Hey guys, Aishi here with another deck, I just wanted to showcase how to build a standard Paladin deck with no intended synergy/combo ability and a bunch of individually great cards can hold on its own. The idea behind a "template" deck is a group of cards that build a strong foundation for most decks you want to create. It's a great starting point for a player in the deck building process. There's no epics, no legendaries, and a combination of a few rares that are extremely versatile in terms of the decks they can be used in.
Lets start with a little explaining, running down the card list. We have very decent early game with Paladin summons, Ooze, Shattered Sun Cleric, and Harvest Golem. These cards easily carry you to mid game alongside Paladin's hero power. Coming into mid game, you have the holy trinity of Pally cards - Consecrate, Truesilver Champion, and Hammer of Wrath. We have Yetis and Dark Iron Dwarfs to secure the board state and provide you with some very good trades in value. Dark Iron Dwarf excels in paladin decks where you have a few decent low drops to tag on a hero power. This is especially true in this deck as you have, Ooze and many 3 drops. Finally, you have an incredible minion with Silver Hand Knight, and what I believe to be the most splashable cards in the game - Argent Commander alongside two Sunwalkers and Stormwind Champions to close out the game.
Try out the deck, it's incredibly dust light from where most players are at because I'm assuming everyone already has two Sunwalkers and Argent Commanders. If not, I strongly encourage you to get them as they help with so many decks. The former seems to be a personal preference while Argent Commander is generally agreed as amazing.
I'll try to expand upon basic things to keep in mind while crafting decks when I have time. The basic things that this deck offers are: 4 attack minions galore to counter many Priest cards and 3 attack drops that often pop up, strong board control with optional spell power to boost up great spells, draw power from minions and cards, weapons for strong board presence, and general minions with high value - either due to death rattle, buffs, or divine shields.
Please do provide feedback, I'm hoping that this is one step towards my understanding of how to create a general deck template that can be filled with class specific cards and shows new players how to build better decks.
Cards to Consider Tirion Fordring - Your first legendary to work towards, no comparison in terms of board presence and game-closing power Lay on Hands - Your first epic to work towards, there's nothing that says "well met" like 3 draws and 8 health. Avenging Wrath - A versatile card in terms of board clear or direct damage, strong option for any Paladin's toolbox Defender of Argus - Dark Iron Dwarf's more well-rounded cousin. Has everything you need and more. Faerie Dragon - If you feel that Oozes are too situational, you can feel free to sub in a Faerie Dragon Equality - Fulfills the removal that Paladin lacks, great to combo with board clear Wild Pyromancer - Used in tandem with Equality to clear the entire board.
I'd run Spellbreakers instead of Owls, they're relevant on the mid-end game as a creature. And 2 Oozes instead of Faerie Dragons, just for that extra safety against weapon-based decks that can be quite annoying versus minion-based strategies.
I'd run Spellbreakers instead of Owls, they're relevant on the mid-end game as a creature. And 2 Oozes instead of Faerie Dragons, just for that extra safety against weapon-based decks that can be quite annoying versus minion-based strategies.
I did consider that, not the Spellbreakers though, that would make the deck far, far too 4 drop heavy for my liking and if you combine that with the removal of Faerie Dragons, you're not gonna have a good time early game.
To expound on the point about the Oozes, weapons aren't a serious issue due to Argent Protectors, there's some decent value in having Faerie Dragons that establish early game board control very easily. I might remove Argent Protectors, I might not. I haven't been a big fan of Oozes to be fair. Changes in metagame, suddenly, Paladin... Dozens of them!
I see, well you have a point. And sorry, I missed the last part you talked about the oozes. :P Deck seems pretty solid, only thing I think you could add is some "anthem" effect like Stormwind Champion, but to be honest, I'm not sure about what you should remove to add it, or even if you should do it.
I see, well you have a point. And sorry, I missed the last part you talked about the oozes. :P Deck seems pretty solid, only thing I think you could add is some "anthem" effect like Stormwind Champion, but to be honest, I'm not sure about what you should remove to add it, or even if you should do it.
