by JR Cook - 9 years ago     show comments

Every Friday a legendary member from team DKMR breaks down Don’t Kick My Robot’s “Deck of the Week” . These decks are seeing a lot of play either in constructed ladder or tournaments. Team DKMR explains the deck lists and how to play them. Make sure you check out Don’t Kick My Robot if you want to become a better player or check out their premium services if you would like them to do a 1 on 1 coaching session with you to help you better your game. View past Deck Lists of the Week.

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[DKMR]JRoc here, bringing you this weeks Deck of the Week. Today we will take a look at one of the decks that Savjz played at SeatStory Cup 2. The deck was originally ran by Chakki, and consisted of a unique card selection in 2 Doomhammers. Shaman was considered one of the weaker classes, but with the recent successes it is now a major contender for one of the top classes in Hearthstone.

The Deck

2x Earth Shock: A very versatile card at the Shaman’s disposal. This card can be used to silence strong deathrattle minions,   bypass taunted minions, or can be used as straight up damage on a minion if absolutely necessary. Look to save this card for bigger threats in the lategame if possible. Against aggressive decks feel free to use it early on to prevent their aggression.

2x Lightning Bolt: A card similar to rockbiter weapon with its own advantages and disadvantages. Lightning Bolt can bypass taunted units that you would otherwise not be able to attack and can be combined with spell power. This comes at the cost of 1 overload but can be synergized with unbound elemental.

2x Rockbiter Weapon: A strong early game removal similar to Lighting Bolt. The difference is that it requires a minion or your hero to be able to attack with it. It cannot be combined with spell power but is a strong card when combined with windfury. Doomhammer and Rockbiter Weapon can help kill strong minions or help burst the enemy hero down as a finisher.

1x Bloodmage Thalnos: This card has lost a lot of popularity in Shaman recently, but it has great synergy with the extra amount of spell damage cards included in this deck. It is a versatile card that can be used to bring down huge lightning storms, finish an enemy off with Lightning bolt or Lava Burst, or to simply cycle itself and draw an extra card.

2x Flametongue Totem: An extremely strong card if you already have board control.   Generally with this card, you want to position your deathrattle minion on the left of your board, and if you play another deathrattle minion they should usually be placed on the far right with some exceptions. This allows you to get maximum value from the +2 attack by killing off your minions and letting another minion gain the +2 buff. Also, if you end up using flametongue with only 1 minion on the board although usually not recommended, it should be placed on the right side of the minion incase you spawn a totem in the future.

1x Haunted Creeper: A good sticky minion that has good synergy with Flametongue Totem and Defender of Argus. This card does really well vs Hunters because they run many 1 hp minions. If you are facing many aggressive decks it may be wise to run 2 of these.

2x Feral Spirit: A really strong tempo card that can protect your totems and other creatures. It works well in combination with unbound elemental. In later stages of the game where you have board control it may be a good idea to save Feral Spirit until the enemy has used their Area of Effect cards.

2x Hex: By far one of the strongest cards in the game.   Try to save hex for late game threats if possible, but it may be required on an early game minion to save your board if you have no other removals or minions that can trade.

2x Lava Burst: Not a very popular card, but with 2 Unbound Elementals and 2 Doomhammers it synergizes well with the theme of the deck.   It is a good tool to remove 4-5 hp creatures without having to waste a Hex, or can be used as a burst finisher to unleash insane amount of damage in the mid to late game.

2x Lightning Storm: The only AoE cards in the deck. Does a decent job and clearing the enemies board but sets you back in overload for your next turn. Destroys aggressive decks especially when combined with spell power. Make sure to totem before using lightning storm if possible to see if you roll a spell power totem.

1x Mana Tide Totem: A decent cycle card that guarantees you at least 1 draw. The card really shines when hidden behind taunts or against classes that don’t have early game minions out to kill it. Keep in mind that Mana Tide Totem almost has a built in Taunt mechanic where the enemy is almost forced to kill it, so you can use this tactic to your advantage to save other minions.

