Hearthpwn

DUEL!

History

     The idea for this deck was born with the release of Prismatic Lens during the Boomsday Project, but lacked other similar support at that time. With the Rise of Shadows we got two tailor-made cards in Call to Adventure and Duel!. I played a lot of this deck during last expansion because Colossus of the Moon motivated me to experiment more with it. Then the recent release Nozdormu the Timeless opened up even more possibilities for this deck.  There are a lot of cards that I've tried, some that can still be swapped in upon preference, but I believe this is the best I've found thus far. Now lets get into particulars.

Strategy

    This deck is centered around three spells: Call to Adventure,Prismatic Lens and Duel! all of which allow you to cheat out big minions from your deck. These spells are the main mulligan targets, but once you have one or two you want to have something for early game board presence like Sanctuary, Lesser Pearl Spellstone and Muster for Battle. If you draw Nozdormu the Timeless in the mulligan phase then this will obviously change what you want in hand, but even then I believe Duel is the number one target. Call to Adventure allows you to cheat out Noz. and gives you a turn 4 10/10 and can thenceforth allow you to drop big minions. The deck comes down to creating circumstances that are conducive to maximizing the power of the main three spells and utilizing big minions to overwhelm your opponent

 Every Card (in order of perceived importance)

      Duel! - Duel is an awesome card. It allows you to not only cheat out a minion from your deck but also very often destroy one of theirs, it feels like it works in your favor 9 times out of ten. Having this on turn 5 can often be enough to make your opponent unable to recover. There are not too many tricks or notes to be told in regards to this card, it's good early game, it's good late game and it even feels ok playing this for 8 mana when it is hit by Prismatic Lens. Just don't get Counterspell'd and beware of Big Priest

     Prismatic Lens - Henceforth referred to as PrisLens. is another way to cheat out big minions. Last game I coined out PrisLens on turn 3 and played a 2 mana Colossus on turn 4 and the game was essentially over. Using this early is great but it does have a downside if used late. Typically using it late should be done so for a needed draw and to continue applying pressure or recover. Changing the cost of a Subdue or Rebuke to 8 or 10 or 25 mana can hurt surprisingly badly. I would say this happens on the rarer side, but it does happen. This is a great card in general, amazing for this deck and very fun to play. 

Call to Adventure - Henceforth referred to as CalltoAdv. In the past I've played this with Zilliax, Prince Keleseth, Emperor Thaurissan, Loatheb orArchmage Vargoth in the deck. I also played it without any smaller minions just to get an 8 mana minion more quickly. All of these came with varying degrees of success but were not great when getting Duel'd out or even PrisLens'd. CalltoAdv now draws Noz, which we discuss next and has elevated this card and deck to a new level. CalltoAdv is great early, middle and late. Even late it pulls and buffs a minion which can be significant if resources get low.

Nozdormu the Timeless - Henceforth referred to as Noz. While this card has completely changed the way this deck functions and I believe launched it into viability, it is still not as important as those previously listed because without them this deck would rely too much on one card. That being said Noz is great. He doesn't hurt to Duel! out, or play late when his battlecry is essentially nullified, but when played early sets up a situation that plays in favor of your deck and not your opponents the majority of the time. Your opponent will almost always use at least one significant removal resource on Noz. and more often uses multiple resources to remove him, this begins the war of attrition which is often your road to victory. 

Consecration - You might be surprised to see this card this high on the list, but Consecration does what it has always done and that is clear wide boards which can be this deck's undoing. There isn't much more to say. You may be surprised by how often this will clear the last two health of a taunt minion, or put on the final 2 face damage, or allows a win to occur when paired with Muster for Battle, the minion summoned by Sanctuary, or Subdue. This deck needs Consecration and utilizes very well. 

