Hearthpwn

So I have been tooling around post nerfs looking for a fun deck to take people by surprise on ladder.  Most people know what to expect from Quest Druid by now: either Malygos burst, or big board buffs.

But I wanted to push the deck further and see if I could amplify the things that made the concept great, and maybe even shore the deck up versus some awkward matchups.  As a bonus, I was able to squeeze in some Highlander cards to really throw off what your opponent THINKS you can do.

But how?  Quest Druid relies so much on its high value CHOOSE BOTH effects, it should be impossible to play the deck effectively as a highlander deck.  But therein lies the devil of your endgame.  By amping up the DRAW effects in the deck, you get to the end of the deck much quicker psuedo-miracle style.  Once you have drawn your whole deck (or at least one copy of all your duplicates), your Highlander cards activate and the real options open up.

Early game, we have a smidge more tempo to help us with aggressive decks, as well as ferocious howl as a draw effect to give us more padding to weather our low-tempo turns.  Keeper Stalladris also lets us double up on key spells to help us draw more, heal more, and snipe more -- OR if he goes unused till late game, he can help us build a hand of BIG spells for King Phaoris to play with.

So what do we do with our Highlander options?

Well, as we know by now, Zephrys gives a deck extraordinary reach and utility, esepecially at full mana.  He can net you a savage roar or better if your opponent stalls vs your full board - Mass Dispel vs lots of buffs/taunts or Twisting Nether in case of Emergency - or even sometimes a Gorehowl or Leeroy for the final punch to the face.

Elise the Enlightened hits the other side... offering double the value of anything in your hand when you play her.  Setting up a hand with 2x Nomi, 2xFloop, 2xZephrys, 2xPhaoris... etc etc etc.  You should have some healing to survive a few turns of fatigue - meanwhile your opponent should be hard pressed to costantly clear your Raw-Value boards... and once you are within striking distance, Zephyrs can seal the deal if you need that extra little tap.

Card Choices

• Crystal Power -- A touch of extra healing, if you need to activate Stagg, small removal otherwise.  Great to use with Stalladris -- be mindful though, you only get one target. If your quest is active, you will do 2 damage and then heal for 5, so don't use as CHOOSE BOTH removal unless the 2 damage will finish off the kill.
• Untapped Potential -- The main plan: the myth, the man, the Quest.
  Worthy Expedition -- Lets you discover bonus options for some RNG goodness.
• Crystal Merchant -- Low tempo bard presance that DOES actually help trading early vs aggro.  The more cards he draws you, the closer you are to the end of the game.
• Keeper Stalladris -- be very careful about playing this guy early. He is great versus aggro if you have a couple removals to pick off key targets, but he can flood your hand if you just use him to generate value for no purpose.  Late game he can split your bigger spells for hits with Phaoris, or even just Mass Healing or duplication of Starfall if neccesary.
• Wrath -- Easy creature removal, best if used to draw cards, but sometimes you just need to tap for 3. Best case, finishing the quest gets 4 AND a card.
• Zephrys the Great -- If you REALLY need to tempo him out you can... especially vs aggro.  But he is mostly here for the late game once we have cycled through most of our deck to activate him.
• BEEEES!!! -- 4 damage for 3, leaves excess damage behind on the board.
• Ferocious Howl -- Draw/Cycle, that turns cards in hand into Armor, giving us lota of padding to survive to the late game and even soak some fatigue.
• Wardruid Loti -- Swiss army knife Creature, that you often want to play proactively for the stealth/spellboost if you can count on him not getting hit by AoE
• Flobbidinous Floop -- A copy of anything you want.  Best used late game as an extra Phaoris, Nomi, Zephrys, or, anything really.  But you can use him on stagg, surger, or defender early if you need to extra help vs aggro
• Swipe -- Multi-use AoE, if for some reason you have them left over at end game, you can also go face with them.
• Anubisath Defender --"Free" ward for turns where we drop a big spell.  Don't be afraid to hard cast him if you have no better options however.
• Crystal Stag -- Basically Surger #3.  You need to heal 5 to get the duplicate, but sometimes you-re okay with just playing him for 4.  Having an extra wide option that is relatively inexpensive does help to recover the board after our low-tempo early game.
• Elise the Enlightened -- Doubles your hand. simple as that.  Once you are setting up to close the game, gives you a nice burst of VALUE for whatever you have left to worth with.
• Oasis Surger -- Best when used after the quest is complete, he helps you retake boards that are overfulf with minions that have gotten fat from a free lunch.
• Starfall -- usually used as a Giant SWIPE with the quest active.  Helps to recover problem boards.
• Hidden Oasis -- Heal or taunt, usually played for both with active quest.  You might try to save or stockpile this (with Stalladris) for Phaoris however.
• Nourish -- Cards and/or Draw.  If I am getting handcloged with 2 of these early I will cast the first (sometimes with Coin) just to get my mana up and my hand size down.
• Chef Nomi -- Post Fatigue BOMB.  Better with Duplicates.  How many Nomi can YOU kill in consecutive turns?
• King Phaoris -- Kind of a Duplicate Nomi... I actually treat him more like a PRECURSOR to Nomi -- dropping big value and forcing responses before even bigger guns come down.
  
