Hearthpwn

A Comeback for N'Zoth? Say No More

*As of this being published, this is four days prior to the release of Journey to Un'Goro*

As a Priest lover, I have played my fair share of deathrattle synergies throughout the existence of HearthStone and I Theorycrafted this deck in hopes that this will run frequently in the upcoming meta. As most of you know, Priest isn't getting died down too much in this expansion, unless you play dragon Priest. N'Zoth Priest is going to be making a comeback.

To start off our Journey to Un'Goro, we have Awaken the Makers as the one and only quest Priests, as well as all other classes, are offered. Throughout this deck you will find eight different deathrattle minions to take advantage of with this quest. Note that there are seven deathrattles needed to complete a quest with eight in the deck. The reason I chose only eight is for two separate reasons:

Reason #1: Kazakus' custom spell may revive up to three minions, which all may be deathrattles. I picked Kazakus as one of my 4-drops over Barnes for his great late game effects as well as the fact that you may get more value out of his spell rather than a 1/1 copy of a minion. One other Priest legendary I picked is Herald Volazj who I really think is going to shine in this expansion, giving you 1/1 copies of your deathrattle minions on the board. Although those copies do not complete your quest, they sure add value!

Reason #2: I wanted to craft a deck that consists of more than just all deathrattle minions. To me, I don't quite see how playing a bunch of random deathrattles will win you a game. 

Elementals were included in this Theorycraft in hopes of a better control-type of deck, given you are rewarded 40 health after playing your quest's reward. The NEW Reno! Woo-hoo! Elementals come into play after this quest is completed. One key "element" to this deck (see what I did there?) is the new neutral-class legendary Ozruk. With synergy from smaller elementals found throughout this deck like Igneous Elemental giving you two elementals in your hand after dying. Notice how I snuck an Inner Fire in this deck? That's right, you could potentially get a 15/15 with taunt. Just pray that it doesn't get removed too quickly!

Since I brought up late game, let's talk board clears and other damaging spells. This part of the deck is a bit more complex, but it will help against pesky Shamans and Pirate Warriors with their quick board fillers. Although there are only two board clearers, Holy Nova and Dragonfire Potion, they are both fairly effective board clears. We also have Kazakus who may give you a board clear. These board clears along with deathrattles form well together with the classic legendary Bloodmage Thalnos. Although he only gives you one extra damage from spells, he is a low drop card who also happens to have a deathrattle.

To go off of damaging spells, you may notice the Holy Smite in this deck. It's a cheap and effective 1-drop spell, yes, but you may also notice a few other 1-drop spells to add to the deck list. These are for Priest's new class legendary Lyra the Sunshard, yet another elemental! This new class legendary could potentially be a great mid/late game legendary that has a good resolution for if you continue to pick up the 1-drops. Even if you only manage to play one spell, it is quite effective getting another spell in return. As you Priest lovers know, the majority of the spells in this class are very powerful, even if they are high cost!

Let's talk about healing. Let's face it, Reno is gone and Amara, the Warden of Hope is our new lord and savior. Even though we are losing Flash Heal, we're being gifted Binding Heal, which when you put into perspective, you're literally using a spell twice as good for the same cost! Greater Healing Potion is not a key card to healing in this deck, but I figured that it can help you in some emergencies. Priest of the Feast has good synergy with the low drop spells. Not to mention Holy Nova gives you some good healing if you have a large board.

To conclude this deck, I hope that at least one of you reading this considers testing it out. As stated before, the expansion has not been released at the time of this publication, but this will be my very first deck I will try. Enjoy!

- FLOOTUS