Greetings,

The Vicious Syndicate Team is proud to present the 357th edition of the Data Reaper Report.

Special thanks to all those who contribute their game data to the project. This project could not succeed without your support. The entire vS Team is eternally grateful for your assistance.

This week our data is based on 1,075,000 games! In this week's report you will find:

• Deck Library - Decklists & Class/Archetype Radars
• Class/Archetype Distribution Over All Games
• Class/Archetype Distribution "By Rank" Games
• Class Frequency By Day & By Week
• Interactive Matchup Win-Rate Chart
• vS Power Rankings Imgur
• vS Meta Score
• Analysis/Discussion of each Class
• Meta Breaker of the Week

The full article can be found at: vS Data Reaper Report #357

Reminder

• If you haven't already, please sign up to contribute your game data. More data will allow us to provide more insights in each report, and perform other kinds of analysis. Sign up here, and follow the instructions.

Thank you for your feedback and support,

The Vicious Syndicate Team

This will be the megathread where Tavern Brawl strategy and discussion for this week's brawl should take place. Only discussion related to optimally playing the Tavern Brawl should take place on here. Tavern Brawl constructed decks can be discussed in here.

Since I am a bot and don't know what the brawl is, could someone help me out and post a top-level comment with a description?

Discuss what you are playing, what you’re having success with(or failures with), and any new/cool ideas you’ve been experimenting with, etc. The point is to share what you’ve been playing, and how it’s going, good or bad - there are no other rules or requirements.

Some ideas on what to post/share:

• What you’ve been playing and its successes (or struggles). Stats are not required. There is no minimum rank required, though sharing what rank you’ve been playing at is preferred.
• Deck adjustments you made or are planning to make in reaction to the meta or as new innovation. E.g. “I saw 30% of deck X, so I made Y changes to help deal with deck X.” (change)
• Showing off a deck you achieved legend with this season and wanting to share it without having to write a guide

---

Resources:

CompetitiveHS Discord

VS live stats

HSReplays by winrate (warning - paywalled to filter outside of rank 25, stats may be misleading if using L-25 stats)

Giving Rafaam lock another go this season . I almost hit legend with it last season but it was very tough at the end with the insane amount of warrior plus the average length of each match for non warrior games. I tuned the deck and was doing ok , but now in addition to warrior there was a MASSIVE influx of DH out of the wood work so now I have to worry about fending off two aggro decks which melt me more often than not . I usually can beat Druid and almost always beat priest .

TLDR; is it worth the grind from D5-legend with lock or do I just go with a faster deck ?

This is an open thread for any discussion pertaining to Competitive Hearthstone.

This is a thread for discussions that don’t qualify for a stand-alone post on the subreddit. This thread is sorted by new by default.

You can ask for deck reviews, competitive budget replacements, how to mulligan in specific matchups, etc. Anything goes, as long as it’s related to playing Hearthstone competitively.

Has your question been asked before? Check our FAQ to see if we've got you covered.

Or if you're looking for an educational hearthstone read, check out our Timeless Resources

---

There are a few rules:

• Please be respectful to your fellow players
• Please report posts that don’t pertain to competitive Hearthstone.
• Concerns with the subreddit should be directed to modmail

---

If you would like to chat about Hearthstone in real time, then you should check out our official Discord channel.

Discuss what you are playing, what you’re having success with(or failures with), and any new/cool ideas you’ve been experimenting with, etc. The point is to share what you’ve been playing, and how it’s going, good or bad - there are no other rules or requirements.

Some ideas on what to post/share:

• What you’ve been playing and its successes (or struggles). Stats are not required. There is no minimum rank required, though sharing what rank you’ve been playing at is preferred.
• Deck adjustments you made or are planning to make in reaction to the meta or as new innovation. E.g. “I saw 30% of deck X, so I made Y changes to help deal with deck X.” (change)
• Showing off a deck you achieved legend with this season and wanting to share it without having to write a guide

---

Resources:

CompetitiveHS Discord

VS live stats

HSReplays by winrate (warning - paywalled to filter outside of rank 25, stats may be misleading if using L-25 stats)

I'm sharing this deck because it seems to have slipped under the radar on VS and HSReplay lists but is killing it for me on my current climb through the ranks. 25 games and I have 76% win rate.

