Hearthpwn

Priest player with 5000+ wins and sick of the lack of fun priest archetypes, wanted to make a fun yet competitive deck. Went from rank 15 to legend playing this deck only, some cards are obviously interchangeable however this was my favourite combo. 

Deck is very strong against face hunter and warrior and can hold its own against rogue. Also very strong against Rez priest however you need to not attack his face and just win with value.

 

Only bad matchup I would say is warlock zoo, due to lack of 1hp board clears, yet still winnable.

If any questions please let me know I’ll try to answer. 

have fun! 

 

Edit: I've decided to write up a full guide on this deck as I can see a couple of people have asked for it, I know it's a tough deck to play. I'm not claiming this deck is tier one but I think there's a lot potential and is the spark a lot of Priest players needed, please bear with me as I write this guide as I've never written one before.

Just a disclaimer : I'm not a pro player, just someone who's played priest way too much (6000+ wins over about 6/7 years) and I wanted to make a deck that can win on the ladder and be fun, I know a lot of other players probably agree our most viable decks always feel so bad to play (rez priest, combo) and not fun at all. Hopefully you can all find some success with this.

 

I'll start with what I think the core of this deck should be, and I don't recommend anyone to change these cards at all - if you don't have the cards unfortunately I don't think the deck is for you.

MUST HAVE CARDS :

Forbidden Words, Penance, Shadow Word: Pain, Breath of the Infinite, Shadow Word: Death,  Mass Hysteria, Plague of Death 

To play this deck you're basically required to run all of these removal spells, I can't say I'm a massive fan of some of them (Forbidden words can often feel bad to run), but to play Highlander Priest it's most likely a necessity.

Disciple of Galakrond, Time Rip, Shield of Galakrond, Galakrond, the Unspeakable, Kronx Dragonhoof.

I've seen a lot of diversity over whether to run Galakrond in this deck, however I think having a 7 mana assassinate + 5 armour can be helpful in Priest, especially if you have a bit of tempo beforehand - which this deck often does. putting this card in your deck will singlehandedly win you every single Priest matchup, aswell as many other value matchups such as Control Warrior/Mage etc. 

Why only 3 Invoke cards? No Fateweaver? - Devoted Maniac is the final invoke card we can put in this deck without losing highlander status, and it's just too awful. Even with this card in the deck nearly all the time you will playing Galakrond before he meets his final form - which makes it just not worth it. As for Fate Weaver, I tried this card for quite a few games but at the end of the day it was unlikely I'd invoked twice by the time I wanted to play him, and even when I had the 1 Mana reduction didn't make too much of a difference, not to say he's a bad card but a 4 mana 3/6 dragon most of the time just isn't worth it.

Zephrys the Great, Dragonqueen Alexstrasza.

Don't play this deck without these cards, they are a strong component of why Highlander decks work, Zephrys is an immediate answer for nearly everything (although I wish it gave silence for Apothecary), and Alexstrasza is incredible, if you can get her down on a weak board or when you're ahead it's just an unreal amount of value.

Omega Medic, Convincing Infiltrator, Sandhoof Waterbearer, Zilliax, Khartut Defender.

All of these cards are necessary in this deck to make sure that you have enough good draws to beat aggro, they are all great cards in my opinion and are a good defensive core for any Highlander Priest deck. Omega Medic is especially good against Galakrond warrior - as they tend to burst you with a lot of damage later in the game.

VERY STRONG INCLUSIONS (PERSONALLY WOULDN'T PLAY WITHOUT) :

Chameleos 

I think this card is incredibly underrated, it gives so much hand information and can steal very good cards, especially in the current meta where everything gives so much value. In this particular deck you can afford to keep this in your hand for quite a while in most matchups as you have so many unique answers to different situations, however when you see a strong value play with Chameleos, you should take it. My personal favourite is using other players' maxed out Galakronds, or Highlander cards like Zephrys/Alexstrasza.

Madame Lazul 

I think Lazul is great, like Chameleos it hasn't shone out too much in the past, but that's because so many Priest decks have no use for opponent's cards, this deck has a more midrange-y style and Lazul fits right in, especially with the small thief package we have in this deck.

