Deck Guide: DemonLock

Author: Joseph Scalise

Introduction:

Man oh man, what a season it’s been so far. I am finally at rank 1, and the end is near. I can feel it. The deck responsible? A Demonlock variation originally inspired by an old favorite named Koyuki. So, before we move along, what is Demonlock? It, as you can see from the above decklist, a Handlock variation where instead of running Mountain Giants and a few other key cards (such as Ragnaros) you run a set of demons. I have always been a fan of Handlock. However, the Hunter heavy meta has made the deck almost unplayable. Yet, when I saw this list I knew I wanted to give it a try. It gets rid of going for big plays, and allows you a much more streamlined plan. The list may not be the most sound, but it functions very well and has gives me success time and time again on the ladder against the most popular decks. It is not the easiest deck to pilot, but there are some great interactions that I will outline below.

Key Cards:

A lot of the deck is comprised of the usual Handlock cards. While I will not take the time to discuss those, there are a lot of one-ofs (silver bullets if you will) that you need to understand to get a grasp of the entire deck.

Power Overwhelming: Long a combo card, Power Overwhelming has so many uses that it is a great on-of in this list. Yes, there is no Leeroy of Arcane Golem to combo it with, but the card does have a lot of versatility. Most of the time, you are going to be using it for a surprise kill (one of the main ways to win with this deck), but it also has some other uses with deathrattle. Nerubian Egg is obviously very good when used with power, as are Voidcallers when you have a Doom Guard in hand. Another great use for Power Overhwelming is to play on turn seven in combination with Sylvanas. This may seem like card disadvantage, but it is simply a cheaper version of Priest’s Shadow Word Death combo. The last use for this card (and something you should not forget) is this pairs very well with Shadowflame, enabling you to clear some problematic boards.

Zombie Chow: In a Hunter/Zoo world, if you’re going to try and play a slow Warlock deck you better have early game, and there is no better early game than the chow. Zombie Chow is just a great turn one play that can literally win you games, by keeping you alive for an extra turn or two. That’s how important this card is. The use is really streamlined, and quite obvious, but I want to say do not cut this card from the list. While it is possible to beat both Zoo and Hunter without ever seeing Zombie Chow (or seeing it on turn eight or nine) it just gives you such a powerful tool. It is also very strong against Shaman and Druid, as it can give you ways to help kill of Haunted Creepers and mitigate the first turns while you lifetap.

Nerubian Egg: Nerubian Egg is a fringe card that I just can’t seem to find any good reason to cut. The reason being that there are many games where this seemingly innocuous zero/two comes in handy for so many different situations. It is great with Power Overwhelming, and can also combo with Void Terror for a very scary turn two/three punch. However, it also can be very annoying when paired with the taunters (Sunfury/Defender) and it even a reasonable answer to AOE. It isn’t the most exciting card, and I will admit there are some games where it does absolutely nothing, but for now I do like it enough to keep in the thirty. If you were to cut the Egg, I would simply just replace it with another Ancient Watcher, as it fills the two drop, can lock out aggro, and is a very good target for Shadowflame.

Void Terror: I don’t want to go out and say this is the best card in the deck (it’s not) but it is very close. It is so good that I am probably going to play two. That may sound a bit odd, but once you start to grind with this deck you will be amazed at the amount of games you want Void Terror. Yes, it does not combo well (at all) with Voidcaller, as having it put into play does nothing. However, eating a Voidcaller to play a Doom Guard can straight out win you the game (that’s a 6/7 and a 5/7 with Charge for three mana if you’re counting). You can also play out Void Terror and eat something like a useless Ancient Watcher just to put a huge threat onto the board. However, the strongest interaction (and the one I always try to save it for) is comboing with Sylvanas. This combo is so powerful, and has won me countless games. If you can use your removal wisely and set up to steal a huge minion the game is usually over. This is because the Void Terror becomes an 8/8 and you also get whatever you stole (usually a Ragnaros, Savannah Highmane or Ysera). A really strong, versatile card that is worth so much more than three mana.

