Hearthpwn

Hi guys, here i introduce you my own version of razakus priest. I used it to reach Legend for my first time ever, and incredibly i managed to climb up to 6 (end up 35 at the end of the season) with 61W and 39L at legend rank. Is quite consistent, but not very easy to play. As i promised, since it reached more than 20 upvotes i'm gonna add a guide. 



This season is going even better. I reached legend at the speed of light: 112 - 60 from rank 16 to legend, with a wopping 65% winrate.
Would have been slighty faster i guess if i didn't forget to change deck every now and then when i switched from standard to wild. 
But the stats are the following (in brackets the results from rank 5 to legend):

rank 16 to legend 112-60 wr 65% (62-36 wr 63%)
vs Druid 12-15 wr 44% (8-9 wr 47%)
vs Hunter 9-7 56% (4-4 wr 50%)
vs Mage 5-1 83% (2-0 wr 100%)
vs Paladin 6-7  46% (5-5 wr 50%)
vs Priest 42-12 78% (24-8 wr 75%) SICK !!!
vs Rogue 11-6 65% (8-4 wr 67%)
vs Shaman 11-2 85% (2-0 100%)
vs Warlock 8-3 73% (5-2 wr 71%)
vs Warrior 9-7 53% (4-4) wr 50%

here the screenshoots of the global stats:

and here the screenshots of the stats from rank 5 to legend:


Compared to last season, i made a few changes:
1) i removed Gluttonous Ooze and put Tar Creeper. Im still not very sure about this change:
Tar Creeper pros:
- useful even vs not weapon classes
- if you are facing a weapon class, but opponent has no weapon, a 3/5 taunt is better than a 3/3 with no effect.
Tar Creeper cons:
- it doesnt really have cons, it's just that i can't use it to destroy weapons, and i would like to keep that option too, but looks like there is no space for both

2) i put back Skulking Geist. Druid is the class giving me more troubles. One of the reasons is because you don't know if you are facing a jade druid or a token druid. They are completely different, is not like facing paladin (recruits or murloc, but they are still aggressive decks), priest (EZ big or razakus, both two slow control decks), shaman (evolve or aggro). So yes, mulligan vs them is quite complicated. Since most of the times (i would say a good 85% of the time) is a token druid, for a long time (until rank 1 this season) i decided not to play Geist, but for the remaining 15% felt quite bad and hopeless play against them. The only way to win was usually park Ysera on an empty board, protect her for a while and then kill him with her powerful cards (something like this https://hsreplay.net/replay/8h5NaMXk2WhaW4v3t6G3Zm)... but that didnt fit priest playstyle of having answers for everything, so... welcome back in the decklist buddy.

3) i cut out Twilight Guardian O_O. Yes, i did. I needed a free slot for Geist, and among all the cards, Guardian was the most expendable. Among all the dragons is the less valuable, also, if resurrected with kazakus potion dosn't get taunt. So far i haven't experience problems needing a dragon activator without him. I might change my mind again in the future, we'll see.

General mulligan:
Usually Raza the Chained is a must keep, unless you are facing some hyper aggro deck that needs to be dealt with from the very beginning (like the pirate warrior pre FWA nerf...Raza was basically a free heal for 2 before dying).
A must keep under any circumstance is Kazakus: vs aggro his 5 mana potion can possibly turn the tides in your favour, and in control match up is quite useful too for when you dont have a turn 5 to draw 2 cards (considering your draw engine is limited to Bloodmage Thalnos, Azure Drake and Northshire Cleric) and maybe summon a 5/5 or resurrect 2 minions.
Northshire Cleric is a keep specially if you go first and you presume to fight vs an aggro deck.
Other cards that quite often i decide to keep are Netherspite Historian and Curious Glimmerroot, but let's see specifically class by class

