Shudderwock OTK + Anti-cubelock

#SHUDDERWOCK OTK

There has been a lot discussion here around the potential Shudderwock OTK deck, as it not only seems strong but also seems like a possible counter to Cubelock. I wanted to take time to outline what a Shudderwock OTK might look like, and how it could fit in the upcoming meta. 

The basic idea of the deck is pretty simple. Using a set of battlecry effects, we can setup a consistant OTW with Shudderwock. The combo is mostly set up in the early game by playing copies of *Saronite Chain Gang* and *Lifedrinker*, which give us some survivability and add to our battlecry pool. At some point, we also need to play *Murmuring Elemental* into *Grumble* — This provides us both with the battlecries in our pool, as well as puts a 1 mana *Murmuring Elemental* into our hand. With 10 mana and our full battlecry pool, we can play our 1 mana *Murmuring Elemental* into the *Shudderwock*. This will deal 6-12 damage and heal us for 6-12, and put 1-2 1 mana copies of *Shudderwock* in our hand. On the following turn, we are free to play up to *Shudderwocks$ for 1 mana until we kill our opponent (should only take a few, but potentially up to 114 damage, so even gets through a bunch of armor).

As with most combo decks, the challenge in deck building is centered around consistently setting up your combo before you die. To do this, we will need a flexible draw engine, as well as survival tools to help us fight into the late game. So lets get started

 

#CORE CARDS

The core of this deck is built around drawing and optimizing your Shudderwock to produce setup the eventual OTK. To do this, we need some important battlecry cards, as well as a nicely worked out draw engine to set up our combo more efficiently. I’ll address the two separately. 

**CORE BATTLECRY CARDS**: 7 Cards

*(2) Murmuring Elemental (x1)*: Key for the initial 10 mana play. Only need one copy, but a second isn’t bad for the deck. The battlecry doesn’t stack if you play 2, but it is a strong battlecry to pair with your other effects. I only think one will be needed though. It is not 100% needed for the combo, but you are not guaranteed the bounce effect without it. You will have a 50% or 66% chance of bounce without it, based on the number of Chain Gangs played. 

*(4) Lifedrinker (x2)*: This is the damage component of our OTK. Play two for the consistent draw. The heal from playing it is also useful for survival, even if it isn’t huge. Only need to have played 1 copy before comboing, but 2 will speed things up.

*(4) Saronite Chain Gang (x2)*: This is the copy component of our OTK. Play two for the consistent draw. The taunts aren’t the best, but they will slow down faster decks. Only need to have played 1 copy before comboing, but running both does not hurt us (just puts more copies in our hand). 

*(6) Grumble, Worldshaker (L)*: Key for bouncing duplicates back to hand for 1 mana, as well as setting up initial play with the discounted Murmuring. 

*(9) Shudderwock (L)*: The centerpiece of the combo.

**CORE DRAW ENGINE**: 11 Cards

It is important to note that none of these cards interact with our combo. For example, using Novice Engineer for draw might not be ideal, as it will continue to draw lots of cards as we combo, potentially locking out our hand or killing us with fatigue. Based on this we use spell based draw or focused tutors that won’t draw infinitely. 

*(2) Bloodmage Thalnos (L)*: We will be running a lot of spells, and want card draw. This is great for both. 

*(4) Sandbinder (x2)*: We have 2 elementals in our combo cards, and 2 in our draw engine. This helps pull those out specifically. 

*(7) Bogshaper (x2)*: Pretty much our only minions are used in our combo or our draw engine, so only drawing these minions is incredibly powerful. This will require us to have a good number of cheap spells to take advantage of it. 

*(0) Zap (x2)*: Decent damage, great draw activator with Bogshaper. 

*(1) Blazing Invocation (x2)*: Useful to draw minions with Bogshaper, can also get you a copy of any of your combo pieces, meaning you don’t have to draw them. I’m not 100% on this card, as it can give you battlecries that might disrupt the combo, so we will have to see. 

*(1) Unstable Evolution (x2)*: Awesome synergy with Bogshaper, as we can play it multiple times to draw lots of cards, but we do need a target. Fortunately, we have lots of good targets, as all our battlecry minions are really inefficient bodies that would love to be upgraded! This can also be used to boost board strength if needed. 

 

#FILLER CARDS

So we have our combo, and we have our draw. From here, we want to fill out the deck in a way that doesn’t hurt our combo and helps us survive long enough to draw it and use it. 

**ADDITIONAL SPELLS**:

*(1) Earth Shock*: Honestly could be a part of the core draw set. Silence has been very strong lately, and it is cheap so it works well with Bogshaper. Might be a one-off because Hex is probably stronger, but we will see. 

