With a new expansion and Hearthstone year upon us, about the only thing missing from the meta is any sign of staleness. Outside of our good Cube Warlock friends, there is experimentation aplenty in every single class right now. It’s a deckbuilder’s dream.
Some deck archetypes such as Odd and Even Paladin are proving to be very strong even in these early stages. And though we are still far from seeing any list settle, many of these stronger decks are forming solid, reliable cores. But the fun of these decks isn’t usually in the core, it’s in the flex spots.
Spiteful Druid has been waiting in the wings through the Kobolds & Catacombs era to truly take over the ladder. But because it didn't lose much with the rotation, it has been a reliable deck for players to fall back on early in this expansion. Let’s take a look at some of the most unique choices that we've seen being made when it comes to this list.
Here are the deck variations we will talk about.
### Spiteful Druid # Class: Druid # Format: Standard # Year of the Raven # # 2x (1) Glacial Shard # 2x (1) Fire Fly # 1x (2) Prince Keleseth # 2x (3) Druid of the Scythe # 2x (3) Greedy Sprite # 2x (3) Mind Control Tech # 2x (4) Swift Messenger # 2x (4) Spellbreaker # 2x (4) Saronite Chain Gang # 1x (5) Harrison Jones # 1x (5) Rotten Applebaum # 2x (5) Cobalt Scalebane # 1x (5) Leeroy Jenkins # 2x (6) Spiteful Summoner # 1x (7) Countess Ashmore # 1x (7) Malfurion the Pestilent # 1x (8) Grand Archivist # 1x (8) The Lich King # 2x (10) Ultimate Infestation # AAECAZICCK8EkAfCzgKZ0wKc4gLQ5wKb8ALF8wIL3gXyBZfBAuvCApvLAsrLAofOAvnmAtfrAovuApDvAgA= # # To use this deck, copy it to your clipboard and create a new deck in Hearthstone # Find the deck on https://hsreplay.net/decks/e9MIzrNUBmjS6kjCbM98X/
### Spiteful Druid # Class: Druid # Format: Standard # Year of the Raven # # 2x (1) Glacial Shard # 2x (1) Fire Fly # 1x (2) Prince Keleseth # 1x (3) Mindbreaker # 1x (3) Tar Creeper # 2x (3) Druid of the Scythe # 2x (3) Crypt Lord # 1x (3) Mind Control Tech # 1x (3) Void Ripper # 2x (3) Greedy Sprite # 2x (4) Saronite Chain Gang # 2x (4) Spellbreaker # 2x (5) Fungalmancer # 1x (5) Leeroy Jenkins # 2x (5) Cobalt Scalebane # 2x (6) Spiteful Summoner # 1x (7) Malfurion the Pestilent # 1x (8) Grand Archivist # 2x (10) Ultimate Infestation # AAECAZICCK8E3gXKwwKZ0wKC4gKc4gLQ5wL96gIL8gWXwQLrwgKbywLKywKHzgKR0ALR4QL55gLX6wKL7gIA # # To use this deck, copy it to your clipboard and create a new deck in Hearthstone # Find the deck on https://hsreplay.net/decks/TmwGMhxdB64nHYEED5qqdh/
### Spiteful Druid # Class: Druid # Format: Standard # Year of the Raven # # 2x (1) Glacial Shard # 2x (1) Fire Fly # 1x (2) Prince Keleseth # 1x (3) Mindbreaker # 1x (3) Tar Creeper # 2x (3) Druid of the Scythe # 2x (3) Crypt Lord # 1x (3) Mind Control Tech # 1x (3) Zola the Gorgon # 2x (3) Greedy Sprite # 2x (4) Saronite Chain Gang # 2x (4) Spellbreaker # 2x (5) Fungalmancer # 1x (5) Leeroy Jenkins # 2x (5) Cobalt Scalebane # 2x (6) Spiteful Summoner # 1x (7) Malfurion the Pestilent # 1x (8) Grand Archivist # 2x (10) Ultimate Infestation # AAECAZICCK8E3gXKwwKZ0wKC4gKc4gLQ5wLD6gIL8gWXwQLrwgKbywLKywKHzgKR0ALR4QL55gLX6wKL7gIA # # To use this deck, copy it to your clipboard and create a new deck in Hearthstone # Find the deck on https://hsreplay.net/decks/jJNVfYawVgUoFZwOZ9nOsd/
### Spiteful Druid # Class: Druid # Format: Standard # Year of the Raven # # 2x (1) Fire Fly # 2x (1) Dire Mole # 1x (2) Prince Keleseth # 2x (3) Tar Creeper # 1x (3) Gluttonous Ooze # 1x (3) Tinkmaster Overspark # 2x (3) Greedy Sprite # 2x (3) Mind Control Tech # 1x (4) Spellbreaker # 2x (4) Saronite Chain Gang # 2x (4) Swift Messenger # 2x (5) Cobalt Scalebane # 2x (5) Witchwood Grizzly # 2x (6) Spiteful