SYLVANAS WINDRUNNER: The Rise and the Fall and There And Back Again

SPOILER ALERT: Amaz will be dancing in delight once again. It's one of those special Hearthstone moments. Here we have Amaz playing priest, and with that class comes Thoughsteal. He is battling against a Druid that had a Sylvanas Windrunner. Now, how could the legendary creature rise and fall and rise and fall again? Well, have a couple of Faceless Manipulators and Shadow Word: Death, plus an Innervate, and you have a spectacular comeback from Amaz.

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ZOOLADIN / AGGRO PALADIN: Reaching Legend Rank

Zoo Warlock decks abound in Casual and in Ranked play. Additionally, everyone is aware of the Face Hunter, aside from every other aggro deck out there. But what about the Paladin decks? Control Paladin hasn't gained much attention, but perhaps this Zoo-esque version of Aggro Paladin can help players reach legend rank without playing the typical Warlock version. According to redditor Maelk, he has been an avid fan of the Paladin class ever since, and he wanted to prove that you can climb to the top using it. Here is the decklist:

Matchups

As stated by him, this aggro paladin deck consistently beats Miracle Rogue, aside from different versions of Druid, Hunter, and Zoo. All of this, though, largely depends on having the right card draw and the proper mulligan. Additionally, the deck is at a disadvantage whenever it faces Control Warrior.

Strategy

Since it is an aggro Zoo deck in the form of the Paladin class, the strategy is pretty straightforward: consistent pressure, both directly to the opponent and to his minions on board through  the use of Paladin buff cards and minions that will trade well. An opponent using a couple of minions with taunt can be dealt with by casting Blessing of Might to any of your minions that has Divine Shield, such as Argent Commander, and with the help of Truesilver Champion and Aldor Peacekeeper. Additionally, it would be easier to recover from mass removal cards because of Divine Favor.

The lategame would be composed of using Avenging Wrath, Consecration, and Argent Commander to clear the board while slowly but surely digging down at the opponent's HP. One tip provided by Maelk is that you should not keep Blessing of Might during the start of the game if you do not have Argent Squire. Against Warlock, do not keep Divine Favor, even if the opponent uses Handlock. When battling against Zoo, keep Abusive Sergeant. Consecration is good to have against Warlock, but not against Warrior, Druid, or Hunter. Also, it was suggested by others that King Mukla should be put into the deck, and Maelk agreed that it is a great card to use since the deck can efficiently clear the board. To add Mukla, Sword of Justice should be removed.

Playing Lorewalker Cho

It might seem weird at first, but the addition of Cho is actually great because it has proven to be the biggest threat to Miracle Rogue, and to Druid and Control Warrior to a lesser degree. Opponents will be utilizing their gameplay to get rid of the Lorewalker while you use your Divine Shield-ed minions to clear the board. While it isn't exactly the best card to have when you have Avenging Wrath or Consecration in hand, the best thing about it is that it makes the opponent think on how to deal with it without losing tempo. Moreover, it has a good combo with Divine Favor.

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MIND BLASTED: The Real Identity of Hearthstone's Anduin Wrynn

Let's talk about something light for today. With all the serious discussion regarding the inability of players to have more than 30 life points in relation to quite a number of decks being combo OTKs, we believe that it would be relevant to talk about the Priest class. Now, why do you think Anduin Wrynn has so much appeal, despite his class ranking low? Indeed, Priests overall are seen at the bottom tier, but it cannot be denied that playing Priest feels like your a genius, especially when you pull off those manipulation techniques and successfully turn your minions into 10/10s using Inner Fire. Perhaps, just perhaps, Anduin has that unique appeal to us players because he reminds us of someone that has captured the hearts and attention of millions around the world. So, who could Anduin be in reality? Look no further:

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ENRAGE WARRIOR: A Deck That Can Deal 32 Damage In One Turn

A new kind of aggro warrior deck is in the works, and redditor HeartlessXiao has managed to reach Rank 4 with it. He found the inspiration to modify the aggro build because he was fond of using Miracle Rogue before, and wanted to apply the same experience using another class. The deck has apparently gone through a lot of modifications, and cards will vary because of the current competition. Anyway, the it is called "Enrage Warrior" because its main finisher is Raging Worgen. Just like any other combo deck, the other cards are either used to dig through for the necessary combo pieces to buff the Worgen or to put other forms of pressure, such as with playing Kor'Kron Elites and Spiteful Smith. Here is the decklist:

What are the OTK options of the deck? HeartlessXiao notes that there are at least four viable ways, all using Raging Worgen to kill the opponent, with the lowest at sixteen damage in one turn:

Option 1: Raging Worgen + Charge + Inner Rage = 16 damage using 6 mana

Option 2: Raging Worgen + Charge + Inner Rage + Rampage = 22 damage using 8 mana

Option 3: Raging Worgen + Charge + 2X Inner Rage + Rampage = 26 damage using 8 mana

Option 4: Raging Worgen + Charge + 2X Inner Rage + 2X Rampage = 32 damage using 10 mana

Aside from using Inner Rage, there are multiple ways to enrage the Worgen. These include Slam, Shield Slam, Whirlwind, and Cruel Taskmaster. However, the key to the combo is to give it charge, and there are only two copies maximum of Charge in the deck, so it should be "planned accordingly."

Finally, the creator of the deck gave four considerations when using this aggro/combo warrior deck:

1. While Rampage is considered a combo piece, it can also be used to other cards such as Acolyte of Pain which could ideally prove to allow the minion to trade up against most minions while providing possible card advantage.

