Decks of the Meta: Warlock

Another month, another season of rampant Hearthstone competition as players battle to the top of the constructed ladder. The stakes were raised with the promise of a spot in the qualifier for the $250,000 Blizzcon Tournament for those distinguished individuals that can end the season in the top sixteen of the legend ladder each season. The competition has been fiercer than ever at the start of the third 2014 season, but that’s not the only story of these first few days of constructed play. If there’s one common observation, and source of frustration for players queuing up this season, it’s the prevalence of Warlock decks of all kinds at every level of play.

Warlock, particularly the popular “zoo” variant, has always had a place as a valuable choice in constructed play since the early days of the beta. Building quick board advantage and throwing out loads of early game threats without fear of falling behind on cards has always been their advantage. The introduction of the Handlock, which retools Life Tap to the new purpose of throwing out large minions cheaply and efficiently, adds additional versatility for the Warlock, and uncertainty for their opponent. These two variants require very different responses, a powerful secondary benefit of choosing Warlock when climbing the ladder.

So if you can’t beat them, join them right? Warlock has always been a strong choice early in the season to power through those early ranks at extreme speed until more complex options are required. Let’s look at some of the popular decks that you can use to make that happen.

Reynad’s Zoo Lock

Even if you aren’t familiar with the Magic: The Gathering term, calling any deck a “Zoo” should be fairly self-explanatory. The goal with the Warlock Zoo is relatively straightforward. Build a strong board as quickly as you can, with each card augmenting the last before your opponent has the chance to react appropriately. Reynad’s deck, courtesy of Hearthpwn, follows this strategic mindset closely. It trades the chance at an incredible early draw, in favor of strong, solid turns to build the board toward an eventual victory. Best of all, it can be built easily on a budget.

The goal with this deck is not to rush your opponent down, but to build a board and keep control all game, as you chip away at your opponent’s health before they can really get anything established. With buff cards like Young Priestess and Dire Wolf Alpha, in combination with high toughness taunts like the Shieldbearer and Voidwalker, you build an unstoppable force that grows stronger each turn.

Even if your board is eventually cleared, the hope is that you’ve already done enough damage at that point that a quick one-two punch with a Doomguard and a Soulfire will end things. Their negative effects are mitigated by the fact that everything in your hand should be on the board already, or weak enough at that point that you don’t really need it anyway. The weaknesses of Doomguard in particular are far outweighed by its strengths as a powerful, cheap minion that’s difficult to clear. Unlike the dedicated aggro variant of days past, Soulfire is also often used to maintain your board advantage when an early threat comes out.

This deck is particularly strong in the wake of the recent Unleash the Hounds nerf. Hunter was the Zoolock’s greatest threat, with a card that preys on your opponent having a lot of minions out, powerful AOE board clear for weaker minions, and faster damage. With Hunter almost fully out of fashion, Zoo rules the proverbial aggro roost once more.

It’s primary fear is the infamous Miracle Rogue, which tends to run away with the game if the zoo is kept under control into a Gadgetzan Auctioneer + Conceal play, or a midrange Shaman that can keep the board clean and establish its threats.

The Modern Handlock

When your opponents are preparing to deal with the Zoo, why not surprise them with a deck that has shown its usefulness at every level of play, on the ladder and in tournament competition? The Handlock, more complex and slow-moving than its counterpart, still relies strongly on powerful early plays building toward an unstoppable kill move.

This particular deck comes from LiquidHearth’s most recent class ranking for the month of May. Rather then building a board full of weak, cheap minions that synergize well, this deck relies on the Warlock proclivity for drawing lots of cards very quickly to throw out powerful minions that benefit from a big hand. The two highlights to this end are the Twilight Drake and Mountain Giant. The Handlock looks for the turn four play where they can throw out one of these two monstrous cards that will come out at upwards of 8 toughness, with plenty of power to back it up.

Generally the Handlock wants to avoid playing any cards before turn four, to get the full value out of its big play, so it’s naturally susceptible to a quick board and aggro tactics. To combat this, the deck is loaded with AOE removal options in the form of Hellfire and Shadowflame, and those minions that can grant taunt to build up an almost impenetrable defensive wall. Ancient Watcher can also serve as either cheap removal, or a quick wall when things get dangerous, when paired with either of these options.

Handlock’s strongest move is built around the Molten Giant. The goal is to let your health get low enough that you can play at almost, or total zero cost along with a taunt, or some kind of heal. It’s obviously risky to let your health stay low in any circumstance, so you want to unleash the giants then follow it up with either a taunt wall, or aheal in the form of Alexstraza, Lord Jaraxxus, or an Earthen Ring Farseer. Preferably both given the direct damage your opponent is likely to be holding.

If all else fails, you want to get your opponent down with a couple big hits with your giants before they are dealt with, and finish things off with a Leeroy Jenkins + Power Overwhelming combo, perhaps even with a Faceless Manipulator for a grand total of 20 damage.

The Handlock is a strong option up to the very top of legend, but it’s still very susceptible to a Miracle Rogue that can remove taunts with a Sap, or it’s other cadre of spells, then follow up with an enormous amount of damage with Leeroy + Shadowsteps. However, the hunter nerf is also to the benefit of the Handlock, which suffers most against an early rush that it can’t keep up with. This deck might not be cheap, but it’s a good pick to commit to if you want a strong, solid option to spend your dust on.

Bonus Deck: Old-fashioned Aggro Warlock

The bonus deck for this week’s round-up is a blast from the past that still finds its way into competitive play, particularly in the madness of every

new season. This deck, constructed originally by Erom, and posted on HearthHead, discards finesse and board-building in favor of unadulterated pain served straight into the face of your opponent.

Every card in this deck is designed in some way to inflict damage to your opponent as quickly as possible, with almost no thought given to protecting yourself, or keeping your opponent from building up. The goal is not to stay ahead, but to bludgeon your opponent turn after turn with cheap, high damage minions before they can mount any kind of defense, in much the same way that Unleash Hunter did in seasons past.

With a combination of chargers like Wolfrider, and Arcane Golem, you want to throw out so much damage, so quickly that the match is decided in the first few turns. If you can get at least 15 damage in during those early plays before your opponent can effectively deal with the rush, then you simply need to pull the right amount of damage to finish them off from the many options available.

There’s not much more to say about this one. It’s cheap, it’s easy, and it’s always a good call when your opponent doesn’t know what kind of Warlock he’s going to face next with so many potential options, in a ladder full of Gul’dans. You may find yourself losing as many games as you win with this deck, especially at the higher ranks, but it’s certainly not a bad call to get you started on the climb to the top.

That wraps up this look at the Warlock and its various options as we move into Season 3 of constructed play. It’s safe to say that if Warlock is ever going to fall out of favor in constructed, it’s not going to happen any time soon. Versatility alone catapults it above the rest when your opponent can’t possibly prepare for every eventuality.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the ladder.