GAARA'S FAST DRUID: Focusing On Ramping Up For An Early Win

INTRODUCTION

Aside from introducing his "Nightmare Hunter" deck a few days back, Gaara is also discussing about a different kind of Druid deck, one that still aims for mana acceleration, but replaces some of the ramp deck staples that can provide defense and offense in the late game for an advantage in the early game. The main problem with the deck, of course, is that it can't handle matches that have dragged on for far too long, including against fellow Druid players using a control version of Ramp.

THE DECK

VIDEO

Finally, Gaara has provided a useful video on YT, discussing about the Fast Druid deck. It's a card-by-card analysis, explaining its place in the deck. Check it out below:

<source>

Read More

DREAMHACK SUMMER 2014 DECKLISTS

FINALLY, the gods have answered our calls. All decks used by the twelve seeded player are now available, including those used in the round of 8 battles. The majority of the decks were comprised of Miracle Rogue, Druid, and Shaman. It's no surprise that Druid is preferred by the players because it holds up well against most decks, aside from being one tough cookie. Additionally, Amaz's famous priest deck and RDU's winning Freeze/Frost Mage is also in there.

ThijsNL's Round of 8

Reynad's Round of 8

Ek0p's Round of 8

RDU's Round of 8

Realz's Round of 8

Frezzar's Round of 8

Amaz's Round of 8

Gnimsh's Round of 8

GROUP STAGE DECKLISTS

1. Ek0p

2. Reynad

3. Danielctin14

4. Savjz

5. Realz

6. RDU 

7. Darkwonyx

8. TidesOfTime

9. ThijsNL

10. Gnmish

11. Amaz

12. Gaara

<source>

Read More

RAMPOS: Control Ramp Druid Deck With Malygos

INTRODUCTION

Rampos is a deck made by Redose over at HP that combines the famous Ramp Druid deck with Malygos Miracle. The basic goal of the deck is to ramp into big taunts that will bait your opponent's removal spells and slow down their aggro play, allowing you to safely play Malygos in the late game. However, there will be times when you don't need Malygos to win the game. 

THE DECK

Against control matchups, utilize Gadgetzan Auctioneer with cheap spells to find your finisher. With the dragon in play, two Moonfires will deal twelve damage for zero mana. What's even better is using Faceless Manipulator to copy your Malygos, allowing you to deal 22 damage using two Moonfires. However, that's in an unlikely situation, as Faceless would often be used earlier to copy your Sunwalker or Ancient of War. Simply having two 10/5s courtesy of Ancient of War and Faceless Manipulator would already spell trouble for your opponent.

AGAINST AGGRO

When your opponent uses a rush or aggro deck, these are the cards you would want to keep in your opening hand:

Wild Growth, Innervate, minions with taunt, Keeper of the Grove, Wrath, Starfall

AGAINST CONTROL

If you're battling control though, you'd want these cards:

Wild Growth, Innervate, minions with taunt, Azure Drake, Nourish

MATCHUPS

1. Zoolock

It's advised to keep Moonfire, Bloodmage Thalnos, and Swipe in your opening hand. Against this aggro deck, you really wouldn't have the time or chance to use Malygos by your ninth turn. The Druid's hero skill works well against Bluegill Warrior and Young Priestess. Additionally, save Keeper of the Grove to kill Flame Imp, Arcane Golem, and Knife Juggler easily. And of course, having AoE spells such as Starfall and Swipe can disrupt the tempo of Zoolock. An Ancient of War + Faceless Manipulator will end the game in your favour.

2. Handlock

The Black Knight is probably the best card to have against this deck, as it will take care of a taunted-up Molten or Mountain Giant. A nifty trick is to use Mark of the Wild on your opponent's giant so that you can kill it with TBK. Keeper of the Grove is also useful as it silences Handlock's Twilight Drake. Finally, Big Game Hunter assures you a bigger win percentage against it. 

3. Control Druid

This is usually a toss-up. The first one to get The Black Knight would have a huge advantage. Keep it in your opening hand if you have the chance. Be careful with the Force of Nature + Savage Roar burst damage combo too. In order to survive, you might have to use the healing ability of Ancient of Lore's battlecry.

4. Control Warrior

A very difficult deck to beat. Try to bait Shield Slam and Execute before playing Malygos.

5. Miracle Rogue

Have Wrath against SI:7 Agent and Earthen Ring Farseer. Try to get your taunts up as early as possible.

