Hearthpwn

this divine aggro pally counters the meta pretty hard. i started playing it yesterday and streamlined from rank 20 to 4 in a few hours. sadly i didn't track my stats but it was a blast to play and i guess the winrate was about 70% from rank 4 - legend. i always liked paladin (especially in arena) but didn't want to play the slow midrange / control type. so i built my own aggro deck. it contests the board very early, floods and buffs the board and seeks ways to get damage on the enemy hero.

i faced quite a few hunters on my road which were farmed very easily. basically this decks trades in the early game  (not always of course) and starts from there on out to hit the enemies face.

proof:  http://imgur.com/wJdL79W

have fun playing it, if anyone is interested i will write down some more matchup specific details

edit: alright, as there are quite some people playing it i will write some general stuff and matchup specifics of the deck. there are so many things to consider though, that this will only be a slight overview that lets you get into the right mindset. i will start with an overview how the deck basically works, describe the meta we are having at the moment, which role this deck fits in there and eventually come to the most common matchups you will face. first of all, i am glad for all of your positive responds and that quite a lot people have fun playing it. for people who haven't played an aggressive paladin before, this must be an unusual style and you have to get used to it. play smart, think about situations you can be in at least two turns ahead and plan your game out. when you think you won't be able to get the board back, don't consider wasting resources for it which would lead to a possible win by racing them to the face. the basic structure works like this: you take the board with small stuff, buff it up with divine shield and then, if you manage to do it, buff those shields up again with blessing of might / kings, whilst you hit them with weapons and empty your hand for divine favor. those steps work quite well together - by having a lot of small stuff to play out, you will rarely have a clunked up hand and therefore have an very early on, hard to deal with board presence. this is the basic situation you should aim for. when you managed to conquer the board, phase 2 begins. you have to ask yourself, if it is worth in further investing in the board by playing more minions (which will make you more vulnerable to aoe, of course). this is one of the most crucial things you have to do correctly. the balance between pressuring the enemy hard whilst not being too vulnerable to answers they could have. this further depends on the hand you have and the matchup you are facing. if you already have a divine favor picked up, you should aim for a way which will leads them using their mana on removing your board (when they even have the tools - if they don't, great - you basically have won). this way, you will have the tempo and again as many cards as they do - a great spot to be in, especially with the burst power this deck has. another basic skill you need is the decision making between trading and hit their face. i found this deck works quite well when played like a fast rogue deck (aggro-control until you take the flip and just hit face when you think you have the tools to kill them), mixed with zoo elements by flooding the board heavily. you can get through taunts via burst from small stuff or owl. that should cover up some basics.

for the metagame: all of this is based on the eu server meta. there are many aggressive orientated decks out there (warlock zoo / face - and midrange hunter/ flamewaker mage / aggro rogue / mech-shaman should be the most common) and decks, which are doing fine against them or just being good by themself (control- and patron warrior / handlock / demonlock / ramp druid / freeze mage / midrange paladin / oil rogue). the bonus this deck has is, that it is pushing earlier and harder in the earlier stages of the game than most of the other aggressive decks whilst also being able to compete with the control decks by getting of huge divine favors and beating them down.

coming to the matchup specifics: i peaked at rank 4 legend two days ago and hover between that and 100 at the moment. the matchups i will be describing in the following will be based on the matches i played there. basic mulligan is for small stuff / muster. sometimes it is correct to keep a divine favor when you already have 1 or 2 drop in hand

vs patron and control warrior: difficult to play matchups, but you have the tools to beat them before they can get out of control and sometimes even when they do and would kill you next turn by simply having enough burst. most common thing to play around: whirlwind effects. by having a lot of 1 health minions, this deck gets blown up by good whirlwinds. try to bait them out if possible and instantly flood again when they used one. also, you have to deny the warrior to get armor from armoursmith. besides belcher, the armorsmiths are the targets for the owl. by having a huge card draw engine, your divine favors will be incredible (most common way to win this matchup). also, warriors hate early divine shields with blessing of might on them. try to get to those scenarios.

vs control warlocks: a good matchup for you. those deck want to use their hero power and damage themself by them + buffing up your divine favor. try to hold owl for a finisher. hellfire / shadflame is always a consideration. think about molten giants and how they can taunt them up when you go for a next-turn kill.

vs druid: good matchup and straightforward to play. get the board, buff it up, kill them. they have swipe and wrath to blow things up, watch out for them if possible.

vs hunter: also quite good matchup: try to figure out asap which variant he plays and which secrets he therefore most likely has. they do play jugglers and can get devastating unleash combos or a well placed snake trap. by putting down squires and other divine shields early on, you have good ways to compete from early on. also, this matchup gets often to a race who can finish the other quicker.

vs freeze mage: decent matchup. divine favor will be huge, you have enough burst and charger to get them down even if they get their secrets. turn 9 is alex time, think about that. they like to t5 frost nova + doomsayer. also be aware that a well placed leper gnome can get them when you have them on 1-2 hp and ice block + doomsayer is up.

vs midrange paladin: excellent matchup. you just overrun them if they don't get a perfect curve (zombie chow, minibot, muster). always keep consecration in mind, keep owl for sludge / tirion).

vs oil rogue: good matchup. keep his boardclears (fan of knives, blade flurry) in mind, tempo hard and kill them before they get to their lategame.

vs warlock zoo: by not having boardclears in either deck, this gets to a very control orientated matchup in early stages which normally lets the person win who conquered the board early on. keep in mind, that you most likely won't be able to come back on the board once you have lost it. things to keep in mind: power overwhelming, juggler + implosion, doomguard.

vs flamewaker mage: same principle as against zoolock. also think about their burst (frostbolts / fireballs), flamewaker/apprentice/spell combos.

 edit on 6th of july: played this deck again to legend, but now substituted one leper gnome for a 2nd owl (handy against most matchups, mostly due to every non-warrior deck playing those annoying mad scientists). http://imgur.com/4rSWMrG