On deckbuilding constraints and brewing with Starlight Guide

Hello everyone,

FallenChameleon/MagicTurtle here with my first article in a very long time! A lot has changed in the world since February 2020.

Going back through the Eternal card pool, some cards look a little different than I remember (what did Champion of Fury do to deserve its fate??)

I was actually inspired to write this article after the recent Magic the gathering spoiler for the Blue Black Sword, completing the cycle that started over a decade ago. It is a card that looks extremely powerful at first glance. However, when you consider the decks that run Swords, the card starts to look awkward and out of place given the deckbuilding constraints to get value out of it (in my opinion, I hope I’m wrong!)

In any case, the idea of playing with a new card in Eternal (Starlight Guide) in a Feln shell appealed to me. Feln is a similar pairing to Blue and Black in magic. I had a similar article planned with Feln Adept, but the nerf down to 3 health made me abandon the deck.

I will be sharing two Feln gauntlet lists that have been tested a little bit but are by no means refined or even recommended. They are both built in an attempt to maximize the value of Starlight Guide and mostly to test the card out. To try to live the dream of killing an Impending Doom with a 3/1 flier! The purpose of this article is to illustrate what can happen when you warp a deck around a certain card that is powerful in a vacuum.

Here is the card:

Lets get into the first list, a Feln Fliers/tempo list:

The idea of the deck is to leverage cheap efficient fliers to win quickly in the air. Poaching Drake and Unstable Form act as a way to maintain air superiority. The market has removal and a negate package accessed easily at fast speed with Condemn.

There was a recent and exciting buff to Bloodscent Avisaur adding Deadly! Coupled with a Nightfall trigger, the card is more than playable in this deck.

Where we run into massive problems is the power base. I wanted to have as high a likelihood of fully powering Starlight Guide’s Darkbolt as possible. Running Amethyst Waystone and the new Midnight Reprieve strains the power base of the deck. Being a depleted power hurts significantly as well. I’m sure the power base can be improved but it will still come at a cost of sacrificing cleaner influence just to play Starlight Guide. Twilight Raptor will not always be a turn one play. A somewhat newly buffed Midnight Gale becomes only a 3 of as a result of double influences.

Shakedown is a good (or was last I played) constructed discard spell. In gauntlet I consider it to be a much more marginal card. Almost good, but not quite enough for most decks. However, with Nightfall being important that pushes it well into playability. Still, without Starlight Guide it’s unlikely to be in most of my decks, especially as a 4 of. So we are including a slightly sub optimal card to accommodate a situationally powerful one.

I didn’t run Altin Bird Whisperer because I found I rarely had time to activate the draw unless I was way ahead, and one health was a significant downside as well. I went with the 3/3 split of flying 2-drops because I couldn’t decide which card I liked better. Ponysnatcher was nice as a guaranteed 2 life gain and a way to pop face aegis, as the card checks for a market and gauntlet decks don’t have one.

On to the next deck, more of a midrange build:

This deck runs Rindra for more power out of the 4 slot, another Nightfall, and less need to keep the air clear. The market situation is very work in progress, and the 5 drop of choice is probably wrong but I wanted to test it out since it’s a very interesting design.

For our 2-drops we get to run Blackhall Warleader and Vine Grafter which are probably the best shadow 2-drops for gauntlet in the game now that Argenport Instigator is no longer a 3/3 (sigh…)

Ripknife Assassin is also a consideration for the deck.

Regen is absolutely incredible in gauntlet and allows for an early defensive unit and more market access!

You will notice this power base has more influence consistency but is even more depleted so I cut Twilight Raptor completely.

I’m running two Unstable Form in the main as a flex slot as the card has impressed me in a role of emergency silence/removal (with some risk due to randomness) and Aegis popping now that Levitate is no longer able to target opposing units (sigh again…)

Overall, there is one last point I want to make before concluding the article. Using Starlight Guide all but forces us into Feln as there is just not enough Nightfall support in Primal alone.

Shadow cards simply aren’t as good as Justice cards in most cases for gauntlet in these types of builds, although Condemn is likely much stronger than a now 2-cost Fearless Crescendo.

We lose access to Valkyrie Enforcer, and Unseen Commando is still better than Midnight Gale even after the buff.

