Hearthstone Guide: Basic Priest Deck

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Now comes the time for stealing cards, making enemy creatures disappear and recovering health points a gogo! I am obviously talking about the Priest and our old friend Anduin. This basic deck should help you understand this class as well as possible and familiarise you with the mechanics of the Priest. The aim here is to start slowly before deciding if this class is for you, and if you want to invest further in building a more developed deck. 

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The Key Cards

It's all about deck control here which, as the name suggests, aims to manage the board to reach the comfort zone, in other words the late game. If you reach the end of the game with enough health, it will be very difficult for your opponent to win the game. The key cards are there to help you achieve this goal. 

• Shadow Word: Pain

This card is extremely practical for ridding yourself of little creatures and keeping control over the board. I recommend you keep it in your starting hand if you are offered it. That way you can deal with almost all the creatures that cost 3 mana or less, for a low cost.

• Shadow Word: Death

And here's its big sister! Same use, destroy a minion, but this time we're talking about big creatures that will appear in the late game. You'll annoy more than one player with this card, which has the advantage of only costing 3 mana. Whether it's Pain or Death, the Shadow Words do have a disadvantage: creatures with 4 attack points like the Yeti.

• Holy Nova

This is the only card that can deal damage to all opponents. As such, you must use it carefully because bad timing could quite simply cost you the game! It will be your biggest ally when it comes to cooling the zeal of rush decks like the Warlock Murloc or the Aggro. Don't forget at the same time that it heals your hero and all your creatures and works very well with the Northshire Cleric.

• Mind Control

This is the card that will make you want to reach the late game! The idea is simple, you can take possession of a minion that your opponent has placed on the board. The main problem is that it costs you 10 mana and you can't play anything else during the turn. Remember that if you take control of a minion with charge, you will be able to attack with it immediately.

• Northshire Cleric

This is your 'pick' card which could, if used at the right moment, give you a huge card advantage! I don't recommend that you use this card at the start of the game, but instead use it when you have the possibility to heal a minion. This card works very well with your Hero Power, Holy Nova and Darkscale Healer. It is also activated if you heal an enemy minion, in some cases, this move can be worthwhile. 

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The Full Deck

The rest of the deck is made up of the best of the basic cards, and leans towards our goal of reaching the late game. You will possess an arsenal potentially allowing you to play a card with each turn, and ensure control of or even dominate the board. You should also have a huge card advantage with a lot of cards giving you the chance to draw. 

Priest Deck

Mana Card Name Quantity 1 Holy Smite 2 1 Northshire Cleric 2 1 Power Word: Shield 2 2 Acidic Swamp Ooze 2 2 Novice Engineer 2 2 Shadow Word: Pain 2 3 Ironfur Grizzly 2 3 Shadow Word: Death 2 3 Shattered Sun Cleric 2 4 Chillwind Yeti 2 4 Gnomish Inventor 2 4 Sen'jin Shieldmasta 2 5 Darkscale Healer 2 5 Holy Nova 2 10 Mind Control 2

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Standard moves of a game

Turn 1

Unfortunately, as with a lot of basic decks, turn 1 is very weak. However you can use your Holy Smite if you start second.

Turn 2

It is already time to draw with Novice Engineer or use your Acidic Swamp Ooze if you are playing against a class without weapons.

Turn 3

Start to deal with the board if you feel the need by using Shadow Word: Pain. You can also draw with a Power Word: Shield if you have a creature in place.

Turn 4

You now have several possibilities but in priority you should choose to use the Chillwind Yeti to put pressure on your opponent. You can also boost the creatures or use a taunt if necessary.

Turn 5+

The Holy Nova combined with the Northshire Cleric may be a good solution and will allow you to clear the board. It's also a good time to use Mind Control and turn the situation to your advantage.

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Strengths and Weaknesses

The + of the deck

 Free!
 Many possibilities to control the board.
 An interesting late game.
 Card advantage.

The - of the deck

 A Starter Deck, so weak against decks built from very big cards.
 The creatures with 4 attack.

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