aggro shaman vs zoo warlock mulligan

[vaidab 3]

Hi, 

I'd like to understand more my aggro shaman deck. I lost a few times to zoo and, even though I have a good win rate overall, I think I may be doing something wrong.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/41ekmc5scgoolcz/Screenshot%202016-05-20%2016.39.51.png?dl=0

I have 4 1-cost minions out of 30. The chances of getting one if I mulligan 3 minions is 15% and if I mulligan 2 is 14%. So I would keep the 2 cost minion and mulligan the other 2 (as I don't need cards but minions and the 4 cost minion is too far ahead).

Is this the right play in the beginning?

And a second question: when he starts filling the table with 1/1s or other 1-2 cost minions, and I have small minions also, should I generally go for face or trade? He gets double draws while I trade but, on the other hand he has better trades if I face. What would be a good (general) strategy here?

[SithLordOfSnark 78]

You are definitely mulliganing correctly. You're playing aggro so you want an early start.

[Valks 2,377]

18 hours ago, vaidab said:

Hi, 

I'd like to understand more my aggro shaman deck. I lost a few times to zoo and, even though I have a good win rate overall, I think I may be doing something wrong.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/41ekmc5scgoolcz/Screenshot%202016-05-20%2016.39.51.png?dl=0

I have 4 1-cost minions out of 30. The chances of getting one if I mulligan 3 minions is 15% and if I mulligan 2 is 14%. So I would keep the 2 cost minion and mulligan the other 2 (as I don't need cards but minions and the 4 cost minion is too far ahead).

Is this the right play in the beginning?

And a second question: when he starts filling the table with 1/1s or other 1-2 cost minions, and I have small minions also, should I generally go for face or trade? He gets double draws while I trade but, on the other hand he has better trades if I face. What would be a good (general) strategy here?

VS. Zoo, you definitely have to mulligan as hard as possible for a strong start. The game is often decided on the first few turns, since neither deck is exactly excellent at clearing a board.

Tunnel Trogg is one of your best starting cards, since it can snowball so fast. If you have the coin vs. zoo, I'd also recommend looking for a Feral Spirit, since it can seriously slow down their push.

If you manage to find a Trogg, it could be worth using your mulligan to find Overload cards like Lightning Bolt, since they can be used to protect your Trogg while still buffing it.

In regards to trading, I think it depends on your current situation. How much HP does the enemy have? How much do you have? Are they good trades? For example, trading a 5/1 Tunnel Trogg into a 2/1 mob isn't exactly going to help you.

Generally, I would say make the trades you have to, otherwise go face. 

[drumsmani 47]

I think you are doing fine. Zoo is mostly favored against Shaman, so having a worse winrate against Zoo is reasonable. 

[batanete 28]

The problem with using aggro decks against zoo is that you fall into the dilemma where if you just start racing too early(ie just going face instead of making efficient trades) they just clear your board with their minions and then unless you have put them around 10 hp(which means you can just finish off the warlock with spells) they just won't let you do anything for the rest of the game, as every time you try playing minions they just dispose of them easily. On the other hand, if you just try to beat them on the board, their warlock hero power and extremely efficient low curve cards means they have the edge over you anyway.

This means the best way to win is to try to trade with them enough to buy time to get in chip damage with your minions and whenever you have enough burst damage in hand to finish the job, just start going full face. This requires you to have a decent draw and a good perception of the game, but that's just how unfavored match ups work.