Galakrond Zoo Warlock Deck Guide – Descend Post-Nerf – January 2020

Check out alternative versions of this deck on our Galakrond Zoo Warlock archetype page!

Key Cards for Galakrond Zoo Warlock

• Blazing Battlemage: One of the strongest neutral 1-drops printed recently, this 2/2 is an especially strong opener, surpassed only by the ever-strong Flame Imp. This is a must-keep in your mulligan, except if you can open with double Flame Imp.
• Flame Imp: The strongest 1-drop in the game. It’s as simple as that.
• Grim Rally: One of the two spells that the deck includes, this sacrifices one of your minions, in order for the rest of them to be buffed with +1/+1. It can be used as a finisher, or to simply trade favorably and/or push more damage to the opponent’s face. One thing to keep in mind, is that you can target Scarab Egg with the spell, triggering its Deathrattle, essentially gaining more stats, instead of sacrificing a minion, but the spawned 1/1s will not get the buff.
• Knife Juggler: An aggro-deck classic, this is a card that can make or break your early game with his RNG, especially against other aggressive/token decks.
• Dragonblight Cultist: A new addition to the Warlock class, this 3-drop requires you to have a board, in order to be powerful. The worst case scenario is a 3/1 with 2 1/1 Imps for 3 mana, which is not that bad, to be honest.
• Fiendish Rites: Another one of the Invoke cards, this 3-cost spell summons 2 1/1 Imps, then gives +1 attack to all your minions (including the Imps it summons through the Invoke mechanic).
• Veiled Worshipper: A really key card, this is an aggressively-stated 4-drop, that draws you 3 cards, provided you have Invoked your Galakrond at least twice. Great for quickly refilling your hand, after going all-in on the board.
• Faceless Corruptor: Although this card was hit in the recent balance changes, it is still one of the strongest tempo plays for the mid-game, with the mere requirement of any 1 minion already on your board. Even though the 4 points of attack make it a lot weaker, in terms of trading-up, it still can be a really important tool in establishing or taking back board control.
• Shield of Galakrond: Another one of the Invoke cards, this is the only one with taunt, which makes it quite strong, since it helps protect the rest of your board, including the 2 1/1 Imps it summons, from enemy minions.
• Galakrond, the Wretched: The deck’s late-game finisher. It summons 1, 2 or 4 random minions (at 4 summons it also gives you an Arcanite Reaper), while helping you keep flooding the board, without using cards, through your new Hero Power, Galakrond's Malice.
• Sea Giant: An ever-favorite of board-centric aggressive decks, this is too much of a strong card to not include, since it takes full advantage of the deck’s tendency to fill up the board.

Galakrond Zoo Warlock Mulligan Guide

Against aggressive/tempo/token decks

On The Coin: Knife Juggler, Voidwalker, Flame Imp, Blazing Battlemage, Sea Giant, Beaming Sidekick, Scarab Egg, Dragonblight Cultist

Without The Coin: Flame Imp, Blazing Battlemage, Voidwalker, Beaming Sidekick, Knife Juggler, Sea Giant

Against slow decks

On The Coin: Knife Juggler, Flame Imp, Blazing Battlemage, Dragonblight Cultist, Veiled Worshipper, Kronx Dragonhoof, Galakrond, the Wretched

Without The Coin: Flame Imp, Blazing Battlemage, EVIL Genius, Dragonblight Cultist

Galakrond Zoo Warlock Main Goal and Strategy

There’s one, main, objective for the deck; flood the board early and push damage when possible. The deck utilizes mostly cheap, efficient and aggressive minions to establish board control as early as possible. After getting on the board, you should be looking to push as much damage as possible, whenever you can, without sacrificing your grip on the board, which will allow you to transition to the mid-game a lot smoother and keep pressuring your opponent.

Your early game is fairly simple, thanks to the deck’s focus on including a variety of early, aggressive and cheap minions, making it really easy to have something to play during your first few turns. Cards like Knife Juggler and Flame Imp are Zoo classics, helping you develop something aggressive immediately, that can do a lot of damage, but in addition to those early-game minions, you can play around with new favorites, such as Blazing Battlemage and the new Invoke cards (Dragonblight Cultist and Fiendish Rites), that summon 2 1/1s, apart from their stated effect.

During the mid-game you should shift your priority to pushing damage to your opponent and looking to close out the game. Although you can Life Tap to dig through your deck and replenish your hand, that will be really detrimental during the early game. That’s where Veiled Worshipper comes in,  drawing you 3 cards, while developing a 5/4 on the board (the card draw happens, provided you have Invoked your Galakrond, the Wretched at least 3 times). That can be really important, allowing you to spend your mana summoning minions and pressuring your opponent, instead of Life Tapping.

Although you should be able to win the game before the late-game, if you make it to that stage of the game, looking for your Galakrond, the Wretched is the most important priority. Even though you can use Kronx Dragonhoof to draw him, you should be certain that you will not need Kronx Dragonhoof‘s second Battlecry, before you do that (5 AoE damage to ALL minions, 5 Lifesteal damage to enemy Hero, +2/+2 to all other friendly minions, summon an 8/8 Taunt Dragon).

While the deck lacks spells to use, the two that it does incluse (Grim Rally and the afforementioned Fiendish Rites) have really strong synergy with the deck’s focus on having a wide board, buffing the attack, mainly, of your minions. It’s good to keep in mind that they can both be used as finishers, so you should consider their damage, when planning for future turns, or looking for lethal.

Possible Replacements for Galakrond Zoo Warlock

– 2x Beaming Sidekick / + 2x Murmy OR + 1x Murmy + 1x Valdris Felgorge: This is a change aimed towards consistency in the early game (and the late game, if you include Valdris Felgorge). Murmy can be relied on for synergies with cards like Grim Rally, Knife Juggler and Faceless Corruptor due to the Reborn mechanic. Valdris Felgorge can improve your late-game consistency by a considerable amount, due to the massive card draw he provides.

– 1x Sea Giant / + 1x Leeroy Jenkins: If you have trouble closing out tight games, you might want to consider subbing out one Sea Giant for the classic finisher of Leeroy Jenkins.

– 2x Grim Rally / + 2x Devoted Maniac: This is a change aimed towards the deck’s mid-game, allowing you to trade and develop a board at the same time. It also makes your Veiled Worshipper and Galakrond, the Wretched more consistent, since you will have another 2 copies of an Invoke card to play.

– 2x EVIL Genius / + 2x Dire Wolf Alpha: This is a change aimed at making the deck a little more aggressive in the early game. Dire Wolf Alpha can provide a little bit more trading power, or just help you push more damage to the face quicker, pressuring the opponent more, before the mid-game point. Although you lose some flexibility that EVIL Genius can provide, especially against slower decks, this will make the deck faster in most regards.