The deck places a very strong emphasis decision making, you need to be able to remember the aoe clears your opponent plays, a good knowledge of your opponents options. I've faced my deck maybe 10 times through ranked/unranked and I can't tell you how many times the opponent overplays his hand. Why would you places an extra 4 creatures going into round 7 with a Mage? Why would you Void Terror your two biggest creatures entering a turn 6 Warlock? etc.
Sometimes a useful card a Blood Imp stays in my hand all game.
Knife juggler has come up a lot in discussions, one of my other lock decks removed a Void Terror and Raid Leader for two, then replace a Raid Leader for another SSC to keep it alive. I play no Azure and one more Harvest Golem. It has no staying power and only serves as board control in a deck that I have nothIng short of with all the spells. Basically, it does what the Knife Juggler does is make the deck much more all-in. Also less useful as time goes on because the effect is marginal later where. You either ride or die on filling the board and constantly clearing minions and betting on the effect. Feels like a new deck entirely. I like classifying my deck as sustained aggro rather the many all-in variants people make, leading to a core consistent win rate because it covers some weaker matchup, that's just semantics though.
Glad to hear! I like seeing players borrow the concept or deck, always gives me the happy feels. I even see they put Bloodmage Thalnos to great effect (I want oneeeee). Never going to lose to my own deck though, count on that :P
To be fair, it's a simple concept which creates a fantastically malleable shell for variations. Multi minion buffs? Play a bunch of low costs and multi summons, and of the former, warlock have a ton. I feel the difference is in the totality of the balance of my minions (hence how hard it is to try to double up on cards, compromising between consistency and adaptability in junction with Life Tap) and my personal choices in play. As a warlock, aside from being naturally harder to manage life and card advantage, the fact that having a combination of low cost cards open up that many more options for you to consider, a hand of 5 low cost cards has that many more plays.
@lakisa: I can see it working, I like my wolf though, you can't think in terms of raw damage. If you place wolf to buff up your boar or mech-dragon to an extra attack, it starts to trade incredibly well. Wolf gets the effect, when you need it, and on the turn you need it. Weapons aren't too scary, only trades for one minion and runs out of steam quickly enough. The only weapon I can think of being an actual problem is Doomhammer (By extension, Gorehowl isn't an issue because it's so late when played), and I'm not playing one card for that, to be honest. If I have a blood imp out, I'm fine from the hammer specifically anyways.
If you don't like Wolf, go for it, it takes a bit more difficulty to play correctly because you need to constantly be reminded of positioning your cards right for the best effect.
Just beat a version of my deck using Bane of Doom. He nuked something for 2 damage and got a Void Walker in return, didn't even have to use my Soul Siphon and I took board control throughout the match from that point, then I ran away with the game with Mortal Coil -> Drake -> Mortal Coil combo. I wonder what he removed. Didn't seem like he had Soulfires or Demon Bane.
Was pretty interesting. I played Blood Imp into Razor Fen, he played Razorfen into Raid Leader and I came out ahead in the trade.
Jeez, good games =P I really wanted to side deck a hellfire just to cheat my way out but I don't think that'll make a difference if I can't regain board control on top of it. I see why you take Azure now, lol. I don't think taking out a demonfire for a blood mage thalnos was a good idea but sometimes it just sits in my hand
I wish I remembered to take a shot of the deck list. Got a chance to test out Lord Jaraxxus and was an overall crazy top-heavy deck that I usually don't play. I only Arena to get gold for constructed, so only Rogue, Mage, or Warlock in that order of preference. REMEMBER TO FOLLOW B.R.E.A.D!
So, got back from playing some other formally constructed decks at the last Managrind tournament, some more thoughts on matchups:
Priest - Never really an issue unless they play swarm as well, one of them dropped two Sea Giants on me as a counter-swarm deck filled with double summons and Imp Master can't do much about that. If I packed a Shadowflame, I'd have won 100% if drawn anywhere from turn 4~8. Too bad, I didn't and that's just how the cookie crumbles.
Druid - If they don't run Bite + Savagery, they're not all too scary, keep plenty of board control vs their big creatures and having a Siphon Soul you hand keeps you pretty safe. If there's any form of spellpower and they have 2x Starfall/Swipe, you'll need to tap hard. and hope for the best with draws.
Rogue - Very much still a toss-up. If you both rush, don't tap too much and make sure you start wearing them down. Remember you have a huge amount of direct damage or power buffs so you can race faster than them. If they have Blade Flurry, you'll most likely lose. Also, try not to be too stubborn with Flame Imps. If they Sap it, you'll probably want to look for better options to play instead of tanking your health.
