Hearthpwn

Earth Shock - A very solid and dependable silence effect in Shaman. Useful for getting around taunts or finishing off minions.

 

Rockbiter Weapon - Very important in this deck as either just a simple minion removal, buffing a totem, or as the Al'Akir combo enabler. It is essential that 2 be run.

 

Zombie Chow - The best anti-aggro card in the game (second to possibly FWA).  It helps the Shaman out significantly with rush decks and establishes a great early board presence.

 

Flametongue Totem - In a totem-themed deck, it only makes sense that as many totems are included as possible.  Not to mention Flametongue Totem is just a great card.  It helps to buff totems or just other minions for great burst damage.

 

Totem Golem - One of the reasons that this deck exists.  With Totem Golem Shaman has a great early-game card and can take control of the board early, rather than just reacting.  A 3/4 body on Turn 2 is just fantastic, and even the overload doesn't do much to dissuade you from playing it as you can just totem or playing another one turn 3.

 

Healing Wave - Another fantastic card for Shaman's arsenal.  Comparable to Healing Touch of Druid, but with a big bonus.  The traditional downfall of Shaman is aggro decks that can just burst you down, and this card is a direct counter to that.  With the joust mechanic, often you will win against an aggro deck, getting you the INSANE 14 health for 3 MANA.  Against a control deck this is like a healbot as the health won't be as important.

 

Hex - Shaman's greatest removal tool.  Very versatile and can be used in a wide range of situations for very cheap.

 

Lightning Storm - This is your board clear mechanism.  I include two of them as often I find myself searching for one in my deck.  With 2, your chances of drawing one is much higher.

 

Mana Tide Totem - Once again, in a totem deck you want as many totems as possible.  However, you also want card draw.  This answers both questions.  If you can get it to stick, then you can get almost infinite value.  Buff it with the Thunder Bluff Valiant or Flametongue Totem and it will be even more powerful.

 

Tuskarr Totemic [/card] - Possibly my favorite card of this expansion.  This card provides an incredible amount of value.  You get a 3/2 body for 3 plus 1 of 8 totems.  What makes it great is that there are no bad totems to get.  There are the 4 basic ones you can get, but you can also get a [card]Mana Tide Totem, Vitality Totem, Totem Golem or a Flametongue Totem.  What value!

 

Defender of Argus - Going along with the totem-buffing theme, get all your totems defending for argus! This is just a very versatile buff card and helps the Shaman get out taunts to halt the aggro meta.

 

Piloted Shredder - Probably the best 4-drop in the game, it provides good board presence and is sticky. Who knows, you might even get a Totem Golem!

 

Azure Drake - Another essential minion in the Shaman fold, the Azure Drake is great for card draw and spellpower, two things that Shamans love to have in their decks. It helps fill in the 5 drop spot as well quite nicely and is very versatile.

 

Thunder Bluff Valiant - Quite possibly the king of this deck. While testing this deck I tried running 1 because it seemed a bit clunky, but I found myself drawing for it quite often.  This card has a very good effect which activates AFTER your hero power, so your new totem has +2 attack.  This card can stack effects really quickly on totems which makes it essential in this deck.

 

Fire Elemental - This card is great. Run 2. Play on turn 6.

 

The Mistcaller - The most interesting Shaman card, no doubt. I won't lie, I screamed like a little girl when I opened it in a pack because I was so excited to experiment with it.  While the stats are very underwhelming, the effect is extremely powerful.  If you can get this card down early, then you will be in a very good spot.  It makes your good cards stronger, but also makes your early game cards like Zombie Chow [/card] and [card]Totem Golem that you draw later more powerful.  I'm still testing with this card, but as of right now I think that the effect is extremely powerful.

 

Dr. Boom - Dr. 7 should be played on Turn 7 if you have him no doubt.  I actually debated not including him here to make this deck anti-BGH but I just couldn't think of card to replace him. Possibly Sylvanas Windrunner.

