I'm not sure why so many in this thread seem to think that the cost of the card doesn't matter. Would you play it at 5 mana? 6 mana? You have to draw the line somewhere. At 3 mana, Arcane Intellect is good enough to see play, but isn't exceptional. At 4 it just wouldn't be played. People are arguing that Shaman cards have some more inherent value than mage cards, but there are plenty of value driven Mage decks. Also these more valuable cards tend to be some of the more expensive cards in Shaman's arsenal. That just exacerbates the tempo loss incurred by playing Ancestral Knowledge. Some are arguing that Shaman's burst makes it dangerous to give them too strong of card draw, but Mage has plenty of burst and it's not a serious problem there.
Compare this card to Gnomish Inventor. For the same amount of mana you effective draw 2 cards, but also get to play one of them (guaranteed to be a 2/4) for free. In most decks I would rather have that. In taunt heavy decks, I would rather have Mana Tide Totem, which have a chance at just winning the game or at least draw some removal. The only place I expect this card to see play is a combo deck like the MalygosAncestor's Call gimmick.
Tempo matters, especially for a hero that has no strong board clears. If Shaman falls behind, it loses. Spending 4 mana without affecting the board state is very dangerous.
Tempo matters, especially for a hero that has no strong board clears. If Shaman falls behind, it loses. Spending 4 mana without affecting the board state is very dangerous.
Except that you're not spending 4 mana right away, you're spending 2, and that makes a big difference. This card isn't supposed to be played early when you need the tempo, it's supposed to be played in the mid to late game when you need options.
I look at this card, and see it as a choice between a draw 2 effect, or two hero power uses, because that's effectively what it is, and I can think of plenty of cases where I would rather have the draw.
But while you're waiting for the late game to play this card, this card clogs up a spot in your hand. It's already hard to maintain board control into the late game, and now with one fewer card. Keep in mind that by including this card in your deck, you're only netting one card. Would you rather get two Totemic Calls or one Life Tap and a 2 heal? Much less clear especially when, until you do that life tap, you're down a card.
You almost always need tempo. Partially because that's how the game flows now, and largely because Shaman in particular has no way to come back if it falls behind. Maybe if a big board clear comes in this set too, I'll have to reevaluate this card.
I'm not sure why so many in this thread seem to think that the cost of the card doesn't matter. Would you play it at 5 mana? 6 mana? You have to draw the line somewhere. At 3 mana, Arcane Intellect is good enough to see play, but isn't exceptional. At 4 it just wouldn't be played. People are arguing that Shaman cards have some more inherent value than mage cards, but there are plenty of value driven Mage decks. Also these more valuable cards tend to be some of the more expensive cards in Shaman's arsenal. That just exacerbates the tempo loss incurred by playing Ancestral Knowledge. Some are arguing that Shaman's burst makes it dangerous to give them too strong of card draw, but Mage has plenty of burst and it's not a serious problem there.
Compare this card to Gnomish Inventor. For the same amount of mana you effective draw 2 cards, but also get to play one of them (guaranteed to be a 2/4) for free. In most decks I would rather have that. In taunt heavy decks, I would rather have Mana Tide Totem, which have a chance at just winning the game or at least draw some removal. The only place I expect this card to see play is a combo deck like the MalygosAncestor's Call gimmick.
Tempo matters, especially for a hero that has no strong board clears. If Shaman falls behind, it loses. Spending 4 mana without affecting the board state is very dangerous.
Well, and I am not sure why so many people call this card 4 mana arcane intellect. What would you rather play a 2 mana 2 OL intellect or a 4 mana intellect without overload? For me, the answer is obvious.
Blizzard dramatically overestimated the value of the overload mechanic. Yes, a mana this turn is worth more than a mana next turn. Is it worth twice as much on average? No, definitely not
But while you're waiting for the late game to play this card, this card clogs up a spot in your hand. It's already hard to maintain board control into the late game, and now with one fewer card. Keep in mind that by including this card in your deck, you're only netting one card. Would you rather get two Totemic Calls or one Life Tap and a 2 heal? Much less clear especially when, until you do that life tap, you're down a card.
You almost always need tempo. Partially because that's how the game flows now, and largely because Shaman in particular has no way to come back if it falls behind. Maybe if a big board clear comes in this set too, I'll have to reevaluate this card.