Living Monument - another card you may be surprised to see this high. This card was added while playing this deck last expansion and exploring every big minion in the game. What was often needed was some defense or healing in order to survive in mid and late game, and living monument filled that void. The difference between an 8/8 with taunt and 10/10 with taunt is more significant than it appears, and often requires many resources to remove. This simple card fits beautifully here and probably causes more insta-concedes than any other card in the deck. 

Subdue - Subdue often acts as a psuedo-silence. It pairs with Muster for Battle, your hero power, consecration and is just a good card. Once Noz is played, if your opponent has a large minion to be played on the next turn, Subdue acts as a quick and frustrating counter. Again, nothing tricky or hidden here, just a good, strong card that fills a removal-ish void.

Muster for Battle - Muster is mostly here to provide early minions and to counter fast and aggressive decks, pairs well with subdue and counters cards that target random minions i.e. Obsidian Statue or Ragnaros the Firelord

Sanctuary (REMOVED) - Sanctuary is a powerful card. Coining this out on turn one is typically a strong move. This deck often needs a taunt minion to protect face or your big minions and even before it is activated it can divide your opponents attention when they have to chose to ping a Silver Hand Recruit or ping face. 

Lesser Pearl Spellstone - This is essentially a 2 mana 2/2 with taunt that doesn't interfere with PrisLens or CalltoAdv. The are some situations where it is upgraded with Flash of Light or Shirvallah, the Tiger but typically use it early for board presence. This is one of my favorite cards in the deck because it literally sees no play elsewhere but is actually very needed here and draws many "wow" emotes.  

Shirvallah, the Tiger - Shirvallah is essential to this deck. The lifesteal is what is really important here. When retrieved with Duel you get another attack due to Shirvallah's Rush. It will take some time to discount her down to zero but it can be done. If PrisLens'd the maximum she will cost is 1 mana (when drawing Duel as your spell). Great card that can be the nail in the coffin against many opponents. 

Colossus of the Moon - A card that is extremely difficult to remove, is stupid powerful in just about any situation but especially when cheated out. If pushed out he demands attention or must be ignored with your opponent racing against the clock to go face first. 

Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound - Summoning this with PrisLens or Duel is very similar to when summoned by Barnes in the old Big Priest deck, if you get him out there it's basically over. Strong early, middle and late, probably one of the best cards in the history of Hearthstone and is no less powerful here. 

The Lich King - A big taunt, provides value, must be respected

Rebuke - another card upon release was predicated to be strong but never really found a home. This card is your baby Loatheb that will win games, stunting big board clears at all parts of the game especially if you have cheated a minion of with PrisLens. or Duel and it's turn 6 or 7, there is often nothing they can do. This card probably takes the greatest pre-planning and timing of any in the deck, so think when playing it. Meta knowledge is helpful.

Ragnaros the Firelord (REMOVED) - Can be 8 face damage or minion removal, must be respected

Ysera - the card in the deck with the least likely chance of winning a Duel! but a card that provides needed value against control decks and if cheated out soon enough can often get 2, 3 or 4 Dream cards. I've taken Ysera out before but what happens is that when you run out resources you need those dream cards and often they provide the final push of 5 damage, another minion, or returning a big taunt minion to your opponent's hand. 

Flash of Light - The ability to heal your big minions for 4 ends up being fairly significant in some situations. Some card draw, some survival, helps a surprising amount. 

Tirion Fordring - Tirion is a big taunt, he is not used in any special way in this deck and functions as you would expect. Good as an assistant to your other minions but can be standalone affective. 

 

Card Exclusions and Notes

Redemption This would often give you an auto-win if it hit Colossus, but with Muster for Battle, P-Spellstone and Sanctuary, I find it to be less useful. What happens is you end up holding it and trying to make the perfect play or it gets played in a less than ideal situation to redeem a silver hand recruit. Ultimately I find it's replacements better

Desperate Stand is another hilarious card which can be used devastatingly in this deck, but is more often not too hard to deal with for your opponents. I enjoyed it and one can see the utility but often it just doesn't have a significant effect on how games are swung. 

