Hearthstone - Budget Shaman Deck (DKMR)

Описание: We are going to be taking a look at budget Midrange Shaman Deck. With the decline of Hunter, Shaman is in a better position than in previous seasons. With its cheap removal it has an edge over most control decks and can handle aggressive decks, outside of Hunter, as long as the Shaman can draw its removal early enough.

The midrange build is the most widely used, as it is able to quickly and efficiently dispatch threats while packing powerful burst damage, utilizing the Windfury mechanic along with a Rockbiter Weapon buff. Let’s take a look at the rest of what makes Shaman the formidable hero that he is.

Totemic Call
Shaman’s Hero Power, Totemic Call, allows Shaman to summon one of four different totems at random, but you may only have one of each on the board at a time.

These four are: Healing Totem, Wrath of Air Totem, Stoneclaw Totem, and Searing Totem. Since only one of each totem may be summoned by the Hero Power at a time, if Searing, Healing, and Stoneclaw are already on the board, you know Wrath of Air will be summoned next.

You can use this knowledge to your advantage to try to control which totems will be summoned. If you have to sacrifice totems, be sure they are killed in an order in which you can Hero Power at a specific time to maximize your chance of getting the desired totem. Use these minions to help control the board; they each offer a different way to help secure a strong board presence.

The Deck
The deck we are bringing you today costs 1360 dust, although there are some adjustments you can make to bring down the cost a pinch; we will discuss alternatives later on. This deck is quite similar to its more expensive variant, leaving out the Al'Akir the Windlord, Bloodmage Thalnos, Doomhammer, and other pricey cards.

Today we will go over card replacements and alternatives for those on a budget, but if you’re interested in learning more about Midrange Shaman’s play-style and matchups, check out this guide: http://hearthstoneplayers.com/guide-m....

Bringing Down The Cost
For those who do not quite have the 1360 dust to create the entire list, let’s look at few cheaper options. If you want to go for more of a tempo style, Harvest Golem are definitely worth considering. Dropping one Lightning Storm and a Mana Tide Totem for two Harvest Golems would save you 120 dust. Although the Wild Pyromancer is great for its AoE, it can be swapped out for a Kobold Geomancer. It lacks the AoE that Wild Pyromancer provides, but still boosts the damage of your spells. Sen'jin Shieldmasta is another free card worth considering.

Other Alternatives
There are a few other cards worth putting in if you don’t have those mentioned earlier. Gadgetzan Auctioneer is a great card in Shaman Deck due to all the low-cost spells, especially if you choose to drop the Mana Tide Totem. If you are not seeing many weapon-users, feel free to drop the Acidic Swamp Ooze for another Wild Pyromancer or Kobold Geomancer.

If you have extra dust, definitely craft a Defender of Argus or two. They are great for halting aggression and beefing up your weaker minions and totems. There are many different cards we could include, but they will be as optimal as the ones aforementioned. If there’s a card not mentioned here you would like to discuss, feel free to leave a comment; we’d love to talk cards with you!

Strategy
The goal of Midrange Shaman is to continually clear your opponent’s minions and create card advantage with cheap removal spells, then overwhelm your opponent in the late game with your tough minions, totems, and burst damage.

You should be carefully monitoring your use of Overload cards, planning how much mana you will have the following turn and what plays can be made.

When mulliganing against Aggro decks, you’ll want to keep cards which aid you in controlling the early game, such as Stormforged Axe, Lightning Bolt, Feral Spirit, Earth Shock, Lightning Storm, and Wild Pyromancer.

Against Midrange/Control decks, you’ll definitely want early minions such as Unbound Elemental, Feral Spirit, and Wild Pyromancer, as well as removal like Lightning Bolt.

Matchups
Stabilizing and keeping control of the board can be an easy task for Midrange Shaman; it’s what makes this deck so powerful and gives it little to no weaknesses. It’s the type of deck that can win any matchup with the right cards, but be careful, it can fall prey to Aggro decks.

Shaman matches up very well against heroes like Druid, Paladin, Mage, and Warrior. Priest can sometimes be an issue when running Thoughtsteal, Cabal Shadow Priest, and Shadow Madness, they are able to take control of your cards, luckily you can solve this with a little burst damage.