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Brann Evolve

  • Last updated Jun 23, 2016 (Old Gods)
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Wild

  • 22 Minions
  • 8 Spells
  • Deck Type: Ranked Deck
  • Deck Archetype: Midrange Shaman
  • Crafting Cost: 4720
  • Dust Needed: Loading Collection
  • Created: 6/23/2016 (Old Gods)
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  • Battle Tag:

    Marvol4Ever#2615

  • Region:

    EU

  • Total Deck Rating

    8

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Battlecries and Evolution

Just putting this deck out there as I don't think there is much like it.

Basically I've tried to get the mutual synergy of Battlecry minions with Brann as well as with Evolving, as these minions tend to have high costs for their raw stats. Roughly the plan is to play something with a Battlecry then Evolve it into something more substantial before it dies, or to play Brann plus something with a Battlecry to get free stuff. Or both.

Of course Evolving is also useful to 'heal' damaged minions and to get more use out of these silly Stoneclaw and Searing Totems, so you're very likely to get value out of Evolve and the Masters of Evolution.

Hence, zero Deathrattles, as little Overload as possible on minions, and no Flametongue or Mana Tide Totems. No Feral Spirit either as the Wolves themselves are 2-cost minions once cast, so Evolving them brings no benefit. 

 

The core of the deck

Brann Bronzebeard, 2x Evolve and 2x Master of Evolution. As above, all other minion cards interact favourably with these 5.

The Battlecry bones of the deck

2x Tuskarr Totemic, 2x Azure Drake, 1x Defender of Argus and 2x Fire Elemental are staples of Shaman and fit perfectly both with Brann as well as with Evolving.

C'Thun buffs without the C'Thun?! What madness is this!?

Two C'Thun-related minions also fit this theme, so not only do we have 2x Disciple of C'Thun but also the Twin Emperor Vek'lor - without C'Thun itself.  Note that each of the Emperors is actually a 7-costed minion once casted - so if you're feeling lucky you can get 2x 8-costed random minions for just 8 mana. The Rag + Tirion dream is real! At a pinch - if your C'Thun is not at 10/10 - you could even play a single Emperor with Evolve to give you a random 8-drop - only 1 card more expensive than Forbidden Shaping and arguably better than a single 4/6 Taunt.

As we don't need to buff C'Thun to any level over 10, there is only a single C'Thun's Chosen - itself a decent candidate for Evolution - and a single Beckoner of Evil - which aids in getting early game. Of the 4 C'Thun buffing minions you only need to find 2 before playing the Twin Emperors - or only one if you combine with Brann. Doable.

Thing from Below

Another great fit as the nominal cost of 6 makes it a great target for Evolving, and the cost will come down during the game - even without Totemic Call a single Totem Golem and Tuskarr already take this minion down to cost only 4 for a 5/5. But should you get the cost down to 0 nothing is stopping you from using Master of Evolution to essentially say "Battlecry: Summon a random 6-Cost minion". Take that, Faceless Summoner!

Al'Akir the Finishlord

Finally at top end Al'Akir fits perfectly, not only a great Shaman finisher but also a great candidate for Evolving as he is rather understatted once he's lost his Divine Shield and the Windfury has abated. You can essentially get an undamaged 9-drop with 6 damage done on t9. Note that apart from Majordomo (and perhaps Nozdormu is annoying) all 9-drops are pretty good.

The early game

I think the normal Shaman early game is good enough it doesn't need battlecries (plus you want to play this before Brann, not alongside or after); hence I am not running the high value but low-impact Jeweled Scarab. Tried it, was too slow and greedy.

Instead it focuses on board presence with enough health to be able to chuck in a cheeky Evolve on t3 or t4. Hence simply 2x Tunnel Trogg, 2xTotem Golem and a single Flame Juggler to go with aforementioned Beckoner.

Filling out the gaps

I suppose there is lots of room for moving the spells around but so far I've stuck with:

1xEarth Shock - brilliant Shaman card combining silence with damage - takes the edge off any Mana Wyrm/Tunnel Trogg/Northshire Cleric/Acolyte of Pain early but also the likes of Tirion or anything else large and annoying later on.

1x Lightning Bolt - again for early control mostly, works well with Tunnel Trogg. Could be swapped for Stormcrack I suppose.

2xLightning Storm - because there is just so much Zoo and Aggro around. If there isn't and it's Control you're facing -> Hex or Doomhammer or a minion (Jeweled Scarabsprings to mind).

1x Hex - I started off with 2 which may be needed against Control, now running only 1 though, and replaced the second copy with:

1x Bloodlust - if you can get a board with several minions Evolved, it will often be difficult for your opponent to clear. Bloodlust at that point becomes a good finisher. It can be utterly dead in your hand if your opponent gets the board but that's Shaman life for you.

Have fun with this, I really like it, not sure how strong it is as I'm only a patzer :), but it's something different with still a lot of Shaman flavour.

I also suppose there might be room to tech in other Battlecry minions depending on what you face; stuff like Cult Apothecary and Mind Control Tech, Stampeding Kodo,The Black Knight. Not sure but there is room to experiment I think.