Mind Blast Control Priest Deck List Guide – Boomsday – August 2018

Our Mind Blast Control Priest deck list guide goes through the ins-and-outs of this popular deck from The Boomsday Project expansion! This guide will teach you how to mulligan, pilot, and substitute cards for this archetype!

Introduction to Mind Blast Priest

“Priest loses so many important cards with the upcoming rotation!”: That statement was heard quite often in the last few weeks, and combined with the newly revealed Priest cards, the lion’s share of the community pronounced Priest’s future in the Year of the Raven dead.

Maybe in this case the wish was the father of the thought due to the dominance of the class in the second part of the Year of the Mammoth; but after all, Priest seems to be more than alive and well. Spiteful Priest was the obvious choice for most players at the start of the expansion, but another once famous archetype that we’re going to take a look at is on the rise yet again: Mind Blast Control Priest.

Update – The Boomsday Project

We’ve listed a popular version of Mind Blast Priest below, we’ll be updating the guide soon!

Deck List

Deck Import

Mind Blast Priest General Strategy

On first sight, this deck might seem to be kind of all over the place in the chaotic meta game of the first few weeks of Witchwood. However, the combination of the best Priest cards in the game makes this deck a true meta-breaker in the best possible way. Looking at the statistics of admittedly moderate sample size, Mind Blast Control Priest has beaten the most played decks (Odd Paladin, Odd Hunter, Cubelock, and Tempo Rogue) pretty convincingly.

With the new patch, many important matchups will become way more favorable, and the deck as a whole will perform even better both in competitive and casual play. If you want to read more information about specific matchups, please don’t hesitate to scroll down to the Matchup section.

Now to the actual list: First of all, we have the card draw engine that includes Northshire Cleric, Wild Pyromancer, Power Word: Shield and a new addition called Divine Hymn. One of the strongest upsides of this group of cards is the fact that it also serves as a great way to clear the board early; Shadow Visions and Mind Blast can help in that regard as well. The amount of board clear in total makes this archetype a great match against the Aggro lists that currently try to break greedy control archetypes.
Acolyte of Pain finds a place in more and more lists as the new Standard year goes along, and rightfully so: It can pick up a lot of value against Paladin and other archetypes that rely on cheap minion pressure; it also may be the “most included card after various iterations” in all of Hearthstone’s control archetype. The amount of greed only increases with the evolution of the meta-game at the time, and the inclusion of this card showcases exactly that.

The dragon package suffered heavy losses with the rotation, but still kept important cards like Duskbreaker, Twilight Drake and Primordial Drake which help to survive into the later stages of the game. Alexstrasza may look like a random include, but serves one particular purpose: To defeat the mighty Cube Warlock. This will be discussed further in the Matchup Guide section.
One of the more powerful cards of the earlier iterations, Scaleworm, has seen less and less play recently. Reasons for that may be its mediocre performance against Aggro, and the refinement of the archetype itself towards a more draw-heavy solution.

Acidic Swamp Ooze is having a field day in basically every control list at the moment. Paladins alone use three to five different weapons, Hunter uses at least two as well. Our dear friend Harrison Jones has been cut from most versions of this list recently, just because other cards have way more consistent performance. The fact that Cube Warlock has been sent to the nether with the recent balance patch justifies the cut as well.

One or two copies of Shadow Word: Death try to handle early Mountain Giant aggression and Spiteful Summoner high rolls, something that many control lists still struggle with. Newer versions seem to run Twilight Acolyte instead of SW:D, which is fine as well but always less reliant against early threats.
When all the floodgates open eventually, Psychic Scream and Shadowreaper Anduin are ready to remove ridiculous board states to save enough time to get to the win condition of this deck.

The “curve ball” in this list is Mind Blast. 10 damage for 4 mana may still be the best face damage per mana distribution in the whole game, and we don’t even need cards like Prophet Velen to make it work. Shadow Visions alone can produce up to four copies, and Alexstrasza does all the dirty work up to 15 health anyway.

A very weird addition that finds its way into more and more lists is Holy Fire, but the fact that it can add additional reach against heavy Armor archetypes like Taunt Druid oder Quest Warrior can make it worthwhile in the long run.

The archetype of Mind Blast Priest turned from a sleeper deck into one of the most played lists on ladder on all ranks. The patch favors Priest as a whole even more, and if you know how to play specific matchups, nothing can stop you!

Mind Blast Priest Matchup and Mulligan Guides

Cubelock: HIGHLY FAVORED

You want to beat Cube Warlock more consistently than any other list? Play Mind Blast Control Priest. Playing this matchup, however, is surely not a walk in the park. It is key to know when to pull the trigger on specific cards. Alexstrasza for example is part of our “combo”, so playing that on curve does absolutely nothing since Cubelock can just heal back up to full life in a heartbeat. It really is a game of attrition, and having Shadowreaper Anduin in hand early is almost mandatory to be able to put out enough damage before playing Alex eventually. Bait out as many heals as possible, try to get additional Mind Blast copies, and don’t use your Mass Dispel too early. And by the way: If you get confronted by a random copy of Rin, the First Disciple, be sure to Silence it as quickly as possible, because that is one of the very few ways to lose if played on curve.

Mulligan: Cards to keep are Shadow Word: Death, Northshire Cleric, Shadowreaper Anduin, and Acidic Swamp Ooze or Harrison Jones.

Odd Paladin/Even Paladin/Murloc Paladin: HIGHLY FAVORED

History doesn’t change, and that applies to Control Priest versus Aggro Paladin. Wild Pyromancer alone carries you through the early game, and if you don’t draw one, you should at least get Northshire Cleric for early board contesting or Duskbreaker for the heavy board swing on turn 4.

Don’t underestimate their ability of reloading the board, and choose wisely when it comes to board clear. If you play the board correctly you will almost always come out ahead, and Psychic Scream or Primordial Drake will seal the game eventually.

