Hearthpwn

An Arcane Golem walks into a bar and asks: "How much for a coffee?"
The bartender replies: "For you? No charge."

Ok, that was terrible, but rejoice!!! There are many terrible things in this world, and some of them are much worse than this intro!!! Not sure yet? Have you ever heard about AGGRO PRIEST??? My opponents didn't either!!!

It was a cold winter evening, and I was stuck at Rank 1***** with Control Warrior. Last boss was a Renolock with turn 4 Mountain Giant, me no Execute in 16 cards. Then I faced another Renolock with turn 7 Jaraxxus. Then a TOP CURVE EU Shaman with Trogg ====> Totem Golem ====> Totem Golem ====> Feral Spirit ====> Jade Claws + Southsea Deckhand + Patches. Then I tilted all the way down to Rank 3 and thought "Screw this game, I'll build a troll deck and I'll wreck the meta with it".

WTF IS AGGRO PRIEST???

Aggro Priest is a pretty weird archetype, as during the first turns of the game your opponent will likely think you're playing the classic Control list - as soon as you take the board, though, you can exploit this advantage and close the game in 2/3 attacks due to an overwhelming wave of huge minions. The deck is unique in what it does, because it can outrace Aggro while threatening Control with massive card draw. Highest Rank achieved so far is Rank 88 Legend EU - I'm not even tryharding, I only play for fun and that's a thing you should always remember!!!

Let's see how to handle the various matchups, but first let me explain my card choices.

LEGEND PROOF ====> https://imgur.com/a/KA9hB
TOP100 PROOF AND KABOOOOOOOOOOOM ====> https://imgur.com/a/3pqT3

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CARD CHOICES AND EXPLANATIONS:

1) The Core (2x Northshire Cleric/2x Injured Blademaster/2x Radiant Elemental/2x Zombie Chow/2x Velen's Chosen/2x Power Word: Shield/2x Circle of Healing/1x Wild Pyromancer)

Those cards let you control the board while generating card advantage, and are the cards you almost always want in your mulligan. Just to let you know, I used to run a singleton Silence and 2x Shadowboxer, but I find Wild Pyromancer and Radiant Elemental much more effective in the current meta.

2) Heavy Hitters (2x Light of the Naaru/2x Holy Champion)

Do you think Frothing Berserker is a strong card? What about a 11/5 Berserker? Or a 1-mana 11/2 Berserker with "Battlecry: Restore 3 Health to a friendy character"? Most games are won due to an unanswered Holy Champion or Lightwarden, so you should try getting the most out of those cards.

3) 2x Deathlord

Deathlord is your aggro counter, as well as a nice draw enabler when combined with Northshire Cleric. If your opponent can't trade your Cleric/Holy Champion he'll likely lose, and the huge health of this minion provides a good way to ensure that.

4) Burst (2x Holy Smite/2x Mind Blast/2x Inner Fire)

Yes, Inner Fire. Because people play Cold Blood, and this card is IMO better. You can play it for tempo as a semi-Blessing of Might, or you can make Deathlord's attack skyrocket. Don't forget you can also use it to lower the attack of ANY minion on the board, making value trades possible. Holy Smite doubles as early game removal and additional lategame reach, whereas Mind Blast is simply a 2-mana Lava Burst. Both spells benefit from Velen's Chosen Spell Damage bonus.

4) 2x Auchenai Soulpriest

Converts your hero power into a better Steady Shot, Zombie Chow into Mind Blast, and Light of the Naaru into Frostbolt. Oh, did you notice this deck runs Circle of Healing, too???

P.S. - If you damage or kill a minion with Auchenai/Light of the Naaru, you'll still summon a Lightwarden. This effect is improved by Velen's Chosen, and works if you target your opponent's hero, too.

5) Loatheb

If you have board control, your opponent can't kill your minions with his own. Therefore he needs removal in order to survive. Loatheb locks down your opponent's options for a turn, protecting your board and allowing lethal setup.

