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Secret Highlander Paladin deck list guide - Saviors of Uldum - Hearthstone (October 2019)

Bait and switch your opponents with the newly-updated Secret Highlander Paladin deck, the biggest riser in the Doom in the Tomb meta.

Secret Highlander Paladin takes brilliant advantage of the cards brought back into Standard format for the Doom in the Tomb event. Making use of Ragnaros the Firelord and Sylvanas Windrunner, and built around Avenge and Mysterious Challenger, this deck can easily overrun your enemies if you play it well.

Being a Highlander deck, Zephrys the Great and Sir Finley of the Sands are vital for its success, but the Secret package allows you to survive if you find yourself unable to draw into those power cards. Throughout the game your curve is pretty fast, often starting extremely strongly with cards like Brazen Zealot and Beaming Sidekick, and keeping things going with SN1P-SN4P and Sunreaver Spy.

Bellringer Sentry is another great card that can shift momentum in your favour - there are just so many draws you can pull off a turnaround with. Since the Wild cards were added back into Standard format, this deck has pulled ahead in the meta, getting itself an early win-rate of almost 60%. Give it a go, and keep an eye out for enemies running Resurrect Priest.

Secret Highlander Paladin deck list and strategy

Here’s the most popular Secret Highlander Paladin deck list at the moment. It beats most decks, most of the time given its ludicrous tempo and late-game finishing power, including popular archetypes like Highlander Hunter and Cyclone Mage. In fact, there are only a couple of losing matchups for this deck: Resurrect Priest and Evolve Shaman, and they’re not massively strong against the power of Mysterious Challenger anyway.

PaladinNeutral
1 x Autodefense Matrix1 x Beaming Sidekick
1 x Avenge1 x Mecharoo
1 x Brazen Zealot1 x Secretkeeper
1 x Crystology1 x Sunreaver Spy
1 x Glow-Tron1 x Zephrys the Great
1 x Hidden Wisdom1 x SN1P-SN4P
1 x Never Surrender!1 x Zilliax
1 x Noble Sacrifice1 x Sylvanas Windrunner
1 x Redemption1 x Siamat
1 x Micro Mummy1 x Ragnaros the Firelord
1 x Mysterious Blade
1 x Sandwasp Queen
1 x Sir Finley of the Sands
1 x Commander Rhyssa
1 x Bellringer Sentry
1 x Blessing of Kings
1 x Consecration
1 x Truesilver Champion
1 x Mysterious Challenger
1 x Tirion Fordring

Select and copy the long ID string below, then create a deck in Hearthstone to export this deck into your game.

Deck Import ID: AAECAZ8FHowBngHcA8gEzwb6Bq8HrfICwP0C9v0C1v4C2P4C2f4CoIADvpgDjpoDkJoDlJoDg6EDxaED/KMDyKQDlqYDhKcD/acDn7cD2NID2dID5NID5dIDAAA=

More great Paladin guides:

General strategy

This deck plays fast, with a great deal of fallback options for whenever things go wrong. You’re the aggressor, so go face when you can, and make sure you keep your Secrets and their potential effects in mind.

Early Game: You want to contest the board early with your 1- and 2-cost cards. If you’re going second, Brazen Zealot, Coin, Beaming Sidekick is a great play to get you on board. Following that up with something like Sir Finley of the Sands to give yourself an upgraded Hero Power or a Secretkeeper and a Secret can stand you in good stead for the rest of the game.

Every game will play out differently given the inconsistency Highlander decks are naturally plagued with, so if you don’t draw perfectly just try to stay on curve. Secrets like Noble Sacrifice and Autodefense Matrix are great plays for protecting a board, and if you can get Sir Finley of the Sands played, your ideal Hero Power choice will be different each game. Usually, Mage and Hunter are solid choices for sheer damage, but you’ll often want Warrior to out-heal in the mirror match, or Paladin to keep a constant board of threats present.

Mid Game: By the time you’re here at the game’s midpoint, things should be going pretty smoothly. If you’ve not drawn into a low-value hand, you should have enough resources to keep the pressure up on your foe, trading with enemy minions when necessary but all the while pushing face damage. Midway through the game you might even have a Mysterious Challenger playable, and if you do it’s a great way to swing things in your favour. A sudden 5 Secrets in play can completely ruin your opponent’s day, stalling any momentum gained and turning things around enormously.

