GY Hand Buff

The point of follower over salmon is to have cheap haste creatures who stick to the board due to buffed health. Salmon mostly benefit from the attack buff only (one draw is not nothing, but not as good as a body). For an attack buff only oriented deck, I think chieftain and path to paradise (path to face archetype) would be much faster than spirit and totem small value over time.

Prayer feels out of place given that, in the best case, I start rushing on turn 4, and it requires me to be lucky enough to have a mistral guide. This deck is more control oriented, prioritizing on clearing the board then generating stupid value over turn, rather than rushing the opponent with pings and prayers. I think for the more rushy approach, I would need some Iona smile in addition to prayer and salmon, to get mistral guide earlier. And probably make some other major changes. I think I’ve seen a deck like that on Werfs stream, but mono Y (probably yours).

Hold the line fits exceptionally well in this deck, for many reasons :

1. Two cards for one in a really low curve deck, often with need to ramp lands the first 4 turns. It makes it harder for you to empty your hand, ensuring spirit of rebirth always have a target to proc. The cheap 3f bodies also mean it’s easy to benifit from handbuff and totem.
2. Two bodies for one card, in a sac (-ish) deck.
3. Taunt is almost half as good as haste when it comes to combo with handbuff, which is already more than not comboing at all. And sometime, haste removal can’t replace stalling a turn with a cheap taunt.
4. Good amount of healing without being a tech card, in a sac deck (weak against burn) with little room to fit tech cards.

That’s why I would rather change the Queen’s Guards than hold the line, if tech / changes are needed, despite Hold the Line usually being regarded as a weak card. I even went for 3 hold the line recently to counter path to face.