  

Honorable Mention:

• Voodoo Doll -- If you are having issues with Tall/Single targets consider bringing in the Doll, maybe even with an extra Crystal Power. Just Set him up and pick him off with Wrath or Crystal Power (or a copy from Stalladris).

This modification can sub up to 3 cards:

1. Crytal Stagg for Voodoo Doll #1
2. Worthy Expedition for Voodoo Doll #2
3. Hidden Oasis for Crysal Power #2

"Lackey's in the Twist" is a new take on Plot Twist warlock, featuring cards from the latest expansion, Saviors of Uldum.

The Basic Premise is to use lackey effects to control the tempo of the game long enough to fire off massively game-warping tempo swings.  Whenever we spin to win with Dorian or Bertrug  we get value from various reborn minions and deathrattles including hits on Anubisath Warbringer which delivers whopping buffs to the creatures we have in hand -- Including our wonderful little Lackeys!  Not only does your opponent have to deal with the board you just created... but also the supersized minions you can drop from your hand.

Some games you will win on tempo alone.  Others will be hard fought nail biters, down to the last point of health.  All combined, It has tools to vie versus most of the decks in the Meta:

• Lackeys, AoE, numerous Taunt minions, and plentiful restore effects make the deck extremely resilient to aggro decks
• Strong Curve play, tempo variety, and incidental costs and card/effect generation make this deck versatile versus midrange decks.
• Huge Value generation, and hand-sculpting, give the deck the reach to take on heavy control based matchups. (Hakaar and Elysiana can easily be subbed in if you are facing more control matchups)

The deck is extremely fun, challenging, and rewarding to play well, Making it a strong contender for both high-level and casual ladder play.