Yeah, that's kinda what I'm saying, the deck is very polished, somewhat boring, but strong and holds its own while still being on the cheaper side of things because the rare cards are generally used in other decks.
Edit, because I don't want to bring this up more than I have to: I decided to keep both Faerie and Oozes, remove Novice Engineer, which are still essentially the same card early game but it adds a little versatility in place of consistency. Too many Paladins floating around these days not to. I would suggest free reign over the balance of Novice, Ooze, and Faerie.
So this deck performs adequately on masters? You seemed to be having little trouble in that video, but 2 matches are a small sample size. Also, would you swap 1x Truesilver for Sword of Justice if you weren't under the "no Legendaries/Epics" constraint?
Sure, I don't really look for prime videos, I just rip whatever little I used this deck. I can get some more playtesting into this deck and update it when I have time this week. I mean, you're not going to have a good time in my MMR with any deck, let alone a budget/template deck. Two Truesilvers, no exception! I would actually remove a Sunwalker for consistency I guess - no need for such huge drops if you run SoJ. There's also some complications with the 5 attack mark when you buff a 4 attack card with SoJ.
To be honest, you can look into my deck list and check "Basic Paladin Control", it's an excellent stepping stone from this original deck.
I was looking at the video and noticed a small mistake, you can place divine shield on Faerie Dragon using Argent Protector.
Call me crazy, but I think I was playing around Shadow Madness trading 1 for 2 - Argent attacks into Faerie Dragon, Which would have effectively taken both my cards. I'd rather keep all options locked down and have a minion with less damage on the board. At turn 4, the options were either 5 health, or 4 health - with Hammer of Wrath and Silences in my hand, nothing was an issue.
Also, I apologize for sending people reading this thread on a goose chase:
To be honest, you can look into my deck list and check "deck for Chardo", it's an excellent stepping stone from this original deck.
I renamed the deck I made for Chardo to "Standard Paladin Control". Might as well link it here, it's very similar. No surprise of course, I used the original template deck to build this one. I'll remove the Lay on Hands and replace the deck in the OP with this one. *Note this is an image, since I plan to delete the deck*
Thanks for this updated decklist, I'll try it out tonight. The lack of Lay on Hands may cause problems late game if you can't seal the deal by then against a draw-heavy opponent; It's not hard to imagine a mage drawing arcane intellect or azure drake while you're only getting one card per turn plus a 1/1 token, thus keeping your side of the board clean with their seemingly endless supply of removal spells while waiting for the inevitable fireball or pyroblast to finish you off.
I used most of the basic decks from the other thread and found paladin my favorite, I got Tirion and added must of the cards in this deck after dusting the other classes I won't use. I put in Nat Pagle instead of an argent protector to keep the amount of 2 drops the same and a Sun Walker with Tirion, the deck has been making ranked mode a breeze, but I may fear that it is because I have a better deck than my ranking because I'm still climbing (Gold ATM). Sometimes it feels like if I had no cards in my deck but Tirion it would still be a pretty close game.
It could be a potential problem, but the options for card draw may not be the best. Your best bet is Novice Engineer, seeing as Loot Hoarder doesn't fit with too much synergy, Gnomish creates an excessive pool of 4 drops, and Acolyte is just a costlier Novice Engineer in a deck like this. Question is, what would you trade it for? My first hunch is one Sunwalker, one Stormwind Champion.
On paper, I think that the lack of card draw is bad, but in practice, you trade in value so well that you may actually not end up that behind. Truesilver helps tremendously with this, Silver Hand Knight as well, Aldor keeps minions from dying, Shattered Sun Cleric keeps minions from dying, Yeti is beefy and may also trade up, Harvest pays for itself, Dark Iron Dwarf turns your 1/1's into possibly free advantage, there are the points I'm trying to get across in terms of value. This issue is usually remedied by Lay on Hands and would make this deck incredibly strong, but that's an afterthought once you get the listed template.
