Hearthpwn

Hey Hearthstoners!

Hit rank 197 Legend(Proof of legend included) after a few days of climbing with my Priest list and thought I would share the deck and my thoughts about it with you, to help other Priest players reach the same kind of goals.

Edit: Added a pretty thorough guide after many requests.

Many people believe Priest is in a rough spot in the current Meta, but I have always been a huge fan of the class and wanted to find a list who could beat many popular decks. It took a few days to make it fit to the Meta but I am very satisfied with the result.

Any questions about the deck is very welcome. 

Feel free to add me on EU OnMyWings#2821 if you have questions about the deck, if you want to talk about my beloved Anduin or anything Hearthstone related :)

If anyone want a Collection List:

 

 Note: Mind Control is the 30th Card.
No room for all 30 in the Hearthstone client.

 

Deck Guide

 

Current Card Choice Reasoning and Replacements:

The Control Priest Pack ; Auchenai Soulpriest, Circle of Healing, Light of the Naaru, Injured Blademaster.

Any Control Priests bread and butter. Allows for cheap early board clear, high value board state changes, card draw with Northshire Cleric and a cheap way to heal your hero in fast matchups. Often I find myself using the Lightwarden's to pressure the enemy hero and in many cases, they have to give up removal for my 1 mana card.

In some matchups, finding Auchenai Soulpriest and Circle of Healing is essential to win the game. I’ll come back to that in the Matchups section when it is relevant.

Power Word: Shield ;

Gives you the possibility to gain early card advantage and find the cards you are looking for in the matchup. Furthermore, it can (and often is going to) be used to take favorable trades with your minions. In aggro matchups, you will most likely be using this card with Wild Pyromancer, to clear early boards.

Northshire Cleric ;

The main card engine of almost any kind of Priest deck. Not the best card with Resurrect, but it is a quintessential part of the deck to find the cards needed for any given matchup.

Resurrect ;

See Resurrect Guide below.

Wild Pyromancer ;

Very important card for the Priest vs any fast deck. In slower matchups it is often just a 3/2 with some versatility.

Shadow Word: Death ;

The Big Game Hunter of Priest decks. Cheap removal for big minions and will be game-changing in many matchups. I chose not to run 2 of them because the deck has other ways to deal with big minions with Vol’Jin and Mind Control.

Shadow Word: Pain ;

One of those nice-to-have Tech cards. This card allows for some great swings early game and gives you another option to deal with Sludge Belchers later so it is almost never useless.

Thoughtsteal ;

Similar to cards like Ysera and Nefarian, Thoughtsteal gives the Priest a way to gain card advantage in slower matchups. Sometimes the card is useless and sometimes it wins a game alone. Tried the deck with 2 Thoughtsteal's and found it too slow and clunky.

Sen´Jin Shieldmasta ;

Cheap taunt with Resurrect synergy. Just worked a lot better for me that Sludge Belcher, as I often was missing something to play on turn 4.

Holy Nova ;

One of the best board swing cards in the game. Very important in Priest to beat fast decks. I started with 2 Holy Nova’s but changed one for Holy Fire after a while.

Harrison Jones ;

Important Tech, increases the Warrior, Rogue and Hunter matchup by quite a bit, and gives you a way to catch up in the Handlock matchup. There is also good value in the Paladin matchup, but the matchup is so good already and therefore the winrate stays about the same.

Replacements: Acidic Swamp Ooze, Loatheb or any 5-drop of your preference.

Vol’Jin ;

Mainly in the deck for the Druid and Warrior matchup but is often usable in other matchups too. Except for Mind Control, this card is our only way to deal with Ysera. Vol’Jin is very replaceable but really nice to have in some matchups.

Replacements: Shadow Word Death, Shrinkmeister (to deal with Ysera), Second Cabal Shadow Priest or any 5-drop of your preference.

Holy Fire ;

One of my personal favorites. Great way to stay alive and remove a threat from the board.

This card especially shines in the midrange Hunter matchup, giving the deck a way to deal with Savannah Highmane and gain Health.

Lightbomb ;

Along with Vol’jin, Shadow Word:Death and Harrison Jones, this card gives the deck a chance against the Handlock matchup. Also very helpful in other Board-flood decks and is likely to be used effectively in many games, especially against Patron Warrior.

Replacement: 2^nd Holy Nova (slightly Improves some matchups, other matchups can get a lot worse).

