Hearthpwn

Introduction

This deck is based on Goochem's post-nerf Witchwood Even Dragon Paladin ( https://www.hearthstonetopdecks.com/decks/even-dragon-paladin-witchwood-post-nerf/ ). It is pretty good at taking the board early, aided in no small part by Dark Conviction hitting your turn 1 Silver Hand Recruit and the power of Cathedral Gargoyle. It continues to build on early game tempo in the mid-game with the help of Scaleworm and Ebon Dragonsmith. While you ideally want to land the Ebon Dragonsmith discount on Silver Sword or Val'anyr, turn 6 Ebon Dragonsmith into 2 mana Truesilver Champion is a very good way to swing a mid-game board. The change to this deck that provides some of the most impact and makes it an interesting choice for ladder in Rastakhan's Rumble however, is Firetree Witchdoctor.

The Juice

Firetree Witchdoctor single-handedly revitalizes this fringe Witchwood Even Paladin build. She can serve plenty of purposes early, mid, and late-game, and can fetch spells that can't be run in even lists (Level Up! and A New Challenger... being particularly unexpected hits). She can also find clutch board clears and lethal through buffs or damage spells.

List Editing Notes

1. Considering that this is an aggressive even list, it seems very likely I should add Mojomaster Zihi. However, the list feels like it has very little wiggle room for card substitutions if I want to retain early game pressure as well as semi-reliable dragon synergy. For the moment, I think I'll be subbing one Hydrologist for Mojomaster Zihi.

Equality Nerf

2. The Equality nerf changes some of the deck's ability to deal with boards, so I've decided to lean harder on taking the board and holding it as early as possible. To that end, the addition of Potion of Heroism and Hammer of Wrath enable the deck to make more effective trades. Also, 2x Hoarding Dragon is obviously a tough inclusion, but increased dragon density is important in order to increase the probability of getting dragon synergies early and preventing greedy plays. I am currently testing them to see just how much impact their 5 attack changes the pace of my games. A reasonable replacement for them is certainly 2x Twilight Drake. Finally, I've removed Mojomaster Zihi, as combo decks are less prevalent at the moment. If you feel the need for tech cards, the most obvious place to start making changes would be the 2x Potion of Heroism. Seeing as these changes are relatively new, I'd need to put more time into grinding the deck to make that call.

Regarding Hoarding Dragon

In my limited testing with the deck, Hoarding Dragon has put up great numbers against Odd Warrior and Combo Priest as they struggle to find answers for such an early power spike. It also acts as decent bait against other decks that do have answers, allowing you to play cards after it relatively safely. However, in its capacity as bait, it is also a liability. With the latest build's addition of card draw via 2x Potion of Heroism and 2x Hammer of Wrath, your hand is more likely to be big enough to land a decent Twilight Drake. As such, it is probably the superior inclusion in the deck.

3. So, as expected, Hoarding Dragon has been more troublesome than I would have liked in most matchups. I've replaced both with 2x Twilight Drake. Further changes include removing 1 copy each of Dark Conviction and Potion of Heroism and adding 2x Loot Hoarder. While both cards have great uses early and late game, there were many situations in which they were "dead" cards in my hand. They can always be played on 1 mana Silver Hand Recruits, but this isn't always a beneficial enough play. Finally, the Loot Hoarders increase the number of draw cards by 1, making the Twilight Drakes better.