In Hooru, Hooru Pacifier is incredible. It got briefly pushed out when Helena was first dropped but now is the clear choice for the next 3-drop after the string of nerfs.

My current verdict is to just play Hooru Fliers in gauntlet over Feln, but I will definitely keep brewing with Starlight Guide and Feln still as Midnight Gale will always have a special place in my heart.

I hope you enjoyed this article and it helped you think critically about card evaluation in the context of deck design rather than individual power level.

Thanks!

Echoes of Eternity Gauntlet Design and Strategy Primer

Update: After I completed this article, I saw this sweet looking Feln Deck by Konan, check it out and it applies some of the principles I talk about very well!

Hello everyone,

Today I wanted to write an updated primer and strategy article on Gauntlet. I will discuss the basic premise of Gauntlet deck-building design. I will talk about one of the new decks in particular, Kodosh’s Armory which is the first deck that I consider to be a reasonably good control deck, and how that impacts deck design. I will share a few lists, some links to gameplay footage (some with commentary, some without) and why the list has been successful or struggles to compete. By showcasing a deck that doesn’t quite hit the mark in addition to ones that do you will better be able to make your own decks more potent. I will conclude with a brief strategy section of “what’s the play?” to get you thinking critically about gauntlet. There will be a few easy ones and more challenging ones as well.

First, let’s look at what makes an aggro deck successful. I will start by looking at my Combrei Aggro Deck:

Of note is the absence of Teacher of Humility. If you notice our powerbase has only 19 Time sources. If you use a hypergeometric calculator you will find that the probability of hitting TT on 2 is not very good, and Teacher is not a great 3-drop. We run this few to max out on Justice sources for our JJ influence 3-drops. If we were to drop the emblems then we could certainly fit Teacher but Emblems are such terrific tools to stop flooding in Gauntlet and keep the pressure going. Include emblems in your aggro decks (unless you like losing to flood of course)!

For 2-drops we have Awakened Student, which grows as the game goes on and applies tons of pressure right out of the gate. Intrepid Longhorn is a very reasonable 3/3 for 2, stonewalling opposing 1 and most 2-drops, and often can get us a sigil when we need it. I run 0 Time Sigil to guarantee that critical second Justice influence. The last 2-drop, Crownwatch Paladin is an unfortunate 2/2 for 2 which makes it poor as a blocker. However, its keywords and synergy with Unseen Commando more than make up for that. I’d really like to see it buffed to a 3/3 which would be perfectly balanced (kidding, kidding). The AI can often get frustrated by Aegis and will sometimes burn premium removal just to pop it.

For 3-drops we have Kosul Battlemage. I include this card because we run so many pump spells that it synergizes well. The Aegis is very important as it helps out against removal heavy decks of which there are many. Unseen Commando and Valkyrie Enforcer need no explanation. These are Tier 0 units, the reason to play aggressive Justice decks. If you don’t include these (and have crafted or can afford to craft them) you are doing it wrong. I can’t think of many exceptions (no Commmando in Sandstorm Titan decks).

Since we run Aegis units, I include weapons. 2 Vanquisher’s Blade help deal with large units and hate on void recursion decks. 3 Masters Blade provide situational but sometimes devastating removal. Imagine slapping it on a Kosul Battlemage and killing Champion of Progress when it is in 18/18 mode. The invoke is easy to trigger for more value and card advantage.

Copperhall Elite is our 4-drop as it synergizes well with Commando and has Aegis. Titan is better but Commando isn’t good with Titan and we need Commando for the deck. Sheriff (Bob) Marley is another option as it can be additional silence, and generate small Aegis units for chump blocking usually. Overwhelm is great with pump spells though.

The Market has Copperhall Bailff for support against tokens. Qirin Ascendant can help against aggro as needed and is vital attachment removal primarily. Scorpion Wasp is the flex slot, but it can help against charge units or Aegis pests. Vanquish is included over Pristine Light because we have units that are 4 attack and often don’t want to lose the tempo of having to onslaught and replay our units. Feel free to run it if you prefer a grindier deck. It isn’t unreasonable. Wind Conjuring gives an invoke and breaks Stun/Permafrost with a massive pump as well to close out games and blow out double blocks. We get access to the market with Fearless Crescendo. I run that because with all the Aegis units, making a flier is hard to remove and can press damage. It is also 1-cost, fast speed access and doesn’t crowd out the 3-slot.

