Hearthpwn

Quick Update

Wow guys I am so amazed by the support! I honestly did not expect this kind of reaction because this is my first real guide on hearthpwn. Seeing this guide on the front page really feels surreal. I see a lot of card discussions going on but this is Renolock. A single card isnt going to make the biggest difference. Fit different cards in to meet your personal play style. Focus more on what I wrote under important notes and key strategy section to get the general feel for playing the deck. 

Thanks for enjoying the guide and Merry Christmas everyone!

 

Hey guys. So I consider myself an okay player. I've hit legend 5 times so far (including this season), but this has been by far the easiest climb from the infamous "rank 5 to legend journey." It actually took me just one day from rank 5 to legend! What amazes me is that this deck simply does not have a bad match up. This is by far the best deck to hit legend in current meta and I will tell you everything I know for you guys to reach your goals.

Card Discussion

the deck being a renolock deck, there is a lot of options for replacing cards in the given deck. So I will explain why I decided to include or not include certain cards.

Dirty Rat: this card seems to be hit or miss for many people. Its primary use is to pull cards out of our opponents hand thereby breaking combos or game changing battlecries. Use it when your opponent plays Doomsayer. Pulling out Reno Jackson, Kazakus, any card from Kun Druid combo is game changing. It is not a bad idea to combine this with Brann Bronzebeard to practically destroy two cards from your opponent's hand. This is a BIG DEAL because not only did your opponent lose crucial battlecries but also wasted draws they used to draw those cards. Turn 10 Dirty Rat + Twisting Nether is also a combo. Secondary use is that it's a cheap taunt against aggro decks once they run out of cards or you suspect that they have no more minions left in their hand.

 

Blastcrystal Potion: This card is simply amazing. With Siphon, you now have two hard removals. Many decks you will face can use two hard removals against. Renolock, Shaman, Reno mage, handbuff paladin. Understand that after turn 9, this card is simply a 4-mana hard removal. This card makes the biggest difference vs shaman (who you will face A LOT) because if they play Dr. 4 on turn 4, it would usually mean gg. Even past that, if you did not have siphon in your hand, there are simply no good ways to deal with it. 

 

Sen'jin Shieldmasta: this card can be replaced with Faceless Shambler. I prefer SS because it will always be a solid 4 drop regardless of your board situation. Against aggro decks, it is very hard to have a good FS. FS can be fancy with PO combo and all that, but I prefer SS who is going to be good in any given situation.

 

Lord Jaraxxus: many people are actually excluding Jaraxxus from the list because it is too slow. However, this card can single handedly win games vs certain match ups. Dragon Priest and Renolock mirror matches are pretty much won on a good Jaraxxus. It is also a great healing card late game vs aggros once they have run out of cards.

 

Cards I did not include

Sylvanas Windrunner: Hear me out, I love SW to the death. But it is simply underwhelming in current meta. Against many match ups she is too slow and can be traded in ways you dont get much value out of her. Especially against Rogue (which I have been seeing a lot recently), turn 6 SW -> Sap is so disastrous it makes the card unplayable. But I understand it is a very strong card now that silence is not a thing, so replace with Rag if you really want her in the deck.

Dark Peddler: DP trades poorly against many aggro decks (many aggro minions either have 2 attacks or 3 health, making 2/2 very irrelevant). The only useful 1 mana card you can discover is Soulfire and PO. Others just add garbage to your hand.

Mind Control Tech: So I tried this card out today and it seems to be a very solid addition to the list. It also has a decent synergy with Dirty Rat. However, I have been facing more of Miracle Rogue and Control Warrior. I would definitely sub this card in once I start facing more Shamans, meaning if YOU are facing tons of shaman or other aggro decks, definitely sub this card in!

I will further discuss cards that people bring up.

Important Notes

Please start using a deck tracker of some sort if you are not already. Not only does it give you an edge during the game, but it also gives you a trend of decks you are facing more. With that information, you can adjust your deck to give you a better chance against the ever changing meta. 

