Hearthpwn

Hi guys, i want to help some players with Galakrond Priest and try to explain how to play the deck. I used this deck to climb to legend and right now I'm playing it at around legend 3k. I think the deck is really fun if you like longer control games. If you want to see the deck in action you can watch me playing it at https://www.twitch.tv/ttsggtv.

Table of Contents

1. Game Plan
2. Card Explanation
3. Mulligan 
4. Matchups at 10 likes Added Matchups
5. Card replacements at 20 likes Added Card replacements

1. Game Plan

Galakrond Priest is a control deck and most of the time we are reacting on the moves our opponent is making. By invoking Galakrond, the Unspeakable we are upgrading him and adding random priest minions to our hand. Against aggressive decks we try to clear the board and stay alive as long as possible to stabilize in the mid to late game. Against control decks we are trying to gain as much value as possible from Galakrond, the Unspeakable to outvalue our opponent.

2. Card Explanation

Disciple of Galakrond
Cheap minion to invoke Galakrond, the Unspeakable.

Renew
Great and cheap spell that restores 3 Health to a chosen target and lets you discover a spell. Which spells you want to discover depends on your current situation and matchup.

Penance
Strong early game removal and healing option.

Sethekk Veilweaver
This is a very special card as you can create lots of spells by using it correctly. Every time you cast a spell on a minion you will get another priest spell on your hand. Possible cards to pair it with for example are: Renew, Penance, Shadow Word: Death, Apotheosis, Shadow Madness and Time Rip.

Shadow Word: Death
Cheap removal for big enemy minions.

Thoughtsteal
Right now priest has nearly no card draw. This cheap spell helps us with that situation as it copies two random cards from our opponent's deck. You can get some great cards and also learn something about which deck your opponent is playing.

Apotheosis
This is a great card to heal yourself and creating minions your opponent has to deal with. Using this card on a Wild Pyromancer can give you huge heals and you can also clear opponents boards in combination with more spells.

Breath of the Infinite
One of our AoE removals. It deals 2 damage to all minions but if you're holding a dragon it only damages enemy minions.

Shadow Madness
This card allows you to steal an enemy minion with 3 or less attack until the end of the turn. You can do great combos with this card, for example stealing an enemy minion and trading it into another one so both get killed. You can steal great deathrattle effects with this or trigger enemy secrets.

Fate Weaver
If you already invoked twice in a game this card reduces the cost of all cards in your hand by (1). Great for getting some tempo and enabling combos which otherwise wouldn't be possible.

Holy Nova
Our second AoE removal. It deals 2 damage to all enemy minions and heals our minions and hero for 2.

Time Rip
Another way to remove minions and also invokes our Galakrond, the Unspeakable.

Galakrond, the Unspeakable
After playing this card our hero power changes and we can create a priest minion for (2) mana every turn. We also receive 5 armor. Without invoking him he will destroy 1 random enemy minion. After 2 invokes he will destroy 2 random enemy minions and after 4 invokes he will destroy 4 random enemy minions and will give you a weapon with 5/2 stats.

Soul Mirror
Another great card to clear an enemy board or to stabilize your own with taunts for example.

Murozond the Infinite
Great card to get some huge tempo swings. You will play every card your opponent played last turn. Battlecries won't be triggered. You can use this card to create huge boards, clear boards, copy a lot of secrets, draw cards and so on. There are a lot of possibilities.

Wild Pyromancer
Great card against aggro, because in combination with spells you can clear boards. Very useful in combination with Apotheosis to generate a lot of healing.

Shield of Galakrond
Taunt minion which invokes Galakrond, the Unspeakable.

Kronx Dragonhoof
This card will draw Galakrond, the Unspeakable for you. If you're already Galakrond, the Unspeakable it will let you choose between four Devastations. The choices are: Annihilation, Reanimation, Domination and Decimation.

3. Mulligan

Against aggro you want to look for these cards:
Renew, Penance, Breath of the Infinite, Holy Nova. If you got some early game removal and AoE you can also keep Shadow Madness, Disciple of Galakrond and Shield of Galakrond. Against decks who can summon big minions early like rogue or demonhunter you want to have a Shadow Word: Death. Wild Pyromancer in combination with Apotheosis can be a solid choice if you think you can survive long enough to get value out of the combo.

