The New Standard: Elemental Midrange Shaman

Introduction

A long time ago, in a meta far, far away, I covered a control version of Elemental Shaman. Not only was that deck extremely popular during the rise of Un’goro, but it also was the best way to play elementals. That is, until now. This week we are going to take a look at yet another hybrid build (which seems to be all the rage these days) that combines a classic build with a new one. This deck is a mix of Token and Control Shaman, and that works to create a solid midrange style build that can hammer its opponent on several fronts. Sometimes you want to get aggressive, sometimes you want to sit back and remove things, and sometimes you want to power out finisher after finisher. We have discussed the idea of choices a lot over the past few weeks, and it is going to come up again today. Versatility is extremely important, and if you want to do well on the ladder you need to be prepared to handle anything.

Key Cards

Doomsayer

Some of you (most of you) may be wondering, why on Earth is Doomsayer in a midrange deck? That’s a very good question, and one that certainly needs an answer. The reason is because, despite its reputation, the 0/7 makes a fantastic tempo play. The two drop often sees play in decks where it is used as a stall tool or a way to get to big finishers. However, in those decks Doomsayer is simply a tool to get an extra turn. Here, you can use it to take over a game. Getting the board is a very powerful thing to do in Hearthstone, and having actual minions to play from that point makes it even better. You aren’t setting up a small or empty board with this deck. Rather, when you get priority (especially on your curve) you want to push out big threats and instantly put set your opponent back. Doomsayer is one of the best ways to make that happen.

Playing Doomsayer early on or during an empty board is very strong. Each of those plays not only helps you set up a future turn, but they also instantly put you in control of pacing the game. However, a lot of those plays can come naturally throughout the game. What makes Doomsayer truly hard to use here is when you need to use it while you have minions on board. Of course, you are never going to put down the 0/7 while you’re far ahead, but it can be a good tool to have when you feel your board slipping away. This can be hard to gauge, but there are going to be many games (especially against Zoo, Shaman or Rogue) where you are one turn away from getting overrun. To offset that, you may want to run out a small minion alongside the 0/7 a turn before Bonemare or the like to prevent it from coming down. Then, when the dust clears, you’ll be back in full control.

Flametongue Totem

Many of you may be familiar with Control Shaman (as covered in this list) and many of you are likely well versed in Aggro or Token Shaman. However, this build is much more like the Midrange Shaman decks of a few years ago. That distinction is important because it will help you understand the best way to use Flametongue Totem. This card is meant to push for the board more than anything else. Like so many powerful cards, Flametongue is an instant threat, which means it is going to demand immediate response. Your goal with the card is to simply clear the board or make sure you have an advantage with it. That then puts the ball in your opponent’s court. Something as simple as trading your Fire Fly up into a Flame Imp can be enough to get a hold of the board. That may not seem like an amazing play, but if your opponent has to answer the totem on turn two, you then get to do what you want on turn three. Those type of plays are what make this deck work.

There is almost no AOE in this build, and that means you are going to need to control the game through your board. A lot of your minions (nearly all of your minions) are built to fight against other threats. Flametongue Totem is one of the best examples of that because it can turn small threats into instant beaters. That type of push can also help you clean things up and set the table for your bigger minions. Also, do not underestimate the amount of pressure the 0/3 can put on. You are a midrange deck, but, as covered below, there are many different ways to bring damage. Pushing for lethal when you have the board can lead to a lot of victories simply by making decks act in a way that they don’t want to. Forcing Zoo or Rogue to use valuable burn or tempo plays to stay alive can be the difference between a win and a loss.

Devolve

Two weeks ago I broke down Elemental Mage. During that discussion I talked about why Polymorph, despite being a fantastic removal spell, is an extremely strong tempo play. The exact same thing is true of Devolve. The two mana spell almost always makes minions weaker than their current form. A five drop is not always going to be better than a four drop, but it is a general rule. That is important to note when fighting for the board or pushing for damage because you can ruin your opponent’s future plans. Screwing up trades can be a great way to take many of the board-focused decks on the ladder right off of their game. It may not always be the best play, but when you’re going back and forth you should think about how much value you can get by shrinking opposing minions down a size.