2x Unbound Elemental: A 2-4 for 3 mana is pretty average, but if left for more than one turn on the board it can become a powerhouse.   Similar to Mana Tide Totem this card almost has a built in taunt on it. Enemies fear what this card might become, so they will do whatever it takes to kill it.   In combination with feral spirit or lightning bolt this can can achieve amazing value.

1x Defender of Argus: In a class about board control and creating totems, defender of argus is a perfect card. It forces the enemies to attack units that they may otherwise not want to, as well has giving totems the chance to attack and become valuable assets to you.

1x Gnomish Inventor: Helps with the draw mechanic of the deck. Its stats are fairly weak but with 4 hp it can help kill big threats that the enemy plays when combined with flametongue totem. If you are not facing many aggressive decks, consider running 2 of these.

2x Doomhammer: Normally you would only want 1 Doomhammer since if you draw the 2nd one it would be rather useless, but getting Doomhammer in your hand is so important that it is a risk worth taking. This card alone does 16 dmg for 5 mana and 2 overload over 8 attacks, which is insane value. In combination with rockbiter weapon it can take out almost any minion or finish off enemy heros in combination with spell damage.

2x Azure Drake: Arguably the best 5 drop for a shaman. Shamans lack card draw and this card fills that role, while proving a 44 body and spell damage ontop of that. This makes the card really flexible, and in the late game it is one of the best cards you can draw off the top of your deck. Using an Azure Drake into a Lightning Bolt or Fire Elemental on the next turn can secure a victory.

1x Loatheb: An amazing card that should be used in almost every single deck. A 5-5 for 5 mana is decent, but it usually forces your enemy to play minions instead of spells on the next turn, which helps with shamans biggest weakness.   Shamans are very vulnerable to board clear AOE spells but this card can prevent that for a turn and make hell for your enemy.

2x Fire Elemental: One of the most insane cards in the game. A 6-5 for 6 is decent but it has a built in 3 dmg charge that can make for huge value and tempo swings.   General tactics for this card is to try and plan out your turns and not overload on turn 5 if possible to get this card out as soon as you can. Sometimes it is better to have a weaker turn 5 that forces your enemies minion to have 3 hp than to immediately trying to clear his/her board with overload.

The Mulligan

A good mulligan in shaman really depends on what your enemy is playing.   Against aggressive decks like Hunter and Zoo Warlock, look to keep early game removals like Rockbiter Weapon, Earth Shock, Lightning Bolt, and Lighting Storm. Good safe keeps against most classes are Unbound Elemental, Feral Spirit, Haunted Creeper, and Flametongue Totem. These cards help you develop early board control to help you snowball into a victory. Against heavy control decks it is still a good idea to keep a good curve and develop early board control, but the early game removal cards are not needed. You can replace those by keeping a Doomhammer in your hand to start pounding away at your enemies health or minions.

The Coin

The mulligan with the coin does not change very much. The biggest difference is that with the coin is that on turn 2 you may coin out Unbound Elemental and then on turn 3 you can play Feral Spirits. This is one of the strongest plays in the game that gives you an amazing board. Look to keep those 2 cards together at all times.

The Gameplan

Always try to plan out your turns ahead of time for when you are going to overload yourself. The idea behind Shaman is to keep playing your own threats and totems while removing your enemies board. In most cases the enemy will eventually run out of resources to kill your minions and you will win from board control. What this deck offers that normal Shaman builds do not is the flexibility that even if you lost board control you can burst your enemy down out of nowhere with Doomhammer and all your spell damage spells.   Always keep in mind how much damage you have in your hand, and look for opportunities to start going for the kill. Your enemies will be surprised when they go from 30 health to 0 in just a couple turns.

Final Thoughts

Shaman can be a difficult class to master, but is one of the most fun and rewarding in the game. The deck has a good shot against all decks, including Priest which was its worst matchup.   Shaman is now a massive contender on the ladder and I am sure it will continue to gain more and more popularity.

[DKMR]JRoc streams weekdays http://www.twitch.tv/JRoc_. You can find all of DKMR’s streamers on their website with the days that they stream!

Written by [DKMR]JRoc

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