Mulligan: Cards to keep are Northshire Cleric, Wild Pyromancer, Power Word Shield and Duskbreaker.

Odd Aggro Hunter: HIGHLY FAVORED

Basically the same game plan as against Odd Paladin. Don’t be afraid to neglect your life total at the beginning of the game, because Divine Hymn or Shadow Visions will almost always be in your back pocket. Use your Hero Power to make value trades and to keep the board presence.

Mulligan: Cards to keep are Northshire Cleric, Wild Pyromancer, Power Word Shield and Duskbreaker.

Spell Hunter: UNFAVORED

This matchup can become very hard. The mix of singular threats through Build-a-Beast and lots of 3/3 wolves makes keeping the board clean a herulian task. Mulligan HARD for Duskbreaker if you want to maintain a lead into the late game! This is the single-most important card in the matchup.
Try to maximize your value cards, play Pyromancer only when you can clear the board with it, and Northshire Cleric only when you can draw cards with it the very same turn.

Mulligan: Cards to keep are Northshire Cleric, Wild Pyromancer, and Duskbreaker.

Tempo Rogue: FAVORED

Many opponents will think that you are playing a Spiteful Priest list, and that helps you a ton in the matchup against Rogues. They will try to build up a big Edwin early on, and you will eat it up with Shadow Word: Death. The rest of the matchup plays out as easy. Scaleworm is the answer Priest needed against Fal’dorei Strider, so even more value-oriented Rogue archetypes will have trouble to compete in the mid game.

Mulligan: Cards to keep are Northshire Cleric, Wild Pyromancer, Power Word: Shield and Duskbreaker.

Spiteful Druid: EVEN TO UNFAVORED

As we all know, Spiteful Summoner’s rolls have become increasingly better due to the rotation of the Old Gods, and that is why this archetype can high-roll you out of the game in a heartbeat. The combination of Prince Keleseth and copious amounts of cheap minions that have more than 3 health can become too much from time to time. The deck also has a lot of defensive capabilities, and Armor is the bane of every combo-based Alexstrasza deck. Try to go in as early as possible, get your Scaleworm on the board, and pray.

Mulligan: Cards to keep are Northshire Cleric, Wild Pyromancer, Power Word: Shield and Duskbreaker or Scaleworm.

Tempo Mage: BALANCED

In my opinion, this is one of the most fun matchups of Mind Blast Priest. It really can go both ways every time; your Duskbreaker can deal with all of their minion threats at once, but well-timed Counterspells and Explosive Runes can cost you the game. Besides that, destroying Aluneth with your Ooze feels incredibly satisfying and will most likely win you the whole match.
Try to focus on board control as much as possible, use your Health as a resource. This can backfire of course, but normally Shadow Visions and Divine Hymn should keep you out of lethal range for a long time.

Mulligan: Cards to keep are Northshire Cleric, Wild Pyromancer, Power Word: Shield and Duskbreaker.

Elemental/Control Mage: UNFAVORED

You know what’s as bad as Armor for our list? Lifesteal, and Frost Lich Jaina has plenty of that in hand. In this matchup you basically need to hard-mulligan for Shadowreaper Anduin so that you can apply pressure as early as possible and before Jaina gets drawn. You have to go wide on the board as well, because the board will stay clear all of the time anyway. The matchup against more value-oriented Elemental Mages without that many board clears is much better.

Mulligan: Cards to keep are Northshire Cleric, Power Word: Shield and Shadowreaper Anduin.

Odd Rogue: BALANCED

Odd Rogue can dish out tons of early damage due to their upgraded Hero Power and cards like Hench-Clan Thug. Try to not play greedy with your board clear, because this archetype tends to not have as many board refill compared to other Aggro archetypes.

Mulligan: Cards to keep are Northshire Cleric, Wild Pyromancer, Power Word: Shield and Duskbreaker.

Even Shaman: SLIGHTLY UNFAVORED

Control Priest always had a hard time against Shaman, just because it has no way to deal with huge amounts of cheap value minions over and over again. Even Shaman has more than enough of that, and the fact that those Totems can turn into legit threats in the mid-game thanks to Flametongue Totem or Dire Wolf Alpha. The only hope in this matchup is to draw Pyromancer every time; other than that, Duskbreaker needs to carry into the late-game where Anduin and Mind Blast could do enough damage while removing their board over and over again.

Mulligan: Cards to keep are Northshire Cleric, Wild Pyromancer, Power Word: Shield and Duskbreaker.

Taunt Druid/Quest Warrior/Odd Warrior: UNFAVORED

On paper these are the worst matchups for Mind Blast Priest. If played correctly, running out of Armor is not an option for both decks.
However, if your opponent doesn’t know what he’s up against, these games can turn into skill-based matchups really quick. Even in Legend ranks, lots of players still play too greedy instead of leaning back and just ramping up Armor over and over again. Sadly, both the paper and the real match is lost if you don’t draw Anduin early enough.

Mulligan: Cards to keep are Northshire Cleric, Power Word: Shield and Shadowreaper Anduin.

Mind Blast Priest Tech Cards and Replacements

Shadow Word: Death: Depending on the meta, you can only run one copy of SW:D, but at the moment it’s just too good against Mountain Giant and Spiteful Summoner. A healthy alternative of course is Twilight Acolyte.

Chameleos: Many variations of this list run Chameleos, and in a more control-oriented meta, this card can spy out a lot of vital information and create great value.

Prophet Velen: This card actually does nothing in terms of additional reach within a single turn, just because it has to stick to the board for at least one turn.

Spirit Lash: A lot of lists run this card, especially if you can’t afford a second copy of Psychic Scream; it adds good board clear and healing, especially combined with Pyromancer.

Tharid

Julian "Tharid" Bischoff, a dinosaur in the fast-changing world of esports and self-proclaimed Warcraft expert, already created Hearthstone-related content for Red Bull, ESL and Hearthhead.

