[Legend-66%Win] Evolve Shaman V19
- Last updated Oct 7, 2017 (Evergreen Nerfs)
- Edit
- |
Wild
- 18 Minions
- 9 Spells
- 2 Weapons
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Evolve Shaman
- Crafting Cost: 6900
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 9/26/2017 (Evergreen Nerfs)
- Vignu
- Registered User
-
- 4
- 15
- 37
-
Battle Tag:
N/A
-
Region:
EU
-
Total Deck Rating
198
Hi everyone, I'm Vignu from Italy, and this is the list I used to climb from rank 5 to legend, with a pretty good 66% win rate. Right now the worldwide overall deck win rate is over 56%.
A couple of proofs from the last season...
Ten games after hitting Legend...
As you can see from the pairings, Priest is not unwinnable and Rogue is a problem.
It's not a new or original deck, but it's a solid one for ranking. It performs really well against all classes and decks, with just one exception the "new" Pirate-Rogue deck that is nearly an unwinnable match-up.
Thanks a lot for the good feedback... Home page deck! Thank you all!!
Mulligan Rules
Let's begin with the obviousness, those are the cards that you will never want to keep in your opening hand, no matter what: [card]Patches the Pirate[/card], [card]Saronite Chain Gang[/card], [card]Doppelgangster[/card], [card]Aya Blackpaw[/card], [card]Bonemare[/card], [card]Jade Lightning[/card], [card]Bloodlust[/card], [card]Thing from Below[/card].
On the contrary the following cards are what you want to always keep: [card]Jade Claws[/card], [card]Primalfin Totem[/card], [card]Bloodsail Corsair[/card], [card]Fire Fly[/card].
For each other card we have to decide to keep a single copy, looking at our hand and opponent. Let's try it...
Evolve. I usually don't keep it but when I hold it is because there are two conditions: 1) I have at least two other cards from the must keep list 2) I'm facing a control deck that will probably play [card]Skulking Geist[/card]. In this situation try to use it before he reach 6 mana, never understimate a 4-5 one-cost-minions army that evolve.
Devolve. Against Druid I often keep it unless my hand has no initiation: it's to valuable against all his buffed minions and is the perfect counter for Spreading Plague. Consider to keep it with a solid hand (better of four cards) against Priest (buffed minions, [card]Shadow Essence[/card]), Warlock (Devolve can destroy a good Zoo-like start), Warrior (Dirty Rat, taunts, pirates), Rogue (Edwin VanCleef, buff) and also Mage (Doomsayer).
Flametongue Totem. Keep it if you have just one of the must have cards.
[card]Maelstrom Portal[/card]. Always keep one against Hunter, often against Paladin. Consider it when facing Warrior (pirates?), Rogue (pirates!), Warlock (Zoo?) and Shaman.
[card]Mana Tide Totem[/card]. With some solid start ready, I will always ponder if keep it. It's a garantee card draw, costs 3 mana (so we can spend all our resources), discounts our [card]Thing from Below[/card], calls removals...
[card]Thrall, Deathseer[/card]. With Coin and a decent start, I will usually keep our DK against control decks (specially for Anduin). The hope is to find a way to sneak him in play as soon as possible: 3 or 4 little 0/2, 1/1, 1/2 minions can become scary monsters too early for a control deck to handle.
FAQ (Priest gameplan, Deck replacements, ...)
Why only one Bloodlust? Isn't it better than Bonemare?
Well this is a close one, and certainly there can be arguments for both. I know that many Evolve lists play two copies of Bloodlust,but I still prefer to have a single one of each for the following reasons:
1) You can't evolve a Bloodlust, while Bonemare it's an awesone target ("Oh, you're welcome [card]The Lich King[/card]!").
2) Bloodlust requires more minions to be effective, while a single Totem is all what Bonemare needs.
3) Bonemare itself and his effect last more than a turn, giving you more consistency and resiliency (and often a taunt).
4) Different mana cost means more options.
Btw, Bloodlust cost (2) less, so it can win the game sooner, but it can also sit usless in your hand. One fun fact about Bloodlust is that it can be either your best or worst top deck, depending on the situation, while Bonemare is less extrem. So, that's all I think about it, try for yourself and let we know your opinions.
Isn't Jade Spirit better than Saronite Chain Gang?