Didn't play a Warrior, but I've never had trouble with them unless I them them smack too freely into my health bar with charges then finish me off with a weapon. Only Spellpower Paladins are dangerous, Hunter wins if he has board control or wears you down and goes for a huge damage finisher where you can avoid both by forcing him to play cards/expend mana or die. That's about all I got, but hopefully I can get some more exposure on this deck, playing it is a blast though and it can definitely contend with the top decks. I'm about halfway to a Bloodmage Thalnos, so there's that >_>
Been having fun with a version of your deck. I'm running +1 raging worgen, +1 bloodmage thanlos, -1 succubi, -1 azure drake/doom guard. I think worgen is a really great addition over succubi. It seems to combo well with blood imp and power overwhelming and is a more aggressive option for a 3 drop over harvest golem that presents an immediate threat. Azure drake is possibly the 2nd best card in the game if you don't include coin defias, but I ton'd think it quite works in this deck. I might want to replace worgen with doom guard though. Have you considered 1 molten giant as well?
Also considering removing power overwhelming for doom guard, which probably means i'll have to replace worgen as well. Don't have lord jaraxus yet. =(
Glad to hear! Raging Worgen is definitely viable in my deck, as stated, it does give a strong threat and acts as anti-swarm very well. Also jelly you have Thalnos, so ridiculously good with Mortal Coil. I did pulled a Grommosh Hellscream later today (first legendary!) but no dice on Bloodmage, do want. I might swap out two Harvest Golems for two Worgens and see how they work again since Harvest Golem feels a little slow. Safe and effective, but slow. If I'm carrying two Worgens, two Power Overwhelmings is also an option imo.
Yeah, I need to add into my changelog -1 Azure / +1 Doomguard. Doomguard has won me a good amount of games, it's so insanely good for closing out a game and when you can clear your hand. You're right, Azure feels out of place often, but it's there to try and secure control of the board, I replaced it since there are better choices even if Azure isn't bad. I don't have any giants to try out that's not arena, I like Sea Giant very much since it works out early and helps the board (the second there are monsters on the board, you get a 5 for 8/8, which is insane). When I get to the point that Molten works cost efficiently, I feel it's much too late to try and regain the board with a big minion.
What do you think about knife juggler? I'm considering him as a replacement for something.
I haven't formally tested Knife Juggler (planning to), but yeah, Knife Juggler fits very well into the deck once you tweak some cards according to the feedback I've gotten, Harvest Golem resummons and provides some strong base aggression. I would suggest removing one Succubus and Dire Wolf for them. For the Raid Leader-to-Shattered Sun Cleric ratio, Raid Leader for aggression if you're feeling Knife Juggler is surviving or Shattered Sun if you're feeling Knife Juggler is dying too much. You can even find using the 2/1 + 1/1 Murloc Tidehunter double summon viable. Coin Knife Juggler and turn 2 Murloc Tidehunter is insane. Also, imo, Dragonling Mechanic over Silver Hand Knight for the cheaper cost.
Try to look into using Imp Master, combos very very well with Blood Imp/Raid Leader + Knife Juggler. Finally, Sea Giant to finish off this deck and it's pretty insane if your opponent doesn't have equally insane clear and anti-giant spells. I'm talking about turn 4 giants where they need to eat ~10 damage and waste two~three cards or die in a perfect situation.
I was struggling to find a deck I liked on my warlock when I started, then I came across this post and tried it out, it is So. Much. Fun.
I made a few changes to my version(due to not having cards/dust to craft them) but the core still remains the same, and let me tell you, it works a dream. It's a slight bit less swarmy[-hunter -dire wolf +imp master +sacrificial pact], but the self-healing properties are insane. Also popped a jaraxxus in there for late game. Nothing better than raining down infernals than eating a few 1/1 imps for 5hp at a time.
It's builds like this that make me excited for the actual release of the game, to see what crazy combos people can come up with. I know there's a few unorthodox things that seem silly, but work so so well.
something i've personally been trying out[sadly not that efficient on warlock; more suited to priest/paladin/druid] is ancient watcher / ironbeak owl. Insane turn 3 with 4/5. assuming they don't have any hard control[sap/hex/poly] etc. he can end games faster than pretty much anything.
I just double Raid Leader'd the four whelps a Leeroy -> Shadowstep -> Leeroy. I wish I took a screenshot, was hilarious hitting him for 21 damage in return.
The deck places a very strong emphasis decision making, you need to be able to remember the aoe clears your opponent plays, a good knowledge of your opponents options. I've faced my deck maybe 10 times through ranked/unranked and I can't tell you how many times the opponent overplays his hand. Why would you places an extra 4 creatures going into round 7 with a Mage? Why would you Void Terror your two biggest creatures entering a turn 6 Warlock? etc.
Sometimes a useful card a Blood Imp stays in my hand all game.
