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On the weekend of December 18th and 19th, players around the world had a great opportunity to play with a brand new set at the Worldbreaker Release Celebration. Throughout the weekend I noticed some very powerful synergies, and took note of possible combinations that I could bring to the Classic and Core Constructed environments. I find you can often win in limited by exploiting strange combinations of cards which are unexpected by your opponent (especially when the set is new, like at a release celebration). Essentially, you can use your on-the-spot creative deck building in order to outplay your opponents.
The new Stash mechanic stood out the most over the course of the weekend. Each card with Stash essentially becomes a card that says “you may play this card as a Quest that can be completed immediately for free”. Whether it was Shamans dealing 2 damage to a hero with [Earthen Blast] or Druids healing 2 damage with their [Flourish], the most surprising part of these cards is their playability outside their Stash keyword. In the event that you are flooded with Quests and Locations (or you simply do not need the Stash effect) the cards actually have a reasonable use. In addition, when combined with the Green Dragonkin you instantly create synergy which is very difficult to stop. Lastly, the ability to use the Stash cards with the variety of Mount effects makes them impossible to ignore in Core Constructed.
While I definitely think there is a possibility to abuse Shaman Stash with [Great Elekk], I think I have given you guys enough Shaman decks lately. Therefore, I want to experiment a little bit with the possibility of Druid Stash healing with [Swift Raptor].
While previously confined to [Great Kodo] and [Swift Nightsaber] because of their Tauren and Night Elf restriction, the Cataclysm block has opened up new Mount possibilities by allowing Druids to be races like Troll and Worgen. Interestingly enough, [Swift Raptor] seems to fit in perfectly with the Druid theme of healing, especially when combined with [Nourish]. The possibility of healing 7 damage off your hero by simply playing a Quest face up seems game-breaking in a variety of match-ups. When you add in the possibility of healing 7 damage by Stashing a [Flourish], and then healing an additional 7 damage from the [Swift Raptor] effect, you gain the ability to heal an amazing 14 damage for zero resources. Talk about a tempo change against an Aggro deck!
Because of the narrow scope of [Nourish], you are going to want more than just a [Swift Raptor] for healing effects. Ideally you want to play cards that allow you to heal damage when we need it, while giving you a secondary effect in the event that you are in the lead. [Nature’s Focus] should be an obvious inclusion, as it not only gives you an instant heal for 4 damage for 2 cost, but it also gives you the possibility of dealing 4 damage to pesky opposing allies like [Vuz’din] or [Spectral Kitten]. The versatility of the card is its boon in a one game format like Core.
Unfortunately, [Nature’s Focus] is the only flexible healing card available to Druid in Core, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t play more narrow healing cards. Personally, I want healing cards that give me the flexibility of healing Heroes or Allies, so I can make the best use of both effects of [Nourish]. [Grim Campfire] seems like an interesting addition to the deck, as it allows you to heal at the end of turn instead of the beginning. This will allow your allies to attack down into smaller opposing allies to destroy them, and then you get their damage healed at end of turn (which then draws you cards).
[Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings] provides a similar effect, but instead it heals all damage from your allies and then an equivalent amount from your hero. Unless you would prefer to run [Lockjaw] for the instant healing potential, then Val’anyr seems like an exceptional inclusion. I could only imagine what a blowout it would be if you could heal all damage from 3 of your allies, draw 3 cards, and heal 8 or more off of your hero at the end of turn step.
One of my other favorite healing tools in the deck is the recently uncovered [Staff of Ammunae] from the Worldbreaker archaeology rewards. The Artifact is nearly impossible to get rid of and strongly discourages opponents from playing a slow beatdown game on your hero. If your opponent isn’t capable of a one turn kill on your hero, the tokens from the staff combined with [Nourish] will provide enough Mending to easily cancel out their entire attack. In addition, the tokens can provide additional allies for you to use with [Tuskarr Kite] – a near auto-inclusion in every Core list. I am intrigued to see if [Staff of Ammunae] or [Val’anyr, Hammer of the Ancient Kings] turns out to be the more popular inclusion in this deck.
In the event you want to theme your deck more racially, [Senjin Village] could edge out [Eye of the Storm] as the location of choice. The ability to heal 1 damage off a Troll ally in order to draw a card or 6 damage off of your hero at the start of your turn could be ridiculous. Unfortunately, you will sometimes be playing games where [Nourish] is never drawn or quickly removed, so I think I prefer to stick with my purple-battleground-of-awsomeness.
