Token Druid (Naturalized)
- Last updated Jul 20, 2014 (Live Patch 5506)
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Wild
- 16 Minions
- 14 Spells
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Unknown
- Crafting Cost: 5840
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 7/6/2014 (Live Patch 5506)
- Viggen2012
- Registered User
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- 3
- 19
- 25
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Battle Tag:
Viggen#2390
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Region:
EU
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Total Deck Rating
112
Preambule
Hello, I'm Viggen and i've been playing Druid for pretty some time - always reaching ranks 3-4 in every season, mostly not climbing higher due to time limitation. This season I'm aiming to finally hit the legend rank and I'd like to present my variation of the deck by ek0p (man u are great btw, nice beard, music and deck - don't miss so much LETHALs :)!).
UPDATE: 09/07/2014 - card choices explanation
UPDATE 2: 10/07/2014 - Completed the guide with general gameplay, mulligan choices and class-specific strategies.
UPDATE 3: Updated the deck, after trying some more variations - Loot Hoarder was replaced for Ragnaros the Firelord. Works well vs aggro and control (you just need to release your 8/8 guy it in the right moment).
UPDATE 4: From rank 5 (1-star) to rank 3 (1-star): 12-2 with 100% winrate against handlocks and only one loss against a miracle rogue.
UPDATE 5: Changed Argent Squire x2 for Goldshire Footman x2. Seems to be working better vs aggro and also vs shamans. Allows to protect your tokens as well.
UPDATE 6: Did some changes to the deck to better adapt to the meta.
-Ragnaros +Hogger
- 2xGoldshire +Loot Hoarder + Naturalize
- Starfall +Sen'jin
Card Choices
Must Haves: 18 (cards which are the core of the deck):
2 x Violet Teacher
This is your primary token generator.
2 x Savage Roar + Force of Nature
Your finishers + board cleaning option if totally desperate.
2 x Ancient of Lore
Heal or draw power at your choice.
2 x Swipe
Helps to clean the board or to do the last bit of damage to the face.
2 x Keeper of the Grove
Works primarily as silence, but can be used as a damage dealer as well.
2 x Wrath
Your early-game life saver and a token generator.
2 x Power of the Wild
Incredibly versatile - either synergies with Violet Teacher, or works as a 3/2 drop early game.
2 x Druid of the Claw
Your 4-damage charger or 6 hp taunt at your will.
Important: 8 (card, that can be swapped, but not likely):
2 x Harvest Golem
One of the best 3-mana drops in the game.
2 x Innervate
Why not in the core part? The deck has good draw power, but it's just good - not immense. At the same time, it is not mana heavy. Thus in some very rare cases, one of Innervates, MIGHT be swapped, but I do not recommend this.
2 x Azure Drake
A very good card, which gives spellpower and card draw. Most likely not replaced, but can be swapped for some utility 5-6 mana card like Black Knight or Sylvana, for example.
1 x Bloodmage Thalnos
One of the best choices when you need spellpower and card draw. If that is not the case (i.e. you require a stronger body than 1/1 can be exchanged for another Loot Hoarder or Kobold Geomancer
1 x Naturalize
Basically, Naturalize replaces Big Game Hunter in this deck.
This change serves several purposes:
- can give problems to handlocks and miracle rogues (Leeroy being burnt by the hand being too full is so cute!)
- more legal targets - i.e. doesn't only target 7+ attack cards
- and MOST important - allows u to still bring your combo at 10 mana through an enemy taunt (even those pesky divine shielded or highly buffed)
Swappable: 4 (swappable, can be replaced):
1 x Starfall
Everything is great about this card except 2 things: it is slow and it doesn't target the enemy player. It has a good use in killing 5-6 hp bodies or clear the full board of small minions. However, I'm sure for many players the drawbacks of Starfall will outweigh its benefits. Feel free to replace with anything, that helps you with board control: Cenarius, Cairne Bloodhoof, Sylvana hell, even Hogger.
1 x Ragnaros the Firelord
Works well, when you need a strong finisher or to try to clear some huge threat on the board. DO nto fear the BGH - the only reason for you to get Ragnaros is either to bring your enemy to the combo range or to clear the threat. If he stays on board after that - think of it as a bonus.
2 x Argent Squire
With the amount of Blood Knights around and the Squire being just 1/1 (and you cannot buff it by your spells) - this is just a slight presence on the board in the beginning of the game. I think can be swapped for another 1-2 mana minion. I'm actually thinking about Murloc Tidecaller - it's 1/2 for 1 mana and is likely to draw a silence in the beginning since people will anticipate you bringing his murloc friends around.