Card Choices

• Plague of Flames × 2 -- Converts lackeys and tokens into mass board wipe... often with mana to spare for follow up plays on the same turn.
• Sinister Deal × 2 -- Easy lackey generation, allowing you to pick which one you get.
• EVIL Genius × 2 -- Preferred method of Lackey generation. Converts excess bodies in play to effects in hand.
• Plot Twist × 2 -- Primary Value Generation of the deck. Allows you to eat lots of damage and re-use Broodmaster for tons of healing; Used with Dollmaster Dorian or Fel Lord Betrug to create massive effects. Sometimes even just used to pitch your hand and redraw if RNG is giving you a completely crap hand.
• Temple Berserker -- Surprisingly good 2-drop that reanimates itself with Reborn  The Berzerker effect is just added value, especially when he is resurrected.
• Sense Demons × 1 -- There are only 3 demons in the deck: Two copies of Aransai Broodmaster (used for healing and taunts), and Fel Lord Betrug for Value Plays. Sometimes you use this to Heal, sometimes you try to dig for Betrug, sometimes you shuffle it back into the deck with plot twist and save it for the recycle.
• Voodoo Doll -- Tech card that targets single diffecult to deal with creatures.  Usually combo'd with a Lackey or some other Sacrificial effect for immediate use
• Bone Wraith × 2 -- All-star taunt versus aggro decks. Reborn not only gives him added stickiness to the board but also nets a body if copied by Dorian or Betrug.
• Hellfire -- Medium range AoE that works well versus boardspam decks, and can even combo with a Voodoo Doll, or burn face for the last few points
• Dollmaster Dorian × 1 -- "Early game" Value generation that lets you convert draw power into small bodies on board... preferably with powerful deathrattle effects.
• Rotten Applebaum × 2 -- Additional ward that helps you stabilize by gaining life on deathrattle... especially when copied by Dorian or Betrug.
• Aranasi Broodmother × 2 -- Converts draw power into healing if you keep cycling her in the deck. Decent sized Ward if you need to protect face.
• Cairne Bloodhoof × 1 -- Simple yet effective body and deathrattle effect for the cost. Nets value if copied by Dorian or Betrug.
• Khartut Defender × 2 -- Yet another ward. Reborn gives you 2 wards in one, and his deathrattle helps you stabilize or stay healthy.
• Siphon Soul × 1 -- Sometimes you just need one thing dead. The life gain is nice too.
• Lord Godfrey × 1 -- Mass staggered AOE for Board Clear
• Fel Lord Betrug × 1 -- Late Game value generator that converts draw power into bodies on board with RUSH. Crushing advantage with strong deathrattle/reborn effects.
• Anubisath Warbringer × 2 -- Surprisingly strong deathrattle effect, giving a huge buff to minions in hand. As clunky as he looks, just one is enough to put a cramp in your opponent's ability to keep up with newly supersized minions coming out of your hand... and beyond gamewarping if you get the extra value from copies by Dorian or Betrug.

How to Lackey

Generally speaking, your Lackeys are here to protect you from early game focused decks and smooth out your tempo while you ramp up for the big value plays. This doesn't mean you can't use them for tempo and play aggro yourself -- but you should always remember their primary uses so that you can plan accordingly and still try to keep an ace in the hole versus expected plays. In general I will tend to hold lackeys in preparation for plays with Plague of Flames or Voodoo Doll. However they do have some other uses, especially if it doesn't seem like you will need to plague in the near future. Holding on to unused Lackeys can even benefit from Anubisath Warbringer triggers... but be careful about shuffling them back into your deck with Plot Twist.

• Ethereal Lackey -- The #1 spell you can discover with Ethereal is additional copies or Plot Twist. Spot removal or additional AoE can be good as well. Another copy of Sense Demons might be okay if you really need the healing / protection
• Faceless Lackey -- I generally hold Faceless as a 2-for-1 setup for Plague of Flames. You can use the extra Body Generation for tempo, but don't shoot yourself in the foot to do it. You have plenty of body generation tools later to want to overextend for a 2-cost body for no reason.
• Goblin Lackey -- Helps to Swing tempo by giving something RUSH. Great easy activator for a Voodoo Doll.
• Kobold Lackey -- A more direct way of playing tempo as removal. However, it also moonlights as a sneaky way to pop Voodoo Doll as well.
• Witchy Lackey -- Not a Lackey I like using very often. still has uses in upgrading/healing minions used for trading. Sometimes you use it to fish for something needed on the transform.
• Titanic Lackey -- So far this is the least useful Lackey, since a considerable portion of our deck has taunt already. Still it can be used to trade up on the board, or provide another ward in a pinch... or even force your opponent to break a deathrattle for you.

Mulligans

Generally, we are mulligan to find our Lackey Generation, AoE's or other low ish drops.

Plot Twist in the opening hand can be awkward but it usually worth it. It is one of the most important parts of the deck, and even if your deck draws like trash, you can use it without the extra value to try to reset your hand.

Bone Wraith and Dorian can be nice to keep in the opener. Applebaum is awkward but a passable keep if you have nothing else useful to start with, since he is both a ward and Life gain.

Anything 6+ cost needs to go back into the deck so you don't throw the game completely to tempo. This includes Khartut Defender -- he's a good card, but you can't afford for him to be your first relevant play of the game.

