Weekly Legends: Dragon Priest

Introduction

In Hearthstone (and just about every other card game) when rotation happens it takes a lot of archetypes with it. However, sometimes those archetypes manage to hang around through the switch and stay strong. Out of all the ones that came from the Year of the Kraken, Dragon Priest has held on very tightly. This has been a huge surprise to everyone (myself included) who thought the deck was going to quickly die once it lost all of its powerful midrange tools. However, as the power level of the game dipped, many of Priest’s cards are just good enough to power through the current meta. This deck puts those tools on display and shows why just a few strong bodies can make a deck very well primed for climbing up the ladder.

Key Cards

Pint-Size Potion

Pint-Size Potion is one of the many brilliant one-of’s that are peppered throughout the deck, but I am am going to talk about it over all others because it has two very important uses. As I will mention many times, this list is a control deck. Dragon Priest has traditionally been a midrange build that focused on putting out efficient minions and then taking over the game with gigantic bodies. Now that they don’t have access to their strong early game cards they need to switch to something else. And that is going to be slower control cards. The whole deck has slowed down overall, giving you time to pace the game and make use of strong tech cards. Though this spell could easily be a second Potion of Madness, I like pint-size because it really opens up some of your other tools.

The two combos you have with Pint-Size Potion (besides it being a cheap way to trigger both Wild Pyromancer and Lyra the Sunshard) are Cabal Shadow Priest and Shadow Word: Pain. Each of those cards can lead to gigantic blowouts with the potion. While Shadow Priest is better, pain also helps a lot when you’ve already used both of your Shadow Word: Deaths and you need to kill something with five or six health. Also remember that your opponent is never going to see Pint-Size Potion coming. Bait them into it hard and do not be afraid to use up cards to make it look like you’ve run out of answers. I have won more than a few games by burning my deaths to bait out a 5 attack minion and then steal it with Shadow Priest. This card is not always going to win the game, but you should use it when you have a good opportunity to do so.

Note: In a pinch you can use the spell to get some very strong value trades or push for the board.

Wild Pyromancer

Here is another brilliant example of how this deck really pushes towards control. Wild Pyromancer has long been a Control Priest staple, and the fiery two drop is fantastic in the current meta. While you do not have access to Shadow Visions to really go off, the 3/2 has very nice synergy with your wide slew of one-mana spells, such as Binding Heal, Potion of Madness and Power Word: Shield. Your goal here should be to use the two drop to clear boards against aggro or finish off bigger minions/draw cards with Northshire Cleric against slower decks. Each of those modes matter and you always need to count the number of times you can trigger pyro’s ability while it is in your hand.

It is best to see this card as a combo card. There are a lot of decks that want early board right now, and being able to blow them up is going to almost always let your bigger threats take the day. The two best cards to combo with Wild Pyromancer are Binding Heal and Power Word: Shield because they allow you to up your spell count off of the card. Normally, you want to get more than two triggers off of the two drop if possible. This typically means waiting an extra turn to give yourself the mana you need to really pour it on. Getting one trigger just to a kill a single minion is not typically worth it.

Lyra the Sunshard

Now that most of the dust has settled, it is very clear that Lyra the Sunshard is quite the powerhouse. In fact, she’s so strong that if she lives a turn you are almost going to bury your opponent under a mountain of value. However, despite that potential, the 3/5 is not easy to use. Like so many cards in this game, it is very important to realize that the threat of combo is often just as strong as the combo itself. That is to say, you do not need to have some massive turn with Lyra for her to be good. In fact, most of the time she is simply going to eat removal or force your opponent’s hand, which is more than fine. Do not be afraid to simply put her down with one or two spells and then see if your opponent can come up with an answer.

I would compare the legendary elemental to Fandral Staghelm. Not in ability, but for the fact that she is a “must kill” card that you can get some strong value out of as soon as she comes down. She also makes a great tempo play. You want to work hard to set her up while ahead, but you should always read how to use her. If you have a chance to control the board you need to do whatever you can to get her down while you’re ahead or when your opponent has no minions. However, when you’re falling behind you should simply play her to just get a few spells. Sometimes she is Fandral and sometimes she is Priest of the Feast. Be aware of what mode you need.