General play strategy
The deck, like any other token deck is based on controlling the board. In the current meta versus certain classes it is simply impossible to establish a solid board control (i.e. Paladin with his Equality combos), but nevertheless, it is one of the key targets for this deck.
The deck is not easy to play, as you have to be patient and decisive at the same time. Normally, you would like to be pretty conservative with using Innervate and The Coin, because while they allow you to get tempo - if the enemy swipes the board next turn - you have miserable chances to win.
Another very important thing is to be VERY careful with Naturalize. Always think, what threats the enemy has left (or might have) in his deck and if it is really the right time to use it, as it gives him 2 additional cards. Normally, enemies do not expect you having it and the classic use of it would be to use it on turn 10+ with your combo bypassing the taunt that enemy placed to protect his life. Other than that, you should normally use Naturalize when you are 100% sure that you die next turn if you do not use it, OR when you are sure that you will kill the enemy next turn as you have answers to what he can play (i'll give an example in the Warlock (Handlock) section).
Finally, try to take maximum advantage of the Violet Teacher, the classic way being a Violet Teacher + Innervate + Power of the Wild combo, which gives a really solid board presence.
Class match-ups: mulligan and game plan
The match-ups I describe below are the ones, that are currently more or less present in the meta and cover roughly 90% of the decks that you will see while climbing the ladder.
The typical cards you should mulligan for are: Argent Squire, Innervate, Harvest Golem, Loot Hoarder, Wrath and if you have Innervate, you can also keep Violet Teacher. I do not recommend keeping Druid of the Claw even with Innervate as it is too risky.
In the class section regarding mulligans I will be giving the cards that you can mulligan for in ADDITION to the standard mulligan choices listed above.
Warlock:
Mulligan for: Naturalize, Keeper of the Grove
- Zoolock Versus Zoolock the matchup is really hard. You have to pray for a nice draw and try to trade with him taking as less damage as possible, while not allowing him to control the board. Your best friends here are: Keeper of the Grove (for killing Knife Juggler and Dire Wolf Alpha), Swipe, Starfall, Wrath. You have to keep your Naturalize for the first Doomguard. Other than that, just play it safe and do not fear to use your Force of Nature to clear the board (try to prepare the situation, so that each treant kills a creature.)
- Handlock This one is a mind game. If handlock gets a bad start - then the game is pretty much yours. If he has a nice start - then it works as follows: Keeper of the Grove should be used on his Twilight Drake, then Naturalize - I wouldn't use it on the first Mountain Giant, unless his hand is full and by naturalizing you will burn 2 cards for him (if you are lucky it would be Shadowflame or may be a giant or Sunfury Protector/Defender of Argus). But normally I would rather try to kill it by other means if it doesn't leave you without creatures. Then, if you still have Keeper of the Grove and your combo in hand - you can naturalize this taunted giant and go into the face. In most cases, he will bring the Molten Giant and taunt it as well. Then you bring up your KotG and finish him (check the HP carefully, you have to do lethal damage in that turn otherwise you are screwed). Beware of bringing the warlock lower than 18 hp, till you have lethal or if you are not in the situation where you KNOW you are able to handle the taunts which he can put on the board. Another thing is that he has Shadowflame - this needs to be taken into account as well.
Rogue:
Mulligan for: Keeper of the Grove
- Miracle This matchup is random. If the rogue is lucky with the spells he rotate through his Gadgetzan Auctioneer and then follows it up with Leeroy Jenkins combo - there is really small chance you can win it, as he will simply ensure that the board is clear and even 24 hp is not enough for you to be safe. The good thing is that it happens not too often, which gives us a good chance to win. First of all - always try to control the board, this is vital as you need to constantly keep pressure and deal damage. Secondly IF he doesn't stealth his Auctioneer (for example when he cleared your minions) - this is when you have to use your Naturalize - his hand is full and he will get 2 cards burnt. Several times I burnt Leeroy this way and the rogue simply ragequitted right away.
- Aggro/Tempo Same as Warlock (Zoolock). The only difference is that your Naturalize will most likely be used on some of the hardest taunt or highest buffed minion somewhere in the middle of the game.
Paladin:
Mulligan for: Standard
- Control Pretty easy match-up. You need to play your minions slowly (to ensure he cannot get a good Equality). Paladins heal themselves a lot, so you need to be checking for lethal damage every turn and never ever do your combo (especially at high mana) thinking that he has 3 hp left and you have Swipe, so you kill him next turn - most likely that will NOT happen and you will die a painful death later.
