Introduction

Elemental Shaman has been one of the most underestimated decks since Un’Goro came out.

Personally, i tried a tons of different variants of this deck, and today i bring to you my favorite one (And not the strongest one, which in my opinion is the Jade-Elemental one)

But, Why elemental Shaman?

Since the reveal of Kalimos, Primal Lord, i was so excited about this new archetype, and i think that this might be one of the most skill-based mechanic in this game. Elementals are all about chaining themselves, to release their full potential, but if use too many of them, you’ll be out of Elementals pretty soon, and you wont have any for the future Elementals.

This deck is pretty good against aggro and midrange (Especially Aggro-Druids, Pirate Warriors and Murloc Paladins, which are pretty common in ladder those days), thanks to the early removals like Maelstrom Portal, Devolve and also low cost taunt like Tar Creeper, Hot Spring Guardian and, when triggered, Tol'vir Stoneshaper.

But this decks has also a great late-game potential, thanks to Elise the Trailblazer, Stonehill Defender and Servant of Kalimos which could be useful if a match turns into a value game.

Mulligans and Matchups

Warrior

Against pirate, your only goal is to survive until he finishes his fuel.
Just try to control the board with Maelstrom Portal, Tar Creeper and, if you managed to proc it, also Nesting Roc and Tol'vir Stoneshaper (If you manage to play Tar Creeper followed by a Tol’Vir, it’s pretty much a win). Also you have Acidic Swamp Ooze for the weapons.

Pirates are like the 90% of the warriors i found in ladder, but there is a chance that you might encounter a Taunt Warrior. This is a very hard matchup. You have to put pressure the more you can, try to bait out Brawl and push for the most damage you can: If they are low, they wont change their hero power right away. Also, remember that your hero power “counter” his hero power, especially when both brawls are gone, so be sure to use your hero power whenever you can.

Warlock

I found 2-3 Warlock on my way to rank 5, and all of them were Zoo, so use the same tips i gave you for Pirate Warrior. Just remember that Warlock have Life tap, so they wont run out of cards very easily. If they abuse their hero power, push for face damage.

Shaman

Shaman is a pretty good matchup, especially Evolve Shaman. For the mulligan, keep Maelstrom Portal, Devolve and Volcano which is awesome to counter a Turn-6 Doppelgangster–Evolve combo. Keep the board clean, Bloodlust can be devastating. Dirty Rat can be used as a great tool to prevent Doppelgangster combo, or the Stonehill Defender battlecry.

Rogue

After the Crystal Core Rogue nerf, I only found Miracle Rogue. It’s a pretty easy matchup, just save Volcano for the Arcane Giant, the Hex for Sherazin, Corpse Flower and Devolve for Edwin VanCleef and Questing Adventurer

2 more things:

1. Don’t be greedy and try to always have something on the board. Some rogues still runs Leeroy Jenkins and Cold Blood

2. Devolve doesen’t works on Arcane Giant, remember!

Priest

This is where things start to become interesting. Almost every match against priest become a fatigue-value game.

This is where cards like Elise the Trailblazer, Servant of Kalimos and Dirty Rat shine. This will be a value game, be greedy but smart!

For the mulligan, try to keep your The Curator, as well as Devolve and Tar Creeper. The sooner you play The Curator, the better it get. (Also, is a 4-6! That means that i wont be killed by Death, Pain nor Dragonfire Potion.)

Against Control priest, try to Dirty Rat his Lyra the Sunshard or Elise the Trailblazer, which are his core card, and don’t forget to use your Acidic Swamp Ooze for Medivh, the Guardian‘s Atiesh.

Against Dragon Priest, just try to curve your Elemental and control the board. (Just, don’t overextend, because of Dragonfire Potion.

Take advantage of your 4-Attack minions, since priest struggle against them.

Paladin

So, there can be 2 types of paladins:

Let’s just start with the most famous one: Murloc Aggro/Midrange

In the mulligan you NEED at least 1 Devolve. That card is devastating against Murlocs, buffs and deathrattle. So that card is a must in your opening hand.

In this machup just try to survive the early game, and clear the most out of the board, cause Sunkeeper Tarim can be catastrophic for you.

There is another type of paladin: Control Paladin

Against Control Paladin, you need to save some cards for his main threat. ALWAYS save at least 1 Hex  for Tirion Fordring. Volcano can be used to kill Ragnaros Lightlord.

Beware of this 3 things:

1. Hydrologist and the secret that she will pull out. Most of the time is just a  Getaway Kodo for Tirion Fordring, and that’s why you ALWAYS Hex it

2. Stonehill Defender can pull some really good cards, like Sunkeeper Tarim or Tirion Fordring, so try to pull it out with your Dirty Rat or just save some removal

3. Never flood the board too much, since Paladin have his Equality–Consecration/Wild Pyromancer combo.

Mage

Mage it’s a tricky matchup. You have to take the less amount of damage possible, and try to control the board.

Your best tools here are Kalimos, Primal Lord and Hot Spring Guardian. Try to stay higher than 15 health and, remember, NEVER use Kalimos, Primal Lord before he used his Alexstrasza, or your healing will be nullified.

Dirty Rat can be used to pull out his Archmage Antonidas and kill it before it’s too late.

In this matchup, it’s very important to continue to chain the Elementals, because you will need Kalimos’ healing right away.

Hunter

Hunter it’s almost everytime a free-win.

Mulligan for Maelstrom Portal and Devolve and you will be fine. Just Hex is Savannah Highmane and try to hide yourself behind taunts, because your only good healing is Kalimos, Primal Lord.

Druid

The greater amount of druids are Aggro, so, just follow the same tips i gave you for Aggro Paladin. Mulligan for Devolve especially, because it can deny all the buffs and deathrattle (Living Mana) . Also, some druids plays Bittertide Hydra, so just use your Volcano and deal 21 damage!

Now, there is a small amount of people who still play Jade Druid. 80% of the time, you will lose, just because you are a control and no control can beat Jade Druid. Play on curve and try to make pressure the most you can, just this.

Substitution

• I found The Curator pack pretty good, especially against Priest and Paladin, but it’s obviously not essential so you can put something like Earth Elemental or Al'Akir the Windlord 

• I like Acidic Swamp Ooze more than Gluttonous Ooze because of the reduced mana cost, but they can be swapped with no big problems.

• Dirty Rat can be swapped with more removal, like Lightning Storm, if you think you need more removal.

• You can add cards like Fireplume Phoenix to deal with the lack of drop-4

Support!

That was my first guide! Every constructive critic is appreciated, so feel free to say everything down here!

Also, i apologize for the bad English!