Druid Basics

Golden Copies - Levels 36 & 38

Innervate allows you to grant yourself one extra Mana when played. It is much less powerful that it was originally when it granted two, but it can still give you a minor resource advantage.

• It costs 0 Mana which means you can play this card at any time.
• With this you can play a card sooner than you would otherwise be able to at a particular moment, and perhaps trigger effects that require multiple cards being played as well. 
• This card does not offer as much value as many other cards and is not typically considered for deck building at the moment, but don't be afraid to get creative! A new card might make this a better option again one day.

This card is best used:

• To trigger effects that require cards to be played.
• To obtain extra resources to play a card sooner than you would otherwise be able to in a particular moment.

Golden Copies - Levels 32 & 34

Claw gives your hero a temporary buff for this turn of 2 Attack, but the 2 Armor will remain if unused. It can empower your hero's attack and negate some damage sustained in a trade. 

• Multiple buffs like this one can be stacked as long as you have the Mana, however you still only get a single attack per turn.
• You do not want to play this if you are unable to attack because the attack portion will be wasted; if you are frozen or you have already attacked for example. If you really need the Armor to survive it may be worth it, but your best judgement.

This card is best used:

• To enhance your hero's Attack for the turn and mitigate some damage.

Golden Copies - Levels 28 & 30

Mark of the Wild is a spell that buffs a minion of your choice. Their Attack and Health is increased by 2, and they also gain the keyword Taunt.

• The Taunt keyword requires your opponent to minions that possess it before they may target any others, but this does not apply to spells.
• You generally do not want to use this on an enemy minion, unless there's a rare exception like giving them a particular modification to trigger a specific removal effect.
• When you minions have increased health they survive much longer if you have healing effects.

This card is best used:

• To empower a minion and allow it to trade better and survive longer.
• Defend your hero with a Taunt minion.
• In rare situations to modify an enemy minion to enable a removal effect.

Golden Copies - Levels 15 & 20

Healing Touch is a simple card that restores 8 health. This can target any character as it does not specify a restriction, but generally you will want to use this on friendly characters.

• If the amount of healing exceeds the target's missing health the excess is wasted.
• If you can attack an enemy minion and survive with the a minion you play to target you should do that before healing it, as it is sub-optimal to take the damage afterwards in many cases.

This card is best used:

• To heal any character, usually friendly.

Golden Copies - Levels 23 & 26

Wild Growth is a card that is core to Druid's class identity. What this does is it increases your maximum mana if it is still below 10. Mana sold separately, so you will have to wait until the next turn to fill it.

• You're best off using this as early as possible if you have the opportunity. Playing a copy on turn 2 is ideal, so you may often look for this in your opening hand.
• This is traditionally used to boost your resources faster than your opponent to play much more powerful and threatening cards sooner which may allow you to snowball. It is referred to as 'ramping'.
• If you already have 9 Mana Crystals it is wasteful to play this for two reasons. Firstly, you will advance to 10 Mana Crystals the next turn anyway, and secondly because this card can allow you to draw another if you already have the maximum number of Mana Crystals.
• When played after you reach 10 Mana Crystals you will receive Excess Mana which you can then play to draw a card.

This card is best used:

• Early in a match for maximum value from your boosted Mana capacity.
• To draw a card once you have reached the cap of 10 Mana Crystals (do not play this card if you have 9 Mana Crystals).

Unlocked - Level 2
Golden Copies - Levels 45 & 46

Starfire is a moderate source of damage that has bonus value of drawing a card afterwards. You can target all characters with this as it does not specify a restriction.

• Most often you will use this to remove a minion from the board, but it is also viable to use if you have an opportunity to deal lethal damage.
• If you are holding this and don't necessarily need the damage, but definitely need to draw from your deck, you may opt to play this just to cycle it in some situations.

This card is best used:

• To remove a minion from the board.
• To deliver lethal damage.
• To cycle the card if you need a crucial card draw.
• In combination with Spell Damage.

Unlocked - Level 4
Golden Copies - Levels 43 & 44

Savage Roar is core to Druid's identity. This has historically been used as a win condition to deal a massive amount of damage.

• The more minions in your control that are able to attack, the more value you get out of this card. It can give you a total of up to 16 additional damage with just one copy and a full board.
• Your hero gets the +2 Attack as well.
• Using an abundance of small minions with a copy or two of this in hand is a classic strategy for druids to abruptly win a match.
• You may also use this for more favorable trades if you just need to clear the board effectively.

This card is best used:

• As a win condition to deliver a lot of damage all at once.
• For more favourable trades if you need to clear your opponent's board.

Unlocked - Level 6
Golden Copies - Levels 40 & 42

Moonfire doesn't seem very exciting but there are situations in which it can be strong.

• It costs 0 Mana which means you can play this card at any time.
• This card is frequently used as a vessel for Spell Damage value, especially with cards like Malygos which could win you a match when played right.
• It can also be used in situations where you just need to play several cards to trigger the effect of another.

This card is best used:

• To trigger effects that require multiple cards to be played.
• In combination with Spell Damage.

Unlocked - Level 8
Golden Copies - Levels 47 & 48

Swipe is Druid's premium AOE (are of effect) spell. This class does not have too many tools to deal with a wide board but this one is strong when used effectively.

• The enemy that you target will receive the 4 damage, and all others receive only 1. With Spell Damage bonuses both values are increased.
• Trading into minions to lower the Health of them strategically will often get the best value when using this spell.
• Choose when you use this carefully as Druid has limited board clear options. 
• You can optionally save these to abruptly deal lethal damage

This card is best used:

• To remove multiple minions from the board strategically.
• To deal lethal face damage in some cases.

Unlocked - Level 10
Golden Copies - Levels 49 & 50

Ironbark Protector is a large Taunt minion. 

• It will require an answer from your opponent as it's a fairly large obstacle for them. Opponents will often use hard removal spells to deal with it or trade in multiple minions.
• At 8 Attack and 8 Health for 8 Mana, this is a very average card. It is a great option for druids to put a lot of stats on the board however, and they may even be able to do so earlier with Mana ramp.

This card is best used:

• When you need to bolster your board presence.
• When you need to stall an opponent's aggressive board.