Template:Zephrys the Great strategy

Zephrys is an incredibly powerful card that can save you from a bad situation, kill priority targets, generate value for later turns, or create lethal. Generally, you should save Zephrys for when you have no other good plays. Zephrys will always be an efficient play, so it's a good idea to wait until he's your only efficient play. When you do play Zephrys, it's a good idea to play out your other cards first to get to a desired level of mana remaining, then play him to persuade Zephrys to give you cards at or below that mana cost (factoring in the cost to play Zephrys of course). To find out what Zephrys likes to offer you in various scenarios, the only way to find out is to play Zephrys a lot for yourself to see what he likes in different situations.

Since Zephrys gives you a choice between three cards, you still have to judge which of his options will be the best. For example - at three mana remaining he may give a healing spell like Holy Light, a removal spell like Deadly Shot, and a Sea Giant which is currently playable. It's up to you to decide which path will provide the best value currently and on later turns.

Pay close attention to what Zephrys is offering, especially if the options include direct-damage spells or cards like Windfury, Savage Roar, and Bloodlust. He may see a lethal that you didn't account for.

If you're attempting to gain lethal with Zephrys, be sure to use your burst damage first. Zephrys will not check the cards in your hand, so he won't count them as damage when searching for lethal.

Even if this wastes a lot of his value, Zephrys isn't a terrible play on curve. He'll generally offer 3-mana cards, making him a super-upgraded Jeweled Scarab. In particular, he'll almost always offer Wild Growth, Animal Companion, and Brightwing, three of the best 3-mana cards in the Legacy set. He can also curve out later turns as well, offering fitting mana costs no matter when he's played. He also often offers Tirion Fordring in the lategame as a proactive play.

Be wary of Bomb Warrior and Bad Luck Albatross, which can disable Zephrys' effect by shuffling in duplicate cards into your deck. Try to play Zephrys early if you can in this match up.

Since he has the same singleton condition, Zephrys is a natural fit for decks using Reno Jackson, Kazakus, Inkmaster Solia, Raza the Chained, Krul the Unshackled, Elise the Enlightened, Sir Finley of the Sands, Dinotamer Brann, Reno the Relicologist, and Dragonqueen Alexstrasza.

Zephrys also doesn't need to be used solely in singleton decks. Since his effect only cares about your current deck, he can be played at or near fatigue to make use of his Battlecry. This can allow you to find a finisher as an aggro deck or another piece of value in a long control match. This works especially well in combination with Chef Nomi.

Counter-strategy

Beware of Rogue's ability to bring Zephrys back into their hand repeatedly for multiple wishes. Kill Zephrys ASAP. If you have a wide board, anticipate Zephrys giving a board clear and be as aggressive as appropriate. If your board is small but powerful, anticipate a silence or single removal, so go wide to minimize losses.

Cards offered

Most of the powerful cards that Zephrys thinks about giving to the player are listed below:

• Cards that offer single-target damage or removal:
  • Moonfire, Mortal Coil, Frost Shock, Backstab, Arcane Shot, SI:7 Agent, Holy Smite, Lightning Bolt, Fire Elemental, Eviscerate, Soulfire, Heroic Strike, Glaivebound Adept, Lava Burst, Kill Command, Fireball, Inner Demon, Pyroblast, Savagery, Shield Slam, Deadly Shot, Assassinate, Siphon Soul, Natalie Seline, Mind Control, Execute, Shadow Word: Pain, Shadow Word: Death, Stampeding Kodo, Cabal Shadow Priest, Big Game Hunter, The Black Knight, Hungry Crab, Silence, Earth Shock, Ironbeak Owl, Hex, Polymorph, Sap
• Cards that offer area of effect:
  • Twisting Nether, Brawl, Shadow Word: Ruin, Flamestrike, Holy Nova, Consecration, Lightning Storm, Fan of Knives, Arcane Explosion, Whirlwind, Dread Infernal, Avenging Wrath, Shadowflame, Shadow Madness, Betrayal, Mass Dispel, Chaos Nova, Hellfire, Baron Geddon, Forked Lightning, Cleave, Soul Cleave, Multi-Shot, Explosive Shot, Swipe, Starfall, Blizzard, Frost Nova, Deathwing
• Cards for healing:
  • Radiance, Holy Light, Healing Touch, Soul Cleave, Holy Nova, Siphon Soul, Guardian of Kings, Lay on Hands, Lord Jaraxxus, Sacrificial Pact, Aldrachi Warblades, Truesilver Champion
• Cards for buffing:
  • Bloodlust, Savage Roar, Windfury, Windspeaker, Soul of the Forest, Mark of the Wild, Power of the Wild, Power Word: Shield, Kul Tiran Chaplain, Argent Protector, Defender of Argus, Temple Enforcer, Inner Rage, Inner Fire, Cold Blood, Blessing of Kings, Blessed Champion, Houndmaster, Murloc Warleader, Coldlight Seer, Southsea Captain
• Cards for proactive plays:
  • Flame Imp, Voidwalker, Loot Hoarder, Sorcerer's Apprentice, Faerie Dragon, Wild Growth, Animal Companion, Brightwing, Edwin VanCleef, Water Elemental, Twilight Drake, Earth Elemental, Druid of the Claw, Faceless Manipulator, Savannah Highmane, Ancient of War, Tirion Fordring, Ysera, King Krush, Sea Giant, Eaglehorn Bow, Aldrachi Warblades, Truesilver Champion, Assassin's Blade, Arcanite Reaper, Doomhammer, Gorehowl, Gladiator's Longbow, Dread Corsair, Alexstrasza, High Inquisitor Whitemane, Thoughtsteal, Battle Rage, Arcane Intellect, Shield Block, Nourish, Sprint
• Cards for reactive plays:
  • Harrison Jones, Acidic Swamp Ooze, Bloodsail Corsair, Flare, SI:7 Infiltrator, Blood Knight, King Mukla, Crazed Alchemist, Humility, Unleash the Hounds