Yes, Tirion is amazing. The best class legendary in my opinion.
I added an updated video video to showcase the deck you see now in the listing. As expected, the card draw is not an issue. The value of the minions are so high, card draw is a secondary issue. In the second match, I even compete with Divine Favors and Lay on Hands to close out the game.
Hey Aishi, wanted to ask you what you think about avenging Wrath, if it has a place here and if so what would it replace ? Also would you rather replace a stormwind champ for lay on hands or for dark iron dwarf?
Stormwind is nice and all, but a single Stormwind, in my opinion, is enough. You won't see a second Stormwind come out so soon, and a turn 7 play is strong enough to get to turn 8 where the deck seriously picks up momentum due to the large amount of 4 drops. Sunwalker is nice and all, but as you've seen, she's quite prone to direct removal - removing it for a useful spell or two is no problem in my book. A second Spellbreaker may also be contested since silences are find less and less targets these days.
A single Stormwind or Sunwalker is probably the first cards you want to drop, they are only used as a cheap substitute for true "late game" cards. Granted Sunwalker is your only other taunt. This is easily worked around by swapping any amount of Yeti for Sen'jins. Again, this is a template deck: small substitutions for adapting the deck to high impact card swaps will mitigate any weaknesses that appear.
That said, more people need to play Avenging Wrath, it's an excellent card! As for Dark Iron Dwarf, he is pretty amazing, I see it as Defender of Argus's offensive counterpart. You should drop a Stormwind.
This deck is absolutely insane against priests. As long as you slow play your minions, try to hit that magic number 4 attack with your buffs, and bait out those mind controls, priests eventually give up and play their entire hands, giving you an easy easy win. I was wondering, though, if a Bloodmage Thalnos could be added for perhaps a Stormwind Champion? I often find myself wishing my consecrate could do just 1 more damage, and I never find myself playing two Stormwind Champs in a single game.
I do often wish for a 3 damage Consecrate, it's pretty damn amazing to pull off since many popular cards rest at 3 health going into mid game and hitting for 4 damage with Hammer of Wrath holds some merit as well (not as much as the jump from 2 to 3 damage). As I've said, Stormwind should be the first to go for better late game. You only want two because your options for late game are highly restrictive to Stormwind in the base deck, so carrying a pair of them will give you a better chance to snag one.
With Priests seeming to stay away from a pair of Mind Control these days due to the prevalence of rush decks, you have much better control coming into late game with so many 4 attack drops. It's not something you can assume, but you'll know you have an opening early by reading their options. The last thing you want is for them to MC a Stormwind Champion!
@BenBos - No idea what you're saying, aside from the taunts and early game dude. I have two silences, that's enough and the only options are Equality or BGH for more "direct" removal. Owls and Questing are trash in most control decks. The deck could use Blessing of Kings, they usually end up trading 2 for 2, just an issue of not knowing what other 4 drops to remove... Not a fan of buffs in general.
You just need to survive turns 1 & 2, these rule out most problems aside from aggressive decks with a good opening hand, Harvest, Aldor, Argent, SSC, and Ooze make a decent early game. Could use more 2 drops, but it keeps you alive well enough. My options for turn 4 are pretty good, as the curve implies. As for taunts: if you do feel the lack of mid-game taunts are an issue, a quick swap of Dark Iron Dwarf for Defender of Argus and/or Yeti for Sen'jin is an easy fix.
I took out Sunwalker for a Lay on Hands, Was that a good choice?
I dunno, go test it and tell me! Take baby steps, if you don't like it, swap it out for another card... if that doesn't work, try another card. See how each situation works out. Maybe you'll think to yourself "I wish I had a Sunwalker here" or "I wish I had the card I swapped instead".
Next thing you know, you're building a deck you can call your own.
