Curse of Naxxramas Frostwyrm Lair

[Damien 1,514]

This thread is for comments about our boss guides for the Frostwyrm Lair of the Curse of Naxxramas.

[Guest JTide]

This deck is very 'doable' and one if not the best deck with the highest prospect of beating the encounter with the least amount of games. This boss is as difficult to win against as any of the others that were very difficult to me (and many others) such as Gluth or Gothic the Harvester etc. Besides the few fortunate players that got the benefit of the perfect RNG in their first or second games, these bosses WILL take several to many (for those that did not get the right draws/topdecks sooner than others) runs to prevail, thus patience is a virtue here. However playing with this deck and losing does not feel (to me) as degrading and/or undoable as say Gluth does when you lose turn 3. The reason seems that this encounter is forgiving enough with this deck that you will be able to play out the game and survive for many turns and you can at least see the path to victory in your draws, even if you get them to late to actually carry it out. Those are just my thoughts of encouragement to those that are just seeing this and are about to start their attempts or for those that have just not been able, after many, many tries to get it done and are here to try this deck. This deck is capable of winning, though it may take a lot of attempts. I believe that this encounter will allow you the time to substitute the 0 mana Silences for the 4 mana mass dispel/draw a card. That spell will be especially beneficial once you have you win condition minion (your best shot is the death lord because of its 3 mana cost and 8 starting health, but mostly important coinciding with it having taunt which will be the life saver before & especially after he changes his hero power. The starting attack of the minion you choose to use as your win condition does not matter nearly as much as its starting health, as with the use of power word shield into divine spirit into inner fire (the preferred option as if possible you can use the combo on a later minion to give you a second late game win condition minion). That is where the 4 mana mass dispel will shine you to a win if say your first or even your second buffed minion gets mind controlled. You can then cast a mass dispel, hopefully dispelling the 2 5/5 taunt guardians along with a sludge belcher, dark cultist, acolyte of pain etc. One more tip to keep in mind is be mindful of his board when you are about to break his shield bringing the 5/5 taunter guardians to the board, if his board is full (best case scenario with mostly the low attack minions) it is possible to 'burn' those taunts out of play with say using smite/mind blast to break his shield. Of course in hindsight I know that it is possible, but I did not think about it until it happened in a game that I ended up winning. The same can be done in certain situations when you know your Deathlord is about to die. You can be pro active in killing it yourself and 'burn' the card that would have become a minion on his board as a result of his death rattle. Lastly after playing against this boss many games since the first win, I learned that my win chance greatly increased when I waited to put a win condition minion on the board until I could get at least one health buff on it the same turn as even if you have a clear board, he has spells that he can use to negate what would have been the crucial first step in building you win condition minion. 

 

 

TL:DR Try using the 4 mana Mass Dispel spell card in place of the 0 mana cost silences as this encounter is forgiving enough to allow you to get late enough into the game for it to be HIGHLY beneficial (against his 2 5/5 taunters as well as sludge belches, dark cultist, acolytes of pain AND possibly one of YOUR buffed 'win condition' minions. In the case that he does mind control your buffed minion, you still have the cards to give you the chance to build a second 'win condition' minion if you do not put all your eggs in one basket. The late game with this deck is basically a race to beat him before he kills you (or mind controls the minions that can give you a win)

[JTide 0]

