Healyonar Tactica, Tips & Tricks [Resource]

[thematsjo]

Healyonar Tactica, Tips & Tricks

Introduction & Mission

This thread is meant to be(come) a community resource for anyone who’s interested in playing any kind of Lyonar Heal deck. It consists of general discussion of the archetype, prominent and recommended cards and interactions as well as (hopefully) a living archive of Lyonar Heal–aka ‘Healyonar’–decks that people are currently playing, or had been playing until recently. If you’re seriously interested in Healyonar decks please bookmark this thread so you never lose it (mods don’t seem to sticky anything here).

For now I’m the main contributor to this opening post, but I’d like this to be a community effort so I will be adding and editing based in part on community feedback, and I want to use the forum’s ‘Like’ system to structure this process. Use your ‘Likes’ to promote posts you think are valid, the more likes a post gets the more I know its contents is supported by community opinion. We’ll also be using this method to vet community decklists, but more on that later. I intend this thread to allow for a lot of discussion, but be forewarned that if you’re looking for advice to a Healyonar decklist you’re working on you should dedicate a post specifically to it. Finally, try to remain ON TOPIC, this is not a meme thread, social meetup or place to discuss non-Healyonar Lyonar stuff. Maybe someone else will make that Zealyonar thread you’re itching to take part in ;).

Strategy

First things first: my credentials. I’ve been playing Duelyst since early May, 2016 and have been playing Lyonar almost exclusively. I’ve been playing Zir’An almost all of that time, and the vast majority of my Zir’An decks have been Healyonar decks. I’ve been reaching Diamond with Healyonar decks for a few months now, topping at Rank 4 with less than an averaged hour of play each day. I consider myself an expert on the archetype right now and qualified to speak on its stengths and weakneses up to everything below S-Rank.

Definition comes first: What is a Healyonar deck? I’d define it as simply:
“A Lyonar deck whose efficacy is dependent on healing cards and effects to a significant degree.”

Having Zir’An Sunforge as your General is not enough, having a lot of healing in your deck is not enough, having a lot of survivable minions in your deck is not enough. And when do we call the dependence “significant?” Well that is up to community consensus.

Deck Speed & Viability
All currently possible Healyonar builds are mid-range combo decks. Aggro and beatdown decks are overwhelmingly linear decks (they typically don’t respond to your actions, they’re rushing face) that win games by attacking fast and hard, and lose by losing out of steam. Control decks win by stalling games out, surviving long enough until they get their winning hand and enough Mana to use it. Healyonar is slower than aggro and beatdown decks, but has no inevitable win condition (no way to almost definitely win the longer a match goes on). This position in the meta is very unfortunate because midrange decks and especially combo decks that lack an inevitable win condition (like Meldhai and Creep decks do) have a hard time competing. Funny thing to note is that this archetype can actually be more aggressive than you might first think; it has a lot of removal and crowd control options and needs to rush down control decks to win. This archetype is not currently viable at high level play as far as anyone has been able to tell. Denizens of Shim’Zar gave Healyonar a slew of excellent new tools, but it hasn’t been enough to make the archetype S-Rank viable, yet. Know this and adjust your expectations accordingly; just because an archetype has a snazzy tactica thread doesn’t mean it’s defining the meta. If you’re happy with Diamond Rank, or just happy to be playing a non-cheesey, tactical archetype that gives you matches that actually feel like you earned that victory or loss, welcome to the fold, soldier.

Board Presence over Damage per Turn
The Duelyst meme that Lyonar is only really scary when you allow us to develop board presence is felt especially strongly when playing Healyonar. This deck typically does not have a lot of ways to come back on the board and relies extensively on having one or more of your minions alive at the start of each of your turns. This fact makes keeping board presence more important than doing damage to your opponent’s General each turn. If you race face, you’re going to lose; instead try to control the board or outmaneuver enemy threats and wear your opponent down turn by turn rather than in one fell swoop. Set things up so your opponent is NEVER able to trade something into your minions, nor allow them to use their General to mop up. Instead force your opponent to spend cards from their hand to deal with everything you’re laying down. Force them to control you right back and desperately use their General to do it because the Health their General loses in this process allows you to swing the match right before the late game begins. Healyonar players should excel at positioning their General and minions, force their opponent into unfavorable trades and inefficient control and manage their hand better than their opponent does. Speaking of which–

Hand Control

Healyonar is a combo archetype: you have very few individually strong cards to your name. It’s almost always going to be Afterglow + threat, Healing Mystic + threat, Sundrop Elixir + threat etc and this means you need to carefully manage the amount of cards in your hand. Beatdown decks are built to accommodate for desperate top deck wins: Healyonar decks are not. Ideally you are balancing your hand size around 4-5 cards; 3 is too few and 2 is a real problem. During matches you will be forced to ask yourself if you really want to tempo out that Fiz right now or just hold on to it until you can actually trigger something off of its Opening Gambit. Good Healyonar players know when to keep cards in hand, and they know which cards to keep in hand and when to replace them. Martyrdom is an excellent early card, but usually counterproductive in the mid-to-late game for example.

Setting up Combos & Curving
Healyonar is all about combos, but in order to make them go off you need to not only get both cards and the Mana to play them, but you need a beneficial board state (something on the board that is damaged) to boot! The temptation, then, is to play cards ‘naked’ to set the board up for a combo the next turn. This allows you to play cards early and curve out (spend all your available mana each turn) and have an active minion that you can run into the enemy General so have something to heal! Win, win, win, right? No. In the meta as it exists right now your minion is very unlikely to get through an entire turn without getting dispelled or outright removed. Smart opponents know what happens when Lyonar gets its combos off, and they won’t let you do so, most of the time (especially early on when they still have all their removal). So instead you have to be patient, emphasize value over efficiency and play in a way that allows you to complete at least one combo during the very same turn you initiate it. Sunriser ideally isn’t a 4 Mana play, it’s a 5 Mana (Afterglow or Elixir) play at the earliest. Those weak 3/2 (Lightchaser), 2/4 (Sunforge lancer), 3/4 (Sunriser) and 4/4 (Sun Sister Sterope) bodies are way too weak to reliably survive and get value, so instead you should be trying to get the value right away. Even one trigger off each of these is enough to make them worth the investment, and getting something healed is almost always good anyway! Healyonar players should know when to curve and play efficiently and when to save their cards for far greater impact a turn or two later.

Win Conditions
And finally for this section we come to the typical Healyonar win conditions. These are the cards that–in my experience–are very likely to be the ones to close out a game. They are not the only ones let alone the only possible ones, but they are the three cards that tend to eke out that last bit of damage to put you over the edge. Healyonar has a tendency to struggle with that last 8 or so enemy Health; these cards offer a solution. Most (Excelsious is the exception) aren’t really win conditions in the traditional sense because you usually just play them naturally during matches, but they’re the close enough just bear with me.