Against control you want to look for these cards:
Disciple of Galakrond, Shield of Galakrond, Galakrond, the Unspeakable and Time Rip. You can also keep Kronx Dragonhoof to draw Galakrond, the Unspeakable earlier. If you already got some invoke cards concider keeping Fate Weaver.

4. Matchups

Druid: There are 2 common druid decks right now. Big Druid and Spell Druid.
Big Druid is the easier matchup. You have a lot of removal for big minions already in the deck and you can create even more by using cards like Sethekk Veilweaver and Renew. A great card to look for in this matchup is Plague of Death to clear huge boards in the late game. Keep clearing his threats and he will run out of steam pretty fast. Keep Alexstrasza in mind when he already has some minions on board.
Spell Druid can be a tough matchup if they ramp up fast. You want to have AoE Spells to counter his Glowfly Swarm. Even after the nerf Kael'thas Sunstrider allows them to cast many spells in one turn. The other card to look out for is Exotic Mountseller. With these cards they will try to establish a strong board and protect it against a clear with Soul of the Forest. If you can't clear this you most likely die the next turn. You can try to find Plague of Death for this situation or use a combination of Soul Mirror and Breath of the Infinite. Trying to get an own board early in the game can also help alot.

Hunter: Most common are Face Hunter, Dragon Hunter and Highlander Hunter.
Face Hunter is an easy matchup. Mulligan for you anti aggro spells and clear his threats. They run out of steam pretty fast and most of the time you can stabelize in the mid game.
Dragon Hunter and Highlander Hunter are difficult matchups. They wont run out of steam that fast and will constanly throw big threats at you. Try to clear their board as good as possible. The longer the game lasts the better are your chances. Look out for Stormhammer and Rotnest Drake in the Dragon Hunter matchup. Against Highlander Hunter you want to look out for Zephrys the Great, Zixor, Apex Predator (try to steal it with yourShadow Madness and trade it into one of his minions), Dragonbane (can deal a lot of damage to you on an empty board, Dinotamer Brann (8 damage to your face most of the time. You have to clear this asap) and Dragonqueen Alexstrasza.

Mage: Most common is the Highlander Mage right now.
Highlander Mage is a favoured matchup but can be very random thanks to Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron and The Amazing Reno. You want to clear his threats while trying to get an own board and put pressure on him. Clearing his threats is usually enough as he draws trough his deck faster than you and will fatique earlier. While building your own board don't forget about Reno the Relicologist and The Amazing Reno. You don't want to waste a board full of minions. Watch out for Zephrys the Great (he can use it as another board clear or to finish you), Alexstrasza, Dragonqueen Alexstrasza and Kalecgos (try to safe Time Rip to deal with him.) Murozond the Infinite is a great card to use after your opponent played Deep Freeze. It's a great tempo swing and will always freeze an enemy.

Paladin: I only met Murloc Paladin once in a while.
Murloc Paladin is a favoured matchup kinda like Face Hunter. Clear his early threats and he will run out of steam pretty fast. You don't want to allow him building a board and buff his murlocs. Key cards are Murgur Murgurgle (try to steal it with your Shadow Madness and trade it into one of his minions so that you get the deathrattle effect) and Murloc Warleader (Penance is a good choice here).

Priest: Galakrond Priest is the most common priest deck right now.
Against Galakrond Priest prepare for a long game. Try to get Galakrond, the Unspeakable as early as possible. Try not do draw any cards as the game most likely ends in fatique. It's all about who makes better use of his cards and generates more value out of his hero power. Minions with 4 attack can be very useful as they are the hardest to remove for priest. Try to stay ahead with your lifepool as every health point is important when fatique is starting.

Rogue: Most of the rogue decks right now are variations of Galakrond Rogue.
Galakrond Rogue is a hard matchup. Be aware of an early big Edwin VanCleef. Shadowjeweler Hanar can be very annoying as it is hard to remove him and he will generate a lot of secrets for the rogue. Other important cards are Flik Skyshiv, Heistbaron Togwaggle (they usually choose between drawing 3 cards set their mana cost to (0) or discover a legendary minion summon 2 copies of it depending on the situation) and Galakrond, the Nightmare (fully upgraded they will draw 4 cards with their mana cost reduced to (0) and equip a 5/2 weapon.) You have to try to clear his boards over and over again and hopefully at some point you can stabilize with an own board. Rogues biggest weakness are full boards as they only have Kronx Dragonhoof as a solid board clear.

