Murloc Paladin Deck List Guide – Boomsday – August 2018

Our Murloc Paladin deck list guide for The Boomsday Project expansion will teach you how to play this aggressive Paladin list. This guide includes Mulligans, Gameplay Strategy, Card Substitutions, and Combos/Synergies!

Introduction

While met with a bit of early resistance, Murloc Paladin has become an increasingly popular deck in the Hearthstone metagame. Over the past few expansions, the deck has received an increasing number of tools that makes it a consistently strong deck on the Standard Ladder.

It was Journey to Un’goro, the first expansion in the Year of the Mammoth, that propelled the deck into the powerhouse that it is today. Hydrologist is yet another phenomenal Paladin Murloc, but it was really Neutral cards that took the deck over the top. Rockpool Hunter and Gentle Megasaur can be punishing for opponents if Murlocs are on board, fitting the deck’s gameplan of snowballing a board state.

Year of the Raven has started and a lot of players have doubted whether this deck would still be viable. With two powerful 1-drops rotating out (Vilefin Inquisitor and Grimscale Chum), the deck’s early game has suffered greatly, and it didn’t really get a lot of tools to fill that gap. However, Paladin’s powerful early/mid game aggressive shell is still enough to keep this deck working.

The balanace changes hit the deck pretty hard, changing the mana cost of Call to Arms from 4 to 5. The deck’s big swing turn happening a turn later hurts, but both Call to Arms and Murloc Paladin in general are still viable. The deck list itself didn’t change at all.

Update – The Boomsday Project

We’ve listed a popular version of Murloc Paladin below, we’ll be updating the guide soon!

Deck List

Deck Import

Card Choices

Class Cards

  • Lost in the Jungle – Aggressive deck such as this really needs 1-drops, and since two of them have rotated out, players had to fill the gap somehow. Lost in the Jungle is just a solid card – good early game play and has a solid synergy with Tarim later.
  • Righteous Protector – Protecting high-value minions is important to in this deck. Righteous Protector can frustrate opponents by soaking up two attacks.
  • Hydrologist – While Hydrologist’s stats aren’t great, the valuable options it presents can be crucial to the outcome of games.
  • Divine Favor – This is a more aggressive build, has a plethora of early game minions. As a result, Divine Favor can refill your hand with a fresh set of cards.
  • Unidentified Maul – Somewhere between Muster for Battle and Coghammer, this 3-mana weapon can help maintain a solid board state.
  • Blessing of Kings – One-of buff, good to deal some damage immediately from the hand or to trade up. For example, if your opponent puts Tar Creeper in your way, you can easily pass it with Kings on a 1/1.
  • Call to Arms – The card is no longer as powerful as it was at 4 mana, but drawing & playing three 1-2 mana minions for 5 mana is still worth it, especially since there is a solid chance to get a bunch of Murlocs and follow it up with Warleader or Megasaur.
  • Sunkeeper Tarim – Another staple Paladin Legendary minion. Sunkeeper Tarim stacks buffs with Murloc Warleader and Gentle Megasaur making him a potent threat in this deck.
  • Vinecleaver – Late game weapon that you can use to protect your board or just to finish the game. Aggressive Paladins are low on reach, and you can’t underestimate 12 damage over 3 turns.

Neutral Cards

  • Murloc Tidecaller – If you’re looking for a fast start, look no further. Murloc Tidecaller can get out of hand very quickly in this deck.
  • Knife Juggler – Works very well with Call to Arms and your Hero Power.
  • Rockpool Hunter – If you can stick a Murloc, Rockpool Hunter is far and away your best early game play.
  • Coldlight Seer – It’s hard to land buffs on Murlocs when they’re dead. Coldlight Seer helps you keep your Murlocs healthy and ready to trade efficiently. Or just go face.
  • Murloc Warleader – Even a nerf couldn’t keep this card from seeing play. It turns out, giving most/all of your minions +2 Attack is still very strong.
  • Nightmare Amalgam – There was no dedicated Murloc card in the latest set, however, Nightmare Amalgam fills that gap somehow. It’s just a vanilla 3/4 Murloc in this case, but it synergizes nicely with all the Murloc buffs.
  • Gentle Megasaur – Landing a Megasaur on a board for of Murlocs can be game ending. Even with only a couple in play, this 4 mana 5/4 can turn the tide of a game.
  • Spellbreaker – Silence is a great tool in this meta. Whether you need to stop some ongoing effect, negate a Deathrattle or just get through a big Taunt, Spellbreaker will be there to help.
  • Fungalmancer – Since the deck wants to fight for the board control, buffing your minions lets you trade more efficiently. Keeping your Murlocs alive also means that you can stack more before dropping another board-wide Murloc buff.
Check out our List of the Best Standard Decks for Hearthstone Ladder

Murloc Paladin Mulligan Strategy & Guide

The mulligan section is divided into two parts – against fast decks and against slow decks. Fast decks are generally the Aggro decks (e.g. Odd Face Hunter) or high tempo Midrange decks (e.g. Odd Paladin). Slow decks are slower Midrange and Control decks.

