Hearthpwn

Hi everyone! I've gotten requests for making a guide for my OTK warrior list, so here is the list I used to get legend this season (January 2016). Also, please check out my Twitch and Youtube channels for instructional game play!

twitch.tv/lokshadow

youtube.com/lokshadow

twitter.com/lokshadowhs

 Update (4/5/16):

 

I'm updating the deck with a version I like to run in a more aggro-heavy meta. The changes include running the 2nd armorsmith and more 3 drops like frothings to trade with the board (much more impact than the shield blocks against aggro). Also dread corsair over gnomish inventor gives a bit more defensive options in exchange for the card draw. This means that the overall cycle of the deck has been slowed to provide more minions on the board, so it is even more important to get value from the acolytes/battle rages.

 

Mulligan/Strategy Guide:

 

General strategy: As one can probably tell from the title, this is a OTK or one-turn-kill combo deck that revolves around using Raging Worgen to deal lethal damage generally ranging from 22 to 30 damage. This can be accomplished even without Emperor Thaurissan mana reduction. The maximum damage is 34 in one turn with weapon equipped (Death's Bite + Raging Worgen + Cruel Taskmaster + 2x Inner Rage + Rampage + Charge = 34). Unlike other Raging Worgen OTK decks which include duplicate combo pieces, this deck only includes 1 of each (Raging Worgen, Charge, Rampage). The reasoning is that these cards are very mediocre to be played on curve (as opposed to a card like Frothing Beserker which has decent health and can trade favorably), so it is best to minimize the number of “dead cards.” Also different from other Raging Worgen OTK decks is the inclusion of Grim Patron which serves 2 purposes: board control and card draw. One of the key decisions to make when playing this deck is when to use Grim Patron for board control and when to save them for card draw. Against aggro decks, Grim Patron will be used for board control whereas against control (which tend to have board clears) it is almost always wrong to generate Grim Patron without also immediately getting battle rage value. A commonly asked question is why Emperor Thaurissan when the OTK combo does not require it. Emperor Thaurissan gives you huge tempo plays for the subsequent turns since most of the spells become essentially free. This is especially important when playing against control decks to enable Grim Patron spam + Battle Rage in the same turn.

 

Warrior: In general you will want to mulligan for weapons, card cycle, and Grim Patron. The key to this matchup is to determine what type of warrior you’re playing against. Generally you can look for tell-tale Grim Patron signs like reluctance to armor up in the early game, dropping Armorsmith on turn 2, etc. Against a Grim Patron warrior, it’s pretty much a race to see who can spam Grim Patron first and maintain board control because of that. Against a control warrior, you need to keep that armor count down as best as possible (really tough matchup if they get Justicar on 6) and get value from your card draw. This means saving Grim Patron for battle rages and being more diligent about getting multiple card draws from Acolyte of Pain. When generating Grim Patron, keep in mind that it is better to save the Inner Rage for Raging Worgen combo and use Whirlwind/Death's Bite/Unstable Ghoul instead. You want to play this matchup as aggressively as possible before the control warrior has time to draw into Justicar and the rest of their armor gain.

 

Warlock: The mulligan process is sometimes a coin flip because you want different cards vs zoo and vs handlock. Against zoo, you want to have your weapons, Unstable Ghoul, Armorsmith, Acolyte of Pain, and possibly Grim Patron if you have a good hand (Slam can be kept against Flame Imp and Knife Juggler as well). The game plan is usually keeping their aggression in check early on until you can regain board control with Grim Patron. Against handlock, you want to have weapons, Execute, and your card cycle. Like the old patron decks, traditional handlock is a tough matchup because of the number of taunts they can throw up. Reno handlock is a bit easier since they have fewer taunts/taunt-givers. You need to be wise about when to use your Execute (always save for taunted minions or giants when possible) and only generate Grim Patron for card cycle since they will get cleared.

 

Priest: Usually priest is unable to pressure the warrior effectively (especially the slower entomb priests which are very reactive) so you have a lot of time to draw into your combo pieces. Dragon priests can be a bit tougher since they run more taunts and mid-game minions, so it comes down to saving those executes for the right moment before lethal. You want to mulligan for weapons, Execute, Slam, and card draw. Keep in mind that you want to try to get value from Acolyte of Pain before turn 6 because of Cabal Shadowpriest and never give them a chance to steal Armorsmith (either play on turn 2 or never play because they can potentially get outside of your combo range). You’ll want to save every combo piece if possible (Cruel Taskmaster, 2x Inner Rage, Rampage, Charge, Raging Worgen) since you’ll usually need to OTK from 30. If you used up one of the combo pieces, it just means you’ll need to have a weapon equipped to lethal. Usually Execute will be used on Deathlord which is their main taunt (some priests don’t even run Sludge Belcher, but if they do, try to clear these with weapons instead of Execute). Save Grim Patron for card draw.

