Hearthpwn

Hye Guys, I reworked this list and find it quite effective. As the season ends, I confirmed the 65% win rate with a proof (sorry I can't upload a picture now, so here is the link to the screenshot: https://imgur.com/a/obm1xrl). If you have any remark, feel free to express yourself!

The idea of this deck is to play a control paladin, which biggest win condition is to OTK your opponent by summoning the four horsemen given by Uther of the Ebon Blade's hero power. Nevertheless, given the number of aggro decks on the ladder, you keep strong midrange options and can challenge a large number of top-tier aggressive opponents (odd paladin, zoo warlock, tempo mage etc.). The best matchups you can have with this deck are control/combo decks because this deck cycles a lot (it happened that I drew more cards than a druid). Once you get used to the OTK combo, all you have to do is not to overdraw your key pieces (Auctionmaster Beardo and Uther of the Ebon Blade) and set it up properly.

I really enjoy playing this deck because it is a technical one, that has a secure win condition : summoning your four horsemen will destroy your opponent's hero no matter if he is protected by an Ice Block, Mal'Ganis or a crazy amount of armor.

Mulligans :

• General : Call to Arms is the best card you can get for the early game. It will clear your deck from small minions that you won't be that happy to draw on the mid-late phases. Keeping parts of your combo can be interesting, but it's greedy. I usually like to keep a Wild Pyromancer in hand, as it will give me certainty not to get him on board with Call to Arms.
• VS Control: Look for the best curve as possible. Given that you prefer to keep the coin for your OTK combo, just be patient, and try to get the best value out of your board. If you don't take too many damages and stay in the tempo of the game, your OTK combo will be assembled progressively. Just try not to keep too many small minions in hand, as they will be summoned by Call to Arms. 
• VS Aggro: This is where you look for the best curve in your defensive cards. Consecration, Call to Arms are really efficient. Stonehill Defender is also really good in order to stay in the tempo. Keeping Consecration in hand is not a bad idea, or an Equality if you have Wild Pyromancer or Call to Arms, in order to clear the early board.

Matchups : 

