Ogren543’s Warlock Zoo Deck List Guide (Standard, May 2016, Season 26)

Editor’s Note: Ogren543 was kind enough to let us re-host his Warlock Zoo deck list guide! Zoo has transitioned flawlessly into Standard, and even gained cards like Forbidden Ritual, Possessed Villager, and Darkshire Councilman.

A bit about me is that I’ve hit legend 3 times all with Zoo and I would just like to help other Zoo players out because I see a lot of people struggling with the deck. (Also I wrote this whole guide then accidentally closed the tab so I’ve definitely learned a lesson of backing up my work when leaving my computer)

Stats (Note on my stats – I didn’t have N’Zoth Pally, Miracle Rogue, and Patron Warrior in to my stat tracker until recently so sorry about that. You’ll just have to trust me on the matchups for these decks)

Basic Skills

In this section I wanted to outline some basic skills that every Zoo player should be equipped with before I delve into the matchups and mulligans.

• Positioning: The positioning of your minions is an overlooked but important skill when playing Zoo and if done right can improve your winrate by at least a few percent. I could write a ton about positioning but anything I would have said has already been said in this great article. Yes I know this was written before Standard came out but the same concepts still apply today.
• Trading: Obviously knowing how to trade properly is an important skill in Zoo as that is pretty much what you do for the first few turns of the game. You have to learn really through experience when to take the direct trade (AKA trading your 2/3 into the opponents 3/2) When to take the value trade over a direct trade, and when to go face. This also depends a lot on the matchup. Against Control decks you may want to do more direct trades to reduce your vulnerability to board clears and against other tempo decks you probably want to get as much value from your trades as possible (I know this is vague but again, this is something you learn through experience of the matchups)
• Which 1 or 2 drop do I play? This is a tough question to answer because it is based a lot on your hand context and the opponent you are facing. However in general, if you have smaller minions like Villager, Squire and Voidwalker in hand with an Abusive Sargent, you want to play those first. The general line of 2 drops you want to play on curve are:

Flame Juggler -> Dark Peddler -> Knife Juggler -> Dire Wolf Alpha (It is worth noting that playing 2 1 drops on turn 2 is perfectly reasonable and really good against Aggro decks)

Card Choices

Since this decklist is still fairly new I’d like to go over some of my choices

• 2 Flame Imp/1 Argent Squire: I’ve always been a fan of Flame Imp because of its ability to trade with pretty much every 1 and 2 drop in the game. It is also great against Aggro Shaman’s Tunnel Trogg. Squire is good but you need Abusive Sergeant for it to be really good. I also already have two Possessed Villager who are basically just better versions of squires.
• 1 Flame Juggler: I’ve tried 2 of this guy and none of this guy but I think is good. Two is a bit clunky but one is still in there because it can sometimes be game winning when played against a 2/1 minion.
• No Brann Bronzebeard: I really like Brann in Zoo but unfortunately with the addition of Darkshire Councilman there really isn’t enough room for him at the 3 drop slot.
• Darkshire Councilman – If you haven’t heard already this card is insanely good. I’ve had games where this easily grows up to 10 attack. The card is game-winnning all by itself.
• 2 Sea Giant/1 Doomguard – This is another spot in the decklist that I have experimented a lot with. However I think 1 Doomguard is enough because anymore starts feeling really clunky. The Sea Giants are really good in the Zoo mirror and against Aggro Shaman and are really not that hard to get out of your hand.

Matchups and Mulligans

Now, onto the really juicy stuff. I’m going to write the matchups for the most popular decks currently, however the meta is still sorta in flux so these might change in the future so keep that in mind.

Zoo Mirror

Mulligan – Literally any low cost minion. Keep Abusive Sergeant by itself and Forbidden Ritual if your hand is really bad. If you are on the coin, keep Imp Gang Boss. If your hand is really good, keep Sea Giant.

The Zoo mirror is all about getting on the board. You have to do anything you can to make sure you have the lead on board in the early game, because if you do, it will carry onto a win later. I have played Forbidden Ritual on turn 1 in this matchup. Furthermore, you shouldn’t stop trading your minions until their board is as clear as possible. There isn’t really much point in going face (unless you are getting desperate and hoping you grab a win through a top deck damage card) because both decks have absolutely no comeback mechanics.

