The Lich King Paladin Deck

Aim of the Deck

This deck aims to win through use of the Hero Power of Uther of the Ebon Blade creating four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. To do this you will need to play Emperor Thaurissan and reduce the Mana cost of several cards, usually three 1 Mana spells and Auctionmaster Beardo. The Auctionmaster and cheap spells mean that you can create all four Horsemen in one turn, and therefore destroy The Lich King. The entire aim of the deck is to set up the situation where that is possible.

Strategy

Mulligan

In the mulligan, you are looking to keep Doomsayer and Blessing of Wisdom. Doomsayer is the only card that matters, but Blessing of Wisdom gives you more chance of finding it by keeping it in your hand, rather than throwing it away.

Early Game

In the early-game you should be trying to draw as many cards as possible, however you are not trying to fill up your hand, you are cycling through your deck. If you collect too many cards in your hand during this phase of the game, you will sometimes struggle to draw cards later on, due to the threat of burning an important card. You should not be afraid to use your 1 Mana spells, but you should not play Emperor Thaurissan or Auctionmaster Beardo. You should also try your utmost to keep your Equality and Wild Pyromancer in your hand, as these are very useful later on.

Turn Seven

The next part of the game revolves around trying to be in a reasonable position to clear the board after The Lich King's version of Frostmourne is played on Turn 7. This card summons six Trapped Souls, and also removes minions from his side of the board, which are re-summoned when the Trapped Souls are killed. The mechanics of Turn 7 are also important to understand. The Lich King will not attack with his minions, instead choosing to play Frostmourne, he will attack with Frostmourne but nothing else on this turn.

The way in which Turn 7 works means that if you play a Doomsayer on your own Turn 7, it will end up clearing all of the Trapped Souls on your next turn, and then The Lich King will reanimate the Doomsayer, which will then clear his board again on his turn. This makes playing Doomsayer on Turn 7 a top priority.

If Doomsayer is unavailable, clearing the board as much as possible before Turn 7, followed by an Equality and any of Abomination, Consecration, or Wild Pyromancer, will clear the board efficiently. It will however give your opponent a Pyromancer, and also mean you are lacking much needed clears later in the game. If you are in a hurry to complete the adventure, you should concede if you cannot play Doomsayer on Turn 7.

Late Game

To win the game, you will need to have played Uther of the Ebon Blade and have enough Mana to Hero Power four times. This means that the cost of your Auctionmaster Beardo plus three of your spells must total no more than 2. In some situations you can use your Hero Power and have the minion survive. In these games, you have four surplus Mana, and things will fall into place much more easily.

To set up this win condition, you will be looking to find a turn where you can play Emperor Thaurissan with Beardo and some spells in your hand. As Wild Pyromancer and Equality costs four, and clears the board, it is usually good to clear with those two cards and then play the Emperor. This has the added benefit of often allowing the Emperor to survive for two turns, which means that Holy Light and Equality end up costing 0 Mana.

When you have played this a few times, the win is relatively easy, however there are several different tricks you will learn along the way. Below are some pointers to make your life easier.

Hints and Tips

Burning Weapons

On turns where you have nothing to do (For instance waiting for a Doomsayer to go off), it is often correct to play a weapon to clear your hand, even if you already have one equipped. You will not have enough of a Health total to attack many times for the rest of the game, and when you do, it will usually be with Grave Vengeance.

Playing into Second Doomsayer

Your second Doomsayer is a one-card clear. Even if The Lich King kills it, it will still be stolen, and therefore go off in The Lich King's turn. If you have another board clear available on the next turn, it can often be correct here to play Novice Engineer or use your Hero Power. This can encourage The Lich King to play his Bonemare on a turn where it has no impact. You can then clear or Humility and negate its effect.

Wild Pyromancer

The Wild Pyromancer is the key to the second half of the game, and must be treated as vitally important. Wild Pyromancer and then Equality is a board clear that most people know about, but this deck has so many more applications than usual. There are multiple cheap spells in the deck which can activate a point of damage from the Pyromancer. It is always worth bearing in mind that Holy Light and Hand of Protection can keep your Pyromancer alive, and allow it to do extra damage.

Solemn Vigil

Solemn Vigil is best used after your Doomsayer clears the board on Turn 8. It will cost 0 Mana on this turn. You should not, however, be shy to play it earlier, especially if trying to find a Doomsayer.

Uther of the Ebon Blade

The game quite often looks hopeless, and it is tempting to concede. However, if you have Uther of the Ebon Blade in hand, you should bear in mind that you effectively gain 10 Health on the turn it is played. You gain 5 Armor, and a LifeSteal weapon. This turn will often look bleak because The Lich King will have a weapon with a Bonemare buff. This is an ideal spot to use a Humility.

Learn More Each Game

Every game where you get past Turn 8, you should try to make the most of the learning experience. Even if it looks like you will have to use all of your cheap spells, keep playing and learn new tricks of your own. This is the hardest of the fights against The Lich King, so hang in there!

Changelog