If you are a new Hearthstone player, or a free-to-play player, this is the time of the year when you want to think about your crafting choices. Rastakhan’s Rumble meta is starting to stabilize and the next Standard rotation is slowly approaching: there is a lot of Hearthstone left to be played before anything rotates out of Standard, and we are starting to have some idea of what is strong during the current expansion, but investing too heavily on rotating archetypes does not feel great anymore.
There are two Neutral Legendary cards that you cannot really go wrong with: Genn Greymane and Baku the Mooneater. The build-around cards of Even and Odd decks, respectively, were introduced in The Witchwood, and will thus remain in Standard format until the rotation in spring 2020, more than a year from now. There are several Even and Odd decks at the top of the meta, so these two look like smart investments for any Hearthstone player’s card collection.
But how do you get started with them? The top meta decks include several Legendary cards. What do you really need to get started?
That is the question we are looking to answer with this article for Even decks with Genn Greymane. We will take a look at three popular archetypes: Even Paladin, Even Shaman, and Even Warlock, and how viable budget versions of these decks could be, and how to upgrade them to full-powered versions.
I’ll share a bit of a spoiler right here at the start: as far as budget decks go, Genn and Baku are the most powerful individual cards you can craft to amp up your power level. They are truly game-changing, even without the full support squad of other Legendary cards. Baku decks tend to take aggression to a new level, whereas Genn enables you to play slightly slower midrange decks at a level other budget decks can only dream of.
Budget Even Paladin
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You do not need The Lich King or Tirion Fordring to succeed with Even Paladin. Honestly, you do not even need Sunkeeper Tarim. Sure, use them if you have them, but the real power of Even Paladin comes from the upgraded Hero Power and buffs. This deck costs a total of 3040 dust, of which Genn takes 1600, so all the rest is 1440. It would be possible to push it down a little bit more by giving up on Spirit of the Tiger and adding in another Argent Protector, but that would also take away some of the fun.
Out of the three budget Even decks, this was clearly the most successful one for me during my Legend climb in January. Yes, you can play this deck all the way to Legend, and it’s not even close, really.
When you’re on a budget, it is difficult to have a lot of late-game power. You will find this same issue with every budget deck, as powerful late-game cards in Hearthstone are almost exclusively Legendary cards. The one beacon in the night is Bonemare, which is just about a must-include in any slower budget decks, but a pair of them can only take you so far.
Therefore, the budget version of Even Paladin is slightly more aggressive than the full-cost version, and aims to end games a little faster. For that purpose, the deck includes two copies of Amani Berserker and adds Sound the Bells! to its buff repertoire. Amani Berserker can help you establish board control faster, and Sound the Bells! opens up opportunities with Wild Pyromancer, and also with across-the-board buffs on your small minions, beefing them up outside the reach of your opponent’s removal.
The performance of the deck against aggression is on a similar level compared to the full-cost version – despite lacking Corpsetaker – thanks to this improved early game. Luckily, Spikeridged Steed is a Rare card, so it can be included in budget decks as well, and it is typically the mid-game card that breaks aggro decks.
Against slower decks, the budget version will run out of value faster, and it is missing the big finisher spell Avenging Wrath. Nonetheless, it still has Equality and Consecration, so a taunt wall cannot stop it from succeeding as long as it can maintain a board presence.
Upgrade path:
- Bonemare -> Tirion Fordring: As a Classic set card, Tirion is a safe craft that does not rotate. It has not seen play in every meta, but it is nonetheless a powerful late-game card. I actually prefer The Lich King as a card, but rotation concerns make Tirion slightly more attractive as an upgrade. With both Divine Shield and Taunt, it begins the preparation of the deck for Corpsetakers.
- Sound the Bells! -> Sunkeeper Tarim: While Tarim will rotate out of Standard in April, it is an immensely powerful card that enables the deck to go for a longer game much more comfortably. In the budget version, Sound the Bells! often provides buffs for your tokens, and Tarim can do the same while also giving more flexibility in reducing the opponent’s major threats into a more manageable size.
- Acidic Swamp Ooze -> Crystalsmith Kangor: Ooze is a staple budget card, because weapon removal is never terrible, and you don’t sacrifice too much to include it. Once you start preparing the deck to go for longer games and the Corpsetaker package, Kangor becomes a better two-drop.
