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Murloc Shaman deck list guide - Forged in the Barrens - Hearthstone (April 2021)

Fin to win with Murloc Shaman in Forged in the Barrens.

Murloc Shaman is a Hearthstone deck that has been in and out of favour for some time. When expansions push the archetype, players take notice and use it, because flooding your board with fishy friends is often a free ticket to aggressive wins.

It’s a nice, easy one to play too. Your combos aren’t super challenging to understand. Basically, get Murlocs on board, kill enemy with Murlocs before they can do anything about it.

In the latest version of our guide to playing Murloc Shaman, we’ve gathered together the best deck list that’s seeing play in Hearthstone right now. Further down, you’ll also find some general tips and tricks on how to play the deck, as well as a breakdown on all the important card combos you can find in Murloc Shaman.

If you happen to have the cards available (it’s not the priciest deck around), give this one a shot! You could be pleasantly surprised.

Murloc Shaman deck list and strategy

Murloc Shaman has been a fantastic deck for a while now, and it's pretty much the same as it's always been. Below is the most popular deck list at the moment, which should be easy enough to get the hang of.

ShamanNeutral
2 x Lightning Bloom2 x Murloc Tinyfin
2 x Spawnpool Forager2 x Murloc Tidecaller
1 x Firemancer Flurgl2 x Lushwater Murcenary
1 x Cagematch Custodian2 x Lushwater Scout
2 x South Coast Chieftain2 x Murloc Tidehunter
2 x Nofin Can Stop Us2 x Crabrider
2 x Whack-A-Gnoll Hammer2 x Coldlight Seer
2 x Voracious Reader
2 x Felfin Navigator

Select and copy the long ID string below, then create a deck in Hearthstone to export this deck into your game.

Deck Import ID: AAECAaoIAqreA6juAw7JuAPG0QPw1AOr3gOR5AOT6AOU6AOz6APd7AOV8AO1nwSioASroATboAQA

General strategy

Murloc Shaman is all about overwhelming your opponent with a wide board of the fishy fellas by using their ability to buff each other to great effect. Given that many Murloc minions are also very cheap, you can play multiple cards on the same turn to stack their buff effects. Understandably, this pushes the deck towards more of an aggro approach and you’ll want to defeat opponents quickly before they can halt your aggression.

Nevertheless, this version of the deck does come with a few control options that can help extend your lead in the early game, as well as a few options to help claw back your advantage if you happen to fall behind against Control decks. Ultimately, though, you’ll want to play fast and go for damage as much as possible to wipe out your opponent quickly!

Early game:

Send wave after wave of Murlocs at your opponent. Spawnpool Forager and Murloc Tidecaller are the perfect candidates for this, 1 mana threats that can trade efficiently and receive buffs to push face damage. If you’re in a situation that allows, It’s always nice to get a Lushwater Murcenary in play early too - it’s a two mana 4/3 if you already have a Murloc on board (which you hopefully do), and from there you can keep on threatening constant damage.

If you’re able to get a Lushwater Scout to stick on board (maybe by buffing it with Coldlight Seer or Nofin Can Stop Us), you’ll be able to beef up every single Murloc you play until it dies, giving them Rush. You should take full advantage of this and trade in a value-focused way (ideally so that their minions die and yours don’t, obviously).

Mid game:

If you happen to find yourself with a Firemancer Flurgl in hand and a few Murlocs alongside him, that’s a great opportunity for a board clear, particularly against other wide boards like a Wolpertinger-filled Face Hunter or a fellow Murloc Shaman.

If you’ve established a presence on the board and the enemy hasn’t managed to deal with it, their time is running out. Felfin Navigator can be a really solid option for burst damage, and South Coast Chieftain’s two damage can go face too. Nofin Can Stop Us is a brilliant endgame card, giving all your Murlocs +2/+2. Your Totems and Cagematch Custodians even get a +1/+1 bonus - what a treat.

There’s not a huge amount to say when it comes to Murloc Shaman at this point in the game. Either you have enough minions to win or you don’t. Voracious Reader is a big help when getting more cards out of your deck in desperation, but this deck really does require you to play everything out and hope it sticks.

Late game:

Here’s where Murloc Shaman really struggles as more Control-oriented decks can start to get a foothold and starve you of resources. Whack-A-Gnoll Hammer can offer you that last, final burst of damage, and buffing a Crabrider can help boost your damage with Windfury but aside from that you’ll be desperately trying to end the game as quickly as possible.

Murloc Shaman Mulligan guide

These are the cards you’ll want to search for in your opening hand:

  • 1. Murloc Tidecaller is buffed by one Attack by any future Murlocs you play so the earlier it’s on the board, the better!
  • 2. Spawnpool Forager is an absolute treat , as it offers a sticky Murloc on board to buff and to help buff your future minions (like Lushwater Murcenary).
  • 3. Murloc Tinyfin is a surprisingly good keep! You want as much on board as possible early, and a zero mana Murloc (especially after playing Murloc Tidecaller) is a great early play.
  • 4. South Coast Chieftain deals two damage to any enemy if you have a Murloc on board already - perfect for either taking out a threat to your existing board or stacking up face damage for an early victory .

Murloc Shaman tips, combos and synergies

A lot of cards synergise well together in Murloc Shaman so here’s a closer look at some of the more important ones in the deck. Remember these and you’ll be piloting the deck masterfully in no time!

- Each time you play a Murloc class of minion, your active Murloc Tidecaller will gain an extra point of attack.

- Lushwater Scout gives your Murlocs Rush when they’re summoned, not just when they’re played. This means your tokens generated by Spawnpool Foraer and Murloc Tidehunter will also benefit from the +1 attack and Rush. Keep this in mind when considering how to clear enemy minions away.

- Buffing Crabrider is a great way to double up on your stats. For every point of attack your Crabrider gets, it can hit twice with Windfury (provided it survives), making it a powerful target for Whack-A-Gnoll Hammer, Nofin Can Stop Us, and Lushwater Scout.

- Firemancer Flurgl hits face for one damage every time you play a Murloc (as well as the rest of the enemy board), which can be important for getting lethal. If you can use this effect to clear an enemy Taunt whilst simultaneously going face, you could win it all then and there.

- Cagematch Custodian guarantees you draw a Whack-A-Gnoll Hammer, which buffs a minion by +1/+1 whenever it’s used.

- Voracious Reader is a solid final gambit play - it’ll mean you have four cards in hand at the start of your next turn which can be a lifesaver if you draw that one bit of extra damage you need.

- Don’t forget to use your Hero Power before Nofin Can Stop Us if you have the mana spare. The summoned totem will be buffed by +1/+1 - not quite as good as the Murloc buff but worth having nonetheless.

Thanks for checking out our Murloc Shaman guide! It’s a fun one if you’re looking for something fast and furious. If you want something a bit different, we have a Hearthstone Battlegrounds hero tier list, as well as a full Hearthstone deck tier list to help you pick a deck.

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About the Author
James Law avatar

James Law

Former Guides Writer

James was part of Rock Paper Shotgun's guides team from 2020-2021, bringing his expert knowledge about FPS games, Hearthstone, Path Of Exile and more from his time at Metabomb. He's also a dab hand at Hitman 3, and making his own jam - things which may or may not be related to one another.

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