Hearthpwn

 

A fun deck that I piloted to Legend this season with.

Great flexability- it's basically works as a control-ish type against agro, with the usual Astalor Bloodsworn combo against control/combo. 

Why include Prince Renathal given that 35 health is not much of a bonus? Simply, I enjoy having more variety in a deck, thus playing Highlander styles (no duplicates) and having an extra 10 cards makes the deck less 'boring'. Most of the additional 10 cards are 'tech' or 'tutor' cards anyway.

Playing the deck:

As mentioned, the idea is to survive against agro and swing out some big players like Dragonqueen Alexstrasza to win, and attrit control/combo with the larger deck size and using Anub'Rekhan with Brann Bronzebeard and Astalor Bloodsworn although another great combo is Anub'Rekhan with Invincible for some serious taunt buffs.

Notable combinations:

Anub'Rekhan + Invincible (or super greedy with Flobbidinous Floop / Zola the Gorgon or Brann Bronzebeard )

Brann Bronzebeard + Anub'Rekhan + Flobbidinous Floop + Zola the Gorgon + Elise the Enlightened for some serious armor gain (F)looping ;D

Flesh Behemoth to tutor any of the Undead ( Anub'Rekhan / Invincible / Loatheb )

Instrument Tech + Twig of the World Tree + Sphere of Sapience (I feel dirty even typing this OP combo)

Peaceful Piper to draw Rustrot Viper (if not needed, then trade for another draw and speed up the cycle of the deck) or Invincible

Jerry Rig Carpenter to tutor Wrath + Flipper Friends (great against agro)

Brann Bronzebeard + ANY Battlecry card - don't always save it for the combo. Against agro, he pairs well with Jerry Rig Carpenter / Reefwalker or Instrument Tech against combo/control. Same for Zola the Gorgon

Widowbloom Seedsman is great for pulling removal such as Wrath + Flipper Friends which pair well with Floop's Glorious Gloop + Poison Seeds + Life from Death

Life from Death can be infused by Reefwalker / Flipper Friends / Raid Boss Onyxia and Wing Commander Mulverick

Poison Seeds + Wing Commander Mulverick is a full board clear and great with Life from Death

Summer Flowerchild is a great inclusion due to the draw on a stick and has a chance to tutor the likes of Reno Jackson (clutch against Agro) or any of your big players (Anub'Rekhan / Invincible / Flesh Behemoth / Dragonqueen Alexstrasza / Raid Boss Onyxia and even Life from Death which will reduce to (0) after cost reduction and infuse.

Sir Finley, Sea Guide is great in the early game if you find the big players in your hand too early (particularly against agro). Don't worry - Summer Flowerchild and Flesh Behemoth can always tutor them back later, I also hold on to Sir Finley, Sea Guide a lot to try and find Wildheart Guff

Sidedeck is not letting me save but consists of: Theotar, the Mad Duke + Instrument Tech + Kobold Stickyfinger although you can adjust these according to what opponents that you are struggling against. Potentially extra Dirty Rat or Spammy Arcanist to deal with combo and agro respectively.

Mulligan strategy: 

ALWAYS look for weapons or Instrument Tech + Wildheart Guff + E.T.C., Band Manager + Biology Project - they will start the game well.

As well, I muligan for Sir Finley, Sea Guide (incase of a 'big' hand) and Moonlit Guidance + Zephrys the Great + Aquatic Form + Dirty Rat ALWAYS.

Against Agro:

Rake / Jerry Rig Carpenter / Wrath / Flipper Friends / Peaceful Piper / Ferocious Howl / Branching Paths / Reefwalker / Spammy Arcanist and Wing Commander Mulverick (if i know the opponent has lots of 2-health minions, such as totems) AND Reno Jackson - the lifesaver! Zola the Gorgon / Flobbidinous Floop him until the cows come home, or the agro kids go to bed.

Against Control/Combo:

Dirty Rat !! and if in hand, Zola the Gorgon or Brann Bronzebeard + Poison Seeds otherwise, Widowbloom Seedsman / Summer Flowerchild / Ferocious Howl / Branching Paths / Loatheb (also great with Brann Bronzebeard or Zola the Gorgon ) 

General Strategy:

Try to enable as many of the synergistic 'mini combos' listed above based upon your knowledge of what the opponent is playing. There is no 'right' way to do it, but rather just reacting/responding to what you are against.

Weaknesses:

Low on armor gain, so possibly substituting cards for additional armor is a great option, especially when largely paired against Agro.

The deck can be tricky to master, and doesn't alwys spit out the right cards against the very fast paced agro of today, but if you enjoy something different, variable, and quite satisfying to play, then it is fun. Wouldn't recommend spending lots of dust on this unless you are confident that you can will enjoy it, can adjust it to your own 'taste' or already have a lot of the cards. I'm posting to share a fun concept.

Notable Mentions:

I have gone through many variations of this deck, calling it the 'undead' variant with the likes of Flesh Behemoth and Invincible but you can however make the deck more 'dragon' orientated by substituting Alexstrasza the Life-Binder (another win-con) + Breath of Dreams + Onyxian Warder / Dragonmaw Scorcher and potentially Kazakusan for endgame.

Sire Denathrius is also possible, with the addition of cards such as Scale of Onyxia + BEEEES!!! but isn't the same after the nerf.

Also, potentially change out the early game for Lost in the Park + armor/attack gain or any other interesting package. That's the beauty of Highlander decks.

Other helpful cards have been:

Scale of Onyxia (great utility) Lingering Zombie / Free Spirit (great with Invincible and Spammy Arcanist and quite often in my sidedeck) Nature Studies + Planted Evidence (can often Discover armor gain in early game and at reduced mana cost) Witchwood Apple (great early game minions on curve) BEEEES!!! (strong against agro and great for infuse) Speaker Gidra (great against agro, particularly Pirates) Best in Shell + Spreading Plague (very good against agro, but clunky in hand against Mill Druid or Control/Combo. Tradeable resolves this issue, but at the cost of being a slightly weaker card) Acidic Swamp Ooze + Golakka Crawler (against Pirate Rogue) Far Watch Post (against Control/Combo) Eater of Secrets (against Secret Mage).

 

Interested to hear if anyone else has success with any other variations.

GL HF