by JR Cook - 10 years ago     show comments

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[DKMR]Hexar here from team Don’t Kick My Robot to bring you this week’s Deck of the Week; Angry Watcher Druid. This deck is a throwback to the original watcher druids with a bit of a twist. You can use your ancient watchers a little more aggressively posing as a two mana yeti who is a little slow to start. The deck is a little more aggressive than most druid decks which lets you race the fast decks like hunter, but is also resilient enough to hold a strong mid to late game. Lastly, the extra silences help you against any big issues you might run into such as a houndmastered Highmane or even a Tirion Fordring.

Here is our current deck list designed by [DKMR]Atlanta:

2x Innervate –This card belongs in every Druid deck. The fact that you can play a big minion on turn 2 or 3 is very powerful. Having additional mana late game can be very helpful.

1x Claw – This is to help against the aggressive decks. It lets you kill a 1 drop without coining. It also combines with hero power for a 3 mana removal spell.

1x Wild Growth – This card helps you keep up with the control decks and get to your 4 drops a little faster. Try to use this turn 2.

2x Wrath – A very simple and efficient removal spell. Let’s you cycle deeper into your deck or kill off weaker minions.

2x Ancient Watcher – These guys are very important and at the core of this deck. You have 4 silences to activate them as well as a sunfury protector to taunt. Think about it this way, you have a 4/5 on the table turn 2 and then turn 3 you silence it! It has already been on the battlefield and is able to attack right away.

1x Sunfury Protector – This card has some issues early because it dies very easily in the current meta, but is reliable enough with watchers to deserve a slot. Watch out for Black Knight after turn 5.

1x Savage Roar – This is one piece of the combo, the other being force of nature for lots of damage. It can also be used to trade up with multiple creatures to regain board control if you get behind.

1x Big Game Hunter – This card helps against your weaker match-ups such as Handlock and Warrior Control by letting you easily deal with a huge threats and is still a 4/2 when you don’t need it.

2x Earthen Ring Farseer – A 3/3 that costs 3 that heals you or a creature is very efficient and fills a necessary spot in the deck. It lets you heal your minions for better trades as well as assisting in Aggro matchups and can be used for healing the damage taken by shapeshift.

1x King Mukla – Turn 1 or turn 2 King Mukkla is fairly easy for Druids to play because of Innervate. This gives you a massive advantage early on. If the bananas pose a threat to you, you have the silences to deal with them.

2x Swipe – One of the better removal spells in the game. A staple in every druid deck.

2x Keeper of the Grove – Two of the decks silences for ancient watchers. They also let you kill minions with 2 health or direct damage to your opponent.

2x Spellbreaker – A solid body who surprisingly hasn’t seen more play. It acts as the other two silences but is a reasonable body on it’s own. It’s stats are why it is preferred to Ironbeak Owl.

2x Druid of the Claw – Another staple in pretty much every druid deck. Having a solid 5 drop is one of the reasons Druid has been so successful. A great turn 3 play with Innervate or solid turn 5 play. Just be careful you play the right form depending on the circumstances!

1x Stampeding Kodo – A meta call for druid. This card deals with Crocolisks, Aggro minions, Zoo decks, armorsmiths, acolyte of pain, shaman totems just to start the list. This is a solid removal card with a sizeable body.

1x Force of Nature – The other half of the savage roar combo. This can also be used as a pseudo removal spell in a pinch.

1x Cairne Bloodhoof – This card has always been a nightmare for Control. A double “yeti” poses real issues, just make sure not to play Spellbreaker when this is the only card on board.

1x The Black Knight – Another “yeti” that instantly deals with a taunt. This card is pretty valuable in most match-ups and is something everyone should watch out for when playing taunt minions.

2x Ancient of Lore – A 5/5 that heals you or a minion in a pinch or draws you TWO cards! This card is pretty amazing and very important in this deck given the current meta we are in.

1x Ragnaros – A solid threat that closes games quickly when you clear the board. This also helps you eliminate big creatures but is not always the most reliable! Remember all the silences you are packing? This can be used to silence your 8/8 and finish a game.

1x Cenarius – A very sizable threat that grows your minions to massive proportions or builds you a small army of trees. The perfect late game decision.

Mulligans

You really want to try to get an ancient watcher in your opening hand. This is either going to start the beat-down or hold up on defense. Be sure to keep innervates in the hopes of powering out a strong play in the first three turns. Be aware of what match-ups you want certain cards for; be prepared to keep druid of the claw for slower decks and wrath against Aggro decks.

The Coin

Going first is generally better in druid, but depending on your opener the coin can be a great asset. In the ideal scenario you would like to play turn 1 coin ancient watcher, turn 2 innervate Spellbreaker. While this is a little unrealistic, it definitely swings the game very early. Be sure to utilize your hero power when you’re waiting for a more powerful turn to deal damage and armor up.

The Gameplan

Be aggressive early but not over the top. Your early game creatures should be much bigger than your opponents and your removal is very important to clear the board. Assert the early game pressure and try to snowball the game with your board presence. Use your silences sparingly, Ancient Watchers can be a dead card without them.

Alternate Card Choices

Defender of Argus – this card is likely for a different version of watcher druid. We feel that in the current Meta and the way this deck is built you want to stay away from slowing down your game. We want the watchers to be free to attack!

Ysera/Alexstrazsa/Epic Legend – This deck can certainly use a variety of legends for the late game. We have chosen ones that impact the board when they come down and we feel are the most efficient.

Ancient of War – We feel this card does not fit. We are looking to take control of the tempo early and hit our opponent often. Unfortunately this card is too slow.

We hope you enjoy our version of watcher Druid! Keep track of your stats on Hearthstats.net with this and let us know how you are doing!

You can find all of DKMR’s streamers at www.dontkickmyrobot.com with the days they stream! If this deck peaks your interest, check out [DKMR]Atlanta as he is a fabulous deck builder and a fantastic player.

Guide written by [DKMR]Hexar
Discussions about this topic brought to you by Team [DKMR]