I played 30 games in Diamond 5-1 mmr in Legend to test this deck, and it has a winrate of 73%. I might get the sample size to 100 and update the stats later but I wanted to make it public today.

After the deck got renamed, the stats started tracking it as a new deck, so I added the stats.

This is the result:

Neutral: 22-8 73%

Demon Hunter: 1-2 33%

Druid: 4-1 80%

Hunter: 0-0 N/A

Mage: 7-1 88%

Paladin: 1-2 33%

Priest: 3-1 75%

Rogue: 2-0 100%

Shaman: 1-1 50%

Warlock: 3-0 100%

Warrior: 0-0 N/A

Introduction

I crafted Gahz'rilla a few weeks ago and am trying to make different fun and semi competitive decks with it. I have 3 deck ideas out of an initial 5 that seem either fun, semi viable or both. The first deck I already posted, it's Prehistoric Stampede which is more of a fun meme deck with low winrate that has a lot of nice interactions with big beasts. The second deck is a deck with an aggressive beast core with a lot of card draw that can win through aggression but also has a fun Gahz'rilla otk finisher, here is the link: Prehistoric Safari. This is the third and final deck of the series, a Reno version that uses discover a beast cards to get the otk in hand very consistently. It has the highest winrate of all 3 of these decks, and a control gameplan early.

Table of Contents

1. Win Conditions - General gameplan and win conditions against different deck types.

2. Matchups - Goes over the matchups you face for each class and provides some matchup specific tips.

3. Mulligans - Some tips for the mulligan.

4. General Tips - General tips on playing this deck and card interactions to watch for.

5. Sample Games - Some replays to show the gameplay of this deck.

6. Conclusion - Some final thoughts on the deck.

1. Win Conditions

Against aggro: You really don't need the combo for most aggro matchups, but if you see the board is under control then don't use your combo pieces for survival. The main things you want to look for are Zephrys the Great, Reno Jackson, Professor Slate, and Dreadscale and Serpentbloom. You have so many discover a beast cards that you will get Dreadscale consistently, so just make sure to keep Serpentbloom in the mulligan if you get it. Overall you can use your removal tools to outlast aggro and in the end you can combo or just win with something smaller like Brann Bronzebeard and Dinotamer Brann.

Against combo: Most combo decks in wild go off before you, so you need to be very aggressive. Try to stall them and make them use resources on board control while you are assembling your own combo.

Against control: Keep a lot of card draw and Lorekeeper Polkelt in the mulligan, and then otk the opponent on turn 9 or 10. Try to keep minions in your hand to prevent Dirty Rat and Mutanus from destroying your key combo pieces.

Due to your plentiful draw a beast and discover a beast cards, the Gahz'rilla burst combo is ready by turn 9 very consistently, and you often win against slow control decks if they don't disrupt your combo with a Dirty Rat or Mutanus. The deck's worst matchup is faster combo decks, while aggro is very winnable but often relies on drawing a few key cards.

2. Matchups

Demon Hunter - Mostly odd demon hunters, you are unfavored because of their burst and you have no taunts so you're very reliant on Reno Jackson.

Druid - Aggro druids are favored for you, you can win if you get Dreadscale and Serpentbloom, Zephrys the Great, or Professor Slate early to clear their board. Combo druids are a favored matchup too, they often set your combo pieces to 1 mana and you can combo them down yourself while they are drawing cards.

Hunter - Did not face any but should be slightly favored for you because of Zephrys the Great, Flare, and Reno Jackson.

Mage - You are favored vs secret mages mostly because you have Reno Jackson, Flare, and Zephrys the Great. Try to focus on survival in this matchup and outlast them, use your combo pieces for tempo. The only exception is if you see a otk in a few turns and you have Flare to remove their secrets on your combo turn. You should try to hero power and even use spells to damage their face every turn and prevent Rigged Faire Game card draw. Combo mages are a very unfavored matchup due to their combo speed.

Paladin - Slightly unfavored matchup vs odd paladins, they have a lot of board pressure to destroy you before turn 9 but if you gain early board control or get Dreadscale you can win.

Priest - Very favored matchup vs reno priest, you can usually just otk them before they do the same to you. Big priest is very unfavored for you because your otk can't go through their big taunt walls.

Rogue - Mostly kingsbane rogues, it's slightly unfavored for you due to all their burst damage but Zephrys the Great for weapon removal and Reno Jackson can help you stall until you can otk them, or just win with Dinotamer Brann.