Check out Tharid on Twitter!

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198 Comments

Discuss This Deck
  1. RealMenChewGum
    July 13, 2018 at 12:36 pm

    I really love playing this deck, and you can definitely climb with it and have pretty good winrates against most decks. But I have been stopped dead by the Shudderwock wall.

    I climbed to rank 3/4 pretty easily, but there is so much Shudderwock there and I haven’t found a way to beat that deck anywhere near 50% of the time. I’ve tried a few different techs but it just seems to be an impossibly difficult matchup. Unless they misplay or have the worst possible draw, there isn’t really a way to apply enough early pressure, and by the time you can pull of the alexstraza/MB combo, you’ve probably already lost. The tweaks people have been making to Shudderwock seem to have made it an even more difficult matchup, as well.

    • Tharid - Author
      July 16, 2018 at 12:55 am

      Yup, your last point is the important one. Shudderwock Shaman has been teched out, and you just have to accept that it’s basically your only very unfavorable matchup looking at T1 and T2 decks. Accept it and try to go for the short run by playing minions on curve that can hit face as early as possible.

  2. Slugger57
    July 6, 2018 at 9:22 pm

    Really enjoying this deck right now. I feel like it provides a lot of interesting interactions and decision making even in its unfavored matchups. I ditched the weapon removal package, as I think I only hit a single Eaglehorn Bow in like 15 games. Swapped them out for a Twilight Acolyte and Cabal Shadow Priest to act as another (pseudo) mind control.

    I was wondering, what list do you, Tharid, personally run when you play this deck? It seems like there’s a lot of flexibility for tech cards at the moment.

    And as a side note, I’ve loved seeing the way you’ve handled criticism from certain people in this comment thread. I doubt many other people would be willing to put up with such blatant stupidity, much less provide detailed statistics and personal succes with the deck. Love to see this kind of confidence in one’s work.

    • Tharid - Author
      July 8, 2018 at 8:59 am

      Thanks for the kind feedback! This deck really represents everything I love about this game, and that is why I try to provide as much insight as I possibly can. Reading comments like yours are more than enough to keep me going, and I just want to let you know that this it is very appreciated; that goes for 95% of the comments in this section in general 🙂

      I haven’t played MB Priest this season due to other archetypes priorities (I’m currently on a 14-win streak with Zalae’s Odd Rogue, my lord is this deck great).
      Once I hit a wall with Odd Rogue I will come back to it, and your suggestions already hit the nail on the head. Both Paladins and Warlocks see way less play right now, therefore weapon removal becomes less important. Odd Rogue is still around, but they have easy weapon reload, and removal cards in that case are just not impactful enough in my opinion.

      Another thing is the Dragon package; I can see Scaleworm making a comeback to newer list due to its strength against mid game minion-heavy archetypes like Even Warlock or Recruit Hunter.

      Greedy inclusions like Cabal Shadow Priest can create tons of value; I can even see things like Stonehill Defender make a great 1-of inclusion, just because it’s great against every successful Aggro archetype at the moment, and it’s provides good value as well.

      The vanishing of Warlock and Paladin of course means that two of MB Priest’s most favorite matchups see less and less play. Swing-intense and currently very successful decks like Recruit Hunter and Taunt Druid are not favorable matchups, and most importantly, players get better and better with decks, which really doesn’t favor the matchup as well.

      However, the time Priest has been one of the worst classes in general when it comes to pure win rate is now, and that means that most players don’t tech against Priest. Control decks get greedier and greedier, which means less Health and Armor gain in, for example, many Druid and Warlock lists. Many players will expect a Quest Priest list, just because MB Priest is not very common as of right now.

      In the end, it’s just like you said. The ability to make plays and decisions depending on YOUR playstyle is still unmatched when playing this deck, and this fact outweighs every meta change. I said it a lot of times in this comment section: If you are a good player playing this deck with confidence, you will climb no matter what.

  3. S2mikey
    July 3, 2018 at 4:12 am

    It’s official. This deck is dead. It has one good matchup and that’s it. Good luck with it. If anyone can post a truly updated version that doesn’t auto lose to everything please do. Otherwise, it might have been good 3 seasons ago but it’s terrible now. Tier 4 meme status.

  4. Steviek
    June 21, 2018 at 11:47 am

    I do really enjoy this deck. I used Zetalot’s mind blast priest in the last meta (yes featuring squashling) but the deck lacked a little diversity in terms of changing to the new meta when you weren’t just up against even paladins and warlocks (non even before nerf).

    This deck is more balanced it gives you more choices and as long as you determine your win condition early you can win against pretty much all decks (except armour decks). If you go all out attack against shudderwock decks and use your psychic screams to dilute his deck with saronites you can counter act his high draw dependence.

    Currently rank 3 with the deck (not my highest ranking ever) but certainly good for sea giants treasure 🙂

    • Tharid - Author
      June 24, 2018 at 2:17 pm

      Thanks for your feedback! Great to hear that the deck bounces back in the volatile meta 🙂

      • Stevie K
        June 26, 2018 at 3:43 pm

        Thanks for providing the deck! It topped at rank 2 for me. I feel if I really wanted to be dedicated I could push it to legend but but I’m near 1:1 w/l ratio and getting those starship just proved a little tedious. Definitely a fun versatile deck to play with always a lot of options.

  5. S2mikey
    June 15, 2018 at 4:42 am

    Update. This deck can barely beat paladins now since they are “onto” it as well. They run cards that deal with your minions better and aren’t falling for the shenanigans anymore. This deck is purely terrible right now. It loses to just about everything currently on ladder. It was solid at one point but that time has passed. It needs a total rework or just play something else. Like to see an updated deck list that’s ACTUALLY working if anyone has one.

