Weekly Legends: Elemental Control Shaman

Introduction

Those who know me know I love Shaman. However, Thrall has not really got much love with the departure of Tunnel Trogg and Totem Golem. Even so, it still has the elemental package, which means it still has some power. This week we are going to look at an Elemental Control list from SansNickel, who put together a very interesting take on the classic midrange shell. Rather than try to play the tempo game like so many past builds, this deck goes for value. This list paces the game slower than other Shaman iterations, which makes it stronger against a variety of different popular classes. The ladder is all about adaptation, and this guts two matchups to take an advantage over the rest of the field. An easy trade in my book.

Key Cards

Devolve

A card that dropped off significantly with the new rotation, Devolve is one of the best meta options right now. Paladin has surged back with a vengeance, and they have a ton of extremely powerful threats that you want to change. Tirion Fordring is the best target, but this two mana card also does a great job at stopping things like Ragnaros, Lightlord from getting a lot of value. Beyond that, it also hits things like Ancient of War, Savannah Highmane, Living Mana, or whatever random high-health minion Priest has. You do not always need to get a lot value from this card. Most of the time you just want to take down one or two big targets, which can help you then get control of the board.

One of the most important things to remember about when using Devolve is that it does a very good job at negating stats. That is to say, most of the things you are going to be dropping down are going to be weaker than they were before. This is key because, while Devolve does not negate damage by itself (your opponent is still going to have minions) it is very strong when combined with Volcano, Lightning Storm or Maelstrom Portal. This card is usually a two-combo clear or a way to gain the board. It can also help by taking down a buffed minion, but that is usually going to be your last resort. Hex typically is your single target removal and Devolve is for bigger boards.

Tol’vir Stoneshaper

What’s better than a Sen’jin Shieldmasta? How about a Sen’jin Sheildmasta with divine shield and taunt? Tol’vir Stoneshaper is one of the most interesting cards in this deck because it is an extremely powerful card that is not an elemental. That makes it a double-edged sword. You always want to think about your curve when playing this deck, and that is especially true with the 3/5. There are going to be many games where you have a choice between running this out and getting an elemental down onto your curve. If you are playing an aggro deck, such as Pirate or Hunter, it is often better to take the immediate board presence, while against slower decks you can hold off until later. For example, against Priest turning on a Servant of Kalimos is almost always better than putting out a card that can get hit with Shadow Word: Pain. However, note that this is going to change for each situation. Some games you absolutely need the board presence and some games you need to keep up the elemental chain. This gets even trickier during the later stages, like when you’re deciding to get down a taunt or turn on Kalimos. Always weigh the immediate power of stoneshaper against your next turn.

Harrison Jones/The Black Knight

The original list ran two weapon destruction options in Harrison Jones and Gluttonous Ooze. However, I cannot condone such actions. As a result, I have cut the ooze in favor of The Black Knight, which is my favorite tech card right now. Almost ever top-tier deck has some sort of taut, and they are especially rampant in Paladin. In addition, Taunt Warrior is one of this deck’s hardest matchups, and playing the 4/5 can help you swing some of those games. This spot is largely flex, and while you can put the ooze back in if you aren’t fond of the knight, I would look at other options like Eater of Secrets, Golakka Crawler and Hungry Crab first. White Eyes is also a great choice if you’re facing a lot of aggro or midrange.

Some of you may be wondering why I chose to cut Gluttonous Ooze instead of Harrison Jones. While the rule is to often go with the cheaper option because it is better in the non-weapon matchups, Harrison Jones has a much better payoff for this list. Outside of Acolyte of Pain there is no real card draw, and that can be a problem. Being able to sneak out some extra cards while adding to the board is something you really want. Not only that, but you can afford to play slower cards because you do not need too much help surviving the early game. This deck comes with plenty of taunts and healing plays that help you curve out without worrying about getting rushed down. As a result, you have the luxury of not needing the ooze on turn three.

Volcano

Another interesting inclusion, Volcano is a very strong AOE in the current game. Fifteen damage is not great in comparison to things like Elemental Destruction or Flamestrike, but it gets the job done against a lot of popular decks. This is the best AOE available to Shaman right now, especially because you can follow it up with other solid threats on your following turns. Using this to clear and then slamming a Blazecaller or Kalimos, Primal Lord the following turn can be devastating. However, even something as simple as a Servant of Kalimos or Hex to challenge your opponent’s follow up is good enough with the five mana clear. Remember that you want to take your time with this deck so it is ok to pace the game in a slow way.

