I love the underdog. I always cheer for the underdog, as long as the person they’re up against is evil in the most clich way ever. I’m talking about kicking puppies, trying to shut down the youth center, and challenging you to a ski race down Death Mountain kind of evil. Holy Priest is my kind of underdog. Team Boris!
 

For a long time, holy priests had a hard time getting into high-end raid guilds post–Burning Crusade because they didn’t offer enough utility, nor did they have a role to play in a raid that was better than any other class, like a paladin main tank healing or a shaman raid healing. Holy Priests are like that in the TCG. While Jeremy Blair’s love of “healing face” hasn’t reached the top tournament tables yet, the concept certainly has the raw power to do it. Remember, Rogues used to be the underdog too, and now Daspien Bladedancer is flipping for upwards of 10 damage, and Rotun Daggerhand is finding his good friend Steelsmith Joseph Carroll to be quite an asset.

So, if the framework for a Holy Priest deck is clear, what kind of card does the Priest class need to bring a Holy hero to the forefront?

Slowly but surely, board-sweeping effects have slipped into the World of Warcraft TCG. Frost Nova, Chain Lightning, and Panax the Unstable were the initial board-clearing effects available to players in Heroes of Azeroth. Then Consecration, Hellfire, and the conditional Killing Spree popped up in Through the Dark Portal. Finally, Dragon’s Breath, Megamorph, and Shadowfury in Fires of Outland offered players even more ways to clear the board.

Holy nova is an effect World of Warcraft MMO priests are very familiar with. It is an easy way to complete the quest line to form Benediction, a weapon that almost every priest that sets foot in the Molten Core eventually completes. Holy nova used to be the thirty-first talent point in the holy tree, replaced by lightwell. Priests really have been known for stellar, class-defining spells in their talent trees. Now the class uses holy nova as an emergency instant heal and to out rogues and druids from stealth in arena.

With March of the Legion, the Priest class receives one of the most efficient, effective mass-damage cards printed in the game. Holy Nova is an instant mass-damage ability for just 2 resources. It gets through untargetables like Apprentice Merry, who are very annoying to Priests since they focus on targeted removal like Mind Spike. Also, Draenei tokens will need rescuing again after you send them all to the graveyard with this area-of-effect damage. With the popularity of 1-health beatdown allies, this card will help Holy Priest players reap massive card advantage.

Oh, but we’re not done yet! In addition to dealing 1 damage—unpreventable, I might add—to all unfriendly allies and heroes, it heals all friendly heroes and allies for 1. Keep protectors like Kulvo Jadefist, Parvink, and Guardian Steppestrider around a little longer. Also, when you heal your hero for 1, you can trigger Benediction’s power, which helps you outdraw your opponents. If your opponent is playing around the mass removal of Holy Nova, you can use it to heal your hero, deal a little bit of damage, and, perhaps, get a second use out of a protector. The nice thing is that just having this card in your deck will cause your opponent to slow down his or her game significantly or else see his or her entire party hit the dumpster to a single, 2-resource card. Another nice thing is that with so much action on one card, you don’t have to get greedy with it. Even if you get a 1-for-1, it’s quite the deal for 2 resources. Finally, Swipe was revealed to players earlier in the week. With that card and the rise of Ozzati and his Dragon’s Breath, multiple-target damage is on the rise in the TCG. What better way to combat that damage than to heal it while dealing some of your own?

Obviously this card is the multiplayer’s dream ability. The card damages everything, and you get to heal your team. Plus, with its cheap resource cost, the table will never be sure when it’ll hit. While armor and weapons may win the long-term battle, their card efficiencies are easily matched by this ability and the holy rollers who pack it. Expect to see a lot more Holy Priests at the next Two-Headed Ogre tournament at your local store or Darkmoon Faire.

If this card doesn’t do enough damage and healing for you, slap on a Sapphiron Drape from the Onyxia’s Lair treasure pack. That’s another 1 damage to each ally, and now you’re killing off Jeleane Nightbreeze. In addition, that’s healing all your allies for 2. See, raiding really does pay off!

It’s fitting that the one card that has the potential to completely wreck the Omedus the Punisher–rush strategy comes from the other side—the light side—of the Priest class. Holy Priests have been in the shadows for too long, and now with Holy Nova and the rest of the March of the Legion cards, it’s their time to shine. Let the light inside of you resonate and emanate while you strike down the nonbelievers to your righteous cause. Let no evil try to zerg you down, lest they feel the holy power inside. Dust off those copies of Boris Brightbeard and Mojo Mender Ja’nah. Bring them together with the new Holy Priest from March of the Legion, and help your opponents see the light.