My Deck Threads Index
Warlock Low Mana Rush
Warlock Suicide Jaraxxus Control
Warlock Zergrush
Warrior Beatdown
Warrior Molten Giant OTK
Paladin Slowroll
Paladin Kodo & Friends
Druid Slash & Burn
Druid Force of Murloc
Druid Midrange *new!*
Rogue Knives & Magic
Not an OTK Hunter Deck
Template Decks
Warlock Aggro Template Deck
Rogue Template Deck
Paladin Template Deck
Druid Template Deck
Shaman Template Deck
Hey guys, Aishi here with another deck, I just wanted to showcase how to build a standard Paladin deck with no intended synergy/combo ability and a bunch of individually great cards can hold on its own. The idea behind a "template" deck is a group of cards that build a strong foundation for most decks you want to create. It's a great starting point for a player in the deck building process. There's no epics, no legendaries, and a combination of a few rares that are extremely versatile in terms of the decks they can be used in.
Lets start with a little explaining, running down the card list. We have very decent early game with Paladin summons, Ooze, Shattered Sun Cleric, and Harvest Golem. These cards easily carry you to mid game alongside Paladin's hero power. Coming into mid game, you have the holy trinity of Pally cards - Consecrate, Truesilver Champion, and Hammer of Wrath. We have Yetis and Dark Iron Dwarfs to secure the board state and provide you with some very good trades in value. Dark Iron Dwarf excels in paladin decks where you have a few decent low drops to tag on a hero power. This is especially true in this deck as you have, Ooze and many 3 drops. Finally, you have an incredible minion with Silver Hand Knight, and what I believe to be the most splashable cards in the game - Argent Commander alongside two Sunwalkers and Stormwind Champions to close out the game.
Try out the deck, it's incredibly dust light from where most players are at because I'm assuming everyone already has two Sunwalkers and Argent Commanders. If not, I strongly encourage you to get them as they help with so many decks. The former seems to be a personal preference while Argent Commander is generally agreed as amazing.
I'll try to expand upon basic things to keep in mind while crafting decks when I have time. The basic things that this deck offers are: 4 attack minions galore to counter many Priest cards and 3 attack drops that often pop up, strong board control with optional spell power to boost up great spells, draw power from minions and cards, weapons for strong board presence, and general minions with high value - either due to death rattle, buffs, or divine shields.
Please do provide feedback, I'm hoping that this is one step towards my understanding of how to create a general deck template that can be filled with class specific cards and shows new players how to build better decks.
Cards to Consider
Tirion Fordring - Your first legendary to work towards, no comparison in terms of board presence and game-closing power
Lay on Hands - Your first epic to work towards, there's nothing that says "well met" like 3 draws and 8 health.
Avenging Wrath - A versatile card in terms of board clear or direct damage, strong option for any Paladin's toolbox
Defender of Argus - Dark Iron Dwarf's more well-rounded cousin. Has everything you need and more.
Faerie Dragon - If you feel that Oozes are too situational, you can feel free to sub in a Faerie Dragon
Equality - Fulfills the removal that Paladin lacks, great to combo with board clear
Wild Pyromancer - Used in tandem with Equality to clear the entire board.
Videos
Updated deck!
Old Version!
Any questions and suggestions, feel free to ask. My tag is Aishi#1473.
My stream is at http://www.twitch.tv/aishi_ Live often around evenings @ EST
My youtube channel is http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi - All my videos are there!
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
I'd run Spellbreakers instead of Owls, they're relevant on the mid-end game as a creature. And 2 Oozes instead of Faerie Dragons, just for that extra safety against weapon-based decks that can be quite annoying versus minion-based strategies.
I did consider that, not the Spellbreakers though, that would make the deck far, far too 4 drop heavy for my liking and if you combine that with the removal of Faerie Dragons, you're not gonna have a good time early game.
To expound on the point about the Oozes, weapons aren't a serious issue due to Argent Protectors, there's some decent value in having Faerie Dragons that establish early game board control very easily. I might remove Argent Protectors, I might not. I haven't been a big fan of Oozes to be fair.Changes in metagame, suddenly, Paladin... Dozens of them!http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
I see, well you have a point. And sorry, I missed the last part you talked about the oozes. :P
Deck seems pretty solid, only thing I think you could add is some "anthem" effect like Stormwind Champion, but to be honest, I'm not sure about what you should remove to add it, or even if you should do it.
