Hearthpwn

Hello everyone

I've made this wild reno inspire priest deck, and I am having a blast playing it. I started playing it at rank 20, and so far I've climbed to rank 5 (admitted, I've played a few other decks but 90 % of my games have been with this deck). Unfortunately, I don't keep track on my games anymore, so you got to take my word for it when I say I have a very high winrate. E.g. I was on a winning streak from rank 11 to 7, and only lost two or three games from 7 to 5. However, I don't like to talk about winrates as it comes down to a lot of factors; matchups, luck of the draw, how well you pilot the deck etc.

I will not take full credit for the list as I saw Dane play something similar on his stream. I made this list afterwards, and I have not matched my list against his.

The only deck-type that have caused me any trouble is OTK decks, as the list is too greedy to add enough pressure. I’ve won more or less all my games against aggro decks (e.g. no loses to pirate warrior or aggro druid), only one loss to a jade druid and a few loses to mage decks. Consequently, I have little to no tech cards in the deck except Skulking Geist.

I will not go through the entire list of cards as the list is quite flexible where you can tech against whatever is troubling you. But here are a few honorable mentions:

Shadow Visions is just amazing. An extra spell of your choice (more or less). Make sure you know what cards to pick against your match ups. E.g. if you face a Nzoth deck it could be good to take and extra Entomb to remove big deathrattles threats, and a Potion of Madness can be quite a good choice against aggro decks.

Kazakus is just the boss. Flexible removal. Know when to be greedy and when not to be greedy. The 5 mana potion with AoE and armor can more or less win you games against aggro decks, and a 10 mana polymorph potion stops Nzoth from ruining your day.

Stonehill Defender: I like this card. Against aggro they might need to double trade to kill him which buys you time, and a cheap taunt can be amazing in those matchups as well. In control match ups you have a fairly high chance to add Obsidian Statue, The Lich King or Soggoth the Slitherer to your hand.

Raza the Chained and Shadowreaper Anduin is the bread and butter of this deck. I think you all know the potential of this combo.

Recruiter: I love this card. If your board is empty and you played the raza and DK combo it is 14 burst damage, a 5/4 and five 2/2 minions. Go face or regain the board by killing all their stuff. People usually don't played around it, as they don't except so much burst from a Priest. However, he is quite a clunky card without the combo.

Nexus-Champion Saraad: you can usually pull two or three spells from this guy, and even though it is highly RNG depended where you sometimes end up with Bladeflurry and Astral Communion in your hand, it is most of the card a good value card. Most of the spells only serve as activators for your hero power anyway.

 

Match ups:

Aggro decks

Mulligan: The game plan is quite simple against these kind of decks: survive and kill. In this match up you need to forget everything about combos, and mainly focus about removing their stuff and going for board preassure. Keep early game removal: Potion of Madness, Doomsayer, Shadow Word: Pain, and also keep any early game minions: Northshire Cleric, Radiant Elemental and even Kazakus. You can also keep Velen's Chosen if you have e.g. Radiant Elemental or Northshire Cleric, and The Coin to make a huge minion on turn 2.

Strategy: Try and remove anything they have on the board but don't be afraid to take som damage. Think about what might happen in the next turn, and if you e.g. can try and use Shadow Visions to get a board clear, a Potion of Madness for a good trade, or if you just need to kill a minion on with a Shadow Word: Pain. Just don't be greedy and except you can survive damage for two turns, so  you can use Dragonfire Potion on their board. If you draw kazakus early go for a 1 mana potion or a 5 mana potion, and pray he gives you an AoE. Depending on your card and the board state your second priority should be: card draw or armor. MAYBE Damage and polymorph to kill off a potential huge minions. Stonehill defender can also be quite good at absorbing damage for you, and I usually go for the cheapest and best taunt.

In the mid game you should be fine, as you have a lot of removal, solid minions, clears etc. Don't be greedy with e.g. Entomb, and just use it on whatever minion they might have on the board.

I have not teched against pirates because I've crushed each and every one of the fuckers I've met. However, if they pose a big problem for you I'd suggest you go for weapon removal as you should have enough options to kill their minions.

Jades:

Mulligan: I honestly think they are quite difficult to mulligan against but you can a bit more greedy with your mulligans here. Always keep Skulking Geist because it is just such a huge relief to get rid of their idols. Otherwise, I'd go for Northshire Cleric, Radiant Elemental, Curious Glimmerroot, Velen's Chosen (if you have the coin), and Doomsayer to buy some time. You can also keep Raza the Chained (not if you are keeping Skulking Geist) as he is so important in this match up.

Strategy: You cannot outpace them as the deck is not build for that. Be patient and hope you can play a Skulking Geist on curve. Go for Lightbomb with Shadow Visions as this card is MVP. Try and remove their early game stuff without expending too many resources; good trades, good use of removal etc. Remember they are rarely trying to rush you down but are rather focusing on getting to a stage where they can snowball the fuck out of you. Therefore try and use dragon fire potion to remove their board when the jades aren't too big, and keepLightbomb and shadow reaper anduin for their board swings. Once you have cleared their board once or twice, and they are out of idols you should be in good shape to win. Iw they have a slow turn you can try and spawn as many legendaries as possible with Confessor Paletress. Just remember: you can potentially clear their board 4-5 times: 2 Lightbomb, 1 Dragonfire Potion and two potions from Kazakus (with Brann Bronzebeard). They hate it.

I've managed to win a couple of games without Skulking Geistwhere my opponent spawned +10/10 jades, so it is definitely a match up you can win.

Giant decks:

Mulligan: I am almost willing to tell you to keep lightbomb in your opening hand as the game can end on turn 5 if they have all the rights pieces, but getting an extra lightbomb from shadow visions can also be game changing. Otherwise, the mulligan is quite similar to jade.

Strategy: GET LIGTHTBOMB and be ready for big board swings from turn 5 and till the end of the game. Don't waste any board clears for no reason. As far as I've experienced the giant decks don't play a lot of burst, so you can take some damage to get a better clear (if they play in to it) or perhaps draw your clear.

Your nemesis: Combo decks

I hate to say it but if you face a ton of OTK decks stay away from this deck. You need a miracle to pull a win against them as the deck is too greedy to apply enough pressure to kill them fast enough. Dirty Rat is an option to disrupt their combos but you’ll need some luck doing it.

Big Priest:

Mulligan: Potion of Madness, Shadow Visions, Northshire Cleric, and Kazakus.

Strategy: Fun match up. I’ve won all my games against them but they can snowball the shit out of you giving the right cards. MVP cards: Entomb (get an extra from Shadow visions if possible), Potion of Madness to remove their 1/1 minion from Barnes, and Kazakus. If I draw Kazakus early on I’ll always go for the polymorph option as they rarely have more than one minion on the board, so it’s a guaranteed hit and messes with their revival options.

This is my first guide, and I'll gladly accept any critique you might have and I'll gladly answer any questions you might have regarding card choices, excluded cards, specific match ups etc.