Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Hearthstone Deck Tech - ZOOLOCK

     Hey guys, Samuel here.  I'm sorry for my absence, but school really has been quite crazy.  Today, I bring you the first in my Hearthstone series.  In this post, I will be showcasing a deck, known as Zoolock.  Before I begin, however, I must state that I am not a master of Hearthstone.  I only play semi-casually, my highest rank being Rank 8.  To put things into perspective, I am at 225 wins towards my first golden portrait, the Warlock portrait.  Let the Zoo begin!

     Zoolock is a quite inexpensive deck.  Costing only 940 dust to begin with, it is the perfect deck to beginners to begin with.
  • 2x Flame Imp
  • 2x Voidwalker
  • 2x Power Overwhelming
  • 2x Darkbomb
  • 2x Leper Gnome
  • 2x Clockwork Gnome
  • 2x Elven Archer
  • 2x Abusive Sargent
  • 2x Knife Juggler
  • 2x Nerubian Egg
  • 2x Haunted Creeper
  • 2x Dire Wolf Alpha
  • 2x Harvest Golem
  • 2x Shattered Sun Cleric
  • 2x Wolf Rider
  • 2x Dark Iron Dwarf
     The general strategy with this deck is to establish early board control.  To do this, mulligan heavily for your Flame Imps, Voidwalkers, and Leper and Clockwork Gnomes.  Don't be afraid to trade when it favors you.  Because this is an aggro style deck, games should be over relatively quickly.  Your ultimate finisher should be a combination of Wolf Riders, Dark Iron Dwarfs, Abusive Sargents, and Dire Wolf Alphas.
     
     After you get some more dust, I would recommend making the following card swaps:
  • 2x Elven Archers for 2x Implosions
  • 2x Mechanical Gnomes for 2x Defender of Argus
  • 2x Wolfrider for 2x Doomguard
     The following cards are simply Tech Cards that may help you out.
  • Shadowflame- This can be a very nice AoE board clear against aggro.  However, the mana cost is a little high.  This card can be very nice when used in conjunction with Dark Iron Dwarf, Abusive Sargent or Power Overwhelming + Nerubian Egg.  If at all, I would recommend running 1 of these cards.
  • Ironbeak Owl-  This card can be a good tool to help you get through tricky cards like Sludge Belchers, Twilight Drakes, and big Taunt creatures like Ironbark Protectors.  However, this card should not be used that much, as games should be over by the time big creatures hit the board.
Mulligan Guide
General Mulligan:  This being an aggro deck, always mulligan for a fast start.  Keep the following cards in your hand.  
  • Flame Imp
  • Voidwalker
  • Leper Gnome
  • Knife Juggler
  • Haunted Creeper
Mech Mage:  This matchup is relatively straightforward.  Keep Darkbomb in your hand to deal with their Mechwarper.  Knife Juggler + Implosion works wonders to clean up the board.  I have decimated boards with double Knife Juggler + Implosion

Most Control Decks:  With control decks, the trick is to rush them down fast.  Games should be over by turn 5 when you can Doomguard, before they can drop big threats such as Ironbark Protectors, Giants, Etc.

Oil Rogue:  This matchup is quite possibly the hardest matchup for this deck.  Keep lots of Taunt creatures up as much as you can, and keep Nerubian Eggs and Haunted Creepers on board to deter against AoE with Blade Flurry/Fan of Knives.  Other than that, rush them down!


Personal Additions
I have personally made a couple changes to this deck to suit my play style.  I have swapped out the two Shattered Sun Clerics for a Shadowflame and Lord Jaraxxus.  Shadowflame, as mentioned before serves as a good AoE.  I personally use this to help deal with the Mech Mage matchup.  Also, Lord Jaraxxus helps quite alot with the control matchup to get a quick heal up to 15 and to get a ridiculously OP hero power.

     Well, this concludes this Deck Tech.  I hoped this helped, and I would like to tell you guys that I have an interview with a high ranked

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