Ek0p’s Savage Roar Token Druid – Cenarius Variant

Giordy shares his strategy and guide based on Ek0p's Token Druid (Cenarius Variant)!

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Introduction

Hello guys, Giordy here! I took up Hearthstone at the beginning of Season 2 and made legend during Season 3 on my EU account with a variant of Ek0p’s “Savage Roar Druid.”

Ek0p is a famous legendary player and twitch streamer. I played his deck for a bit and saw the great potential it had: that is why I decided to use it on my way to legend, with some slight modifications. After hitting legend I thought it was about time to share it with other people, so that they could have the same fun I had when playing the deck, and reach legend like me.

I had an 86% win rate the morning during which I climbed up from rank 1 to legend: http://gyazo.com/20628c416ded9af6ebbc69945ff472ff

Avarage win rate: It took me a while to get used to the deck, but once I got the hang of it things went smoother. Let’s say that the avarage win rate can range from 57% to 65%, depending on the current meta and on the player’s skill: http://gyazo.com/f3ffe680e036f2e2fde0bb387f6af285

Proof of legend status

Here you can find the original deck

Here you can find my new version

Here is some information about Ek0p

Here is his Twitch page

The great thing about this deck is that it’s very versatile, it is able to play since the early stages of the game, but it can survive during long games, too, because of the awesome card draw and numerous minions. It is a fast deck: it’s quick enough as to finish your opponent in 4 to 9-10 turns, but it’s not so fast as to run out of steam that easily. I find it’s an improvement over the old-school Token Druid deck, because it doesn’t rely on Gadgetzan-Auctioneer or Violet-Teacher in order to pull out a victory. It is important to understand that Violet-Teacher is not a key card in this deck. Besides, 90% of the time you put her on the field she gets instantly killed, because she’s a serious threat to your foe. So, yeah, she’s good, but if she gets killed, whatever, you can still pull out terrific combos without her.

UPDATE

After Naxxramas’ 4th week, I decided it was about time to modify the deck and give it a new twist. After Plague Quarter had been unlocked on week 2, several players ran variations of the token druid archetype. I’ll link 3 for users to view:

– Darkwonyx’s

– Lucky’s

– Xixo’s

ADAM THE AD already talked about a variant of my deck in an article of his: you can check it out here.

With the release of the Construct Quarter, there are great new additions to my version of Token Druid:

– undertaker I subbed 2x argent-squire for 2x Undertaker; this guy gets buffed by Thalnos, Loot Hoarder and Harvest Golem, hence you can get a lot of value from him.

– Haunted-Creeper these little fellas have creeped their way into my deck because they are so hard to kill: they are just perfect for a token deck.

– Loatheb Since week 2 he’s been included in almost every existing deck. He has such good stats for 5 mana and an incredibly annoying ability, that can seriously mess up your enemies’ plans. I’m still unsure if it’s worth dropping azure-drake for him, though, since this deck benefits a lot from card draw.

Overall changes to my old deck:

-2x argent-squire

– 1x loot-hoarder

-1x azure-drake

– 1x cenarius

+2x undertaker

+2x haunted-creeper

+1x bloodmage-thalnos

I hope you guys like my newest version, be sure to test it and let me know if it can be improved even further in the comments below 🙂

 

General Mulligan Strategy

You wanna keep in your starting hand cards that cost 1 to 3 mana. Here are some cards which is usally worth keeping: undertaker, loot-hoarder, bloodmage-thalnos,haunted-creeper,  wrath, harvest-golem, innervate.

I rarely keep violet-teacher in my starting hand, unless I also have innervate. I also rarely keep swipe, unless I know for sure that I’m playing against an aggro deck, such as a shockadin. On the other hand, I sometimes hold keeper-of-the-grove in my hand when playing against certain decks, since this card can literally save your life in some games. I’m talking specifically about Miracle rogue and Handlock: keeper-of-the-grove can save you against an early edwin-van-cleef and it is always good against twilight-drake. It is also not bad at all against Zoo, especially when coupled with innervate, since it can kill an early knife-juggler or faerie-dragon while significantly improving your board presence. I’ve seen thrown at him many a soulfire.

