How to build a kick-ass Paladin deck for free in Hearthstone

There are tons of ways to play every character class in Hearthstone. There is no best way to build a single deck, so this is not an end-all-be-all guide but simply what I’ve found to work well. I thought I’d share my tips for other Paladin lovers out there so they, too, can enjoy stacking some Ws in their win-loss column.

I would like to start out by saying that I haven’t paid for a single card in my deck, and if you have the patience, you won’t have to buy a single pack either. The way I run my Pally deck is so that it thrives off low-cost minions, divine shield, buffs, and weapons. First up, I’ll show you my entire deck build:

Now, if you notice my lineup, I only have one card in my entire deck that costs over 4 mana. I don’t like to have high-cost cards that you can only play in the late stages of the game. Everyone loves playing as either a Mage or a Hunter these days, and their damage-per-second rate (DPS) is so high you’ll never even get the chance to play your high-cost cards.

The one high mana card I do run in this deck is the Guardian of Kings. I think he’s a great option. For 7 mana, you get a 5/6 onto the battlefield, and you get to heal yourself for 6 HP. He’s great in clutch situations where you just need that little bit of extra health to keep on going.

So let’s get down to strategy. I like to go first when I play with this particular deck. It has a lot of good options for 1 mana, and you won’t be at a disadvantage thanks to your low-cost minions. The ideal starting hand for this deck is Argent Squire, Blessing of Kings, Blessing of Might, and Hand of Protection. The Scarlet Crusader and Argent Protector aren’t bad options either, but the main point is that you want lots of buffs with low-cost minions in your starting hand.

Even if you don’t draw the perfect hand, starting a game with no minions and only having buffs shouldn’t be a problem. The Pally’s special ability to summon a 1/1 minion for only 2 mana is perfect for this style of play since it doesn’t really matter what the minion’s starting strength is. Even if your minion starts as a 1/1, throwing down Blessing of Kings and Blessing of Might can turn it into an 8/5 for the low cost of 5 mana. If you have a Hand of Protection, you can play on top of everything else.

I’ve had plenty of games where I throw down a Scarlet Crusader on turn three, followed by a Blessing of Kings on turn four, and my opponent instantly concedes the game. If you don’t have a polymorph or instant-kill card, that minion is extremely difficult to deal with, especially on turn four of the game. Divine Shield shrugs off any initial damage dealt, and then there’s still 5 HP your opponent has to deplete.

While the buffs are great and can turn low-cost minions into titans on the battlefield, they aren’t your only option. Blood Knight is an amazing pick for this deck as well. If you’re not familiar with the card, its ability reads like this: “All minions lose Divine Shield. Gain +3/+3 for each Shield lost.” That means if I have two minions out on the field with Divine Shield and I drop my Blood Knight (which only costs 3 mana), I suddenly have a 9/9 out on the battlefield.

A Blood Knight can easily turn the tide of the game if he’s dropped during the right moment. It’s pretty difficult to deal with a minion with such high HP, especially if your opponent has been preoccupied with burning your lower-cost, unimportant minions.

The last big strategy for this deck is your weapons. Now, with playing a buff deck, you want to make sure your minions can keep their Divine Shields for as long as they can — either to build up to the Blood Knight combo or to just keep your heavy hitters out for as long as possible. That’s where Truesilver Champion comes in.

For 4 mana, you can equip a 4/2 weapon that heals you for 2 HP whenever you attack. That means you can help take out your opponent’s minions with Taunt and leave your heavy hitters free to dish out the serious damage.

The other option I really like for this deck is the Sword of Justice. This is a little different from a conventional Hearthstone weapon. It is a 1/5, but that’s OK because its main strength doesn’t come from attacking. When you equip the Sword of Justice, every time you bring a minion onto the battlefield, it gets +1/+1 added to it.

This suddenly makes your 1/1 Silver Hand Recruits a 2/2. This may not sound like a lot, but it is enough to get you past pesky hero powers like the Mage’s Fireblast, which only deals 1 damage. Being able to buff your minions past an instant death is always nice, and it adds a little extra oomph to your more important minions like the Scarlet Crusader, Raid Leader, and Shattered Sun Cleric.

As you can see from the screenshots I’ve included, my deck isn’t completed yet. I’m still trying to earn enough dust for my second Blood Knight and my second Sword of Justice. The card I’m planning on removing is Light’s Justice. It’s an OK card at best, and I have a feeling I won’t miss it too much once it’s gone. Other than that, I’m pretty happy with the way my deck is built currently.

If you have any suggestions on how to make my Pally deck better, I’m all ears. Let me know what you think in the comments below, and maybe we can help each other get some more wins!