Hearthpwn

Hi guys ! So after a few days of experimentating, do you think Paladin should replace its Antique Healbot for Tuskarr Jouster, and maybe play 2 ?

For now I'm not convinced at all by Tuskarr Jouster. Even with a control heavy Pally and against midrange decks, I lose most of my jousts. So if I need the heal, it's not good, and if I need the body, I'd rather have Loatheb or Harrison Jones.

But maybe some of you are experimenting something different. What do you think for control and midrange decks ?

i personally see too many midrange in my ladder to trust running tuskarr jouster, the body is nice, but i want my heal to be 100% there for me when i need it.

for me joust feels easier to get going on early creatures like king's elekk and gadgetzan jouster, and healing wave 

the problem i have with high cost joust is that by the time you play them, you are probably 1/3 of the way in your deck or close to it, so basically you are looking at 12 cards that could win joust and if you still have low casting cost minions in there, like a 2 or a 3, chances are you might not be winning the joust (even against face hunter since the deck has no draw power and a good chunk of the deck is 3 or lower with the exception of leeroy.....) so you are betting a small chance for joust winning.... 

I'd go for Antique Healbot, it's a safer approach despite the weaker body.

Quote from Halfast jump

 No love for Guardian of Kings?

2 more mana for not-that-great stats and "only" 6 heal is not enough to make the cut in my midrange list.

I wonder if we really need that heal in Midrange anyway ... Why everybody used to run 1x Antique Healbot and 1x Lay on Hands in Midrange Pally ? I get the draw but unless you're facing tons of aggro ... I wonder if Harrison Jones wouldn't be better at this spot (I cut it for a second Quartermaster, now that we can have Zerglings Recruits all over the board).

Live a little. Run Tuskarr. 

Double post. 

Nah. Antique Healbot is better. The guaranteed heal is more important than +2/+2 body. You could experiment with 1x Healbot 1x Tuskarr Jouster in control paladin. Just 5 is a competitive spot with Sludge Beltcher, Loaetheb, Harrison Jones, and Quartermaster all arguably being better than Tuskarr Jouster. 

Healbot is 100% heals for 8
Tuskar is < 40% heals for 7
Your choice

Thanks. I'll stick with Antique Healbot then. :)

Too bad, Tuskarr Jouster have such a cute art.

i play double tusks, and it does suck when you lose the joust, but against aggro i often win. and against control or midrange getting a 5/5 body is REALLy good.

I feel I really have no luck with the jousts :/

I prefer Tuskarr Jouster.  As BerryInvasion pointed out, the matches you need heal are usually the same ones you are most likely to win the Joust.

Quote from LastManOnHearth jump

Tuskarr Jouster.

Even if you lose the joust, I'd take +2/+2 stats for -1 healing every day of the week. 

And those times where you win the joust... so much value.

you dont get the heal if you lose

i prefer one of both....having very good result....i am using both on my dragon themed paladin deck...if you need i can post it....

hard to answer without decklists. in midrange paladin healbot, in control paladin 50/50 depends on decklist

Quote from KKeegan jump

Quote from Halfast jump

 No love for Guardian of Kings?

2 more mana for not-that-great stats and "only" 6 heal is not enough to make the cut in my midrange list.

I wonder if we really need that heal in Midrange anyway ... Why everybody used to run 1x Antique Healbot and 1x Lay on Hands in Midrange Pally ? I get the draw but unless you're facing tons of aggro ... I wonder if Harrison Jones wouldn't be better at this spot (I cut it for a second Quartermaster, now that we can have Zerglings Recruits all over the board).

I think Acidic Swamp Ooze has a better curve in Pally. You miss on the card draw but you still have more mana to play more options. Harrison usually dies immediately to Piloted Shredder or a buffed smaller minion.

Quote from dwl_ jump

I think running double Tuskarr Jouster is fine. Against Aggro you'll most likely get your heal and against Control you get your 5/5 body.

I agree with this. Against aggro and with them having a good draw you are likely dead by turn 6 with or without heals anyways. A turn 5 body is great to kill a turn 6 Emperor, Sylvanas, Loatheb, etc.

Personally, I would choose the Tuskarr Jouster over the Antique Healbot every time.

I've never liked the 3/3 body on the healbot, its too much tempo loss for a 5 mana play. The big thing that the Jouster brings is the ability to trade back on a unit, and then still pressure damage on the aggressive deck.

The guaranteed HP you get from a healbot doesn't actually save your life if you can't turn the pressure back and win the game. All it does is stall.  Even if you don't win the joust, which is unlikely the more aggressive your enemy's deck is, that 5/5 body is going to control the board the way a 3/3 just simply can't. For example, you lose the joust (probably 50% of the time) against a midrange Hunter, but your 5/5 can kill the Savannah Highmane he plays on turn 6. Consecration clears the hyenas and now all of a sudden you have the initiative back instead of struggling to finish that 6/5 lion who's going to eat your 8 HP up in 1 turn.

I'm biased but to me there's no contest.

I'm gonna test it but I'm still skeptical.

Here's my decklist btw. But I miss Lay on Hands and Chillmaw for now. You'll understand why I dislike showing my deck. I want to make them believe it's a classical Control Pally and surprise them with Dragon finishers.

If you need healing, by which I mean you need instant health restoration to stay alive one more turn, do not rely on Tuskarr Jouster.  That's Antique Healbot's job.  You made the right decision by sticking with Healbot.

Tuskarr Jouster is a power card like Goblin Blastmage and Kill Command, a support card that has is too powerful to make an archetype viable.  They give you a boost for using certain cards, like Mechs or Beasts.

Tuskarr Jouster's archetype is high curve control Paladin.  A fat 5/5 body for board control in the lategame, and sustain for above average mana curves.  You don't want to run Tuskarr Jouster in the same deck as Shielded Minibot for example.  He won't always heal midrange when facing aggro, and stalling with a heal won't help midrange when facing control.

And even in control decks, you do not rely on Tuskarr Jouster to heal you when facing a face hunter.  You want guaranteed healing for that situation, you want to rely on Antique Healbot, Holy Light, Lay on Hands, or Seal of Light.  That's the reason why I did not replace Antique Healbot with Tuskarr Jouster, but instead run both (I run 1 Healbot since it is a tech card).

TL;DR  After playing a good number of games with the card, I'm convinced this guy is a staple in control Paladin.  A direct buff to control vs midrange matchups, where you take large chunks of damage over a much longer period of time.  I can't remember losing a game to a lost joust since I can always rely on Guardian of Kings and Holy Light when facing lethal.