<source> <source>

Read More

Gaara's DRUID Deck: Dreamhack Summer 2014

INTRODUCTION

Gaara was one of the competitors in the recently concluded Dreamhack Summer 2014. He used a druid deck in the first round, and luckily someone at HP made a list. This is pretty much a rather standard druid deck, except of course for a few exceptions suited for the tournament.

THE DECK

STALLING THE GAME

As with any other Druid deck, this one contains two copies of Innervate, Wrath, Keeper of the Grove, Swipe, Druid of the Claw, and Ancient of Lore. It has a single copy of Mark of the Wild for additional defense, while Healing Touch ensures that you will survive long enough to drop down your big minions. Moreover, Starfall is druid's standard big brother of Swipe when it comes to mass removal, while a lone Ancient of War is there to intimidate your opponent.

SINGLE PIECES

Instead of two, the druid deck hosts only one Wild Growth to accompany Innervate. There's also one Big Game Hunter to deal with big enemy minions. There's also the aforementioned Starfire and Ancient of War. Interestingly, there's an Emperor Cobra to make your opponent think with how he plays his minions, aside from acting as bait for removal. There's also a a Sunwalker instead of the more aggressive Argent Commander. A Faceless Manipulator is included because it is without a doubt one of the most useful minions out there, and you're sure to have good minions to copy when you use Druid. Moreover, there's only one Chillwind Yeti to give space for two Sen'jin Shieldmastas, which is actually a good play against aggro decks. Finally, the deck has three legendary cards. Cenarius can buff your minions to swing in for the kill, or provide you with a little bit of defense through the 2/2 treants. There's a single Bloodmage Thalnos for card draw and more importantly, to give bigger damage when you use Starfire, Wrath, or Swipe. Lastly, it houses a Sylvanas Windrunner to make your opponent rethink his plays.

<source> <source>

Read More

CHARGE DRUID: Kolento's Legend Rank 1 Deck in EU Server

INTRODUCTION

Ten days ago, Kolento managed to once again reach Legend Rank 1 in the EU server, without the use of Miracle Rogue. Shown above is the proof he posted on Twitter. He calls the deck Charge Druid.

THE DECK

The deck list was provided by Jota using the deckbuilder provided by Hearthpwn. The decks costs a total of 4880 dust. The "standard" Druid cards are in there, such as Innervate, Wild Growth, Wrath, Keeper of the Grove, Swipe, Druid of the Claw, and Ancient of Lore. The other additions include Cenarius which helps for either buffing up your minions through +2/+2s or having additional 2/2 treants. Moreover, Sunfury Protector is in there to provide a little bit of defense, along with the pesky Harvest Golem. Big Game Hunter is also a one-of in case of any threatening fatty minion.

For card drawing, you've got Ancient of Lore, Wrath, and even Azure Drake which also helps deal more damage when you use Swipe and Wrath. 

GOING AGGRO

So, what's so aggro about this? Well, with all the mana ramp you have, you can easily swing in for the kill with Druid minions that are hard to get rid of. Imagine playing a Yeti on turn two using Innervate, and following it up with a 4/6 Druid of the Claw thanks to another innervate next turn. Of course that's ideal, but it's not impossible. I can confirm this as I main Druid and Mage. They are also accompanied by 4/5 vanilla Chillwind Yeti and two copies of Argent Commander. But of course! The ideal win condition is by using the Force of Nature + Savage Roar combo for at least 14 damage. The gameplay is pretty similar to how you would use your Token Druid deck, except without the Violet Teacher. Maintain board advantage and put pressure, especially as you reach four mana and above.

 

<source> <source>

Read More

RAMP WATCHER: 70% Win Rate Druid Deck [Rank 11-9]

INTRODUCTION

The Druid class has never really gotten to the lower ranks when it comes to overall playability and strength in serious play. From Ramp to Watcher to Token Druid deck variants, there are a lot of ways to strike down the enemy. So, with the most famous Druid deck being Ramp (who doesn't like to surprise opponents with turn 4 or turn 5 Legendary dragons?), redditor cogoga thought that it would be okay to tweak the deck a bit in order to deal with the current meta. So, he decided to combine the mana-ramp abilities of that deck with the surprise factor of the Watcher druid deck.

