This guide is for both the sides - those playing the jade golem deck and those playing against it.
The aim of this guide is to show that the Jade mechanic is balanced and is very interesting.
First I will talk about the Jade from Druid player's point of view.
It's very sad that streamers and legendary players are creating decks that are very bad against aggro and even midrange decks. Only a few legendary players drafted good decks(Reynad and Dog). Their decklists are on reddit. Also the deck recipe is much better with the inclusion of loot hoarders and lunar visions recognising the importance of tempo.
The right way to see Jade Idol is as a tech card against resource exhaustion control decks like C'Thun Warrior. You do not need to build your whole deck around it especially as Druid. You can just make 1 card slot free to include 1 copy of Jade idol
I myself am a Druid player and I play Menagerie Druid(very cheap deck). I was able to get to rank 14 with it last season. I faced 3 Jade Druid decks on the ladder and I won all 3 games with my midrange deck. Their decks were too slow.
So it is pretty obvious that you can play Beast or token version of the druid with just 1 Jade Idol to make a viable deck.
Another option is to play a Taunt Druid with more Jade cards and lots of draw. But still you do not need many Jade cards. 1 X Jade Idol and 2 X Jade Behemoth should be a staple in these decks. I think we need further experimentation to see whether Wild growth can be replaced by Jade Blossom or not. You can take SoLegit's taunt Druid as the base and build upon it.I am including the decklist and my own version as well. The decklist needs a lot of refinement. In my version I have not included expensive cards like Fandral which can be included.
First lets see what are the weaknesses of Jade Druid.
1. Jade Druid decks are generally slow.
2. They have little or no removal(even making space for 1 Mulch is hard).
3. The need some card draw. So Daring Reporter is very good against this deck especially played on Turn 4 or 5 anticipating the opponent's Nourish.
It is very obvious that aggro or midrange decks are very good against Jade Druids. Yes the pure Control Decks like C'Thun Warrior are completely doomed but others have some good option. Here are some good decks to counter Jade Druids.
1. Combo Decks - Jade Druid are also weak against combo decks like Malygos Rogue, Malygos Druid. The new Leeroy+Don Han'Cho combo is also very good. You also try the Prophet Velen Priest with 2 X Mind Blast.
2.Dragon Priest - SInce Jade Druids lack removal, a Dragon Priest with Deathwing, Dragonlord and Wrathion can win games in one turn.
3. A Neutral Option - This again takes advantage of the fact that Jade Druids have very little big removal. So, Deathwing is a good tech card against these decks. Daring reporter is also a good tech card.
I hope you try my deck archetypes to play with Jade Lotus and to play against them
I think treating jade idol as a one of tech card is a terrible idea, fatigue decks have never made up a huge % of the ladder. C'thun warriors do win with fatigue from time to time but the game plan is usually to get multiple C'Thuns or just win with a few big minions after using tons of removal to keep board clear/stay alive.
C'Thun Warriors were my worst nightmare. They at least dominated on the Asia server. I do not know about other servers. C'Thun warriors do not always win with fatigue but they win by resource exhaustion and not playing many minions themselves. and they can build lots of Armor with Ancient Shieldbearers that you literally have to get your opponent down from 120 health to 0. and When they have exhausted your resources hey play their Golden Monkey and you cannot do anything without any cards in your deck or hand. Jade Idol counters this very well.
This guide is for both the sides - those playing the jade golem deck and those playing against it.
The aim of this guide is to show that the Jade mechanic is balanced and is very interesting.
First I will talk about the Jade from Druid player's point of view.
It's very sad that streamers and legendary players are creating decks that are very bad against aggro and even midrange decks. Only a few legendary players drafted good decks(Reynad and Dog). Their decklists are on reddit. Also the deck recipe is much better with the inclusion of loot hoarders and lunar visions recognising the importance of tempo.
The right way to see Jade Idol is as a tech card against resource exhaustion control decks like C'Thun Warrior. You do not need to build your whole deck around it especially as Druid. You can just make 1 card slot free to include 1 copy of Jade idol
I myself am a Druid player and I play Menagerie Druid(very cheap deck). I was able to get to rank 14 with it last season. I faced 3 Jade Druid decks on the ladder and I won all 3 games with my midrange deck. Their decks were too slow.
So it is pretty obvious that you can play Beast or token version of the druid with just 1 Jade Idol to make a viable deck.
Another option is to play a Taunt Druid with more Jade cards and lots of draw. But still you do not need many Jade cards. 1 X Jade Idol and 2 X Jade Behemoth should be a staple in these decks. I think we need further experimentation to see whether Wild growth can be replaced by Jade Blossom or not. You can take SoLegit's taunt Druid as the base and build upon it.I am including the decklist and my own version as well. The decklist needs a lot of refinement. In my version I have not included expensive cards like Fandral which can be included.
SoLegit's Faceless Shambler Taunt Druid - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/659678-top-10-na-faceless-shambler-druid
My Version(Jade Druid) - http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/690429-anti-aggro-jade-druid
You can also try making space for Sir Finley Mrrglton. You should be looking for Mage hero power or Armor Up!
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Now I will talk about the counters to Jade Druid.
First lets see what are the weaknesses of Jade Druid.
1. Jade Druid decks are generally slow.
2. They have little or no removal(even making space for 1 Mulch is hard).
3. The need some card draw. So Daring Reporter is very good against this deck especially played on Turn 4 or 5 anticipating the opponent's Nourish.
It is very obvious that aggro or midrange decks are very good against Jade Druids. Yes the pure Control Decks like C'Thun Warrior are completely doomed but others have some good option. Here are some good decks to counter Jade Druids.
1. Combo Decks - Jade Druid are also weak against combo decks like Malygos Rogue, Malygos Druid. The new Leeroy+Don Han'Cho combo is also very good. You also try the Prophet Velen Priest with 2 X Mind Blast.
2.Dragon Priest - SInce Jade Druids lack removal, a Dragon Priest with Deathwing, Dragonlord and Wrathion can win games in one turn.
3. A Neutral Option - This again takes advantage of the fact that Jade Druids have very little big removal. So, Deathwing is a good tech card against these decks. Daring reporter is also a good tech card.
I hope you try my deck archetypes to play with Jade Lotus and to play against them
Check out my entry for this week's Card Design Competition. Vote for it if you like it.
I think treating jade idol as a one of tech card is a terrible idea, fatigue decks have never made up a huge % of the ladder. C'thun warriors do win with fatigue from time to time but the game plan is usually to get multiple C'Thuns or just win with a few big minions after using tons of removal to keep board clear/stay alive.
C'Thun Warriors were my worst nightmare. They at least dominated on the Asia server. I do not know about other servers. C'Thun warriors do not always win with fatigue but they win by resource exhaustion and not playing many minions themselves. and they can build lots of Armor with Ancient Shieldbearers that you literally have to get your opponent down from 120 health to 0. and When they have exhausted your resources hey play their Golden Monkey and you cannot do anything without any cards in your deck or hand. Jade Idol counters this very well.
Check out my entry for this week's Card Design Competition. Vote for it if you like it.