Dragonfire Potion

While it may seem like an overstatement, Dragonfire Potion is likely the best card in your deck. As I have mentioned, the power level of the game has dipped. That in turn has made AOE and removal much stronger. Being able to clear a full board is extremely powerful because it plays off of many of the decks that need to commit to the board. Your deck is built off of efficient removal and strong control plays, which often makes your opponent try to push damage through. That typically means they are going to overextend into your AOE, giving you chances for a major blowout. Unless you are under a lot of pressure you do not want to pull the trigger on this card. First rely on your minions and then only fall back to the clear once you have lost control of the board.

You should always look for ways to use the potion as a tempo swing when you have dragons on board. This situation does not come up often (you only run a few of the flying lizards) but it is one of the best ways to get ahead in the game. Though you are a control deck, tempo plays are still very valuable. Being able to get your biggest threats alone on the board forces your opponent to react hard to your plays, which gives you a chance to make good use out of your removal. Remember that control does not mean playing from behind. You want to get ahead in a wide range of different plays, and using hard AOE while also getting to stick a large body is one of the best ways to keep the board.

Deathwing

“Joseph, can we please stop talking about Deathwing?” The answer is no. No, we cannot. The big dragon continues to be one of the best end-game cards in Hearthstone and it just dominates a wide range of classes. While I normally discuss the 12/12 in order to break down his various uses against the field, here I just want to discuss your late-game options. I love Deathwing (as did the original list) but you have several strong options for a big finishing dragon. A second Primordial Drake is most likely your best bet, but I think both Onyxia and Alexstrasza have good uses right now. You want a finisher that is going to bring some pain, and all of those have game-ending capabilities in the right situations. Whatever finisher you choose you want it to be a dragon and you want it to be something that is going to instantly put pressure on your opponent. More traditional options like Ysera are simply too slow right now. You don’t want a value machine here, you want something that threatens to close things out.

Matchups

The games I have seen most on the ladder.

Pirate Warrior

Though it is (finally) dipping a bit in popularity, you still want to be ready for Pirate Warrior. The aggressive list is still the most popular in the game, and they have many ways to burst people down. As you can imagine, this is one of your better matchups. Though you do not have access to taunt, you do have many different removal spells stacked on top of strong healing through both your hero power and things like Binding Heal or Priest of the Feast. All you want to do in this matchup is kill everything your opponent plays. This will both limit the damage you take while also forcing Warrior to lean on their weapons. If they get a good draw with a lot of upgrades it is going to be tough to win, but if you can push them back early you should be able to control the board and stack up a few threats.

Though it may sound strange, you want to pace this game in the same way you do Quest Rogue. You are not an aggressive deck, but you do have some strong bodies that can push quite well. Throw out every body you can (unless you’re healing or clearing) to force your opponent to react to your board. Every piece of damage your opponent uses on your board is less pressure you need to face. It is not going to be easy to get your opponent focused on you, but once you get there this one should be easy. Work hard to use your hero power and do not be shy about using healing spells. Pirate has a ton of burst damage and you do not want to die when you could have easily gotten yourself out of range.

Midrange Paladin

Midrange Paladin has made a very big push recently, and that is not great news. The deck is one of your tougher matchups and you are going to need all of your resources to pull through. The goal of this game is to get a handle of their early murloc push and then try to leverage your big minions over theirs. Paladin has become an curve-based deck, and you need to do what you can to disrupt that curve in any way possible. While you don’t want to just play bodies, you need to make good use of your removal. Fight with your bodies but be careful not to fall too far behind. Paladin will have some dead turns if you can take out a few key minions, but if they curve right into Murloc Warleader or Gentle Megasaur, you will easily get overwhelmed.

You need to work hard to get value while also limiting your opponent’s wherever you can. The first way you do that is by playing around your opponent’s secrets. Both Getaway Kodo and Redemption on things like Tirion Fordring are going to destroy your plan by stretching your removal thin and giving your opponent extra threats for free. Always do what you can to work around those spells, and if your opponent refuses to play any other minions you simply want to add threats they must deal with. In that same vein, it is very important to make sure they do not get a good on-curve target for Spikeridged Steed. While they will eventually put down the buff, you want it to be in a situation where they are doing it to get back on board. If they put it down while ahead it is going to be hard to fight them.

