When the first wing of BRM was released almost everyone overlooked Grim Patron, something that quickly turned out to be a mistake.
This card, alongside the powerful Emperor Thaurissan transformed Razor’s “Math” Warrior into one of the most powerful decks the game has ever seen. The first successful list that I remember being popularized was Nomodogan’s top 10 NA list.
It's been over 2 months of constant changes. Numerous pros had a lot of success with the deck and we have seen cards come and go but the core has almost always remained the same.
The core
I decided to include both Armorsmiths since they are extremely good against aggro and are a staple in all versions except Neirea’s old Shield Block/Slam decklist. We also see at least one Inner Rage in almost all versions and in my opinion the deck becomes much weaker if you run zero Inner Rages.
So these are the 21 must include cards of the deck. Let’s try to fill out the rest! We will definitely need some removals, some card draw and combo pieces to buff our Grim Patrons and Frothing Berserkers!
Big Game Hunter
It’s a tech I have played for only a few games but more often than not I topdecked it in spots where it wasn’t useful at all. BGH is a card which is excellent in the Handlock matchup and good against the universally played Dr. Boom. However, when you are matched against Warlocks you can’t be certain of the archetype. Right now Malylock is stronger than ever - and has literally zero BGH targets and a BGH keep could a blunder in that case.
BGH is also a bad keep vs Zoo but still could be an amazing topdeck later in the game. Even against Handlock it can win you the game but the impact isn’t that huge as in Druid since you are required to have a very good hand in order to win this tough matchup. (e.g. Emperor into Frothing, Commander)
Against Boom it’s excellent, 4/2 for 3 killing a 7/7 for free. When your opponent plays Boom against your Patron, normally the feelings are mixed. The 7/7 is tough to deal with but the bombs allow you – if RNG is on your side – for some huge plays. If you BGH the Boom then your opponent can simply trade 1 or even both Boom Bots onto the BGH, denying you some game winning combos with Patron/Frothings. After all Boom is played mostly on 7 and on your turn you will be on 7 or 8 mana. There are some insane combos this deck can pull off at these mana costs and playing a 3 mana removal, doesn’t really fit into our late game strategy.
Even against cards like Grommash or Rag, BGH isn’t vital since in most of the cases if you have to clear a Grom for example, you are still trailing against a Control warrior. Last but not least, BGH does not possess the body you want in such a deck, you would rather run a 2/4 in order to trade efficiently so you can safely transition into the late-game, rather than an easily killable 4/2.
1 versus 2 Waraxes
I was surprised when I first saw Xixo running only 1 waraxe in his list. The reasoning behind this is that the waraxe in the most matchups is only good if you draw it in the first few turns. In the mid to end game you want more often than not to set up your Death’s Bite to enable combos and the Waraxe does fit into that game plan. However if Hunter/Zoo and Rogue become more dominant then 2 Waraxes could be the way to go.
Unstable Ghoul(s)
Back when the first successful Patron decks were introduced, 2x Unstable Ghoul was a staple in pretty much every list, and for good reason. However in the first few weeks of competitive Patron play, players began to remove it.
The main reasons behind that were:
- It can be a liability in the mirror match
- Too dangerous to play it on the board alone
- Bad in the early game against Handlock and other durable decks
- Somewhat hard to use - You need to be patient and wait for the right moment rather than just play it to stall, more often than not
However just a few weeks ago, many players began including the Ghoul in their lists – mostly 2 of them. Even though it’s risky to play it in the mirror match, there are some spots where it could be surprisingly useful. Let’s say your opponent has developed 4 Patrons on board: Using a charging Ghoul you can sometimes fill his board causing him to be left with only few 3/2 or 3/1 patrons which are much easier dealt with.
Ghoul is also amazing against Rush decks, Hunters especially, since it prevents chargers and deals surprisingly well with all the 1-drops. Aggro Paladin is also making a comeback and the Unstable Ghoul is incredible against all Paladin decks.
In my opinion though the Ghoul’s true potential shines in slower games. When used in conjunction with the Warsong Commander and best friend Frothing Berserker, this little buddy allows for incredible damage combinations.
It also fits the late game mana curve perfectly, Commander + Patron + Ghoul is exactly 10 mana, while Commander, Frothing, Ghoul is 8. Things snowball out of control if you also throw Emperor into the mix.