I think this card is made for burst shaman, cause all other options are better for midrange ( azure,gnomish,mana tide). Maybe it can make malygos deck a "thing" now, with all those draws in deck (far sight,mana tide totems, and these)
You almost always need tempo. Partially because that's how the game flows now, and largely because Shaman in particular has no way to come back if it falls behind. Maybe if a big board clear comes in this set too, I'll have to reevaluate this card.
I agree with you here Crusher, shaman definitely does need a secondary board clear. The potential of lightning storm is huge, but when you only have 1 or 2 in your deck, and without +sp on the board, lightning storm doesn't come close to enough to cleaning up other midrange-y decks. Hopefully the next AoE we receive is stronger, and without RNG.
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"Or of course, because you are 'a strong, independent deck builder, who needs no blizzard to tell them what to include', you make your deck deliberately weaker." - Skaduush1
I consider Feral Spirit to be a pretty bad card for exactly the reason you gave. It does not see play. It used to be played prenaxx but even then I think it wasnt that great and depended on synergy with Flametongue Totem. I used to like it as a one of tech card against Leeroy Jenkins shenanigans but he's been needed and there are better cards for that sort of thing now anyway (Sludge Belcher).
You almost always need tempo. Partially because that's how the game flows now, and largely because Shaman in particular has no way to come back if it falls behind. Maybe if a big board clear comes in this set too, I'll have to reevaluate this card.
I agree with you here Crusher, shaman definitely does need a secondary board clear. The potential of lightning storm is huge, but when you only have 1 or 2 in your deck, and without +sp on the board, lightning storm doesn't come close to enough to cleaning up other midrange-y decks. Hopefully the next AoE we receive is stronger, and without RNG.
I think this is what control shaman needs the most. Here's hoping.
It's a shame that this has 2 overload. This would be miles better if it only had 1 overload. At 2 overload, this card is mediocre because it cannot be played early in the game without completely fucking up your next turn. Why does this have 2 overload anyways? Totem Golem is essentially a 3 drop for 2 mana with only 1 overload while this is basically an Arcane Intellect for 1 less mana yet it has 2 overload. Finally when I thought Shamans would get reliable card draw, it gets fucked up by overload.
It's a shame that this has 2 overload. This would be miles better if it only had 1 overload. At 2 overload, this card is mediocre because it cannot be played early in the game without completely fucking up your next turn.
You probably have better stuff to be doing as shaman than drawing two cards in the early game. Like establishing your board presence. I would rather play a Totem Golem on turn 2 than use Ancestral Knowledge on turn 2.
I'm not digging deep to find these. They are the ones being played by top names and reminiscent of what I see on ladder. I'm not looking for them to learn what midrange shaman is like. I want to demonstrate that most builds don't run Feral Spirit anymore.
I wish there were a good resource to resolve our dispute. We have a pretty concrete disagreement, whether or not most midrange shamans at a high level run Feral Spirit. Unfortunately I don't know where we can find this data. Other people will have to base their opinion on their own experience.
A tangible problem with Feral Spirit is that even though it can be a nice 2-for-1, it isn't as effective at stemming the aggro wave as it used to be. It is also a liability against Patron warrior (unless you have a Flametongue Totem. The poor little doggies are growing too old to compete with the new minions on the block. The very least of changes to current shaman decks that I would make are replacing any ferals with Tuskar Totemic as it fights better and can still net you a 2-for-1. As for Ancerstral Knowledge, I am excited for this card. It's not the Lay on Hands power level that I wanted, but it's a start and I love drawing cards and every time I manage to combine it with Chromaggus I will be the happiest elementalist around (regardless of how rare that may or may not be).
I think this dispute about Feral Spirit is meaningless, since there is no such thing as a "standard" Midrange Shaman list to begin with : the deck is simply not played enough !
Still, i personnally don't see it as good enough these days : it is just too weak in the early game, and only "nice" (but not great) in the mid-late game.
Now back to AK : i do think there is room for at least one copy of this in a Midrange deck : this archetype tend to have a relatively low curve to begin with, and, when facing slower decks, it's not that rare for us to have leftover mana crystals for several turns while we desperately wait for our finisher to show up. Also, for me, the problem is not the quality the cheap/anti-aggro cards available, but how many we can put in our deck while still remaining somewhat competitve against other Midrange/control decks. That's where Ancestral Knowledge comes handy, as it allows us to pack more of these tools, while still allowing us to do relatively well in the late game.