Burn Mage

Still holding strong, Discover Mage continues to do all of the unfair things that it has ever done. The deck is very fast, but they also can switch to a lot of different styles as a result of all of the random cards they are going to generate throughout each game. You want to simply take this one slow. Mage has a lot of strong tools, but if you’re careful with your health and remove all their early pushes you should be able to stay one step ahead. It is very unlikely that Jaina will be able to rush you down. That means their win condition is largely going to be giant swings of burst, and if you can manage to stay ahead of that they likely won’t be able to kill you. Try to find burn spells whenever you can with Drakonid Operative. Not only does that help your removal package, but it also helps you pop their Ice Block when the time comes.

The two cards you want to be aware of are Alexstrasza and Medivh, the Guardian. Alex is going to be problem number one and you need to both have a way to kill her (spell or board) and a way to quickly heal up. Every single Mage deck these days is able to do 15 to 20 damage without breaking a sweat. Understand that, and do whatever you can to hoard healing spells until the dragon knocks you down. Once that happens, you should heal as much as you possibly can and leverage your hero power each turn. Popping Ice Block is important, but you shouldn’t make it your top priority. Push damage where you can, but get control of the board and your life first.

Midrange Hunter

Hunter continues to climb in popularity and it is currently one of the strongest classes in the game. This is a very tricky matchup that is going to be a back-and-forth affair at every stage of play. This game is all about anticipation. Hunter has a very strong plan, but they also play just about every game the same way. As a result, you know what they are going to do and you can play out your turns before them. Work hard to take care of their first three turns to stop Houndmaster, clear every small early beast to limit Crackling Razormaw, and always try to control the board by turn six. You need to make good use of your removal and you need to fight hard for board control. Even one dead turn against Rexxar is likely going to lose you the game. This is a matchup where Wild Pyromancer really shines because it cleans up 1/1’s very easily. Do not hesitate to pull the trigger on the 3/2 if you have the chance to AOE.

Quest Rogue

I am not sure why, but Quest Rogue has made quite the comeback over the past two weeks in a big way. You win this game, not through pressure, but simply by having control of the board when they get they get to The Caverns Below. Quest Rogue is strong, but they do not do well at controlling the board. For that reason, you just want to run out every single body that you can. Even something as simple as a Kabal Talonpriest can stack up enough pressure each turn to force Valeera into some really bad plays. Try to curve out as much as possible here and work hard to get in damage. Just remember to always kill their value minions (Swashburglar, Southsea Deckhand, Novice Engineer) to limit any topdecked bounce cards they might get. This will make it so they have to start playing their 5/5 minions from behind, which gives you a chance to pick them off.

Always expect Rogue to have Preparation in hand. That is to say, clear out the board the turn before they can go off with a two mana quest. The only way you lose from a winning position is if they manage to leverage what they already have on the board. If they need to play threats down you will be in much better shape. Once your opponent explores The Caverns Below the matchup largely turns into a game of chicken where they try to play as much as they can to bait out Dragonfire Potion without losing their whole hand. For this reason, you want to exercise all of your other removal options first before pulling the trigger on the spell. It is one of your win conditions and you should treat it as such.

Mulligan Guide

You want to mulligan this deck by keeping your early removal and any cheap minions. Northshire Cleric, Netherspite Historian and Shadow Word: Pain are your must keeps. You should look for Potion of Madness and Wild Pyromancer when facing aggro decks (Druid, Hunter, Warrior) and always keep Power Word: Shield when you have any early minions to go along with it. Kabal Talonpriest is a very strong keep when you have the curve and the coin. You want Shadow Word: Death against Miracle Rogue if you have a strong curve, and Priest of the Feast is a very good card against any aggro deck if you have the coin or a strong opening curve.

The only other mulligan rule is you can keep slower dragons if you’re up against a midrange or control deck and you need to turn on an early Netherspite Historian.

Conclusion

Dragon Priest is the little deck that could, and it continues to perform in many different forms. I thought the deck was completely dead, but I am quite happy to be proven wrong. It is always interesting to see when lists make it through rotation, and it is even cooler to see interesting takes on those new builds. Midrange Dragon has been the way the deck has been built since it first came into existence, so I had to try out a control build. Un’goro is still as diverse as ever, and Priest is a great break from the most popular classes. Until next time, may you always hold a dragon.

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