This deck is very 'doable' and one if not the best deck with the highest prospect of beating the encounter with the least amount of games. This boss is as difficult to win against as any of the others that were very difficult to me (and many others) such as Gluth or Gothic the Harvester etc. Besides the few fortunate players that got the benefit of the perfect RNG in their first or second games, these bosses WILL take several to many (for those that did not get the right draws/topdecks sooner than others) runs to prevail, thus patience is a virtue here. However playing with this deck and losing does not feel (to me) as degrading and/or undoable as say Gluth does when you lose turn 3. The reason seems that this encounter is forgiving enough with this deck that you will be able to play out the game and survive for many turns and you can at least see the path to victory in your draws, even if you get them to late to actually carry it out. Those are just my thoughts of encouragement to those that are just seeing this and are about to start their attempts or for those that have just not been able, after many, many tries to get it done and are here to try this deck. This deck is capable of winning, though it may take a lot of attempts. I believe that this encounter will allow you the time to substitute the 0 mana Silences for the 4 mana mass dispel/draw a card. That spell will be especially beneficial once you have you win condition minion (your best shot is the death lord because of its 3 mana cost and 8 starting health, but mostly important coinciding with it having taunt which will be the life saver before & especially after he changes his hero power. The starting attack of the minion you choose to use as your win condition does not matter nearly as much as its starting health, as with the use of power word shield into divine spirit into inner fire (the preferred option as if possible you can use the combo on a later minion to give you a second late game win condition minion). That is where the 4 mana mass dispel will shine you to a win if say your first or even your second buffed minion gets mind controlled. You can then cast a mass dispel, hopefully dispelling the 2 5/5 taunt guardians along with a sludge belcher, dark cultist, acolyte of pain etc. One more tip to keep in mind is be mindful of his board when you are about to break his shield bringing the 5/5 taunter guardians to the board, if his board is full (best case scenario with mostly the low attack minions) it is possible to 'burn' those taunts out of play with say using smite/mind blast to break his shield. Of course in hindsight I know that it is possible, but I did not think about it until it happened in a game that I ended up winning. The same can be done in certain situations when you know your Deathlord is about to die. You can be pro active in killing it yourself and 'burn' the card that would have become a minion on his board as a result of his death rattle. Lastly after playing against this boss many games since the first win, I learned that my win chance greatly increased when I waited to put a win condition minion on the board until I could get at least one health buff on it the same turn as even if you have a clear board, he has spells that he can use to negate what would have been the crucial first step in building you win condition minion. 

 

 

TL:DR Try using the 4 mana Mass Dispel spell card in place of the 0 mana cost silences as this encounter is forgiving enough to allow you to get late enough into the game for it to be HIGHLY beneficial (against his 2 5/5 taunters as well as sludge belches, dark cultist, acolytes of pain AND possibly one of YOUR buffed 'win condition' minions. In the case that he does mind control your buffed minion, you still have the cards to give you the chance to build a second 'win condition' minion if you do not put all your eggs in one basket. The late game with this deck is basically a race to beat him before he kills you (or mind controls the minions that can give you a win)

[Guest stanacious]

Haven't tried this yet but I was so happy to finally see a deck posted that I actually have all of the cards. I'm equally happy that Alextrazza is not allowed, since I don't have it!

[Guest Guest]

This deck is doable, but seriously , Im pretty sure blizzard is fucking with me! everytime I get a strong minion then it is the first that Kel'Thuzzard takes with his hero power when I reach the second phase.. it has happened 5 or 6 times now!! seriously, am I really this unlucky, or does the hero power just secretly say "Take control of the strongest enemy minion" !?!??! fack.. !

[Guest Rumbane]

A GvG update would be appreciated. :)

[Guest Jat]

A GvG update would be appreciated.

 

I simply replaced the two Deathlords with Hobgoblins in the Priest Deck. Defeated him in the first try after the Deathlord replacement(was pretty close, though -> make sure you attack with as many minions as possible when you destroy his shield! Almost lost because I missed out on 2 dmg)

[Bob21117 15]

These are the F2P decks I beat the Heroic Frostwyrm Lair with.

Sapphiron
https://www.icy-veins.com/hearthstone/sapphiron-guide-for-the-curse-of-naxxramas

Sapphiron's Hero Power will destroy any attempt of building up board presence.
This is the hardest fight for any F2P-deck as it is a permanent fight for board control and a damage race at the same time. You have to be very lucky using only a basic deck. Especially hope for the appropriate cards (as always), optimal minion positioning (Necroknight) and no Pure Cold.

F2P Warrior (0 Dust)
Difficulty: hard (may take more than 10 tries and the fights will last quite long)
Source:

2x Execute
2x Whirlwind
2x Cleave
2x Fiery War Axe
2x Heroic Strike
2x Nerubian Egg
2x Charge
2x Magma Rager
2x Shield Block
2x Wolfrider
2x Death's Bite
2x Kor'kron Elite
2x Arcanite Reaper
Feugen & Stalagg
2x Reckless Rocketeer

Mulligan for Fiery Waraxe, Cleave and Wolfrider.
Combine Magma Rager and Charge to kill Necroknight.
Warrior's weapons and charge minions could kill Sapphiron by turn 8 (with a perfect draw), as Sapphiron has only 45 HP. However, by turn 8 Sapphiron's minions will likely have killed you already, and Sapphiron is able to freeze you.
That is why you have to try to summon 2 copies of Thaddius on turn 10. Assuming you achieve this, you will only have to deal 23 damage to Sapphiron's face using weapons.
Sapphiron has Blizzard, which he only uses while you still have a minion on the board he cannot kill otherwise. Since he destroys any of your minions on the start of his turn, he will almost always be able to use Blizzard against a newly spawned Thaddius. Avoid this by playing Nerubian Egg on an empty board to lure Blizzard beforehand. You can tell it is in Sapphiron's hand, when he has at least 5 mana left and does not spend it on his remaining card (his most expensive card beside Blizzard only costs 5 mana).


