LEGEND Thief Priest
- Last updated Nov 21, 2020 (Darkmoon Faire)
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Wild
- 15 Minions
- 14 Spells
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Galakrond Priest
- Crafting Cost: 13120
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 11/8/2020 (Scholomance Academy)
- Olwen
- Registered User
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- 1
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- 17
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Battle Tag:
Elhwing#2101
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Region:
EU
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Total Deck Rating
73
Hello everyone,
here is a priest list if you want to climb legend before the new expansion !
Down below, you'll find in order :
I ) A small presentation of the list, with proof of the climb to legend, along with some tips.
II ) A guide on how to mulligan and apprehend every class matchups
III ) A category that talks about latest changes, some thoughts on how to improve the list, which cards could fit there etc...
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⚠️ 22/11/2020 : As I mentionned, I'm currently doing many tests ( and it's taking me some time because I lost many ranks, and tilted a bit... :') ) and I believe I might have found a decent way to play a "stealing priest" in this new meta, that includes cards from MDF. Went 5-0 with a new list this evening, I'll play more games tomorrow, and might write a new guide soon. :)
In the meantime, if you'd like to see some priest tests, priest shenanningans lists, with the new cards, I'll be streaming a bit everyday on this channel playing only priest lists, trying to create fun/new archetypes : https://www.twitch.tv/elhwing
French is my mothertongue, but I also like speaking english, so don't hesitate to drop by if you don't mind hearing a french accent ! :)
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I - Quick presentation of the list
It's a galakrond list, with invoke synergies, and you'll also find a few tech cards to improve your winning chances against certain match-ups ( such as Acidic Swamp Ooze , Kobold Stickyfinger or Headmaster Kel'Thuzad )
As always for priest, you need to play with your hand only, because this class doesn't have any good drawing tools. Therefore, it means that you should always keep in mind what are your opponent's threats, and which one will be the next, when you think about using your removal cards, thinking about whether cleaning the board or developping your minions etc...
LEGEND EDIT ( 10/11/2020 ) :
I used a former version of the list to climb from plat to diamond 4 ( see changes down below ), but I decided to tweak it a little after facing some matchups, to climb the last steps before legend rank ! :)
80 % winrate from diamond 4 to legend.
Every card isn't mandatory, don't hesitate to ask for any substitute in comments ! :)
In slow matchups, a really strong play is the following one :
The idea is to reduce once the mana cost of Headmaster Kel'Thuzad and Soul Mirror with the Fate Weaver. Once it is done, when your opponent develops a big board, you can play Kel'Thuzad and Soul Mirror during the same turn, and it'll summon every minion that died, meaning that you'll often get a full board after this, it's not as strong as King Toggwaggle for Rogue, or Dr. Boom for Warrior, but if you manage to bait big removals of your opponent first, it'll be quite surprising ! :)
Of course, the list can win games without playing this combo, just wanted to highlight it, good luck in your games fellow priest players !
II - How to mulligan against every class
In this category, I'll try to give you some tips about what seem the best plays, the best cards to keep in hand when you are playing this list according to me.
ALWAYS KEEP :
DECENT TO KEEP :
- Renew
- Penance
SITUATIONNAL TO KEEP :
- Acidic Swamp Ooze & Kobold Stickyfinger
In general, you always want to get your small cost minions in hand at the start of your game, that includes Disciple of Galakrond and EVIL Conscripter or Wandmaker but I'd also recommend keeping 3 mana minions, especially if your other cards are "big" ones that you can't play early. If you already have at least one small minion, it's often a good idea to keep Raise Dead too, since it's stronger to play it early for two reasons : the damage you take while playing it is easier to tank in first turns, and there is no RNG involved when you have 1 or 2 minions in your "death pool", which makes it even better ! :)
The worst case you want to avoid, is having only big cards ( 4, 5 mana cost and more ) in your starting hand. For this reason, when I get Thoughtsteal in the first cards shown before mulligan, along with heavy cards, I usually keep it, because against most classes, playing it on turn 2 is better than healing yourself, and it might give you cards to play for your turn 3 and 4. Unless you have your 2 Disciple of Galakrond in hand ( or one disciple with raise the dead ) never keep Fate Weaver. He does have a nice body, but without playing its effect, it's not really interesting. However, if you do have him in hand early, and have nothing else to play, if you are not playing against a slow/value list, you should always drop him turn 4, simply to develop a minion and try to win some time.