1. Sunriser
   Especially now that Afterglow is able to target enemy minions Sunriser can come through as a real clutch play near the end of matches. Pushing through an extra 4 or 6 damage to the enemy’s face (nothing more satisfying than an 8 Mana Sunriser + Mystic + Afterglow + Elixir) really tends to matter, and when she does somehow survive a turn the combo of Sunriser hitting face and then using Immolation for (3 + 4 + 2 =) 9 damage with a 6 damage AoE is a lot of fun.

2. Lucent Beam
   I was pretty down on Lucent Beam when it was originally revealed, but I have to say I was completely wrong about it. It’s a great tool and the big reason for that is the simple fact that it can target the enemy General, unlike, say, True Strike or even Circle of Life. I can’t tell you how often I just stall a game out for a turn or two, waiting to draw into that second Lucent Beam to just burst my opponent down with 8 damage outta nowhere. Doing 4 damage is also just a big deal for controlling the board, and you can even use it on turn 1 to quickly eliminate some kind of snowballing piece of shit threat your opponent plays like a Pyromancer, Chakri Avatar or Shadow Watcher, or even a rogue Taygete threatening to ruin your day. Just a great removal and finisher card.

3. Holy Immolation
   Last but not least we have Holy Immolation; the classic. Healyonar’s not known for its Tiger plays but no matter what the situation Holy Immolation is there to clear a path or roast the enemy to cinders. I don’t think I need to say any more about this card. I personally don’t see this is a necessary card for Healyonar decks (I think it does more good in other lists), but I know a lot of people do and it’s just an excellent option.

4. Excelsious
   Rise of the Bloodborn’s Excelsious is designed to the big finisher for slower, control-oriented (Heal)Lyonar decks, and it’s likely to be exactly that. Big cards like these are especially vulnerable to removal and dispel, but if you manage to stick one you’ve probably just won the game instantaneously.

Faction Matchups

[details=This section is getting an overhaul after RotB drops]Abyssian - Cassyva Soulreaper
Healyonar does pretty well against Cassyva, and it’s not just because of Kelaino. Creep decks nowadays can have a bit of trouble keeping a Healyonar board empty, and strong removal cards like Martyrdom, Skorn, Sunriser etc help keep Crawlers and Juggernauts in check. This is one of those matchups that requires you to play fast to race against the Obliterate clock; swarming the board is a real, viable tactic here, just let Cass try to do the controlling.
Creep Matchup: Favored

Abyssian - Lilithe Blightchaser
Wraithling swarm decks tend to be even more manageable than Creep decks, and it’s not just because of Shadowdancer. Blistering Skorn and Sunriser are pretty much Healyonar staples and they’re both excellent at crowd control to a degree that it’s usually difficult for Lilithe to build that critical mass she needs to swing a game. Control the board hard against Lilithe and play for value because there’s little she can do (outside of launching a Revenant at you) as the match goes on.
Swarm Matchup: Favored

Lyonar - Argeon Highmayne
…
Aggro Matchup: Unfavored
Control Matchup: Favored
Midrange Matchup: Balanced
Zoo Matchup: Balanced

Lyonar - Zir’An Sunforge
Healyonar mirror matches–they do happen from time to time–have a tendency to be absolutely hilarious. Matches come down to figuring out how to best benefit from your opponent’s heal triggers while denying them their Purity effects. Aegis Barrier can be especially strong here because it allows you to park a Lancer or Sterope to just rack up value turn after turn. Play your Purity minions fast and hard and try to feed off of the opposing tactics. Occasional Provoke decks are harder to gauge and usually more lopsided one way or the other. An early Ironcliffe can screw you over if you didn’t pack Martyrdom and it can be difficult to pierce enemy armor in general. Big Lancer buffs, Lightchasers and minions like Ruby Rifter can save your bacon here.
Bulkyonar Matchup: Balanced
Mirror Matchup: Balanced

Magmar - Starhorn the Seeker
…
Mechmar Matchup: Favored
Millmar Matchup: Favored
Zoomar: Favored
Midmar: Unfavored

Magmar - Vaath the Immortal
Vaath is probably the single worst matchup Healyonar gets. In fact, it really struggles with most competitive Magmar decks. ALL the Magmar removal is devastating for the archetype, but Elucidator and especially Makantor Warbeast make a mockery of much the archetype runs. 4 Health gets taken out way too easy, and Vaath is too strong in the late game to allow victories by attrition. Egg and Grow variants tend to be more manageable due to Healyonar AoE and removal, but the Smash and mixed variants are really tough wins. Big Taunts like Primus Shieldmaster and especially Ironcliffe Guardians are a necessity if you want to survive; tech those in if you’re running into a lot of Magmar.
Eggmar Matchup: Favored
Growmar Matchup: Balanced
Smash Matchup: Unfavored

Songhai - Kaleos Xaan
Kaleos Backstab decks don’t fare too well against Healyonar decks. I know them best for their insane opening bursts of damage (Katara + Inner Focus and you know the rest) but their near-total inability to follow up on that pressure after I remove the early threat and start healing back up to full. Positioning is the key factor here of course; but don’t be too afraid to let Zir’An tank the early damage so you can save a key minion. The typical spell damage component present in pretty much all Songhai decks don’t pack enough oomph to seriously threaten Healyonar either, so you’re usually good to go. No matchup is a slam-dunk for Healyonar decks, but in general you should feel pretty confident whenever you match up against a Songhai deck.
Backstabhai Matchup: Favored

Songhai - Reva Eventide
I see a lot of people complaining about Reva’s power, and understandably so. Lucky for you then that you’ve become interested in an archetype that deals with both of the currently typical Reva decks. There are a few reasons for this, the first is Healyonar’s love for Four Winds Magi. Just like Shadow Sister Kelaino and Shadowdancer, Four Winds Magi heals the enemy General, allowing you a slew of Purity triggers. Songhai needs their Magi, and messing up their ability to play them makes a huge difference. Combohai decks can win, but they’re unreliable and slow and Zir’An is able to keep her health nice and high. Spellhai decks can also win, but they tend to struggle with actually dealing enough damage to do so. Skorn, Sunriser, Sterope True Strikes and Lucent Beams help take out Heartseekers and Avatars, we have Martyrdom (or Lucent Beam in a pinch) for the Fox and all the 4 Health minions just barely survive the rampant Phoenix Fire barrages. I can’t tell you how often my opponent just barely failed to get me into Spiral Technique range because I had an Elixir or Circle.
Combohai Matchup: Favored
Spellhai Matchup: Favored