Stay on curve during the mid-game and things will go your way, provided the foe isn’t drawing absolutely insanely well. Truesilver Champion works great to clear enemy minions, as does Consecration, but remember that you’ve only got a single copy of each card, so use them wisely..

Late Game: By now, the enemy should be suffering some pretty bad losses. You should’ve been hitting face enough for them to be on a low health total, and are just looking for that final blow. Unfortunately, your hand might be in a bad way at this point unless you’ve managed to trigger a Hidden Wisdom or drawn a Crystology, so you might need to rely on your topdecks to secure the win. Ragnaros the Firelord on an empty board is a scary prospect and instant 8 damage, and Tirion Fordring represents a big potential bunch of damage with the 5/3 weapon he gives you upon death. Keep chipping away before your opponent can respond and you should be able to get over the line.

Zephrys the Great can also save you in a pinch, so check out our Zephrys the Great guide for more info on that. He’s helpful at whichever point you’re at in the game, and in some matchups it’s worth saving him for a big finish, Discovering a Savage Roar or Fireball.

Secret Highlander Paladin Mulligan Guide

This is a pretty fast-paced deck, so you’ll want to win the board early on.

1. Brazen Zealot: Instantly 2 damage on turn 1, this can spiral out of control if you boost its health with Beaming Sidekick and its attack with other cheap drops.

2. Sir Finley of the Sands: An upgraded Hero Power isn’t your entire gameplan, but if you draw this card early on you can tailor your Hero Power choice to your opponent. Against aggro, you might want to outlast them with the Warrior Hero Power whilst continuing to contest the board with your aggressive plays. Against control, it might be best to charge them down with the Hunter Hero Power.

3. Zephrys the Great: Proactive or reactive, the card Zephrys generates can turn the tide of a game. Check out our Zephrys the Great guide for more information!

4. Mysterious Challenger: Yes, it’s one of the most expensive cards in this deck, but it’s really bloody good. 6 mana for a 6/6 and 5 Secrets is a complete game-changer, and well worth keeping in most matchups given how irritatingly disruptive the card is to your opponent.

Secret Highlander Paladin tips, combos and synergies

Secret Highlander Paladin is a simple deck to play, but keep an eye out for the following synergies and situations:

- Siamat can push through Taunt minions late in the game with Rush and either Divine Shield or Windfury, giving your other minions the chance to finish your enemy.

- Zephrys the Great works in almost every situation, either played on curve to keep the board pressure up or later on in the game to find extra damage. You can even use him to clear off enemy threats - check out our guide for more information!

- Mysterious Challenger casts 5 Secrets from your deck - check which ones they are and play accordingly. For example, you might not want to play a 1-drop if you have a Redemption, instead saving it for more value on a bigger minion with a Deathrattle. Each Secret synergises differently so choose carefully.

- Secretkeeper works great when you draw a bunch of your Secret cards early on, but doesn’t get buffed with the Battlecries of cards like Mysterious Challenger and Bellringer Sentry.

- Sylvanas Windrunner is a great mid-late game card to play when your enemy is trying to regain tempo, as the threat of stealing one of their minions is pretty substantial.

- Commander Rhyssa’s value skyrockets when she’s able to stick on board, especially if you can get a Mysterious Challenger played while she’s there. Doubling up on all your secrets is extremely annoying for your enemy, which is exactly why anyone plays this game.

- Mysterious Blade and Sunreaver Spy’s Battlecries both trigger if you already have a Secret in play, so try to fulfil this condition before playing them. Sometimes it’s good enough to just play them out though, especially if you’re struggling to contest the board.

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James Law avatar

James Law

Former Guides Writer

James was part of Rock Paper Shotgun's guides team from 2020-2021, bringing his expert knowledge about FPS games, Hearthstone, Path Of Exile and more from his time at Metabomb. He's also a dab hand at Hitman 3, and making his own jam - things which may or may not be related to one another.

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