Click the spoiler thing to see how to mulligan against every class specifically along with some tips.
Warrior :
Good/balanced matchup, your stealing cards are quite efficient against those lists ( bomb warrior mostly, sometimes big warrior )
Keep your small minions of course, and you should always keep your "breaking weapons" cards against them, Kobold Stickyfinger on turn 4 ( with coin ) or turn 5 often gives you the lead. Keeping Madame Lazul is also good against him, cause he'll often play his 2 mana spell on curve to draw his 4/2 weapon, stealing a copy of it is usually a good play.
Paladin :
Your stealing cards are insane against pala libram, very few bad cards for you to steal.
The MU can get hard if he draws every card that reduces the cost of his librams on curve, but the gameplan is easy to follow : he can only threaten you with minions ( apart from the 4/2 weapon ) so your goal is to trade as much as you can, you'll outvalue him.
Keep small minions to develop early board, but keeping Penance is good to manage early, keeping Shadow Word: Death can give you a lot of tempo if he tries to play big minions early. I wouldn't recommend to keep it in mulligan, but Shadow Word: Ruin is kind of aimed for this MU, drawing it early is usually good. Breath of the Infinite can be helpful early aswell.
Rogue :
Not so funny matchups... If it's a Galakrond list, you can play the game, Thoughtsteal can be crazy good against this list, Murozond the Infinite can be gamebreaker here ( a rogue tha plays polkelt into drawing 3 cards for 0 mana into Galakrond for instance ), but the game will often be decided around turn 5 or 6, depending on which player has the board control. However, if it's aggro rogue ( with stealth minions, the weapon that increases its attack ) it's one of your worst matchups, the win will highly depend on bad draws from your opponent.
Therefore, keeping Penance or Renew is good, Shadow Word: Death is always interesting to keep against rogue for Van Cleef and or the 3 mana minion that gets +1/+1 for every card you play. Obviously, if it's aggro rogue, you want Kobold Stickyfinger but on the other hand, if it's galakrond rogue, keeping a dead 5 drop in hand at mulligan is not so good...
Demon Hunter :
Worst matchup so far. You never want to meet this class. He simply deals too much dmg, cleaning his board doesn't matter here, because almost all of his dmg comes from his hand. The gameplan is to heal yourself as much as you can. You need to play around your HP, playing galakrond against DH is rarely good ( if you have it in hand, try to clear the board with other tools when you can, if you can play galakrond turn 9 and use two more turns to heal yourself in comparison as if you had played him turn 7, it's a good play )
Keep all your healing cards, Renew and Penance aswell as your small minions. To be honest, you can win some of those games, but I believe it's really the class that'll punish you the most if you have one dead/very bad turn in early. Unless there is no other option, you always need to play for heals.
Hunter :
Much more playable than demon hunter. It's not an easy mu, but it's "easier" to play around his threats and dmg possibilities. Kind of the same mulligan, Penance, Renew, small minions. Hunter lacks drawing cards, if he runs out of steam, you'll win the game, he can't bullshit his way trhough a card that draws 3 for instance... :') He can do some strong plays, but it's easier for you to manage the board, he doesn't have any AOE etc...
Priest :
Ah, the priest mirrors, prepare for a 30 minutes game ! :')
It's a class that won't punish you even if you don't play a minion by turn 4 or 5, so having a slow mulligan is not that bad. Your stealing cards have a lot of value in this MU.
I always keep Thoughtsteal here, and the low mana minions aswell. For this MU, you can even keep Galakrond, the Unspeakable . It's not mandatory, because you can win the game without him, but if your opponent plays his turn 7 and yours is in your last two cards of your deck ( happened to me yesterday... ) you'll get behind most of the time.
The gameplan is to play for value, you need to always make the "greediest plays" while trying to have board control, as you are well aware, priest doesn't have any ways to deal dmg to your head without minions, so it's easy to play around it.
One small tip : some priest lists don't run galakrond, so if you have the coin, it's often a good play to coin him turn 6 so that your opponent can't play Murozond right after, and likewise, if your opponent used his coin before turn 7, it's often a good idea to play Galakrond if you think he doesn't run it in his list.