Notable Cards that got Cut

• Supreme Archaeology -- Just.... No. It is a dead card in the opening hand, and you will lose to tempo before you ever get to do anything relevant with it.
• The Soularium -- Tempting to use especially with Dorian, but we are playing for BIG value. However, you won't often have space in hand for the extra cards, and you don't want to discard something you might need later in the game. It was just a dead card in hand in 99% of the games I tested with it.
• EVIL Cable Rat -- Yes we are using Lackeys however, we are only using them as a form of control and we can only fit so many in the deck without diluting out other gameplans. Rat got cut, mainly because 2 mana (+1 to cast the lackey) was sometimes too much to squeeze in 1 turn of clutch tight mana plays. Sinister Deal does the same thing, and gives us a choice of lackey for one less cost.
• Spirit of the Bat -- In smaller versions of this deck, Spirit was a decent way to generate "Keleseth" -esque Value by sacrificing tokens and building a big hand. We really don't need that effect so much any more and can get more from Anubisath Warbringer, with much less setup and wasting of resources.
• Void Analyst -- See Spirit of the bat. Sometimes I will take this card from Dark Possession, however.
• EVIL Recruiter -- While we ARE using Lackeys for a significant amount of play, this card created a conflict between using lackeys to control tempo versus using them to generate value. In the end, we have more than enough value generation, and are better off saving our Lackeys as our thin line of defense until the big guns come online.
• Rafaam's Scheme -- Lackeys and eggs ended up being better... in this deck. Trying to use this with plague can be very problematic if your deck doesn't give you cards in the right order, and you don't have time for it to charge up. in a more control oriented list this might be okay, but in THIS deck, the tools we already have will do the job, without trying to cram another card in and force our sequencing.
• Dark Pharaoh Tekahn -- Same as EVIL Recruiter. Also, the effect is redundant/cannibalistic to Anubisath Warbringer. Makes sense in a Lackey/Tempo/Zoo build, but it is win/more in this deck, and takes card slots away from more needed effects.
• Dr. Morrigan -- There are some unique plays that Morrigan offers this deck, but the same effect that makes her enticing can backfire if she pulls the wrong thing out of your deck at the wrong time -- Especially Elysiana.
• Arch-Villain Rafaam -- The effect is only really relevant for destroying Corrupted Blood in our deck. Could replace Elysiana if you are teching for more control matchups.

Closing

So that's all for now... Thank you for reading this far!  Please comment if you have any questions about the build or would like to see additions to the guide.

Quote from Pookie >>

He stealed your deck aswell then:

https://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/1270798-spell-damage-rogue

 

We aren't talking about a metadeck which is going to be tightly hashed with thousands of people hounding the "perfect build".   This is a true "rogue deck" where the key lines aren't as obviously spelled out.  There are key cards that were included (and discluded) that make it painfully suspect where the core list came from.  The OP list has a deviation of approximately 4 cards with a total of 3 cards that were never in my build with no other deviation in the main.

Your second example is actually what I would expect from a more experimental list.   It features 9-10 deviant cards, misses some critical tech, and is instead working with a completely different aggro skein.

Here is a fun little gem I brainstormed in between of getting punched to death with a few of my other brews from this expansion.  It looks like a pile of garbage on paper. However, it plays like a combination of Backspace aggro combined with Malygos.  With so many value and gimmick decks running around, it will astonish your opponent just how fast you can push face damage and close the game.  In longer games that turn against you, you can still go for a hail-mary by sculpting your hand and setting up enough spell damage for one last big burst and/or Leeroy.

Yes... you read that right.  This is Aggro-Rogue...  with Spell Damage...  Seriously.

 Synopsis:

This is a grinder deck.  Games are meant to be quick and brutal.  That isn't to say that we are playing without chicanery... in fact this is one of the "smartest" and interesting aggro decks I have picked up in some time.  However, it does mean that blatant mistakes and certain board states mean: Game over, pack up, move on to the next.  The beauty is, there's no skin off our nose to lose a well played game (or lucksack) from our opponent.  We have much faster games than most other decks in the field right now, allowing us to leverage time rather than Grinding out 30 minute games trying to preserve a winstreak.