- Spellbreaker -> Windfury Harpy, Bonemare and Saronite Chain Gang -> 2 x Corpsetaker: Spellbreaker is a staple budget card much like Ooze – it gives you a powerful effect that is never completely useless. As the overall power of the deck grows, one copy of Spellbreaker can be removed to make room for the Corpsetaker package and its final support cards.
- 2 x Amani Berserker -> 2 x Avenging Wrath, Sound the Bells! -> Argent Protector: With the deck now becoming slower and having more midrange power, Berserkers can make room for finisher spells and the additional buffs can be removed.
- Saronite Chain Gang -> The Lich King: Finally, removing a mid-game taunt minion for a late-game taunt minion completes the transformation.
You now have a full-cost Even Paladin deck that is slightly slower than what you started with, but that has a lot more late-game power.
Budget Even Shaman
Can you actually play Even Shaman without Hagatha the Witch and Sea Giants? Yes, you can! I used this build as part of my climb this season and it was capable of climbing towards Legend. The deck costs a total of 3180 dust, of which Genn is again 1600, so it is 1580 for the rest of the deck.
Once again, it is the late-game power that is a problem when you’re on a budget. This deck uses two copies of Bonemare at the top end, and the new Shaman spell Rain of Toads helps shut down aggro decks in the mid-game or repopulate the board after a clear in slower matchups.
The theme of being somewhat faster than the full-cost version continues here. With Shaman, you have a lot of tokens at your disposal, but hardly any permanent buffs. Therefore, the deck attempts to get big value trades with tokens and either temporary buffs (Dire Wolf Alpha, Flametongue Totem, Dark Iron Dwarf) or direct damage Battlecry effects (Murkspark Eel, Fire Plume Phoenix, Fire Elemental).
The inability to permanently buff your minions and the lack of big minions makes Budget Even Shaman more susceptible to board clears than Budget Even Paladin. Not having Hagatha the Witch for value also hurts. In particular, you need to evaluate the way you use Earthen Might a lot more than you do with the full-cost version: with the full-cost version, you can happily sacrifice the value of a random elemental in favor of getting the buff into use as soon as possible, but with the budget version, you sometimes need to get every bit of value you can, and that random elemental becomes much more important. You still need to use Earthen Might on non-elemental minions on regular basis, but the margins are far more narrow and you need to really see the benefit in order to commit the card.
Budget Even Shaman remains a powerful deck that can really contest the board right from the start of the game, and two copies of Rain of Toads help shut down aggression. Against traditional control decks, however, it is less capable than Budget Even Paladin, as it struggles to build boards that cannot be cleared with area-of-effect damage.
Upgrade path:
- 2 x Dark Iron Dwarf -> 2 x Sea Giant: While Dark Iron Dwarf is one of the few minions in the deck that has more than three health – critical to escape Flanking Strike, Duskbreaker, and Hellfire – it pales in comparison to the power of Sea Giants. Getting Sea Giants in the deck helps you to really benefit from your tokens and get some big threats out early to close out games quickly.
- Rain of Toads -> Hagatha the Witch: Rain of Toads is a budget stopgap spell, at least when used in two copies like in this deck, and replacing one of the copies with Hagatha the Witch helps you gain a lot of late-game value as well as some armor and area-of-effect damage for defensive purposes.
- Bonemare -> Al'Akir the Windlord: Al’Akir adds notable amounts of burst damage into the deck, especially in combination with any damage buffs, such as Flametongue Totem. It is also a necessary step in preparation for adding the Corpsetaker package into the deck.
- 2 x Fire Plume Phoenix -> 2 x Corpsetaker, Acidic Swamp Ooze -> Vicious Scalehide: Adding in the Corpsetaker package makes the deck much more powerful in the mid-game, providing both defensive capabilities and offensive threats.
- Rain of Toads -> The Lich King: The Lich King can add another valuable late-game threat to the deck. I place it fairly low in priority, because while it is a great card right now, it will rotate out of Standard format in April.