Mage :
Fun/ random/ crazy games. Unless he plays an otk version with the 3/8 legendary ( which is a really bad mu for you ) the game will be about value, stealing cards is quite efficient against him. Highlander mage or kind of the miracle mage list are good/balanced mu for you ( but don't ever assume game is won even if you have the upperhand, he can always turn the tide with a Puzzlebox or the 9 mana Solarian Prime ).
A good tip is to try to mulligan to have an answer for sorcerer's apprentice early, for this reason, I like to keep Penance or Breath of the Infinite
Trade his 1/3 spell dmg minions to prevent him drawing too many cards.
Druid :
I don't see many druids currently, the only list I've seen is the quest druid, and it can be a hard mu for you. You'll need to draw your Soul Mirror and Plague of Death to deal with his big boards in turns 10. This list is always slow in early turns, so you need to use this time to try and developp as many plays as you can.
Keeping Thoughtsteal is decent, aswell as small minions. Shadow Word: Ruin will often be useful against quest druid or big druid. After he played his Ysera the Unleashed, keep in mind that trying to steal cards from his deck will often result in getting 9 mana cards that you won't have time to play, beware.
Shaman :
Same as druid, I rarely meet this class. If he plays a token/totem list, it's almost impossible to win for you, try to trade every totem he tries to develop, always keep your Penance and cards that can discover spells for this MU.
If he plays control/galakrond shaman, it's a really easy ( but long mu ) for you in my opinion, as you should generate more value than him, even if he has really big AOEs ( keep that in mind, don't throw every minion you have in one turn in lategame ) Be careful, as many of them run Archivist Elysiana, either try to steal it with thoughtsteal, or keep your Lazul in hand and play it the turn before he draws his last card if you don't have a way to develop a really big board.
Warlock :
I meet them more frequently than shaman or druid, but they are still quite rare.
If it's zoolock, really hard mu/close to impossible to win, keep your Penance or Breath of the Infinite.
If it's galakrond warlock or quest warlock, it's a balanced mu, for galakrond, you need to clean his board every time he tries to develop it in lategame, especially if he still has Kronx in his deck. Those lists often run Alexstraza, so try not to use every healing card you have before he plays that minion.
III ) Latest changes :
I decided to cut Mindrender Illucia because even if she was in the version I used to climb legend, she wasn't that useful. I added her because I had met an odd numbers of OTK lists, but I stopped seeing them for now, hence the substitute, I've added a second Vulpera Scoundrel because I believe it's a strong turn 3 that fits the archetype, it's quite flexible.
I made a second small change, I've cut one EVIL Conscripter to put one Wandmaker The EVIL card is quite good, but after meeting so many lists that play the wandmaker, including priest lists, I want to also give him a shot. The 1-mana spell pool is quite good for priest.
14/11/2020 :
I'm currently thinking about cutting one Fate Weaver and Shield of Galakrond The drake effect is pretty strong in the archetype, but games where you'll draw both of them without being able to play their effect instantly are quite bad ( often lost against aggro/midrange lists ) therefore I believe it could make the list more consistent to cut one of them, and that change would allow to cut the Shield card too, because you need less invoke cards with only one drake.
I'll probably add back a second EVIL Conscripter and I'm trying to find another card that could fit instead of Shield of Galakrond.
Mindflayer Kaahrj could fit in the list, aswell as Cabal Acolyte
Cobalt Spellkin can fit aswell.
If you want to add more healing cards, Sandhoof Waterbearer or Khartut Defender can fit the list. But be careful if you make those "heavy" changes, cause the list is already a bit greedy, and if you put more big cards, try to cut other big cards from the list, otherwise you might have unplayable hands too frequently in early.
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To conclude, if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in comments. Furthermore, I'm trying to make this "guide" as easy & pleasant to read as possible, but if you feel like it's too long or too short, if you believe something is lacking, I'd gladly hear any tips you might have. :)
an update for this would be cool
Hello GothPuppy,
I'm currently trying many lists, archetypes for Priest, including a kind of "thief/mana reducing" control priest that is kind of the evolution of the list shown above.
Once I'll have a list that feels good enough, what I'll do is probably create a different guide ( and I might edit this one with a link to the "new" DMF version ), because I don't want to delete this list that I'v shared two weeks ago. :p ( But it's true that this version is probably not as good in the new meta than before ! )
Having a real hard time against most aggro decks and then the new Spell Druid just made this deck look totally incapable. When you're latter climbing and all decks in bronze and silver are aggro, it's not really a great deck to climb out of ranked with... unfortunately.
