My Priest Unit Rush Tournament Deck

This is my version of the Priest Unit Rush deck. I know there's already one version of it here, but having played both, I think this one is more effective in the current LoN constructed tournament environment. First, I'll show you the deck, then I'll do a breakdown of why I think this version is superior to the previously posted version.

The Deck

Avatar

Quests

• (2) Forging Stormhealer Armor
• (4) Collecting Gnoll Bounty
• (5) Vengeful Musicians
• (6) Beware of Ogres

Abilities (18) Cannibalize x4 Courage x3 Enduring Breath x4 Decoy x3 Disable x4	Abilities (16) Cannibalize x3 Courage x3 Enduring Breath x4 Reclaim x4 Disable x2
Tactics (11) Hammer of Wrath x4 Outwit x3 Sidestep x4	Tactics (11) Hammer of Wrath x4 Smite x2 Blindside x2 Improvise x2 Pierce x2
Items (3) Steel Dagger x3	Items (3) Steel Dagger x3
Units (20) Chipped Bone Skeleton x4 Furious Berserker x4 Giant Field Rat x4 Galebreaker Maiden x3 Gnoll Soothsayer x2 Terror Wraith x3	Units (20) Chipped Bone Skeleton x4 Furious Berserker x4 Giant Field Rat x4 Galebreaker Maiden x3 Gnoll Soothsayer x2 Orc Fanatic x3

Strategy

There's the deck, listed side by side with the deck that Vallek posted previously. Obviously, there are only a few differences, but they make a significant difference in the way this deck plays. I come in at 52 cards versus Vallek's 50, but so far, the extra two cards haven't hurt my draws that I can tell. The first change that I made was to ditch the Reclaims, add in one more Cannibalize and 3x Decoy. I find that once you get to 5 power per turn, you've got more than enough to effectively do what you need to do, and I think Cannibalizes work better in the first two turns to start developing early threats. Remember it's a rush deck, we want everything we can get on the board out there right now, not next turn. I've also added 2 more Disables, because as there are more and more AvA decks out there and people find new ways to screw you over with annoying abilities, 4x Disable in every deck is a must have.

On to the tactics. This is where my deck varies from the original the most. I've ditched the Smites, Blindsides, Improvise and Pierces in favor of 3x Outwit and 4x Sidestep. Sidestep and Smite both being defensive cards, I find Sidestep to have more uses, and it doesn't rely on having an unexerted ability. With only the Hammers exerting abilities now, there's not much need for Blindsides, either. Outwit can work for you both offensively and defensively, and has arguably won me many games. I cut the Pierces out, because once Collecting Gnoll Bounty hits the board, my units have no trouble creating enough attack on their own, and armed with Outwits and Hammer of Wrath, my avatar doesn't often need the extra 2 attack. There's always Steel Dagger to fall back on. I imagine everyone already knows this, but playing a second dagger while questing gets you a card and 2 more attack. Sometimes that can be the difference between eliminating a blocker now, or having it in the way of your units later. If you happen to draw a Hammer, so much the better. Don't hesitate to use those Hammers if it will give your units a shot at the opposing avatar. If you've only got one ability on the board, exerting it to play a Hammer will allow you to quest and clear out blockers next turn without having to spend power on another ability.

I've only made one change to the units in the original deck. I cut out the Orc Fanatics and put in Terror Wraiths. 3 health Guardian units are becoming more and more popular, and the Orc Fanatic just isn't very effective against them, and it has the drawback of hitting one of your own units. Sure, you can hit a gnoll to get a card, or a berserker for a little extra attack, but I find that the deck has such huge card advantage in the early game, the gnolls are almost unneeded, and the berserkers have no problem getting pretty big attack numbers on their own. The Terror Wraiths help to protect all those units you should be piling up at the Gnoll Bounty quest, and in lieu of a Chipped Bone Skeleton, can do 3 damage. You shouldn't have a problem always winning the raids here. Just make sure not to play this guy in a situation where you could potentially lose the raid. Your opponent will make you pay for it.

The key to winning games with this deck is to develop an overwhelming threat early, and keep the pressure on. If you've got your opponent thinking defensively by his first or second turn, you will win that game 80% of the time. That being said, an opening draw that I really like to see includes two rats, a berserker, a Cannibalize and either a Disable or a Decoy. If you go first, drop a berserker on one side with a rat, use Cannibalize and put a rat on the other side. This gets your berserker 3 attack. Raid from the single rat's side first. If they exert for defense, your berserker/rat combo on the other side is going to hit them for two points. If they don't exert for defense, the first rat gets them for 2, and the berserker/rat combo gets them for another 2 (barring Sidesteps, Wind Walks, etc.) Usually, you'll get through for at least 2 damage on the first turn, and your Stormhealer armor quest is going to get you cards back. If they waste all their power to Disable your ability, then you basically replay the first turn all over again and beat them with another 2 or 4 damage. Don't hesitate to Disable that Disable. You don't want that Stormhealer quest getting turned against you. Making use of huge early game card advantage is how you win games. Spending all 3 power on turn 2 on a Disable versus putting more units on the board might seem counterintuitive, but keep in mind at all times that if you draw more cards than your opponent with this deck, you will win a vast majority of the time. Bearing that in mind, it's not a bad idea to back that Stormhealer quest up with a Gnoll Soothsayer. Sometimes playing this way will put you in a situation where you have to discard a bunch of cards, but essentially you're getting to stack your hand.

If you go second, opening with a Disable takes away your opponent's advantage in going first in many situations. Once again, you might feel that it slows you down, but always remember that your goal in the early game is to draw lots of cards and overwhelm your opponent. Disable + 2x Cannibalize + 2 rats is not a bad hand to have if you're going second.

The best thing that you can do for yourself is to take your time and make sure that you bear all your options in mind. Towards the end of the game (which is often your third to fifth turn) keep in mind that you have an avatar ability that allows you to raid twice from one quest. If you've got 5 power, you can Decoy a blocker out of the way and put the big hurt on your opponent with 2 raids from your Gnoll Bounty.

This is the evolution of the deck for the current tournament environment where people are finding more and more ways to beat unit rush. The tweaks I've made should help you keep the pressure on and stay on the offensive. Give it a shot if you like unit rush decks, and don't hesitate to leave comments, questions, or suggestions.