Knife juggler has come up a lot in discussions, one of my other lock decks removed a Void Terror and Raid Leader for two, then replace a Raid Leader for another SSC to keep it alive. I play no Azure and one more Harvest Golem. It has no staying power and only serves as board control in a deck that I have nothIng short of with all the spells. Basically, it does what the Knife Juggler does is make the deck much more all-in. Also less useful as time goes on because the effect is marginal later where. You either ride or die on filling the board and constantly clearing minions and betting on the effect. Feels like a new deck entirely. I like classifying my deck as sustained aggro rather the many all-in variants people make, leading to a core consistent win rate because it covers some weaker matchup, that's just semantics though.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
ya, I wasn't saying it was a variant of your deck, just a different warlock aggro deck.
Glad to hear! I like seeing players borrow the concept or deck, always gives me the happy feels. I even see they put Bloodmage Thalnos to great effect (I want oneeeee). Never going to lose to my own deck though, count on that :P
To be fair, it's a simple concept which creates a fantastically malleable shell for variations. Multi minion buffs? Play a bunch of low costs and multi summons, and of the former, warlock have a ton. I feel the difference is in the totality of the balance of my minions (hence how hard it is to try to double up on cards, compromising between consistency and adaptability in junction with Life Tap) and my personal choices in play. As a warlock, aside from being naturally harder to manage life and card advantage, the fact that having a combination of low cost cards open up that many more options for you to consider, a hand of 5 low cost cards has that many more plays.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
Picked up a bloodmage and the card is crazy good on turn 2 and I love playing it with mortal coil or soulfire. Just wanted to let you know.
btw can I add you in game?
hey aishi did you thought about changing wolf with ooze? i find ooze way better wolf is just 1 dmg more and that if it has 2 minions to buff up
@WinDyKai: Aishi#1473
@lakisa: I can see it working, I like my wolf though, you can't think in terms of raw damage. If you place wolf to buff up your boar or mech-dragon to an extra attack, it starts to trade incredibly well. Wolf gets the effect, when you need it, and on the turn you need it. Weapons aren't too scary, only trades for one minion and runs out of steam quickly enough. The only weapon I can think of being an actual problem is Doomhammer (By extension, Gorehowl isn't an issue because it's so late when played), and I'm not playing one card for that, to be honest. If I have a blood imp out, I'm fine from the hammer specifically anyways.
If you don't like Wolf, go for it, it takes a bit more difficulty to play correctly because you need to constantly be reminded of positioning your cards right for the best effect.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
k thanks for info on weapons will try finally wolf
Yeah, Wolf wins games yo.
Just beat a version of my deck using Bane of Doom. He nuked something for 2 damage and got a Void Walker in return, didn't even have to use my Soul Siphon and I took board control throughout the match from that point, then I ran away with the game with Mortal Coil -> Drake -> Mortal Coil combo. I wonder what he removed. Didn't seem like he had Soulfires or Demon Bane.
Was pretty interesting. I played Blood Imp into Razor Fen, he played Razorfen into Raid Leader and I came out ahead in the trade.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
Jeez, good games =P I really wanted to side deck a hellfire just to cheat my way out but I don't think that'll make a difference if I can't regain board control on top of it. I see why you take Azure now, lol. I don't think taking out a demonfire for a blood mage thalnos was a good idea but sometimes it just sits in my hand
9-0 dream~ http://puu.sh/4vOlL.jpg
I wish I remembered to take a shot of the deck list. Got a chance to test out Lord Jaraxxus and was an overall crazy top-heavy deck that I usually don't play. I only Arena to get gold for constructed, so only Rogue, Mage, or Warlock in that order of preference. REMEMBER TO FOLLOW B.R.E.A.D!
https://mtgshops.com/posts/-booster-draft-101-b-r-e-a-d-/6
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
So, got back from playing some other formally constructed decks at the last Managrind tournament, some more thoughts on matchups:
Priest - Never really an issue unless they play swarm as well, one of them dropped two Sea Giants on me as a counter-swarm deck filled with double summons and Imp Master can't do much about that. If I packed a Shadowflame, I'd have won 100% if drawn anywhere from turn 4~8. Too bad, I didn't and that's just how the cookie crumbles.
Druid - If they don't run Bite + Savagery, they're not all too scary, keep plenty of board control vs their big creatures and having a Siphon Soul you hand keeps you pretty safe. If there's any form of spellpower and they have 2x Starfall/Swipe, you'll need to tap hard. and hope for the best with draws.
Rogue - Very much still a toss-up. If you both rush, don't tap too much and make sure you start wearing them down. Remember you have a huge amount of direct damage or power buffs so you can race faster than them. If they have Blade Flurry, you'll most likely lose. Also, try not to be too stubborn with Flame Imps. If they Sap it, you'll probably want to look for better options to play instead of tanking your health.
