Discolock Match-Up Discussion

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Last week we took a look at which cards were under-performing in our Discard Warlock deck (aka Discolock) and you helped me pick which cards to replace them with. Here are the results of that poll:

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I have to say that I have been very happy to have the [Knife Juggler]/[Forbidden Ritual] combo back in the deck and that [Sea Giant] has also been performing admirably. I only have one copy of [Sea Giant] so I also added in one copy of [Power Overwhelming] which has been good in many situations. They’re all certainly better than [Flame Imp], [Flame Juggler], and surprisingly [Abusive Sergeant].

A week later and I’ve managed to climb a few more ranks up the ladder to 13. With just under two week’s left in the season I don’t think it’s unreasonable to make it to rank 10, which would be a personal best! Let’s take a look at how I’ve been approaching different match-ups so far in the lower rungs of the ladder.

Vs. Druid

This season’s druid decks come in the Malygos and Token varieties but I have to admit I haven’t seen a whole lot of either deck in the lower rungs of the ladder. These decks are both tricky to play against because of the same reason: removal spells. [Living Roots], [Wrath], and [Swipe] give Druid a lot of early action against our attempts to establish a board presence. [Swipe] in particular can be devastating with any kind of spell power boost.

On the other hand, [Knife Juggler] can work wonders for re-establishing board presence and clearing out the opponent. Don’t over-extend and save your Jugglers and [Malchezaar’s Imp]s until they’re going to have immediate benefits.

Vs. Hunter

Hunter has really dropped off in popularity this month and it’s not hard to tell why. Dropping [Call of the Wild] on turn nine instead of turn eight is much less effective. An extra turn in the late game for Discolock usually means drawing an additional two to four cards which is almost always enough to finish the game out.

Midrange is still the most popular flavor but if you can goad them into racing you then it’s a race you’ll probably win, because you don’t really care about going down to a low life total before blowing your opponent out.

Vs. Mage

Ugh. While Tempo Mage was a challenge to play against, Freeze Mage is downright painful. There’s no getting around the fact that there will be some games against Freeze Mage that are completely unwinnable thanks to a combination of cards like [Doomsayer], [Blizzard], and [Flamestrike]. You simply can’t afford to over-extend into these unless you know you can survive the onslaught or recover quickly.

Tempo Mage is pretty much just a race. Save your [Soulfire]s for [Flamewaker] which can cause you a lot more grief than you want to deal with.

Vs. Paladin

Paladin is another class that lost a lot of popularity and I haven’t faced often or at all really in the lower rungs of the ladder. Paladin plays a control game meaning you’ll want to get in your damage as fast as possible. [Aldor Peacekeeper], [Equality], and [Consecration] are the cards you need to watch out for unless you want this match-up to look like Freeze Mage.

Murloc Paladin actually looks like a lot of fun to play and again, you really just need to race your opponent. Try to set up explosive turns that aren’t susceptible to being blown out by [Doomsayer] or [Consecration] and you’ll be just fine.

Vs. Priest

Resurrect Priest is actually a huge pain to play against because we lack a large array of removal spells. An early [Injured Blademaster] or a timely [Barnes] into [Ragnaros the Firelord] into [Resurrect] can quickly end the game against Discolock. So make sure you save your removal spells for when you really need them. You don’t want to gift your opponent the perfect hit on [Onyx Bishop].

Otherwise the game plan is very straightforward. Deal as much damage as possible. Try to keep [Darkshire Councilman] out of range of both [Shadow Word: Pain] and [Shadow Word: Death]. You shouldn’t run into this deck too often since no one thinks Priest is any good.

Vs. Rogue

In my experience so far, both the Miracle and N’Zoth flavors of Rogue are too slow, in general, to keep up with Discolock. However, they can really explode in card and board advantage if they can resolve things like [Gadgetzan Auctioneer] and [N’Zoth, the Corruptor]. I generally just do my best to win the game as fast as possible without worrying about things like killing [Tomb Pillager]. You kind of just become a face-hitting deck and hope to close out with [Doomguard] or [Soulfire].

Vs. Shaman

It’s a bit surprising but I haven’t gone up against a lot of opponents with the big bad mid-range Shaman deck. When I have, it’s almost always an uphill battle. Their removal is as efficient as Freeze Mage but they also have a wide array of minions with taunt that will prevent you from just going face as fast as possible. Your only option is to combo out for massive card advantage, or play a board-control game. Go with the former since you generally don’t have the firepower for the latter.

[Thunder Bluff Valiant] is brutal so try not to leave any totems in play. [Thing From Below] is a massive pain so try to counter it with [Doomguard]. [Lightning Storm] will probably be a blowout unless you only have two minions in play but if you do then you’re probably losing anyways. It’s a rough match-up.

Vs. Warlock

The mirror match isn’t too bad. You know the deck’s weaknesses. Don’t let [Malchezaar’s Imp] remain in play. Don’t get blown out by [Knife Juggler]. Save your [Soulfire] for [Imp Gang Boss]. You can probably race if you have a stellar opening hand, but you also know how quickly they can catch-up with their hero power.

Renolock on the other hand is a pain in the rear end. They have access to a lot of removal, even though it’s inefficient, but when they eventually play [Reno Jackson] they set you back quite a bit. Switch from going face to focusing on board control until you can hit for 20+ in a single turn.

Vs. Warrior

Control Warrior is a bad match-up because unlike Shaman and Freeze Mage there aren’t a lot of opportunities to have a surge turn and get back in the game. [Brawl] will quickly put an end to any board presence you can establish. [Ravaging Ghoul] can also serve the same purpose. Eventually one of the [Justicar Truehart] or [Baron Geddon] will put the game out of reach. Your only option is to hit hard and hit fast.

Good luck!

Rich has been playing Hearthstone on and off since the closed beta and has a golden E.T.C. to prove it. He enjoys playing Warlock on the ladder and wishes he could get more than five wins in an Arena run. He’s trying desperately to figure out how Hunters always seem to have Call of the Wild on curve.