Vanar - Faie Bloodwing
Most matches against Faie decks turn out as pretty balanced affairs with a lot of back-and-forth going on and a lot of position-based play. While they have access to a ton of cards to thwart our combos, they typically don’t mount that much of an aggressive push, opting instead for a slower damage-over-time approach for the win. This is a type of battle that Healyonar can do pretty well in, and as a result you get interesting matches that tend to come to satisfying conclusions. You need to be very aware of Vanar’s threats, and you need to be very good at positioning, but these matches are win-able overall.
Infiltrate Matchup: Balanced
Zephyr Matchup: Balanced

Vanar - Kara Winterblade
Kara’s new incarnation is more manageable than the old, but is still a tough one for Healyonar. The multitude of bodies with >2 Health that Kara can pump out makes it easy to get overwhelmed, and the strong transformation effects and removal make it difficult to get momentum going. It’s difficult to pin this state of affairs on specific cards; it’s just an archetype that works well against Healyonar right now.
Wallnar Matchup: Unfavored

Vetruvian - Scioness Sajj
The Scioness and her Artifacts make for a very fair matchup against Healyonar because both approaches rely on wearing the opponent down over time by exploiting value. Healyonar doesn’t tend to pack a lot of higher Health minions that suffer from Sajj’s BBS especially, and you’re already naturally likely to be blocking Sajj’s path diagonally anyway. Wildfire Ankh is a nightmare if she can get it to stick though, so be sure to stick to her! In most matches you’re likely to be the more aggressive party.
Artifact Matchup: Balanced

Vetruvian - Zirix Starstrider
…
Obelysk Matchup: Unfavored[/details]

[thematsjo]

Note: “Purity” effects are effects that trigger whenever Health is restored to a General or Minion.

Healyonar Cards

Your General
There are currently no Healyonar decks around (that I know of) that use Argeon Highmayne as its General (Healyonar needs all the healing it can get), so we’ll be assuming your General is Zir’An Sunforge from here on in. Where Argeon’s Bloodborn Spell (BBS) allows your minions to be more aggressive and trade up, Zir’An’s BBS helps you prevent the enemy from trading with your minions at all. Argeon enables trading, Zir’An blocks it, essentially. Playing accordingly, you should be setting things up so your opponent always has to spend at least two resources to trade with your board. You can now use Afterglow on enemy minions and this is great for giving you late game triggers when your board is empty; healing an enemy minion for a Sunriser lethal is a maneuver that really gets the endorphins flowing.

Purity Cards

1. Lightchaser [2M]
   Lightchaser isn’t an essential Healyonar pick but I’m personally a big fan of it. Lightchaser is one of those “deal with it or die” cards that usually draws out all kinds of removal and awkward enemy plays, partly because even experienced players tend to panic when they see it, but mostly because they know it can get really out of hand. It’s a slower card, but getting one to stick early for a cheap trade into a 4 or 5-drop, or even using it to go face for heaps of damage is very powerful. It doesn’t have an immediate effect which is sad, but then again neither do Windblade Adept or Azurite Lion and everybody seems to be just fine with them. Word of warning: do not make a habit of reducing your hand size just to buff a Lightchaser beyond a 4/3; it’s usually not worth it in the long term.
   Tier Status: Optional

2. Sunforge Lancer [3M]
   This card was just the kind of push Healyonar decks needed! Denizens of Shim’Zar was very kind to Healyonar and the Lancer was just the kind of 3-drop these decks need. While its stats are nothing to get excited over, its effect has enough potential to earn a spot in most Healyonar decks. Even one trigger puts your General at 3 Attack which makes them exponentially more likely to trade against minions, and more boosts continue to be worth the investment. Dispel makes Lancer very sad, however, so (in general) don’t overcommit on getting like an 8 Attack Zir’An early on.
   Tier Status: Recommended

3. Sunriser [4M]
   Sunriser is a Healyonar classic card and after a slight hiatus she’s back in action thanks to Shim’Zar’s promotion of a lot more minions on the board at any one time. Between all the different pets, the prevalence of Artifacts and various other cards Sunriser’s very likely to have a significant impact if you’re able to trigger her once or twice.
   Tier Status: Recommended

4. Sun Sister Sterope [4M]
   Sterope is one of the more controversial Healyonar cards; I love her, but many players feel she’s too slow because she lacks an immediate impact on the board. She’s the most combo-reliant of the Purity cards and timing her correctly is very difficult. The great thing about Sterope though is that she does a lot of things at once. She helps you out with hand advantage, she allows you to control the board very precisely (especially against Ranged minions) and she works together very well with Arcanyst cards. Don’t underestimate the utility to damage your own minions to heal them again and getting another trigger either. You should know that when you replace cards you never replace into the card you just replaced ie you never get a True Strike when you replace a True Strike. This means that even if 19/20 cards in your deck were to be True Strikes, you’ll get the 1/20 card if you replace a True Strike. The True Strikes ultimately don’t mess up your hand so they’re almost never dead in your hand; you can just replace them for something else. On balance though, I’m going to say that the card is non-essential as long as you get other sources of card draw.
   Tier Status: Optional

5. Excelsious [8M]
   Healyonar gets its big finisher card in the form of Excelsious! The more you’ve healed, the more powerful it becomes, and if it survives its Exhaustion turn you’re likely to have just won the match then and there. It’s likely to find a place in slower, control-ish decks where it can be combined with a ton of healing, Aegis Barrier and maybe even Magnetize for a late-game near-OHKO. Whether or not that’s going to be a successful approach remains to be seen.
   Tier Status: Unknown

6. Lucent Beam [2M]
   Lucent Beam. It’s a key card for Healyonar right now. Get two or three of them and enjoy all the utility they bring. If you maintain good hand control and make sure you can enable its 4-damage mode when you need it this card is just great for all the reasons I’ve already listed. Use it for control and as a finisher and be happy.
   Tier Status: Essential

Healing Triggers

1. Azure Herald [2M]
   Azure Herald is the new kid on the block, but what a card it is! A 1/4 body is really useful in surviving typical early damage and its effect is really strong. Herald is obviously competing with Fiz and Healing Mystic, but you’re likely to have room for both Herald and at least one of the other options for most Healyonar decks. The difference between healing 2 and 3 damage isn’t huge, but it’s significant and the more survivable body counts for a lot. The big tradeoff is the reduced flexibility when compared to Fiz and Mystic, so Herald is especially strong in Lancer-based Healyonar decks when compared to more minion-based ones. Healyonar does tend to lack attack buffs, so Herald is by far the most defensive of the typical 2-drop picks. Honestly, you’re likely to pass over Fiz for Herald, and I find it difficult to blame you. Lightchaser + Herald + Mystic is probably going to be a staple 2-drop combination for Healyonar for the foreseeable future.
   Tier Status: Recommended

