Hearthstone
[Rank1] Without Andy
- N'Zoth Priest
- Wild
- Ranked
Welcome to my Thief Priest guide
Real name no gimmicks.
Round the outside, round the outside.
Two dark cultist girls go round the outside,
Round the outside, round the outside.
Andy's back, tell a friend.
Guess who's back, guess who's back?
Guess who's back, guess who's back?
Guess who's back, guess who's back?
Guess who's back?
Na-na-na-na...
I’ve resurrected a monster! Cuz nobody wants to see Andy no more
They want Tyrande, I'm chopped liver!
Well if you want Tyrande this is what I'll give ya
A little bit of yuri art by personalami.
But on the stage she's nothing more than a disaster
she even worships an imaginary aster.
Whereas I'm the OG pastor, I have style and rhyme faster.
Though people take my bars for emote bm-ing
but they can't understand me spitting:
"Greetings"
You waited this long, now stop debating
Cause I'm back, brought a sack and cards need taking
All the others will be suffocating
By the pressure of their legies I'm captivating.
So the devs won't let me be or let me be me so let me see
They tried to shut me down on H-C-T
But it feels so empty without me.
So I got badly nerfed
the change to Extra Arms really hurt.
Barnes was next on the list
And now Big Priest is dismissed.
But don't grieve
'cause I got some tricks up my sleeve,
people's decks I'm gonna thieve
Starting with Reno. F*ck you, Medivh!
Now this looks like a job for me.
So everybody just follow me,
'Cause we need a little controversy,
'Cause it feels so empty without me.
I said, this looks like a job for me.
So everybody just follow me,
'Cause we need a little controversy,
'Cause it feels so empty without me.
► General Strategy
- Versus Aggro - Spam cheap deathrattles, taunts and board clears, heal yourself, stabilize, steal and emote.
- Versus Control - Steal, clear, steal, heal, steal, steal, steal and emote.
- Versus Combo - We don't have any strategies against this archtype, since our deck isn't teched against it. However I don't think it should be, because combo decks are practically non-existent due to the popularity of Burn Mage.
► Possible Combos
- Seance + Amara, Warden of Hope, Archbishop Benedictus or N'Zoth, the Corruptor (if he manages to stick on the board).
- Seance + a spicy enemy minion.
- Wretched Reclaimer + Convincing Infiltrator, Sylvanas Windrunner or minions from Twilight's Call.
- Shadow Visions can fetch you tools to clear, steal or summon and steal.
► General Mulligan
- Versus Aggro - Look for Mass Hysteria/Excavated Evil, Doomsayer and Bone Wraith/Loot Hoarder/Dead Ringer. Don't waste The Coin, since it allows you to cast an early AoE.
- Versus Control - Look for Shadow Visions and some cheap deathrattles. If you are 100% certain, that you face a control deck, you can also keep Benedictus.
- Versus Combo - Again, we don't have any ways to deal with it. If you face this archtype very often, add a Dirty Rat, but it won't be worth imho.
► Class Specific Strategies
Warrior
According to my personal hsreplay stats, this is the second least popular class atm. I have played against only 4 warriors so far this season.
If you accidentally stumble upon a warrior player, then it's more likely to be a Pirate Warrior than anything else. They play aggro, so it's a good idea to hard mulligan for your cheap defensive tools (Doomsayer, Bone Wraith, Mass Hysteria, Excavated Evil). Clear their pirates, keep their board in check and play the control game.
Last season I played a lot of games with my Quest Jade Shaman deck and I faced a couple of Taunt Warriors on the ladder. I have absolutely no idea why I didn't see any the past few days, but imho this deck is a force, which shouldn't be underestimated. Since I haven't played against it with Thief Priest, I don't have any experience to share with you, but imho you should try to complete the quest fast by playing cheap deathrattles early on, you should try to add more big bois in the ress pool by using Wretched Reclaimer and save Twilight's Calls for the moment, when you need the heal. The warrior deck runs 2x Brawls and 2x Warpaths, so don't overcommit. Try to kill their threats, in order to minimize the value from Battle Rage.
If the deck you are playing against is neither pirate-, nor taunt-themed, then the opponent might be running an odd list. This is control and thus a favourable MU. If this isn't the case either, then buckle up fo a looooooooooooong DMH Warrior game. Try to dump your hand and play Archbishop Benedictus only after they cast Dead Man's Hand (while dodging their Dirty Rat). Don't let dem mill crucial cards with Coldlight Oracle or Brann Bronzebeard + Coldlight Oracle.
