Chaoss Shaman [GvG Mech Shaman]
- Last updated Jan 14, 2015 (GvG Launch)
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Wild
- 20 Minions
- 8 Spells
- 2 Weapons
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Unknown
- Crafting Cost: 6040
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 12/26/2014 (GvG Launch)
- CameronChaoss
- Registered User
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- 6
- 13
- 28
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Battle Tag:
CameronChaos#1836
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Region:
US
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Total Deck Rating
299
Hey everybody. I'm CameronChaoss, a Hearthstone Legend player, bringing you my new Shaman deck which is currently doing really well for me climbing ladder; the Chaoss Shaman. This deck is a mech-themed Shaman deck using the new GvG cards. Feel free to contribute and give me suggestions on this deck! Advice is much appreciated and will be taken into consideration as this deck is still being tested.
IF ANYONE HITS LEGEND WITH THIS DECK, PLEASE SHOW ME! I would like to start like a "Legendary Hall of Fame" on here for it. I am positive this deck can hit Legend, even high legend, but like I've said, I'm not pushing for Legend until next season (January 2015). If you hit Legend because of this deck, please post or pm me a screenshot for proof. I want to know this deck is helping people in big ways!
Deadly Combo: Al'Akir the Windlord - Rockbiter Weapon
An often overlooked aspect of Shaman is its huge burst damage with Al'Akir. Slam him with a Rockbiter and you have 12 damage for 9 mana (remember, Pyroblast is 10 damage for 10 mana, and Force/Savage is 14 damage minimum for 9 mana). Give him second Rockbiter and you have 18 damage for 10 mana. Slam him next to a Flametongue Totem with 2 Rockbiters and you have 22 damage. Obviously this deck isn't going to hit this as consistently as Miracle Rogue or Druid will hit their big win conditions, and you shouldn't hold on to your Rockbiters waiting for Al'Akir if you need them, but it's just good to know how much damage potential this deck has
My Card Choices
x1 Earth Shock - Earth Shock is a great card, but in the current meta I don't think running two is a necessity. Argent Squire has been replaced with Zombie Chow, and Handlock is too rare and easy anyways to justify having two for the Twilight Drakes. I think one is good enough.
x2 Rockbiter Weapon - Rockbiter is probably the best removal card in the game. Removes Northshire Cleric, buffed Undertaker, and several other scary turn 1 plays. Plus it can be used with Al'Akir as a deadly finisher.
x1 Crackle - Crackle is insane. It's 1 extra mana from Lighting Bolt to have a potential to do 6 damage. At worst it's a 2 mana Lightning Bolt, but at best it can take down some of the biggest threats in the game. Spell damage Crackle can reliably destroy 5 health minions. Overall, when you already have 2 Rockbiters in your pocket, Crackle is a strict upgrade from Lightning Bolt. I would run 2 in a Control-dominated meta, but I think right now it's best to drop 1 for a second Lightning Storm
x2 Annoy-o-Tron - It's a Goldshire Footman for an extra mana, but that Divine Shield makes it a real pain in the ass even in the late game. This card is, in my opinion, one of the top 5 cards from GvG. Coin it out on turn 1 and throw a Whirling Zap-o-matic behind it and if they can't clear the Zap-o-matic, you probably won.
x2 Flametongue Totem - I always think to myself, "do I NEED this card in my Shaman deck? And do I even need 2? I don't feel like it does too much." I'm always wrong about the last part. Flametongue Totem is a staple in every Shaman deck for a reason. If you don't know what "totem tangoing" is, then you don't know why this card is the bomb.
x2 Whirling Zap-o-matic - I'm not 100% sure about this card still. I love it, but it seems like people disagree with me putting it in here. I feel like, at worst, it'll draw out some early-game removal. You can turn 1 coin an Annoy-o-tron and then turn 2 play this behind it and a lot of the time it'll stick. Druids will use Wrath on it, Paladins will Hammer of Wrath it, and Mages will Frostbolt it, but then for the rest of the game you know your bigger minions probably wont eat one of those. And if it sticks, it's a murderer. Try it out, and if you don't like it, I'd sub it for a second Lightning Storm and either a Micro Machine or a Spider Tank.
