Hearthpwn

Going off Guile's Confederation Paladin, I wanted to make a less ambitious decklist including the new Menagerie cards. Tri-tribe felt very unreliable to me and like it lacked a proper wincon, so I'm currently trying this out. If you're looking for a more competitive deck involving murlocs, I'd recommend Kolento's Murloc Control deck, it's a lot harder to lose with. ;p

If this gets to 5 upvotes, I will get drunk by myself. We did it! Whiskey!

 

Card Choices:

Stampeding Kodo: The only beast, to guarantee drawing a beast with the Curator, and Kodo seemed like the obvious choice as it almost always brings value and has a decent body, so it stays relevant by the time you draw it (this way).

Ivory Knight: Ivory Knight heals, has a decent body, and perhaps most importantly, often allows you to draw a second Anyfin Can Happen (which also heals for 10), or a heal/utility card (Enter the Coliseum can turn games around real quick).

Brann Bronzebeard: The deck contains 16 Battlecries. Before you play him with a minion that isn't Ivory Knight, always ask yourself: "Am I sure I won't need to heal for up to 20 health and draw 2 gamechanging cards?"

Bluegill Warrior: This is in the deck almost purely so we see some immediate benefit from playing Anyfin Can Happen. If you played both Warleaders, and depending on your RNG from Murloc Knight, that could be a 7/3 with charge, on top of filling your board.

Acidic Swamp Ooze: I'd love to run Harrison, but we honestly have more than enough draw, and could use more early game. At least until Medivh is released, this seems like the better choice.

Menagerie Magician: I only included one of these because the deck is tremendously slow as is, if I could afford a second one, I would do it.

Bilefin Tidehunter: I decided to run this as an early Murloc (for Zoobot synergy) due to the taunt. It's a bit more sticky than most (depending on the MU) and it still retains some value late game, due to denying face if you have nothing else (since we don't have much in the way of removal). Could still use this as a replacement if you don't have some of the other cards.

Sir Finley Mrrgglton: Not great in this deck imo, as the Silver Hand Recruits can be great for filling empty turns in case you mulligan into 4+ mana hands, Vilefin Inquisitor is a much better choice.

Anyfin Can Happen: I only run one of them, because in this deck, most of the time it's a win-harder card, not a gamechanger. When I get to turn 10, I will most often either have a lot of board and won't have room for the murlocs, or I have no board and the Murlocs will likely be cleared with relative ease by my opponent's superior board. The best case, having some presence but not enough, doesn't really happen that often.

Solemn Vigil: Considering we can easily drop 3+ minions onto the board in one turn, it just makes sense to me. Often times I get to play it for free or 1 mana, but you could probably cut it if you don't like it- it will happen frequently that your board gets cleared on your opponent's turn after all, so I can understand reservations.

 

Combos:

As mentioned above, Brann Bronzebeard + Ivory Knight are a huge combo, I have won games from 1 HP because of this combo.

Another noteworthy combo is Bluegill Warrior + Menagerie Magician- 4/3 with charge out of hand can be huge in certain MUs, like against a surprise Flamewaker or Frothing Berserker. It obviously isn't the best value play, but it can get you out of a tight spot.

A minor combo to realise is that Dragon Consort makes Faerie Dragon free to play, can be good to regain your footing in the early midgame in case you lost control (though I will generally use the cost reduction on Azure Drakes).

 

Matchups:

These are all just based on my limited perception after around 70 games with this deck, so take with a grain of salt.

Favourable MUs: Zoolock, C'Thun Druid, C'Thun Warrior, Pirate Warrior, Mill Rogue, Deathrattle Rogue.

Even MUs: Yogg Mage feels about even if you manage to build board early, Rez Priest is about even if you can bait some of their bigger removal on buffed minions. Also even I'd call Miracle Rogue and Midrange Hunter, and Control Warrior if you don't play into Brawl and save Brann+Ivory Knight for a massive heal. Token druid can go either way, if you can prevent him from snowballing early, you win.

Unfavourable MUs: Everything else (just concede if it's a Shaman). Kappa

 

General Gameplay: Never be afraid to play murlocs, just think of them as an investment into your Anyfin Can Happen (don't waste Murloc Knight, though, you need to play him on turn 6 and inspire at least once for him to be worthwhile imo). Also try to maintain board as much as possible, the majority of games that I lost with this deck, I didn't lose because I ran out of health, I lost because of lack of removal (= board). Don't hold on to Zoobots/MM for dear life, if you can only buff one minion with it, sure, that sucks, but it's worth it if you can trade up/keep board.

General mulligan: The problem with the mulligan is that you might mulligan into a card requiring an activator. Therefore, I usually keep a Faerie Dragon or the Twilight Guardian if I get them, and mulligan other dragons. This changes if your original hand has a Faerie Dragon and another dragon- in this case, I will usually keep both, to play the Faerie Dragon on turn 2 and mulligan the third card (if needed). It's not foolproof, but as a rule of thumb it kinda works.

Shaman: Vilefin Inquisitor, Truesilver Champion, Murloc Warleader, Consecration, Nightbane Templar
Hunter: Vilefin Inquisitor, Nightbane Templar, Bluegill Warrior, Murloc Warleader, Truesilver Champion if you have the coin
Warrior: Vilefin Inquisitor, Truesilver Champion, Murloc Warleader, Zoobot
Priest: Vilefin Inquisitor, Faerie Dragon (moreso than normal), Truesilver Champion, Keeper of Uldaman, Azure Drake if you have the coin
Mage: Vilefin Inquisitor, Faerie Dragon (moreso than normal), Truesilver Champion, Bluegill Warrior, Zoobot, Murloc Warleader
Paladin: Vilefin Inquisitor, Nightbane Templar, Murloc Warleader, Zoobot,
Druid: Vilefin Inquisitor,  Murloc Warleader, Acidic Swamp Ooze, Zoobot, Keeper of Uldaman if you have the coin
Rogue: Vilefin Inquisitor, Murloc Warleader, Nightbane Templar, Zoobot, Truesilver Champion if you have the coin
Warlock: Vilefin Inquisitor, Bluegill Warrior, Acidic Swamp Ooze, Keeper of Uldaman if you have the coin

 

 

Warning: Much like its inspiration, this deck doesn't generally stick until turn 4+, the combos aren't that strong, Mulligan is very problematic due to wanting to hold a dragon but there being so many high cost ones (I regularly end up with a starting hand of 4, 5, 5, 4), the wincon has multiple requirements, and this deck has one of the lowest winrates out of my collection, don't netdeck this and expect to win most of your games. I imagine this deck will get a lot better over time, naturally, as the current hyper-aggro dies down a bit.