Paladin in Gadgetzan – A Blast to Play!

Introduction

Paladin, despite not being popular at the moment, received some very interesting and flexible card in the ‘Mean Streets of Gadgetzan’ expansion. It is also the most versatile class regarding the ‘buff your hand’ mechanic of the Grimy Goons. I did play-test the below lists to a good success. The strategy and planning involved feel rewarding. Do I have to dump my minions immediately or can I wait a turn longer to expand the value of buffing all minions in hand even further. This is only one of the decisions that you will have to make.

Following you will find new cards wit explanations why they are important for Paladin right now. The article will conclude by providing deck list for you to try out.

Noteworthy Card Additions in MSG

All Decks: Generally (Ab-)Usable

These cards are amazing! If you take a look at the below deck lists, they are almost omnipresent in Aggro, Midrange and Control Paladin. Wickerflame Burnbristle is good to defend against early game aggression and is also versatile late game against big Minions. The Grimy Goons’ hand-buff mechanic is usable in all situations. As an aggro player, you can refill the hand and buff after refilling if your hand is already depleted or you just use it to gain an early game advantage. In Midrange, it is sometimes beneficial to cycle cards the first turns (Loothoarder, Acolyte of Pain, etc.) to then buff an increasing number of minions in your hand – a tactic that is even more valid in the control variation. Control the board early or wait until your opponents overextends then board. Wipe it clean with Doomsayer or Equality+Consecration. Afterwards, use a cheap buff and fill the board with ridiculously overpowered minions.

Aggro

Small Time Recruit, Grimscale Chum

You love Murlocs? Paladin is most likely the way to go. Either use an aggro style deck with hand-buff or play a variation of Anyfin Can Happen Paladin with some new and fun additions – Really, who can resist Finja? No Murlocs? Use pirates instead. Who would have guessed, Patches the Pirate and Small-Time Buccaneer are also broken in Paladin. Either way you can beat even the hell out of Pirate Warriors by flooding them faster as they can smack your face with their weapons. There is also the option to neglect the grimy buffs altogether and play some good old Eboladin. Small-Time Recruits in conjunction with Divine Favor your way to draw consistently is in all the above mentioned cases.

Midrange/Control

There are also some important additions for the slower decks, mostly outside of the Paladin class cards. Grimscale Enforcer is the way to buff your midrange to late-game minions further to stay competitive with the scaling Jade Golems of the Jade Lotus gang (Druid, Rogue and Shaman). Doppelgangster and Fight Promoter are perfect buff targets you do not even mind having a single copy in your starting hand. Imagine them being hit by only two buffs. Who would mind a turn five 12/12 spread among three bodies or a turn six 6/6 that draws 2 cards?

Dragons?

Sadly, there was not much love for dragons in MSG in Paladin. The only neutral addition is Wrathion.There is still no good Dragon Paladin in this expansion and therefore you will not find a deck list. If there is, please leave a comment and it will be added.