Rak's Redemption
A Paladin Powerhouse Combo
On your mark! Get Set! Game On!
It's a race to the Realm Champs, and it's going to be an awesome mind-bending five weeks for deckbuilding enthusiasts and cardboard hustlers alike. The meta is undefined, carrying over echoes of past decks from previous times, but having no solid front-runners to try and build against.
It's a time to unleash the creative you, and since Servants of the Betrayer has so many new cards that are begging to be abused, the sooner you get started the better.
Let's face it, there are cards all over the place that want to have a deck built around them.
If you're like me, you've been spending a lot of time studying the cardlists, dreaming up ways to build the ultimate board state. During that time, you've probably found plenty of cards that cause tempo-stealing combos to swirl around in your head. More often than not you feel dragged in ten different directions, I know I do, but eventually you've got to settle onto that one idea you just can't shake.
Sometimes, I get so obsessed about a particular combo that I can't stop thinking about how the deck would play out, and I've learned that the only way to get this out of my system is to put a deck together and put it through the ringer.
To give credit where it's due, I first ran across this combo in a post on the Official WoW Forums. The specific post started by Romnus can be found here: http://entertainment.upperdeck.com/wow/community/forums/thread/1111249.aspx.
If you've read my previous Unrelenting Zeal blog, you can guess that I really like these types of decks, and after reading about the combo, I decided I just had to give this one a try.
I'm glad I did, because I'm enjoying it a lot. So, here's my current version of Rak's Redemption:
Hero
Lelora the Dawnslayer (Blood Elf Traitor Paladin)
Allies
4 Rak Skyfury
4 Snarl Hellwind
4 Wysko
Abilities
4 Aura of Fanaticism
4 Seal of Redemption
3 Hammer of Justice
3 Blessing of Freedom
3 Spread the Word
1 Shattering Blow
Equipment
4 Mass of McGowan
4 Sword of Zeal
3 Skibi's Pendant
3 Stronghold Gauntlets
2 Thundering Greathelm
Quests
4 One Draenei's Junk
4 A Warm Welcome
4 Big Game Hunter
2 Solanian's Belongings
Rak Attack!
I'll begin by going over the core Combo of the deck and explaining how it plays out.
The general idea is that you'll need Seal of Redemption in play. This allows you to put an ally card from your graveyard into your hand whenever you do combat damage. Then you'll need the Sword of Zeal in play, so you can do some combat damage. In order for the combo to be infinite, you'll either need a way to make the Sword of Zeal cost 1 less to swing, or give it +1 Attack. Then, you need a way to kill Rak when he comes into play. You can use either Snarl Helwind or Aura of Fanaticism.
So, I'll start by going over the perfect setup (which almost never happens, but its good to for explaining the idea):
Let's say that it's your 5th turn, and you have Snarl Helwind, Aura of Fanaticism, Seal of Redemption, and Sword of Zeal in play, along with 4 resources.
You draw a card, and play your 5th resource.
Now, you declare an attack with your hero, paying 2 to swing with the Sword of Zeal. You'll inflict 3 damage, thanks to Snarl and the Aura giving your hero a +1 Attack. When you do damage, you'll ready 3 resources.
Then you pay 1 resource to play Rak Skyfury. His come-into-play power lets you ready your hero and a weapon, then he instantly dies to the -1 health from Aura of Fanaticism.
You attack with your hero, paying 2 resources (now you have 3 exhausted and 2 ready resources). You inflict 3 combat damage using the Sword of Zeal, which lets you ready 3 resources. You also get to return Rak from your graveyard to your hand, thanks to the Seal of Redemption.
And then the combo goes on and on, because you can continue to play Rak, ready your hero, attack, and get Rak and your Resources back.
Snap Back to Reality
It's fine to put together an awesome 5 turn kill like that, and really easy when you get exactly the cards you need and your opponent doesn't do anything to interfere at all, but if you're counting on that to win you games then I'll advise you never to go to Las Vegas. I hear the locals there love taking money from gamblers who like to challenge the odds.
So, let's get back to reality for a bit and talk about the cards in this deck and what they do.
One Drops
On turn one you've got three cards you can play on the board:
Spread the Word: My favorite turn 1 drop. I'm really starting to like this card, and it works wonders in this deck. I originally turned to this card because of the very popular protector: Xanata the Lightsworn. With Spread the Word in play, you can turn her to paste with a single strike from Mass of McGowan, or a Stronghold Gauntlet enhanced Sword of Zeal. This card is also instrumental in punching through a Hunter's Survival Instincts. Additionally, opponents relying on armor to slow you down will be disappointed when it does nothing to stop your assault.
Rak Skyfury: A key card to the deck. Deciding to play it on turn one depends on both your hand and your opponent. If you are playing against a fast rush deck with lots of 1 health allies, and expect to be needing to trade with Merry's or the like, then Rak is an ok turn 1 play. You'll do this knowing he's going to be trading with an oposing ally, but that you'll be able to get him back later with a Seal of Redemption. However, the rest of the time you might want to opt to hold onto him, especially if you're planning a turn 2 Aura of Fanaticism, or if your opponent is playing defensively and you expect them to be putting down protectors for a few turns.
Snarl Helwind: He's a solid turn 1 drop, has 2 health so he can survive even if you've got a turn 2 Aura of Fanaticism to drop. Playing him on turn one depends again on what you expect from your opponent and what cards you've got in hand.
Your last 1 cost card, Blessing of Freedom, is probably not going to see much use on the first turn, but it can produce game-winning shifts in balance in the late game, and protect your hero when the final assault begins.