I try not to keep power-of-the-wild in my starting hand, because it is better used to buff up your minions. However, if you already have a supposedly bad starting hand and power-of-the-wild is the only 2-drop you have before the mulligan, you might wanna consider keeping it. The 3/2 panther is easily killed, but at least it serves as some early board presence.

General Deck Strategy

The deck strategy is pretty straightforward: gain control of the board with your early minions and use them + possible tokens to pull out the Force of Nature + Savage Roar combo as a finisher. Considering the current meta, it is hard to keep a firm board control, but even if you lose it it’s ok as long as you’ve dealt enough damage during the game as to pull out the wombo combo. Remember to always check for lethal: you’ll be surprised by how much damage this deck can deal. Try to be conservative with your Innervate and Coin, since they can be used to trigger the Violet Teacher ability, or to pull out an even bigger wombo combo (FoN + Roar + Innervate + Roar). However, don’t be afraid to use Innervate if you need tempo advantage: if you lose too much tempo you won’t easily regain control of the board.

Matchup Guide

Vs Handlock

 Mulligan for Big Game Hunter, Keeper of the Grove, haunted-creeper,  undertaker , Harvest Golem.

If you play this matchup right, it should be an easy win. Save your KoTG for Azure Drakes and be sure to have a BGH in your hand for when your foe plays his first mountain giant. Once you deal with the first drake/giant, you should have enough board presence to win the match. Bring your opponent down to 20, then be careful of what you’re doing. Ideally, you wanna deal that 20 damage in just one turn. If you save one innervate, you can pull out a bigger combo, with double Savage Roar, for a total of 22 damage. also, try to save your Swipes, for you can hit him in the face with them once he taunts his molten giants. Usually, a wombo combo + Swipe on the next turn does the trick, but don’t forget that he can heal himself!

Vs Zoo

Mulligan for undertaker, haunted-creeper, Wrath, Innervate, Swipe, Keeper of the Grove.

Facing Zoo is always hard, but if you play the match right you can win without too many difficulties. Use your Ancient of Lore for healing, try to create as many tokens as you can with your Violet Teacher and destroy/silence key targets with your KoTG. Ideally, you wanna save your Force of Nature for the wombo combo, but if you’re desperate you can use it to clear the board to slow your opponent down. There’s no need to say…your Druid of the Claw must go into bear form.

Vs Control Warrior

Mulligan for undertaker, haunted-creeper, Loot Hoarder, Harvest Golem, Keeper of the Grove.

This should be an easy matchup, I won most games against control warrior. If you put early pressure on him and don’t allow him to build up too much armor, you should be good. He won’t be able to get rid of all of your minions that easily. Put constant pressure on him and be sure to silence/Wrath his Acolyte of Pain: remember, the less he draws, the better for you. Don’t use your wombo combo until you are sure you have lethal, because he has both Alexstrasza and Shield Block to pump up his health/armor. Don’t put too many minions on the board until he uses his Brawl: after he’s used it, you can flood the board with tokens. Try to save your Big Game Hunter for either Ragnaros the Firelord or Alexstrasza, don’t waste it on Baron Geddon. Also, try to save one Keeper of the Grove for a possible Cairne or Sylvanas.

Vs Freeze Mage

Mulligan for undertaker, haunted-creeper, Harvest Golem, Innervate, Violet-Teacher, Power-of-the-Wild.

If you wanna beat this witch you gotta be fast. Deal as much damage as you can during the first turns, silence her Acolyte of Pain and go straight for the face. Druid of the Claw goes into cat form!

Vs Miracle Rogue

Mulligan for Mulligan for undertaker, Loot Hoarder, haunted-creeper,  Harvest Golem, Keeper of the Grove.

KotG is not mandatory, but it can save your life against an early Edwin VanCleef. The general strategy here is to go for the face, hoping that you kill Valeera before she kills you. Try to save a Swipe for the Gadgetzan Auctioneer. Your Druid of the Claw is better used in bear form than in cat form here. Also, Cenarius is of great value. Use your Ancient of Lore to draw as opposed to heal yourself, because you wanna pull out your wombo combo asap. Beware of Blade Flurry!

