Hearthpwn

As you may have noticed, this guide as been abandoned. I'm sorry, life caught up with me and I'm way too busy to be a fancy deck architect right now. Sorry everyone, I hope whoever picks up the deck enjoys it, I definetely recommend it.

 

Hey all, I'm a Wild only player. This is my version of a legendary standard list that was unfortunately not-as-popular-as-it-should-have-been during the Whispers of the Old Gods - > Karazhan period.

This deck is called "GO!" because this is how it feels playing it. Every turn you're just "GO!"ing. You draw cards! You shove massive damage into the enemy face! Everything is triggering everywhere! So much stuff! Every other turn is a possible lethal! There's so much GOing on!

I've had a lot of fun with it this season because this list is capable of reliably dealing with aggresive decks and reliably racing control decks. I have full faith that this list will continue to tear up ladder next month, and while I personally did not hit Legend with it, I think it can make it with additional tunnings and a better player piloting it. The deck is not very difficult to play, not nearly as much as the original Patron. It has a flow to it, that you need to get a grasp of - but once you do, it becomes second nature.

 

Card Choices

The Core

These cards are irreplacable as they are the core to how the deck flows and wins games.

Inner Rage: This is a bit of a swiss-army knife card. In this deck, you can use it to do pretty much anything. You can go for massive damage swings with Frothing Berserker, you can cycle it with Acolyte of Pain, you can use it as a combo with Execute, you can spwan another Grim Patron, and you can also just ping an enemy minion. Highly versitile and almost never a dead card.

Whirlwind: This is much like Inner Rage a multi-purpose card that can do everything inner rage can and even more - Armorsmith & Frothing Berserker love this card.

Battle Rage: This card is the engine for the entire deck. It has a massive synergy with everything we already do. It seems like a bad card, but once you start using it to draw 4-5 cards on turn 4, it becomes clear how good it is. It competes with both Blood Warriors and Commanding Shout but I think it beats both because I often use this card with things like Acolyte of Pain on the board, and in that case it is much more valuable to draw a card from the deck than just copy an acolyte. Commanding Shout fits more in a control-combo shell with Wild Pyromancer, and is less valuable in a tempo deck.

Fiery War Axe: It's a fiery win axe.

Acolyte of Pain: The second engine of the deck. Highly valuable card. Not much to say about this guy except the deck can't run without him. Combos with everything else in the deck.

Frothing Berserker: Huge early-game pressure against control deck, good stats to trade without dying and become a huge threat against aggresive decks. This card is just plain awesome. It enables some very silly lethals.

Ravaging Ghoul: Much like Whirlwind, this card does everything. At the same time, it's a turn 3 play we can play without losing Tempo and it destroys aggresive decks.

Bloodhoof Brave: This card is here because it combines two things we love - value, and versitility. It will stop any aggro deck and win you the game instantly, and against control decks you can use Inner Rage on it to much-like Frothing Berserker enable silly early lethals. With 5 health this card is a pain to remove.

Death's Bite: If you think Ravaging Ghoul is amazing for providing a tempo swing + a 3/3 minion, this card is bonkers in comparison! Another Whirlwind effect helps keep the deck consistent and on top of it we get a weapon that can either smash up 2 midrange minions or hit face for 8! This weapon also has the huge advantage of allowing us to cast a Whirlwind on turn 5 without using mana, so we can play Grim Patron t5 and get an instant copy!

Grim Patron: EVERYONE, GET IN HERE!

Loatheb: This card also has a swiss-army-knife value in that it can be used on critical turns to stop spells and allow you to lethal your opponent (for example, before a mage's turn 7 to stop Flamestrike, or before a warlock's turn 8 to stop Twisting Nether), but it can also be used for massive tempo swings earlygame.

Dr. Boom: Dr 7.

Grommash Hellscream: Did somebody say lethal?! This card is to us what Leeroy Jenkins is to aggro decks. The big finisher that wins games we were just about to lose.

You will notice all of the above cards are very synergistic with eachother. This is what makes this deck so great, everything interacts with everything.

Shell cards:

These cards are all replacable! I encourage everyone to experiment with the deck and play whichever cards you thing work best. Tell me what your experiences are!

Blood To Ichor: Value on top of Inner Rage's versatility. Good card, I use to because it helps vs. Aggro.

Armorsmith: The bane of pirate decks. Trades with most of their minions and generates massive armor. Also really good vs. Freeze Mage, because you can go way out of their combo reach with 45+ health.

Execute: After being nerfed, this card is no longer tempo-viable, it is just too much of a big deal to spend 2 mana on an early turn. I still use one because getting rid of a minion is critical against midrange or control decks sometimes, and when you HAVE to get something down, even a sub-par card will do.

Alley Armorsmith: Probably the card I am the most on-the-fence with including. You sort of know if you're won or lost against Aggro by turn 5.... in theory, but in reality, aggresive decks often have lots of burn and charging minions that can come in late and destreoy you. This minions is amazing vs those minions.... and it can really seal a game away for you. At the same time, 7 health makes it a pain for control decks to remove. As I said earlier, this deck can reliably slow down aggro decks, we just have so much redundency in Whirlwind effects that a game without atleast 2 of them in the first 6 cards we draw is unlikely... and once you slow aggro down, this card can really help you stop it entirely. Again it is sort of a wierd include, I don't know. I like it. It gives me good results. If you don't like this card, switch it with Brawl or Unstable Ghoul.

