It’s been almost a full week since Hearthstone nerfed some of its most problematic cards to curb the Knights Of The Frozen Throne meta. Seeing nothing but Jade Druids every game frustrated players, so Blizzard finally stepped in. Druid, the uncompromised king of Hearthstone for the last six months, finally got knocked down a peg or two with changes to Innervate and Spreading Plagu . It severely hit the classes’ power and without that extra two mana in the early game, Malfurion has trouble stomping out his opponent before they have a chance to fight back.
I’ve been playing a lot of Druid in an attempt to figure out if the class is still king of nature or just as shitty as Warlock for most of this year. Spoiler alert: Malfurion definitely isn’t bad, but the nerfs to two of his strongest cards hurt his potential. Jade Druid is still a solid choice in the current meta game, but I have had more problems with my mana curve then I ever did before. Without Innervate, you sometimes get a hand of spells and minions that are too big to play, without anyway out. I lost three games in a row thanks to a stacked hand of two Ultimate Infestations and a Lich King. While my opponent played cards, I was stuck crossing my fingers, hoping that they weren’t playing something aggressive.
The old Jade Druid list I’ve used since the start of Knights Of The Frozen Throne needed some changes, since Innervate isn’t worth running anymore. Counterfeit Coin is useful in Rogue because it can be comboed with other stuff, in Druid it’s just a waste of space. Innervate had to be included in every Druid deck, similar to Ancient Of Lore back in the day. It was just too good of a card to pass up – a one-card monster that allows you to play Nourish on turn one on Aya Blackpaw before your opponent even has minions.
With this new build, the goal is to survive long enough until you have the resources to overpower your opponent. Unless you find that Coin, Wild Growth, Jade Blossom combo, you’ll rarely have enough strength in the early game to win. Aggro Druid and Priest can easily beat out Jades if they have nothing to fight back with. You’ve got Spellbreaker for Paladins with Spikeridged Steed, Doomsayer for those pesky Evolve Shamans and Kun to give you an even stronger push on turn 10.
Mulligans: No matter what, you should keep Jade Idol, Wrath, Jade Blossom and Wild Growth in your opening hand. If you’re against a deck with lots of early board presence, Doomsayer is a great pick up. If they’re more Control based and you think you can outlast them, Tar Creepers and Bonemare are your strongest weapons.
Jade Idol × 2
Wild Growth × 2
Wrath × 2
Jade Blossom × 2
Fandral Staghelm × 1
Nourish × 2
Jade Behemoth × 2
Spreading Plague × 1
Malfurion the Pestilent × 1
Kun the Forgotten King × 1
Ultimate Infestation × 2
Doomsayer × 1
Mind Control Tech × 1
Tar Creeper × 1
Jade Spirit × 2
Spellbreaker × 1
Aya Blackpaw × 1
Bonemare × 1
Primordial Drake × 1
The Lich King × 1
Deck Code: AAECAZICDIoB3gXyBa6rAuC7ApS9AsrDAsnHAqDNAqbOAsLOApnTAglAX8QG5Ai0uwLLvALPvALdvgKHzgIA
