The Military Quarter in the Curse of Naxxramas solo adventure Hearthstone expansion consists of boss battles against Instructor Razuvious, Gothik the Harvester and The Four Horsemen. Once you’ve cleared those three bosses, you gain access to two class challenges, Shaman and Warlock. Today we’re taking a look at the Shaman class challenge, but check back on Monday for the Warlock class challenge and tips to beat the three bosses in heroic mode.
As the Shaman, you must play with a pre-determined deck that you have no control over. You must use this deck to face off against Gothik the Harvester. If you win, you obtain two Reincarnate cards, which is a two-mana spell that destroys a minion and returns it to life with full health. The card is especially useful on minions with Deathrattle abilities.
Your Shaman deck consists of the following cards:
| Card | Mana | Attack/Health | Stats | Quantity |
| Cairne Bloodhoof | 6 | 4/5 | Deathrattle: Summon a 4/5 Baine Bloodhoof. | 1 |
| Cult Master | 4 | 4/2 | Whenever one of your other minions dies, draw a card. | 1 |
| Defender of Argus | 4 | 2/3 | Battlecry: Give adjacent minions +1/1 and taunt. | 2 |
| Earth Elemental | 5 | 7/8 | Taunt. Overload: 3 | 2 |
| Feugen | 5 | 4/7 | Deathrattle: If Stalagg also died this game, summon Thaddius. | 1 |
| Flametongue Totem | 2 | 0/3 | Adjacent minions have +2 Attack. | 3 |
| Haunted Creeper | 2 | 1/2 | Deathrattle: Summon two 1/1 Spectral Spiders. | 3 |
| Hex | 3 | N/A | Transform a minion into an 0/1 Frog with taunt. | 2 |
| Lightning Storm | 3 | N/A | Deal 2-3 damage to all enemy minions. Overload: 2 | 2 |
| Nerubian Egg | 2 | 0/2 | Deathrattle: Summon a 4/4 Nerubian. | 4 |
| Reincarnate | 2 | N/A | Desroy a minion, then return it to life with full health. | 2 |
| Rockbiter Weapon | 1 | N/A | Give a friendly character +3 Attack this turn. | 2 |
| Shattered Sun Cleric | 3 | 3/2 | Battlecry: Give a friendly minion +1/1. | 2 |
| Stalagg | 5 | 7/4 | Deathrattle: If Feugen also died this game, summon Thaddius. | 1 |
| Sylvanas Windrunner | 6 | 5/5 | Deathrattle: Take control of a random enemy minion. | 1 |
| Tinkmaster Overspark | 3 | 3/3 | Battlecry: Transform another random minion into a 5/5 Devilsaur or a 1/1 Squirrel. | 1 |
You have plenty of cards in this deck that can be useful in dealing with the Spectral Trainee, Spectral Warrior and Spectral Rider minions that Gothik frequently uses. All of them have a Deathrattle that spawns minions on your side of the board, which inflict one point of damage to your Shaman at the beginning of your turn. These minions all have zero attack, so you can’t use them to attack Gothik and his minions. In many cases you have to deal with them using board clearance or direct damage spells. However, this Shaman deck gives you additional options to handle these Spectral ghosts.
There are two Rockbiter Weapon cards, three Flametongue Totem minions and two Shattered Sun Cleric minions in your deck. All of these cards have the ability to buff the Spectral ghosts so you can use them to attack Gothik. If you’re using the Rockbiter, the buff only lasts one turn, so you want to target Gothik’s minions in order to trade with them, inflicting damage to the minions and getting rid of the Spectral ghosts in the process. Flametongue gives you a bit more freedom, but because these Spectral ghosts inflict damage to your Shaman every turn, you don’t want them hanging around too long.
In addition to the previously mentioned cards, you can also use your two Defender of Argus cards to not only buff the Spectral ghosts, but give them taunt as well. This allows you to attack with the minions and forces Gothik to destroy them if he wants to attack you directly. Your two Hex cards can also be used to turn the Spectral ghosts into taunts, completely removing any potential damage to your Shaman. If you have a Cult Master in play, you’ll gain cards with each death to help you maintain board control.
Another strategy you can use to work around the Spectral ghosts is to fill your side of the board with minions. You have three Haunted Creeper minions, which result in a total of six Spectral Spiders when they’re destroyed. It’s unlikely you’ll have them all available at the same time, but they can quickly fill your side of the board. The four Nerubian Egg cards in your deck can also work well to keep your board occupied, and your two Reincarnate spells work well on the Nerubian Eggs.
All of these strategies work well to neutralize Gothik’s main threat. However, there are several other cards in your deck that will come in handy. Feugen and Stalagg are cards you’ll gain access to as you make your way through the Curse of Naxxramas expansion. This is the first time you’ll be able to use them in battle, and they can be very effective. Once both of these cards have been played, when the second one dies, it summons Thaddius, which is a minion with 11/11 that generally costs 10 mana. Not only do you gain this heavy duty minion, but if you use Reincarnate on the last survivor (between Feugen and Stalagg), you get the Deathrattle effect a second time.
Keep an eye on our Hearthstone game hub for more tips and tricks to make your way through the Curse of Naxxramas!
