Hearthpwn

(Work In Progress, feel free to leave a comment if you are interested in a specific match up)

EDIT: Finished season at Rank 17, stats on legend ladder 22-10 (68,5%)

 

Hi everyone, 

I wanted to share the deck that I used to reach Legend in Wild on NA for season 29 (August 2016). After reaching Legend in Standard half a dozen time I wanted to see how things looked like in Wild. As it is difficult to get wins with Priest in Standard, I gave Anduin a shot for the climb.

This resulted in this removal heavy Control Priest deck which I feel is quite strong in the current meta.

 

 

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Initial thoughts

A few things can be frustating with Priest

• It has a few very bad matchups like Renolock (I have been on the other side and was delighted queueing into Priests), Murloc Pally and Freeze mage. 
• Games are quite long as you never kill your opponent by t8 (some Shaman can concede on spot when you use Shadow Word: Pain on their Totem Golem but they are the exception)

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Card choice

Most of the cards I picked are Priest staples which are difficult to dismiss. For those it is more the quantity that can be discussed. 

 The Core of the Deck

Double Sludge Belcher, Deathlord, Shadow Word: Death have their spots guaranteed in almost every Control Priest around, simply for the tempo/value they pack.

• Doomsayer : Probably one of the most arguable pick and the number one reason I do not run the Zombie Chow, Northshire Cleric package. I feel that this card is a double edge sword. It is good against Paladins, Warriors, Aggro Mages, Shamans (on turn 2) and Priests. It has potential but can be abused by Zoo (with Nerubian Egg) and Hunter (Haunted Creeper and the new Kindly Grandmother). Triggering a Mirror Entity is also very valuable. 

• Shadow Word: Pain : I feel that at least one is required. It helps you deal with cards that would otherwise be difficult to deal with as they dodge your aoe effect (Frothing Berserker/card], [card]Bloodhoof Braves, Totem Golem). In a Priest list that gets on board earlier with Zombie Chow you don't need to run two of this removal but in my list it was basically a mulligan keep most of the time. 

• Cabal Shadow Priest: Again one card where the decision is whether to include 1 or 2. This card has lost a lot of power in standard but it remains extremely powerful in Wild with targets like Knife Juggler, Shielded Minibot, Imp Gang Boss, Leokk, Frothing Berserker, Deathlord and to a lesser degree a lot of Piloted Shredder drops.

• Shadow Madness: Probably one of the most flexible slot here but I always had a fondness for that card. It is often argued that it is not powerful as most targetable minions have more health than attack so you will rarely go 2 for 1 with that card. However being able to abuse a Sludge Belcher to get the Slime or trigger a Freezing Trap with it, can really buy you more time to stabilize with your AOE.

• Eater of Secrets: Another flexible spot but I included one to really improve the secret Pally match up and make the Freeze mage one winnable.

• Excavated Evil: Feel more important than Holy Nova as I don't run Northshire Cleric and Velen's Chosen. The card is great to deal with Aggro Shaman.

• Entomb: With Nzoth Pally and Hunter being around this is the required answer to Tyrion Fordring and Savannah Highmane.

• Darkshire Alchemist: Between the more defensive build and the high health minions it represents the healing potential and body to finish to stabilize against aggro. One might be enough though. An additional Piloted Shredder could take its spot.

• Justicar Trueheart: Some list choose to not run it. It is probably not as good in this deck considering the absence of Auchenai Soulpriest. Probably a flexible spot but very good at stabilizing against Hunters.

• N'Zoth, the Corruptor: Your win condition against all non aggro decks. 

• Shifting Shade: Running 1 or 2 is something that I cannot really get 100% confident about. I settled on 2 as it helps with the "pseudo card draw" and feels better than double Piloted Shredder considering the double Excavated Evil.

