I don’t mean to step on anyone’s toes. I really don’t. I think people can come to a similar deck idea and come about it in different ways. I suppose I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s look at this week’s email from Leo Porento:

Hello Sean

First of all sorry about my spelling errors and failing at English. I really like your deck clinic at DMG there is always some cool decks that makes me wish I had tons of money.

I am currently working on [Firelands] deckout Shaman deck. First I tried mage with [Firelands] + [Scorch]/[Fireblast] to get tokens but that didn’t work out so well.
Now I feel like "I’ve got something now," but still this deck fails against Tier1 decks.
Hope you can help somehow improve my current deck so it can get better
I am thinking of getting [Spiritual Return] but I’ve got no idea what to take away...

Here is list what I’ve got so far:

Hero: [Zaritha]

Allies: 17
4 [Gromble the Apt]
4 [Burly Berta]
2 [King Varian Wryn]
1 [Ragnaros the Firelord]
4 [Mikael the Blunt]
1 [Pappy Ironbane]
1 [Malfurion stormrage]

Abilities: 19
4 [Blazing Elemental Totem]
4 [Ancestral awakening]
4 [Squall Totem]
3 [Wind Shear]
3 [Tuskarr Kite]

Equipment: 11
3 [Blackout Truncheon]
4 [Urn of Lost Memories]
4 [Calamity's Grasp]

Locations: 4
4 [Firelands]

Quests: 10
4 [Wanton Warlord]
2 [Cleansing Witch Hill]
4 [The Overseer's Shadow] 

Basically, Leo is trying to get his Shaman off the ground. The first thing I wanted to do was fire up the stock deck list on MWS. From the list that I could see, it seems like Leo was trying to port Firelands into a current [Zaritha] build. There’s a lot of elements of Google Shaman and that’s still a strong deck.

I started off slowly, playing against my Budget Hunter list. I lost the roll in that game and I was always a turn behind. I wasn’t able to swing tempo back my way and I was a near fatal damage by the time I landed my first [Blazing Elemental Totem].

I tried a few more games against a more aggressive deck and then tried control. The deck was solid as it was but it did lose more games than it won. I found the [Firelands] deckout theme to be second to Urn and the allies that where included in the deck.

The deck wasn’t quick enough against anything playing [Kel’thuzad] and I often lost to my own [King Varian Wryn]. The other issue I found was that especially after NACC, Warlock is poised as one of the best decks in the format (and I’m not even talking about Eggerator). Between the updated [Jeremiah Karvok] list and the Beast Mode list, Warlock is definitely the coolest kid in school right now. That’s fine but it does present a problem for our list in that with playing so many powerful allies, the deck is very susceptible to [Hesriana]. When so many decks are playing Warlock, you can’t really afford to play cards like [Burly Berta] or Totems for the fear of having their very cool abilities stolen.

When I sat down to figure out ways to improve the deck, I thought back to fellow Daily Metagame writer Tripp Allen’s Shaman deckout list. Here’s a link for a refresher. Tripp did a great job laying out some very basic themes of the deck before providing us with a list. He made note of some cards and combos that he wanted to try and that just didn’t make the cut of his final deck.

I worked out some angles with the deck and tried to increase the threat density. I felt that switching classes would work better for me as a Blue Shaman build would bear an uncanny resemblance to a deck list that I posted earlier. I also took into account Leo’s statement of not having a ton of money to dump into a deck. While the below deck list isn’t strictly “budget”, I’m not packing four [Broderick Langforth]s as I want to keep the costs down where I can. So here’s my list:

Hero: [Seprion the Poised]

Allies: 5

3 [Kray'zin Firetusk]
2 [Skumm Bag'go]

Abilities: 28

4 [Feral Spirits]
3 [Wind Shear]
2 [Chain Purge]
3 [Squall Totem]
3 [Primal Totem]
3 [Wavestorm Totem]
4 [Tuskarr Kite]
4 [Blazing Elemental Totem]
2 [Unleash the Elements]

Equipment: 13
3 [Scaled Breastplate of Carnage]
3 [Calamity's Grasp]
3 [Leggings of the Tireless Sentry]
4 [Urn of Lost Memories]

Locations: 4
4 [Firelands]

Quests: 10
4 [The Overseer's Shadow]
4 [Wanton Warlord]
2 [Cleansing Witch Hill]

I shifted the main focus of the deck from the late game to focus a bit more on the midgame. In order to successfully do that, I needed to survive and thus in came [Wavestorm Totem] and [Leggings of the Tireless Sentry]. While I’m never really happy with playing [Wavestorm Totem], I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the synergy of the two cards and how quickly I could get the combo online. It’s a soft lock but it’s not meant to completely lock out your opponent, it’s meant simply to slow them down.

I tested the deck and I am sad to report that I don’t think that this deck will ever deckout someone out completely. There is simply no way for a deck to remain competitive and run that many Fire Elementals. I found the more I focused on the deckout aspect of the deck, the less and less competitive it got. But Firelands makes Fire Elementals, doesn’t it? Yes but at the cost of doing Fire Damage (not a big deal to pull off) and it also costs three. In what world do we live that a three-cost 2/1 is good? I want my three drops to be 5/3s that are impossible to kill, not a paltry 2/1.

