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Hearthstone | Posted by | 5 years, 11 months ago
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Lackey Strategy

Are there any general strategies for making best use of lackeys? Such as board states to look for to decide which minion to add taunt? What spells can you get and should you look for? 

Are there just too many options, or are there some patterns that you can look for an achieve fairly regularly?

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  • Are there any general strategies for making best use of lackeys? Such as board states to look for to decide which minion to add taunt? What spells can you get and should you look for? 

    Are there just too many options, or are there some patterns that you can look for an achieve fairly regularly?

  • I think there's so many possible scenarios that the only remotely succinct answer puts it down to general HS experience, including reading your deck match-up and determining your best options for winning. For the lackeys with more complex decisions, consider:

    • Ethereal Lackey: while this can find you an answer in a tight spot, the spells available to each class are too diverse (except in Demon Hunter, but they're not using lackeys) for it to be worth holding this back like you might with Zephrys. Instead I prefer to play it whenever I have 1 mana spare so I know what spell I have to try to make good use out of in later turns.
    • Draconic Lackey: as above, play this when you can so you can optimise the use of the dragon rather than hoping for anything in particular. Often the question is whether you want a big or (relatively) small dragon, and that varies from deck to deck and game to game. If you already have lots of big minions, then a cheaper dragon probably makes sense, but if you need more value, then go big.
    • Titanic Lackey: there are a few common scenarios I can think of. 1) you just need a big taunt to slow aggro, so put it on the biggest minion you can. 2) you want to protect a high priority minion, so obviously don't give that minion taunt unless the 2 health will save it. Even putting a small minion in the way, e.g. another lackey, can be right here. 3) you just need to give a minion the health to value trade. There's nothing complicated in this case.
    • Witchy Lackey: usually just evolve damaged or low stat minions with high cost as normal. There is some care to take with evolving taunt minions though, because you cannot rely on getting another taunt minion.
    • Goblin Lackey: sometimes it is right to buff a minion that can already attack, even if that means you don't make use of rush. 

    Of course you might want to hold onto them for combo activation or lackey synergies, but otherwise I play them whenever their ability is useful.

  • ^ Don't forget Faceless Lackey -> Doomsayer ;)

  • Lackeys are generally used to maintain rogue's board position, and any use that gets you tempo back is a good use of a lackey. A few key uses in my opinion;

    - Kobold Lackey is perhaps the most flexible and most desired for obvious reasons. Most common use is to clear a minion on board. There's little to no downside to playing this lackey most of the time.

    - Ethereal Lackey is the scariest for your opponent, since rogue has plenty of removal spells. Its also the easiest to play; there's no downside from playing this card except hand space. One key note is that it can get you some cheap spells for a nice big juicy Edwin VanCleef, so if you're facing down dhunters or druid, it might be worth it hold on for that payout.

    - Draconic Lackey. Terrible for combo, terrible for hand space management, conditional value generator. Its easily the worse lackey for tempo, but it can give you some options like Alexstrasza or a second Dragonqueen if youre playing highlander so its not terrible, just not as desired as the other lackeys. Only play this if youre out of cards, or if you're hanging on to some floating mana. Otherwise its almost always just togwaggle fodder.

    - Titanic Lackey. Probably one of the hardest to play, and a misstep in using this lackey can decide games. It depends on matchups; sometimes its better to give +2 health to something so its awkward for your opponent to play around (like Warglaives of Azzinoth). Against druid or tempo dhunters, giving a massive Edwin taunt can literally decide the game. Playing around removal cards from mage and priest is another good use of this card. Other uses is to allow value trading, or protecting key minions.

    - Witchy Lackey. Bad in most cases since it needs a minion on board to be good. Its most commonly played on low impact minions like EVIL Miscreant or Devoted Maniac. Other than that its just a dice roll most of the time.

    - Goblin Lackey is like Titanic Lackey, decisive when this is played. Rogue doesnt have many taunt options so it relies on removal more so than other classes. Use this to clear a big minion or a key minion from an opponent's board. But the best use of it is to rush a minion for a value trade.

    - Faceless Lackey. Just play em. But bear in mind that there are some 2 drops that can make or break your turn. Some minions to consider before playing anything; Doomsayer, Mana Wraith, Sorcerer's Apprentice, Bloodmage Thalnos, Arcane Flakmage, Dire Wolf Alpha. Obviously playing this and getting a doomsayer is disastrous, so play at your own risk, and mind those positionings.

     

    Friendly

  • I agree with almost everything said here, I'd just like to add that sometimes combinations of lackeys can be useful, such as kobold and goblin to get 2+2 damage from an empty board, faceless plus witchy can help mitigate a bad roll such as doomsayer. And of course lackeys are great combo activators in general, not just for edwin..