Hearthpwn

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Ahhhhh...a new Hearthstone expansion...whenever Blizzard decides that it is time for us to play with new cards we are often met with both excitement and anxiety. On one hand, we have tons of new toys to play with , but on the other hand competitive players are scrambling to figure out the new meta-game, and this is doubly true with this TGT because the last call tournament for the world championship is right around the corner. Deciding what three decks to play for the conquest format for the last-call tournament is going to be pretty difficult considering that over 100 new cards are going to be introduced, so I'm just going to breathe slowly and focus on having fun while simultaneously creating new decks that I think could be competitive.

The first thing that caught my eye when looking at the new set was the new paladin cards. Going turn one Competitive Spirit, turn two Coin and Muster for Battle, into a turn 3 Warhorse Trainer seems extremely powerful. However, after looking at the expansion in it's entirety, the new Druid cards are what have REALLY caught my eye. Beast themed Druid decks have been hinted at for a while in Hearthstone but have never exactly been playable but with the addition of some the new cards it seems like the idea is going to actually be viable.  It's important to keep in mind that at the time of writing this that TGT has not been released so this deck is purely speculative and theoretical.  

THE DECK:

Innervate:  This card doesn't need any explanation.  It's the best card in the game.  Always keep this card.

Wild Growth:  This card also shouldn't need any explanation, you typically run lots of big minions in Druid decks, so ramping up your mana is very important.  Always keep this card.

Wrath:  One of the better removal spells in the game.  Don't forget that you can wrath your own guys to draw a card if you are really in need of an answer.  You should pretty much always keep this card. 

Darnassus Aspirant:  This card is basically Wild Growth on legs.  Sure you lose the mana crystal when it dies but the fact that we can basically play with 4 Wild Growth now is pretty insane.  Always keep this card.

Savage Roar:  The classic Druid combo piece that is used in conjunction with Force of Nature to OTK your opponent.  Don't forget that you can also use this as a removal spell.  You usually want to mulligan this card but can keep it against aggro decks.

Big Game Hunter:  The most necessary evil of Hearthstone.  Basically, unless you are a mage your pretty much have to play this card (Mages have access to Fireball and Polymorph).  

Druid of the Flame:  This card is normally not played in Druid decks but since we are going for a beast theme it fits nicely into our three drop.  Usually you are going to want to play this as a 2/5 in the early game but there will be situations when you want to play this as a 5/2 so you can trade with a larger minion or to push for damage.  You will always want to keep this card in your hand.

Swipe:  This card also shouldn't need explanation.  This is the only solid board clear that Druid has available to it.  You can keep this in your hand against Paladins and Hunters.

Keeper of the Grove:  This card is extremely versatile and is good against pretty much any deck.  You will want to keep it in your opening hand against aggro decks to kill opposing smallish minions.  

Savage Combatant:  This card is one of the reasons why we are playing beasts.  A 5/4 for 4 is a solid body and this guys ability seems insane.  You should be able to keep this guy if you can play him early with the coin, innervate, wild growth or aspirant. 

Druid of the Claw:  This card has always been excellent but for the first time we are able to take advantage of the fact that it is a beast.  Knowing which mode to choose can be a little tricky sometimes but most of the time you will want to taunt up, you should only use the charge mode when you are going to get immediate value or can go for the kill.  YOu can keep this card if you can ramp into it quickly. 

Druid of the Fang:  This is another card that we have no been able to utilize until now, and I think that this card is going to be pretty damn solid with the introduction of all the new cards.  I'm looking at it as sort of a slightly smaller Fel Reaver with a less extreme drawback.  You should mulligan this card unless you can ramp into it early. 

Harrison Jones:  Harrison is pretty important in the current meta and I expect that to stay the same after the new set drops on the 24th.  Weapons are pretty much everywhere and this card is needed to give you an edge against Paladins and Warriors.  However is my "Tech Card" in the deck and he could be replaced with a number of things.  If you feel like you want a second BGH, a Mind Control Tech or a Sylvanas then cut this guy and go for it.  You can keep him in your opening grip against decks that you expect to have weapons.  Don't forget that you can sandbag this against Warlocks to blow up Lord Jaraxxus and draw a ton of cards.

Force of Nature:  The other have of the Druid combo.  You can also use this to clear opposing minions.  You should never keep this card in your opening hand. 

[card]Emperor Thaurissan[/card]:  This card reeks of value, if this guy sticks on the table then the chances of you winning are pretty high.  He also allows you to utilize your combo a full two turns earlier than normal allowing for faster OTKs.

Kodorider:  At first glance I thought that this guy was too slow, but the fact that we have even more ramp now than we did before mitigates that to an extent I think.  Also he generates beasts which is huge in this deck because so many of our triggered abilities are contingent on a beast being on the board.  I might be going out on a limb here, and he could be too slow but only time will tell.  I have a feeling that if this guy goes unanswered then he is going to win you the game most of the time. 

Ancient of Lore:  Primarily used to get card advantage and on top of that this guy has really solid stats.  You can keep this in your hand if you can ramp into it by turn 4 or 5. 

Dr. Boom:  Even with the introduction of an entirely new expansion this card is most likely still the best 7 drop in the game.

Why are we running beasts as opposed to the "normal minions" like Piloted Shredder?

Well the dead honest answer to that question is because we want to try something new.  There is no way we can know whether or not beasts will be "better" than your typical ramp or taunt druid deck without actually trying it.  I am particularly excited about Savage Combatant, in my opinion is a perfectly designed card, he has a very soild body and he has a very solid ability.  It frustrates me a little bit that Blizzard does not design more cards like Savage Combatant or Loatheb and insists of making "bad" cards.  Other than combatant I think that the deck will be good because for the first time we can leverage Druid of the Fang, and Druid of the Fang should be pretty easy to trigger in this deck with the number of beasts in it.  One card that I felt like including at first that I have left out is Wildwaker.  At first glance it seemed playable but I think that it is probably too under powered to perform well at ranks 5-Legend.  After I play the deck in action expect frequent updates to this article along with in-depth match-up information. 

I am already currently legend this season (I achieved it on the 14th with my Tempo Mage deck that was featured on the front page almost a month ago), so when the set drops I will be doing a pack opening of around 90 packs and I will be immediately testing out this deck.  You can tune in to watch this on the 24th of August on my Twitch channel, WWW.TWITCH.TV/KRUPSSTONE