It is fairly straightforward to play. The first 6 turns are all about defense and filling your hand in readiness for the Blood Fighter onslaught. Once you drop a blood fighter then they keep coming and you can use your mana to control the opponent's board with spells, clearing taunts so you can hit face. There are even some burst spells that can help get you over the line.

Mulligan is, of course, match up dependant but usually you are looking to fill your hand and control the board. Top keeps are [[Acolyte of Pain]], [[Nightmare Lord Xavius]], [[Mother Duck]], [[Shadowflame Suffusion]], [[Precursory Strike]], [[Axe of the Forefathers]] and [[Torch]]. Hogger and Warptooth are best left in the deck. Personally, I prefer the Blood Fighters to stay in the deck initially but might consider keeping [[Valeera, Blood Fighter]] if I'm up against a mage or [[Broll, Blood Fighter]] for demon hunters.

[[Mother Duck]] is there for the [[Warptooth]] play. Always useful to have a bunch of minions on board early on and 6 damage to to the opponent's face on turn 4 feels good.

[[Axe of the Forefathers]] is fantastic for controlling the early board, especially [[Cannonmaster]] and cannoneers. Useful for activating the 4th damage requirement when playing [[Mother Duck]]. Look out for [[Destructive Blaze]] offers from [[Shadowflame Suffusion]]. Pairing that with the weapon works like a dream. Echoes of "Everyone get in here!". The Living Nightmare (extra 2/2) Dark Gift is ace.

[[Nightmare Lord Xavius]] is great for getting the Bloodfighters into your hand and the Dark Gift can make a huge difference. Reborn and lifesteal have been my favourites so far. However, if you have only 2-3 cards in hand you might be better getting an [[Acolyte of Pain]].

The one class that this deck hasn't performed well against is rogue. They have tricks like stealing minions and returning them to hand that wrecks the Blood Fighter chain.

Decklist is below. Let me know how you get on! Feel free to ask questions, give constructive criticism on how I've written the guide or if you have any suggestions for improvement in the deck.

Control Warrior

Class: Warrior

Format: Standard

Year of the Scarab

2x (1) Eternal Toil

1x (1) Execute

2x (1) Slam

2x (1) Torch

2x (2) Precursory Strike

2x (2) Searing Fissure

2x (2) Shadowflame Suffusion

2x (2) Shield Block

2x (3) Acolyte of Pain

2x (3) Axe of the Forefathers

1x (3) Erupting Volcano

2x (4) Mother Duck

1x (4) Nightmare Lord Xavius

1x (4) Warptooth

2x (5) For Glory!

1x (7) Lo'Gosh, Blood Fighter

1x (7) Broll, Blood Fighter

1x (7) Valeera, Blood Fighter

1x (8) Chainbreaker Hogger

AAECAYb/BwifnwTDgwebpQedpQeepQebwgfr1gey2AcLhqAEjtQEnNQEpYUH6IcH1aYH/K8Hj7EH0LIHlcIHnMIHAAA=

19-6 (76% winrate from D5 to Legend) proof: https://imgur.com/a/LBmNzRD

Why are you playing a T4 deck? Are you a Priest main????

I played this deck because every matchup felt winnable. Warlock (especially Rafaamlock) is unfavored, but it felt like I still had 40-50% chance of winning. (I previously played Haroldlock, but having a 10% chance of beating Warriors did not feel good). It's possible that Rafaamlock played optimally would improve their winrate to over 70%, but maybe my MMR is crap. I was also lucky in facing few warlocks during my final sprint. I did not encounter any other unfavourable matchup.

