Ashes Corpsetaker Handbuff Paladin

Corpsetaker Handbuff Paladin has always been a deck I enjoy coming back to each expansion to see what new toys it gets. Theres a big amalgamation of synergies and deckbuilding criteria you can squeeze into one deck which makes putting the deck together a fun little puzzle.

Whenever I make a new version of this deck, there are three main synergies I consider when adding new cards, Corpsetaker Keywords, Countess Ashmore keywords, and how well the minion scales with Handbuffs.

Corpsetaker works really nicely in a handbuff based deck since all of the keywords it can gain and the cards included in the deck to enable it scale with handbuffs. Paladin has an abundant supply of Divine Shield, Taunt, and Lifesteal options to choose from and that work well in the deck regardless of Corpsetaker. Wickerflame Burnbristle and Zilliax are notable for having 3 out of the 4 Corpsetaker keywords leaving just Windfury as the hard one to fit in. For the most part, all of the Widfury minions have been terrible, but I included them anyway just because its so good on an on curve Corpsetaker. In the past, I floated between using 2 of Thrallmar Farseer, Grook Fu Master, or Windfury Harpy but they were always cards in the deck that you just never wanted to draw. Fortunately, Descent of Dragons gifted the deck with Gyrocopter which works fantastically with handbuffs to help with board control and in the later game is another Rush draw for Countess Ashmore.

In this version of the deck for Corpsetaker keywords there are:

Taunt: Righteous Protectorx2, Wickerflame Burnbristle, Zilliax, and Bonechewer Brawler.

Divine Shield: Righteous Protectorx2, Crystalsmith Kangor, Murgur Murgurgle, Argent Horseriderx2, Wickerflame Burnbristle, and Zilliax.

Lifesteal: Crystalsmith Kangor, Wickerflame Burnbristle, Chillblade Championx2, and Zilliax.

Windfury: Gyrocopterx2.

Countess Ashmore keywords:

Rush: Faceless Corruptor, Zilliax, and Gyrocopterx2.

Lifesteal: Crystalsmith Kangor, Wickerflame Burnbristle, Chillblade Championx2, and Zilliax.

Deathrattle: Murgur Murgurgle, Salhet's Pride, and Val'anyr.

If you plan to make this deck to have fun with for yourself, but are missing some of these cards, keep in mind which keywords you will be missing and try to substitute accordingly to avoid Corpsetaker and Countess Ashmore from being less consistent.

Unfortunately, Ashes of Outland didn't bring much to the table for cards that have a perfect niche that fits multiple synergy checkboxes for the deck, but there are some solid and interesting new options.

Murgur Murgurgle is another Divine Shield card in the deck for Corpsetaker and fits the draw conditions of Salhet's Pride and Countess Ashmore as well as bringing the deck a later game board flood if the opponent deals with all of the Handbuffed minions. It's also a solid card to just drop in the early game to help with board control until the Handbuffs get going.

Infectious Sporeling is a new card I wanted to try but am still unsure of. Giving the deck a pseudo-polymorph can be very helpful at times and when Handbuffed, it will still transform enemies into base 1/2s, but then if there are no small minions that can be used to kill the transformed sporeling it can also be used by the enemy to neutralize a buffed minion. It does also make Crystology less likely to draw Grimestreet Outfitter, but for now I'm happy to keep experimenting with it as it can lead to some entertaining gameplay if it gets out of control.

Bonechewer Brawler is another new card I've been testing as another taunt minion for Corpsetaker. Just running something like Tar Creeper would probably be better, but I didn't want to dilute Crystology more and after a few buffs it can become a decent threat if not dealt with cleanly.

Maiev Shadowsong is the last new card I've included just because it's a really solid card for a midrange deck.

There is one other new card I've considered trying out but the deck is already a bit greedy and I just couldn't find the spot for it. Replicat-o-tron in theory could be used to turn 1/1s from a hero power into buffed minions especially if you can get a Zilliax strapped onto it, but is probably too clunky to make work and Faceless Corruptor can do the same thing while also providing immediate board impact and fitting a draw criteria of Countess Ashmore.