What's up everybody! I hope you've all been having fun with Witchwood this past week but now it's time to start covering some of the new meta decks that are going around. Today in particular I wanted to go over the new meta destroyer, Shudderwock Shaman. Some of you may have seen this being played or have seen all the memes about the new Shudderwock card but I feel like it's important to go over this deck because as a combo deck it's important to understand how the deck works so that 1. you can play the deck yourself, but also 2. to understand how to play against the deck. There are some casual versions of this deck that are going the elemental route but the strongest version of this deck focuses on Shudderwock as a combo and not as just a powerful card by itself. When combined with Grumble, Worldshaker and a few other battlecry cards, there is a crazy interaction that basically allows you to go semi-infinite and get tons and tons of battlecry triggers to go off. When set up in a control deck with lots of board wipe and draw effects, it's pretty easy to set this combo up while keeping yourself alive but getting the main pieces is the most important part. Much like Raza Priest, if you're unable to get Raza the Chained and Shadowreaper Anduin active, you're basically stalling until you get those cards. First I'll explain the main combo mechanics so you know how to set it up and then we'll get into my version of the decklist which goes over the main pieces, and then discusses a few different extra battlecry options at the end. The main thing about battlecries is that when your Shudderwock starts going off multiple times, you get multiple effects of those battlecries, so things that draw you cards should NOT be in this deck such as Novice Engineer because you will end up overdrawing at the end of the game. I have a couple singletons in the deck that a lot of people are using as well as a list of other battlecries that I have seen people use in the deck. But let's not waste any more time and get right into it!

Combo Explanation

Step 1

Play your 3 important battlecries, these can be played any time in the game and don't need to be played with anything else. Lifedrinker: This is your free damage to the face. Saronite Chain Gang: When Shudderwock goes off, this will make a copy of it. Grumble, World Shaker: You don't even need to play this with anything else in play, as long as you get the battlecry trigger to go off that's all you need.

Step 2

Set up a double battlecry. There are two ways you can do this, you can either use Murmuring Elemental and Grumble, World Shaker in the same turn to return Murmuring Elemental to your hand and make it cost 1 mana, or you can use Fire Plume Harbinger to lower the cost of Murmuring Elemental in your hand to 1 mana. You can also get lucky with Far Sight lowering Murmuring Elemental or Shudderwock by 3 mana allowing you to play them both in the same turn as well.

Step 3

Play Murmuring Elemental and Shudderwock. The important part about getting a double battlecry is that the battlecry effects go in a random order, so you can get unlucky in the order it comes out. The main thing you're trying to do is get the Saronite Chain Gang battlecry to happen first so that there is a copy of Shudderwock and then have Grumble, World Shaker's effect go off so that it will bounce the extra Shudderwock to your hand as a 1-mana card. It's not guaranteed if you just do it alone but with a double battlecry, even if the order is messed up, the second battlecry trigger will surely bounce one to your hand and then it's all over, now you can start going semi-infinite on your next turn. Every Shudderwock will be 1-mana and give you tons of battlecry triggers that will stall the game and eventually kill your opponent.

Decklist: Shudderwock Combo

Combo Pieces

This is the main Shudderwock combo pieces that cannot be replaced in the deck, for any reason. Fire Plume Harbinger: Originally I didn't run these in the deck but it's important for the combo to try and get a double Shudderwock battlecry. Using this can help get your Murmuring Elemental set up correctly for your combo so I just like to run one as a "combo piece". Murmuring Elemental: Important for the combo as stated above, it helps you get a double battlecry so your combo is guaranteed to work. It also works well with your other battlecry effects, helping you stall with things like Saronite Chain Gang to get more Taunts or Lifedrinker to get more damage/life back. Lifedrinker: Amazing card for the deck because by itself, its a great body for 4 mana as well as having a great stall battlecry, gaining you 3 life while also being around to kill stuff. For the combo you don't even need to save it or anything, just play it as early as possible so the battlecry is triggered for later and you can use it to help stall the game out. Saronite Chain Gang: Just like Lifedrinker this card doesn't need to be played with anything and can be played early to help stall the game and counter against aggro while triggering the battlecry effect for later. Grumble, World shaker: Mainly just important for the combo but because its 6 mana, this can be combined with other battlecry effects to bounce stuff back to your hand to help stall the game even more. Playing a Saronite Chain Gang on Turn 5 and then following it up with this after can give you two back in the hand, each for 1 mana, so for 2 mana you can get four 2/3 Taunt minions. Insane good synergy with the deck while also being an important combo piece. Shudderwock: The main combo piece of the deck. It's really important to try and make sure you get a double battlecry off so that your combo doesn't mess up. But if you're getting close to death and you don't have your Murmuring Elemental set up properly, don't be afraid to cast him by himself and see if he gets the combo going on his own. The best part is if he does, you can play him again that turn to gain more life and stall the game more because he will cost 1 mana and you will have a mana left over.