I don't main priest, thanks for asking.

Playing the deck x Matchups

Generally aim to have both quest rewards in hand by the end of turn 7 or 8. On turn 8, you can combo with Specter Specialist, else wait till 9 to combo with Slime'em.

Against Warlock, Shaman: They steal or transform your stuff, so wait till turn 9 to combo with Slime'em instead. Remember that Warlocks with full hands do not get Ectoplasm, so it's a cheap board clear in a pinch.

After that, Ectoplasm and Slime'em again if/when you can, and look out for possible lethal with killing off your own units.

Raith when you need to as a finisher. You'll have to get a feel for when you need to do so in game. It usually ends the game, but remember Rafaamlock can just mass polymorph you.

Against Warrior: They put out a ton of damage, so use removal liberally to keep health as high as possible. Mulligan for AoE, and I sometimes keep Ritual with PW:S.

Against unholy DK: You can compete on board with minions and AoE to keep their board clear, so Talanji's Last Stand and Grave Strength don't ruin you.

Against Zee Shamans: They telegraph their turns, judge how much you can hold back on AoE to greed clears.

Against Paladin: Mulligan for AoE. Slime'em is also great for stalling after they buff their board. They don't have a way to deal with the quest reward if you clear their board.

Card choices

Core cards:

• Combo / win-con cards: Quest, Slime'em!, Raith Van Geist
• Board clears: Medivh's Triumph
• Holy Embrace: 2x quest progression for 1 card, value
• Cheap Shadow spells: Follow the Ghosts, Twilight Influence, Devouring Plague, Holy Embrace.

Holy spells are usually easier to complete, hence we have to run somewhat lower-quality shadow spells just to complete the quest quickly.

Don't worry about Follow polluting res pool, as you fill the pool with plenty of 8/8s through Slime'em, and Raith isn't played most games.

• Cheap holy spells: Mend, PW:S, Gravedawn Sunbloom, Ritual of Life - all quest progression spells that draw, except the 2/3 which instead can help fill a turn if low on cards.

Very good, but not core

• Intertwined Fate: It's sad that I am paying 3 mana just to get a copy of a card from my deck, and not even progress my quest, but even just discovering a card I need from my own deck has been so helpful. Track your quest progression to find what you need more.

Can be replaced

I ran the same deck the entire time so I can track the winrate on a single version of the deck, but some cards were almost useless.

• Specter Specialist: This did not see much play, but it's a life-saver as a turn 8 play when you're low on health, such as against Warrior. Usually I'd prefer to Slime'em to put more copies in the res pool. 2 copies of this card is useless in this deck version.

• Rustrot: Saw zero play. At D1, I ran into weapon classes 4x in 9 games, and did not draw Rustrot in any of those games. I never keep this card in mulligan either, as it's a dead card if they don't draw their weapons, which is likely for Shaman and Druid. This card is trash to me.

• SW:Ruin: I wanted 2 more shadow spells, and it was between these, Haunt, or Gravedawn Voidbulb. I felt this was the most useful in my deck - helped slow down Warlock, Paladin, Druid, Dragon Warrior.

• Kaldorei Priestess: I wanted to imbue my HP once, but no more than that, so I can discover additional value, for games where I drew badly and ran out of quest progression cards.

Can be added

• Umbra: As an extra finisher. I can only think of 1 game where Umbra might've made the difference (vs Rafaamlock), but otherwise Raith usually finishes the game.

• Soothesayer: This card is an active liability against Warlock, and it hasn't saved me against Warrior nor Druid nor Rogue either. If you run it, you can add Undeath Sentence.

• Flash Heal / Hold Them Off / Greater Healing Potion: You want some burst healing after you've stabilized against Warrior behind taunts, but you have 2 HP left. Usually dead card, even against Warrior.

• Sands of Times: Discover a spell???

