Reno Flexibility Paladin

This is a build of Reno Pally that tries to have some options throughout a game in terms of how its going to win. This is a major strength of Paladin over the other viable Reno decks; Paladin has great grindy midrange potential, great control potential, and great aggro potential. In the case of Reno Pally, Sir Finley of the Sands opens up those paths even more so. The deck is designed to be flexible around a control/anti-aggro shell with OTK finishers.

OTKs:

1. Uther of the Ebon Blade + Youthful Brewmaster/Ancient Brewmaster/Zola the Gorgon + Garrison Commander :: This combo is pretty old, and suffers from being a several-turn long wait time, but has the advantage of being almost impossible to stop and being pretty consistent alongside strong stall. It's a guaranteed win when assembled, making it one of the more reliable combos in the game when given enough protection, but again, it does require a lot of protection.

2. Shirvallah, the Tiger + Baleful Banker + Holy Wrath :: This combo is much faster in that it is an actual one-turn-kill, but requires your opponent to be at 25 or less life and for you have to drawn your full deck.

3. Unincluded: Hakkar, the Soulflayer + Prince Liam :: This is less of an OTK and more of a general anti-control/combo finisher. Prince Liam isn't actually necessary, but acts as insurance against Hakkar. The reason this isn't included is it's a bit more of a "fun" combo, as it's very easy to stop when it's in the hands of a Paladin.

What's the deal with...?

This deck has some pretty weird inclusions, and I would be amiss if I didn't explain my thought process behind them.

1. Call to Adventure :: This card is SWEET. I've been really high on this card during the past few weeks while playing it alongside [Hearthstone Card (High Priest Thekkal) Not Found] and Molten Giants. It's way more reliable here as reasonable card draw as almost all possible hits off of it are in some way relevant. Crystalsmith Kangor and Sir Finley of the Sands are obviously are most desired targets, but often times aggro can be set back by developing great tempo, and Call develops that in a way by allowing multiple bodies on turn 4 followed by removal of some kind on 5. When assembling either of the decks two OTKs, Call also fetches up one of the key pieces.

2. Howling Commander and Wickerflame Burnbristle :: When observing potential card draw options in the 1-3 slot, I was particularly interested in Howling Commander for this deck. Against aggro, there's a much smaller package of cards that you'll want to have in your hand, and several of them are either ways to gain life or prevent you from losing more. Kangor, Wickerflame, Zilliax, and Shirvallah are all significant cards against aggro decks. When comparing Howling Commander to other options, it seems debatably on power level with Loot Hoarder and Acolyte of Pain, and being able to draw the card immediately is very significant.

3. Stonehill Defender :: This card has gotten serious cold shoulder after the days of Un'goro had passed. While not as blowout as EVIL Miscreant, it's particularly useful in Paladin as it can Discover Righteous Protector, Wickerflame, Annoy-o-Module, Sunkeeper Tarim, and Tirion Fordring, which provides this deck a lot of flexibility in its own right.

4. Ancient Brewmaster :: Many may argue this deck has enough bounce in the forms of Youthful Brewmaster, Zola the Gorgon, and Baleful Banker. My argument is that this deck would like to really milk the value of its specialty cards, and when playing with combos like the one in this deck, you need additional options.

Advantages and Disadvantages:

I'm not totally sure yet if this will be one of the stronger or one of the weaker Reno classes post-Uldum. A lot of the deck's success really comes down to Sir Finley of the Sands and a good ability of reading what you'll want from him in a given situation. The deck isn't designed to be the aggressor, it's only designed so that it can be, so a lot of the deck's ability to get aggressive is in Finley and what you get from him. It's important to keep in mind the ability to play Finley, bounce him, and replay him, and using this alongside the Hero Powers he gives you can be very impactful.

An advantage of the deck is it's theoretically very strong against fair decks, like Even Shaman, Odd Paladin, Odd Warrior, Jade Druid, and Murloc Shaman. If it wasn't clear, that also means it's disadvantaged against unfair decks, like Quest Mage, Big Priest, Combo Warlock, and Combo Priest (keep in mind that a deck being fair or unfair typically comes down to its ability to generate power/card advantage out of virtually nothing, and how it can virtually win a game by its first few turns. A deck's power level doesn't decide the deck's fairness). I'm on the fence on whether or not Odd Rogue is a fair deck or not. 😓

Another obvious major advantage of Paladin over other Reno decks is Finley. Sir Finley Mrrgglton is very powerful for giving a deck class-betraying options and opening up new options, and Justicar Trueheart was very powerful for certain classes to double down on their traditional strategies, but Sir Finley of the Sands is just... different. Sir Sandy, unlike the original, can Discover the Paladin Hero Power, and in certain match-ups that's great, but by diluting an option pool of 8 to an option pool of 9, it becomes significantly harder to get the perfect Hero Power for the situation. However, that's not to say Sir Sandy is worse than Mrrgglton or Trueheart, I really do think he's better than both in the context of this deck. I'll explain more below.

Sir Finley of the Sands

The best options for a given scenario can be a little vague. However, typically, they go something like as follows:

Against Aggro: Dire Shapeshift, Fireblast Rank 2, The Silver Hand, Heal, Poisoned Daggers, Tank Up!

There is zero way for this deck to outpace aggressive decks, so against them you must get something that gives you removal or, at the very least, sustain. A lot depends on the given match-up, but often Mage, Druid, Rogue, and Paladin are your best options, respectively.

Against Midrange: Dire Shapeshift, Ballista Shot, Fireblast Rank 2, The Silver Hand, Heal, Poisoned Daggers, Soul Tap, Tank Up!

Midrange decks are tricky to evaluate. Against Odd Rogue for instance, you might want Paladin, Warrior, or Priest, while against Odd Paladin you might want Mage, Druid, or Rogue. It mostly comes down to what your opponent's threats are, how big they can get, and the importance of removing them. Against slower decks, Warrior and Warlock are likely your best options, unless they have higher inevitability than you do, in which case you would want Hunter, while quicker decks will typically require more proactive removal options.

Against Control/Combo: Dire Shapeshift, Ballista Shot, The Silver Hand, Poisoned Daggers, Soul Tap, Tank Up!

This can fluctuate pretty wildly as well, depending on how strong the opponent's late game is. Against decks that go to fatigue and don't offer major threats until the very late game, playing more aggressive is a good way to exhaust their resources and force them away from hording life. Against decks that become the aggressor as early as turn 5-7, you're already at a major disadvantage, so sculpting your Hero Power around your hand and the most viable gameplan available is the only real option.