---

Kel'Thuzad
https://www.icy-veins.com/hearthstone/kel-thuzad-guide-for-the-curse-of-naxxramas

In phase 1 Kel'Thuzad's main damage source is his 3 damage Hero Power, which will always hit your hero. You can let your health drop to 10, while you fight for the board.
The minions Kel'Thuzad plays will be only minor threats, except Abomination and Spectral Knight.
Once his shield of 20 HP is down (or when 10-15 turns are played), phase 2 will start. When this happens, Kel'Thuzad will end your turn by force, so use up all your mana and try to deal as much damage as possible with a single blow while his shield is at 1 HP.
Consider: Twisting Nether costs 8 mana and Kel'Thuzad will use it, if he has no minion on the board on turn 8. Destroying his shield will spawn 2 5/5 Taunts. So destroying the shield/entering phase 2 on your turn 8 will prevent a board clear.
Deal damage to Kel'Thuzad while keeping one or two of his low-damage minions the board (Zombie Chow, Acolyte of Pain or Stoneskin Gargoyle, not counting mind controlled totems!) to further prevent Twisting Nether.
In phase 2 Kel'Thuzad's hero ability will change from Frostblast to Chains, mind controlling your minions completely at random for 8 mana. He should not be able to hit you, but only fight for board control.
Playing as many minions as you can will leave Kel'Thuzad far behind, once his taunts are out of the way because of the high cost of his new Hero Power. Blizzard and Cone of Cold will then be your only problems.

F2P Shaman (0 Dust)
Difficulty: medium (may take up to 10 tries)
Source:

2x Frost Shock
2x Rockbiter Weapon
2x Flametongue Totem
2x Windfury
2x Razorfen Hunter
2x Shattered Sun Cleric
2x Wolfrider
2x Chillwind Yeti
2x Dragonling Mechanic
2x Sen'jin Shieldmasta
2x Windspeaker
2x Bloodlust
2x Darkscale Healer
2x Fire Elemental
2x Stormwind Champion

Cheerio,
Bob

[HappyFeet 0]

BipsyScott's Normal Kel'thuzad Mage deck, as listed and shown on YouTube, won for me on my third try. The cards in the deck are from the Basic set but include cards won from the previous Naxxramas bosses and from the Naxxramas Mage challenge (Duplicate). It is not necessary for your flight to imitate the pattern that is shown on the YouTube video, but it does help to watch the video several times in order to pick up a few tips and tricks. Good Luck!

[Guest Cel]

Threw out a Feagen and Stalagg on turn 10. Resulted in 2xThaddius drops and 22 hit point combo as a finisher.

[Guest Normy]

TGT Update:

 

With this list i got him on the second try. Try to survive the early game with removal an heals und after he got his mind-control ability feed him with northshire clerics/lightwells/soulspriests/tournament medics

 

The 1 circle of healing is basically the finisher of the deck. You can easily kill him in 1 strike after he gained control of 2 clerics. 

 

Wait with the power word: glory after he got his first acolyte of pain or tournament medic.

 

Here is the List:

 

1 Circle of Healing

2 Flash Heal (to kill the belchers with Auchenai Soulpriest)

1 Holy Smite

2 Power Word: Glory (TGT)

2 Northshire Cleric

2 Shadow Word: Pain

2 Lightwell

2 Shadow Word: Death

2 Thoughtsteal (to get the 4 mana Removal/Acolytes/Belchers)

2 Schadow Madness (best use is to steal Shadow of Naxx to kill the 4/3 skeleton)

2 Auchenai Soul Priest

2 Tournament Medic (TGT)

2 Holy Nova

2 Antique Healbot

1 Lightbomb (good for the transition phase)

1 Justiciar Trueheart (TGT, makes life easier with 4 healing)

 

 

 

 

[CaptLando 26]

Heroic Sapphiron vs low-budget Mage

 

I was missing quite a few of the cards recommended by Icy Veins for the three class decks. I did my best to construct each of them, but they all looked pretty close to "basic" when I was done. I successfully defeated Sapphiron on my 5th attempt with mage; 9th overall attempt (including 2 attempts with hunter and 2 attempts with warrior). I was pleasantly surprised with my relatively short road to victory, so decided to share my decklist in hopes that it may help others who are looking for card replacements.