This deck will beat almost every deck in the format at the moment, if you get a strong start.  Weaker starts sometimes require us to plan ahead to stretch the last few points to lethal, but are perfectly playable.  This isn't bragging about being the perfect deck: it is merely a hallmark of tight consistent aggro play -- we go off before they do and since we are Rogue, we have the best tempo tools to tip close games in our favor.

Card Discussion

Class Cards:

• Backstab -- Classic Rogue tempo removal.
• Shadowstep -- Most often to preserve a spell Damage card in hand if it looks like you might lose the effect when it might be needed (especially if you think you will need to stack Ancient mage late.  Secondary uses with Spellbook Binder and Leeroy.
• Sinister Strike --  Surprising reach to close games, especially with Spell Damage
• Cold Blood -- Turns positive-tempo boards into massive lifetotal swings.  Secondary use in removing big obstacles  so  you can keep going face.  Particularly amusing to use on a Mana Resevoir they want to try to ignore.
• Eviscerate -- Classic combo removal/reach
• Sap -- one turn removal for tall threats and taunts
• Shiv -- Cantrip that enjoys friendly benefits with all your spell damage stuff.  Usually used to remove small dudes that look like they want to trade, but can also be used face for reach.
• Fan of Knives -- AoE that is good for its cantrip.  Can also clear surprisingly big boards with enough spell damage stacked.
• Headcrack -- One Rogue's worst classics gets a lot better with a spell damage build.  Recurring face damage that scales with spell damage and makes your opponent squirm when they see go back to your hand.  This is one of your key cards versus Warrior (or any class that tries to wall up to preserve health).

Neutrals:

• Bloodmage Thalnos -- Longtime friend of rogue, known for his one-time boon to a single spell before drawing you a card and eating a hit.
• Mana Reservoir -- very durable at 0/6.  forces your opponent to commit resources to dropping it, or letting you get turn after turn of active spell damage.
• Spellbook Binder -- Draws you a card if you have spell damage active.  Helps keep our hand from depleting while providing nice aggressive stats.
• Spellshifter -- The flip flop can make this guy an awkward but useful tool at our disposal. as a 1/4 he can be hard to remove early, and as a 4/1 he demands a response.
• Spellzerker -- Good stats for a 2-drop,  Can sometimes activate his spell damage for some explosive plays.
• Arcane Watcher --  Amazing body for 3.  With enough Spell Damage minions  it isn't too hard to get a swing or 2 in with him, which is all we really need. Curves well with Ancient mage to guarantee active.
• Acolyte of Pain -- A body that can hold Cold Blood (if he survives)  replaces himself most times. Getting more than one card off him is pure value.
• Archmage Vargoth -- Play it again Sam.  Lets you pull another card with shiv, or double your hits with Headcrack and Sinister Strike.  Targeted spells are more RNG... but sometimes you take that risk if you feel you need to.
• Ancient Mage -- Sticky 2/5 that curves with Arcane Watcher so that he activates himself.  Occasionally helps you late by stacking large amounts of spell damage for removal or burst.
• Leeroy Jenkins -- Classic end-game for aggro.

Gameplay Video

Gameplay Tips and Matchups

On the coin:  Pay close attention to turn 1 coin plays.  In a vacuum, Spellzerker turn 1 is a very strong tempo, especially if you can follow up with some kind of card draw.  Any time you have Spellbook Binder going second, try to play any of your non-conditional spell damage guys (Except Bloodmage) to try and follow up with the 3/2 cantrip.

Pay close attention to your spell damage.  Backstab and Shiv do amazing work if you start piling up the bonus damage.  Many people will not anticipate the raw power and tempo of your removal.  Conversely, be studious of your Spellzerker.  His Spell damage will give you a nice little burst, if you can get him active, but he almost always dies before you get more than 1 turn of him active.

On the face side of things, Sinister Strike and Headcrack pack a punch.  Sinister is raw power, and any time you can drop it for 5+ damage, it might be worthwhile to just get it out of your hand.  This is especially true if you can get the double tap with Archmage Vargoth.  Headcrack is more grindy  You don't have to prioritize Spell damage with Headcrack in order to stretch out your endgame, and instead rely on the repeatability.  And on the techy side of things, Vargoth copying Headcrack will put 2 copies back to your hand.

