The full Forged in the Barrens set has been revealed and it's time to look at all the new cards and, particularly, what Shaman will be doing this expansion. We'll be breaking each of the Shaman cards down, and giving our best guess for what the class will look like in the upcoming meta.
- You can see all the new cards in our Forged in the Barrens Expansion Guide.
- Our deckbuilder will let you theorycraft your own decks using the new cards before the expansion arrives.
- You can simulate pack openings in our Forged in the Barrens Pack Opening simulator.
- You can do your best Kazakus impression by trying out our Build-A-Golem Simulator.
Keep in mind that this is an early look at the class before we've been able to play with the new cards, so while we try to be as accurate as possible in our predictions of what is to come, no one can perfectly predict the Hearthstone meta.
Shaman Deck Themes in Forged in the Barrens
Shaman received build-arounds for two main deck archetypes in Forged in the Barrens, both of which are based on tribal synergies. Murlocs are being pushed pretty heavily for Thrall, with good early minions as well as a powerful payoff Legendary who can control the board while pushing face damage. These Murlocs will go great with Morgl (a.k.a. the only Shaman skin you'll ever need) for maximum Murlocing.
Murlocs: Firemancer Flurgl, Nofin Can Stop Us, Tinyfin's Caravan, South Coast Chieftain, Spawnpool Forager.
The other tribe that Shaman got support for is Elementals, with a handful of beefy minions that provide incredible tempo if you played an Elemental the turn before. Although there are fewer Elementals than Murlocs, these Elementals feel just as pushed in terms of power level.
Elementals: Lilypad Lurker, Earth Revenant, Arid Stormer.
The last archetype Shaman got support for is the Nature school of spells, with decent early removal and a Legendary that can do a lot with Nature spells. These cards feel more like useful enablers that go alongside other parts of a deck rather than their own synergistic archetype standalones.
Nature: Bru'kan, Chain Lightning.
Bru'kan
"We are all part of the great Circle of Life. Now stand still so I can shoot you with lightning."
Bru'kan is an efficient minion, with good stats for his cost to go with the biggest Spell Damage this side of Malygos, provided you're casting Nature spells. Bru'kan can work really well in a burn deck by adding huge amounts of damage to spells like Lightning Bolt, Serpentshrine Portal, or Dunk Tank, but he can also help Control decks get more use out of removal like Landslide and Tidal Surge.
Because Nature is the predominant school of Shaman spells, Bru'kan is a useful minion for just about any deck running a handful of damage spells solely thanks to what he adds to those spells when on board. We would guess that most of the decks he ends up in use him as ways to tack on extra face damage, but part of his charm is how well he works with any damage spell in a variety of situations.
Firemancer Flurgl
Had to change his name because nobody listened to Firemancer Bill.
Firemancer Flurgl is a very powerful Murloc and works best in a deck that runs a lot of Murlocs to take advantage of his effect. Flurgl's singular ability gives an aggressive Murloc Shaman the ability to turn its tempo plays into board control by dealing AoE damage to all enemies every time you play a Murloc. It's hard to imagine any Murloc Shaman not running Flurgl because of how unique he is and how much he raises the power level of the deck. Against other aggressive decks, Flurgl helps deal with your opponent's board to make it harder for them to race you, while against Control he can chip through Taunts and deal additional face damage.
Firemancer Flurgl will see a lot of play, especially early in the meta, as one of the key tools of a Murloc deck that it likely won't take much imagination to refine. To take advantage of what the Firemancer brings to the deck, deck builders will want to put in as many Murlocs as possible to please his Flurgliness. Our guess is that Firemancer Flurgl has a big impact on the Barrens meta.
Lilypad Lurker
Doesn't ever chat, just has Lilypad's channel on in the background.
A 5 mana 4/5 that often comes with a free Hex is great, and might be just what Elemental Shaman needs in the new meta. The Elemental core in Shaman seems to be pushed towards mid-game power spikes (specifically turns 3 through 5) that will take its opponents off the board and give the deck the chance to take over the game before they recover.
Although Lilypad Lurker (and the other Elementals) are strong in a vacuum, our main issue with the Barrens Elemental shell is that it lacks a truly powerful finisher that pays off on the Elemental tribe. We think that the Lurker can be strong in the right decks, but we're not sure that Forged in the Barrens has given Elementals all the tools the archetype needs to succeed, particularly in the late game.
Chain Lightning
The true inspiration for the song "Don't Stand So Close to Me."
Chain Lightning is a potent early game removal that ramps up as the game goes long. From a design standpoint, we think it's pretty useful to have cards that improve the longer the game gets so that you can put them into your deck without worrying that their usefulness has an expiration date.
Chain Lightning's ability to take out two small minions early, or to soften up bigger minions late, is pretty nice for a slower Shaman deck. Its synergy with Bru'kan is especially noteworthy (as is its synergy with Diligent Notetaker) and worth building around. Control Shaman would love to have exactly this sort of spell to keep aggressive decks from getting too comfortable in the early game.
Earth Revenant
Nothing gets past him, because they usually go around him.
A fairly sturdy Taunt that does a decent Primordial Drake impression, Earth Revenant has a lot of potential as a defensive stopper for slower Shaman decks, as well as a decent curve play for Elemental decks. It has a nice amount of Health for a 4-Drop Taunt and can stop decks reliant on a lot of small minions in their tracks. Its Attack is on the weaker side of things, but the damage it puts on the board when played makes up for that.
Earth Revenant can be exceptional in an aggressive meta with its combination of AoE damage and Taunt. While less useful against slower decks, it still has the ability to trigger Elemental synergies like Lilypad Lurker. Earth Revenant is a fair minion that could be an all-star in the right situations.
