Put your faith in the Light.
I said…
Put your faith…
In. The. Light.
There are various builds of Paladin that spans many parts of the aggro/midrange/control spectrum. Aggro builds typically feature Murlocs, but Midrange builds can also “splash” a few Murloc synergies, just for the value of cards like [Hydrologist] and [The Curator]. Control Paladin builds lean heavily on the top end of their deck to muscle the opposition out of the game. N’zoth Paladin takes that idea another step by leaning almost exclusively on [Tirion Fordring] to close out games.
Nzoth Paladin:
1 [Forbidden Healing]
1 [Dirty Rat]
2 [Doomsayer]
2 [Equality]
2 [Hydrologist]
1 [Loot Hoarder]
2 [Wild Pyromancer]
1 [Acolyte of Pain]
2 [Aldor Peacekeeper]
2 [Stonehill Defender]
1 [Wickerflame Burnbristle]
2 [Consecration]
1 [Hammer of Wrath]
1 [Infested Tauren]
2 [Truesilver Champion]
1 [Ivory Knight]
1 [Spikeridged Steed]
1 [Sunkeeper Tarim]
1 [Lay on Hands]
1 [Ragnaros, Lightlord]
1 [Tirion Fordring]
1 N’zoth, the Corruptor
Vs. Aggro: -1 [Lay on Hands], +1 [Spikeridged Steed]
Vs. Control: -1 [Dirty Rat], +1 [Gluttonous Ooze]
The primary objective, besides putting your faith in the Light, is to essentially stay alive and maximize the amount of residual value you get off of your cards. There are a ton of small edges that are important to gain, because over the course of a game, Those small edges can result in an extra turn or two, which could lead to a win. One of the premier sequences in this deck is [Tirion Fordring] and either [Getaway Kodo] or [Redemption]. With this combo, you’re able to essentially double the effectiveness of Tirion, get a free attack out of Ashbringer, and buy yourself some valuable life, especially against the more aggressive decks. N’zoth is the exclamation point on this plan, putting your endgame further ahead of pretty much any endgame in the format. Previously, this style of deck would need Sylvanas, [Cairne Bloodhoof], and Tirion to mimic this effect. Now, because of [Hydrologist], Tirion is the only thing you really need.
The weakest part of this deck is the mid-game, mostly because the methods of transitioning over to the end game are clunky at best. Unfortunately, the best tools you have are [Wild Pyromancer]/[Equality], [Ivory Knight], and whatever you get off of [Stonehill Defender], pretty much. You’re going to have to scrap pretty hard to get to where you want to be, and decks that can get you before you get out of that spot, like Quest Rogue, will eat you alive. Sometimes, you’ll have to hope that your opponent doesn’t curve out hard on you. Sometimes, you’ll have to curve out hard on them, and sometimes, [Wickerflame Burnbristle] will carry you to the cards you need to get to.
While this deck is powerful, this build needs to figure out how to shore things up against decks that can get under it. It’s possible that another efficient Taunt minion or two could do the trick, but more time will tell in the coming days. The deck can close out a game like no other, and the slower the format gets, the better.
Anthony has been competing in games for the better part of his adult life and is dedicated to improving his game, improving his community, improving himself as a person, and most importantly having fun and enjoying himself while doing so. You can check out his stream to find out which video game is the latest to catch his attention.