Easy Legend, Naxx Ramp Druid - Great VS current...
- Last updated Aug 14, 2014 (Naxx Launch)
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Wild
- 21 Minions
- 9 Spells
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Unknown
- Crafting Cost: 5880
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 8/4/2014 (Naxx Launch)
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Battle Tag:
N/A
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Region:
EU
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Total Deck Rating
227
Hello from the UK everyone my name is Joel / Zeromass and I recently hit legend very easily (12 game win streak to finish) with this Druid deck, my girlfriend suggested I share it with anyone interested. The deck does very well against Zoo, Handlock, the new Warrior decks, Token Druid and Miracle.
The deck is very taunt heavy and requires a bit of getting used to. Not running the combo might seem like a strange choice but with the meta slowing down for everyone to play their eggs and other naxx shenanigans you have that small but critical extra window of time to ramp up and take the mid/late game more effectively than before. Personally I have found the deck rewards good play and is a very satisfying and fun!
If enough people are interested I will write a detailed guide on specific match-ups / mulligans etc. but here is a summary behind some key card choices / omissions. Also this is my first guide so if it is a bit rough or there are any mistakes feel free to point anything out.
Card Choices
- Mark of the Wild - Really nice card to get extra mileage out of your minions. I would recommend only running one of these in this deck, you have plenty of tauntarinos already and too many times when I ran two, they both always ended up in hand taking up space. Another great use of the spell is to cast it on an enemy minion to either get them above 7 attack for BGH or to kill them with The Black Knight.
- Big Game Hunter - What can be said about good old reliable BGH, this guy takes big names but he can also feel like he is sat in you hand doing naff all (patience!). It is fine to play him turn 3 vs Zoo if you have no other plays. It should be quite rare you let a minion get buffed up to 7 to use his battle-cry vs Zoo (lol wut Void Terror).
- Harvest Golem - Great three drop that is nice and sticky usually he can two for one or sometimes more vs aggro Mark of the Wild ftw. Great as a totem killer vs Shaman :)
- Chillwind Yeti - Ah a staple in Ramp if there ever were one. The yeti is great value because he is a 4 drop with above average stats, he is quite troublesome to kill as 5 hp is starting to get into the higher range of health. Innovated out early he can be a bit of a troublemaker for your opponent and can often give you a huge lead that can quickly snowball to victory. All that said at the moment I am only using one in the deck in favour of 2 Sen'jin Shieldmasta's to help vs aggro, feel free to swap one around if you prefer.
- Spellbreaker - Druid can feel like it is lacking in the removal department, Poison Seeds looks good on paper but without using something like Starfall as a follow up you are then faced with a board full of 2/2 treants! If you have been playing Druid for some time then you know Keeper of the Grove are often times used to do two damage and you can find yourself in a situation where you wish you had saved it for silence. With the meta how it is many minions are getting buffs, taunts and of course those pesky eggs are everywhere so having an additional silence will often hurt the opponents tempo a lot. Experienced players will also be watching how many keepers you have used and once both are gone will make plays thinking they are safe from silence, not with Spellbreaker waiting in the wings! Oh and his 4/3 body isn't too shabby either!
- Loatheb - The card everyone thought would change everything, well he kind of has because he is in every deck out there! He fits well in this deck as it gives you another option on how to control your opponents game plan. You can use him to prevent an important board sweep when you are one turn away from lethal or you can just annoy miracle Rogues ;). He really can be a life saver though, learn the signs for when your opponent is setting up to use their spells and stop them right in their tracks. Also he is just godly in the mirror when played at the right time, no dirty combo for you my fellow Druid!
- Sludge Belcher - Another new Naxx card and a very nice one at that, this guy is just such an ass hole too get rid of! I am currently only using one as I prefer a second Sunwalker but you can swap a Sunwalker for a second if that is your preference.
- The Black Knight - I feel this guy is irreplaceable in the current meta he simply offers too much value. Just about every deck around at the moment has some sort of taunt in it so he isn't short on targets. In seasons past he would sometimes be sat in your hand doing jack but trust me and trust his words he's "invincible"! So so good in the mirror and just wins games played at the right time vs handlock. If you are looking to replace him because you are on a budget then you should consider trying a different deck he is that good at the minute, if you still want an alternative then don't use something gimmicky like Emperor Cobra (yes people try that). Scroll down for Ragnaros replacements.
