Hearthstone Shaman Guide

Hearthstone Shaman Guide by Khalanil

Overview

This guide is for players interested in the Shaman class, whether they be new to the class or to Hearthstone in general. It will be updated over the course of the beta as cards change and strategies evolve.

In the Warcraft universe, Shaman are a jack-of-all trades and can dish out damage, while supporting and healing their allies. The Hearthstone Shaman has the same flexibility, with the Shaman kit incorporating powerful heals, a variety of damage spells, and the ability to boost their minions. The Shaman’s Totemic Call hero power summons a random totem, each of which has a useful role and provides additional minion support. With options like Bloodlust and Flametongue Totem that boost minion attack power, the Shaman works well with a full band of minions in play.

Important terms

Freeze- Prevents a hero or minion from attacking on that player’s next turn.
Overload- Reduces the number of available mana crystals during your next turn.
Silence- Clears all special abilities from a minion, including Taunt.
Spell Power- Causes player’s spells to deal additional damage.
Taunt- Attacking heroes and minions much target an enemy minion with Taunt, if one is currently in play.
Windfury- Hero or minion can attack twice every turn.

Abbreviations:

AP- Attack Power. Amount of damage dealt by a minion in a single attack.
DP- Durability Points. Number of times a weapon can be used before it is removed from play.
HP- Health Points. Amount of damage that a minion can take before being removed from play.

Table of Contents

– Hero Power
– Spells
– Equipment
– Minions (Shaman-specific and synergistic neutrals)
– Deck-building Strategies

Hero Power

Totemic Call (2 Mana)- Summon a random Totem.
Randomly brings a basic totem into play. If all basic totems are already in play, this spell cannot be used.

Searing Totem (1 AP, 1 HP)
– Basic 1/1 minion.

Stoneclaw Totem (2 HP)
Taunt.
– Useful for drawing attacks. Since this totem has no attack, enemy minions can clear it from play without taking any damage.

Healing Totem (2 HP)
At the end of your turn, restore 1 Health to all friendly characters.
– If kept alive, this totem provides a continuous stream of healing to your hero and any damaged minions.

Wrath of Air Totem (2 HP)
Spell Power +1
– Inexpensive and unlimited (though randomly-obtained) Spell Power card. If brought out early, forces your opponent to decide between using an attack to destroy it or risk a 2-damage Frost Shock.

Spells

Basic Set

Ancestral Healing (0 Mana)
Restore a minion to full Health and give it Taunt.
– For no cost, you can simultaneously restore all of a minion’s health and grant it taunt. This is an extremely useful spell if used well. With this spell, any minion you put on the field can taunt attacks from your hero and weaker minions. Alternatively, if any of your high-health minions are running low in health, this spell can bring it back up to full. To make the most effective use of this spell, make sure you are getting the full advantage from both halves of this card’s effects.

Totemic Might (0 Mana)
Give your Totems +2 Health.
– For no cost, permanently boosts the health of all of your totems in play. Shaman totems are useful for both buffing and attacking, and this card will make it much harder for your opponent to clear them from the board.

Frost Shock (1 Mana)-
Deal 1 damage to an enemy character and Freeze it.
– This spell is useful for neutralizing hard-hitting enemy minions if you can’t immediately clear them from play. This spell also deals additional damage if you have Spell Power.

Rockbiter Weapon (1 Mana)
Give a friendly character +3 Attack this turn.
– Can be used on your hero (allowing him to attack) or on a friendly minion, temporarily boosting its damage. Useful early game if you need to clear a high health enemy minion. Much more powerful if saved until later and combined with Windfury.

Windfury (2 Mana)
Give a minion Windfury.
– Allows a minion to attack twice per turn. This spell can greatly improve your damage output when used on more durable minions, as long as your opponent is unable to neutralize the minion.

Hex (3 Mana)
Transform a minion into a 0/1 Frog with Taunt.
– Permanently neutralizes an enemy minion. Hexed enemies are an opportune target for your Searing Totem, as the Searing Totem (1 HP) will survive the encounter.

Bloodlust (5 Mana)
Give your minions +3 Attack this turn.
– Powerful group attack bonus that can allow you to dish out a ton of damage, depending on how many minions you have in play. This bonus will also allow your non-attacking totems to attack for a turn.