As undeadtarget put it; "the way you should look at the card is like a Knife Juggler, the card is rarely game changing... so if you just drop it as a 2 drop it should just work out fine.. if you can get it to stick then you get the most of it, its more or less a win from there... the card is also some what strong in late to mid game because of the fact that you can get any form of threat like a fire elemental and each card is enough danger that your opponent can't leave any of the cards on the board with out risking to lose the game right there..."
x2 Powermace - This card is bread and butter. One of the main reasons I created this deck in the first place. It will usually remove 2 of their minions, and then give a +2/+2 buff to one of yours, and the synergy with it is beautiful. You will love this weapon.
x2 Hex - Do I need to explain? I think it's even better than Polymorph. Just remember to attack stuff you want dead BEFORE you hex, otherwise you have a taunt-frog in the way to mess up your plans. This happens to me a lot, so think before you hex.
x2 Lightning Storm - I updated the deck with 2 Lightning Storms because I agree that it strengthens the deck in this meta, though it isn't Zoo that made me do this. Out of my first 16 games this season, I didn't see a single Zoo deck. This card is in response to the Paladins running Muster for Battle. That card can be intimidating, but it seemed like I always had a Lightning Storm waiting for them when they played it. Swung the battle back in my favor and, again, in those 16 games I have a 75% win rate over Paladin. While this decision to play a Lightning Storm over a Crackle weakens your Priest match up even further, since the meta is pretty dominated with aggo mech decks, there's no reason to not make this change. I was just being stubborn. However, if you ever see the meta shift back to a more controlled meta, I would put the Crackle back in.
x2 Harvest Golem - This card was a fantastic card BEFORE it got the Mech tag. Now it's a fantastic card that synergizes well with the rest of this mech-themed deck. If you don't run Harvest Golem in your mech decks, you're doing something fundamentally wrong.
x2 Arcane Nullifier X-21 - A very solid, super sticky taunt. 5 health is hard to take out, and is what makes a Yeti a good card, and it can't be the target of spells so they opponent can't hard remove it easily. If you can get a Powermace buff on this you will have a ridiculously hard to kill wall.
x2 Piloted Shredder - I love this card. Sometimes it'll give you something that's worser than another, but it'll always leave behind a body when it dies. I've even gotten a Millhouse Manastorm from it with no negative consequences.
x1 Antique Healbot - This card doesn't seem like it'll be good until you use it. Compare it to Lay on Hands. Same amount of heals, only for 3 less mana you get a 3/3 instead of drawing 3 cards. It's not great, but you'll be stoked when you pull this guy when you really need him. Plus, between the Powermace and Rockbiter hits, having some heals in this deck is a pretty good idea. I wouldn't even consider running two though. If you don't like it, replace it with a second Piloted Sky Shredder.
x2 Azure Drake - This card is good in almost every deck, a spell intensive deck like a Shaman especially. It also cycles itself, which is good because Shaman doesn't have much in the way of reliable card draw.
x2 Fire Elemental - Such a good card. It'll often remove at least 1 card with its 3 damage, and then leaves a 6/5 body on the board, which will sometimes go 2 for 1, giving you a 2 card advantage. Every Shaman deck needs to use this. Period.
x1 Dr. Boom - This card has everybody's attention, and for good reason. It's ridiculous. You get 9/9 worth of stats on the board for 7 mana, and the potential to do 2 to 8 damage on top of that. There is a very good reason everyone is running this card. Plus, believe it or not, there IS mech synergy in this card. Dr. Boom's bomb's are mechs and CAN get the Powermace buff, which is a great thing to know.
x1 Neptulon - People seem to not be enjoying Neptulon too much. I'm hopefully going to put an end to the doubt right here, because there's one thing people aren't doing right about playing him and it's really doing an injustice to his credibility as a card. You don't drop him on turn 7 or 8 unless you feel like you have to! I think this is what people are doing wrong and it's really hurting their impression of just how great a card this is. Drop him on turn 9+. This way, you'll always have at least 7 mana the following turn and you can USUALLY drop an average of 3 murlocs. This does 3 things in helping you gain some serious card advantage; 1) it gives you a turn or 2 with some plays in your hand, even with the 3 overload. This means you have 2 turns most of the time where you're drawing cards and not playing them, which is giving you some serious card advantage. 2) You're also putting pressure on the board with cards that likely all synergize, causing your opponent to trade minions or use removal on them, which is furthering your card advantage. There is a very likely shot you'll get a Coldlight Oracle which can also draw you cards, but you need to decide, based on your current situation, whether or not it's a smart move to play that. 3) It puts a beefy minion on the board which will often draw removal that would be used on Dr. Boom or a Fire Elemental. If your opponent can't deal with him efficiently, he will often 2-for-1 or 3-for-1. You can see what a huge advantage in cards this guy will bring you. Neptulon is used to repopulate your hand while putting a big fat minion on the board. Don't drop him just because you have him on turn 7. That's why Dr. Boom is in the deck. So just remember, if you're behind on the board and it's turn 7, don't play Neptulon if you have other options. Try to wait until turn 9+ to toss him out. I hope this helps players understand why he's such an asset to the deck that makes it work as well as it does.
x1 Al'Akir the Windlord - Probably my favorite legendary in the game because of his great versatility. He can be a very nice wall, provide some great 2 or 3 for 1 removal, or be a deadly finisher when coupled with some Rockbiters or a Flametongue Totem. I think every Shaman deck needs Al'Akir. I believe he's THAT good.