You almost always want to set up Volcano when your opponent has a board and you have next to nothing. However, you also need to make sure your opponent is going to have 15 or less health across their minions. For this reason, I will often try to have something on the board that I can trade in before pulling the trigger. Being able to crash into a big threat before the spell can often be the difference between a giant clear and your opponent having a 6/3 beat-down minion. Devolve also works nicely with volcano for that same reason. Remember that nobody is ever going to play around this spell, which means it has some insane blowout potential. Always try to bait your opponent into running minions into this card, especially if they are trying to stay above Lighting Storm.

Hallazeal the Ascended

If you’re running a slow Shaman list you usually want to pack Hallazeal the Ascended. The 4/6 is one of the best control cards in the game, and you can get some major swing turns with him. Typically, you want to combine Hallazeal with Volcano for the maximum amount of value, but there are a lot of board-flood decks in the current meta. This means you can also use him with Maelstrom Portal and Lightning Storm for a ton of health. You have a lot of threats in this build, so you typically only need one big heal to stabilize. Not only that, but Hallazeal is a must-kill threat for many decks. Gaining life and then forcing your opponent to use their next turn killing him is usually all the tempo you need.

Unlike past slow Shaman lists, this deck can play the midrange game if it wants. That is very important, because it means you can apply pressure on your opponent at different parts of the game and threaten lethal through burn with Blazecaller and Kalimos, Primal Lord. In the past, Control Shaman was very slow. You would clear, then wait for opponent to play threats, and clear again. This deck is different because it comes with a much stronger curve. If you get into a race you can leverage Hallazeal to edge out your opponent and take the lead. There are many times where you can even play him alongside a big threat to bait removal and set up a bigger body on your next turn.

Matchups

Note: While it is not covered below because I do not see it that much, this deck has a very rough matchup against Quest Rogue. That is worth keeping in mind if you’re facing Valeera a lot.

Pirate Warrior

As always, Pirate Warrior serves as our rock in the current meta. The aggressive list is still running rampant and will likely continue to do so over the next year. This matchup falls in your favor, but that does not mean it is going to be easy. You want to treat this game as a pure control deck, where all you care about is staying alive. Pirate is a deck that goes face hard, but they quickly fall apart once they get hit with a couple of roadblocks. You should spend all of your time controlling the board and worry about winning later on. This is a game of attrition, and you need to work to counter everything your opponent does. Try to match your taunts up against their big weapons and never miss an opportunity to gain life.

This is going to be an extremely tight game. While you do have many ways to stall out and heal, Pirate Warrior can destroy you if you have one bad turn. For this reason, do not hesitate to put down a strong body. Today’s Pirates have a lot of burst, but they make most of their living on the board with things like Southsea Captain and Frothing Berserker. If you can keep their pirates off of the field you should be able to outlast them. Clear at all costs and play to your win conditions in either Hallazeal the Ascended or Kalimos, Primal Lord. Both of these cards are threats on their own, and they each heal you far out of Pirate’s range. Getting to either of the legendaries is not going to be easy, but you will pull far ahead once they drop. Liberally use your removal to reach them.

Midrange Paladin

Paladin comes in many forms these days, but I still believe Midrange to be the most prevalent. That is very good news because this is probably your best matchup. Paladin makes a living off a strong early board that builds into big individual threats like Tirion Fordring and Sunkeeper Tarim. Your goal is to gum up the early board (and stop their murlocs) with your opening elementals and then use your efficient removal and big bodies to pick apart their end game. The way you lose this is by letting the fish run rampant or by giving up the board too early with no backup plan. If you have a slow start or do not want to take the board you should always pull the trigger on your AOE if you have it. Also try your best to avoid playing Hex or Devolve early on.

Paladin’s biggest weakness is their reliance on large threats. While things like Tirion Fordring, The Curator and Primordial Drake are very strong, they all get crushed by your transformation spells. Do not be afraid to use Devolve on a single minion if you don’t have a Hex available. Today’s Paladins get a lot of use out of their free secret package with Stampeding Kodo and Repentance. When you see them put a secret up you should work hard to give them a frog or some irrelevant low-cost minion. This is not always going to be easy to do, but allowing them an extra giant threat is one of the ways you can be out-valued. Beyond that, do not overextend too much into Equality and work hard to push for damage once you have the board. Added pressure may make Paladin pull the trigger on defensive cards before they want to.

