Handling an A...

Handling an Aggressive Meta Shift

aggressivemeta

Kobayshi Maru On - Twitter | Twitch.TV | Youtube

Hearthstone is a rapidly evolving game and large shifts in the Meta can be caused by a balance patch, recent tournament broadcasts like this week’s ESGN fight night or even from watching popular streamers. In the last week I’ve noticed aggressive decks are on the rise and that almost every class has a new aggressive deck or variant with potential burst damage combos as a finisher. After seeing that over 80% of my opponents were running one of these and feeling that my Warrior & Druid decks were holding their own but my Shaman deck wasn’t matching up well at all. It seemed that in this new meta my shaman deck was very dependant on getting a specific draw otherwise i’d be overrun by relentless aggression.

So what was I was up against - Well Druid’s are running silence givers to enable Ancient Watcher with the Savage Roar / Force of Nature combo for a minimum of 14 instant burst damage to finish you off. Paladin’s are running everything from Knife Juggler & Leper Gnome to Abusive Sergeant & Wolfrider. They also run secrets like Eye for an Eye and Noble Sacrifice for tempo while keeping the backbone of Equality, Consecrate and Avenging Wrath. Take your pick of Warlock variants: Murloc Warlock, board control Warlock or the new board control deck with Murlocs that won the H.S. Players invitational.

The fully aggro Warrior brings to bear Leper Gnome, Argent Squire, Faerie Dragon, Harvest Golem, with Black Knight to clear a giant taunter as well as Nightblade, a relatively unused 4/4 for 5 mana, that deals 3 damage to the enemy Hero. This deck runs the full range of Warrior weapons as its finishers as well as Mortal Strike, a 4 cost spell, that can potentially deal 6 damage. Hunters are somewhat limited to being aggro because of their hero power so that what you tend to see is an Unleash the Hounds, Starving Buzzard and Leeroy Jenkins combos which can be really scary even when you manage to keep the board clear.

Shamans favoring burst damage use Windfury, Rockbiter and Flametongue in combination with Leeroy Jenkins for lethal. Rogues with incredible amounts of damage created from Questing Adventurer and Edwin Vancleef combos are all the rage. I’ve see combos that yield an 11/11 adventurer on board with a 14/14 Vancleef.

With this in mind it felt like time to rework my Shaman deck and its important to note that its not always huge changes but minor tweaks that are the most effective in dealing with meta shifts. Having additional weapons or more bodies in the early game didn’t seem like the right answer. Trying to slow the tide of aggression isn’t as good as giving myself additional options capable of stopping aggression dead in its tracks.

This amount of Aggro harkens back to the original Blood Imp Warlock days and at that time adding in Wild Pyromancers was the perfect solution because its a solid 3/2 minion that can be brought out early game for board presence as well as giving you the ability to deal additional AOE if necessary. Changing just 2 cards in my main Shaman deck really shifted the early game focus of my deck allowing me to smoothly transition to the mid and late game where I was strongest. It also helped to minimize my frustration because my Shaman now had the tools to deal with whatever it was facing on the ladder.

Here is a link to a Youtube playlist of games showcasing the deck in action:

[youtube url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD18vC3El44]

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9 COMMENTS

  1. I’d noticed Nightblade on the ladder. I don’t think it’s very good, even in an aggressive meta, but people are certainly playing it.

    I’ve been enjoying the new Unleash the Hounds a lot. It’s more thematic, it’s less unpredictable, it gives you a ton of burst without the feeling of helpless inevitability that many decks felt against the pre-nerf version. Leeroy + Unleash is my new favourite combo.

  2. Hello, thanks for writing this article. I also play Shaman and have come to the same conclusions as you. Could I get a deck list please?

  4. I agree with you about Nightblade.  Yeah i don’t play hunter but I like the new dynamic way more than the first Unleash card and the first patch they did on it. When I play vs a hunter I don’t feel helpless but its still very strong to go up against.

    I’d noticed Nightblade on the ladder. I don’t think it’s very good, even in an aggressive meta, but people are certainly playing it.

    I’ve been enjoying the new Unleash the Hounds a lot. It’s more thematic, it’s less unpredictable, it gives you a ton of burst without the feeling of helpless inevitability that many decks felt against the pre-nerf version. Leeroy + Unleash is my new favourite combo.

  5. the only deck i consider nightblade ok in is the aggro warrior
    together with his other “high” hp creatures nightblade can be a bit of a pain to deal with.
    You already need removal for the frothing berserkers, (buffed) bloodsail raider, Kor’krons etc. 
    If you had a bad early game and you couldnt establish anything on board, especially if the warrior drew War axe, you most likely need to throw your 3/4 damage removals in those guys, so nightblade has a good chance to deal 7 damage or clear some minions of yours.
    On the other hand, in a Hunter or Murlock deck this isnt really the case since you could potentially clear all those 1 hp minions with Pyromancer and Nighblade is just dealing 3 Damage for 5 mana and you may lose your tempo on it.
    In a more brawler-like aggro deck Nightblade is a good addition if you have a spare spot, however, Chillwind Yeti for 4 mana might be the better choice for that spot, as already some warlock aggro decks show.

  6. A pretty good article that describes most of the threat encountered in the current meta.
    As a control warrior, I also had to adapt to this change in the meta.
    I feel at least 1 Cleave, 1 Cruel Taskmasters and 2 Armorsmith are really needed under those conditions while some cards like Arathi Weaponsmith or Gorehowl become less interesting.

  7. Thanks Man! Yeah I completely that the warrior needs a couple changes though I run 2 wirlwind, 2 armorsmith, 2 taskmaster, 2 war axes, 2 slam, 2 execute all which I’m willing to use early once i’ve identified a deck as aggro. I kept Gorehowl in my warrior cuz its just so good. I don’t run cleave but that is a good card vs aggro, I don’t run weapon smith either.
    Thanks for reading!
     

    A pretty good article that describes most of the threat encountered in the current meta.
    As a control warrior, I also had to adapt to this change in the meta.
    I feel at least 1 Cleave, 1 Cruel Taskmasters and 2 Armorsmith are really needed under those conditions while some cards like Arathi Weaponsmith or Gorehowl become less interesting.

  8. The Nightblades in the Reynad deck are mainly there as a source of damage that ignores taunt. The fact that it comes on a 4/4 body is nice, the fact that it’s 5 mana is not, but it’s nice to have something more than Mortal Strike if you fail to bring them out before the big taunts come out.

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