Shrink Ray was a card I used for a while that pairs well with Muster and Consecration and really helps against Big Priest and a few others, but often becomes a dead card in hand. 

A New Challenger... was a surprisingly good addition, the Taunt and Divine Shield aspects helped significantly, also the discount it afforded on Shirvallah, the only reason this card is out is because of the slight PrisLens nerf it causes and things like Pearlstone, Flash of Light and Rebuke are just better. 

Kel'Thuzad may seem like an obvious choice but he isn't great is Duels and the deck just doesn't function like a Big Priest deck, the splash minions are more important than sustained board presence through a mechanic like his. I found him to be surprisingly ineffective.

Other cards that have been used in the past are listed below, writeups for these come. Some of these obviously can still work and in some situations are better than one's currently in the deck. 

Lightforged Blessing

Archmage Vargoth 

Noble Sacrifice

Lost in the Jungle

Adapt

Forbidden Healing

Autodefense Matrix

Noble Sacrifice

Truesilver Champion

Blessed Champion

Archmage Vargoth

Barnes 

Sylvanas 

Emperor Thaurissan 

Alexxstraza 

Sneed's Old Shredder

Desperate Measures

Burly Shovelfist

Hand of Protection

The Future and Conclusion

I believe there will be better minions for this deck in the future, the only one's I believe are perfectly fit are Colossus, Living Monument, Shirvallah and Y'shaarj while Tirion and Rag specifically are in the deck because they are the best available. While they have provided wins and are no doubt good cards, I feel as though there are greater possibilities in cards I haven't explored or have yet to be made. All feedback is welcome and any ideas I recommend be shared. As things change or ideas come I will be updating this writeup. Give your best and have fun!

EDIT:

With the Ashes of Outlands release I've swapped out Tirion Fordring and one Living Monument for 2 Scrapyard Colossus and taken out 1 Flash of Light for 1 Hand of A'dal. Will give updates in the future on how these work out. Tirion may be the most surprising swap and it may not make logical sense, but I have found Living Monument to be more effective than Tirion. Also put in Air Raid for Lesser Pearl Spellstone, will update guide in the future when I play the deck more with these changes. 

EDIT 2:

Took out the 2 Scrapyard Colossus for the return of  Tirion Fordring and a second Living Monument - Scrapyard just doesn't seem to have enough board impact, the 10 attack on Monument surprising makes a huge difference and this deck kinda needs to strike and win when it has it's opportunities. Otherwise I removed one Sanctuary for Barricade. The rest of the deck is the same. Still a fun deck which is basically built on surprise wins, but also still not a Tier 1 deck and needs more help in the future with big minions or other spells. 

EDIT 3:

Again removed Ragnaros the Firelord in favor of Deathwing, Dragonlord which is a wonderfully fun card that has a mild amount of synergy in this deck with Ysera and Nozdormu the Timeless but enough to be effective and if it's effect does not come into play it is a strong bluff that can force your opponent to use resources on it or play around it's deathrattle. I forgot that Ysera's dream card Emerald Drake is a dragon and can brought into play as well. 

I experimented with First Day of School but the early taunts are too important and if it comes down to it, and you don't need to play two 1 cost minions early, holding onto Lesser Pearl Spellstone's to be upgraded by Shirvallah or Flash of light can be surprisingly effective. I thought first day of school would upgrade PrisLens a little but it is so rare that it gets hit, and the difference between playing a cheap 8 or 10 drop on turn 4 vs. turn 5 is insignificant. Thus two Lesser Pearl Spellstones have been returned as well as two Flash of Lights with the removed of Sanctuary, I still love this card and it is still effective, it can be a 2-cost-do-nothing against pirate warrior, token druid, secret mage and others depending, and that is who you often need a card like that most against (ironic). I find this version to be a little bit better than the previous, but a lot more fun. This deck still contains most of favorite paladin cards which makes me happy.