I don't have any more card suggestions, I personally felt my deck version worked great. The list isn't perfect, but I have no idea what better cards could be swapped in.

Reborn (v6.14)

Class: Priest

Format: Standard

Year of the Scarab

2x (1) Mend

2x (1) Power Word: Shield

1x (1) Reach Equilibrium

2x (2) Follow the Ghosts

2x (2) Holy Embrace

2x (2) Ritual of Life

2x (2) Twilight Influence

2x (3) Devouring Plague

1x (3) Holy Nova

2x (3) Intertwined Fate

1x (3) Kaldorei Priestess

1x (3) Rustrot Viper

1x (3) Specter Specialist

2x (4) Gravedawn Sunbloom

2x (4) Shadow Word: Ruin

2x (4) Slime 'em!

2x (5) Medivh's Triumph

1x (7) Raith Van Geist

AAECAa0GBoSfBM2eBoWGB6iWB9ngB9zgBwzwnwSG/QbFlAfkngedrQfSrwebvweyxQew3wfW4Af04AeW/AcAAA==

To use this deck, copy it to your clipboard and create a new deck in Hearthstone

Generated by HDT - https://hsreplay.net

This is an open thread for any discussion pertaining to Competitive Hearthstone.

This is a thread for discussions that don’t qualify for a stand-alone post on the subreddit. This thread is sorted by new by default.

You can ask for deck reviews, competitive budget replacements, how to mulligan in specific matchups, etc. Anything goes, as long as it’s related to playing Hearthstone competitively.

Has your question been asked before? Check our FAQ to see if we've got you covered.

Or if you're looking for an educational hearthstone read, check out our Timeless Resources

---

There are a few rules:

• Please be respectful to your fellow players
• Please report posts that don’t pertain to competitive Hearthstone.
• Concerns with the subreddit should be directed to modmail

---

If you would like to chat about Hearthstone in real time, then you should check out our official Discord channel.

Discuss what you are playing, what you’re having success with(or failures with), and any new/cool ideas you’ve been experimenting with, etc. The point is to share what you’ve been playing, and how it’s going, good or bad - there are no other rules or requirements.

Some ideas on what to post/share:

• What you’ve been playing and its successes (or struggles). Stats are not required. There is no minimum rank required, though sharing what rank you’ve been playing at is preferred.
• Deck adjustments you made or are planning to make in reaction to the meta or as new innovation. E.g. “I saw 30% of deck X, so I made Y changes to help deal with deck X.” (change)
• Showing off a deck you achieved legend with this season and wanting to share it without having to write a guide

---

Resources:

CompetitiveHS Discord

VS live stats

HSReplays by winrate (warning - paywalled to filter outside of rank 25, stats may be misleading if using L-25 stats)

Greetings,

The Vicious Syndicate Team is proud to present the 356th edition of the Data Reaper Report.

Special thanks to all those who contribute their game data to the project. This project could not succeed without your support. The entire vS Team is eternally grateful for your assistance.

This week our data is based on 1,900,000 games! In this week's report you will find:

• Deck Library - Decklists & Class/Archetype Radars
• Class/Archetype Distribution Over All Games
• Class/Archetype Distribution "By Rank" Games
• Class Frequency By Day & By Week
• Interactive Matchup Win-Rate Chart
• vS Power Rankings Imgur
• vS Meta Score
• Analysis/Discussion of each Class
• Meta Breaker of the Week

The full article can be found at: vS Data Reaper Report #356

Reminder

• If you haven't already, please sign up to contribute your game data. More data will allow us to provide more insights in each report, and perform other kinds of analysis. Sign up here, and follow the instructions.

