[S13] Mech Shaman Revisited: Reincarnate Tech!

Core Cards

Zombie Chow - Starts dealing with aggro on the first turn. Can kill Shielded Minibot or deal with Mad Scientist and a trap. Also, survives Consecration and Holy Nova, unlike Cogmaster.

Reincarnate - Only to be used on three minions: Sylvanas Windrunner, Piloted Sky Golem, and Sneed's Old Shredder. This enables our strong mech-based early- and mid-game to sustain for longer. Also, if one of the above three minions is able to attack and survive, Reincarnate provides a full heal and an OP deathrattle for 2 mana.

Annoy-o-Tron - Mech Synergy. Sticky Taunt. Rarely a dead card in a top-deck situation. Divine shield synergizes with Powermace buff.

Flametongue Totem - Strong tempo potential the entire game. Mechs tend to be super-sticky so it finds value easily.

Mechwarper - A ridiculously strong card in any mech deck. Piloted Sky Golem and Sneed's Old Shredder can help this little guy find value even later into the game.

Powermace - 6 damage and 2/2 worth of stats for 3 mana. Strong all game with plenty of mechs.

Harvest Golem - A strong on-curve minion that always guarantees you a mech after it dies.

Tinkertown Technician - A 4/4 for 3 mana is great. Spare parts help this deck set up crucial strong trades. Plus, 1 mana cards help us be as mana-efficient as possible in close games.

Mechanical Yeti - Mech synergy, strong stats. Spare parts are good.

Piloted Shredder - Another sticky 4-drop with mech synergy. Don't use Reincarnate on this guy unless you have to. a random 2-drop for 2 mana is not good value.

Sludge Belcher - Maybe the best all-around 5-drop in the game. More stickyness helps the deck sustain and this guy can often bait Polymorph, Fireball, Hex, etc., clearing the path for your unexpected big drops.

Piloted Sky Golem - Mech Synergy, Reincarnate Synergy.

Sylvanas Windrunner - Strong tempo card, works with Reincarnate as a 2 mana Mind Control.

Dr. Boom - Currently the best 7-drop in the game. Boom Bots are clutch activators for Powermace and Tinkertown Technician.

Sneed's Old Shredder - Probably my favorite card in the game.



Tech Slots & Replacements

Lightning Storm - Only overload card we can afford to run, and definitely the easiest to find value with. Generally not played on-curve unless you have a strong 2 mana follow up. Save this card until you really need it or until it gives you a huge tempo swing. Don't forget this deck has plenty of gas.

Replace Lightning Storm with:

-Kezan Mystic for better matchups against Freeze Mage, Secret Mage, and Hunter.

-Hex if big dudes in Handlock and Ramp Druid are giving you problems.

Loatheb - Secures the board if you have control. Worth holding onto until you can deny the opponent a crucial comeback turn (especially vs. Paladin, Rogue, and Mage) but functions as a strong 5-drop regardless.

Antique Healbot - Often buys you the turn you need against Hunters and Mages, when played alongside a sticky minion

Replace Loatheb with:

-Arcane Nullifier X-21 if aggro is giving you trouble. It dodges Fireball, Polymorph, and other spells, forcing your opponent to run their board into it. Plus, it gives you an extremely valuable Powermace target.

Replace Antique Healbot and/or Loatheb with:

-The Black Knight vs Handlock and Ramp Druid

-Harrison Jones vs. weapon based classes



Mulligans

Zombie Chow - Always keep

Reincarnate - Always toss

Annoy-o-Tron - Always keep

Flametongue Totem - Keep if you have Zombie Chow or plan to coin out a 2-drop on turn 1, otherwise toss

Mechwarper - Always keep

Powermace - Always keep with coin. Without coin, keep if you have a T1 [i]or[/i] T2 play

Lightning Storm - Keep if you have a T1 [i]and[/i] T2 vs. aggro, otherwise toss

Harvest Golem - Keep if you have a T2 play or if you have coin and Powermace

Tinkertown Technician - Keep if you have a T2 mech, otherwise toss.

Only keep 4-drops if you have coin and a T2 play or if you have Mechwarper.

Toss anything that costs 5 or more mana.



Why Didn't You Include...?

Lightning Bolt, Crackle, Feral Spirit, etc. - In a meta where certain classes are making tempo plays as early as the first turn, overload can often hurt you more than it helps. An overloard card is only justifiable if it affords a potentially massive tempo advantage, which Lightning Storm [i]does[/i] provide.

Kel'Thuzad - He's worse on an empty board than Sneed's Old Shredder, we already have 2 Reincarnate for the OP deathrattles, and the deathrattles he synergizes with are strong on their own.

Cogmaster - 2 HP dies too easily and he's useless in a top-deck scenario.

Baron Rivendare - The occasional value he can generate is offset by his 1 attack. Can't do anything by himself.

In Closing...

Don't tunnel too hard on Reincarnate synergies. You have three minions to combo with (You can even cast it twice in a row), so don't be afraid to play the big dudes on-curve where they're strongest.

Have fun!!!

History

Hello - I have been playing Hearthstone since Beta. Prior to that, I played MtG for around 10 years, a portion of which was spent playing in competitive Legacy format tournaments (I played Merfolk).

This is my first original Hearthstone deck that I feel is worthy of being shared. I was determined to make Reincarnate work, and went through three major deck iterations over several weeks and hundreds of games.

One iteration was an old school Shaman with sticky minions like Haunted Creeper and Nerubian Egg alongside activators for mid-game snowball potential like Abusive Sargent, Dark Iron Dwarf, and Defender of Argus. The idea was for Reincarnate to not only serve as a late-game combo card, but to be usable all game via Nerubian Egg value. This deck tinkered with Ancestral Spirit (Nerubian Egg --> Ancestral Spirit --> Reincarnate = two Eggs and a 4/4 for 6 mana). Although this sort of deck contains mana efficient combos, Shaman lacks the draw power necessary to compensate for the card [i]inefficiency[/i] of these combos and to fish for pieces.

The second iteration was much cooler. It's an insane deck that deserves its own post. This one ran a top heavy curve, with Feugen, Stalagg, Sneed's Old Shredder, Kel'Thuzad, and other value-generators that go over the top late-game with Ancestral Spirit and Reincarnate. In order to get there, I ran Abomination, Explosive Sheep, and Unstable Ghoul alongside minions that want to die, like Loot Hoarder, Nerubian Egg, and Haunted Creeper. By casting Ancestral Spirit on the AoE damage deathrattles, I could keep the board clear for the late-game combos. Acolyte of Pain and Antique Healbot were included for card draw and heal, respectively. This deck wrecked certain matchups (aggressive board control and weapons) but was ultimately too draw dependant.

Unfortunately, I realized that Ancestral Spirit isn't consistent enough to warrant a slot. It's one of my favorite cards that I hope will find a place at some point :)

The third and final iteration uses mechs as a core, which is a theme I kept returning to. When Lifecoach showed the power of Piloted Sky Golem in March of 2015, I became convinced that mechs were the way to go. Not only are Sneed's Old Shredder and Piloted Sky Golem late-game insurance for cards like Tinkertown Technician and Powermace, but they both combo fantastically with Reincarnate.