Mulligans
General Mulligans
Generally, you want to get copies of your minions out ASAP and get them killed. If a minion gets stuck in your hand, it has a higher chance of getting countered
EDIT:
-1 Pint-Sized Potion
+1 Holy Nova
+1 Holy Fire.
These changes gives you reach through armor, more heals and some extra full board clears. It also makes Eternal Servitude more valuable in the late game as it can be used to heal/kill and stall.
Against control I trade out 1 Shadow Word: Pain for another Holy Nova.
This deck combines elements of Big Priest and Combo Malygos giving it the “big deck of answers” feeling that Big Priest can have, along with the “big bucket of Whoop @$$ feeling of dropping Malygos and blowing up face.
Win Condition:
The Typical win condition of this deck is the OTK 3 card combo. This includes Lesser Diamond Spellstone, Holy Smite and Mind Blast.
For the combo to work, Prophet Velen and Malygos have to have hit the board and died. Additionally, if Barnes was played, Lesser Diamond Spellstone needs to be upgraded at least once.
This deck also often wins by just smashing one of your infinite Velen’s or Maly’s into the opponent’s face then firing a Holy Smite or Mind Blast for the win. You definitely don’t need to wait for the full combo to end the game.
Mulligan:
Always keep Barnes.
- Against Aggro: Mulligan everything for your removal. Barnes, Spirit Lash, Shadow Word: Pain, Shadow Word: Horror . If you have horror, keep pint-sized potion as well. Dragonfire Potion is too far out, so mulligan it with the hopes of drawing something sooner.
- Against Control: Mulligan everything for Barnes or Shadow Essence. You need to get Prophet Velen and Malygos killed as fast as possible
Counters:
Of course, the counters to this deck are anything that keep you from getting your Velen or Malygos killed. This means 4 classes have a chance to counter your deck: Priest (Mind Control , Polymorph from Kazakus’s spell), Mage (Polymorph , Counterspell ), Shaman (Hex and Devolve), and Rogue (Sap / Vanish via Mill). Against one of these decks, always use your Shadow Visions for damage spells (Holy Smite and Mind Blast) as it will open up more ways to win.
Priest
Shaman
Mage
Rogue
what you have left. This means, before you get you milled you want as
many damage cards in your hand as possible. Shadow Visions should only be used for those two damage spells. If your hand is getting to 7+ cards, play off your Pint-Sized Potion, Shadow Word: Pain , Shadow Word: Death, Dragonfire Potion, and Greater Healing Potion. Be careful with Eternal Servitude if you haven’t killed both minions, as Sap and Vanish can clog your hand and mill your other combo piece.
I got countered... Now What?
If you’re playing against a counter deck, try to only get Holy Smite or Mind Blast from your Shadow Visions. This will open up more kill
options should one of your two minions not be resurrect-able. Also, save your Eternal Servitude. You can use these to create a new OTK opportunity, or just repeatedly flood the board until you get enough of your minions there to blow up face.
If they polymorphed or stole both your Maly or Velen, then it’s honorable seppuku time. Find the concede button and learn from your mistakes. 🙂 But honestly, this hasn’t happened to me yet, and is pretty easy to steer around. If you just lost one, Don’t Fret! You’re still totally in the game. Thanks to Shadow Visions, there’s still 3 OTK possibilities in your deck depending on which minion you lost:
Eternal Servitude (Malygos or Velen) + 3 Mind Blast
Eternal Servitude (Malygos) + 4 Holy Smite
Eternal Servitude (Malygos) + 2 Mind Blast , 1 Holy Smite
And obviously, there’s nearly infinite combos to get over 20 dps if you’ve hit face once or twice.
Additional Piloting Tips:
Your first job is to murder your minions. If you’re playing against a deck with counters, you’d MUCH rather have a dead Velen/Malygos then your only Velen or Malygos on the board. Don’t be afraid to use your extra spells to murder your minions.
Spirit Lash can easily get you back to full health and can occasionally be used as a full board clear. Couple it with Eternal Servitude on Malygos for 7 damage to the board.
If you have 2 spellstones in hand (and dead Maly+Velen) but not the damage pieces of the combo, you can use Spirit Lash with your spare spellstone to clear basically any board and fully heal back up. I’ve even used it at 1 health against an empty board and got back to full on murdering my own velen/Maly/barnes).
Using spirit lash after Barnes can guarantee the death of your Velen/Maly and prevent them from being poached or polymorphed.
Don’t be afraid to psychic scream your own minions into their deck, if they have died before. I’m fine giving them a velen or a malygos if it buys me a turn or two for combo.
Please let me know if you have thy tips or thoughts! I’d be happy to add any suggestions to the guide!
Edit: Made some formatting fixes.
Nice deck, doesnt work 10 out of 10 games shadow essence gave me stupid Barnes and i lost the game…
Really fun twist on big priest! Definitely amusing to kill the minions you’ve just cheated out. Plus, you deserve more upvotes and views for the quality of the guide alone!
Thanks man, I really appreciate it. This is the first deck/guide I’ve ever made so i wanted it to be good. I’m still tinkering with it, but It seems to be a good middle tier deck. It stomps on Control Warlock and CubeLock, so it’s fun to play just for that 🙂