Hunter
Another super rare encounter. If you face the green class, then prepare yourself for something aggressive.
Mech - the only good cards here are: Mass Hysteria, Doomsayer, Bone Wraith and Shadow Visions (+ Psychic Scream if you manage to survive that long). Clear the opponent's mechs at all cost, since they can be magnetized or buffed with Metaltooth Leaper. The matchup is really tough, because once the hunter develops a threatening board, you can't do much stop it. Sometimes you will be one turn away from casting an AoE and in other cases the hunter will magnetize a lot of mechs to one minion, which will negate Mass Hysteria's effect. That's why you have to hard mulligan for the aforementioned cards, if you want to have any success against it.
Reno - this should be a favourable MU. We have so many ways to deal with their threats, to heal and to outvalue them. Just watch out for a surprise King Krush or Spiritsinger Umbra + Sylvanas Windrunner turn. If you aren't pressured, cast Seance either on our own N'Zoth, the Corruptor or on theirs.
Paladin
This class is somewhat popular.
Odd - I consider this MU to be favourable, as long as you find the needed tools to beat it. Look for Excavated Evil, Shadow Visions and either Loot Hoarders or Dead Ringers. If Never Surrender! is in play, Excavated Evil will take care of the opponent's dudes. You should cast an AOE before they play Quartermaster, in order to minimize the potential pressure. Establish board control and win from there.
Aggro Handbuff Mech - Slightly unfavourable MU. Hard mulligan for Doomsayers, Bone Wraiths and Mass Hysteria/Shadow Visions. If you survive the first wave of mechs, it should be gg.
Tip the Scales - Look, this is a stupid highrolly deck. Either they play the 8-mana spell on turn 4 and you lose to stupid chargers or they don't. Try to find Bone Wraiths, Mass Hysteria and cheap card cycle.
Rogue
This class is somewhat popular.
Odd Rogue - I can't say if we are favoured in this MU, but in either case the games are winnable. Hard mulligan for Doomsayers, Loot Hoarders/Dead Ringers and either a Mass Hysteria or an Excavated Evil. Most of the opponent's minions will have 3 or less health by turn 5, so if you start with The Coin, you can safely keep the 3-damage AOE spell. If you go first, it would be better for you to take Mass Hysteria, since this answers Fungalmancer boards quite nicely.
Mill (N'zoth or just plain mill) - Dump your hand as much as possible. Look at the following replay:
https://hsreplay.net/replay/58goeQ4e69dvbUPhUnvqVc
Even though I ran a different list, the replay shows what I was trying to do in that match. I didn't want to be greedy and get value from my Twilight's Call, I wanted to get rid of some cards, which could have gotten Sapped or Vanished and which could have clogged my hand. The most important card in this MU is Archbishop Benedictus, who should be Seanced as well. If he gets milled, the game is over for you.
Cutlass Thief Rogue - if it's not odd and not mill, then you might be facing a thief deck. I would advise you to draw a lot of cards, to Seance Amara or N'zoth and to pressure the opponent before they manage to kill you with their dagger. Shadowreaper Anduin is really helpful in this MU.
Shaman
Even Overload - kinda unfavourable for us, but it's still winnable. Hard mulligan for Shadow Visions into Mass Hysteria, Doomsayer and a cheap deathrattle. If the opponent's board is small, but it's only buffed by Vessina, you can safely throw away an AoE, in order to prevent an early Sea Giant from entering the board. Beware of Devolve, so don't play too many taunt deathrattles at the same time. If you reach turn 7/8, it should be gg. You will be able to cast Psychic Scream and play Shadowreaper Anduin, in order to seal the deal. If this deck becomes too popular, I will remove Excavated Evil in favour for a Lightbomb.
Murloc (quest or questless) - I consider this MU to be favourable for us. Find AoEs, Doomsayers and Loot Hoarders or Dead Ringers. Don't allow the opponent to go wide, else they will buff their board with Everyfin is Awesome. Beware of Devolve, so don't play too many taunt deathrattles at the same time. If you reach turn 7/8, it should be gg.