Vs Fast Decks

Higher Priority (keep every time):

  • Lost in the Jungle, Murloc TidecallerRighteous Protector – 1-drops are very important in every matchup, but especially against Aggro and especially in this deck. You want to stay ahead on the board because a) you’re playing an Aggro deck and b) your Murlocs heavily benefit from having more of them on the board. That’s why a good 1-drop opening is amazing. Generally, Murloc Tidecaller is the best 1-drop to keep if you also have a Rockpool Hunter. If you don’t, Lost in the Jungle and Righteous Protector will probably be slightly better.
  • Rockpool Hunter – Landing a buff with Rockpool Hunter on turn 2 can be game-winning. But even if you don’t, it’s still your highest tempo 2-drop.
  • Call to Arms – Even if you somehow fall behind in the early game, Call to Arms has a super high chance to get you back into the game. With just a single card, you should be able to create a pretty solid board presence, possibly put a Taunt (Protector) in the way and throw some knives (Juggler). Great keep even after the nerfs.

Lower Priority (keep only if certain conditions are met):

  • Hydrologist – Only if you have a 1-drop, but don’t have a Turn 2 Rockpool to follow up. While the extra effect of gaining a Secret is great, it’s just a bit too slow in Aggro matchups – 2/2 body for 2 is not that great.
  • Unidentified Maul – With a 1-drop and 2-drop already. Weapon is great to control the board, but if won’t be enough if you pass Turn 1 and Hero Power on Turn 2, that’s why your small minions have a higher mulligan priority.

Vs Slow Decks

Higher Priority (keep every time):

  • Lost in the Jungle, Murloc TidecallerRighteous Protector – Just like against fast decks, you still want to open with a 1-drop. This time you won’t need it as much to control the board as to simply deal damage – let’s say 2x 1/1 on Turn 1, if left unanswered, can deal some serious damage over the course of a few turns. In slow matchups, Murloc Tidecaller is your best 1-drop, but you will gladly take any of them, to be honest.
  • Rockpool Hunter – Amazing snowball card, your Turn 1 Murloc Tidecaller usually survives, so you can often buff it with Rockpool on curve. That board alone already puts a lot of pressure on your opponent, and it’s the best opening you can have.
  • Call to Arms – Against Control decks, it’s usually a refill card, but it’s really necessary. They will usually drop their first AoE around Turn 4-5 and that’s where Call to Arms comes into action to refill. Keeping it might make your early game a bit weaker, but it’s still worth it.

Lower Priority (keep only if certain conditions are met):

  • Hydrologist – Hydrologist is a much better card against slow decks, but is still less optimal than Rockpool Hunter.
  • Murloc Warleader or Coldlight Seer – Keep with Murloc 1-drop and 2-drop. If you play those on the curve with 2 Murlocs on the board, you can make a really solid board state. Generally, Warleader is more aggressive, but banks on them not having an AoE to answer it. Seer is slower, but plays around AoE better. Both are valid option, and both are bad if you don’t have other Murlocs, so don’t keep them unless you have them in your hand already.

Murloc Paladin Win Rates

Winrate stats are currently unavailable for this deck at the moment!

Play Strategy

This is a deck with a lot of explosive power, but also several tools to sustain pressure throughout the game. The flexibility of the archetype lends itself to varying builds. In the past, the deck included high-cost threats in Bonemare and Tirion Fordring to maintain threats into the late game. In the last expansions, the deck has shifted towards aggressive builds that look overwhelm opponents within the first few turns.

Beyond the specifics of the cards in the deck, Discover and Adapt mechanics allow us to adjust our gameplans on the fly. Identify the opponent’s archetype as quickly as possible and tailor your decisions to it.

All-in-all, the deck’s adaptability provides players with a lot of options going into different matchups.

Vs Aggro

Against aggro, the early game tempo is key. Prioritize control of the board state in all of your decisions and fight hard to establish a stable footing. Trade efficiently, but be aware of your life total at all times. Even at 1 mana, Righteous Protector can put up an irritating roadblock for aggressive decks. Once you’ve stuck some Murlocs in play, your synergistic mechanics should be enough to carry you over the finish line. Coldlight Seer and Gentle Megasaur, especially, can help keep your minions on the table.

When you play versus fast decks, you generally don’t have to worry about overcommiting. The bigger board you have, the better it is. Of course, you might still want to play against some random AoE (like Primordial Glyph vs Tempo Mage), but don’t sweat it – being ahead means that you can dictate the trades and the more minions you have at your disposal, the better you can adjust them.