 

 

1x Arcane Missles

2x Frostbolt

2x Bluegill Warrior

2x Mad Scientist

2x Nerubian Egg

2x Arcane Intellect

2x Duplicate

2x Effigy (TGT rare)

2x Frost Nova

1x Ice Barrier (Classic common)

1x Saboteur (TGT rare)

2x Wolfrider

2x Fireball

1x Antique Healbot (GvG common)

1x Feugen

1x Stalagg

2x Reckless Rocketeer

2x Flamestrike

 

I thought Saboteur would allow itself and possibly another minion played on the same turn to survive. I found out that it only buys time by preventing Sapphiron from playing other things. He will ALWAYS use his hero power before he does anything else. The first time I played Saboteur, he actually used The Coin just so he'd have enough mana to use the hero power, even though it meant playing nothing else. After that, I'd try to mulligan for Saboteur. It never happened, but in the end, didn't really matter.

 

As for secrets, my idea was to use Duplicate with Feugen and Stalagg, and Effigy with Thaddius. I didn't manage the Duplicate, but I did have an Effigy. It gave me Varian Wrynn...but Sapphiron used Blizzard on him next turn, so he was useless, Lol. My two Duplicates actually worked out very well. One duplicated Antique Healbot, so I had plenty of heals to keep me afloat. (I had 12 hp left at the end.) The other came out at the very end and duplicated my Nerubian Egg. As it turned out, I had already won without the extra eggs, but it was great to have them in my hand as "backup".

 

My Fireballs were reserved for Necroknights. To maximize your kill efficiency, I suggest waiting until the Necroknight has a minion to either side of it before you kill it, unless delaying would put you in a position of certain death the following turn.

 

I know Arcane Missles is really weak in this fight. The only reason I included it is because I had, literally, nothing else of use to include. However, in my win, it did come in very handy. I played a Flamestrike against four minions, and the last one standing was a Spectral Knight. Luck was with me, and two of the three missiles hit the knight, finishing him off. So even Arcane Missles played a role.

Edited September 29, 2015 by CaptLando

[CaptLando 26]

Heroic Kel'Thuzad vs Shaman

 

I did not build a deck specifically for this fight. With my "daily use" shaman deck, I defeated KT on my 4th attempt. On my first try, I didn't even come close, but each subsequent attempt was a significant improvement over the previous.

 

 

The point at which I noticed lethal. Flametongue Totem between Loatheb and Haunted Creeper + Rockbiter Weapon = 17 dmg

 

2x Totemic Might

2x Rockbiter Weapon

2x Zombie Chow

1x Ancestral Knowledge

2x Flametongue Totem

1x Garrison Commander

2x Haunted Creeper

2x Totem Golem

1x Elemental Destruction

1x Healing Wave

2x Hex

1x Silver Hand Regent

2x Tuskarr Totemic

1x Draenei Totemcarver

1x Bloodlust

1x Loatheb

1x Nexus-Champion Saraad

2x Sludge Belcher

1x Thunder Bluff Valiant

2x Fire Elemental

 

I was tempted to use Elemental Destruction the turn after his shift from phase 1 to 2, however, I decided against it, feeling that clearing my board as well would actually leave me in a worse position. Even though I didn't make use of it, it's still a nice card to have as "insurance". I prefer to use Hex on Abomination, but I think it's foolish to sit on it when there are other immediate threats on the board. It would be a good idea to include a second Bloodlust. It's the one card I kept hoping I'd draw, but it never came.

 

I read a tip from a post above to allow a couple of non-threatening minions to remain on KT's board. The reason for this is to prevent him from casting Twisting Nether. I let him keep a couple Acolytes of Pain for the duration of phase 2. Good advice!

[Guest Glenn]

I don't get how you're supposed to use cards from different classes?

[Guest Guest]

Useless guide for beginners... how should I win this with my cards? Im sure your guide works. But why should someone need a guide if he aleady has all the cards and is really experienced?

[positiv2 953]

Useless guide for beginners... how should I win this with my cards? Im sure your guide works. But why should someone need a guide if he aleady has all the cards and is really experienced?

Is the guide unclear to you? Which part do you not understand? I will try my best to help you.

 

Having a lot of cards doesn't mean the player is experienced. This is why you face a lot of high budget decks in lower ranks. These are exactly the players that use these high-budget Solo Adventures decks.

[Guest Matroska]

 

Useless guide for beginners... how should I win this with my cards? Im sure your guide works. But why should someone need a guide if he aleady has all the cards and is really experienced?

