Frozen Throne Blood Warriors Deck List Guide (August 2017, Standard) – Theorycraft

Will Whirlwind synergy be what takes over the Frozen Throne? Blood Warrior is an interesting deck list that has seen some fringe play in the past. This theorycraft deck guide will help you consider crafts, mulligans, and gameplay!

Throughout most of its past, the Warrior class has consistently produced two competitive archetypes with both variants being placed at extreme end of their respective spectrum – Pirate Warrior and Control Warrior. Though the class can cater towards the aggressive side or serve the purpose of a more control-orientated deck, the nerfs towards the Patron Warrior deck killed any viability that a combo deck has to offer in the Warrior class. However, that is about to change in the upcoming expansion!

The Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion has introduced several interesting cards that may provide the necessary tools that a combo deck was lacking before, and may potentially help push the combo archetype forward and make it playable once again.

I present to you, Blood Warriors! There were certain Warrior cards in the Un’goro expansion that were experimented on such as Blood Warriors and Sudden Genesis that yielded unfavorable results and were thereby labeled as unplayable, but it may now find some potential use in the upcoming expansion.

Brief Explanation of the Cards in the Frozen Throne Blood Warriors Deck

• Blood To Ichor: this spell works exceptionally in a tempo deck! Not only does it provide a 2/2 body that will allow you to contest the early board and make your giants cheaper, it synergies well with Wild Pyromancer, Acolyte of Pain, and Battle Rage. Did I also mention it only cost 1 mana?
• Whirlwind: what is a Warrior deck without any whirlwind effects? Back in the good old days, Revenge was a staple in almost every Control Warrior deck, and though Whirlwind may not be as effective, it is a decent alternative. It’s great against aggressive decks, and allows you to pull off massive board clears when combined with Wild Pyromancer and Commanding Shout.
• Armorsmith: this card has been a staple in most Control Warrior decks, and it’s for a good reason. It gives you a bit of early sustainability as you probably won’t have time to hero power each turn. It’s an effective card to ensure that you don’t get rushed down in the early game before you can reach your combo pieces!
• Battle Rage: this card has the word “value” written all over it. In the worse scenario, it’s a 2 mana card that draws you a card, equivalent to a Loot Hoarder. In most circumstances, however, it will draw you at least 2 cards, which already makes it a better version of Arcane Intellect.
• Commanding Shout: when combined with Wild Pyromancer, this can pull off some insane combos that can wipe out your opponent’s entire board! It also draws you a card, and helps decrease the cost of your giants. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone!
• Execute: sometimes, your opponent may present you with a threat that is too tough for your whirlwind effects to get through. Execute will allow you to efficiently remove the threat, allowing you to preserve your resources for later use.
• Fiery War Axe: more like, “Fiery Win Axe”, am I right? (this is why I don’t have friends).
• Slam: it’s a cheap spell that allows you to cycle through your deck, and helps with removing threats from your opponent’s board.
• Dead Man's Hand: since your deck is built around the concept of drawing cards, this would allow you to theoretically never run out of resources! You want to use this ideally when you have some of the core cards in your hand such as Arcane Giant, Sudden Genesis, and Blood Warriors. Avoid putting the coin back in your deck!
• Acolyte of Pain: in most scenarios, Acolyte of Pain will often draw you at least 2 cards, or force your opponent to deal with it in an uncomfortable manner as to prevent you from gaining too much value.
• Sleep with the Fishes: with the numerous amount of whirlwind effects in the deck, it only makes sense to add this card as it helps clear boards especially since this deck doesn’t run any brawls, therefore it may be difficult to regain board control once it has been lost.
• Blood Warriors: this card is mainly used to refill the amount of resources you have in hand. Ideally, you want to use this when you have both giants on board.
• Blood Razor: welcome back, Death's Bite! We missed you.
• Sudden Genesis: as you enter the late stages of the game, your Arcane Giant would cost significantly less, and this card will allow you to gain a massive tempo swing on board. Imagine yourself using this when you have 2 injured Giants on board!
• Scourgelord Garrosh: though the DK’s Hero Power is somewhat underwhelming in comparison to some other DKs, his Hero Power synergies well with our deck. Not to mention, his weapon is pretty strong in clearing your opponent’s minions.
• Arcane Giant I like playing an 8/8 for 0 mana. What about you?

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Frozen Throne Blood Warriors General Playstyle and Strategy

Contrary to popular belief, most combo decks require a certain degree of critical thinking and forward planning in order to utilize the deck to its fullest potential and maximize its value. As such, this deck can take on multiple routes depending on the deck your opponent is using. You’re heavily favored against any kind of aggressive deck as your deck primarily consists of tools that will allow you to clear your opponent’s board. On the other hand, you’re able to combat against more control-orientated decks with your combo pieces.

The deck is filled with tons of tools such as Battle Rage and Acolyte of Pain that will help you draw cards while thinning your deck out as you draw into your core cards. The main concept of the deck is to cycle during the early game in order to reduce the cost of your Arcane Giant, which synergies with several of your cards, Sudden Genesis. Blood Warriors, and Dead Man's Hand. These tools will ensure that you will be able to consistently drop big threats without worrying about running out of resources!

Frozen Throne Blood Warriors General Mulligan

If you’re against an aggressive deck, your main priority is to stop your opponent from overwhelming you through his board presence, thus, you want cards that will allow you respond to the early threats such as Fiery War Axe, Armorsmith, Blood To Ichor, Whirlwind, and Sleep with the Fishes. If you have coin, then Wild Pyromancer is also a keep!

However, if you’re against a control deck, your main priority is to cycle through deck while decreasing the cost of your giants, therefore, you also want cards that will draw you more cards and cycle through your deck such as Slam and Acolyte of Pain. Keep Blood To Ichor if you have Acolyte of Pain in hand. You always keep Fiery War Axe.

Frozen Throne Blood Warriors Card Replacements/ Cards to Consider

• Elise the Trailblazer– this card has a lot of potential especially with the amount of cycle and refill this deck has. What’s better than an Un’goro pack? Two Un’goro packs! (Dead Man’s Hand). This will give you extra value and pressure from the minions you get! The only downside is that you have to watch out for your hand size as you may be a position where playing the Un’goro pack may not be optimal due to your hand size.
• Ravaging Ghoul – this card has great synergy and fits with the overall theme of our deck. It’s a great anti-aggro card, but can also be used to activate Execute and Sleep with the Fishes, and gain additional card draw from Acolyte of Pain and Battle Rage.
• Val'kyr Soulclaimer – with the amount of whirlwind effects in your deck, it makes sense to have this acting as some sort of token generator, which synergizes with Battle Rage. It can also get tremendous value from your Wild Pyromancer + Commanding Shout combo.
• Yogg-Saron, Hope's End – more than half your deck consists of spells! This card inclusion is intended to make the deck more fun rather than competitive. When your opponent seems to miraculously have all the answers to your giant threats, then this may be your last hope. Why wouldn’t you play a card that sometimes wins you the game?
• Flexible Slots: Shield Block, Whirlwind, Execute, and Sleep with the Fishes.

About the Author

This guide is presented you by NeverLucky, a Control Warrior addict with over 3000 Warrior wins in ranked. He has obtained several accolades in local tournaments.