- Aggro Same as Warlock (Zoolock). The difference is that your Naturalize will most likely be used on some of the hardest taunt or highest buffed minion somewhere in the middle of the game and the priority target for Keeper of the Grove is most likely the Knife Juggler as paladin can keep his ability going with his hero power endlessly.
Warrior:
Mulligan for: Keeper of the Grove
- Control A tricky matchup, yet still favourable for Token Druid in my opinion. You have to basically watch out for 3 things: 1) do not let him gain armor (focus those pesky Armorsmith ASAP); 2) always keep Naturalize for either Garrosh Hellscream or (preferrably) for Alexstraza, which he will bring together with Gorehowl to finish you; 3)remember, that he has Brawl - never go with your minion all-in unless it allows you to do lethal damage THIS turn.
- Aggro You should normally simply demolish that kind of warriors to oblivion.
Hunter:
Mulligan for: Standard
- Trap/Weapon Normally a favourable matchup for us. You have to be VERY careful with traps that he places, as this is the difference between winning and losing. Try to guess, what kind of trap he placed based on the situation on board. Also, do not forget about his combo and always try to keep the board not overwhelmed with your minions after turn 6. Also, please mind that on turn 10+ he can do Leeroy Jenkins + Unleash the Hounds + Timber Wolf combo and it really hurts - try to keep taunt on board at that time.
Priest:
Mulligan for: Standard
- Control This shouldn't be hard to win. You only have to watch for his Auchenai Soulpriest combo and generally just put pressure on the priest. Nothing really special about the matchup.
Mage:
Mulligan for: Keeper of the Grove
- Freeze If played right - the freeze mage is not a problem for our claws. You have to remember, that he has Doomsayers, so be sure to have the ability to remove it with spells if you bring lots of creatures on board. Another thing is that you should always beware of Archmage Antonidas and save your Naturalize for that magician. Your primary target when playing Freeze mage is to ensure that he wastes spells on your minions, instead of dealing the damage to your face.
- Aggro/Tempo Same as Warlock (Zoolock). The only difference is that your Naturalize will most likely be used on some of the hardest taunt or highest buffed minion somewhere in the middle of the game. Also, try to save Starfall, for the point when he brings Knife Juggler covered by Mirror Image.
Druid:
Mulligan for: Standard
- Ramp Very hard to win this matchup. Ramp druid is ahead of us in tempo due to Wild Growth and also has our wombo-combo at hand. What I suggest here is to try to get as much damage to him as possible and be careful with removing taunts. I would normally save [cardNaturalize[/card] for Ragnaros or Ancient of War if I'm sure that this lets me kill him. Do not be disappointed if you lose this because you are practically supposed to do so. If you meet many druids in your ladder climb - you may bring the Black Knight to the deck to help with taunts. Also, Ramp druid normally run those knights themselves, so think twice before placing your Druid of the Claw in bear form.
- Token Mostly depends on who draws a good token combo first. Other than that, it's obviously a 50/50 matchup :) Try to not let the Violet Teacher to get out of hands and you should be fine.
Shaman:
- Various I believe that is our worst matchup, as Shaman has the best clearance vs our tokens. Moreover, I've seen so many strategies they use, and even by first turns you cannot predict what kind of shaman you are playing against. The only thing I suggest - is not to waste your silences early and try to keep Starfall at hand when he brings his totem army.
- It's hard to advice anything here as I myself didn't define the right strategy to adapt to Shamans yet - so I just play it safe and solid searching for a chance to pull the combo.
P.S. If u like the deck - please rate it up :)
With the release of Naxx, I think one obvious change to this deck would be would be to replace the Loot Hoarder with Haunted Creeper. The two extra 1/1's are great for the pump spells and maintaining board control.
would it be viable to replace naturalize for the black knight ?
If you meet a lot of enemies with taunts (Ramp druids, Handlocks) - it's 100% viable.
BGH is also a good choice
I didn't play a lot with it recently, but I've made some changes (see deck update in the guide) and I'm also rank 4. From my recordings, I have a better winrate vs warlocks, worse vs druids and pretty much the same as you have vs other classes.
Wanted to mention one more thing: sometimes you have to naturalize even on turn 3-4, if it really allows you to gain tempo and increase board presence. In most cases, the 2 cards that you give your opponent will not help him to withstand the pressure.
