Hearthpwn

Hallo, all!  So I've been having a lot of success with this deck, but I've never seen anybody use a similar one- poking around hearthpwn, I've only seen two decks that share more than 15 of the cards in this deck (and both had <20).  So if you're wanting to try out a new Paladin deck...  Let me know if this works for you as well as its worked for me.

The basic strategy: your goal is to get and keep a board, and deny your opponent one.

Basically, you try to develop a board as quickly as possible, then use the sheer amount of deathrattles and divine shields to make sure that your opponent can never take it back.  Early game, you're using high-value cards to trade favorably with your opponent.  As you go later in the game, you want to keep dropping resilient minions and build up your board.  Late game, you shift to control mode, playing a lot of big threats and using your board control to gain value with every trade.  And if your board does somehow get cleared late-game, N'zoth brings it all back.

 

Why these cards?

Redemption is often considered a not very good card, for the reason that even when it brings something back, your opponent can just trade some tiny minion into it.  For this reason, you only want to play Redemption in 2 situations: 1) you have board control.  If this is the case, pay attention to what taunts you have on the field, and what card you played last.  Know thine enemy's AOE.  Don't play it if your opponent might ping a Silver Hand Recruit.  2) you can guarantee value.  Generally, the only times you'll do this are when you have a Sludge Belcher or Tirion on the field, and nothing else.  The best time to do this is when your opponent can just barely kill the first copy- this will give you time to stabilize on your next turn.  Also, if you get this on Tirion, N'Zoth will summon 2 back for you...

Equality may seem strange in a deck that's focused around having board control...  Equality is for when you don't have board control, or when you're about to lose it.  Using this with Consecration is great, but this also turns Silver Hand Recruits into excellent assassins.

Shielded Minibot is incredible.  This can 2 for 1 most early game drops, and is very difficult to remove...  It's true power in this deck is that it gives you early board control- you kill off their (2)-drop, then immediately play another minion while still having a 2/2 on the field.  This should allow you to trade up, and hopefully snowball into a win.

Aldor Peacekeeper is in here as a versatile BGH, essentially.  If you're going up against a shaman, 4 mana 1/7s are a whole lot less threatening.  However, don't be afraid to play this turn 3 to secure a better trade.  Essentially, early game this helps to nullify your opponent's board; late game this can all but eliminate a threat, so it's not a useless topdeck.  If you've got board control, try to avoid playing this, as it dies to a substantial about of AOE, unless you need it to trade into a big minion.

Muster for Battle is a very handy card for when you need just 1 extra damage.  Also, as long as you have some sticky minion already on the board, the Silver Hand Recruits should be able to trade into whatever your opponent plays, and hopefully 2 for 1 them.  Like the Aldor Peacekeeper, don't play this while you have board control, unless you need it to finish off a threat.

Consecration is Consecration.  Since you want board control, the worst possible scenario is your opponent having board control- this will clear out a ton of early-game minions, and it can also be used in conjunction with Equality for a complete boardwipe later in the game.

Keeper of Uldaman is essentially another Aldor Peacekeeper.  The main difference here is that you can use it to guarantee a kill on an enemy minion, rather than just nullifying the body.  Similarly, don't be afraid to use it to guarantee a trade in the early game, as that will allow you to snowball.

Truesilver Champion allows you to trade health for board control- this enables you to trade efficiently the turn it comes into play, and protects your board for the turn after by threatening any other cards that come out.  While you can play this on an empty board, it's much stronger if you can use it while your board is already beginning to build up.

Quartermaster enables a number of plays- major damage pushes and powerful trades are generally the things you'll be using this for, but there's one thing to keep it mind; this is the easiest card to overextend with- instead of playing a tough minion or 2, you're setting yourself up for a powerful AOE.  For this reason, you want to either get the maximum value the turn you play it (taking back the board, for instance), or wait until your board is hard enough to remove that this is simply the final nail in the coffin.

Tuskarr Jouster is a little unreliable, it's true.  However, in the matchups where you need health, you're very likely to get it.  When you don't need health, you're still getting  a big body.  There are 2 situations where you should be playing this card- 1) you already have board control.  Now your opponent needs to decide whether to deal with this threat, allowing you to keep building your board, or whether they should deal with your board, letting a lot of damage go through (and letting you build up your board).  2) you need the health.  This goes for both when you're about to lose, and when you're about to win.  About to win?  This mostly goes for when you're up against a mage, but there's a lot of ways to deal damage without board control.  Tuskarr Jouster just pushes you a bit out of burst range, to ensure victory.

Tirion Fordring is OP.  Going purely off of value, he's substantially more OP than Dr. Boom.  So, since this is a value deck, Tirion is a must-have.  Not only that, but N'zoth resummons Tirion...  Basically, if your opponent doesn't have hard removal, you will often win off of Tirion.  If they manage to kill off Tirion, then you play another.

