Hey folks, this deck here is just something I've been trying to do to improve on the Control Paladin builds of old to give the class a decent competitive option outside of the well-known and already viable Shockadin.

Remember how slow and passive old Control Pally was? Remember having to rely on Tirion Fordring to carry you in the lategame, despite not really having the initiative to keep the board throughout the game and deal anything more than the 15 damage Ashbringer gave you (damage which slower decks could easily shrug off, and other combo decks would laugh at)?

Rather than confining the deck to taunting up and healing up, a strategy which really only works versus the aggressive decks in the format (and is a mediocre strategy at best), I sought to give the deck more bite versus the more prominent lategame decks in the format such as Druid, Warlock and Warrior (and perhaps beat Rogues at their own game?). Inspired by existing Handlock builds, a thought occurred to me: what if Control Pally also ran a burst finisher combo? That's where the combo of Leeroy Jenkins, Blessing of Might, and Faceless Manipulator comes in.

Now, Paladin certainly doesn't have the same draw quality or quantity of Warlock, and has an underwhelming removal suite compared to Warrior, which puts the class at a notable disadvantage when trying to play the slow game. Regardless of those inherent weaknesses, I've decided to put my deckbuilding skills to the test (skills which are very poorly refined as I am an avid netdecker) and try to speed up the ol' boy in an attempt to give the deck more initiative, something it was so sorely lacking back in the day.

I'm still actively playing and refining this deck, so please feel free to leave suggestions regarding card optimisations below.