Hearthpwn

This deck is obviously not my creation.  I'm sure it's on this site multiple times.  But after playing Hearthstone since its public release in early 2014, spending an embarrassing amount of money on it, and amassing an equally embarrassing 6,537 wins, the 6,538th put me at legend for the first time.  Ten days into the month and Legend Rank 56 no less.  I owe it to this ridiculously OP deck that somehow took me from level 7 to the promised land in two days and no more than six hours of games.  I lost a single game at Rank 1.

So I am not posting this deck to claim any creativity or anything like that, but to commemorate the life achievement that this deck has brought me.  I'm happy to write up a guide if people upvote.  Cheers!

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The response to this deck has been rather amusing.  Despite my immediate indication that this was not my creation, about half of the reviews have been "not this same old cancer, why do you post this," etc., and a bunch of downvotes.  The point is that many of us have been playing for a long time, trying every deck in the book, without ever reaching legend.  Getting that monkey off our backs is important for our overall enjoyment of the game.  And reaching legend is exceedingly difficult; past rank 5, everyone knows what they are doing, and achieving anything above a 50% win rate (which is necessary) is a monumental task.  I've gone through original Wallet Warrior, old school Miracle Rogue, Huntertaker, Freeze Mage (with Mad Scientist), countless iterations of Zoo, you name it, only hitting Rank 2 four times.  Then this deck came along, and boom.

Conjuring Herm Edwards, we play to win the game.  This deck accomplished that better for me than any other.  So here's my best at explaining how to play the deck, first in general, and then against the matchups that I saw from 7-legend.

General Considerations and Plan

This is an aggro deck.  But it is not a face deck.  Aggro, at least in my mind, indicates a plan to pressure your opponent out of the gates and never let go.  This does not mean you blindly hit face, and it similarly means that you do not blindly trade to maintain a board.  Shaman has the best early value minions in the game at the moment, and this deck takes full advantage.

The plan is therefore to grab control of the board with minions and then hold the board either through outright victory or when you are in range of the deck's substantial burst with Lava Burst/Lightning Bolt and/or Doomhammer/Rockbiter Weapon.  Trade when your control of the board is threatened, but go face when you know the opponent is forced to trade for you.  If you lose control of the board before you drop your opponent to lethal range, you are almost certain to lose.  This requires above else knowing your opponent's plan and adjusting your decisions accordingly.

This generally means going face against control and trading against aggro, but then always with an eye towards lethal over the next turn or three.   Control and C'Thun Warrior, for example, have plans of killing all opposing minions until its late game cards outvalue yours.  These decks will often not even attempt face damage in the first ten turns or later.  You can therefore generally assume that if you go face, they will trade into your minions.  You can wear them down and win before their late game minions overpower yours.

On the other hand, Zoo has a similar plan to this deck - control the board with minions starting with turn 1 and never let go.  Don't let Zoo snobs fool you; Zoo is an aggro deck.  If you can hold the board with your higher-value minions, you will win the game.  Face damage should be an afterthought until lethal starts to enter the picture.

Positioning

Again, you will be facing intelligent tryhards above rank 5.  Every edge you can eke out of a matchup matters.  Nonetheless, I noticed consistent misplays against mirror matchups when it comes to minion positioning.

Positioning is irrelevant in many decks, but for some (like Zoo), it can decide games.  This deck has four cards that are impacted by positioning - two Flametongue Totems, and two Tuskarr Totemics.  Even if you hold neither in your hand, always assume that your next draw will be a Flametongue Totem.  You'd be surprised how often it matters.

A fabulous guide to positioning in the Zoo context is found here.  It is worth reading for anyone serious about this game.  The TLDR version is to put your strong minions to the left and your weak to the right.  That holds equally true for this deck - remember that a "chain" of buffed minions ends with divine shield and taunt, so it is often correct to place your Abusive Sergeants between, say, a Thing from Below on the left and a Flamewreathed Faceless on the right.  This allows you to later drop a Flametongue Totem on either side, trading your Abusive Sergeant for 4 damage while slamming the other two for 7 or 9 damage, respectively.

