'Hearthstone: Journey To Un'Goro' Murloc Paladin Deck Guide: There's Something Fishy About Uther

hydroligist — Hydrologist is Grandma's favorite Murloc. Blizzard

My girlfriend is just starting to get into Hearthstone and her favorite class is Paladin. She’s slowly learning the basics of Uther: like when you should Consecrate and when you should Truesilver Champion . Now that she’s getting past rank 25 and using cards outside of the basic set, I thought I’d show her what a “meta” Paladin deck looks like. The first words out of her mouth were: “why are there so many Murlocs?”

Murloc Paladin has become one of the best decks in Hearthstone after Journey To Un’Goro released. With the removal of Anyfin Can Happen , players speculated before the set’s release that Midrange or Control Pallys would once again dominate the ladder. Thanks to the inclusion of a few select cards from JTUG , Murloc Paladin has remained the top contender. The deck has become such a threat that most classes, like Hunter and Druid, are adding Hungry Crab to combat the turn-one Murloc Tidecaller .

There are four new cards from Journey To Un’Goro in Murloc Paladin that prevented the deck from being trash:

Gentle Megasaur- What I can only describe as a blue children’s toy with a carapace, this lumbering giant is a cold-blooded Swiss Army knife. Adapting a Murloc you summoned with your hero power thanks to Vilefin Inquisitor allows you to add value on a cheap card. If you have a pesky Tar Creeper blocking you from pushing for lethal, hope you get Poisonous or +3 attack.

Hydrologist- Paladins work best when they can play minions on curve and it’s one of the reasons Secret Paladin was so successful. A turn one Grimscale Chum into a 3/3 plant fan can threaten most early game boards. Just make sure when playing a Hunter, not to play into Alleycats sacrificing themselves to buff Scavenging Hyena.

Rockpool Hunter- Like Hydrologist, this primordial amphibian is a great early game drop. When playing Murloc Paladin, you want to try not to waste this buff on an empty board. But, if it’s between Hero Powering or playing this guy on turn two, don’t hesitate about slapping that Murloc on the board.

Sunkeeper Tarim- Why do Paladins have the best Legendary minions in the game? Uther can use Tirion Fordring, Ragnaros The Lightlord and now this guardian of the light. Think how neglected Warlocks are feeling now, nobody even remembers that Cho’Gall exists. Semantics aside, Sunkeeper Tarim is an amazing card to combo with this deck. You can turn your weak 1/1 or 1/2 Murlocs into 3/3 minions that can kill everything on your opponent’s side of the board. Twilight Drake isn’t going to ruin your day after Keeper Of Uldaman on steroids gets played.

Mulligans: The cards you want in your starting hand depend on the match-up, but you always want to curve out early. Hydrologist, Vilefin Inquisitor, Murloc Tidecaller and Rockpool Hunter are usually smart to keep around. Throw Bluegill Warrior and Murloc Warleader back into your deck so Finja can pull them out again, unless you are against early aggression decks like Hunter or Warrior.

Soon, Blizzard will let us import decklists with a simple code. Until then, here’s the decklist I’ve been using in between games of Quest Rogue and Midrange Hunter.

Grimscale Chum × 2

Vilefin Inquisitor × 2

Murloc Tidecaller × 2

Bluegill Warrior × 2

Rockpool Hunter × 2

Hydrologist × 2

Divine Favor × 1

Murloc Warleader × 2

Coldlight Seer × 2

Blessing of Kings × 2

Gentle Megasaur × 2

Consecration × 2