by JR Cook - 11 years ago     show comments

We’ve previously posted extensively about aggrodecks, but for every strategy there is an equally annoying and equally effective counter strategy. Today, I’ll take a look at a complete opposite deck build: the turtle deck with loads of taunt cards and a few buff spells and minions.

The perfect hero for that is the shaman: not only do you have a hero power that has a 1 in 4 chance to throw yet another taunt into the mix, it also conveniently buffs your minions with a healing totem or a spell power totem. Of course you don’t want to go exclusively with taunt cards: having Bloodlust and Flametongue Totem in your deck is absolutely essential.

There are of course some abilities and spells that can counter this strategy (like Ironbeak Owl, Mass Dispel, Brawl or Hellfire), but the relief of having just cleared an entire board of taunt cards can quickly turn into horror when you drop – you guessed it – yet another taunt minion.

Naturally, you don’t want to fall victim to your own strategy. Having Hex and Ironbeak Owl in your deck is strongly recommended. This is yet another deck that is easily assembled with basic shaman cards and a few available taunt cards thrown in (Tip: in your deck collection, enter the keyword “taunt” to filter for all cards with just that ability).

The Shaman turtle deck:

• Frost Shock x2
• Rockbiter Weapon x2
• Goldshire Footman x2
• Flametongue Totem x2
• Frostwolf Grunt x2
• Ironbeak Owl x2
• Feral Spirit x2
• Hex x2
• Ironfur Grizzly x2
• Raid Leader x2
• Silverback Patriarch x2
• Sen’jin Shieldmasta x2
• Bloodlust x2
• Fire Elemental x2
• Lord of the Arena x2

There is a certain ridiculousness to this approach, and no amount of taunt minions will guarantee victory. That said, if you have tried aggro decks before and did not feel like those are your cup of tea, then give this defensive build a try. The beauty of Hearthstone is that a huge variety of play styles can lead to success, you just need to find the one that suits you best!