Dragonz'rilla
- Last updated Jul 10, 2016 (Old Gods)
- Edit
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Wild
- 23 Minions
- 6 Spells
- 1 Weapon
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Unknown
- Crafting Cost: 9760
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 12/22/2015 (Explorers)
- lHlakai
- Deck Architect
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- 14
- 40
- 64
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Battle Tag:
Hakai
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Region:
US
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Total Deck Rating
2373
New Channel @ twitch.tv/lHlakai
The Deck is split into two distinct classes, the Dragon Class and the Support class. The Dragon class cards include your Dragon minions, and also non Dragon minions that require the possession of a Dragon in your hand to activate their high value Battlecry abilities. This class contains the majority of the muscle in the deck and heavily revolves around the synergy within itself. While the class might be powerful and favored when it comes to making trades on the board, it can’t get things done all by itself and requires some support in order to maximize control of the board/game.
The Support class cards include your weapon, spells, and minions with very unique abilities that provide, but not limited to, card draw and area of effect damage. Most of the cards in this class are reactive and only meant to be played in particular situations. While it is not the most active class when it comes to minion board presence, the Support class has a very powerful synergy and does account greatly for how smooth and efficiently a match progresses and develops.
Card draw is one of the most important aspects in a control build, and in this particular deck card draw comes in a variety of flavors. Dragonz’rilla contains 8 cards that possess the ability to draw, but only 6 of those cards are applicable.
Quick Shot has a secondary ability which allows the drawing of a card when your hand is empty. However, due to the highly unlikely occurrence of having an empty hand this card is not considered an option and its draw ability should be ignored.
King's Elekk x2:
This card has been chosen for its ability to joust and still provide the traditional stats of a 2 cost minion. I consider the 3/2 stat line favorable in a world with Darnassus Aspirant, Voidwalker, Mana Wyrm, and Twilight Whelp. You always want this card in your starting hand. Sometimes I use Elekk without even caring if I win the joust because i just want to see what my opponent is running early to help shape my decision making moving forward.
With the multitude of heavy hitters present in the deck, you will find more often than not King's Elekk will provide you with that extra draw. It’s also a great tool for snatching a dragon early to enable your dragon dependent cards like Blackwing Technician.
Acolyte of Pain x2:
This card is straight forward, he takes damage and draws a card. While it's fine to play the Acolyte all by his lonesome, he works very well with Wild Pyromancer and Dreadscale and it’s best to take advantage of that synergy. Because Acolyte can be silenced he doesn’t have to provide a draw, but you should still count him as at least 1 draw.
Azure Drake x2:
This is the only guaranteed draw in the deck and doubles as a dragon. In addition to card draw the spell damage bonus will come in very handy far more often than you think. The Drake's Spell Damage buff helps in the process of clearing the board, and at times provide a small but well appreciated extra damage to finish off the opponent.
With any control deck comes the required ability of clearing the board and performing efficient removal. Hunter has never been very strong at this particular aspect of the game which makes control difficult. However we do have the tools to methodically pick off our targets, resulting in what I consider an ongoing tempo oriented board clear.
In other words, Hunter might not have the convenient ability to deal 2-4 damage to the entire board on command, but with the combination and synergy of Dragons, minions like Dreadscale and Wild Pyromancer, paired with Hunter's Mark and other spells, clearing the board effectively is a reality; A very interactive and fun one at that.
Hunter's Mark x2:
This is the card you use to deal with any major threat. Your choice of combo can be with Wild Pyromancer or Dreadscale. Another option is a very basic method of using a minion on the battlefield to trade after designating a target. I must stress that you should not squander this card on mundane things.
Dreadscale:
This miniature Baron Geddon is a Paladin and aggro deck's worse nightmare, especially when it hides behind a taunt. It might not be the most effective board clear by itself, but it does contribute a great deal and shines in specific matchups where a lot of tokens are prevalent. Combining this guy with Hunter's Mark is effective for eliminating a huge threat.
Chillmaw:
A 6/6 Taunt with a built in Excavated Evil. This card can be played as a standalone minion on an empty board, but it is best played when the opponent's board is occupied and its ability can be used to maximum effect. Chillmaw also has the ability to play mind games with your opponent, causing them to play inefficiently thinking the A.O.E. will trigger when you actually have no dragons in your hand.
I have questioned myself whether I should have an Antique Healbot in the deck. Even after all my time of playing the deck I have still yet to be met with a case where a heal would have won me the game or saved me. Health just has not been much of an issue, and one of the reasons for that is the Longbow.
When it’s crunch time and you find yourself in a situation where you would need to heal, the Longbow dishes out the damage and provides the well needed immunity. From another perspective the weapon has a flexible heal. Whatever the attack value of the opponent you strike is how much health the bow provides you. So when you are helping your minions by crashing your face into a 8/8 giant, allowing King's Elekk or Blackwing Technician to finish him off, is essentially playing an Antique Healbot simultaneously.
