel, it is handy to know that this is a potential win condition.  You can even play Elise the Enlightened to set up a Ysiel-Malygos combo.  The possibilities are endless, and are impossible to cover all in one guide.  But hopefully you can use this information to find this kind of lethal in your own games.

8. Mulligan and Tech Switch

For slower decks (Priest, Mage, sometimes Rogue):

Nourish (most important), Rising Winds, Worthy Expedition, Crystal Merchant

For faster decks (DH, Hunter, Pirate Warrior):

Wrath, Worthy Expedition, Steel Beetle, Rising Winds, and 5 mana + spell if you have Steel Beetle

Notes:

• ALWAYS coin with the quest turn 1.  It's worth it.  Innervate with the quest on turn 1 depends on whether you can survive, as you may need to innervate a Swipe, etc.  It is worth in slower match-ups, imo.
• Worthy Expedition has flexibility, as it can provide both early removal or late game value/sustainability/draw, depending on the match-up.  Also, turn two is usually dead, as you want to complete the quest, so this one mana card is productive.
• As I discussed in the explanations section, Rising Winds can be a tricky card to use effectively.  Remember that the 3/2 is essentially life, as your opponent wastes damage to clear it.  I recommend saving the draw option for slow games, unless your DESPERATE for a card.

9. Tech switch for aggro

If you want to better face off against aggro decks: Germinationcan be interchanged for Steel Beetle

This removes the ability of pulling of the Ysiel combo, but improves survivability against aggro slightly.  Depends on what you are encountering.

10.  Author's Comments on June 5, 2020

Thanks for all the comments as always!  I loved to hear people's reactions to this deck.  This is likely the last update on this deck for a while.  Taking a month break from the game and from the site.  Gotta reclaim my life lol.

This deck feels good with current Highlander hunter meta.  Not meta-breaking, but a capable deck that can go positive and get some satisfying wins.  I'll re-assess the meta situation when I return from my hiatus. 

Have fun my fellow goose tamers :)

-Manatee