Hearthpwn

This deck is a variation of the Evolve Shaman archetype utilizing an Elemental engine as a base. I hit legend for the first time during the Stormwind meta using an iteration of this deck by Corenleone so i decided to update the list in order to hit legend again this month (proof included below). This deck has a balance of card draw, AOE, single target removal, stalling, burst damage and swing turn potential in order to minimize bad matchups. The basic premise of your game plan is as follows:

1. Get your two drops and Primal Dungeoneer in play as soon as possible to thin the deck and hopefully draw a discounted Goldshire Gnoll, Revolve, Tiny Toys, Lightning Bloom, or your Boggspine Knuckles. 

2. Attempt to mitigate damage until you can fill your board with 5-drops, 6-drops, or high value 10 drops. A Lightning Bloom + Revolve + Tiny Toys combo can be done on turn 5 or turn 4 with The Coin at the earliest, and a discounted Goldshire Gnoll + Revolve turn is also an option which doesn’t overload you (but has a higher risk of whiffing).

3. Use your higher cost elementals to dominate and reclaim the board if needed by hexing big minions or freezing when your opponent goes wide (don't be afraid to freeze a smaller amount of minions for the sake of tempo). The 5 and 6 drops in the deck will corrupt your Dunk Tank often and give you additional AOE to push through and get your damage in. 

4. Either overwhelm your opponent with big minions, hit for face with Dunk Tank / Bru’Kan’s hero power, or discover lethal with Instructor Fireheart.

 

General Tips:

• Don’t hesitate from popping a Windchill on your own totems or even your minions if needed, drawing through the deck is more important than hitting a perfect target.

 

• Goldshire Gnoll + Revolve or Gnoll + Boggspine Knuckles can either win you the game or give you a useless 1/1, but it still won’t outright lose you most games. In fact, my Gnoll completely whiffed during the game I won to hit legend but it ended up working out regardless. The important thing is not to panic or concede just because your Gnoll didn’t turn into a 12/12.

 

• Don’t be afraid to swing your Boggspine Knuckles into an enemy minion just because your board isn’t lined up perfectly. Playing a 3/2 weapon on turn 5 and doing nothing can be a death sentence, especially when your opponent has a Rustrot Viper ready to counter your game plan the very next turn. I would only get greedy with my weapon if I had one swing left and no other way to reasonably evolve/revolve my minions. 

 

• the Brilliant Macaw in this deck is not simply a third Snowfall Guardian like other freeze decks. It can hex an additional enemy after Lilypad Lurker (remember it can only hit opposing minions), hit two Battlecry effects after a Bru’Kan (at random but still pretty good for 3 mana), or give you a second chance to find lethal/clears after Instructor Fireheart. Even drawing another card after a Primal Dungeoneer or turning it into a 3/3 Arid Stormer in an aggro matchup is situationally useful.

 

• There will be times when you hit a perfect  combo of two Lightning Blooms, Tiny Toys, and a Revolve on turn 3 and your board will still get wiped immediately after (especially against a Warlock or Priest). The true test is whether you can recover and push on until your next big play. There is always hope as long as you’re expending your opponent’s resources while having more tricks left up your sleeve.

 

Mulligan Guide:

In general you want to keep your 2 drops and remain mindful of how to keep your elemental streak alive for a Lilypad Lurker or an Arid Stormer. Revolve + Goldshire Gnoll is usually a keep as well, as is Cagematch Custodian and Tiny Toys when not facing aggro.

 

Mage - Tiny Toys, Goldshire Gnoll, Revolve, Cagematch Custodian, Primal Dungeoneer.

 

Hunter -  Lightning Storm, Canal Slogger, Goldshire Gnoll, Revolve, Sleetbreaker and Arid Stormer (keep if you have both in hand)

 

Druid - Lightning Storm (to tech against aggro), Lilypad Lurker (to tech against ramp), Primal Dungeoneer, Cagematch Custodian

 

Paladin - Revolve, Sleetbreaker and other 2 drops, Goldshire Gnoll, [/card]Lilypad Lurker[/card] 

 

Rogue - Lightning Storm, Primal Dungeoneer, Canal Slogger, Sleetbreaker

 

Shaman - Sleetbreaker, Cagematch Custodian, Primal Dungeoneer, Goldshire Gnoll, Lightning Storm

 

Priest - Lilypad Lurker, Primal Dungeoneer, Cagematch Custodian, Tiny Toys 

 

Warrior - Lightning Storm, Sleetbreaker, Cagematch Custodian, Primal Dungeoneer 

 

Demon Hunter - Any 2 drops, Primal Dungeoneer, Canal Slogger, Goldshire Gnoll

 

Warlock - Tiny Toys, Cagematch Custodian, Primal Dungeoneer, Lilypad Lurker

 

Quest/Hand Warlock is the toughest match-up for the deck and usually depends on what your rolls are off of Tiny Toys. Face Hunter is also difficult  as you will have to make some sub optimal plays to keep their board presence in check at all times (remember not to walk into a Piercing Shot or Trampling Rhino by summoning a totem). Ramp Druid and Deathrattle Priest are a bit of a race against time as by a certain point they will have too much armor or life gain to kill them off. 

 

Substitutions:

Obviously, if you are not facing very much aggro, the Lightning Storms are a good candidate to cut, though whenever I did i always felt like i needed them later. A Rustrot Viper can be added in instead to help against weapon-heavy matchups or to shut down Paladins in the end game. There are also other elementals to sub in, such as Menacing Nimbus, which i used to run for a while. There are also the one-drop elementals like Kindling Elemental and Wailing Vapor, which you’re free to run if you want, but i dropped them due to games where I would draw them late and have no impact as they don’t draw any cards or affect the board. Mutanus is also a good card to consider but I never had much success with it personally.

 

Link to original 2021 deck from user Corenleone: https://www.hearthpwn.com/<wbr />decks/1396528-legend-<wbr />elemental-evolve-shaman

 

Sample game in comments (Couldn't embed video)