Shaman Control

These are the basic Control Shaman cards that help keep control of your opponent's minions while you draw through your deck and set up for your combo. Doomsayer: This is a regular card in most control decks and in this meta with all the paladin aggro going around, it's really important to run and learn to use. I say "learn to use" because it's difficult to learn how to play this card at the right time. Obviously on Turn 2 it's the best against aggro because most decks can't handle this on Turn 2 but later in the game is when it becomes difficult to learn when to play it correctly. Don't be afraid to play this card even if your opponent is able to kill it by attacking into it, if you don't think you can set it up to wipe the board it's still decent as a 2-mana prevent X damage effect. Say your opponent just has a Mountain Giant in play, by playing Doomsayer and forcing it to attack into it, you're paying 2 mana to basically gain 8 life and negate the attack, helping you stall even more. Another good time to play this card is right after a good Lightning Storm or Volcano. It forces your opponent to basically wait a turn while it blows up and lets you recover from the Overload effects of those cards, while also usually dropping down some good stall battlecries like Saronite Chain Gang or maybe some draw effects like Mana Tide Totem. Lightning Storm: Since we no longer have Maelstrom Portal this is our fastest and earliest board wipe removal that we can use against aggro Paladin which is one of the biggest decks in the meta right now. This is one of four big removal spells so don't be afraid to use it early and save your Volcanos for later on in the game when there are bigger minions. Healing Rain: This is basically just a giant heal spell like Greater Healing Potion was used in the Raza Priest deck. Make sure you're only using it when you don't have any damaged minions so that all the healing will go to yourself. Very good card to fight against aggro since it basically heals you for half of your life. Hex: One of the best single target removal spells in the game and especially in this meta because Cubelock is still very strong with Voidlord and Doomguard in their decks. The best thing about using this on those minions is that you ruin Bloodreaver Gul'dan's effect because they won't be counted as dying this game and won't be resurrected. Also works well on Carnivorous Cube because it stops the deathrattle effect. Great card for control. Volcano: Currently the best board wipe that shaman has. Not much to say about it, use it when you need it against aggro, try to save it for when theres 15 health on the board, and it's best when followed up with Doomsayer to buy yourself an extra turn after when you're overloaded.

Draw Effects

Combo decks are very reliant on draw effects to get to the combo pieces that they need. Loot Hoarder: A basic draw effect for the deck. Now that Potion of Madness has cycled out of standard we don't need to worry about it anymore! As I mentioned earlier, you also don't want to run Novice Engineer in its place because the battlecry effect will get copied by Shudderwock multiple times and you'll start drawing out your deck at the end of the game. I've been tempted to also try Acolyte of Pain in this card's place since it works well with Volcano to get multiple draws as well but I feel like the faster option as well as the bigger attack is useful against aggro decks and surviving longer. Far Sight: A draw effect that just replaces itself but can set up for earlier combos by making Shudderwock cheaper. This also helps you set up for the double battlecry if it can hit Murmuring Elemental as well, making it so you can start the combo and even play an extra Shudderwock afterwards. Works well for this deck to help draw and filter cards while also occasionally setting up for big turns. Mana Tide Totem: Basically the best draw effect control shaman has to offer. The longer you can keep this card alive the better, obviously, but even getting one card out of it and forcing your opponent to waste a spell or an attack on it is not bad. I usually like to play this in the same way I would a Doomsayer, usually right after a Lightning Storm or Volcano so your opponent has to use a spell or else you're getting two free cards.