Shudderwock TTK - not really favoured, since we don't have any tools to beat it. But this MU is super rare. My tips for you - build up a board, try to apply as much pressure as possible. Beware of Devolve. N'zoth will be your win-condition... unless the opponent has an upgraded Hagatha's Scheme or Plague of Murlocs... So yeah, not many options to choose from. But luckily for you, the combo can whiff, so pray on to RNGeesus for good luck.
Druid
I have faced only 7 druids so far - 1 Reno (Dane's deck), 1 King Togwaggle & Azalina Soulthief, 1 feat Prince Keleseth and the rest were jades. I am only going to talk about the most likely encounter:
Jade - draw a lot of cards in the early game, build up taunts and try to find your Archbishop Benedictus on time. When casting Shadow Visions, you want to find Psychic Scream or Mass Hysteria for the moment, when the jades become huge and you want to shuffle them into the opponent's deck. Be careful not to get milled by Naturalize. Don't play N'Zoth, if the opponent's board is empty - you don't want to lose your minions to Poison Seeds.
Warlock
Very common encounter. Here are the 4 decks, that I see most often:
Reno Warlock - we are favoured here. In order for you to win, you have to grind your opponent out. When casting Shadow Visions, you want to search for Mass Hysteria or Twilight's Call, if you require more resources. Draw a lot of cards in the early game, play taunts and minimize the enemy's aggression. Usually you want to play Archbishop Benedictus the moment you find him. Be warned, that some lists run Rin, the First Disciple, so you may screw yourself, if you play the 7-drop too early. But Dirty Rat is in every Reno build whatsoever, while Rin isn't, so I personally don't play around the gnome. I just want to inform you about the risks you might take in this MU. Anyway, I save Seance for Amara, Warden of Hope or N'Zoth, the Corruptor, but if I'm not pressured enough and if Benedictus is in the last pile of cards, I copy him instead, in order to win in fatigue:
https://hsreplay.net/replay/4hdFnwkvfA9zDAKhXCKXGF
Darkest Hour Warlock - Look, this is a stupid highrolly deck. Either they pull off the combo early on, you aren't able to deal with their board and lose or they don't and you win. I don't mulligan for this MU, because there are other more common decks to watch out for, but if you know you are playing against this deck, here's what you should do: You have to find a Mass Hysteria (which hopefully won't get cancelled by [Hearthstone Card (nerubian unraveller) Not Found]), Convincing Infiltrator and Shadowreaper Anduin. If you clear two waves of threats, it should be gg.
Btw here's a funny replay of a game, where a Doomsayer screws the opponent:
https://hsreplay.net/replay/HHCgNYRDGySLrZ4xkkAPNZ
Sn1p-Sn4p Warlock - I become salty, while I'm explaining this matchup. I have faced 5 SN1P-SN4P warlocks this season and 4 of them managed to kill me on turn 5. And I'm not even exaggerating. I don't know if this was me being unlucky, but despite the losses I think the match is winnable. You just have to play taunts and clear the opponent's board before they assemble the needed combo pieces. That's why I would advise you to mulligan for Bone Wraith, Convincing Infiltrator, Twilight's Call.
Mecha'thun Warlock - very unfavourable MU. The only way to win would be to apply a lot of pressure, but this is impossible to do. The warlock deck runs Reno Jackson, so it doesn't lack burst healing. If you want to stay in the game and try your luck, then here are my tips: Play Amara, Warden of Hope for her 8/8 body, Seance her, in order to maintain the pressure. Wretched Reclaimer must be used on Sylvanas Windrunner, in order to steal a Voidlord. I've stumbled upon some decklists, which don't run Twisting Nether, so your N'Zoth, the Corruptor could be treated as a nuisance. Other ways to delay the combo is by using Psychic Scream on a bunch of worthless 1/3 taunts.
Here are other decklists, which some of you might see:
Even - find Convincing Infiltrators, Mass Hysteria and Doomsayers. Play the 2-drop prior to turn 3, in order to deny a 3-mana Mountain Giant. Heal the opponent, in order to delay their Hooked Reavers and Molten Giants. Keep the board clean. Beware of Mojomaster Zihi and Spellbreakers.
Zoo - Look for Mass Hysteria, Doomsayers and cheap card cycle. Keep the opponent's board clean.
Cruel Dinomancer - save Psychic Scream for the big Spiritsinger Umbra turn. if you have the opportunity, steal Cruel Dinomancers with Sylvanas Windrunner & Wretched Reclaimer.
Mage
Well, if isn't this a common encounter?
