Hearthstone Control Warrior Guide
Hearthstone Control Warrior Guide by lostdreamer
Warrior Control decks are a very strong way to go in today’s meta. With a little knowledge and the right cards Warrior Control can get you climbing up ranks like crazy!
In this thread we will discuss how the Warrior Control deck works and how to build a control deck properly.
- So what is Warrior Control?
Warrior control focuses on surviving early game through means of armor, board control and playing it safe till turn 6+
- That would mean it’s late game orientated?
Yes.
- How much does a Warrior Control deck cost in terms of dust? and is it viable as a budget deck?
Dust cost is usually a minimum of 10,000 dust+ in cards. It can be made on a budget and still be very effective as long as you have a few key cards. Not to mention most of the late game drops can be filled in by Boulderfisters Oger or War Golem. It wouldn’t be As strong, but it would still be very good at controlling the board and help players hit higher ranks of play.
Let’s talk about the cards needed to run this monster.
Essentials for the “Control” based play would be:
[Card Name] (Cost)…[space]…..x[number you should run]
Execute (1)……..x2
Shield Slam (1)……..x2
Whirlwind (1)……..x2
Fiery War Axe (2)……..x2
Armor Smith (2)……..x2
Shield Block (3)……..x2
Acolyte of Pain (3)……..x2
Gorehowl (7)……..x1
Total : 15/30 Slots.
These are the basics of the deck, this is what drives you into late game.
The reason i did not include the higher drops is because they can be changed out according to what you own, and your play style.
Now let me break down a few key components.
1) Execute is an essential to the deck because it has great synergy with most anything you can run in the warrior deck. Cruel taskmaster, inner rage, whirlwind, Acolyte of Pain, shield slam and slam can all damage for X amount and give Execute it’s time to shine and remove Any minion it needs to.
(2) Shield Slam Shield slam is essential because of it’s ability to Deal Tons Of Damage for just 1 mana i have seen it hit up to 40 damage. It is easy to Combo Shield Block with it’s brother in arms Shield Slam hitting for an instant 5 damage for 3 mana +1draw. Insane removal, +1draw, +Armor! Also if your opponent is already having issues lowering your armor it can hit for a really high amount.
(3) Whirlwind Just hate that Hunter play of Starving Buzzard + 1-3 Hounds? well now you don’t need to give a hoot! Whirlwind is your answer! Just one of these bad boy’s will clear a whole field from the infamous huntard combo! Not to mention it does hurt many rush decks! Vs rush it can easily trade 1 card for 2-5 cards! this is amazing value! It also sets up Shield slam’s if the minion has 3 Hit Points, can be played with Execute in tough situations for that instant kill anything. It can be played with Frothing Berserker, Armor Smith, even Acolyte of Pain for many +1’s.
(4) Fiery War Axe This card is Key to surviving early game 2 mana for a 3/2 Weapon is such a deal it’s hard to pass up! having one of these in your opening hand can really pressure the board in your favor. A 2 mana drop that can trade with two 3 Hit point minions is a great value! can also set up Execute plays, Slam! It will really turn the tides in your favor!
(5) Armor Smith Easily one of the top cards in the deck! I have had a good many games where I will be at the edge of my seat watch my Hero’s health chip away and then BOOM play these Armor Smith gal’s and watch my armor stack like no other! A good play with whirlwind Baron Geddon and even if you tech’ed in Wild pyros can get your armor stacked well up into the double digits for 10-X amount. Also they are great bait for Silences/ removal!
(6) Shield Block This can be a main game changer in most situations, definitely essential to the deck because it works well with Shield Slam, Armor up! and combos amazingly with Weapons! It also helps to recycle your deck adding very reliable Draw Power + the armor it grants has a ton of synergy with the deck.