Expert Set

Earth Shock (1 Mana)
Silence a minion, then deal 1 damage to it.
– Inexpensive silence spell. Since the damage is performed after the silence, it bypasses any special effects such as Divine Shield.

Forked Lightning (1 Mana)
Deal 2 damage to 2 random enemy minions. Overload: (2)
– Inexpensive multi-target damage spell. Useful for clearing pairs of low-health enemy minions.

Lighting Bolt (1 Mana)
Deal 3 damage. Overload: (1)
– The Shaman’s basic direct-damage spell. Can be used to damage enemy minions or whittle away at the enemy hero’s health.

Ancestral Spirit (2 Mana)
Choose a minion. When that minion is destroyed, return it to the battlefield.
– Allows you to resurrect a minion. Take care, as your enemy can neutralize this spell with silence or other spells. Resurrected minions do not execute their Battlecry effects.

Far Sight (3 Mana)
Draw a card. That card costs (3) less.
– Provides you with another card that can be played with the cost of Far Sight subtracted from its total cost. On the positive side, this spell can allow you to play an additional card that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford in a later turn. On the negative side, you may draw a 0-2 Mana cost card and end up spending more Mana that you would have otherwise.

Feral Spirit (3 Mana)
Summon two 2/3 Spirit Wolves with Taunt. Overload: (2)
– Provides two low-mid range Taunt minions. Useful if you are in need of Taunt minions, especially since they will probably force the enemy to use at least two attacks/spells to get rid of them.

Lava Burst (3 Mana)
Deal 5 damage. Overload: (2)
– The Shaman’s advanced direct-damage spell. Can be used to destroy most minions or take a decent chuck out of the enemy hero’s health.

Lightning Storm (3 Mana)
Deal 2-3 damage to all enemy minions. Overload: (2)
– A powerful area-of-effect spell that can help you clear the board of enemy minions.

Equipment

Expert Set

Stormforged Axe (2 Mana, 2 AP, 3 DP)
Overload: (1)
– Allows your hero to deal out damage on the battlefield. Take care in the targets you select, as your hero will receive damage equal to the target’s AP.

Doomhammer (5 Mana, 2 AP, 8 DP)
Windfury, Overload: (2)
– Currently the only way for your hero to gain Windfury and attack twice in a single turn.

Minions

Shaman

Basic Set

Flametongue Totem (2 Mana, 3 HP)
Adjacent minions have +2 Attack.
– Provides a good attack boost to up to two of your minions. This spell can allow your non-attacking totems to be used as offensive weapons.

Windspeaker (4 Mana, 3 AP, 3 HP)
Battlecry: Give a friendly minion Windfury
– Provides an additional source of Windfury, coupled with a decently-powerful minion.

Fire Elemental (6 Mana, 6 AP, 5 HP)
Battlecry: Deal 3 damage.
– Powerful minion that deals damage instantly when it enters play. The Fire Elemental’s Battlecry can allow you to damage troublesome enemy minions hiding behind an enemy Taunt minion.

Expert Set

Dust Devil (1 Mana, 3 AP, 1 HP)
Windfury. Overload: (2)
– Can enter play in the very first turn due to its low cost. If left alone by the enemy, it can deal 6 damage per turn to the enemy hero, which can add up quickly.

Mana Tide Totem (3 Mana, 3 HP)
At the end of your turn, draw a card.
– Provides you with extra cards to choose from. Should grant you at least one drawn card, depending on how long it takes for your enemy to destroy it.

Unbound Elemental (3 Mana, 2 AP, 4 HP)
Whenever you play a card with Overload, gain +1/+1.
– Synergizes well with Shaman’s spells and minions that incorporate Overload (currently 9).

Earth Elemental (5 Mana, 7 AP, 8 HP)
Taunt. Overload: (3)
– A very powerful minion for its initial Mana cost, which is offset by the significant Overload cost. Provides both Taunt and a high AP.

Al’Akir the Windlord (8 Mana, 3 AP, 5 HP)
Windfury, Charge, Divine Shield, Taunt
– A legendary card. While its AP and HP are low for the Mana cost, its special abilities grant it a great deal of usefulness if used properly.

