Hearthpwn

As I said before , the aim of the deck is to rush your opponent, but even though we like face so much, we sometimes have to make some important trades. I believe the strongest aspect of the deck is its surprise effect, but it of course has a very strong middle and early game. The advantage of the surprise effect is that the opponent will most likely mulligan wrongly. The situation in which you want to found yourself during the game is one in which you have drew three 1 drops, two/three weapons, one or two 3/4 mana charge minion and burst to finish off your opponent. 

Minions-

 

-Abusive Sergeant- A strong 1 drop that can either be played on turn 1 naked to gain board control, or to buff one of the five charge minions in the deck to deal an extra two damage.

 

-Leper Gnome- The strongest aggro 1 drop in the game, deals a guaranteed two damages that can even go past taunts, and a strong 1 drop that can easily end up attacking twice, a total of 6 quick damages! That's the card you want in your opening hand!

 

-Sir Finley Mrrgglton- The card that makes face warrior stronger than other aggro decks! This is the card that made me want to try out face warrior again. This murloc will determine the speed at which you race your opponent if you get it early enough (try to keep it for mulligan). The strongest hero power to pick is the hunter one, but the warlock one is usually the second best. The mage and Druid hero power also sometimes are ok. Basically, choose burst hero powers against most matchup (Hunter hero power, Mage hero power, Druide hero power) or choose Warlock hero power when facing Warrior, Priest or slow control decks.

 

-Southsea Deckhand- Not the strongest 1 drop of the deck but makes the 1 drop consistency higher. And can combo, have charge when a weapon is equipped, two extra damages!

 

-Ironbeak Owl- Absolutely necessary for the deck, those taunts really are a pain! To keep against priests (Deathlord), and mage (Mad Scientist) if you already have a good opener.

 

-Loot Hoarder- Only source of card draw in the deck! The opponent usually doesn't want to kill it because of the extra card you get, it then becomes a 2 damage dealer for a couple of turns.

 

-Arcane Golem- Four damages for only three mana! And a 4/2 minion?! Hell yeah! Try to play it in end game, usually to get the kill. Or play it when you know there wont't be any board clears to clear it.

 

-Argent Horserider- Only two face damage for three mana, however very hard to remove for the opponent and can trade very efficiently with a Knife Juggler. Extremely strong on turn 3.

 

-Dread Corsair- Such a big tempo swing! You often get a 0 or 1 mana 3/3 taunt, it can either save you from death, considerably slow down your opponent, or give you enough board presence to win the game.

 

-Kor'kron Elite- Extremely strong on a naked board and extremely strong in general against Druid, it gives you a great curve and 4 easy damages to the face. Never trade unless you are about to die with this card.

 

 

Weapons-

 

-Fiery War Axe- Such a strong weapon! 2 mana for 6 damages and absolute board control! You aren't obliged to hit right after equipping it unless you have another weapon available to play in the two next turns. Don't hesitate to kill Knife Juggler or other dangerous early game minions when facing other aggro decks! It also combos well with Southsea Deckhand or Dread Corsair.

 

-Death's Bite- I believe it is the strongest weapon of the deck(to bad Standart takes it away). It is godlike against paladin and sometimes zoo, and deals 8 easy damages. Always a strong turn 4, and combos well with Southsea Deckhand or Dread Corsair. The signature move for this card is: Full board of 1/1 going to kill you, you play Death's Bite and follow it up with Fiery War Axe to clean the board instantly! Saved me three or four times :D .

 

-Arcanite Reaper- What is this card? It never sees any ranked play but I assure you that you will be needing the 10 free face damages! Best is of course to play it on turn 5 and put your opponent on a serious clock! This weapon can easily take down a Sludge Belcher, but apart from killing big taunts, going face with it is primordial. 

