Now that the Hearthstone Mean Streets Of Gadgetzan meta is starting to even out, we can see what decks are going to be dominant for the foreseeable future. We already know Pirate Warrior is going to be stomping everyone’s face, but what other decks are going to keep this meta interesting?
Jade Druid, a deck that relies on setting up Jade Golems for late-game defiance, is definitely a strong deck in this meta. These Jade behemoths can keep up with Pirate Warrior and Aggro Shaman, all while establishing quite the powerful board themselves. Jade Idol, Jade Spirit, Jade Blossom, Jade Behemoth and Aya Blackpaw all summon Jade Golems and can create some pretty terrifying minions very quickly.
Unlike the aggro decks that are extremely popular in the MSG meta, Jade Druid just wants to do what Druid does best, ramping up. Losing control of the early game is going to happen, nearly every low-mana card in this deck trades terribly into important powerhouse cards like Fiery War Axe or Totem Golem. The goal is to survive past turn five or six, when your deck starts to hit a strong power spike with strong taunt minions Jade Behemoth and Ancient Of War.
You can pull off some pretty sick combos with this deck. Brann Bronzebeard can double your Jade Golem summoning Battlecries and Fandral Staghelm combined with a Jade Idol can essentially give you a minion and make sure you never run out of cards in your deck. There is something unbelievable disgusting about summoning a Jade Behemoth and a 7/7 and 8/8 Jade Golem on turn six.
Mulligan: For a starting hand, you want strong ramp cards, meaning cards that increase your overall mana pool. Innervate, Wild Growth and Jade Blossom are absolute musts when playing against most decks. If you are going up against an aggro deck, having a Living Roots or Wrath will help you stay alive. Remember, a Druid is only as good as the resources he has; end up with two Azure Drakes and a Swipe turn one and coming back into the game is going to be quite the uphill battle.
Here is Kolento’s Jade Druid decklist from Hearthpwn. It uses interesting tech cards like Gadgetzan Auctioneer to keep tempo, but they can be replaced for more situational cards like Acidic Swamp Ooze or Mulch.
Innervate × 2
Jade Idol × 2
Living Roots × 2
Raven Idol × 2
Wild Growth × 2
Wrath × 2
Feral Rage × 1
Jade Blossom × 2
Fandral Staghelm × 1
Jade Spirit × 2
Swipe × 2
Nourish × 2
Aya Blackpaw × 1
Jade Behemoth × 2
Ancient of War × 1
Brann Bronzebeard × 1
Azure Drake × 2
Gadgetzan Auctioneer × 1
