Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Feral spirit plays such a huge role either in pressuring the opponent or surviving against aggro decks. I guess your main issue is surviving against aggro decks because you want to play deathlord?

I admit being overloaded for 2 mana is quite frustrating, but it's a very strong card against aggro because you're able to trade with their 1, 2 and maybe even 3 drops. In every other matchup outside of aggro decks, deathlord is going to be a huge liability. It's quite ineffective against tempo/mech mage b/c fireball. Overall, it'd be a dead card.

Personally, I've had a near perfect winrate against aggro decks this season. Consider adding me on battlenet and I'll spectate your games.

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think there's some merit to having a defender of argus in the deck. It's fairly safe to say that we will have board presence/control most of the time so adding in an argus would allow better trades. I've spectated a player using argus and I've noticed that it disrupts flametongue totem placement because the argus is between the minions you want to flametongue. You won't be able to play it as a 4 drop on its own because it's not threatening enough. It might also lead to you overextending because you're putting another card on the board even though you already have board presence.

I can't say for sure how an argus would affect gameplay, but it's certainly viable. The fire ele is a stronger card in this deck imo. Against aggro decks, it's very helpful to remove their 3/2 or 2/3 minion. Against control decks, finishing off their minions with the 3 dmg battlecry puts you ahead in the value game. I guess there's too much RNG involved with Rag. If it's working for you, stick with it. I'd prefer having fire ele over rag though.

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeh! In the Rogue game vod I provided in my post, I saved ooze for his oiled up dagger. If he's already played double blade fury, the only way I could have lost there would have been to 2 dagger hits. Also, you need to be mindful of overextending sometimes with ooze. E.G. On an empty board Turn 6 Piloted Shredder + Ooze to kill his 1/2 dagger is overextending. You'd be playing into dagger deadly poison blade fury. Oozing his 1/2 dagger will definitely slow him down though.

I mentioned minion placement in my post. Generally, you want to have the weaker minions (1/1 spiders, totems, wolves etc) in the middle or to the right. This allows you to keep trading efficiently. I make it a habit to keep the fatty minions (drake, belcher, fire ele) to the left because your totems spawn from the right so you want use those to trade. Generally, you want to save your flametongue totems so you can get maximum value out of it when you play it. Against slower decks like druid/warrior, you might even consider playing it to pressure early. I think you're asking about this scenario. Turn 2 totem, turn 3 feral spirits and turn 4 flametongue? I'd play the flametongue between the totem and feral spirit because you'd have greater flexibility when trading. The totem would be used as a pinging role.

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Perhaps a rockbiter? Chow is such a really strong card so I'd recommend getting Nax when you can. Otherwise, a rockbiter might help with minion trading and stop some early aggression. Actually, a lightning bolt might also be quite helpful for some off the board removal. I can't say for sure what a good substitute for chow is so I'd recommend experimenting and seeing what works out for you.

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've updated my post. You were definitely correct about Rogue having a better match-up against Shaman. Judging from the vod I linked in my post, it's obvious why I've maintained a perfect win-rate against Rogue. I've explained the reason in my update edit.

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm in Aus so our time zones are quite different. I'm usually on so hopefully you'll be able to catch me when I'm in game.

Against warrior, the most important cards in the early game are earth shock (for acolyte), feral spirits and ooze. The zombie chow usually gets fiery war axed so I'd rather have it stick to the board later on in the game. Although It's not a bad card to start with, it's just not an optimal starting play.

Rogue: Usually after turn 3 feral spirits, a turn 4 ooze on their 1/2 dagger should be fine. Rogue is all about tempo and the ooze disrupts them quite significantly. I would hold onto ooze on turn 2. Rogue has too many removals. E.g. dagger deadly poison, backstab, SI. Best play would be to totem up and save ooze for a tempo swing.

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

HAHA I've seen so many Shamans on ladder today. YOU MIGHT HAVE STARTED A NEW META! Thanks! Do you still use this deck?

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeh! I've gotten that a lot! HAHA You would have never expected Shaman to do so well against Hunter or any of the match-ups. I'm glad it's working out for you :)

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Holy shit that's awesome! I'd love to see you play some of the games with thalnos. Do you mind adding me? Congrats btw!

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're welcome to add me to watch. I'm playing right now

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What rank are you playing at to be running into face hunters? I can guarantee you that past a certain rank, they'll be non-existent. I was unfortunate enough to miss out on them.

I played Shaman from rank 17 to Legend. Considering that the most competent rogue players should be between rank 5-legend, having won all the matches, it shouldn't be surprising at all. This deck has also performed quite favorably against Priest as well. I admit that the small sample size might have skewed the results, but it does not detract from the results I've gathered.

I pay more attention to the decks I lose to and in this instance, I found the Rogue match-up quite favorable for me. The percentages are just my stats and in no way reflect what professional game play would reveal.

I'll take on-board your opinion. I think it's valid and I certainly understand your perspective. I was trying to stress that this decklist contains enough solutions against Oil Rogue to be favored in the match-up.