Didn't play a Warrior, but I've never had trouble with them unless I them them smack too freely into my health bar with charges then finish me off with a weapon. Only Spellpower Paladins are dangerous, Hunter wins if he has board control or wears you down and goes for a huge damage finisher where you can avoid both by forcing him to play cards/expend mana or die. That's about all I got, but hopefully I can get some more exposure on this deck, playing it is a blast though and it can definitely contend with the top decks. I'm about halfway to a Bloodmage Thalnos, so there's that >_>
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
Been having fun with a version of your deck. I'm running +1 raging worgen, +1 bloodmage thanlos, -1 succubi, -1 azure drake/doom guard. I think worgen is a really great addition over succubi. It seems to combo well with blood imp and power overwhelming and is a more aggressive option for a 3 drop over harvest golem that presents an immediate threat. Azure drake is possibly the 2nd best card in the game if you don't include coin defias, but I ton'd think it quite works in this deck. I might want to replace worgen with doom guard though. Have you considered 1 molten giant as well?
Also considering removing power overwhelming for doom guard, which probably means i'll have to replace worgen as well. Don't have lord jaraxus yet. =(
Glad to hear! Raging Worgen is definitely viable in my deck, as stated, it does give a strong threat and acts as anti-swarm very well. Also jelly you have Thalnos, so ridiculously good with Mortal Coil. I did pulled a Grommosh Hellscream later today (first legendary!) but no dice on Bloodmage, do want. I might swap out two Harvest Golems for two Worgens and see how they work again since Harvest Golem feels a little slow. Safe and effective, but slow. If I'm carrying two Worgens, two Power Overwhelmings is also an option imo.
Yeah, I need to add into my changelog -1 Azure / +1 Doomguard. Doomguard has won me a good amount of games, it's so insanely good for closing out a game and when you can clear your hand. You're right, Azure feels out of place often, but it's there to try and secure control of the board, I replaced it since there are better choices even if Azure isn't bad.
I don't have any giants to try out that's not arena, I like Sea Giant very much since it works out early and helps the board (the second there are monsters on the board, you get a 5 for 8/8, which is insane). When I get to the point that Molten works cost efficiently, I feel it's much too late to try and regain the board with a big minion.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
Interesting mana curve.
What do you think about knife juggler? I'm considering him as a replacement for something. I noticed you haven't written anything about him at all.
I haven't formally tested Knife Juggler (planning to), but yeah, Knife Juggler fits very well into the deck once you tweak some cards according to the feedback I've gotten, Harvest Golem resummons and provides some strong base aggression. I would suggest removing one Succubus and Dire Wolf for them. For the Raid Leader-to-Shattered Sun Cleric ratio, Raid Leader for aggression if you're feeling Knife Juggler is surviving or Shattered Sun if you're feeling Knife Juggler is dying too much. You can even find using the 2/1 + 1/1 Murloc Tidehunter double summon viable. Coin Knife Juggler and turn 2 Murloc Tidehunter is insane. Also, imo, Dragonling Mechanic over Silver Hand Knight for the cheaper cost.
Try to look into using Imp Master, combos very very well with Blood Imp/Raid Leader + Knife Juggler. Finally, Sea Giant to finish off this deck and it's pretty insane if your opponent doesn't have equally insane clear and anti-giant spells. I'm talking about turn 4 giants where they need to eat ~10 damage and waste two~three cards or die in a perfect situation.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
All great ideas, but I don't have sea giants =(. Add me on hearthstone @monk#1838!
Hey there, I appreciate the post!
I was struggling to find a deck I liked on my warlock when I started, then I came across this post and tried it out, it is So. Much. Fun.
I made a few changes to my version(due to not having cards/dust to craft them) but the core still remains the same, and let me tell you, it works a dream. It's a slight bit less swarmy[-hunter -dire wolf +imp master +sacrificial pact], but the self-healing properties are insane. Also popped a jaraxxus in there for late game. Nothing better than raining down infernals than eating a few 1/1 imps for 5hp at a time.
It's builds like this that make me excited for the actual release of the game, to see what crazy combos people can come up with. I know there's a few unorthodox things that seem silly, but work so so well.
something i've personally been trying out[sadly not that efficient on warlock; more suited to priest/paladin/druid] is ancient watcher / ironbeak owl. Insane turn 3 with 4/5. assuming they don't have any hard control[sap/hex/poly] etc. he can end games faster than pretty much anything.
Ancient Watcher + Void Terror / Shadowflame / Defender of Argus is fun, great fodder for those cards.
I just double Raid Leader'd the four whelps a Leeroy -> Shadowstep -> Leeroy. I wish I took a screenshot, was hilarious hitting him for 21 damage in return.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post