Crusher Shaman [Legendary]
- Last updated May 15, 2016 (Old Gods)
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Wild
- 16 Minions
- 14 Spells
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Control Shaman
- Crafting Cost: 7340
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 6/30/2014 (Live Patch 5506)
- HSCrusher
- Deck Architect
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- 12
- 23
- 46
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Battle Tag:
N/A
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Region:
US
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Total Deck Rating
1574
Peak Legend Rank (Season 3): 777
WotoG Update! I'll hopefully do a more complete write up later this season. In the meantime, enjoy an updated, if not finalized decklist. Also, here's a video of me piloting the deck on Twitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UssHC_rep98
Mission Statement: Rely on spells and taunts, including the Ancestral Healing + Injured Blademaster combo, to make it to the late game, then lock the board down with a nearly endless supply of Earth Elementals (using Ancestral Spirit and Faceless Manipulator). The deck can win other ways, but if the game goes long enough this usually works.
(Thank you FromDust for the pic; my record is 4 Earth Elementals at the same time.)
The Story: I was playing my Divine Control Paladin when I faced a player named Loboguerrero. I was surprised when he played Earth Elemental, a risky card in an environment rife with Big Game Hunters and The Black Knights, but with Ancestral Spirit and Faceless Manipulator, the Earth Elementals gained value and seemed nearly endless. I gritted my way through the first four Earth Elementals, but the fifth one did me in. I instantly fell in love with the concept and made my own Ancestral Shaman. I fine tuned it throughout the course of the season, taking it from Rank 13 to Legendary.
The Meta: I think this is a good meta call right now. The copious taunts hold up well against Aggro, Zoo, and give you a shot against Miracle Rogue, while the strong removal options and threatening minions let you outlast most control decks. Opponents will generally expect that you are playing the standard Shaman build. That build has few threats, so opponents will often waste removal on some of your only mildly threatening cards like Fire Elemental, Azure Drake, and even Mana Tide Totem. They will also become detrimentally defensive when they drop into the standard Shaman's burst range of about 18 health. This deck runs almost no burst favoring the Earth Elemental lockdown, but it still benefits from this expectation.
The Stars:
Earth Elemental: This card is usually risky because of its vulnerability to Big Game Hunter and The Black Knight. It costs you 8 mana total and can easily wreck two turns. You should only play this on turn 5 out of utter desperation. The objective is to combo it with Ancestral Spirit and/or Faceless Manipulator to cement its value, burn out the opponent's removal, and hopefully lock down the game.
Ancestral Spirit: Ideally comboed with Earth Elemental for an extremely resilient wall, but can be reasonably comboed with Kel'Thuzad, Fire Elemental, or Injured Blademaster (you get a 4/7 back). Sometimes you just need taunt, so playing it on Sen'jin Shieldmasta is even an option. Finally it can proc (and give future procs) to Wild Pyromancer.
Ancestral Healing: Ideally comboed with Injured Blademaster for an early sturdy taunt. Often draws some hard removal making your Earth Elementals stronger later. Ancestral Healing can also be comboed with The Black Knight for the equivalent of a Chillwind Yeti and an Assassinate at a 3 mana discount. Also useful for emergency taunts or healing up an Earth Elemental (especially just before it is copied with Faceless Manipulator).
Injured Blademaster: Besides the combo with Ancestral Healing, it works well with Ancestral Spirit and to some degree Healing Totem.
Some Other Cards:
Feral Spirit: I only run one of these because in my mind it is a situational card. In the early and mid game when the opponent has only 5 or less attack minions, it essentially functions as a 2/6 taunt that is vulnerable to AoE (and less vulnerable to single target removal). This is not worth 5 mana even if it is spread out over two turns and even against aggro. Later though it is very effective at slowing big threats and blocking finishing combos. You should almost always mulligan this card away and hope to find it later if and when you need it.
