Hearthpwn

Hey there everyone!

I am a 16x Legend Player with 2x Top 100 finishes who goes by the battletag WingsOfWax or WingsOfWaxIII on other social media (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Twitch, and YouTube).

Don't forget to +1 if you enjoyed the guide/decklist. A lot of time and effort went into these and it's a free and easy way to say thank you. 

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***Updated/Alternate List (as of 3/13/2016) can be located here: 

http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/449289-wingss-burst-zoolock-competitive-s24-deck-with

Hope you ladies and gents enjoy!***

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Introduction to my YouTube Channel:

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Currently I will be starting up a series of guides to help newer or budget players develop decks that can be purchased for under 2,000 Dust each (also Requires Naxxramas Unlocked) and compete with the current Meta enough to help you achieve your goal of High Ranks or even Legend.

As of right now, these are the guides I have available:

Burst Rogue (1480 Dust) - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/263019-burst-rogue-legend-grinder-race-hunters

Budget Oil Rogue (1900 Dust) - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/263606-budget-oil-legend-grinder-guide-videos

Budget Zad + Combo Druid (1900 Dust) - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/267369-budget-zad-combo-legendary-druid-guide

Budget Zoolock Warlock (1340 Dust) - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/267487-budget-zoolock-aggro-legend-grinder-guide

Budget Control Priest (1400 Dust) - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/270038-budget-control-priest-legend-grinder-guide

Budget Hybrid Hunter (1080 Dust) - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/270052-budget-hybrid-hunter-legend-grinders-guide

Budget Aggro Paladin (1820 Dust) - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/270278-budget-aggro-paladin-aggrodin-legend-grinder

Budget Mech Shaman (1580 Dust) - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/270317-budget-mech-shaman-legend-grinder-guide

Budget SMOrc Warrior (920 Dust) - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/271749-budget-smorc-warrior-legend-grinder-guide

Budget Mech Mage (1360 Dust) - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/272893-budget-mech-mage-legend-grinder-guide

Budget Tempo Mage (1200 Dust) - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/272918-budget-tempo-mage-legend-grinder-guide

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Along with this deck list, I have wrote up a small guide to help any new players understand how to choose Mulligans/Opening-Hands, Play-style, and adapting to your current Meta.

Here is a "Rough" Guide to help you on your quest to Ranking Up/Legend

Mulligans/Opening Hand Keepers:

Vs Warriors - 2x Flame Imp, 2x Voidwalker, 1x Abusive Sergeant, 2x Leper Gnome, 1x Acidic Swamp Ooze, 2x Haunted Creeper, and 1x Nerubian Egg (If Egg = Yes, Keep 1 Egg Activator).

Vs Mages - 2x Flame Imp, 2x Voidwalker, 1x Abusive Sergeant, 2x Leper Gnome, 1x Acidic Swamp Ooze, 2x Haunted Creeper, 2x Knife Juggler, 1x Ironbeak Owl, and 2x Nerubian Egg (If Egg = Yes, Keep 1 Egg Activator).

Vs Druid - 1x Power Overwhelming (incase of Taunt), 2x Flame Imp, 2x Voidwalker, 1x Abusive Sergeant, 2x Leper Gnome, 1x Acidic Swamp Ooze, 2x Haunted Creeper, 2x Knife Juggler, 1x Ironbeak Owl, and 2x Nerubian Egg (If Egg = Yes, Keep 1 Egg Activator).  

Vs Paladin - 2x Flame Imp, 2x Voidwalker, 1x Abusive Sergeant, 2x Leper Gnome, 1x Acidic Swamp Ooze, 2x Haunted Creeper, 2x Knife Juggler, 1x Ironbeak Owl, and 2x Nerubian Egg (If Egg = Yes, Keep 1 Egg Activator).

Vs Hunter - 2x Mortal Coil, 2x Flame Imp, 2x Voidwalker, 1x Abusive Sergeant, 2x Leper Gnome, 1x Acidic Swamp Ooze, 2x Haunted Creeper, 2x Knife Juggler, 1x Ironbeak Owl, 2x Nerubian Egg (If Egg = Yes, Keep 1 Egg Activator), and 1x Defender of Argus.

Vs Shaman - 2x Flame Imp, 2x Voidwalker, 2x Abusive Sergeant, 2x Leper Gnome, 1x Acidic Swamp Ooze, 2x Haunted Creeper, 2x Knife Juggler, 1x Ironbeak Owl, and 2x Nerubian Egg (If Egg = Yes, Keep 1 Egg Activator).

Vs Warlock -
Opp Kept 2 cards or more (Aggro)?
1x Mortal Coil, 2x Flame Imp, 2x Voidwalker, 2x Abusive Sergeant, 2x Leper Gnome, 2x Haunted Creeper, 2x Knife Juggler, 1x Ironbeak Owl, and 2x Nerubian Egg (If Egg = Yes, Keep 1 Egg Activator).

