Thekal Ramp Paladin

QUICK UPDATE (3/6/21): Been playing this the past few days, it's been so much fun!  Definitely having a tougher time the further I go up the ladder, but still feeling at least competitive in most match ups.  Holding around a 65% win rate into upper Platinum so far.  Not sure on the actual W/L ratio as I've played some games on tablet with no tracker, but those were earlier in the climb and mostly wins.  Tracked games at 62% right now (21-13) so that 65% estimated win rate is trying to factor in the games on tablet.

Biggest issues I have are Mecha'thun decks, Big Priests, and just bad luck on my draw order.  Specifically when Thekal is stuck on the bottom of the deck, which feels like it's happening too often, making the Molten's feel a little bad too!  Sometimes against aggro decks I've found the best strategy is to hold onto Nozdormu and a Libram of Hope, maybe a Giant or two.  Ramp to 10 mana immediately and then use your big stuff and heals to take control.  More often then not when taking this approach they run out of resources and I have plenty of taunts and heals.

Secret Mage has been a toss up!  A lot comes down to both our draw orders.  Overall, my game plan there has been to use my healing, taunts, and the Pyromancer + Justice combo to just outlast their damage output.

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I was inspired recently by all the Standard play that a certain 4 mana 8/8 was seeing to go and make a deck around Paladin's original 4 mana 8/8.  Of course you all know I'm talking about that card you forgot existed, Zandalari Templar!  I swear, when I play it I see my opponent is mousing over this card almost every time like "What is this?  What expansion is this from?!"

Anyway, this deck doesn't have much for early game... I am noticing as of late I have a tendency to build some greedy decks that kind of ignore the early game... BUT with Nozdormu the Timeless you don't need any early game!

It's simple!

You mulligan for things like Aldor Attendant, Redscale Dragontamer, maybe Hand of A'dal and Acolyte of Pain.  You can even just keep Noz in your mulligan if you got the right cards to follow him up with.  One game against a Pirate Warrior I had played an Attendant prior to my turn 4 Noz, but with 10 mana on turn 5, and because I was playing an aggressive opponent, I played a free Molten Giant, an 8 mana Libram of Hope, and Flash of Light to regain 10 HP and get two big bodies.  I followed this up with more healing and more big bois as my opponent had to just throw resources at trying to get through my taunts, but I ended up with an easy win.

You might be thinking, "What if I don't draw any of those cards in my mulligan?!  Well you have a secondary plan with High Priest Thekal and Molten Giants.  If you get Thekal and a Giant (or two) in your opening hand you can also just keep them!  Especially if you also have things like Flash of Light to help build that HP back up after your Thekal play.

I was having issues with running out of cards so I ended up putting in the good old Acolyte + Wild Pyromancer combo, which of course works well if you have a couple 0 mana Libram of Wisdoms to pair with them.  The Flash of Lights also draw.  I had a few other 1 attack guys and Crystology at one point but it honestly wasn't working out well for me.

One suggestion if you are having trouble getting the dragon you want off the Redscale deathrattle, you could cut the Bronze Explorer.  That's in there for a little extra value and some small amount of life gain.  If you do, I'd suggest replacing with something lower cost.  Argent Braggart could be a great choice as he can be played early or later to be another cheap 8/8 for you.

Summary

This deck is greedy and has a lot of ways to get out cheap 8/8 minions, many with taunt and some even with divine shield.  The deck can also do a lot of healing to survive decks that win off big bursts of damage.

I'm just starting my monthly climb, so I'm not at super high ranks with this deck, but I'm moving fairly quick.  8-4 so far.  Loses to a Big Priest, Dark Glare Warlock, Mecha'Thun Warlock, and a Shaman whose deck was even greedier than mine.

I'm personally having a lot of fun with this deck right now.  I love playing things like this that are off meta because I feel like I can actually surprise an opponent so they don't play around what I'm trying to do.  If you give it a try, I hope you enjoy it as well.  I'd love to hear any feedback or suggestions to improve the deck.

~ Thonson