Cheap Priest Wild

[Sottle 221]

Another question I forgot: I feel that often if I try to hold back Nortshire, Pyromancer etc. for when I can make use of their abilties, I fall back too far to ever get back in the game... Is there any general advice or a rule of thumb you can give for when to use them as a body, and when to hold them back? Thanks in advance already.

Uh, rules of thumb are difficult in this game, but for example, if your hand is Pyromancer, Power Word Shield, Holy Smite, then obviously you want to wait until you can get value out of your Pyromancer. On the other hand, if there are no other spells in sight, then you might be better off just dropping the Pyromancer to fight for the board by itself.

[Guest Sart]

Uh, rules of thumb are difficult in this game, but for example, if your hand is Pyromancer, Power Word Shield, Holy Smite, then obviously you want to wait until you can get value out of your Pyromancer. On the other hand, if there are no other spells in sight, then you might be better off just dropping the Pyromancer to fight for the board by itself.

Ok, thanks already for the 2 replies, so the relevant aspect is more my hand and if I think I have/will draw a spell soon enough, than the deck/hero my opponent is playing? (With exceptions ofc, should the board look accordingly)

[Sottle 221]

Exactly, yes.

[Guest Sart]

Exactly, yes.

Awesome. Thank you very much for the help and your effort, not only providing those deck lists but also taking the time to answer questions!

[Guest MrPing]

Have to agree with some of the other comments, that this deck just doesn't work.  Haven't gotten higher than lvl18 with it.  It doesn't clear well at all and gets overwhelmed constantly.  Anytime I do win it's usually thanks to a lucky thoughtsteal. You'll find you're already beat by turn 6 unless you get a perfect run out.  I actually think it's weaker than the basic deck as you are powerless until turn 3 most of the time, and by then it's often too late.

[Guest Guest]

I am not having a hard time with the deck I am currently rank 17 and almost into 16

[Guest Alex]

I've been playing around 50 games with this deck, and I have to say, I've won not much above 15. I have to mention that I am a new player, but I do think I got a grasp on how the Priest and other classes are meant to be played, and so my decisions in game were pretty good around people that are similar skilled to me. My objective, everytime I queued up with this deck, was to follow it's purpose -- take control of the game early on, then outclass with your good big minions.

 

Almost everytime, I just can't control the early-game. I feel like this deck was supposed to be a badass early on, get a lead, then follow with big minions like temple/ogre. But simply put, almost everytime, I get outclassed by Paladins, Hunters, Warlock sand the rest too, in some degree, but these were the classes I mostly played gainst in my 50 games. As a mention, I had mostly positive results against mages, warriors and other priests. The only class I didn't really see in my games (prolly once or twice) was the Rogue.

 

If I didn't get the cards Shadow Word, Pyromancer, Holynova or Soulpriest, hell, I would've been just helpless. Only able to do something when I was 18 HP and the enemy 27, he already with good cards on the table and a good amount of cards in hand.

 

Anyway, I'm going to keep playing with this deck, since I am a new player and I don't really have any alternative. Maybe I didn't play it properly, which is expected from me, as a new player. I would appreciate a reply from Sottle giving some insight on my opinion, and maybe it helps me do better with this deck.

[Sottle 221]

So Priest as a class is generally accustomed to fighting from behind. A lot of Priest decks function by playing from behind for a few turns and then sweeping, dropping a small minion on the same turn and trying to build an advantage from there. It's a tough strategy and Priest is not an easy class to pick up as a new player, but I stand by this deck's effectiveness if played well.

[Guest Armadas]

I have all the cards for this deck, and just opened Prophet Velen from a pack.  What do you think about replacing Boulderfist Ogre with Velen?

[armaedes 0]

I'm just wondering if Velen's extra mana cost is worth it for his text, or if Boulderfist is superior due to its lower cost.

Edited October 19, 2015 by armaedes

[ForevaR 0]

This was the first "real" deck that I had the dust for to craft. And I have to say that it is a fun and challenging deck. People who say that this deck sucks can't play it right. My winrate is about 50% and from my experience it can get you to rank 14 and pretty much keep you there.

I really like the Wild Pyro + cheap spells combo (Power Word Shield especially) and two Thoughtsteals. Yesterday I tore apart Paladin Murloc deck and today a Shaman who used Ragnaros against me, which I took over 2 turns later with Mind Control.

Overall, when your opponent happens to be on the same level with you (reasonable skills and not very powerful deck), then you often have all the answers right in your hand, you just have to know how to use them right. And when you do it feels great.

[armaedes 0]

This was the first "real" deck that I had the dust for to craft. And I have to say that it is a fun and challenging deck. People who say that this deck sucks can't play it right. My winrate is about 50% and from my experience it can get you to rank 14 and pretty much keep you there.

