Hearthpwn

The Differences Between Control and Midrange Shaman

For new players it can be difficult to discern what makes a Midrange Shaman decklist differ from a Control one. Often times when you look through the "Decks" section of Hearthpwn it can be quite confusing. Decks that are listed as Control are actually Midrange and decks that are Midrange are incorrectly labeled as Control. I'm here to clear the air.

First, let's clarify what Control and Midrange mean. A Control deck's goal is to do just that, control the game. Always clearing the opponent's board while establishing board control by any means necessary. Rarely pushing for lethal damage early on and always making optimal trades. Midrange decks have the option to be more aggressive than Control. They are at a middle-ground between Control and Aggro if you will. Midrange decks will have a few cards that increase potential burst damage. To be able to push for damage on a whim is one of the advantages of playing Midrange, while Control is typically much slower and safer. Midrange still wants to clear, but they're not afraid to let their opponent have some minions on board in order to setup lethal in the coming turns. Control decks have burst in the form of Argent Commander, and Al'Akir the Windlord + Rockbiter Weapon(s), but not nearly as much as Midrange.

So how do you differentiate Control Shaman from Midrange Shaman? What cards do you look for? To earn a greater understanding, I will dissect two popular Shaman decklists that are correctly labeled, and discuss what makes them different from each other.

Control Shaman:

Kolento - Top 5 current meta decks - Shaman Unknown Deck by user-12606028 - Jun 14, 2014 View Deck String Export to BBCode Export to Cockatrice Export to MarkDown Export to Html Clone this deck
Minion (18) 1x Al'Akir the Windlord 1x Bloodmage Thalnos 2x Argent Commander 2x Azure Drake 2x Defender of Argus 2x Harvest Golem 2x Argent Squire 1x Chillwind Yeti 2x Fire Elemental 2x Flametongue Totem 1x Unbound Elemental	Ability (12) 2x Feral Spirit 2x Lightning Storm 2x Earth Shock 2x Hex 2x Lightning Bolt 2x Rockbiter Weapon
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Notable Cards: x2 Argent Commander, x1 Chillwind Yeti, x2 Defender of Argus.

Midrange Shaman:

New Order [Legend][October Update] Unknown Deck by user-8464175 - Jun 22, 2014 View Deck String Export to BBCode Export to Cockatrice Export to MarkDown Export to Html Clone this deck
Minion (16) 1x Al'Akir the Windlord 1x Loatheb 2x Azure Drake 2x Defender of Argus 1x Mana Tide Totem 2x Harvest Golem 2x Fire Elemental 2x Flametongue Totem 2x Haunted Creeper 1x Gnomish Inventor	Ability (12) 2x Feral Spirit 1x Lava Burst 1x Lightning Storm 2x Earth Shock 1x Bloodlust 2x Hex 1x Lightning Bolt 2x Rockbiter Weapon	Weapon (2) 1x Doomhammer 1x Stormforged Axe
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Notable Cards: x1 Bloodlust, x1 Doomhammer, x1 Lava Burst, x1 Lightning Storm, x2 Violet Teacher.

Card Choices

VS.

Control Shamans prefer Chillwind Yeti over Violet Teacher because it trades better with the opponent's minions allowing for safer board control.

Midrange Shamans use Violet Teacher because it increases potential DPT (Damage Per Turn) with the tokens it produces, allowing for more potential burst damage from cards like Flametongue Totem and Bloodlust on future turns.

VS.

Control Shamans typically use Argent Commander as removal. Think of it as a 6 mana, 4 damage spell that summons a vanilla 4/2 minion.

Doomhammer is the poster child of Midrange Shaman. Not only is it value board clear over multiple turns, it's burst damage potential is through the roof. x1 Rockbiter Weapon on Doomhammer is 10 damage (5 damage twice), while x2 Rockbiter Weapon is 16 damage (8 damage twice).

x2 VS. &

Control Shamans use Defender of Argus because it strengthens their own board and allows for better trades, giving them more control over the game. It's most useful against Aggro decks, especially if they go for face, allowing your Totems to stay on board.

This Midrange Shaman deck uses Bloodlust and Lava Burst over safer board control type minions in order to have more burst damage potential. Midrange Shamans typically sacrifice safety for burst.

Conclusion

Control and Midrange Shamans depart from each other because of card choices that affect play-style. Control Shamans use safer cards that trade well with the opponent's board, while Midrange Shamans choose cards that give them more burst damage potential. Know what to look for when labeling your own Shaman decklist. If the deck is slower with ample removal, does not have the flexibility to push for face damage early on, and uses cards that trade better rather than tech cards, it is a Control deck. If the deck sacrifices safety for added burst damage potential it is a Midrange deck. Control and Midrange decklists do have strong similarities in the Class specific spells they use, but key cards set them apart that completely change the way games play out.

Damn, you're on fire, another great article!

