I recently wrote about semi-budget Resurrect Priest and how it can perform well on the ladder even without many expensive cards. However, the real thing is always the real thing, so here is the full-cost version of the same archetype.
Resurrect Priest is the strongest control deck you can play at the moment. It does pretty much nothing early in the game, but stabilizes quickly with sweeping board clears and tons of defensive minions that keep coming back with various resurrection effects.
The modern versions include Bad Luck Albatross to fill the opponent’s deck with 1/1 tokens and Galakrond to generate infinite minions of their own.
Resurrect Priest decklist
Deck code: AAECAa0GCNMK1gqggAONggOTmwOYmwPZrAPIwAMLl4cDgpQDmZsDoaEDr6UD0aUDmakDn6kD8qwDza8D/bADAA==
This is my take on Resurrect Priest at the moment, and the results I’ve had with the deck are just crazy. I’ve literally only lost to Archivist Elysiana, and the thing I’m perplexed the most is how I managed to meet multiple people who have included the card in their decks during my climb.
I prefer to keep things proactive and have full defenses against aggression (double Sandhoof Waterbearer) and early Edwin VanCleefs (Shadow Word: Death). If you are facing a slower meta, it is worth considering a second copy of Grave Rune instead of a Sandhoof Waterbearer, but the meta I have played against has made the additional healing worth it.
Resurrect Priest mulligan
Your basic mulligan with the deck is to keep the Bad Luck Albatross, Psychopomp, and Penance.
There are also other potentially good cards to keep depending on the matchup:
- Zerek’s Cloning Gallery is great against everything if you already have something to play early on to survive until turn nine
- Shadow Word: Death can be useful against Rogue’s Edwin VanCleef
- Breath of the Infinite or Mass Hysteria can be useful against decks that swarm the board
- Sandhoof Waterbearer can be useful against aggressive decks.
Resurrect Priest tips and tricks
Remember that games can be won in multiple ways. One way is to get an early Bad Luck Albatross and then resurrect it to fill the opponent’s deck with 1/1 tokens, but that is not the only way to win. Sometimes you want to avoid playing the Albatross so that you can resurrect defensive minions, or if you pick up your first Albatross very late, you may want to win a slower deck in fatigue and not give them more cards.
Controlling your resurrect pool is important. Especially if you have found an early Psychopomp, think carefully what you want it to bring back.
Galakrond has two roles in the deck: hard removal and a value engine that provides infinite minions. There are plenty of minions to resurrect already, and you don’t want to play just any minions that dilute your resurrect pool, so usually, you do not need to hurry with playing Galakrond. It is fine to get the most value out of its removal effect before playing it. The mirror matchup is the one where Galakrond’s Hero Power shines the most, there you may want to get it into play more quickly.
You are playing a control deck. Ration your removal and try to fit them to the level of threat the opponent is able to build. You can run out of removal if you spend it carelessly, but you can also die if you are too greedy. It can be hard to find the balance, but in general, you want to be at least somewhat greedy.
Resurrect Priest gameplay video
Finally, here’s a recap of the guide and a video of my gameplay with the deck. I hope it gives you ideas on how to pilot the archetype effectively!