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[67%WR R4-LEGEND] Keleseth Val'Anyr Paladin

  • Last updated Dec 29, 2017 (Kobolds Patch)
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  • 24 Minions
  • 3 Spells
  • 3 Weapons
  • Deck Type: Ranked Deck
  • Deck Archetype: Aggro Paladin
  • Crafting Cost: 11520
  • Dust Needed: Loading Collection
  • Created: 12/21/2017 (Kobolds Patch)
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  • Total Deck Rating

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Hello everyone! I just hit Legend for the first time in my HS career with this spin on Aggro Paladin I created. I've been having a lot more success with this list than traditional aggro lists, so I decided to share it with you all and see what everyone thinks.

This deck differs from the standard lists in two major ways:

  1. It has a much more reliable mid-to-late-game than what's currently being run. The primary source of late-game fuel comes from Val'anyr combined with Doppelgangster, Saronite Chain Gang, and Chillblade Champion . We can also rely on Chillblade Champion to sustain our life in aggro matchups, like the mirror match or Face Hunter. And since we can last longer than six turns, we can afford to run Bonemare to help close out our games.
  2. It runs Prince Keleseth as opposed to the two-drops that most aggro lists have. The usual Aggro Paladins run Knife Juggler and Dire Wolf Alpha most commonly. While these cards are solid in a purely aggro-focused deck, this deck is much more tempo-oriented and doesn't need these cards. Additionally, Keleseth conveniently works well with the same cards Val'Anyr does, turning Doppelgangster and Saronite Chain Gang into high-tempo plays. What you lose in Call to Arms consistency you more than gain back in highroll potential, and in those games where you get both Keleseth AND Call to Arms, you've basically already won.

I would really appreciate some feedback on the list! If this gets some attention (say 10 upvotes?) I'll write up a guide for how to pilot this. Thank you for checking out my deck :)

 

UPDATE: -1 Spellbreaker, +1 Spiritsinger Umbra. Because it let me do this.

UPDATE 2: Oh wow, this is getting more attention than I thought it would! This is filler, I'll write up a guide here tonight in a day or two after the holidays get less hectic and I can sit down and knock it out.

In addition, -1 Doppelgangster, +1 Spellbreaker again. Spellbreaker is just so incredibly vital to several matchups, most importantly Cubelock, that I can't justify not running it in this meta. Two could even be worth running if Umbra feels like overkill. I chose to remove a Doppelgangster because with the inclusion of Umbra, there's enough value in a long-term game to not need two of them.

UPDATE 3: Seems like we've got enough people playing this that we have stats to look at on hsreplay! Unfortunately... the results don't look that pretty. The winrate is below other aggro decks on average, and the cards that have the worst performance are the variations from standard Aggro lists. I don't know if this is due to people picking up the deck and not being aware of how to make the different cards work for them, if it's a problem with the deck itself, or if it's just variance. Regardless, I feel a bit dirty recommending people craft cards to try to play this competitively if it's actually just a mediocre version of Aggro Pally. It worked really well for me on my trip to Legend, but results may vary.

While I'm here, I might as well write out the guide on how to play this; maybe that will boost the winrate a little ;) This will be a continual work-in-progress, I'll add things as I think of them and I'll happily take comment suggestions.

Mulligan

Always keep Prince Keleseth, Southsea Deckhand (but only one), Righteous Protector, Argent Squire, Call to Arms (yes, it's that good). Keep Rallying Blade, Southsea Captain, and Corridor Creeper if you have any one-drops or Keleseth. Always toss Wax Elemental; you want to pull this buffed by Keleseth or with a Rallying Blade playable on the same turn. It's pretty worthless otherwise. Keep Divine Favor if you have all one-drops, or if you think you're playing against a draw-heavy control deck like Cubelock or Highlander Priest. Keep Spellbreaker against Warlock if you think it's a control deck - you're going to need it for their Voidlord. Against Face Hunter, if the rest of your hand is good, keep Chillblade Champion - he's the hero of that matchup. Finally, if you have Spiritsinger Umbra and Val'anyr in your opening hand together against control, keep them! Go for the value win, it's the most reliable way to win against control! Sometimes Control decks won't be expecting you to have that much sheer power as an Aggro deck, and you'll surprise them with a huge tempo play around Turn 8 or 9.

Gameplay

Vs Aggro: Your goal is NOT to out-aggro them. It won't work most of the time. Your goal is to claim control of the board to the best of your ability and shut down their attempts to build a board. Take value trades over face damage whenever you have the choice. The longer the game goes on, the stronger your chances get, as your deck has a better late-game than most Aggro decks. There's no need to be insanely greedy with Val'anyr or anything against an Aggro deck. In fact, if you draw Spiritsinger Umbra and you have no better plays, it's fine to just play her out for the mediocre body if you need to.

Vs Control: A lot of this is dependent on the matchup. Sometime soon I may reorganize this and do specific matchup strategies. But essentially, your goal in the early-game is to rush to the best of your ability, constantly applying pressure to the board. Your hope is that they don't draw a hand that can counter your initial push; if that's the case, you get an easy early victory. Most of the time that doesn't happen. Your backup plan is to use Val'anyr to out-value them. Play it, swing with it, and try to make the buff likely to land on a strong target, like Saronite Chain Gang, Doppelgangster, or Chillblade Champion. (If you have Umbra in your hand, try to play her before breaking your weapon; her deathrattle doesn't go off if she has the buff herself.) From there, just keep playing disgustingly large minions and try to push as much face damage as you can to close out the game.