6526% WINRATE META-BREAKER Priest AoO
- Last updated Apr 9, 2020 (Outland DH Nerfs)
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Wild
- 18 Minions
- 11 Spells
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Galakrond Priest
- Crafting Cost: 17040
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 4/8/2020 (Outland Release)
- ohmyqwadd
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Total Deck Rating
22
Hello all,
The last few expansions, priest has had a long period of sad boi hours ( despite the loathed res priest ) However, fear not, Highlander priest AoO has come to destroy the band-wagon Demon Hunters, tricky Highlander Mages, and fat Embiggened Druids. This deck absolutely wrecks when played right and contains all the tools needed for a control match-up or a burst aggro opponent.
There is one win condition. Bleed your opponents till they have nothing left to play, and then produce minions with Galakrond, the Unspeakable and take your victory.
In addition, it took forever for me to get all the dust for this so I totally understand if some legendaries have to be sacrificed. I am more than happy to offer suggestions in replacement. In addition, Cleric of Scales and Aeon Reaver are not craftable ( super dumb ) so I have alternates at the bottom.
Mulligan Guide:
Demon Hunter, Aggro Decks etc.
Always keep: Penance, Holy Smite, Reliquary of Souls, Sethekk Veilweaver, Dragonmaw Sentinel, Holy Nova, Breath of the Infinite, and Apotheosis
It's pretty clear that everyone and their dog will be playing Demon Hunter for some time now. Although the class has a lot of flexibility on how it can be played, you always want to prep as though it's aggro Demon Hunter when on mulligan. Demon Hunter can very rarely beat you in mid or late game because of Priests removal tools however the early game is where you are most vulnerable for letting the game slip away from you.
If you're playing with a deck that has a Prime minion that has under 3 power such as Druid, Mage, Hunter, Paladin, or Priest ( we would never do such a cruel thing to a fellow priest player however ) you can get cheeky and steal their primed card with Shadow Madness so be on the look out for those.
Tips:
Always try to keep as many resources in hand as possible. This is a rule of thumb for this deck always, not just for aggro. For example, if you think the player might continue to go wide next turn with weak minions ( as Demon Hunter does ), hold Holy Nova in your hand an extra turn. You have the ability to heal always, but you don't always have the ability to remove board. This gets the most out of your small AOE.
Be smart with Zephrys the Great. Don't you dare play him on turn 2 to get a Backstab, instead, man up and take a little extra damage to save him until he can play a AOE of sorts. Demon Hunters don't buff cards, so the values you see on board is what you get.
A great engine to keep aggro at bay is Sethekk Veilweaver. Use this with Penance, Holy Smite, Shadow Madness etc. Not only does she produce more possible small clear spells for you, but also a body to trade into when needed. Great card for fighting aggro.
Demon Hunter is the hardest class for this deck, but you can break their game plan if you grab control of the early game.
Big Bois - Druid, Big Demon Hunter, Plot Twist/Shadow Council Warlock.
Always keep: Shadow Word: Death (duh), Mindflayer Kaahrj, Shadow Word: Ruin, Convincing Infiltrator, Aeon Reaver, and of course Zephrys the Great
Tips:
Once again, the golden rule for this deck applies to playing against these archetypes even more now than it does with aggro decks. Keep stuff in your hand until you think that there could not be a more beneficial point to playing it. However be wary, once you join the <15 life club, you need to start making clearing and developing a board your #1 priority, as decks now a days have some crazy ways to reach lethal, even with Leeroy cycling out.
Save Galakrond, the Unspeakable for when a Druid lays down a big fat juicy minion. You need every bit of removal you need, don't waste it.
Murozond the Infinite is hilarious with Imprisoned Antaen into a quick clear when it comes online. Demon Hunters can dish heat but can't take it.
Don't play Zephrys the Great, until you absolutely have to use it for AOE, or you can grab a cheeky Sacrificial Pact on a demon, or heal. Those are the ONLY things you should be using him for in these types of match ups.
FOR ALBATROSS PRIEST: The more albatross they throw in your deck the better, just make sure getting Galakrond is your number one priority.
Replacements for Cleric of Scales and Aeon Reaver:
For Aeon Reaver: Evasive Wyrm
For Cleric of Scales: Imprisoned Homunculus
Please let me know if you want any more match-ups listed. Trump said Highlander Priest was going to be tier 2, I believe it can be tier 1.
