Neo's 12 Wins Murloc Shaman

Hearthstone Duels Choices

Hero

Hero Power

Treasure

The second 12-0 in less than a week, so it is time to write yet another guide: this time it's the turn of Murloc Shaman!

As you might have understood by the deck's title, this starting list is not mine: user Neo PMed me their results (3 12 wins runs!) as well as the proof and I took that advice to try it myself.

Passive Treasures Chosen

First pool - All Together Now

Second pool - Rally the Troops

Deck Overview

Pretty much like in Constructed, Murlocs mean lots of synergy and usually short games: in fact, every single game didn't go beyond turn 6, and therefore I was able to play all 12 matches in a single play session.

You want to play on curve and optimize your mana crystals, so that you'll be able to build a decent board and capitalize on it with your buff effects like Nofin Can Stop Us and Gentle Megasaur.

Definitely not the most interesting archetype Duels has ever seen, but one of the most efficient, as well as relentlessly brutal when it comes to hunting down an opponent with a bad start.

Mulligan Tips

Always Keep - Murloc Tidecaller, Spawnpool Forager, Rockpool Hunter and Lushwater Murcenary in case you already have a 1-drop in the mulligan.

Possible Keeps -  if you're on coin, turn 1 Lushwater Scout into turn 2 Murloc Tidehunter can be cute, depending on the opponent.

Remember: you want to snowball during the early game, so always mulligan away expensive units like Gentle Megasaur: they'll definitely come in handy later on, but first you need to build a board and start dealing chip damage to your opponent's face.

Playstyle Tips

Curvestone - If you want to win, make you to have a solid early game curve: 1-drop into 2-drop into 3-drop/1+2-drops are essential for you to snowball damage and eventually win. Your opponents has to struggle to remove you from the board, and you have to make them invest all the resources you possibly can.

Symmetrical Draws - Coldlight Oracle and Prize Vendor  are great for not running out of gas, but be sure to time them well: if the game has turned into an attrition race and your opponent doesn't have many cards in hand, consider holding them and going all out with Ferocious Flurry and your other tools.

Face is the Place - Trade when you need to protect certain units (Lushwater Scout, Murloc Tidecaller, Murloc Warleader), especially against Bruising decks, but otherwise go face. Your opponents cannot stabilize the game if they're already dead.

Hero Power, Signature Treasures and Passives

Hero Power - Given that you want to be as aggressive as possible, nor Totemic Power neither Stormcatcher are beneficial to your gameplan. Ferocious Flurry, on the other hand, is a 2 mana deal 2 that can clear small tokens on the opponent's side of the board and that can be turned into a huge damage generator thanks to any Weapon or Attack buff. For example, I won one game by Spyglassing the opponent's Inner Demon for a 7 mana 18 damage reach, and I won the 12-0 match with Ferocious Flurry into Blade of Quel'Delar into Enrage. Just go for it: it's a no-brainer, really.

Signature Treasures - While I picked Payload totem specialist for the extra Battlecry and the resource generation, I definitely see why some people run Tempest's Fury: if you're able to set it up correctly, this Weapon will basically deal 5 damage with a single swing, and has remarkable synergy with Ferocious Flurry. I am totally satisfied with my decision, but the choice is definitely up to your preferences.

Passive Treasures - Murlocs are all cheap and most of them have a Battlecry, so of course you should go for the Battlecry-related passives. In my opinion, Meek Mastery and All Together Now and Rally the Troops and Battle Totem are what you're looking for, with some clarifications:

• I'd advise you to pick Meek Mastery over All Together Now: most Murlocs are Neutrals, and after all you should pick mana cheat + stats buff over mana cheat alone.
• Both the tier 2 treasures I wrote are fantastic, but I personally prefer Rally the Troops: while you may be a little less explosive in the earliest stages of the game (beware: "less explosive" doesn't mean that you won't have a good early game, because you will still have it), you'll be less likely to run out of gas, and therefore you'll be able to refill your board after a clear.

Even though Quel'Delar is one of the strongest Active Treasures in the game mode, trying to assemble it with Murloc Shaman may not be the best idea, since you ideally want to close games sooner than turn 6. On the other hand, Blade of Quel'Delar by itself is pretty decent, and you should consider picking it if you don't get offered anything better.

Blade of Quel'Delar, in particular, is very good with Ferocious Flurry, giving you a cute 3 mana deal 6 damage that may come in handy down the road. Same goes for Enrage, except this one is just sheer damage: 5 mana deal 14 is not something you want to pass on.

I picked Worshipper for the same exact reason of Blade of Quel'Delar and Enrage, this time with the upside of a body to fight for the board with.

Blood Moon is another great Active Treasure, that allows you to withstand Miracle Priest and Meek Mastery decks' early burst, stabilize the game and then buff your board and heal back up.

Final Observations

Firemancer Flurgl - Definitely the card that surprised me the most, not because of the face damage it provides, but rather because of the ability to keep the opponent's board at bay so that you can keep going face with no worries of trading. Particularly good with 0-Cost Murlocs drawn by Rally the Troops.

Reach - You have way more reach than you can possibly think: Nofin Can Stop Us, Murloc Warleader, Gentle Megasaur and whatnot give you solid AoE buff that can seal games in an instant.

Shadow Word: Void - if you happen to to have two minions with the same amount of Attack but different Health (we're talking bout 4+ Health units) and you need to trade, consider doing it with the unit with most Health: make Priests' Shadow Word: Void as worse as possible, so that the tempo swing will not be devastating. This is an advice people should follow in general, based on the specific matchup.