So with the third Blackrock wing out, Dragodin is a thing - this is a new deck I worked on for several hours, and I winstreaked from Rank 18 to 15 in ranked mode.
DragodinMy first take on a Dragon Paladin deck. I'll make some improvements here and there as time progresses.
So far I did quite well with this deck, but it still has some weaknesses that I intend to erase as time progresses.
Strategy:
Playing this deck, it is important to know when to trade and when to push for face damage. Being able to anticipate which cards your opponent is going to use is very important.
Cards:
Abusive Sergeant: A great early game card. I often use it with Dragon Egg to pop a Black Whelp, or with Shielded Minibot to deal 4 damage to a minion. Still, it can be also good in lategame, providing a small buff to one of your minions that might finish off your opponent.
Dragon Egg: Can be replaced with Nerubian Egg. I like this one because it is a one drop and can be played together with a hero power on turn 3. It's a bit more flexible in my opinion, and the small 2-1 Black Whelps are great for trading with almost every agressive 2 drop in the game. Works good with Abusive Sergeant, Coghammer and Defender of Argus.
Equality: Belongs in every paladin deck to enable trades and it works wonders combined with Consecration.
Faerie Dragon: A great 2 drop. It's a solid 3-2, enables the holding Dragon mechanic and cannot be targeted by spells. Belongs in every dragon deck imo.
Shielded Minibot: Good for a lot of trading and essential for a lot of paladin control decks. Works great when combined with Abusive Sergeant or Defender of Argus.
Coghammer: A solid weapon that provides a really important buff for one of your minions. The buff is most effective when used on Faerie Dragon or Dragon Egg, but since the Divine Shield itself can be really important sometimes, it really works with any minion you have on board and want to protect.
Aldor Peacekeeper: An essential 3 drop for every Paladin deck in my opinion. It can completely neutralize many legendaries by simply changing their attack to one. It is also great to stop agressive decks from dealing too much damage by using the effect on their 3 to 5 attack minions. If you have the option of using Rend Blackhand or Big Game Hunter to remove a 6+ or 7+ attack creature, you should use it to keep Aldor Peacekeeper for the smaller minions.
Big Game Hunter: Belongs in every deck right now. Removes a Dr. Boom, a Ragnaros the Firelord or an Alexstrasza. With 4-2, it's also a solid 3 drop (though not the best) when you need to push for more board.
Blackwing Technician: Probably the most reliable 3 drop in this deck. This deck has 8 dragons, so you will almost always have at least one in your hand. A 3-5 is great as it enables a lot of trading and pushes for more board control. Even when you have to play this as a 2-4 it is not too bad and can often trade with 2 agressive 2 drops.
Truesilver Champion: An essential weapon for every paladin deck. 4 attack is a lot and can remove almost every 3 drop. The additional heal is a nice touch as well.
Consecration: Every deck needs AoE. Consecration works great combined with Equality and 4 mana is cheap enough to be used against agressive decks early in the game.
Defender of Argus: Provides an important buff for your minions. When you play this with 2 adjacent minions, it can push for a lot of damage when going for the face as well as giving you board presence by giving them taunt. Insane when you use it with Shielded Minibot and a Dragon Egg in early game, as it forces your opponent to trade unfavorably.
Antique Healbot: A pretty standard card. Heals you for 8 and provides a 3-3 body that can be combined with Coghammer or Defender of Argus or simply be used for trading with a 2 or 3 drop in the next round. This is the go-to heal if you don't have enough mana to play Lay on Hands or don't want to waste an entire turn by playing an 8 mana card: Antique Healbot can be played together with an Azure Drake, a Dragon Consort or a Blackwing Technician.
Azure Drake: A badass Dragon and one of the best midgame minions in this deck. It provides a sturdy body, enables the holding Dragon mechanic and let's you draw a card. Plus, it enables your Consecration to deal three damage one round later, which is helpful at almost any point of the game. On turn 8, Dragon Consort and Azure Drake can actually be played together, giving you 9-9, +1 Spell Damage and a Card Draw for 8 Mana. Insane!
Dragon Consort: Turn 7 Ysera? Turn 6 Ysera (with coin)? Yes, I'd like that. Can be a game changer by enabling mighty dragons being played early or together with other cards - the value gained from this card can be game changing. Definitely one of this deck's most essential cards.
Sylvanas Windrunner: Will most likely be replaced once more dragons have been released. As of now, it is a very solid 6 drop (the only one in this deck), and it almost always forces your opponent to make suboptimal plays. 5-5 is also a decent body, enables trading and can push for face damage when you have board control.
Rend Blackhand: Not sure about this card. Dr. Boom is probably better, but I play this for know because I like the artwork and because it's fun. Killing off an Emperor Thaurissan or an Ysera with it feels awesome. It's not as bad as a lot of people think, actually, 8 Damage is a lot and 4 Health survives a lot of AoE's (Chain Lightning, Consecration, Holy Nova). The best situation to play this is when you can hide it behind a taunt minion (a taunted Dragon Egg or Shielded Minibot, for example). Still, it'd be wiser to swap this with Dr. Boom. But let's be honest: Dr. Boom is boring.
Lay on Hands: Card Draw and Healing. Not the only card draw in this deck since you have Azure Drake, but three cards is a lot and especially in late game (when you should have board control), it might be game-changing.
Ysera: The best 9 drop in the game. Provides a constant stream of insane cards, one of which happens to be a dragon as well (enabling the Holding Dragon mechanic). Ysera Awakens is an insane AoE and an important finisher in late game. Can be played on turn 7 with Dragon Consort or for 6 when you use the coin.
Deathwing: Clears the whole board and is essentially your backup plan when everything goes wrong. When your opponent has used all his removals on your Rend Blackhand, Dragon Consorts, Ysera and Sylvanas Windrunner, and has Board Control and little hand, you Play Deathwing. The best situation is to Play Deathwing when the opponent has 12 or 13 health and you can finish him off in one turn or in two when combined with a Silver Hand Recruit. With Dragon Consort, you can actually play him for 8 mana, resulting in you being able to add a Silver Hand Recruit and pushing for 13 Damage in the following round.