Troggzor the Earthinator: This card makes control decks concede. The only card in the game that answers this card is Twisting Nether. Our deck is designed in such a way that it can maintain permenant board-control, because of this, control decks HAVE to use spells to get rid of this guy, and they just can't get rid of everything. Kazakus makes it slightly easier, and it is a shame.... but I still think Troggzor is worth it.

Ragnaros the Firelord: Really good card, there's not much I can say about it. It helps end games and the tempo-curve of T7 Dr. Boom T8 Rag is really difficult to answer.

Options:

These are cards I think have potential in the deck: If you are kind enough to give me feedback on stuff you tried putting in the deck, this list will grow!

Bloodmage Thalnos: Acceleration and it turns Whirlwind into Volcanic Potion. 

Wild Pyromancer: More Whirlwind effects! Massive redundency! Usually this card is in the deck, but I switched it out because it doesn't stand a chance against aggresive decks.

Commanding Shout: Run this card if you run Wild Pyro. You will be able to make a 40/1 Frothing Berserker.

Slam: Good boardcontrol, I think it is a bit over-kill since we already have great board control and draw mechanics.

Bash: Too slow against the terror of Pirate Decks. This card is good against midrange druids and tempo mages.

Elise Starseeker: Good against control, lets you just hoard all of your bad-vs-control cards and turn them into random Legendaries.

Dread Corsair: Very good Tempo card. I think it's a tad underwhelming against control through which is why I don't run it.

Mad Bomber/Madder Bomber: ????

Unstable Ghoul[card]: Superstar card against aggro. The holy trinity of [card]Armorsmith, Acolyte of Pain, and Unstable Ghoul is glorious. I don't run it in this particular deck because Renolock doesn't even get tickled by it.

Revenge: MORE Whilewind effects and a possible board clear! I did not include it because it sometimes has anti-synergy with Grim Patron. This card is as anti-aggro as you can go.

Shieldmaiden: A good combination of a big body to help fight midrange decks and some armor to avoid your last 5-6 health from being bursted by an aggro deck.

Burgly Bully: Like I said earlier, this deck is designed in such a way that you will almost always have the board for yourself. This makes the Bully very valuable! It is a good card, but only really shines vs. Tempo or Midrange decks which are not currently seeing a lot of play.

Don Han'Cho: At first this card seems useless to us but actually, +5/+5 to Grommash Hellscream, Grim Patron, Alley Armorsmith, Bloodhoof Brave, Armorsmith, or Frothing Berserkers are all HUGE buffs that win games. I would say this card and Troggzor the Earthinator are about on equal ground in how useful they are.

Brawl: Again, too slow against the terror of Pirate Decks, but very useful against things like Dragon Priest, Reno Lock, or N'zoth Priest!

Baron Geddon: Infinite Patrons, and also great board control! The deck already does these two things well, but there are some situations that Geddon will just win in.

Sir Finley Mrrgglton: Lesser Heal and Fireblast are amazing in this deck, and Armor Up! is not really relevant against most enemies. The reason I don't run this card is because Armor Up! is still really good vs aggro and vs. Freeze Mage.

Darkscale Healer: Heals your Patrons! Better than it seems, really.

Moat Lurker: niche choice vs. Renolock, this card is good because it can store a patron and that patron will come back after the warlock inevitably wipes the board. I don't think this card is good right now but it shouldn't be underestimated.

Kel'Thuzad: This deck is one of the few decks that can make good use of KT. For KT to be useful, you need to have a board. All the time. That's something we do. Really good vs. Midrange decks, sorta good against Control decks because he dodges almost all removal spells around now.

Playstyle

Drawing Cards:

There are many comboes involved in drawing cards, the most important thing though is not thinking about the comboes and instead getting into the mindset that minions on board = cards drawn in future. You need to setup boards that will later on draw you a bunch of cards. Fortunately, this deck comes outfitted with plenty of minions that do not die easily, so your boards are often going to survive for the next turn. In this section I will cover only instant-draw comboes, but remember you can always set up draw for the next turn (For example, if you play Unstable Ghoul T2, and you already have an Armorsmith on board, you can Battle Rage next turn for lots of cards, or, if you have played Death's Bite and hit with it once, the next turn consider your options with Acolyte of Pain and Battle Rage.)

This deck has a LOT of card-draw, the important point is not to think about how each single card works but look at your hand and consider possible combinations.

Lethal:

It's important to consider your options for lethal. Lethal can come from everywhere at any turn. Embrace Twitch Chat! Be particularly watchful when you have these cards in your hand:

Grommash Hellscream, Ragnaros the Firelord, Death's Bite. 

And when you have these cards on board:

Frothing Berserker, Bloodhoof Brave.

Make sure to consider two-turn lethal with Loatheb!

