Hearthpwn

Since shaman is my favourite class, I have been trying to get a deck to work for a very long time and I think that I have a near optimal list for shaman. The main difference in the deck to other midrange shamans is that it doesn't run as much late game or removal, it just tries to set up a dominant board which can either kill the opponent by itself or can be Bloodlusted for a surprise finish which nobody is expecting.

I have currently climbed to the top 100 in the legend ranks on EU fairly easily just because a lot of the popular decks on ladder such as Patron warrior and Druids get countered extremely hard by this deck.

Here I am going to go over each card in the deck and why I have included them.

Earth shock - The main reason this card is in the deck is because of hunters and zoo warlocks, it can stop them getting so much tempo from cards such as Mad Scientists are Nerubian eggs and also it is great because in control match-ups it is so cheap that even if you are overloaded on the turn you are still able to Earth shock and Bloodlust on the same turn.

Argent Squire - This card is in the deck because it is annoying for opponents to remove from the board and is also very good in the Aggro match-ups such as zoo and hunter in which you will need the board to stand a chance in the game. It also has great synergy with cards such as Flametongue Totem and Defender of Argus.

Knife Juggler - This is one of the more controversial cards in the deck and I can understand why people are sceptical about the card, I believe that this card is extremely good in the deck just because this deck heavily relies on having the board and knife jugglers can give you that swing that you need to win the game. I has great synergy with feral spirits and haunted creepers which I think gives it a place in the deck.

Powermace - I personally think that this is shamans second best card due to the fact that it holds so much power and can swing the game so much, even though the deck doesn't run a large amount of mechs, I have found that it doesn't matter because the card is so good by itself and if it does end up buffing a mech it is a great bonus. I also think that this card is essential because it helps you gain board control early on in the game which is very important.

Lightning storm -  This card is extremely important because since this deck is based around board control it has a lot of minions, so if you lose the board early in the game it can easily start to snowball out of control each turn afterwards. This card allows you to catch up in the game and is also needed due to the fact that Grim patron warrior has become so popular recently.

Defender of Argus - This card has been proven in shaman to be extremely strong already and since this deck is all about the board control, this card becomes even stronger. This card can be used in a variety of different ways it can be used to protect minions such as knife jugglers or Flametongue Totems or it can be used to buff other minions so that they can trade up with higher cost minions.

Bloodlust - This is the card that the deck was built around and I have came to love the card. It allows shamans to burst people when they do not expect it. It is so good in the current meta just because unlike Force of Nature savage roar people do not see this coming and usually will not play around it. It is also great in the face hunter match-up because it allows you to race them which midrange shaman has not been able to do before.

Azure Drake - This card is mainly in the deck because it needed a 5 mana drop and also needed some form of card draw. I have found that this card has been better than I expected because of the fact that you can save this against decks such as patron warrior a long with a lightning storm so that when they do their turn 8 Warsong Commander Grim patron combo you are able to get a guaranteed board clear.

Loatheb - This is a great card in the deck because you are able to protect your board from many different area of effect spells such as flamestrike or an equality consecrate. It is also great because against Face hunters it can act like a heal when you think that they are going to kill you since it can shut out things such as kill command, quick shot or unleash the hounds from killing you.

Dr. Boom - This card needs no introduction as it is the most broken card in the game at the moment, it is even better in the deck because Powermace is able to buff the boom bots that he summons to be even more overpowered and since he is 3 minions in 1 it creates a great board for Bloodlust. 

Thank you for reading and I hope that you try my deck :)

I have been asked by a lot of people to go through all of the matchups and the mulligans and say what the deck is good and bad against so here we go! :D.

Zoo Warlock - This is one of the worst matchups for the deck due to the fact that the shaman deck relies heavily on board control, However the matchup is not unwinnable. In this matchup I would recommend that you keep the Earth Shock, Argent Squire, Knife Juggler, Haunted Creeper, Powermace and Feral Spirits so that you are able to contest the zoo's early aggression,

HandLock - The Handlock matchup is roughly 50/50 and it all depends on how many of their shadowflames or hellfires they draw. In this matchup Flametongue Totem is an extremely powerful card as it can allow the small minions such as Haunted Creeper or Argent Squires to trade up with the Giants and Twilight Drakes. However even though it is a very powerful card I would not recommend keeping it in your starting hand due to the fact that you can just as easily queue into a zoo as you can a handlock on ladder. This means that I would keep the same cards as I would against Zoo lock which are Earth Shock, Argent Squire, Knife Juggler, Haunted Creeper, Powermace and Feral Spirit.

Face Hunter - I would say that this matchup is slightly in your favour just because of the Bloodlust and Flametongue Totems allowing you to burst them down over a couple of turns. The mulligans in this matchup is simple you will want to go for the Earth Shock, Argent Squire,  Haunted Creeper, Harvest Golem and Feral Spirit. In this matchup i wouldnt keep the Knife Juggler unless you already have a Haunted Creeper in your hand and the reasoning for this is because it will most likely trade for their 2/1's or 2/2's such as Worgen Infiltrator, Leper Gnome or Mad Scientist. Also in this matchup you will have to be counting how much damage your bloodlust will do so that you are able to set up for lethal easier and quicker.

