Splintergraft Hand Druid (Post-Nerf Witchwood, June 2018)

My goal this season was to come up with a deck with Splintergraft that could compete in the current meta.  The result is a control deck that focuses on using heavy value cards to keep your hand full of a variety of threats that’ll outlast your opponent.  It got me to rank 4 this season, and hopefully further still.

First off, the deck has the standard ramp package with Wild Growth and Nourish.  Prioritize getting these on the mulligan, as they help you ramp up to your powerful cards.  The deck also has card draw in the form of Ferocious Howl, Wrath, and Nourish.

Once you’ve ramped up, you can start dropping your big threats, including and The Lich King and Ysera.  It can sometimes be hard to play these on curve; here, Doomsayer works wonders.  If you can get his effect to go off, you’ll have a clear board to drop these cards on.

Importantly, most cards in the deck generate additional cards into your hand.  This means that it’s very easy to keep Bewitched Guardian and Ferocious Howl going strong, both of which are essential for anti-aggro.  The deck also runs one copy of Spreading Plague, which is essential for dealing with Paladins on the ladder.

The deck also borrows some cards from the typical Control Warrior line-up, including Big Game Hunter,  Elise the Trailblazer, and Faceless Manipulator.  BGH is to add extra single-target removal (which is really good against Even Warlock), Elise gives late-game value, and Faceless is to copy big minions on board, from either your own minions or your opponents.  These are also fairly unconventional cards for Druid in the current meta, and they can often take your opponent by surprise.

Note that the deck only runs one copy of Ultimate Infestation.  It used to run two, but I kept finding myself with a dead UI in hand.  Moreover, even if you do manage to play it both times, that means you’re a goner when fatigue hits.  Given the current control-heavy meta, fatigue is often unavoidable, so one copy ends up doing better.  Additionally, you’ll want to use Naturalize to mill your opponent in control match-ups.

Now, the big question: why run Splintergraft?  Well, the card can do a couple things.  First of all, it can give you extra copies of The Lich King and Ysera, which will often swing the battle in your favor in value-heavy matchups.  A more interesting use, though, is to combine heal yourself with Voodoo Doctor, play Happy Ghoul, copy it with Splintergraft, and then you get a free 10/10 minion.  This amounts to 23/22 worth of stats on a board in a single turn.  This combo has single-handedly won me some games, especially against Shudderwock Shaman and Taunt Druid, which don’t have answers to large board presence.

All in all, the deck is fun and has given me a surprisingly high win rate, and it’s a fun excuse to run an uncommonly-used legendary.  Give it a try!