2. Fiz [2M]
   The problem with Healing Mystic is that you can only play three of them. After extensive testing I feel comfortable stating that Fiz is nót as good as the good ol’ Mystic. It’s not a strong enough body by itself and it’s too easy to kite it into enemy advantage (Lantern Fox, Battle Panddo and Taygete) and the lack of control can really mess up your positioning. That said, I still like and play the card; it’s a decent opening play if you position it right and I find the cheap heal trigger really valuable later in the game. I don’t begrudge anyone passing on Fiz, but give the card a second look if you dismissed it out of hand. The new Azure Herald puts a damper on poor Fiz though especially for Lancer-based decks.
   Tier Status: Situational

3. Healing Mystic [2M]
   Healing Mystic is one of those sleeper cards that you’d never peg as being as good as it is. Tons of decks run Mystics, and for good reason. It’s a fair, flexible, powerful card that works well in a lot of decks, and it works even better in Healyonar. Play it, love it, live it.
   Tier Status: Essential

4. Day Watcher [3M]
   I’ve been running Day Watcher in my Healyonar deck to decent effect. Its big issue is that it’s a kind of ‘win more’ card that usually doesn’t help you come back from a losing situation, but it does really help solidify a strong board state where you would otherwise lack the synergy to leverage overwhelming threat. Day Watcher is weak when you’re on the back foot, but really strong when you’re ready to mount your offensive push. Whether or not this card will fit your needs depends on too many factors for me to definitively recommend the card so I’ll just say that I like Day Watcher a lot and don’t plan on getting rid of it.
   Tier Status: Situational

5. Sun Seer [3M]
   It’s easy to forget about Sun Seer, and I agree it’s not a great card right now. Its effect is strong, but its 2/4 body just doesn’t impact the board enough: its inability to take down 2-drops is a real killer. To boot, it’s competing for a slot with the likes of Sunforge Lancer and Silverguard Knight: that’s some stiff competition. The only reason I’m going to judge Sun Seer as a Situational card is because it’s decently powered in slow Arcanyst Heal–ArcaHeal–decks where you can buff it with Owlbeast Sage (yes it’s an Arcanyst) and potentially Shiro (who already enjoys buffing Illusions). Otherwise, don’t bother right now.
   Tier Status: Situational

6. Emerald Rejuvenator [4M]
   Just too slow, that’s the sad fate of the Rejuvenator. It’s a great double heal trigger card, but at 4 mana you’re almost never going to be able to play both it and a Purity card during the same turn. Yeah, at 6 mana you can combo it with a Lightchaser, but you really should be doing other things at that point in the game. I’ve given this card a lot of chances, but it doesn’t earn a spot in the very crowded Lyonar 4-mana card slot.
   Tier Status: Not Recommended

7. Suntide Maiden [4M]
   You’d think Suntide Maiden would be an absolute shoo-in for Healyonar decks, right? Weirdly enough, it isn’t right now. It’s too slow and doesn’t pack enough punch so she’s almost always getting dispelled or removed before she gets to activate. A 3/6 body at 4 isn’t strong enough in an archetype that can already have trouble keeping pressure on the board; it’s Argeon’s play styles and BBS that make this card threatening and Healyonar doesn’t make it shine. Getting Sunrisers, Holy Immolations and even Arclyte Regalia for this coveted slot is just more beneficial. I hope that changes, because I’ve advocated for this card for a long time before admitting defeat.
   Tier Status: Not Recommended

8. Lux Ignis [5M]
   I’ve always been curious about this card but never seriously tried it out. Ranged is good, and its effect has the potential to be good, but it has no immediate impact, has really poor stats and competes with Circle of Life and Guardian at the 5-slot so I can’t see it working out. I’ll defer comment to people who have serious experience with Lux Ignis.
   Tier Status: Unknown

9. Sworn Defender [5M]
   Sworn Defender is statted quite a bit higher, but it seems to have the Suntide Maiden problem of being too slow. First you play it, then it has to survive a turn and get damaged in time for it to be healed up by its effect! And again at the 5-slot I don’t see things working out. Let me know if you have contrary experiences though.
   Tier Status: Unknown

10. Sundrop Elixir [1M]
    Sundrop Elixir is a good card that sees limited play outside of Healyonar. Its big issue is just that it doesn’t cantrip (doesn’t replace itself) meaning you give up hand advantage for a card that’s not likely to make up for that cost! The great thing about it is that it offers an insanely strong heal (eat your heart out, Earth Sphere) at a rock-bottom price even on between-BBS turns, so if you can circumvent the hand advantage issue it usually works out really well! Luckily, Healyonar has just the tool: Sun Sister Sterope. Play Elixir when Sterope’s on the board, get a True Strike back and boom, no more hand disadvantage. Alternatively just getting a bit more draw from cards like Lionheart Blessing or Sojourner could do the trick as well. All of this of course keeping in mind that it’s possible that it might not be worth all the setup and you should just be playing threats instead. I can see that point, but my personal experience makes me encourage you to give it a shot.
    Tier Status: Situational

11. Martyrdom [3M]
    Martyrdom is another one of those controversial cards for Healyonar. It’s an excellent piece of removal, but at the cost of healing the enemy General, putting you farther away from lethal. In a fast meta doing something like that is very risky. Relying on a Martydrom to take care of an enemy Tombstone can bite you in the ass in the long term, but a the same time this card can be a real life saver against threats like Lantern Fox, Nimbus and Rawr that benefit from taking damage. The faster you want your Healyonar deck to be, the worse Martyrdom gets, the slower it is, the better it becomes. It’s an especially powerful early removal card, and one you should consider including maybe 2 copies of.
    Tier Status: Situational

12. Holy Immolation [4M]
    Holy Immolation is one of those evergreen Lyonar cards and there are very few decks in which it doesn’t do well. I could leave it at that, but I want to note that Healyonar isn’t actually one of the archetypes where this card shines; you tend to need the mana to play minions more than for crowd control, of which Sunriser and Blistering Skorn tend to offer enough, so it tends to get replaced until the end game where you can use it to push the last bit of damage or clear the way. It’s also fighting for the 4-slot which is always tight for Lyonar. If you’re on a budget I recommend getting other cards first, and splurging on Immolations later as Spirit permits. Still, if you have it, the card is good and can be used to good effect.
    Tier Status: Recommended