Unbound Elemental: A good turn 3 play if you haven't found your Injured Blademaster + Ancestral Healing combo yet. The 4 health helps it stick to the table and with 7 overload cards it can actually get somewhat threatening (maybe draws a silence). It may be worth replacing these with Earthen Ring Farseers to help against Miracle Rogue and Alexstrasza (especially in Freeze Mage).
Sen'jin Shieldmasta: Could have easily been Chillwind Yetis instead, but the extra taunt goes a long way against aggro toward surviving to play an Earth Elemental combo. The extra taunt also helps to block finishing combos.
The Black Knight: A good card in this meta all by itself, since everything but Aggro and Miracle Rogue are forced to play taunts to survive them. Also, the most popular aggro, Zoo, runs taunts of its own. The Ancestral Healing combo (cast Ancestral Healing on an enemy minion to give it taunt, then use The Black Knight's battlecry to destroy it) ensures its inclusion.
Ragnaros the Firelord (replaced): I felt that this deck needed one more big threat past the elementals. I experimented with Alexstrasza for the heal after stabilizing, but Ragnaros feels a bit more versatile. Often a good target for Ancestral Healing to make sure your opponent can't just ignore Ragnaros for the win. Its vulnerability to Big Game Hunter sometimes just ends up helping your Earth Elementals.
Matchups:
A list of the most common matchups I faced on my way to legend. Some mulligan information is included and I rate them according to how well this deck performs against them.
Handlock (Strong): You must be patient. Shamans usually hold Handlock healths hovering in the high teens range and then finish them with a windfury Rockbiter Weapon burst of some sort, but this deck does not have that ability. Instead you have to outlast the Handlock, which sometimes even means literally waiting for the opposing Handlock to run out of cards before making your move. The key is that Handlock actually has fewer threats than you might think: 2 Twilight Drakes, 2 Molten Giants, 2 Mountain Giants, and 1 or 2 Faceless Manipulators. They may also have Alexstrasza (this makes the matchup more difficult). Earth Shock can kill one Twilight Drake while The Black Knight and Hexes can kill three giants. The rest you can kill the hard way. I usually won't attack the opponent's hero until I can handle all of the remaining threats hitting the board on the same turn. This means trading on the board as much as possible and just not attacking a lot of the time. Beware of the Leeroy Jenkins + Power Overwhelming + Faceless Manipulator, 20 damage finisher. Avoid taking damage as much as possible, and have the appropriate number of taunts down to block it. The main danger is falling too far behind in card advantage, so don't overextend on the board for fear of Shadowflame or Hellfire. Finally, try to draw out his Faceless Manipulator(s) before dropping an Earth Elemental + Ancestral Spirit combo.
Zoo (Strong): Mulligan for early drops (4 or less mana), Lightning Bolt, Ancestral Healing, Wild Pyromancer (now removed), Lightning Storm. If you get a Wild Pyromancer or a Lightning Storm by turn 5 you're probably fine. Taunts help you stall until you get it together. Save Lightning Bolt for Knife Juggler or Dire Wolf Alpha if you can. Likewise, save Hex for Doomguard. No need to wait much on Earth Elementals in this matchup since there's no hard removal. If you get one down with Ancestral Spirit, that pretty much ends it.
Control Warrior (Strong): Another patient matchup. Try to save Hexes for truely scary minions, like Sylvanas Windrunner, Cairne Bloodhoof, or Alexstrasza. As a general rule, trade on the board rather than using removal if you can, since Warrior will probably be able to efficiently remove them next turn, and you're not going to rush him down.
Miracle Rogue (Fair): Mulligan for Lightning Storm, Bloodmage Thalnos, Wild Pyromancer, early drops, and Lightning Bolt when facing Rogue. You might even keep a Mana Tide Totem for a turn 3 play, since miracle rogue has to spend removal on it just the same (and you get a card back). Your first goal is to find Lightning Storm + spell power and/or Wild Pyromancer by turn 5 so that you have a chance at killing a Concealed Auctioneer. While you wait play your early drops, but favor playing non-taunts over taunts, so that you can save the taunts to block the Leeroy Jenkins combo. Make sure to keep the opponent's board clear, because it is very difficult to make your own minions stick. Do this with Lightning Bolts and trading. It is key to burn the opponent's Saps, so play your cheap taunts like Sen'jin Shieldmasta and Ancestral Healing before droping your Earth Elementals. Try not to play Feral Spirit until after your opponent plays Blade Flurry; it can really shine in this matchup. Ultimately the shear number of taunts can prevent the Leeroy Jenkins combo and let you coast to victory.
