Hello hello hello, it’s me Fireflyer with another deck guide for a new edition of the ever favorite, Anyfin can happen Murloc Paladin Combo Control deck. I have previously written a guide for a Murloc Paladin deck that is much more control based and focuses purely on drawing and playing Anyfin can happen but this version utilizes The Curator as well as Barnes for some interesting deck synergy. The control version of the deck focuses more on drawing and healing itself for survival while this one tends to curve out better with a good flow of minions to deal with threats. Let’s go over the Anyfin can happen Paladin deck archetype real quick before we jump into the decklist.
Deck Overview
The Anyfin can happen Paladin deck focuses on one thing, getting your murlocs killed and reviving them with Anyfin can happen for a huge board swing. You do this by only using Bluegill Warrior and Murloc Warleader so when you revive your murlocs, you have big charge murlocs that can do massive damage in one turn. One of the key things for this deck is making sure you draw your murlocs and get them killed early. The worst thing that can happen is getting to turn 10 with one of your Anyfin can happen cards in your hand with no murlocs to resurrect.
Besides murlocs, one portion of the deck is Paladin Control. The deck uses major combo cards like Equality + Wild Pyromancer or Equality + Consecration for one of the best board wipes in the game. These combos almost always guarantee a full board wipe and combo well with Solemn Vigil to refill your hand. The regular control version runs two of each of Ivory Knight and Forbidden Healing but this version only runs one of each and also drops Lay on Hands from the decklist. The reason for these cuts in control are to make way for the new additions to the deck….
Welcome to The Curator. I’ve been using this card on and off for awhile in different decks now because the “fetch” effect of The Curator is amazing! You can use it to refill your hand with a lot of good value cards like Stampeding kodo and Azure Drake. The main thing about using The Curator though is the fact that it can go find your murlocs! One of the major problems of the control version is that you sometimes struggle drawing your murlocs in time. Even if one Bluegill warrior is left at the bottom of your deck, you’ll find it really hard to combo and win so you end up trying to control the game for 20 turns just to get to your murloc. The Curator allows you to use your draw cards to get into a few of your early murlocs and then dropping The Curator will grab the last one you’re missing. I love the addition of this card to the deck as it makes your combo flow MUCH smoother.
One other interesting addition to the deck was Barnes. At first I wasn’t sold on him but after I started getting free Tirion Fordrings and Ragnaros, lightlords into play I started enjoying him a lot. Another major thing that he can provide are multiple murloc deaths. Because he makes a copy, what he ends up doing is making a 1/1 version of a Murloc Warleader or a bluegill warrior that dies and becomes an extra resurrect for Anyfin can happen. This becomes super important late in the game when you’re ready to combo. Two Bluegill Warrior and two Murloc Warleader is 12 damage. If your Barnes got an extra Bluegill Warrior, that’s a total of 18 damage now. If your Barnes got an extra Murloc Warleader, it’s 16 damage. Don’t sleep on this card, it’s perfect for Anyfin can happen.
Alright let’s go into the decklist and see what we’ve got.
Decklist
Murlocs
The major part of the deck are the murlocs and the Anyfin can happen combo.
Bluegill Warrior: This is one of your best early-game cards you can have in your hand. As much as you probably want to play it early and start attacking, using your hero power is always better and save this guy to use as a removal effect. You can also combo him with Murloc Warleader for 5 mana so you have a 4/2 charge that can take out stuff like Azure Drake. Mulligan aggressively for this card because it will help you get some early control and you also want to make sure you have two of these dead before you cast Anyfin can happen.
Murloc Warleader: This murloc is another one you want to aggressively mulligan for because even as a 3/3 for 3 mana it’s a strong card. Unlike Bluegill warrior I like to play this one on curve and try to get some early damage in. If they don’t remove him quickly, he sets up for 4/2 Bluegill Warriors that can eat up big minions. One major thing you need to worry about are Polymorph effects like Hex and Polymorph. If your Murloc Warleader dies to one of those, it won’t be resurrected with Anyfin can happen and a big part of your combo goes away. Most opponents don’t know this but I’ve had a few matchups go bad due to Cabalist’s tome getting my opponent something like Polymorph: boar and ruining my murlocs.
Anyfin can happen: The combo card. The first one you cast usually won’t end the game, but the second one almost always does due to the massive damage. I usually use my first Anyfin can happen as a removal spell, depending on what I have dead. I try to have two Bluegill Warriors dead so I can have two minions to swing and kill other minions when I anyfin can happen. One Murloc warleader means two 4/2s and two Murloc Warleader means two 6/4s. Attack your charge Bluegill warrior into their big creatures and wait for your second Anyfin can happen which usually makes like 3 Bluegill warriors and 4 Murloc Warleaders which end up being 30+ damage. Another trick this deck has is Ivory Knight which can sometimes pick you up a third Anyfin can happen. Against Control Warrior or any Warrior deck that gains a lot of armor this is your favorite thing to happen and will almost always win you the game if you can cast a third 30+ damage swing.