  6. Sherpass
    June 10, 2018 at 8:56 pm

    Hi i”ve been trying this deck last season and i loved it for its uniqueness and the general ‘control into a surprise’ factor. However, i felt that in this season, it is a lot harder to climb the ladder with the proliferation of control and anti control decks in the meta now. (Rank 8 currently) Against taunt druid, you lose to them simply because of the insane amounts of armour they can rack up plus taunts so you cant hot them in the face with you minions to chip away their armour. Against shudderwock, the life drinkers and healing rains make it near impossible to burst them and their board clears make it hard to stick any minions to hit them in the face. I have won against some control and elemental mages, mainly using 4 mindblasts to burst them from 22 but on most occasions, i just get lifestolen and lose. Against quest warriors, i pretty much just have to to pray that they go greedy and change their hero power but even if they do, the lack of the ability of this deck to flood the board constantly with minions would lose me the game in about 3 turns post finishing their quest.

    So i feel that in this season where control decks are rampant, as much as i would like it to be, this deck is not really advantageous to play in the ladder currently. May i hear your thoughts on this? Perhaps some suggestions and details on how to increase the win rate against these control decks outside of the brief description above? Also could you include a guide on how to mulligan and play against shudderwock decks, seems like you forgot to include it above. Cheers! 🙂

    • Tharid - Author
      June 11, 2018 at 3:19 am

      As already said in other comments, Mind Blast Priest is still a good deck to ladder with.

      You have been naming almost all bad matchups, but remember, those matchups have been unfavored last season as well. The main problem is that Priest’s good matchups, Aggro Paladin and Control Warlock, have been nerfed, so you won’t play these highly favored matchups that often.

      This deck will adapt to the meta as much as it can, as the inclusion of Holy Fire and Cabal Shadow Priest shows. The surge of Hunter and Even Shaman is still a problem for Priest, so right now it’s a lot harder to climb with the deck compared to last season. It has to be said though that this deck was a piece of cake to ladder with before the nerfs, especially because Paladin and Warlock dominated the tier lists.

      To increase your win rate you have to know your win condition in every matchup, even if it’s a bad one. You also have to accept the fact that decks like Shudderwock Shaman are way less reliant compared to this deck because they have way less card draw. Losing against Shudderwock feels uncomparably bad, and that is why players feel like their matchup against them is “unwinnable”, I know that feeling first hand, but in reality Even Shaman is the way better Shaman deck to play right now.

      Try to get to your win condition at any cost against Shudderwock, and that refers to other Control matchups as well. Control decks try not to win, they want that their opponents to lose. We have as much time with Priest, so try to go for the long haul combined with two burst turns.

      Keeping the card draw machine in hand is vital; don’t play Cleric on 1 if you have Pyro as well. Wait for Divine Hymn and guarantee 2-3 cards drawn duing a mid game turn, that’s way better.

      If you have the right hand however you can try to build up tempo. The drake package helps a lot with that, and if Shudderwock doesn’t have removal you can easily get in a lot of early damage that they need to outheal. After that you can play Alex and guarantee a good burst follow-up.

      Again, what you said is not entirely false, but the amount of Control decks are not really the problem because you can still outplay opponents in longer games. The problem is Hunter and Even Shaman, against those we have to rely on Duskbreaker and Duskbreaker only, because Pyro won’t finish the job at all.

      • Sherpass
        June 11, 2018 at 11:43 pm

        Thank you very much for your reply :D.
        With regards to the first paragraph, I am not intentionally picking out a list of bad matchups of this deck but simply giving a compilation of popular meta control decks that the ladder is riddled with currently in the strangely slow and control meta so far. And turns out that all of them, when analysed and played against have an advantage against this deck (Understandbly since control decks are normally loaded with life gain) Yes these decks were always poor matchups for this deck but I feel that they have been more common in this strangely slow and control heavy meta this season so far. Hence, I would feel that this deck may not be the wisest to ladder with right now as you have also highlighted.
        In addition, may I ask why you chose to keep north shire cleric in the mulligan but not acolyte of pain if the the reason for doing so is card draw? Also, against control like shudderwock and heavy decks like taunt Druid where they have lightning bolt for the former and wrath and that 4 3/6 as their first minion, for the latter,would it be wise to play northshire on turn one without power word or wild pyro in hand?
        Thank you!

        • Tharid - Author
          June 12, 2018 at 3:10 am

          Well, holding Northshire against Shaman has one big upside: You’ll want it badly against Even Shaman. They normalle run no 3-attack minion in the 2-mana slot, so you’re almost guaranteed to draw a card or even remove a Dire Wolf Alpha or a Knife Juggler.

          And it’s fine to keep against Shudderwock as well. Having one of three or four cards that you need to activate your on-turn draw machine makes sense. The same goes for Taunt Druid, or maybe even more; you need to maximize your chances to draw into your real win condition, an early Alex/Anduin. There’s also Token Druid around, and Northshire does well as an early drop against that as well, so it’s a win-win, similar to Shaman.

    • S2mikey
      June 14, 2018 at 5:15 am

      Thanks for posting what I’ve also been finding when playing this deck but I get blasted for stating facts! The Meta has changed a LOT since a season or two ago when this deck was much stronger. As Tharid correctly pointed out, this decks two best matchups, Aggro Paladin and cube are not being played nearly as much anymore so your “easy” climb has been halted big time. Now, it’s druids, hunters, miracle rogue, quest warrior and different versions of frost Lich Jaina decks which destroy mind blast priest most of the time. Those art the facts. Now, you can try some different tech options which might help but I’m finding that 3/4 of my matchups on ladder right now between ranks 10-15 are NOT favored at all. Can’t “skill” your way out of horrible matchups. Just saying. Good luck though, if you find some new tech cards and they help, let me know. I enjoy the deck but it’s getting frustrating when you just que into one terrible matchup after another.