Finally, let's remember 2 mana + 2 Overload is very different from 4 mana : ex : say it's turn 7 and you're close to die : you can try to play Ancestral Knowledge to fish for something like a Sludge Belcher or an Antique Healbot AND play it the same turn. With Arcane Intelect you'd have to wait a turn, which means you're dead.
ex 2 : if this card gives you lethal, then its Overload is meaningless ; and it's perfectly possible to play AK and a handful of spells in the same turn. On the other hand, it's pretty hard to play Arcane Intelect and two Fireball in the same turn...
Ok I think you are one of the few that think get it. First I don't know how Feral Spirit came in the conversation because the reason this card is not worth the play is because of the power creep in the game. It used to be an ok card that stuck to the board and went at least 2 for 1. Now the card is up against 3/4's and 3 dmg early game removal. The real downside of the card is that it does not contest the board or trade as it once did and its not really the overload(which is the flaw of the mechanic it can't handle power creep).
I will break down how I see this card used in the 3 different deck types that are common to the game.
Aggro/Mech: The curve in these deck types are very small and they are looking to end the game quickly. Their goal is to deal as much damage as possible, control the board, dispute the opponents tempo and burst them out of the game. In this style of deck you will see 2 AK's; why, because you are only looking to draw to refill the hand, find burst or an answer. Other than that it will be a lose of tempo to draw outside of those reasons. Ex: Turn 5, opponent is protected by a Sludge Belcher you need to deal 5 damage to win, play Ak into Lava Burst; boom or a Earth Shock
Midrange: These decks look to tempo out the opponent and finish the game with some sort of combo or burst. Board control is the name of the game and minions are the key while spells are used as support and not burst (mostly). AK is for sure a 1 of in this type of deck because you are likely going to need a spell to answers the board to key you tempo lead. Also it will let you fish for the combo pieces and allow for the setup of future turns. You may run two because of how powerful Totem Golem is; if played on curve you should be able to 2 for 1 every time and set up a powerful mid-game which will allow you to take the hit to tempo because of how far behind your opponent is.
Control: This type of deck is looking to control the board until the late game and burst you out or if it can, grind you out. This is where the number of AK's gets really flexible. Because I think Totem Golem is so powerful you may not need to run the card at all because you have enough tools and tempo to keep board control without running out of cards or answers. You may find that 1 Mana Tide Totem is enough in the mid stages of the game because you can protect it and get the value from it. Or you can run 1 AK for reach or 1 AK and a Mana Tide Totem just in-case of a bad hand or for reach. Running 2 AK's I think would not hurt because I just don't see you drawing unless you need to or the draw would give you something else like health or something; the draw back I think would be minimal but its something that can go in and out depending on the speed and reach you need in the deck.
ex 2 : if this card gives you lethal, then its Overload is meaningless ; and it's perfectly possible to play AK and a handful of spells in the same turn. On the other hand, it's pretty hard to play Arcane Intelect and two Fireball in the same turn...
apprentice would disagree with you... thats the problem with this card. Arcane intelect is just okay-ish card on its own, its played in mage, because in synergises with apprentice, flamewaker, antonidas and they have decent stall options and scientists for free secrets. now look at sprint, its played almost exclusively together with prep, because thats 2 cards, 4 mana, 4 draws, so essentially 2mana draw 2, times 2, and its played naked only if you really have no other choice.
now, we might argue about lava shock, but lava shock together with this alone is just worse hammer of wrath, as its 4 mana, deal two damage, draw 2, but use one of them, it would need to clear ATLEAST 3 overloads to break even with hammer and that cards sees like zero play outside of arena...
this card is just bad, malygos shaman might find a place for it, but thats as gimmicky deck as it gets and hard to play in agressive meta...
and feral spirit is pretty damn bad nowadays, the game has alot better selection of early minions than it had pre-naxx and people play more than just harvest golem as their 3drop...
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Opponent plays Ysera.
Shaman: Where the f**k are my Hexes when i need them! *Plays Mana Tide Totem, passes the turn*
Now with the all new Ancestral Knowledge:
Opponent plays Ysera.
Shaman: HA-HA! I'm gonna draw two so i can get a Hex! PogChamp *Plays Ancestral Knowledge, draws Zombie Chow and Haunted Creeper*
Esc, Concede.
My comments refer mostly to the wild format.