Mulligans:
You have a very steep amount of 2 drops, so it's not hard to have a good curve. You want to mulligan for Annoy-o-Tron, Whirling Zap-o-matic, and Harvest Golem, and Powermace. If you have a good turn 2 and 3, mulligan for Piloted Shredder and Arcane Nullifier X-21.
A great opening play is coin > Powermace > hit their minion. Then next turn Harvest Golem > hit their minion. Leaves behind a 4/5. You can do variations of this. I will almost always coin out a Powermace if I have it on turn 2.
Matchups (In Progress...)
Ramp Druid:
Hold your Hexes for their Ragnaros the Firelord/Dr. Boom. Keep your Earth Shock handy for Sludge Belchers (Unless you can kill them easily without sacrificing the Earth Shock or losing too many cards. Hex them as a last resord) or to reach around a big taunt if you're going for the kill. Otherwise, just keep a steady flow of good minions on curve. I think this goes for any type of druid, but if you can keep board presence and keep their side clear, you should be alright. Output damage faster than they can create creatures. Spell damage Crackle really shines in this matchup, hoping RNGesus is giving you his blessing. A good Crackle can take down almost any card Druid will have. Careful of BGH. Don't overextend with Dr. Boom or Neptulon if you know he has BGH in his pocket. If he's holding a card almost the whole game, its BGH.
Control Priest:
Priest might be the hardest for a few reasons. Cabal Shadow Priest has a bunch of stuff it can steal from you. Namely Annoy-o-Tron,Flametongue Totem, Harvest Golem, and Arcane Nullifier X-21, which are all REALLY bad to lose. Also, I see a lot of Priests running Mind Control now, so they'll steal your Al'Akir the Windlord, Neptulon, or Dr. Boom. Priests are fucking dicks like that. Try to give your Annoy-o-trons, Harvest Golems, and Arcane Nullifiers the Powermace buff. Mulligan for a Rockbiter Weapon to immediately kill off their turn 1 Northshire Cleric. Save Earth Shock for Sylvannas, and save your Hexes for their (potential) Ragnaros or Dr. Boom, your stolen Legendaries, or a Sylvannas when you've already used, or can't wait for Earth Shock and can't/don't want to 1 for 1 Sylvannas with an otherwise empty board on your side.
Handlock:
Handlock has always been pretty easy for Shaman. Mulligan for Hexes and Earth Shock. Save your Hexes for the first couple Molten Giants or Mountain Giants, and save your Earth Shock for any Twilight Drakes he might drop (Earth Shock insta-kills Twilight Drakes). If you can get a Hex or Earth Shock in the early game, the rest is easy. Play your minions on curve, don't over-extend with minions, but summon a totem every time you have a spare 2 mana (I like to have the rule of no more than 2 minions that will die to Hellfire on the board at once), and watch his life total, anticipating those Molten Giants. Sometimes it's good to hold Al'Akir the Windlord and Rockbiter Weapon for a quick finish so he can't get out any free Molten Giants. In the late game, start dropping your big threats; Neptulon and Dr. Boom. These guys (with a little assistance) can take out another giant EACH if they don't get Siphon Souled. Maybe try to bait out the Siphon Soul with your Fire Elemental after using the it to deal the finishing 3 damage to a minion. The Fire Ele 2-for-1's and you can almost safely drop your big guys. Know the Handlock's deck, and you should be fine most of the time.
Card Replacement Possibilities/Budget Cards:
Whirling Zap-o-matic: Second Lightning Storm or Mana Tide Totem
People really seem to want that second Lightning Storm, but if you're like me and don't think you need much more help with Zoo or Hunter, try 1 Lightning Storm and a Whirling Zap-o-matic instead.
Neptulon: Sneed's Old Shredder, Harrison Jones,Ragnaros the Firelord
If you're going to replace Neptulon, I would also take out 1 Whirling Zap-o-matic for a Mana Tide Totem. Neptulon is a source of cards for you to fill your hand back up with, and without that you'll need SOME draw power. Mana Tide Totem will provide that for you.
