Curse of Naxxramas Ep39 - Heroic Kel'Thuzad

This is it, the final boss of Naxxramas awaits!

Heroic Kel'Thuzad is by far the toughest boss of the adventure (and rightfully so). He packs a ton of removal (both mass and single-target), has 65 health including armor, two ridiculous hero powers... and he cheats! The first hero power does 3 damage and freezes your hero (zero mana), and once you knock off his armor he immediately begins his turn. At that point the hero power changes to stealing a random enemy minion permanently for 8 mana and he summons two 5/5 taunts!

After battling him with numerous deck ideas (and fighting to connect to Battle.net servers), I finally found what worked for me. It's based around buffing minions to crazy size and pounding the lich's face in with a huge amount of card draw to dig for the combinations... a "Miracle Priest" of sorts. While it was frustrating trying to record an episode of the winning game, I felt the challenge was indeed worthy of a true heroic end boss. In some ways, I almost wish some of the other bosses were a bit tougher to get you ready for heroic Kel'Thuzad... but it's probably for the best that wish goes ungranted.

Curse of Naxxramas Ep38 - Heroic Sapphiron

Just one slight change can make all the difference between normal and heroic mode.

Heroic Sapphiron gets a small boost to health (as per all heroic bosses), but the real clincher here is that you do not get a Frozen Champion. That means at the start of each of Sapphiron's turns, all your minions will die. How does one combat a foe like this? I went with weapons and charge minions!

Warrior is a great choice due to the sheer number of weapons available and a respectable charge minion, though mage might also be a good class (assuming you have both Pyroblasts). The deck I played really felt reversed as my minions became removal and my weapons were used for face damage, but it worked pretty well.

Curse of Naxxramas Ep34 - Heroic Thaddius

I tried to get fancy, and it didn't turn out like I planned.

Even though it took me a while to beat Thaddius, it's not too difficult if you stick to what works. Priest is capable of doing the job and I understand that warlock is also a great choice (mulligan aggressively for Corruption and Soulfire in the opening hand). Once you take care of his opener, the rest of the battle is just like the normal mode.

Of note, there is another trick I was not aware of: killing off his Stalag or Fuegen counts towards your summoning of Thaddius if you play them yourself. Note that his have no deathrattle because he already IS Thaddius. Still, it feels odd to kill Thaddius using Thaddius... I'm sure that will cause some kind of hole in the space/time continuum, perhaps opening a portal to an alternate reality. Wait, isn't that the plot behind the next WoW expansion? Now we know how it really happened!

Curse of Naxxramas Ep33 - Heroic Gluth

Rexxar shows Gluth who the top dog is around here...

A number of rushdown strategies are effective against Gluth, but don't expect a basic zoo deck to win. Gluth's hero power turns all YOUR minions to one health (not his), so things that only have one health aren't affected. Oozes are key to survival because his weapon in heroic mode is ridiculous. If you can find a way to efficiently kill his Zombie Chows, you'll regain all the health you lost during the first few turns - I suggest Explosive Trap or Consecration after weakening them a bit.

Curse of Naxxramas Ep32 - Heroic Grobbulus

This might be the toughest boss of Naxx to date.

Heroic Grobbulus has a great AoE hero power (better than Consecration and it's free), truly annoying minions and the best single-target buff in the game (+4/+4 and taunt for 3 mana). His big weakness however is that he lacks single-target removal. This looks like a job for... Gimmick Priest!!!

Lightwells and Deathlords will be your go-to minions as you buff them to ridiculous size and keep them healed. You'll eventually mire through his taunts and hit for massive damage.

Curse of Naxxramas Ep31 - Heroic Patchwerk

If you can't outrace Patchwerk, just slow him down.

Using a combination of oozes, freezes and bad-for-your-opponent deathrattles, you can get just enough damage to finish Patchwerk off before he chops you into pieces. Astute players will notice that Patchwerk's AI is set to kill deathrattle minions with his hero power, mimicking a mechanic of the WoW raid.

Also, there's a few other cool things you can do against Patchwerk (no pun intended). As a priest, ooze + Mind Vision means you get his uber weapon and any cards that force your opponent to draw will fatigue him for damage!