If you do happen to get behind, Call to Arms can help bring you back onto the board. Knife Juggler has a rather curious interaction with the card. Depending on the order of cards pulled, it can either throw knives or not. If you get Juggler first, and then two more minions, he throws 2 knives. But if you get it last – he throws none. However, there is still quite a high chance to get Juggler from Call to Arms, so if you play it later in the game, ALWAYS open with it before playing more minions, so you won’t waste potential damage. E.g. Call to Arms + Lost in the Jungle can be a really amazing Turn 6 play if you pull the Juggler (even better if you pull two!). There is also a high chance to get at least 2 Murlocs from your Call to Arms, which makes it a juicy card to combo with Murloc synergies.

Timing of Sunkeeper Tarim is critical. Though you run the risk of buffing opposing minions, it can often take three 3/3’s to take out the 3/7 Taunt. Look for opportunities to make value trades and then rebuff your minions with the 6-mana Legendary. Tarim is also your “desperate play” if you fall behind on the board, but not behind enough to completely lose the game. E.g. playing a small minion or two + Tarim against 2-3 opposing minions can be good enough – even if you buff your opponent’s small stuff, the 3/7 Taunt might still be enough to block them (as long as they don’t have some sort of buff, or direct removal). Make sure to look for any available value trades before playing this card. For example, if you have a 2/3 minion on the board, and your opponent has a 2/1, there is no point in playing Tarim first – you can trade those minions, still have a 2/1 and then turn it into a 3/3. After trades, you want to play any small minions you can, including Hero Power, before Sunkeeper comes down. If you have Vinecleaver equipped, remember to swing with it FIRST, before playing Tarim (unless you can get lethal with the “wrong” order). Incorrectly sequencing Sunkeeper turns can be punishing – even a single extra 3/3 minion on the board can change the course of the entire game, and I’ve seen people losing out on 2 or 3 of them quite often.

Discover Choices

When it comes to the Discover picks, prioritize options that lock down the board.

  • HydrologistNoble Sacrifice is usually a high priority pick, but especially so when facing 2-health minions. With Righteous Protector in play Redemption can be a good choice to keep your defenses up. In rare situations, Repentance can punish an opponent trying to sneak a big minion into play.
  • Gentle Megasaur – Against aggression, you want to look for tools that keep you on the board. Divine Shield, Deathrattle, and +1/+1 are all obvious choices here, but +3 Health can be effective at maintaining your position as well. If you’re at low health and you need to put a wall between your Hero and opponent’s minions, Taunt is also something to consider – remember that it does not add anything onto the board besides protecting your health total, so do it only if you are really low.

Vs Control

Against Control matchups, you are the beatdown. As such, you need to emphasize applying pressure, especially in the first few turns. Landing a Murloc Tidecaller into Rockpool Hunter and Murloc Warleader can be devastating.

That said, you always need to be aware of potential removal from your opponent. Find a good balance between applying pressure and overextending. The thing is, your resources are limited, and AoE will nearly always be a huge value win for your opponent. If you play too much into it, you might run out of resources before your opponent runs out of removals – and you don’t want that situation to happen.

If you have reload in the form of Call to Arms or Divine Favor you can extend a little further than normal. Just be sure you always have a contingency plan before going all in. There are still situations in which going all in is the right play – let’s say that you had a pretty poor start and you’re running out of steam with no way to refill the hand. Now, going all in might be a solid play, because it might be your only chance to win. If you take long enough, your opponent will surely find more AoE, Taunts, healing etc. But if you push with everything you have, and he does not currently have a way to counter your play in his hand, you might sneak a victory like that.

Divine Favor is generally an MVP in those matchups. However, remember that it’s still technically a huge tempo loss – using 3 mana to do nothing on the board when you play an Aggro deck is a big commitment. Timing is very important. Best time to play it is when your board is already solid and you don’t want to play more minions, in order to play around AoE. Another good time is when your opponent plays a stall card like Doomsayer (which you can’t deal with) or Blizzard. Finally, don’t be too greedy with it – try to play as many cards before dropping it, but drawing 3 cards is generally enough. 8 cards Divine Favor is obviously amazing, but if you wait to get that much value, you will often miss your opportunity and draw even less.

Remember that Nightmare Amalgam doesn’t count only as a Murloc – no matter when you drop it, it always has ALL of the tribes attached. Since hate cards are not that common right now, it’s not a big deal, but it’s something to keep in mind if, for example, players start running Dragonslayer or Golakka Crawler – those cards would be able to hit your Amalgam, making it a much worse option. It’s already not AMAZING in this deck, so in case people start teching things like that, I’d recommend replacing it with something else.

Sunkeeper Tarim is an amazingly flexible tool in this matchup. Often, he can provide a little bit of extra, unexpected burst to close out games. Remember that Murloc Warleader attack buffs stack on top of the stat change from Tarim. Other times, Sunkeeper can neutralize massive threats on the other side of the board. A great example of this is Control Warlock with his Voidlord. Using Tarim vs Voidlord is amazing, because not only you can easily deal with the 3/3 Taunt (as opposed to 3/9), all the spawned Voidwalkers are 1/3, so you can trade them easily with the rest of your board. Use this card wisely for whatever the situation dictates.