Voidcaller: Another card that just seeps potential, Voidcaller has amazed me time and time again. Because of lifetap, you will almost always have a demon in your hand (whether that’s a Doomguard, Void Terror or another Voidcaller) and that makes this card a Harvest Golem on steroids. A three/four trades very well, and cards like Void Terror, Power Overwhelming and Shadowflame all work at getting you free demons. Another bonus of this card is many people will try to avoid killing it if they don’t have a silence, which enables you to either push for damage or pick of smaller minions before going letting it die. This card is one of the most important in the entire deck, and should be always played on turn four if you have another demon in hand.

Doomguard: I have played countless games with this deck, and in that time I have learned one very important factor, you never want to play Doomguard unless you absolutely have to. That may seem frustrating when you just tap/pass on an empty board on turn five, but almost all of the cards if your deck are very important to winning the end game. Discarding can really set you back, and can outright lose you the game if you lose the wrong cards. Still, this card is so powerful that it is worth being included into the list. If you have lethal or near-lethal then sometimes it’s ok to play Doomguard as a finisher or as a way to apply pressure, but more often than not I will just wait until I can play a Voidcaller. One more note is that, in a pinch Doomguard can also be used as a form of removal to get rid of a problematic minion (I’m looking at you Savannah Highmane).

Alexstrasza: Perhaps the most controversial card in the list, Alexstrasza is my choice of finisher. When I say this, everyone asks the same question “Why not Jaraxxus?”. Yes, the Eredar Lord of the Burning Legion is a demon, and yes he is very powerful to end the game, but I like the life-bringing dragon more. The reason is, this deck has a lot of burst potential, and that potential just gets better when you can suddenly make your opponents life total fifteen. Jaraxxus and Alexstrasza both heal you to fifteen, but Alexstrasza has the added ability to half the life total against control decks. She is a very powerful tool, and that versatility makes her more useful than the demon lord. Jaraxxus is perhaps better in some very niche situations, but overall in a deck that runs Doomguards and Soulfire you want to have a failsafe, and Alexstrasza serves as that failsafe.

How to Play:

Lifetapping is not important in this deck. I know that sounds weird, but it’s the truth, and something you need to keep in mind. There are no Mountain Giants here, and while you do have Twilight Drakes, you only want to keep them in the control matchups. This is not a deck where you tap/pass every turn until you drop a huge minion. Yes, as with any Warlock you do want to try to draw as many cards as you can, but I will almost never take a lifetap over playing a solid minion onto the board. In the current meta, board presence is one of the most important factors in building a strong deck, and almost every card in this list gives you some kind of board presence be it Zombie Chow or Molten Giant.

The other important aspect of this deck is to always be on the lookout for lethal. I have nearly missed lethal on multiple occasions, because of how intricate this deck is. Soulfire, Power Overwhelming and Doomguard amount to crazy amounts of damage, and can kill people from nowhere. This is very important to keep in mind. During the later turns of the game, I will always count how much damage I have available before I do anything. This is a great habit to get into, and will keep you in the right mindset to win games with burst damage.

How to Mulligan:

Mulliganing in this deck is mostly straightforward. You want to get rid of anything that costs more than three mana, and try to keep your curve low. If you’re playing any control or slow deck (Priest, Warrior, Druid) you want to keep Twlight Drake. However, against aggro, since you will likely be trying to play out minions on the first turns (or using Soulfire) the drake doesn’t do much. Earthen Ring Farseer and Zombie Chow are keeps against any deck, no matter what. I will also keep Nerubian Egg, but usually only if I have a Void Terror or Power Overwhelming to pair it with. Against Control you don’t need to rely on early minions, as you can spend your first turns lifetapping, but doing that against aggro you can’t afford to play that way.