Control
Paladin has some of the best control cards in the game and this deck uses pretty much all of the good ones.
Forbidden Healing: I was sad to see this go down to 1 card in this version of the deck because I love this card a lot. This card is what usually saves me against Hunter or Mage when I can heal myself back to full life from 10 health. I’ve debated bringing this back up to 2 in the deck but I’m unsure of what to take out since everything is pretty important in this build. The card is pretty basic to understand, use it on yourself when you’re low on health and get a massive heal.
Ivory Knight: I put this guy under control cards because that’s kind of what he is. One, you get a nice heal effect to keep yourself alive longer, two, you can search for things to save your ass like Equality or Aldor Peacekeeper to handle threats, three, you get a 4/4 minion which can usually trade really well with other minions or start attacking their face to get them close to finishing them off with your combo and lastly, four, you have a chance of getting a third Anyfin can happen which makes the deck RIDICULOUS and able to even kill things like control warrior. I don’t play this minion on curve and I usually wait for a big heal from it or if I really need to find an answer to a threat. The control version of this deck runs two of these but I’m okay with just one, it’s pretty expensive.
Doomsayer: The tough part about this card in this Paladin deck is that you don’t have something to combo with it like Frost nova to almost guarantee a board wipe. This card takes a lot of judgment to make sure you’re able to use it well and remove minions with it. I try to play it early against just one or two minions to try and make sure it goes off. Playing it early is also great because it combos really well with Solemn Vigil for some early card draw after you wipe the board. Another thing I like to do that may not be the best way of using it, is casting it even though they have enough damage to kill it and using it as a 7 damage “shield” to stall into more control.
Truesilver Champion: What is there to say about this card? 4 mana 4 damage and also a small heal. Great for removing minions. One thing you want to watch out for is Harrison Jones so make sure you’re attacking the turn you play this card and try to use up all your charges quickly.
Equality Combo
This combo needs its own section since it’s so vital to the deck and is one of the main reasons this deck is so powerful.
Equality: The main piece of the combo. It’s so important that I honestly try to mulligan for it, just to make sure I have one for when I need it. You almost never want to cast one without the combo, but every once in awhile you’ll have like, two hero power tokens in play and a Loot Hoarder and then it’s up to you to make a judgment call. I prefer to always keep them for the combo.
Wild Pyromancer: Combo this with Equality is a guaranteed board wipe except against divine shield. Sometimes if you’re tricky you can also go Equality into Wild Pyromancer and then something like Solemn Vigil or maybe even a spell from Ivory Knight to trigger Wild Pyromancer and kill everything except for him on the board. They are rare occasions but always something to remember since it can leave you with a 3/1.
Consecration: Comboing with Wild Pyromancer is usually better for Equality while saving your Consecration as just normal aoe removal. But when you don’t have a Wild Pyromancer around, Consecration will combo just fine for a one-sided board wipe. This is good when you have a few minions in play doing damage and don’t want to stop attacking. Also combos well with Wild Pyromancer for a 3 damage area effect.
Draw Effects
Getting your murlocs and your control cards are very important and these draw effects will get you to them.
Loot Hoarder: One of your best early game minions. He goes into play and either gets removed or trades with another early game minion. A bonus effect is that he can be summoned by Barnes as a 1/1 with a free draw effect. These guys are your key to drawing into your murlocs quickly.
Acolyte of Pain: The only thing this card combos with is Wild Pyromancer and it doesn’t really do that because you don’t have enough spells to trigger the area damage to draw multiple cards from it. To be honest, you could probably take this card out. It usually only draws you one card and even though it does a good job of it, there are a couple better things I wouldn’t mind putting back in like an extra Forbidden Healing or a Lay on Hands. Test it out but I actually think it could be replaced.
Solemn Vigil: With all the board wipe this deck does using Equality combos or Doomsayer, your best draw card is Solemn Vigil. I cast this card for 0 mana a TON and it’s even better when you cast one and draw into another one that you get to play for free.
The Curator Gang
The Curator is a new addition to the deck and brings a few “toolbox” minions with him that he can fetch. One of the major things I want to point out is that both the dragon and beast listed here can possibly be traded out for another dragon or beast. The idea I was toying around with was taking out the Azure Drake and replacing it with a big dragon of some sort, but I wasn’t sure. If you’re a fan of things like Alexstrasza maybe, you could run that instead and it would be fun using The Curator to go fetch it.