Burn Mage

The new Mage may very well be here to stay. The class has gotten some massive upgrades in Un’goro and it can now kill you in all sorts of new and creative ways. However, as much burn as they have, they also do not do well against healing. For that reason, I believe this matchup is quite favored if you pace it correctly. You should always be careful about falling below fifteen life, and note that your opponent is going to likely have two Pyroblasts. One of the most important aspects is to try to save your healing for after your opponent Alexstraszas. Taking chip damage is fine if you are above fifteen because they are eventually going to put you there anyway. Unless you think your opponent has a crazy burst play you should save things like Hallazeal the Ascended or Kalimos, Primal Lord for when after the dragon drops.

The most important aspect of this game is getting a hold of the early turns. Most Mages run a strong opening package with Mana Wyrm and Arcanologist, which they depend on to apply pressure and put out a lot of fast damage. If you spend this game playing catch-up you will never be able to keep up with your opponent’s damage output. Rather, you need to get the board quickly and then stack up more and more damage each turn. This will put pressure on their Ice Block and force them to use their burn on your minions instead of your face. Also note that many burn Mages now run Medivh, the Guardian. You should absolutely save Harrison Jones for the 7/7 if you have him. If you do not have the 5/4, then try to keep at least one AOE in case your opponent starts dropping high-mana minions.

Midrange Hunter

Another good reason to play this deck is the matchup against Midrange Hunter. Rexxar has an insanely powerful curve and a multitude of ways to take over the board, but you can match them all. Work hard to get ahead of your opponent. Hunter’s biggest advantage is how well they can leverage both tempo and damage when they come out of the gates early. If you can work to put things like Tar Creeper or Tol’vir Stoneshaper in their way you should be able to stall them until your real threats start to come down. This is a game where you need to focus all of your resources on clearing the board and making sure your opponent can never properly curve out. Do whatever it takes to answer their threats, even if it means using Volcano into Lightning Storm to take out a board of deathrattles.

This is a game where Devolve and Hex truly shine. Hunter has a ton of sticky minions that they rely on to keep a hold of the board. However, if you can simply change things like Savannah Highmane or Rat Pack into a frog Hunter is going to lose a lot of value. Being able to get down a threat alongside AOE or cheap removal is all you need to steal priority. Despite their play style, Hunter loves to press for damage. Do not be afraid to play defensively and always take the time to heal if your opponent has Kill Commands available. Most of the game should be spent pacing their minions and then you want to gain a massive bout of life once they run low on cards. That is usually enough to garner a concession.

Taunt Warrior

Taunt Warrior has gotten less popular of late, which is very good news because this (along with Quest Rogue) is going to be your hardest matchup. I have teched in The Black Knight for this game, but that is often not enough. The biggest problem when fighting Garrosh is the fact that he is always going to complete his quest. Eight damage a turn is very hard for your to fight through, and most of the games comes down to you depending on your hero power to soak up some blasts to not die to the endless stream. To combat that, you have to apply pressure on Warrior as fast as you possibly can. Throw out all of your bodies and try to naturally build into big minions. While some lists do pack Shield Slam, most just run Execute. You cannot afford to be careful in this one. Play your threats when they come up and dare your opponent to have their answers. Just try your best to limit your hero power. It may be an automatic reflex to hit the button when you can, but it makes you very vulnerable to Brawl. If you have two big threats out on the board you should not add more bodies unless you are making a push for lethal.

Mulligan Guide

Though you operate slower than most midrange decks, you still want to mulligan like them. Fire Fly is your only must keep here. Beyond that, you want to have Bloodmage Thalnos if you have AOE against a deck, while Maelstrom Portal and Lightning Storm are both great against any aggro like Druid or Murloc Paladin. Hex and Devolve are both good against Priest and Hunter if you have a strong opening to go with them.

Acolyte of Pain, Hot Spring Guardian, Tar Creeper are all very good on curve, with a fast opening, or with the coin. Tol’vir Stoneshaper should always be kept if you have the coin and any elemental coming before in your curve. Finally, Harrison Jones can be kept against weapon classes (Warrior, Hunter, Paladin) as long as you have the coin and a good opening.

Conclusion

I know every meta starts out promising, but Un’goro has really brought a lot of diversity (if just for a short time) to the game. Just about every class has some type of strong deck, and this is Shaman’s. There are few variations you can go with the elemental package, and I think the control route is probably the best. The class has a lot of natural removal options and there are some very strong big plays in this package. Shaman has dropped down a bit, but there is still something here. Not only is it strong, it’s fun as well. Until next time, may the element(al)s guide you.

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