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[2 LEGENDS!] Kelez's Legend Shaman Deck

  • Last updated May 28, 2014 (Live Patch 5506)
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Wild

  • 17 Minions
  • 12 Spells
  • 1 Weapon
  • Deck Type: Ranked Deck
  • Deck Archetype: Unknown
  • Crafting Cost: 6520
  • Dust Needed: Loading Collection
  • Created: 5/21/2014 (Live Patch 5435)
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  • Kelez
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  • Battle Tag:

    Kelez#1978

  • Region:

    N/A

  • Total Deck Rating

    139

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Deck: Flexible Midrange or Control Deck, best at high ranks (7, 5, higher) where Control is more popular

UPDATE: After some discussion with Mattdontbeahero I've been using Harvest Golem x 2. This slot used to be Earthen Ring Farseer x 2. I also currently use a Doomhammer as a replacement for the original 2nd Mana Tide Totem, since I'm facing more aggro than control now. 

Hey everyone, Kelez here. I am a diehard Shaman player, and today I managed to hit Legend on a 6 game win streak with my most recent innovation: this deck! I slimmed down my old Shaman control deck and what I was left with was an extremely consistent, solid, 70+% winrate deck in the current meta. So now that I've safely reached my goal of Legend, I've decided to share my deck with the community. If you are struggling playing your Shaman on the ladder, you've come to the right place. Here is the decklist, with proof of legend. Below, I will outline the strategy behind this deck and how to play it as well as explain some card choices.

Deck Gameplay Videos!
Ep 2: Miracle Rogue

Ep 1: Handlock

More videos coming out soon!


 

General Deck Strategy

So, how does this deck work? Totem often early, use a combination of Flametongue Totem on said totems and cheap removal (preferably Lightning Bolt and not Rockbiter Weapon - you'll need it for burst later) to kill off any early minions. With luck you can protect the Flametongue Totem and continue to remove the enemy's minions for free. Earthen Ring Farseer is a great early drop, since it will trade favorably with most other early drops while healing you or a minion for an extra trade. If you have a Flametongue Totem on the board still, you can even kill a 5 health card like Chillwind Yeti. Value! I also frequently drop Mana Tide Totem early if the board is empty. This may seem like a scrub play, but it usually draws you a couple cards while forcing the opponent to spend their turn using a removal spell on it, ideally. While not necessary for victory, an ideal start is to get the Unbound Elemental out on Turn 3 and use Feral Spirit on Turn 4. Turn 4 is always the best turn to use Feral Spirit or Lightning Storm if possible, because you will then be able to put down a 3 drop (your most common mana amount) on Turn 5 (as you will be overloaded 2). From there, you can control the board with ease as long as you trade well, use your Fire Elementals and Argent Commanders to their highest value, and play with your win condition in mind. Since the abundance of great 5/6 mana minions will be hard to remove when they're dropped in succession, you're aiming for absolute board dominance, along with Flametongue Totem and perhaps some left over spells to burst the enemy down before they can recoup, or play much more passively and hit them with an unexpected Alexstrasza to put them on a timer. Then, Al'Akir the Windlord buffed by Rockbiter Weapon (for 12 damage with 1, or 18 damage with 2) or Flametongue Totem (for 10, plus any Rockbiters) are your game finishers.

Expected Average Winrates

This deck, as played with my understanding of its playstyle and strategy, results in these rough win percentages:

  • Token Druid, Handlock, Control Warrior, Mage (any style), Paladin: 70-80%, best matchups for you.
  • Nerfed Hunter*, Rush Warrior: 65-70%. Still possible to get a bad draw and get rushed down.
  • Watcher Druid: 60-65%. You usually win, but they can out-control you with some luck.
  • Miracle Rogue, Shaman: 50%. Very draw dependent. In Shaman mirror the last one to use Lightning Storm wins.
  • Zoolock: 40%. This is your hardest match up, but it is not unwinnable. Hope to go second and deny them the coin, use your cards very carefully. Knowing when to Lightning Storm and having decent draws will give you the best chance here.

*I haven’t lost to the newly nerfed hunter even once, but I rated this matchup based on how close it felt.

Mulligan Strategy for each Class

At this point, I will simply give you some basic Mulligan strategy based on what class you see in front of you – not a strategy for each deck of that class since you have no way of knowing which deck you’re facing.

Warrior: 

Warrior: Keep Unbound Elemental, Flametongue Totem, Lightning Bolt, Mana Tide Totem, Earthen Ring Farseer in that order of priority. Since a lot of warriors run Fiery War Axe, you probably don’t want to keep Feral Spirit this early. I might also keep Earth Shock in case the Warrior pulls off a crazy Frothing Berserker play.

Shaman:

Keep Unbound Elemental, Feral Spirit and Flametongue Totem above all else. Earthen Ring Farseer and Mana Tide Totem are less good in the early game due to their Rockbiter Weapon and Lightning Bolts. Feel free to keep your own Lightning Bolt. You will probably not get a very good Lightning Storm early unless you roll spell power, and you need board presence much more.

Rogue:

The mulligan keeps are the same as above for Shaman. You really need to pressure Miracle Rogue early, and force them to waste spells before Gadgetzan Auctioneer is out. Ideally you Lightning Bolt the SI:7 Agent after playing Unbound Elemental. Don’t play into Blade Flurry, though. If you have spell power and a Wild Pyromancer, you can kill a Conceal’d Gadgetzan Auctioneer with Lightning Storm.

Paladin:

Earth Shock is heavily suggested in case they use Blessing of Might on an Argent Squire. Besides that, Flametongue Totem is the main priority. It allows your totems to 2 for 1 his hero power. After that, priority goes to Unbound Elemental, Feral Spirit, or Earthen Ring Farseer. Any of the three will do.