Hello Heartlock, well when I started playing this archetype, I believe it was in plat 10 or something this season. So I don't know how it did in bronze/silver, but I think it was playable.
However it's true that for this new expansion, this version is outdated, while still being playable, new cards could fit there and make it better, I havan't tried to upgrade it since yesterday, I'm currently working on a highlander with old gods version ( I created another guide for it ) but I might try to make this version fit for the new meta. :)
This is a good deck, I quite like it. It would do a great deal better if it weren't for that cancer class Demon Hunter. Thanks for Sharing.
You are welcome slychd ! :)
Lmao we share the same opinion concerning DH lists... I'm trying not to tilt so much when facing them on ladder and I don't want to ruin the comment sections, but believe me I could talk quite a lot about every broken card DH can play. :')
Can't win with this deck lol
What the fuck bro, can't deal with aggro
Hello HardestD, ah ah well aggro matchups are not really easy for this list. It's almost impossible to win against zoolock & token shaman. ( the two hardest mu for this list )
However, you have some "winning conditions" against other aggro list, I'm thinking about either the aggro list of DH ( the one that still runs the 4/2 minion that summons minions after you attack ) or aggro rogue with the 1/4 weapon, aswell as huntface. ( For some reason, huntface is one of my best winrate )
If you have bad early draws, game will be done quite fast, but if you can develop your early minions, if you draw your healing cards ( such as Renew or Penance ) you can find ways to survive. I only play one AOE in my list, but you can add a second Breath of the Infinite if you face mostly aggro lists, that change will improve your winrate.
Thanks for sharing and spending time to create such a great guide. Thumbs up
Thank you for your kind comment M0res, much appreciated ! :)
Nice deck :)
I want to try it but don't have Lazul/Murozond and i'm saving dust for new cards. What replacements would you suggest? I love Mindrender, but i'm not sure if it's a smart pick for this deck
Nvm, didn't read the last section
Hello Lyfe,
you can play the list even without Lazul & Murozond ( especially Murozond, which is a good card only against some match ups )
Many choices can be made, you can add for instance 1* Wandmaker and 1*EVIL Conscripter. ( those would be the safest subs imo )
If you want to play more "defensive cards", you could add 1*Forbidden Words and 1*Khartut Defender
If you want to substitute those 2 legendaries that give you value by other value cards, you can try to add 2*Cobalt Spellkin
( Since those legendaries' effects are quite unique, there isn't really an option to sub them with similar cards, but it's not really a problem, I hope you'll have fun with the list ! :) )
Would love some mulligan tips :D
Hello Lumina, okay, I'll try to write a small guide for the list today then ! :)
Ty!
This looks like a deck I would play, pretty unique and fun combos. Thanks for sharing, I’ll give it a go.
ill try to craft all of those cards, but might need to choose between Illucia and Lazul. Any advise?
Hello Mikumon, thanks for your nice comment.
If you want to craft the list ( it's quite fun to play, but do keep in mind that the new expansion is coming out next tuesday, and this version will probably need some changes ) and you hesitate between Lazul & Illucia, I would strongly recommend Lazul, for two reasons.
1 ) In terms of "dust value", even if Lazul is an older card than Illucia, you'll be able to use it in more lists, it's more flexible, therefore if you like playing the priest class, it's a good legendary to have in your collection, probably better than Illucia.
2 ) I'll probably update the list with 1 or 2 changes, because now that I hit legend, my winrate declined, and to be honest, I'm considering to cut Illucia. It's your best win condition against OTK lists, and can sometimes be played against control ones, but I don't meet that much OTK's anymore ( mostly DH lists at the moment... ) hence my will to substitute it.
You are a nice one taking your time by giving such a nice reply. That really helped, thanks a lot. I’m not the best player, but a dedicated one and this deck got me like 10 ranks up already (Lazul is awesome, I managed to craft both). Love it, so much fun
I'm really glad if you have fun with playing my list, and good job on climbing with it, spread the priest love ! 😇
Yes, Lazul is always funny to play, while not being a broken card, it often gives you important information on your opponent's hand and future turns, while allowing you to generate value, only for 3 mana !
This deck really can't do much against most decks in the meta, i've gotten lucky with a couple steals but besides that you get out-value'd pretty hard, which is strange given how much value i thought this deck would give with steals. Haven't been able to complete the combo with headmaster and mirror out of 11 games played so far.