Hearthpwn

Hi, I'm Jacques Dupont (Only Dupont in the game). I've been playing Hearthstone for a few seasons now, but I was more an arena player until this one, when I tried to grind for legend in ranked. I finally made it with this traditional Zoo deck, which includes Voidcallers for great tempo plays.

This is the legend screenshot proof, in case you need it: http://gyazo.com/10f642dc468df97aa8f770dda133ec00

As you see, the deck doesn't have anything new, but I wanted to share my experience with it, as I think it can help some players to understand what to do in certain match-ups, because it's tricky sometimes to understand when you have to trade and when you need to be aggressive and go for face. Before realizing that, I couldn't pass rank 5, and when I finally understood how to play each match, it was a lot easier. So, I created a "trading rate" to sum up the general strategy for each game, which goes from 1 to 5. 1/5 means you should almost always go for face, while 5/5 means exactly the opposite, that is, always prioritize board. Note: sorry for any misspells, I'm not a native english speaker.

Combo Druid: this is one of the easiest match-ups when you understand that you should almost always go for face. Mulligan aggressively. Don't be afraid to put many minions on the board, but always playing around Swipe. Only trade if it's extremely efficient to do so, otherwise, you are just doing your opponent a favor. Trading rate: 1/5

Face Hunter: the complete opposite from Druid. Always trade (with the exception of maybe Haunted Creeper), their minions should never attack you more than once. Never tap. Voidwalker is the perfect start, while Defender of Argus is essential entering mid-game. It's usually better to trade minions 1x1 than to remain with many minions with low health in the board. This is because of Explosive Trap and Unleash the Hounds (for example, it's usually better to trade Abusive Sergeant and not Voidcaller for his Knife Juggler). Try not to use Imp-losion unless you have already seen at least one Unleash the Hounds. When you have dominated the board and your opponent is running out of cards, start pushing for lethal. Trading rate: 5/5

Midrange Hunter: you have to be more aggressive in this one, as your opponent has a better late-game, with cards like Savannah Highmane and Dr. Boom. Unlike against Face Hunter, you should kill his Haunted Creeper because it's a Houndmaster target (the same goes for every beast). Try to wipe his entire board before you play your Doomguard, as it can be easily killed with any minion in combo with Hunter's Mark. Also, be aware that his secret could be Freezing Trap instead of Explosive Trap. Trading rate: 3/5

Zoo: Similar to Face Hunter, you'll win by making more efficient trades than your opponent. You can put as many minions as you like on the board, so Imp-losion has much more value in this match, except if your opponent is running Sea Giant, which can be a problem. Be much more aggresive if you see that he is not playing the typical aggro zoo, because cards like Dr. Boom or Malganis will cripple you. Trading rate: 5/5 (4/5 in case it's the Boom version)

Paladin: my experience against Pally indicates that it's preferable to be aggresive in this match. Only make very efficient trades, like Knife Juggler on turn 2 (anticipating his Muster for Battle). Be careful with playing your Flame Imp on turn 1 because of his Shielded Minibot. If you don't have the coin, you can play it if you have Voidwalker for turn 2. If you do have the coin, you can play it along with Voidwalker or Argent Squire on turn 1. Try to put Nerubian Egg on the field as soon as posible, and don't activate it, as it's your safeguard against Consecration. Don't be afraid to use Ironbeak Owl on his Sludge Belcher, as it's a very strong play to pressure for lethal. Don't save it for Tirion Fordring, if you got to turn 8 you are in trouble anyway. Trading rate: 3/5

Control/Patron Warrior: you should try to be as aggresive as possible in this one. Trade against Armorsmith and Acolyte of Pain, but not against Loatheb, Shieldmaiden or Piloted Shredder. Tap as much as you can, he will use Alexstrasza anyways. Nerubian Egg is, again, very valuable here against his Whirlwind and Death's Bite. Don't trade with your Doomguard unless it's completely necessary, because it can get easily killed with Execute or Shield Slam if you do so. Trading rate: 2/5

Control Priest: tough match-up if he starts with Northshire Cleric or Zombie Chow. Play cautiously, trade whenever you can, as you don't want him to be healing his minions or buffing them with Velen's Chosen and Power Word: Shield. Don't be afraid to use Power Overwhelming to make an efficient trade. If he starts slowly, then it's a lot easier, as you can pressure him by developing a strong board with sticky minions that will survive his AoE. If you get to mid-late game, be prepared for Cabal Shadow Priest.        Trading rate: 4/5

Oil Rogue: always trade, as any minion is a possible target for his Tinker's Sharpsword Oil. Besides, if you don't trade, he can clear your entire board with Blade Flurry. Don't be too confident about his low life and keep trading, because an Antique Healbot can mess up your plans. Trading rate: 5/5

Tempo Mage: you need to trade during the early game to establish your board. Use Abusive Sergeant to counter his Mirror Entity. Around turn 5, you should be dominating the board, so you can start going for face. Nerubian Egg and Haunted Creeper are your safeguards for Flamestrike, and playing Loatheb in turn 6 means winning. Don't bother trading against Dr. Boom (in fact, you should never trade against him in any match). Trading rate: 4/5

Mech Mage: similar to the mirror match against Zoo. Also, be prepared to kill Archmage Antonidas after turn 7. You absolutely must kill him the next turn he was played. Trading rate: 5/5

Freeze Mage: not much to say about this match, you have to be of course very aggressive so you don't give him time to draw all his key cards. Don't play Nerubian Egg until turn 5 to counter his Blizzard or Flamestrike. You can also drop it if he plays his Doomsayer and you have no way to kill it. Trading rate: 5/5 (although there isn't much trading in this match).

Final note: As a general rule, I try not to trade against cards with deathrattles that summon another minion, like Piloted Shredder, Savannah Highmane or Piloted Sky Golem, unless I can silence them first (there are exceptions, of course). As you will usually be ahead in the board, your opponent is the one that will have to do the trading, so trading with them is losing tempo and card advantage at the same time. Targetting them with Imp-losion, on the other hand, is more acceptable.

04/27: Added 1 Void Terror. It allows some fantastic combos with a huge gain in tempo, like with Voidcaller having Doomguard in hand, trading a minion with Power Overwhelming or just as an activator for Nerubian Egg, should you need it. Besides, it's a very versatile card that can help you in many matches, like when Hunter plays Explosive Trap and you have a board full of 2- health minions. Imp-losion wasn't doing enough to justify 2 of them in the deck.

05/13: Wanted to add more range, so I included Malganis. Then, obviously, Voidcallers had to be there again too.