Just to get this out of the way up front. This is NOT OTK Shudderwock. Why? Because Shudderwock OTK tends to get wrecked by anything with a plan before Turn 11. So why is Shudderwock even in the deck? Because all the battlecry cards in your deck pile on to make Shudderwock the best closer and recovery tool in Shaman's arsenal right now. He may not be the main focus of the deck, but he is a real house when you can survive to play him.
For most of the game, you are simply playing incremental advantage control. You have a ton of board AoE, a little bit of spot removal, and one of the best advantage engines in the game at the moment: Hagatha the Witch.
How does Hagatha work?
First of all, she is removal. Her battlecry is yet another AoE in Shaman's arsenal of blowing $%!^ up. Secondly, once she is in play, every minion you play nets you a random Shaman Spell. That's card advantage, virtually for free! And yes the RNG element can make it a bit awkward at times, but free cards are free cards and we aren't even at the best part! Hagatha has a best friend... and he's the Third part of the Hand Advantage Generator (or H.A.G. Engine).
Casting Minions with Hagatha gives you spells, Casting Minions with Bogshaper tutors minions from your deck. This creates a circle of perfect card advantage that lets you search for any missing pieces or effects without blowing deckspace on other card drawing mechanics that are more restrictive or tempo draining. Just play the game normal and up-tempo, and for as long as Bogshaper is in play you get free advantage AND setup for your closer Shudderwock.
Shuddering with anticipation:
As you play the game normally, you should be able to build a critical mass of battlecries that will make your Shudderwock more than capable of closing the game, even if you DON'T have an OTK. I mean... the guy makes copies of himself with rush that go back into your hand and reduce their cost to 1. So if one Shudderwock isn't enough... just play another!
Obviously there is no such thing as perfection in a deck, but even in hotly contested games, Shudderwock is a great recovery tool that can gain you back sickening amounts of life. So don't fret about gunning for the perfect OTK. Just play a solid advantage based game, and you might be surprised just how good Shaman really is.
Just to get this out of the way up front. This is NOT OTK Shudderwock. Why? Because Shudderwock OTK tends to get wrecked by anything with a plan before Turn 11. So why is Shudderwock even in the deck? Because all the battlecry cards in your deck pile on to make Shudderwock the best closer and recovery tool in Shaman's arsenal right now. He may not be the main focus of the deck, but he is a real house when you can survive to play him.
For most of the game, you are simply playing incremental advantage control. You have a ton of board AoE, a little bit of spot removal, and one of the best advantage engines in the game at the moment: Hagatha the Witch.
How does Hagatha work?
First of all, she is removal. Her battlecry is yet another AoE in Shaman's arsenal of blowing $%!^ up. Secondly, once she is in play, every minion you play nets you a random Shaman Spell. That's card advantage, virtually for free! And yes the RNG element can make it a bit awkward at times, but free cards are free cards and we aren't even at the best part! Hagatha has a best friend... and he's the Third part of the Hand Advantage Generator (or H.A.G. Engine).
The H.A.G. Engine -- Hagatha the Witch + Bogshaper:
Casting Minions with Hagatha gives you spells, Casting Minions with Bogshaper tutors minions from your deck. This creates a circle of perfect card advantage that lets you search for any missing pieces or effects without blowing deckspace on other card drawing mechanics that are more restrictive or tempo draining. Just play the game normal and up-tempo, and for as long as Bogshaper is in play you get free advantage AND setup for your closer Shudderwock.
Shuddering with anticipation:
As you play the game normally, you should be able to build a critical mass of battlecries that will make your Shudderwock more than capable of closing the game, even if you DON'T have an OTK. I mean... the guy makes copies of himself with rush that go back into your hand and reduce their cost to 1. So if one Shudderwock isn't enough... just play another!
Obviously there is no such thing as perfection in a deck, but even in hotly contested games, Shudderwock is a great recovery tool that can gain you back sickening amounts of life. So don't fret about gunning for the perfect OTK. Just play a solid advantage based game, and you might be surprised just how good Shaman really is.