Ramp Druid (Fair): Keep a Hex when mulliganing against Druid just in case they Innervate out a Chillwind Yeti. Druid has limited removal options, which should work to your advantage, but does almost guarantee they run The Black Knight and Big Game Hunter. Beware the Savage Roar + Force of Nature combo (minimum 14 damage). Make sure you have enough taunt if your health gets low.
Freeze Mage (Poor): Go, Go, Go! Kill them as fast as possible...but it probably won't work. Mulligan for anything that will do damage fast; forget cards that help with board control. Earth Shock is really helpful for unfreezing your minion or neutralizing a Doomsayer. If you really want to increase your odds in this matchup, try adding Earthen Ring Farseers in place of Unbound Elementals. Save them for after the opponent plays Alexstrasza. They're helpful in some other matchups too, especially Miracle Rogue.
If you have any more questions about matchups, card choices, etc. or suggestions, let me know in the comments!
Season 4 Update: I have replaced one Unbound Elemental with an extra Earth Shock to help combat the influx of Zoo and the prominence of some new cards, especially Nerubian Egg.
Naxx Update: I have replaced Ragnaros the Firelord with Kel'Thuzad. Kel is great behind the many taunts in this deck or with Ancestral Spirit. He's almost like another win condition for the deck. Also Wild Pyromancer has been replaced with Loatheb. Loatheb belongs in almost every deck.
Deck in Action:
Zilea - Control Warrior (caution: language, 5 Fire Elementals)
Faction - Midrange Shaman
News: It sounds like on Wednesday, July 2nd, Day9 will be playing this deck on his daily: http://day9.tv/d/Day9/day9-hearthstone-decktacular-23-crusher-shaman/ . Tune in; it should be fun!
The Hearthstone streamer, Realz, has been playing this deck on ladder with great success. He explains his reasoning very well, and it would be a great way to learn about the deck.
http://www.twitch.tv/realz_/b/543631041 (Starts playing the deck at 6 hour mark)
http://www.twitch.tv/realz_/b/543924429 (Continues playing and later modifies deck at starting at 1:05)
http://www.twitch.tv/realz_/ (His stream)
Some fans of the deck have provided video spotlights that explain card choices, matchups, and/or give example gameplay. Check them out for advice on how to play the deck. Enjoy!
TheChiv: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2vekv7C3Xg&feature=youtu.be
Matt Sparks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3Xf2dkLxUM
Tim Clark features Crusher Shaman in an article from PC Gamer's Hearthstone Help series called "Three Fun Decks to Try": http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/07/09/hearthstone-help-three-fun-decks-to-test/
Great deck, definetly kinda draw dependent at lower ranks not an issue... however this deck struggles when you get to higher ranks I can see it being possible to get legend however there are definetly easier decks to do this with.
As much as I would like this deck to be a winner it's too dependent upon draws where other more mainstream decks aren't. I've played it 30 times and it needs the right draws or else you inevitably lose. It's fun, don't get me wrong, but when it goes bad it goes real bad and you lose to the Agro decks especially paladin and mage. Fun? Yes. Viable long term? Just not reliable enough.
"Zoo (Strong): Mulligan for early drops (4 or less mana), Lightning Bolt, Ancestral Healing, Wild Pyromancer, Lightning Storm. If you get a Wild Pyromancer or a Lightning Storm by turn 5 you're probably fine. Taunts help you stall until you get it together. Save Lightning Bolt for Knife Juggler or Dire Wolf Alpha if you can. Likewise, save Hex for Doomguard. No need to wait much on Earth Elementals in this matchup since there's no hard removal. If you get one down with Ancestral Spirit, that pretty much ends it."
