Looking at the current Hearthstone landscape, the Aggro Shaman deck is S-tier. Which is funny, because if you told me a year ago that Shaman would be over powered, I would’ve laughed in your face. Now I cower in fear that I’ll end up taking a Doomhammer with a Rockbiter Weapon for 10 damage to the face. Aggro Shaman is one of the most frustrating decks to play against; Face Hunter almost looks calm compared to Thrall and his burn spells.
Since the beginning of Hearthstone, Shaman has had trouble gaining success. The Overload mechanic was always clunky, since getting value out of an Overload card was next to impossible. Feral Spirit is a great card, but not at the cost of three mana one turn, and two the next. Unbound Elemental comboed well with them, but its 4-mana cost hindered its usability.
Totemic Call is a weak hero power, with DjBigRuss arguing it to be the worst. Getting a heal totem when you need a taunt totem can lose you the game. Shaman’s hero power is the only one in the game that forces players to rely too much on RNG, making it impractical to use without cards like Thunder Bluff Valiant (which never really took off).
League of Explorers, Hearthstone’s last adventure, brought with it a few cards that helped the Shaman come out of its shell. Sir Finley Mrrgglton is a 1-mana legendary that lets you change your hero power. Steady Shot and Dagger Mastery are much more useful than Totemic Call, especially in agro decks. I’ve lost games to a Crackle top-decked off a Life Tap.
Tunnel Trogg generated a lot of excitement when it first was announced. It gains +1 attack for each mana crystal locked from Overload. It gave value where there wasn’t any, making cards like Ancestral Knowledge and Totem Golem great to play. Put all of these cards together, and you got yourself a meta decimating face deck.
Aggro Shaman has gone through a few different versions before climbing to the top of the ladder. The week after LOE’s first wing was released, Reynad used a Mech Shaman deck on stream. Reynad used Spider Tanks and Mechwarpers to combo with Whirling-Zip-O-Matic. It could inflict damage quickly, giving your opponent little chance for counterplay. The Mech variant never really caught on after Reno Jackson was released, though: it was just too slow.
The burn cards started to slowly creep into the meta once LOE reached full release. Crackle, Lava Burst and Lightning Bolt were all good cards, but never really had a deck that used them well. Turns out they were a perfect fit for Aggro Shaman, comboing well with other sources of quick damage like Argent Horserider and Leper Gnome.
Secret Paladin and Aggro Shaman sit atop the throne, throwing shade (of Naxxramus) at whichever deck dares to cross its path. Losing by turn six is never fun, especially when there’s nothing you could have done to stop it. Secret Paladin will at least disappear when Standard comes, Aggro Shaman will still go strong since it only loses two cards.
Is Aggro Shaman a fair deck? Tell us in the comments!
