The Taunt Warrior Deck - Episode 57

Hello!

• Andrew is on the show this week
• Topic: Deck Battle!
• Reasons to be happy this week
• News: We’re going to BlizzCon!

What is a Deck Battle?

Once a month, a guest host brings their favorite deck onto the show to battle the current reigning champion deck for control of the Happy Hearthstone Deck Battle Throne!

If the challenger wins the best-of-3 series, their deck becomes the new Reigning Champion Deck and will fight off future challengers until it loses, or until it’s earned its place in the Happy Hearthstone Hall of Fame!

View the Deck Battle Archive + The Happy Hearthstone Hall of Fame

Defending Deck: Andrew’s Warlock Demon Zoo deck has reigned supreme for 4 months, and has beaten 3 decks before this episode.

Challenger Deck: That-Other-Andrew has brought out a Taunt Warrior deck that relies on a sturdy defensive wall that sustains it through to the end-game.

The Deck

Creatures

• 2x Armorsmith
• 2x Acolyte of Pain
• 1x Big Game Hunter
• 2x Sludge Belcher
• 1x Emperor Thaurissan
• 1x Justicar Trueheart
• 2x Master Jouster
• 2x Sunwalker
• 1x Ragnaros the Firelord
• 1x Ysera
• 1x Varian Wrynn

Spells

• 2x Execute
• 2x Shield Slam
• 2x Fiery War Axe
• 2x Bolster
• 2x Bash
• 2x Shield Block
• 2x Brawl

Sideboard

In case you don’t have some of the ideal cards, here are some quality back ups and alterations you can make that keep with the same theme and strengths of the deck.

• 2x Sen’jin Shieldmasta
• 2x Death’s Bite
• 2x Annoy-o-tron
• 2x Shieldmaiden
• 2x Antique Healbot

The Duel!

Post-Duel Commentary

• Who won
• Obligatory bragging session
• Challenger Deck: How well did it perform?
• Defending Deck: How well did it perform?
• Best moments in the matches
• The Happy Hearthstone Champion Ceremony(tm)

Community

• Question: Most fun TGT deck
• iTunes Reviews

Donations

• No donations this week 

The Dust Bowl

We open card packs donated by listeners, and pick our favorites and least favorites on the show!

Thanks to our supporters:

• No pack donations this week 

Card of the Week

Farewell

• Contact Andrew on Twitter, Email him, or add him on Battle.net as anoverdrive#6189
• What you want to see in future episodes
• What hosts you want to visit the show

DECK GUIDE:

Hold the line! Andrew’s Taunt Warrior deck for Hearthstone is sturdy and fun. It relies on building up solid defenses to hold out into the late-game, when big heroes drop onto the board to swing the tide in your favor. You can check it out on the latest episode of Happy Hearthstone.

Note from Josh: The rest of this article was written by Andrew. Thanks, Andrew!

The Taunt Warrior

This deck is my own version of the taunt warrior deck that people like to play. It consists of a lot of taunt minions with high health to keep your hero safe and heaps of removal and control cards to make sure you stay in charge of the game.

Let’s get straight into the cards I used in my deck for the mighty showdown with Josh. You can find a completely plain deck list on the podcast episode. Here, I’ll provide additional commentary where I feel it’s helpful or necessary.

2x Armorsmith

Good early game card to establish board presence on turn 1 (with coin) or 2. Gets you early armor and gives your opponent something to deal with while you stall for your bigger cards.

2x Acolyte of Pain

Another early game minion. Very annoying card for the opposition and normally draws you at least 1 or 2 cards. If they want to waste a silence on it then that’s good as well

1x Big Game Hunter

Useful card to hang onto for late game to gain tempo and a quick, easy answer to big minions that manage to hit the board early.

2x Sludge Belcher

Fits the taunt theme perfectly, combos well with bolster and very annoying to deal with. I prefer this over Sen’jin Shieldmasta because of the extra body it spawns, which you can also buff up.

1x Emperor Thaurissan

Good turn 6 play if your hand has many cards in it. Allows more comboing as well as letting you use your hero power more often. Especially good to knock the cost of Varian Wrynn down. This lets you combo Varian with execute or shield slam in 1 turn or more if Emperor Thaurissan sticks around longer.

1x Justicar Trueheart

This card is mainly in the deck for fun and to showcase some new TGT cards. However, when played in the correct situations, this card proves to be very useful. Using your hero power most turns after playing him keeps your armor at an all time high and with all the taunts and big minions this deck has your hero stays very safe and if the game takes you to a fatigue race, you will generally win.

2x Master Jouster

4 out of 5 times you will win this joust using this deck or a similar one. Majority of the minions in this deck cost 5 or higher. If you win the joust this is an extremely solid card for its cost. Even if you don’t win the joust there are worse cards out there to drop for 6 mana.

2x Sunwalker

Very good vanilla minion in my opinion. Stats are well balanced and divine shield + taunt is not something to be taken lightly. 1 point less attack and health compared to Master Jouster but you get the guaranteed added bonuses. Very useful.

1x Ragnaros the Firelord

Extremely powerful vanilla legendary. We all love ragnaros, let’s be honest. Applies huge amounts of pressure, especially when drawn out with Varian Wrynn.

1x Ysera

Amazing if drawn out with Varian Wrynn. Otherwise a great late game card and very threatening. If Ysera Awakens is drawn, it can most of the time be used as a finisher.

1x Varian Wrynn

Amazing and very fun card to play in any warrior deck. Makes it possible to get 4 beefy minions out in a single turn very cost efficiently. Worst case scenario, you are still drawing 3 cards!

2x Execute

Especially good to take out minions with very high health such as opposing Ysera or other dragons. Also buffed minions that the opponent used to trade with.

2x Shield Slam

This is generally considered hard removal in this deck because it is extremely easy to have 10+ armor so it basically takes out almost any minion. An easy 4 mana combo is to Shield block then Shield Slam afterward. On turn 4 this takes out most minions and gives you a tempo lead.

2x Fiery War Axe

Straight up overpowered weapon and a staple in most warrior decks. Early game removal and keeps high threat.

2x Bolster

Buffs up your taunt minions to help keep a stable and very solid board.

2x Bash

Very good early game removal and great tempo play with the armor gain.

2x Shield Block

Armor gain and card draw. Perfect for the deck. Good to play on turn 3 or 4.

2x Brawl

Excellent removal if behind and especially if your opponent blew all their cards on one board. I personally prefer to have 2. If it gets to the point where 2 is too clunky then you’re generally going to win anyway in most cases.

Possible Additions

As stated previously this deck revolves around control and taunt so some possible additions are below if you don’t have the cards listed in the main deck.

x Senjin Shieldmasta

Pretty much only here to sub for Sludge Belcher for those who haven’t bought the Naxxramas expansion. Can be subbed in for other taunts as well.

x Death’s bite

Can be put in for removal and the whirlwind effect combos well with execute for hard removal. Good amount of attack on a weapon to control the board with.

x Annoy-o-tron

Very annoying to deal with. Enough said. Works well with Bolster.

x Shieldmaiden

Mostly subs for Justicar Trueheart. Very solid card for 6 mana. Can never have enough armor.

x Antique Healbot

Great card for late game. The heal is very powerful but hopefully you never really need to use it. Mainly there to sub for cards that gain you a lot of armor.

Final Thoughts

This is not a masterminded, perfect deck to rank up on ladder with as-is, but it’s definitely tons of fun! With a few adjustments, it could absolutely be a competitive deck for tournament play.