Yeah, that's kinda what I'm saying, the deck is very polished, somewhat boring, but strong and holds its own while still being on the cheaper side of things because the rare cards are generally used in other decks.
Edit, because I don't want to bring this up more than I have to: I decided to keep both Faerie and Oozes, remove Novice Engineer, which are still essentially the same card early game but it adds a little versatility in place of consistency. Too many Paladins floating around these days not to. I would suggest free reign over the balance of Novice, Ooze, and Faerie.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
So this deck performs adequately on masters? You seemed to be having little trouble in that video, but 2 matches are a small sample size. Also, would you swap 1x Truesilver for Sword of Justice if you weren't under the "no Legendaries/Epics" constraint?
Sure, I don't really look for prime videos, I just rip whatever little I used this deck. I can get some more playtesting into this deck and update it when I have time this week. I mean, you're not going to have a good time in my MMR with any deck, let alone a budget/template deck. Two Truesilvers, no exception! I would actually remove a Sunwalker for consistency I guess - no need for such huge drops if you run SoJ. There's also some complications with the 5 attack mark when you buff a 4 attack card with SoJ.
To be honest, you can look into my deck list and check "Basic Paladin Control", it's an excellent stepping stone from this original deck.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
I was looking at the video and noticed a small mistake, you can place divine shield on Faerie Dragon using Argent Protector.
Call me crazy, but I think I was playing around Shadow Madness trading 1 for 2 - Argent attacks into Faerie Dragon, Which would have effectively taken both my cards. I'd rather keep all options locked down and have a minion with less damage on the board. At turn 4, the options were either 5 health, or 4 health - with Hammer of Wrath and Silences in my hand, nothing was an issue.
Also, I apologize for sending people reading this thread on a goose chase:
I renamed the deck I made for Chardo to "Standard Paladin Control". Might as well link it here, it's very similar. No surprise of course, I used the original template deck to build this one. I'll remove the Lay on Hands and replace the deck in the OP with this one. *Note this is an image, since I plan to delete the deck*
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
Thanks for this updated decklist, I'll try it out tonight. The lack of Lay on Hands may cause problems late game if you can't seal the deal by then against a draw-heavy opponent; It's not hard to imagine a mage drawing arcane intellect or azure drake while you're only getting one card per turn plus a 1/1 token, thus keeping your side of the board clean with their seemingly endless supply of removal spells while waiting for the inevitable fireball or pyroblast to finish you off.
I used most of the basic decks from the other thread and found paladin my favorite, I got Tirion and added must of the cards in this deck after dusting the other classes I won't use. I put in Nat Pagle instead of an argent protector to keep the amount of 2 drops the same and a Sun Walker with Tirion, the deck has been making ranked mode a breeze, but I may fear that it is because I have a better deck than my ranking because I'm still climbing (Gold ATM). Sometimes it feels like if I had no cards in my deck but Tirion it would still be a pretty close game.
It could be a potential problem, but the options for card draw may not be the best. Your best bet is Novice Engineer, seeing as Loot Hoarder doesn't fit with too much synergy, Gnomish creates an excessive pool of 4 drops, and Acolyte is just a costlier Novice Engineer in a deck like this. Question is, what would you trade it for? My first hunch is one Sunwalker, one Stormwind Champion.
On paper, I think that the lack of card draw is bad, but in practice, you trade in value so well that you may actually not end up that behind. Truesilver helps tremendously with this, Silver Hand Knight as well, Aldor keeps minions from dying, Shattered Sun Cleric keeps minions from dying, Yeti is beefy and may also trade up, Harvest pays for itself, Dark Iron Dwarf turns your 1/1's into possibly free advantage, there are the points I'm trying to get across in terms of value. This issue is usually remedied by Lay on Hands and would make this deck incredibly strong, but that's an afterthought once you get the listed template.