Opp Kept 1 card or less (Control)?
2x Flame Imp, 2x Voidwalker, 2x Abusive Sergeant, 2x Leper Gnome, 2x Haunted Creeper, 2x Knife Juggler, 1x Ironbeak Owl, and 2x Nerubian Egg (If Egg = Yes, Keep 1 Egg Activator).

Vs Rogue - 2x Flame Imp, 2x Voidwalker, 1x Abusive Sergeant, 2x Leper Gnome, 1x Acidic Swamp Ooze, 2x Haunted Creeper, 2x Knife Juggler, and 2x Nerubian Egg (If Egg = Yes, Keep 1 Egg Activator).

Vs Priest - 2x Flame Imp, 2x Voidwalker, 2x Abusive Sergeant, 2x Leper Gnome, 1x Acidic Swamp Ooze, 2x Haunted Creeper, 2x Knife Juggler, and 2x Nerubian Egg (If Egg = Yes, Keep 1 Egg Activator).

If you are confused about why the mulligan guide looks so basic, this comment may clear somethings up for you: http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/267487-budget-zoolock-aggro-legend-grinder-guide?comment=25

Play-Style:

**Unless there is no other 1 drop, try to save Abusive Sergeant for his Pump value. 
**Most times it's correct to play Haunted Creeper before Knife Juggler to get potential value. 

Vs Warriors - Try to be as aggressive as possible. Deny draw from Acolyte of Pain when the opportunity is given. Kill Armor Smith when given to help deny future armor value. If you are fast enough, you can kill a Patron warrior before they get a chance to combo. Against Control Warrior, using your Hero power from T5 on is usually correct unless you already have a Doomguard in hand. 

Vs Mages - 

Tempo Mage: Minions with the most attack usually get cast on T1. Save Owl to reduce Mad Scientist Value. Try to kill Flamewaker as soon as you can, otherwise you will lose the game quickly. If your opponent gets a secret off, assume it is Mirror Entity and use your weakest minion to trigger it. 

Freeze Mage: Minions with the most attack usually get cast on T1. Save Owl for Doom Sayer. Time Loatheb for once you have a decent board position and can push for more damage by denying your opponent from casting a board clear for a turn. Usually I try not to pop my own Nerubian Eggs or Haunted Creepers to have "insurance" against board clears. 

Vs Druid - Be as aggressive as possible. Try to play around Swipe if you can help it. Use Owl to help silence a Sludge Belcher or Power Overwhelming to help clear a Taunt. Play and Crack your Nerubian Eggs as quickly as possible, these are Druids first Keeper of the Grove target. In most scenarios it is correct to push damage to your opponents face rather than make trades (unless you can afford to play around Swipe). 

Vs Paladin - 

Aggro: Try to keep your opponents board clear the best you can and your hand as empty as possible. You can usually out control them with card advantage (Hero Power) later in the game. Feel free to crack your Nerubian Eggs and Haunted Creepers as soon as you can, typically Aggro-din only runs 1x Consecrate if any at all. Use Acidic Swamp Ooze on any weapon it can get its hands on. Owl on a Shielded Minibot tends to be some of the only value you can get out of Owl, otherwise hold for Blessing of Champion. 

Midrange/Control (Tough Matchup) : Try to preserve your Eggs and Haunted Creepers to prevent being blown out completely by a Consecrate. If you can deal with your opponents minions without losing too much value, go for it, otherwise go face. Save Owl for Sludge Belcher or Tirion. Try to save Acidic Swamp Ooze for Truesilver Champion, but if a Muster For Battle weapon destroys your board, clear it. 

Vs Hunter - This is another tough matchup. You'd prefer to play against Midrange, but it is possible to beat both strategies. Typically how I approach this matchup is, be aggressive and go face. If you can afford to play around Unleash the Hounds, go for it and make a few trades. Mortal Coil is in the deck specifically for this matchup and helps clear early minions for a low mana cost. Defender of Argus is the most important card to defeating this matchup, so try to setup large Taunts. Owl is used for either Mad Scientist or Haunted Creeper, just a matter of whatever one comes first. 

Vs Shaman - Whether you are up against Mech Shaman or Control Shaman, I find this to be a favorable matchup if you understand what to do.

Mech: Mech Shaman relies on a Board Position to win, deny them this and you will most likely win. Try to use your Owls on Flametongue Totem, Annoy-o-Tron, or Buffed Mechs. Pop your Eggs before they get an Earth Shock. Try to hold Power Overwhelmings to kill the 8/8s that some of them play (try to cast as many spells before killing the 8/8 to abuse), otherwise they are burst damage to finish off our opponent. 

Control: Try to keep control over the board and sometime around turn 4 or turn 5 is when you should start using  your Hero Power every turn to prevent from running out of cards. If your opponent hasn't cast any Earth Shocks typically I will crack open my Eggs whenever I can and save Haunted Creepers alive for Lightning Storm insurance. If your opponent already used Earth Shocks, preserve your Eggs and Creepers for Lightning Storm insurance. Use Loatheb to help a decent board position push for more damage and deny a Lightning Storm for an additional turn. 

