Episodes
Thursday Jun 23, 2016
Adapting to the Meta - Episode 74
Thursday Jun 23, 2016
Thursday Jun 23, 2016
Hello!
- Zerotio is on the show this week
- Topic: How to adjust to the meta
- Reasons to be happy this week
- News: None. There is no news. Nothing happened. At all.
What is the Meta?
- Definition of Meta
- What makes the meta change?
- Why is it important to adapt to the meta?
- Do you HAVE to adapt to the meta?
- Casual vs. Ranked play vs. Pro play
How do you Identify What the Meta Is Currently?
- Sites like TempoStorm Meta Snapshot and Hearthpwn
- What you’re facing most often in game
- Is the Meta what’s popular or what’s strong? (Is there a difference? Example: Cthun decks right after release)
- Does this mean that Ranked 20s have a different meta than Legendaries?
Adapt: Beat Em’ or Join Em?
- Knowing when to join the Meta and when to counter it
- Identifying how to Counter the meta
Adapt: Identifying Burn Out and Tilt
- Knowing when to take a break or modify your deck for the Meta
- Finding a way to handle Burn Out
- Deciding if a Play Schedule is right for you
- Identifying if you are making misplays or just getting bad match ups
- Tips for identifying Misplays or Bad Matchup
Adapt: Keep the game fun by creating your own Meta
- Design unexpected decks to play on the ladder.
- The element of surprise can be fun and profitable on the ladder
- Note: These decks usually don’t hold a win streak, once people realize the “Win Condition”. Keep it ever changing and unpredictable
- Priest is a good Class for this type of deck.
Community
- Questions: Deck trackers, Deck recipes
- iTunes Reviews
- Donations (More info)
Card of the Week
Farewell
- Follow Zerotio on Twitter and listen to his amazing podcast, Hero Power!
- What do you want to see in future episodes?
Thursday Jun 09, 2016
The Angry Dragon Priest Deck - Episode 73
Thursday Jun 09, 2016
Thursday Jun 09, 2016
Hello!
- Craig is on the show this week
- Topic: Deck Battle!
- Reasons to be happy this week
- News: Dreamhack
What is a Deck Battle?
Once a month, a guest host brings their favorite deck onto the show to battle the current reigning champion deck for control of the Happy Hearthstone Deck Battle Throne!
If the challenger wins the best-of-3 series, their deck becomes the new Reigning Champion Deck and will fight off future challengers until it loses, or until it’s earned its place in the Happy Hearthstone Hall of Fame!
View the Deck Battle Archive + The Happy Hearthstone Hall of Fame
Defending Deck: Chris’ Warlock Dreadsteed deck just earned its spot on the throne in the previous episode and faces its first challenger today!
Challenger Deck: Craig’s Dragon Priest Deck puts an aggressive twist on the standard control class.
Creatures
- 2x Northshire Cleric
- 2x Twilight Whelp
- 1x Museum Curator
- 2x Wyrmrest Agent
- 1x Blackwing Technician
- 2x Auchenai Soulpriest
- 2x Twilight Guardian
- 2x Azure Drake
- 2x Blackwing Corruptor
- 1x Justicar Trueheart
- 1x Sylvanas Windrunner
- 1x Chromaggus
- 1x Ysera
Spells
- 2x Circle of Healing
- 2x Power Word: Shield
- 2x Shadow Word: Pain
- 1x Shadow Word: Death
- 1x Shadow Madness
- 1x Holy Nova
- 1x Entomb
Substitutes
In case you don’t have some of the ideal cards, here are some quality back-ups and alterations you can use, which all keep with the same theme and strengths of the deck.
- Mass Dispell
- Holy smite
- Thoughtsteal
- Elise Starseeker
- Shifting shade
- Excavated Evil
- Harrison Jones
- Nefarian
- Cabal Shadow Priest
The Duel
Josh’s Perspective
Craig’s Perspective (No Audio)
Community
- Questions: Classic Legendaries, Wild Mode
- iTunes Reviews
- Donations (More info)
Card of the Week
Farewell
- Contact Craig and get inspired by his fitness journey on his blog!
- What do you want to see in future episodes?
