Hearthpwn

Greetings! My name is Psi0nic. While I've been seeing a few ideas for the new The Last Kaleidosaur Quest Paladin archetype, it seems like most people have either written the deck off or are afraid to spend dust on the cards. I was "lucky" enough to pull almost exclusively Paladin legendaries when the expansion hit, and MAN did it feel weak. It couldn't even thrive in the early days of the expansion against very unrefined decks.

Now, with inspiration from the new surge of Midrange Paladin, namely tholwmenos' more aggressive Murloc variant, I have created what I feel is quite a consistent list based off of it.

First off, Finja, the Flying Star is an obvious powerhouse when drawn as expected, giving you board presence AND having stealth. This makes him one of the prime targets for buffs in the deck, but he has much more utility here than just the typical Water package. Finja can also pull 2 other murlocs from this list; Hydrologist and Primalfin Champion.

While you typically don't want to pull a Hydrologist with Finja, their value alone as well as receiving buffs from a Murloc Warleader lets them provide a more stable board. Also with Quest paladin requiring so many buff spells to accomplish the quest, making sure that Finja will be able to grab you 2 minions on a second swing is incredibly helpful.

Primalfin Champion, on the other hand, is a card that this deck wants to see every game. It allows for a faster quest completion, and refills your hand allowing you to curve out your future turns well and maintain board presence (assuming you don't get Hexed or Polymorphed of course). This archetype's desperate need for card draw is often minimized by this card's value alone.

The ability to get a minion to stick is your other main concern. Combo cards like Knife Juggler will often not survive long enough to get value if played on-curve (regardless of synergy with Poison Spit from Adaptation). While not present in this list, I can't say the same for Wild Pyromancer. Choosing to run Wild Pyromancer + Equality is arguably a great combo, and the Pyromancer also synergizes well with Adaptation, but the issue here is that you will be down a card because of the quest. Getting both combo pieces in the early game (by turn 4 preferably) is harder than usual, and the pieces themselves don't provide enough immediate value in the first 3 to 4 turns when you need it most. This deck relies on getting any value out as soon as possible. With that in mind, I tried more early-game murlocs and even Gentle Megasaurs, closer to the classic Midrange shell. While this can work sometimes, unless you plan to ditch the quest, minions like Rockpool Hunter won't usually have a target on turn 2, and running too many early game minions will either cut into your spell slots, or slots for more valuable minions in the mid-or-late game. Instead, 3-drop taunt minions like Wickerflame Burnbristle, Tar Creeper and Stonehill Defender, shield your other minions from being traded away, and curve smoothly into the 4-drop buffs. They've yielded extremely satisfying results, and the extra body discovered by Stonehill Defender can be invaluable.

The deck is otherwise very straightforward. Synergy with Finja on turn 5 into a turn 6 Spikeridged Steed or Sunkeeper Tarim has been great. While I wouldn't say Sunkeeper Tarim is required for this deck, it has saved me many, many times. Playing a Bluegill Warrior into Tarim can swing even the most aggressive board states in your favor, and lets you get rid of multiple high-priority enemy minions easily. Having Finja, the Flying Star in play lets you play Tarim before swinging if you can't kill another minion otherwise. Playing Tarim after swinging can buff up weaker murlocs you might pull, but if you have a Murloc Warleader and a Bluegill Warrior on the board before dropping Tarim, the Bluegill will be a 5/4, letting it survive a trade or push for damage. 

Tough decision to cut Truesilver Champion, that card may find a home in this deck with time, but the value off of Silvermoon Portal cast on The Voraxx to fill the board seems more valuable, also acting to further the quest. I also chose Acolyte of Pain over the more popular Divine Favor, because while it should make sense that you run out of cards after throwing out buffs, it's a lot easier to run out of minions to buff first. Having a hand of all spells in the early game is a death sentence against an aggressive matchup, and often when you have Favor in a fairly empty hand, you tend to draw 0-1 cards if your opponent isn't a control deck. Plus Acolyte's synergy in a buff deck is obvious.

Whether you enjoy Quest Paladin, or have given up on it, I suggest you give this deck a try. This is no Tier 1 deck by any means, so if you play on a budget and want to craft for this deck, expect it to be fun and consistent, but don't expect to climb with it. Please upvote if you like it, and I'd love to hear any suggestions or ideas, especially for any tech cards you feel may improve those SMOrc matchups if possible! Thanks and have fun on your Quest for The Last Kaleidosaur!