This week marks the release of the Construct Quarter for the Hearthstone solo adventure, Curse of Naxxramas. The first boss in the Construct Quarter is Patchwerk, who offers a very unique battle compared to many of the previous bosses you faced in the Curse of Naxxramas. First off, Patchwerk is the only boss who goes first at the beginning of the match. Up until this point, you are always forced to go first, but there’s a good reason Patchwerk wants to go first.
The biggest threat from Patchwerk is his Hook weapon. He starts the match with the weapon equipped and it deals five points of damage with eight durability. When the weapon is gone, Patchwerk gets another one to equip. This basically means you have to kill or stall Patchwerk, or else he will take you down in six turns.
If the Hook isn’t worrisome enough, Patchwerk’s hero power allows him to destroy a minion of his choosing. Luckily, these are the only two forms of attack Patchwerk has available to him. He has no cards and no deck to pull from. If you can get around his Hook and hero power, there isn’t much else to this battle.
Your biggest concern should be filling your deck with low-mana taunt minions. You need taunts in play to prevent Patchwerk from attacking your hero directly. They should be low-mana taunts, because once Patchwerk reaches turn four, he can use his hero power to destroy one minion. Therefore, it’s important to have two taunts available from that turn forward, or else your hero will get attacked directly.
You can use weapon removal minions such as Acidic Swamp Ooze or Harrison Jones, but these are only so effective. Removing the Hook with the Acidic Swamp Ooze or Harrison Jones forces Patchwerk to spend three mana to replace it. This prevents him from using his hero power on that turn up until you reach turn seven.
For your late game, you want taunts with more than five health and either direct damage cards or multiple low-mana minions. Expect one minion to be removed every turn after turn four (unless you remove Patchwerk’s weapon), and a taunt minion to take five points of damage every turn if it’s not removed. Taunt minions are very important, as are minions that grant taunt effects such as Defender of Argus.
Another method is to use a Freeze Mage deck, or cards that freeze the opponent such as the Frost Elemental or Water Elemental. Minions with Deathrattle also work very well in case they’re hit by Patchwerk’s hero power. Sludge Belcher is especially effective because it’s a taunt card that summons another taunt as a Deathrattle.
As long as you have enough taunts to keep Patchwerk’s Hook at bay long enough to inflict 30 points of damage, you’ll survive this battle without much of an issue. It’s unlikely you’ll do well against Patchwerk with a normal deck, but a Zoolock Warlock deck can work with a good draw due to the early aggro damage. Just keep in mind, if you don’t get a few taunts early on, you won’t last long enough to finish off Patchwerk.
Defeating Patchwerk earns you a set of Undertaker minions. The Undertaker is a one-mana, 1/2 minion that gains +1/1 every time you summon a minion with Deathrattle. It works very well if you have a deck composed of the cards you’ve won in Naxxramas because many of them have Deathrattle abilities.
Stay tuned to Prima Games as we continue to offer tips and strategies against the remaining bosses and class challenges in the Construct Quarter.