The Curator: This is your main fetch mechanic. I like to save him for late in the game when I only have one or two murlocs left in the deck and need to find them. Drawing into your beast and dragon are okay but they’re so expensive that you won’t be able to use them that turn usually. I like to drop The Curator and also cast my murloc in the same turn.
Azure Drake: This is the dragon of choice for most The Curator versions of decks. The spell damage doesn’t matter much except for Consecration so I wouldn’t worry about trying to keep him alive. At best, it’s a free draw that is also a 4/4 minion.
Stampeding Kodo: The beast. This card can remove a couple of annoying things like Doomsayer and Flamewaker but because of it’s “random” effect it’s sometimes hard to use. Also great for killing shaman totems. A decent card but becomes amazing in this deck because of the synergy it has with The Curator.
The Legends
These are the remaining legendaries in the deck that are mostly control cards anyways but I figured since they’re so sexy they needed their own little section to themselves.
Barnes: The minions this guy can fetch from your deck is insane. The best one is Tirion Fordring since you get a free weapon off of it as well as a 1/1 divine shield taunt. My second favorites are the murlocs since it means you’ll get an extra murloc death for Anyfin Can Happen. My third favorite is Loot Hoarder since it’s a free card draw. Other than that, he tempos really well, puts a threat on the board and has a chance of getting you something insane. I love him in this deck. He really helps with the murloc combo so much, it’s crazy.
Ragnaros, Lightlord: Amazing control card. Make sure you’re the only thing that has taken damage so when you cast him you’re at least getting a heal for 8 damage. He will be the focus of a lot of removal, so if you cast him while something else has damage and he doesn’t heal you, then you’re pretty much getting nothing. As long as you get one heal for 8 damage, he does his job. Another amazing card to get from Barnes especially against Hunter. 😛
Emperor Thaurissan: Not much to say about this guy. He’s big, he follows tempo really well, and it’s hard not to cast him on Turn 6 every time. You can either cast him on curve or you can wait until you have Solemn Vigil so you can do something like Doomsayer or Equality combo, draw into a bunch of cards and then drop him for a huge reduction. Not required though, he isn’t part of a combo like he is in Freeze Mage so drop him whenever you want.
Tirion Fordring: Another great paladin control card. He will be focused almost immediately so don’t expect him to survive too long. But if anything, the weapon you receive is worth his death. One major thing you need to watch out for his Hex. If your opponent hasn’t cast one yet, I would hold him back and try to bait one out with Ragnaros, Lightlord or something because as long as Tirion Fordring can die, he has done his job.
Mulligan Guide
Priority #1: Bluegill Warrior, Loot Hoarder, Murloc Warleader: These guys are your early game aggro as well as your early game control. If your opponent is controlling, cast these and start attacking, force them to use cards. If your opponent is aggro, make sure to trade as much as you can as fast as you can. Don’t worry about dealing damage to their face.
Priority #2: Doomsayer: This card is really good early in the game because it almost always guarantees one or two minions die. If you get just two, you can make Solemn Vigil cost 3 mana on your Turn 3 for free cards.
Priority #3: Equality: This is the only important part of the combo that you need to mulligan for. Wild Pyromancer is important but you have Consecration that can take its place. Even without those two, if your opponent plays something like Flamewreathed faceless you can still use Equality by itself so you can trade something like a Bluegill Warrior or Loot Hoarder with it.
Conclusion
Murloc Anyfin can happen Paladin has been one of my favorite “combo” themed decks for awhile now and it’s hard not to fall in love with some of the powerful Paladin control cards. With the addition of Barnes allowing me to get Tirion Fordring or murlocs, this deck has gotten much better at getting its combo together. Also with The Curator fetching murlocs.
While the control version of the deck seems to be more stable since it can control the field longer and better, this version has gotten me the combo pieces much better than the control version ever did. The control version takes much longer to set up while this one curves out and drops some threats along the way.
I actually plan to run this deck during the Heroic Tavern Brawl coming up so if you’re curious about how I do with it or would like to see some VODs, you’re welcome to follow me on Twitter @HS_Fireflyer to see how I did or check out my stream/videos on Twitch: itsFireflyer.
That’s all I’ve got for this deck update, I hope you like the new changes to the Anyfin Murloc deck and let me know below what you thing in the comment section! Would you replace the Dragon and Beast with another one that The Curator could fetch? Does the idea of a big dragon like Nefarion or Ysera sound better than Azure Drake? Is there a better beast than Stampeding Kodo? Leave me your ideas below and I’ll be sure to reply when I get a chance!
Thanks for reading and come around again soon! 🙂
