Shaman is not doing very well in Hearthstone, and whenever a class is in the bottom, it can feel like innovation for the class stalls. The top tier archetypes are played hundreds of thousands of times and the lists are getting iterated card by card, but the bottom classes are stuck with very few people trying to make them work.
I have been working on Shaman a lot over the past few weeks, and built several variants: Highlander, Quest, Budget, you name it. After building a successful Budget Galakrond Shaman, I thought it might be possible to upgrade that concept to a full-cost version. The deck was based on Galakrond, Lackeys, and Evolve cards (Mutate and Explosive Evolution), which is a combination that cannot be found on statistics sites such as HSReplay. Does it mean that it’s bad? No, it just means that the particular variant is not yet fully tested.
It turns out that the concept transformed extremely well to the full-cost world: Kronx makes it easier to find Galakrond and also provides devastations, and Shudderwock gives the deck a ton more value as it repeats invocations, the Galakrond Battlecry effect, and all the Lackey Battlecry effects. It seems to me that this might be the strongest Shaman deck currently in the game.
Galakrond Shaman decklist
Deck code: AAECAaoIBO/3AuO0A5+3A9PAAw20kQO0lwPGmQPUpQP5pQO3rQO5rQP5rgP+rgOqrwPQrwOCsQOitgMA
It’s a tight list. Galakrond synergies, Lackeys, Evolve effects, that’s pretty much it. Blazing Battlemage gives you more one-drops to get on the board immediately, and SN1P-SN4P is just a solid minion at any stage of the game, in this case preferably as a three-drop.
Galakrond Shaman mulligan
Galakrond Shaman is a midrange deck and you mulligan for a good mana curve. Blazing Battlemage is the strongest one-drop you have, but Sludge Slurper is also fine. Whenever you can get away with it, try to get an EVIL Totem on the board early, because the value and tempo swings from all the Lackeys it can generate can be incredible.
SN1P-SN4P is the strongest play you have for turn three.
Galakrond Shaman tips and tricks
There are several ways the deck wins games. Sometimes you just play a ton of Lackeys and overwhelm the opponent with those. Sometimes it’s the Galakrond synergy cards and ultimately Galakrond itself with its 8/8 Rush minions. Sometimes you Mutate or Evolve your Mogu Fleshshapers and overpower the opponent. Sometimes the game goes long and you need a Shudderwock to fill your hand with new resources and your board with new minions.
Evolve mechanic is crucial for the deck. Note that there is a 50% chance to get a 7/8 Taunt minion from Mogu Fleshshaper with Explosive Evolution. That can help you defend a lot. Corrupt Elementalist can be turned into a nine-drop, and that can also give you one of several powerful minions. Faceless Corruptors can become eight-drops, which can also be powerful.
There are four Evolve effects in the deck: two copies of Mutate and two copies of Explosive Evolution. You can often afford to spend at least one early, even on a one-drop, to get off to a good start. Big swings are fun, but early tempo wins games.
Think about how you want to use Shudderwock in each game. Most of the time, you want to repeat the Galakrond Battlecry effect, but sometimes it is fine to just invoke things and get a bunch of Lackeys too.
Galakrond Shaman gameplay video
Finally, here is a video recap of the guide with some gameplay included to give you a better idea of how the deck functions.