Silver Hand Recruits make up a significant portion of Paladin’s identity in Hearthstone. They represent the class’ Hero Power, receive support from class spells, minions, and weapons alike, and have shown to be one of the class’ strongest archetypes at points across its history.

Crystal Lion is the latest addition from Kobolds and Catacombs that develops this Paladin identity.

Crystal Lion may see play across all three of Hearthstone’s formats. The next expansion seems to be pushing the Recruit Paladin theme—Drygulch Jailor, Level Up!, and Unidentified Maul already show support for the archetype. Add Lost in the Jungle and Vinecleaver from Journey to Un’Goro to spawn additional Recruits, and Crystal Lion begins to look like a realistic and solid tempo play in Standard.

Vinecleaver is already a desirable card to pick in Arena, so Crystal Lion should feel right at home here. Divine Shield gives it the opportunity to clear at least two minions before dying and may go a long way to securing board control for the Paladin player.

Crystal Lion is strongest in Wild where Recruit Paladin has already established itself as one of the top decks in the format. In Wild, the Lion gets to take advantage of more efficient Recruit generators and support the best Recruit buffs printed. The trick will be figuring out how Crystal Lion can fit into an already powerful engine.

Kobolds and Catacombs will be released on Dec. 7.

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