Burn Mage - this is a favourable MU. Yes, you are reading it right - we are favoured here! Here's what you have to do: Mulligan for cheap deathrattles, play as many of them early on, in order to complete your quest fast. Against Explosive Runes I play Convincing Infiltrator, Doomsayer and sometimes Sylvanas Windrunner, though she can screw you hard, if the secret is Mirror Entity. Speaking of which, I always play Doomsayer first, in order to test both secrets. Against Counterspell I just throw away a copy of Shadow Visions, Twilight's Call, Seance, The Coin or an AoE, if the prior cards are more valueable for me. Sometimes the opponent doesn't kill my minions and I am able to proc Flame Ward for free (after I make some trades ofc). Against Duplicate I kill the least threatening minion. Here's what I normally do:
https://hsreplay.net/replay/mWHu9Tc8cWtmyuH64bQyEN
https://hsreplay.net/replay/TsZYoKNN66cXk5mejvZArU
Reno Mage - you will probably mulligan for the aggro MU first. If you find Archbishop Benedictus and play him before the opponent's Dirty Rat, it will be gg. Anyway, in the early game you should draw a lot of cards, so that you find most of your removals for the opponent's threats. Beware of Polymorph, Potion of Polymorph and Polymorph: Boar, so don't throw away Sylvanas Windrunner w/o a reason. Use her in combination with Wretched Reclaimer, so that you add her in your ress pool. Whenever Frost Lich Jaina is in play, I try to minimize the Water Elementals the opponent could get from their HP, so I refrain from summoning unnecessary minions.
Miracle Mage - play cheap deathrattles, build a board (Convincing Infiltrators and Sylvanas Windrunner, N'Zoth, the Corruptor), in order to stop Flamewaker's pings. If the opponent's quest is almost completed, play Amara, Warden of Hope just to be safe. Those mages don't run burn, but blocking some giant damage will prevent surprise lethal.
Priest
Hahahahaha. Once it presented the most annoying deck on the ladder, now it's the least played class. I find it ironic.
Your opponent will most likely be Inner Fire (quest or a plain version). If they play a Northshire Cleric early on, it will be better not to develop anything, in order to deny them from drawing cards. Find Mass Hysteria and Shadow Visions, try to keep the opponent's board as clean as possible. Find your taunts and play Wretched Reclaimer on Convincing Infiltrator. If a taunt gets silenced and you fear getting killed, play a Wretched Reclaimer on the taunt.
If you stumble upon a foolish Big Priest, here's what you should do: Find Shadow Visions and take Mass Hysteria or Psychic Scream, if you don't have many removals in hand you wouldn't be able to deal with the opponent's ever-rising minions atm. We don't run Entomb anymore, so the only way to steal the opponent's minions is with the help of Sylvanas Windrunner. Play Wretched Reclaimer on her and save your Twilight's Calls for the late-game (make sure you add more good deathrattles in the ress pool). The only minions, which are not worth stealing are Barnes and Obsidian Statue. Oftentimes, when I cast Psychic Scream, I try to shuffle a really weak minion in the opponent's deck. It's advisable for you to do the same, because anything small would instantly become a dead card or a bad target for SE.
► Deck Statistics and Highest Rank
Stay tuned for the stats. I want to reach legend first, before I give you the full picture. If someone is interested, they can ask me in the comment section.
► Card Replacements and Recommendations
REPLACEMENTS
- Awaken, My Masters - staple. There's nothing to discuss here.
- Sylvanas Windrunner - she increases the value from N'zoth and Twilight's Call. You can replace her with a second Khartut Defender, a Lightbomb (check the section below) or another greedy deathrattle of your choice.
- Archbishop Benedictus - staple with all of the heavy cycle.
- Shadowreaper Anduin - most DKs are extremely powerful and Andy is no exception. He offers a board clear against big minions and reach. Though if you want to replace him, I would recommend you to add a Lightbomb (check the section below) or a second Psychic Scream.
- N'Zoth, the Corruptor - staple. There's nothing to discuss here.
- All of the epics are staple as well. There's nothing to discuss here.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Lightbomb - Very good AoE against the majority of the decks. Currently I use Excavated Evil, because I have a harder time dealing with aggro. But if you face mid-range decks way too often, this is the card for you.
- Zola the Gorgon - she can replace Seance. The less spells we have in our deck, the better the outcome becomes from Shadow Visions.
