Hearthpwn

 

Hello Hearthpwn,

I am excited to play Dragon Paladin in Wild again even after only one card was released that would add to the archtype.  I have previously taken a Standard Dragon Paladin to Legend in before the last rotation.  You can see the thread here:

http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/715577-dragons-of-valor-new-update-1-16

We have only seen one card from this expansion so far that I would add to Dragon Paladin in Wild but it is a good one: Cobalt Scalebane

This deck is an aggressive, mid-ranged Paladin list with sustained power from start to finish.  There are * 16 * Dragons in this list, making Wrathion draw at least two cards the majority of the time as well almost guaranteeing the activator cards (Netherspite Historian, Blackwing Technician, Twilight Guardian, Blackwing Corruptor, Book Wyrm).  You have a lot of removal options between Coghammer, Truesilver Champion, Consecration, Blackwing Corruptor, and Book Wyrm.  Keep this in mind as you focus most of your attacks to their face and let these minions + weapons clean up the board.  

Notable Cards Excluded:

Grimestreet Outfitter - I played this card in my previous list and it was solid.  Most times it would give you a statistically dominant curve.  However, when considering other cards in Wild in addition to the new addition from KotFT, this card was cut.    

Muster for Battle - This card is great.  However, without the inclusion of Sunkeeper Tarim or Blessing of Kings its value goes down.   I like Coghammer in this list more so with the beefier minions.  Lastly, the meta will seemingly be less aggro oriented.  

Sunkeeper Tarim - Another great card that doesn't fit as well in this list as most other Paladin decks.  He was the final cut I made.  

Blessing of Kings - I love this card, but again, we have a number of mid ranged minions and most times I would prefer a Truesilver Champion or Twilight Guardian on Turn 4.  

Ragnaros, Lightlord - Too slow... healing shouldn't be needed.  This deck's aim is to dominate the board and play the aggressor from the beginning.  

Stonehill Defender - A great card in Paladin - but again the main cards we are searching for are not as strong in this deck.  We should have enough card draw between Netherspite Historian, Azure Drake, and Wrathion.  

Notable Cards Included:

Faerie Dragon - This 2-drop is underrated and has synergy with this deck.  A very strong Turn 5 Tempo play is Dragon Consort + Faerie Dragon.   It also will benefit from Cobalt Scalebane when it grants +3 attack on a creature that cannot be targeted by spells or hero powers. Goes with the theme of aggressive minions and board presence.

Coghammer - My favorite Paladin weapon.  It has so much versatility and adds both defense and offense.  It's nice on an early Faerie Dragon or Blackwing Technician, and even more so on a later game minion with 5+ attack.  Only one copy because there are two copies of Truesilver and the potential to get a weapon with Tirion.  

Why only 1x Consecration?  No Equality?  One copy of Consecration is added to deal with some mid ranged/aggro minions but two copies may be overkill.  It was tough to find a spot for a second copy as well.  I like at least 1x Consecration to add more impact to the deck of an Azure Drake besides just draw a card.  We have many 4 and 5 drop cards also, so late game we can play Consecration + another solid card for 8-10 mana.  Equality is better in a Control deck or some times an aggro deck with many tokens.  

2x Spikeridged Steed?  Yes.. of course... this is the best buff in the game! Great on any of the [8] 5-drop minions we have.  I chose these cards over Tarim, Sylvanas, or any other great 6-drop.  

Possible Substitutions:

I might try to fit in Muster for Battle or Nightbane Templar and possibly even Shielded Minibot if the meta has a lot of aggro decks.  In this case maybe one copy of Aldor Peacekeeper or even one copy of Primordial Drake could be removed.  The rest of the list looks sound, I can't find any other cards that could be removed.  I considered Dragon Consort but once I added Faerie Dragon to the list Dragon Consort gets so much better.  Plus he adds a lot of tempo in a Paladin list that surprisingly has considerable card draw.  I didn't add a big dragon, but if I did my first choice would probably be Nefarian.  However, you can choose your discover with Netherspite Historian depending on the match up.  Against most mid ranged and aggro decks you can choose Twilight Guardian or Book Wyrm or against Control decks choose a big Dragon like Nefarian or Ysera.  

A version with +2x Nightbane Templar, -1x Aldor Peacekeeper and -1x Primordial Drake may be better and a bit faster with [4] high value turn 3 minions - something to try out.  

In conclusion, we will see how the meta shapes up and how prevalent Aggro is.  This deck will still do decent against Aggro but will struggle against decks like Pirate Warrior.  It should have strong match ups against most mid ranged and control decks.  You have many high value cards and synergy among them.   Clear the board when you need to (or with Truesilver Champion) but in general you should be going face from the start of the game and make them react to your plays.   I made it to Legend with a Standard Dragon Paladin when most games were either against Pirate Warrior or Reno Decks.  It was a tough meta.  This arch type can definitely be viable and a lot of fun too :D.  I am looking forward to play testing this and seeing if any other Dragon-related cards are added to this expansion.