The staple or core parts of the deck are composed of 25 cards which can be grouped into three categories:

Druid Staples:

2x Innervate

2x Wrath

2x Sunfury Protector

2x Swipe

2x Keeper of the Grove

2x Druid of the Claw

2x Ancient of Lore

Ramp Staples:

2x Mark of the Wild

2x Wild Growth

Finisher (for example, Ragnaros)

Watcher/Mid Range Staples:

2x Ancient Watcher

Savage Roar

Force of Nature

Cairne Bloodhoof

Black Knight

Moreover, cogoga examined three scenarios when it comes to mulligan. The first one involves having no Innervate in your opening hand, which mean that you have to mulligan for the "classic" Druid early game crds such as Innervate, Keeper of the Grove, Swipe, and Wrath. If you do get an Innervate or two in your hand, it would ideally be best to mulligan for bigger minions such as Chillwind Yeti and Druid of the Claw. Finally, if you have two copies of Ancient Watcher in your opening, you should replace one of them to possibly get an activator (to silence the Watcher or give it taunt) such as Keeper of the Grove and Sunfury Protector.

STRATEGY AND GAMEPLAY

Almost Half of the Cards Cost Two Mana Each

Now, it might seem that the mana curve is unbalanced, especially with the number of cards that cost two mana. But fear not, cogoga believes that these cards won't burden you and will instead prove to be flexible throughout the first few turns (such as Ancient Watcher taunted by a Sunfury Protector) and even through the mid-game (for example, you can use your hero power on turn four while playing a two-mana cost card).

So, how can this be classified as a mid-range deck if almost half of the cards cost two mana each? Well, the answer is that these cards will allow you to get to your "mid-range" earlier, or allow your earlier plays to reach "mid-range" status by buffing Ancient Watcher, Sunfury Protector, and Keeper of the Grove. This could either make your opponent dispose of his removal spells early, or it could lead you into some tempo advantage.

Going for Mid-Range Status

Unlike the traditional Ramp Druid decks which aim to get big in the super-late game period, the Ramp Watcher Druid deck by cogoga aims to accelerate into mid-range status as fast as possible through the use of Innervate, Wild Growth, and Mark of the Wild . This allows for a dominant board presence early on.

Moving on, Ancient Watcher is a really formidable card that largely helps in developing board control. This is the reason why there are six staple activators in the deck (Keeper of the Grove, Sunfury Protector, and Mark of the Wild).

Druid Burst Damage

And of course, Druid decks are famous for their Force of Nature + Savage Roar combo which gives a bit of burst damage potential to deal with Handlock. Additionally, it can wipe out the opponent's side of the board immediately to regain tempo.

The Five Flex Cards

Since there are 25 staple cards, there are five slots which can be filled by different cards that can be used to adapt to the situation. Here are the flex cards:

1. Defender of Argus: Cogoga states that this is believed by many to be the best neutral card out there, and I would agree at some point. Not only are they additional activators for Ancient Watchers, they also buff your minions and add defense and offensive power.

2. Chillwind Yeti: This is the card hated by the Priest class as no Shadow Word can get rid of this. Every mid-range player would not mind having a couple of these in their decks, but the reason why Chillwind isn't a staple card is because there are other cards that can adapt better to the changing meta. After all, it is a vanilla card.

3. Sen'jin Shieldmasta: Ah, the great 3/5 with taunt that only costs four mana. It's great to use against Hunters, Zoo, and Murloc Decks.

4. Stampeding Kodo: This is another great neutral card. It is another card to fight back against Zoo and Hunter, and using Innervate to drop this early provides good tempo.

5. Gadgetzan Auctioneer: If you think that the deck is slow on card draw or you are against Miracle decks that also capitalize on card advantage, this is the answer.

6. Faceless Manipulator: While totally dependent on the minions on board, it's a fun minion that can ultimately finish the game in your favor.

7. Big Game Hunter: This is the answer to sniper Ragnaros and Handlock decks with all those giants. This is okay to add since Druid lacks an answer to bigger threats.

8. Healing Touch: Great card when against very aggressive decks or those that have burst damage such as Miracle Rogue.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Acidic Swamp Ooze, Bloodmage Thalnos, Wild Pyromancer, Azure Drake, Argent Commander, Cenarius, and Nourish.

RAMP WATCHER VARIANTS:

Anti-Hunter and Zoo

The added flex cards here are two Stampeding Kodos to deal with the early buggers, an Ancient Swamp Ooze against weapons, a Chillwind Yeti, and a Defender of Argus to provide taunts and strengthen the minions. This is very successful in stopping Zoo and Hunters from rushing for the win.

Mid-Range

The mid-range version includes the two classic Chillwind Yetis, a Defender of Argus for buffing and defense, a Faceless Manipulator which can possibly copy a big minion, and a Stampeding Kodo to deal with pesky little minions.

Survival / Anti-Burst

This is the version that isn't tested the most. It was made to deal with burst-damage decks. However, it still won't really handle well against these kind of opponents.

