Hey guys, my name is Meati, and today I would like to share with you my Pirate Dragon deck which carried me to #6 legend in S29!

 

My best rank before standard was #1 legend (http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/439782-s24-no-1-legend-meatis-zoo). But after standard, I've struggled to find a deck that stands out from the crowd.

Yesterday, whilst being down at about #700, I stumbled upon a Pirate Warrior deck that Feno used to finish #1 legend in S26. I liked the idea, so I had a go at making my own version. After a lot of tweaking, I arrived at a variant just 2 cards different from Feno's, by swapping Frothing Berserker for Azure Drake. I believe this is an improvement, as in the current meta, Frothing Berserker is almost always removed before it gets an attack in, and Azure Drake adds tempo to the deck and synergises well with Alexstrasza's Champion. You can see Feno's deck here: http://www.hearthstonetopdecks.com/decks/fenos-rank-1-aggro-pirate-warrior/

 

Mulligan guide:

Always Keep: N'Zoth's First Mate, Fiery War Axe, Sir Finley Mrrgglton, Faerie Dragon, Alexstrasza's Champion, Bloodsail Raider.

Sometimes Keep:

Upgrade!: If you have a hand heavily dependent on weapons with no weapon, or are against zoo warlock for board control,

Bloodsail Cultist/Dread Corsair: If you already have a solid turn 1 & 2, after which playing one of these cards would almost guarantee a win,

Heroic Strike: vs Shaman or Druid. SUPER useful for removing turn 2 Totem Golems, Violet Teachers or Fandrals

 

Play guide:

You want to be squeezing out every drop of mana each turn. The game with this deck can be divided into two phases:

Phase 1: Control the board for as long as sensibly possible,

Phase 2: When you lose board control, switch to hitting face with everything.

Using this strategy, I won about 40% of games still with control of the board, about 30% without control, and lost the other 30%.

 

Card Choices:

N'Zoth's First Mate: The best card in the deck vs. other aggro decks (Zoo, Secret Paladin etc.). Weapon can take out 2 or 3 small minions, and can dish out a lot of damage when combined with an Upgrade or Bloodsail Cultist. If i can't hit a minion, I always hit face as there are so many weapons in the deck.

Sir Finley Mrrgglton: 1st choice Hero Power = Warlock. 2nd = Hunter. 3rd = Druid. 4th = Mage.

Southsea Deckhand: One of the weaker cards in the deck. I've toyed with removing it, but it is too important for easy Corsair combos and taking down 3/2s, which there are a LOT of in the meta currently.

Upgrade!: I use when necessary for board control, or with an Arcanite Reaper for end-game face damage. Don't be afraid to equip the weapon if it makes sense!

Alexstrasza's Champion: With only 4 dragons in the deck, it's not always possible to trigger Alex's battlecry... If you don't have a dragon, try and play other cards instead, but if you have nothing else to play, it is almost always better to play as a 2/3 than to waste the mana.

Bloodsail Raider: Same as Alex - hold it back for as long as possible if you don't have a weapon, but playing it is better than wasting mana.

Faerie Dragon: Again, hold it back for as long as possible if you haven't played Alex, but playing it is better than wasting mana.

Fiery War Axe: Best used for board control. If you have no minions to hit, hit face. Only consider stopping hitting things if you have 1 durability left and no other weapons in hand.

Heroic Strike: Great for face damage, great for board control.

Bloodsail Cultist: The battlecry is so good that it is sometimes worth holding a pirate back just so you can guarantee triggering it... However, if you have nothing else to play, it's better to play it than wasting mana.

Dread Corsair: Too strong not to have with so many weapons in the deck.

Kor'kron Elite: Too strong not to have with so much face and board presence.

Mortal Strike: I didn't think these would work in the deck. My first variant didn't have them, but after I added them I quickly realised how useful they were... This is your only way of getting around big taunts to deal that last bit of lethal damage at the end of the game!

Arcanite Reaper: Too strong not to have, especially when combined with Upgrade! or Bloodsail Cultist. Same rules as Fiery War Axe, although by the time you play this you have often entered Phase 2.

 

I would consider the above 27 cards essential to this deck, leaving 3 spots to play with. In my opinion, the strongest candidates are:

1) Frothing Berserker: Fino uses these, but I didn't like them. They are almost always removed the turn after they are played, more so in this deck than in other warrior decks because you have less board presence.

2) Azure Drake: Synergy with Alextrasza's Champion and draw to add tempo to the deck. 

3) Drakonid Crusher: Synergy with Alexstrasza's Champion and almost always becomes 9/9, but i had the same problem as with Frothing Berserker - it almost always gets removed before dealing any damage.

4) Leeroy Jenkins - the best finisher in the game.

After much trial and error, I ended up with 2 Azure Drakes and 1 Leeroy Jenkins in my deck!

 

Thanks for reading, and enjoy!