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Questing for Un’goro: Warlock!

This article is over 7 years old and may contain outdated information

Introduction

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Un’gorooooooooo. After my haitus (which felt like forever) we are finally back and ready to get to some real brewing! For those of you that don’t know (or who are just tuning in) I will not be doing my Scalise’s Sessions for the next few weeks. Rather, I will be bringing you a brand new series known as “Questing for Un’goro” where we craft a wide range of different quests decks that could be viable in the next few months. Some people like the quests, some people don’t. I think they’re awesome and am super excited to get a crack at all of them in one way or another. The first couple days of the meta have been crazy and though I was planning on starting off with Paladin or Rogue, we are actually going to begin our journey with Warlock.

The Deck

This week I bring you a list that is not my own. Rather, it is one that I found during my journeys across the interwebs. It is a very interesting control Warlock build that uses the quest in an extremely unique way. At first glance, it seems like Lakkari Sacrifice is tailor made for an aggressive zoo-like deck that rushes to discard their hand and start spamming imps. However, while I have had success with a Zoo version (more on that in a week or two), the portal is also a fantastic way to close out games. For that reason, this week’s deck is a control-oriented Warlock build that paces the board most of the game and then wins the game by discarding their hard with a certain dragon and letting the infinite 3/2’s take over.

The easiest way to envision this list is by thinking of it like Handlock. You want to play a bunch of over-statted early minions and then use them to solidify your board as a way to make up for your inherent life and tempo loss. Lifetap is very strong, but it can also get you into a grind if the payoff isn’t big enough. Here, you have a massive amount of payoffs, ranging from Mountain Giant to Twilight Drake to Humongous Razorleaf, and they all fit your game plan perfectly. I would look at this list as midrange control, a build that likes to do unfair things early on to make sure they can set up their finishers later.

Key Cards

This section will explain some of the deck’s most important cards.

Lakkari Sacrifice/Deathwing

This combo is so fun and so interesting there was no way I wasn’t going to cover it. For those who don’t know, this deck works by playing your Lakkari Sacrifice at some point throughout the game and then Deathwinging when you can to both clear the board and activate your quest. One of the biggest issues with sacrifice right now is that many decks can simply out tempo or push past it once it goes live. However, when you clear the board and put down a threat first your opponent has to invest resources into your 12/12. That then makes it so you can get the portal down while ahead, and once that happens there is absolutely no way your opponent is going to be able to come back. The portal cannot be killed or removed by anything. Remember that and know that once it’s down you will have priority for the rest of the match.

There are two key points to remember when playing with this combo. One, you never want to keep the quest in your opening hand. It can be an automatic response to do so, but you’re much better off just getting it later in the game. Despite your end-game plan, there are actually a lot of cards you want to see during the early turns and there is no reason to dilute your hand trying to get the quest out. The other important rule here is to always plan for the turn you go off. You are rarely going to Deathwing on turn ten. As a result, you typically need to know when you are going to dragon about two turns in advance. The dragon is very strong right now due to a lack of removal, so don’t be afraid to use him as a tempo play or when you want to push for lethal. Just remember that you need six other cards in hand for the quest to go off. Discarding less takes away your win condition.

Humongous Razorleaf

While I was very (veeerrryyyy) lukewarm on it when the set first got revealed, Humongous Razorleaf has proven to be an absolute all-star. The 4/8 body is just insane. Not only is it amazing with taunt, but it curves right into Faceless Shambler. The early ladder is flooded with a lot of decks that work towards their own gameplan in hopes that it will beat their opponents. That means, a single trump card (like a 4/8 taunt) just shuts them down. You are a control deck, which means you only really care about value. You just want your opponent to invest all of their resources into the board, and it takes a lot for most of the popular quest builds on ladder to get through a 4/8 or 5/9 wall.

This card works a lot like Nerubian Egg in that your opponent is largely going to ignore it because it inherently has no effect. That is very strong because it means you can often set it up anyway that you need. This, much like Ancient Watcher, will almost always just sit on the board until you need to get use out of it. Don’t be afraid to play the plant early. That is the best trait about the card because your opponent is never going to spend time taking down a 4/8 that can’t attack until they need. And, even if they are scared of it and do remove it, that means they invested resources into a card you put nothing into. That’s a win-win either way.

Defender of Argus/Sunfury Protector

Taunt is very good in both this deck and the current meta. That means you have to understand how and when to set it up. Defender of Argus and Sunfury Protector are both important because they force your opponent to interact with your minions (something they almost never want to do), and instantly give you priority. You have a late-game win condition that is always going to out-value any deck in the game. That means you don’t need to worry about getting value trades or trying to set up big plays. You simply need to keep your opponent focused on your board and make sure you stay above lethal range. Aggro is always popular at the start of the season, and you can prey on those decks with the right set up. Getting a wall down may not win the game outright, but it is usually enough to buy you the time you need.