Also, Hogger forces a Black Knight for his summon pretty often, so it helps to bring your good taunted Druids later on.
How do you even beat mages with this?
Which kind of mage?
Usually the cheaper frozen mages (not the doomsayer mage deck that won dreamhack, the aggroish-frozen mages with lots of armor).
Anyways, just wanted to say congrats on this deck and thank you for the amazing work!!
Basically, what you need to do is the following:
1) Never ever use Ancient of Lore till Alexstraza comes out
2) Try not to bring all your minions on board as they can be frozen and then killed by Flamestrike
3) If the above do not help - get some Healing touches in.
Normally, only the Doomsayer type can be of any problem, unless frost mage get and insane starting draw. And also, always keep your spells ready,Starfall should help a alot here as well.
Yes, as I'm not able to bring other minions out soon - and it often trades with Leper Gnome and other similar creatures.
Nice deck man .. have pulled out some miracles with this in just a couple games (on 1 health facing miracle rogue (another sidenote is that the stupid Goldshire Footman was what held off the extra damage haha)) Anyways I'm pretty much card for card except I swapped out the Ragnaros the Firelord for a Cairne Bloodhoof. Reason being is that with the reliance on Savage Roar (however it gets combo'ed) it's a lot to deal with two 4/5's in one turn, and if they do it draws out a lot of removal and minions. If they kill both Cairne and Bane, fine, they wasted a lot. If not, I have another 4/5 to buff up. Anyways, just my input on the deck, very solid. Thanks man.
Thanks for your feedback. I agree, that Cairne fits nicely in the deck - I just don't have him :) Anyways, the perfect switch for the Ragnaros would be Cenarius, but I don't have him either.
You also felt the power of the Footman? :) As funny as it is - this small guy in most cases is actually BETTER than the Argent Squire. Especially in late game, when one extra taunt may be the difference between victory and death.
I really like this deck but i find myself wishing for more taunts sometimes.......i don't yet possess a second Ancient of Lore so i Run Nourish in it's place and since i have only been lucky enough to pull Warrior, Priest, and Lock legendarys I currently run a Defender of Argus in place of Ragnaros......but i don't know if this is the best.......do you have better suggestions for a Rag replacement Viggen? I was at one time using Abom. and i liked him but was wondering if you had some insight into a better substitution.....
I agree about wishing for taunts. That's why I included Goldshire Footmans in the deck instead of Argent Squire.
Ancient of Lore is basically unreplaceable, and Nourish is an option if you need more card draw, and if you need more heal - you can go with Earthen Farseer or Healing Touch.
As for Ragnaros replacement, I would suggest some huge threat, may be the 6/7 Ogre or Ironbark Protector. Abom may be nice, but it can effectively kill your own tokens and this is a drawback. Another replacement for Ragna can be 2nd Starfall, if you encounter a lot of aggro decks.
I agree, the problem is, that Shaman is 1/9 (and actually even less, based on the presence of the classes in ladder) of your enemies :)
I decided to give Druids a try as I got Cenarius... and man, I'm enjoying much more than I thought I would! Thanks for the deck!
Oh, and btw, I'm using Cenarius instead of Rag (don't have him)
Cenarius is much better for this deck than Rag. But i simply don't have Cenarius :)
Viggen did you grind with this to the rank your at? Im at rank 10 and im using normal token druid and I cannot seem to beat miracle 9/10 i lose..
also losing to a few others. Hoping this may help me grind past 10 easily. Thank you!
Yes, i'm currently at rank 3-4, and kinda stuck there - as I'm constantly playing vs legendary guys (i.e. doesn't sound different from being legendary rank). I used only this deck to grind there.
My biggest problem so far are Ramp Druids and Zoo Locks (and Shamans, but that is mainly because I simply cannot understand the right strategy against them).
Im mainly playing against miracle rogue, Weird control mages, priest at rank 10 not doing so hot against the three. zoolock faded for me. I find that morning till about 5-6pm is a TON of zoolock. But once i can sub out cards i place in for zoolock i think i do a tad better. I finally have beat zoolocks fairly consistent. I have 3-8health in the end and one card could be the deciding factor (doomguard, soulfire) but i found if your more aggressive they tend to throw everything at your cards in hopes to win. So you get to attack the face plus they trade there cards. Obviously if there line up on their board is way better they wont but for the most part I found being aggressive is better.
Shammys are very 50/50 really depends on if they have wolves/lightning storm and if i can kill the wolves/provide a board.
Ramps are always a step ahead of you if they have innervate or wild growth =/