|
Paladin.
Unplayable? Probably. At least that is what everyone says. But what really makes the class unplayable? Is it the fact that they don't have a way to deal with [Dethvir the Malignant] or the fact that they cannot out tempo the power of [Tuskarr Kite]? Is it the fact that almost everything in their arsenal is stall based? Yeah, that is probably why. The truth of the matter is that classes are only as good as people make them out to be. If everyone said that a class was unplayable, chances are that people would only give it a try or two before joining the bandwagon of “Paladin is broken:”. Of course, all it takes is one successful event to change everything.
This is the story of how I went 5-1 with Paladin at this past Realm Championships. The story behind the monster that we have created, and the possible effects on everything that will be. Like all great decks, it all started with an idea. Before I continue, I wanted to first expose the genius that quite literately laid the foundation for the deck. Many of you have seen him judging at big events, or have possibly “befriended” him on Facebook. I mean really, who isn't friends with the guy? Of course, I could be talking about no one else than the amazing William “Troggbac” Zobac.
“So hey, have you seen this card from the new set, [Repurposed Lava Dredger]? I heard it can trigger mounts on your opponents turn”. That was enough to catch my attention. “Yeah, that seems really good. But how in the world are you doing that?” Of course he was abusing the powers of Stash which added counters to the Dredger.
Most cards that ramp resources such as [No Mere Dream] and [Flourish] are limited to completion only on your turn. This new ramp with [Repurposed Lava Dredger] effectively bypasses the need to exhaust out, allowing you to be reactive to what your opponent throws at you instead of exhausting resources on your turn. The really amazing part about the Dredger is it's power to add counters to itself when Stash cards enter the resource row. This “self empowering” capability allowed ridiculous resource acceleration that is unparalleled. With great resource advantage comes great success, and finishers such as [Ysera the Dreamer] and [Dragonflight Great-Ring] became completely acceptable.
Early testing of the deck “yielded” great results, due to the amazing ramp power of the [Repurposed Lava Dredger] and the amazing stall of Paladin. [Unyielding Faith] and [Hammer of Justice]-like effects paved the way for our shenanigans, and many decks found themselves staring down the [Dragonflight Great-ring]. A simple [Shelter] on the Ring was enough to merit a scoop, and the Holy Paladin triumphs!
This is the original list created by William Zobac:
Hero: [Thoros the Savior]
Master Hero – 2
2 [Ysera the Dreamer]
Allies – 4
4 [Charger]
Abilities – 23
3 [Hammer of Justice]
4 [Hammer of the Divine]
4 [Unyielding Faith]
3 [Grace of the Lightbringer]
4 [Penance]
2 [Shelter]
3 [Boon of Light]
Equipment - 17
4 [Repurposed Lava Dredger]
4 [Bloodied Arcanite Reaper]
4 [Dread Pirate Ring]
3 [Libram of Radiance]
2 [Dragonflight Great-ring]
Quests / Locations - 16
3 [Counting Out Time]
3 [A Matter of Time]
4 [A Question of Gluttony]
2 [The Torch of Retribution]
4 [Silvermoon City]
Total: 62
I really liked this list. [Silvermoon City] gave me really good matchups against aggro decks that relied on one type of damage. The unpreventable damage from [Charger] and [Libram of Radiance] provided small board clearing capabilities, and being able to prevent damage on your opponents turn from [Charger] gave some needed survivability. The late game draw from [Counting Out Time] and [A Matter of Time] made finding my answers almost too easy. A really big problem with this deck was its lack of early game draw, and it's inability to deal with swarm decks such as Bogmara Rush. Warlock Control with hand disruption proved detrimental for our late game. It was also very reliant on getting the [Repurposed Lava Dredger] online early so we could pump to our [Dragonflight Great-ring]. After many days of poor testing against these archetypes, we decided to put our Paladin on the shelf.
I was taking a shower one day and randomly thought to myself, “the only reason I am Horde is for [Silvermoon City] and my hero flip. Is there anything out there in Alliance that is worth of a faction change?”. Instantly my mind scanned over the possible inclusions. [King Varain Wrynn] and [Ossus the Ancient] popped into my mind. Sadly, there is no Draenei Holy Paladin for Core, and KVW seemed very apt to being [Hesriana] fodder. Luckily, [Iravar] came to the rescue and allowed the inclusion of [Eye of the Storm] and the hero flip of [Sarina the Immaculate]. I also felt like the early game draw was lackluster with “Pay 4, draw a card” so the copies of [Counting Out Time] became [The Boon of Alexstrasza], and [The Torch of Retribution] became [Everfrost] and my quest base was set. [Concentration Aura] became a staple in the deck allowing me to use [Hammer of the Divine] on my opponents turn, giving me a free turn in which to dig for another answer. The secondary effect of [Concentration Aura] also gave me an advantage against Mage, Warrior, and Shaman who all play some type of ability interrupt. Instant cast healing from [Boon of Light] on my opponent's turn is quite phenomenal, and also allowed me to win those pesky games that go to time.
Little tweaks here and there eventually gave way to the final version I brought to the table for the Durotar Realm Championships.
Hero: [Sarina the Immaculate]
Master Hero – 2
2 [Ysera the Dreamer]
Allies- 4
4 [Iravar]
Abilities - 23
4 [Unyielding Faith]
4 [Hammer of Justice]
4 [Hammer of the Divine]
3 [Shelter]
3 [Boon of Light]
3 [Concentration Aura]
2 [Penance]
Equipment - 17
4 [Dread Pirate Ring]
4 [Repurposed Lava Dredger]
3 [Bloodied Arcanite Reaper]
3 [Dragonflight Great-ring]
2 [Beserker Bracers]
1 [Gorehowl]
Quests / Locations - 15
4 [Eye of the Storm]
4 [A Question of Gluttony]
3 [The Boon of Alexstrasza]
2 [Everfrost]
2 [A Matter of Time]
Total: 61
After testing this build many times on MWS, I felt really comfortable with it's playstyle and it's ability to get out of rough situations. The redundancy of damage mitigation or exhaust effects really helped get me out of positions that would have otherwise lost me the game. I really liked the way that [The Boon of Alexstrasza] played in comparison to [Counting Out Time] and the others. The one-of [Gorehowl] was a last minute decision that my close friend Robert Philippi suggested, and seemed very applicable to those times where the Great-ring just doesn't quite cut it. Ysera really doesn't end up winning games, instead giving you more room for error late game when you are digging. The healing can come into handy, and the extra card a turn helps dig for the final pieces to get the ring off. I knew that [Devouring Plague] was a strong contender in the meta-game, so I packed two copies of [Berserker Bracers]. I often found myself playing the equipment and preventing more damage than I thought possible.
So all in all, I just ended up taking a list that I felt comfortable with, and something that I knew would be so off of the radar that I knew people would make misplays when battling against it. More into that next time, when I discuss my first six rounds of swiss, and the draft that kept me out of top 8!
~Skyler Thomas
|