- Ancient of War - The big daddy of our taunts a lot of people choose to run one but I have found that two makes the deck more consistent and just gives you that extra late game mileage where he sticks around and tilts the game. By the time it's late game vs control they should have used a lot of their removal on your other taunts if not all of it, and will have no choice but to run their minions into him and with his stats he trades like a dream. Getting one of these bad boys out early vs Zoo stops them right in their tracks, I have seen so many Zoo players not attack straight away instead opting to pass the turn with all their cancerous minions lined up in front of him waiting for damage buffs! Don't be afraid to heal him with Ancient of Lore after a Doomguard etc has hit him as very few Zoo's (as of this week) run owl.
- Ragnaros the Firelord - The real OG, the lord of RNG and the destroyer of anything he decides to throw his awesomeness at. We all know Rag is a pimp but he has definitely saved my hide more than a few times in this deck. He gives you that extra reach when you need to push for damage or sometimes you are staring down something unpleasant without a viable play in hand, you know there is jack shit you can do but wait there is something! #YoloRag and snipe like a boss (hitting the Harvest Golem!). That said if you don't have the king of swing in your collection you could replace him with Ysera / Cenarius. If you don't have many legendarys I wouldn't recommend throwing in a Boulderfist Ogre go for something like an extra Sludge Belcher / Sunwalker / Chillwind Yeti or Azure Drake to bolster your midgame.
Cards omitted/tested + analysis
- Claw - Can be nice removal especially early game however it often times ends up a dead card waiting for a chance to be useful.
- Naturalize - Druids often talk about their lack of hard removal, well fret no more friend, you can destroy any minion for just one mana! (T&C apply). In all seriousness this card can be as much of a hindrance as it is a help,,that is unless you're playing against Handlock / Freeze Mage!
- Poison Seeds - The card is far to situational to be useful it is often sat in your hand taking up valuable space and without something to follow it up to kill the 2/2 treants you are going to end turn and get attacked by them. It was nice to get the concealed Gadgetzan but miracle is not as popular PS. Loatheb xxx.
- Cenarius - He is perfectly viable in this deck and fits nicely with the taunterino "theme" however there are simply better choices. He is a good example of a win more card, if you have to play him to summon the two treants then you are probably on the losing end of the game playing defence, likewise if you are buffing minions you already have in play then you are probably in a good position and are just "winning harder". On the other hand for late game a card like Ragnaros can be used to push that extra damage for lethal (behind a taunt), to kill minions or played simply to put massive pressure on your opponent (he can't let him just sit there firin' his lazorr), basically he has a massive effect on the game when played.
- Ysera - Man I love Ysera, but she is just too damn slowww, vs aggro she is next to useless as the game will be practically over before she is played / has an effect, Against control she can win games we all know that but she often times doesn't survive or stay un-silenced long enough to do anything of real use. Played late in the game VS control is best however I just feel there are better choices in this meta.
- Faceless Manipulator - Really awesome card however in this deck it doesn't work as well as other cards, the deck is going for board control and your own minions are probably getting attacked and not worth copying. It is always nice to copy say a Ragnaros but how often does that happen? I tested with it a lot and it just didn't quite get the value you want consistently in a deck like this.
- Azure Drake - This is just such an all round amazing card there is a reason it has been the staple 5 drop for so long. However in the current meta he is very squishy (a lot of ways to do 4 damage) even more so considering it becomes a prime kill target. Again I tested a lot with him and just found not enough value when compared to say Sludge Belcher in this deck. Finally the card draw while nice in this deck just isn't needed the taunts are often living for multiple turns that and the draws from Wrath and Ancient of Lore are more than sufficient to keep us ticking over.
- Cairne Bloodhoof - Now this was a tough one I swapped him in and out multiple times but ultimately found him just not as valuable as a solid mid-game taunt mainly because of aggro.