For combat tricks, Stand Together is just a brutal fair and balanced card. It bricks Shen-Ra Speaks, Harsh Rule and Removal while messing with the AI’s blocks or attacks. Finest Hour is very efficent and excellent pump spell that should be in every Justice aggro deck, usually as a 4-of. Aamri’s Choice is a little worse but has some added flexibility and overwhelm. Design wise, the AI doesn’t play around combat tricks so these will blow out double blocks, function as removal if you run a unit into a larger one, and be a nice surprise for relic weapons.

Let’s now look at my recent Rakano Aggro Deck, which at the time of this writing I am 35-0 with, although the last run the AI punted game 6. I’ll take it I guess. Funny video here.

 

Absent of note is a Legendary, Ironfist Chancellor. I have tested this card extensively in 12 1-drop Rakano decks and we just can’t get it to be a 4/4 often enough to utilize it. It’s an awesome card though but doesn’t quite make the cut. We are also running no Market. This deck wants to curve out and sacrifices the utility of a market for brutal speed.

Grenadin Drone is a great 1-drop being 2 units for 1. You can exhaust half of it essentially for Thunder of Wings, a 4/2 flying charge for 3. It’s a 5/3 when you have Commando out. Oni Ronin is a warcry unit that usually trades off imediately. It hurts against tokens, but the deck handles those fine and trading their board down makes their deck weak. Pyroknight is late game value ocasionally but is a nice overwhelm 1-drop. It is very cut-able if you are tight on shiftstone. Just run another 1 drop of choice.

Champion of Glory is brutal stats. Against Permafrost decks that aren’t Shadow (Vara’s Favor) and haven’t drawn an echo card (snowballs), if you can, run it out with just quickdraw if that is an option that won’t compromise your turn 3 play because they will sometimes blow a Permafrost on it, not realizing you will give it endurance. This trick worked in past seasons but I am not 100% sure if it has been patched. The other 2-drops synergize with Commando and are standard Rakano includes with the Warcry. Commando and Enforcer have already been discussed, as has Thunder of Wings which is usually a 3-drop. By turn 3, your 1-drops aren’t usually doing much so exhausting is a small price to pay for a massive damage right out of the gate.

3 Vanquish are a ncessary evil, Finest Hour is awesome, and Torch and Sear can close out games or be removal. I am actually unsure if Sear is better than Torch. Being Fast really helps but so does efficiency. I wish I could fit 4. We run 25 power, with 8 Emblems. Emblems win games, plain and simple. I run more Justice than Fire because the deck can’t function without its 3 drops online. For new players, don’t be afraid of Diplomatic Seal. It is amazing in the opening hand for fixing and that is important for aggro decks. Undepleted Power is key so there are no Crests because of the 1-drops. I run 3 to help with influence in the Combrei Deck as we can just barely get away with it as our curve starts at 2.

Here is a video of me doing a 20 minute speed run. No commentary, just the occasional snarky emote for good measure.

Let’s talk about midrange decks:

This dredger killers deck was greatly discussed in my last video. It works by grinding out the AI with killer + deadly value. The AI is timid against deadly units. You will notice I run more than 4 ways to get to the market. This is something that is often helpful for the slower decks for added consistency. You will also notice I have so many ways to gain health. The aggressive decks will destroy you with a reasonably fast draw if you don’t include a gameplan to deal with those. Honestly this is just barely enough health gain as is. The aggro decks are that good. We are still losing if we stumble on power and don’t draw well enough to stabilize.

The next deck I will talk about is Argenport Midrange:

 

 

Argenport Midrange is a classic consistent Gauntlet choice. Our 2-drops have Commando Synergy and build larger units through Warcry. This deck runs Silverwing Familiar in Valkyrie’s Enforcers slot because it is devastating to curve into Master’s Blade, and gives more lifesteal. We have the Sheriff for silence though it can sometimes necessitate sacrificing a unit to activate the tribute. I’ll sac a merchant or Paladin all day if it means silencing a Makto for example. Without the Sheriff I think you have to take out Familiar and put in Enforcer. Enforcer may still be correct to be honest, but I like the deck as is personally.

