Patron Warrior (Standard): Mulligan guide and card combos
Our guide to winning more games with this month's best Patron Warrior deck.
Patron Warrior (Standard) Mulligan guide - September 2016
If you've played any Warrior decks at all, you already know to hang onto a Fiery War Axe if it shows up in your hand. It's so universally useful we're almost surprised it didn't get some kind of nerf in the pre-Old Gods rebalancing push. Beyond this core card, look for the likes of Acolyte of Pain, Armorsmith, Blood to Ichor, Frothing Berserker and Sir Finley Mrrgglton.
If you're up against what you believe to be an aggro opponent then you should prioritise all cards which provide an immediate damage effect on the board (Fiery War Axe, Blood to Ichor etc). The value of Whirlwind and Slam go up in this sort of scenario as well.
If you're up against much slower opponents like Druids or another Warrior, you may value an Execute slightly higher - chances are you're going to need it more than anything else at some point! Be a little more cautious in spending your minor ping damage spells in these kind of match-ups - you may well be in desperate need of an enabler for Execute at some point.
Patron Warrior (Standard) combos and synergies - September 2016
Not a great deal has changed for fans of Patron Warrior in the Old Gods metagame, but it's worth refreshing your knowledge of the archetype's core combos - newcomers will definitely want to get acclimatised before heading to the ladder:
- The following cards can all be used to activate the duplicating effect of Grim Patron in one way or another: Inner Rage, Whirlwind, Ravaging Ghoul, Blood To Ichor, Slam etc. Don't forget that the single point of damage triggered by Wild Pyromancer after every spell cast can also be used to widen your board of Patrons!
- You've got a few ways of activating the removal effect of Execute now (beyond hitting the target with a weapon first, of course). Consider the following cards if you need to deal with a problem fast: Inner Rage, Blood To Ichor, Whirlwind, Ravaging Ghoul.
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2. Patron Warrior (Standard): Mulligan guide and card combos
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1. Patron Warrior (Standard): Deck list and general strategy
- Take your time and carefully calculate the effects of spellcasting and minion trading on Frothing Berserker. It can be extremely easy to miss lethal because you just slightly miscalculated how much damage could have been wrung out of this particular sponge.
- All of the cards that duplicate Grim Patron (see above), can also be used to boost Grommash Hellscream up into a devastating finisher.
- Likewise, Acolyte of Pain will add an extra card to your hand whenever it takes a minor amount of damage. Try to draw the extra cards as early as possible in any given turn, just in case you draw something that would actually make your turn much better than the one you'd originally planned.
- On a similar note, don't forget to consider partial minion trades before casting Battle Rage. It won't always make sense to damage minions for the sake of it, but you will increase the number of cards you draw from this spell.
- If the card's played on Turn 4 - or earlier with The Coin - Bloodhoof Brave will often find a natural target to gain extra Attack damage from. Don't forget though that you can ping this creature with one of your spells to make it immediatley more intimidating.
- Sir Finley Mrrgglton is best used to convert your Hero Power into the Warlock's Life Tap, as you need cards for combos. Be very wary about doing this versus aggressive opponents, however, as you need your extended life pool to help hold back the onslaught of damage that's going to come your way.
- A final note on card synergy. Always try to maximise the armour you extract from Armorsmith. If you know that fielding this minion is definitely going to form a part of your current play, make sure you do it before trading minions or casting any damage spells. It all adds up, particularly in long and drawn-out matches.