Matchups:

Zoo: I know that I normally say that I don’t enjoy decks that have weak matchups against Zoo (and that’s mostly true) but this list is an exception. Zoo is by no means an impossible match, but it is quite difficult. I would say this falls about 40/60 in the favor of Zoo, but that changes if you have Shadowflame or Zombie Chow. You have a lot of tools to fight back, but if they have anti AOE (Nerubian Egg, Haunted Creeper, Harvest Golem) it can become very problematic. The number one rule of Zoo is to never let them have minions on the board. If you do that you can win, just avoid getting overrun.

Handlock: While Zoo is very difficult, Handlock is an easier time. Big Game Hunter and Faceless are both very strong in this matchup. You want to save your removal (and Sylvanas) until you can use it at the best moment, and never let them have Molten Giants. Burst damage is the only way you’re going to win, and you should never forget that. You have the advantage that your deck has more synergy, and they have bigger minions. However, if you can answer their first four drop, you can then mitigate the rest of their minions by sitting back and not attacking. Doomguard/Soulfire should do the rest.

Control Priest: Priest is one of the easiest matchups on this list (besides Druid). They have a lot of small, powerful interactions that all build up into a strong, cohesive deck. However, they also have a weakness of not being able to handle multiple strong minions, or ones that drop other minions into play (Voidcaller, Nerubian Egg). You do have to watch out for Cabal Shadow Priest stealing your taunt givers, but if you’re careful about that you should have almost all control over the middle game. Loatheb, Sludge Belcher and Void Caller are all very strong tools that set Priests back. The finisher of choice in this match is Alexstrasza, as doing fifteen damage to a Priest is much easier than doing fifteen.

Hunter: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, you cannot play a deck on the ladder if you can’t beat Hunter. I know it seems strange, but this deck can beat Hunter. My win-rate against Rexxar has been off the chain, and that’s the main reason to play this list. Yes, there are games where you will have nothing the first turns, be forced to lifetap, and then die on turn four. However, those are few and far between. For the most part, you usually have some strong openings and then can afford to hide behind your taunts. The best advice for this matchup is to never trigger secrets if they have a bow. You can afford to wait a few turns to draw into Alex or healing while your build your board. Hunters cannot.

Shaman: Another matchup that really falls into our favor, Shaman is a class that has too few answers to all of our threats. Earthshock and Hex are really powerful, but you can usually get them to burn them on less threatening targets such as a Void Caller, Void Terror or Nerubian Egg. You really just play your game in this matchup, tapping early and dropping threats in the later turns. The only real thing to be aware of (as always) is their burst potential. If they have a Doomhammer, or if they could have a Doomhammer always try to keep your taunts up and ready. Besides that, your larger minions should take over the game.

Control Warrior: I’m not really sure how this matchup goes. I think Warrior has the advantage due to a surplus of solid, cheap removal, but they also have a hard time dealing with Voidcallers and things like Sludge Belcher. The best move here is try to outlast. Alexstrasza is very strong, but she likely will only bring them down to twenty or so health because of their armor. You’re main vein of winning is through forcing them to use their resources, before using Faceless/Siphon Soul and BGH to take over the end of the game. Always be aware of the removal they have used, and what they have left. If you can keep a minion on the board for a couple turns you should be fine.

Ramp Druid: The easiest matchup (in my experience) Ramp Druid is a deck that just can’t compete with what you’re doing. Druid has always had trouble dealing with multiple big minions, and you have so many threats they usually can’t keep up. Save Sylvanas for the end of the game, and know that Big Game Hunter doesn’t have too many targets. As such, you can run it out on turn three as a threat (just watch out for Keeper of the Grove). You win this game through a war of attrition. The two things you need to watch out for are the combo (hello taunts) and the Black Knight. As such, be careful about your life total, and always be aware of what exactly you’re giving taunt too.

Budget Replacements:

The only real legendary in this list is Alexstrasza, and as strange as it may seem, the only real replacement is another legendary: Jaraxxus. You need to have one of those two finishers to play this deck, for without them you can have a really tough time against control decks. Which one you choose, however, is up to you. Thanks for reading guys as always. Hope life is good, and, until next time, Happy Thanksgiving!