I'm not sure why so many in this thread seem to think that the cost of the card doesn't matter. Would you play it at 5 mana? 6 mana? You have to draw the line somewhere. At 3 mana, Arcane Intellect is good enough to see play, but isn't exceptional. At 4 it just wouldn't be played. People are arguing that Shaman cards have some more inherent value than mage cards, but there are plenty of value driven Mage decks. Also these more valuable cards tend to be some of the more expensive cards in Shaman's arsenal. That just exacerbates the tempo loss incurred by playing Ancestral Knowledge. Some are arguing that Shaman's burst makes it dangerous to give them too strong of card draw, but Mage has plenty of burst and it's not a serious problem there.
Compare this card to Gnomish Inventor. For the same amount of mana you effective draw 2 cards, but also get to play one of them (guaranteed to be a 2/4) for free. In most decks I would rather have that. In taunt heavy decks, I would rather have Mana Tide Totem, which have a chance at just winning the game or at least draw some removal. The only place I expect this card to see play is a combo deck like the Malygos Ancestor's Call gimmick.
Tempo matters, especially for a hero that has no strong board clears. If Shaman falls behind, it loses. Spending 4 mana without affecting the board state is very dangerous.
Twitch: CrusherHS, Youtube Channel: Hearthstone Crusher
Season 2, 12: Divine Tempo Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 48, 80)
Season 3: Ancestral Control Shaman (Peak NA Legend Rank: 777)
Season 6: Handmage (Peak NA Legend Rank: 301)
Season 7: Deathrattle Aggro Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 135)
Season 10: Deathrattle Tempo Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 335)
Season 15: Inner Fire Combo Priest (Peak NA Legend Rank: 1315)
Season 22: Silent Hybrid Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 138)
and more...
Except that you're not spending 4 mana right away, you're spending 2, and that makes a big difference. This card isn't supposed to be played early when you need the tempo, it's supposed to be played in the mid to late game when you need options.
I look at this card, and see it as a choice between a draw 2 effect, or two hero power uses, because that's effectively what it is, and I can think of plenty of cases where I would rather have the draw.
But while you're waiting for the late game to play this card, this card clogs up a spot in your hand. It's already hard to maintain board control into the late game, and now with one fewer card. Keep in mind that by including this card in your deck, you're only netting one card. Would you rather get two Totemic Calls or one Life Tap and a 2 heal? Much less clear especially when, until you do that life tap, you're down a card.
You almost always need tempo. Partially because that's how the game flows now, and largely because Shaman in particular has no way to come back if it falls behind. Maybe if a big board clear comes in this set too, I'll have to reevaluate this card.
Twitch: CrusherHS, Youtube Channel: Hearthstone Crusher
Season 2, 12: Divine Tempo Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 48, 80)
Season 3: Ancestral Control Shaman (Peak NA Legend Rank: 777)
Season 6: Handmage (Peak NA Legend Rank: 301)
Season 7: Deathrattle Aggro Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 135)
Season 10: Deathrattle Tempo Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 335)
Season 15: Inner Fire Combo Priest (Peak NA Legend Rank: 1315)
Season 22: Silent Hybrid Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 138)
and more...
Blizzard dramatically overestimated the value of the overload mechanic. Yes, a mana this turn is worth more than a mana next turn. Is it worth twice as much on average? No, definitely not
Twitch: CrusherHS, Youtube Channel: Hearthstone Crusher
Season 2, 12: Divine Tempo Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 48, 80)
Season 3: Ancestral Control Shaman (Peak NA Legend Rank: 777)
Season 6: Handmage (Peak NA Legend Rank: 301)
Season 7: Deathrattle Aggro Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 135)
Season 10: Deathrattle Tempo Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 335)
Season 15: Inner Fire Combo Priest (Peak NA Legend Rank: 1315)
Season 22: Silent Hybrid Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 138)
and more...
I think this card is made for burst shaman, cause all other options are better for midrange ( azure,gnomish,mana tide). Maybe it can make malygos deck a "thing" now, with all those draws in deck (far sight,mana tide totems, and these)
Edit: You already mentioned it... /facepalm
http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/287291-tgt-theorycraft-midrange
I agree with you here Crusher, shaman definitely does need a secondary board clear. The potential of lightning storm is huge, but when you only have 1 or 2 in your deck, and without +sp on the board, lightning storm doesn't come close to enough to cleaning up other midrange-y decks. Hopefully the next AoE we receive is stronger, and without RNG.