    • S2mikey
      June 24, 2018 at 1:52 pm

      I agree with you and have been saying this for a while now. Your best matchups – Paladin and Warlock are NOT very popular on ladder right now so you will simply lose a lot of games right out of the gate. Druids are disgustingly overpowered right now with unlimted armor and all of their other BS. Its amazing they ever lose any games. Even when I pull a well timed Geist it still hardly helps the matchup since they end up with like 35-40 armor. Its just stupid. Oh well, decks come and go and Mind Blast Priest is certainly on the way out. You’ll go on some win streaks here and there which is fun but those are followed by several matchups against stupid druids and whatever other lousy matchups this deck has. Its tier 4, IMO… maybe tier 3 at best with the right matchups. Those are the facts. I hope a different deck emerges that used Anduin soon….

  7. Thre
    June 8, 2018 at 5:53 am

    I hit rank 17 to 5 with this deck last season but I think there is really no point to playing this deck now because there are only druids and shudderwock shamans and there is no way to win against them they are just insta concede for this deck

    • Tharid - Author
      June 8, 2018 at 7:14 am

      Shudderwock Shaman can be a problem; however, if you can adapt in terms of playstyle you will squeeze out a win here and there, just because Shudderwock Shaman is way more draw-dependant than our deck.

      I strongly disagree on Druid being a problem. We still lose the most to Spiteful Druid. I’d say this deck definitely has a positive WR against Token Druid, and Taunt Druid is mostly an even, more skill-based matchup

      The meta adapted to Mind Blast Priest as well, but the deck still peforms very well on ladder. The novelty factor surely wore off, but if you really understand this deck (which I’m pretty sure you do since you climbed from 17 to 5), you can still outplay many opponents who want to climb with less refined decks. Always keep that in mind!

      • S2mikey
        June 10, 2018 at 12:57 pm

        What “less refined” decks does this beat right now? I can tell you that most of the meta is “onto” the shenanigans and beat it fairly easily. The guy that posted above you said last season he climbed with it. One season often makes a huge difference between deck success. Right now, Mind Blast priest is extremely dependent on perfect muligans and starting cards. If your hand is filled with useless spells and late game minions you are dead. Also, Armor decks still beat it most of the time. So does Odd Rogue. Just saying. Thats the reality of it.

    • S2mikey
      June 8, 2018 at 12:43 pm

      Druids and their never-ending armor is a brutal matchup. Period. You are seeing this yourself. Same issue occurs with Quest Warrior and the incessant armor stacking. You can stick these matchups out and pray it goes your way but the win rate against those decks is abysmal. The games take a while too so losses are even more irritating. Shudderwock is more draw dependent but thats another one that makes you cringe.

      You also mentioned that you climbed last season with this deck and I believe it was MUCH better a season ago than it is right now. People are more ready for it, IMO. And, there are more bad matchups on ladder like Druid, Warrior, some hunters, Frost Lich Mage, and even some Warlocks now are doing better against this deck. Its still dominates Paladins and does pretty good against Rogues too. But outside of those two matchups it always seems to be an uphill battle. I find mysef constantly swaapping out 2-3 cards because some of the tech choices just dont work. Very frustrating.

  8. z34
    June 7, 2018 at 2:45 pm

    What do you think about cutting Scaleworm for Leeroy or Argent Commander?

    • Tharid - Author
      June 8, 2018 at 5:02 am

      Not a fan to be honest!
      Your win condition revolves around spell and Hero Power damage, not Charge minions. Scaleworm wants to 2-1, and it does that almost all the time. Commander could do that as well, but it’s just a more expensive minion. Leeroy gets substantially worse if you don’t use it as a finisher, and our finisher is already HP + MB + HP + MB + HP or other variations of that.

      • Z34
        June 8, 2018 at 12:15 pm

        That sounds reasonable, thanks.

  9. yushizy
    June 7, 2018 at 11:29 am

    I really wanted to try this deck after watching it in the HCT recently, and as a huge Priest fan I can say I love this deck after a few games already! Going for that golden priest! But how is this deck doing against spell hunter? I’ve run into a lot of spell hunters recently, so just curious on how it’s doing against it. Great deck!

    • Tharid - Author
      June 8, 2018 at 4:55 am

      I totally forgot to include the Spell Hunter matchup into the guide update, sorry about that! Has been added.

      For a bite more detail on this matchup: I would say it’s pretty unfavored in total. You can get ahead in the mid game if you hit that crucial Duskbreaker against the Spellstones, but more often will you get into late game with a Deathstalker Rexxar ready to outvalue you in every possible way due to Build-a-Beast.

      Most of these situations come down to a race, and playing greedy in those is key. Keep your Mass Dispel against Lifesteal and Taunt beasts, because the only thing Spell Hunter doesn’t have in his deck is healing. Try to get in early face damage, but KEEP Cleric and Pyro for effective board clear and draw on the same turn. Spell Hunter has no early threats, and you want to draw as much as possible.

      The surge of Hunter made this deck substantially weaker on ladder, I won’t lie about that; but you can still win lots of games by knowing your exact win conditions against Spell Hunter.

  10. Sceptershock
    June 5, 2018 at 3:41 am

    Hello Tharid, i am a big fan of priest and my current deck is inner fire divine spirit with a combo of unlimited lyra spamming with 4 copy of radiants (vivid nightmare). i found that my deck is inconsistent and too many spells. I saw this deck of yours and was wondering is lyra viable in a deck? Thank you for the info

    • Tharid - Author
      June 5, 2018 at 3:57 am

      Mind Blast Priest allows to include a lot of tech inclusions, that’s why it’s such a great deck. You can almost certainly switch out Mind Control/one Acolyte of Pain for Lyra!

      Keep in mind though that this deck produces maximum value through the deck itself. Lyra can certainly be fun and produce multiple Mind Blasts for example, but you’d need to keep Power Word: Shield for example to make it worthwhile. Not having Elementals makes things more complicated as well.