Cabal Shadow Priest ;

Not a major fan of this card myself though I cannot deny the greatness of the card. Situational way to turning around a losing board position.

Sylvanas Windrunner ;

A fantastic legendary for Priest and is the first Legendary any new Priest player should focus on crafting. I don’t see a way I would ever make a Priest deck without her.  

Replacements: None In my opinion, but 2^nd Cabal Shadow Priest is probably the best choice.

Dr. Boom ;

By far the card who gives the most board presence in the game. Tried other big threats instead but nothing else swings the board as consistently as Dr. Boom.

Note: as the only Big Game Hunter target in the deck, the card is worse. Still worth a spot in my opinion but if you find it getting BGH’d every game, it should be changed to Emperor Thaurissan, Loatheb or Troggzor the Earthinator.

Replacements; Ragnaros the Firelord, Emperor Thaurissan, Loatheb, Troggzor The Earthinator or any big threat from your collection.

Sneed’s Old Shredder ;

A not BGH-able threat that forces attention from your opponent. Will get the silence if it is up, making Sylvanas Windrunnerinfinitely better and leaving you with a fair minion. If there is no silence, the average value is higher than any threat and can win games alone. Fantastic card, but very replaceable.

Replacements: Ragnaros the Firelord, Emperor Thaurissan, Loatheb, Troggzor the Earthinator or any big threat from your collection.

Mind Control ;

Primary win conditions in heavy control matchups. If you’re only facing aggro this card should be replaced.

 A small guide on using Resurrect as requested:

 

Matchups w. mulligan and Tech Choices:

Patron Warrior:

Generally an easy matchup for this kind of Priest deck. Patience is key here, if the important board clear usingAuchenai Soulpriest and Circle of Healing is burned before a big Grim Patron combo, chances of winning are decreased significantly. Pressure the board early with Injured Blademaster.

Mulligan:

One of the few matchups where your small minions are worth very little in the early game because of Fiery War Axe. If possible you should do your best to find Injured Blademaster and Resurrect as early as possible. Getting this combo off, can completely ruin Patron Warriors ability to freely get card draws. What I do every game against Warrior, is throwing away any card that is not Injured Blademaster or Resurrect. Keeping Harrison Jones or Sen’Jin Shieldmasta is also fine options but I don’t like it.

Tech Choices:

If I’m facing tons of Patron Warriors, taking out a Wild Pyromancer for an Acidic Swamp Ooze is my go-to Tech. This change will drastically decrease the winrate of some other matchups, so think about that when making the change.

Control Warrior:

Even matchup usually won with Mind Control. Unlike the Patron matchup, you are rarely looking to use your Auchenai Soulpriest Circle of Healing combo in this matchup, but instead looking to gain card advantage with  Thoughtsteal and Northshire Cleric. Your gameplan is simply to draw into enough removal for Warriors threats and if possible establishing your own too (Often in the shape of Injured Blademaster’s) until you can utilize Mind Control.

Mulligan:

Similar to Patron Warrior though the gameplan is very different. Getting the early board is a key component to pressure the Warrior. Getting Harrison Jones early too is brilliant and I usually keep it in my opening hand even though they are usually not used for Fiery War Axe.

Tech Choices:

Taking out a Wild Pyromancer for an Acidic Swamp Ooze is also great in this matchup. Changing the other a Wild Pyromancer into a 2^nd a Shadow Word: Death, is also a great option for dealing with lategame threats. However, I don’t recommend doing this as the a Wild Pyromancer’s are key in a lot of matchups.

Face Hunter:

One of the easiest matchups for the deck. Facehunters have a hard time dealing with Priest, and this deck setup works extremely well in disrupting their early game boards. The game plan is pretty plain; Survive for a few turns, utilizing a Wild Pyromancer in combo with a Resurrect and Power Word: Shield.

Northshire Cleric is a great card against Face Hunter, and can be dropped early without much concern. When you play it, make sure to think about ways the Hunter can deal with it.

Mulligan:

Wild Pyromancer and Northshire Cleric is the best cards to keep against Face Hunter. Keep Power Word: Shield if you have any of those two, and Resurrect if you have Wild Pyromancer. If you have Coin, keeping Resurrect with Injured Blademaster is also a very good option.

Tech Choices:

Zombie Chows are very hard to deal with for Face Hunter. I would personally swap out Sneed’s Old Shredder for a Zombie Chow.

Deathlord is also great against that kind of deck, and could replace Thoughtsteal.