Usually no, because [card]Jade Spirit[/card] spawns a "secondary" minion that costs less than 4, so it's a weaker option to evolve. Sure enought if the game is a long one and you wait your others Jade cards before play the Spirit it can be better than [card]Saronite Chain Gang[/card]. But in an aggressive deck you dont want to wait, and cast a turn four Saronite + coin + Evolve is a great play. Least but not last, two taunt minions sometimes save your life.
This is a copy/just another Evolve deck...
When I posted this I wrote "It's not a new or original deck, but it's a solid one for ranking". I just wanted to share the list that bring my third Legend Rank so more easly than before, so that others can try it as well, and that's all...
OP control Priest is unwinnable, what can I do?
Just to clarify: this is certainly an hard match-up but is far from unwinnable, as myself many players stay comfortably over 50% against Priest.
Against Anduin you always want to be very aggressive, having more than one minions in play and close the game asap.
Never play a coined [card]Jade Claws[/card] but instead play Coin+hero power.
In your opening hand, if you have a good start, consider to keep a Devolve: it counter [card]Northshire Cleric[/card], [card]Golakka Crawler[/card], Radiant Elemental+Power Word: Shield, Doomsayer and eventually a big minion he can sneak in with Barnes or a [card]Shadow Essence[/card], should it be that deck.
The biggest problem with the Priest are his many big removals: [card]Shadow Word: Horror[/card] (maybe comboed with Pint-Size Potion) and [card]Dragonfire Potion[/card]: both are a pain but you can try to play against them using many time your hero power and always keep new gas in hand. It's crucial to balance aggression with a backup plan. Keep track of what removals he had played (remember Shadow Visions too, guess it), try to force him use more of them.
Make a good use of your 4 attack minions and try to have a lot of them (Bonemare battlecry on a 0 attack minion, well placed Flametongue Totem, evolutions, jade...).
Another really important advice is how to use Evolve: specially in this match-up (where you know that a [card]Skulking Geist[/card] will come, sooner or later) it's often a good idea to evolve early, with a decent number of one-two cost minions, in order to push the aggression. For this reason keep an Evolve in your opening hand if your other cards permit it. Always use it, even for just 2-3 minions, if you have the two Evolve in hand. I'd wrote it in the mulligan guide and I repeat here too: keep [card]Thrall, Deathseer[/card] with and a decent start and the Coin.
During late game control the attack valour of your minions: you dont want too many 5+ attack ones before he plays [card]Shadowreaper Anduin[/card], make an intelligent use of [card]Thrall, Deathseer[/card] hero power. This game are usually longer than others so you will eventually draw your match-up killer Bloodlust.
What can I use to replace...
[card]Aya Blackpaw[/card]? This is quite easy: [card]Saronite Chain Gang [/card] or second Bloodlust.
Patches the Pirate? Without him also the two [card]Bloodsail Corsair[/card] become useless, but who cares about them anyway. I can think of many way to fill these 3 spots ([card]Saronite Chain Gang[/card] or Pantry Spider+ 2 Argent Squire, for example) but you will lose the 2-minions-for-1-mana and the deck thinning effect, so your power level will drastically decrease.
Maelstrom Portal? That's an hard one: portals fit a precise role and in doing so they leave random Evolve targets. There is not a good sostitution, but I'll try a single [card]Lightning Storm[/card], that you can find in many evolve list, and another cheep removal. You can also try [card]Argent Squire[/card] or [card]Golakka Crawler[/card].
[card]Thrall, Deathseer [/card]? I will not play this deck without him. I often keep him in my starting hand if I know my opponent is not aggro. Also what would happens if your opponent plays a Skulking Geist? You will unable to evolve anything in your evolve deck... It's our strongest card and decide when play it or keep it is the hardest choice of my games.
Have a nice day!
6 october edit. I started this season ranking and I want to playtest one variation: due to the massive presence of Golakka Crawler, I cut the Pirate Package from the deck. I'm still unsure on the best sostitutions, actually I'm trying 2x Argent Squire and a single Pantry Spider (double creature and most wanted 3-mana-drop), we'll see if it's work.
Pls check the FAQ before ask questions, ty!
Its been working decent for me so far, still need to test it more. Specially when I have The Coin and get lucky with my hand. Dropping a turn 3 spider and then turn 4 DK, or without coin turn 4 spider and evolve then turn 5 DK (with other minions before turn 3 of course).
If you end up giving it a try let me know, i'm curious how it works out for you and if you like it or not. Still not sure if anything is better or if i should start saving up for patches (currently have no dust lol).
