Its hero power heals, but can also be changed through a couple effects to deal damage instead. Still, the class is normally reactive and defensive, rarely dictating the direction of the game. The class thrives on its extremely powerful combos that provide card value. Priests can survive the barrage of aggro decks and heal up just enough to win the long game. Alternatively, they can win if they have board control, use their minions for removal, and heal them. For this reason, high-health minions tend to be better for Priest.
They also have the most efficient removal at their disposal (Shadow Word: Pain/Death) with the weakness that they are conditional. Finally they have a unique sub-theme that allows them to use the opponents' minions against them through effects like Cabal Shadow Priest, Shadow Madness, and Mind Control.