VS Druid:
After nerfs, Jade Druid lost a lot of popularity in wild, in fact as i said, around 85% of the times is an aggro druid. Despite this, IF you get a Skulking Geist in your starting hand, i would say is better to keep it...just in case. But let's say that you know what kind of druid you are about to face for some reason (sniping, second match in a row with the same opponent, you have superpowers).
If it's an aggro your primary targets for the mulligan are Doomsayer, Kazakus and Golakka Crawler. Potion of madness does very little vs their horde of 1/2 minions, while the pair Thalnos + Spirit Lash is wort keeping if you are lucky enough to get both, so that you can clear their board (or most of it), draw and heal yourself consistently. 
VS Jade Druid: mulligan hard for Skulking Geist, keep only Kazakus and/or Raza the Chained. Try to draw as much as you can to get Geist asap. While you are still waiting to draw him, don't waste your Shadow Word: Death on ghouls or other stuff that you could somehow trade in the near future. Same thing (actually, even more) for Shadowreaper Anduin : delay him as much as you can. Try to keep Entomb for Aya Blackpaw.
Dirty Rat (specially when you are ahead with the board) can be devastating for druid: pulling out a minion with battlecry "summon a Jade Druid" means really a lot.
Another card that can win games alone vs Druid (since not many run Mulch or Naturalize) is Ysera: if played after a Doomsayer turn, 100% guaranteed will be a huge pain in the ass for them.
Here is a replay vs aggro druid: https://hsreplay.net/replay/iE5D7apWUvCCnQYYXxFJGG
Here is a replay vs Jade druid single handed by Ysera: https://hsreplay.net/replay/8h5NaMXk2WhaW4v3t6G3Zm
Here is a replay vs Jade Druid won thanks to Geist: https://hsreplay.net/replay/p8cJZjPG5ucZ7GsJHPzn8k

VS Hunter:
It can be a Naga Giant, or a classic Face Hunter (lately are gaining popularity again). The first one is an easy matchup (of course, if they coin Naga on turn 4 and swarm giants there is very little you can do), but as general tips, if you understand you are facing a Naga Hunter (it takes 2-3 turns to understand), try avoiding going face, since those 1/2 dmg you are gonna deal won't help you winning the game, while will help him a lot to discount his Molten Giant. Of course if he has a secret this rule doesn't apply: attack and get rid of its Freezing Trap. With Shadow Visions go straight for Lightbomb, and be patient when you are leading the board: dont do anything that could punish you (like attacking with a Drakonid Operative while he has a secret and no board: better play a small minion and pass, so that the small minion will be bounced back to your hand), you have all the answers you need, just wait and counter, wait and counter...that's it.
Vs face hunter, Doomsayer, Potion of Madness, Kazakus and Reno Jackson are your best friends. Raza the Chained (unlikely as i said before, when you face pirate warrior) is great vs Hunter because makes his hero power useless. Apart from this there is very little to be said, like every Face Hunter, you'll win as soon you gain board control and become the one dictating the trades.
Here a replay vs Naga Hunter: https://hsreplay.net/replay/hw6HrwyqZC2C66Rx9BUWP6
Here a replay vs Face Hunter: https://hsreplay.net/replay/6YjHkZiTdfvrjUYAgQaYf7

VS Mage:
95% of the time will be an Exodia Mage. Surprisingly this is a favorable match up. You may think that being so slow, Mage has all the time to draw his combo pieces and kill us. But we have many answers to them. First of all: while most of the priest are impotent to Doomsayer+ Blizzard / Frost Nova if they don't draw Shadow Word: Pain, we can count also on Book Wyrm and Kabal Songstealer. Believe me, it's a big difference, basically we are never gonna lose the board. Dirty Rat is the best counter to Exodia Mage: keep it always if offered during the mulligan, but better save him for the turn after they play Emperor Thaurissan (even better if you can combo it with Brann Bronzebeard to double your chances to pull Archmage Antonidas). With Drakonid Operative, it might be tempting go straight for Ice Block, but there is a big problem: after their combo you'll be left with a maximum of 6 hp,no board, having to answer to a board filled with 4 or 5 Sorcer's Apprentice, Archmage Antonidas, and with your opponent holding 2 Fireball . So, unless you already popped both their Ice Block and you have a way to burst them, or he ran out of cards, you will still lose. Sometimes is better to go for Coldlight Oracle (dont be afraid to mill yourself, even if you mill Raza the Chained andShadowreaper Anduin, as long you mill his Archmage Antonidas you will win...again, better if you combo it with Brann Bronzebeard). For the same reason, is higly recommended to use Entomb on their Coldlight Oracle. That's it. So, briefly: never lose the board, never trade and try to mill him whenever you have the chance. Oh, and another thing: with Netherspite Historian, is not a bad idea to pick Nozdormu if offered.
As for tempo Mage and Reno Mage, they are a very small percentage of the Mage population, so I dont think a guide is really needed. Also they are very favourable match up too, so you should be able to defeat them without problems.
Here is a replay vs Exodia Mage: https://hsreplay.net/replay/pwQeXwuhMPFo8YV3iwRYmb

