The full set of cards for Murder at Castle Nathria has been revealed a little while ago, and we're nearing the time when they can finally become a part of our collection. Still not sure what to make of Shaman or what kind of decks to play? We've broken down all class archetypes for the upcoming expansion and gathered a variety of theorycraft decks from streamers, pros, and community members to guide you on Day 1.
First off, there is a lot of other relevant content that you might be interested in:
- You can find all important information about the upcoming set in our Murder at Castle Nathria expansion guide.
- You can also build decks with all these new cards in our deckbuilder.
- The new Rewards Track has been fully detailed. Get a head start on the early XP gains!
- Major Patch 24.0 (plus hotfixes) prepared the ground for the expansion with various game mode updates and features.
- Need a more detailed overview of new themes and mechanics? We've also covered the Infuse keyword.
- This time around, you'll be able to open your packs faster than before - should you wish to!
Now, onto what's right around the corner. Before we jump into a variety of potential decks, here is a quick look at the class in the upcoming expansion:
Castle Nathria Shaman - Quick Impressions
- Evolve gets a handful of spells and minions, as well as a new Location that could breath life into the divisive archetype once more.
- On the other end of the pole is Totem Shaman, an archetype that's received a lot of love over the years but hasn't ever quite reached the pinnacle. Could Murder at Castle Nathria change that?
- The class also gets an expensive spell that could be fun in the right deck.
Castle Nathria Shaman - Expansion Class Cards & Archetypes
For Shaman, there are two archetypes to choose from if you want to play with the class's new cards on Day 1: Evolve and Totems.
Evolve Shaman
As a location, Muck Pools is pretty good and is an obvious include for Evolve Shaman: you can play it on turn 1, activate it on a Maze Guide turn 2, then have it ready again when you play Crud Caretaker or Baroness Vashj on turn 4 for a huge tempo swing.
The AoE Evolves Convincing Disguise and Primordial Wave figure to be the most swingy aspects of the deck. Wave specifically could be the most important tool for the archetype and reminds us of Devolve, except in this case we don't expect to see it in a lot of different decks - just Evolve Shaman.
Totem Shaman
Our guess is that Totem Shaman is fun to experiment with, but might be too dependent on when it plays The Stonewright for wins - if you get to drop her on curve, you're probably good to go (and can start playing Brilliant Macaw to get even more Attack on your Totems). However, Carving Chisel and Party Favor Totem might change that arithmetic if you make them scary with a Flametongue Totem and draw into a heavily discounted Gigantotem.
Miscellaneous Shaman
Criminal Lineup is a fairly versatile spell; the main thing holding it back is its mana cost (and lack of Spell School). It could be a nice way to take advantage of a cheap Gigantotem, or to flood the board with any number of other minions. We'll wait to see what the community figures out, but our guess is it's too slow.
Castle Nathria Shaman - Top Neutral Cards
Maze Guide is a useful 2-Drop for Evolve decks, and Sinstone Totem is a fancy 1-Drop for Totems. Meanwhile, Forensic Duster and Theotar, the Mad Duke are begging to have their Battlecries copied by Brilliant Macaw and Bolner Hammerbeak.
Castle Nathria Shaman - Day 1 Decks to Try
Not sure what to play for the class once it's time to enter Castle Nathria? We've gathered a handful of early deck ideas from all across the Hearthstone tavern just to help you out:
What? Shaman is Evolving!
Superior David's take on Evolve Shaman uses board control from Rush effects like Twin-fin Fin Twin and Command of Neptulon with some help from Sleetbreaker to keep from getting run over while drawing into the deck's power plays.
Bake 'Em Away, Toys
Languagehacker took a different tack with Evolve Shaman, instead building for a Tiny Toys turn with an Infused Convincing Disguise, and trusting that things like Snowfall Guardian and Firemancer Flurgl can protect your face in the meantime.
If You Don't Like This Deck, You're Stone Wrong
RegisKillbin tried out the new Totem synergy cards, even attempting to get Brann Bronzebeard, Bolner Hammerbeak, and Brilliant Macaw to increase the effectiveness of The Stonewright and all her pretty little Totems.
Wild Mode, or Even Totems Get Lonely Sometimes
blutrane cooked up this Even Shaman list for Wild, making use of The Stonewright to make the discounted Hero Power even more powerful. The Born to Be Wild podcast took the deck for a spin during the theorycrafting stream, but spiced it up by cutting a Cagematch Custodian for Theotar, the Mad Duke.
More Class Coverage for Murder at Castle Nathria
Want to look at what we've put together for another Castle Nathria suspect class? The navigation links below can take you there in an instant!
What do you think of Shaman's card package for the upcoming expansion? Which decks are you going to take for a spin once Murder at Castle Nathria goes live on August 2? Is there something else from your favorite content creator that we didn't include here? Let us know in the comments!
Comments
I don't know how good Totem Shaman would be in Standard, but I'm eager to test Gigantotem and The Stonewright in Wild. I think Wild has the perfect arsenal for Totem synergies. Lucky I still have Grand Totem Eys'or.
But then, the chance of getting that Legendary is too small. And crafting it with dust would not be wise for testing purpose.