Hearthpwn

Come in and Warm your Frozen Boots by the Fire!

 

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gunnolf, and I am originally from the Land Down Under a.k.a. Australia. I am an avid gamer that has acquired a real passion for card games, which originated from my humble beginnings as a Yu-Gi-Oh collector and eventually grew from my dabbling in Cardfight Vanguard and Buddyfight, until we reached the game we know as Hearthstone.

I've played Hearthstone since the days of classic, with multiple accounts on both EU and NA servers. Despite having reached the Rank of Legend and my own personal mentality of equating 'having fun' with 'winning', I am not really a fan of meta power-grinding & net-decking, not that there is anything wrong with that. Therefore, I enjoy thinking about new, cool and fun deck ideas that push boundaries while also allowing you to win and those are what I want to share with you guys every-time I post a decklist.

I have presently become a contributing writer to WILDHS and will be posting articles there on a semi-regular basis, regarding deck-archetypes the status of the meta as well as how to get the most fun out of this game even if you aren't a big spender. If any of this sounds interesting, then I highly recommend that you check out of the website, as the writers and the owner himself are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet with great in-game knowledge (link to be website can be found HERE). You can also follow me on Twitter for latest updates.

If you genuinely like my content and would like to see me produce more of it, then please consider supporting me on Patreon. This is by no means necessary but it will definitely help me out in the long run. Thanks for Reading ^^

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Deck Introduction

PLEASE NOTE: Even after the nerf to Raza the Chained, thanks to the changes I have made to the deck, you can still very easily otk your opponent from 30+ life. The deck is still very relevant and more than capable of reaching legend. Thanks for reading ^^

Welcome back guys, I'm afraid that there will be no memes this time. This is a truly competitive priest deck meant to help you get to legend, while having a decent amount of fun doing so. 

There are a healthy amount of competitive priest decks that will help you get to legend, however I chose to use the format of a thoroughbred OTK Reno variant because it is very consistent against both aggro and control while also having the ability to beat down combo decks no matter how unfavored the match-up may be. 

Now, as my more dedicated readers now (few as they may be at the present time :D #feelsbadman) I tend to write decently long guides for my decks, or at the very least explain the basics, as I feel that some instruction will help the reader ease into the deck's playstyle a lot faster. This will be no exception and will perhaps be one of my longest, so please do enjoy! ^^

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Card Choices & Deck-Building Explained

In this section, I will explain some of the card choices I opted for and the reasoning as to why they were included over potential counter-parts. 

1) Gilded Gargoyle: It fill the 3 mana slot quite nicely and also gives you a coin for additional burst with your deck. A good replacement post Raza the Chained nerf.

2) Spawn of Shadows: I honestly swear by this card. I genuinely believe that, purely for the purpose of OTKing someone, this card is better than Prophet Velen. It is cheaper (both in terms of mana cost and dust :p), does not require any assistance from Emperor Thaurissan in so far as discounting cards and in general only needs to be drawn as any assortment of random cheap spells or minions will allow you to do insane amounts of damage that go above and beyond the 20 health threshold. The only argument that can be made in favor of Prophet Velen is that he is more versatile, something which personally I have not found to be relevant in the wild format.

3) Emperor Thaurissan: Even though you can still otk people from 30 w/o discount ticks, this legendary minion makes the deck more consistent. Besides it has a soft taunt as a must kill card. If your opponent allows it to stay alive you have essentially won

(At the present time, only a few cards have been listed but I will include more if questions pop-up within the comments section regarding substitutions and why other cards were included.)

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Why should we prefer your decklist over another one?

Well, I am sure that other people have produced very good versions of this archetype. However, where some or most of them tend to go wrong is that they include other alternate win conditions that do not sync very well with the purpose of the deck. The main purpose is to kill your opponent by means of an OTK or outlasting their damage in terms of aggro. When other decklists start cutting board clears in favor of N'Zoth, the Corruptor, deathrattle minions and potentially even the Awaken the Makers then they are just making themselves pure fodder to combo decks and potentially weaker to aggro decks.

My version cycles very, very quickly allowing you to draw your win condition and play it before the opposing combo deck, while also having enough board clears and healing to effectively counteract aggro.

Maybe another deck fits your playstyle better but I am close to certain that for combo purposes the list I have presented is superior to most other lists available.

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Where are your tech cards?