Devolve has numerous uses, and they are all important. Not only can the card invalidate buffs and shut down powerful deathrattles, but it also removes taunts, stops aggro, and sets up AOE. This is not a card you can just spend when you feel like it. Rather, you want to have a good use in mind. Hitting taunted minions against aggro, shutting down any big threats against midrange, and taking away finishers against control. The use for the spell is going to fluctuate each game, but they are all equally important. When you have the spell in hand you should do your best to think about how you’re going to use it. For example, saving it for Living Mana against Aggro Druid or for Tirion Fordring versus Paladin. You may use it earlier than planned, but it is important to have a general idea.

Bloodlust

There are going to be many games where you win off the power of your minions. You play some threats, gain early tempo, and then use your value to push. However, sometimes you are going to need some extra help. Enter Bloodlust, which is still one of the most powerful finishers around. While you don’t need two gumming up your deck, having access to one can go a long way towards winning games you would normally lose. People are going to play around lust, but they will get lazy as the game goes on. Initially, they will play around it because they will assume you are a token deck. However, as you power out elementals and put down some bigger cards, they will then assume you are straight control. That will almost always take their mind off of the five mana spell and give you an opening. While it is rare that you’re going to have a board chock full of threats (you’ll probably have lethal if you do that anyway) you will usually combine the spell with three or four minions. An extra nine or twelve damage is quite often lethal, especially if your opponents dip low because they have no idea it is coming.

Fire Elemental/Blazecaller

For the final paragraph, I have lumped both Fire Elemental and Blazecaller together. The reason for that is both of these cards largely do the same thing. As a midrange deck, you are a build that wants to start out fast and then power into gigantic minions that can swing the game. That is exactly what both of these do. Five damage on a 6/6 is incredible, but three damage off of a 6/5 is quite strong as well. Just try to set these up a few turns ahead of time if you can. Getting exact damage is not going to be easy (most of your opponents will play around these) and you need to start thinking about it early on. Trading a small minion into a big one or using burn to knock down a large minions health is almost always going to be the right play if you’re setting up one of these elementals. Even if that comes two turns before you’re ready.

Do not underestimate your burn potential in this list. Fire Elemental, Blazecaller and Kalimos, Primal Lord all go at the face hard. Yes, they are likely not going to get the job done on their own, but when backed up with early pressure or a strong board they can lead to lethal out of nowhere. Healing is not very common these days, and most decks will not expect a lot of damage from you. If you can get into a position to push against anything that isn’t Priest, do not be afraid to tip your hand. It may feel bad to show your opponent your plan, but against things like Zoo or Rogue that just isn’t going to matter. Hit them hard and dare them to have an answer.

Deck Code

AAECAfe5AgaTCc+8ApS9AqzC AvPCAsLOAgyKAb0B8AegtgKHvALRvAL2v QLkwgLrwgLCwwLKwwLIxwIA

Matchups

The decks I see the most while playing on ladder.

Tempo Rogue

We begin at the top. If you want to compete in today’s ladder you need to be able to beat Rogue, and this deck does a pretty good job of it. The way you take care of Valeera is by trying to go long. Out-tempoing your opponent is what you care about here, and everything else should simply fall to the wayside. Rogue is strong when they can hit their big tempo turns and curve out. However, they are much worse when they have to sit back and play to somebody else’s board. Try your best to leverage all of your big threats. Any time you can clear out your opponent’s only threat with an elemental you should. Those type of push plays will give you the board and prevent your opponent from coming back with cards like Bonemare. This game is all about fighting for the board. You have many ways to do that, and you should use them all.

If you pace this one correctly, the game will get to a point where your opponent has no way to kill you except with out-of-hand burst. That puts you in a great position because, not only does your opponent need to draw something like Leeroy Jenkins or Southsea Deckhand, they also are going to be limited in what they can do. As soon as you sense your opponent holding back cards, or when you know you’re under the gun, you need to push for damage. Rogue is not a defensive deck. If you can press them hard with your board it will force them to use things like Vilespine Slayer to stay alive. That then cripples their end-game tempo and keeps you in control. Sometimes just putting down a Flametongue Totem and hitting for eight can be enough to set your opponent back.