Midrange Hunter - This matchup is extremely favourable for you and this is mainly because you can establish board control early and then have cheap efficient removals to remove their big threats which are the Savannah Highmanes. In this matchup mulligan for your early game just like every other matchup. These are Earth Shock, Argent Squire, , Haunted Creeper, Powermace, Harvest Golem and Feral Spirit. Once again do not keep the knife juggler unless you have the other early game minions to back it up. 

Patron Warrior - This matchup in my opinion is favourable as long as you do not overextend into the Grim Patron combo. I would recommend that when it comes to the late game keep azure drakes in your hand just because the spell power enables you to completely clear off the patrons without any risk of one surviving. Just like any other matchup mulligan for Argent Squire, Knife Juggler, Haunted Creeper, Powermace, Harvest Golem and Feral Spirits and if you have the coin you can consider keeping Piloted shredders because they are so hard for warriors to deal with.

Control Warrior - Just like any other shaman deck this matchup is great for you as long as you do not overextend into Brawl. The reason that it is so good is because Control Warrior doesn't have a lot of early threats which means that you can easily develop your board and remove their armor so that they are not able to shield slam, They also struggle a lot to deal with all of the deathrattles in the deck which means that you will almost always have a board. Like always keep the standard Argent Squire, Knife Juggler, Haunted Creeper, Powermace, Harvest Golem, Feral Spirits and Piloted Shredder.

Freeze Mage - This matchup is extremely simple to play all that you have to do is make sure that you are pushing for hte most amount of damage as possible whilst not overextending into AoE's such as Blizzard and Flamestrike. Also another important thing to mention is to save Loatheb because he is the most important card in the matchup. You should play him the turn after they Alexstrasza you and this is because they will not be able to burst you down with their spells on that turn and they might have to spend it defensively. As usual Mulligan for Argent Squire, Knife Juggler, Haunted Creeper, Flametongue Totem, Harvest Golem and Feral Spirit to get the most dmg as possible in early.

Tempo Mage - This is one of the best matchups for the deck and I feel that the only way that you can lose is by them getting an insane Unstable Portal. The best card in the early game that you can get is the Powermace because this can completely destroy their early game aggression and allows you to start developing the board. Mulligan for Argent Squire, Knife Juggler, Haunted Creeper, Flametongue totem, Powermace, Harvest Golem and Feral Spirits. Also it is also fine to save the Argent Squires and Flametongue Totems in your hand ready for the Mirror entities that they are going to play because they are the least value that they can get from them.

Paladin - This matchup is slightly less favoured just because paladins are able to get early board control very easily with Zombie Chows, Shielded Minibots, Knife Jugglers and Muster For Battle. The main thing that you will have to take into account is that you will have to not overextend into either Consecrate or Equality Consecrate. Lightning Storm is also very strong in the matchup as it allows you to gain board control back from the Paladin. Mulligan for Argent Squire, Knife Juggler, Haunted Creeper, Harvest Golem, Powermace, Lightning Storm and Feral Spirits so that you can contest the early game.

Lightbomb/Auchenai Priest - In my opinion this one of the worst matchups you have just because priests have so many different ways to clear your board you will have to play around the AoE's are well as you can. This is a very simple matchup to play just mulligan for the early game cards as usual also Knife juggler is exceptional in the early game because it can kill Northshire Clerics so that the priest doesn't draw too many cards.

Oil Rogue - This is the absolute worst matchup for the deck because rogue can clear your board so easily whilst putting a lot of pressure onto you. In this matchup Loatheb is great to have in your hand due to the fact that you are able to stop them AoEing your board with Blade Flurry. Mulligan for Argent Squire, Knife Juggler, Flametongue Totem, Haunted Creeper, Powermace (Always Keep), and Harvest Golems. It is also not terrible to keep a hex if you have a good starting hand because it can keep the board control.

Midrange/Mech Shaman - This is a 50/50 matchup and depends on who get more lightning storms as this is a pure board control matchup no matter what always keep a Lightning Storm in your starting hand if you are offered it because it will most likely clear their board. Mulligan for Argent Squire, Earth Shock, Haunted Creeper, Knife Juggler, Flametongue Totem (Because it allows your Argent Squires and Haunted Creepers trade for Feral Spirits, Harvest Golems, Powermace and Feral Spirits.

Combo Druid - This is also a favourable matchups because druids have a very hard time dealing with large boards and this is what the deck excels at. It is not completely wrong to keep a hex in your starting hand due to the fact that an innervated druid of the claw for example can destroy your entire board. As usual mulligan for the same cards however if you have a good start I would recommend keeping a Hex depending on how many cards your opponent mulligans.

This is a link to prove what rank I am for anyone that is wondering http://imgur.com/TCHwzPE