<source>

Read More

MILLACLE: A Unique Druid Deck Utilizing Malygos and Moonfire To Reach Legend Rank

Want a really unique druid deck that has proven to help you reach legend rank? Look no further, as redditor Coleisepic has introduced his "miracle, dragon, mill, and tempo" druid deck to the internet. It basically has two win conditions. The first one involves would ideally involve Malygos, double Moonfire, double Innervate, and a Swipe, all played in one turn, for a possible 21 burst damage to the opponent. The other win condition is the average Force of Nature + Savage Roar combo that delivers 14 burst damage (12 from the 4/4 treants, and 2 from the Druid's attack). Here is the decklist:

According to Coleisepic, the goal of the "Millacle" deck is to mana ramp into Alexstrasza or Gadgetzan Auctioneer and hopefully draw the necessary combo cards while milling the opponent's deck and clearing his side of the board. It is a straightforward deck that is easy to play, although realizing its full potential can be quite difficult. There are two copies of Ancient of War to effectively act as a bait for removal and provide defense for Malygos to stay alive. Having a Malygos into play turns Swipe into a big Flamestrike that deals six damage to your opponent's minions and ideally ten damage to the opponent directly. Moreover, the deck apparently has no bad matchups except when it is againt Aggro Paladin.

Coleisepic further provides a guide on how to properly mulligan and how to use the cards in the Millacle deck:

// Mulligan Guide
I only keep 5 cards in this deck. Wrath, wild growth, coldlight oracle, swipe, and keeper of the grove. Against certain matchups you will need to make judgement calls obviously but I stand by only keeping these cards. Keeping innervate is almost never correct in this deck because it isn't used like in standard druid decks. You need to think of it like a preparation not a tempo advantage. Cards I consider keeping but only in slow matchups are druid of the claw, noruish, and gadgetzan.

Cards

• Innervate: Play it like preparation and don't use just for a tempo lead. It can also be saved for getting a swipe off the turn you play malygos which helps against certain decks like handlock.
• Moonfire: Cycles with gadgetzan, acts as a win condition vs handlock and control warrior. Don't be afraid to cycle against decks with lower life totals.
• Claw: This card is extremely good in this deck and probably the only reason the deck works. When cycling with auctioneer getting out a claw often is what allows you to clear the board. Also the 4 health it adds to your hero can help with beatdown matchups.
• Naturalize: This card is amazing. 1 Mana for mill, tempo lead, and hard removal. Normally the card is bad because it draws for your opponent but since you want your opponent drawing it becomes the best card in the game. Against aggro you really need to try not to use it but sometimes when pressured by cards like doomguard you may be forced to drop it.
• Wild Growth: Standard ramping to help get combos off earlier.
• Wrath: Standard removal for any druid deck. Cycles well with auctioneer.
• Healing Touch (1): This card helps against burn mage, aggro decks, and when you have a slow start and can help take you out of combo range.
• Savage Roar(1): FoN, Savage roar combo.
• Coldlight Oracle: I normally mulligan for this and drop it on turn 3. It helps set up for milling in the future and causes handlock to burn 1 card.
• King Mukla(1): Helps with tempo and mills.
• Swipe: Standard druid removal. Combos with malygos for 9 to face and 6 to all minions.
• Keeper of the Grove(1): Can't fit 2 but having one silence against control and removal vs aggro makes the card very important.
• Nourish(1): Helps ramp before playing gadgetzan or to get a turn 6/7 alexstraza. Only one because two is to slow.
• Druid of the Claw(1): One more taunt vs aggro, baits black knight against control, and can act as a win condition with charge + savage roar.
• Gadgetzan Auctioneer: Auctioneer can't be concealed in this deck obviously so you need to play it very different from how you might think. As mentioned earlier you want to save your innervates for auctioneer and also make sure you have at least 7 mana crystals before playing auctioneer. If on turn 5 you have nourish, innervate, and auctioneer in hand then you should always play nourish for mana first. You can't cycle enough if you play it to early.
• Force of Nature(1): FoN, Savage Roar combo. 
  