Curse of Naxxramas Ep24 - Heroic Four Horsemen

I prepare a deck specifically designed to beat the Four Horsemen!

The idea here is to capitalize on what we know about this boss. Baron Rivendare only has three minions, all of which he starts the game with and have a special ability to keep him alive. He has a ton of targeted removal, some minor AoE, and a couple of weapons.

Silencing, stealing or killing his minions can quickly spell doom for Rivendare. Minions that can't be targeted by his removal become huge threats, and deathrattle minions help to ensure he spends extra to clear your board. I didn't try it, but stealth minions might also be a good option as they're likely to dodge his removal until they get at least one good swing in.

Curse of Naxxramas Ep23 - Heroic Gothik

Heroic Gothik's not the hardest of the Military Quarter if you plan ahead.

Keep in mind that he'll use his hero power (1 mana, gain a mana crystal and draw a card) even when he's out of cards... the guy's not too bright. If you build a deck designed to outlast a fatigue battle, you'll do well. Also, he's extremely liberal with removal spells so bait them out with weaker minions before committing something important. Late game taunts are invaluable as he'll eventually run out of gas and has no direct damage to heroes.

Curse of Naxxramas Ep22 - Heroic Razuvious

This guy is a real pain. Make sure to watch the epic troll at 8:30!

To beat Razuvious, you musn't let him hit you with his weapon. Thankfully, he only has two of them but his RNG is amazing (I'm certain he's being used to test the new topdeck ability coming in the "Elite Skills Update"). Additionally, his hero power is ridiculous and can decimate your board (or health) quickly. I suggest a variant of Zeto's Anti-Noth Priest deck, adding in tons of taunt and Acidic Swamp Oozes to keep that sword as far away from your face as possible!

Curse of Naxxramas Ep16 - Heroic Loatheb

Last boss of Heroic Plague Quarter, we'll see how things handle for the next wing's release...

It seems that Unleash the Hounds ends up as the quickest route to victory here. Let him fill the board (hopefully with several Spores), then Unleash for a one turn kill.

Curse of Naxxramas Ep15 - Heroic Heigan

Second boss of the Plague Quarter (Heroic) isn't as bad as Noth, but still annoying!

Interestingly, the same deck to beat Noth can likely beat Heigan as well. His hero power punishes anything but the largest minions, and his rushdown can quickly overwhelm you. Playing big minions that you can keep healthy is a solid strategy for bringing Heigan down.

Curse of Naxxramas Ep14 - Heroic Noth

We begin the Heroic Mode of the Plague Quarter with a rough start...

That hero power combined with Plague makes for the toughest matchup to date. You cannot trade against Noth, so you must have removal. Thankfully his early game is a bit slow, allowing you to hopefully establish a strong start.

The go-to class here is priest, due to all the healing potential for keeping your minions alive. It's still a hard fight though.

Curse of Naxxramas Ep8 - Heroic Maexxna

I take on the final boss of the Arachnid Quarter... and fail a number of times!

My final strategy involved lots of cheap minions with Battlecry, silence and AoE spells. There are a number of classes that can work for the boss, but abusing battlecry minions seems to be a key component for victory.

Curse of Naxxramas Ep7 - Heroic Faerlina

Will I triumph over Heroic Faerlina? She was the toughest boss of Normal Mode (at least for me) and the idea of having to battle her in Heroic has been haunting me ever since.

I stick with what worked last time (Warlock Zoo) and dive into battle! As expected, her health is also increased to 45 and her hero power only costs 1 mana! I suggest rushing her down quickly before she stalls the game with Hellfire and starts summoning improved Worshipers.

Curse of Naxxramas Ep6 - Heroic Anub'Rekhan

I begin Heroic Mode for the Arachnid Quarter!

I was able to use the same deck as for Normal Mode, but it is a tougher fight. Boss health increases to 45 and its hero power summons a 4/4 for 2 mana! I suggest a lot of cheap taunts because Anub'Rekhan likes to go face. Also, try to kill the Deathlords ASAP to make use of their deathrattle effect.