My Top Hearthstone Deck: Priest Card Draw

Priest Deck - Card Drawing Cleric Deck

My best performing deck so far in Hearthstone's Play Mode is the one I am currently playing.  The Priest Card Drawing Cleric Deck that I am playing is a modification of some of the basics only Priest decks that you can find online on various forums.  Of course, like any wise player, I've adapted my own deck to include cards that I deem as better choices and that fit better into my own personal play styles.  Let's take a look at the Hearthstone Priest Deck that I used to rather easily hit 3 star Master in hardly no time at all.

Priest Card Draw / Control

This Priest deck relies on efficient minions, card drawing potential, the Priest's Hero Power to heal, and trading minions wisely to achieve victory.  The Northshire Cleric is awesome for gaining a card advantage over your opponent, if they are unable to get rid of it quickly.  There are only 7 non-basic cards in this deck and the cheaper basics only version is almost just as good as this deck.  I will provide options for a similar deck list that uses only basic cards later in this post.

After the main wipe and patch in Hearthstone, Priest decks have risen to popularity because they now have on of the best sets of basic cards to choose from as a priest.  Many of the basic minion cards work well with this type of Priest deck, so it is a common class that a lot of players have been trying out.  The synergy and card drawing ability can be so good that even poor players can earn wins with this deck due to the sheer ability to gain such a great card advantage over your opponents.

There are many matches where my opponent will be down to 1 or no cards without any minions, while I have a hand of 5 control spells and an answer to anything they can lay on the board.

The weakness in a Priest deck is with creatures that are 4 attack power, since neither of the Shadow Word spells or the Shadow Madness can target them.  So those 4 attack creatures either have to be killed with smart minion trades (and healing) or smoked with a Shadow Word: Death, should the opponent foolishly buff one out of the 4 attack safety zone.  Then there is always the option of Mind Control if it is late enough in the game.

Another important aspect of this deck is it's lack of true fatties.  So any other Priest that you are playing that likes to hold their Mind Control for a big fatty to steal, will never see one and will often have to steal back the minion that you stole from them in the first place.  Then once they steal it back, you SW:D the thing and laugh.


Let's take a look at this Priest Deck:

Minions:

• 2x Northshire Cleric - Runs the main card drawing engine.  
• 2x Amani Berserker - Can hit for big while damaged, then be healed to protect.
• 2x Novice Engineer - Card drawing efficient low cost minion.
• 2x Ironfur Grizzly - Cheap taunter used to protect your cleric and other minions.
• 2x Shattered Sun Cleric - Great minion that gives a buff to another minion that can swing the tempo into your favor.
• 2x Lightspawn - Can get even bigger with a PW:Shield buff on them.  Often will soak nasty removal spells like Hex and Polymorph and often trade multiple cards to kill.
• 2x Sen'jin Shieldmasta - Top notch taunter for protection.
• 1x Darkscale Healer - Comes in and heals all your minions and you.  When cleric is out can really get you a lot of cards drawn.
• 2x Silver Hand Knight - One of the top cards in Hearthstone in my opinion.  Such efficient cost and summons a pair of minions, which will often swing the tempo back into your favor.

Control:

• 2x Holy Smite - Cheap, early removal is important to fend of the common 3/2 minions that hit turn 1.
• 2x Shadow Word: Pain - Kills anything with 3 or less attack.
• 2x Shadow Word: Death - Kills anything with 5 or more attack.
• 1x Shadow Madness - Used to kill 2 of their creatures by stealing one to suicide into the other.  Can really wreck someone's day.
• 2x Holy Nova - AoE spell that also heals.  Works great when a cleric is out.
• 2x Mind Control - The most cried about card on the forums right now.  The threat of even having one in your hand changes how your opponent plays against you.  Often used late to steal an important taunter or a big fatty and crush the opponents last minute win or turtle attempt.

Buffs:

• 2x Power Word: Shield - I normally don't run buff cards, because they tend to lose you card advantage, but this one draws you a card so it replaces itself.  When combined with your Priest hero ability to heal, it can really swing the tempo in your favor and allow for your minions to kill more than one enemy minion, while staying alive.  A buffed 1/5 Cleric is a lot harder to deal with and a Lightspawn turns into a 7/7 with this buff.  Got a 4/4 that needs to kill another 4/4?  Buff yours to 4/6, ram it, then heal away, and draw a card if your Cleric is out.  ;)

Cheaper Priest Deck With Basic Cards Only

If you don't have the expert cards required to complete this deck, then there are some very similar and efficient swaps that you can make for a Priest deck made with only the free to play basic cards.  Here is a list of what to replace in this deck to run with all basics.  This list also shows what to replace as you do start to get some of those other expert level cards. 

Example:  If you get an Amani Berserker, swap it in for a River Crocolisk.

• 2 Amani Berserkers -> 2 River Crocolisks
• 1 Shadow Madness -> Add a 2nd Darkscale Healer
• 2 Lightspawn -> 2 Chillwind Yeti
• 2 Silver Hand Knight -> 2 Gnomish Inventor

You can play around with the Priest deck build and see if you like the Chillwind Yeti or the Lightspawn better in your deck.  Both have their advantages and weaknesses.  The Yeti can't be nerfed by a Silence, but the Lightspawn can be buffed to get even bigger, while both often trade for more than 1 creature.

Have fun with this great Hearthstone Priest Deck!  I will see you at the top of the ranked ladder.


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