I have won games due to this weapon and I understand fully why it has to be so expensive. I will just share with you a memorable example. I had a match against a Shaman and he was on an insane rampage. One of those games where the opponent top decks the most ideal card for every turn and seemingly has a counter for everything you do. I managed to hold on till late game where I had only 2 health remaining and he had a healthy 26.
His board consisted of a 3/4 Spider Tank, a 0/2 Healing Totem, a 5/4 Piloted Shredder (due to The Mistcaller), a 0/2 Stoneclaw Totem, and a 4/4 The Mistcaller. My side of the board consisted of an equipped Gladiator's Longbow and a 4/1 Azure Drake. The only way to come out of it was if the shredder dropped something with less than 2 attack.
I began with an Arcane Shot killing the 0/2 Stoneclaw Totem, then I Longbow the shredder and out comes a Captain's Parrot. Now I know this was the hand of RNG, but consider the fact that I could hit a 5 damage minion and take no damage at all. I traded the Azure Drake into the Spider Tank and killed The Mistcaller with Rend Blackhand, leaving him with only the 0/2 Healing Totem and Captain's Parrot on the board. He drew nothing on his turn that could immediately provide the extra 1 damage and I stalled by playing Twilight Guardian. The following turn I drew Alexstrasza to reset my health and eventually won the game.
There simply is so much I can say about Gladiator's Longbow, but one thing I must say is that this card plays a major role in the deck's board clearing ability.
A proper mulligan is something that comes with experience and understanding of the deck and matchups. From a very basic and general standpoint, not taking matchup (advanced knowledge) into consideration, there is always a set of cards to look for.
For new players or those without extensive experience, you want to get your low drops and things to start controlling the board with. Essentially you want to look for things you can start playing immediately, and not holding onto things you would like to play later.
Anything from 1-3 mana is fine. These are listed in order of preference.
Some of these cards should be kept together if already in hand. Example, if you have Wild Pyromancer and Hunter's Mark then keep those.
For the more experienced player you can take matchups into account and make the more appropriate choices. Most will still come from that general list but priority/preference will change. For example, when playing against aggressive decks like Face Hunter or Zoo I keep my Arcane Shot. Arcane Shot also helps against Mage and Sorcerer's Apprentice from getting out of control. It is also a nice keep against Paladin along with Wild Pyromancer for Knife Juggler, Shielded Minibot and Muster for Battle.
Mulligan for cards that best help you gain control early. Don’t mulligan for cards that you would like to see gain value later. An example of this would be holding onto an Azure Drake, or a high costing dragon because you have Blackwing Technician in your hand. Don’t force it, it will happen naturally.
Rules can always be bent, as long as you are doing it from the understanding of your matchup and environment. This part of the mulligan is very experience based and not something that can be easily written in a deck guide. The more you play and understand the flow of the deck the better your mulligan will become.
What exactly are my Decks?
These decks are created as concepts. When I construct a deck it is meant to be a base of inspiration. Mainly finding ways of approaching cards most players probably never thought of using before.
These builds are not the most efficient or competitive ready, but a concept I make sure does work well enough before I release it. “Well enough” meaning I personally have successfully climbed through several Rankings, and most importantly making sure it is FUN to play and performs well above average in a Casual setting.
Who are the Decks for?
These decks/concepts are mainly targeted toward those who want something new, those interested in exploring new ideas.
There are those in the Hearthstone Community who only think about competitive ladder, but Hearthstone does not solely revolve around those players, neither does Hearthpwn. There are many types of other players that the game supports.
The Competitive Players?
For those looking for something ladder competitive, make the changes you think should be made, and also share those changes so others can make use of it. Don’t take the deck as it is and feel it should never be altered. That’s the whole point of sharing it with the Community. Each individual is going to think of something the other never thought of. From that we are supposed to learn from each other as a Community and shape these decks as a Community.
The decks we play today have been consistently refined over time by a multitude of players in the Community. Every deck starts from an idea and then evolves. That is what should be the goal here. If it becomes something great competitively or fails miserably then so be it, that’s the nature of things.
There are those who are truly competitive minded and understand this very well, and then there are those who are merely ‘plug and play’ players. I have very little interest in that category.
The Guide... The Intent?
When I build my guides, I do build them for the concept. The deck itself is not intended to be the final say, or the forever build. The guide itself will always remain as the concept, the foundation where all the ideas can spur from. But there should be many decks forming out of the concept.
Providing you with the best ladder deck or deck period is not my goal. There are already thousands of decks out there to play which meet that requirement. If you are looking for the most efficient and best deck for a class, it already exists. The playground for the best competitive decks is pretty small.
Looking at the history of the game, decks have barely changed. If they have changed, it’s one or two cards due to refinement or card expansion providing better options to replace the old. We already know the most efficient, effective, and highest tier of competitive cards. Not much changes, the foundations remain the same.
Final Thoughts
If the deck can be competitive, then it’s the Community’s job to make it so. Otherwise the deck is there for something different. Even if it’s just to spur an idea. You could get an idea from the concept which you could apply to your already competitive deck; Simply because you never looked at a particular card in a certain way. Because of the concept you could have a different view of a card and figure out how to use it to your advantage.