(7) Acolyte of Pain One of the main draw engines for the deck. Played right with either inner rage or Cruel Taskmasters this cards can easily net you +3 draws! and even a trade or two! Can bait out removal or silences as well as maintain field control. Beefing up with inner rage or Cruel Taskmaster makes this Draw engine a +2 draw card with 3/2 as it’s stats! Easily trading with higher value drops with the help of Whilwind, Shield Slam, Slam and Fiery War Axe for finishers!
(8) Gorehowl Very very strong card, when attacking minions it has 7 uses! This one card easily turns the tides with it’s 7-6-5-4-etc. damage each turn to a minion. Really pressures the board and keeps your opponent from making big plays or spamming the field.
Let’s talk about the Rest of the 15/30 spaces left in the deck.
I covered the Essentials for the deck in the last post. Last post covered the cards that help you sustain into late game and set up all your power plays!
Let’s go through some of the bigger card additions you can make to the deck and why they fit into the play style.
Note-Worthy cards to mention! (Tech’s!)
Inner Rage (0)……..x1-2
Battle Rage (2)……..x1 preference, 2 is sometimes to much.
Cleave (2)……..x1-2
Cruel Taskmaster (2)……..x2
Nat Pagle (2)……..x1
Slam (2)……..x1-2
Wild Pyromancer (2)……..x2
Big Game Hunter (3)……..x1 Usually 1 max.
Earthen Ring Farseer (3)……..x2
Frothing Berserker (3)……..x2
Chillwind Yeti (4)……..x2
Sen’jin Shieldmasta (4)……..x2
Abomination (5)……..x1-2
Brawl (5)……..x1
Faceless Manipulator (5)……..x1 usually 1 max.
Gadgentza Auctioneer (5)……..x1-2
Harrison Jones (5)……..x1
Craine Bloodhoof (6)……..x1
Sylvanas Windrunner (6)……..x1
The Black Knight (6)……..x1
Baron Geddon (7)……..x1
(1) Inner Rage for 0 mana you can pump up your minions for +2 attack for the cost of 1 health! this is a great card to run with Acolyte of Pain because on turn 3 you can Already use this combo! This combo nets you a 3/2 instead of a 1/3 and gives you an instant draw +1 net and unless your opponent silences/removes it is an extra +1 draw. This combo is very strong, Also it can be used turn 8 on hellscream for that instant +12 damage charge, instead of turn 10 with taskmaster. Also has great synergy with Gadgetzan Auctioneer! this can net so many cards it’s unreal!
(2) Battle Rage If you think about it this is a more effective copy of Arcane intellect. Running 1 can be very strong as it will often get you 2-3 draws. (it includes your Hero if damaged!) For 2 mana you will always get at least 1 draw. and with any timing at all will almost always grant 2-3. It can combo well with a Wild Pyromancer or Gadgetzan Auctioneer.
(3) Cleave Very powerful card if the board allows it. Doesn’t have much synergy compared to Whirlwind or other “Essential” warrior cards I mentioned before. Very situational but if you have a preference towards this card I won’t stop you!
(4) Cruel Taskmaster Very basic of Warrior cards, Some prefer Inner Rage though as it takes 2 less turns to make your plays and counts as a spell. Still the 2/2 minion Taskmaster leaves behind is very strong and definitely added to board pressure.
(5) Nat Pagle After his Recent nerf it is hard to play this guy. But in a Warrior control deck you should have no problems keeping him alive! you can easily manipulate the board to make it safe for the Pagle or tech in some Sen’jin Shieldmasta(s) to keep him alive.
(6) Slam Slam is a very versatile, and well-rounded card. It has many uses such as clearing a 2 health minion, following up different spells to remove higher Hit point minions and can be used as a draw card while setting up an execute play. While this card has many uses it does not fill the role of essential. I have tested and talked to people who have Tech’ed it out and the deck will still run fine. I think the main issue is it needs to be followed up by something to get that draw mechanic and remove a minion, for this reason it will remain a “well-rounded” card and not an essential card to the deck list.