Similarly, you must map out your turn before making your first move.  If your turn involves hero powering prior to Finley (more on him below), hero power first.  As obvious as this seems, it's amazing how often you see opponents screw this up.  One of my biggest flaws in playing this game is acting too quickly.  My fiancé was out of town the weekend I hit legend; I was devoid of distractions, drinking 12-year scotch, and playing slowly.  A serious legend push requires serious concentration.

Sir Finley Mrrgglton

I see a lot of decks where people ask how to choose hero powers with Sir Finley, who is in my estimation one of the greatest cards in the game.  The answer is simply that it depends.  It depends not only on the matchup, but where you are in the matchup.  The Warlock hero power is generally the best, especially against any form of control, but it can spell defeat against another aggro deck.  Even against control, though, the Mage power can be correct over Warlock if it means notching an immediate extra point of damage to wrest control of the board.

Similarly, the Priest or Warrior powers can be (but are not always) correct against Freeze Mage; you just have to use your judgment.  I will add that the Rogue power seems never to be correct because of Doomhammer, and the Paladin power likewise seems to add nothing.

 But in general, knowing nothing about your opponent, I would rank the powers as Warlock > Druid (because of Doomhammer) > Hunter > Mage > Priest > Paladin > Warrior > Rogue.

Card Selection and Mulligan Considerations

Most of the cards are self-explanatory.  Ben Brode himself said that Shaman got strong cards because it was so weak for so long.  In many ways you're a fool for not taking advantage of that.

Mulligans are often dependent on what else you have in your hand.  This deck requires you to get to work right away.  Therefore, if you have an Argent Squire in your opening draw on the Coin, for example, you can be more liberal keeping a Tuskarr Totemic, which you would otherwise toss without hesitation.  I see people on this site looking for paint-by-numbers approaches to the mulligan, but it's hardly ever that simple.  Evaluate each hand and opponent independently, mapping out your first three turns if at all possible.

Abusive Sergeant

Works extremely well with all totems, Sir Finley Mrrgglton, Argent Squire, and Argent Horserider.  However, I don't keep it in my mulligan unless I have a counterpart, such as Finley or a squire.

Argent Squire

Establishes board presence and interacts with Abusive Sergeant and Flametongue Totem.  It also serves the important role of refuting weapon classes (hello, Fiery War Axe), as spending two charges on a 1-drop is an easy win for you.  Always keep in mulligan.

Lightning Bolt

Removal and behind-the-taunt face lethal.  Synergizes with Tunnel Trogg.  Mandatory.  Keep in mulligan if against 3-damage 1-drops (Shaman, Mage, Priest, Warlock), or if you have an otherwise terrific opening hand.

Rockbiter Weapon

Drives everyone nuts when paired with Doomhammer.  Also key early removal, and don't be afraid to slap it on an Argent Squire to take out an opposing Totem Golem.  Remember, control the board!  Keep in mulligan if you're facing the 3-drop classes, but that's plan B; you want to take control of the board, not react to your opponent's board.

Sir Finley Mrrgglton

See above.

Tunnel Trogg

Nothing to see here.  Along with Mana Wyrm, best 1-drop in the game.  However, do NOT play this on turn 1 against Warriors.  Always assume the Warrior has a Fiery War Axe because, even if they don't these days, they have Alexstrasza's Champion, and that usually means GG.  Against Warrior you really need to play the Trogg behind a taunt.

Flame Juggler

This is a one-of that I selected because I saw it in countless other Shaman decks and figured that someone smarter than me must know something I don't.  I hate its concept and effect.  In fact, I replaced it with a number of other cards early in the month, from Earth Shock to Ancestral Knowledge to Eternal Sentinel to Lightning Storm.  But I found that each of those cards either (1) went against this deck's plan of controlling the board with minions, (2) lost too much tempo, or (3) just didn't do enough.  In the end, the flexibility of playing a 2/3 came in handy, and the one damage can be devastating when it hits a Fiery Bat or whatnot.  In short, I don't love this card, but it seems to fit the slot better than any other.

