KNC Return of Dragon Razakus Priest Guide (Season 45)

History:

While the highlander priest has gained most of its prominence (and notoriety) in the Knights of the Frozen Throne with the release of Shadowreaper Anduin, its first foray into the meta was at the release of the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan expansion. The strongest version of the deck was the dragon variant rather than the card cycling variant we see today. This dragon Razakus priest deck is a homage and return to the more minion based deck that was seen prior.

There were several reasons why the dragon variant fell off the map. With the rotation, priest lost many of its important dragon cards – Twilight Guardian, Wyrmrest Agent, Twilight Whelp, Blackwing Corruptor, Blackwing Technician, and Azure Drake. While Primordial Drake and Bone Drake would later be released, these late game dragons were a poor substitute for the early game boards that Twilight Guardian and Wyrmrest Agent provided. And ultimately there was neither enough dragons nor enough synergy for the highlander deck to succeed. Too slow to control the board, the Razakus priest chose to forego board control entirely, choosing instead to focus on removal and cycle to get to the Shadowreaper Anduin Raza the Chained combo as quickly as possible and OTK the opponent with Prophet Velen. 

So why then are we returning to the dragon variant now? The main weakness following the rotation was board presence. Duskbreaker is a card that allows dragon priest to retake the board on turn 4, allowing it turn the tables. Previously a typical priest turn 4 versus aggro would be to play Kazakus and pray for a tempo board clear, but this was remarkably inconsistent and typically the best you could hope for was to clear the board, but not retain tempo afterward. The Duskbreaker allows a board clear a full turn earlier and guaranteed tempo onto the board with a 3/3. Duskbreaker counters most 3 and 4 drops against aggressive decks, typically killing things like Saronite Chain Gang, Fire Fly, Southsea Captain, Patches the Pirate, and Vicious Fledgling.

Notable Cards:

Twilight acolyte: Twilight Acolyte is an extremely powerful 3 drop, versatile in that is an effective card versus both aggressive and control decks. Against aggressive decks, this card will be extremely effective against cards such as Edwin VanCleef, Bittertide Hydra, Cobalt Scalebane, Bonemare, Savannah Highmane, and even Cairne Bloodhoof. There are several ways to utilize this card in this deck such as: Turn Shadow Word: Pain into Shadow Word: Death, Potion of Madness, and Cabal Shadow Priest. It can also be highly effective to buff this card with Kabal Talonpriest and Power Word: Shield. Example: Opponent plays Bittertide Hydra on turn 5. Turn 6: Twilight Acolyte + Kabal Talonpriest generates a 8/7 minion, while your opponent has a 2/8 Bittertide Hydra with a huge downside. 

Duskbreaker: Duskbreaker counters most turn 3/4 plays from current aggressive decks. And anything it doesn’t clear, such as Darkshire Councilman, it will trade with afterward. It is also notably powerful against token decks such as druid and evolve shaman, who are reliant on large boards of low health minions that they can later buff. Basically, this card is Hellfire that hits the gym six times a week.

Psionic probe: Psionic Probe is an interesting new card. Cards like Mind Vision and Crystalline Oracle typically haven’t seen much play in the past, as the random cards you get from your opponents deck typically lack synergy with your deck. However, this card is quite different since it is only spells. The sorts of spells that people run in their deck are typically either removal, card draw, or minion buffs, all three of which are useful in this deck. From tempo rogue, you could get Shadowstep or Backstab. From druid you could get Nourish, Swipe, Wrath, Jade Blossom, or even Ultimate Infestation! From mage, well, literally all their spells are good. Basically, spells are FAR more valuable than random minions from your opponent’s deck, as they are typically less reliant on deck and tribal synergy.

Harrison Jones: Harrison Jones is mandatory for the first week with the release of legendary weapons. 

Psychic scream: Psychic Scream is the most powerful board clear ever created. It ignores deathrattles and also potentially dilutes your opponents deck with bad token cards (Spreading Plague, Fire Fly, shaman totems, Living Mana). Since the goal of this deck is not to go into fatigue, as it has the Anduin hero power to finish opponents off in the late game, this is not much of a downside. 

Cabal Shadow Priest: Cabal Shadow Priest is included because of the synergy with Twilight Acolyte. This card is not a must include since it is rather slow and late game. However, with the influx of many high mana cost cards with low attack power, this card may be stronger than in previous expansions even without the Twilight Acolyte. 

Bonemare: As this is a minion based control deck, Bonemare fits in quite well as an extra threat against control or a powerful taunt versus aggressive decks. With the amount of value this deck has, it is an inevitability that you will gain board control in the late game.

Ysera: Perhaps a controversial card in the list, Ysera could be replaced by something cheaper like Lyra the Sunshard or an anti aggro card such as Lone Champion. Or another dragon like Alexstrasza. It is mostly in the deck for extra dragon synergy and the value it can generate in the late game. And of course, it is extremely powerful versus other priests, which has been one of the most popular classes since the last expansion. 

Mulligan:

Versus aggressive decks, look for Potion of Madness, Golakka Crawler (if they run pirates), Tar Creeper, Duskbreaker, Kazakus, Twilight Acolyte, Shadow Word: Pain and Raza the Chained. Northshire Cleric is also good versus certain classes. It is particularly powerful against priest as a turn 1 play, but not so great against rogue since it can be so easily removed with Backstab + dagger. Keep Power Word: Shield if you have a minion that it can be reasonably played on curve with.

Versus slower decks: Look for Drakonid Operative, Duskbreaker, Twilight Drake, Raza the Chained, Shadowreaper Anduin, and Harrison Jones if they run weapons. Potion of Madness is highly potent in priest mirrors.    

Substitutions:

Raza, Anduin, Kazakus, and Drakonid Operative cannot be substituted. These cards represent the core of the deck.

Harrison Jones: This is a tech card highly dependent on the meta. It can be replaced with any ooze that removes weapons. Or a different type of tech card, such as Mind Control Tech or the new Dragonslayer. Lyra the Sunshard would also fit well in the 5 mana slot.

Cabal shadow priest: Another tech card. This card is somewhat dependent on the cards being run in the meta and can be unreliable without Twilight Acolyte. It can be replaced with any high cost value drop, such as The Curator, Obsidian Statue, Free From Amber, or even Mind Control if one is feeling particularly greedy. Or one could make the deck lower curve and add an extra 2 or 3 drop such as Mind Control Tech, an ooze, Kabal Courier, etc.

Primordial drake: This card is pretty important since it is one of the strongest dragons in the deck and provides a powerful taunt, of which this deck has relatively few of. I would recommend against replacing it. But if it is necessary, try Obsidian Statue or Sleepy Dragon.

Greater healing potion: This card is optional. Priest of the Feast is a viable alternative, although less effective since this deck runs less spells than the spell heavy Razakus priest. Tortollan Shellraiser, Auchenai Soulpriest + Circle of Healing, and Kabal Songstealer are decent alternatives. Interesting alternatives could also include The Darkness or Kobold Monk

Psychic scream: I would recommend against substituting this card. Auchenai + circle and Pint-Size Potion + Shadow Word: Horror are decent alternatives. Holy Nova could be a possible alternative as well, but there are few 2 health minions being run in the current meta. 

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy this deck in the first week of KNC!