DECK GUIDE:
Are you ready to have your face mauled by angry dragons? Doesn’t sound pleasant, does it? Maybe you should just play this deck so you’re the one doing the face-mauling!
Note from Josh: The rest of this article was written by Craig. Thanks!
Dragon Priest
A lot of Priest decks tend towards the control side of the spectrum, but I like decks that get started quickly. So this Dragon Priest deck has a hint of aggro in it that lets it race out against control and out-punch another aggro deck thanks to its Taunts and heals.
Minions
Northshire Cleric: Decent stats for a 1-drop, and the incredible potential of the card-draw effect that even your opponents can unwillingly trigger makes this card high value.
Twilight Whelp: Sometimes Zombie chow, sometimes Worgen Infiltrator, many times best held to enable dragon synergy in mid to late game.
Museum Curator: The discover mechanic is great for Hearthstone. Giving a random choice allows you to mold each game according to your needs. I swap between this card and Shadow Word: Pain based on the relative speed of the meta.
Wyrmrest Agent: The best proactive turn-2 play in any priest deck, this card enables the deck to show presence early and compete against zoo and aggro for board control.
Blackwing Technician: Playing a 3/5 on turn 3 is better than playing one on turn 4, this is an “it’ll do” card not so much a strong contributor in this slot.
Auchenai Soulpriest: Here to make up for the loss of Light Bomb, Auchenai offers AoE, unexpected burst potential and increased potency for board control.
Twilight Guardian: A 3/6 with taunt is a good friend to any priest.
Azure Drake: 3 damage Holy Novas are really strong. Keep in mind that when healing is converted to damage, spell damage is also included. Auchenei Soulpriest + Azure Drake + Circle of Healing does 5 damage.
Blackwing Corruptor: Cheaper, slightly weaker Fire Elemental? Yes please.
Justicar Trueheart: When the game goes into extra innings, the increased healing on your basic hero power is a great way to keep your minions and yourself in the mix.
Sylvanas Windrunner: Make their late game into YOUR late game! A pro-active option to confuse the board for your opponent and much stronger in a meta with less silence options.
Chromaggus: A refuelling tool for slower match ups.
Ysera: The strongest dragon in the deck. Many games she’ll just activate your other options, but sometimes she’s your only option for a chance to win and the ruler of the dreamworld delivers.
Spells
Circle of Healing: This is here to replace Velen’s Chosen by restoring lost stats instead of buffing. Great synergy with Northshire and Auchenei.
Power Word: Shield: Excellent card that allows cycle and draw in one step.
Shadow Word: Pain: The flexible nature and low cost of this removal card is great, there are very few decks that avoid providing worthy targets.
Shadow Word: Death: BGH without the minion, flexible removal. This is a strong card.
Shadow Madness: An interesting removal tool that uses the priest mechanic of turning your opponent’s strength against them.
Holy Nova: When your minions take a bruising early, this spell and Circle of Healing keeps them going, and can keep your hand filled with Northshire Cleric.
Entomb: Make their late game, YOUR late game (again)!
The Substitutes
Mass Dispell: A subjective inclusion. AoE silence can be very strong for maintaining or establishing board control against sticky creatures.
Holy Smite: Flexible as damage or removal of early minions. Shadow word pain is more flexible, so slot this in when having trouble with fast starts
Thoughtsteal: For a meta of slower opponents, “borrowing” resources from your opponent can give you insight into their strategies, and add more value to your deck.
Elise Starseeker: Useful against much slower decks to provide more threats in heavier control matches
Shifting shade: Like Thoughtsteal, this card gets you a peek in your opponents deck and value to add to your list.
Excavated Evil: Great against “flood” decks, a reasonable alternative to the Auchenai circle combo.
Harrison Jones: An excellent tool against Shamans and Warriors, less consistent against Hunters. Try to aim for buffed weapons with Rogues.
Nefarian: A Ysera alternate. Nefarian produces immediate value with the spells, while being a threatening minion.
Cabal Shadow Priest: With the nerf to Keeper of the Grove, and loss of Shrinkmeister, there are less minds to change these days, but Cabal is still a great value when you land the battle cry on a good minion.