Discover Choices

In Control matchups, you want to find either value generators or aggressions with your Discover cards.

  • Hydrologist – It really depends on the matchup and the board state, but I’d say that generally Redemption should be the best pick in the early/mid game, and then Repentance later in the match (against decks that can drop big minions, especially big Taunts). Redemption, while not amazing, is always some extra tempo. Reviving a Righteous Protector or Murloc Warleader will often be optimal, but even just getting some random Murloc back can be good – you can immediately buff it with something next turn. Since your opponent will usually drop AoEs on the turn he can do that, he will rarely have any extra mana to finish the minion you revive off, meaning that you should usually start with some sort of board. Noble Sacrifice can be okay if you need to stall a minion that’s on the board – e.g. your opponent drops a Mountain Giant or Twilight Drake and you’re ahead in tempo – instead of trying to deal with it, you can basically stall it for one more turn and worry about it later. Hidden Wisdom is a new Secret, and it can be good in certain situations. You can pick it when your opponent is on the Coin (he might play three cards in a turn, since Coin counts as a card), or when it’s pretty late into the game and you need a refill, especially against a deck playing multiple cards per turn. Even if he decides to play around it, it’s always a small win for you. Then, Eye for an Eye can be sometimes good against decks that can’t easily deal 1 damage (e.g. with their Hero Power). For example, if you face a Cube Warlock, the Secret will often deal at least 3 damage to your opponent, which might sometimes be important.
  • Gentle Megasaur – In slower matchups, defensives tools such as Divine Shield, Deathrattle, and +3 Health are all helpful in protecting against AoE. When you need to turn up the heat, however, +3 Attack and Windfury can apply a lot of pressure. Poisonous is a more situational pick, but it works incredibly well if your opponent drops a big minion on the board (like Voidlord or a big minion summoned by Spiteful Summoner).

Card Substitutions

Sadly, Paladin decks are frequently quite expensive. This list is a cheaper Paladin alternative but still has some high rarity cards within it. Below, you can find options for replacing the Epic and Legendary cards in this deck.

Epic Card Replacements

  • Murloc WarleaderGentle Megasaur – Those cards are core in the Murloc list and can’t be replaced. If you don’t have them, you should probably run a non-Murloc version of the deck instead (just a regular Aggro Paladin).
  • Nightmare Amalgam – It’s good to have something you can drop on Turn 3 without a board (Murloc Warleader and Coldlight Seer are much better IF you have a board, but they aren’t that great when you have nothing to buff), but this card is not necessary. You can, for example, run more small minions instead, such as Argent Squire or Dire Wolf Alpha. Alternatively, you can go for a 4 mana weapon – Truesilver Champion.
  • Call to Arms – Even after the nerf, Call to Arms is still one of the most powerful cards in the deck. Which means that it’s still hard to replace this card without impacting your win rate heavily. If you still want to play with the deck, I’d suggest adding second copies of Coldlight Seer, Blessing of Kings, Fungalmancer or Vinecleaver.

Legendary Card Replacements

  • Sunkeeper Tarim – Paladin has several powerful Legendary minions, but Tarim may be the best of them. If you don’t have the card, Tar Creeper or Tirion Fordring could be a reasonable substitute, although neither of them would fulfill a similar role.

Stonekeep

A Hearthstone player and writer from Poland, Stonekeep has been in a love-hate relationship with Hearthstone since Closed Beta. Over that time, he has achieved many high Legend climbs and infinite Arena runs. He's the current admin of Hearthstone Top Decks.

Check out Stonekeep on Twitter!

Leave a Reply

257 Comments

Discuss This Deck
  1. Krissy Minton
    August 6, 2017 at 5:43 AM

    Ty

  2. Jackalice
    July 30, 2017 at 5:19 AM

    Does anyone know a good replacement for ‘The Curator’ I really don’t want to pay $20 for the adventure, I’m a free to play guy

    • AgentMango
      July 31, 2017 at 7:02 AM

      No replacement, sorry. Save up the gold if karazhan has viable cards in the next expansion.

  3. Koftehor
    July 24, 2017 at 1:22 PM

    İs this deck still good in the current meta? This is my favorite deck and ı want to play ranked with this deck

    • AgentMango
      July 28, 2017 at 1:17 PM

      Yes it is very good but I wouldn’t craft it because the new expansion is coming soon. So save your dust but if you have the cards for it, make it. I play this deck all the time and it’s really good.

      • Koftehor
        July 29, 2017 at 10:02 AM

        I already have this deck and last season i managed to climb rank 10 but this season i couldn’t climb above rank 12.

        • Joruus
          July 29, 2017 at 4:31 PM

          Change it up a bit, figure out which decks you’re losing to and put in counters. I use one Wild pyromancer instead of a 2nd consecration

  4. AgentMango
    July 23, 2017 at 12:55 PM

    I honestly love this deck so much. Tons of fun to play and is very good on ladder.