  
• Ancient of Lore(1): This card is rarely used for card draw in this deck. It normally acts as a 5/5 that helps keep your life total up but if you fail to draw auctioneer this card can help search for vital combos.
• Ancient of War: I play two of these for aggro matchups and to bait removal before playing malygos. It is a very good card and is useful for staying alive while searching for combos.
• Alexstraza(1): If you can innervate this out you normally win. It gets your opponent within range or close to within range of combos and gives tempo. Also against burn mage and hunter it gives you more heal which is very important.
• Malygos(1): Against handlock this is basically your win condition but against decks like druid and rogue which lack hard removal just dropping this beast will force them to waste vital cards. //

<source>

Read More

"Thar Be Dragons": A Cheap Token Druid Deck To Reach Legend Rank

A new affordable version of Token Druid has appeared, coming from three-time Legend-ranking Hearthstone player "Status", who mainly plays Druid. Additionally, once reaching legend, he has never gone below rank 200. During the previous seasons (including beta), he used Ramp and Watcher Druid decks to get to the top, but now he has a "very aggressive" Token Druid which he believes is the strongest deck he's made so far. Here is the deck list for "Thar Be Dragons":

Why You Should Play It

1. Price
One of the big reasons for playing this deck is that it's relatively cheap compared to other commonly used decks. Control Warrior is still the most expensive, with all of its legendary cards, amounting to no less than 12,000 dust. Ramp Druid is at about 8,000, while Miracle Rogue and Handlock rest at about 6500 and 8200 dust, respectively. This Token Druid deck of Status only costs 2880, making it nearly as affordable as Zoo Lock which is at about 2,000 dust.

2. It's Different
The average Token deck tries to fill your side of the board with minions, usually with the use of Violet Teacher before going all out with a buff from Savage Roar. While Thar Be Dragons will also attempt to achieve that, it isn't the sole option to winning. Status has included additional minions with charge and cheap aggressive drops to put pressure on the opponent early on. This means that you won't have to solely rely on the Savage Roar + minions combo since you have provided enough minions to deal with. Finally, it will be likely that your opponent will mulligan because they think that you will be playing a Ramp or Watcher deck, when in fact you will be playing an aggressive druid deck.

3. Consistency
Status made it sure that each card in the Token deck had duplicates so you won't have to fish for that single card. Additionally, the mana curve is very efficient, with cheap minions providing early pressure while Violet Teacher helps in the late burst with Savage Roar and Power of the Wild. It's supposedly a delight to play, and it has a straightforward style of play.

Additionally, Status, through his reddit account, gave a thorough guide on how the deck was built, and how it is generally played, with mentions on how its matchup against other decks. Check out what he had to say about his Token deck:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Rejects

Before going over what cards I did decide to fill the gaps with, I thought it would be a better idea to go over the rejects. Many of these you will see in other token decks, so I hope my explanations for not including them will be helpful.

• Loot Hoarder: Let's start off by a card that constantly baffles me when I see it pop up in Token decks. And by pop up, I mean it's in pretty much every one. The concept makes sense to a certain extent; "I want a low cost minion to put on the board, and the cycle helps me draw into my threats and combo pieces." Sounds good on paper. The problem occurs when you break it down by match-ups; Loot Hoarder gets taken care of extremely easily by nearly every common deck. Earth Shock, Mortal Coil/Elven Archer, Backstab/Hero Power, Wrath/Hero Power, Fiery War Axe/Armorsmith/Acolyte, Arcane Missiles/Hero Power, Northshire Cleric. There isn't a single match-up where he gives you a worthwhile turn 2 play that couldn't better be used on a different drop.
• Blood Knight: This was one of of the last cards I dropped, for 2 reasons. One, there aren't that many Divine Shields to steal from opposing decks. Druids run Sunwalkers sure. But for the most part any Argent Commanders you face won't have the shield to steal when your turn comes, and you beat aggro decks running Squires already. Two, your own shields generally don't stick around long enough to steal them anyways, and using Power of the Wild to get a 2/2 with shield is generally a stronger play and sticks more in line with the theme of the deck.
• Yeti: My original take on the deck involved Yetis as another 4 drop to solidify board position in the early mid-game to allow for strong minions to be dropped after removal was used. While he accomplished this to an extent, it led to an odd curve as I would often struggle to get a consistent flow of minions on board. It also didn't fit well with the Token combos, as it took away time that could be used for chargers or flooding the board.
• 
  Cenarius: Too slow. That's about it. By turn 9 I want to have multiple minions on board already to begin slamming face with combo or charges. Cenarius just eats your whole turn. And yes, while it can buff existing cards or drop minions for combos, it simply doesn't fit right.

