Deck Guide: Showdown Paladin, the Deck that is Destroying the Meta!

Last weekend (December 16th and 17th), we had the Masters Tour's World Championship, Hearthstone's World Championship! Viewers were able to witness the immense presence of Showdown Paladin, which is also one of the main decks in the ranked queue, averaging around 70.21% win rate according to HSReplay.

Today, let's discover this deck, which gave everyone a run for their money in the ranked queue and the competitive scene.

This is an aggressive deck, whose goal is to fill and buff your board, putting a lot of pressure on your opponent. But, even then, we have a few very useful options to finish matches, such as Sea Giant, The Countess and Prismatic Beam.

Let's see the best way to use this deck's main minions, and why we use them!

As always, fast decks work through smaller minions. We bring three 1-cost options!

We can draw a Holy spell on turn 2 with Hi Ho Silverwing. We can also play Blood Matriarch Liadrin, but, honestly, I prefer saving her for future turns, in which we'll be able to combo with other minions and take even more advantage of her effect, which grants Rush and Divine Shield to your smaller minions.

Astral Serpent will guarantee you at least two cards on the turn it is played. If you have a few minions with Taunt, you'll be able to defend it and take even more advantage of its bonus.

Buffet Biggun, on the other side, is another minion that requires 4 mana. I recommend you keep it in your initial hand to fill its Infuse effect, which buffs the Silver Hands Recruits you summon with it.

Now we move on to this deck's bigger minions. The Countess grants you 3 cards that Discover legendary minions that will cost 0, which is quite strong. Another tough character to complement your board is Sea Giant. It's worth highlighting its discount based on the number of minions on the board, which ends up allowing you to play this giant for half its original cost or even less.

It's time to speak about the spells that are in this list.

Showdown! is the star that gives this deck its name. This ability summons three 3/3 minions with Rush both to you and your opponent. It seems a bit weak, but we should consider our deck has other spells that grant health and damage to our minions, which makes Showdown! even stronger.

In longer games, Order in the Court will be essential, considering it organizes your deck by leaving the most expensive cards on top and guaranteeing you'll draw your "tougher" minions on rounds you'll have more mana available. Even more so because no one wants to draw a 1-cost 2/1 minion in round 10, right?

The first buff in this list is Hand of A'dal, which, besides increasing your card's status, provides you with a card draw.

To fill your board, we have two 3-cost spells: Boogie Down and Muster for Battle. Notice that the first card has a Finale that grants Taunt to the minions you summon with it, and the second one grants you a 1/4 Weapon.

Crusader Aura is the biggest buff in this list, granting +2/+1 to the attacking minions. This effect lasts for three turns and can win games when used well.

Showdown Paladin's last spell is Prismatic Beam, which is a great solution against other aggressive decks, considering it deals a significant amount of AoE, besides costing less mana based on the number of minions on the enemy board.

This section brings you some suggestion for your initial hand.

Logically, the best strategy to go for is to look for the highest number of 1-cost cards as possible, but it is also necessary to prioritize Hi Ho Silverwing, which is definitely the best card for turn 2.

As said before, keeping a Buffet Biggun might also be a great option for your mulligan, but remember your priorities are the first few turns. Only keep this minion in your initial hand if you already have great cards for turn 1 and 2, at the minimum.

Boogie Down is the best card option on turn 3, by the way.

If you're against another aggressive list, I suggest you keep Prismatic Beam to remove enemy minions.

If you're against very slow decks, Order in the Court will be a curious, unpopular choice, but it will make sense. If we use it on turn 5 or 6, we'll already be prepared to draw The Countess, which can make a difference at the end of the game.

This is it for today! I hope this article has helped you understand Showdown Paladin. I'll be available in the comment section if you have any questions. Good luck on your games and see you later!