Edit 4/8: - Shadow Word: Pain + Shadow Madness
Mostly due to the amount of value you can get from Shadow Madness and sometimes allows you to kill two minions, rather than one.
Edit 4/9: - Twilight Drake + Ironbeak Owl
Ladies and gentlemen, the DH nerf has arrived, so now we can really play out Galy to it's mid/late game potential. I've noticed a match-up Galy priest doesn't win very much is thief/res priest ( shame on them ) so we needed some silence within the deck. Mass Dispel was my first choice, however, Paly tends to run all of its buffs on one card, usually one silence will get you where you need to be, and it still offers a body for trading. Twilight Drake although helping dragon synergies, didn't feel as strong as it should.
Thanks for the help, I would craft Cleric of Scales if possible but it's only available from the Adventure. I've been using Madame Lazul or Shadow World: Pain for now.I'm missing Reliquary and Seline, which one do you feel is better to craft for Priest rn?
Deck seems very fun, i love Galakrond Priest :)
Galakrond Priest has to be one of my favorite control decks for sure. And I would 100% rather craft Reliquary of Souls. This deck has a ton of removal tools, but is most vulnerable in the early gamen so even if it was just a 1/3 with life steal it would be in the deck, but in addition it comes with an absolutely disgustingly sticky minion to play in the late game for heal???? Great card, great play animation, great utility = 10/10.
Do you think Maiev could replace Seline then? Kinda acts like a removal
No harm in trying, lmk how it works! Only problem I foresee is that Maiev's removal is temporary. This however could allow you some more time to search for an answer. I definitely think it would be viable
Love the deck, I only play priest and this is the most fun (and wins) i've had in the last couple expansions. Just a question; is the quest not in the list because it limits your opening hand which is pretty crucial for finding answers agains DH? Again, brilliant deck I'm so glad I had all the cards for it.
You can absolutely include the quest if you feel like now, after the nerf to demon hunter. You may have more time to focus on heal rather than board control now that DH isn't breathing down your neck with a lethal every turn after turn 7, plus I'm seeing the opposite side of the meta is very very very grindy and controlly, so long games would work great with quest. Let me know how it goes.
swapped reaver for siamat
Love Siamat, let me know how it goes!
Hey, what non-legendary do you think could be put instead of mindflayer? Any suggestions?
Absolutely,
Mindflayer Kaahrj is mostly a tec card, focusing on using your opponents minions against them, while also developing a board clear in the case of a Twisting Nether etc. What you put in as a replacement depends on a few things: What you want from this deck and how aggressive the meta is.
If you feel comfortable with the tools given to you to defend against the aggro demon hunters of the game, then I would recommend adding in a Thoughtsteal for some value, or you can take more advantage of your taunt and deathrattle minions with Shadowy Figure or Grave Rune
That being said, I love my Mindflayer Kaahrj and would highly recommend crafting it. It is not at all essential to winning the game however.
Okay, thank you very much :)
Hello man, this looks like a pretty solid version of highlander priest, thank you for sharing it and taking the time to write a detailed guide on how to play it ! :)
I've played many priest lists recently, and highlander priest can get good winrate in this meta on condition your draw is not terrible ! x)
Do you have some stats with your list ?
If I had one suggestion, I think Shadow Madness is a pretty good priest card since its recent buff, and from what I've experienced, you can get good value out of it in almost every matchup, you can use it on curve against aggro mu usually as an "aoe" that wipes his threats, or you can use it against control/midrange lists to get value on a deathrattle, reborn, lifesteal minion etc... I think that it could be better than SW : Pain for instance since you already play forbidden words and holy smite, or maybe cut Natalie Seline for it ? Btw is Natalie that good in this archetype ? I feel like it is too situational, and that you often have other ways of dealing with a single-threat minion if you managed to reach those late turns. ^^
Honestly I was already thinking of making the switch from Shadow Word: Pain to Shadow Madness. I'll have to throw in some testing and see how it plays. As far as stats go, I got a new laptop come the day of the expansion so getting a deck tracker was not totally on my mind, I'll be sure to update this as I go however.
As far as Natalie Seline is concerned, she works really well with gargantuan druid minions and most of the 4/12 dragons, however, if the meta keeps getting more aggressive, she will have to be cut :(
Thanks for feedback, much appreciated
love it!
I love the fact it has (almost) always an answer for anything!
Of course, let me know if there are any other match-ups you'd like to see me talk about