Regionals Primer-Matchup Analysis Warlock

Regionals is quickly approaching and I still have 4 more decks to cover matchups for. I am going to get them all done this week, so you can expect daily updates here. Let's get started today talking about the Warlock.

Hunter-The Hunter is probably this deck's best matchup. The Warlock pets are good against the rush player starting with Grimdron. Grimdron is really there more for the threat of using him than actually killing a lot of allies. A savvy rush player will fully commit to the board forcing you to use Grimdron every turn and essentially netting himself a one resource advantage since one of yours will always be tied up with Grimdron. Don't fall into this trap. If you have better plays in your hand, make them. Sarmoth is the next in the line of Warlock allies that are trouble for the Hunter. He will usually take 2 attacks to kill and should take out one ally with him. His job is to be a speed bump to get you through to the later turns. The last pet is Infernal he is really a monster in this matchup. Once he enters play, their allies will almost all be reduced to resource row fodder. Once he enters play, unless you're on the brink of death your win should only be a few turns away. The Warlock's abilities don't do a lot in this matchup with the exception of Steal Essence. It serves as a virtual 2-for-1, eliminating an ally and healing 2 from your hero. Rain of Fire generally comes in out of the board for this matchup as it can clear the board in front of an Infernal. If you play Warlock, this is probably the matchup you want to see most during the day.

Shaman-This matchup is pretty tough. You can outdraw them, but their cards all have card advantage built into them. The matchup usually comes down to Annihilator and Draconian Deflector being too much for the Warlock to fend off. If the Warlock runs Ancient Cornerstone Grimoire (and you really should be if you plan on playing Warlock) it can serve as an answer for the Annihilator. Most Shaman decks don't run Shattering Blow so the Grimoire is basically indestructible. The Shaman still has the advantage with allies like Kulan and Zy'lah but the Grimoire makes the match much closer. If you also play Nemesis Skullcap, it will help even more in this matchup. The Shaman will generally take a very aggressive stance in this matchup so the key is making the game go as long as possible. You will simply have to have a reliable answer for strong weapons as they will also be a problem against the Warrior and Paladin if you don't.

Mage-They have better abilities, you have Infernal. This is one of the few decks that can keep pace with the Warlock drawing cards. This matchup slightly favors the Mage because more of their damage can go to the dome than the Warlock. If either deck runs Lorekeeper Darian, that deck will have the advantage. I have seen a lot of Mage decks run Darian, but not many Warlocks. Neither deck plays very aggressively. A lot of times this matchup comes down to who sacrificed more in their good matchups to help out in this one.

Warrior-This is probably your worst matchup. Unless you are running a lot of discard you will simply have no chance to kill them before they set up one huge turn. Grimoire helps here as it will make them kill you with Heroic + Mortal Strikes, but there isn't much you can do to get through all their armor before they just kill you.

Paladin-This is another bad matchup but not as bad as the Warrior. If you play Medoc Spiritwarden then he can win the game with Moira Darkheart if given enough time. Ancient Cornerstone Grimoire is much better here since they don't have the Strikes to just kill you whenever they want. Thrash Blade and/or Girdle of Uther will eventually get them around the Grimoire, so you'll need to take out their equipment. Don't think that Medoc + Moira is an auto-win as good Paladin players will be able to play around it for a little while. If you can set up the combo protecting Medoc becomes your number one priority. If you're not playing Medoc this matchup will be very hard to win, as they will probably just pick off one ally per turn and you will have a hard time ever dealing any damage through their armor.

The Warlock deck is very good vs. the Hunter but somewhat lacking against the other decks. If you want to sacrifice a little vs. the Hunter you can shore up some of the other matchups. One of the most important cards in the non-Hunter matchups is Ancient Cornerstone Grimoire, but for some reason a lot of Warlocks aren't running them. Don't make that mistake. If you play a Warlock, play the Grimoire. It's good.

I'll be back tomorrow to discuss the Mage matchups.