Versus:

Warlock --  Play a grind game and try to bait out a few hero power taps.  Big Burst should be for extreme opportunities and lethal.  Chip damage and grind for the first half of the game, and then big burst when you feel ready to sprint to the finish. These games are usually pretty easy as long as you prioritize removal on key cards.

Warrior (bombs or otherwise) -- Their access to armor means that you will grind for longer to win, but you are still aggressive enough to threaten them early.  Using a little burst early to drop their armor total can save you from a nasty Shield Slam.  They will often have issues dealing with our higher health minions shy of an execute; so Cold Blood on Mana Resevior and Arcane Watcher tend to be our pack mules.  Warrior always finds a way to stabilize however, so prioritize card draw enough that you aren't blowing your whole hand for anything shy of a lethal burst.  These games tend to end more by Leeroy and Sinister Strike more than raw board aggro.  Headcrack really helps with the grind towards the final burst too.

Token Druid -- They will be able to build more board faster than you, and then if you leave it unattended it will magnify to outrace you.  This matchup is a balancing act of trades and chip, with the "race leader" fluctuating more than a few times in the match.  When deciding if you need to trade to thwart lethal, always assume they can give +2 to everything and trade appropriately.  This is an eternal grind and chip fest.  Burst only for lethal and prioritize saving Cold Blood for Mana Resevior so that you don't have a creature on board that is inactive for trading.

Lucentbark Druid -- Similar to Warrior you will need to grind more and time your final burst.  Headcrack is one of your best tools to burn em down, but if the game goes too long, you will get out healed.  If they get to the point of spamming copies of Lucent, your last out is to set up a big spell damage burst to close.  Sometimes you have the resources left over and sometimes you don't -- but most games you should be within reach by the time the broken stuff starts happening.

Lackey Rogue -- Similar to Token druid in that you have to prioritize trading with your higher health minions.  However, since they don't buff board, the threshold that allows you to play burst and tempo opens up more.  They don't trade well body for body and instead rely on battlecry effects to augment their combat, so you can emphasize trading small, and let your larger guys sponge cards out of hand.  In a sense, we are the better aggro deck, but it is still a mirror match.  Win tempo, win the game.

Hunter --  Rogue's natural nemesis in terms of tempo and board presence.  Similar to the Mirror with Rogue, prioritize tempo.  Whoever snowballs first usually wins.  Try to put yourself JUST enough ahead that you can ignore their board and race.  Force them to trade, and you will win through card attrition and/or raw burst.

Mage --  The worst thing you have to worry about with mage is the stupid summon spam they can pull off if unchecked.  If they try to sneak in a Khadgar early, kill it with prejudice.  Otherwise, be mindful of the occasional secret crap, and be very careful what you play into a potential Mirror Entity.  Giving them a random spell damage follower is OK, but giving them an Arcane Watcher or Vargos is not.  This matchup tends to skew on the aggro=easy side but they can lucksack occasionally with their RNG summons.

Shaman --This is one of the hardest classes to face.  Murlocs can snowball faster than you, and taunt-spam from Feral Spirit and Rain of Toads is obnoxious.  Fan of knives is your best out, but relies on having enough spell damage developed to matter.

Paladin --  This is a mostly easy matchup save that perpetually spamming secrets and buffs may catch you in a bad place.  If they highroll, so be it.  Otherwise, play around secrets, just enough to keep your creatures going face (usually using dagger to clear the road first) and just keep them off tempo enough to win the race.

Priest -- Some kind of wall Priest could give us big problems, but I haven't seen much of that.  Most times the only thing you have to play around is the "surprise"  Inner Fire/Topsy Turvy play.  You can Plan-A vs Priest 90% of the time and not bat an eye.

Error post

My list is in deckbuilder and the forums.  Hence why it has both a straight link and a thread.  And no, many of the harder to figure out corner-tech cards are not as obvious as they might seem at first blush.

