Elemental Chain Gun Shaman
- Last updated Feb 13, 2018 (Patches Nerf)
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Wild
- 21 Minions
- 9 Spells
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Elemental Shaman
- Crafting Cost: 7120
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 8/24/2017 (Frozen Throne)
- CrimsonRShadow
- Registered User
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- 7
- 15
- 41
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Battle Tag:
N/A
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Region:
N/A
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Total Deck Rating
24
This list is similar to my control D.K. Shaman list but with the added benefit of elemental synergies and Wild cards that result in more value. I played the Spirit Echo variant during Un'Goro, and the deck was pretty good at outlasting and/or overwhelming most opponents. Unfortunately, with the introduction of Death Knights and a revamp to Jade Druid and Quest Mage, you can honestly expect to be outvalued long before you're able to abuse Spirit Echo.
But, in Wild, you can just play Brann Bronzebeard and get battlecry effects immediately without having to play the minions again. Being able to activate Shaman's Death Knight with Brann is especially disgusting when you have a sizable board. And, who doesn't want a casual Pyroblast that also gets you a 2-4 and a 6-6 elemental on the board?
In Standard, Elemental Shaman also struggled to play a proactive two drop without overload. You have your Flametongue Totem and Primalfin Totem, but they're 0-3's when it's said and done. Sure, the abilities are solid, but Primalfin Totem dies to a three-attack minion and doesn't trade with or damage it, and you don't really want to play Flametongue Totem on turn two just to boost your Fire Fly's attack by two; you could coin out the token you get if you're going second, but you're spending the Coin. You have Jade Claws, but you want the ability to play a three-drop next turn. Taking that into consideration, I chose Whirling Zap-o-matic to fill the two-drop spot. It doesn't have as many stats as Totem Golem, but it doesn't overload you either. And, since Elemental Shaman is traditionally defensive, it doesn't hurt (well, only hurts your opponent) to have an early offensive threat you're almost forcing your opponent to use removal on. And, there's a slim chance it survives long enough to deal a casual twelve damage with Bloodlust. It's probably not going to happen, but it has single-handedly won me a game before.
Rumbling Elemental may not seem that good at first, but after factoring in all the battlecries you run coupled with the other four-drop elementals not being that good by themselves outside of Fireguard Destroyer, I consider it the best fit. For me, Fireguard Destroyer suffers the same problem Totem Golem had in that despite its better stats, it also has overload. With Rumbling Elemental, you get the ability to activate and play Servant of Kalimos the following turn and if it survives, an additional two damage that turn. To me, I feel this line of play fits the curve better and provides more value over time, which is what this deck focuses on and tries to achieve.
I don't want to water down my standard on puns, but eventually, you hit rock bottom once you've burned through the good ones. And, I certainly wouldn't want mine to become air-rid. Yeah, have fun.
-BloodEclipse
Edit:
Thrall, Deathseer -> Grumble, Worldshaker
So, the latest expansion added a lot of understatted minions relative to their cost. Devolve got a lot better, but Thrall, Deathseer got a lot worse. Grumble, however, is just good. It's a six-mana elemental in the worst case and a combo enabler with Brann in the best case. The core idea remains the same: Abuse those battlecries.
Do you think this is a competitively viable deck or just for fun? Also, what do you think of adding in overload cards and playing the snowfury giant which is an elemental?
I generally prioritize fun, but this is one of the decks I can actually recommend for competitive play since there are two things it has in Wild that isn't available in Standard: A playable four-drop Elemental and Brann. From experience, this deck is fantastic when you draw on curve, especially when you get to the turn four to seven Elemental chain. It controls enough that it deals with aggro well but puts on enough pressure that you can beat control decks before they can get too much value.
Fondly enough, there was a time I played Overload Shaman, and it was fun but not too successful. That said, it has been a while, and the damage output of that deck could reach insane heights. I still have the deck on here for reference's sake though, so you can check that out if you want and build on it to make an awesome deck of your own. I would not recommend combining Overload and Elemental Shaman, however. The reason for this is that the two mechanics disrupt each other enough that I don't think it's worth it. Yeah, you could hypothetically get a cheap Elemental giant, but at what point would you be able to play it, not to mention how many turns of Overload are you willing to put up with? You can get rid of the Overload with Lava Shock and/or Eternal Sentinel, but you need two mana and the cards in your hand, which won't always be available. On top of that, you're sacrificing deck slots.
Alternatively, you can try replacing the Whirling Zap-o-matics and Stonehill Defenders for Tunnel Troggs and Totem Golems if you want to go for a more aggressive approach. That, I think, would work alright. The Elemental chain doesn't start until turn four anyway. You could also consider cutting a Fire Fly, but keep in mind that if you cut a Fire Fly, you're getting rid of two flex Elementals and one of the best one-drops. All-in-all, it never hurts to experiment. If it doesn't work, at least you'll know why it doesn't. If it does, they'll call you a genius!
Thanks for the response Crimson.
What you are saying about overload anti-synergy with elementals makes a lot of sense. I probably should have thought of that before. With this deck, I don't think I should switch in a tunnel trogg and totem golem as well. I guess I was hoping to make Elemental Shaman like an upgraded midrange deck.
What I was initially thinking of trying out is this: http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/948974-wild-overload-elemental
I don't think there is enough overload in this deck in order for the giants to become viable but feel free to give it a look if you are interested.