13. Circle of Life [5M]
    Circle of Life is a pretty strong removal card with a really useful double function. 5 Health is really significant for letting you survive into the late game, and 5 damage is solid. Circle’s big problem right now is that it’s just a tad too weak to take out some key big threats like Vorpal Reaver and Nimbus, and of course it doesn’t leave a body on board. Still, I find that 2 or sometimes 3 copies help me out a lot. Combining the card with Purity cards pushes it as a strong card in my book. A set of these alongside Guardians or even just by itself works well in my experience.
    Tier Status: Recommended

[thematsjo]

##Tech Picks

1. Arclyte Regalia [4M]
   Controversial opinion time: I don’t think Arclyte Regalia is that good in Healyonar decks. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an excellent card; probably the second best Lyonar 4-drop after Holy Immolation. But preventing damage is not something you really want to be doing. You’re going to be running into tons of situations where your board is empty and you need a trigger off a Sunforge Lancer or Sunriser to get back in the game. So you need to play your Purity card and heal something. How do you solve that puzzle? Well, you make sure you can heal your General! Mystic, Fiz, Sundrop Elixir, Circle of Life etc all allow you to heal your General, but you can’t get those triggers if your General is already at max Health! You want to be able to hit the enemy General as a guaranteed method of keeping your General (at least slightly) damaged so you can get your combos off. Regalia has anti-synergy with these needs, making it a suboptimal pick. I know there are players who do run it, and it’s still a strong card, especially in more mixed decks that have Healyonar components, but keep this issue in mind before you empty your wallet for a Healyonar deck. Everywhere else, this card is awesome.
   Tier Status: Optional

2. Dawn’s Eye [6M]
   Where I’m kind of down on Regalia, I’m pretty positive about Dawn’s Eye. This is an Artifact that actually works well in Healyonar decks: it has no anti-synergy and works well in a deck where you often have your General in the thick of things. It doesn’t compete with a lot of other cards at 6 mana and the extra 4 attack helps you close out games, especially when coupled with Lancer buffs. Dawn’s Eye is best played in conjunction with other Artifacts for maximum value though, so try it if you have it but don’t buy it specifically for this archetype.
   Tier Status: Optional

3. Shiro Puppydragon [2M]
   Healyonar decks can struggle with their damage output and their minions’ Health tends to be too low to benefit from Divine Bond. This, coupled with the relatively slow nature of Healyonar decks makes Shiro a card worth considering. Its 4 Health makes it likely to survive turn 1 (not against Vetruvian Tiger + Wish though) for an early heal target and pushing your minions’ Attack from 2 to 3 and 3 to 4 makes quite a bit of difference. I ran Shiro in my Arcanyst + Healyonar combo deck a while back and it worked wonders there buffing hordes of Illusions turn after turn.
   Tier Status: Situational

4. Silverguard Knight [3M]
   This is another one of those great, individually strong cards that doesn’t really fit into Healyonar. Not due to lack of merit mind you, but due to the other cards competing at the 3-slot! Before Sunforge Lancer I ran 3x Knights, but now the Lancer and cards like Martyrdom and Divine Bond and perhaps even Day Watcher fight for space. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of good Healyonar decks with Silverguard Knights, it’s just saying that it’s a card that you don’t necessarily need.
   Tier Status: Optional

5. Sojourner [3M]
   Sojourner is a pretty natural fit in Healyonar: it has a useful effect and its 5 Health makes it very survivable. If you’re looking for draw options I think Sojourner is a very plausible pick. The issue is that Healyonar doesn’t tend to have ways to buff attack, and the 3-slot is pretty crowded nowadays so it can be hard to find room.
   Tier Status: Optional

6. Blistering Skorn [4M]
   While thematically completely unconnected Blistering Skorn seems like a card tailor-made for Healyonar. It pings down swarms and Artifacts and provides you with a guaranteed minion to heal for your Purity effects! Skorn is excellent almost anytime you play it, and most Purity minions’ 4 Health mean they just barely survive ping + enemy General damage, allowing for maximum value healing! And its own–effecitvely 4/4 body–is strong enough to do work all by itself. I find it very difficult to overstate the power of Blistering Skorn in this archetype, so I’ll just say that I think you should always be running them.
   Tier Status: Essential

7. Lightbender [4M]
   Why would someone ever not recommend Lightbender? When a deck has almost nothing to summon it next to. Sunforge Lancer is a godsend, but it also makes Zir’an vulnerable to Lightbender’s dispel and there are very few cards in the archetype (Mystic and Skorn come to mind) that don’t have ongoing effects. You really benefit from dispel in the current meta, but the anti-synergy is too strong here. Have a look at Ephemeral Shrouds and Sun Blooms instead.
   Tier Status: Not Recommended

8. Ironcliffe Guardian [5M]
   Ironcliffe Guardian has been a Lyonar staple card for a long time, and is likely to continue to see play into the future. Investing in 3 Guardians tends to be worth it anyway, and the card works well in Healyonar. The high Health makes it a great healing target, and it’s quite essential if you want to run a Healyonar list with Divine Bond because the typical Healyonar cards have such low natural Health.
   Tier Status: Optional

9. Ruby Rifter [6M]
   Ruby Rifter does not seem like an intuitive match for Healyonar, but starts making more and more sense the longer you think about it. Healyonar has trouble maintaining hand size and closing out games: Ruby Rifter solves both issues. Zir’An tends to stay on the front lines for the entirety of most of her matches so it’s very unlikely you won’t be able to trigger Rifter’s effect at least once, which is all you really need to make her worth it. This is one of those cards that encourages the use of Blistering Skorn as well, and is a minion you might consider running Aegis Barrier for.
   Tier Status: Recommended

10. Solarius [6M]
    Solarius has been seeing quite a bit more use than I was expecting from the card, and I can really understand why for Zeal and Zoo decks. For Healyonar, Solarius is too weak and too slow at 6 mana in a deck that needs all the momentum it can get. Pausing for an entire turn at 6 mana slows the archetype down way too much to consider Solarius a viable pick. There are better options for Healyonar.
    Tier Status: Not Recommended

11. Grandmaster Z’ir [7M]
    Z’ir is a very fun card, but is really best in other archetypes. It shines when you have a board that lets you threaten the opponent so you can deny enemy lethal when your General’s low on health or when you can surprise-Divine-Bond it for 17 damage a lot of opponents don’t see coming. In Healyonar you’re keeping your General’s Health high anyway and you’re investing Sunforge Lancer buffs which you lose if your General does somehow die unexpectedly. It’s possible that the Grandmaster works out in slower decks, but I believe you’ll be happier running more reliable late game cards like Pandora and the new Sky Phalanx.
    Tier Status: Not Recommended

