Hearthpwn

The Core set is coming, and with it, huge changes. For me personally, it is the loss of many key cards to the Token DH archetype that hurts the most. Wrathscale Naga, Knife Juggler, Umberwing, Command the Illidari, and Nethrandamus are all going from Standard, effectively gutting the archetype that was already struggling. Many of the cards going are bad cards, but they are the tools we have to work with.

Despite its bad reputation, Token DH is a better archetype than people give it credit. It's never been Tier 1, but I've used it to reach legend every month since DH was added to the game (some months more easily than others). As such, I wanted to share my "last hurrah" for the archetype. This is the deck that I used to get to legend with in February, and what I'm currently using to climb this month.

The deck is split into three main parts: Generators, Enhancers, and Payoff

Generators are the cards that produce your tokens. Don't be fooled by your knowledge of token decks from other classes: These are not your win condition, they are the fuel that makes the deck's engine run. They will die and die and die, and that is exactly what you want. An illidari that doesn't die is a wasted illidari. The generators include Umberwing, Coordinated Strike, Command the Illidari, Fel Guardians, and Expendable Performers. I would also include Animated Broomstick here. Just think of it as a spell that produces a single illidari! It has additional utility which I will get onto later, but you shouldn't be scared to simply play it as such.

The Enhancers are the cards that make each illidari have a greater impact on the game. Parade Leader, Knife Juggler, Wrathscale Naga, and Feast of Souls are the cards that fall into this category. In the early game, do not be hesitant to play them on curve. They may die before they have any impact on the game, but that will slow the opponent down. You always have more enhancers, what you need is more time. Also a common mistake I see from other people trying out this archetype is assuming the enhancers (particularly Wrathscale Naga) must win you the game, or they have failed. This is incorrect. They are primarily there to get you ahead of the opponent. If you happen to kill the opponent in the process, that is just a happy bonus. Having said that, you should always keep in mind that you can kill your own minions with Felscream Blast and Throw Glaive, and should often do that to get the most out of your enhancers (particularly Wrathscale Naga and Feast of Souls, although occasionally Knife Juggler if it lets you play out more minions to trigger him more times).

The last group is the Payoff, which is, unfortunately, the weakest part of the package. It does the job, but not as effectively as one would hope. These are the threats that you drop when the opponent is running out of steam and you are significantly ahead of the game. Blood Herald and Nethrandamus are the cards here. They can both close out a game very effectively, but unfortunately, both suffer (outside of high-rolling with Nethrandamus) from a lack of immediate game impact and stickiness. To this end, Animated Broomstick can really help. These threats are a lot more threatening with rush. Due to their inherent problems, it is advised that you only play out a single one of these threats at a time, unless you know the matchup well enough that you know your opponent won't be able to deal with them all. You can win without them (and often do), but they will make a lot more situations winnable (despite being objectively bad cards).

That about sums it up. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as I can!