Beast Mode by KRUPS
- Last updated Aug 27, 2015 (TGT Launch)
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Wild
- 20 Minions
- 10 Spells
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Unknown
- Crafting Cost: 6440
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 8/21/2015 (Blackrock Launch)
- KRUPSSTONE
- Registered User
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- 5
- 8
- 24
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Battle Tag:
KRUPS#1745
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Region:
US
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Total Deck Rating
1940
WWW.TWITCH.TV/KRUPSSTONE
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
2 wild growths for a max three 7 mana minions? not sure i understand the reasoning of this
Yes, druid doesn't need to be so heavy, that's a deck focused in mid-game control and get advantage with beasts, ramp yor mana curve in the starters turns is better that only do hero power. You need to consider also that Ancient of Lore draw cards.
Hmm
Druid of the Fang is the only card i would disagree right now.
Having beasts in the deck doesn't guarantee that it will transform (mass removal, empty board, bad draw, etc). Also, if transformed, it is BGH-able.
I would add Mulch (as other people stated previously) since its cheap hard removal or 2x Ancient of War, which aren't BGH-able
I agree.
-2 Druid of the Fang, +1 Ancient of War and +1 Mind Control Tech looks better.
Almost all good options are better than Druid of the Fang XD.
MCT is a pretty good one, but i like it on a more control-ish deck.
This one is kinda ramp-y to combo
I'm trying to find a way to fit Stampeding Kodo into this deck. I just love that mid-game tempo swing, especially if you manage to clear something like Flamewaker or Imp Gang Boss. Kodo kinda sucks against Paladin though
I know you are trying to do something new, but I honestly could see this deck being used in the competitive scene if you droped the Kodoriders and added 2 Piloted Shredders. The deck wouldn't be that fun, I agree, this is just a comment.
Lots of thoughts on this deck.
First of all, I have played around with Kodorider quite a bit in the brawl, and I can't imagine how it works without being able to hero power at least twice. The card is a significant mana investment that yields only through repeat use, but it never sticks long enough to get more than 1 use, which means it's a vanilla 6/10 worth of stats for 8 mana, played on turn 8. Why not play a card that does something, like Nefarian, or Chromaggus for the big cost?
Darnassus Aspirant is also probably not going to work. There is a lot of excitement about this card, but in a lot of match-ups, a 2/3 2-drop dies on the opponent's following turn, in which case you never get to realize your mana crystal. If you're planning on dropping this on 2, think of it like dropping a Knife Juggler on 2. I don't really understand how you're supposed to get reliable value out of the thing, and it's not even a beast. You might be better served including River Crocolisk; at least that card has some synergistic value. (The only really promising thing I've heard about this card is that it's a nice thing to use against a Mage secret)!
I don't like Druid of the Flame, but that might just be personal. I've played with it and against it a ton in Arena. As a 5/2, I've seen it be useful once in some 25-30 appearances. As a 2/5 it can trade 2 for 1, but it usually just gets ignored. Sure, that might yield some beast synergy, but when your opponent is beginning to pick up momentum with Muster for Battle, Imp Gang Boss, Eaglehorn Bow, etc. and building toward a strong turn 4, you're just falling behind. I think the card is pretty weak.
I guess Druid of the Fang is replacing Sludge Belcher at the 5 spot here. That should make you that much weaker against Zoo and Hunter. My guess is that this deck will be decent against Paladin, mediocre against Warrior, weak against Zoo, bad against Handlock, and weak against most Hunters, without being much stronger against Tempo Mage than a traditional combo Druid. Maybe it does alright against Freeze? I guess I'm not really sure how this is supposed to be an improvement on traditional Druid; Savage Combatant takes Shredder's spot and dies for 1-more health with no rattle. Druid of the Fang is there in place of Belcher; that's your best trick, because it's big. Druid of the Flame takes over Shade's spot, which is sad from a combo perspective. And where you have put Kodorider, I think you're going to miss Sylvanas Windrunner. Not to be too gloomy, but I think you're going to need to get more combo value out of beasts to really justify a build like this, otherwise, it's just a weaker Druid.
I pretty much agree with you about Darnassus and Kodorider. If you have time check out my beast druid deck, your thoughts will be welcome: http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/292261-tgt-beast-druid
I feel like people are underestimating Savage Combatant, if you have it first on board and your opponent play Shredders, next turn you can hero power it down and kill the remaining 2 drop with the Savage Combatant. I'm not sure if it will fits in any deck but it has potential.
Sort of like an Evil Heckler? They just need to expend their removal immediately to wipe away your 4 drop... or else... I like Savage Combatant, and will no doubt construct a deck to try to see what kind of use I can get out of it, but I think it will help Hunters more than Druids, by coming out of Webspinner and Ram Wrangler...
What about one copy of mulch? Looks like a great hard removal for druid
Just playing devils advocate here, but isn't the "heavy" ramp (6 cards) good to force druid into the mid game ASAP? I mean between Innervate, Growth and Aspirant you would be able to Kodo out by T4 and then your opponent has to to spend a good majority of his efforts killing off your Aspirant or trying to prevent you from ramping out of control?
Short version: I understand the late game it would get cloggy, but it essentially forces you into the mid game faster then your opponent can handle.
too much ramp for too small creatures and the kodo isn't viable
-2x wild growth
-2x kodo rider
+1x fon
+1x roar+2x druid of the saber
I would take out 1 Kodorider for sth else (maybe Mulch).
Overall, seems like a viable deck that I'd really love to play with.
Just curious: With so much ramp, what would you think about replacing the combo pieces with Ancients of War? It seems to me that Kodorider could be devastating behind that massive taunt. You could do something like: Turn 5- Innervate, Ancient of War, Turn 6- Kodorider, Turn 7- Hero Power, Druid of the Fang. Just one example, seems like this could be pretty flexible. I would think it would also heavily tax your opponent's removal on consecutive minions that require an immediate answer. I've tried playing Druids of the Flame in a heavier ramp Druid like this and was quite pleased with the results, especially versus aggro. Seems like this could be an even stronger version of that deck.
I'm a relatively new Druid player (I for some reason decided I hated it during season 1, and have only been playing the class with any frequency for the past two or three seasons). I tend to prefer heavier ramp Druids (obviously) over the combo, but I'd be eager to hear the opinion of someone more experienced with the class as far as the viability of something like this.
Have you ever thought about using Druid of the Saber? Like instead of using the combo maybe using cards like 1 Knight of the Wild and one Wildwalker?
Great look at a possible new meta deck. Thanks for keeping the combo in place, making the drood the drood. Still trying to find something to drop here to fit a BGH in the deck. Think you may still need it with Boom being as value as Boom is.
prob needs BGH and id take out the 2 fangs and put windwalkers, i feel like the + hp may have more value