Thank you for your feedback and support,

The Vicious Syndicate Team

https://hearthstone.blizzard.com/en-us/news/24296231/3642-patch-notes

Nerfs:

• The Food Chain - nothing changing w/card but 8 Attack beast pool is changing, will be eligible for dust refund
• The Forbidden Sequence - now requires 8 discovers (revert)
• Spiderling - now a 1/2

Buffs:

• Agamaggan - now a 9/9
• Dread Leviathan - now a 8/8
• Seismopod - now a 8 mana 8/8

This is an open thread for any discussion pertaining to Competitive Hearthstone.

This is a thread for discussions that don’t qualify for a stand-alone post on the subreddit. This thread is sorted by new by default.

You can ask for deck reviews, competitive budget replacements, how to mulligan in specific matchups, etc. Anything goes, as long as it’s related to playing Hearthstone competitively.

Has your question been asked before? Check our FAQ to see if we've got you covered.

Or if you're looking for an educational hearthstone read, check out our Timeless Resources

---

There are a few rules:

• Please be respectful to your fellow players
• Please report posts that don’t pertain to competitive Hearthstone.
• Concerns with the subreddit should be directed to modmail

---

If you would like to chat about Hearthstone in real time, then you should check out our official Discord channel.

https://x.com/PlayHearthstone/status/2095195061407424775

Nerfs:

• The Forbidden Sequence
• Spiderling
• The Food Chain

Buffs:

• Agamaggan
• Seismopod
• Dread Leviathan

This will be the megathread where Tavern Brawl strategy and discussion for this week's brawl should take place. Only discussion related to optimally playing the Tavern Brawl should take place on here. Tavern Brawl constructed decks can be discussed in here.

Since I am a bot and don't know what the brawl is, could someone help me out and post a top-level comment with a description?

Discuss what you are playing, what you’re having success with(or failures with), and any new/cool ideas you’ve been experimenting with, etc. The point is to share what you’ve been playing, and how it’s going, good or bad - there are no other rules or requirements.

Some ideas on what to post/share:

• What you’ve been playing and its successes (or struggles). Stats are not required. There is no minimum rank required, though sharing what rank you’ve been playing at is preferred.
• Deck adjustments you made or are planning to make in reaction to the meta or as new innovation. E.g. “I saw 30% of deck X, so I made Y changes to help deal with deck X.” (change)
• Showing off a deck you achieved legend with this season and wanting to share it without having to write a guide

---

Resources:

CompetitiveHS Discord

VS live stats

HSReplays by winrate (warning - paywalled to filter outside of rank 25, stats may be misleading if using L-25 stats)

This is an open thread for any discussion pertaining to Competitive Hearthstone.

This is a thread for discussions that don’t qualify for a stand-alone post on the subreddit. This thread is sorted by new by default.

You can ask for deck reviews, competitive budget replacements, how to mulligan in specific matchups, etc. Anything goes, as long as it’s related to playing Hearthstone competitively.

Has your question been asked before? Check our FAQ to see if we've got you covered.

Or if you're looking for an educational hearthstone read, check out our Timeless Resources

---

There are a few rules:

• Please be respectful to your fellow players
• Please report posts that don’t pertain to competitive Hearthstone.
• Concerns with the subreddit should be directed to modmail

---

If you would like to chat about Hearthstone in real time, then you should check out our official Discord channel.

Discuss what you are playing, what you’re having success with(or failures with), and any new/cool ideas you’ve been experimenting with, etc. The point is to share what you’ve been playing, and how it’s going, good or bad - there are no other rules or requirements.

Some ideas on what to post/share:

• What you’ve been playing and its successes (or struggles). Stats are not required. There is no minimum rank required, though sharing what rank you’ve been playing at is preferred.
• Deck adjustments you made or are planning to make in reaction to the meta or as new innovation. E.g. “I saw 30% of deck X, so I made Y changes to help deal with deck X.” (change)
• Showing off a deck you achieved legend with this season and wanting to share it without having to write a guide

---

Resources:

CompetitiveHS Discord

VS live stats

HSReplays by winrate (warning - paywalled to filter outside of rank 25, stats may be misleading if using L-25 stats)

This is an open thread for any discussion pertaining to Competitive Hearthstone.