The most important part of the taunt-givers is understanding that you do not need to always high roll them. Yes, it feels good to hit a Humongous Razorleaf or double Ancient Watcher. However, in many situations, a 1/1 taunt does the same as a 4/8 (such as when staring down an Arcanite Reaper). Just having taunts is usually all you care about. There have been numerous games where I have dropped down a Sunfury Protector on an empty board, followed by another protector into a Defender of Argus. There have also been games where I have just taunted up a Doomsayer to stall until Twisting Nether. Understand the possible damage your opponent can have, and then play around it accordingly.

Hellfire/Shadowflame

Right now, AOE is at a premium. There are a lot of decks that depend on an early board to push through their game plan, and clearing those minions often just destroys their tempo or sets them so far back they won’t be able to catch back up. You only run one Hellfire and one Shadowflame, and understanding that is very important. Each of those spells can win you the game on the spot, but only if you use them at the right times or on the right boards. I would look at these cards as fail safes that you rely on when you simply don’t have better options. For example, when your Shaman opponent fills up the board with strong Murlocs or when Pirate dumps out their hand. They also do well by preventing your opponent from trading in when you want to keep a specific taunt around.

The way you need to evaluate using your AOE is deciding how much value you can get right away and then weigh that against the life you will lose by not using it. If you can eke out one more minion or hit one more key threat it is generally worth taking an extra three or four damage. However, it is not worth getting obliterated by burn or risking falling down into lethal range. You always need to know the different ways your opponent can kill you. Using a Shadowflame on two 3/2’s may not feel good, but if those 3/2’s can kill you with a topdecked spell then it may well be the right play.

Elise the Trailblazer

Elise the Trailblazer may seem like an odd inclusion in this deck, but she has two key uses that are both needed for this list to work in the way that it does. The most important of those are that she instantly gives you a hand. The pack is worth five cards, and there are many times where you can open it the turn before Deathwing to make sure you have enough cards to trigger Lakkari Sacrifice. This does not come up a lot, but there are going to be games where you burn through your cards very quickly. Having the pack to fall back on is very important and gives you more ways to make sure your combo hits when you need it to. Beyond that, Elise also works at giving you extra value. A 5/5 body is not as good as it once was, but it still gets the job done against many popular minions right now. The pack is not the most exciting thing, but in games where you can’t find Deathwing or when Jaraxxus isn’t enough, getting five free cards goes a long way. There is really no downside to the explorer, and having her as an extra tool really helps build the deck out and adds to its end-game consistency.

Matchups

Some of the most common matchups I see while playing ladder.

Pirate Warrior

Pirate is still easily the deck I see the most, and that is just fine. As you can image, our gameplan matches up very well against what they are trying to do. You typically win by copying a big taunt with Flamewreathed Faceless or using Defender of Argus on two bodies. Warrior does not have the resources to clear off any of our big minions before they become taunts. which means we get big taunts. It is not hard to slow down Garrosh. You simply need to make sure you always have something up to eat their weapons hits and use cards like Doomsayer to tempo them off the board. They do have burst, but you can mitigate it if you are careful with your health. Always prioritize taunts and watch your tapping. It is  very easy to get careless and fall too low.

A big thing to note is that most Warrior builds rely on minions more than burn. That is important because it means they are much more board-centric than before, packing things like Bittertide Hydra and Southsea Captain. Understand that most of their damage comes from big minion plays will allow you to properly pace the game. This matchup is not so much about trying to figure out ways to heal as it is figuring out ways to make sure Warrior can build up their board. If you can limit that potential you can force them into some pretty tight situations.

Aggro Swarm Druid

Aggro Druid is another deck I am facing a lot, and boy does it have some legs. This version of Malfurion plays a lot like Egg Druid where they get many sticky minions onto the board quickly and then use those to push through quick damage. However, the newer versions are incredibly fast, incredibly resilient and incredibly consistent. Unfortunately for them, they, like Pirate Warrior, do not do well against big walls. In fact, Druid may be the worst class at dealing with taunt in the game. Even so, something like a single Ancient Watcher is only going to slow them down. To win this game you need to completely lock them out with a few gigantic minions. This will cause Druid to trade in most of their board or use most of their cards, leaving them helpless. Though they start strong, they have some of the worst topdecks in the game. Once you get to that point, this one’s usually over.