Extra Battlecries

These are the extra battlecries that I'm running in my version of the deck. The important part about extra battlecries is that Shudderwock will copy these when he starts to go off and it helps when you have useful ones to keep control of the game while he does. All because you start the combo doesn't actually mean you've won, if you're low on life and you can't control your opponent's last few minions or direct damage, you can still lose, so these effects will help seal the game when you do start to combo. Brrrloc: Not many decklists that I've seen run this card but I LOVE it in this deck. It's useful to stall against minions while setting up for big board wipes with Lightning Storm and Volcano, it helps against opponents with weapons by freezing them and making them unable to attack like with Paladin's Silver Sword but most of all, when you start to go off with Shudderwock this will create extra freezes that can only hit enemies so it will start to randomly freeze your opponent's field, making it so they can't finish you off if you're really low when your combo goes off. I personally thing its not replaceable in the deck but I have seen decklists not running it so it's up to you. I highly recommend it. Sandbinder: I actually have not run this in my version for most of the time playing this deck but in a lot of decklists I've been seeing just one so that you can pull your important combo elementals. I do highly recommend running this card because it can pull Fire Plume Harbinger, Murmuring Elemental and Grumble, World Shaker directly from your deck which are all important combo pieces. Gluttonous Ooze: Cubelock and Aggro Paladin are currently I would say, the top 2 decks being used in the current meta and this card hits both of them pretty hard. It's a nice singleton that gives you an answer when your opponent plays Silver Sword or Skull of the Man'ari and sometimes getting free armor out of it. It's just a great answer to have in the deck that doesn't really add to the Shudderwock effect. Primordial Drake: Another good board wipe effect against aggro that comes out really late but works well with Shudderwock and even Grumble, World Shaker if you can keep it alive for a turn. Once your Shudderwock combo starts going off, this trigger will go off multiple times, totally wiping your opponent's field after 3 or 4 triggers and sealing the game. I would say this is important to keep in the deck because it does a good job of stalling as a giant Taunt minion, helps wipe the small aggro minions, and helps the combo become a true finisher to the game.

Other Battlecry Options

Witch's Apprentice: I've seen a few decks run this card because it fuels your hand with extra spells to control the game. When your Shudderwock combo starts going off it gives you extra spells as well but in my opinion, that's not really necessary, and it also might fill your hand up too much and make it so when your Grumble, World Shaker bounces your extra Shudderwocks, they might die instead. Use this at your own risk. Blazing Invocation: This was a card I originally had in the deck because it could give you some extra battlecry fuel but it ended up not being that important and I dropped it for Loot Hoarder, more card draw. It can sometimes give you a good situational card though and it has saved me a few times but for the most part it is just RNG and it's not dependable. Witchwood Piper: This is another card with an effect like Sandbinder but I actually worry about this one because it will always pull the lowest card from your deck which means when Shudderwock starts going off, you may end up pulling too many cards and drawing too much, filling your hand with useless minions you don't need. Much like Sandbinder I haven't actually run this card and tested it that much but a lot of decks are running a single and I can see why, getting your combo pieces are pretty important but in my decklist with low cost minions like Doomsayer and Brrrloc I feel like you won't really draw what you need from it. Kobold Apprentice: I've seen decks using this card but haven't tried it out myself although it does do a pretty good job once your Shudderwock combo starts to go off. The only issue is that its easy to remove and the damage it deals is random, so you're still relying on luck instead of something you can really count on. Works well with Murmuring Elemental to get lots of damage though. Might be worth testing out.

Mulligan Strategies

Doomsayer

Volcano

Saronite Chain Gang

Loot Hoarder

Far Sight

Mana Tide Totem

Shudderwock

Loot Hoarder

Mana Tide Totem

Volcano

Lightning Storm

Lifedrinker

Saronite Chain Gang

Shudderwock

Conclusion: Ridiculous

Lifedrinker

Saronite Chain Gang

Murmuring elemental

Shudderwock

Kalimos, Primal Lord

Shudderwock

Shudderwock

Fire Plume's Heart

Baku the Mooneater