At the 5-slot, Makto was originally Tavrod but we don’t run Minotaurs and there are not enough hits. Makto is easier to get through in the air, and grinds out well against removal decks that aren’t polymorph/Permafrost/Feeding Time. Speaking of air, flying is a great include as it wrecks AI midrange decks once you deal with Titan and contests flying opposition. Hooru fliers is a great deck but I don’t have an updated version as of now. The community over at AIEternal almost certainly has a deck for you there. Flying is why Justice aggro tends to be better decks than something like Stonescar whose fliers are limited.

We run tons of removal. If we didn’t have a decent bit of lifesteal we would run more Suffocate, probably 3-4. This deck runs 31 power. That is designed to get to 6 on time for Pale Rider’s Timepiece which if I recall correctly LightsoutAce described as the best weapon ever printed. 30 would be close to fine, but suboptimal in my opinion.

Our market has removal for Aegis (Runehamer) and cheap removal to kill all relevant factions (sorry Primal). PaleRider’s Timepiece is great and we really only need the 1 copy. We have so many Aegis units to stick it on and swing the game. Amethyst Waystone draws us undepleted power and more cards to help hit power drops, and outvalue the AI. Unlike in Ranked, our cards are more valuable than the AI’s because we run better decks. Therefore, the downside of getting the card second is mitigated. There’s only 1 deck that makes use of Nightfall but you don’t have to pull it if it will do more harm than good.

I wish we could have Finest Hour, but the removal is too important for the deck and there isn’t space for it. Maybe you could find cuts to fit 2 copies, but I doubt it.

This next deck doesn’t quite work but when it does, you will get the “End the Game with all 4 Riders” achievement at some point:

We have no problem with aggro because of tons of lifesteal threats, although when they get removed it can spell trouble. The problem is sometimes we draw all removal and only have 18 units which aren’t always hitting the board. The deck suffers from having low unit count as a more controlling midrange build. We don’t really run that much removal so it is really removal and weapon flood that can occur. The weapons are amazing though, but only on Horde Plunderer. We can only run 4 Horde Plunderer and when it eats removal or we don’t draw it, the deck falls flat. I have been meaning to test 4 Shakedown main but haven’t yet. That would strip the hand of removal and draw us more cards to assemble the combo. By the way, Unseen Longbow is an excellent weapon. Pledge helps with powerscrew and discard 2 is great against decks that draw excessively. I’m sure it’s playable in another deck, even without Plunderer. I do really like Condemn (and Blazing Salvo in Fire decks) as it’s essentially free removal against aggro.

This last deck is a community favorite, and is updated by Alomba87 and based on Roxie’s popular deck. I am missing way too many cards to play it right now and am conserving shiftstone. Elysian Midrange is also great and you can look for community lists on Eternal Warcry but in the interest of not making the article excessively long, this will be the last deck. I will summarize that deck with False Prince, Cirso and Sodi’s SpellShaper are amazing cards.

Alomba87 opted for a stranger package which gives value through synergy including cost reduction. Kairos costs 9 and Xo costs 8 but those just end the game. Grodov’s Stranger is a half way decent card in the 6-slot (to not confuse you if you’re newer, the card is actually amazing and you should craft it) . Grodov’s Burden is incredible value, just like Grodov himself. Gnash crushes fliers. To summarize this deck, value. Just pure straight mid-late game power. Borrowing a quote from Rocky, it’s like “kissing the express train” “it “rattles the ancestors” of the AI, that is. The only weakness is the expensive curve sometimes means we get power screwed and just lose, but the deck is very consistent and that doesn’t happen often, especially since Auralian Merchant and Tocas ramp. But stuck on 2 is not where you want to be.

As far as control decks, don’t do it. You will lose getting stuck on 2 just like every other deck, but your games take forever. Play a big midrange deck instead. Even if you have the 7 win gold quest, just play a real gauntlet deck and get it within a few runs.

