Shaman is the worst class in Galakrond’s Awakening. So can a budget Shaman have any chance?
Murloc Shaman has been around for a long time, and it remains unchanged and cheap, but it falls off in performance sharply once you reach higher ranks. It is definitely an option on low ranks though.
However, I wanted to do better and build a budget Shaman deck that could actually win against the top meta decks. Much to my surprise, Lackey Galakrond Shaman was actually able to perform really well!
I did make some concessions because of the overall poor state of Shaman. I included two copies of Dragon’s Pack in the deck even though it is an Epic card because Dragon’s Pack has been essential in every successful Galakrond Shaman list. I also included two copies of Explosive Evolution because it has great synergy with many of the cards in the deck. Explosive Evolution is from the second chapter of Galakrond’s Awakening, so it costs 1400 gold to get to it, but given how important the adventure is anyway, I figured this was an acceptable compromise to give the deck a bit of a boost.
Budget Galakrond Shaman decklist
Deck code: AAECAaoIAv8F08ADDrSRA7SXA8aZA9SlA9WlA/mlA7etA7mtA/muA/6uA6qvA9CvA4KxA6K2AwA=
The deck is a Galakrond Shaman, so you really want to invoke Galakrond and eventually turn yourself into Galakrond for some big Rush minions. That is your main win condition.
The secondary win condition is the use of the evolve mechanic in the form of Mutate and Explosive Evolution. Turning your Mogu Fleshshapers into 10-drops or 12-drops (that means either Mountain Giant or Grave Horror, by the way, you have a 50% chance to get a Taunt minion when you explosively evolve a Mogu Fleshshaper) can get you a big body on the board that the opponent will struggle to answer. Even turning your Corrupt Elementalist into a seven-drop or nine-drop can be powerful.
Finally, you have a large Lackey package in the deck for general trickstery and tempo.
Budget Galakrond Shaman mulligan
Your basic mulligan is Blazing Battlemage and Invocation of Frost, just a pair of good early-game cards to keep you in the game at the start.
If you’re playing against a slow deck, you really want your Galakrond and you can also afford to keep it in the mulligan. It can be a strong keep in faster matchups too, but only if it is supported by a strong early game.
EVIL Totem is another strong card against slow decks, as it can potentially give you multiple Lackeys if the opponent is slow to react to it.
Against decks that like to flood the board, Mogu Fleshshaper is extremely powerful. If you keep a Mogu, you should also keep a Mutate to make it big after it value-trades.
Budget Galakrond Shaman tips and tricks
Generally, you want to become Galakrond as quickly as possible. That is your best chance to win the game.
Mutate and Explosive Evolution are some of your most powerful tools. It is great to use them on a Mogu Fleshshaper or even a Corrupt Elementalist, but especially in fast matchups you often need to use them for tempo. Do not shy away from turning a one-drop into a four-drop if that’s what it takes to keep contesting the board.
Explosive Evolution can target the opponent’s minions, whereas Mutate cannot. This can sometimes give you lethal by turning a Taunt minion into something slower.
Budget Galakrond Shaman gameplay video
Finally, here is a video of gameplay with the deck. I hope it helps you understand deeper how the deck functions.