2. At times, it would be worth it to use Slam on your own Acolyte of Pain to draw two cards. Ideally, you can get three cards when you attack with Acolyte of Pain and it is dealt damage.

3. Spiteful Smith is a pretty powerful card, even with just its 4/6 stats since the warrior has a lot of weapons and having it become stronger only makes the smith more useful. Additionally, you can swap The Black Knight with a second Spiteful Smith if there isn't much Handlock or Druid to battle against. Additionally, you can substitute Brawl if you are battling against a lot of Zoo decks.

4. Never forget to calculate the possible damage you can deal. Take note of the combo pieces you have and how many cards you can still draw before getting fatigued. This is necessary in order to decide whether you will directly attack the opponent or attempt to clear his side of the board.

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MILLACLE: A Unique Druid Deck Utilizing Malygos and Moonfire To Reach Legend Rank

Want a really unique druid deck that has proven to help you reach legend rank? Look no further, as redditor Coleisepic has introduced his "miracle, dragon, mill, and tempo" druid deck to the internet. It basically has two win conditions. The first one involves would ideally involve Malygos, double Moonfire, double Innervate, and a Swipe, all played in one turn, for a possible 21 burst damage to the opponent. The other win condition is the average Force of Nature + Savage Roar combo that delivers 14 burst damage (12 from the 4/4 treants, and 2 from the Druid's attack). Here is the decklist:

According to Coleisepic, the goal of the "Millacle" deck is to mana ramp into Alexstrasza or Gadgetzan Auctioneer and hopefully draw the necessary combo cards while milling the opponent's deck and clearing his side of the board. It is a straightforward deck that is easy to play, although realizing its full potential can be quite difficult. There are two copies of Ancient of War to effectively act as a bait for removal and provide defense for Malygos to stay alive. Having a Malygos into play turns Swipe into a big Flamestrike that deals six damage to your opponent's minions and ideally ten damage to the opponent directly. Moreover, the deck apparently has no bad matchups except when it is againt Aggro Paladin.

Coleisepic further provides a guide on how to properly mulligan and how to use the cards in the Millacle deck:

// Mulligan Guide
I only keep 5 cards in this deck. Wrath, wild growth, coldlight oracle, swipe, and keeper of the grove. Against certain matchups you will need to make judgement calls obviously but I stand by only keeping these cards. Keeping innervate is almost never correct in this deck because it isn't used like in standard druid decks. You need to think of it like a preparation not a tempo advantage. Cards I consider keeping but only in slow matchups are druid of the claw, noruish, and gadgetzan.

Cards

• Innervate: Play it like preparation and don't use just for a tempo lead. It can also be saved for getting a swipe off the turn you play malygos which helps against certain decks like handlock.
• Moonfire: Cycles with gadgetzan, acts as a win condition vs handlock and control warrior. Don't be afraid to cycle against decks with lower life totals.
• Claw: This card is extremely good in this deck and probably the only reason the deck works. When cycling with auctioneer getting out a claw often is what allows you to clear the board. Also the 4 health it adds to your hero can help with beatdown matchups.
• Naturalize: This card is amazing. 1 Mana for mill, tempo lead, and hard removal. Normally the card is bad because it draws for your opponent but since you want your opponent drawing it becomes the best card in the game. Against aggro you really need to try not to use it but sometimes when pressured by cards like doomguard you may be forced to drop it.
• Wild Growth: Standard ramping to help get combos off earlier.
• Wrath: Standard removal for any druid deck. Cycles well with auctioneer.
• Healing Touch (1): This card helps against burn mage, aggro decks, and when you have a slow start and can help take you out of combo range.
• Savage Roar(1): FoN, Savage roar combo.
• Coldlight Oracle: I normally mulligan for this and drop it on turn 3. It helps set up for milling in the future and causes handlock to burn 1 card.
• King Mukla(1): Helps with tempo and mills.
• Swipe: Standard druid removal. Combos with malygos for 9 to face and 6 to all minions.
• Keeper of the Grove(1): Can't fit 2 but having one silence against control and removal vs aggro makes the card very important.
• Nourish(1): Helps ramp before playing gadgetzan or to get a turn 6/7 alexstraza. Only one because two is to slow.
• Druid of the Claw(1): One more taunt vs aggro, baits black knight against control, and can act as a win condition with charge + savage roar.
• Gadgetzan Auctioneer: Auctioneer can't be concealed in this deck obviously so you need to play it very different from how you might think. As mentioned earlier you want to save your innervates for auctioneer and also make sure you have at least 7 mana crystals before playing auctioneer. If on turn 5 you have nourish, innervate, and auctioneer in hand then you should always play nourish for mana first. You can't cycle enough if you play it to early.
• Force of Nature(1): FoN, Savage Roar combo. 
  
  
• Ancient of Lore(1): This card is rarely used for card draw in this deck. It normally acts as a 5/5 that helps keep your life total up but if you fail to draw auctioneer this card can help search for vital combos.
• Ancient of War: I play two of these for aggro matchups and to bait removal before playing malygos. It is a very good card and is useful for staying alive while searching for combos.
• Alexstraza(1): If you can innervate this out you normally win. It gets your opponent within range or close to within range of combos and gives tempo. Also against burn mage and hunter it gives you more heal which is very important.
• Malygos(1): Against handlock this is basically your win condition but against decks like druid and rogue which lack hard removal just dropping this beast will force them to waste vital cards. //

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