With this question, I assume most people would be referring to the lack of Dirty Rat and/or Deathlord. Playing against these cards I have found their effects in highlander decks to be very, very lackluster. You have one or two chances to hit exactly two minions out of a possible 15. For every one game that I've lost in the mirror because a combo card was pulled, I've won another 3 because they pulled another minion that gave me repetitive draw or a tempo boost that forced them into either awkward trades or wasting resources. 

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Combo Explained

The OTK combo involves Spawn of Shadows. If you have both Raza the Chained and Shadowreaper Anduin effects active then you do the following:

Ping face (2 damage) -> Spawn of Shadows (from now on your pings do 6 damage a piece and you effectively have 6 mana to work with. This means that if you have at least 3 cards (no matter what they are) that cost 2 mana or less you can do a minimum total of 26 damage from hand excluding cards like Mind Blast which are included for extra reach etc.

Unfortunately due to the Raza the Chained nerf, the above combo is a bit harder to do but not impossible. The damage is slightly lower but you can still do 30+ damage in one turn with minimal setup. Remember to get those discount ticks from Emperor Thaurissan. However, if you can't keep as many coins and 0 costs spells as possible. That way you can spend all your mana on pings. Radiant Elemental is also very useful for otk purposes.

Thanks to the contribution of one of my readers, here are some calculations that will allow you to get a headstart when understanding how to calculate your damage during the otk.

Combo 1: Spawn of Shadows + Mind Blast + Holy Smite + The Coin

For this one you need to discount Spawn of Shadows and Mind Blast with 1 tick of Emperor Thaurissan

Total DMG: 33   Self DMG: 12  Cost: 10 mana

Combo 2: Spawn of Shadows + Radiant Elemental + Mind Blast + The Coin

For this one you need to discount Spawn of Shadows and Radiant Elemental with 1 tick of Emperor Thaurissan

Total DMG: 31   Self DMG: 12  Cost: 10 mana

Keep in mind these are not the only way to deal 30 damage. Your zero and one cost minions and spells can also work as fuel towards your 30 damage otk. With enough practice you'll easily be able to calculate your lethal outs without the cards listed above! ^^

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Updates to the Deck

So after conversations with a few players that are enthusiastically supporting the archetype I have decided to make some changes to the current list. The previous one is playable as it was and will still do very well but I think the present list works slightly better:

-1x Gnomish engineer | +1x Explosive Sheep
-1x dragonfire potion | +1x Twilight's Call
-1x Mass Dispell | +1x Mirage Caller

These changes are interesting and allow for more burst plus cycle under the right circumstances. You can revert the changes back and play as it was before but this version does have its merits.

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Guide & Match-ups:

This is probably the most important part of the guide, as the key to winning most games is knowing what you are up against and choosing your opening hand to respond accordingly.

Before I get into specifics, please note that no matter how tempted you may be to keep Raza the Chained or Shadowreaper Anduin in your opening hand, if you are facing against an aggro deck, do NOT do it. Your key to winning is to clear their board and stabilize over and over again and to do that you need to be able to deal with the opponent's board over and over again.

Vs Exodia or Freezemage (2-4 Unfavored) | Tempo Mage (7-1 Favored): You are generally unfavored against Exodia and Freezemage due to the simple nature that they run Ice Block and that they are combo decks that can burst you from 30 to zero in one turn quite easily. However, they are prone to drawing badly, so it is not unwinnable if you hit your combo first and are able to mount enough minion pressure to beat them out. Please note that if you do not have 8 damage worth of minion hits on the field do NOT attack if they have a secret up, as if it is Ice Barrier you'll need additional pings with your hero power to deal with it, which is something you might not have. The tempo mage match-up is like any other aggro deck. Outlast their burst and you should be just fine.

Vs Other Razakus Priest (31-23 Generally 50-50) | Big Priest (9-8 Generally 50-50): Not much to say about the mirror match. It is generally a 50-50 match-up and the person who usually draws Raza + Anduin first wins. I've done really well in the mirror overall just because of how quick my deck is (Pro Tip: before their turn five if you have Excavated Evil just cast it to put it in their deck which might in turn stop them from playing Kazakus or raza). Big priest is similarly luck dependent. If you are able to acquire Raza on 5, Anduin on 8 as well as score cards like Lightbomb, victory can be achieved even if they have Barnes on 4. It is worth considering keeping Potion of Madness to deny Barnes value.