Summoner # 1x (7) Malfurion the Pestilent # 1x (8) The Lich King # 2x (8) Grand Archivist # 2x (10) Ultimate Infestation # AAECAZICBroE8gXTxQLCzgKZ0wKc4gIM3gXrwgLKwwKbywLKywKHzgKL5QL55gLQ5wLX6wKQ7wLy8QIA # # To use this deck, copy it to your clipboard and create a new deck in Hearthstone # Find the deck on https://hsreplay.net/decks/4wfnp7JHGwL16ePZXCuChc/
While not the most exciting card released from Witchwood, Swift Messenger fills some interesting gaps in the Spiteful Druid playstyle. Because the core list only runs 2 copies of Ultimate Infestation for spells, the ability to fight for board is purely reliant on playing minions. Swift Messenger gives you the ability to quickly address your opponent's threats, even with a blank board. You can think of it like a Fireball that only targets minions if played when it has 6 attack.
Lists with Swift Messenger tend to run her to take further advantage of having Countess Ashmore in the deck. Greedy Sprite and Rotten Applebaum are the Deathrattle options to draw from Countess, but the lifesteal slot usually remains open.
Well, well, well ... we meet... for the first time. Since Knights of the Frozen Throne was released, we’ve all been scratching our heads a bit in regards to Mindbreaker. Other than being a straight counter to the pre-nerf Raza Priest days, he hasn’t really had a pressing need to be used in decks.
Enter the Odd and Even madness ...
Hero powers are running rampant in today’s forming meta. Shutting down 3 damage to face or 2 Silver Hand Recruits every turn can make your opponent make suboptimal plays that give you the advantage you need to take tempo. Don’t forget, Mindbreaker will disable your hero power as well.
Hats off to Blizzard Designer Iksar for tooling around with this add-in.
Imagine this: 3 Spiteful Summoners. Are you sold yet?
The truth is that Zola can give you quite a few fantastic options. And her flexibility particularly shines in this deck as card draw since Ultimate Infestation is not normally used until the Spiteful Summoners have been played.
Taunt Druid your worst matchup? Not anymore.
Tinkmaster's been waiting for his day, and whether you transform your opponent's minion into a Squirrel or a Devilsaur, you're guaranteed to mess up their plan. Clogging up your opponent's "friendly beasts that died this game" means their Witching Hour isn't a guaranteed Hadronox anymore.
Even in other matches, having an extra try at removal with him or a possible upgrade on your seemingly harmless Flame Elemental can still give him quite a bit of value. But of course, he's almost always going to be unpredictable so play with caution.
And the most unexpected tech is…
What an unexpected flip. Void Ripper has been more than a meme lately in the right decklists. Setting up a high health board will usually seem innocuous enough for your opponent that they won’t feel pressured to clear it all. Little do they know that you’re about to turn things around and win easily.
Crypt Lord, Grand Archivist, and especially the Ultrasaur you get off the occasional Spiteful Summoner synergize well with Void Ripper in this list. Spiteful Druid can sometimes struggle to find the last points of damage to win. Void Ripper can be that missing element that allows you to eek out the win. Also, the satisfaction of leaving your opponent completely bewildered with your last play warrants some bonus points.
In Summary
Spiteful Druid is at its best when strong minions hit the board every single turn. When considering what to fill out your deck with, make choices that develop your board and make quick work of your opponent's big threats. And remember to check out all the variations of Spiteful Druid lists for up-to-date info about the deck win rates.