Hearthpwn

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.