Murloc Paladin Deck List & Guide – Ashes of Outland – May 2020

Check out alternative versions of this deck on our Murloc Paladin archetype page!

Key Cards for Murloc Paladin

• Imprisoned Sungill: A new 1-drop, class-specific Murloc, that utilizes the new Dormant mechanic. It stays “inactive” for the first 2 turns, but after the Dormant effect finishes, you summon 1 2/1 and 2 1/1 Murlocs, for a combined 4/3 of stats for just 1 mana.
• Murloc Tidecaller: The classic Murloc 1-drop. This is a must-must for turn 1, usually giving you a big lead on the board if you do that. It can be buffed constantly and any health buff makes it a lot scarier and much more important to deal with.
• Hand of A'dal: Another new card, it’s a +2/+2 for 2 mana, plus a card draw, which is really important in a deck like this. It helps keep some of your important early threats alive, while also cycling itself.
• Murgur Murgurgle: A new legendary Murloc, with 2 phases to it. At first, it’s just a 2/1 Divine Shield Murloc for 2 mana, but once that is dead, you shuffle Murgurgle Prime in your deck, a powerful, mid-to-late-game finisher. Due to it’s effect, you want to have Murgur Murgurgle die as soon as possible, to draw its Prime version.
• Underlight Angling Rod: An epic weapon, tailored for the needs of a Murloc deck! A 3/2 weapon for 3 is pretty standard, but what stands out in this one is the effect, which gives you a random Murloc whenever your Hero attacks. Pseudo-draw with a guarantee for synergy with your existing minions, so don’t be afraid to just attack face with it.
• Coldlight Seer: An old familiar and one of the reasons that the deck can transition to the mid-game. Giving +2 health to minions like Murloc Tidecaller or a Murloc with Poisonous from Toxfin can be pretty annoying to deal with, so if you feel like a board clear is coming, play this one to foil your opponent’s plan and keep board control.
• Hoard Pillager: What in the world is a Pirate doing with all these Murlocs? Well, he’s here to give you Underlight Angling Rod back (or Truesilver Champion, that is also included in the list), because of how powerful its effect is. Between the 2 copies of Underlight Angling Rod and the 1 copy of Hoard Pillager, you can potentially add a total of 6 random Murlocs to your hand. That, essentially, means that card draw becomes less important for the deck.
• Scalelord: Another powerful minion, although this one, again, is from a different tribe (this time, Dragon). It gives your Murlocs Divine Shield, giving you a huge power-spike and the ability to trade into the enemy’s board, without sacrificing your own.

Murloc Paladin Mulligan Guide

In order of importance: Imprisoned Sungill, Murloc Tidecaller, Underlight Angling Rod, Murloc Tidehunter, Hoard Pillager (If you already have Underlight Angling Rod in your mulligan), Felfin Navigator, Toxfin.

Since this is an aggressive list, the mulligan is pretty straightforward and does not change too much between matchups. The two 1-drops, Imprisoned Sungill and Murloc Tidecaller are of utmost importance, in order to get on the board quickly. The new weapon, Underlight Angling Rod is a really good keep, since it serves as pseudo-draw and can be coupled with Hoard Pillager to prevent your hand from being too empty. After that, Murloc Tidehunter can help you get a board going, while Felfin Navigator and Toxfin can be a good transition to the mid-game, allowing your early minions to trade into bigger threats.

Murloc Paladin Playstyle and Tips

The list plays aggressively, trying to get on the board to establish control as early as possible, staying there for the majority of the game. The synergy of your Murlocs is what will get you going in the early game, with Underlight Angling Rod providing a good amount of value, by giving you more Murlocs to keep your hand from being empty, while also letting you protect your minions or pushing more damage to the enemy hero.

Murloc Tidecaller is your best turn 1 play, and can often warrant a turn 2 (with coin) or 3 (without coin) Coldlight Seer, just so you can keep buffing his attack and making him a bigger threat. If that does not happen, you can fall back to a more mid-range curve, constantly playing minions and getting value trades with your buffed-up Murlocs, before going all in for a lethal setup.

Your mid-game is quite strong, with the ability to keep buffing your Murlocs with Coldlight Seer and Felfin Navigator, or generating more with Underlight Angling Rod and Fishflinger. Toxfin can be quite the powerful play, allowing you to trade a small Murloc into a big Taunt, keeping your more important threats safe and healthy.

The list includes 2 copies of Consecration to deal with other aggressive decks, but one of the copies can be a flexible spot, if you are not facing too many of those.

After the mid-game, Scalelord and Murgurgle Prime (provided Murgur Murgurgle has previously died) can be used for powerful turns, each of them providing value in different scenarios.

One thing to keep in mind is treating your Murloc Warleader as a Savage Roar-type finisher, in order to surprise your opponent with a big spike in damage with a relatively small board.

Possible Card Replacements

-1x Consecration / +1x Octosari: If you find yourself facing more mid-range or late-game decks and your hand is empty too often, you can drop one of the consecrations and include Octosari, which could give you a really good spike with its massive card draw effect.

-1x Consecration / + 1x Hoard Pillager: Another change that is aimed towards solving any card draw problems, although not as extreme as the one mentioned above. A second copy of Hoard Pillager can give you a couple of more turns of adding random Murlocs to your hand, while also dealing some extra damage with Underlight Angling Rod.