TLDR: Ghoul is one of the most versatile cards in the game when used in this deck. It can be used as an anti-aggro card or even as a huge late-game Frothing feeder.
That’s an “easy” lethal even without Emperor, imagine the possibilities with one!
Dread Corsair
Corsair is a nice tempo boost in midrange matchups. I prefer to run 1 since 2 are too many and you risk drawing both and zero weapons – which is terrible. They are also decent vs Aggro but 3 health makes it vulnerable to a lot of things, not limited to Eaglehorn Bow and Quick Shot.
Harrison Jones
If Harrison Jones didn’t have only 4 health I would auto-include it in my Patron Warrior decklist. Back when people didn’t expect it I considered him to be extremely strong and he still is one of the best techs in the deck.
Harrison is extremely good in the mirror match and versus Paladins, very strong and flexible versus Rogues and sometimes good against Hunters and Shamans. If you encounter a lot of weapon wielding classes on the ladder, or expect playing against the former decks in tournaments then you should definitely give a chance to this fellow Archeologist.
Grommash
Grommash is in a weird spot in this deck. I originally ran him because of his versatility which includes trading vs Aggro/midrange decks and sealing the game with a 10 / 12 with Inner Rage burst.
However I felt that the ex-Chieftain of the Warsong Clan does not truly belong in the deck. Grommash costs 8 mana, your decks bread and butter combo (Commander+Patron) is also at 8 mana. Even if you don’t have these cards, you would rather cycle your deck to find them rather than spend 8 mana on one single card.
There are 2 main situations you are in a game as Patron:
a) Your opponent tries to rush you and if you survive long enough you will outlast him.
b) Your opponent plays Control Warrior (Handlock is a mix of A and B)
We addressed a) before: Spending 8 mana to clear a minion isn’t the most effective way of surviving.
In the other case the biggest problem with Grommash is that in order for him to be successful you have to invest Resources (Death’s bite charge, Inner Rage etc.) which are going to net huge value regardless of your play be it Patrons, a huge Frothing or Grommash.
There are a few exceptions where I love Grommash, versus classes which can’t deal effectively vs him, for example Rogue. Most of their time their best answer is sap, but if you have enough whirlwind affects you can kill them pretty quickly. But still I believe if you need to tech vs Rogue, Harrison Jones is much better.
Slam
Back in the day most decks ran one copy of Slam. I tested the card myself and found it very strong and flexible. You can use Slam as a better 1dmg wrath, as a removal spell against Aggro Decks (Juggler, Huffer anyone?) and even to build yourself a bigger Patron army by Slamming your full-health Patrons.
Inner Rage
Inner Rage is another rising star of the deck. I remember some lists with zero Inner Rages played by many pros including Lifecoach and Kolento around one and a half month ago. Inner Rage has so many uses, and can be always useful regardless of your hand and the matchup.
- Zero combo pieces in your hand? Use it on Acolyte to Cycle.
- Playing against Patron/Druid/Zoo? Inner Rage on Patron ASAP to swarm the board
- Pesky Face Hunter rushing you down? Just Inner Rage the Leper Gnome.
The tale of the two Gnomes
We have seen both being tested a lot. 2 Loot Hoarders was the way to go around 1 month ago, while others preferred 1 Inventor and 1 Hoarder. I believe that double Gnomish Inventor is the way to go now.
Loot hoarder is a very good turn 2 play and synergizes well with Warsong Commander since it’s a cheap cycle and an easy way to deal damage. However even as a 2drop Loot Hoarder’s body dies pretty easily to a lot of stuff including Mortal Coil, Haunted Creepers and Taskmasters.
On the other hand, the Gnomish Inventor packs some incredible stats and draws a card at the fair price of 4 mana. 4 health gives you endless possibilities in combos alongside Inner Rage and Battle Rage, cards that don’t work at all with the Loot Hoarder.
This is the decklist Xixo used to become the first Legend player on the Asian Server in July. He has also used Harrison in his deck, in the place of the Dread Corsair if I remember correctly.
Now that we have examined all the most popular tech cards in the Combo (Patron) Warrior Decklist, go ahead and try to find your favorite version! I would suggest using Xixo’s Decklist in the beginning and then change cards depending on the decks you face and your playstyle.
I would love to answer your questions, if you have any. Until next week, take care!