The card categories that Zephrys might offer the player are listed below:

• Lethal
  • Pyroblast, Inner Demon, Avenging Wrath, Gorehowl, Fireball, Lava Burst, Soulfire, Heroic Strike, etc.
  • Bloodlust, Savage Roar
  • Windfury, Windspeaker, Blessed Champion, Inner Fire, etc.
  • Mass Dispel, Silence, etc.
  • Flamestrike, Consecration, Shadowflame, Shadow Madness, etc.
  • Unleash the Hounds
• Proactivity:
  • Minion:
    • Tirion Fordring, Ancient of War, Savannah Highmane, Temple Enforcer, Twilight Drake, Water Elemental, Animal Companion, Kul Tiran Chaplain, etc.
    • Sea Giant, Dread Corsair
    • Natalie Seline, Cabal Shadow Priest, The Black Knight, Big Game Hunter, SI:7 Agent, etc.
    • Baron Geddon, Dread Infernal
    • Defender of Argus, Windspeaker, Houndmaster, Coldlight Seer, Southsea Captain, etc.
    • Ysera, Brightwing, Loot Hoarder
    • Blood Knight, King Mukla, etc.
  • Buffing:
    • Windfury, Soul of the Forest, Power of the Wild, Blessing of Kings, Power Word: Shield, Inner Fire, Inner Rage, etc.
    • Defender of Argus, Windspeaker, Houndmaster, Coldlight Seer, Southsea Captain, etc.
    • Bloodlust, Savage Roar
  • Weapon:
    • Doomhammer, Gorehowl, Assassin's Blade, Eaglehorn Bow, etc.
    • Tirion Fordring
  • Mana ramp
    • Wild Growth, Nourish
• Area of effect:
  • Twisting Nether, Brawl, Shadow Word: Ruin, Shadowflame, Shadow Madness, Betrayal, etc.
  • Flamestrike, Holy Nova, Consecration, Starfall, Swipe, Multi-Shot, Soul Cleave, Cleave, etc.
  • Baron Geddon, Dread Infernal
  • Blizzard, Frost Nova
  • Deathwing
• Single-target damage or removal:
  • Gladiator's Longbow, Glaivebound Adept, Fire Elemental, SI:7 Agent
  • Natalie Seline, Cabal Shadow Priest, The Black Knight, Hungry Crab, Crazed Alchemist, etc.
  • Pyroblast, Fireball, Lava Burst, Eviscerate, Holy Smite, etc.
  • Shadow Word: Death, Shadow Word: Pain, Execute, Siphon Soul, Assassinate, etc.
  • Hex, Sap, Earth Shock, Silence, Ironbeak Owl, Humility, Mind Control, etc.
• Healing or survival:
  • Lay on Hands, Guardian of Kings, Healing Touch, Holy Light, Radiance, Sacrificial Pact
  • Siphon Soul, Holy Nova, Soul Cleave
  • Truesilver Champion, Aldrachi Warblades
  • Tirion, Ancient of War, Earth Elemental, Defender of Argus, Houndmaster, Mark of the Wild, Voidwalker, etc.
• Weapon removal:
  • Harrison Jones, Acidic Swamp Ooze, Bloodsail Corsair
• Secret removal:
  • SI:7 Infiltrator, Flare
• Card generation or card draw:
  • Lay on Hands, Sprint, Nourish, Arcane Intellect, Shield Block, Battle Rage, Loot Hoarder, etc.
  • Mass Dispel, Fan of Knives, Mortal Coil
  • Ysera, Brightwing, Thoughtsteal
  • Harrison Jones, Flare

Guaranteed offers

• If Zephrys is coined out at 1 mana (on turn 1):
  • Sorcerer's Apprentice or Faerie Dragon, Loot Hoarder, Power Word: Shield, Backstab (if your opponent has a 2-health or less undamaged minion), Acidic Swamp Ooze (if your opponent has a weapon, or is playing as the Rogue class with the Rogue hero power)
• If Zephrys is played at 2 mana (on turn 2):
  • Wild Growth, Animal Companion, Brightwing or Power Word: Shield, Backstab (if your opponent has a 2-health or less undamaged minion, or sometimes a 3-health undamaged minion), Acidic Swamp Ooze (if your opponent has a 1/2 weapon or greater, or is playing as the Rogue class with the Rogue hero power), Inner Rage (sometimes if you have a greater than 1-health minion that can attack), Silence (if there is an enemy minion worth silencing, such as a buffed minion or a high-cost low-statted Deathrattle minion), Fan of Knives (if there are many 1-health enemy minions), Lightning Storm (if there are many 2-health or less enemy minions)
• If Zephrys is played with 2 mana remaining, the opponent has no minions or weapons, and lethal is not in sight:
  • Kul Tiran Chaplain

Cards that may or may not be offered

• Wisp, Circle of Healing, Starfire, Wrath, Blade Flurry

Cards that are not offered or don't seem to be offered

• Tundra Rhino, Equality, Timber Wolf, Blessing of Might, Sinister Strike, Holy Wrath, Aldor Peacekeeper, Keeper of the Grove, Frostwolf Warlord, Cairne Bloodhoof, Archmage Antonidas, Ironbark Protector, Onyxia, Deadly Poison, Upgrade!, Frostbolt

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