Hearthpwn

First time writing up a deck guide. I've been having a lot of fun with this deck and different variants of it ever since the release of Death Knight heroes. Never been a fan of the Beardo combo, so I hope this different take on Exodia is well received.

The Goal:

Utilize the various methods of boards clears and powerful healing to control the game while building up to the Four Horseman finisher.

 

Against aggro - Use cards like Aldor Attendant, Wild Pyromancer, Libram of Wisdom, and Bronze Explorer to contest the early game rush, Make valuable trades and try to draw into some board clears for the mid game. Getting off some decent heals with Crystalsmtih Kangor/Bronze Explorer in conjunction with Libram of Wisdom can often seal the deal early in the game.

 

Against Control/Midrange - Hand management is what i find to be the most difficult in these matchups. It can be easy to overdraw if you aren’t careful. The main focus here is to cycle your deck as quickly as you can to find Uther of the Ebon Blade and start working on your combo. You also want to ensure you have your Wild Pyromancer combo board clears in case the board gets out of control.

 

Notable Combos:

Board Clears - 

Wild Pyromancer+Libram of Justice - Damages own board but wipes out enemy’s

Wild Pyromancer+Shrink Ray - Destroys both sides of board

Wild Pyromancer+Consecration or Libram of Wisdom - Weaker but sometimes necessary against aggro

Consecration+Libram of Justice - Destroy enemy board

Consecration+Shrink Ray - Destroy enemy board but weaken your own

All of these synergize well with Solemn Vigil

 

Healing - 

Crystalsmith Kangor+Libram of Hope - 16hp and a big taunt

Crystalsmith Kangor+DK Weapon - 10 hp

Crystalsmith Kangor+Zola the Gorgon+Crystalsmith Kangor+DK Weapon - 20hp

Crystalsmith Kangor+Bronze Explorer - weaker, but against aggro it might be needed to save you.

 

The Four Horseman:

Besides the obvious Uther of the Ebon Blade, there are four cards used to setup the horseman combo in your hand. They are Zola the Gorgon, Garrison Commander, and two Youthful Brewmaster. However, only 3 of these in any combination are needed to pull off the combo. The extra card is used in case of one of the combo pieces is burned.

 

Now, the goal is to get two DIFFERENT horseman in your hand by bouncing them back with Youthful Brewmaster and/or Zola the Gorgon. Once you have two horseman and Garrison Commander in hand you play out the combo as like this:

 

Horseman -> Horseman -> Hero Power -> Garrison Commander -> Hero Power for a total of 10 mana.

 

Sometimes Zola the Gorgon will be needed to copy something besides horseman, which is fine as long as you don’t burn any other combo cards. If Garrison Commander is burned, it is still possible to combo with the 3 “bounce cards” and get 3 horseman in hand instead of 2. However, the chances of getting duplicate horseman from the hero power greatly increase when you need 3 (50% chance of duplicate instead of the normal 25%).

 

I prefer my first bounce to be with Zola the Gorgon most of the time when possible. This is because if the horseman survives you are guaranteed to get a different one on the next hero power.

 

The Cards:

A (mostly) brief explanation for the inclusion of each card.

 

Aldor Attendant - Libram cost reduction, solid turn 1 body to fight early game.

Crystology - Deck thinner, pulls Crystalsmith Kangor at times which can make the difference against aggro.

Crystalsmith Kangor - See above for combos, sets up for powerful healing turns.

Garrison Commander - Essential combo piece, attempting this deck without him is not recommended.

Libram of Wisdom - Highly flexible, often 0 mana, used for bigger lifesteal heals, bigger taunts, early game trades, Acolyte of Pain for more card draw, and Wild Pyromancer for board clears. On rare occasion vs heavy control I will even pass it to the enemy to clog their hand instead of mine. Be very careful doing this though, it is not usually necessary.

Wild Pyromancer - The key to powerful board clears, see above for combos.

Youthful Brewmaster - Essential combo piece for bouncing horseman back to hand

Acolyte of Pain - Good card draw, works well with Libram of Wisdom for extra draw and better trades.

Bronze Explorer - Minor heals, can find decent dragons most of the time to help with a variety of situations. Good at slowing aggro.

Zola the Gorgon - Almost always used as a combo piece. On occasion it can make additional taunts as needed, or enable quadruple healing with two Crystalsmith Kangor.

Consecration - Small AoE, can combo for huge board clears, see above.

Aldor Truthseeker - Okay stats for a taunt, vital for big swing turns by reducing libram costs.

Libram of Justice - Board clear, combos with Wild Pyromancer and Consecration. Lets you trade up much easier. I find myself using this in conjunction with Solemn Vigil frequently.

Shrink Ray - Another board clear combo piece with Wild Pyromancer. I prefer this over equality as it can be used on its own to greatly reduce next turn damage, or allow me to trade up easier. Works great with Solemn Vigil.

Solemn Vigil - More card draw, synergizes with all our board clears and can often be cast for 0 mana.

Libram of Hope - Big heal, big taunt, very rarely costs 9 mana. Great card for survivability.

Uther of the Ebon Blade - I mean, this is an Exodia deck, right? I try to get this down (and you should too) the moment I hit 9 mana. The quicker you assemble the horseman the quicker you can win. Comes with a powerful lifesteal weapon that combos with Crystalsmith Kangor very well.

 

Substitutions:

Zola the Gorgon -> Ancient Brewmaster

Crystalsmith Kangor -> Time Out