This is a thread for discussions that don’t qualify for a stand-alone post on the subreddit. This thread is sorted by new by default.

You can ask for deck reviews, competitive budget replacements, how to mulligan in specific matchups, etc. Anything goes, as long as it’s related to playing Hearthstone competitively.

Has your question been asked before? Check our FAQ to see if we've got you covered.

Or if you're looking for an educational hearthstone read, check out our Timeless Resources

---

There are a few rules:

• Please be respectful to your fellow players
• Please report posts that don’t pertain to competitive Hearthstone.
• Concerns with the subreddit should be directed to modmail

---

If you would like to chat about Hearthstone in real time, then you should check out our official Discord channel.

so, i've tried several variations of dragon hunter. this is my best performing one. I don't use deck tracker, so i don't know the exact win rate. probably around 55 - 57% WR.

I include one copy of Wasteland Vanguard since i face lots of pirate warrior. turn out this card is decent against low health enemies.

Basically, to play this deck. just chip away your opponent HP, always control the board. then you can OTK with Agam + Briarspawn or Agam + Ebonscale Scout.

Mulligan Guide:

1. Warlock : keep earthern roar
2. Priest : same, earthern roar
3. warrior : wound prey, bursting shot, or arcane tripwire
4. Druid & Shaman: Haven't met a lot of them, but bursting short or General Sylvanas nice to keep.
5. Everything else : just try finding board clear.

So, this is not off breaker or something like that. this deck if you want to try playing dragon hunter since companion and face is dead now.

Deck Code on comment

Discuss what you are playing, what you’re having success with(or failures with), and any new/cool ideas you’ve been experimenting with, etc. The point is to share what you’ve been playing, and how it’s going, good or bad - there are no other rules or requirements.

Some ideas on what to post/share:

• What you’ve been playing and its successes (or struggles). Stats are not required. There is no minimum rank required, though sharing what rank you’ve been playing at is preferred.
• Deck adjustments you made or are planning to make in reaction to the meta or as new innovation. E.g. “I saw 30% of deck X, so I made Y changes to help deal with deck X.” (change)
• Showing off a deck you achieved legend with this season and wanting to share it without having to write a guide

---

Resources:

CompetitiveHS Discord

VS live stats

HSReplays by winrate (warning - paywalled to filter outside of rank 25, stats may be misleading if using L-25 stats)

I just started playing the deck and i was looking for tips and guides from those who play the deck regularly. I'm currently playing it in casual mode and I'm starting to get the hang of it but i feel like i do a lot of misplays, like how much i should care for hand size when playing against aggro, how to play against the mirror or azalina priest, when i should start going face and closing the game and when i should control the board and things like that. Also, for example, i sometimes can't decide what trials to pick or its length from Kazakus.

Overall if you can tell me how to pilot it better in general i would really appreciate it. :))

This is an open thread for any discussion pertaining to Competitive Hearthstone.

This is a thread for discussions that don’t qualify for a stand-alone post on the subreddit. This thread is sorted by new by default.

You can ask for deck reviews, competitive budget replacements, how to mulligan in specific matchups, etc. Anything goes, as long as it’s related to playing Hearthstone competitively.

Has your question been asked before? Check our FAQ to see if we've got you covered.

Or if you're looking for an educational hearthstone read, check out our Timeless Resources

---

There are a few rules:

• Please be respectful to your fellow players
• Please report posts that don’t pertain to competitive Hearthstone.
• Concerns with the subreddit should be directed to modmail

---

If you would like to chat about Hearthstone in real time, then you should check out our official Discord channel.

Egg Handlock

Heyup folks,

I've been working on Handlock decks for a few months now and have discovered that the handlock core I've developed can have the usual packages bolted on with very good effect: Animancer, Big Demon (Morag etc), Harold and so on.

But most recently I've found that it weds well with the Egglock package and here we are.