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MATCHUPS AND MULLIGAN GUIDE:

1) Zoolock/Pirate Warrior/Aggro Shaman/Face Hunter (Favorable) - KEEP: Northshire Cleric/Radiant Elemental/Zombie Chow/Deathlord/Wild Pyromancer/Holy Smite

You play the same early game as Control Priest, so you can easily achieve board control. Buffing Deathlord with Velen's Chosen can single-handedly win you games, but the most important card in these matchups is Holy Champion, because you can heal your minions (or you hero in case you need to survive burst) while simultaneously applying pressure.

2) Dragon Priest (Favorable) - KEEP: Northshire Cleric/Radiant Elemental/Zombie Chow/Injured Blademaster/Velen's Chosen

Another easy matchup. Injured Blademaster is MVP here:  be sure to always keep it in your mulligan. Your minions have high health and low attack, so your opponent can't destroy them with Lightbomb or Dragonfire Potion.

P.S. - If you play Velen's Chosen on a 2-attack minion, it will almost be impossible for your opponent to kill lit.

3) Dragon Warrior (Unfavorable) - KEEP: Northshire Cleric/Radiant Elemental/Zombie Chow/Deathlord

A very draw dependant matchup, but Warrior is favoured here because of his charge minions and Fiery War Axe. Most lists don't run Execute, so a buffed Deathlord can be a life-saver.

4) Control Warrior/Renolock (Even) - KEEP: Northshire Cleric/Radiant Elemental/Zombie Chow/Injured Blademaster/Velen's Chosen

Control decks aren't that hard to defeat: you just have to play more aggressively because if you allow them to dig into their answers, you pretty much lose. So, playing Inner Fire on a 4/7 Injured Blademaster is often the best play, because while Renolock can use Life Tap to draw a lot, it only has Syphon Soul as hard removal, and it costs SIX mana. Control Warrior only draws with Acolyte of Pain, so that's not an issue at all. On the other hand, N'zoth Warrior with Deathlord and Sludge Belcher is almost auto-loss, but luckily there aren't many of them on ladder.

5) Jade/Malygos Druid (Favorable) - KEEP: Northshire Cleric/Radiant Elemental/Zombie Chow/Deathlord/Velen's Chosen

Another favorable matchup. Druid has a hard time clearing high health minions, so flood the board as much as you can and always trade Thalnos/Azure Drake to avoid a massive Swipe. You are much more aggressive than a regular Priest deck, so your opponent won't have the time to setup his winning condition.

6) Secret Paladin (Favorable) - KEEP: Northshire Cleric/Radiant Elemental/Zombie Chow/Deathlord/Wild Pyromancer/Holy Smite

Zombie Chow trades with Secretkeeper and Shielded Minibot, and turn 1 Northshire Cleric is a pain for them to deal with. Deathlord is another good card in this matchup, as Secret Paladin doesn't run any hard removal and therefore you can watch your Holy Champion/Lightwarden grow to gigantic proportions.

7) Miracle Rogue/Malygos Rogue (Really Unfavorable) - KEEP: Northshire Cleric/Radiant Elemental/Zombie Chow/Deathlord

Rogue has always been good vs. Priest, but at least this deck can struggle a bit. Deathlord can help you stalling the game until you draw Holy Champion, but you can't easily recover tempo outside of the Auchenai Soulpriest/Circle of Healing combo. Cross your fingers and pray.

8) Midrange Hunter (Unwinnable) - KEEP: Northshire Cleric/Radiant Elemental/Zombie Chow/Deathlord/Wild Pyromancer/Holy Smite

Well, your opponent needs to draw incredibly bad otherwise you simply lose. You can't effectively deal with Deathrattles as they have growing power over each turn (whereas Zoolock only runs critters). Kill Command can destroy any minion for just 3 mana, and Savannah Highmane simply provides too much value for us.