Shadow Priest (LON)
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Overview
Shadow Priest decks probably pack the most power into 50 cards in the game right now. That doesn't necessarily mean it's the best deck, but it is probably the most powerful.
There are several incarnations of the Shadow Priest, but the core seems to remain the same. Zealotry powers up the deck. Bracers of Forbidden Rites keeps the health total up. Scepter of Shielding and Quill of the Arch Lich keep all the great abilities coming back. After that, the decks start to diverge.
With Inquisitor added to the mix, Depravity is becoming a very popular card in these decks. It's not uncommon to see 2 Depravities take 6 points off your health total really quick. Some Shadow Priest decks have started going very aggressive with cards like Gnoll Scout and Sacrifice in addition to the Depravity. Depending on what avatar you choose, the fastest version of this deck can achieve turn 1 kills.
The most common Shadow Priest decks will try to win through questing. Bracers of the Forbidden Rites allow them to stay alive while Runnyeye Sorcerers clear out opposing units. Recycled Divine Auras can fend off most attacks, and recycled Disables win an attrition war with opposing questers. Eventually the extra power generated by Zealotry and all the power of the recycling will just run the opponent out of threats and a questing win is inevitable.
There are still some other Shadow Priest decks go the Reanimate route. They will use a discard outlet to drop a big unit like Lord Nagafen into play and ride it to victory. This route is not as popular as it used to be because it's very vulnerable to cards like Runnyeye Sorcerer. Some Shadow Priest decks will run a couple of Nagafen as a side strategy but still focus on questing for the win.
Strengths
The deck's main strength is the absolute power of the deck. Recycling cards like Zealotry and Disable over and over is an incredibly powerful play. The deck has so much power and power production that many decks just get crushed under the weight of it. Recycling is very powerful in Legends of Norrath and this deck can do it better than any other deck. All that recycling makes this deck very powerful the longer a game goes as the deck can use its most powerful cards repeatedly.
The deck has solid answers to almost all other decks and with the ability to recycle those cards makes beating this deck very difficult. In the hands of a player who knows all the interactions in the deck well, it operates like a well oiled machine.
Weaknesses
The deck's biggest weakness is the level of difficulty involved in playing the deck properly. Sometimes, the power of the deck is enough to win all by itself. But in close games, there are many difficult decisions to make and making just one bad decision can lead to a game loss.
After the level of difficulty, the deck's biggest weakness is fast decks that also pack some disruption to stop the deck's early plans. The best way to beat Shadow Priests is to apply constant early pressure while using cards like Sunder or Disintegrate to keep their recycling items off the table. They very often play the Iksar avatar that can return Shadow cards from the graveyard, so they will eventually get their recycling online. Your goal against them is to force them to waste power trying to set up that recycling while dealing a couple of damage each turn. If you can get some damage in and disrupt them just enough, you should be able to pull off the win, but the longer the game lasts, the more the recycling and staying power of this deck will begin to overwhelm you.
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