Hearthstone Deck Guide: Token Druid
More than just a token effort
Druid has a long tradition of decks that spawn and buff a ton of minions. But this new take Token Druid has relatively little in common with them aside from using Savage Roar as a finisher.
What's changed is the addition of a bunch of new ways to spawn tokens and build armour. Between them, they've made a formidable deck that's tough to beat down.
Card Choice- 2 x Lesser Jasper Spellstone
- 2 x Power of the Wild
- 2 x Wild Growth
- 2 x Savage Roar
- 2 x Branching Paths
- 1 x Ironwood Golem
- 2 x Oaken Summons
- 2 x Soul of the Forest
- 2 x Swipe
- 2 x Wispering Woods
- 2 x Nourish
- 2 x Spreading Plague
- 1 x Malfurion the Pestilent
- 2 x Ultimate Infestation
- 2 x Violet Teacher
- 2 x Arcane Tyrant
Deck Code:
It's not the most expensive deck, but the cards in the archetype support one another very well. So it's hard to find substitutions.
One of the few easy picks is, thankfully, the legendary, Malfurion. Ultimate Infestation is also not stricly necessary. All are very good, though, and you should craft them if you can. The weakest link of all is the Epic Arcane Tyrant, which you can substitute more safely.
The build is light on tech cards, so if you want to change things around, that should be your first choice. Add something like Acidic Swamp Ooze or Spellbreaker.
You can also put in another Ironwood Golem, but be aware that Oaken Summons can pull one instead of a Violet Teacher.
Mulligan
This deck has a very weak early game, with few low cost cards. Instead it relies more on armour and removal to protect it while it climbs the Druid mana ramp.
Oaken Summons and Wild Growth are two key cards you'll want to keep whatever you're facing. The latter is essential for building the ramp toward tempo. The former is great for early defence.
Against faster decks, other cards to watch for are the Spellstone to neutralise early threats and Swipe. The latter is particularly good against Paladins who thrive on spawning swarms of 1-health minions.
Play Style
Early on, your goal is just survival. Against slower decks this isn't a problem. Play Wild Growth if you have it. Otherwise, feel free to make use of your hero power to build armour and neutralise small early threats.
Against an aggressive deck, you'll have more of a problem. Swipe is a big friend to clear the board, and Oaken Summons boosts your armour. Be careful with it, though: it will summon a Violet Teacher and you'll want to keep that on the board. Use it sparingly if your opponent has a clear way to take the Teacher out.
Until then get that hero power in action and try to stay on top of their minion spawns. Use the Spellstone if you have it. There's no point in saving it to build more damage if you're dead before you can play it.
Either way, this should see you through into the mid-game and then you can begin to take charge of the board. What's crazy about this version of token Druid is the number of ways it can push tokens onto the board. So get to it.
If you've got plenty of cards, use Wispering Woods. If you've got spells, play a Violet Teacher (or fish for one with Oaken Summons) and unleash the spells. If your opponent has a busy board, Spreading Plague becomes an unholy terror.
When the weight of minions is on your side, start buffing them. You've also go massive flexibility from Branching Paths and Soul of the Forest to buff or build your defence or hand as the situation dictates. And Savage Roar is the ultimate finisher with lots of weenies at your disposal.
If you run out of cards, grab a bunch more with the ever-useful Ultimate Infestation. Nourish can also help refill your hand but, generally, it's better used for the mana crystals. Riding up the ramp is important for this deck with all its combos and expensive spells. So increase your mana when you get the chance.
Defensive Duties
Your biggest enemy is board clear effects, and they're popular in the meta right now. So why does this deck continue to prosper? Because it's so easy to spawn a bunch more tokens if you need them.
Don't be afraid of spending a turn filling the board only to see tokens destroyed by a single area of effect spell. There will be more. If you've got a Violet Teacher, just try and make trades or summon Taunts so that she stays alive. She's the best engine for tokens that you've got.
Best of all for keeping you in the game, though, is Soul of the Forest. If you can play it on a full board - it's a great combo with Wispering Woods - then an enemy board wipe still leaves you with a full board. It's so effective that there are times you might wish for less of your own minions so you can squeeze in another Taunt.
Other than that, the deck has a lot of cards that make it very easy to increase your armour total. This is something to stay aware of when you're playing against classes who make aggressive use of direct damage like Mage and Hunter. They'll grind your life total early but don't despair. Use your armour boosts to ensure you never come within reach of a one turn kill.