That said, I couldn't care less that someone else made front page with my deck.  in fact that's why I posted it in the first place -- to get more people to try it.  I just find it rather shotty to cut and paste someone else's list, throw in a few random off cards, and then downvote the guy who made the original.

You can downvote me all you want.  Check the dates, read MY guide (which is more than 5 sentences begging for upvotes).

Shitposting my reply doesn't change the fact that someone else is getting credit for my deck.

Been running this deck since day 1 of ROS.

https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/class-discussion/rogue/232482-spell-damage-aggro-rogue

Not sure why everyone is cashing it in now, did some streamer pick it up and not give any credit? 

Quote from A_Flagrants >>

Have you thought about this guy Azerite Elemental? :P

I have, but most times you need the Spell damage immediately for an effect or to activate watcher. This is a sometimes weakness of spellzerker too.  I have been looking at Ancient Mage as 2/5 for 4 is a little more palatable, and would allow me to give Watcher Spell Damage (so he activates himself) on curve.  Mage will also occasionally hit the +2 if we really want to amp the bonus damage.

A lot depends on the meta.  I have been hitting more murlocs and token druids today and struggling so I am tempted to bring in mage and Fan of Knives.  However It could all go back to rogue and warrior tomorrow in which case the deck would be slower for little gain.

The key here is that we aren't trying to just Overdose on Spell Damage.  It simply augments our removal or burst, while we chip away with the little guys.  By the time of the game where we would want something like Azerite, he would be overly expensive and required to wait a turn to get the needed bonus (If he even survives). Also, he is much harder to combo play in one turn.

This deck has been modified to push more into a tempo form since it was originally published.  Changes in the meta, always necessitate that we adapt and evolve.  As we do so, however, we always want to remember our roots. If you want to see the original concept, I have preserved it in the following spoiler.

Introduction

So here's a shell I am tooling around that seems to be catching people off guard.  It is part Mech, part Control, part Fatigue and stupidly fun to play.

Early game you are simply stalling, drawing/sculpting hand, and throwing your enemy off your trail, while building up armor.  Mid Game, you are playing to what you've drawn.  Late game you fall back on one of the following:

• Dead Man's hand with Control -- Passively letting your opponent mill out and stack up Corrupted Blood
• Dead Man's hand generating big hits between Akali and Zilliax
• Stocking your deck with Omega Assemblies to unpack in hand and refill your tempo alongside Dr. Boom's Hero Power.

Deck Link

*special note:  My current Version has removed Woebringer, due to the increased number of smaller minions for tempo.  This hurts Hakkar somewhat as we can no longer "cheat" him into play, however he is still too valuable to pass up in certain matchups.  Some players may want to cut some of the added minions in favor of Forge and Woecleaver, others may want to cut Hakkar, depending on your matchup consistency and your ability to wombo.

Core Synergies

The Rush Play:

Akali, and Zilliax are best buddies when is comes to big explosive plays and recovery.  It gets even more disgusting when you throw Dead Man's Hand into the mix allowing you to wombo Akali with a copy of herself, and combo more than once in a game (given the need or opportunity).

Fast and Furious:

Dr. Boom to doesn't just have a bunch of different hero Powers, he also gives all your Mechs Rush. Going "infinite" by saving Omega Assembly for late (with Dead Man's), gives you options for board control that doesn't involve burning valuable other resources.  Not only does this take some of the burden off your other spells, but sometimes means getting extra copies of Zilliax for playtime with Akali!

 The Long Game:

Dead Man's hand alone, is extremely valuable for late game value in games that look like they are going to fatigue.  Hakkar, doubles down on late game giving you a source of late game grind even before fatigue is guaranteed to hit.  Corrupted Blood punishes decks that want to draw out way too fast, and it accelerates very quickly once it starts rolling.  This also gives you some surprising reach versus decks that want to stack tons of excess health or armor.  To drive drive it all home... the extra copies of cards we make with Dead Man's Hand help to manage our probability of triggering corrupted blood versus our opponent.