Vs Warlock -

Aggro: Usually whoever gets Flame Imps, Nerubian Eggs, and Haunted Creepers stands the best chance. This creates the most durable and powerful bodies and helps keep control over the board. Make profitable trades when possible and try to keep your opponents board as clear as possible. Implosion also dictates a lot of mirror matchups depending on your RNG for the day. 

Control: I try to be as aggressive as possible and if I can afford to wait a turn to play around Molten Giant + Shadowflame or Taunt, I will. Try to crack  your eggs quickly to prevent being Owled out of value, but preserve your Haunted Creepers to give you a little insurance against Hellfire or Shadowflame. Feel free to use Owl on any large Taunt or Twilight Drake. Loatheb also comes in handy in this matchup to help push for more damage and prevent an incoming board clear. 

Vs Rogue - Try to be as aggressive as you can. Typically correct to play Voidwalker first to help protect smaller/weaker minions from a Rogues Hero Power. Preserve your Eggs and Haunted Creepers to help with insurance against board clears. Acidic Swamp Ooze is at least a Deadly Poison in this matchup and most times your opponent won't play around the Ooze and try to keep a Weapon Buff up to Bladeflurry within the next few turns. Owl tends to get almost no value in this matchup, usually shutting off a Bloodmage Thalnos, Shrinking an Edwin Van-Cleef, or becoming Doomguard fodder since most other minons get played before Owl typically. 

Vs Priest - This matchup is a lot like the Shaman Control matchup, but worse. Play your 3/2s before any other minions to assure maximum damage. Keep your opponents board clear to prevent potential Hero Power value. Preserve Eggs to help hold insurance against board clears. Haunted Creeper (or a Defender'd Nerubian Egg) tends to be a Priests favorite Cabal Shadow Priest or Shadow Madness target, so try to play around this. Owl is for Sludge Belcher, Voljin, or a Velen's Chosen target. Once you get to around T4 or T5, start using your Hero Power every turn to keep your hand full to reload the board after board clears (there will be lots of clears here). 

Adapting to your Meta:

There isn't too much for you to adjust in this deck according to your Meta.

Less Hunters - Remove 1 Mortal Coil and add in for either a Worgen Infiltrator (to become more aggressive) or a second Acidic Swamp Ooze if your having Paladin, Rogue, and Warrior issues. 

Make other changes as you see fit or if you just have the urge to try something new.

Card Choices:

Mortal Coil - These are here to give you a chance against Hunters. Cheap removal that cantrips (draws a card) to help clear an early minion. Can also be used to help clear a Taunt.

Acidic Swamp Ooze - Mostly an inclusion due to the rise of Warrior, Rogue, and Paladin. Helps clear a 3 or 4 powered weapon from your opponent to deny them additional value. 

Why 1x Void Terror? - Mostly here to be an Egg activator or get value from Power Overwhelming. Has the added bonus of cleaning up small minions to help play around board clears. You tend not need more than 1 ever, mostly because there isn't enough value to gain for the 2nd Void Terror. 

Why 1x Dire Wolf Alpha? - You never want to keep Dire Wolf in your opening hand. He tends to become valuable after turn 4 and doesn't compete with the other 2-drops in the deck for a T2 play. 

Why 2x Ironbeak Owl? - As of lately there has been a lot of targets for Owl, enough to warrant 2x in almost all aggressive decks. Whether it's silencing a Sludge Belcher, Deathlord, Nerubian Egg, Mad Scientist, or other problematic cards, Owl will almost always find value in 85%+ of your matchups. 

FAQ:

Q - Own Naxx & BRM?
A - I'd recommend the following changes -1 Acidic Swamp Ooze, -1 Mortal Coil, +2 Imp Gang Boss

Q - Budget Not a Problem?
A - I'd recommend playing a deck like this: http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/267516-demon-zoo-warlock-midrange-deck

Q - 2k Dust and Naxx? That seems like an expensive "budget."
A - These guides are intended for people looking to spend some Dust/Gold and have the ability to acquire at least the bare essential Adventure Mode, Naxxramas. Budget is much different than F2P, which is why I don't label my decks and guides as F2P to cause confusion. Budget means you are willing to spend a little, where as F2P means ...well....Free.

Interested in learning more? Feel free to stop by my stream, in which I play a variety of decks and try to help educate players on making better decisions and improving their game play. Here's to hoping this deck/guide is in some way beneficial to your Grinding Experience!

Videos:

Deck Overview - 


Gameplay Budget Zoolock games from my EU account -

 

Gameplay & Commentary from 7/19/2015


Gameplay & Commentary from 7/21/2015

EU Legend Achieved (7/22/2015)




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Don't forget to +1 if you enjoyed the guide/decklist.

Thank you for checking out this deck and I hope it works well for you,

-Wings