Shaman - Murloc shaman is even for you, really depends on getting Zephrys the Great or Dreadscale and Serpentbloom.

Warlock - Reno warlock was a very favored matchup, you usually otk them on turn 9 or so just before they can drop a big board of taunts.

Warrior - Did not face any but odd warrior is a favorable matchup for you as you should be able to otk them for 48 damage, pirate warrior seems like it would be slightly unfavored for you because of all their direct weapon damage.

3. Mulligans

Keep Dreadscale against paladins and if you have Serpentbloom.

Keep Serpentbloom, Barak Kodobane, and Zephrys the Great.

Keep Reno Jackson unless against priest, druid, or warlock.

Keep Doomsayer unless against priest.

Keep Lorekeeper Polkelt if against priest or warlock.

Keep Explosive Trap against warrior, druid, demon hunter, paladin, and rogue.

Keep Flare if against hunter or mage.

Keep a card that discovers a beast if you have enough anti aggro, you are against priest or warlock, or you have Serpentbloom.

4. General Tips

To set up the otk combo, you need to empty your hand of beasts other than Tundra Rhinos, Scarlet Webweavers, and Gahz'rilla. Then play a Scarlet Webweaver to reduce the cost of your Tundra Rhino or Gahz'rilla by 5.

To execute the otk combo, you play Tundra Rhino and Gahz'rilla and then use any of your small spells that deal damage and Pen Flinger on it. Damage Gahz'rilla twice to get his attack to 24 on turn 9, or 3 times to get it to 48 on turn 10. With Tundra Rhino, that's either 26 damage on turn 9 or 50 on turn 10. If you need more attack than that, you can use Brann Bronzebeard and Scarlet Webweaver when setting up the combo, and with that you can damage Gahz'rilla 8 times during your combo turn meaning you can deal up to 1,536 damage.

Dreadscale and Serpentbloom is a great combo which will wipe the board each turn. Be aware that it will destroy your own minions as well, but this is ok as you can focus on drawing your combo while it is on the board.

Serpentbloom can be used on a 1 mana beast from spells like On the Hunt and Wound Prey. During the combo turn this can help you get past a taunt. You can also use Serpentbloom on Tundra Rhino if the taunt has less than 5 attack.

You can use many spells in this deck as removal with Professor Slate, but sometimes it's better to save some for the otk if you're getting close to it. Try to use as many as necessary to stay alive to your otk. If against an aggro deck though, use as many as you want since the otk isn't as important. Zephrys the Great sometimes gives one sided board clears which are extra great to combo with Professor Slate.

Brann Bronzebeard and Dinotamer Brann is a good combo for 16 damage burst and a lot of stats on the board.

After Lorekeeper Polkelt, you will draw your main combo pieces and powerful cards like Reno Jackson and Dinotamer Brann, but you should only play Lorekeeper Polkelt if you don't need a last ditch board clear using Dreadscale and Serpentbloom anytime soon, since Lorekeeper Polkelt will put Serpentbloom on the bottom of your deck.

After Lorekeeper Polkelt, you can usually count on Barak Kodobane drawing some more damage spells for your combo.

5. Sample Games

Aggro Druid: https://hsreplay.net/replay/KksT4b59s9A6gyFB6a7roA

Jade Druid: https://hsreplay.net/replay/2bt24onzidhUbGZYYPS6wY

Secret Mage: https://hsreplay.net/replay/TognPnnZ4pEY7ZBVmCTrUM

Reno Mage: https://hsreplay.net/replay/9dq9LhEFAGvdfB4EcJkLrA

Odd Paladin: https://hsreplay.net/replay/MdCsSeCuPtxP6depcRDb7P

Big Priest: https://hsreplay.net/replay/sYaeJbwGXS4yMJ4ZYKG6Zf

Murloc Shaman: https://hsreplay.net/replay/EHzfUpqQ5KrkkVbW97VKz7

Reno Warlock: https://hsreplay.net/replay/Fg2gGpXcUnejpRhvBaJCR

6. Conclusion

This deck is an attempt to make a fun deck featuring Gahz'rilla that can have a good winrate. It can surprise a lot of control decks that don't expect a reno hunter to have so much damage available from hand, and has a reno package which helps it have a good winrate vs aggro as well. Hope you enjoy this deck and post any questions or comments about it below.