- Forbidden Words/Penance - if you have a rough time dealing with annoying minions (Ship's Cannon, Underbelly Angler, Hench-Clan Thug, Mechwarper etc).
- Dirty Rat - if you stumble upon many Mecha'thun warlocks.
Thanks for the support. I don't own any rights to Eminem's original song "Without me", I just got an inspiration by his music piece and by Little Kuriboh's version of it. The intro song isn't finished yet, I will try to complete it in the following days.
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13- 00
- 01
- 02
- 03
- 04
- 05
- 06
- 07+
- 0 Forbidden Words x 2
- 1 Awaken the Makers x 1
- 1 Crystalline Oracle x 2
- 2 Dead Ringer x 2
- 2 Penance x 2
- 2 Shadow Visions x 2
- 3 Twilight's Call x 2
- 3 Wretched Reclaimer x 2
- 4 Psychopomp x 2
- 5 Convincing Infiltrator x 2
- 5 Mass Hysteria x 2
- 7 Archbishop Benedictus x 1
- 7 Psychic Scream x 2
- 4 Bone Wraith x 2
- 5 Zilliax x 1
- 6 Khartut Defender x 1
- 6 Mechanical Whelp x 1
- 10 N'Zoth, the Corruptor x 1
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Comments
Creator's notes
Ever since I fell from rank 1, I got stuck in rank 3 and I'm currently trying different builds for the N'zoth thief priest. Back when I started laddering with this deck in the early days of September, I had a lot of success, because I countered the dominating burn mages with relative ease. Now that the meta has "settled down", people bring more Reno decks and counters to the Reno decks (i.e. combo) on the ladder, so I decided to make my deck greedier.
Currently I run 1 Shifting Shade instead of a Mechanical Whelp, because I want to stick to the theme, but I think that the mech will be more beneficial to you. It will make the outcome of N'zoth and Twilight's Call significantly better. In addition to that I've added Psychopomps, which will accelerate the quest completion progress and grant you more value. I had to cut the Loot Hoarders for those, but the deal was totally worth it. I've won a game, where I resurrected Zilliax and gained a ton of life from him. Speaking of which, I added Zilliax, in order to narrow down the deathrattle pool and to make usage of the mechs. If a Khartut Defender dies, I want to resurrect him instead of a Baum, because I get two taunt bodies at the same time (and in the case I summon 2 defenders => four taunts).
I recommend Thief Priest to anyone, who struggles with burn mages. It has a lot of ways to deal with them and I only lose due to bad card draw RNG. However if someone stumbles upon a variety of decks on the ladder, I would recommend them to try Quest Jade Shaman. It does a wonderful job against slow decks (incl. combo).
[edit] I feel like a better version of N'zoth Priest would utilize Stalagg and Feugen, because we have tons of ways to abuse their deathrattle - we can fetch them with Dead Ringer and summon them with Twilight's Call, Psychopomp, N'zoth and Wretched Reclaimer. I haven't played in the Naxx era, so I don't have those cards. I will appreciate if someone replies to this comment and shares their thoughts on those legendaries.
Nice changes to the rap, but some of those were fails as now it doesn't rhyme nearly as good
I agree with you, but I don't promise that I will make the rap better with the next update, I'm really bad when it comes to composing music, but I will at least give it a try. In Eminem's song and in the LK's version of it there are a lot of references to be found, which I can't recreate. I made the Andy song with the intention to entertain, not to create a magnum opus.
" cause I got some tricks up my sleeve,
people's decks I'm gonna thieve
Starting with Reno. F*ck you, Medivh! ''
I'm dying !
Kovachut is back with brilliant guides. The dedication alone is spectacular!
<3 Thanks, glad you liked it.
How can you win against combo decks?
Well... the current build doesn't offer any ways to deal with combo, but I don't see any combo decks on the ladder. Ever since the new season started, I've played against one Mecha'thun warlock and it was today. Against SN1P-SN4P Warlock we have a lot of taunts to protect us, so you should be fine, unless your opponents are as lucky as mine and manage to assemble all combo pieces by turn 5. If you stumble upon many combo decks, you could add a Dirty Rat, but I don't think it's worth it. Burn Mage has the biggest impact on the wild meta and the combo archtype is pretty much non-existent. Allow me to summarize the class specific MUs:
So as you can see, I don't see any reason to run this tech.