This is a fun deck I've been playing during the week. I was playing this when the Archpriest was 7 mana. 6 mana is a big upgrade. It's a light deck without HBK or expensive legendaries, so let's take a look! First the deck, then discussion after.
Deck Code:
GU_1_3_BCYBCYBEXBEXBGPBGPGBXGBXCEdCEdIApIApIAqIAqIArIAtIAtIAvIAvIAwIAwIAxIAyIAyICcICcICkICkHAFHAF
The basic win condition for this deck is to use order to reach the 5-6 mana stage while putting pressure on the opponent. At that point, the Archpriest comes down with huge stats and disables their biggest threat. Use him to kill your opponent.
General Strategies and Considerations
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the order mechanic benefits Light the most. Light requires board presence. Hitting opponent creatures with order gives you time to build up that presence. Olympian Guards get more turns to buff themselves. More of your creatures hang around for that amazing Canonize. Divine Judgement screws with your opponent. They play expecting to get a creature back only for you to destroy it just before order drops. Order also scales well into the late game. You want to win before that, but order knocks out Polyhymnia just as easily as a Wild Hog.
Going First
Mulligan Priority
- Cudgel of Atonement
- Pyramid Warden
- Olympian Guard
- Inquisitor Informant / Axewoman
Going first, you probably want to play your relic if you have it. Being able to drop a Pyramid Warden and hit for 2 on turn 2 is a big deal when trying to establish board control. An Olympian Guard works in a pinch, and of course, an Axewoman lets you deal four damage on turn 2, killing anything they put down.
Going Second
Mulligan Priority
- Pyramid Warden
- Axewoman / Inquisitor Informant
- Censure
- Cudgel
Going second, the job is harder. In fact, the big problem with Light is that going second is usually a losing battle. Most light decks don't have the ability to establish board control from behind. This deck does. Order gives you time to get Light's non-blitz relics ready to deal damage. Informant and Censure dominant the early game. Then the hounds come down behind front lines or your Righteous Apparition gets the extra turn it needs to start getting its (amazing) ability off every turn. The point is, you can make it to mid-game with board control even starting from behind.
Transition from Early to Mid-Game
A common scenario is you arrive at 4 mana with the opponent about to have several threats lose order on their next turn. This phase is where a lot of games are won or lost. Your options will vary depending on what you've drawn, but you will usually have tools to manage the board.
Spells
Divine Judgement for any particularly bad threats - like a card that has been buffed while ordered. Use this option as a last resort as the value of Divine Judgment scales best later in the game. If you have 2x in hand, though, using one at 4-5 mana is great.
Light's Levy works on ordered creatures, so if you've been stalling their Pyramid Warden and then draw your LL then by all means use it.
Radiant Dawn is amazing for this transition. You've had time to build your board while their creatures are disabled. Now you get to deploy Radiant Dawn right before they get their creatures back. Oh and sleep? What's sleep? We're going face, thanks.
More Order
If you didn't pull any of your great spells, then you likely have various methods to keep applying order. Keep it up, because your win conditions start turning on at 5 mana.
Mid-Game
Your cards at 5 and 6 mana are phenomenal. Canonize makes anything left on your side of the board a threat. Helios Justicar is beefy and applies more order at the end of each turn. This is amazing against isolated big creatures.
At 6 mana, things get even better. If you've saved a pip, a Writ of Law + Archpriest of Parthene gives you at minimum a 13/13 creature. Don't forget that you've also disabled their side of the board with 3 and 8 order. This combo can nullify two independent threats long enough for that 13/13 to connect with the face.
Divine Chains is a fantastic card in this deck. A 4/7 frontline that can attack and gives order to creatures it damages. Protection for your hounds, easy combos with Divine Judgement, and pairs nicely with a subsequent Archpriest.
Late Game
If you aren't able to seal the deal by 7 mana, things will start going south on you fairly quickly, but you actually don't fall off as fast as other decks. Order bypass ward. Divine Judgment is amazing late game. If you find yourself in a long game, you're trying to use order to slip fatal damage by their defenses quickly.
Card Swaps
Upgrades
- Sern. Dropping Righteous apparition for Sern is a no-brainer.
- High-Born Knight. If you have these, you're probably more experienced than I am and know better what to swap out. If you are a newbie whale, I'd say drop Writ of Law and an Olympian Guard for 2x HBKs.
Downgrades
- Skeleton Heavies instead of Pyramid Wardens
- Protective Benediction instead of Canonize
- Ritual Rod instead of Cudgel of Atonement
Guild Enforcer
In a state of flux at the moment, but you could consider this instead of Righteous Apparition, Helios Justicar, or Divine Chains. GE obviously doesn't combo as nicely, but its raw power/value makes it a great card. Just updated today to have more HP and only 1 armor. Some experimenting is warranted.
Conclusion
I hope you test it out and have fun with it. If you find any tweaks other than those mentioned, please leave a comment!