12. Aegis Barrier [1M]
    Aegis Barrier is a card oozing with potential that often finds itself cut because of a lack of space. Lyonar decks tend to curve pretty well so having 1 left over mana in any given turn can be difficult to manage. This issue is even more pronounced in Healyonar decks that frequently use a lot of low-cost cards and need their big cards as soon as possible. That said, the utility of being immune to (non-Vanar) enemy spells is pretty high in a deck that regulary encourages parking a minion in the back to build up Purity value. Sunforge Lancer and Sun Sister Sterope especially benefit from the immunity and others simply appreciate it. To boot, Aegis Barrier thins your deck a bit allowing you to be even more consistent with your draws. Don’t go splurging on Barriers for this deck, but if you have a few you could try it out; you might find it a tight squeeze though.
    Tier Status: Situational

13. Aerial Rift [1M]
    Aerial Rift has all the benefits and problems of Aegis Barrier, but with a less reliable effect. However, there are three reasons to consider the card anyway. First off, it allows you to tactically place Dispel effects with Ephemeral Shroud or Lightbender (Mechaz0r anyone?), avoiding the self-dispel drawback of the latter. Second, you can airdrop Sunrisers in the exact most beneficial spots as a tactical nuke (combos with Holy Immolation in the late game as well) and it allows you to park those Purity minions safely out of harms way even while surrounded by foes. Cards like these are a pretty hard sell in non-Arcanyst Lyonar decks right now, I just wanted to cover all the bases for your consideration here.
    Tier Status: Situational

14. Lionheart Blessing [1M]
    “What’s this card doing on the list, nobody plays Lionheart Blessing right?” Well, not too many people. I included it here to point out that this card combos exceedingly well with Sunriser because her effect not only triggers the Blessing, but does so for EVERY affected enemy. Sunriser surrounded by 4 Wraithlings? trigger her effect and draw 4 cards. This cheap combo can provide you with an unorthodox draw engine that thins your deck in a pinch, making your other draws more consistent. There are definitely problems with this card, but I thought I should at least make you aware of this card’s potential.
    Tier Status: Optional

15. Sun Bloom [2M]
    I don’t like Ephmeral Shroud in this deck: there I said it. Sun Bloom has no range limitation (bye bye Mechazor) and can affect multiple tiles at the same time (bye bye Creep): these are qualities that bump Sun Bloom up over the Shroud. We’ve already gone over the problem with Lightbender, so I’ll leave it at that. You need a few sources of dispel right now, so if you disagree with me on Sun Bloom make sure you get something else.
    Tier Status: Essential

16. Tempest [2M]
    Tempest continues to be a strong card; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, but all of Healyonar’s 4 Health minions synergizes really poorly with it because it doesn’t leave them with enough Health to survive combat with a lot of stuff on the board. 2 Health is of course easy for Generals to take out and a lot of commonly played cards have 2 Attack. On top of that, Healyonar already has crowd control cards in the form of Blistering Skorn, Sunriser and Holy Immolation. Finally, Tempest doesn’t leave a body, which you tend to need.
    Tier Status: Not Recommended

17. Divine Bond [3M]
    This archetype (ironically) just doesn’t run a lot of high Health minions, so Divine Bond doesn’t do as much. Sure, you can run Ironcliffe Guardians and keep them healthy enough a Divine Bond can win you a game, but then you should really be playing an Argeon Highmayne deck that can actually build up the pressure to reliably pull off a move like that. At 3 Mana you have a lot of other picks that should be taking priority.
    Tier Status: Not Recommended

18. Sky Phalanx [8M]
    I’ve been seeing a lot of people posting Healyonar lists using Sky Phalanx, and I can understand why. It’s a really strong card that has the potential to push the deck over the top in the late game. “Just play strong cards” is rarely bad advice, and Sky Phalanx is a strong card. My experience however pegs it as too slow and too frequently a dead draw. I rarely run into situation where I have 8 mana AND would not rather be comboing healing effects. If my board is empty at 8 mana things tend to be hopeless for me anyway. My Healyonar decks are relatively fast though, so perhaps the card shines far more in slower variants.
    Tier Status: Optional

[thematsjo]

Community Decklists

Submitting your Deck
If you want to submit a Healyonar deck, enter your decklist into the Manaspring Deckbuilder and save the deck as a Landscape PNG image file. Then leave a reply to this thread in this format:

Deck Name: 
Highest Rank Reached:
<Your Decklist image>
Brief discussion on how your deck is supposed to work
Your win condition card(s)

Your Deck Name doesn’t have to be descriptive per sé and just be honest about the highest Rank you managed to reach using the deck after playing it seriously for at least a week or so.

I’ll add your deck (using a link to your reply) to the Community Decklists section if A) Your deck is actually a Healyonar deck and B) it seems to be a decent deck (ideally it gets a bunch of likes, but experience suggests that’s not a good thing to bank on).

Community Decklists (Sorted by Date)
Deck Name - Author [Date Posted] [Highest Rank]

• Zir’An, Stalwart - @TheMatsjo [2016/12/18] [Rank 3]
• Control Healyonar - @ancientmage [2016/12/06] [Rank 10]
• Zir’An, Lawgiver II - @TheMatsjo [2016/10/21] [Rank 6]
• Heal Storm - @conamin [2016/12/05] [Rank 7]
• Control Heal - Brian Kibler [2016/12/01] [Rank 5-ish]
• Zir’An, Vengeant - @TheMatsjo [2016/11/28] [Rank 5]
• Mythical Hobo - @hoboforhire [2016/11/21] [Rank 11]
• British Healthcare 2.0 - @mythicalbrit [2016/11/20] [Rank ?]
• Dioltas Heal Bond - @linearfox [2016/11/07] [Rank S]
• British Healthcare - @mythicalbrit [2016/11/01] [Rank S]
• Heal the Burn - @Salesninja [2016/10/27] [Rank 3]
• Bulky Bar Healyonar - @Humancalc [2016/10/22] [Rank 3-ish]
• Zir’An, Lawgiver - @TheMatsjo [2016/10/21] [Rank 4]
• Shim’Zar Healyonar - Brian Kibler [2016/09/26] [Rank 3]

[thematsjo]

##Zir’An, Lawgiver

Rank 4

[details=Outdated, see version II]

Deck Discussion

The Lawgiver–aka ‘Zir’An Smash!’–deck uses Zir’An Sunforge as its pivot. It’s a Healyonar deck that fully commits to the theme and uses Zir’An as its main source of damage and healing target. The idea is to use Sunforge Lancer to beef her up and use most of the deck’s healing effects on Zir’An herself. You want to keep her close to the action to deal damage and take it which allows you to body block for your key Purity minions and almost always have a good healing target.