 

Al'Akir the Windlord - Your finisher.  Huge burst potential with the Rockbiter Weapon and also can be used as a board control tool.  Just a solid minion in general.

Draenei Totemcarver- This card can be compared to Frostwolf  Warlord.  It's 1 mana less but relies on the number of totems on your field.  This card can have big swing potential, but most often it will get only 1 or maybe no totems.  It's just not worth it, and in this deck is outclassed by Piloted Shredder.

 

Ancestral Knowledge- While this is card draw *Shaman players can I have a hallelujah* the steep overload cost makes it hard to fit into this deck.  Other cards like Azure Drake and Mana Tide Totem help fill this gap, making it not needed.

 

Loatheb, Sylvanas Windrunner, or Sludge Belcher - These are all excellent cards and deserve their place in many decks.  In fact, I think they could all fit into this deck.  Loatheb has a nice effect, but the 5 mana spot is contested right now with Azure Drake and Thunder Bluff Valiant.  Sylvanas could be a definite replacement for Dr. Boom if the BGH meta continues but we'll have to see. Sludge Belcher faces the same problem as Loatheb but also we already have the 2 Defender of Argus in this deck, so at the moment I don't think Belchers would be very good.

Haunted Creeper - I know, creeper is a super good card.  I'm highly considering adding it back into the list. Right now though I feel that there is enough early game support for Shaman to still be highly effective.

Early Game & Mulligans:

You always want to have Zombie Chow and Totem Golem in your opening hand if possible.  These are your 2 big tempo cards that you can take board advantage with.  Against aggressive decks, definitely mulligan hard for the two above cards.  If you have Lightning Storm, Tuskarr Totemic, or Rockbiter Weapon with a good hand, keep them.  Against a control deck, you still want Zombie Chow and Totem Golem.  However, you can keep a slightly higher curve like Tuskarr Totemic or Piloted Shredder if you feel safe for the first couple of turns.

 

In the early game, you want to get your cheap minions down ASAP and start controlling the board.  You have high value minions so you will be able to beat most anything.  Once the board is controlled, you can start pumping totems or playing cards like Tuskarr Totemic for your eventual totemic might madness buff turns.  Lightning storm should be used early against aggro decks, before they play higher cost minions.

 

Mid Game:

Here you stop and assess your position.  Against the aggro decks you will be the defender, against control decks you will be the aggressor.  If you have board control keep building it with Azure Drake, Piloted Shredder, Defender of Argus, or other cards like that.  It is now that if you have The Mistcaller you should pop him out and start getting value.  Alternatively, you can play Thunder Bluff Valiant on Turn 5 and use the inspire effect Turn 6 and start cranking out totem value.  Remember, this deck is all about the totems so you want to use them to their full effect.

 

Late Game:

Against aggro decks the game should be over by now with you mercilessly steamrolling the opponent with an army of very angry totems.  However, if it is not this is the time you should be using Healing Wave to preserve health and start buffing your totems with any of the many buff cards we have.  Against control decks you just want to eliminate their threats while slowly chipping away their health and finish them with either an Al'Akir the Windlord burst or like I said above, mercilessly steamroll the opponent with an army of buffed totems.  TGT allows the Shaman to carry on into fatigue now with more success as the totems will now be buffed more, so don't be afraid to take it there if need be.

The Mistcaller [/card]-----> [card]Loatheb, Sylvanas Windrunner, Sludge Belcher will all provide a decent body to fill the board, but none with the same effect as The Mistcaller.

 

Dr. Boom -------> Any late game threat, Ragnaros the Firelord, Sylvanas Windrunner, etc.

 

Al'Akir the Windlord ----------> The burst potential from him is huge, so Bloodlust would help to replicate that level of burst damage.

I think that The Black Knight will find his way back into the meta, so possibly adding him?

 

Do you think that 2 Thunder Bluff Valiants are too clunky and should be replaced with something like a Loatheb?