*(3) Far Sight*: We like drawing cards, and discounting the things we draw can be pretty good. Not the best if you hit a cheap spell, but not the end of the world as a 0 mana spell is still very valuable with Bogshaper. 

*(3) Lightning Storm*: Best AOE for small things we have. 

*(4) Hex*: Again, silence is strong, and Hex is really strong. Likely want to run at least 1, might need 2 to help with Warlock. 

*(5) Volcano*: Super flexible AOE. Only question is to run 1 or 2, which will be meta dependant. 

**ADDITIONAL AOE MINIONS**:

Adding AOE minions is kind of a double-edged sword. First, we delute our minion pool for Bogshaper. This means we have to draw even more cards. Second, we risk messing up our combo by killing off our Shudderwock copies before we bounce them. This will really end up being meta-dependant — if we need more AOEs, we can look to add some through minions. 

*(6) Mossy Horror**: Probably the best AOE that we would want to add. The main reason we would need AOE is to help with aggro, and this card manages that without impacting our combo negatively. In fact, this actually makes the combo better, as you will clear small minions on your first Shudderwock turn helping you survive into the combo turn. It does hit your draw pool, but that’s not too bad. I’d run it as a one-off for sure. 

*(8) Primordial Drake*: A good minion with a strong AOE. The body is definitely valuable vs aggro to help you push more into the late game. AOE does hit your minions too, so if you have played 2 of these and Murmur+Shudderwock, you have a chance of killing off your copies before bouncing. This isn’t a problem with 1 copy, so it might work well as a one-off. 

*(8) Hagetha, The Witch*: Same story as primordial drake with the AOE, and same cost. The AOE is stronger, which might be useful (3 damage is stronger vs murloc paladin), but also means you are at risk of messing up the combo. The passive is also interesting to consider. It can help you get the value you need to survive longer, but it can also lock up your hand and mess things up. Honestly, I don’t think this will make the cut for this deck, but it is definitely still worth considering. 

**ADDITIONAL CONTROL MINIONS**:

*(1) Glacial Shard*: This is an interesting card to consider. The freeze effect is pretty strong, stalling earlier in the game and helping freeze out the board when you play Shudderwock. Problem is it dilutes the minion and elemental pools, which might be impactful on drawing the combo. 

*(2) Brrrloc*: Same as glacial shard, but the one extra mana you don’t dilute your elemental pool and you get +1 health, which might be worthwhile for aggro defense. Again, something to watch for. 

*(2) Doomsayer*: Just a solid anti-aggro/stall card. 

*(2) Plated Beetle*: Decent defensive minion, gives some health and a solid body for trading. Also, we don’t have much for cheap minions so this could definitely be a strong contender. 

*(3) Tar Creeper*: Again, just good anti-aggro tool, but it’s an elemental that we might not want. Probably good enough for early game stabilization though. 

*(3) Lone Champion*: A solid body with the battlecry, and it can make Shudderwock better (though this likely will never activate with Shudderwock, because you likely play murmuring too). Anti-synergy with totems, so we will see if it fits. 

*(4) Totem Cruncher*: Another interesting card that is kind of hard to judge. Early game you might make totems, and they can buff this. It also has taunt, which helps you survive. Additionally, this isn’t a bad minion to have in your battlecry pool, because you can clear all your totems when you play Shudderwock, and not worry about them cluttering your hand. Not a huge issue, but something to consider. 

*(4) Twilight Drake*: Good body, and we are drawing lots of cards so should get good value off the battlecry. Again, its a good battlecry to add to the pool as it can help buff your Shudderwocks out of AOE range if you play Hagetha. 

*(4) Defender of Argus*: Good for buffing things like chain gain, making some taunts to slow the game down. Doesn’t really change Shudderwock as you bounce anything you buff with it. 

*(5) Rotten Applebaum*: Seems like it will be a decent mid-game taunt + heal, should fit well in this deck, at least as a one-off. 

*(6) Gadetzan Auctioneer*: Worth keeping this guy in mind. Probably not as good as Bogshaper, but it is hard to say right now. One mana cheaper with a similar effect. Probably wouldn’t run in addition to Bogshaper.

*(12) Mountain Giant*: Not too bad if we are drawing lots of cards. Could build a kind of hand based deck with this as an alternate win condition. Definitely worth consideration. 

**POTENTIAL TECH CARDS**:

Really have room for one, maybe two tech cards to help out with specific things. Pretty much the usual weapon removal, anti-secret, skulking geist choices. I feel like weapon removal will be most important, but this will really depend on the meta.