Hearthpwn

Hey everyone, I'm Gatormatthew. I make educational Hearthstone content, typically featuring new and inventive decks that I come up with myself. Today's guide is on a Tickatus-less Control Warlock. This is a pretty new take on Control Warlock, the goal being to beat aggro. Below, I have a quick guide + a 25-minute video where I play a few games with the deck and explain my choices. Hope you enjoy it!

As always, I'll quickly go over why I think my specific card choices will work, then I will go over a mulligan guide. In the video above, I play out a few different matchups, explaining my thought process along the way. So, in order to figure out why cutting Tickatus might be good, we need to figure out why he is good in the first place. Tickatus is an excellent card in the Warlock mirror as well as the Priest matchup. In terms of the Priest matchup, however, Tickatus is not the deck's main win condition, Lord Jarraxus is. Versus Priest, we are going to hard mulligan for Jarraxus and he will win the game, regardless of whether or not Tickatus is in our deck. Now, this deck does struggle in the Warlock mirror. The opponent's corrupt package will mostly likely shove you out of the game. What this deck gains though, is an incredible anti-aggro package. Death's Head Cultist is an excellent 3-drop to contest aggro, and the package of Taelan Fordring and Malicia is a similarly efficient combo. By not running Y'Shaarj, we are able to specifically find Malicia with Taelan, allowing for a game-ending turn 7 swing. In short, this deck loses % in slower matchups, in order to gain it back in aggro ones.

In terms of a mulligan, you always want to keep Spirit Jailer and Mankirk. Death's Head Cultist and Armor Vendor are keeps into aggressive decks, as well as Soul Shear and Drain Soul. Kazakus, Golem Shaper is also a keep into slower matchups. Soul Shear can also be a keep into slower matchups, as long as you already have one other keepable card already in your hand. 

Hope you guys enjoyed the guide, upvoting this and subscribing to my YouTube is the best way to support my guides. Hope you guys enjoyed; have fun crushing aggro :)