VS Paladin:
Though match up (after all Aggroadin is Tier1), because of Paladin ability to constantly refill the board, and quickly turn a relatively inoffensive board into a threatening one. During the mulligan, always keep Doomsayer, Kazakus, Northshire Cleric (if you go first, starting second is rarely useful) and Shadow Word: Pain. Golakka Crawler may not be a bad idea too, since many Aggroadin use the pirate package, but it's a bit of a coin toss. In any case, is a good tempo play to start trading his early pieces. Trade, trade, trade... all the time, giving priority to the Silver Hand Recruits (for instance, he has a Shielded Minibot without shield and a recruit, and you a Kabal Songstealer: go for the recruit, otherwise you are left with a 5/3 killable with an adapt like poisonous or +3 attack or Quartermaster's buff). It will take you a lot of time to stabilize, until then trade repeatedly, even if it means “waste” a 5 attack minion on a 1/1. With Drakonid Operative your best picks are Consecration and Muster for Battle. Spirit Lash and Potion of Madness play a very important role in this match up, and they are very good pick with Shadow Visions, specially Spirit Lash: if comboed with spell damage can be a huge swing. Try to save as much as possible Entomb for the turn after he plays Tirion Fordring.
The Murloc Paladin is similar: he can finish you much more quickly, but it also run out of steam more easily.
Here is a replay of an intense match vs Aggroadin at legend#63: https://hsreplay.net/replay/CM52chRXHNnTxqSAHDhLLT

VS Priest:1) Vs other Razakus Priests. Our deck is very different from their: what we lack in draw power, we gain with the much higher quality of our minions. And trust me, they have a very hard time to clean our board with so many dragons and/or 4 attack minions, that's why priest is our easiest match up (78 fucking % winrate in 54 matches!!!). Ysera is usually a sentence to death (specially if you previously baited an Entomb). During the mulligan is mandatory to keep Raza the Chained, since the first we can draw both him and the DK hero usually wins. I sometimes keep even Shadowreaper Anduin. Drakonid Operative is another great card for our start, since he can give us Raza the Chained or Shadowreaper Anduin, plus being a dragon they usually use their Shadow Word: Death on him. Dirty Rat can be used relatively early to try to put down their Raza the Chained or Prophet Velen (don't do it if you have no answers for a possible big minion). Don't play Bloodmage Thalnos if you have another minion on the board (other than Doomsayer) and they haven't play Potion of Madness yet. Try to minimize their draw as much as possible and keep them under pressure. With Netherspite Historian the best pick of course is always Drakonid Operative, but Alexstrasza can be quite useful too if you already have a large board of dragons.
2) Vs Big Priests. With Shadow Visions, your primary targets are either Potion of Madness (for the Barnes turn) or Entomb. Don't waste Entomb on their Ossidian Statue. Yes, they are annoying but not very threatening. Keep them for Ragnaros the Firelord, Ysera or The Lich King. With Kazakus, if you draw him early, go for the 5 mana potions: definetely polymorph effect, the other is up to you. If you draw him late, go for the 10 mana total polymorph (again, the other one is up to you). You should find this match up very easy, they really have to high roll to beat you. Just be patient, you have all the answers you need in your deck, let them be propositive and play reactively and you should be fine.
Here is a replay vs Razakus priest: https://hsreplay.net/replay/YigyyAfMu6jPEyqxZ6MP6d
Here is a replay vs Big Priest (is a previous build slightly different): https://hsreplay.net/replay/J4ZyJDca7eiMhpgcjiwYBi