Hearthpwn

Hey guys, I'm AVJuggernaut, a legend EU player, and this is my recently developed 'Wall Druid'. The deck is pretty much an updated version of the Taunt Druid that was particularly successful a few months after GvG, but fell off with the revival of Warlock and BRM. This guide will quickly detail the card choices and what purpose they serve:

The Ramp Cards:

2 x Innervate + 2 x Darnassus Aspirant + 2 x Wild Growth: In this deck, you really can't have too much ramp. Not much needs said about Innvervate and Wild Growth, since they are pretty much staples. Darnassus Aspirant, however, provides an amazing means of ramping AND dealing with early aggression. 2-3 is awesome stats, and the effect is great. If the deathrattle goes off, its not the end of the world. You should mulligan hard for these three cards.

The Removal:

2 x Swipe + 2 x Wrath + 2 x Keeper of the Grove: Pretty standard to any Druid list. Again, not much to say here.

2 x Living Roots: Probably the one card that has improved this deck the most. Before, this deck would have to run two zombie chows. Great against aggro, awful against control if drawn late. This card not only doesn't have the downside of the zombie chows, but it actually is WAY more versatile. Early game, its significant board presence...late game, its another removal spell. Whilst you should mulligan hard for the ramp cards, it is worth keeping this card in hand against certain matchups (Hunter/Paladin/Mage etc). Did I mention this card is awesome? Yeah. Its awesome!

The Minions:

2 x Sen'jin Shieldmasta + 2 x Druid of the Claw + 2 x Sludge Belcher + 2 x Ancient of War: These guys are your walls. Again, pretty straightforward, they shut down any pressure or aggression and are really difficult to remove. Shieldmasta is better on curve than later on, as it screws with a lot turn four plays (Truesilver + Deaths Bite cri everytim). Druid of the Claw is nice and versatile, whilst Sludge is a pain in the ass. Finally, Ancient of War is your big 'fuck you' to aggro decks. Most of the time, people will use removal and silences on the earlier taunts, thinking you are a regular combo Druid. If this guy comes down and they don't have an answer, then you pretty much just win against aggro decks.

(PLAYING AROUND SECRETS: Taunts are there to protect your face. If the opposing Hunter plays a freezing trap, or you have the Riddler revealing his Mysterious Challenger, then you don't actually have to attack with taunts. Just leave them there, unless you genuinely feel that proccing the secret is more beneficial to you than just protecting yourself.)

2 x Ancient of Lore: Bear in mind that this is pretty much the only dedicated draw mechanism in the deck, and should 95% of the time be used for that. The healing should only be used if you genuinely believe that they have lethal the next turn. Other than that, what more is there to be said about Ancient of Lore that hasn't already been said?

1 x Emperor Thaurissan: Again, not much to say other than this guys is awesome. If you can land this guy with Aviana in your hand, then there is a very high chance you can play a powerful turn 10. 

The Win Conditions:

1 x Aviana: A lot of people have had mixed views about this card. I think this card is genuinely bonkers. With a reduced cost, or with an innervate, you can just flat out win the game. I know a lot of people will say 'how often do you get the innervate dream?', but the answer to that is more often than you would think. Even dropping this on turn 10 (without cost reduction/innervate) and playing it alongside any of the other big dudes (Ancient of War/Kel'thuzad/Cenarius) is such a strong play that you can just win the game outright. By throwing down so many threats, the opponent has to make the choice of whether to deal with Aviana or the other threat. Combined with Kel'thuzad, the opponent is forced to kill Kelthuzad if they want to have any chance of winning the game, but leaving Aviana up means you can just flood the board ridiculously quickly. One of the things that was lacking in this deck before was a way to just finish the game unfairly. This card fills that void.

1 x Kel'Thuzad: A standard pick in Taunt Druid, this guy is also a game winner. If you have a board full of taunts: trade em all in -> let the opponent feel the wall has finally been breached -> play KT -> drink the opponents tears. Bear in mind that when he resummons Ancient of War, it will be a 5-5 without the taunt, so better to use him when you have a board of Druid of the Claws/Sludge Belchers/Sen'jins.

1 x Cenarius: Yeah, this guy counts as a win condition. I've always liked Cenarius, I feel like he is very good value and very versatile. If you have a big board of minions, he can be a means of closing the game with the +2/+2 buff. If you are behind, the two taunts are a pain in the ass to deal with. Comboing him with Aviana is very strong, as removal which normally be used on Cenarius himself would be used on Aviana instead. 

The Tech cards:

1 x Mind Control Tech: For those pesky Riddlers on the ladder, this card can help swing the match in your favour, and has been a staple in Taunt Druid for a while. Also helps in the Zoo, Hunter and Dragon Priest matchup.

1 x Big Game Hunter: Always nice to have someone with the beast in their sights.

Other Tech Options:

2nd BGH: Only worth it if Handlock becomes more of a thing. Can also help a lot against Control Warriors.

1 x Mulch: This is mostly if you start running into a lot of dragon decks for one card and one card only...Ysera. This card will ruin your plans, will always give your opponent Ysera awakens, and you have next to no way of dealing with it. Sure, you can silence it, but then you still have to contend with a 4-12...you can't ignore that. Mulch is a means of dealing with it, but the downside may hurt you. Only really an option if you run into a lot of Dragon decks.

1 x Kezan Mystic: Again, if you find an abundance of Hunters/Mages/Paladins on ladder, this is not a bad bet. Against Paladins, its not THAT great, but if you can steal Redemption and have it proc on a belcher, thats not bad at all.

 

Anyways, I've been laddering with this a lot recently and it hasn't lost me a game yet. Started the season at 16, and now made it to rank 13 with it. Will update the guide as I ladder up! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments :) I will do mulligan/class guides once I play more matchups.

UPDATES: 

02/09/2015: Currently at rank 12 and climbing!

03/09/2015: Just made a few tweaks to the guide, ironing out some mistakes.

04/09/2015: Replaced MCT with Nourish. MCT was not the most reliable tech option. It doesn't win you the Paladin matchup, which is what it was mainly in there for. Instead, I've thrown in a Nourish . A commenter pointed out the lack of draw in this deck, and that is something this addition will hopefully address! It also serves as a second ramp card (although really you want to be using the card draw). Also just reached rank 11 and still climbing!

07/09/2015: Trying out something new, and swapping out Cenarius for Chromaggus . Cenarius is not the most convincing win condition, and I've seen a lot of people in the comments asking for replacements for him. A lot of people have suggested Ysera or Chrom, and both seem like interesting choices. For now, I'm trying out Chromaggus. I will let you know the results!

Also, just pulled this!!! : http://i.imgur.com/1UktX37.png :D

16/09/2015: Hey guys, sorry for the long time between updates! I've been doing a lot of work for university, so haven't had too much time to ladder. I'm currently rank 7, having ranked mostly with this deck (having had a brief interlude trying discard warlock, it was surprisingly effective), and I must say that it has been pretty successful so far :) Chromaggus was a great replacement for Cenarius and completes a holy trinity at the top for win conditions. The synergy with wild growth/wrath is good enough to warrant an inclusion, and pretty much any of the cards in this deck is great to dupe. It also works ridiculously well with Aviana, especially if you can get a power play off. I'm gonna keep going with this deck!

Other deck guides:

My Rank 4 to Legend Recruitadin last season: http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/286655-rank-4-to-legend-eu-recruitadin