  5. Ari
    July 11, 2017 at 8:47 AM

    Serious question – why no Divine Favor?

    • AgentMango
      July 17, 2017 at 5:05 PM

      Serious Answer- Because this deck doesn’t lack card draw and doesn’t need it.

  6. Flyingbird9
    June 29, 2017 at 12:01 PM

    Is finja necessary?

  7. Nav
    June 10, 2017 at 7:28 AM

    Due to facing alot of aggro decks, alo works well in control – i took out the Kodo and replaced it with Burnbristle

  8. havoc
    June 10, 2017 at 3:46 AM

    hey i dont have finja or curator waht can i sub for them?

    • Gurtan
      June 21, 2017 at 2:44 PM

      i just hit rank 1 with finja replaced with promalfin lookout, i wouldnt swap curator tho, its a important card to the deck.

  9. MooPenguin32
    June 7, 2017 at 6:23 AM

    Glad to see this guide get updated. It’s one of my favorite decks. Quick note: Ivory Knight is still mentioned when talking about Discover picks.

  10. Wpb
    June 3, 2017 at 1:45 AM

    In ‘Card Substitutions’, I believe that there are 4 non-adventure legendary cards after adding Finja.

  11. Jotoro
    June 2, 2017 at 5:30 AM

    The import code doesn’t work.

  12. Wagnero
    May 30, 2017 at 3:19 PM

    Is Ragnaros necessary?

    • MrMeme
      May 31, 2017 at 1:44 AM

      It’s not necesary I replaced him for a 2nd primordial drake and it works fine

  13. Venceslao
    May 28, 2017 at 2:04 AM

    – ivory
    – golakka

    + bronin
    + tidecaller

    …works great!

  14. Max
    May 26, 2017 at 5:18 AM

    should i put a eater of secrets in this deck? i often match up against burn mage.

    • Joseph
      May 29, 2017 at 11:15 PM

      try and get eye for an eye with hydro and get mage down to 1 health. it will go around ice block since secrets only trigger on your opponents turn

      • Raemahn
        June 6, 2017 at 1:05 PM

        Eye for an Eye is also great against quest rogue. You can generally burn them down to < 5 before they burst. You just have to hope they don't attack with their dagger first.

  15. Noob
    May 21, 2017 at 1:37 AM

    I have trouble facing decks with tons of value like N’Zoth pally or decks that can fill the board quickly like hunter and druid. Is this normal? Kinda stuck in rank 11. Thanks.

    • Novagod
      May 23, 2017 at 11:44 AM

      Hey Noob. N’zoth pally wasn’t normal at all for ranks 10 and below , probably your unlucky day? Since this is midrange you would have to be the aggressor as you can’t win the value game. Hunter is one of the best matchups as you have plenty of tools to survive till ragnaros and primodial drake which would mean instant concede for the hunter. Jade druid for me till rank 2 was a 50-50 as you have tools to sustain enough value to a certain point against the,, but ultimately lose on the value game. Best advise is to be the aggressor and look for most value with your murloc synergies as druid does not have good board clear.

    • Lolo
      May 31, 2017 at 11:08 PM

      It’s normal, this deck is very shitty. You just can’t win against other hard control decks or value decks like priest. It’s super hard against burnmage too. Rogue quest is an impossible matchup too unless you have the perfect murloc hand. Against chaman it’s 50 % or less and maybe a bit more with jade Druid. Aggro decks are the most easy to counter.
      But this decklist is fucked up. People often play a finja too or eater of secrets.
      I just can’t win with this deck too, especially above rank 10.

  16. MrMeme
    May 18, 2017 at 4:51 AM

    Why no pyro?

    • Novagod
      May 23, 2017 at 11:54 AM

      Hey, MrMeme. Pyromancer is only viable with two qualities and a more control-midrange meta. As far as my rank climb of rank 3 and onwards, there was no need for a second equality. However, if you really want board clear, you can take out the golakka crawler and add a wild pyromancer. I do not advise this and even go as far to say that you should have two crawlers and only one equality because pirates are in warrior, druid, rogues, and even shaman. But as always you should adapt to the meta to your own accordance.

  17. MrMeme
    May 17, 2017 at 8:20 AM

    I have only 1 vilefin inquisitor so i replaced the 2nd one with a bluegill warrior, what do u guys think?

    • Bodacious
      May 18, 2017 at 2:28 PM

      You need one vilefin, which you have, but two is much better for the likelihood of drawing it. But only one can work in a pinch.

  18. dubesor
    May 15, 2017 at 5:49 PM

    weird how much the matchups differ from my experience. I played it from 5 to legend and aggro druid was my 2nd best matchup (after silence priest). Yet here it’s listed as a terrible matchup. Jade druid was much tougher for me. Fast Paladin is the hardest matchup for this list.

    http://i.imgur.com/4JxOpnd.png

  19. Novagod
    May 15, 2017 at 11:21 AM

    Replacement for Ragnaros? The only card I am missing and I am debating among ivory knight, forbidden healing, and lay on hands.

