If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em: A Guide to Aggro Shaman

Considered by many to be one of the strongest decks in the current meta, Aggro Shaman is an aggressive deck focused on whittling down your opponent's life total quickly and efficiently. It is not a particularly complicated deck, and is not very expensive to craft. Even though the playing of the deck is relatively self-explanatory, there are still many aspects to be discussed. Many people despise this deck, and this point is recognized. That being said, regardless of your thoughts, it is an objectively strong deck, hence the title “If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em.”

The Decklist

The decklist is mostly spells and early game minions to rush down your opponent’s health in as few turns as possible with Doomhammer as your finisher. This section will describe what each particular card brings to the table.

Lightning Bolt is a burn spell that can be used to clear early minions or deal face damage.

Rockbiter Weapon is typically used with Doomhammer for a ten damage combo finisher, but can also be used to buff one of your minions to trade or just deal more face damage.

Abusive Sergeant is used to strengthen an allied minion to deal more damage.

Argent Squire is a sticky, solid 1-drop. It applies early pressure that your opponent will want to get rid of.

Sir Finley Mrrgglton solves the main flaw with Aggro Shaman: the hero power, by giving you a better one.

Tunnel Trogg is a strong turn one play when followed by overload minions or spells. A lot of your cards have overload, so he gets much stronger rather quickly.

Ancestral Knowledge is your only card draw unless you select the Warlock hero power from Sir Finley. With a very low mana curve, running out of cards is easy, and Ancestral Knowledge can help with that.

Lava Shock can lead to a lot of plays your opponent will not be suspecting. The ability to bypass overload can be very effective. It also deals two damage, which is fine for the cost and other effect.

Flame Juggler is an early minion that can (RNG permitting) clear or help to clear opposing minions, or deal an extra damage to your opponent.

Flametongue Totem can give you up to four more damage each turn depending on your minions and their positioning. It can be very valuable for trading or face damage.

Totem Golem is absolutely insane. Its stats are great for the cost, even with overload. A turn one Trogg followed by turn two Totem Golem sets you up for success in most matchups

Feral Spirit is not only great value and synergy with Trogg, but it also protects your other minions. Trogg and Flametongue Totem are strong minions, but are also easily removed. Feral Spirit can help keep them alive.

Lava Burst is a burn spell that can be used to clear minions or deal face damage. It is a slightly stronger Lightning Bolt.

Argent Horserider has great value with being able to trade with charge and only lose divine shield, but can also deal face damage and be fairly resilient due to the aforementioned shield.

Flamewreathed Faceless is the only large minion this deck runs. Seven mana in stats for four mana and two overload is great. You can play a War Golem equivalent on turn 4 which is massive for tempo and will help lower your opponent's life total in larger increments early on.

Doomhammer is your primary win condition/ finisher. Over four turns you deal eight damage, which can be increased with Rockbiter Weapon.

Card Alternatives

Many other cards run in variants of Aggro Shaman include the following:

Eternal Sentinel is a decent early body that does the same job as Lava Shock, if any card is going to be swapped in, Eternal Sentinel will probably be your best bet.

Tuskarr Totemic can provide more early board presence and is often run in this deck

Master of Evolution is less common and is pretty slow, but can potentially make an early game minion stronger by replacing it.

Thing from Below is a strong card that can be played for very little mana assuming you have hero powered often or played other totems. It is very strong in this deck, but I personally do not run it, as I do not find myself hero powering often due to shorter games and winning or losing before I can play it. If you're playing games that drag on longer, this is a solid card.

Card Synergies and Things to Note

Most of the time, your finishing turn will be a combination of Doomhammer and Rockbiter Weapon, which deals ten damage between your two attacks.

Lava Shock removes your locked mana crystals. If you have mana crystals overloaded for your current turn, Lava Shock removes the overload. However, if you played multiple overload cards on your current turn, Lava Shock will prevent that overload from affecting you next turn. Keep this in mind so you can plan ahead for future plays.

With Sir Finley Mrrgglton, you want to prioritize Hunter, Warlock, or Druid powers for Face Damage, card draw, or damage that also synergizes with Doomhammer respectively. It is also worth mentioning that, like Justicar Trueheart, your hero power is being replaced, so you can hero power, play Sir Finley Mrrgglton, and then use your new hero power.

Every card with overload will buff your Tunnel Trogg. This makes Tunnel Trogg a big target for your opponent to remove.

Your hero power spawns totems on the right side of your board, so if you are placing a Flametongue Totem with only one minion, put it on the right of said minion, so hero powering will give you the buffed totem.

Mulligan

In most matchups you want to prioritize Argent Squire, Tunnel Trogg, Totem Golem, Flame Juggler, and possibly Lightning Bolt. In general, lower cost cards are ideal. It is fairly uncommon that you will not have a turn one or two play after a mulligan.

The Gameplay

This is probably the most straight-forward part of playing Aggro Shaman. Your goal is to kill your opponent as fast as possible. Because of the overload mechanic, Shamans can play strong cards earlier in the game, and is “punished” for it the next turn, but we have ways to deal with that. You want to win before turn eight or so, before your opponent can start playing large minions you cannot deal with and can dispose of your threats (not that is impossible to win after this point).

You want early board control, and cards like Flametongue Totem and Abusive Sergeant make this much easier. You can maintain control and protect your other minions with Feral Spirit as well as removal spells. The phrase “when in doubt, smorc it out” is quite relevant in this deck. If you are stuck in a decision, go face, as this helps reach your win condition. Most likely, your opponent will be behind early in trying to clear your minions to stop the incoming damage, so you will not have much board opposition.

Always look for lethal. Between multiple burn spells, charge minions, weapons, and minion attack buff cards, it may be hiding in your hand.

Matchups

Aggro Shaman is strong against decks like Miracle Rogue, Mid-Range Hunter, and Malygos Rogue, because it can finish off opponents before they can draw and play their win conditions. It is also strong against other aggro decks, as you can typically win faster.

Early board control decks like Zoolock and Tempo Mage and early board clear decks with sustain like N’Zoth Paladin do pose a threat to this deck, but are not unbeatable.

You have more early aggressive cards than your opponent has removal, so card draw permitting, you should be able to win most matchups early on.

In Closing

Aggro Shaman is one of the most hated decks on ladder, but that is because it is so strong. If you do not want to play a deck focused on beating Aggro Shaman, playing it yourself can and will help you climb. It is not a complex deck, has solid winrates in most matchups, is inexpensive to craft, and can actually be quite fun to play. As always thank you for reading, let me know how to improve my articles, and keep an eye out for my future content.

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