Flametongue Totem

See the above section on positioning.  Also lowers the cost of Thing from Below. A helpful tip - when checking if you have lethal and this card is in your hand, just add 4 to your other damage output.  That speeds up the math, which can go a long ways when the rope is burning.

Totem Golem

Nothing to see here either.  OP.  I believe coining this out is correct on turn 1 when you have Finley or Squire as a follow up, or when you know you will be playing Feral Spirit on turn 3.

Argent Horserider

Does a great job of clearing early opposing minions and getting two-for-ones.  After all, that's the name of the game with this deck - outvalue their early cards so that you can burst them down before they can react.  Also can do a great job closing out lethal when placed next to a Flametongue Totem after the totem's neighbors already reaped the benefit.  But always toss this in the mulligan.

Feral Spirit

Super strong core Shaman card.  The overload is brutal, so make sure to plan around it.  Best weapon against Rogue, Druid, and Warrior to grab the early board.  Keep a copy against those matchups in your mulligan.

Lava Burst

This is the heart of the deck's burst, but it is also crucial to contain the board against Darkshire Councilman, Frothing Berserker, and other high-threat minions if you have no other options.  Remember, you need to control the board unless lethal is imminent.  Don't be afraid to use this card on minions if your opponent's health is still well out of range.

Tuskarr Totemic

This card is just excellent.  Always assume you will spawn Flametongue Totem for positioning purposes.  And don't forget that whatever you get will decrease the cost of Thing from Below.  Normally toss this in your mulligan, but I will occasionally keep this if my first two turns are otherwise taken care of.

Flamewreathed Faceless

No need to explain.  Shaman decks that don't run this are missing the point.  But I never kept one in my mulligan.

Doomhammer

Yes, you need two copies.  By the time this comes out, you should either be in a position to just pound face and hope you can go lethal, or have such a grip on the board that you can use the weapon to snub out any totems or Silver Hand Recruits your opponent desperately spawns trying to keep up.  Pairs wonderfully with the Druid power.  I never keep this in a mulligan.

Thing from Below

When Old Gods was released, I thought this was a purely midrange card because of its seeming anti-synergy with Sir Finley Mrrgglton.  What I failed to appreciate was that this card synergizes with Totem Golem, Flametongue Totem, and Tuskarr Totemic even if you swap your hero power on turn 1.  Playing TFB for 5 mana is solid, and playing it for 4 is major value.  Anything less, as just about everyone knows by now, is disgusting.  

Concluding Thoughts and Specific Matchups

I can't say it enough, this deck requires control of the board to succeed.  You will usually be way ahead or way behind by turn 4-5.  Warrior is the toughest at the moment because they have so many archetypes, from tempo to dragon to wallet to C'Thun (pirate is nonexistent in the top ranks).  The tempo versions are difficult but far from impossible.  Race down the controllish versions.

Zoo is also everywhere, and it's important to understand what that deck really does to beat it.  Zoo aims to control the board with cheap minions and replenish with the hero power, yes, but that's not all.  Zoo really succeeds by buffing its cheap minions into efficient trades. Abusive Sergeant, Power Overwhelming, Defender of Argus, Dire Wolf Alpha, and even Dark Iron Dwarf turn those sad 1/1's into killing machines.  If you appreciate that, then you will use that extra Doomhammer charge on the token instead of an additional 2 face damage.  Zoo relies on a board to win, so if you keep their board empty, they have no way of accomplishing their plan.

Well that took a while to write.  I hope you all enjoyed it, and good luck!  See if you can break through the legend barrier before the next adventure/expansion introduces some other OP deck for the whiners to complain about :)