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I have to admit, I may have gone overboard playing with bottles. No doubt the Priest and Shaman from my last article are worthy of testing, changing, etc. The Shaman in particular is not nearly close to the most optimal list it can get to. Admittedly I would not know that without playtesting the list over and over and being exposed to other people’s ideas. With that in mind I would like to discuss the evolution of the decklist, where I was, and where I am today, right before Worlds.
I believe most of you may know the combo of [Erunak Stonespeaker] and [Blazing Elemental Totem]; this combo happens to be one ridiculously powerful swings in the format. A well-timed attack can net 20 plus damage straight to the opposing hero. This is through the secondary effect of the totem. It just so happens Erunak is a fire ally. On top of that his enters play effect creates a totem of your choice. Now which you choose will most likely depend on the situation but in order to win the game you want to create an air totem. Erunak allows you to exhaust various totems in order to activate his effect, each varying based on what that totem would usually do for the hero in other circumstances. Being that Blazing Elemental Totem is a fire totem that gives Ferocity if this card remains in play after Erunak has successfully entered play and created an air totem, all you have to do exhaust the fire totem attack for 10 and then exhaust the air totem and attack again.
With this nifty combo in mind I would like to show you my favorite lists for each faction. For the Horde (pun intended), I would like to start with the list from my last article. For those of you that missed it here it is.
Hero: [Akumo of Thunder Bluff]
Allies: 27
4 [Cairne, Earthmother’s Chosen]
4 [Sava'gin the Reckless]
4 [Mazu'kon]
2 [Orkahn of Orgrimmar]
4 [Grazzle Grubhook]
4 [Telor Sunsurge]
2 [Sinestra]
2 [Thrall, Warchief of the Horde]
2 [Gnash]
Abilities:8
4 [Spiritual Return]
4 [Ancestral Purge]
Equipment: 17
4 [Devout Aurastone Hammer]
3 [Corrupted Egg Shell]
4 [Bottled Knowledge]
3 [Bottled Elements]
3 [Bottled Rage]
Locations: 4
4 [Kor'kron Vanguard]
Quests: 4
4 [The Essence of Enmity]
Starting with the list, the first failure or what didn’t live up to my anticipated success was the bottle and Orkahn concept. Thus we can go ahead cut these cards; 4 [Bottled Knowledge], 3 [Bottled Elements], 3 [Bottled Rage], 2[Orkahn of Orgrimmar].
Furthermore the six drops although neat in the control matchups no longer seem necessary as our win condition will be much quicker and easier to pull off if we make the cards in the deck gear towards winning between turns 5-7. Looking at Corey Burkhart’s most recent article I believe he was saying that cards like Dagax and Vakus would both fit ideally in a decklist that attempts to spurt out pockets of significant damage. I believe they both make fine additions to the deck. I am unsure if Dagax will make the cut though, as the one extra resource and inability to be resurrected by [Spiritual Return] may prevent this. If I was to include [Spark of Life] Dagax would be at the top of the list of cards to include, but with the rise of bottles and Paladin control, I really like the burst of damage off [Rolling Thunder].
Hero: [Akumo of Thunder Bluff]
Allies: 24
4 [Cairne, Earthmother’s Chosen]
4 [Sava'gin the Reckless]
4 [Mazu'kon]
4 [Grazzle Grubhook]
4 [Telor Sunsurge]
4 [Erunak Stonespeaker]
Abilities:16
4 [Spiritual Return]
4 [Ancestral Purge]
4 [Rolling Thunder]
4 [Blazing Elemental Totem]
Equipment:3
3 [Corrupted Egg Shell]
Locations: 4
4 [Kor'kron Vanguard]
Quests: 4
4 [The Essence of Enmity]
From the shell of this list, one thing I first notice is the lack of need for this particular hero. His flip is good and plenty powerful but in this list it appears too late and not enough. Since my ultimate goal is to use two particular cards to finish off my opponent off, I believe the best hero for this deck is the [Samuku, Hand of the Tempest]. The ability to Delve at any time will serve more in the long run as it will actually help net the cards we need to see.
In my last list, early aggressive allies seemed to give the deck a run for its money, as not drawing the [Telor Sunsurge] easily gave aggressive decks a straight shot at effectively getting ahead and staying there. To better equip this deck for those early tradeoffs, using [Perdition's Blade] alongside [Elemental Flames] seem like a good start.
The almost finished list is really starting to appear solid.