While I don’t want to go into too much depth about your other healing options, I do want to mention some potentially playable cards. [Frostweave Bandage] could find a place in the deck if you are constantly facing [Everlasting Cold] type decks, or if you have consistent problems killing [Thrall, Warchief of the Horde]. [Idol of the Shooting Star], [Scent of Nature], [Life of the Land], [Regrowth], and [Rejuvenation] can all also provide healing for [Nourish], but I feel most are too narrow of scope to be included. Try them out though, as I have been wrong before. Lastly, I would be curious to see if [Convocation] could be used as a win condition for the deck, proving healing when needed or destroying the opposing hero when you are ahead. It likely costs too much to play to get the nod, however.
The traditional weakness of most healing decks is that your opponent isn’t forced to damage to you (or your allies) until they can kill you in one turn (which essentially makes your start of turn healing irrelevant). Your opponent will attempt to sit back and build an overwhelming board that will kill you before you have the chance to abuse your healing. After all, an undamaged hero or ally cannot be healed.
To combat this, your deck has two methods. [Utopia] and [Hurricane] are extremely successful at punishing your opponent for flooding the board, while offensively attacking into opposing forces with your hero and allies will ensure that your team will always be damaged. For this reason, I encourage you to play a card like [Broderick Langforth] to give your hero Assault, and to play allies with high enough Health totals to survive attacking opposing allies. Commonly used allies like [Vuz’din], [Thrall, Warchief of the Horde], and [Spectral Kitten] all fit the bill, along with the Stash-able [Cairne, Earthmother’s Chosen]. I think it could also be advantageous to play this deck with the big-butt Green Dragonkin, as you are already using Stash and Quests for healing purposes with [Swift Raptor]. Finally, [Avatar of the Wild] is extremely powerful in any deck that can play it, and it fits in perfectly here. A giant kitty that can act as a win condition and is big enough to kill opposing allies? Sign me up.
Regarding quests, there are two that stand out. [Apply this Twice a Day] rewards your deck for doing what it is good at, while [A Tale of Valor] can be another reasonably costed source of healing. You probably want to use your other quests slots for [Darkness Calling], or utility quests like [Everfrost] and [Cleansing Witch Hill].
With the framework complete, this deck needs an official win condition. Attacking the opposing hero with your allies may be good enough, but I want to explore a few other options. [Ysera the Dreamer] suits this deck perfectly as it has healing built in, and combos with the resource accelerating nature of [Flourish] and [Utopia]. Did I also mention she increases your health total, has 3 static attack, and gives you an additional card every turn?
If you are looking to get more creative with your win condition, try out [Titan-forged Rune of Cruelty]. Though damage is being dealt to both heroes, your healing ability should easily negate it. The Rune also encourages your opponent to play out their hand, causing them to get crushed by [Utopia] and [Hurricane].
While I hate to mention it, this deck is going also to frequently win through “end of time procedures”. This deck quite easily has the ability to heal your hero to full life in sudden death, so simply surviving for 30 minutes could be a win condition in itself. That means all you have to do is put 1 damage on the opposing hero at some point in the game.
Rounding out your deck is probably going to be Druid staple cards like [Natural Repossession], [Hibernate], or even [Starshot]. While they don’t fit the theme of the deck, I would recommend using some combination of these three fill out your list.
The hardest part of this deck is going to be finding which cards to cut. I have made many suggestions for cards you can play, but your personal play-style is going to affect what your list looks like. Some versions may focus completely on accelerating to the master hero, while others will play a more midrange style with the [Avatar of the Wild]. This diversity is going to provide you an additional advantage going into your next core tournament. While anyone reading this article knows the potential cards in a “Troll Druid” deck, you can maintain your Core Constructed surprise factor by tuning your list in accordance with your style.
I would love to see your particular version posted in the Daily Metagame forums and hope you all remember: “If the Tank dies it’s the Healer’s fault, if the Healer dies it’s the Tank’s fault, and if the DPS dies its their own damn fault!”
-Chris "Jedion" Reilkoff
Chris “Jedion” Reilkoff is currently the top rated Canadian player in the game, and one of the primary deck builders for Team East Coast. He has numerous good finishes at high-level WoW TCG events, including a top 8 finish at DMF Seattle. His recent finishes include 10th place at the 2010 North American Continental Championship, where he piloted the now well-known Zorak'tul Control deck.
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