Haunted Creeper is a great resilient card- in a lot of situations, you need to kill it 3 times before it goes away completely.  Generally, Shielded Minibot is a stronger turn 2 play, since you can trade into most (1) or (2)-drops.  The only time you should play Haunted Creeper onto an empty board instead of a Shield Minibot is if you're playing against Priest...  Hm.  Okay, you should always play Minibot onto an empty board over Haunted Creeper.  The main danger with running 2 of this card is that if the game drags on too long, N'Zoth might have too many minions to summon, and get a Haunted Creeper over Tirion.  Usually, though, if N'Zoth gives you a full board, you're going to win regardless of what it summons.  So be aware of that, but don't freak out.

Argent Horserider is very adaptable card- if you've got board control, this is another Shielded Minibot that can also apply a bit of face damage.  If you are trying to trade, this is akin to a Disciple of C'Thun.  It's not quite as good in either circumstance, but it's cards like this which enable the deck to both defend against aggro and pressure control.

Barnes allows for some crazy plays early in the game, due to the number of Deathrattle minions in the deck.  Still testing to see how often he's reaching his potential, and if I should replace him.

Defender of Argus is another adaptable card.  To use this, you'll need board control, but it provides 2 main uses: 1) trade efficiently.  That 1 extra damage is often all you need, and if you've got a Shielded Minibot or Argent Horserider up, it gets a lot of value (kill the Tunnel Trogg and leave behind a taunt to prevent additional face damage).  2) defence!  If you're up against zoo, you can drop some cheap minion (or Hero Power) and taunt them up to protect your face, or use it to help stall against face hunters and the like ('cause you should have a solid board in that case).

Piloted Shredder is the great Dr. 4.  Not only is it a good card to play onto an empty board to help stabilize, it also adds a lot of weight to an already existing board- it's quite tough to get rid of, and does substantial damage.  Additionally, this is a good card for N'Zoth to summon...

Sludge Belcher helps stop aggro.  However, I've found that it's just as useful (if not more so) in a control matchup- your board is already looking pretty good, so sticking a Sludge Belcher makes it nigh-impossible to destroy your board, and prevents any big minions they might have from trading efficiently until 2 turns later.  Basically, this is a great card to play when you've got a board already going, since it further develops your board without overextending.  Also, N'Zoth.

Justicar Trueheart wins you a control matchup, and simultaneously supplies some decent pressure.  Do be aware, Justicar doesn't help very much against a lot of board clears, and her value comes later in the game, so you generally want to prioritize other cards.  Also, do note that if you topdeck Justicar and have 3 minions on the board, you are able to hero power, Justicar, and then hero power again.

Sylvanas Windrunner prevents your opponent from playing big minions.  This is mostly useful in a control matchup, but this can also be used to punish your opponent for playing too many minions at once.  Basically, this makes it harder for your opponent to build up a board of their own, which should help you maintain board control.  Also a good target for N'Zoth.

Dr. Boom.

Ysera, another card that's very good in a control matchup, has the power to win you the game singlehandedly.  She provides you with so much value over time that unless your opponent commits resources to remove her (giving you an opportunity to keep developing your board), it will be very difficult to make a comeback.

N'Zoth, the Corruptor should win you the game, if you play it at the right time.  Basically, your opponent finally gets rid of your last minion, and triumphantly starts to develop their own board...  And then Tirion, Piloted Shredder, 2 Sludge Belchers and 2 Boom Bots are back on the field.  If your opponent is able to deal with N'Zoth, you've probably lost.  I've yet to see that happen in a game, though.  The worst thing that your opponent can do is play a N'Zoth of their own- this is incredibly difficult to deal with.  However, there's one important thing to note; most other N'Zoth decks are control-ish.  If things go as planned, you should be pushing for lethal well before N'Zoth hits the board.

 

Mulligans!

Mulligan anything (5)-cost or over.  For (4)-costs, it's usually fine to keep Piloted Shredder or Barnes, and Truesilver Champion is good as long as you have a (2)-drop.  Keep Consecration if you're up against zoo.  Keep all (2) and (3)-drops, except for Equality.  Don't keep Redemption unless you have a crazy opener with it (Redemption, Shielded Minibot, coin -> Piloted Shredder, another Piloted Shredder, or something like that).

Usually you'll want to save the coin for later in the game, but using it to even out your curve, or if you've got double (2) drops works well.

 

Substitutions!

Cards that are fine to remove: Redemption, Muster for Battle, Keeper of Uldaman (subbing in a second Aldor Peacekeeper is fine here), Quartermaster, Tuskarr Jouster (if you need more consistent heals, go for Antique Healbot or maybe Forbidden Healing.  Maybe.) Haunted Creeper (but make sure to replace with a (2)-drop!), Justicar Trueheart (if the meta is too fast), Sylvanas Windrunner (again, if the meta is too fast),Ysera (same deal here too).