I really like the Wild Pyro + cheap spells combo (Power Word Shield especially) and two Thoughtsteals. Yesterday I tore apart Paladin Murloc deck and today a Shaman who used Ragnaros against me, which I took over 2 turns later with Mind Control.

Overall, when your opponent happens to be on the same level with you (reasonable skills and not very powerful deck), then you often have all the answers right in your hand, you just have to know how to use them right. And when you do it feels great.

What a great way to sum up the deck; I always feel like I have an answer to what my opponent does, and if I lose a game I can usually pinpoint it to not responding to a threat correctly (i.e. I used the Pyromancer combo vs. this board, but I should have waited and used it later in the game, etc.).  

[Sottle 221]

^ Excellent attitude, evaluating how different lines of play would have worked out for you after a game is one of the key skills for getting better in this game.

[Guest plsnomurlocrush]

I keep getting absolutely destroyed in the early game with this deck, most games i can't play a card until turn 4 and by that time i'm dead. I had a way better win rate with the basic deck. However if i can get past turn 4-5 with more than 15 health i win every game. Any advice for the early stages?

[Sottle 221]

You're just looking for your Holy Smite, Northshire Cleric and Wild Pyromancer in the mulligan. If you have a minion already, you can keep Power Word Shield as well. If you have Pyromancer and a 1 Mana spell, you can afford to wait a little bit to start playing minions and then catch up with a board sweep later on. Injured Blademaster + Circle of Healing is another thing to look out for.

Falling behind in the early turns isn't a huge problem for Priest, it's something that even the top level Priest decks are used to doing, you play a lot of ways to catch yourself back up again.

[Guest Stingeris]

Well if fares ok at given moment. In my 1st week of playing hearts one reached rank 14. Made two changes to compensate cards I dont own. Changed azure dragon for cabal shadow priest, and 1x yeti for light of naru. 2nd yeti for mountain giant, as found him in a pack.If I had more experiance I as u me climbing to rank 12 is possible but not yet with my experiance. I have a question. I can afford only 1 expansion. I focus only priest. Which one should I buy?

[positiv2 952]

Well if fares ok at given moment. In my 1st week of playing hearts one reached rank 14. Made two changes to compensate cards I dont own. Changed azure dragon for cabal shadow priest, and 1x yeti for light of naru. 2nd yeti for mountain giant, as found him in a pack.If I had more experiance I as u me climbing to rank 12 is possible but not yet with my experiance. I have a question. I can afford only 1 expansion. I focus only priest. Which one should I buy?

 

If you want to play only priest, both have about the same importance. Naxx is for control priest, BrM is for dragon priest. However, if you do want to play other classes, Naxx should be your choice.

[Guest Guest]

Thanks. I Noticed deathlord, cultists and zombie chow everyone recommends ware in naxx. I'll buy them both eventualy but this week just one. I'll keep my posts up here in the future as I work on building according to what I find in meta when I play, but this deck is basis for my deck untill I can afford something more expensive.

[Sting 1]

Thanks, I noticed new expansion is coming. Any leaks or cards from it? I might want to wait. Currently balancing around rank 16, its my 9th day ingame. Climbed 14 at best and well, I feel I miss 3 core things inside my deck which is sottle's modified deck.

1.I lack taunt. I've taken board advantage during 2nd half almost every game but lack of taunt minions just kills me off via charge or stat boosts.

2.I cannot finish quick enough. I win board back at around tunr 6 or 7 ussualy, but then next turn cards like Dr boom or sylvanas if I don't have solution in hand evens out or flips advantage back to oponent. I ussualy win but for every win I have to fight and do my best when my oponent just drops 1 card which I need to combo or specific counter to kill.

3. Warrior matchup. How am I supposed to play it. He controls game just as well as I do, but armor mechanic works just darn too well due to my low dmg output. Recently had game vs warrior. We both decked out in the end but he had 43 armor stacked by then and 7 hp. I had 30 hp but just couldn't make 1 last push due to control, and armor. I lost that one by fatigue.

[Sting 1]

Update. I bought naxramas and modified deck accordingly. I changed 6 cards in it. I climbed to rank 12 and well, if luck shines on me I see rank 10 or so incoming. Mind I play only for two weeks but build this deck by dusting my gold malygos (had no way to improve my decks with just 1 legendry), I made this deck and crafted all cheap priest cards.

Naxramas dealt with my taunt issue. Belcher taunts as a boss, and is hard to play around, 2x dark cultists are a pain in the ass to trade with as you need to kill cultists last to avoid their deathrathle, and that means oponent dosent trade as efficiently as he could, if say I was using spider tank. And zombie chow on turn 1 means you can trade with anyone while healing him on turn two.