To summarize, build your aggressive decks to be fast, and generally attack in the air. If you are more on the ground, thats ok too but include lots of combat tricks. You need a Market unless you are blisteringly fast and can close out the game with direct damage. Combat tricks are better than removal, but you still need some removal. Tricks are great because they can also push damage and generate card advantage by making your opponent dead, thus unable to use their cards. I’m sure there is a shadow based aggro deck too, which wants Rapid Shot and Spiteful Strike. I have tried Elves though and haven’t had success. I really think theres a list that can get it right, however. I challenge the community to build one that works in gauntlet. I get wrecked by the Time midrange decks despite taking that into account when I build the deck. Midrange decks need to create value with powerful units, backed up by strong removal. Market access is mandatory in these decks.

I suspect Camat0’s Stonescar Shrine Deck with little to no changes will work in gauntlet. I haven’t tested it but I looked at the list and I don’t really see any need to change a thing for it. It’s rare that a ranked list is perfect for gauntlet, but I think that one may well be. The AI does foolish things when you play Madness. The lifesteal from Shrine is great, and your tokens can easily contest opposing go-wide decks.

Now for the strategy section, what’s the play?

This boss runs a lot of power, because the rules are such that you can play multiple power per turn. While ordinarily I would say play your power, then Eager owlet and silence the flier to start attacking in the air, I consider that to be an overly aggressive and highly risky line here. That is a Mystic Ascendant which is a kill or silence on the spot unit! Unless you want to fight an 8/8 next turn with the AI having more cards in hand, I say silence it and then cast Owlet. If you get behind later, then sac a unit to get Onslaught for your looter. I won’t share this list because the winrate on this version just wasn’t high enough. The more conservative line here will give you a better chance of drawing your outs to push through in the air and win. The AI can easily draw a parliament on 8 if you give it the chance.

Here you are up against a stun deck, and it does run 4 Permafrost at high mmr. I ran out Champion of Glory to bait out a permafrost, rather than get our warcry online like I would against a lot of slower decks.

This last one is a harder line to see:

We are in huge trouble here and are dead next turn. The line is, A Space. The AI has a 4/5 which will block the 4/4 to kill it and survive. The 4/4 is going to block the 3/3, as shown.

Now we cast Crescendo granting flying to Awakened Student and pull Wind Conjuring. Casting Wind Conjuring on Student kills Black-Sky Harbinger (BSH), and has given Kosul Battlemage +2/+2 from 2 spells, so it kills the 4/4 and survives. We then play our 3/3 with our remaining power. The following turn the AI rips another BSH straight off the top, because why not. I believe it played the BSH gaining 3 health, after killing my 3/3 as seen in the void, gaining 3 health total and going to 20 (gained 4 last turn on the block). Then they fired off that spell in the void that I don’t recognize off the top of my head.

Sometimes, you are not meant to win the game, such is the variance of card games. This was a 2 outer I believe as it was BSH number 3. This was super frustrating because it took me a couple minutes to find that line which would have given me a fighting chance. The AI closed out the game from here.

I also want to take a minute to let you know about my YouTube channel, which can be found here. It is also in my top bar, but you will have to copy and paste it unfortunately as it is a text only option. I will be posting at least one video a week, probably more like two and these will be a mix of Gauntlet, Forge and probably some Ranked and Draft (though I admit I haven’t played these last two modes a lot as of late due to unstable internet at my old place). The Ranked decks will almost entirely be brews with a deck tech as I feel those are more interesting and unique to watch than the meta decks that you are already familiar with. If you enjoy the videos please like and Subscribe!

I have also recently set up a Patreon if you really enjoy my content. The support would help pay for a new gaming desktop as my laptop seems to be incapable of running streaming software which is something I have been looking forward to doing (also freeing up some money from these exorbitant oil bills in my freezing neck of the woods). There’s absolutely no pressure to pledge however, and I’m still going to be making as much content as I can. Being a patron will have some added benefits but I won’t discuss that here, you can check it out if you are interested.

That is all for today. Thanks for reading, and as usual I welcome your feedback!