Mindflayer Kaahrj 

One of the new additions to Priest's Legendary cards, Kaahrj fits nicely into this deck as a strong play on pretty much any turn, don't be afraid to just play him on turn 3 to copy something small, but if you draw him later in the game you can still make use of him (against rogue I've been copying the 7/7 Mechanical dragon and then combo-ing with Zilliax when he dies).

Murozond the Infinite

This card must be so annoying to play against, I love it. You can get very creative with it. Feel free to play it on 8 when opponent has just played a 6 or 7 drop onto an empty board, preferably a strong minion like Zilliax or Evasive Drakonid, but don't worry if you need to play it against weaker minions. Notable interactions - Against Shaman this card is VERY strong when he uses Dragon's Pack (this does work if you've invoked twice). Against Rogue this is great against Wondrous Wand, as you also draw 3 cards for 0 and most likely play a couple of minions your opponent has dropped also.

STRONG BUT NOT A MUST:

Mind Vision, Cloning Device

Two cards that so many people immediately dismiss and think are awful, but I think they work well in this deck. Cloning Device in this meta can be completely insane, so often you'll pick up strong cards (Corrupt Elementalist comes to mind) INCLUDING Zephrys, Alexstrazsa, Kronx and so on, I think a lot of peoples dismissal of this card is incorrect as it's always been a nice card to have. Mind Vision is a nice play at any point of the game - barely any deck runs out of cards anymore so you'll pretty much always copy something, and again it's usually quite a strong card, giving you a bit of info also. These cards are obviously a fun inclusion in this deck but I still think they're both great and fit in well with the thief/hand info theme we have.

Siamat

I think Siamat is a good card, you'll mostly just be using him for removal though, other than that you can drop him as divine shield/windfury on an empty board vs Priest. I don't think he's particularly exciting and could see a better replacement in the future for him, but I still think he's a solid addition.

 

TECH CARDS / COULD BE CHANGED:

 

Acidic Swamp Ooze

I wish Ooze was more exciting but I was against an onslaught of Warriors/Rogues/Galakrond and had to put him in, definitely can switch this card up if you like but you might struggle a little bit in some matchups.

EVIL Conscripter

Decent early game card, Priest doesn't have too many of them, honestly you could probably switch him out for a card you prefer and have a similar success rate, but I just wanted to make sure I had at least a couple of turn 2 plays to curve out.

Seance

This card is basically here to win a couple specific matchups and to sometimes give really good value. There are a few control decks floating around still using Archivist Elysiana, fear not as with this card we still auto-win against them by copying it. When against other decks you'll most likely be using the card on your Zephrys, or whatever strong target you can get a hold of. This card isn't 100% required and feel free to switch it out if you don't like it.

Vulpera Scoundrel

Another card in here simply for lack of better things to play, It's always a nice drop at any point in the game and can actually be key in some matchups (If you manage to pull silence against a rogue it's hilarious). I prefer running this over Mass Dispel due to the flexibility of it, however I honestly think it's personal preference what you'd like to use here.

 

KEY MATCHUPS + MULLIGANS:

Deathrattle Rogue:

Mulligan - Zephrys the Great, Acidic Swamp Ooze, Vulpera Scoundrel

They're everywhere and they're not easy to play against either, deathrattle rogue is probably one of the most highroll decks at the moment in all forms, this deck is definitely more favoured against the Mechanical Whelp version, but it's definitely close to a 50/50 against nearly all of them. Try your best to get control of the board early and keep removing their threats until you reach the late game, where you should hopefully be able to take control of the board. I will say though this match up is mostly decided on how well the rogue draws.

If you're against the Tess Greymane version do everything in your power to get a copy of  Flik Skyshiv so you don't get completely destroyed by Togwaggle's Scheme.

Look for an early Swamp Ooze or Zephrys to counter Necrium Blade or try to get a silence from your Vulpera Scoundrel

 

 

Galakrond Warrior:

Mulligan - Acidic Swamp Ooze, Zephrys the Great, Shadow Word: Pain, Disciple of Galakrond

Against warrior keep early game removal just in case they end up being aggro, in this matchup we should be able to survive until later turns and then outvalue them and beat them up with our Galakrond hero power. Keep Ooze until he uses his Galakrond to immediately get rid of his weapon. A LOT of these games end up with the warrior running out of cards and conceding. This is definitely a favoured matchup and I've managed to pull some crazy victories out from under my sleeve, even out valuing a triple Scion/Barista Lynch combo which I didn't think possible. 