- Sylvanas Windrunner - Another tricky one she can be so so good but once she's down the opponent will usually have the obligatory "Sylvanas 90 second turn" and handle her. While awkward for the opponent I felt Loatheb was a much better card to include.
- Harrison Jones - This is one I'm testing at the moment, if the meta keeps tilting toward Paladin / Warrior then it might be time to fill up the museum. That said until I see how the new Warrior death-rattle weapon effects things I'm not too concerned as this deck doesn't have to much of a problem with Paladin / Warrior.
Mulligan / Match-up guide
Will get these done as soon as I can, been very busy with work unfortunately :(.
You have a girlfriend !!!
So, this happened today.
That is all.
Edit: Felt the need to clarify... 2x Innervate + Coin on turn 3= 8 mana. I got a super lucky mulligan and the guy ragequit on his 5th turn. It was worth the risk if only for the novelty of the play.
well done deck, I'm missing ragnaros but even without I've been doing pretty well. (Been using an extra sludge belcher in its place)
Druid, especially Ramp is extremely dependent on starting hand. If your starting hand's mana cost consits of something like 6 6 7 7 with no Innervate or Wild Growth, you lose 90% of the time.
Could someone help me out? I'm running a variant of this deck because I don't have 2 Lore's, an extra War, BGH, TBK. I only have enough dust to craft a few cards, I was thinking Faceless and maybe one Lore. Any thoughts?
I haven't had any experience with ramp druid, but I'd say Lore is one of the most important cads in the deck. BGH is also one of my favorite cards in the entire game, but maybe that's just me :D
I don't have all the cards here but im using spectral knights and i can tell u that if i get them early theres nothing my opponent can do about it especially miracle rouges, they are amazing.
who's a good replacement for loatheb? never got him yet due to arena fever sadly
I have been playing a variant of this deck. I have only lost 1 single game from a hunter with this deck and that's because it was a rush hunter. Try learning the combos and the cards of a popular hunter deck that way you know how to play against them.
So is there any update or suggest that happen to this deck ? or should i keep it same .. you know new season ....
Built this deck with an extra Belcher, and 2 Spectral Knights instead of BGH Yeti and something else, just crushed a hunter at rank 4, first ranked game with a druid ever! upvote++! EDIT: is there a place or reason for Nourish in this deck?
I replaced Chillwind yeti with a second sludge belcher, and i dont have the black knight so i replace that and mark of the wild with 1 savage roar and Force of nature, im doing (20W-4L) at rank (7-14)
Hey, I just have a few general questions about ramp druid.
How exactly do I play it? Like do I trade and control the board or do I hit the face with my big minions? For example when I play vs paladin, should I go for the face or should I trade, e.g. I got a spectral knight on the board and the enemy has a fairy drake with divine shield + argent protector it's turn 2. Should I now trade or go for the face? This is what drives me crazy, since I never know when to hit the face or when to trade against other control decks.
Just go with regular trading strategy, if they're going to have to trade awkwardly with it and it's favorable to you then smack face if they can easily clear it then trade with them so you get the better end of the trade. Just always do what is more favorable to you there is no golden rule.
I'd always trade, this is a control deck, not an aggro deck, so board control is more important than the opponent's life.
Zoo is my best matchup so far and I took out BGH and spellbreaker for 2x spectral knights and the matchup is even more onesided now. Probably an 80% winrate vs zoo.
KT would be really good in deathrattle decks but I wouldn't put it in this deck. I just don't feel it would be super useful. If you have Rag behind a big taunt he just smacks creatures / face every turn and has to be dealt with immediately and can still be useful if topdecked, now say you get a KT topdeck and he's useless, he can't even hide behind a taunt because they can kill the taunt then kill KT and his passive won't activate. The only useful thing I could see with KT is if you want to trade and your minions will die you could drop him then trade but I don't think it's super useful.
out of like 15 games i've only lost 2 with this deck.
Thanks so much! This deck has worked really well for me. My first attempt got 8 wins in a row. I unfortunately don't have any Ancient of Lore (:(), only 1 x keeper of the grove & no black knight. I replaced those cards with Starfall, Savage Road, Acidic Swamp Ooze & Nourish and still got some pretty consistent results in ranked game play.