Vs Cancer Rogue

See “vs Zoo.” Pray god that you’re not facing this bad boy, since aggro rogues are nasty! I’ve had a hard time against them!

Vs Druid

Mulligan for undertaker, haunted-creeper, Harvest Golem, Loot Hoarder, Innervate, Violet Teacher (only with Innervate), Druid of the Claw (only with Innervate).

This is probably the deck’s worst matchup, since Ramp Druids can really mess up your plans with their Wild Growths + early Druid of the Claw. They’re usually one step ahead of you in terms of tempo, so they’re hard to handle. Ideally, you wanna bait them into killing your Loot Hoarders and smaller minions in order to stall them. This is the matchup where a Black Knight comes in handy.

Vs Hunter

Mulligan for undertaker, haunted-creeper,  Harvest Golem, Loot Hoarder[card], [card]Wrath, Swipe.

Wrath is good in case of a Safari hunter, to get rid of an early River Crocolisk. Swipe is good against either the hunter’s animal companion or the Buzzard + UTH combo.

The strategy is to kill him before he kills you. Don’t worry too much about the UTH combo, if you don’t play your minions you’re screwed anyway, so…play them! Play your Druid of the Claw in Cat form if he doesn’t have a weapon equipped or creatures in play, otherwise go into bear form. Trigger the traps with smaller minions and don’t be too greedy on Innervates, because a Freezing Trap can make you regret your choices! Use Ancient of Lore exclusively to heal yourself, you don’t wanna take any risks!

Vs Shaman

Mulligan for undertaker, haunted-creeper,  Harvest Golem, Loot Hoarder[card], [card]Keeper of the Grove, Violet Teacher.

Earthshocks are annoying, but you gotta keep playing! Violet Teacher is a good 4 drop in this matchup, be sure to have one in your hand. You wanna go for total board control in this matchup, ’cause if you lose it, you won’t have a chance of regaining it! Take your time, be in control, don’t let the situation slip out of your hands, or you’re lost. If you go for board control and you apply constant pressure on him, you should win without too many problems. It takes time to win this match, though!

Vs Priest

Mulligan for  undertaker, haunted-creeper, Harvest Golem, Loot Hoarder[card], [card]Keeper of the Grove, Innervate, Azure Drake, Druid of the Claw.

You wanna keep your drops with 4 points of attack in your starting hand, those the priest’s weak spot. An Innervate + Keeper can silence his Northshire Cleric, thus allowing you to play your early minions without regrets. don’t let him draw too much, or he’ll be in total control. Get rid of his Injured Blademaster asap, ’cause if he throws a Circle of Healing at it you’ll have a hard time regaining board control. Apply constant pressure on him, but don’t unleash the wombo combo until you’re sure you have lethal, since he can heal his ass badly!

Replacements

Replacement n°1: you can replace the Big-game-hunter with The Black Knight. Since probably the deck’s worst matchup is Druid, a Black Knight goes a long way. It comes in handy both vs Druid and Handlock, so if you think it can have a spot in your deck, go for it!

Replacement n°2: you can replace the Big-game-hunter with Cairne Bloodhoof if you don’t find it useful at your current rank. This guy is awesome for board control, it’s a minion your enemy will have a hard time to remove, so it works as a ramp for the wombo combo. His con is that he’s kind of slow in the current meta, but it’s still a great card to have in your deck.

Replacement n°3: you can replace Loatheb with an azure-drake. This dude is great, but card draw is important, too.

Expected win rates (old version)

 

Vs mage -> 64%

Vs shaman -> 54%

Vs warlock -> 67%

Vs druid -> 37%

Vs priest -> 88%

Vs rogue -> 46%

Vs paladin -> 73%

Vs warrior -> 56%

Vs hunter -> 82%

Those who made Legend with this deck (old version)

11 people made legend with this deck during Season 3, and here’s the proof of their successful enterprises:

Congratulations, guys!

Conclusion

I’ve had so much fun playing this deck and I see it on the ladder on a daily basis: this means it’s having a lot of success and that makes me proud. I hope I was able to cover all the strengths and weaknesses of the deck with my review, and that you guys appreciate my guide. If you have any doubts or concerns, you can ask me anytime! My battletag is Giordy#2566


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