Acidic Swamp Ooze is probably a bit better than Harrison Jones in this exact matchup, so is can be a fair change too. Usually I just add the Acidic Swamp Ooze instead of Thoughtsteal when there are too many Face Hunters.

Midrange Hunter:

Against this Hunter deck, the Auchenai Soulpriest Circle of Healing combo is worth a lot because of cards like Piloted Shredder, Animal Companion and Houndmaster. Find a way to setup a favored board before turn 6 if possible, if not you gotta find other ways to deal with Savannah Highmane. It’s very likely that you will have to use Holy Fire to clear a deathrattle creature like Savannah Highmane and follow up with a board clear spell.

Mulligan:

Wild Pyromancers can be great in this matchup too, so I would keep them here aswell. Same goes for Northshire Cleric.

If you should have the Auchenai Soulpriest Circle of Healing combo, keep it. It’s too important to throw away.

Shadow Word: Pain is worth considering though I rarely keep it. Only if I have it with Wild Pyromancer and Power Word: Shield.

Tech Choices:

Shadow Madness is a card I keep taking in and out of my Priest decks. In this matchup the card is pretty great and can replace Sneed’s Old Shredder or one of the Light of the Naaru in my opinion. Never did it myself though because I rarely was facing this deck during my legend climb.

Possibly another Sen’Jin instead of Vol’Jin is also a good option for the matchup.

Midrange Paladin:

Super easy matchup, honestly can’t remember last time I lost it. Tons of ways to clear their early board, great steal targets for Cabal Shadow Priest (most of all Shielded Minibot) and Mind Control(Usually saving this for Tirion Fordring).

Wild Pyromancer takes care of the Silver Hand Recruits from Muster for Battle and Reinforce.

Midgame threats is easily cleared with Auchenai Soulpriest + Circle of Healing.

Mulligan:

Always keep Wild Pyromancer, Northshire Cleric and Shadow Word: Pain. Power Word: Shield is a great keep if you already have Wild Pyromancer. The Resurrect + Injured Blademaster is also kept, but only if you have both of them.

Tech Choices:

Since the matchup is so favored with the decklist, I see no reason to Re-Tech the deck. Sure, some minor changes like adding a 2^nd Cabal Shadow Priest or Shadow Madness might make it even better, but it is extremely insignificant.

Aggro Paladin:

The easiest of all matchups for the deck in my opinion. The deck has a lot of ways to deal with the Aggro Paladin, with Wild Pyromancer and Holy Nova in particular. The only way this matchup is lost, is with terribly unlucky draws or if you allow the Paladin to get a full hand from Divine Favor. I can’t emphasize the importance of this enough. Keep your hand at max 5 cards whenever possible unless you really need to draw into something particular. If these things are done properly, the matchup is over before it started.

Mulligan:

An obvious keep is Wild Pyromancer. Finding a spell to use with it early should be your priority, Resurrect works very well for this. Reviving Wild Pyromancer gives you an instant Whirlwind effect.

Keeping Northshire Cleric is still very good for early trades, even though you don’t wanna draw too many cards with it.

Tech Choices:

Zombie Chow is great against Aggro Paladin, but not necessary since the winrate is already above 80%.  

Demon Zoo:

A pretty easy matchup which is very draw dependent for both players. Our Auchenai Soulpriest + Circle of Healing combo is a true MVP when defeating the Zoo.

Wild Pyromancer can be used to clear Imps, or to deal with early threats.

Your game plan is to setup the board in a way where it can be cleared. Dealing with Nerubian Egg and similar deathrattle cards can sometimes be hard unless you setup your board to pop them when using Lightbomb or Combo.

Mulligan:

Wild Pyromancer is yet again a great keep, and even better with Power Word: Shield or Shadow Word:Pain.

Northshire Cleric is also a fine keep, though I often feel like you will need a Power Word: Shield to get value out of it. Too easy for it to just die to a Flame Imp or Knife Juggler.

If you have coin, I can be OK to keep the Auchenai Soulpriest + Circle of HealingCombo.

Tech Choices:

Silences are great against the Voidcaller so finding a spot for an Ironbeak Owl.

Another Shadow Word: Death helps a lot with the Doomguards and Mal’Ganis.