The only card you need to watch out for is Savage Roar. Though Swipe can give Druid lethal sometimes, they mostly rely on Roar to pull them through. The three mana spell can take you down out of nowhere and really ruin your day if you aren’t careful. Even something as unassuming as three 1/1’s and a 2/2, can quickly add up to 19 damage with a single Mark of the Lotus and Savage Roar. You need to just do everything you can to control the board and work hard to make your opponent burn a roar on pushing through taunts. Once you see the first one you should get some time, but be careful not to leave yourself exposed. This is one of the games where using AOE on three minions or trading into 1/1’s is often correct.

Taunt Warrior

The new Quest Warrior is very good, and you need to be very careful in this game if you want to win. This is going to be one of your longest and most drawn out matches that ultimately comes down to two different finishers. One on side you have your board of never-ending imps that Garrosh can do absolutely nothing about, and on the other side there is Ragnaros’ here power that both controls the board and applies an insane amount of pressure. While the middle part of the game is going to be a push-and-pull, most of it really is about you and your opponent playing to your end goals. The only thing you need to be aware of is playing around Brawl. Warrior is generally very reactive and you can get some big boards on them. Just make sure not to play too many large minions into the AOE. You want them to burn their removal.

Do not become Lord Jaraxxus if your opponent is close to or has the quest. Yes, the Lord of the Burning Legion is very strong against control, but he also cannot keep up with Ragnaros’ hero power. I have tested this multiple times, and every time I have simply died to eight damage a turn. Warrior has a lot of removal to keep your board in check, and if you give them a chance to kill you from 15 they absolutely will. Your imps can win the game, but know that you are going to want to be around 20 when you start going big. Off of that, it is also important to try and find a strong Deathwing turn. You want to use Lakkari Sacrifice when you have an extra mana during the midgame (which makes your 12/12 combo always live) and then wing when your opponent has around three minions on the board. This eats at your opponent’s hand and forces them to spend their next turn killing your dragon, which then opens up your portal.

Midrange Hunter

While the popularity of Midrange Hunter constantly shifts, I believe it will be one of the best decks in the coming weeks. Not only do they have some insane new tools, but they also matchup very well against a lot of other popular lists. This is one of your trickier matchups, and it is the place where your inherent lack of removal is going to hurt. Normally, taunts are going to be enough to stall out your opponent, but here they don’t do as much because of how well Hunter can leverage the board. Midrange escalates extremely quickly, and they can roll you over while you’re busy tapping. Understand this, and do everything you can to both contest and fight back against their board. Plays like a turn two Sunfury Protector may seem strange, but if that then trades with their two drop you just saved yourself six or nine life. In addition, know that the early Hunter’s don’t have that much burn beyond their two Kill Commands. Count your opponent’s and tap according to the damage they have mixed with their hero power. While you never want to fall too low, you can take more risks than you could have in the past.

Quest Rogue

Honestly, I have faced very little Quest Rogue during my climb. However, I wanted to cover it because I know it is more of a problem at lower ranks. The bounce deck is the early bane of many, and while it is tricky, it is by no means terribly hard to beat. This is a matchup where you win by forcing Rogue to commit. That is to say, you need them to use their minions on your board. Rogue inherently does nothing for the first three or four turns of the game besides bounce minions. That plan works well in some matches, but it is not great when they’re staring down a 4/10 or 8/8. You want to pressure as much as possible and try to amass as big of a board as you possibly can by the time your opponent goes to The Caverns Below.

As strong as 5/5’s are, if you have some big taunts you can take this game even once your opponent combos off. This is because once Rogue has a board of 5/5’s they actually need to use those to kill you. They typically do that through bouncing, and if they trade in their only charge minion into a big taunt, the Shadowsteps in their hand suddenly become useless. Just always remember to clear your opponent’s board the turn before you suspect they are going to get the crystal core. You never want to leave yourself open to an insta-kill because you thought they didn’t have Preparation.

Mulligan Guide

As with old Handlock, this mulligan is all about your early curve combined with your unfair bodies. Mistress of Mixtures, Acidic Swamp Ooze, Ancient Watcher, Doomsayer, and Humongous Razorleaf are all your must keeps. Sunfury Protector works well against aggro, as does Defender of Argus and [card]Faceless Shambler when you have a strong curve coming before them (especially a Razorleaf). Hellfire and Shadowflame are both good keeps with an early curve, but only if you’re going up against a board-centric deck. Twilight Drake and Mountain Giant should always be kept against any slow deck, but they are not great on their own against faster decks without taunt to go with them.

Conclusion

Un’goro! It has only been a few days but I am just loving the new set. There is simply so many different things to do with every class, and while not all of them will be good, there have been some that really feel like they can carry their weight. This list is one such build that I have been very impressed with. You have a ton of ways to fight against aggro decks, while also maintaining a strong finisher against control. There are many different decks to explore, but I would recommend this as an early options. One quest down, but there are many more to go. Until then, may you always discard six.


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