[RoS] Secret Weapon Paladin (custom list)

This is personally what I think the best version of Aggro Secret Paladin may potentially be in the upcoming Rise of Shadows meta. This deck aims to curve out by playing secrets and then leveraging these secrets with synergistic cards and threatening mid-game minions which the secrets can help defend. This deck also runs several late game finishers in the form of Captain Greenskin (when used to buff one of your weapons), Leeroy Jenkins and Avenging Wrath, along with all possible methods of cheating out secrets from your deck to more consistently get you closer to drawing these finishers.

Notable Omissions:

I opted to exclude Secretkeeper from this list due to its lack of synergy with the secret-cheating effects (i.e. Desperate Measures, Masked Contender and Bellringer Sentry). I also think Secret Keeper isn’t a strong include since, as a curve play, it doesn’t lead into your strongest turn 2 plays that well, and since it has a lack of impact in the late game. Feel free to include it in your own list though; it can still be used as a good turn 1 or turn 2 play followed by playing secrets from your hand, since you won’t always get Mysterious Blade or Sunreaver Spy in your opening hand. In a list that doesn’t run Desperate Measures and/or Masked Contender, Secretkeeper would definitely be one of the strongest turn 1 plays in this deck; however, the potential impact that you could get from running these secret-cheating cards seems to outweigh the benefits of running Secretkeeper (though I could be completely wrong about this). If you want to run a variant with something like Subject 9 as a deck-thinning agent, Secretkeeper becomes much stronger, especially if you also run even more unique secrets to more effectively benefit from Subject 9.

Argent Squire and most other 1-drop minions really don’t fit the curve of this deck, and they don’t provide enough late-game impact to justify running in this deck. If you wanted to play a different list that runs Prince Liam, though, including more 1-drop minions would make a lot of sense.

Knife Juggler and Dire Wolf Alpha are both fairly strong inclusions for most Aggro Paladin decks, especially since their persistent effects synergize nicely with Paladin’s hero power. However, since this deck doesn’t run any 1-drop minions, the benefits of these two cards are far less prominent. Instead, I opted to run a single copy of Argent Protector in this list. As a turn 2 play, Argent Protector is only slightly worst than Knife Juggler or Dire Wolf Alpha, and as a mid-game or late-game play, this card can be used to further protect your most dangerous threats. I feel like Argent Protector fits in much more nicely with this deck than either of these other 2-drops.

Potential Inclusions:

Sound the Bells! can be included as an additional high-impact play that can provide greater flexibility for your deck when it needs it. If you’re struggling to find your late game finishers, Sound the Bells! can serve as a way to more consistently ensure that your mid-game minions stick around to continue providing pressure. With both the ability to buff either one minion or multiple minions at a time, Sound the Bells! may be able to help make your board more resilient against your current opponent’s best removal options. And if a game ends up lasting as long as turn 8 or turn 10, this card can serve as the last push you need to close out the game. If you want to include this card, I’d suggest replacing 1 copy of Autodefense Matrix with 1 copy of Sound the Bells!

Since this deck runs several high-attack weapons and has a few weapon synergy cards, Bloodsail Raider could be a decent inclusion to this list. As a turn 2 play, Bloodsail Raider will usually be an underwhelming play, but from turn 3 onward, it can serve as another dangerous mid-game threat that greatly benefits from a Divine Shield or Health buff (which this deck has a few of). However, Bloodsail Raider can be awkward to play, since it provides very little impact on the board without a weapon currently in play. It also has some potential anti-synergy with Hench-Clan Thug, since Bloodsail Raider tends to incentivize saving your weapon while Hench-Clan Thug incentivizes you to attack with your weapon. If you still want to include this card, though, I’d suggest replacing 1 Masked Contender and 1 Autodefense Matrix.

Since this deck likes to go face as often as possible, Blessing of Might could be a way to increase this deck’s damage output and provide it with a bit more late-game reach if it needs it. Blessing of Might can also turn your early and mid-game minions into significant threats that your opponent will need an answer for. However, since most minions in this deck can’t attack the same turn they’re played, an attack buff like Blessing of Might may end up going underutilized for most of (if not all of) the game. Though, as a single-copy inclusion, the benefits may outweigh the drawbacks; if you want to include a copy of this card, I’d suggest replacing 1 Autodefense Matrix with it.

Now if you really want to go face, Wolfrider isn’t a terrible inclusion to this deck. It becomes especially stronger if you also include one or more copies of Blessing of Might. Most of the time, Wolfrider will usually only get to attack once before getting removed, so other cards tend to provide more value and impact than it. But as a budget option, Wolfrider could be used as a replacement for some of the more expensive options you might not yet own. If you don’t own cards like Commander Rhyssa, Captain Greenskin, Avenging Wrath, or possibly even Masked Contender, this card could be included in their place.

In a similar vein, Argent Commander can also be used to close out games if you’re missing some of the more expensive late-game finishers. With both Divine Shield in addition to Charge, this minion may just be sticky enough to hit the opponent’s face a second time, especially with secrets like Redemption, Never Surrender! and Noble Sacrifice in play. You could probably replace 1 copy of Autodefense Matrix and/or Argent Protector if you wanted to include Argent Commander as an additional late-game finisher.

To round out this charge-focused budget version of the deck, Southsea Deckhand can be a decent additional 1-cost card to play in place of some of the more expensive-to-craft cards. In the early and mid-game turns, Southsea Deckhand can be a decent curve-filler for such a deck, and in the late-game, it can benefit from other budget inclusions like Blessing of Might to help finish out the game.