Now mind that, I was thinking. Should I save dust to make 1x lightbomb instead of 1 of holy novas or aim for any other epic say 2nd cabal?

[positiv2 952]

Thanks, I noticed new expansion is coming. Any leaks or cards from it? I might want to wait. Currently balancing around rank 16, its my 9th day ingame. Climbed 14 at best and well, I feel I miss 3 core things inside my deck which is sottle's modified deck.

1.I lack taunt. I've taken board advantage during 2nd half almost every game but lack of taunt minions just kills me off via charge or stat boosts.

2.I cannot finish quick enough. I win board back at around tunr 6 or 7 ussualy, but then next turn cards like Dr boom or sylvanas if I don't have solution in hand evens out or flips advantage back to oponent. I ussualy win but for every win I have to fight and do my best when my oponent just drops 1 card which I need to combo or specific counter to kill.

3. Warrior matchup. How am I supposed to play it. He controls game just as well as I do, but armor mechanic works just darn too well due to my low dmg output. Recently had game vs warrior. We both decked out in the end but he had 43 armor stacked by then and 7 hp. I had 30 hp but just couldn't make 1 last push due to control, and armor. I lost that one by fatigue.

 

I bought naxramas and modified deck accordingly. I changed 6 cards in it. I climbed to rank 12 and well, if luck shines on me I see rank 10 or so incoming. Mind I play only for two weeks but build this deck by dusting my gold malygos (had no way to improve my decks with just 1 legendry), I made this deck and crafted all cheap priest cards.

Naxramas dealt with my taunt issue. Belcher taunts as a boss, and is hard to play around, 2x dark cultists are a pain in the ass to trade with as you need to kill cultists last to avoid their deathrathle, and that means oponent dosent trade as efficiently as he could, if say I was using spider tank. And zombie chow on turn 1 means you can trade with anyone while healing him on turn two.

Now mind that, I was thinking. Should I save dust to make 1x lightbomb instead of 1 of holy novas or aim for any other epic say 2nd cabal?

 

1) Knowing when to heal yourself instead of a minion is crucial in aggro matchups. You can also play some tech cards such as MCT. 

 

2) Control priest aims to win though fatigue and few minions that stick to the board for a long time. You should have enough removal spells to keep going and then drop big minions such as Temple Enforcer or Boulderfist ogre. Wasting removal can often lose you the game. Dragon priest is much more forgiving in this aspect.

 

3) A full-budget deck should be favoured. You will be able to steal Acolyte/Armorsmith with Cabal and you can kill their Belchers by Shadow Word Pain. Another very strong combo is Shrinkmeister+Cabal used on Ysera. This combo will simply win you the game. Crafting and adding your own Ysera will improve your late-game power. Also, when going to fatigue, every misplay can cost you the game.

 

Regarding your second post, Lightbomb is stronger against control, whereas Cabal is stronger against aggro. Your choice should depend on your meta. 

[Sting 1]

Thanks, I noticed new expansion is coming. Any leaks or cards from it? I might want to wait. Currently balancing around rank 16, its my 9th day ingame. Climbed 14 at best and well, I feel I miss 3 core things inside my deck which is sottle's modified deck.

1.I lack taunt. I've taken board advantage during 2nd half almost every game but lack of taunt minions just kills me off via charge or stat boosts.

2.I cannot finish quick enough. I win board back at around tunr 6 or 7 ussualy, but then next turn cards like Dr boom or sylvanas if I don't have solution in hand evens out or flips advantage back to oponent. I ussualy win but for every win I have to fight and do my best when my oponent just drops 1 card which I need to combo or specific counter to kill.

3. Warrior matchup. How am I supposed to play it. He controls game just as well as I do, but armor mechanic works just darn too well due to my low dmg output. Recently had game vs warrior. We both decked out in the end but he had 43 armor stacked by then and 7 hp. I had 30 hp but just couldn't make 1 last push due to control, and armor. I lost that one by fatigue.

 

I bought naxramas and modified deck accordingly. I changed 6 cards in it. I climbed to rank 12 and well, if luck shines on me I see rank 10 or so incoming. Mind I play only for two weeks but build this deck by dusting my gold malygos (had no way to improve my decks with just 1 legendry), I made this deck and crafted all cheap priest cards.

Naxramas dealt with my taunt issue. Belcher taunts as a boss, and is hard to play around, 2x dark cultists are a pain in the ass to trade with as you need to kill cultists last to avoid their deathrathle, and that means oponent dosent trade as efficiently as he could, if say I was using spider tank. And zombie chow on turn 1 means you can trade with anyone while healing him on turn two.

Now mind that, I was thinking. Should I save dust to make 1x lightbomb instead of 1 of holy novas or aim for any other epic say 2nd cabal?