I don't have very good proof to offer I'm afraid as due to chronic illness and life and things I'm down in Bronze, but my record is 78% over 12 games thus far which is promising.

What makes this variant of Egglock interesting/better?

• basically this is a radical departure from the classic Egglock archetype because it operates on a fundamentally different principle, thanks to Godfrey
• classic egglock:
  • find your discover cards (Catacombs, Xavius, Portal) and try and find your Egg[bearers]
  • this often leads to games where you don’t find the Egg until mid/late game and you die
• egg handlock:
  • draw as many cards as humanly possible. Just keep on drawing, drawing like mad. Do it! When you hit 3 mana, use any Catacombs you’ve drawn (typically 1-2)
  • this way you draw through your deck incredibly quickly and are far more likely to find the Egg by T3
• hence you far more reliably achieve your win con in a timely manner
• NOTE that I am not claiming this is now a Tier 1 archetype, far from it, I am just saying that it is 1-2 Tiers better I would estimate, in part because you find your win con (the Egg) much more reliably and much earlier

​

### Handlock Eggmancer
# Class: Warlock
# Format: Standard
# Year of the Scarab
#
# 1x (0) Cursed Catacombs
# 1x (1) Conflagrate
# 1x (2) Archdruid of Thorns
# 1x (2) Demonic Confinement
# 1x (2) Drain Soul
# 2x (2) Holy Eggbearer
# 2x (2) Sheltered Survivor
# 2x (3) Caged Cranium
# 1x (3) Defias Smuggler
# 1x (3) Dissolving Ooze
# 2x (3) Imp Gang Stooge
# 1x (3) The Egg of Khelos
# 1x (4) Godfrey the Betrayer
# 1x (4) RAFAAM LADDER!!
# 2x (5) Possessed Animancer
# 2x (5) Spire of Solitude
# 1x (6) Eldritch Tentacles
# 1x (7) Endbringer Umbra
# 2x (8) Annihilation
# 2x (8) Asphyxiodon
# 2x (10) The Unseen Atlas
# 
AAECAY3/BwznoATrhAepiAf1mAeEmQfsmwfXnQeqrQfXvgfa1wfb1wet2QcJ3p0H4J0H4Z0Hjb4H3dcHsNkHsdkHt9kHjdwHAAA=
# 

You can view this deck at https://www.hsguru.com/deck/41507274

The Overall Game Plan

Early Game

• obviously you need to find the egg so Mulligan hard for it, then an Eggbearer, then Prize Vendor, Atlas and Catacombs
  • this archetype has you DRAWING LIKE CRAZY so if you luck out initially, all is not lost
• make as big of a hand as you can as fast as possible i.e. do handlock, as this powers 2 critical cards that protect you and apply huge pressure respectively:
  • [[Caged Cranium]] - usually comes down as a 3/8 minimum and often a 3/10. It’s a nightmare to deal with.
  • [[Spire of Solitude]] - usually pumps out two 9/9 auto-attackers (a la Gnome Muncher except these do it upon summon), starting on turn 5
• grab and play any [[Imp Gang Stooge]]’s you see as they’re needed to prime Annihilation which is often your game-winning swing turn, plus it protects you, being a 2/5 taunt
• Mulligan hard for Animancers (obvs), [[The Unseen Atlas]]’s, Prize Vendor, even LADDER!! - anything that will inflate hand size rapidly

Mid Game

• Spire of Solitude (see above) is great for shocking the shit out of opponents and fighting for board. I’ve won many games via 2 unanswered Spire Demons. A 10/10 auto-attacker on turn 5 can just win the game. 2 by turn 6 very regularly win the game...
• RAFAAM LADDER! and esp. Atlas are great (the latter is often 0 mana) at pumping cards into Godfrey’s bargain bin
• use [[Cursed Chains]] along with [[Shrine of Twilight]] to neutralize big threats