Yes, Tirion is amazing. The best class legendary in my opinion.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
I added an updated video video to showcase the deck you see now in the listing. As expected, the card draw is not an issue. The value of the minions are so high, card draw is a secondary issue. In the second match, I even compete with Divine Favors and Lay on Hands to close out the game.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
Hey Aishi, wanted to ask you what you think about avenging Wrath, if it has a place here and if so what would it replace ? Also would you rather replace a stormwind champ for lay on hands or for dark iron dwarf?
Stormwind is nice and all, but a single Stormwind, in my opinion, is enough. You won't see a second Stormwind come out so soon, and a turn 7 play is strong enough to get to turn 8 where the deck seriously picks up momentum due to the large amount of 4 drops. Sunwalker is nice and all, but as you've seen, she's quite prone to direct removal - removing it for a useful spell or two is no problem in my book. A second Spellbreaker may also be contested since silences are find less and less targets these days.
A single Stormwind or Sunwalker is probably the first cards you want to drop, they are only used as a cheap substitute for true "late game" cards. Granted Sunwalker is your only other taunt. This is easily worked around by swapping any amount of Yeti for Sen'jins. Again, this is a template deck: small substitutions for adapting the deck to high impact card swaps will mitigate any weaknesses that appear.
That said, more people need to play Avenging Wrath, it's an excellent card! As for Dark Iron Dwarf, he is pretty amazing, I see it as Defender of Argus's offensive counterpart. You should drop a Stormwind.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
This deck is absolutely insane against priests. As long as you slow play your minions, try to hit that magic number 4 attack with your buffs, and bait out those mind controls, priests eventually give up and play their entire hands, giving you an easy easy win. I was wondering, though, if a Bloodmage Thalnos could be added for perhaps a Stormwind Champion? I often find myself wishing my consecrate could do just 1 more damage, and I never find myself playing two Stormwind Champs in a single game.
I do often wish for a 3 damage Consecrate, it's pretty damn amazing to pull off since many popular cards rest at 3 health going into mid game and hitting for 4 damage with Hammer of Wrath holds some merit as well (not as much as the jump from 2 to 3 damage). As I've said, Stormwind should be the first to go for better late game. You only want two because your options for late game are highly restrictive to Stormwind in the base deck, so carrying a pair of them will give you a better chance to snag one.
With Priests seeming to stay away from a pair of Mind Control these days due to the prevalence of rush decks, you have much better control coming into late game with so many 4 attack drops. It's not something you can assume, but you'll know you have an opening early by reading their options. The last thing you want is for them to MC a Stormwind Champion!
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
@BenBos - No idea what you're saying, aside from the taunts and early game dude. I have two silences, that's enough and the only options are Equality or BGH for more "direct" removal. Owls and Questing are trash in most control decks. The deck could use Blessing of Kings, they usually end up trading 2 for 2, just an issue of not knowing what other 4 drops to remove... Not a fan of buffs in general.
You just need to survive turns 1 & 2, these rule out most problems aside from aggressive decks with a good opening hand, Harvest, Aldor, Argent, SSC, and Ooze make a decent early game. Could use more 2 drops, but it keeps you alive well enough. My options for turn 4 are pretty good, as the curve implies. As for taunts: if you do feel the lack of mid-game taunts are an issue, a quick swap of Dark Iron Dwarf for Defender of Argus and/or Yeti for Sen'jin is an easy fix.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post
I took out Sunwalker for a Lay on Hands, Was that a good choice?
I dunno, go test it and tell me! Take baby steps, if you don't like it, swap it out for another card... if that doesn't work, try another card. See how each situation works out. Maybe you'll think to yourself "I wish I had a Sunwalker here" or "I wish I had the card I swapped instead".
Next thing you know, you're building a deck you can call your own.
http://www.youtube.com/user/vtxaishi
You're not going crazy, I edit 2~3 times each post