Synergistic Neutrals

Basic Set

Raid Leader (3 Mana, 2 AP, 2 HP)
Your other minions have +1 Attack.
– Complements the Shaman’s ability to place multiple minions into play and provides all non-attacking totems with the ability to deal damage.

Frostwolf Warlord (5 Mana, 4 AP, 4 HP)
Has +1/+1 for each other friendly minion on the battlefield.
– Works well with large groups of friendly minions in play. Can be granted Taunt (via Ancestral Healing) to provide a powerful Taunt minion and prevent the enemy from weakening him through attacking lower-hanging fruit.

Stormwind Champion (7 Mana, 6 AP, 6 HP)
Your other minions have +1/+1.
– Complements the Shaman’s ability to place multiple minions into play and provides all non-attacking totems with the ability to deal damage. Also provides a small health to your totems, allowing them to absorb extra damage as long as this minion remains in play.

Expert Set

Lightwarden (1 Mana, 1 AP, 2 HP)
Whenever a character is healed, gain +1 Attack.
– This minion’s attack bonus can stack up quickly if a Healing Totem is in play and many of your characters have sustained damage.

Knife Juggler (2 Mana, 3 AP, 2 HP)
After you summon a minion, deal 1 damage to a random enemy.
– The Shaman’s ability to summon at least one minion (totem) every turn means that the Knife Juggler’s ability shouldn’t completely go to waste due to lack of minion cards.

Mana Addict (2 Mana, 1 AP, 3 HP)
Whenever you cast a spell, gain +2 Attack this turn.
– This minion works well with spells like Rockbiter Weapon and Windfury, as they both provide a damage increase and trigger the +2 Attack boost.

Master Swordsmith (2 Mana, 1 AP, 3 HP)
At the end of your turn, give another random friendly minion +1 Attack.
– This minion can provide your non-attacking totems with the ability to dish out damage for the length of their life.

Pint-Sized Summoner (2 Mana, 2 AP, 2 HP)
The first minion you play each turn costs (2) less.
– Allows you to summon a cheaper minion for every turn that this minion remains in play. Especially useful with minion-heavy decks. Note that this discount does not apply to Totemic Call or Feral Spirit.

Youthful Brewmaster (2 Mana, 3 AP, 2 HP)
Battlecry: Return a friendly minion from the battlefield to your hand.
– This minion’s Battlecry can allow you to have two of any basic totem out at the same time. For example, you could have two Healing Totems providing +2 healing at the end of each of your turns or two Wrath of Air Totems providing Spell Power +2.

Cult Master (4 Mana, 4 AP, 2 HP)
Whenever one of your other minions dies, draw a card.
– Provides a useful benefit from all of the totems that your enemy destroys, as long as this minion remains in play.

Sea Giant (10 Mana, 8 AP, 8 HP)
Costs (1) less for each other minion on the battlefield.
– The Shaman’s propensity for summoning large numbers of minions allows greater chance for a low-cost summoning of this minion.

Deck-Building Strategies

The following Shaman decks are divided into two general categories:
Enhancement: Focused on buffing larger groups of minions using cards like Bloodlust and Flametongue Totem
Elemental: Focused on dishing out damage using spells.

Enhancement

Basic Deck:
http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/5676-basic-enhancement-shaman-deck
Built without Expert cards obtained through crafting or card packs.
This deck focuses on supporting large groups of minions.
Bloodlust, Flametongue Totem, Raid Leader, and Stormwind Champion provide attack and health boosts to all minions.
Novice Engineer and Gnomish Inventor provide draw power.
Ancestral Healing allows minions to be granted Taunt and synergizes well with Frostwolf Warlord.
Frost Shock and Hex provide on-demand suppression of enemy minions.

Intermediate Deck:
http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/5624-enhancement-shaman-intermediate-deck
An improved version of the Basic Deck with some Expert cards.
This deck focuses on supporting large groups of minions.
Murloc Tidehunter, Razorfen Hunter, and Dragonling Mechanic help push greater numbers of minions into play.
Loot Hoarder and Mana Tide Totem provide draw power.
Lightning Storm helps clear large numbers of enemy minions.