  20. MisterEpic
    May 14, 2017 at 10:14 PM

    Are sunkeeper Tarim and Ragnaros Lightlord super important in this deck? I dont have them and what can I replace them with?

    • Yanas
      May 20, 2017 at 3:03 PM

      you need sunkeeper for sure. I don’t know about ragnoros

  21. CasualCucumb
    May 12, 2017 at 5:22 AM

    I only have enough to either craft tirion or sunkeeper for this deck, which is the most important?

    • Hello
      May 17, 2017 at 5:07 AM

      Definitely Tirion if you don’t want to go full aggro (I have seen a list with full aggro and tarim as finisher). Tirion is classic and he is just an amazing card (imo one of the best legendaries in the game) and will stick around for more than a year. Tarim is a great card, too, but I would start with classic legendaries.

  22. Alexstarsza
    May 9, 2017 at 10:20 PM

    Replace “Curator” and “Drake” with VolcanosaurX2 and I quickly hit Rank 2. Volcano is way better for late game play. Use Divine Shield, “Can’t be hit by spells”, and/or Stealth. Or “taunt” if you’re in a dangerous low Hero HP situation.

  23. MooPenguin32
    May 8, 2017 at 6:59 AM

    As of April 30th, it looks like Machamp removed the Golakka Crawler for a Lay on Hands per his tweet below.

    https://twitter.com/apara_ska/status/858714692079894528

    Tempo Storm also shows this deck in their meta snapshot, but Vicious Syndicate shows this list.

    I myself removed the Crawler from the deck because it was too inconsistent. I would either have it and not need or it, or need it and not have it. It was rare I got to use it to eat a pirate.

    • Evident
      May 8, 2017 at 8:13 AM

      I would tend to agree with you, especially since Pirates are becoming less popular.

    • MooPenguin32
      May 8, 2017 at 10:49 AM

      I failed to mention the other changes made. The following are the total changes;

      -1 Golakka Crawler, -1 Ivory Knight, -1 Spikeridged Steed
      +2 Murloc Tidecallers, +1 Lay on Hands

    • Stonekeep - Site Admin
      May 11, 2017 at 3:33 AM

      Thanks, I’ll definitely take that into account when updating the guide next time!

      Crabs, just like any other tech cards, can really fall out of favor very quickly if the deck they target disappears from the meta. Maybe I’ll just not include those “hate” cards in the deck list and instead write about them in Card Substitutions section.

      But then again, some people don’t really read that far into the guide and they might miss it…

  24. Weke
    May 6, 2017 at 7:55 AM

    – 1 Golakka Crawler, +1 Wild pyromancer 😉 for me is working 4 mana kill the board.

  25. zq
    May 5, 2017 at 8:26 PM

    any replacement for the cruator or ivory knight? i have everything except for this two

  26. Choppy
    May 5, 2017 at 2:59 AM

    I have enough dust to craft 2 of the 3 legendaries. I know the first one is definitely tirion, but I’m stumped as to whether the second should be rag or tarim. Any advice? Thanks in advance 🙂

    • Hadrien
      May 5, 2017 at 5:38 PM

      Tarim without a doubt….you can survive with lay on hands for awhile

    • Stonekeep - Site Admin
      May 11, 2017 at 3:26 AM

      I’d go for Tarim. He’s much more flexible + he fits into both faster and slower lists (while Rag only fits into the slower ones).

  27. Robert
    May 3, 2017 at 12:25 PM

    This deck works the best for me at the beginning of this season .
    Removed golakka for second drake .
    Funny, I think drake wan me more games vs aggro and pirates than golakka did .
    It also pretty guarantees 3 draws from curator which is really good value .

  28. RhysPenny
    May 2, 2017 at 4:17 PM

    Loving the deck! been playing it a fair bit, its rate is 18-5 atm which by fair the best ive ever played. I removed the Golakka Crawler for Finga though, seems to work well.
    – 1 Golakka Crawler, +1 Finga

  29. dmitrious
    May 1, 2017 at 2:03 AM

    Probably, if I don’t find pirates, you can replace the crab on wickerflame?

  30. Firsttimerank5
    April 28, 2017 at 4:28 PM

    First time rank 5 because of this deck, thanks. Been playing hs for more than a year never got beyond rank 9. Love this deck because of its comeback mechanic against aggro. Final boss before rank 5 was a pirate warrior and i got 2 tarims and a bristle and won the game. I I really love this deck.