Shaman: Galakrond Evolve Shaman and Totem Shaman are the most common shaman decks right now.
Galakrond Evolve Shaman tries to get huge boards by evolving minions like Desert Hare or Mogu Fleshshaperinto higher cost minions. To do this they use Mutate, Bogstrok Clacker and Boggspine Knuckles. Every time they invoke their Galakrond, the Tempest they get a 2/1 minion with rush. Try to prevend them from getting a huge board. Beware of fully upgraded Galakrond, the Tempest as he will summon two 8/8 minions with rush and equip a 5/2 weapon.
Totem Shaman tries to buff his totems to create a board which is able to kill you in combination with Bloodlust. Beware of Totemic Reflection and Splitting Axe. You want to destroy his totems so he can't profit from these cards.

Warlock: Zoolock, Galakrond Lock and Quest Lock are the most common decks right now
Zoolock can be very tough if our opponent has a good start. An early Imprisoned Scrap Imp can make things quite difficult. Try to clear his boards as good as possible. If you can steal Expired Merchant with Shadow Madness and trade him into an opponent minion you can slow his game down a bit.
Galakrond Lock is a close matchup. They have a lot of cheap board removals Plague of Flames and Dark Skies for example. Every time they invoke Galakrond, the Wretched they create a board of small minions which you have to deal with. Watch out for Zephrys the Great, Galakrond, the Wretched, Alexstrasza and Dragonqueen Alexstrasza. If you are able to survive his tempo turns he will die trough fatique.
Quest Lock: You have to be lucky that he doesn't draw his combo. They cycle trough their deck to activate Supreme Archaeology. Then they will try to draw Alexstrasza and Malygos which cost (0) mana at this point and will kill you by using them in combination with cheap spells.

Warrior: Tempo Warrior ist the most played deck
Tempo Warrior is a good matchup for us. The biggest threats are their charge minions Kor'kron Elite and Grommash Hellscream. They will try to buff them with Inner Rage and Rampage and then copy them with Bloodsworn Mercenary to deal a lot of damage in one turn. Taunt minions are very good in this matchup and you should try to stay at high healthpoints. If the warrior saves coin till the end of the matchup he can copy Grommash Hellscream and one turn kill you. Try to avoid it by making him use his coin earlier or having a taunt minion on board.

Demon Hunter: Tempo Demon Hunter is the most played deck
Tempo Demon Hunter is a hard matchup. If they draw a good curve and cycle fast trough their deck you will often lose this matchup. They have many tools to make you suffer. You want to avoid as much damage as possible without wasting your spells to early. His most dangerous threats are Priestess of Fury, Kayn Sunfury, Metamorphosis and Warglaives of Azzinoth. Try to remove his threats and stay alive. I'ts totally fine to play Fate Weaver without it's battlecry to give him something to deal with. If you can create a board try to buff one of your minions with Apotheosis to get some healing. Many demon hunter minions only have 1 or 2 healthpoints. Wild Pyromancer and Apotheosis can be a great way to get back into the game.

5. Card replacements
There are a few very interesting and strong cards you can play in Galakrond Priest that I haven't covered in my list. Possible cards to replace are Wild Pyromancer, Holy Nova (even both copies) and Thoughtsteal.

Madame Lazul
You discover a card from your opponents hand. You know 3 cards your opponent is holding and can use against you and pick the one you need the most for the current matchup. A budget replacement would be Vulpera Scoundrel.
Mindflayer Kaahrj
Awesome card. I would play it but I don't own it yet. You get a minion on the board and choose an enemy minion which will be summoned after Mindflayer Kaahrj dies.
Plague of Death
Great late game removal. If you're facing a lot of control matchups you can think about adding it to your deck. Against aggressive decks the card often is too expensive.
Acidic Swamp Ooze
If you're facing a lot of demon hunters or other weapon decks you can concider adding him to your list.

If you find any mistakes please let me know. I will edit them.