Budget: Piloted Sky Golem, Sunwalker
Al'Akir the Windlord: Doomhammer
This is really the only replacement for Al'Akir. It is probably the only card in the game that plays a similar role. If you don't think Doomhammer is budget, remember its 1/4 the cost of Al'Akir.
Dr. Boom: Piloted Sky Golem
I originally had a Piloted Sky Golem in this deck where Dr. Boom is now. They fill a similar niche as being beefy cards that are annoying to get rid of. Dr. Boom, after play testing him, is an upgrade from Piloted Sky Golem, but you can still play the deck well without him.
undeadtarget's Variation for Lightning Storm Lovers:
http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/145647-spin-me-up
This is a variation of this deck that undeadtarget, who has been helping me keep up with comments and tips on this deck, uses. He uses 2 Lightning Storms and 2 Earth Shocks, so for everyone who really want's to see what a deck with those might look like, here it is. This variation might be more viable for players who are uncomfortable with my decision to only run 1 Lightning Storm and 1 Earth Shock, with some other notable differences.
Updates:
- -2 Mechwarper, +1 Antique Healbot +1 Piloted Sky Golem
In testing Mechwarper just didn't do enough. It has good enough stats and an ability to make it a good card, but all it did for me was lower my mana curve. Adding a Healbot gives you some survivability and always seems to be there when you need it, but two of them is too many for any deck I think. Piloted Sky Golem is a hard hitting threat that usually leaves another beefy body on the board when it dies. If you don't like the Healbot, put in a second Sky Golem. Both of these additions add a little weight to the mana curve and takes away from the ridiculous amount of 2 drops that just get in the way of the late game - -1 Whirling Zap-o-matic, +1 Lightning Storm. Then -1 Lightning Storm, +1 Whirling Zap-o-matic, -1 Piloted Sky Golem, +1 Dr. Boom
You guys, I tried. I really tried a second Lightning Storm, but I found that I'd rather have that second Whirling Zap-o-matic. I'm sorry. Some of you will look at this in disgust, but I just don't think Lightning Storm is good enough and consistent enough to warrant having two in the deck. It's too RNG based to warrant being 5 mana total, and weakens your control matchup to the point where drawing two will almost lose you the game. The Dr. Boom play testing however was a huge success. I found him to make Control Warrior very hard to lose to, and dropping him vs. Zoo actually helped more than I thought it would. This deck without Dr. Boom STILL WORKS VERY WELL, and I want to stress that. Some people are going to look at this deck, see 3 legendaries and say "fuck that." I don't want that, so I'm saying it here: THIS DECK IS STILL VERY VIABLE WITH PILOTED SKY SHREDDER IN PLACE OF DR. BOOM! - -1 Crackle, +1 Lightning Storm
As everyone has been saying, the meta is overrun with aggro decks. I was being stubborn and refusing to try the second Lightning Storm. While I still think this deck doesn't need the second Lightning Storm to be successful, it DOES strengthen it in the current meta. If the meta were ever to shift to a control-dominated meta I would put the Crackle back in. My reasoning for removing a Crackle over a Whirling Zap-o-matic might leave some people scratching their heads, but trust me, it's better this way. One of the commenters, Nakadashi, said he removed the Crackle in favor of Lightning Storm. It was something I hadn't considered, but right now I think it strengthens the deck considerably. Also this switch makes Priest much harder, but still not unwinable. Out of 16 games I have a 50% win rate on them so far.
No need to be so defensive, I wasn't trying to be hostile
That's what the innovation is all about! I actually AM trying out the second Lightning Storm again over a Whirling Zap-o-matic. Somehow I hadn't considered a Crackle for it. I'll give that a try and see how it goes! Glad you're enjoying the deck! :)
Craft Dr.Boom. He's a great card and viable in so many other decks.
If you are completely set in wanting to play shaman - craft Al'Akir. He's really a must have card for the majority of shaman decks.
There are a few reasons to craft each;
Neptulon - You REALLY want to play this deck. Neptulon is the legendary that I can't think of a suitable replacement for. He is really important to the deck in my oppinion and sort of necessary for this deck to function as well as it does.
Al'Akir - You really just want to play Shaman. Al'Akir should really be in any high level Shaman deck. He's THAT good. One of the best class legendaries in my oppinion.