      However I can see a world where this serves more like a legit threat that needs to be cleared in control matchups, and that causes you to have a lot more chances to stick other minion threats on the board. In aggro matchups Lyra is kind of useless because you want to keep cheap spells and Coin for Pyromancer.

      Give it a try and see if it works out for your playstyle!

    • Sceptershock
      June 5, 2018 at 4:14 am

      i am trying your deck now and will post feed back.

      • Sceptershock
        June 5, 2018 at 4:16 am

        I am using your deck from the replays. I watched them all. I am trying to get past rank 20 this season. LOLs. such a noob

  11. S2mikey
    June 3, 2018 at 12:11 pm

    Does anyone have any proof that this deck is still viable right now? I dont mean arbitrary stats from whatever website either. I mean like videos or replays against current meta decks. I ask because this deck isnt performing that well right now at all. It loses straight up to a good number of meta decks. Paladins are no problem and its OK against Rogue & warlocks. But, control prie st, DK Jaina, Druids and Warriors are terrible. Whats the scoop? Any tangible info?

    • Tharid - Author
      June 4, 2018 at 5:34 am

      5-2 after a short lunch break session (Rank 5 to 4): https://i.imgur.com/mk5B1Ks.png

      The ladder is full of Hunter which is a pretty even matchup if it’s Spell Hunter, and unfavorable if it’s Big Hunter (see first loss although it was t2 Keleseth into double Saping Oozeling which is basically the dream mid game). The loss against Warlock came down to a Shadow Visions coin flip between Mass Dispel and Mind Blast.

      Here are the replays, although I doubt you’ll look through any of them:

      https://hsreplay.net/replay/KhmbihQHjSeqk6ywRNxhxe
      https://hsreplay.net/replay/4BxFiiePDQ9pznndyPcFtX
      https://hsreplay.net/replay/gXu6cNHx3ayuL9EjMBnn5Q
      https://hsreplay.net/replay/WkmyGHKW28Q5SbFmeNN3kV
      https://hsreplay.net/replay/BPkKVMLHHbWnGRz9H7ZzbK
      https://hsreplay.net/replay/WUjMW4YvARNZQgmaUCWp34
      https://hsreplay.net/replay/U5CVNu6PncZgG8Xm6EfLVK

      I said everything about the matchups you listed. Luckily, most of these decks are not being played alot in the current meta with the exception of Token Druid, and we have a marvelous matchup against them due to Mass Dispel, Pyro and Duskbreaker. I’ll spare you with any “arbitray stats from whatever website” aka the most reliant sources to empiric Hearthstone statistics that are used by pro players, casters and Blizzard itself.

      • S2mikey
        June 4, 2018 at 6:43 pm

        Ugh. Im not playing at rank 5 which is completely different from where Im at. My last few games were against Shuddercrap, 2 quest Warriors, one hunter, one paladin(win), One Face mage and one Druid. I conceded instantly to the Shaman because I refuse to play against the most broken card in the history of HS. The taunt warriors are always a loss. Trust me. You would have lost too. The Hunter was a loss but of COURSE I didnt draw Duskbreaker to deal with the Wolves. Face Mage wasa a win but I got lucky with heals and duskbreaker and heals. Druid is an automatic loss.

        Basically its like this: If you are playing against any kind of deck with tokens or aggro and dont get duskbreaker in time you lose the game. If you que up against Quest Warrior you can waste your time hoping for a miracle but you’re probably dead. Shudderwock is a gauranteed loss. I know you’re trying here but your Rank 5 “data” is meaningless since at that level its all memes and people goofing around since they hit the rank floor.

        I dont know why you cant understand that the 7 games you played arent the same 7 games me and others have played? This deck is brutally draw dependent and has some truly horrible matchups that take an act of God to have a chance against. There is the data. id love to watch the replays but what good do they do? Watching games against meme hunter decks isnt helping.

        • Tharid - Author
          June 5, 2018 at 1:20 am

          How about you post your replays to see if those games really were 100% losses from the very start? There are no “guaranteed” losses in this game. You only lose if you don’t try. Shudderwock Shaman for example is WAY MORE draw-dependant than our deck, and conceding instantly is just another sign of your game mentality.

          The “floor” argument doesn’t really match here as well, because it’s the beginning of the new season and ex-Legend players start at low Rank 4, just where I was as well. The majority of players play these decks to climb, and if you think that Recruit Hunter is a “meme deck” then you haven’t played against it.

          This is my last reply. Try and backup your points with your own data, just like I did, because otherwise you’re just being another random player who blames the game for everything instead of himself to improve his game.
          And last but not least, play a freaking different deck if you don’t like Mind Blast Priest. Look up tier lists and choose the best performing deck, play it, and if you don’t climb with it in the long run you’ll see that not the deck is the problem but you.

          • S2mikey
            June 7, 2018 at 3:54 pm

            The “data” is the deck loses to too many meta decks right now to be viable. Sorry to say. Thats fine, it happens. Evryone that plays it will figure that soon enough when they run into Druids, some warlocks, hunters and Mages. Then they’ll have their “data”. I think the deck needs a massive rework. Its not me. If you dont draw the cards you need, which is very possible in a game thats mostly based on card draw luck then you lose games. Its really that simple. The deck needs more condidtent card draw and cant rely on just 1-2 cards to win.

  12. Umbreomancer
    June 1, 2018 at 11:45 am

    So this might just be a stupid question, but if I wanted to slot in Ysera somewhere, what would you suggest? She’s kind of my favorite control-shell legendary and I always want to include her, but I’m not the best at making my own changes to good decklists. Is there a replacement to be made, or is she too detrimental to what this deck is trying to accomplish?

    • Tharid - Author
      June 1, 2018 at 1:23 pm

      I know that feel, Ysera is awesome! I’d swap out Mind Control if you haven’t already.