Card Choices

• Omega Assembly -- Can be used early game if you need a creature for tempo. Late game becomes a card advantage engine.
• Shield Slam -- Spot removal based on stacked armor. can be used to suicide Hakkar if necessary.
• Cornered Sentry -- Decent ward with a downside that can be mitigated by a number of effects from our deck. Sometimes you even use it to play with Brawl math.
• Dead Man's Hand -- Long game deck stuffing and fatigue engine
• Drywhisker Armorer -- Armor stacker for big boards. Great for getting a body in play along with the armor.
• Execute -- Spot removal that plays nice with all the whirlwind/ping damage in the deck. Always try to restock one of these (with another ping too if there isn't one in your deck) when using dead man.
• Heroic Strike -- Sometimes you just gotta do stuff yourself. Early game removal, stacks with weapon attack. And sometimes even goes face.
• Slam -- Cantrip damage or spot removal.
• Warpath -- Whirlwind with Echo.
• Weapons Project -- Armor stacking and Weapon disruption.
• Acolyte of Pain -- Card drawing on a body. Can draw multiple cards if left unattended.
• Gluttonous Ooze -- Weapon disruption. Sometimes just tempo-d out for a body, can be combo'd for a bonus after weapons project... if you don't need it for something else.
• Blood Razor -- AoE, board chewing weapon.
• Brawl -- One copy because we have so much other removal, it can clog our hand to get multiples, especially after we start using dead man.
• Dyn-o-matic -- Mini-AoE on a body, similar to Brawl... and its a Mech :)
• Harrison Jones -- Weapon removal that also draws us cards. Can be used on weapons project if you dont need it for other targets.
• Zilliax -- All around good creature, taunt, lifesteal. Great combos with Akali.
• Dr. Boom, Mad Genius -- hero replacement that gives us ridiculous options with our hero power, and also gives rush to all our Mechs.
• Akali, the Rhino -- Rush removal that sets up something BIG in your hand. Combos with Zilliax or itself (after you Dead Man's). if necessary, you can even stock your deck with a tiny rush minion to still get the effect.
• Hakkar, the Soulflayer -- Punishes decks that like to draw heavy, and magnifies Fatigue. Harder to get out without some form of recruit, but still incredibly valuable.

Gameplay Videos

This one is courtesy of Tommy Wave who braved playing the original version of the deck blind on his stream.  Lots of good observations, especially about learning the deck. Thanks for the video Tommy!

Here is one from my Original Build (before Oondasta)

Conclusion

This list has come a long way with input, and refinement from its original form, but am still excited to share it and get feedback from other players.  I will happily keep evolving it with continued interest.

Like your thinking 👍🏻

Great deck dude, went from 10 to 6. Gonna try to push to 5 later. For those wondering, I dont have Bloodmage Thalnos so I just use Kobold Geomancer and the deck is still great. 

Used this deck from Rank 10 to 4 so far. I would suggest replacing Spellzerker with Azerite Elemental. Spellzerker was too inconsistent and Azerite Elemental surprised me with how often it could get up to +4 or more spell damage to push past the larger taunts that get played around turns 6/7/8.

I sympathize with you because you gave a really great post with details on how to navigate this; it's not piloted as easily as it seems and it's off-meta enough to make it a lot of fun to play. Gave you my upvote which is all I can do :/

Looks like fun, but I doubt it will last long enough in higher competitive play. Would definitely use FoK over Acolyte though. That board clear is going to win you games, definitely with this much spell damage. Might even try to fit another one in imo.

"Anybody else want this? Nevermind, i'm taking it anyway!"

Do you remember those guys who always want all of the loot for themselves, even if they can't use it? Well, now you can be one of them! Cheers to everyone sharing their thoughts in the discussion topic and helping me with one really tough decision this week.

This decks is a lot of fun. Thank you for continuing to describe and update it!

A really interesting list! Played a few games with the deck, check them out;

(Games start at 2:06)

Hakkar has been great for me. I still run into a fair amount of people trying to empty their deck and it totally kills them. I went 12-2 with this last night.

Is Hakkar, The Soulflayer absolutely necessary for this to work?  I've been holding on to Woecleaver and Scourgelord Garrosh for a while now, and I can't wait to try this.