Paladin is often considered to be the second strongest arena class at the moment, behind Mage. Before Whispers of the Old Gods launched, it was neck and neck for first place. They didn’t get any good cards from Whispers, but they are still quite strong. Their hero power is one of the best in arena, which helps quite a bit. However, the reason they are so dominant comes down to the same as always – the cards.
Paladin and Mage have a lot in common in this regard. They simply have the tools to overrun their opponents easily. This is because both of their power lies heavily in class commons and rares. This means they have their best cards fairly often. Let’s take a look at which cards make Paladin the powerhouse that it is in arena.
Five: Aldor Peacekeeper
Aldor Peacekeeper has been one of the strongest cards in Hearthstone since beta. It has an effect almost as strong as Big Game Hunter’s, but without the situational condition. It also comes with a very strong body attached. Aldor Peacekeeper is missing one stat point for its cost. However, its ability can easily take three or more mana worth of stats off of mid to late game minions. It is also one of the strongest tempo swings in the game. Paladins are usually ahead on board. This means Aldor Peacekeeper allows the Paladin to kill any minion for essentially free.
The only downside to Aldor Peacekeeper is that it is a rare, so you won’t see it as often. If you could play an entire deck of Aldor Peacekeepers, you would be crazy not to. The card is removal and a nice body packaged in a cheap card. What’s not to like?
Four: Shielded Minibot
Shielded Minibot is the best two drop in the game. It is able to trade evenly with every other two drop, and two-for-one many of them. This card single handedly allows Paladin to take over the board, two turns into the game. Minibot was a dreaded two drop in constructed for a long time, imagine its strength in arena!
The downside to Minibot is that it isn’t a great late game card. This means you won’t want too many of them. However, two drops are typically the cards you want most of. It is foolhardy to not take as many Minibots as you can, they simply win games.
Three: Keeper of Uldaman
Keeper of Uldaman is another card that made people question Blizzard’s rarity decisions. When League of Explorers was released, they showed up twice as often in arena, like other sets. That meant Keeper was showing up a ton, since there weren’t a lot of League of Explorers cards. At that point it was not uncommon for Paladin decks to run four Keepers in arena. Which you would do, because Keeper is an insane card.
Keeper of Uldaman is Aldor Peacekeeper’s older brother. The mana cost is a bit more, the body is a bit bigger. But the effect is just as powerful. Aldor Peacekeeper can make cards do no damage, but Keeper makes them easy to remove. Suddenly cards with abilities are no longer difficult to kill. However, the ability is far stronger than mere removal. The fact that Keeper’s effect can be used on either player’s cards is game changing. Working alongside the Paladin hero power, Keeper can suddenly turn 1/1s into 3/3s. Removal and buffing in a single package. The versatility alone makes Keeper one of the strongest cards in the game, forget arena. And it’s a common!
Two: Truesilver Champion
Truesilver Champion is the dreaded four drop from Paladin. If your opponent has one, suddenly you find yourself a card behind. All weapons are designed to give card advantage at the cost of health. However, Truesilver Champion breaks the rules and heals the user. Suddenly the damage they take isn’t too much, but they still get the card advantage.
It is worth noting that Truesilver Champion is much stronger than Fiery War Axe. This is because four attack is much stronger than three in Hearthstone. Four allows you to take out a lot of the big four drops, as well as Azure Drake. This means that Truesilver Champion will always be relevant, while Fiery War Axe falls off. You don’t want too many Truesilver Champions though, as they will build up. Three or four is about where you’d want to stop. Because once again, Truesilver Champion is a common, and offered plentifully.
One: Muster for Battle
Muster for Battle is not only the strongest Paladin card, but also the strongest card in arena, period. Including legendaries. That’s right, you heard me. A player who plays Muster on turn three will typically beat a player who plays Dr. Boom on seven. The reason for this is purely the early game control it gives. It comes in and gives the Paladin the ability to attack immediately. Then it has also filled the board. The 1/1s synergize quite well with many Paladin cards as well. Because of how many weapon charges are given, Muster far outperforms its cost. It is essentially seven damage for three mana, an over performing Fireball.
Again, the only downside here is that Muster for Battle is a rare. You should not even think whenever you see Muster, simply take it. Being able to play it on turn three is such a game winning play that it is worth overloading your deck with early cards by taking more of them. It is a rare time indeed that someone plays Muster on three and loses with the best card in the game for arena.