- Earthen Might -> Hex: Now that the deck is slower and more comfortable in playing a long game, it can be worth it to add another Hex, depending on the meta.
- Bonemare -> Kalimos, Primal Lord: As a final touch, the second Bonemare can give way to a powerful elemental synergy card. While Kalimos is a great card, I have again chosen to give it fairly low priority, because it will rotate out of Standard format in April. When there are multiple options that add a similar level of power, the one that rotates out later is preferable.
The transformation that has taken place here is similar to Even Paladin. The deck becomes somewhat slower and has much more late-game power than the budget version. In Even Shaman, the addition of Sea Giants and Hagatha the Witch are particularly significant, as they shore up some of the main weaknesses of the deck: vulnerability to board clears and the subsequent lack of value.
Budget Even Warlock
OK, now we are stretching the limits of credibility. I admit, Budget Even Warlock is not as good as its other budget brethren. I played this deck for a while at the top of rank 4, and simply could not break into rank 3 with it – ended up with exactly 50% win rate. Therefore, this deck cannot be recommended for climbing the ladder, but it was an interesting experiment nonetheless, and at only 3180 dust – 1600 for Genn again and 1580 for the rest of the deck – it was not terribly expensive. Also, it is not far from viable.
Even Warlock is much more control-oriented deck than Even Paladin and Even Shaman, and therein lies a problem for a budget deck. Two copies of Bonemare just cannot carry the weight expected of them. The deck has some power in Twilight Drakes and Hooked Reavers, but it just does not pack enough punch to beat down control decks, and it also has this nasty tendency to deal damage to itself (Vulgar Homunculus, Hellfire, Dread Infernal) that is hard to compensate for when facing aggression.
However, if there is any insight I gained into the archetype from this budget experiment, it is that you can win without Bloodreaver Gul'dan. In fact, I would rather add some more punch to the deck first and go for Gul’dan next – first try to win the games where you lack a bit of damage and then start worrying about really long games. Between all the board clears and Taunt minions, I did not feel like aggressive matchups were more problematic for the budget version than they are for the full-cost version – and they can definitely be a problem for the full-cost version as well, depending on the damage sources, as minion-based decks are generally easier to deal with for this archetype than spell-based decks.
Upgrade path:
- Demonic Project and Dread Infernal -> 2 x Mountain Giant: Demonic Project is a tech card, and in the budget version its main purpose is to give the deck a chance against combo decks: without Mountain Giants, the deck cannot race them down effectively enough, so it needs an alternative way. However, adding Mountain Giants to the mix makes the deck a more fearsome fighter, even though one with a bit of a glass jaw: it can deliver massive blows, but has a hard time taking a hit.
- Tainted Zealot -> Bloodreaver Gul'dan: Tainted Zealot helps the budget deck clear boards more effectively and thus avoid some incoming damage. With the arrival of Bloodreaver Gul'dan, this ability is no longer as important. At this stage, I would consider the deck fully playable.
- Siphon Soul -> Mojomaster Zihi: Mojomaster Zihi can help improve control and combo matchups. There is no deck in the meta that is a better fit for Mojomaster Zihi than Even Warlock, because Even Warlock has several over-statted plays that can be made together with Zihi or on the turn after it, such as Mountain Giant, Twilight Drake, and Hooked Reaver.
- Bonemare -> The Lich King: What can I say? The Lich King just makes any deck better. If it was not rotating out of Standard format in three months, it would top more recommendation lists, but given its medium remaining lifespan in Standard, I try to prioritize cards that are usable for a longer period of time, especially as most decks have some rotating class-specific cards – Bloodreaver Gul'dan in this case – that are simply much more valuable than The Lich King for that particular deck.
I consider the deck fully viable with the addition of Mountain Giants and Bloodreaver Gul'dan. There are several variants to go for after those and many tech options to choose from, and those options maximize the performance of the deck, but after those three cards, the core is all there. The addition of Mojomaster Zihi and The Lich King result in my favorite variant, but there are other options for those slots as well. I also find it funny that Even Warlock actually keeps one copy of Bonemare even in the full-cost build, a testament to the immense power of that common card.
Budget Even decks: viable!