  31. Sparkz
    April 27, 2017 at 6:21 PM

    If getting Wickerflame off of stonehill defender is so nice I don’t see why not just going:
    -1 Stonehill +1 Wickerflame

    • MooPenguin32
      April 29, 2017 at 5:33 AM

      Wickerflame is good against aggro, especially when you need to gain some health. It doesn’t really do much against control, because they can easily handle a 2/2 with divine shield. Using Stonehill Defender, you can pick the best taunt minion for the situation. In control matches or even aggro matches that have gotten to turn 10, it’s great to be able to get another Tirion or Sunkeeper Tarim.

  32. Douglas89
    April 27, 2017 at 1:11 PM

    great deck, climbed to legend with it

  33. adam
    April 27, 2017 at 5:23 AM

    this deck is trash, there are far better variants – dont be fooled by this pseudo-write-up.

  34. Dude
    April 26, 2017 at 1:52 PM

    Stuck in rank 10, keep losing to Mage, Hunter, and Priest. Any tips for those matchups?

    • lollo
      April 27, 2017 at 2:40 AM

      maybe u play wrong, because i get rank 2 with this

    • cunt
      May 5, 2017 at 6:41 PM

      Git Gud

  35. Njuns
    April 25, 2017 at 11:42 PM

    Love this deck (thanks Evident), just replaced Golakka Crawler by Wickerflame Burnbristle and it rocks as hell

  36. Oxecnaif
    April 25, 2017 at 7:48 AM

    I accidentally dusted the curator… What is a good replacement for him until I craft him again?

    • Kyle
      May 23, 2017 at 4:54 PM

      Not any really. Primordial Drake without Curator makes it worse and I would say to replace both with a second steed, ivory, or a muclorc tidecaller.

  37. ITGM
    April 25, 2017 at 5:12 AM

    This deck lack draw, not even a single card!

    • EpicPigeon
      June 20, 2017 at 7:42 AM

      Yes because Curator doesnt draw cards obviously

  38. Hööken
    April 24, 2017 at 5:25 PM

    Can I replace Ragnaros light lord with Ragnaros fire lord?

  39. Stover
    April 24, 2017 at 8:21 AM

    Love this deck. My only real matchup issues have been Mage. Really hard to counter their late game fireball burst. Any success?

    • Alexander Plechov
      April 25, 2017 at 8:35 AM

      I think you should prioritize getting eye for an eye from hydrologist and playing turn before mage wants to kill you

  40. Hadrien
    April 22, 2017 at 6:47 PM

    Running lay on hands in place of Rag… and a tar creeper in Tirions slot… working great … gonna collect dust and add Tirion ASAP

    • hadrien
      April 25, 2017 at 7:26 AM

      Got Tirion, and pulled Golakaa for the 1 drop Murloc (tidecaller)…now its working faster, with a bigger late game…I dig it. Thx for the guide Stonekeep!

  41. Mars
    April 21, 2017 at 12:03 PM

    made the deck, first match que, mircle/tempo rogue, dead turn 7, had answer for everything.

    • swashburgler, patches

    me: coin hydrolgist

    • razor lasher, backstab hydrologist

    me: rockpool hunter on nothing (no other play), stronger play than hero power

    • divine strnth (stolen spell) on patches, hero power kill rockpool (i’m left no board, he has three minons now i’m at 24 health

    me: aldor peacekeeper on razor lasher only turn 3 play I have

    • fan of knives and patches into aldor PK, plays southsea deckhand, I’m now at 20 health

    me: only play is noble sac and warleader or gentlemegasuar.. playing two cards for more presence option over singular megasuar

    • swashburgler catches noble Sac, swashburgler into warleader followed by last hero power pwr charge, hit with 1/2 razor lasher, my health is now 19 he drops sherizhan (must be a miracle, few tempo rogue use that card)

    me: megasaur, only play I can make, not able to do anything with equals, rag, spikeridge steed

    • sherizan into megasuar, drops xaril, razor lasher and hero power, health now at 18

    me: hero power and equality, can’t do anything with rag, equal and spike ridge in hand

    • Acutioneer, fadeleaf toxin to stealth auctineer, last charge hero power into silverhand, razor lasher and xaril into face health now at 14

    me: hydrologist topdeck, getaway kodo only good pick, hero power, still can’t do anything with rest of hand

    • rzor lasher to face (no doubt to test for noble sac, razor petal face, health at 12 now, cold blood auctioneer .. game.

    … doesn’t appear to do well against rogue.

    • Mars
      April 21, 2017 at 12:05 PM

      patches into rockpool hunter* the swashburgler caught the noble sac

    • Stonekeep - Site Admin
      April 22, 2017 at 6:11 AM

      I mean, you have a one game sample size when your opponent had perfect answers to your plays AND Stealth on Gadgetzan Auctioneer (it never happened to me so far in this expansion, because Xaril is pretty uncommon).

      Miracle Rogue does well against this deck, it’s one of the best “counters”, but to be fair, the matchup isn’t as bad as it might seem. It’s probably 40/60 in Rogue’s favor, it’s far from unwinnable.

