Hearthpwn

The Jade Golem Druid deck was one of the popular decks heading in the Standard rotation and most likely to be strong during the Journey to Un’Goro expansion. Check out our guide that will take you through Mulligans, Gameplay, Substitutions, and Combos!

Jade Druid is an especially strong deck against slower decks because the longer the game goes the more powerful their Jade Golems become. The problem for Jade Druid currently is getting beaten in the early game, and due to the current aggressive meta makes this deck harder to play at times. While the deck isn’t top tier, it can still do amazing things given the right draw.

UPDATE – UN’GORO JADE DRUID APRIL 2017, SEASON 37

Jade Druid lost some cards in the Standard rotation. Living Roots, Azure Drake, and Mulch were common cards played in this deck. The Jade Mechanic is still, however, too powerful to ignore and Druid got a few interesting cards to add to its arsenal. Earthen Scales and Shellshifter can fill out some of the deck spots that were lost in the rotation.

Quick Update: Added Earthen Scales in place of one Gadgetzan Auctioneer.

WHAT IS THE JADE GOLEM MECHANIC?

If you haven’t been following the expansion very closely then you might be a bit confused by the Jade Golem mechanic. This an exclusive mechanic to the Jade Lotus gang which is made up of the Druid, Rogue, and Shaman classes. Each time a Jade Golem is summoned by a card, the following Jade Golem will be +1/+1 stronger. It also increases in mana cost by one all the way up until ten. While the increase in mana stops at ten, the increase in attack and health does not. You can probably now tell that if you start spawning a lot of Jade Golems they can get out of hand pretty quickly.

Un’Goro Jade Druid Mulligan Guide and Strategy

You are looking for your ramp cards to start building your mana towards the late game. Innervate, Wild Growth, and Jade Blossom are your targets. I probably wouldn’t keep Jade Idol because it isn’t doing you a ton of favors in the early game. Wrath can be an important keep against all of the aggro floating around. People are going to tend to want to pressure your deck, but if you know you’re in for a slower battle you should consider keeping Nourish or even Gadgetzan Auctioneer if you already have ramp cards in your hand.

Jade Druid Play Strategy

Most games you are just looking to ramp up in the early turns. If you are against aggro, then you are looking to remove minions with Wrath while hopefully ramping up. Every turn you can force your opponent to play sub-optimally is better for you. There will be times when you’ll have to throw down Fandral Staghelm on the board against aggro to stop some of the bleeding, but generally you’ll at least want to get one effect from him. This is especially the case in control matchups where you can afford to save him for the later turns.

Jade Behemoth and Ancient of War can be your saviors against aggro decks which is why it’s so important ramp early. If you have the option to save an Innervate for one of these cards against aggro then it’s best to take it.

Once you start hitting the later turns this is when the deck starts really getting powerful. You can start cycling with Jade Idol and Gadgetzan Auctioneer, you’ll be able to have turns where you drop multiple Jade Golems on the board, and Nourish will help replenish your hand if you end up having to top deck (this is especially great when combined with Fandral Staghelm).

Jade Druid Card Substitutions

• Aya Blackpaw – A very strong card that provides tremendous value in the late game. A second Ancient of War or Dark Arakkoa are workable replacements.
• Fandral Staghelm – I would absolutely craft Fandral. Same replacements as above.
• Ancient of War – A powerful later game taunt. If you’re really on a budget you could try Ancient of Blossoms.

Jade Druid Combos and Synergies

Fandral Staghelm and all of the Choose One cards in your deck are amazing. Nourish is fantastic with this card as well as Jade Idol and Wrath.

Gadgetzan Auctioneer is obviously great with all of your spells for chaining draws together. He can be especially good when you’ve got a few Jade Idol cards in your deck and you can start pumping out the Golems.