• VS Warrior: There are two main possibilities: Pirates Warrior, or a Control/Quest and/or Odd Warrior. In either case, try to get a good curve, in order to keep on going in the tempo of the game. VS a Pirates deck, you have to play extremely cautiously and to try to contain the aggressivity of your opponents. Then I would say that you are overall looking for these cards : Righteous Protector, Stonehill Defender, Wild Pyromancer, Equality, Consecration, and Call to Arms. Just forget about your OTK, and play in order to survive; if you reach the point where you can heal, the match is almost won. Against Control decks, your OTK is your biggest win condition. This way, apart from staying strong on the board and not overdraw your key cards, you have to keep in mind that these decks usually play Skulking Geist, then just don't rely on spare parts too much, and try to get coins from the Burgly Bully.
• VS Shaman: The two main options are Even shaman, and Shudderwock Shaman. I usually play as if it was an even shaman, and I'm happy to find out that he is not playing this. The reason is that Even Shaman can summon such a huge board extra quickly that you will insta-loose if you can't clear the board on the turns 5-6. This way i look for Stonehill Defender, Wild Pyromancer, Consecration, Equality, Call to Arms. If you can clear his board on turn 5-6 (when he usually has 2 7/7 and a few giants...), you will gain a huge tempo. The reason is that Even Shaman has very little drawing options, and will struggle hard to stay on the board. If my opponent is a Shudderwock player, then I know that I have to cycle the deck really fast and to gather my combo pieces before he does. The advantage we have in this matchup is that the opponent will usually be focusing on his combo first, and sometimes give you some time by trying to play saronite chaingang several times etc.
• VS Rogue: This matchup is really complicated. I would say that 4 out of 5 wild rogue players are going for the Kingsbane/mill deck.  This way, you will have a huge struggle in not overdrawing too much, which can be a nightmare if your Call to Arms gets Loot Hoarder and Clockwork Gnome on board. This way, I like to keep in hand Auctionmaster Beardo and Uther of the Ebon Blade in hand. This way I just have to focus on not loosing too many HP on early game and getting the Exodia together.
• VS Paladin: I would say that 90% of the paladins on the ladder are aggro decks. This way, I focus on winning the board and try to mulligan for : Righteous Protector, Stonehill Defender, Call to Arms, Consecration. If you can win the board on the early phase and can add cards like Spikeridged Steed in the process, the game can be won pretty easily if you trade wisely, and build your army. Lethal can be reached easily on turns 7-8 because aggressive paladins will usually take the trades with their weapons on the early game, and lose a lot of HP. I just encountered one OTK paladin during last season.
• VS Hunter: The good thing is that hunters can no longer play the "stampede of giants" anymore. This way you have to win the board, and you have a lot of control options in your deck. Just try to trade the most of his minions, and not to trigger his secrets if not needed.
• VS Druid: Druid is your best matchup by far (91% win rate on last season). I would say that 3/4 of them are going for the jade golems and that the rest is divided between combo and aggro/token. Jade druid is pretty easy because you have many huge control options in your hand (Wild Pyromancer + Equality, Sunkeeper Tarim...). Once you have what you need in hand, it's really easy to get coins out of the Burgly Bully, because druids usually have a gigantic load of 1-2 mana spells, and usually like to hide behind a huge amount of armor (which is totally useless against you but shhh don't tell). This way, you can keep in hand your combo pieces if you feel like it, but I also like to get a strong board presence on early so I keep Stonehill Defender and Call to Arms.
• VS Warlock: There is my worst matchup, mostly because of the Even lock. Even lock is usually hard to play against, because this deck has many options to clear the board from small minions (Hellfire, Defile), and to throw a huge threat at the same time (Molten Giant, Mountain Giant, Hooked Reaver). This way, you have to play your board clears wisely because he will go nuts once he sees that you don't have any more Equality or Sunkeeper Tarim. The OTK combo is usually hard to reach because you will be under a big pressure on each turn; but If you reach it, keep in mind that even lock usually keeps a Skulking Geist in his deck.
• VS Mage: This matchup is quite tricky. I would say that 2/3rd of the mage decks I encountered were tempo decks and that the rest were Big/Exodia Mages. You always have to mulligan as if you were facing a tempo mage (looking for the best curve and value), which is a difficult, but winnable matchup. Just forget about your OTK and fight. The coin and spare parts are good triggers if you have to test a Counterspell. Spikeridged Steed is super strong because tempo mages have to hurt you with their board before bursting you off. Try to stay focused, and to secure your heals for turn 8-9. On the other hand, Exodia Mage can be tricky, because you have to go faster than them in getting your combo pieces together. Then, your strength is that he will have to deal with your board if you are curved on the early phases by playing Blizzard, Frost Nova and Doomsayer. Also, keep in mind that these decks always play Coldlight Oracle or Research Project. So try not to have more than 7 cards in hand at the end of your turn.  Your OTK is your only win condition in this matchup, but I have to admit that it's really satisfying to pierce through an Ice Block.
• VS Priest: Most of the time, priests play big minions and resurrect synergies. This matchup can be OK, and even good if your priest opponent doesn't have Barnes on turn 3-4, if this happens : try to trade/kill Barnes as well as the 1/1 big minion he summoned (in order to not give him certainty on the Resurrect he might have in hand. Otherwise, try to cycle your deck as much as you can, and clear his board when needed. This way I usually go for Loot Hoarder, Call to Arms, Burgly Bully. One more thing. If you play VS a big priest, just NEVER play your Dirty Rat, you will just help him get a cheaper mastodont on the board.

Tips & tricks :

•  Let's talk about the main OTK combo of this deck: the four horsemen. If you played Uther of the Ebon Blade, you can summon one horseman per turn. When you get the four of them, your opponent just loses the game (even if he is full HP, has a ton of armor, or an Ice Block equipped).  Thanks to Auctionmaster Beardo, we have the possibility to summon several horsemen at a time. This way, you have to plan a bit ahead and get cheap cards to play, in order to refresh your hero power. You have two options in order to get these triggers : Burgly Bully and Clockwork Gnome. This is the point of the deck where you have to plan ahead, and not to make any mistakes. When you played Uther of the Ebon Blade, your opponent will have to deal with a 2/2 on every turn. If he doesn't, your objective is to be able to summon the 3 remaining horsemen instantly. Here are the general rules of the combo : 

1. You have one horseman alive by the beginning of your turn : you need Auctionmaster Beardo + two cheap cards to play to summon the 3 remaining horsemen. 
2. You have no horseman alive by the beginning of your turn : you will then need Auctionmaster Beardo + 3 cheap cards to summon the four of them in one turn. It's possible if you have 3 The Coin in the hand. If you only have spare parts from the Clockwork Gnome, getting Emperor Thaurissan to discount them would be necessary (Auctionmaster Beardo will cost 2 mana, and your cards will cost 0).

