'Hearthstone' guide: How to overrun opponents with a Zoolock deck

Welcome to the Hearthstone Meta Update, where you’ll find a review of one of the most powerful or exciting decks in competitive play. Today, we’re looking at the Zoo Warlock, AKA Zoolock. Learn how to build and play this deck, and be a little more prepared to climb the ladder.

Aggro Shaman has been a top choice for Hearthstone players since the beginning of the One Night in Karazhan expansion, but it hasn’t always been this way. Zoolock was the original aggressive deck. The fact that it’s still a style found in the arsenals of the world’s best players is a good sign of just how well this fast and furious deck can perform.

Why it’s good

Zoolock has stood the test of time, making appearances in competitions large and small since the game debuted. It’s one of the quintessential aggressive decks in Hearthstone. For players who want to bring a fast deck to a tournament, or just want to zip through their ladder matches, Zoolock is a great choice.

Another perk to this deck is how easily it can be adapted for players with a card library of any size. You don’t need to have opened countless packs from Whispers of the Old Gods or The Grand Tournament to make a viable version. And if you do want specific cards from those expansions, the dust cost of crafting them is usually low. It’s a great way to get your feet wet with serious competitive play.

Build the deck

Zoolock runs lots of inexpensive minions, for creating a quick board presence that will apply steady pressure. The mana curve skews very low, with minions such as Flame Imp, Argent Squire, Voidwalker and Possessed Villager in the 1-mana slot. For other minions on the first few turns, consider powerful cards that will be hard to remove and effective in removing enemy minions if needed. Think cards like Knife Juggler, Flame Juggler or Dark Peddler for that role. Forbidden Ritual and Imp Gang Boss both put lots of small minions into action.

Next, you’ll need resources for buffing up your basic cards. Abusive Sergeant, Dire Wolf Alpha, Dark Iron Dwarf and Defender of Argus are classic inclusions. Finally, the Darkshire Councilman and the Sea Giant are cards that benefit from building up a large board of minions; play the Darkshire before your minions go out, and save the Sea Giant for after your side is nearly full. For a quick final blow, Doomguard or even Leeroy Jenkins can deliver a quick final blow, especially if coupled with a Power Overwhelming.

For the more adventurous Warlock players, One Night in Karazhan has introduced an alternate deck option centered around the discard mechanic. In this version, you’d swap in cards such as Malchezaar’s Imp, Darkshire Librarian and Silverware Golem. These cards can give you extra swing on turns when you wind up discarding, so your Doomguard and Soulfire become even more powerful.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The Discard Zoolock strategy is far more unpredictable, so if you’re looking for a consistently effective build, stick with the original style of Zoo. That said, it’s worth trying out both approaches if the Zoo play style is one that you find fun.

Tips for playing it

The general approach with Zoo, both in the traditional and Discard variants, is to chip away at your opponent’s health from the very first turns. The key is to keep a board that’s large enough that your opponent can’t deal with it easily. Those small 1- and 2-power attacks add up quickly. The Zoolock gets out to an early lead, and then ideally clinches the win around turn six or seven.

Even though that basic strategy is straightforward, Zoolock players usually face several options for how they’ll play each turn. Usually, the cards that buff minions are used for trading up into larger threats. You’ll want to make those trades judiciously, only taking out enemy minions that put your own board at risk.

Another thing to keep in mind is that most decks run some sort of area-of-effect board clears. You’ll want to be aware of the major removal tools for each of the classes. For instance, that might be the Mage’s turn seven Flamestrike or the Druid’s Swipe on turn four. If you can anticipate when your opponent will try for a clear to reset your progress, you can hold back just enough resources to rebuild quickly.

How to counter it

Warrior decks in all their many forms have proven to be a weakness for Zoolock. Most versions run removal that seems tailor-made to clean up the low health totals of the Zoo minions. Fiery War Axe on the second turn is a nightmare for this type of Warrior.

Any heavy control deck that runs taunts can also interrupt the Zoo strategy. The ones you might find in Druid or Shaman decks that can be ramped out early or come at a mana discount with overload are especially potent for ruining an aggro deck.