12-Win Paladin Arena Deck: Goblins vs Gnomes Edition

It's been a while since I reported on a 12-win Arena deck, so when I put together my first full-value run since Goblins vs Gnomes dropped, I figured I should tell my readers all about it.

Oh yeah!

Picture a good Paladin deck. It probably has a pair of Consecrations and at least as many Truesilvers Champion. But this deck had none of either. Weird, right? The last 12-win Paladin run I wrote about was similar. It had a bunch of natural two-for-ones, only one Truesilver Champion and no Consecrations. This time, I got a tremendous tempo deck that provided bountiful two-for-ones, good stats for the mana, and actually not that many tricks.

I don't think F-T MAX ever hit play

The curve was rather flat, with 8 twos, 5 threes, 6 fours, 6 fives, and only 3 higher drops. Many of the two-drops add value in the later game, plus the one-mana spells slip easily into play and provide big value at a low cost. Because of the lack of huge late game, I would often be able to play one or two minions and still get the bonus 1/1 from the Paladin hero ability.

Since the GvG launch, I have been focusing on pushing for more damage while still taking favorable trades. Previously, I would win the game once the Villain ran out of cards in hand and was reduced to topdeck mode. These days, both players finish the game with multiple cards still in hand, so playing more cards has become more important. Still look to control the board and take card advantage when it is offered, but once you have the board, I'm now pushing to put pressure on the Villain's life total.

With the influx of new cards, there are fewer big board clearing spells being offered to Arena drafters. There are also fewer Mind Control Techs in the mix. As such, I feel more comfortable "over-extending" into the mage's Flamestrike or the paladin's Consecration turn. In practice, more and more they don't have it, which allows us to put the game to bed.

I went 3-0 against Warlocks, which are much better with GvG, 2-0 against Hunters, and beat one Warrior and one Shaman. I went 2-1 against Druid and 3-1 against Mage. Somewhat surprisingly, there were no mirror matches, despite facing Uther in a full 19% of my matches over the past month.

Overperformers

• Light's Justice - I only had two sources of ping effects, so this was very important. It allowed me to clear ealry minions that barely survived on the opposite side of the board while still dropping a minion on my side. Plus it still has three charges left! Four damage for one mana is not bad, even if it comes in single-damage chunks and at the cost of some damage to my face. And your opponents are saving their Swamp Oozes for your (non-existant) Truesilvers.
• Nerubian Egg - This was a weak set of picks that ended up with me taking the 0/2. I only had Dire Wolf Alpha, Dark Iron Dwarf, Blessing of Kings, and Sunfury Protector to pop the egg, but it still managed to turn into a 4/4 every time. I think it may have even discouraged a Lightning Storm or Flamestrike or two along the way.

Obviously Good

• Bomb Lobber - Never a doubt, right? The Lobster is most equivalent to Argent Commander, but comes out one turn earlier and with slightly adjusted stats. Lobber requires a little more setup, but not that much. In my opinion, Commander is great and Lobber is better.
• Piloted Shredder - This guy is a four-drop version of the always-great Harvest Golem. Shredder dies to most two-drops, but leaves behind another decent body, where the Golem is two-drop sized and leaves behind a typical one-drop.
• Argent Protector - Still a great tempo play and tempo is more important. Use Protector to gain control of the board, then go for damage.  
• Frostwolf Warlord - I often had a bunch of littler guys on board while the Villain had little to nothing left. This situation would be very soft to board clear, but for the 8/8 - 10/10 Frostwolf Warlord that just joined the party. One game ended as a Mage Flamestriked, to kill four little guys, but left behind a 8/4 with the Villain having only 7 life remaining.

Golden Chugga Hype!