 

 

Spells-

 

-Upgrade!- An unusual card that gains a LOT of value when played with Arcanite Reaper and that can trick your opponent when delaying by one turn the Death's Bite wirlwind effect. You can of course also play it on Fiery War Axe to use all your mana leftover, it still is great value. Don't keep it during the mulligan, it can become a pain if no weapons are found. 

 

-Heroic Strike- Instant 4 damage for 2 mana, try to keep it as a huge burst surprise effet for the kill.

 

-Bash- Useful for the finish when encountering taunt, and can also be used as a one turn gain using the three extra armor. Avoid playing it on turn three, you might regret it (see "Some Extra Tips").

 

-Mortal Strike- With both of them, 12 damages unexpected burst  can be dealt even if a taunt is on board. Keep in mind that if you have a weapon, you can always hit with it into the taunt minion to get your life total at twelve hp or under to enable the 6 damage burst bonus. Combos well with Fiery War Axe on 10 mana.

 

Matchups-

Very Good matchups- 75% winrate vs Rogue, Face Shaman

Good matchups- 55-60% winrate vs Control Warrior, Secret Paladin(without Defender of Argus), Tempo Mage(without Mirror Image).

50% Matchups- Combo Druid, Control Priest, Reno Warlock(you lose if they draw Reno Jackson).

Bad matchups- Freeze Mage, Fast Druid, Zoo Warlock(You lose if they have good Defender of Argus plays).

 

Muligan-

Keep all the time all 1 drops, except Upgrade!.

Keep Fiery War Axe, Keep Death's Bite especially when you have a bad hand.

Keep Kor'kron Elite against Druid when you have coin.

Keep Ironbeak Owl against priest to silence Deathlord and against Mage to silence Mad Scientist or Doomsayer. 

 

This deck is way harder to play than a face hunter or secret paladin. I believe that you should play this deck conservatively.

 

For example keep your damage spells for the finish, don't play Bash on turn three, it will only make you be further away from the Mortal Strike activation, and you may regret not having used it to kill a Knife Juggler or another dangerous minion. This is the same for Mortal Strike, use it only when it is activated, and don't play it on turn four unless it will give you a high probably of killing our opponent on the following turn. It is better to armor up and pass rather than play either of these two spells on the opponents face (unless you have a very good board and a possible next turn lethal). 

 

Another tip is that you should almost always kill Knife Juggler, Secretkeeper, Tunnel Trogg, Zombie Chow, Darnassus Aspirant, or other dangerous looking cards. 

 

Remember to always strongly mulligan for Death's Bite or Fiery War Axe which will give you absolute early board control against aggro decks and that will make heavy damages against control decks. Of course also search for Leper Gnome and Sir Finley Mrrgglton, they are the strongest 1 drops you can hope to find.

 

Do not waste your Ironbeak Owl for the sake of tempo plays, keep it for taunts. If you have two of them or a very strong silence such as Nerubian Egg against Zoo warlock, this could be an exception to silence for tempo. 

 

Count accurately your mana when planning a two turn lethal, choose the best option possible and optimise your play. With this deck there are rarely games you win on top decks, so plan carefully your lethal set up.

 

Watch out for early board clears when playing many of your 1 or 2 drops, this could make you insta lose.

 

And of course,

HAVE FUN! FACE IS THE PLACE!

 

 

The cards used in the deck are for the most part irreplaceable(If you want to keep the deck competitive).

 

-Leper Gnome, Abusive Sergeant, Southsea Deckhand- These three 1 drops can be replace by Clockwork Gnome and Worgen Infiltrator.

 

-Loot Hoarder, Argent Horserider, Arcane Golem, Dread Corsair, Kor'kron Elite, or spells such as Heroic Strike or Bash can be replaced by-

Boodmage Thalnos, Flame Juggler, Bloodsail Raider, Flame Juggler, Knife Juggler, Wolfrider, Leeroy Jenkins.

 

These changes should be maid accordingly to the mana cost of the card you are missing and the effect this one has. For other replacement, ask in the comments, they will be trickier to replace.