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  Strategy and general observations

• N'Zoth, the Corruptor is the finisher of the deck in most match ups, no surprise there. It ressurects your taunts to hold aggro at the gates. It creates unclearable board for most tempo/midrange decks. In combination with Shades it also helps refilling your hand against Control.
• The deck has no real card draw engine or cycle cards so you need to really use your ressources cautiously and Mulligan for key match up cards aggressively. 
• Ennemy #1 of the deck: Loatheb. This guy has always given priest players nightmares. With the deck being widely spell based it becomes even more important to account for this card. 
• Use of Doomsayer. Most of the time you want the card in the early turns to at minimum slow down aggro decks. If it goes off its great (unless deathrattle are played) if it doesn't it baits removal or heal you for 7 minimum. However it is often valid to play it together with Sludge Belcher, Museum Curator or Justicar Trueheart to create awkward board for your opponents. 

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Match ups

I did not track my stats extensively but I will try to highlight the common matchs ups

• Hunter: Most Hunter in Wild are Midrange version (with or without N'zoth as finisher). It makes sense as Face Hunter pretty much died with the nerf of key cards before the release of Old Gods.  

* Mid range (45%-55%): Very common on ladder, this one is pretty close but probably slightly unfavored. The key is to contain their early game and keep their board as small as possible before t8 and the dreaded Call of the Wild. A well time Belcher or Doomsayer are key. Keep Entomb for Highmane. If you manage to survive those turns try to N'zoth quickly even if you are low on HP, Hunters will apply constant pressure anyway so playing around their burn is often incorrect, you need to pressure them yourself when possible. Key card in mulligan: Doomsayer, Shadow Word: Pain, Museum Curator, Deathlord 

 

•  Paladin: Very present on ladder with 2 main archetypes, Murloc and Secret. Mulligan for Secret as it is the most used on ladder. Key card in mulligan by priority: Doomsayer, Eater of Secrets, Museum Curator, Shadow Word: Pain, Deathlord. An AOE effect can be kept on coin if you already have enough early game.

* Murloc Paladin (25%-75%): In my opinion the second worst match up of the deck after Jaraxxus Renolock. Several ways to win still exist though. You can Entomb the Murlocs (a thing that a good opponent will not allow you to do) which will reduce greatly their burst potential. You can try to get a Anyfin Can Happen from the Shades (another reason to run 2). Otherwise you can go for multiple taunts if you manage to get some from Museum Curator. I have a >50% win rate in this match up but mostly due to small sample.

* Secret Paladin (75%-25%): One of the best match up of the deck. The small removal and aoe is great at handling their early game. Doomsayer does wonders on turn 2 or turn 3 if opponents burnt the coin. Cabal Shadow priest find targets very often and Shadow Madness is a way to slow them down and proc their secrets. Eater of Secrets just seals the deal if you handle their early agression. 

 

• Priest: Most Anduins on Wild ladder are Control N'zoth Priest. I played against some more aggressive ones with the Divine Spirit, Holy Fire combo but those are rare and you are favored (just keep some removal options in hand).

* N'zoth Control Priest (70%-30%): It should be 50/50 as a mirror match but I believe that this version has the advantage over the Auchenai Soulpriest, Circle of Healing list. They have a hard time answering doomsayer, they don't run as many single target removal and your N'zoth get more value. Similar build match up is more difficult and it often reward the greedier list. This is one of the few match up where I would keep Shifting shade in my opening hand. Mulligan: Doomsayer, Shifting Shade, Museum Curator, Deathlord, Shadow Word: Pain

 

• Shaman: The vast majority consists of Face Shaman.

* Face Shaman (60%-40%): The match up is closer than I initially expected. It comes down to your early turns as this match up is really where Doomsayer shines. Shamans have no way to get benefits from it as they don't use deathrattle minions. If they can't deal with it and you can drop something on the following turn the game is almost won. If you have both options, play taunts before healing.

 

• Warlock: A mix of Zoo warlocks (2/3) and Reno Warlock (1/3) that are more Combo than N'zoth.

* Zoo Warlock (70%-30%): The match up is heavily favored with AOE clearing most of their minions and Pain for the Gang Boss and Councilman. They sometimes get Doomguard or Sea Giant from Deathlord and they can drop a clutch Loatheb but otherwise you will steadily run them out of steam.

* Reno Warlock (20%-80%): The worst match up in my opinion as the deck as no way to pressure them when Jaraxxus is played. You can eventually get your own through the Shades but even then it remains an uphill battle as most versions are Combo ones that can OTK you. Your best shot as winning is to summon Jaraxxus from your deathlord.