 

Resurrect Priest:

Mulligan - Disciple of Galakrond, Chameleos, Madame Lazul, (Pretty much any early game value card). ALWAYS KEEP GALAKROND IN THIS MATCHUP.

Love this matchup, I lost the first few games against it and then I haven't lost one since, this deck must be 90%+ against Rez priest. 

The way to win is keep early value cards like Disciple of Galakrond/Madame Lazul etc, and then build a small board and remove any minions he plays. NEVER HIT FACE.

Do NOT hit his face until he's completed his quest, you should be able to keep control of the board at all times and barely give him any opportunities to heal, and he wont be able to complete his quest until very late in the game, play Galakrond as soon as you possibly can and just keep playing minions until he eventually fatigues. 

Surprisingly even though I think this matchup is heavily one-sided the games still end up quite close in fatigue, the best way to ensure you win is try your best to steal a Plague of Death or a Mass Hysteria from your opponent, sometimes you will need that final board clear to ensure he's ran out of steam. Always fun to win against AFK priest.

 

Galakrond Shaman: 

Mulligan - Disciple of Galakrond, Chameleos, Madame Lazul.

This matchup is also around 50% Winrate, all depends on how crazy the shaman draws, your plan is to build a small early board and try to keep control of it, try to steal as many value cards from the shaman as possible (the double invoke card always nice to get your Galakrond to full power), and withstand his Galakrond and Shudderwock. 

You should be able to answer Galakrond with Ooze + Removal in hand/minions on board, and when he plays shudderwock throw down the Plague of Death. It's possible that you win this game before he draws One of these components if the Shaman gets quite unlucky.

Unfortunately against Barista Lynchen infinite value this deck is pretty doomed, luckily not too many of them around at the moment but be aware that if he gets that combo going it's not going to be too great for you.

 

Face Hunter :

Mulligan - Penance, Shadow Word: Pain, Zephrys the Great, Acidic Swamp Ooze

Against this deck do your best to mulligan for early removal to take care of  Phase Stalker, Ooze for the weapon, and Zephrys to board clear/heal/remove secrets.

This deck is very strong against Face Hunter as with our package we have no problem making it to mid-game and throwing out our taunts + heals, our tech card are very annoying for them and we should eventually be able to stabilise and make them run out of fuel.

If you're struggling to attack due to freezing trap, feel free to just drop down a taunt and heal your face until you have a better play later on - hunter has trouble against consistent healing. Hopefully there shouldn't be too many issues against this deck.

 

Warlock Galakrond/Zoo

Mulligan - Breath of the Infinite, Zephrys the Great+ basically any other card you can play early.

Unfortunately this deck is NOT good against Zoolock, the constant pressure they put on us is too much, especially as we don't have many ways to clear 1/1s and they have great hand refill.

Do your very best to clear boards with Breath of the Infinite and your smaller minions to possibly reach a late game swing, but at the end of the day this deck is going to be very hard to beat. Probably around a 20-30% winrate in all honesty.

 

All other Control/Highlander decks are usually quite good matchups for us, make sure to keep Seance against Control decks to take Archivist Elysiana if they play them and there should be no issue. 

The one other bad matchup I should mention is OTK Paladin -  this deck doesn't really have any way to kill them in time before they get their combo off. Fortunately there aren't many of them about any more.

 

CONCLUSION + STATS

All in all hopefully this deck brings some fun back to Priest for many, there are several options and a lot of shenanigans with some of the thief cards. 

I have the stats for about 90 games to about rank 2 which came out at around 60% winrate, however I didn't record my final stretch of games, which had a couple of long win streaks to top 2000 legend which leads me to believe the true winrate of the deck at the end of the season was closer to 70%, hence my estimate.

Keep in mind a lot of priests came onto the ladder after these stats were recorded, so that would've bumped my winrate massively, however when these stats were recorded I only had 5 games against priest total, and had no idea how to play against them. Once the Rez Priest meta has died down I think the deck will be closer to 60% win rate, which I'm happy with for a fun yet viable deck (Probably not tier 1 but hopefully someone can build on this and find the right mix of cards!).

 Good luck with the deck and any feedback is welcome.