What Dino-sorcery is this?  A really fun deck! 

Want a board full of these with a bit of magic? You’ve come to the right place. 

I have tried to make a deck which leverages a great, fun combo.  I have enjoyed this immensely and hope you do too.  These are the key combo pieces:

The aim is to generate a self-repeating infinite board of Cruel Dinomancers

We do this by, first, playing the Expired Merchant to discard a Cruel Dinomancer (which is the highest cost card in the deck).  Then, with Spiritsinger Umbra on the board, either play a Cruel Dinomancer or ensure one that is already on the board dies (without Spiritsinger Umbra dying).  Cue huge board of infinitely self-repeating Cruel Dinomancers.  Happy days and a very difficult board to get rid of…  

I have found some good ways to speed up/curate the combo:

• Sense Demons will draw one or both Witchwood Piper.
• A Witchwood Piper will draw the Expired Merchant (the lowest cost minion in the deck).
• Once you have the Expired Merchant, playing Lorekeeper Polkelt ensures that the next card you draw is a Cruel Dinomancer (if you don’t have them both already).

Note also that there are no 3-drop minions in the deck (and the bare minimum number of 4-drop minions).  This means that Witchwood Piper has an excellent chance of drawing the other important 4-cost minions after the Expired Merchant has already been drawn.  These are Spiritsinger Umbra and Lorekeeper Polkeit. 

The deck's biggest counters are only really available to Priest and Shamans (given their silence and transform effects).  Freeze effects can also have a debilitating effect if a Mage can get a head of steam. Mill decks can be troublesome (but not unbeatable).  But against aggro, mid-range and control it shines. And against combos - try and get the combo going as quickly as possible!

In slightly more detail, the combo is generated by doing the following:

• Play Expired Merchant with at least one Cruel Dinomancer in your hand.  (Unless you get a card added to your hand in some other manner this should be fine as the highest cost card you have is the Cruel Dinomancer.)
• Try, on the same turn, to destroy the Expired Merchant so it is not silenced or transformed before you get the two copies back.  You have plenty of cards which can do this.  (That said, it is still possible to do the combo even if the Expired Merchant is lost without the two discarded copies back as there are two copies of Cruel Dinomancer in the deck.)
• You have a number of options from here:
• Wait until turn 10 and play Spiritsinger Umbra then a Cruel Dinomancer on the same turn for a full board of the latter.
• When one of the Cruel Dinomancers is already on the board, play Spiritsinger Umbra and then trade the Cruel Dinomancer or otherwise destroy the same (without Spiritsinger Umbra dying).  Cue another full board.
• If you are playing Priest or Shaman, try and delay playing Spiritsinger Umbra until you can play Loatheb on the same turn to stop immediate clears on the very next turn. 

Card rundown:

Plague of Flames

Removal and synergises with Rafaam's Scheme and any Worthless Imps generated by the use of Sense Demons if the Witchwood Pipers have already been drawn.  In a pinch can also be used to remove the Expired Merchant in the same turn it's played. 

Rain of Fire

Good to get rid of the Expired Merchant on the same turn and a bit of damage.    Synergy with Lesser Amethyst Spellstone and Steward of Scrolls.

Sphere of Sapience

Excellent to help with finding the combo pieces. 

Defile

A good card to help with clearances.  And useful for getting rid of the Expired Merchant on the same turn it is played.  Use with Steward of Scrolls for a great clear.   

Drain Soul

Removal and heal.  Spell damage from Steward of Scrolls helps here. 

Expired Merchant

A key combo piece.

Dark Skies

A great early board clear, especially for aggro.  You tend to have large hands with this deck so it works well.  

[Hearthstone Card (Rafaam’s Scheme) Not Found]

Synergy with Plague of Fire.  Only significant board clear for late on unless you have a full board of Cruel Dinomancers which can be used with Plague of Fire. 

Sense Demons

Great to pull the Witchwood Pipers.  And if they have already been pulled, you get Worthless Imps which can be used with Plague of Flames. 

Hellfire

Great AOE/board clear.  Synergy with Lesser Amethyst Spellstone and Steward of Scrolls in a pinch.   

Lesser Amethyst Spellstone

Healing.  Synergy with Rain of Fire and Hellfire.  Don’t be afraid to use it to survive without it being upgraded. 

Lorekeeper Polkelt

See above.  A fantastic way to get the Cruel Dinomancer.  And to get Zilliax and the companion Mechs to start stabilising via heals. 

Spiritsinger Umbra

A crucial combo piece. 

Witchwood Piper

See above.  The way to draw combo pieces.  Synergy with Sense Demons.  

Antique Healbot

Heal and target for Zilliax and Wargear. 

Loatheb

Important combo piece when facing Priest and Shaman.   

Steward of Scrolls

A flex choice, definitely.  Good for increasing spell damage/lifesteal and a useful discover mechanic to help out in a pinch.  Usefully, a 5 cost minion so I would suggest another 5-cost minion if you want to replace it.  

Wargear

A great target for Zilliax (and Antique Healbot).  Again, chosen as it's a 5 cost. 

Zilliax

All round great card.  Great with the other mechs. Heal and defensive.  Again, a 5 cost. 

Cruel Dinomancer

See above.  I love this card.  You'd be surprised how often people still hit this card (without Spiritsinger Umbra on the board) and are surprised when it pops back up…  

Mulligan:

Vs. Aggro - don’t go for the combo pieces - go for cards which will keep you alive.  Such as Rain of Fire, Defile, Drain Soul, Dark Skies, Hellfire.

Vs. Control and Combo - Always keep a Cruel Dinomancer and the Expired Merchant.  If you don’t have the Expired Merchant then keep a Sense Demons or a Witchwood Piper and likewise no need to keep the Expired Merchant if you have Sense Demons or a Witchwood Piper.  Sphere of Sapience is also a good keep.   

Weaknesses:

The only cards that can wreck a board of self-repeating Dinomancers are as follows (I hate these guys):

• Mage - Devolving Missiles (but the minions will need to be removed) and The Amazing Reno.
• Priest - Mass Dispel (but even then they need to remove the silenced minions), Psychic Scream  (but only temporarily), and Plague of Death.
• Shaman - Plague of Murlocs, Devolve (but they still need to remove the new minions), Devolving Missiles (again, there will still be minions on the board), and Shudderwock shenanigans (especially if there is a freeze angle or Mind Control Tech is used).
• [Hearthstone Card (Zephrys) Not Found] - if people aim for Mass Dispel!  However, people sometimes don’t realise that the Cruel Dinomancer is "immortal".
• Silence cards.
• Kazakus - The 10 cost spell that turns every minion into sheep.
• Mind Control Tech - especially with any double battlecry mechanism. 

Good luck and have fun!