BanOly’s Odd Mech Taunt Quest Warrior (Boomsday)

Disclaimer
Essentially this deck is a mid-range Odd Quest Warrior deck with Dr. Boom and some mechs thrown into it. Understandably, this may not prove to be very popular due to the fact that the inclusion of both Dr. Boom and Fire Plume’s Heart means that either you’re going to be removing Dr. Boom’s hero power for Die, Insect! (not too bad) or, more importantly, may end up removing the all-important Ragnaros hero power for Dr. Boom’s which can sometimes be favourable in the right situation but more often than not this is an infavourable trade.

However, often upon completion of the quest it isn’t the worst idea to wait and collect 4 armour a turn for a while, controlling the board and saving Sulfuras for the end-game. This also means you could save it until you draw into Dr. Boom in order to get the correct ordering and ensure you get the best out of both cards. I find that having the option between three different hero powers makes adapting to different opposition quite comfortable.

This deck is still a work in progress, and I am constantly making tweaks. This is the most recent version that has seen me reach almost 70% winrate from around a dozen or so games with this specific selection.

Play Style
As with the more traditional Quest Warrior decks, your main goal is to complete the quest as soon as possible, putting your opponent in an uncomfortable position. The deck contains 9 taunt minions, with the potential to reach 13 using Phantom Militia and a minimum of 11 with Stonehill Defender, so reaching the required 7 should be achieveable. Giggling Inventor was a part of the original deck because I momentarily forgot that the Taunt minions had to be ‘played’ – however the card has helped massively at times and so it remains, just remember that this does not contribute to your quest completion.

Try to draw into Dr. Boom as soon as possible, to grant Rush to your mechs for the rest of the game and unlock his powerful hero power until the quest is completed. This currently synergises with Eternium Rover, Omega Assembly, Bronze Gatekeeper, Zilliax and the two Annoy-o-Trons created by Giggling Inventor. Once given Rush these mechs will help control the game until the quest is complete and then assist in clearing the board, ensuring Die, Insect! connects with the enemy hero.

Most of the spells will act to assist the quest completion or to retain board control. Omega Assembly is best kept for turn 10 but can be used beforehand to help control the early game. Just remember when using this to help against aggro decks, that you are not guaranteed a cheap minion and since the majority of mechs cost 5 mana or more, the odds are against you. This card can also find Taunt minions to speed up quest completion, and high rolls include Zilliax which can do both whilst being able to magnetise to any mechs you already control.

Reckless Flurry can be abused due to your ability to quickly restore armour at a moment’s notice, using your hero power and Shield Block or by activating Dr. Boom himself. Be aware that this and Brawl are your two primary sources of board clear excluding Whirlwind which is permanently set at 1 damage, so make sure to save them for the best opportunity.

Card Choices
Eternium Rover, Bronze Gatekeeper and Giggling Inventor are all expendable but make up the mech package and synergise with Dr. Boom, making the deck what it is. Skaterbot could possibly find a place in here somewhere, but other alternatives such as Dyn-o-matic and Clockwork Automaton are too expensive for their contributions and didn’t merit a solid spot in the starting deck, although they can still be obtained from Omega Assembly or Dr. Boom’s hero power. Clockwork in particular could be nice for a massive 16 damage to the face, but it’s far cheaper and less situational to run Blackwald Pixie.

Shield Slam, Reckless Flurry and Brawl are all irreplaceable as they help clear the board, vital for both controlling the early game and maximising use of Sulfuras in the late game. Whirlwind can be removed or you may wish to add a second copy if you’re simply lacking in other cards or feel that it has more use.

Acolyte of Pain synergises with Whirlwind amongst other cards and is essential to maintaining decent card draw throughout the early game. Don’t worry too much after turn 10 as the chances are you will have a full hand from those Omega Assembly. Shield Block also works as card draw and is important to restore armour after a Reckless Flurry or fuel an impending Shield Slam.

Harrison Jones is, as always, replaceable with Gluttonous Ooze but while some may consider the extra armour to be more valuable I felt as if card draw was just too important in this deck. You shouldn’t have much need for excessive amounts of armour when you’re using plenty of Taunt minions, and the risk of dying to fatigue is minimal providing that the game should be over soon after completing the quest and gaining access to that super-strong hero power.

Mulligan
When playing aggro, it can be practical to throw the quest in favour of cheaper cards. Given the inclusion of Dr. Boom, this is easier to live with as it’s not your only win condition and playing into Dr. Boom as soon as possible can on its own help control the board against fast decks. Look for Eternium Rover, Bronze Gatekeeper, Stonehill Defender and Tar Creeper if you want to make it out into the mid-game, and keep Acolyte of Pain along with Whirlwind if you’re lucky enough to get offered both.

Sometimes if you’re facing a particularly aggressive deck then you might want to hold onto Giggling Inventor in order to stabilise at turn 5, and if you’re certain you’ve come up against a control deck then having Dr. Boom in the hand from the start guarantees you’ll be able to use it as early as turn 6 in order to gain the front foot earlier than they do.

Footnote
All in all, remember this is a new concept and still very much a work in progress. I would forewarn that one problem I encountered with this deck is the lack of answers to fast OTK decks such as Mecha’thun Priest, as it lacks any cards that can affect your opponent’s hand or deck. Your best bet in these situations might just be to try and mill them.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions and share your success with this deck. I hope someone somewhere got something out of this, as this is my first deck guide of any sort on Hearthstone and so I put a lot of thought into it.