So why play [Firelands] at all? Good question, and I think I have to refer back to Tripp Allen on this one. He had basically come to the same conclusion as I did; you’re not going to deckout anyone for a win. The thing to consider though is that this is a Core legal deck. In Core Constructed, you’re forced to jam answers to devastating threats as well as your own deck’s win condition all in 60 cards. No small task as most of you already know. If my deck can eliminate cards before they even become threats, isn’t that good?

I’d much rather see a [Hesriana] or [Adam Eternum] flipped off the top of the deck and into a graveyard than hit play or end up in someone’s hand. It’s not really card advantage in a true sense; I consider it more of a “virtual” card advantage. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, right? What are two cards in your opponent’s graveyard that you’ll never have to deal with worth? I’d say the inclusion of a little ole location called [Firelands].

I also added the combination of [Scaled Breastplate of Carnage] with [Primal Totem]. Getting this combo online allows me to race against aggressive decks. A single dead totem will wipe and opposing board of all but their Aberration and Will of the Forsaken allies. [Scaled Breastplate of Carnage] also pulls double duty in that it allows my small Fire Elemental tokens to trade with much bigger guys.

Quests and locations: I actually didn’t change a thing from the list Leo sent. I think he had a great quest line up, even if a bit draw light. I heard Tuskarr Kite is a good way to draw cards so I think we’ll be okay. [Cleansing Witch Hill] (and [Skumm Bag’go] for that matter) are mainly there to deal with [Undercity]. Though the deck doesn’t rely solely on graveyard recursion, it does factor into the win condition a lot so the more answers I have to [Undercity], the better.

ABILITIES: We’ve got Totems. Lots of them. [Blazing Elemental Totem] is one of a long list of awesome Fire Totems. For the cost of four resources, you get 4 ATK worth of allies and they’re ferocious to boot. The thing that I often overlook is that [Blazing Elemental Totem] gives Ferocity to all Fire type allies and thus I’ve included [Kray'zin Firetusk]. [Wavestorm Totem] is good at slowing your opponent down and generally aggravating your opponent. I decided to be a little adventurous and move the deck from Restoration to Enhancement and so out went [Ancestral Awakening] and in came [Feral Spirit].

With my spirit wolves upping my total token count, I got a bit greedy and added [Unleash the Elements]. The card proved to be just alright and it’s one area where I’d like to get everyone else’s opinion. I was able to live the dream and get into play 8 Spirit Wolves into play but that was maybe one game in 30. Does a fringe card like that deserve slots in an admittedly tight deck list? I’m not sure.

Equipment: I’ve added [Scaled Breastplate of Carnage] and [Leggings of the Tireless Sentry] and kept [Urn of Lost Memories] in the deck as well. [Calamity’s Grasp] is just a super strong utility card so that also made the deck list. The equipment each work in tandem with an ability in the deck to create small combos: [Scaled Breastplate of Carnage]/ [Primal Totem], [Leggings of the Tireless Sentry]/[Wavestorm Totem], and [Urn of Lost Memories]/[Blazing Elemental Totem]. My hope with the deck is that one or more of my small combos combine to win the game. I don’t need all three to come on line as even two can sometimes be enough to pull me through.

Allies: There are noticeably very few allies. [Skumm Bag’go] is a cheap answer to other locations and quests while also being a one-cost ally so that I can sacrifice my own [Primal Totem] to get the trigger via Urn. [Kray'zin Firetusk] was another admittedly greedy card that I was dying to try. She’s a fire damage ally so she gets Ferocity from my [Blazing Elemental Totem]. It’s much safer knowing you can smash face with her right away so I’m often able to put nine damage on her and hit hard. She’s also able to be brought back via [Urn of Lost Memories] but only by [Blazing Elemental Totem] and vice versa. It’s a lot of fun to get a loop going via those two cards and bringing a 9/1 ally into play every turn.

I felt I still had enough Fire Elementals to keep the [Firelands] theme of the deck alive. I’d like to say you can get 30+ cards removed in every matchup but I’d be lying. You’ll probably deckout around 15 to 20, depending on your draw. Hell, just playing [Blazing Elemental Totem] nets you four cards removed and every time it enters play you’ll get another six. I feel that this deck is a little bit more focused on [Firelands] than Leo’s original build but I’d have a hard time saying that it’s a true deckout deck. If you must classify things, I’d say it’s more a Token deck with a Fire subtheme.

There were a ton of different ways I could have taken this deck and I present to you just one. What does you’re [Firelands] deck look like? I appreciate any feedback you’ve got. Post is on the forum or shoot me and email to aquestionofgluttony@gmail.com. I’m always on the lookout for the next Deck Clinic. Lastly, a very big thanks to Leo for his cool (err, I guess hot?) deck list.