A lot of common decks have trouble dealing enough damage to whittle Zir’An down because many don’t pack nearly enough gas to plow through a possible 25 (base Health) + 6 (Fiz) + 6 (Mystic) + ? (Day Watcher) + 15 (Elixir) + ? (Martyrdom on your own minion) + 15 (Circle) = 52 and likely more Health! This means you can take the punishment until you reach the 5-6 mana you need to start doing all the crazy stuff. Be ready to salt your noodles with your opponent’s tears as they helplessly watch you recover Health from <10 to >20 in a few turns .

Blistering Skorn and Sunriser deliver crowd control, Sun Bloom dispels where needed, Sterope and Ruby Rifter maintain a decent hand size. I run 3-ofs as much as possible to maintain the consistency a combo deck like this really demands. PS: Dat mana curve doe.

Win Conditions

This is a relatively fast and aggressive Healyonar deck that tends to generate value from its control tools. Skorn, Sterope and Sunriser allow you to effectively control the board and the entire deck is geared towards being strong in the mid-game. This deck has a few potential win conditions including a buffed Zir’An and Sunriser, but the main two closers tend to be Lucent Beam and a big late-game Ruby Rifter. This deck regularly has the ability to build up a board presence of 3-4 minions, allowing you to semi-swarm some opponents (made insane through Day Watcher), but you’re still most likely to cse things out with a big swing from a Rifter or the occasional giant Lightchaser.[/details]

Link to the Lawgiver II deck.

[humancalc]

Nice deck thematsjo. Ruby Rifter is an interesting idea.
How good is Daywatcher?

Here is my own Ziran deck.

Has a bit more provokes. I lose often when I burn my hand so trying Solarius. Love a Sterope that lives and keeps refilling my hand . Does struggle against very big minions.
I did play other decks but won my last few diamond games with this. So a diamond/S rank deck.

[akurane]

I remember facing this deck. You pummeled me yesterday with this when I was testing my wall Kara deck .

[cassador]

Just an idea from a non lyonar player: Has anyone tested a Midrange Lyonar list with Argeon over Ziran and the sunforge lancer - regalia - azurite lion - day watcher - (lysian Brawler) combo? So basically some strange mashup between Zoo and one-man-army?

[salesninja]

Hey I just wanted to say how much I dig this thread! I have been tryign to find the sweer spot with my healonar deck and I think I have finally come up with a list that feels “right”

I call it “Heal the Burn”

The Aegis Barriers are key. Lots of great targets for it (Avenger!) And it cycles. I am planning on trying out the Nov 2 drop in place of Fiz

Made some revisions, and am getting better results.

Biggest issue with Healonar is its a combo deck, and if you are missing a piece, you are screwed You can only have 3 of key cards…

Enter Keeper of the Vale! This card is amazing with a deck full of High value minions. Keeping track of what has died is key, but I am rarley disapointed with whatever body I pull back in. No one expects keeper in this deck. They expend tons of resources killing your purity minion, and bam huge tempo swing.

The Skorn is a 3 of and the workhorse of this deck. I feel like he is essential, as he does so much vs the current Meta, and he activates healing to boot.

Lucent Beam is amazing too. I keep wanting to put 3 of them in there

I thought this list would be light on removal, but I havent needed it too much because you can extend the life of your minions as you go. If you get avenger up and rolling with an ageis on him, the mad scramble to kill him is huge. If you have a keeper in hand, cut and tun, and you can resummon him somewhere else behing the keepers body.

I keep trying to plug holy immolation in, but its too awkward for a deck that has to have all its pieces in a row.

I also Dropped Lancer and Tracer (as much as I love it) to streamline the plan with this deck. I will probably do another list focusing on attack buffs with the Lancer, but for now, this deck has been sweet.

Hope people enjoy it as much as I am! I got to Rank 3 with this list.

The Key with this deck is to have a plan, protect your key minions with Aegis. Don’t shy away from takign face damage, but dont let yourself get to burned down health wise to get bursted out.

[thematsjo]

[quote=“humancalc, post:6, topic:5331”]
Nice deck thematsjo. Ruby Rifter is an interesting idea.
How good is Daywatcher?

Has a bit more provokes. I lose often when I burn my hand so trying Solarius. Love a Sterope that lives and keeps refilling my hand . Does struggle against very big minions.
I did play other decks but won my last few diamond games with this. So a diamond/S rank deck.[/quote]

Thank you very much! Day Watcher is good, but situational: it wins games if I establish a board (which does happen), otherwise it gets replaced. I mostly get a lot of value from it and honestly I need just one Purity trigger off it to make it worth the investment, everything beyond that is just gravy. I suspect its unassuming demeanor and lack of immediate on-board threat allows it to survive far more situations than it has any right to.

I like your deck! Azure Herald will be the ticket for me as well; I see you’re taking things slightly more defensively, you have plenty of healing triggers so I don’t epect you’re missing Day Watcher (or similar). How often do you get to play Solarius? And is the Guardian impactful enough without an attack buff?

Has anyone tested a Midrange Lyonar list with Argeon over Ziran and the sunforge lancer - regalia - azurite lion - day watcher - (lysian Brawler) combo? So basically some strange mashup between Zoo and one-man-army?

I haven’t and haven’t run into it (yet) but that seems fun! Celerity-Heal is an orginal concept here, it’s too bad Lysian Brawler isn’t a 3/5 otherwise I think the idea would see some serious testing. I’m not sure I want to give it a serious whirl as things stand right now.

[quote=“salesninja, post:9, topic:5331, full:true”]
I have been trying to find the sweet spot with my healyonar deck and I think I have finally come up with a list that feels “right”

I call it “Heal the Burn”[/quote]

Sworn Avenger! Now that is an original pick right there–very cool–and it makes a lot of sense here. And Silhouette Tracer to boot; you rebel. How are you doing for draw? Seems like Rifter might come in a bit late, or do you curve up to 6 mana? Honestly, I think Avenger might be a Ranged pick that’ll actually prove competitive here (especially with the Barriers), and pushing the ‘Emo’ self-harm sub-theme further in general looks like a winner to me. Skorn is definitely essential. Very rad.

PS: added both decks to the decklist section :3

[cassador]

I haven’t and haven’t run into it (yet) but that seems fun! Celerity-Heal is an orginal concept here, it’s too bad Lysian Brawler isn’t a 3/5 otherwise I think the idea would see some serious testing. I’m not sure I want to give it a serious whirl as things stand right now.

True that, a 3/5 bralwer would be amazing.