 

Paladin: Probably the most common matchup will be secret paladin in which the game plan is pretty much the same as any Grim Patron deck – spam Grim Patron before Mysterious Challenger. Against midrange and murlocs, your combo should be faster than they are able to kill you. You’ll mulligan to control their early game with weapons, Armorsmith, Acolyte of Pain, Unstable Ghoul, and Slam (for Shielded Minibot). Against secret paladin you’ll aim for board control with Grim Patron whereas against midrange/murloc you have to be wary of Equality and therefore try to guarantee Battle Rage value from Grim Patron. Save Execute for the big targets like Mysterious Challenger/Dr. Boom/Tirion Fordring. Playing against secret paladin is really about knowing how to play around the secrets, when to proc them, etc.

 

Mage: Against tempo/mech mages, the goal is to generate a board of Grim Patron as quickly as possible. Mirror Entity can be taken advantage of with Unstable Ghoul which serve both to clear their board and also generate Grim Patron. Freeze/control mage is an incredibly tough matchup because of the lack of deathrattle minions and having to pop multiple ice blocks. In order to win, you generally have to have a turn of Grim Patron sticking on the board to pop the Ice Block and Loatheb (and save Raging Worgen OTK for lethal charge). You’ll mulligan for weapons, Armorsmith, Unstable Ghoul, Acolyte of Pain, and Slam (for Sorcerer's Apprentice if you don’t have Fiery War Axe). One of the key decisions in game play is how to play around their secrets, especially against tempo mages since they often run both Mirror Entity and Counterspell.

 

Shaman: The main archetype is aggro shaman and the approach is to look for anti-aggro cards like weapons, Armorsmith, Unstable Ghoul, Acolyte of Pain, and Slam (usually used in conjunction with Fiery War Axe to finish off a Totem Golem). Unstable Ghoul does wonders against starts like Leper Gnome + Abusive Seargent and also potentially save you from a round of Doomhammer hits. You’ll try to stay alive with Shield Block and Armorsmith + Whirlwind effects until you can generate Grim Patron to overwhelm the shaman or manage to gather the OTK combo pieces (however don’t be afraid to use combo pieces as removal since the goal is to stay alive!).

 

Hunter: Similar to the aggro shaman matchup for face hunter, you play with your anti-aggro cards to stay alive until you can generate Grim Patron or find combo pieces. Midrange hunter also has a tough time dealing with a board of Grim Patron, so this is generally the win condition as well.

 

Druid: As always, if a druid gets their ramp and good curve, they can always luck out a win. Druids don’t have effective ways to deal with Grim Patron, so this is generally the win condition (i.e. don’t be afraid to use combo pieces in order to generate Grim Patron rather than save them for OTK). Mulligan for weapons, Execute (for innervated madness), Acolyte of Pain, and Slam to help finish off bigger minions in conjunction with weapons. Try to save Whirlwind effects for generating Grim Patron, but these may need to be used as removal against aggro druid. Make good use of the Execute for gaining tempo/board control. Loatheb wisely to block out a combo turn.

 

Rogue: Standard oil rogue is still the popular archetype with Malygos rogue also seeing some play. Your combo should be faster than theirs and generally the only reason this deck loses is getting unlucky and not getting your card draw engine running. Mulligan for weapons and Acolyte of Pain. Save generating Grim Patron for Battle Rage since rogues always run 2x Blade Flurry and can easily deal with Grim Patron. Most rogues do not run taunt although some run 1x Sludge Belcher so be wary of that. Loatheb wisely to gain tempo, block out lethal, or set up your own lethal turn. Emperor Thaurissan to help enable those Grim Patron/Battle Rage turns. Save Execute for the Edwin VanCleef/Dr. Boom/Loatheb and try to deal with Azure Drake, Piloted Shredder, and Violet Teacher with weapons/Slam. Dropping Unstable Ghoul wisely can also help soak up damage (such as using them to protect Acolyte of Pain).

 

Concluding Remarks: As usual, it’s always hard to cover everything in a written guide and I think the best way to learn is to practice the deck yourself and also watch my stream/youtube videos! Best of luck!

 

Short Video Guide: FailCraft has put together a nice 2-minute video guide featuring the deck and is a good introduction!

https://youtu.be/0Mcrb4cFeC8