 

Keep up the good work and may the elements watch over you!

I think of them as counter-aggro tech and counter-control tech for the same midrange deck, rather than two different deck archetypes. Great summary all the same.

Quote from modded »

What if I use both?

I run both Argent Commander and Doomhammer. I run both Defender of Argus and Lava Burst. :/

Midrange without a doubt!

P.S. accidentally hit edit instead of reply! My bad!

Great post, thanks for this :) I am new to shaman and this is very helpful.

Thank you so much for this! It has really helped me enjoy Shaman in a new way!

Any chance the control deck will receive an update?

sort of new to hearth, just wondering if there are any MUST legendaries that i need in order to make a control shaman. atm i have sylvannas, cairne,harrison jones and all of the naxx legendaries?

Hey guys, I've just seen this thread today. I also was annoyed of the lack of real control shamans (everybody just plays tempo/midrange, replaces argent squire witha sludge belcher and calls it control :D), so I made my own.

Please tell me what you think :)

Real Control Shaman [October Update] Unknown Deck by Vinotan - Sep 16, 2014 View Deck String Export to BBCode Export to Cockatrice Export to MarkDown Export to Html Clone this deck
Minion (19) 1x Gelbin Mekkatorque 1x Kel'Thuzad 1x Sylvanas Windrunner 1x The Black Knight 2x Azure Drake 2x Defender of Argus 1x Mana Tide Totem 2x Nerubian Egg 2x Sludge Belcher 2x Dark Iron Dwarf 2x Fire Elemental 2x Flametongue Totem	Ability (11) 2x Feral Spirit 2x Lightning Storm 2x Earth Shock 2x Hex 2x Lightning Bolt 1x Reincarnate
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in depth card explenations here: 
http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/102601-real-control-shaman

Quote from vukenburg »

sort of new to hearth, just wondering if there are any MUST legendaries that i need in order to make a control shaman. atm i have sylvannas, cairne,harrison jones and all of the naxx legendaries?

No MUST Legendaries, no. The closest thing is probably Loatheb, which you have!

Decks that are listed as Control are actually Midrange and decks that are Midrange are incorrectly labeled as Control.

Not to nitpick, but you know you just said exactly the same thing twice in one sentence?

Here's my take on Control shaman

Control the Elements Unknown Deck by Ggjeed - Sep 11, 2014 View Deck String Export to BBCode Export to Cockatrice Export to MarkDown Export to Html Clone this deck
Minion (13) 1x Al'Akir the Windlord 1x Bloodmage Thalnos 1x Loatheb 1x Ragnaros the Firelord 1x Acidic Swamp Ooze 2x Azure Drake 1x Gadgetzan Auctioneer 1x Sludge Belcher 2x Fire Elemental 1x Flametongue Totem 1x Unstable Ghoul	Ability (16) 2x Feral Spirit 1x Lava Burst 2x Lightning Storm 2x Earth Shock 2x Forked Lightning 1x Bloodlust 2x Hex 2x Lightning Bolt 2x Rockbiter Weapon	Weapon (1) 1x Doomhammer
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Typically the more answers you favor in your deck, the closer to control. The more threats you add the more down the spectrum to midrange. It's like a pendulum, aggro on one side and control on the other with midrange in the middle.

read more closely-

first statement- midrange is listed as control

second statement- midrange is labelled as control.

I guess 'labelled' and 'listed' are two different statements, but umm... he's saying that people are calling midrange control twice.

It's a tricky statement, I actually had to read it twice, but both times he's saying people are calling midrange, control. and now you are making me act more nitpicky by explaining it :P

Great post! I've been playing and adjusting my shaman deck with control in mind, but it does look more midrange according to your outline with Doomhammer and Lava Burst but no Chillwind Yetis or Defender of Arguss. Here's what I'm working with

Shway Shaman [WIP] Unknown Deck by Shway - Nov 11, 2014 View Deck String Export to BBCode Export to Cockatrice Export to MarkDown Export to Html Clone this deck
Minion (16) 1x Loatheb 1x Earth Elemental 1x Argent Commander 2x Azure Drake 1x Mana Tide Totem 2x Sludge Belcher 1x Spellbreaker 2x Earthen Ring Farseer 2x Fire Elemental 1x Flametongue Totem 2x Ironbeak Owl	Ability (13) 2x Feral Spirit 1x Lava Burst 2x Lightning Storm 2x Earth Shock 2x Hex 2x Lightning Bolt 2x Rockbiter Weapon	Weapon (1) 1x Doomhammer
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I definitely have been playing with the goals of clearing the board and waiting for the time to set up my threats so I'll look towards some of the cards you've pointed out while tuning! Thanks for the great post!

http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/123487-control-or-midrange? This a link to my shaman deck, i dont have alikir, so i us kt the help close out game, work =s quite well, could you please tell me weather this is control or midrange? I think the BGH is actually a rag but i cant really recall.