It’s that time of the year again! A new Hearthstone expansion is right around the corner, and this time we’re diving into Dr. Boom’s crazy laboratories. Although the change is not as drastic as with the Witchwood expansion (no card sets will become exclusive to Wild) there are some cards in Boomsday that have people shudder.

Once again we reached out to some of the best Hearthstone pros out there to hear their thoughts, and have them pick what they think will be a force to be reckoned with when the dust settles a few weeks from now. Like last time Dima “Rdu” Radu and Paul “Zalae” Nemeth joined for theorycrafting, and Elias “Bozzzton” Sibelius offers his insight as well.


RDU goes to the Zoo

First up, it’s G2 marquee Rdu who thinks Zoo Warlocks will be tuned to perfection: “I think Boomsday gives Zoo some missing tools to complete their arsenal of an Aggro deck,” he says, comparing it to the lists that were played at the end of The Witchwood’s meta. “Until now they had to play - in my opinion - suboptimal cards like Despicable Dreadlord or Vicious Fledgling.” It’s true, especially Despicable Dreadlord feels like an odd card to include in an aggressive list when it has a board-controlling effect.

So what about the replacements for those suboptimal cards? Soul Infusion, a card that gives a the left-most minion in your hand +2/+2, is included twice. “I like it because it's very good with Saronite Chain Gang and Doubling Imp, but also decent on any other minion that you hit.” The card’s effect at least gives a 1 Mana 2/2, but on those specific minions doubles in value. “It’s mostly played for the high roll potential.”

Bozzzton embraces the elements

Bozzzton agrees that aggressive lists will be strong in the Boomsday meta, although he has his eyes on a different class. “I wanted to showcase one of the decks that felt the most new to me when theorycrafting, but still brought us back to the old times: Aggro Shaman.”

Indeed, the list is quite unlike anything we’ve seen before. Previously, aggressive Shaman lists included Tunnel Trogg and Totem Golem, and later on good old Patches the Pirate took over. But with those gone, other cheap cards have a chance to shine: “The deck has early game to get control of the board with cards like Zap!, Flametongue Totem and Fire Fly. But the biggest additions from the new expansion are Thunderhead and Electra Stormsurge.”

“At the very least I’m pretty sure that we will see something new from Shaman that’s not the ‘classic Shudderwock’”

When announced, Electra Stormsurge especially got the gears turning for many players. Casting a spell twice can have defensive applications – think of Healing Rain and Lightning Storm. But for aggressive lists they mean a double Lava Burst to your opponent’s face. Or even better: give your minions +6 Attack.  “Electra can be the final push with burst, or give you value with cards like Elementary Reaction by giving you up to 4 cards.” That said, Thunderhead shouldn’t be slept on either according to Bozzzton: “It’s a very solid body with a very good effect if the minion sticks.”

Is this the list and archetype that will make everyone tremble with fear? Bozzzton himself isn’t sure either: “I could also see a Midrange Elemental Shaman being the optimal way to go. At the very least I’m pretty sure that we will see something new from Shaman that’s not the ‘classic Shudderwock’. I think we will see a lot of new archetypes and not just adding cards to lists that already exists, which sometimes happens. Expect a lot of fun!”

Zalae's Glorious Gloop

Last but not least, master deck builder and deck tuner Zalae highlights not one but two decks people should consider if they want a head start in the new meta. The first deck is a finetuned Token Druid deck, utilizing two new cards to enhance its already considerably strong performance. “Floop’s Glorious Gloop is pretty insane with all the tokens this deck makes. Even on removal turns with Swipe it can be broken against, for instance, Odd Paladin.”

Wispering Woods, Spreading Plague, Violet Teacher… tokens aplenty. And now there’s Giggling Inventor too: “It’s a good card in general, but making three bodies with one card really helps for stuff like Floop’s Glorious Gloop, Savage Roar, Branching Paths and Soul of the Forest.”


Also, Mage!

Digging into wackier inspiration Zalae came up with a new iteration of an infamous deck: OTK Mage. After the quest version died out when Ice Block was moved to the Hall of Fame, very subpar lists relied on the Simulacrum and Leyline Manipulator combination to generate enough Sorcerer’s Apprentices for the one turn kill. Zalae relies on Mage’s new toy, Luna’s Pocket Galaxy, to burst down the opponent in a single turn.

“To close out the game you use the 1 Mana Archmage Antonidas [reduced by Luna’s Pocket Galaxy], two Sorcerer’s Apprentices and the two Molten Reflections for infinite Fireballs.” To make sure you have time to assemble the combination, the list relies on Big Spell Mage’s removal core to get rid of any incoming damage. The deck has a built-in insurance too: “Baleful Banker is used to put Antonidas back in the deck if you draw it before you discount it with Luna’s Pocket Galaxy.”

A big thanks toRdu, Bozzzton and Zalae for sharing their thoughts on the upcoming Boomsday Project! Be sure to give them a follow on their Twitter if you haven’t already, to make sure you know what decks they’re crafting next!