Far from it. They're playing with Owls now.
Ancestral Spirit on Raganaros, then Faceless. They still let it play out!
It's fine against rush. Mulligan for early removal, lay down your turn 3 and turn 4 taunters. Combo with Earth Elemental + Whatever. Game over.
Unbound elemental is great. It can trade for their two toughness guys, and it almost always draws out their strong removal.
I was sceptical but after few games I really like this deck thank you. It looks like Amaz's priest gameplay.
Just to be sure, what means :
= play it turn 5 only if you are desperate ?
Yes, and just to elaborate on LamoraHS's answer: you run the risk of cards like Big Game Hunter, Black Knight, and hard removal efficiently killing the Earth Elemental on turn 5. Your turn 6 will then be very weak because of the overload, and your opponent pulls pretty much an entire turn ahead of you in tempo.
Great deck so far.
Enjoy frustrating those rogues and locks that have had it too easy for sooo long!
I made a few changes as i dont have all the cards yet. Cairn instead of TBK. Cairn combos great with AS & AH plus can faceless once combo'd (most rage quit after this).
Also dropped the elementals (too unreliable), Bloodmage and 1x spirit wolf for an extra earth shock (good against pallys and hand lock), a Rockbiter weapon (extra clearance against warrior) and Earthen Ring Farseer (pairs well with injured blademaster and some survival).
THanks for the great deck
Fossbyflop
Really enjoying the deck this far, played only 13 matches sitting at a 69% win ratio (9 wins).
Luckily tho, I had 3 match ups vs paladins which were insanely easy, hopefuly I'll get down there at rank 1-3 to see what the deck is really about!
Thank you for the deck.
This is a fun deck. The ancestral healings can also be used offensively if your opponent has a big threat on the board and you a black knight in your hand. I just used it to remove Ysera off someones board.
This is an awesome deck :) I'm having a lot of fun using it. I normally don't play shaman. Here is a video tutorial of this deck with the same cards for anyone interested. I play against a very aggressive Rogue and pull out the win.
http://youtu.be/QNMP0R34XI4
Initially I looked at this deck and thought ok cool concept then I decided to play it. At first I was underwhelmed. I found alot of it was very draw dependant and having a very limited draw engine caused some issue. It lost most of its matches. After a bit more testing I grew more comfortable with the deck and the wins began to come. Aggro can easily tear this deck apart if you dont draw into the right combinations and recovery in this deck is really hard, however if you pull it off you will easily lock down most decks nicely. Handlock was so easy I felt bad for the guy.
Another good removal this deck offers if you have blown both hexes (I had used one on rag and one on a sylvanas, when he summoned an alexstraza). Ancestral heal alexstraza and then black knight, may seem obvious to people more experienced with this deck but its a nice outside-the-box trick for newbies. Warrior conceded after this xD
Haha literally just posted this a second ago but with Ysera =).
My only problem with this deck is that I've yet to actually "win" with it. I either lose do to bad draw (not often) otherwise my opponent concedes. It's very unsatisfying to win immediately after I clone my Ancestral Spirit buffed Earth Elemental.
Realz's stream has taken to calling it "Ragequit" Shaman, and now you see why. I think I actually find that to be a more satisfying way to win. Rather than actively destroying the opponent, this deck often protects itself until the opponent withers away. The best example is against Handlock where they frequently just literally run out of cards. You may not ever have to attack their face.
Just used a FM on an AS'ed Cairne, My opponent just insta conceded. So OP.
Crusher, I don't think I've ever gotten so many consecutive concedes in a single play through. Of course this has been in casual where people let my Mana Tide alone turn after turn, but I can easily see getting Legend with this deck. The novelty combined with the potency of some of the combos leave most of my opponents completely lost on what to do. Bravo, sir or ma'am :)
Lol, I just made this deck and tried a few games. I'm experiencing exactly what the 3 comments above me say about consecutive concedes. Pretty funny.
Been playing a variation of this deck for quite a while:
Awesome guide by the way!