Speaking of meta, do a quick research in popular decks of hearthpwn! If you know exactly what cards your opponent has and doesnt have, your win rate will drastically improve. And nowadays most decks are copy/pasted from this website so it should give a ton of edge.

Players who are playing this deck for the first time and not finding immediate success: this deck is not a deck you can just craft and expect to crush ladder hence this extensive guide. There are 30 unique cards in the deck, meaning there are always more choices that can be made at any given moment compared to a deck with 16-18 unique cards. This means two things: 1. this deck is harder to master! it is harder to find the BEST play, since there are more choices you can make. 2. this deck has a higher potential to be good against more decks because of its diverse nature.

I know losing a couple games with this deck in the beginning can be discouraging, but skills that come with mastering this deck is beneficial for Hearthstone in general. So if you want to become a better player as a whole, try to learn a lesson from every mistake you make and I assure you this deck will be amazing.

Common Match ups

Shaman Keep Mistress of Mixtures, Acidic Swamp Ooze, Doomsayer, Shadowbolt, Hellfire, Kazakus, Reno, Second Rate Bruiser.

Druid Keep Twilight Drake, Mountain Giant

Mage Keep Dirty Rat, Twilight Drake, Mountain Giant, Emperor Thaurissan

Priest Keep Twilight Drake, Mountain Giant

Rogue Keep Mistress of Mixtures, Doomsayer, Reno, Demonwrath, Ooze, Imp Gang Boss, Shadowbolt, Kazakus, Twilight Drake

Warrior Keep Mistress of Mixtures, Doomsayer, Reno, Demonwrath, Ooze, Imp Gang Boss, Shadowbolt, Kazakus, Twilight Drake, Hellfire

 

Key Strategy (Will be added if this guide gets +50 votes)

This section will contain info that will differentiate Legend from non legend players.

Leeroy combo: You have to understand that Leeroy combo is not always your winning condition. For example, against a Reno mage with Ice Block up, leeroy combo cannot finish. This means there is no need for you to try to get a discount on one or more of the combo pieces since you wont be using them all at once anyways. This also means you can start using PO and Faceless Manipulator independently from Leeroy.

Match ups where Leeroy combo (20 damages) can end the game: Dragon Priest, Control Warrior, Jade Druid, Reno Warlock. Against these decks, it might be necessary to hold onto all your combo pieces even if PO + shadowflame or Faceless Manipulating enemy Ragnaros is tempting.

Against aggro or Rogue, you often dont have the luxury of leeroy combo because games end significantly sooner. This means you must use any of the leeroy combos pieces if you NEED to, in order to survive and win the game. 

Kazakus: it is important to know exactly what to expect from Kazakus potions. Here is a nice guide for all possible potion choices so you dont pick 1 mana potion expecting 3 dmg aoe. https://manacrystals.com/articles/248-visual-guide-to-all-currently-known-kazakus-potions

Kazakus vs aggro is pretty self explanatory. Against control however, I see many people make mistakes. Lets say Im against a reno mage. There is no need to rush out Kazakus for 1 spell since it is a relatively slow match up. I usually like to wait until I have Brann so I can get two spells out of it. You usually want to get at least one 10 mana spell (resurrect + 6 health to minions combo) because mage doesnt have ways to deal with board full of high health minions (except Doomsayer + freeze or Kazakus potion's sheep). This means you should refrain yourself from playing doomsayer so that your kazakus potion doesnt bring back a Doomsayer and wipe your board. This applies to any general slow match up. If you are planning on getting resurrect potion, dont play doomsayer!

Brann: take a look at your deck list and see what works with Brann. There should only a couple useful ones. Main use should be Brann + Kazakus but against aggro match ups, you know thats never gonna happen. So dont hesitate to use brann as a 2/4 body. tldr: know what your brann is good for in your deck!