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[Leafsnail]

You do need Finley, the Shaman hero power is awful and getting him is a huge game-changer.

[Darkmere]

I'm tinkering a little with my Midrange Shaman deck, trying to add a few multipurpose combo conditions for extra burst (in theory).

For the curious, the current iteration is posted here.

It's not a "real" combo-grade OTK thing, but the dream would be a tick of Thaurissan on the two flametongues and rockbiter, played to buff Al'akir to 20 damage on drop +whatever else was on the board...  But reasonably it's more like 10+.

The cards I'm waffling on are Raid Leader, Lava Burst, Unbound Elemental, Psych-o-tron.

I could eek out some dust to get another mana tide totem to help cycle cards and replace the unbound ele with it, maybe. Raid leader is mostly there for when I'm flooding the board with totems and need a buff after Evolve. Lava burst is inefficient but I don't have access to better mid-range removal, barring something like a kor'kron elite - which now that I think about it does sound better in theory.

Is anyone kind enough to offer feedback? I think I'm learning, at least a little.

[Wiles]

Just some quick thoughts on cards I'd consider cutting or including.

If you're going for a midrang-y deck then you'll probably want some board clear in the form of lightning storm.

Another good card to throw in midrange decks is thunderbluff valiant. He is a serious threat and can buff up your totems to better fight for board control. You do have evolve in your deck though, which probably doesn't fit well with the valiant. If you end up cutting evolve running a copy of primal fusion can be pretty good too. I personally don't think evolve is a super strong card because it is pretty random, but it can be a fun card to play. Having a board full of totems turn into a board full of useful minions can be pretty cool. Part of the problem is that it has some anti synergy with some of the stronger shaman cards like flamewreathed faceless and totem golem.

If you have doomhammer it is a very strong weapon and fits well in most shaman decks.

Since you are planning on getting your combo I think it is important to have some more card cycle in your deck so that you can collect the different pieces of it. I'd consider a second mana tide or maybe an ancestral knowledge.

Because you want to throw out some burst damage I'd definitely put in a second rockbiter weapon. It is a good card in general and can be used to help you win board control if you need to.

Argent squire is a nice card to have in shaman decks because it can trade up well with rockbiters or flametongue due to the divine shield. It's a good card for fighting for early game board control.

Another good card I'd consider running a copy of would be bloodlust. It can be another win condition.

I'm not sure about the unbound elemental. I'd play some games and see how it does. If you're not getting a lot of value out of it I would consider cutting it. 

I would cut raid leader and psycho-tron, there are cards that would synergise better with your deck. 

edit: oh and you mentioned kor'kron elites, they are warrior cards, not shaman cards.

[Darkmere]

Yeah, I was thinking of the wolfriders, realized that after I posted. My bad.

I used to run bloodlust but was never, ever able to get it on more than 2 minions. Might be worth a try again now that I'm better.

The rest of those are... Well. I'll have to see what I can reasonably dust from elsewhere. There's a few like that Cursed Shade from LoE that I know I'll never play. No idea how I'd afford the real stuff, though. My most efficient pack purchases are Classics, so I don't have lots to work with when I'm still getting 0 dustable cards per pack every 2 days.

[frostshotgg]

For what it's worth, if you have a playset of regular cards but are saving gold cards for some far off pipe dream of having a full set of gold cards, don't. You'll never come close, and the extra dust is incredibly nice.

[Darkmere]

Yeah, I have a handful of golds but not the commons to fill out 2-of yet. And one gold Flamewreathed that I'm keeping for posterity just because it's such a cryfest card right now.

But I also have a Golden Captain Greenskin that I'm going to dust out of spite at some point in the future, just want to be REALLY sure what I'm crafting with that 1600 first. I made rash decisions with my starter bonus stuff - don't wanna repeat that so I'm treating it like it's off the table for now.

I forgot to say thanks for the suggestions and advice, so thanks to both of you guys for the suggestions and advice.

[ZeroGravitas]

You do need Finley, the Shaman hero power is awful and getting him is a huge game-changer.

It's a good card in the deck, of course. But you don't "need" it, and you'll play most games without it.

[Jopax]

That can be said of any card tho. You can just toss the flamewreath faceless, if you don't draw it, it's useless, same for rockbiter, oh and doomhammer too. Hell, toss half the deck since you probably won't survive to draw it all anyways :V

[ZeroGravitas]

That can be said of any card tho. You can just toss the flamewreath faceless, if you don't draw it, it's useless, same for rockbiter, oh and doomhammer too. Hell, toss half the deck since you probably won't survive to draw it all anyways :V

No, it can't be said of any card.

to elaborate: the idea behind aggro shaman is to put out an overwhelming board by turn 4-5, and to finish your opponent off with burst spells and rockbiter+doomhammer even if you lose your board.

Finley fits in the deck because he usually improves your hero power, allowing you to squeeze out a few extra points of damage where your hero power would otherwise be making not-useful totems. But nothing about Finley works directly with the rest of the deck.

Please think: have you ever heard an aggro shaman say, "Dang, I lost because my Finley was on the bottom of my deck." But you see plenty of freeze mages lose because Ice Block was on the bottom, miracle rogue lose when auctioneers are on the bottom, etc.

[Jopax]

No, but that's probably because I don't talk to people.

And again, every card has an impact that can win or lose the game, even if it's a few points of damage, getting an early body and a ping or something can easily win you the board early on, propelling you into winning the rest of the game.

[ZeroGravitas]

No, but that's probably because I don't talk to people.

And again, every card has an impact that can win or lose the game, even if it's a few points of damage, getting an early body and a ping or something can easily win you the board early on, propelling you into winning the rest of the game.

Of course it does. But that's not the point. The point is that nothing about what the rest of the deck (aggro shaman) is doing needs Finley. Given the rest of the deck, it's probably the best choice for the 30th card. But if you swapped it for a Worgen Infiltrator, the rest of the deck still works.

[Criptfeind]

I sorta agree. Finley is very helpful, but he won't make or break the deck. He's not that vital, and maybe replaceable. He is after all, a one drop you don't want to play on turn one.

[Neonivek]

You do need Finley, the Shaman hero power is awful and getting him is a huge game-changer.

I am kind of surprised that most of his cards aren't even ABOUT making his hero power actually worth it (he would be unique in that respect) with a lot of his unique cards basically being useful totems.

But then again I like to think they didn't know how to make the Shaman at first and thought he was a "All around character" (try out the Shaman starting deck... it is probably the worst starting deck in the game). He suffers BIG TIME from a lack of an identity.

[Leafsnail]

Basic Shaman is not actually that bad, you have powerful cards like Hex, Fire Elemental and Rockbiter available from the get-go. But the lack of class identity was a problem until WotOG came in and gave Shaman a card that made the Hero Power worth a damn (Thing From Below).

You can technically cut any card from a non-combo deck but Finley decides a lot of games single-handedly by pulling the Hunter or Warlock hero power. It's effect is comparable to Justicar Trueheart except it costs 1 mana.

[Darkmere]

This week's brawl fully reinforces my decision to dust the Zerus I pulled out of an early WoG pack. No ragerts.

EDIT:

I should have said, it's a preconstructed. You pick a class and it gives you some spells and a deckfull of Shifter Zerus and nothing else.

For what it's worth, Paladin decks actively try to kill you - Anyfin and the 5-mana draw/do damage per mana cost is going to be 5 mana for 1 damage.

As opposed to other class cards - like, you know, flamestrike or pyroblast.