• Black Knight: Only really useful in the Handlock and Druid match-ups, and I found I had better success without the card. Since I am aggressively trying to get low drops in my Mulligan for board pressure, it basically meant I was having to topdeck it to deal with the Taunts. Removing it gave better consistency.
• BGH: With more and more Handlocks appearing, I tried out BGH, but decided that it wasn't worth the slot for a single match-up. Not much more to say about this one.
• Leeroy: This was an interesting card to run, what with the ability to Swipe away the Whelps and do surprising burst. However, most of the time it just sat in hand waiting for the “perfect moment,” and would have been better as a sturdier charger or Teacher. Like Blood Knight, it didn't really mesh with the deck in the way I wanted it to.
• Thalnos: Your combo is physical damage, and the spellpower is covered in other cards. The body is too weak to be consistently useful as a token, and suffers in the same areas that Loot Hoarder does. In addition, it takes up a 2 drop slot that would be better used for a more aggressive minion.
• Claw: Didn't feel that meaningful in the deck, and wasn't as useful as other options. In a Miracle style deck it would be more useful, but you shouldn't be having enough trouble to warrant it.
• Naturalize: Naturalize? I can understand the confusion. But it actually, kinda, somewhat works. In certain situations. The main thought behind it was the ability to Force + Savage Roar + Naturalize a big Taunt minion all on the same turn (10 mana). But it generally wasn't drawn on time, or sat in hand doing nothing instead, and didn't succeed often enough to warrant usage. 3 card combos are much harder to draw than 2 card combos.

The Sprinkles

Now that I've bored you to tears with the rejects, let's go over the gold stars that make the deck mesh. A couple aren't new to Token, but a couple choices really helped solidify the strength of the deck.

• Faerie Dragon: While Loot Hoarder is my go-to “why are you in Token decks?” card, Faerie Dragon is the exact opposite. In my grind this season from Rank 25 to Legend, I saw one other player running this card. ONE PLAYER. This card should be a staple in every single aggressive deck at the moment. It is immune to Backstab/Evis, Frostbolt, SW:Pain/Holy Smith, Soul Fire, Lightning Bolt, Slam, Wrath, and more. With the majority of decks relying on spells to get them through the first couple turns, Faerie Dragon slams on the board and whips out a “facetank me or die” sign. Use this card, why are you not using this card? You should use this card.
• Argent Commander: After playing with earlier versions of the deck, I realized that I didn't have enough strong, aggressive mid-game plays. After playing with Commanders for a couple of games, it almost feels like people forgot that it was an option in aggressive decks. Which is odd considering Doomguards are everywhere presenting a strong Charging threat. It couples as removal and is an extremely sticky minion if its shield isn't broken. You can also combo it with Savage Roar or Swipe for 8 damage if the situation arises. It partners great with Druid of the Claw as well, giving consistent burst damage to the face over multiple turns.
• Azure Drake x 2: I shouldn't have to go over why Azure Drakes are so strong, especially in Druid decks (hint: Swipe). But I've noticed that most decks, even Ramp variants, don't tend to run 2. But adding the second just felt right. The draw is very strong, it represents a strong potential threat with the spellpower, and it fits into the curve just right. Similar to the way Commander pairs with Druid as chargers, Drake pairs with Lore for draw. This was one of the last changes I made, and I haven't regretted it.
• Savage Roar/Force of Nature x 2: While most Token decks will run two Savage Roars, I almost never see two Force of Natures. Which is a shame, as it really makes a difference. I feel like people tend to forget that individually the cards are solid, and don't always need to be comboed together. On top of that, most people won't expect the second copy if you use one piece to clear board, leading to some greedy plays that you can exploit. Also, without the second copy I found myself occasionally running out of steam against Control decks; doubling the chance to topdeck the cards needed to finish the game made a noticeable impact on win rates.

Mulligans

Your Mulligans will be dependent on the opponent you are facing, just like all decks, but you should be looking for similar cards in most match-ups. Argent Squire, Faerie Dragons, Harvest Golems, and Power of the Wild are all solid cards to hold on to. In Aggressive match-ups, a single Wrath/Swipe and Keepers are great as well. In Control match-ups, Violet Teacher can be held. Always look for an Innervate if possible as well, people hate playing against it for a reason.

Specific Cards for each match-up to look out for in addition to the aforementioned choices:

• Miracle: Teacher
• Zoo: Swipe
• Handlock: Druid of the Claw
• Shaman: Wrath
• Warrior: Teacher
• Druid: Keeper
• Mage: Keeper and Wrath
• Hunter: Teacher
• Paladin: Keeper
• Priest: Druid of the Claw

General Strategy

Like all Token Druid decks, your goal should be board presence until you can burst lethal with Savage Roar + Minions/Force of Nature. Your early minions stick to the board, and your mid-game minions either produce minions, charge face, or draw cards. Your spells help you hold/regain board control from other aggressive decks. Be mindful of when your opponent is approaching turns where they can board control, and keep an eye on the Coin in these situations as well (Flamestrike, Consecration, etc). Never underestimate the power of single small minions on your side of the board. A SR + FoN combo with just a 1/1 on the board will do an extra 3 damage more than if you didn't have the 1/1, and even at top ranks your opponents may miss your lethal. As I mentioned earlier, you will generally have the advantage of surprise when running the deck, so do your darnedest capitalize.

