It has been a wild ride for Paladin in 2019. After the class’s dominance in 2018 thanks to what we call the “Genn and Baku disaster” today, Paladin had a hard time to find itself a new identity. While the weird deck called Holy Wrath Paladin was the most represented Paladin archetype in competitive play, only a handful of archetypes have seen play in Constructed mode (and not even regularly – they were never very popular meta builds).
With the Year of the Phoenix, Paladin receives a very lore-heavy class addition: Librams. In World of Warcraft, Librams were used as an “additional weapon slot” for further class ability customization.
In Hearthstone, Librams are spells that combine different Paladin staple mechanics such as board buffs, Divine Shield and Heal. These spells are supported through Aldor Attendant and Aldor Truthseeker; solid stats combined with mana cheat complete the Libram package.
What archetypes could profit off of Librams and its synergies after the release of Ashes of Outland? In this theorycrafting article we focus on two archetypes that could make Librams and their related minions work.
Libram Highlander Dragon Paladin
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Highlander Paladin will most likely turn into the most used archetype in terms of Libram synergy.
Yes, Aldor Attendant and Aldor Truthseeker will only discount a total of three cards – but they’re also just using two card slots themselves. Libram cards fit well into the tempo-driven style of Highlander Paladin, who tries to take over control with the usual extended Dragon package.
Tribe cards in Hearthstone often get taxed in favor of tribe membership – and Libram of Wisdom could change that. A simple +1/+1 for 2, 1 or even 0 mana can not only fill out Highlander Paladin’s curve, but also turn high-value minions like Bronze Explorer or Frizz Kindleroost into more tempo-oriented plays.
Libram of Justice will fill out the void that a second copy of Equality left behind, and Libram of Hope could give the archetype a better shot a longer games including fatigue situations.
And while Ashes of Outland won’t offer that many new opportunities for the archetype, cards like Overconfident Orc – the new Tar Creeper as some may call it – and Dragonmaw Sky Stalker add even more flexibility.
The combination of Libram and Dragon synergy may get Dragon Highlander Paladin the recognition it deserves – not last because of special tech additions like Waste Warden!
Pure Libram Paladin
Similar to the other theorycraft Paladin decks in this article, Pure Libram Paladin tries to fit in Libram-related cards while keeping the core values of the given archetype.
The criminally underrated archetype in this case is Pure Paladin. The combination of mech-driven tempo and high-value class cards could synergize very well with the new Libram cards.
Both Aldor Attendant and Aldor Truthseeker are, while not mechs, decent board plays. Libram of Wisdom further increases value from mechs and Reborn minions in particular. Libram of Justice can enable big value plays against control opponents, and Libram of Hope may pose a threat comparable to Tirion Fordring while offering additional survivability.
But in the end Lightforged Crusader is the main reason that Libram cards in this archetype most certainly will work well. A total of 10 random Paladin cards created in a game should include Libram cards quite often on average – which increases our chances to get even more Libram synergy going.
Yes, there will be better performing Paladin decks – but Libram Pure Paladin could offer new and exciting gameplay with a decent win rate!
I’m surprised bronze herald didn’t make the cut in the first deck. It only has 5 3- drops (4 if you count aldor peacekeeper as removal). Obvious dragon synergy. Strong synergy with twilight drake (increases hand size) and dragonrider talritha (chains itself).
Also, what do you plan to faceless? Synergy with air raid, but anti- synergy with Finley.
Any thoughts on Liadrin? She seems like she’d have good synergy with the librams.
she is essentially the boss for the archtype
Why no Finley in the Highlander list? I know it’s not the strongest of the Highlander cards, but surely its flexible choice of hero power is worth the card slot.
Not the worst idea! I don’t want to rely on too many Highlander cards though, because Albatross will be a thing, even more than before, just because Alex/Zephrys will be even more powerful in a “corrected” meta after the rotation.
However, I can see it being a high-value replacement for Air Raid or Faerie Dragon.
Why is there no Liadrin in the pure paladin list? It would definitely return your librams to you much more reliably than crusader would, and is a great refill option.
Liadrin is such an awesome card. However, it’s a high value card, but not a high tempo card. In this list, high value needs to creater higher tempo in the upcoming turns for it to be worth it.
The spot in this regard is already reserved through Lightforged Crusader – a minion with 4 more stats than Liadrin that will almost always net more value than Liadrin on average.
Again, I love the fantasy and theme of Liadrin. I just wish it was a 6/6 or something that comes close to a playable minion on turn 7 …
been testing the deck in wild and she is better on average with all her spells being free after libram discounts
It would, as long as the following expansions keep printing Libram cards.
Between this and Murloc archetype, it could be the start of true face of Paladin. (I don’t really think the latter would fit).
Is it wrong to wish for Libram to go to classic? to wish that Paladin can get reworked like Priest?
Another thing to add, honestly, Highlander Libram Paladin can’t maximize the Libram usefulness.
The real intention of Libram is to cheat mana. If 4 of them can discount up to 6 mana, Highlander can only do half of that.
But it’s only an opinion. Perhaps 6 mana discount is not needed anyway. Because even most of the Libram cards doesn’t need all that mana discount (only Libram of Hope, and possible Libram of Justice)