Kazakus Priest

Damage. Damage and pressure. Priest has given up all the facades of it being an honest deck and has become nothing but a pure combo shell. This game is going to be a bloody affair, with your trying to get board presence and fight through your opponent’s end-game combo. As your opponent has access to endless amounts of removal and healing, it is best to try to set up Bloodlust. Priest is equipped to deal with single, big minions, but they will likely ignore a bunch of seemingly-innocent threats. Try to bait out their removal with couple meaty minions, they flood with small things. Often times they will be so focused on their finisher that you can push through the five mana spell for the win.

You are never going to be able to fight against the Raza the Chained/Shadowreaper Anduin wombo combo with healing. It is almost impossible for a deck like this. Rather, you need to beat it by forcing your opponent to use all of their cards. Priest isn’t going to do much damage throughout the game, and if you can get them down to two or three cards when they turn into their DK you may be able to stay ahead of them. However, if they have seven or more cards when they transform the game is going to be hopeless. Understand this and do not be afraid to just burn minions to get your opponent to react. Saving Blazecaller for an elemental trigger is not going to be better than getting a 6/6 body.

Zoo

Zoo is so back it’s a little bit scary. The Warlock deck has all of the strong pieces it’s always had, along with some extremely powerful new ones. You want to treat this game much like you would Tempo Rogue in that your goal should be to get onto the board. Damage may be tempting (especially with Warlock constantly lifetapping), but you do not want to leave yourself exposed. The only exception to that rule is if you have a lot of burn in your hand and you know you can kill them before they kill you. Otherwise, allocate all your resources towards cementing board control. Once you do that, you can then strive to heal up or push for damage (depending on what you need). Getting aggressive can seem like a good play to force them back, but if you take that route you need to make sure it cannot go too wrong. Losing the board and then getting blasted by a Bonemare will quickly lock you out.

The biggest note about this game is you need to play it in two parts. The first part is the first nine turns, where you fight back against the board and do everything in your power to take over the game. The second part is then when your opponent turns into Bloodreaver Gul’dan and brings back an entire demonic army onto the board. The best way to beat the DK (which is typically too much to handle) is to make sure it never comes down. Killing your opponent by turn nine is the main goal in this one. Though pushing early is not recommended, once you hit turn six or seven you should start finding ways to bring your opponent down. If you can’t get there, save up your removal and try to have big board by ten.

Midrange Hunter

Hunter has dropped as of late, and that is good news for you. This is going to be your toughest battle. Hunter has gotten even more dangerous over the past few weeks, teching in cards like Scavenging Hyena and Bearshark to fight the meta head on. You cannot ever let Hunter get the board. It’s as plain as that. This is a brutal tempo match, and whoever comes out ahead during the first four or five turns is almost always going to win the game. You cannot treat this one like a laid back affair where you take a turn off or make a sketchy play. You need to push all of your minions onto the board (abilities or not) and try your best to make Hunter answer you. Use Doomsayer to your advantage by putting it down onto boards where your opponent cannot kill it, and always try to save Devolve for Savannah Highmane. The lion is going to be the only card you cannot properly handle. Everything else should be cleaned up with spot removal.

Mulligan Guide

Your mulligan with this one is going to be rather straightforward. You are a midrange deck, which means your goal is the curve. Fire Fly, Jade Claws, Doomsayer and Golakka Crawler are your must keeps. Flametongue Totem is a good card to keep when you’re up against a swarm deck and you have early minions, and Maelstrom Portal should be kept against any fast or aggressive deck. Tar Creeper is great with the coin or a curve. Jade Spirit, Jade Lightning and Fire Plume Phoenix should all be kept on curve, with or without the coin.

Conclusion

While the meta is wide open, there is no doubt that hybrid decks can feast on it. This build has the best of both worlds. You get the early push and jade package that makes Token Shaman so strong, combined with the powerful elemental synergy. It is not easy to create a deck like this, but when it comes together it really comes together. The meta is pretty diverse, and you need to be able to take down anything that comes your way. This deck gives you a great way to make that happen. Until next time, may you always let the elements guide you.

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