A Look at Top Tier: Midrange Shaman

                We’ve all lost to Midrange Shaman plenty of times, and for a good reason – this deck’s early aggression and crazy board control can provide for a typically easy win against even a slightly unlucky starting hand from your opponent. Here, we’ll look a little into the mechanics (yes, they exist) of this deck, and what can be done against it.

                For starters, this deck’s strength comes from the incredible synergy that comes from the Overload mechanic. A turn 1 Tunnel Trogg followed up with a turn 2 Totem Golem is almost impossible to remove. The amount of damage that these two minions by themselves can follow up with is absurd, especially if more Overload is able to be played with the Tunnel Trogg still alive. In these cases, it can basically end the game. A 1-drop dealing 7 damage per turn to your poor vulnerable face is truly, truly outrageous.

                Of course, let’s not forget our friend, the man himself, the Flamewreathed Faceless. This 4-mana 7/7 dominates the 4-drops of Hearthstone to the point of driving players mad. Especially if this is coined out, there are few ways to remove it that do not drain your hand of any other removal to use against this powerhouse of a deck. This, along with Feral Spirit wolves to defend a continuously snowballing board can dominate the Tempo game.

                Now comes the difficult part – how can it be stopped? Unfortunately, in a lot of situations, it simply cant. If the right cards are drawn for your opponent, and you have a relatively dead hand, it’s almost game right there. However, with as powerful as the aggro decks in the Meta are right now, it’s absolutely worth it to spice your decks up a little. Maybe more early game isn’t exactly what a C’Thun Warrior deck should have, but in this Meta, it can be the difference between a win and a loss. Tempo Warrior has the right idea – early game minions to counter the aggro and follow it up with late game for a win condition. Mage has similar mechanics that can be used, especially with cards like Cult Sorcerer and Flamewaker.

                Kripparian has and is using a Mage deck that he made a video about which is certainly worth checking out. It discusses why cutting regularly important late game power spikes for more early game is much more worth it in this Meta. A lot of it actually becomes “anti-aggro-ing your decks” to perform better. For example, cut usually staple cards like Fireball in exchange for something more anti-aggro, such as more Magic Missiles or Mirror Images.

                Stay strong, boys! This Meta is rough, and one of the most aggressive we’ve seen since season 16 (if anyone remembers aggro paladin – ugh. I still have nightmares). Don’t think that being a Meta slave is necessary in these cases, and despite these article topics being “Top Tier” stuff, a good anti-aggro deck can skyrocket up the ladder. It’s up to you, really – put some thought into it, and the ladder can be conquered. Good luck out there!