• Given that your OTK combo assures you to win the game if everything goes well, the deck is oriented on progressing safely towards the late game and clearing your deck from the cards which are not part of the combo. This way you have many draw options : Call to Arms will clear your deck from small minions and give you potential draw, otherwise you have many draw options. Keep in mind the ordering of your actions, this is the key to get a hand on this deck: when to play Emperor Thaurissan, what card to expect from your opponent...
• About the OTK, you also have to keep in mind that you need to board space to play 5 minions. This way, you have to have not more than two minions on board before getting to your combo.
• About the spare parts that are given by the Clockwork Gnome. Be careful with the effect that they have, and play them cautiously. It happened to me to be messed up by the Time Rewinder. I had no other minion to get back to my hand than Auctionmaster Beardo, and playing it on himself didn't refresh my hero power. Just be sure to have something else to get back in your hand.
• One other point about the spare parts: they count on Lynessa Sunsorrow's battlecry. This way, you have to know that if you played the time rewinder earlier, you will summon a big taunt minion, that will keep on coming back into your hand.
• Your combo is not your only win condition. This deck is built as a control paladin, that can be quite hard to deal with if your board goes too strong for your opponent. This is why Sunkeeper Tarim is so strong. Yes it is a great control card (as an example he allows to calm a jade druid gone too crazy on golems quite easily), but he also allows you to get a decent aggressive position (Righteous Protector becomes then a much more interesting body). Do not hesitate to go face if you can, and feel that your enemy cannot manage with your board.
• Being a control paladin, Equality is one of the signature cards of your style. You just have to play it wisely, in order to regain control of the board. If you board is ahead, Equality + Consecration are your best options. If you feel that it can degenerate quickly, Wild Pyromancer + Equality assure you to get a full clear. Dirty Rat + Wild Pyromancer + Equality will even give you an advantage on your opponent if you take one of his strong minions along.
• If you are in a tight spot, the taunt minions you have will be your best friends. If I take into account the Spikeridged Steed and the minion given by the Stonehill Defender, you have 11 of them. The trick is that your worst enemies will be the silence minions (Spellbreaker etc.) or the cards like Polymorph and Mind Control. This way, just remember to spread the buffs between the different minions of your board ( do not play Spikeridged Steed twice on the same minion, or on a taunt minion, if you have other ones...).
• In a control matchup, even if you are favored because of your combo, you have to think a lot before doing your plays. I say this because you have to be careful with the size of your hand. As an example, Call to Arms is likely to bring on board the Clockwork Gnome and the Loot Hoarder. If you have 7 cards in hand, and that your enemy can deal with these guys, you will then draw a card and get spare parts in your hand, this way overdrawing at least one card. If that is the case, you just have to pray to not overdraw Uther of the Ebon Blade or Auctionmaster Beardo.
• Yes, I run two exemplars of the Burgly Bully, the reason is that the combo is easier with coins in hand. This said, just keep in mind that it can be dangerous if you don't have your combo in hand. Do not hesitate to sacrifice him as you have enough coins (3). As an example, this card can become a nightmare when you are facing decks that rely on many cheap spells. Be extra careful if you play that card versus miracle Rogue, or Secrets Mage. Otherwise, even if your opponent uses a spell to deal with this guy, it will give you The Coin anyway. 
• Furthermore, if you have Uther of the ebon blade and Auctionmaster Beardo in hand, do not hesitate to play your Burgly Bully. I even play the two of them sometimes. The reason is that your enemy will be more than happy to try and mill you, this way he will usually play a bunch of spells in order to fill up your hand with coins. Once you have what you need, you just have to play correctly and you should have lethal in two turns.
• Since Stonehill Defender was created, it's value was the best for the paladin, because you have the most chances to get some real good taunts from your class. Just keep in mind that rushing to the big legendary is not always the best option. OK, Tirion Fordring is really strong, but sometimes it's better serving your curve to take an Infested Tauren instead (because you can play it on the same turn etc.).
• The reason why I like this deck so much is also that you can deal with the aggro decks. Just forget about the OTK options, and play the deck like a regular midrange paladin. You have really good plays in your deck : Call to Arms, Consecration, Sunkeeper Tarim, Lynessa Sunsorrow (this card is actually totally insane if you played both of your Spikeridged Steed before) . And you have a big load of heals, once you get to the turns 8-9 : Ragnaros, Lightlord and Uther of the Ebon Blade. You can win the board like any good midrange deck, so focus on not taking too many damages on the early phase, and everything should go fine. As an example, this deck works really well against the even shamans I encountered. The key is to clear his board when you see that his hand becomes a bit empty (usually turns 4-5-6). If you have a good clear like Wild Pyromancer + Equality, it will be over hard for him to get back in the tempo of the game. This way you will just have to build a strong board for yourself and go for the win the "classic" way.
• 16/12/2018: I just changed the list a little bit, to include Time Out!, which seems to be a really good card, and Bloodmage Thalnos (good synergy with consecration). I'll see how it works.