Specific tips against Tempo Rogue? By the way you describe this matchup as un-winnable but Vicious Syndicate lists Evolve vs. Tempo Rogue as 50/50.
Seriously, no chance vs all these rogues at Rank 17. I don't know about other MUs because there are no other decks :D
I know, when I Legend with this there were no so many Prince decks, but I was pretty clear when first posting, cause I wrote "the new Pirate-Rogue deck is nearly an unwinnable match-up"...
Would you consider adding 2 Jade Spirits instead of Saronite Chain Gang and another card?
[card]Jade Spirit[/card] is usually worst than [card]Saronite Chain Gang[/card] spawns a "secondary" minion that costs less than 4, so is a weaker option to evolve. Sure enought if the game is a long one and you wait your others Jade cards before play the Spirit it can be better, but in an aggressive deck you dont want to wait, and cast a turn four Saronite + coin + Evolve is a great play. Least but not last, two taunt minions sometimes save your life.
I took out 1 Maelstrom Portal for Eater of Secrets and it has helped. Really worth it if you can Eat 2 secrets, obviously, but sometimes saving it for 2 secrets has cost me the game because it was too greedy. I will sometimes swap 1 Eater for 1 Bloodsail Corsair.
I usually defeat quest mage before they can combo-win. So I wont lesser the deck potential for more chances on an easy matchup.
Statistically impossible winrate. The problem with ALL evolve decks is really that there is only three "evolve" cards in your deck. And you need to have them in your hand when you need them. Otherwise you end up stuck with awful boards of piddly little minions that your opponent can easily clear (even the weakest board clear spell can wipe a pre-evolved board and by turn 3 any minion your opponent drops is bigger than any minion in your decklist). They are fun decks to play, but I cant tell you how many games I lost due to not drawing the Thrall DK early enough, or only drawing 1 evolve and having to see my board wiped every round because theres nothing you can do. So, 3/30 does not equal 66% in any universe.
Read the FAQ...
Can you help i dont have 2 cards and i dont have a dust to crafted can you tell me what to put in ther place ? The cards are
Patches the Pirate and Aya Blackpaw ?
Read the FAQ...
Vignu, I came here to thank you for sharing this deck! It helped me to finally reach Rank 5! Next month I may try to reach Legend =)! From Rank 8 to 5 I have a 78% winrate with 27 wins and 9 losses
You are welcome. Gj with your winrate!
any tips to against razakus priest? it is hard to establish my board due to the dragonfire potion and turn 8 dk anduin
Razakus priest is a hard matchup for this deck because he has to many board clears. First, they have Kazakus Potion. Second they have their Deathknight card and third the Dragonfire Potion. Our weakness is board clear and Priest has a lot of it. There isn't much to do against Raza priest, just try to be aggro and hope he doesn't draw his answers.
Can I use 2 bloodlust without bonemare?
Yes, and personaly i suggest you to use bloodlust instead of bonemare.
Let me throw in my 2 cents, if you don't mind: I believe those changes would slow down the deck, and potentially put you in a few difficult situations.
This deck, unlike traditional Evo lists, is built more aggressively, so the idea is to evolve your minions quickly, instead of waiting for a full board to benefit from the spell. Notice the single Bloodlust: you will most likely have few, powerful minions on the board, instead of many, average ones.
Sea Giant would only see play in two situations: when you have a full board, or at the end game (which you, ideally, won't reach). It is also past the cost of your DK, meaning you'd either have to hold it to avoid a tempo play, or simply use it for the sheer size and hope to still have it on the board to evolve on the next turn.
Bonemare, on the other hand, gives you some breathing room should you reach turn 7 (or 6, with coin) and still not have managed to set up some lethal, as it has two effects: adding a 7 drop to the table and creating at the very least a 5/5 taunt to protect you from whatever bruiser may be thrown your way. That's two strong bodies on the table with a single card.
AlthoughStonehill Defender is a strong card, its biggest advantage is the extra taunt, which you most likely won't be able to play until the next turn. That costs you precious time, as you rely on creating strong minions as fast as possible for yourself. And dropping one Devolve [/card]could get you in trouble in the midgame, when you're moving in for the kill, as it would leave you with one single card (your other [card]Devolve) to act as a "removal", should your opponent attempt to block you with some tough minions of his own.
Just an opinion, of course. If you do try your changes, let us know how things went!
I agree 100%, specially when you noted that this "is built more aggressively, so the idea is to evolve your minions quickly".