Matchups

Now onto each of the match-ups. While I don't use any tracking software, experience with the deck has given me a good read on how each opposing deck matches up. While it's possible that I am being optimistic with what I'm giving for percentages in each match-up, I do believe that this deck had no real “counter” or “bad” match-ups.Even against Shaman and Handlock, the two banes of Druid and basically the only decks I faced from Ranks 3-1, I had a winning record and climbed through them for Legend.

• Rogue: As Miracle was the top deck at the time I built my own, it was obvious that to succeed on ladder I would need to be able to beat the top dog. And beat it it does. I'd give it a solid 80-90% win rate against rogue; the only losses coming from a combination of bad starting hands and solid Gadgetzan draws. Faerie Dragon really shows its mettle in this matchup, as its immunity to Backstabs and Evis allow for strong early damage. Coin Toast can delay kill it, but if you started with coin try holding onto other minions for a turn so they cannot combo into the 2 dmg with Backstab. Squire and Golem can be removed by spells, but they stick to the board well and can chip damage away, leading directly into your Chargers. You will benefit from the prevalence of Ramp/Watcher Decks in this matchup, as many opponents will use FoK simply as card draw before you set up a Violet Teacher Combo. Occasionally Rogues will force the match-up into a race, which you generally shouldn't have trouble winning. There have been numerous instances where I've used an Ancient to heal myself from 26-27 HP to full if I know I can FoN/SR combo them next turn for lethal. It is very difficult for them to simultaneously set up a OTK while keeping up with your board presence.

