Hearthpwn

If you like this deck you might want to try Trump's To Battle!

Intro

This is Toddlesworth's Legend-ranked GvG secret Paladin deck. As of 3/1/15 I have made one change; swapping Dr. Boom for Blessed Champion. Dr Boom, while a great card, isn't vital in this deck imo and Blessed Champion actually works reliably as a very strong finisher due to synergy with Blessing of Kings, Avenge and the reliability of minions on the board thanks to deathrattles and Redemption. 

For many months Paladin has been a fairly stagnant class without much successful innovation and decks have clung to control archetypes like the equality combos. Toddles worth put together a deck without equality, without undertaker, without even quartermaster, and took it to legend. Not only is it successful without these cards but it's a LOT of fun, showing Paladin in a completely new light and breathing some life into the uncommonly played secrets.

Secret Paladin has never been as strong as it is in GvG and if you're getting tired of playing the same old control then give this a go.

Playing this deck, I have no real desire ever to put equality back in my deck. Instead of the old, tired control paladin sweating turn after turn, desperately hoping to draw Equality (or a second combo piece) and destroy the board, it asks: why on earth would I want to change the health of all my minions to 1? Why indeed, Uther! Instead, this deck contests for the board every turn, from Argent Squires, Avenges, and Mad Scientists in the early game, to Sludge Belchers, Blessing of Kings, and the Piloted Shredder in the midgame, to the lategame powerhouses of Piloted Sky Golem, Tirion Fordring, Sylvanas Windrunner, and Dr. Boom.

Even with all the one-drops and the Antique Healbot, the weakest matchup seems to be face hunter, but those games aren't unwinnable. You're just a bit unfavored.

The deck offers a lot of choices on every turn and allows for really interesting lines of play. If you can play this deck really well, it will give you very good results. Most importantly, it's just plain fun! It's a tragedy some of the paladin class cards aren't played because they are really fun and potentially stupidly powerful. Nothing feels better than punishing a handlock on turn 3 with 5 cards drawn off of Divine Favor or having your Sludge Belcher killed withRedemption up. Let me know if you have any questions about the cards/matchups.

Mulligan

Keep: Mad Scientists, Argent Squires, Shielded Minibots, Acolytes of Pain, and Divine Favor (unless you suspect aggro), Avenge is a good turn 1 play

Discard: Anything over 3 mana unless it suits the matchup eg. Consecration vs. a Shaman/Zoo, only keep Redemption if you have an otherwise good starting hand

Strategy

This deck plays quite uniquely, especially for Paladin, and the way your games turn out will depend on the way your secrets proc, so carefully planning your board so that you can gain the most value from them is key to consistency, eg. avoiding Redemption triggering on your recruits, luring Avenge to proc onto minions with Divine Shield.

You should not play this deck as you would traditional control Paladin. Your lack of removal and equality means that you need to be aggressive in many matchups, such as Handlock and Warrior, but this is not a face rush deck, rather more a tempo deck. Keeping your opponents board clear may not always be the smartest move if you are setting up secret procs.

You should consider Blessing of Kings a form of removal and so should always try to keep a minion on the board to use it with. However, where possible, save a BoK for use with your Blessed Champion as a very strong finisher.

Video

Matchups

Mage - The Mage hero power is both a blessing and a curse in this matchup. In this case, your Redemption can easily be wasted on a 1/1, however your opponent reliably pinging a recruit each can allow some control over where your Avenge procs. Deathrattle minions can help you maintain tempo through Flamestrike. Take out Chuga Chugas asap to allow you to use your weapons. Most current Mages play quite aggressively so you should attempt to control them. If aggro/mech mage then use your Divine Favour early on whilst it has value.

Hunter - Hunter remains a class with no real weaknesses and the strongest class cards in the game so these games will still be tricky but not unbeatable. Shielded Minibots should help you shut down Undertaker before it snowballs into an auto-loss, particularly if combo'd with a turn  Redemption. Play around freezing trap with your recruit if possible. You're always on a clock with Hunter so aim to gain tempo early and finish him before the Skill Commands end the game prematurely.

Control Warrior - At the time of writing, essentially every single Warrior player is playing card for card the exact same control Warrior deck you have known well for many months. It remains a deck with few weaknesses but again, not unbeatable. You will want to play aggressively, emptying your hand if you have a Divine Favour so that you can quickly refill it and overwhelm him for a mid-game win. Try to force a Brawl at ~turn 5 with Redemption and/or Deathrattle minions on the board so that you maintain board control.

Zoolock - A favorable matchup in which your opponent will often quickly lose board control to your Redemptions and Avenge. You need to gain tempo and control early on or the game will snowball into a loss with no equality combo to fall back on. Have your Belchers and Tirion ready to seal the deal before Doomguards/Power Overwhelming can burst you down.

Handlock - A matchup reliant on you playing aggressively and overwhelming your opponent before the taunts come out. Against giants, pray for Aldor Peacekeepers or a Blessing of Kings. If you see Jaraxxus then you're probably out of luck.

Shaman - A major weakness for this deck. Shaman sucks the fun out of secrets by cheaply silencing and removing everything before you have a chance to play it. Be prepared for redeemed frogs, one shot argent squires, minions buffed with avenge immediately silenced etc. Your best bet is to play around lightening storm and not buff any one minion too heavily because chances are it will simply be silenced or removed for an easy 2 or 3 for one on your opponents part. Keep consecration in your opening hand.

Priest - Another tough matchup for the same reasons that priest is a tough matchup for all Paladin decks. If you can maintain tempo despite minion stealing then this should be no problem, but the cheap "free" tempo switch afforded to Priests means that the minions you would hard to buff can too easily become his. Playing aggressively is advised. Thankfully this deck has many 4 attack minions such as the Piloted Shredders and any 1 attack minion buffed with Avenge.

Sideboard

Sword of Justice - a reliable alternative to Coghammer

Cairne Bloodhoof - can be subbed in if you are lacking a Piloted Sky Golem or Sylvanas Windrunner

Kel'Thuzad - may replace a missing Dr. Boom or Tirion Fordring and with more experimentation may even be worth a main slot in the deck

Force-Tank MAX - a possible substitute for Tirion if you don't have him, due to synergy with Redemption and Blessed Champion.

All Thanks Where It's Due

Credit goes to Toddlesworth for the original concept of this innovative, fun and strong Paladin deck that breaths new life into previously dead cards. Redemption on a meta scale! 1% thanks to James for moral support.