Hearthpwn

Hey everyone, 

BathtubBuddha here (formerly SlayerMax). I'm a professional Hearthstone player from New Zealand. I recently represented NZ at the HGG.

I think I just discovered the sleeper deck of the set. This was one of the first decks I made on the opening day of KotFT. Let me tell you now, you are not prepared.

TL;DR 4 mana 20/20. 34+ dmg OTK.

Deck Explanation

This deck is the high-roll deck to end all high-roll decks. The dream curve is:

(with coin) The Coin + Barnes  

which pulls a 1/1

Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound

which pulls a 10/10

Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound

Then next turn, assuming he has removed the 1/1 Y’Shaarj, play Eternal Servitude to resurrect your Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound .

There you have it, over 20/20 worth of stats on turn 4. Hence the obvious and only name it could possibly be called: "420 Slayer Priest". Who else thinks Blizzard is just messing with us at this point?

But the madness doesn't stop there folks.

I hear you asking me, "But BB, a deck with such a crazy high-roll potential must be incredibly inconsistent, or become hot garbage if you draw your combo in the wrong order!"

Here's the thing: this baby got gas. Here are some of the other crazy combos this deck has to offer, including a HUGE burst damage combo which will win you most of your games with this deck:

Barnes  pulls Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound

which pulls either... Prophet Velen (for double spell dmg and healing) ... The Lich King (for an awesome DK spell every turn) ... or Malygos (for +5 spell dmg). Any of which can then be resurrected with Eternal Servitude .

Obviously, Barnes can pull any of those minions directly, without the Y'Sharrj step. 

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE

Again I hear you ask, "But BB, what's the point of all this? Why those specific cards?"

So basically, this deck has 5 minions and the rest are Priest spells.  I will go through each of the notable card inclusions:

Forbidden Shaping

Smooths out curve and provides a proactive play in a very reactive deck, without ruining the minion integrity of the deck. Also provides a target for Power Word: Shield .

Holy Smite

One of our combo pieces. Basically never use this unless it's with a Malygos or Prophet Velen (or both!). Only time you would use it outside of a lethal turn would be to stay alive against aggro, OR if there's a super value tempo play e.g turn 5 barnes -> Malygos -> 1 mana 7 dmg Holy Smite to remove an opponents large minion.
With
1 spell boost minion on board = 4 dmg (Velen) or 7 dmg (Malygos)
2 spell boost minions on board = 8 dmg (2 Velen) or 12 dmg (2 Malygos) or 14 dmg (1 Velen 1 Malygos)
3 spell boost minions on board = 16 dmg (3 Velen) or 17 dmg (3 Malygos) or 24 dmg (1 Velen 2 Malygos) or 28 dmg (2 Velen 1 Malygos)

Mind Blast

Another of our combo pieces. Again, almost never use this unless it's on the turn you kill your opponent. 
With 
1 spell boost minion on board = 10 dmg 
2 spell boost minions on board = 20 dmg 
3 spell boost minions on board = 40 dmg !! WTF

It might seem far-fetched to think you're going to get 3 spell boost minions to stick on the board, but it happens more often than you'd think. Especially when you have a Malygos or Velen out early. Having said that, this deck can usually finish the game easily once a single spell boost minion sticks.

Shadow Visions

This card is a great card that increases the consistency of the deck, especially because we have nearly zero card draw. Usually you want to find Eternal Servitude with this card, making it possible to play 5 of any of your minions (YES 5 Malygos) over the course of the game. 7 if you count Shadow Essence. Other times though, you will use this card to find the right spell for the board state/scenario. Sometimes you need to use it to find that Dragonfire Potion to clear the board, Greater Healing Potion when you are nearly dead etc.

Spirit Lash

I think this is the card that pushes this deck over the top into viable territory. Not only is it a great card on its own, with a Malygos on board it is a 6 dmg AoE clear, and will heal you for 6 for every minion that you hit with it. That is just insane- Hallazeal on steroids. You can play this one early to keep the board clear and your HP high, but if you see a turn coming up where you can play this with Malygos, definitely save it for that.

Eternal Servitude

Bread and butter of the deck. There are basically 2 situations where you want to play this card.
1. You did a Barnes early and now can resurrect a massive minion for only 4 mana. No need to say more.
2. You have waited until you have the full combo in your hand, either Malygos or Velen has died this game, and your opponent is within OTK range. The full combo is:

Eternal Servitude + 2x Mindblast + 2x Holy Smite = 28 dmg (Velen) or 34 dmg (Malygos)

Obviously if your opponent is at a lower HP (which is very common considering the insane tempo plays this deck is capable of) you don't need the full combo. Just enough to kill that poor unfortunate soul. 

Greater Healing Potion

Not much to say about this card. We run a one-of to heal us back to safe life totals. Also notable that with Velen on board, this heals for 24.

Holy Nova

Obvious inclusion in spell power deck. Huge AoE and healing potential with Velen/Malygos.

Dragonfire Potion

Again, obvious inclusion for AoE clear. Notably doesn't hurt Malygos, which makes it a 10 dmg AoE clear. A neat little combo is Eternal Servitude to rez Malygos -> Dragonfire Potion. 10 mana combo.

Shadow Essence

Another new KoFT card that fits amazingly well into the deck and increases the consistency of the deck. Getting a 5/5 of any of your big minions is fantastic, even though it will usually get removed the same turn, you can now rez that minion using Eternal Servitude. 

Shadowreaper Anduin

Our last notable inclusion. This card is fantastic in the deck. it provides surprise board clear against huge Rogue or Druid decks, life gain, and an amazing hero power. Once this card is played, you can start chipping your opponent's life total down every time you play a card to remove his board. This softens him up for your OTK, meaning less OTK pieces required before he's dead. Also notable that having a Velen on board makes your hero power deal 4 dmg, which can lead to some crazy refresh combos.

Mulligans

Easiest section of the guide.

HARD MULLIGAN FOR BARNES IN EVERY GAME. DO NOT KEEP ANY CARDS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE BARNES IN YOUR HAND.

If you DO have Barnes already, then keep Eternal Servitude 100% every time. If you have both, you can keep a Spirit Lash or a Holy Smite.

Matchups

It's next to impossible to have an accurate and comprehensive matchup guide this early into an expansion since everyone is playing their own janky jank. You basically play every matchup the same though: go for the Barnes + Y’Shaarj high-roll, then start gathering combo pieces for the OTK.

Replacements

The only cards you can realistically replace are the Lich King and Forbidden Shaping. You actually dont need the Lich King in the deck at all in terms of the combos, but I found he makes the deck a lot more consistent and less of a one-trick. Possible ideas I've had:

Lich King -> Potion of Madness
Lich King -> Obsidian Statue
Forbidden Shaping -> any spell

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I hope you enjoyed this guide, and I hope you have fun meme-ing the shit out of people with this deck. If you want to see me playing it, I stream at www.twitch.tv/BathtubBuddha . You can also follow me on twitter @BathtubBuddhaHS. I would love to hear your thoughts/feedback/suggestions!