(7) Wild Pyromancer I personally have tested this card in the control deck and I must say Pyromancer brings some Unseen power to the control play style! Pyro just has great potential. Pyromancer functions as a board clear as well as having synergy with all of the cards that we mentioned along with Whirlwind.
(8) Big Game Hunter Very anti-control decks, as well as Harrison Jones together these two cards bring a whole lot of counter play to other late game orientated decks! good Vs giant match ups and getting rid of your opponents beefcakes / faceless manipulators cloning your beat sticks.
(9) Earthen Ring Seer The Anti-Aggro! If you are having a hard time sustaining early game try Tech’ing in one or two of these! Watch the huntards cry!
(10) Frothing Berserker The Mid Game King of pressure. This one card can single handed bait out removal cards / silences, trade with all sorts of different mana cost minions (seen him trade with a rag that’s a 3 mana drop for an 8 mana drop!) All around good cards, has much synergy but also tends to be a disappointment when he gets removed.
(11) Chillwind Yeti Easily a great control + budget card. Puts a lot of pressure onto the playing field and allows for more cards to be played the same turn. If you are low on options or just enjoy using this card feel free to Tech him in for 2 of your slots!
(12) Sen’jin ShieldMasta Has many situational advantages. Protects your face Vs Rush, Protects your Frothing berserkers till they get big. Protects your Armor Smiths while giving you armor for them hitting da Masta of baits! and even has use with Pagle in the deck! Good budget card or even if you have all the cards! he will always have a place in this deck.
(13) Abomination Pudge OP am i right? The Anti Rush hate is strong with this card. Having a hard time stopping rush? got this card? Problem solved! the backlash can also work well with Armor Smiths and Grom!
(14) Brawl One of the Warrior’s only AoE’s Heavily RnG based though, you can PLUS a ton with this card or put yourself in a really bad situation. It all depends on the luck of the brawl! Most people like one. I think if you tech in more pyromancer’s or Harrison + Big Game Hunter, you can side Brawl out.
(15) Faceless Manipulator Whats better than one enraged Grom? TWO! Faceless is a good card in control decks because you can copy your own minion for 5 mana! You can have 2 ragnoras out or 2 Grom doesn’t matter. You will force your opponent to really drop their removal if they don’t deal with two OP late game drops Or if they don’t, hello win! Also good at getting a Counter if you opponent gets their late game drops first, provides a cheap and quick play!
(16) Gadgetzan Auctioneer Between Warrior decks and Rogue decks I just really do enjoy this card. 4/4 for 5 mana kinda bites but the draw engine he gives you is like no other. He has a TON of synergy with this deck because of it’s many spell cards (usually 10+ spells) and most being low cost drops! He really can net you win conditions.
(17) Harrison Jones Look at that fancy weapon of yours! It would be a shame if someone were to…. DESTROY IT and NET DRAWS! – muhaha (quote- Lostdreamer). Very good Vs mirror matches. has good use Vs Sham, Warrior, Rogues and Pally’s for 1 slot this guy can really turn the tides!
(18) Craine Bloodhoof 4/5 x2! what more can I say? Excellent board control! baits out removal like crazy! the pressure this guy brings to the game mid way through is just unmatched. Always worth a slot!
(19) Sylvanas Windrunner Very good control card. It really makes your opponent stop what they are doing and think about how to play around Windrunner. Not the best card since the nerf but still viable in this deck. If you have her and want to play her, this would be the deck to do so with!
(20) The Black Knight Starting to really Like this card. Very strong in match-ups Vs handlock warlocks, Always vs Druid, and mirror matches! his uses are endless! of course your Vs a rush.. then his useless is limitless! i guess his stats still are worth something though
(21) Baron Geddon The pressure! Ever been two damage off from killing a minion? Just end your turn and Insto-Presto They die! He really puts a good presence on the board and though only 5 Hit points he can really do some good damage before he is removed from the field!
Late Game
(work in progress)
Sample Decklist
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