Frozen Throne Big Taunt Druid Deck List Guide (August 2017, Standard) – Theorycraft

We take a look at what could be one of the popular decks coming from Knights of the Frozen Throne, Big Taunt Druid. This theorycraft guide will help you consider crafts, mulligans, and gameplay!

Man, do I love me some theorycrafting. There are a lot of new cards coming with Knights of the Frozen Throne, and, while not all of them are going to set the world on fire, there are definitely going to be some new decks in the field. In this article we are going to break down a theorycraft article for Big Ramp Druid. This archetype has been on the edges of the meta for a while, and there are some new tools coming on the frozen wind that could really elevate it. It doesn’t take a whole lot of cards to revamp an archetype, you only need a few strong ones. And that is exactly what we’re going to see here.

Big Taunt Druid Deck List

How big can you get? That’s the question we’re asking here, and the answer is very, very big. Unlike past Druid decks that tried to play more hybrid that straight ramp, we’re going all the way with this one. There are several reasons for that, but the biggest is that ramp now has four big draw cards at its disposal, which means you don’t get as punished for dropping your hand. In fact, you kinda get rewarded for it. The construction here is the classic shell of using your early turns to gain mana/stay alive so you can get to the later turns where you slam big wall after big wall. It is a deck split in two halves, and each one supports the other quite well.

The card that makes this entire archetype possible is Ultimate Infestation. The ten mana spell may appear a bit slow, but it is the missing piece that Big Druid has wanted for a long time. When playing ramp there are many games where you spend your whole hand ramping up to one big threat. Then, your opponent answers that threat, you topdeck Innervate and promptly lose. Now you have a card that rewards you for dumping your hand to ramp and gives you a big push. Even just getting to an early infestation can be enough to swing a game.

Now that this build gets to play the double whammy of Hadronox/N'Zoth, The Corruptor, you are going to want taunts.  Lots of taunts. While Ancient of War won’t trigger due to how transform works, you can still get Druid of the Claw, Dark Arakkoa and The Lich King back. Even more simple things like Cenarius can help put out a few extra walls. What you choose to play on the top end is up to you (more on that later) but make sure you have at least a few big bodies the spider can bring back.

Big Taunt Druid Play-Style

As with any ramp build, the general strategy here is going to be to gain mana as fast as humanely possible and then end the game with threat after threat after threat. Look for any chance to power out big minions and always challenge your opponent’s plays. It is best to think of ramp as a two-phase deck. The first phase is all about making sure you get crystals while taking as little damage as possible. Then, once you have mana to play big bodies, throw them out and lock down the board.

One of the biggest things to note is how you want to use your removal. This is not as much of an issue later on when your minions can double as kill spells, but early in the game there are going to be a lot of small choices that have a big impact. Do you typically want to use removal over ramp? Is turn two Wrath better that Wild Growth, or should you risk it? The answers to those questions are going to change every game, but for the most part it is going to come down what you’re ramping into. If you are just gaining mana to gain mana, wait a turn and kill the threat. However, if have something big (especially a wall) for your next turn, get to it ASAP.

Also note that you should not be afraid to attack your opponent’s face. This is something that many ramp players struggle with, but just because you have big taunt minions does not mean you need to play the role of control. There are quite a few powerful must-kill threats in this list, and you should let your opponent worry about them. Yes, against hyper aggro you should control the board, but against slower decks you can ignore some minions. This is especially true against attrition decks like Jade Druid. Unless you are protecting something, it is often right to swing in with your 8/8 and put your opponent on a clock.

(Theoretical) Big Taunt Druid Mulligans

You need to find ramp. This deck needs an early jump to get going, and you want to do everything you can to get to that. Don’t try to get cute or greedy with your mulligans, if it’s not ramp or early removal throw it back. You should always keep/look for Innervate, Wrath and Wild Growth. From there, you always want Jade Blossom with the coin or a curve, Mire Keeper against aggro, and you want Mire Keeper if you can curve into it.

An important note about Big Druid is that your ramp is going to constantly change your mulligans. Normally, you wouldn’t keep a hand of four or five drops. However, if you can get to those cards on turn two or three they become really strong. Always map out your curve when deciding what cards to keep and play out the first few turns in your head. Double Innervate makes that Nourish a lot better, as does double Wild Growth into an early Dark Arakkoa.

Big Taunt Druid Card Replacements

There are two different places where you could make some tweaks to this build. The first is in the early game. Healing is going to be completely dependent on how much aggro and Mage you see. If there is a lot you could go deep with tech cards like Earthen Scales, Feral Rage, and Moonglade Portal. In addition, there is a chance you might want to shave some ramp for more removal. To start off I think you want to overload the ramp and see how it plays. If you find your hand getting bogged down a lot, then you can start to scale back. Fandral Staghelm could also be a little too weak for what this deck wants to do, but he is too strong leave out early on.

The other changes are going to come with the finishers. Taunts are going to be essential, but you can choose which ones you want to run. I could see some people going big with Cenarius or Soggoth the Slitherer, but there is also the option to play more traditional finishers like Ysera. As The Curator is here, you could also cut a Primordial Drake for Deathwing. That makes Hadronox a bit stronger, but in my opinion the spider is fine on her own.

Finally, also note that you don’t need to run the Hadronox/N'Zoth, The Corruptor package. Yes, the two legendaries give the whole “taunt” thing a big purpose, but there is a lot of value in this build. Don’t think you need to force an archetype (in this case playing taunt cards) just because Blizzard tells you to. There are a lot of big threats in the game, which ones you play are up to you.

Conclusion

Big Druid has to be one of the most fun decks in Hearthstone’s history, and this new version looks even more spicy than past builds. The new Death Knight along with some of the KFT legendaries make for a really solid package that is going to trump a lot of decks. Ultimate Infestation is also going to be an all-star card that will help cement board or push way ahead when the stars align, and I could see this deck being a big player in the first few weeks. I hope you’re as excited as I am for the set, and I hope you enjoyed the guide. Until next time, may you always turn two Wild Growth.