Control Shaman

Every slot explained. This isn't any ordinary theorycraft pile, this is a lovingly hand-sculpted... pile.

Zap - backstab that allows you to trigger your overload synergies on curve. Plays well with enchanter and multisource removals like schooling.

Azsharan Scroll - the best it's ever been. Two frost spells: cold storage and chill vibes. Three fire spells: Geyser, Jive and blazing transmutation. Nine nature spells: zap, bolt, biolum, feral spirit, hex, lightning storm, primordial wave, altered chord, and command of neptulon. Just an absolutely stellar discover pool. Since we're cold storaging maindeck as a way to generate more Ragnaros and Astalor in any attrition game, having a 1/2 on cold storage and a 1/3 on Jive, Insect! means you can plan loosely around having multiple bombs in every game that goes long. And hey, if you whiff you still have a 1/3 to hit geyser, pulling the sunken scroll immediately to the top.

Cold Storage - wonderfully flexible. You can freeze aggro to bait them into primordial wave or sweepers, you can value copy your own things, and you can value copy your opponent's cards. Patchwerk? Don't mind if I do. Astalor in 40% of decks? I'll take two.

Schooling - I've seen some decks cut schooling now that the gnoll synergy is behind us. That's. Wild. Folks. Schooling is the nuts. Reborn got you down? Go fish. Foul egg? Scrambled, with leftovers. Schooling plus enchanter kills deathwing.

Ancestral Knowledge - *a full 30 seconds of airhorns* The best card draw shaman has ever had. 

Flowrider - discover from your deck adds so much consistency, and with good stats for the cost! The spells we're playing are great, and you can zap into this. Another way to fish up Sunken scroll if you need to drown them in value.

Chill vibes - this is sneaking under so many radars. This has taunt! Three mana healbot with taunt! You can even heal your minions! Let the fact that this is being maindecked sell you on how good it's going to be when you discover it off school teacher or azsharan scroll. You wouldn't be reading this guide without Chill Vibes.

Lightning Storm - not a great card, but likely necessary. I'm seeing so much aggro and menagerie theorycrafting that I fully expect ladder to be a zoo. You can make this 6 damage with enchanter. It's no equality consecrate, but it's one-sided and very usable. Combined with schooling, zap, and altered chord this lets you clean up most boards.

Primordial wave - one of shaman's greatest strengths. There are a lot of reborn, deathrattle, and buff strategies brewing in this format, so I have this set at 2x. If the format is less wide than expected one of these can become a threat. Queen Azshara comes to mind.

Altered Chord - We have so much healing! Death strike has proven it's worth, and this is debatably better.  1/3 the deck has overload. But wait, there's more: Enchanter. I think enchanter is the headscratcher inclusion in this deck, but altered chord played a huge part in the card's inclusion. Deal ten heal ten baby. 

Command of Neptulon - look, I didn't think much when I added this card to the deck. I didn't need to. The bubble bros have more than earned their spot in every shaman list that isn't planning on lusting turn 5. 

JIVE, INSECT! - Some people think this card is bad? Spoilers for below: we're hard-running ragnaros, and this is better ragnaros. The synergy with cold storage cannot be overstated. Rag is SO HOT that he flings fire while frozen. Yeah, it's RNG, but we can use our cheap spot removal to point rag in the right direction.

G L U G G - glugg ends games. Can he be inconsequential in some matchups? Sure, but in just as many games he's a brick wall that hits back. If everyone is combo and control, we aren't playing Glugg. If minions hit face, glugg has a place.

Astalor - Astalor. Astalor? Astalor. Apparently control shaman doesn't have a wincon. Dunno what that means, play astalor. Play a little astalor and cold storage him. Cold storage your opponent's astalor and astalor their astalor while you astalor.

Enchanter - I'm not sure if enchanter is good, but we have the cards to make it worth trying. I think it makes a ton of sense in this deck, with all card draw and spell tutoring. Lightning storm needs the extra damage to deal with later game minions, and enchanter + zap on three is great tempo. Unlike spell damage, enchanter makes your piranhas more deadly, and the body is better than comparable minions with similar effects. With altered chord being such an important card, enchanter becomes far more than pseudo spell damage. Say it with me. Deal ten heal ten. If it turns out that enchanter is bad, I'll be sad, because that's incredibly rad.

School teacher - Wowee shaman spells are good right now. You're gonna get Chill vibes off school teacher, and then you're gonna get friend requests from frost DKs. Do not take those calls. The vibes will not be chill.

Ragnaros - Maindeck Rag in 2023? This could be azshara, she plays extremely well with the spell-heavy build. Without cold storage generating so many copies of it, I'd never consider ragnaros, but at a certain point playing rag every turn is going to be enough. If there are no control decks, this is the first thing you cut, but it's a great way to get value in and trade a threat for a removal.