Hero: [Samuku, Hand of the Tempest]
Allies: 24
4 [Cairne, Earthmother’s Chosen]
4 [Sava'gin the Reckless]
4 [Mazu'kon]
4 [Grazzle Grubhook]
4 [Telor Sunsurge]
4 [Erunak Stonespeaker]
Abilities: 16
4 [Spiritual Return]
4 [Ancestral purge]
4 [Rolling Thunder]
4 [Blazing Elemental Totem]
3 [Elemental Flames]
Equipment: 6
3 [Perdition's Blade]
3 [Corrupted Egg Shell]
Locations: 4
4 [Kor'kron Vanguard]
Quests: 4
4 [The Essence of Enmity]
Currently sitting with 4 slots open, the [Grazzle Grubhook] appears to be lackluster in this list. It seems best to replace him with [Jexali] and use the last four remaining slots for [Lordann the Bloodreaver]. Both allies seem to be very good at providing two services. Jexali will provide cheap healing, providing the deck an additional edge in the race situations, while buying time to set up the kill. Lordann appears to be good early and better late, but this card and [Corrupted Egg Shell] are both first on the chopping block if I think the deck needs further changes. Alternate cards to include could be; [Dagax the Butcher], [Bottled Elements], [Spark of Life]. The last thing that crossed my mind was to cut 1 Jexali, 1 Lordann and 2 Essence for 3 [Seeds of Their Demise]. This is to increase the odds of hitting the right card when I need it. This deck can be very powerful when the turns happen as planned. I specifically only chose three copies to keep the deck at 60 cards and the hero itself can replace 1.
Final draft!
Hero: [Samuku, Hand of the Tempest]
Allies: 26
4 [Cairne, Earthmother’s Chosen]
4 [Sava'gin the Reckless]
4 [Mazu'kon]
4 [Telor Sunsurge]
4 [Erunak Stonespeaker]
3 [Jexali]
3 [Lordann the Bloodreaver]
Abilities: 19
4 [Spiritual Return]
4 [Ancestral purge]
4 [Rolling Thunder]
4 [Blazing Elemental Totem]
3 [Elemental Flames]
Equipment: 6
3 [Perdition's Blade]
3 [Corrupted Egg Shell]
Locations: 4
4 [Kor'kron Vanguard]
Quests: 5
2 [The Essence of Enmity]
3 [Seeds of Their Demise]
Starting with this list I would like to see what alliance has to offer. Looking at the lack of draw, [Burly Berta] is reason alone to consider an Alliance a viable option. After all our win condition is capable of being played by both factions. Reviewing the options of Blue Shamans, almost all dwarf. One stood out, that being the non-Dwarf [Janvaru the Thunderspeaker]. An instant 4 points of healing or dealing seems especially strong in the matches where grinding is the only option.
The list:
Hero: [Janvaru the Thunderspeaker]
Allies: 48
4 [Erunak Stonespeaker]
4 [Burly Berta]
Abilities: 19
4 [Spiritual Return]
4 [Ancestral purge]
4 [Rolling Thunder]
4 [Blazing Elemental Totem]
3 [Elemental Flames]
Quests: 6
2 [The Essence of Enmity]
4 [Seeds of Their Demise]
I would like to keep the decklist similar to the Horde, and by doing so I have two immediate concerns; how do I replace the anti aggro plan, and how do I beat a [Mazu’kon]? I believe replacing certain allies for the Alliance counterparts can be effective enough, and should serve a sufficient starting point. Cairne will be [Magni, the Mountain King], surprised? In replacement of Kor’kron we will add [Fordragon Hold]. Telor will be [Nathar Wilderson], not necessarily as good, but that Aberration can come in handy against Sava’gin. If [Lodur, Herald of the Elements] doesn’t do enough against Mazu’kon perhaps [Twilight’s Hammer] will. I have to admit Twilight Hammer has performed on the upper end of the spectrum since Mazu’kon has become an issue, and I wouldn’t be shocked if more copies of this card end up in the higher tables come Nov. 15. I don’t think Corrupted Egg Shell fits here, and I want to hold on to the dream of [Bottled Elements] and [Burly Burta] or use it with [Vakus the inferno], as this guy actually has some synergy with our Resurrection spell.
The list now looks very complete:
Hero: [Janvaru the Thunderspeaker]
Allies: 23
4 [Burly Berta]
4 [Erunak Stonespeaker]
4 [Magni, the Mountain King]
4 [Nathar Wilderson]
3 [Lodur, Herald of the Elements]
4 [Vakus the inferno]
Abilities: 19
4 [Spiritual Return]
4 [Ancestral purge]
4 [Rolling Thunder]
4 [Blazing Elemental Totem]
3 [Elemental Flames]
Equipment: 8
3 [Perdition's Blade]
3 [Bottled Elements]
2 [Twilight’s Hammer]
Location: 4
4 [Fordragon Hold]
Quests: 6
2 [The Essence of Enmity]
4[Seeds of Their Demise]
I love these two decks. It isn’t an understatement, showing the slow grind and surprising my opponent with a 1-2 jab to finish the game is pretty awesome. Hopefully seeing this combo before Worlds has enlightened you as to what the deck aims to do and what makes it so strong.
If you believe this deck will be an issue for you consider instant ability removal for the totem. Cards that can negate attacks also do a lot against this deck. If you decide to play this deck or one similar to it, be sure you can play around those [Hammer of Justice] and [Righteous Cleanse] effects before trying to defeat that sly Paladin.
Good luck to you all at Worlds.
-Kyle
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