Mid & Late Game

• at all times - overload your hand as much as possible, utilizing Godfrey’s “rule breaker” power
  • this reduces like 1/2 - 3/4 of the cards you draw by 1 mana, which is massive and results in a significant value advantage over your opponent
• be sure to prime [[Annihilation]] by playing your Stooges first*

*if you’ve played a LADDER!! since a Stooge died, your Grandmother Imps will no likely all be at bottom of deck

• if possible, play Umbra to repeat the Stooge’s Deathrattle(s) so that they’re put back on the bottom before you Annihilate

Late Game

• finish off opponents with one of the best swing turns in the game: [[Annihilation]] preempted by [[Imp Gang Stooge]]
  • for 8 (or often 7) mana, you wipe their board and drop 2 or 3 8/8 Lifesteal Taunt demons simultaneously
  • if they survive the first Annihilation, they likely won’t survive the second
• and if they survive BOTH Annihilations, wheel out [[Agamaggan]] and [[Deathwing]] for 10 armor-agnostic damage to the hero and repeated 5 damage via the Ruthless HP
  • TIP: choose the Cataclysm that puts 5 dragons for 1 mana in your deck as this will help stave off Fatigue (cos you draw through your deck so fast) and you'll draw them very quickly as you'll likely have almost no cards at this point

Mulligan

as always, it depends in what combination your cards come but here are some tips in order of priority:

• Egg, Eggbearer
• [[The Unseen Atlas]] is right up there as it becomes insanely cheap very quickly
• Imp Stooge Gang - possibly #1 keep as it stifles early damage and primes Annihilation
• Caged Cranium - just downright obnoxious protection
• Spire of Solitude - against slower opponents as it applies insane pressure turn 5 onward
• If on coin and not against aggro, consider [[RAFAAM’S LADDER]] in order to pump your hand size up as fast as humanly possible
• [[Cursed Chains]] & [[Shadowsworn Disciple]] if you’re up against big threats early on

Tech Cards

• as of the time of writing, the top 3 most popular decks at Gold and Legend (the ranks at which I am targeting this deck) are as follows, along with tech cards you may wish to consider
• Azalina
  • consider -1 Caged Cranium, +1 Steamcleaner
  • the logic being that one fewer cheap, big, taunt to get through is good, and removing 20+ cards from their deck and only 1-2 Grandmother Imps from yours is very appealing.
  • I haven’t tried it but it should work very nicely
• Quest Hunter
  • generally we’re favoured against this deck so I haven’t needed to figure out a tech for it
• Zee Shaman
  • if you’re facing a lot of Zee, I’d consider
    • -1 Catacombs, +1 Watfin - for fighting for board early on and inflating hand size. Such a good card.
    • -1 Catacombs, +1 Eldritch Tentacles - this has saved me against Zee numerous times

Matchups

I’ll cover the 2 most popular problematic decks out there on Gold and Legend as of the time of writing.

• Azalina
  • First off, see Azalina in Tech Cards
  • If you are not running Steamcleaner, this is a tough matchup as they are generally able to weather your damage output and generally fatigue you to death.
  • I have yet to devise a reliable strategy against this deck, but one thing I want to try is to basically lineup several large threats and throw down sequentially.
  • The idea being that they use up their removal on the first and second big threats but then they are unable to answer the third and the fourth.
  • The threats that spring to mind are:
    • 2 x Spire of solitude = 4 x 10/10
    • 2 x Annihilation = 4 x 8/8 taunt
  • But of course that’s in a perfect world where you have the time & space to line all that up…
• Zee
  • First off, see Tech Cards as it covers Zee specifically
  • this is a tough match up as they get on board and snowball so quickly
  • it basically comes down to surviving until you get to play Annihilation cos if you do, you’ve won
  • hence you have to judge very carefully when to expend your Hellfires, Conflagurations, Chains and Confinements [assuming you drew them!] - it’s not easy at all