Ramp Druid

I have reached a point in my Hearthstone play where even though I have remained steadfastly F2P, I have a pretty decent stable of cards such that the name of my blog is now only mostly true, not 100% so. Starting the game when the Android client came out, similarly timed to the beginning of BrM, I have finished both the available adventures, opened maybe a dozen TGT packs, and predictably moreso from the earlier sets. In addition to the adventure ones, I have 3 legendaries, Sylvanas, Antonidas, and Boom, which are a pretty great 3 to have gotten from packs. I dusted Millhouse and my 2nd Sylvanas.

My current Ramp Druid is, as usual, as close as I can get to a deck I find on Icy Veins, in this case, this one . Another HS milestone is my new-found impatience with trying sub around commons and neutral rares I lack, so I finally bit the bullet and crafted 2 Druids of the Claw, a minion worth the 40 dust if any ever was. Then I turned around and used Claw for Living Roots. I am still trying to work around class-specific rares if possible, so I find myself with the following:

2x Innervate
1x Claw
2x Wild Growth
2x Wrath
1x Darnassus Aspirant
1x Power of the Wild
2x Druid of the Flame
2x Swipe
1x Keeper of the Grove
2x Druid of the Claw
1x Ancient of Lore
1x Volcanic Lumberer
1x Mind Control Tech
2x Sen'jin Shieldmasta
1x Spellbreaker
1x Azure Drake
2x Sludge Belcher
1x Emperor Thaurissan
1x Sunwalker
1x Sylvanas Windrunner
1x Stormwind Champion
1x Kel'Thuzad

The subs and their merits:

Living Roots -> Claw:
Both can do 2 damage for 1 mana. The similarity ends there. Claw used early might be killing a minion that does no more damage than the armor granted, but late, Living Roots can ping the last 2 health off something big but damaged without using life, or summon 2 tokens at any time.

2nd Darnassus Aspirant -> Power of the Wild:
With 2x Innervate, 2x Wild Growth, the other Aspirant, and Thaurissan, I don't terribly miss the mana crystal that the 2nd Aspirant can add, and remove. The 3/2 Panther is generally more useful, as is the 1/1 global buff, I have often applied it to make a trade that leaves a minion of mine clinging to life, instead of dead.

1st Ancient of War -> Volcanic Lumberer:
Obviously both are big taunts. I lack the Ancients, and the Lumberer could end up cheaper than an Ironbark Protector, depending on the turn. Kel'Thuzad could make it a lot cheaper.

Big Game Hunter -> Mind Control Tech:
In the relatively short time I have used this deck, I don't think I have run into a case where I could have used BGH. OTOH, I have also never managed to steal a minion with MCT, either.

2nd Keeper of the Grove -> Spellbreaker:
Obviously, some flexibility is lost, but the Spellbreaker trades up higher or does more face damage when its turn comes, if it does.

2nd Ancient of Lore -> Azure Drake:
I rarely find the Drake's spell power to be critical, this sub is mainly to provide half the draw at a quarter of the crafting cost, on a minion I can use elsewhere. No healing option either, but can play 2 turns earlier.

2nd Ancient of War -> Sunwalker:
Even more than the Lumberer, well, they both taunt. Sometimes my opponent lacks a cheap way to remove the Divine Shield.

Cenarius -> Stormwind Champion:
Like the Drake, the Champion can come out 2 turns earlier, and provide half the benefit of one of the options Cenarius provides.

There are some significant tradeoffs here, but I find the subs to make as much sense as my changes to the Dragon Priest I have mentioned previously do. I do not, however, find as much success with this deck as I do with that one. It seems strange to me that an outdated and bastardized Dragon Priest should be more viable than what I think is a less compromised Ramp Druid, which makes me wonder how strong Ramp Druid is is the current meta. Since I am only trying both decks at low ranks and casual, and with my subs, I may never know, as the meta will change again before I have a more complete collection.