Two Drops
Aura of Fanaticism: This card is the reason to turn Traitor. It's penalty, -1 health to all of your allies, is actually part of your game plan and it allows you to kill Rak Skyfury over and over so you can keep bringing him back in the same turn. It also gives your hero a +1 Attack for each ally in your party. Like the card made famous by Bulkas Wildhorn - Cruelty, this card gives your hero the attack bonus with no stipulations. That means when your hero is defending against a 3/2 ally, and you've got 2 allies in play, your hero will deal 2 damage back and kill the ally. This is a great card for stopping a weenie rush strategy in it's tracks. They are punished for not trading with your allies, and most rush strategies don't want to make those early trades.
Wysko: At 3/2 for only 2 resources, Wysko is a decent body to drop in play. He survives the -1 penalty from Aura of Fanaticism, so he can provide a +1 attack to your hero if you've got the Aura in play. In addition to that, he gives your weapons a +1 attack, which can be the final boost you need to go infinite with the Sword of Zeal.
Skibi's Pendant: This is a solid turn 2 play, allowing you to swing for free with the Mass, or swing for 1 with the Sword of Zeal. With this card in play on turn 2, you can drop a turn 3 Mass and attack immediately, taking out a troublesome ally or putting some early game damage on your opponent.
Hammer of Justice: Like Blessing of Freedom, this card is a staple in Paladin decks for a reason. It's got great utility, and it replaces itself.
Three Drops
Seal of Redemption: One of the two core cards for this deck to really get moving is the Seal of Redemption. Play this card as soon as you can. If you can drop it on turn 3 without losing ground to an opponent's swarm then thats what you should do. If you have to choose between this and a Mass, then it would depend on the board state and what you're expecting from your opponent.
Mass of McGowan
: One of the best ally-killing weapons the paladin can have. The Krol Blade is a comparable alternative, and in some situations may even be a better option (against solo, for example), but overall the utility of the Mass makes it a solid weapon in this deck.
Stronghold Gauntlets: Protect your weapons from destruction, and enable your Sword of Zeal combo by providing a much needed +1 attack. Not to mention it's armor also. This is a great card all around.
Four Drops
Sword of Zeal: The key to going infinite, the Sword of Zeal allows you to ready resources, over and over and over. 'Nuff said.
Thundering Greathelm: I've found this card to be potentially amazing. At worst, it's 2 armor, but since the overall tactic of this deck involves playing allies over and over and over, the Greathelm continually adds to your weapon's attack. While this is just a win-more card if your Sword of Zeal is already slicing through infinity, it can turn your Mass into a pulverizing piston of death. For example, if you've got most of the Rak/Redemption cycle ready to go, but are stuck with a Mass instead of a Sword of Zeal, you can burn through your resources and pile up the damage - often winning without needing to infinite combo. This is even better if you've got Skibi's Pendant in play, allowing you to swing your Mass for free. You'll be paying 0 to attack, 1 to play rak, 0 to attack, and so on, and each time Rak hits the board, your helm will add even more damage to your attack. Also, once you've used all your resources, if your opponent is somehow still clinging to life, Rak will be sitting in the graveyard waiting for you next turn to begin the madness all over again!
Shattering Blow: While nothing spectacular here, this deck basically has to scoop to the Greatsword of Horrid Dreams. It turns off your Rak, and thus severely limits your explosive potential. Shattering Blow is 1 of just so that matchup isn't hopeless before sideboarding in more equipment hate.
Quests
When it comes to Quests, A Warm Welcome is the MVP. With Mass and any one of these (Wysko, Stronghold, AoF/Ally, Helm/Ally), you can deal 5 to an ally and draw 2 for 2. A great deal. Its even easier to deal 5 in a turn when Rak shows up.
The Solanian's Belongings help you recover your Redemption if it's destroyed. This card also helps if you need the usual Hammer recursion that Paladin's are famous for.
Big Game Hunter: Great for finding one of your 8 weapons.
One Draenei's Junk: Can draw 39 of the 60 cards in the deck. With 3 to choose from, those are good odds that you'll be getting to pick a card you need.
Only the Beginning
So that's the breakdown. Unlike the Unrelenting Zeal warrior combo deck I wrote about in a previous article, this deck is still in it's early stages and has plenty of testing and development to go through before it reaches it's potential. I think it may have some tournament viability depending on how the meta shapes up.
Some modifications I'm currently thinking about include, Krol Blades instead of Mass of McGowan. I might try this without the Sword of Zeal, instead using the Obsidian Edged Blade and/or Demonslayer - the plan wouldn't be to go infinite, but instead to pound away 3-5 times a turn on an opponent. Also as another late game option, the Felsteel Reaper is a possible addition.
I've also given some thought to using Aegis of the Vindicator, and swapping it via a sideboard with the new Azure-Shield of Coldarra depending on the matchup.
I might try shifting to a little more ally style rush, and putting more reliance on Aura of Fanatacisim and less on the combo. If I try this, Vexmaster will definately make an appearance.
And last, but probably most important, if card draw turns out to be a consistent problem, I may add some with Blessing of Wisdoms. I might also consider adding Counter Attacks.
For Sideboard, I'm currently running something like:
1x Hammer of Justice
1x Blessing of Wisdom
3x Shattering Blow
3x Sacred Purification
2x Lay on Hands
If you're like me, and have always found the Paladin fascinating, but haven't been happy with the usual stall-to-ishana strategy, then give this deck a try and let me know how it works for you.
Vindictus plays with an awesome group of players in Virginia Beach, and while he is always interested in new card interactions, he's happiest when he's got a Sword of Zeal in play.
Tags: Warcraft Paladin Combo
Related to:
World of Warcraft TCG