Hunter:

Earthen Ring Farseer, Lightning Bolt, and Wild Pyromancer are ideal here. Mana Tide Totem is also a great drop early. They have almost no answer. Save Lightning Bolt for Misha, and a spell + Wild Pyromancer to clean up after Starving Buzzard + Unleash the Hounds.

Druid:

Always, always keep a Hex if you draw it. After that, you want Flametongue Totem, and either Earthen Ring Farseer or Unbound Elemental to fight their probable Harvest Golem. Dropping Mana Tide Totem early so they lose a Wrath or at best a Swipe is also a common strategy when I play.

Warlock:

Hope to go second, both Warlocks need the coin! Always keep Earth Shock and Flametongue Totem. They are key cards for both varieties of Warlock. You probably need to keep Hex if you draw it, because Mountain Giant comes down on Turn 4 and you don’t have many turns to draw into it. You should probably keep Lightning Storm if it's the only good draw you get before replacing cards, in case your hand ends up being really slow. 

Mage:

Unbound Elemental, Feral Spirit, Lightning Bolt are key cards. Lightning Storm is great against Rush Mage, who uses Knife Juggler, Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Mirror Image all with only 2 health. You may also want Earth Shock in case it’s a Freeze Mage and they drop a Doomsayer on you.

Priest:

Lightning Bolt, Unbound Elemental, Feral Spirit, Earthen Ring Farseer, and Mana Tide Totem are all ideal in your opening hand. Holding Flametongue Totem helps you remove their typical 4 mana 5 health minions like Chillwind Yeti, Sen'jin Shieldmasta, and Auchenai Soulpriest.

Unusual Card Choices?

Alexstrasza (Can be substituted for Ragnaros but I prefer Alexstrasza when fighting Control)


Explanation:

Wait, Alexstrasza? Who runs that?
I believe I am one of the few to use Alexstrasza in a Shaman deck successfully. "So, why does this card belong in the deck?" you may be asking. Very similar to how it is used in Legendary Control Warrior, it allows you to set up a lethal scenario when the opponent may have been sitting comfortably at 20+ health. This card allows you to play in a highly controlling manner and never worry about not hitting the opponent's face enough in the early game, because you know you can always reduce them down to 15 anyway. An added benefit with Alexstrasza is against rush decks. You've been there - you're at 10 hp, the mage uses the Fireball in their hand to put you down to 4 hp and hopes to whittle you down with her hero power. Bam,Alexstrasza - huge swing in momentum and any hope for their win is gone. It's amazing offensively and defensively. The only drawback is that you must plan when you play this card, due to its high mana cost. Having just 2 overload will prevent you from playing the card. 

Wild Pyromancer (can be substituted for Thalnos - Wild Pyromancer is better, IMO)

Explanation:

Wild Pyromancer is a better minion on its own statwise, and it turns every spell into an AOE. Plus, I have enough card draw in the deck from the Mana Tide Totems and the Azure Drakes. I often save The Coin for my Wild Pyromancer when I go second. Imagine this situation: The opponent has two Scarlet Crusaders out and two Argent Squires. Wild Pyromancer, The Coin, Lightning Bolt the enemy face clears the entire board. An extra spell power cannot do something like this, and I already have the Azure Drakes as well as my Hero Power: Wrath of Air Totem to lend me enough spell damage to get by without Bloodmage Thalnos. Plus, Bloodmage Thalnos is much easier to remove and a great target for a Handlock's Mortal Coil or a Rogue's Shiv, or an enemy Shaman's Earth Shock.

 No Defender of Argus? But everyone runs him!

 Explanation:

Here's the deal: Defender of Argus is a great card that I used to run 1 copy of in my Shaman deck. The card is at it's best when you give two minions taunt and save yourself from lethal, or buff minions to get great trades. However, especially in this deck, it's rare to find a scenario where it's actually that helpful. It basically ends up being a way overpriced 2/3, and the mana cost of 4 makes it very awkward in a deck that needs to overload a lot early in the match. Buffing a totem to a 2/2 or 1/3 is not actually that useful when you already have 2 Flametongue Totems in the deck. I use the Flametongue Totems to cash my totems in for the opponent's bigger minions, so I can save my removal for even better targets. You can put the Flametongue Totem in the middle of 4 hero power totems, and cash them in to kill a 9 health minion. Positioning also becomes awkward with the Defender of Argus... you can't play a Flametongue Totem in the middle of 2 minions, as well as Argus them. I'm okay with my totems dying easily because I usually abuse the poor guys to take down bigger minions. Here's another reason not to use the Defender of Argus: say you buff your Fire Elemental. It now dies for free to Big Game Hunter or The Black Knight. (To avoid BGH, I sometimes don't play my Fire Elemental next to a Flametongue Totem if I have one on the board) That's a terrible swing in tempo for you. The Black Knight's recent popularity sealed the deal on me removing the Defender of Argus. RIP

Deck Hall of Fame!

TheMpb has hit Legend with the original version of this deck (plus one change)!

His take on the deck and proof of Legend:

[I hit Legend] with your deck, although I changed the second Mana Tide Totem for a Big Game Hunter, because of the mass of handlocks I ran into. I had the most trouble with these funny ramp/token druids. Miracle was pretty easy, because I was able to keep my health high and/or have a bunch of totems up. Even zoo was beatable with this deck. I really like the Earthen Ring Farseers and Alexstrasza. I had so many games where the opponent played his Big Game Hunter, because they didnt expect any 7+ attack minion in a shaman deck. I even got golden Thrall while playing :D. Overall this deck is great and its not that hard to play. Thanks for this deck and keep it up! 
PS: Sorry for my english, I am from Germany. 

Proof: http://i.imgur.com/ksMcQtC.png