Dr. Boom - You want to spend your dust responsibly. Dr. Boom is a card that can be in ANY deck in the current meta. You might regret crafting Al'Akir or Neptulon if you decide you don't really like Shaman that much. I had NO problem dropping the dust for either of them because Shaman is my favorite class. You will never decide Dr. Boom was a mistake unless he gets nerfed, in which case you can disenchant him for the full 1600 dust
I never liked Shaman because I never managed to learn how to use it properly. But this deck worked like a charm, it's actually very easy to play. I don't have Al'Akir the Windlord, put a Doomhammer as you suggested. Thanks for introducing me to the Shaman class!
Glad to help :) For some reason I always have taken a liking to the under-powered classes in Hearthstone, like mage (pre freeze mage) and Shaman (which is my favorite class)
How does this deck fares against mech/aggro Paladin? A lot are running blood knight and virtually all are running shielded minibots. It seems like their early game is much stronger.
yea well its tough for shaman to keep up with minibots and musters. This deck in particular isn't the best in that matchup i would assume because a lack in board clears and no easy answer for minibots. You've just got to pull through with your own cards.
Honestly, I haven't even played an aggro Paladin with this deck lol. I would say the strategy is the same as with any aggro deck; mulligan for Lightning Storm and early removal cards. Get your taunts out and draw the game to turn 7 or 8, then win because an aggro deck will have lost steam by then.
So after a few games against Palladin, I think it's a fine match up. I currently, after 1 day of playing, have a 75% win rate against them. Save a Hex for Tirion, save a Lightning Storm for their goofy ass 3 recruit - 1/4 weapon card. I HAVE been experimenting with 1 Lightning Storm over a Crackle and it seems to strengthen these match ups fairly significantly while further weakening the Priest match up. Try it out and see if you like it!
You can certainly surprise some control decks, but against hunter, zoo, and mech decks you either need perfect answers or for your opponent to have a terrible start.
Read the explanation for the second deck, tuned to aggro.
I disagree. I really think you don't stand a terrible chance against zoo. I would even go so far as to say that even without a second lightning storm, you end up about even in the Zoo matchup. I hardly think you need the perfect hand, or for your opponent to have a terrible start. I just destroyed a mech Mage when we both had pretty average starts. He even got 2 Blastmages from a Duplicate and I still won. By a pretty sizable margin.
I have played this deck in 9 games and won 6 out of 3. This deck is phenomenal. The synergy is superb. I have been bouncing around Ranks 12-13 all week and finally I reached rank 10 with this deck. Sadly, the 3 games I lost was 1 against a weird mage deck which had Molten Giants and Ice Block (Pretty much he waited for me to get him down to low health, he Ice Blocked, brought out 2 molten giants and a Ragnaros, then Ice Blocked and killed me next turn) and the other two were against Zoo Warlock. I see where Chaoss Shaman is coming from, the two Lightning bolts are waaay too much "UNLESS YOU'RE GOING UP AGAINST ZOO". The deck is essentially perfect unless there is a zoo match-up. In the two instances against zoo, I had good synergy in my hand and on the board but I relatively had no board clear. Zoo just overruns if your opponent has an amazing hand. Granted, 5 out of 9 classes can potentially play zoo (priest, pally, warlock, mage, hunter, and maybe Shaman) You mainly only see Lock and Hunter zoo. So realistically, 7/9 match-ups you should fair good odds in.
Congrats on the wins man! Yeah, people really aren't down with not having that second Lightning Storm, but I really don't find it necessary. Glad you're enjoying the deck!
Hi. I'd like to ask you about the value of the card "whirling zap-o-matic" specifically against handlock and control warriors. I understnad that if u play this guy at turn 2 (or turn1 coin out) this would be quite a threat to Late game class, but is the card still good enough even if u draw this at late game? Because if this card is only good at early phase only, then the card value would be questionable.
Due to the power mace deathrattle zapomatic can be a good late game minion as it essentially becomes a dunemaul shaman without the draw back.
^Exactly what he said. It's fine to remove 1 Zap-o-matic for a Mana Tide Totem to get some card draw in, or a Zombie Chow for the early game pressure, but I think at least one is pretty important to the deck. There will always be cards you don't want to get late game in every deck, but you make due.
I want everyone who has commented in the last few days to know that I will be replying to your comments and working on the deck more in a few hours. I've been busy the last few days, so if youve messaged me or left a question here, I'm not ignoring you. Thank you all for your support and comments. We're at 70k+ views and that's insane to me! So just give me a few hours and I'll be getting caught back up on replies!
Just dropped like a 100 dollars to get the cards for this deck..... then I went 0-8 with this deck lol... This deck is way way WAY too slow and just gets zerged down by everything else that I'm coming across - this is just silly.