Handlock:

Absolutely the hardest matchup for this (and many other) Priest deck. Your best bet is to pressure the board early with Injured Blademaster and drawing as many cards as possible with Northshire Cleric. One of the few ways to gain a massive advantage on board versus Handlock is to Vol’Jin their Twilight Drakes early on and find your Shadow Word: Death for the first Mountain Giant. Keep clearing their threats to the best of your ability. Save Harrison Jones for Lord Jaraxxus to hopefully get a card advantage that could lead to a win.

Do not ever expect to win this matchup, but give it a try every time regardless.

Mulligan:

Injured Blademaster with Circle of Healing or Resurrect can get you some pressure early, I would Injured Blademaster in combination with one of those cards.

Vol’Jin is a great keep to deal with early Twilight Drake

Same goes for Shadow Word: Death for Mountain Giant

Tech Choices: 

If you really want to improve the matchup, another Lightbomb and Shadow Word: Death will help quite a bit.

Freeze Mage:

I was lucky enough to meet very few Freeze Mages during my climb. The matchup is very favored for the Mage and if the player is just somewhat familiar to the matchup, they will unfortunately win most of the time. All you can do, is to put as much pressure on the opponent as possible and hope they have awful draws.

Mulligan:

Get something for the board early like Injured Blademaster and keep Shadow Word: Pain for Doomsayer.

Tech Choices:

Kezan Mystic is obviously a great way to finish the game against Freeze. Still not gonna change the outcome of the matchup often enough for it to be worth a slot in the deck. Might consider it if there we’re many Freeze Mages on ladder, but as long as Control Warrior is popular it is not very likely.

Tempo Mage:

Had the pleasure of playing against quite a lot of these decks the last week. The matchup is in our favor but can get out of hand quickly if there is no board clear in hand.

The game plan is simple; make the Tempo Deck lose Tempo. Make it a priority to remove everything that is played whenever possible, and try to establish a board for yourself while doing so. The second the Tempo deck is behind, the game is over.

Wild Pyromancer in combo with spells can easily swing the tempo in your favor and force the tempo make to fight from behind.

Auchenai Soulpriest + Circle of Healing is as in many cases great for taking back a losing board position.

Mulligan:

Wild Pyromancer with any cheap spells,  preferably Shadow Word: Pain and Power Word: Shiel

If you have coin, the Auchenai Soulpriest + Circle of Healing is a great keep. If not it’s usually a bit too slow.

Resurrect can be kept in combination with Wild Pyromancer or the combo.

Tech Choices:

The deck is in fine condition to beat Tempo Mage, but these changes will most likely increase the winrate; Adding a 2^nd  Cabal Shadow Priest instead of Harrison Jones and a Kezan Mystic in the place of Sneed’s Old Shredder.

Ramp Druid:

If the Druid doesn’t get a perfect ramp start, Priest should have the edge as the game progresses. Great ways to clear early minions like Shade of Naxxramas and Piloted Shredder and fine tools to deal with the lategame threats from Druid. Saving Vol’Jin and Shadow Word: Death for Ancient of War is very important. You gotta find other ways to deal with minions like Ancient of Lore and Druid of the Claw, which is where Auchenai Soulpriest comes in. Cabal will most likely be used for Keeper of the Grove.

Mulligan:

Similar to Warrior, getting either the Auchenai Soulpriest + Circle of Healing combo is a great way to deal with Druids board.

Any time you can get Injured Blademaster + Resurrect go for it. Druid has a hard time dealing with the 4/7 body, especially after most likely having used Wrath, and you can clear a lot of their early minion with just that card.

Tech Choices:

2^nd Shadow Word: Death is by far the best Tech against Druids. Removing a Wild Pyromance for it is great when the meta is dominated by Druids.

Combo Druid:

Similar to Ramp Druid, except they have a way to end the game from their hand. This makes it a priority to always have the board cleared after turn 7 (Combo with Innervate). Try to stay as high health as possible since the deck doesn’t have reliable taunts like Sludge Belcher and think about the same things as in the Ramp matchup.

Tech Choices:

Taunts, Sludge Belchers or 2^nd Sen’jin would work nicely.

Mirror:

Priest vs Priest is very dependent on Injured Blademaster and who can get it out first and start buffing it. Having Resurrect to combo with it, gives the matchup a snowball effect that is almost impossible to pull back from.

Mulligan:

I think many people might disagree, but I always mulligan all the cards trying to find Injured Blademaster. If you have it, try to find Circle of Healing, Light of the Naaru and Resurrect

Tech Choices:

Change Harrison Jones to Ysera, gives you the lategame card advantage needed to secure a win in the matchup.

Proof of Legend: