Deck Building 101: Holy/Protection Paladin‏

Here is a series I am starting- deck building is essential in any card game, and in the world of warcraft tcg, building decks is as easy as knowing what different types exist and what each class can do. Druids are versatile, but don't do the best in everything they do, hunters are also versatile in DPS amd slowing down the opponent. Mages are a powerhouse which interrupt, DPS and buff themselves or friends. Paladins are versatile (healing, DPS or tanking) with a tough twist. Priests can heal, discard or DPS (or buff). Rogues are DPS monsters that can play with the opponent (discard, poison). Shamans are also versatile with weapons striking, elemental DPS or mass healing. Warriors are the end all, be all of tankng (and some DPS) and Warlocks afflict, wipe out and summon powerful demons.


Three types of basic decks exist: Rush, Control and Discard. Rush uses a strategy that puts out multiple allies or damage that will overwhelm the opponent. Control forces the opponent to complete certain moves so that they can be anticipated- and discard either removes cards from the board, discards from the hand or mills the deck. Historically, control has been the best deck to play- but rush has seen a revitalization. Its like rock paper scissors- one beats the other but loses to another. Building a deck depends on what you want to do with it. I made a class quiz that I have now updated into version 3. It explores your interests and recommends a class to try out. The general rush decks are hunter, shaman, paladin and warrior. the general control decks are druid, mage, rogue and warlock. The general discard decks are Priests, Rogues and Warlocks. From here, you must decide an archtype. Damage, Healing, Tanking, Buffing, Discard and AOE are a few examples (Aoe stands for Area of Effect).


Some classes are mutli functional while others specialize in a specific archtype. Today's deck is a Holy Paladin. Holy is one of the three specs available to Paladin, specifically holy is for healing damage. Holy has a lot of damage prevention as well- and that can also be seen as a tanking card. So? we can combine Protection and Holy cards to create a Paladin tank that will prevent damage, lower some costs and tank, with late game weapons to finish the job.


Holy Paladin is a top 8 tournament winner and is known to become very expensive. The most expensive card in this deck is probably Holy Shock. Because this deck is built for raiding and tanking, not a lot of weapons are needed like in Retribution (Paladin) decks. Paladins tank differently than warriors- Protection Warriors are able to force every opponent to attack who he chooses. Paladins prevent that damage and rely on ally protectors to tank. Warriors are tough, but Paladins are extra tough because they can prevent damage to their friends and themselves. A warrior will require a healer to keep it going.Let's get to the deck, shall we?


Hero
Thoros the Savior (Horde)


Ability (25)
4 Aura of Accuracy
3 Blessing of the Martyr
4 Glimmer of Hope
4 Holy Shock
3 Judgement of Light
3 Lay on Hands
4 Sacred Moment


Ally (12)
4 Aknot Whetstone
4 Blood Knight Kyria
4 Horkin Figluster


Equipment (7)
3 Gorehowl
4 King's Defender


Quest (16)
4 A question of Gluttony
4 Forces of Jaedenar
4 The Sigil of Krasus
4 Tabards of the Illidari


Aura of Accuracy is a great card from the Drums of War set that you can drop in the early game. If you are targeting something with an ability, you pay one less to play it. For paladins, this is crucial when tanking. Blessing of the Martyr allows an ally to be buffed and revived- another tank or a very important ally such as Weldon Barov or Water Elemental. Glimmer of Hope is a new staple Paladin card that should be included in every paladin deck- if an ability card targets something you control in play, you can interrupt it with glimmer of hope. Holy Shock is also a Holy Paladin staple.


On a last shred of hope, if a boss is low on health and is about to kill a player, you can pop holy shock to not only prevent 4 damage, but deal 4 unpreventable damage as well. It is a very expensive card because it is seeing tournament play.Judgement of Light allows for a little bit of healing. Whenever a friendly hero or ally attacks the attached target, they heal two damage from themself. Against Illidan or Magtheridon (or Onyxia) this is great. In pvp, it creates a horrible situation for the opposition. Tank allies have wounds? attack with them and they may heal 2.


Lay on Hands is an amazing, last resort card to save a player from death. The Paladin heals the target player for all damage, but must end the turn after and skip his next turn. Play your cards right and this could be deadly.Sacred Moment stops a power happy boss or opponent from hitting with too much damage (Baron Geddon, anyone?). The Paladin and everyone else can't ready their cards again until the end of the next Paladin's turn. This can stop some bad, bad mojo from going down. Protection a lot? Blood Knight Kyria is a Paladin staple offering some healing, but the other two choices are good for a little tanking.


If necessary, you can drop King's Defender for Tatulla the Reclaimer for more control.Paladins have a track record for being nasty and difficult to take down. This is a must class for any 3v3 and is difficult to kill in a PVP match or 2v2 fight. Paladin does have its weaknesses, but the classes that can take down a paladin are far and few between.Any recommendations from you guys? The only thing I can think of is more tanking power.