Is the guide unclear to you? Which part do you not understand? I will try my best to help you.

 

Having a lot of cards doesn't mean the player is experienced. This is why you face a lot of high budget decks in lower ranks. These are exactly the players that use these high-budget Solo Adventures decks.

 

I was going to say the same thing as him, albeit less aggressively.

 

His point is that if you have all those cards, you must have been playing for a long time or at least have paid a lot of money. I have very few of those cards. I started playing during beta, played for few months after that before stopping for over a year, then came back about 2 weeks ago. I've got the other cards from Naxx including all the class challenges so far. Other than that, I just have classic cards - and even then, nowhere near all of them.

 

I think what's he's getting at is if you already have all those cards, you don't really need any help. You have a lot of great cards and months of experience that led to you gaining those cards in the first place. People that actually need help, like me and him, don't have those cards at all and so the guide is unfortunately pointless for us. It's like having a moneymaking guide that involves having $500,000 to begin with. I guess it's basically for people that have a ton of cards but don't know what they're doing, like they just spent a lot of money on the game without playing it much.

 

To try to be more positive, is there a possible deck you might offer for players in our position? How flexible can the player be in this battle?

[Bob21117 15]

To try to be more positive, is there a possible deck you might offer for players in our position? How flexible can the player be in this battle?

 

Hi Matroska,

 

you might want to have a look at my post from May 29. The decks I used to beat Heroic Naxxramas with were all completely free to play.

 

Heroic Sapphiron: F2P Warrior (0 Dust)

Difficulty: medium (may take up to 10 tries, but the fights will last quite long)

2x Execute

2x Whirlwind

2x Cleave

2x Fiery War Axe

2x Heroic Strike

2x Nerubian Egg

2x Charge

2x Magma Rager

2x Shield Block

2x Wolfrider

2x Death's Bite

2x Kor'kron Elite

2x Arcanite Reaper

Feugen & Stalagg

2x Reckless Rocketeer

 

Heroic Kel'Thuzad: F2P Shaman (0 Dust)

Difficulty: medium (may take up to 10 tries)

2x Frost Shock

2x Rockbiter Weapon

2x Flametongue Totem

2x Windfury

2x Razorfen Hunter

2x Shattered Sun Cleric

2x Wolfrider

2x Chillwind Yeti

2x Dragonling Mechanic

2x Sen'jin Shieldmasta

2x Windspeaker

2x Bloodlust

2x Darkscale Healer

2x Fire Elemental

2x Stormwind Champion

 

Cheerio,

Bob

[Guest Dogzilla]

Yoh, struggled vs KT (rnjesus cursed me)

 

tried a few decks, budget and not so budget with no success until I went back to my most recent shaman control. Took him out 2nd try with it, first try I tried to clear his board every turn but not enough face damage to go to phase 2 before death came knocking.

2nd time took him into P2 asap then continuously built up bored with totems and wearing him down with flametongue combos and ping till eventually he got in range for bloodlust (OTK from 18hp)

 

2x Rockbiter Weapon

2x Abusive Sergeant

2x Lowly Squire

2x Ancestral Knowledge

2x Flametongue Totem

2x Totem Golem

2x Hex

2x Lightning Storm

1x Mana Tide Totem

2x Tuskarr Totemic

2x Arcane Nullifier X-21 (can still get mind controlled)

1x Elise Starseeker

2x Bloodlust

2x Sludge Belcher

1x Emperor Thaurissan

2x Fire Elemental

1x Dr. Boom

 

took 1 fatigue damage on my last turn but managed to scrape by

[Guest Guest_Gavin]

Upvote for the deck above my commend. Its a great deck. Got it on second try. Try to mulligan couple with flametongue totem and you will be fine

[Guest Cam]

Your Paladin deck for Kel'Thuzad is a waste of time, given all the Mage cards you've got in it!

[positiv2 953]

8 minutes ago, Guest Cam said:

Your Paladin deck for Kel'Thuzad is a waste of time, given all the Mage cards you've got in it!

Thanks for pointing it out, we will be fixing it shortly.

[Guest Alexstrasza]

I don't know if this is an artifact of the reintroduction, but at least in normal mode, Alexstrasza works fine against Kel'Thuzad.

[positiv2 953]

48 minutes ago, Guest Alexstrasza said:

I don't know if this is an artifact of the reintroduction, but at least in normal mode, Alexstrasza works fine against Kel'Thuzad.

While Alexstrasza works fine in normal, she is immediately destroyed without her battlecry taking place in heroic mode.