Third week of One Night in Karazhan is going to be an interesting one, for sure. Not only are we getting fun cards like Zoobot and The Curator, we are also getting some really solid cards like Menagerie Warden that are going to be extremely viable in competitive environment, or so I hope. Well, if you are looking for a deck based on some of them fun cards, we have some of them on our website! Make sure to check them out.
Anyway, the deck we are going to look at today is a newer flavor of the good old Token Beast Druid, made possible by easily the best card we are getting this week. Yes, the card is none other than the awesome Menagerie Warden! About why this card should be game breaking, we’ll come back to that later.
Now, you might have come across many different versions of this deck already, but mine is a fairly simple aggressive one with multiple win conditions. Be it spamming tokens or Menagerie Warden shenanigans, you are assured to have a lot of fun!
Best thing about the deck? This is a fairly cheap one with only one Legendary minion and no Epics. And oh, the only rare we have included is Violet Teacher. So yeah, a fairly basic cheap deck. But also, one thing to be kept in mind is the fact that Fandral Staghelm is also pretty important for the deck and if you want to play this, make sure to craft it as soon as possible, if you haven’t already, that is.
This deck shows a lot of synergy among the cards, and rather than making a separate section regarding that, I will explain the most important synergies as I go along explaining the card choices. So what are we waiting for? Let us get right into the deck list and figure out what all we can achieve with this.
The Deck
The Staples!
These cards are played in almost all the Druid decks that we see nowadays. These utility cards are high value cards and well, you need to have these to play the deck. Best thing? Most of these are either basic or common cards!
Innervate – Innervate is a standard card played in every Druid deck. You can cheat out a minion a couple of turns early using this. Also, having Violet Teacher in the deck makes it possible to generate insane tempo turns just because this spell exists.
Living Roots – This one mana spell is a very versatile card which can be played as a 1-drop to summon two saplings or can simply be used as two damage. This card gets even better with Fandral Staghelm in the deck. Being only one mana, it is also the easiest card to get value out of Fandral. And not to mention Violet Teacher, once again. Extra token to abuse, yay!
Raven idol – This discover spell lets you choose a minion or spell based on the in-game situation. This card will save you in dire situations more than often. Not only does it help you curve out better, it also cycles itself for a card of choice. Raven Idol also has insane synergy with Fandral Staghelm. Getting a minion and a spell of your choice for just one mana is pretty cool! I have only included one in the deck for now, because there wasn’t any more space, really.
Wrath – Wrath is another standard inclusion in most Druid decks because of its versatility. Lets you cycle when required or can be just used as a standard three damage spell. Another card showing synergy with Fandral Staghelm.
Swipe – Another standard inclusion in all Druid decks. Well, most of them. Paying four mana to deal four damage and potentially wiping the board clean makes it an auto inclusion. Works insanely well against Zoo decks.
The Beasts!
The Master Race. They name the deck. They make the deck.
Enchanted Raven – This little beast is one of the newest inclusions of this deck. We have had this for two weeks now and it has already proven itself. Really a must have if we are playing a midrange or aggressive Beast based Druid deck. The best you can do it is summon this on turn one and follow it up with a turn two Mark of Y’shaarj to totally screw up your opponent’s game plan.
Druid of the Saber – You can either charge it to kill a minion/push more damage or simply play a stealthed 3/2 for two mana, which is better than most 2 drops in itself. You can combo this card with Mark of Y’Shaarj or Fandral Staghelm for even better plays.
Power of the Wild –This spell is also a beast! This is another versatile card that can either be used as a simple 2-drop beast or a buff if you have a sizeable board. The buff works amazingly well with the apprentices that have been spawned by Violet teacher. Yet again, this semi-beast is another card that lets you go crazy with Fandral Staghelm. There is more synergy with Menagerie Warden, but once again, wait for it!
Druid of the Flame – It was either this or Mounted Raptor. I like this one better, and hence the inclusion. It is up to you really. If you like the Raptor better, go ahead! This beast is another versatile 3-drop which lets you choose it’s stats according the situation you are in. It is also a beast, which makes it synergize with Mark of Y’Shaarj and Menagerie Warden. Playing it as a 2/5 and using Mark on it will give you a solid minion comparable to a Houndmastered Carrion Grub. Or play with fandral on board to get a solid 5/5 and copy it with Menagerie Warden!
Stranglethorn Tiger – Time to move on to the big guns! Stranglethorn Tiger is a beast with a huge body and pretty decent stats. This card is assured five damage if your opponent doesn’t taunt up. Since this Tiger will stay on the board for at least one turn, you can also buff it up with Mark of Y’Shaarj and push for more damage. And guess what? This is the best card to copy with Menagerie Warden! Because Stealth assures huge damage counts, especially with Savage Roar!
Druid of the claw – Druid of the Claw is my favorite Druid class card. It was and still is. This card is easily one of the best 5-drops in the game and also one of the most versatile cards. You can charge it for four damage or simply generate a solid 4/6 taunt. This is again a beast and also synergizes with Fandral Staghelm and Menagerie Warden. And that is why this is a must include in this deck.
The Support!
They make our deck work!
mark-of-yshaarj – One of my favorite cards in the deck. While a 2/2 buff for a mere two mana is very good in itself, using it on a beast lets you draw a card! And with the huge number of Beasts we are running, you will almost get assured value out of this utility card. Not to mention the fact the playing this on the second turn on an Enchanted Raven is absolutely insane.
Savage Roar – Combo Druid is back! Force of Nature might have been nerfed, but Combo Druid might just come back, all thanks to Menagerie Warden! Play a Tiger on turn five, copy it with Warden next turn and then Savage Roar your opponent next turn for insane damage counts! Worst case scenario? Even on an empty board, you get at least two damage, which is bad, sure, but not really. Anyway, the chance that you find yourself in this scenario is very rare. Most of the times you will have at least two minions on the board and will be able to use this card to its full potential. Savage Roar also works amazingly well with the little apprentices spawned by Violet Teacher.
Violet Teacher – Our major source of tokens. Staple card in any Token Druid list. With so many cheap spells, playing this card actually makes a lot of sense. You get a sizeable board which you can use with Savage roar for high damage count.
Fandral Staghelm – If there was a deck that could abuse this card to its fullest, it is this one. As you have seen above more than half of the deck benefits from this only Legendary minion that we are running. You have a wide array of ‘choose one’ cards which can easily be played with this amazing guy. Even in itself the 3/5 stats on a 4 drop are pretty standard. The one must have card of this deck.
Menagerie Warden – The MVP of the deck, or so I hope. Really hyped for this card and this is the sole reason I am posing this brew out today. Turn five Stranglethorn Tiger or Druid of the Claw into turn six Warden is the dream! And not to forget the Savage Roar combos you can pull of with this card.
Closing
I have always had a soft spot for Combo/Token/beast Druid decks in my heart. Druid is one of my favorite classes and I am really excited to try this deck out. You should too! Do mention any questions or feedback regarding the deck you might have in the comments below. You can also hit me up on Twitter (ManveerS_07). Cheers!