Nofin Can Stop Us
*Takes off helmet* "I am no fin."
This is an absurdly powerful AoE buff spell for Murloc Shaman, and will likely serve as the deck's best finisher. Giving a board of Murlocs +2/+2 can quickly shift a game and will win it in a lot of cases. Comparable to Savage Roar except the buff is permanent.
There isn't much else to say about this card, because we kind of already know the decks it will see play in. It wants Murlocs, and there are enough Murlocs in this expansion that it will quickly find a place in the meta. This will often be back-breaking to have any Murloc opponent play on a board of sufficient size, which might make playing against Murlocs start to feel like, "Keep them off the board, or lose."
Tinyfin's Caravan
Don't Let the Murloc Drive the Bus!
Tinyfin's Caravan is a decent way for Murloc Shaman to draw cards. If you find a time to play it where you can keep it on the board for a turn or two it can quickly give the deck the gas it needs to finish the game. On curve, it could become a remove-or-lose minion.
This minion does start to feel like a win-more card in the later parts of the game, where if you can protect it you're already in a position to win while if you can't you've probably already lost. It could be a powerful draw minion for Murlocs, as well as a way to divert removal away from a key Murloc.
Arid Stormer
The Air in the Barrens Goes By the Name of Darren
Arid Stormer is a very good 3-Drop Elemental if you can trigger its Battlecry. Getting Rush and Windfury on a cheap minion with high Health is really good (as Crabrider has shown us) and this can be a great minion to fight against aggressive decks for board control.
Especially juicy is its synergy with Kindling Elemental, which can get it on the board with Windfury and Rush on turn 2, making it very hard for any aggressive deck to fight back. It can be very powerful in the right deck and could see play in a variety of archetypes that are willing to devote a portion of their list to Elemental synergies.
South Coast Chieftain
"Well, South Cost mrgls are hip/I really dig the styles they wear..." - The Barrens Boys
Yet another powerful Murloc for Shaman, providing early board control or late face damage. South Coast Chieftain is an aggressively statted minion that works great in combination with any other Murloc to help the deck win against aggro decks in the early game.
It's particularly scary, as we go through these cards, how many of Murloc Shaman's potential weaknesses are being eliminated. SCC gives the deck a really good utility 2-Drop to answer early plays and save the deck's other Murlocs for the important task of going face.
Spawnpool Forager
"Let's go to the Spawnpool!" - Vacation Disasters
To wrap things up, we've got yet another Murloc and one that gives the deck one of the most powerful things in Hearthstone: a good 1-Drop. The initial 1/2 body is solid, but the fact that it leaves behind a 1/1 Murloc when it dies means it will be very hard for an opponent to deny the follow-up SCC or Lushwater Murcenary on turn 2. This means that Murloc Shaman's snowball can start as early as turn 1 and put many decks on the back foot immediately.
We think it's apparent that Murloc Shaman will be a force in the coming meta, and nowhere is that more apparent than with a 1-Drop that's a pain to deal with. I for one welcome our new Murloc overlords and would like to remind them that as a trusted internet personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underwater kelp caves.
Theorycrafting Shaman in Forged in the Barrens
As fun as it would be to type "Murloc" into the search bar then add every card to our list and call it a deck, we would like instead to do something a bit more outre for our Theorycrafted deck. The deck we're going with tries to do something interesting with Elementals while Spell Damage minions like Bru'kan, Novice Zapper, and Lady Vashj help control the board with Landslide and Chain Lightning. Instructor Fireheart and Diligent Notetaker are great value generators if the deck starts to run low. Our top end of Primordial Protector is useful for drawing spells like Runic Carvings and getting extra stats on the board.
Final Thoughts on Shaman in Forged in the Barrens
Shaman has been given a lot of powerful tools in the coming expansion, and that statement holds true even if you ignore all the Murlocs. The class is being pulled in a variety of directions with a multitude of payoffs for those archetypes.
Murloc Shaman, with its glut of good cards and pushed power level, is the most obvious archetype for Shaman in Forged in the Barrens. The deck will likely be fast, aggressive at pushing damage towards face, and focused on swarming the board before their opponent can deal with it.
Elemental Shaman has some interesting mid-game minions that could give a deck built around Elementals a chance to gain a foothold, then push through to the late game. They could also make decent side pieces in a deck that only devotes some space to Elemental synergies.
Burn and Control Shaman decks have gotten great cards for clearing their opponent's board and getting extra damage onto their spells, giving deck builders a lot of interesting choices when crafting their strategy.
What are your thoughts on Murlocs Shaman in Forged in the Barrens? Let us know in the comments!
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Comments
One interesting side effect of all the spell schools and cards like Bru'kan is that they don't work when randomly generated by other classes. For example, if mage were to get Bru'kan, they don't have any nature spells, so he's just a 5/4 body. So basically with the introduction of the spell schools, it's a slight nerf to discover from another class or randomly generated effects.
Though I do not doubt the power of murloc shaman, we do need to keep in mind that Underbelly Angler is leaving standard. This means that murloc shaman will have fewer cards, less recovery, and if they fail to snowball hard in the early game they will likely run out of steam and lose.
Spellemental is one way to go that could be interesting, but why not Enhancemental? Cagematch Custodian and Al'Akir tie the themes together, with Al'Akir along with Doomhammer serving as great targets for Rockbiter Weapon as finishers. I'm not a good enough deckbuilder to design that myself, but I'll absolutely run it if someone makes a decent one.