Vs Evolve-Token Shaman (5-2 Favored) | Aggro Shaman (4-0 Favored): Both are essentially aggro decks against which you are favored because of the many board clears run in this deck.

Vs Mill Rogue (1-3 Unfavored) | Oil & Tempo Rogues (6-2 Favored): Mill rogue is close to an autoloss. However, you can still win if you don't lose any of your combo pieces. Oil and Tempo rogues work similarly to aggro match-ups. You need your board clears and potentially even Reno Jackson to be played as early as turn 6.

Vs Jade Druid (2-1 Favored) | Aggro Druid (11-6 Favored): Jade druid is an interesting match-up in which you are favored. It is very important to go wide and do as much chip damage as you can over time. Keep developing minions and force him to trade into them. Keeping their life total low is especially important if he plays Malfurion the Pestilent early as he could eventually armor up out of range of your OTK. Aggro druid on the other hand is a typical match-up. You'll need your board clears, Doomsayer, Shadow Word: Pain, healing. Also consider saving your Bloodmage Thalnos for a combo with Spirit Lash to deal with a non-buffed Living Mana.

Vs Dude Paladin (15-9 Slightly Favored) | Murloc Paladin (1-0 Favored) | Anyfin Paladin (4-2 Slightly Favored): Paladin in general is quite a pain in the ass to deal with since they can board flood over and over again whether it is Dude, Murloc or Anyfin. You have to think over every turn and take your time. Develop minions when you can to contest and try to save your board clears. Calculate the odds of losing each and every turn the paladin has a board. Strongly consider taking the polymorph and aoe options off of Kazakus potions as they can prove to be more important than draw in these match-ups.

Vs Face Hunter (2-0 Favored) | Giants Hunter (7-2 Slightly Favored): The former is a typical aggro match-up. Mulligan for early game and always keep Reno Jackson. Now, moving on to Giants hunter and yes this is a thing sadly (I will not flame Blizzard but they do know they deserve it). Now, in order to win this match-up there is quite a lot of thought that needs to be put in. First of all don't panic as even if your opponent is on the coin there is still the possibility of counterplay. Key cards in this match-up are Radiant Elemental, Lightbomb, Shadow Word: Death, Shadow Visions, Shadowreaper Anduin and Lyra the Sunshard. If you come into these cards you are really favored to win despite highroll potential. If your opponent is on the coin always play Radiant Elemental on turn 4 because one of two things will happen, he will either play his giants and get hit by a Lightbomb on 5 mana or clear your minion with a bow or Quick Shot and get hit by Lightbomb on 6 mana. Also, NEVER ATTACK THE HUNTER'S FACE (I CANNOT STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS ENOUGH). Chip damage is not that relevant and if you keep him at 30 life then Molten Giants become unplayable with the Naga Sea Witch. Think and you shall succeed.

Vs Demon Renolock (8-3 Favored) | Zoolock (4-0 Favored): Demonlock is  a hard match-up because of the Deathknight hero power and Mal'Ganis. For this match-up you need to save your Silence and Shadow Word: Death and always, always opt for a polymorph effect from your Kazakus potion. Zoolock is generally easy to beat as you have enough board clears and healing to be victorious.

Vs Pirate warrior (11-6 Favored): This deck still exists. We don't mind, as it is just another aggro deck we can beat with healing and aoe.

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Author's Notes

As you can see, in comparison to other combo lists this one relies on drawing the combo as quickly as possible and as a result is very cycle heavy. However, having said that there is still a great amount of anti-aggro tech included thus making us favored in multiple match-ups. 

In my climb to Legend I faced a great variety of decks, ranging from aggro to combo. Yet despite this fact, I found that a cycle heavy decklist with plenty of boardclears was versatile enough to be able to deal with all of them with great success. It is likely that some cards will be replaced in the future to deal with a more aggressive meta but for now  this is the optimized version.

Take your time to learn the deck. It truly isn't an easy one to master and requires a decent amount of games played on ladder to know the match-ups (especially when things like giants exists). Will update the list in the future, so stay tuned!

I enjoy deck-building a multitude of interesting decks that are both entertaining and Legend viable (with some odd Free-to-Play lists mixed in). So if you like this deck (or anyone of my other ones) consider leaving a thumbs up, as it really helps in the long run! :)

Thank you guys for all your support and if you have any suggestions, let me know. 

 

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