 

1) Knowing when to heal yourself instead of a minion is crucial in aggro matchups. You can also play some tech cards such as MCT. 

 

2) Control priest aims to win though fatigue and few minions that stick to the board for a long time. You should have enough removal spells to keep going and then drop big minions such as Temple Enforcer or Boulderfist ogre. Wasting removal can often lose you the game. Dragon priest is much more forgiving in this aspect.

 

3) A full-budget deck should be favoured. You will be able to steal Acolyte/Armorsmith with Cabal and you can kill their Belchers by Shadow Word Pain. Another very strong combo is Shrinkmeister+Cabal used on Ysera. This combo will simply win you the game. Crafting and adding your own Ysera will improve your late-game power. Also, when going to fatigue, every misplay can cost you the game.

 

Regarding your second post, Lightbomb is stronger against control, whereas Cabal is stronger against aggro. Your choice should depend on your meta.

I have modified this a lot and found my own niche. 2x blade master, 2x pyro, 2x cultists, 1x temple enforcer. 2x sludge Belcher, 1x combine chow, 2x northshire cleric, 2x nova, 1x cabal, 1x holy fire, 2x dark cultists, last boss from naxramas, 1x pain, 2x death, 2x power word shield, 1x deathlord, 2x mind control, 1x soul priest, 2x circle heal. Starting 2nd is actualy more favourable as far as I can tell due to card advantage and coin for pyro to clear border easy. My next 3 cards I want to raft are voljin, lightbomb and cabal. Still discussing ysera or voljin.

[positiv2 952]

I have modified this a lot and found my own niche. 2x blade master, 2x pyro, 2x cultists, 1x temple enforcer. 2x sludge Belcher, 1x combine chow, 2x northshire cleric, 2x nova, 1x cabal, 1x holy fire, 2x dark cultists, last boss from naxramas, 1x pain, 2x death, 2x power word shield, 1x deathlord, 2x mind control, 1x soul priest, 2x circle heal. Starting 2nd is actualy more favourable as far as I can tell due to card advantage and coin for pyro to clear border easy. My next 3 cards I want to raft are voljin, lightbomb and cabal. Still discussing ysera or voljin.

 

2 Mind Controls are really slow and you should play them only in a very slow control meta. One is often enough and I don't run any.

 

Vol'Jin is awful in an aggro environment whereas Ysera is only bad. Ysera is also a neutral card and is a dragon, therefore I recommend you crafting her. 

[Sting 1]

I have modified this a lot and found my own niche. 2x blade master, 2x pyro, 2x cultists, 1x temple enforcer. 2x sludge Belcher, 1x combine chow, 2x northshire cleric, 2x nova, 1x cabal, 1x holy fire, 2x dark cultists, last boss from naxramas, 1x pain, 2x death, 2x power word shield, 1x deathlord, 2x mind control, 1x soul priest, 2x circle heal. Starting 2nd is actualy more favourable as far as I can tell due to card advantage and coin for pyro to clear border easy. My next 3 cards I want to raft are voljin, lightbomb and cabal. Still discussing ysera or voljin.

 

2 Mind Controls are really slow and you should play them only in a very slow control meta. One is often enough and I don't run any.

 

Vol'Jin is awful in an aggro environment whereas Ysera is only bad. Ysera is also a neutral card and is a dragon, therefore I recommend you crafting her.

I am unsure about meta realy just 2nd week current rank 12, from last 10 games got to turn 10, 9 times and could use mind control. My most faced decks are mech mage, midrange pally, and face hunters with some handlocks and patron warriors. I fare well vs aggro, expecialy if I get coin due to pyro or deathlord. Very fwe decks run polymorph or transform lately so buffing your deathlord seems to completely shut off aggro. Turn 2 deathlord turn 3 cultists makes deathlord 2/11 that aggro just doesn't get past. Though I wish to discard him vs warriors.

[positiv2 952]

I am unsure about meta realy just 2nd week current rank 12, from last 10 games got to turn 10, 9 times and could use mind control. My most faced decks are mech mage, midrange pally, and face hunters with some handlocks and patron warriors. I fare well vs aggro, expecialy if I get coin due to pyro or deathlord. Very fwe decks run polymorph or transform lately so buffing your deathlord seems to completely shut off aggro. Turn 2 deathlord turn 3 cultists makes deathlord 2/11 that aggro just doesn't get past. Though I wish to discard him vs warriors.

 

The meta you described is quite aggro. I do not recommend 2 Mind Controls. It is not about getting to turn 10 and being able to use them. You spend the whole turn to steal a minion. It is good when you steal a 5+ mana minion, but you won't be able to use your hero power or any other card except for Silence and Circle. You can't really afford that when facing an aggro deck.