      • Mars
        April 22, 2017 at 1:59 PM

        normally you can attribute patterns to bad plays, and stats back it up, but looking at the replays of multiple games with various builds.. it’s seriously like a sign, I mean I had to post that game, it was the most redic after trying yet another build. I’ll revist pally again later… been having good fun with mage and it’s done well in tourney.

        • Burak
          April 25, 2017 at 2:31 AM

          Well I don’t know man. It seems to me that you are expecting above %70 winrate against all classes with same deck. I have %50-55ish winrate against both rogue decks and it’s incredibly good against warrior and hunter decks. I’m not sure about mage, I haven’t played against them too often, but worst case scenario is adding an eater of secrets. Priest is kinda annoying, or at least for me. I hate Elise the Trailblazer. Shaman and Warlock are fine and I haven’t lost a mirror match yet. This deck certainly have potential.

          • Mars
            April 26, 2017 at 8:14 PM

            oh hey, thanks for the reply.. yea I have since put together a very solid Pally deck.. thing works well… of course there are some bad match ups, checking my stats it’s 58% winrate with 35 games. it has had 6 tweeks(versions) since the original deck.

            and I just checkd this list… amazing to find I have come back to a very similar list on my own, I’ve tried several things out and feel confident in saying, the shell of this deck is solid. Looking at the list there’s only two card changes, and I’ve had at one point as many as 6 different cards.

            – Ivory Knight
            – gollaka Crawler

            I recommend adding in a second kodo.

          • Mars
            April 26, 2017 at 8:15 PM

            correction* 34 games

  42. RetroKissa
    April 21, 2017 at 8:28 AM

    Could Finja fit in this deck?

    • Sandrock
      April 21, 2017 at 11:35 PM

      Trump made a deck where he runs it with finja. He explains that finja/steed is great synergy. Also, even if you lose your second hydrologist and/or rockpool, you’re still thinning out your deck for the important stuff and have board presence for sunkeeper/gentle megasaur

  43. Darkbru
    April 21, 2017 at 6:12 AM

    I know it was mentioned in the guide, but any advice on replacing Tarim? I was thinking Finja for the murloc synergy, but I am open to other options

  44. woodzy
    April 21, 2017 at 5:03 AM

    I don’t have ragnaros or Tarim is this deck even worth trying?

    • FreakTheMan
      April 21, 2017 at 3:36 PM

      Of course! I use a more control approach of this deck and works very fine even without Tarim. You can replace him with any 1x card, preferably Primordial Drake or Ivory Knight!

    • Sandrock
      April 21, 2017 at 11:40 PM

      Ragnaros can be easily replaced with heal spells like lay on hands/forbidden healing or a second ivory knight. The deck might suffer in higher ranks without sunkeeper only cuz he’s such a powerful card (I find streamers pick a second one of him from stonehill a lot) I think you’ll be fine with any strong taunt. Drake more than likely for curator synergy, I’ve won many games cuz I played curator, drake, drake turn 7, 8 and 9 and the opponent ran out of answers.

  45. alain
    April 21, 2017 at 3:10 AM

    well at last uther come back from the darkness !

    is there a wild version of this awesome deck ? i thinl old murk eye would be a huge treat in it 😉

  46. Robert
    April 20, 2017 at 1:53 PM

    People are starting to put the murloc eater crab into thier decks !
    Be aware as I got rekt a few times by that .
    Otherwise great deck as always .
    Keep up the good work !

  47. Mislavi
    April 20, 2017 at 12:37 PM

    Great work, a complete guide from every point of view; I ran this list from 15th to the rank legend and now I’m on 800. I am very happy to know that the haters are weeping for having despised the paladin before the launch of un goro ;-). Ending my list play pinja and bronin instead of golakka and a spikeridged, bronin is more versatile against general aggro match up ex huntard or token dudu, pinja give u 2 free murloc on the board for combos , presence , buff or simply to pull out 2 potential death draw on the late game.

  48. stewie
    April 20, 2017 at 11:04 AM

    Do you think there is a place in the deck for Wickerflame Burnbristle or is he just win-more?

    • Earthling
      April 20, 2017 at 11:52 AM

      I play it instead of 1 golakka crawler. But I haven’t seen a pirate warrior for like 3 days.

  49. deepblue
    April 20, 2017 at 9:16 AM

    Wow, tier list has updated. Is it in order to win rates or playing percentage on ladder? Thx for your great job…

    • Evident
      April 20, 2017 at 10:41 AM

      No problem! The tier list is based off of multiple resources like Vicious Syndicate, Tempo Storm, Meta Stats, etc.

  50. amjakiro
    April 20, 2017 at 9:14 AM

    This deck is so powerful but still 50-50 with quest warr.

    • Velkymoss
      April 20, 2017 at 11:43 AM

      It recks taunt warrior if played correctly!

      • ElScorcho
        April 20, 2017 at 1:37 PM

        Just dont play into brawl