Hearthpwn

Guide for Heroic Lord Victor Nefarius!

Gameplan

Nefarius will start out with 10 mana crystals on turn 2. He will flood the board with a bunch of dragons on turn 2 so you must always look for Naturalize or Poison Seeds in your opening hand. The early minions, Grove Tender, Coldlight Oracle, and Mind Control Tech, are also highly valuable on turns 3 and 4 when you either won't be able to clear out the board easily or still need Poison Seeds. Turns 5 and higher you should begin to see Nefarius' board thin out until you can get a big taunt to clean up. Continue to play safely all the way through the end of the game.

Early Game

Mulligan for Poison Seeds and anything that buys you some time like Doomsayer or Naturalize. Grove Tender, Mind Control Tech, and Coldlight Oracle are also valuable cards for turn 3, since Nefarius will waste his mana removing them with Dragon's Breath or some other expensive removal. If you start with Poison Seeds, then look for Starfall or Sludge Belcher next. Nefarius will almost always play several minions every turn, so it's core to this deck (and any other deck) that you have an answer for the first big wave of minions AND that you can continue to control the board. For this deck, that's Poison Seeds into Starfall or Sludge Belcher. You can also stall for time with Doomsayer as Nefarius will not play minions when it's out or use Naturalize on any 5/5 or larger. In rare cases, you might lose to Soul of the Forest or Savage Roar right after you use Poison Seeds. Outside of that, the other druid cards are either minor face damage or no threat to you.

It's extremely important to use the Ragnaros card correctly. Even though it's 0 mana, you shouldn't always play it when you first get it. The 6/6 taunt is best used after Poison Seeds. The 6/3 battlecry should be used specifically on Drakonid Crusher or Dragon Consort. The other 2 cards, sadly, are not as useful but can still be paired with other cards like Loatheb for a brief tempo gain.

Late Game

On turn 5 you should either be killing off the remnants of Poison Seeds with Starfall or using a Sludge Belcher to soak up that damage. If you don't have these, you can play Loatheb or any other weaker minion to either waste Nefarius' mana on removal or pick them off slowly. Always get the big 7+ mana minions out as soon as possible using Innervate or trading your minions for Volcanic Lumberer. Save Tree of Life when your health is below 7 or if Nefarius' minions plus his own Bite and Claw will kill you. Remember, always play conservatively!

Card Alternatives

• Tree of Life is extremely valuable since it will keep a big taunt alive another turn, or save you from imminent death. You won't ever have to worry about this healing Nefarius. Consider a 2nd one over Healing Touch if you need more healing later in the game.
• Ironbark Protector/Ancient of War are viable substitutes for Volcanic Lumberer since it's not always easy to get it's cost lower than 7.
• Extra healing from Earthen Ring Farseer is viable since he'll also help against the early onslaught. A second Healing Touch is an option but not needed with the two Antique Healbots (One of my healbots even got discarded in my first winning game!).
• Deathlord might be viable, but really only works if you get the magic curve play of Deathlord > Poison Seeds > Starfall.
• Wrath, Bite, and Claw are real removal options as many of the minions played are within their damage.
• Annoy-o-Tron could buy you time to get your big removals and taunts out.
• Lorewalker Cho can give you the extra removal that Nefarius picks up from his hero power. Half-way serious about this one.

Edit: Like any mill deck, this deck isn't the easiest to play. It's not likely you'll win the first time you try this deck, but I've had it work consistently for me. The real trick to defeating this boss is coming back from a nasty situation. For mill, that's turn 4 Poison Seeds, turn 5 Starfall or a taunt. If you're looking for another deck, I'd recommend a paladin deck such as: http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/235217-bc-heroic-lord-victor-nefarius-paladin for Equality combos since it's a more familiar style and you'll be putting more minions on the board. Remember, any deck is going to be reliant on drawing an early big board sweeping combo (and getting a good card from Ragnaros), so I wish you the best of luck with whatever deck you use.

Edit 2: I've added some extra write up for thoroughness. This has been the hardest boss in BRM yet, so good luck!