• Warlock: Against Zoo variants I give the deck a solid 80% win rate. Faerie Dragon is a star once again; it murders Voidwalkers, stops Soul Fire from gaining tempo, and can't be Mortal Coiled if a 1 attack minion wants to trade. Golem and Keeper have always been all-stars for Druid in this match-up, generally getting 2-for-1s. Early on, concentrate on filling the board when you can and transition into keeping their board clear to ensure victory. This is one of the few matchups where you might use Druid in Bear form as well. On the other side, Handlock is basically a coin-flip. Handlock has always been the bane of Druids, but going full Dennis on their face with this deck has actually given good results. Keep in mind how much Molten + Taunt will cost while you slam damage though. 1 damage too early can be the difference between a win and a loss against this deck. Speaking of 1 damage, Squire + Keeper is a very strong start against opposing Drakes, though you might get Mortal Coiled after you pop shield. Against Giants and Watchers it is generally better to just ignore them and hope they don't have Taunt. Finally, Swipes are your best friends here, try to save them for burst on the face if at all possible. Handlock will get greedy with multiple Taunted minions more often that you'd suspect, and 8 damage to the face feels oh so good. This will be your hardest match-up, but going 50% is pretty solid against a historic counter. And hey, at least the matches are quick. Quick tip that got shared on a post a few days ago; wait and see how a Warlock mulligans. If more than 1 card gets pitched, assume it is Handlock and prepare accordingly.
• Shaman: Shamans have been rising in popularity recently, much to my dismay. This is a difficult match-up as well, around 50-60% in your favor, but I personally don't enjoy playing them. Shamans have the interesting ability of simultaneously doing well against both Token and Ramp decks, what with their assortment of cheap removals. However, this gives the deck a bit of a boost, as many Shamans will pitch cards like Lightning Storm in favor of Hex, allowing for early drops to get some solid damage/clear totems while they wait for the Taunts that won't be appearing. Speaking of clearing totems, you should always assume that your opponent has Flametongue in hand. The majority of the time you won't get much value out of Teachers in this match-up, so use your charges wisely to gain board control. Speaking of board control, you probably won't start getting it until mid-game. Closing this match-up generally depends on how often they drop Stoneclaw, which can lead to some very frustrating games. Comboing Azure + Swipe can be a game winner to clear board for your burst.
• Warrior: We are back to strong match-ups with this class. I can only recall one game against Control that I lost from ranks 10-1. It simply isn't able to withstand the damage while putting out enough threats to challenge your own life totals. Teacher combos can do absolute work against this deck, as their only true board clears against it are Brawl and Double Whirlwind + Execute. Argent Commanders are also fantastic; they require multiple cards to deal with with shield up. Slam can draw a card off the shield, but then he still requires further damage + Execute, face tanking, or Shield Slam, all of which cost a fair bit of their turn. Aggro decks are rare, but are not much harder to deal with. Treat them similar to Zoo, clear early to flood/burst in the midgame. Think 75%, a bit lower than Zoo due to their ability to occasionally put out too much damage through multiple weapons/timely chargers.
• Druid: Druid is an interesting beast, with more and more Token variations popping up inthe downfall of Hunter. But the majority of decks you will be facing against will be Ramp or Watcher varieties. You'll have a solid match-up against the latter two decks; I'd give it a 65-70% in your favor. Keepers are your best friend with their ability to neuter Sunwalkers and Ancients of War. Conversely, watch out for opposing Keepers sniping your Faeries, as they are probably the strongest answer to them in the game. This is one of the few decks that can tend to run Black Knight, so keep that in mind for your Druids. Most decks won't run Starfall, so flooding the board and buffing with Power of the Wild can be extremely devastating. On a side note, this was the match-up that finalized my decision to run 2 copies of both Savage Roar and Force; fishing for single copies when trying to set up lethal was giving my opponents too much time to draw into more Taunters. Like with all Druid mirrors, whoever can drop Lore first will generally wrest away the advantage, so forcing them to deal with your board first before they can spend the mana to draw can only help you in the long run. These will be your longest games on average. You'll fare well against other Token decks too, though the match-up is largely decided by Innervates.
• Mage: Pretty much all Mages run the same style of deck with early game minions and late game burn spells. Faerie Dragon is a hero, allowing your you too keep up tempo wise early. Be aware of turns 4 and 7, as these are a Mage's strongest turns against you with potential Fireballs/Poly/Water Elementals on 4 and Flamestrike on 7. Blizzard on 6 can be annoying, but if they are clearing your Tokens then they are most likely leaving up your Teachers or Chargers to punch in more damage. Even with Arcane Intellect you will most likely have card advantage towards the mid-game, so I will often use Lore as a heal to prevent any crazy Frostbolt + Lance + Fireball surprise burst shenanigans. You shouldn't have much trouble racing this deck, unless they pull off a timely Mirror Image while they have lethal on board. Looking at a solid 70-75% here.
• Hunter: So sad to see this class fall out of favor. Truly. A real shame. Being serious for a minute, now that Unleash combo has been delayed a turn you should be able to win races basically every time. This should be one of your easiest match-ups, along with Miracle and Control Warrior, at around an 80-85% win rate. Explosive traps aren't very effective against your early game minions. Often I will use Power of the Wild early on only 2 minions to ensure they are out of range, allowing for enough early damage to get through for the finisher later. Playing Argent Commander and going face is extremely strong if you can afford it, as dealing with the minion without facetanking takes some effort. Still be mindful of Buzzard Unleash; just because it was nerfed doesn't mean it shouldn't be accounted for. Your only losses should be from bad openers or misplaying against traps.
• Paladin: Control Paladins aren't seen very often, but I didn't have much trouble when we did meet. Control has always had trouble with aggressive decks, just be mindful of Equality. Blitz-style Paladin decks are a bit more challenging, as they have the potential to refill their hand with Divine Favor after losing control. Usually this comes a bit too late, however, and you can usually set up a burst with Savage Roar before they can regain board presence. This is one of the few match-ups that I will use Druids in Bear form. Keep Blood Knights as a threat in the back of your mind; if “should I pop this bubble?” enters your mind, your answer should usually be yes. Getting a strong early curve against this deck is probably more important than any other match-up, simply due to the value of Divine Favor if you are holding too many high cost cards. Both are around 70%ish for different reasons.
• Priest: It takes a certain amount of bravery to play Priest in this climate. But fortunately for them, they don't do that bad against this deck. 75% feels about right for us. Keep in mind that Violet Teacher can be disposed of with SW:Pain, so use Golems to try and bait them out. Faerie Dragon makes his triumphant return here, as a Priest can really only trade a minion to get rid of it. Practically all your mid-game threats have 4 attack to protect them from Shadow Words, but alternatively are also weak to Circle of Healing clears, which is the biggest threat to the deck. You might be able to sneak a couple lethals through by leaving a Soulpriest on the board, however. Assume that your Lores will get Death'd as soon as you drop them, so always have a backup plan to get back board pressure after spending the 7 mana.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

<source>

Read More