[auradude]

What about replacing the Lightchasers with Azure Herald? I feel like that might be more useful; I often sacrifice board state trying to get a buffed Lightchaser going.

Is Zir’an doing okay? I’d personally replace some combonation of one Lancer, one Avenger, and one Ironcliffe for a few Silverguard Knights, but that’s just me. I think your frontline comes in too late into the match and your lower cost minions could end up dying before they can really get going, and Provoke 3/5 gives you much more board presence while you build up your value minions. Then again I’m Rank 7 and haven’t tested the deck out yet. It looks great though! Silhouette lethals out of nowhere must be hilarious.

[humancalc]

I like your deck! Azure Herald will be the ticket for me as well; I see you’re taking things slightly more defensively, you have plenty of healing triggers so I don’t epect you’re missing Day Watcher (or similar). How often do you get to play Solarius? And is the Guardian impactful enough without an attack buff?

TY. Solarius is pretty late game, maybe 8+ mana turns. Games are pretty fast these days so not that often. Naturally you need a turn that you aren’t pressure too much.
Sterope is what I try to set up, which keeps my hand replenished. When it gets removed Solarius is my plan B for cards. Sterope does needs cards to keep going. Solarius saves you when you have nothing. Feels like a god with Solarius… until removed.
Ironcliffe Guardian is of course not as scary as with Argeon’s million damage buffs. I guess it’s more for control than damage. Provoke still protects and keeps opponents still. Punch and spam bbs to kill slowly

That deck name

[thedrowningsailor]

I am a big fan of these heal decks and I greatly appreciate the insight you put into this thread. I made S-rank almost entirely with abyssian decks, so this thread has been super helpful in assisting me to make a healonar deck that can be competetive at S/diamond, since when it comes to non-abyssian archtypes, I don’t know what the heck I am doing.

I just wanted to say, thematsjo, that your ruby rifter suggestion is SO KEY. I have been running similar lists to several that you guys have listed above, but struggled with card draw options. Solarius was clutch sometimes, but often just too slow and just felt much better with really fast Argeon archtypes. L’kian was too unreliable for my taste since the deck has to synergize with healing, and sojourners just got silenced/natural selectioned too much. So i saw that you use rifter, something I have never considered, so I figured to try it.

And man, is ruby rifter clutch!! Ever since she was introduced to the game, I never found a deck that seemed like a great home for her, but you were right - she just straight up excels in this archtype. She synergizes with everything in the deck, works the turn you play her (since Zi’ran is always up front and personal) supplements the main weakensses of healyonar, and often functions just like a solarius but with great stats… that grows. In my first day of adding her, I felt her impact in huge ways in several games. It also helps counter popular songhai decks. If they don’t kill you the very next turn, then they sometimes inadvertently fill your hand instantly with bloodrage mask and create a 14/6 rifter. Then with all the healing you just drew, makes for a nice comeback. On top of all that, her animation is sick.

So yeah, props to finding a perfect use for rifter. Anyone trying to improve their healyonar decks, definitely try her out. Seems to be a perfect fit for these decks, as recommended by the OP.

[mythicalbrit]

Sup, I’ve been playing and messing with a large variety of healnar decks over the last 5-6 weeks and with the add of Azure Herald to the game have gotten to this deck so far, personally I’m still going to be tweaking it but I feel I have found a steady body of a deck.

Idea about this deck is to usually play minions out in safe positions and for removal early, you have enough heal activators and also benefactors that you can play them out and get a single proc off and probably do it again the next turn with a different benefactor. I’d say if anything you can probably remove the steropes as I’m still testing them. if I chose I’d replace it with ironcliffe or Dancing Blades you could also remove the spelljammers if you want and add in divine bonds for possible early win cons being applicable.

I’ve gotten to S-Rank before but have mostly lived in the Diamond region am going to be testing this deck extensively for the climb up and hoping to see it hold its own when / if I get up there again.

[eternamemoria]

Greetings, fellow healers! Recently I’ve ventured into the path of Healyonar, and while I consider myself a Vetruvian main, I must say I am impressed.

While I can’t speak of the viability of the archetype outside of low Gold/ high Silver, I must say no other deck gave me the thrill of seeing all pieces fit like clockwork. I imagine this is how a Songhai player must feel after a combo, but I digress.

What matters is that I am curious about variations of this archetype, mostly Arcanyst Healyonar. How does it play, in terms of speed and tactics? I imagine it would be more late-game oriented than midrange.

[linearfox]

Hey peeps, linear here. Ever since Zir’an came out I really wanted to test her but due to lack of resources(spirit) I haven’t been able to craft the necessary cards. I’ve come across a few Healyonar threads, through Reddit and here(Forums), really diverse lists you have here guys. Azure herald is a pretty nice addition to the synergies and I love it. Once I got to S last season I really wanted to delve into Zir’an and experiment with her. I’ve been tinkering around and came up with this
I call this dioltas heal bond, it pretty much plays like the other decks (safe position with minions and board clear as much, value trades etc…). The thing I like about Dioltas is Tombstone (duh) Divine Bond(wincon#1),2nd wincon should be pretty much comboing out with sunriser, immolate, beam… though you can swap out barriers for lionheart blessing as well, lionheart is pretty bonkers if it gets to combo with sunriser, if it hits multiple targest e.g. 3 targets draws 3. By the way as to why I’m running only 2 sunforge lancers is because I feel like i don’t get that much value when I drop it late game as to early game. That’s all!

[humancalc]

You are speaking of Divine Bond but I can’t see it in your deck list

[Okojo]

Dat insight. Thanks for sharing, man!

[thematsjo]

Thank you for the kind words, the archetype is indeed tough, but really satisfying when thing work out.

As far as ArcaHeal is concerned, I’ve taken to trying something like this:

It’s definitely a slower deck, and a lot worse at crowd control if you don’t stick an Illusionist. But when it starts rolling things get really out of hand.

The core cards are Prismatic Illusionist and Owlbeast Sage as they are for most Arcanyst decks, but here you’re using Sterope and the three cantripping 1-drop spells to get True Strikes and a whole lot of triggers for both. Sun Seer and Lightbender piggyback on the Owlbeast synergy, and Fighting Spirit, Shaman and Shiro buff up the masses to overwhelm the enemy. Divine Bond is a finisher, Lasting Judgment is both a control and finisher spell and Azure Herald gets you a Sterope trigger and helps you survive early on. Mystic is an option too, but healing Zir’An is more important in my experience and the 4 Health gives it the ability to benefit from Lasting Judgement sometimes (you’re shooting for high health in this deck).

This deck type is weaker than normal Healyonar imo, but it can be a lot of fun. Maybe I just haven’t found the winning combination yet.