That is what I hope you take away from these concepts. Not whether or not it’s a plug and play and you can just jump on it and it will be the best deck you have ever used for the class. That is not my interest or intent. My intent is to inspire and get the Community to look at more cards and deck types. Otherwise the game is just going to be stagnant and remain the same.
Having Trouble?
For those who are having trouble managing the deck, especially against certain matchups, there are changes you can try.
Trouble in the Health department
-1 Drakonid Crusher
+1 Antique Healbot
Trouble with Secrets (mainly Paladin)
-1 King's Elekk
+1 Flare
Trouble with Control & Stability
-2 Drakonid Crusher
+2 Powershot
Match Videos
Day[9] Decktacular Series
FailCraft 2 Minute Deck Guide
HearthstoneJosemi using the deck [ESPAÑOL]
P4wnyhof using Dragonz'rilla
-2 Drakonid Crusher
+2 Savannah Highmane
User created match video: Vs Face Hunter
The deck is good but the guide is million times better.
Just played my first game on this in casual... love it! Been spamming camel hunter up to rank 6 but running into trouble with secret pally / warrior so looking for a change. How does this do against control priest?
Yes, the secret-paladins have problems if you do not have time to take a normal table, but it decides to replace one copy of King's Elekk at Flare.
With warriors and priests-control, no problems occur if the course I did not wild is not set.
The deck is very pleasant.
As long as you intentionally play around the Priest's AOE it's an easy win.
Could you lay out the current version of this deck? As it looks in the current meta-gaming?
Desert Camel? I do not think it's a good idea, because Now, really, a lot of aggressive decks, and that a camel can get your opponent, such as a magician, the same Mana Wyrm.
See this comment for the build I run currently.
Alot of fun :) love it
super fun deck, fun games against other control decks, but this deck gets crushed by any aggro if you don't draw your taunts early. or by any of the 15+ decks that are doing 20 damage on turn 8 or 10, hopefully when the new meta tiers hit some version of this deck will rise up again.
Finally something original and not just a face hunter. I crafted Gahzrilla just to play this deck, even i knew the crad isnt so great in general. Im at rank 14 atm. My problem is, that i usually die with 15 cards left in my deck. Somehow i have a talent to topdeck always Gladiators Bow in my first 5 cards, followed by Ysera, Chromagus, Alesztraza lol...
I guess i will trys to squeeze in those powershots, even i never really played a drakonid crusher yet:P
I am currently running a Version 2 build which is quite strong (as seen in my comment below). Try these changes.
- Drakonid Crusher x2
- Acolyte of Pain x1
+ Powershot x2
+ Savannah Highmane x1
I just want to say thanks again for making this deck, I know it's not a world beater but I have a test n of fun playing it, I keep coming back to it after trying other types of control decks. I unfortunately don't have gahzrilla so I just sub the good dr.
And THIS is why Chillmaw exists...
Dreadscale is a strong cleaner especially as early as possible in the game. What makes Dreadscale work particularly well in this deck is the minion bodies have good health so they don't suffer much from the recurring ability. Decks that are token based or Paladin find it very crippling if they have no instant removal for him. Baron Geddon deals 2 damage to everything but that's a necessary amount based on when you are able to play him which is late game. Dreadscale at 3 mana is pretty much Baron Geddon tailored for much earlier game use. Whether using it to Hunter's Mark a Doomguard while killing the imps from Imp-losion simultaneously, or using it to draw cards with Acolyte of Pain and clear all the recruits from Muster for Battle while providing a 4/2 body, it's a very impactful card.
I don't know if this is the 'best' deck to climb the ladder but this is by far the most fun hunter I have played. As a mediocre player, I learned a lot playing this. It took me ten times to understand but well worth it lol. Thank you for this!
I am just very happy you enjoyed it!
I know this is a bit of ways away, but with the standard format coming Gahz'rilla is the only card in this that will need to be replaced, assuming there isn't a viable replacement in the new expansion, what current card could replace it? I was thinking Nefarian or maybe Gruul
you could try Gruul. Or use Highmane, or even King Krush
I've been playing with Nefarian so far and it seems to be working pretty nice in the control games, and even a bit in the tempo. Against control you normally win by making it to turn 7/8/9 and playing big minion after big minion forcing them to to use hard removals on them. By playing Nefarian first you get 2 more cards to control the game and force them to take him out ASAP because they won't survive long if they leave him. This then gives you an opening to play your big minions with passive abilities like Chromaggus or Ysera. In tempo matches it doesn't matter as much even tho it is a bit slower than King Krush These games are generally won when you can control the early game with King's Elekk and Twilight Guardian and still maintain good card draw with Acolyte of Pain. If you make it to turn 7/8/9 in these matchups you have effectively won anyways no matter what big minion you play at this point.
This deck is hard to play as hell, and still is the most voted one for this patch on HearthPawn. How could this be? Am i the dumbest guy amongst the most genious people in the world? I don't belive so. People are upvoting this for the art, for the well designed guide, the writing, but not for the most important reasons: Efficiency, wind ratio, and ease to play.