Overall, the result of these experiments is that budget even decks are indeed viable, especially Budget Even Paladin, which is a very strong deck. Budget Even Shaman is also a capable climbing deck, although it has more obvious weaknesses to board clears than Paladin. Finally, Budget Even Warlock is playable, at least for fun, even if it is difficult to actually climb with it.
With the Standard rotation approaching and the powerful cards from 2017 – Journey to Un’Goro, Knights of the Frozen Throne, and Kobolds and Catacombs – leaving the Standard format in April, 2019 seems ready to be dominated by the Even and Odd powerhouses Genn Greymane and Baku the Mooneater. Even for a budget player, it is possible to get on board this train with a single Legendary card, either Genn for slightly slower decks or Baku for more aggressive decks.
Have you played any budget versions of Even decks? Let me know about your builds and results in the comments!
Old Guardian
Ville "Old Guardian" Kilkku is a writer and video creator focused on analytic, educational Hearthstone, and building innovative Standard format decks. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/OldGuardian Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/old_guardian
Hi, after today’s update with agent being rotated soon I just crafted him and have fun thanks to you, would you be able to recommend an even rogue deck as well? I was beaten by one a while ago and it seemed powerful!
Édit: i have played a few games with a random even rogue deck I built, it works quite fine but my version lacks power in the late game. However, I have also tried odd shaman, and this deck is really great, should be part of a wrap up or article about expérimentations while it’s poaaible to craft Baku/Genn on the cheap!
[…] look at one of the most powerful Neutral Legendary cards currently in the game: Genn Greymane. In All you need is Genn, we presented budget decks built around only this one card of Legendary (or Epic) rarity for […]
Great ideas, awesome article; hopefully I can scratch my way to rank 15.
Because there’s a certain ‘rivalry’, it would’ve been interesting to compare budget Genn and Baku decks to the ‘Whizbang’ option … there are pros and cons for both routes, I guess.
Besides that, great article.
Whizbang decks are way, way worse than either Genn or Baku decks. Performance-wise, there is no competition there whatsoever. Sure, with Whizbang you get to play all classes and literally only need that one card, not even budget commons, but it does not allow you to win games at higher ranks.
Loved the new type of guide! I like the budget approach with a legend, I’d love to see a Baku budget article as well as I just crafted her! Thanks for the guide!
Thanks, it was a lot of fun to build these versions of the decks for you!
We’re already working on the Baku decks, and the Odd sequel is coming. Next week seems possible for the article, but will need to do some more testing first.
Great guide! I assumed Baku budget decks would be inherently better than Glenn because of the more impactful hero power, but this article is giving me serious second thoughts. If someone only has enough dust for one, would you recommend crafting Glenn over Baku now, or waiting for your follow-up article to decide?
My first impression is that Baku is indeed slightly stronger. Both can be used to climb to Legend, no problems with that. Baku decks are more aggressive, whereas Genn decks are more midrange-oriented, so it’s also a matter of which playstyle you enjoy.
If you’re really uncertain, maybe the follow-up article will help you decide.
Kalimos and Kangor are really a must? I have dust for both, but IMO Kalimos rotates out soon and Kangor is not that flashy to spent 1600 dust of him.
You can use Vicious Scalehide instead of Kangor (you want that Lifesteal for Corpsetakers) and Bonemare instead of Kalimos. Very few cards are a must, but if you want to have the best possible deck, then you want those cards. You can obviously win with less, hey, you can hit Legend with the completely budget versions of Even Paladin and Even Shaman.
Can only speak for Kangor. I don’t think he’s absolutely needed for this deck or even paladin.
He’s a very good buff target and obvious synergy with corpsetaker.
That being said if you can on playing any kind of control paladin deck he’s brilliant. Even if you combine him with flash of light that’s a 1/2 divine shield heal for 8 and draw a card for 4 mana. With the loa you’re talking about a huge amount of healing.
He’s also one of those ‘kill me instantly or you lose’ cards against agro.
Also take into account he’s going to be in standard for ages (along with Shirvallah) and healing is always at a premium.
I wouldn’t recommend crafting Kangor unless you have other cards that syngerize well with him–i.e., Corpsetaker, Shirvallah, Thekal, Zillax, etc. Otherwise he does tend to feel very underwhelming.