  13. Jarrad Shaw
    May 30, 2018 at 10:51 am

    Tharid, I noticed you updated the deck list 5/30/2018. Many of the cards in the description do not represent the current list, making it a bit confusing. Is there any way, sometime, you can update your description to reflect to new changes/cards? Thanks!

    • S2mikey
      May 30, 2018 at 4:41 pm

      Yeah…I dunno. Try it out as is and I think you’ll find the deck is NOT that great right now. It gets destroyed by anything with healing or armor. It loses to control priest. It struggles against a lot of meme decks too. Its just too draw dependent and the matchups are very polarizing. You’ll beat up on Warlocks and most paladins so thats good. But you’ll lose to everything else.

  14. Meowtastic
    May 29, 2018 at 10:45 am

    I gotta say, this is my favorite deck right now, having alot of fun with it.
    Tho I’ve made some changes,
    I removed 1 Power Word: Shield for 1 Holy Fire, I felt like I never ever used 2 PW:S and with Skulking Geist i most often ended up removing 1 or 2, so I saw someone run with Holy Fire, so I tried that and found it to be better.
    I also removed 1 Scale Worm for 1 Twilight Acolyte, it’s just so nice to have against aggro (Mountain Giant).
    Those are the small changes I did, but to me it feels better that way 🙂

    • Tharid - Author
      May 29, 2018 at 11:20 am

      Very reasonable changes, hope you’re tearing up the ladder!

      • S2mikey
        May 30, 2018 at 4:43 pm

        Id like to see a video of “tearing up the ladder” with this exact deck. I call nonsense. WAY too many bad matchups.

        • Tharid - Author
          May 31, 2018 at 2:44 am

          Here are some stats from hsreplay.net.
          They refer to the win rates and games played of the most popular Mind Blast Priest archetypes, played in the timespan between May 22nd and May 31st aka “time since the nerf”. I included every variation of the archetype that a) has the same 23-24 core cards and b) has 1000 games played or more:

          Win rate / Games played

          51.0 6800
          53.5 6600
          55.3 6500
          53.1 5200
          53.5 4900
          51.3 4000
          54.1 3500
          53.3 3500
          57.4 3100
          54.2 2300
          54.1 2300
          55.0 2000
          53.6 1300
          52.5 1300
          50.4 1200
          54.0 1100
          54.7 1000

          There’s not a single list with negative win rate with a meaningful samplesize. A grand total of 56600 games since the last patch shows that the archetype is still doing very well. In fact, I believe that you won’t be able to find many other archetypes with such a high combined win rate over so many different lists; you may not be aware of, but that’s a great sign of a deck archetype that does well including dozens of different tech cards.

          I won’t try to get out the exact combined win rate of all these decks, just because your continuous trolling is simply not worth my time. By the looks of it you’re between Rank 13 to 15, and sadly my hsreplay.net premium account can’t create data for that exact frame of the Hearthstone ladder.

          But that doesn’t matter anyway. You want a video of someone playing this deck? You don’t need that. I have something that is worth way more than a video. I have statistics that actually prove the deck’s viability over the course of the last 10 days.

          If you don’t like a list, don’t play it. You want help? I tried to help you several times, but you’re still badmouthing this guide and this list. Not able to climb with this deck between Rank 13 to 15? The deck is not the problem, you’re the problem, and that’s not offensive, that’s just a fact based on empiric evidence I have shown multiple times in this comment section.

          You’re denunciating me by saying I’m lying and you “calling nonsense”, but I yet have to see your actual proof that this list performs poorly. Please stop commenting if you have absolutely nothing to contribute.

          • S2mikey
            May 31, 2018 at 6:16 am

            Trolling because I’m questioning the validity of a deck that has some horrible matchups and I want some video proof of its effectiveness against said decks? And you can’t provide any because a bunch of numbers is supposed to support it all? My rank currently is 12 but that fluctuates. You claim to want to help but can’t give data in my rank range and also don’t seem to think a video is of any use. Why so? Let me SEE people beating taunt warriors, taunt druids, control mages and other horrible matchups that you claim should still be wins. That would be actual proof and might even “help” since I’d se these amazing “skill” plays that I’m apparently missing. But…guess not.

            That’s the problem with this game and it’s community. No one actually helps, they just throw out meaningless stats from some arbitrary websites and then tell you to “Git Gud”. My bad, my fault. I guess.

  15. Mariachi
    May 28, 2018 at 7:05 pm

    I’m thinking that Mental Control is a dead draw every time, i barely have space to use her, and the most times that i lost, this card is on my hand. Do you think it is really need in this deck?

    • Tharid - Author
      May 29, 2018 at 1:22 am

      Mind Control is not a mandatory inclusion, no. It’s not a win condition, but it can carry you against other control archetypes like Taunt Druid or Quest Warrior. The ability to both remove and build board presence against high priority minions like Cube, Hadronox or big Taunt minions can give you another two or three turns that you need to finish the opponent off with your Hero Power!

      • S2mikey
        May 29, 2018 at 2:10 am

        Yeah, not really sure about that card here. I also question skulking Geist. A six mana 4/6 that doesn’t always do very much. With the nerfs, are people running dark pact anymore? What other important spells is this card killing? It’s a terrible tempo play.

        • Tharid - Author
          May 29, 2018 at 3:41 am

          Cold Blood. Naturalize. Lesser Jasper Spellstone. Power Word Shield. Shield Slam. Hunter’s Mark. Lost in the Jungle. Arcane Missiles.

          There’s still plenty of cards for Skulking Geist. Dark Pact made it a staple in every iteration of the list, but it’s still pretty vital. The surge of Taunt and Devilsaur Cube Druids alone makes Skulking Geist very valuable in the current meta-game.