"Or of course, because you are 'a strong, independent deck builder, who needs no blizzard to tell them what to include', you make your deck deliberately weaker." - Skaduush1
I consider Feral Spirit to be a pretty bad card for exactly the reason you gave. It does not see play. It used to be played prenaxx but even then I think it wasnt that great and depended on synergy with Flametongue Totem. I used to like it as a one of tech card against Leeroy Jenkins shenanigans but he's been needed and there are better cards for that sort of thing now anyway (Sludge Belcher).
Twitch: CrusherHS, Youtube Channel: Hearthstone Crusher
Season 2, 12: Divine Tempo Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 48, 80)
Season 3: Ancestral Control Shaman (Peak NA Legend Rank: 777)
Season 6: Handmage (Peak NA Legend Rank: 301)
Season 7: Deathrattle Aggro Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 135)
Season 10: Deathrattle Tempo Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 335)
Season 15: Inner Fire Combo Priest (Peak NA Legend Rank: 1315)
Season 22: Silent Hybrid Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 138)
and more...
I think this is what control shaman needs the most. Here's hoping.
Twitch: CrusherHS, Youtube Channel: Hearthstone Crusher
Season 2, 12: Divine Tempo Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 48, 80)
Season 3: Ancestral Control Shaman (Peak NA Legend Rank: 777)
Season 6: Handmage (Peak NA Legend Rank: 301)
Season 7: Deathrattle Aggro Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 135)
Season 10: Deathrattle Tempo Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 335)
Season 15: Inner Fire Combo Priest (Peak NA Legend Rank: 1315)
Season 22: Silent Hybrid Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 138)
and more...
This list is representative of what I see on ladder right now and is from tempo storms current meta snapshot: https://tempostorm.com/hearthstone/decks/fakesc2-midrange-shaman
Twitch: CrusherHS, Youtube Channel: Hearthstone Crusher
Season 2, 12: Divine Tempo Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 48, 80)
Season 3: Ancestral Control Shaman (Peak NA Legend Rank: 777)
Season 6: Handmage (Peak NA Legend Rank: 301)
Season 7: Deathrattle Aggro Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 135)
Season 10: Deathrattle Tempo Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 335)
Season 15: Inner Fire Combo Priest (Peak NA Legend Rank: 1315)
Season 22: Silent Hybrid Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 138)
and more...
Feral Spirit is bad these days, it needs to be reworked to (1) overload.
http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/287291-tgt-theorycraft-midrange
It's a shame that this has 2 overload. This would be miles better if it only had 1 overload. At 2 overload, this card is mediocre because it cannot be played early in the game without completely fucking up your next turn. Why does this have 2 overload anyways? Totem Golem is essentially a 3 drop for 2 mana with only 1 overload while this is basically an Arcane Intellect for 1 less mana yet it has 2 overload. Finally when I thought Shamans would get reliable card draw, it gets fucked up by overload.
2/5
You probably have better stuff to be doing as shaman than drawing two cards in the early game. Like establishing your board presence. I would rather play a Totem Golem on turn 2 than use Ancestral Knowledge on turn 2.
Mrghl Mrghl!
Here's team archons which also doesn't run Feral Spirit: http://teamarchon.com/decks/view/50-
I'm not digging deep to find these. They are the ones being played by top names and reminiscent of what I see on ladder. I'm not looking for them to learn what midrange shaman is like. I want to demonstrate that most builds don't run Feral Spirit anymore.
Twitch: CrusherHS, Youtube Channel: Hearthstone Crusher
Season 2, 12: Divine Tempo Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 48, 80)
Season 3: Ancestral Control Shaman (Peak NA Legend Rank: 777)
Season 6: Handmage (Peak NA Legend Rank: 301)
Season 7: Deathrattle Aggro Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 135)
Season 10: Deathrattle Tempo Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 335)
Season 15: Inner Fire Combo Priest (Peak NA Legend Rank: 1315)
Season 22: Silent Hybrid Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 138)
and more...
I wish there were a good resource to resolve our dispute. We have a pretty concrete disagreement, whether or not most midrange shamans at a high level run Feral Spirit. Unfortunately I don't know where we can find this data. Other people will have to base their opinion on their own experience.