Aggro Shaman

Mulligan – All the usual low cost guys. Abusive Sergeant, Dire Wolf Alpha, and Flame Imp are extra good here because the Shaman plays a lot of high health minions so these are good for trading up. If your hand is really good, consider keeping a Power Overwhelming for the 4 mana 7/7 (Flamewreathed Faceless).

This game is all about obtaining board early as the Shaman usually doesn’t run any board clears. If you have a sizable board by turn 4 you will be able to answer the 7/7, which can otherwise give you a headache. It is worth noting that sometimes it is better not to throw all your minions into that guy, and instead taunt up with Argus to sneak in some extra face damage. Don’t be afraid to play Flame Imp! This is a HUGE mistake I see some players make and it is really costly. Taking some damage up front can save you a ton of damage from a big Tunnel Trogg or it can get in a bunch of damage to the opponent. You also shouldn’t be too afraid of tapping but be wary in the late game of not sinking down into Doomhammer + Rockbiter Weapon range.

Control Warrior/Paladin/Other Control Decks

Mulligan – Imp Gang Boss, Dark Peddler are preferred, other than that just all the other guys.

Matchups against control are all about leveraging your resources. Over commit and you’ll lose to Brawl or Holy Nova or Consecration. Don’t play enough stuff and you won’t be able to amount enough pressure before the Warrior or Paladin eventually starts dropping its big guys. Usually the sweet-spot is at about 3 to 4 minions. As long as you can keep a steady stream of guys coming without surpassing these 3 or 4 minions they eventually won’t be able to answer your board. Warrior’s tend to run less board clears so they are usually the easiest of the Control matchups. Forbidden Ritual is also really good right after a board wipe to quickly refill your board.

Freeze Mage

Mulligan – All the regular guys.

Freeze Mage, pre WotOG was one of the worst matchups for Zoo, however without Mad Scientist in their arsenal the story is much different for the Freeze Mage. It is now very hard for them to keep freezing the board while also finding the time to develop Ice Block. The strategy is the same as it was Pre-WotOG though, SMOrc. Every point of damage against them matters a ton so let them make the trades. If they are able to chain freezes into board clears you will lose but that is harder to do now. Just some extra tips: Try to get Sea Giant down as early as possible, they don’t really have an answer for it other than freezes (or a bunch of burn). Also, always leave 1 or preferably 2 open spaces on the board. This will allow Knife Juggler or Doomguard to provide out of hand damage. It also lets something like Dark Peddler trigger which can get you a Soulfire.

Patron Warrior

Mulligan – 1 drops and three drops are usually better here as they are more resilient to Fiery War Axe.

This is one of your worst matchups as the Zoo. You don’t really have an answer to Grim Patron‘s and their whirlwind effects are great against our minions. The only way to win is pressure them really hard, just throw everything you’ve got at them and hope they don’t have a combination of whirlwind effects. These Warrior decks usually don’t run a board clear like Brawl so they rely on having a combo of 2 or more whirlwinds to get rid of a board. If you can quickly build your board you may be able to overwhelm them before they have a chance to drop the Patrons. It also helps if the Warrior doesn’t draw Fiery War Axe. 😉

Most of the other matchups against various C'Thun decks should be fairly straightforward. Just try and use up all your mana and play around board clears when necessary.

Tech/Interchangeable Cards

• 2 Drops: The 2 drops in Zoo are very easily interchangeable so don’t be afraid to experiment with the spots of the second Dire Wolf Alpha and Flame Juggler. You can put an Acidic Swamp Ooze in if you are seeing a lot of Aggro Shaman or you could try out Crazed Alchemist like Tiddler did at Dreamhack.
• Gormok the Impaler: Gormok can easily be slotted in instead of Dark Iron Dwarf as it is mostly a case of preference. I like the consistency of Dwarf but Gormok is also very good.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Leeroy is another card that can easily be slotted in instead of Doomguard for a bit more burst.