Tommy J’s Cheap Heroic Lady Naz’jar Shaman

Tommy J generously allowed us to host his decks and guides using (mostly) Basic cards to take down The League of Explorers Heroic bosses. Be sure to check out his YouTube Channel.

This is in my opinion one of the coolest fights we’ve had – it reminds me a little bit of Thaddius but more fun! I particularly enjoyed that I had to stop and think about what I had available to me every single turn since every minion was changing. I didn’t find this boss super hard or anything, and due to her hero power having basic cards isn’t really a disadvantage – it was all about picking the best value cards and understanding why they’re good for this fight.

My thinking behind the deck was essentially to get minions that will let me use them as I play them (either through battlecries, or charge, etc) so I can get some use before they transform. In short, battlecry minions often have worse stats (take the Windspeaker vs Chillwind Yeti for example – they cost the same, except one of them is a 3/3 with a cool battlecry, and the other is a plain 4/5), so building a deck with good battlecries lets you get extra value before they transform into something (hopefully) better. Keep in mind the opposite can also happen – if you drop a Yeti, it could easily turn into that crappy 3/3 Windspeaker (that you don’t even get the battlecry for!) next turn.

As far as strategy goes, it’s pretty much just get board control as soon as you possibly can, since if you let her have it she will quickly spiral out of control. When I was playing she often played Feral Spirit asap, which effectively mana locked her for her next turn, meaning I was able to take control. Obviously this can be fairly difficult if the RNG gods decide that her minions will be the best possible for value each time and will just be unkillable, however chances are they won’t be. Also, remember Bloodlust doesn’t just have to be used as a finisher – you can also use it to have minions trade well above their value.

Mulligan

Early plays! You need to be able to deal with what she plays early on, which means that you need to get cards on the board as soon as possible. Early Rockbiter Weapons are something to definitely hold onto. Also, having a Hex at the start isn’t the worst idea either just in case something get’s out of control if you have some early plays to go with it.

Card Additions

Anything that will provide you with better early value, including better battlecries or effects (such as Abusive Sergeant, Jeweled Scarab, etc), or weapons. An early weapon like Stormforged Axe can make a huge difference in helping you get board control. Also, any other battlecry that spawns a second minion similar to the Murloc Tidehunter will be particularly effective.

Cards to Remove

The worst value minions would be the Acidic Swamp Ooze, the Flametongue Totem and the Darkscale Healer, so if you’re looking for a card to replace they would be it.