Tempo:

Tempo swings! Tempo swings everywhere! Tempo is a word that originally comes from music - put it simply, it is the pace of a song. In Hearthstone the term is similar but slightly different, tempo is not just how fast a deck is, it's how many things a deck can do in a single turn.

Tempo comes from the fact that Whirlwind effects are very one-sided, they provide you with a benifit, while often hurting your opponent. This isn't obvious untill you play the deck. 

 Playing vs. Control:

This deck is weaker against control than it is against aggro, for obvious reasons. You still have plenty of stuff to do, but you need to take into consideration that you will need to use your cards differently. There's a sort of dance you do when playing against control players, you must present a threatning board they have to deal with each turn, without over-extending by playing too many cards, or they'll destroy them all at once. Additionally you have to keep in mind each control deck has particular turns and comboes that are critical and the decks will often just fizzle out if you disrupt these comboes. It starts from simple things like playing Loatheb before a Freeze Mage can Frost Nova+Doomsayer you, and it advances as you start expecting opponents to do things. As a general point, playing Dr. Boom and then Ragnaros the Firelord on curve is a good idea against control.

 Playing Against Aggro:

Aggro is our best matchup, pretty much. The deck is geared towards fighting it. Your top priority is to survive so just do your best there, don't push for lethal if you feel unsafe about your own HP. If you survived past turn 6, you've basically won except for REALLY shitty cases with lots of topdeck burn for the enemy player. Unstable Ghoul is really MVP here.

Matchups:

Priests(N'zoth/Dragon) 70/30:

Mulligan for: Fiery War Axe, Frothing Berserker, Battle Rage.

This fight is tilted in our favor because this deck is highly resistant to both Lightbomb and Dragonfire Potion. Most of our minions have higher health than attack, in fact, casting Lightbomb can sometimes result in an overall benifit for us because of cards like Acolyte of Pain. Dragonfire Potion doesn't kill any of our big threats (Dr. Boom, Grommash Hellscream, Troggzor the Earthinator.) and also triggers all of our effect. The only thing left to fear is Excavated Evil - In general, going for the T4 Death's Bite into T5 Grim Patron is a BAD idea against priests, because they will always have the answer. Bloodhoof Brave & Frothing Berserker can both get stolen by Cabal Shadow Priest so make sure you trigger them with damage on the same turn you play them. If they eat a Shadow Word: Death, that's pure value for you.

Reno Mage 50/50:

Muligan for: Battle Rage, Fiery War Axe, Frothing Berserker, Acolyte of Pain, Death's Bite, Bloodhoof Brave.

This matchup really depends on each player's draw.... particularly Reno Jackson. If you draw well, you can pressure the mage very quickly as their removals (Frostbolt, Volcanic Potion, Blizzard) will often leave your minions alive. Avoid playing a Frothing Berserker into a Flamecannon, let your Armorsmith eat it. Never play your weapon without attacking because they play Acidic Swamp Ooze. With a proper start, you will be able to put the mage on their toes every turn of the game. The only things you should fear are Flamestrikes and Kazakus potions. Playing your patrons aggresivly here is a very good idea, you're not really taking a risk if you for example only copy it once before passing the turn because worst case scenario your patron eats lots of spells.

Freeze Mage 90/10:

Mulligan for: Bloodhoof Brave, Armorsmith, Battle Rage, Execute, Frothing Berserker.

Patron warrior is a natural counter to freeze mage. Your top priority in this match is to A: Gain a suffiecent amount of armor with Armorsmith so that you're never in danger of being oneshot (About 38 health is safe from Kobold Combo), and maintain enough board pressure so that you can respond to things like Archmage Antonidas and Emperor Thaurissan. The good news are Freeze Mages don't really have reliable ways to kill your stuff. They run 2 Flamestrikes, but once those are down... a Grim Patron becomes literally unkillable for them. If they use Frostbolt on a Patron, well, that's a win for you. Really, there are very little ways to lose to freeze mage. Don't get ahead of yourself, don't get caught with Doomsayer because we can't deal with it. Allow the game to take as long as you need to feel safe about your position. Remember that staying above one-shot range is your priority. A Loatheb before the mage's turn 7 can secure two-turn lethals, because they can't cast Flamestrike OR Frost Nova, so watch out for that and try to aim for that too, if you get an aggresive hand this is your best window to do so.

 

Renolock 50/50:

Mulligan for:

 

Zoolock 80/20:

Mulligan for:

 

Secret Paladin 70/30:

Mulligan for:

 

N'zoth Paladin 55/45:

Mulligan for:

 

Pirate Hunter: 90/10

Mulligan for:

 

Pirate Warrior: 80/20

Mulligan for:

 

Control Warrior: 40/60

Mulligan for:

 

Jade-Ramp/Ramp Druid: 30/70

Mulligan for:

 

Jade Idol/Kun C'thun Druid: 20/80

Mulligan for:

 

Rogue lol 0/0:

Mulligan for:

 

Midrange Shaman 60/40:

Mulligan for:

 

Crusher Shaman/Jade Midrange Shaman 30/70:

Mulligan for:

 

Under construction, check back soon!