Mid-Budget Maloriak Warlock Deck (Heroic Mode)

Strategy

While this fight may seem completely unfair at times due to the strength of Maloriak's Hero Power, and its asymmetrical nature on Heroic Mode, it can be defeated with a bit of patience and strong play.

The key to this fight is Dire Wolf Alpha, because of the way stat reversing effects work in Hearthstone, Dire Wolf has the effect of permanently providing stat buffs to minions that you play next to it. For example, if you were to play a Voidwalker next to a Dire Wolf Alpha, the buff will get applied, boosting it to a 2/3, then the stats will be flipped, turning it into a 3/2, then finally, the Dire Wolf Alpha buff will be reapplied, making it a 4/2 for as long as it is next to the Dire Wolf Alpha on board. By abusing this mechanic, and keeping your Dire Wolf alive, you can place every minion you play next to a Dire Wolf and get a similar effect from Maloriak's Hero Power as he is, going some way to level the playing field.

It should be noted that Maloriak has some starts that are borderline unbeatable. If the uses The Coin to play Release the Aberrations! on turn 1 for example, he immediately gains 3 3/3 minions and deals 9 damage to your face. This start is almost impossible to recover from, and you should probably just concede in this case for efficiency.

Mulligan aggressively for Nerubian Egg and Dire Wolf Alpha, and then simply play out a standard Zoo game, referring to our guide on how to play constructed Zoo decks if required. Focus on gaining an advantage on the board as opposed to dealing damage, and use Mind Control Tech to swing the game in your favour at the points where Maloriak starts to develop a strong position, and you should be able to emerge victorious.