Twitch: CrusherHS, Youtube Channel: Hearthstone Crusher
Season 2, 12: Divine Tempo Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 48, 80)
Season 3: Ancestral Control Shaman (Peak NA Legend Rank: 777)
Season 6: Handmage (Peak NA Legend Rank: 301)
Season 7: Deathrattle Aggro Paladin (Peak NA Legend Rank: 135)
Season 10: Deathrattle Tempo Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 335)
Season 15: Inner Fire Combo Priest (Peak NA Legend Rank: 1315)
Season 22: Silent Hybrid Druid (Peak NA Legend Rank: 138)
and more...
A tangible problem with Feral Spirit is that even though it can be a nice 2-for-1, it isn't as effective at stemming the aggro wave as it used to be. It is also a liability against Patron warrior (unless you have a Flametongue Totem. The poor little doggies are growing too old to compete with the new minions on the block. The very least of changes to current shaman decks that I would make are replacing any ferals with Tuskar Totemic as it fights better and can still net you a 2-for-1. As for Ancerstral Knowledge, I am excited for this card. It's not the Lay on Hands power level that I wanted, but it's a start and I love drawing cards and every time I manage to combine it with Chromaggus I will be the happiest elementalist around (regardless of how rare that may or may not be).
Is talk of the spirit doges making you ... feral?
Ok I think you are one of the few that think get it. First I don't know how Feral Spirit came in the conversation because the reason this card is not worth the play is because of the power creep in the game. It used to be an ok card that stuck to the board and went at least 2 for 1. Now the card is up against 3/4's and 3 dmg early game removal. The real downside of the card is that it does not contest the board or trade as it once did and its not really the overload(which is the flaw of the mechanic it can't handle power creep).
I will break down how I see this card used in the 3 different deck types that are common to the game.
Aggro/Mech: The curve in these deck types are very small and they are looking to end the game quickly. Their goal is to deal as much damage as possible, control the board, dispute the opponents tempo and burst them out of the game. In this style of deck you will see 2 AK's; why, because you are only looking to draw to refill the hand, find burst or an answer. Other than that it will be a lose of tempo to draw outside of those reasons. Ex: Turn 5, opponent is protected by a Sludge Belcher you need to deal 5 damage to win, play Ak into Lava Burst; boom or a Earth Shock
Midrange: These decks look to tempo out the opponent and finish the game with some sort of combo or burst. Board control is the name of the game and minions are the key while spells are used as support and not burst (mostly). AK is for sure a 1 of in this type of deck because you are likely going to need a spell to answers the board to key you tempo lead. Also it will let you fish for the combo pieces and allow for the setup of future turns. You may run two because of how powerful Totem Golem is; if played on curve you should be able to 2 for 1 every time and set up a powerful mid-game which will allow you to take the hit to tempo because of how far behind your opponent is.
Control: This type of deck is looking to control the board until the late game and burst you out or if it can, grind you out. This is where the number of AK's gets really flexible. Because I think Totem Golem is so powerful you may not need to run the card at all because you have enough tools and tempo to keep board control without running out of cards or answers. You may find that 1 Mana Tide Totem is enough in the mid stages of the game because you can protect it and get the value from it. Or you can run 1 AK for reach or 1 AK and a Mana Tide Totem just in-case of a bad hand or for reach. Running 2 AK's I think would not hurt because I just don't see you drawing unless you need to or the draw would give you something else like health or something; the draw back I think would be minimal but its something that can go in and out depending on the speed and reach you need in the deck.
"My favorite card is shaman one, that isn't released yet. "
Hope we will laugh at these conversations when its released. :D
http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/287291-tgt-theorycraft-midrange
apprentice would disagree with you... thats the problem with this card. Arcane intelect is just okay-ish card on its own, its played in mage, because in synergises with apprentice, flamewaker, antonidas and they have decent stall options and scientists for free secrets. now look at sprint, its played almost exclusively together with prep, because thats 2 cards, 4 mana, 4 draws, so essentially 2mana draw 2, times 2, and its played naked only if you really have no other choice.
now, we might argue about lava shock, but lava shock together with this alone is just worse hammer of wrath, as its 4 mana, deal two damage, draw 2, but use one of them, it would need to clear ATLEAST 3 overloads to break even with hammer and that cards sees like zero play outside of arena...
this card is just bad, malygos shaman might find a place for it, but thats as gimmicky deck as it gets and hard to play in agressive meta...
and feral spirit is pretty damn bad nowadays, the game has alot better selection of early minions than it had pre-naxx and people play more than just harvest golem as their 3drop...