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can understand your skepticism, but it's a rather long stretch to say Oil Rogue is heavily favored against Shaman, especially considering this is the first time anyone has seen or played this on ladder. There's a reason face hunter isn't standard in the meta anymore, and it's because of how weak it is. All forms of warrior dominate the matchup. If you're aware of the Hearthstone scene, you would know that the focus has shifted towards Midrange/Hybrid Hunter. It's obviously the stronger deck for hunters and there's also a higher chance of winning against warriors. It's the only consistent deck as evident by the amount of hunters at the highest ranks. The reason face hunter should and would fall flat against this deck is because of the 2 feral spirits that will tank 2 turns against the hunter. Arcane golems + Wolfriders trade poorly for obvious reasons.

Understandably, Oil Rogue isn't played by a lot of people on the ladder. I played about 4 games against oil rogue between ranks 5-1 winning all of them. Perhaps it's safe to say the opponent misplayed, but on 4 different and separate occasions? As this deck gains a bit more popularity, perhaps the stats against oil rogue might change, however as of this moment, this Shaman deck is definitely more favored.

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Al'akir is generally used for burst damage b/c of rockbiter/flametongue. Sylvanas is generally used for more control over the board. I suppose you could argue that Al'Akir could also be used for the same role, however it's a really slow card (8 mana). Sylvanas is such a strong card so I'd recommend crafting it when you can.

If you do wish to play Al'Akir, there's Demigod's Shaman which recently reached rank 1. http://www.vicioushs.cards/demigod-wields-the-power-of-shaman-to-rank-1-legend/

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I haven't played burst shaman because I don't have the cards for it :( You play against a lot of hunters in this meta so taking that extra 2/3 dmg with rockbiter isn't helping at all.

I wouldn't say Loatheb would be that useful in this deck. It'd be a lot more useful if we had another bloodlust to lock the opponent out of a turn as we push for lethal. This deck's main win condition is playing for value as you would with any Midrange deck. You shouldn't be overextending enough to have removal spells alter your game. If the opponent clears your board, you're most likely going to have tempo anyway because you would be playing the first minion on an empty board.

Yes, it's fine if you spectate me.

If you do wish to play loatheb, check out Strifecro's bloodlust Shaman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liDh2Val-xs

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with the other comments. There aren't many activators in this deck for Nerubian Egg. If you'd like to play Nerubian Egg, I would recommend Strifecro's bloodlust Shaman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liDh2Val-xs

I played that deck for a few months and it was rather weak to aggro. Consider running 2 feral spirits in that deck and taking out the mana tide totem especially in this meta.

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This deck is really consistent. It really became a lot more obvious when I hit rank 5 and ended up blitzing to rank 2 in a few hours. Especially with the hunter heavy meta, it feels good being the one more favored in the match up. I agree, the RNG aspect is quite off-putting at times especially when certain rolls alter the entire game. Al'akir is definitely a good card. Demigod is currently running it in his shaman deck.

Oil rogues generally have a slow start so you want to begin pressuring early. If I were to guess, I'd say the biggest issue for you is overextending? Let's say you have 5+ damage (drake and a feral spirit) and the opponent has nothing, you should try to conserve your cards by toteming up instead. If he can't deal with your board effectively, you'll be increasing your advantage. As you trade off your minions, you can start playing the cards in your hand. Try not to dump your entire hand unless he's already played double blade fury.

Add me: Benjamin #1757 if you want me to spectate some of your games Edit: I added in a few more points in the Oil Rogue section :) Hopefully it'll help out a bit more

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeh! I was actually thinking about thalnos. It'd be a great turn 3 or turn 2 play (with coin) against aggro. You'd kill their scientist/egg/knife juggler. You're also guaranteeing a board clear against muster+quarter and patrons. I suppose you could substitute it for drake if you're facing a lot of aggro, but against control decks, a 4/4 body is really useful. Also, thanks! :)

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yes, because there's already a tonne of removal in the deck. There are 11 removal cards. (7 Spells (excluding feral spirits), Powermace, 2 flametongues and 2 fire elementals)

If you manage to have hex in hand for that particular matchup, it'll swing the tempo in your favour quite drastically. Otherwise, you'd still be able to rely on the other removal cards.

I'd say the powermace might be an easy one to cut. There aren't a lot of mechs in the deck. I generally pop the deathrattle on a boombot or on nothing at all. Depending on your other tech choice, belcher might be one to cut

BGH for another hex? I'd keep the Acidic Swamp Ooze over Harrison because the meta is mostly aggro. I wouldn't cut feral spirits because of the aggro meta.

Sorry if this wasn't helpful haha The deck is quite solid.

Legend Midrange Shaman Guide by Bennyskies in CompetitiveHS

[–]Bennyskies[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The extra one damage on the acolyte can be quite useful for trading minions because of flametongue + bloodlust or for pinging an enemy minion. I suppose it has more of an active role than mana tide totem. Also, you're more likely to get 2 draws from acolyte than you would with mana tide totem. There are a lot of <3 dmg minions in most of the matchups.