          • S2mikey
            May 29, 2018 at 4:20 pm

            Yeah, maybe so. This deck is NOT that great right now. Im sorry but its wildly inconststent. Great one matchup but then gets destroyed next game when your starting hand has no dragons and therefore no board clears. Oh well. Its tier 3 at best which is fne but you aint climbing with it. Fun to play but way too dependent on draw perfection to climb. Too may gmes where you just dont have what you need and auto-lose.

        • Mariachi
          May 31, 2018 at 8:54 am

          Disagree. This deck is great. I’m Rank 2 rn. Guess u are not usin it correctly. There some terrible matchups, like Frost Lich Jaina, but still a very nice deck

  16. Xtinct
    May 24, 2018 at 7:54 pm

    Um why the 2 copies of psychic scream?

    • Tharid - Author
      May 25, 2018 at 5:30 am

      Psychic Scream is undoubtedly one of the best board removals in the game, especially against other control archetypes. It saves time and can weaken the enemy’s remaining deck a whole lot.

  17. Icarus103
    May 21, 2018 at 1:41 pm

    I like the deck a lot but I can’t get past 18 with it. I lose to bad draws on paladin and then the fringe decks like warrior armor recruit kills me. Also this mentions Harrison Jones but it isn’t in your deck list?

    • Tharid - Author
      May 22, 2018 at 1:26 am

      The current decklist always represents the “most popular” based on several statistics. We’re currently working on an update for the guide to reflect the post-nerf meta and other meta-based changes throughout the last weeks.

      “Bad draws” can always happen. If they happen on a regular base, you need to accept the fact that you’re just very, very unlucky. It doesn’t have to do with you not playing the deck correctly. However, it is very important to know your win condition against Paladin: Mulligan hard for early minion pressure, and don’t be afraid to initiate counter-aggression in moments of weakness.

      Besides that, this matchup will become a lot easier with the nerfs. Never give up, never surrender! You can always post replays in here if you’re not sure about your moves in a specific game or matchup.

      • S2mikey
        May 25, 2018 at 1:08 pm

        Can we just say it now: frost Lich Jana is an automatic, 100% guaranteed loss? I’m so sick of trying to squeeze out a win against that stupid deck but it’s impossible. Zero chance. DK Jaina is the most broken card in the game against any kind of control deck. It’s so stupid…..they can heal back to 30 health like every damned turn. How could this card have even been produced? My goodness. It’s like a 2 mana Reno Jackson every turn. Nice job, design team.

        So, yeah, this mind blast priest has some absolutely horrific matchups and if you meet them you will lose the game. Period. Next time I see a mage play any elementals I’m doing the alt+f4 trick. Not wasting my time or just getting irritated.

        • Cloudcard
          May 25, 2018 at 8:44 pm

          S2 mikey, jajajajaj that Was the best coment that i read in this page ever, i hate that stupid card too.

    • S2mikey
      May 22, 2018 at 1:14 pm

      Yeah, I’m not running the exact version that is listed but I too and stuck between 13-15 with it. It’s just inconsistent against too many decks right now. Paladins and warlocks are the best matchups by far and my win rate against those is very good. But, there are too many decks that just destroy this deck like quest rogue, DK hunter, taunt Druid, control mage and some others. The deck is OK against quest warrior but draws decide that matchup.

      I’m trying different tech choices that seem to help here and there but then cost me elsewhere. It’s simply inconsistent….no other way to put it. Hence, the deck has like about a 50% win rate overall. You just can’t climb like that. Maybe post nerf it will be better? I don’t know though, the post nerf meta will change and might make this deck worse.

  18. Mariachi
    May 21, 2018 at 8:35 am

    GREAT DECK!!! Just amazing, guess i win like 50 matches and loose 10 and just because i was unlucky against druids and didnt draw the geist… tonight i’m going to legend o/ thanks dude!

  19. ISoDynamic
    May 20, 2018 at 2:29 pm

    Hey guys, looking for a little input. I’ve played about 25 games without either of the legends in this deck and I’m a little short of the dust to craft both, which one is the better one to have on it’s own for the time being? I’ve been sort of leaning towards Alex cause it’s a classic card, but I also feel like there’s more closing potential with Anduin. Thanks in advance!

    • Tharid - Author
      May 21, 2018 at 7:58 am

      Both legendaries are absolutely mandatory; without them your results will vary a whole lot compared to deck versions that run them. If I had to choose though I’d craft Anduin instead of Alex, just because it’s your main win condition in combination with Mind Blasts, and because it’ll be a very valuable card for the rest of the Standard year.

  20. Kiwito21
    May 15, 2018 at 10:09 pm

    So should play the holy fire one or this one? And is twilight acolyte good in this deck? Any suggestion help 🙂

    • Tharid - Author
      May 16, 2018 at 6:47 am

      We will eventually update this guide once the new patch hits, and we will talk a lot about these two cards.

      I really like the Holy Fire tech choice; it adds tons of reach against armor-heavy decks like Taunt Druid or Odd Warrior, and it can save your ass against our arch nemesis Quest Rogue.

      Twilight Acolyte is a tricky one; it serves as some sort of alternative for SW:D, but it’s way less reliant. I always go for SW:D just because I can get it with Shadow Visions. SW:D of course lowers the chance to get Mind Blast with SV, but I take that disadvantage in favor of a very effective removal *spell*. Back in “old” Dragon Priest, minion presence to defend the board in the early stages meant everything, but I think that Mind Blast Priest has enough spells to do that in the early game anyway.

      • Le sun
        May 16, 2018 at 9:48 am

        Thanks for the thorough input, exactly what I was wondering

  21. some guy
    May 15, 2018 at 5:54 am

    Um, im looking for decks to craft and i have both alex and anduin and a couple of the epics,
    should i craft this deck? Im only at rank 15 so… yea

    • Tharid - Author
      May 15, 2018 at 7:55 am

      This deck does very well across all ranks, so there’s no reason to not try it! Mind Blast Priest will most likely come out ahead after the nerfs as well, just because they won’t affect this deck at all.