Brewing Dredger Killers

Update: My latest revisions have shored up the deck’s slight weakness to aggressive fire decks with charge units and can be found here

 

Today I just wanted to share a cool list I was messing around with, which feels really dirty against the AI (although probably can’t beat draws where they have multiple Steward of the Past; it should easily beat the first one and probably the second too but not the third).  I took this list to an easy 14-0, absolutely DESTROYING a good draw from Helpful Horns, Sudden Death, and a few aggro decks along the way. The first boss was the one where they cheat out giant Minotaurs with bond.  Sudden Death gives units double damage. I don’t have a lot of time to test more right now, as I’m working on a few decks for Throne at the moment. The market slots are what I’m least sure about currently. I would love to fit a fourth Emblem, and we can probably cut one Amber Waystone and be fine, I’d have to run the numbers though. Here is the list:

 

4 Auralian Infestation (Set6 #48)
4 Pathlighter (Set4 #55)
3 Seek Power (Set1 #408)
4 Twilight Hunt (Set3 #59)
4 Blistersting Wasp (Set2 #202)
4 Endless Nightmare (Set8 #164)
4 Ripknife Assassin (Set1003 #13)
4 Xenan Initiation (Set2 #44)
4 Ayan, the Abductor (Set2 #204)
4 Ebon Dune Smuggler (Set5 #221)
4 Shadowlands Guide (Set1 #280)
4 Memory Dredger (Set2 #159)
3 Eremot’s Machinations (Set8 #166)
2 Time Sigil (Set1 #63)
2 Amber Waystone (Set3 #51)
2 Shadow Sigil (Set1 #249)
3 Emblem of Makkar (Set7 #121)
4 Crest of Mystery (Set4 #266)
4 Xenan Banner (Set2 #201)
4 Xenan Insignia (Set7 #184)
4 Diplomatic Seal (Set1 #425)
————–MARKET—————
1 Infinite Hourglass (Set1 #67)
1 Sabotage (Set1 #252)
1 Sandstorm Scarf (Set4 #50)
1 Saber-Tooth Prideleader (Set1006 #7)
1 Striking Snake Formation (Set1 #112)

 

 

Auralian Infestation and Pathlighter are your one-drop deadly units, and these are the ideal units to give killer because they are recurred ready to go by both Shadowlands Guide and Memory Dredger. We run eight killer spells which is plenty, with Striking Snake formation out of the market as well. Basically you want to trade with the AI and killer any units that will give you problems, then get Memory Dredger online. We have Ayan and Prideleader out of the market to make sure aggro doesn’t overrun us. Later on in the game you reload with Eremot’s Machinations:

 

Yeah, this card is absolutely nuts (think one-drop deadly killer unit, two-drop deadly killer, Shadowlands Guide, and another one-drop with killer all with +1/+1 overwhelm for good measure)

 

 

In the above, I played Twilight Hunt, kill the 3/3, play Shadowlands Guide, get our Scorpion back, and kill the 4/4. Pretty good value.

 

 

Above, the AI has started to catch up. That is, until I fire off Eremot’s Machinations, and now run the 3/3 into the 8/8 and the 4/4 into the 3/5 to be left with a 3/1, 1/3 deadly, 4/4 deadly, and a 4/4 Ayan.

 

 

The AI would eventually recover with a timely Destiny and a couple more units, but another Machinations was too much to handle. I don’t think we really needed it though.

 

Here is the end state against Sudden Death:

 

 

Here’s what Striking Snake Formation can do:

 

 

Making easy work of tokens (gave Ayan killer, gained life and took it out of Torch range):

 

 

The last card I want to talk about is Endless Nightmare, which is perfectly named:

 

With Ayan and our Merchant having Ambush, as well as just the general efficiency of the deck, it is not that hard to give this killer and get it back over and over, undepleted while moping up small-medium sized units. The AI will also throw removal at it, so it’s a nice play on turn two to draw out the first torch.

 

Thanks for reading! Give the list a try, it’s a lot of fun to play, and I suspect with a few tweaks it will be a great deck for grinding.

 

Theorycrafting with the Market Spell Cycle in Gauntlet

First of all, a shoutout to DWD for making an absolutely incredible set! It’s good to be back to writing as I have been on an extended break. Since my last article, I have gotten married, moved into a new house, and certified as a Personal Trainer. Good stuff.

Echoes of Eternity is here, and I have to say, this is perhaps the most fun set yet. There are tons of interesting possibilities to brew with the new cards. Today, I am going to evaluate the Market Spell Cycle in the environment of Gauntlet. I will look at these from a theoretical perspective as there are so many different decks and market combinations that I simply can not test them all. Before we begin, please note that you do not need to run a Smuggler when you run this cycle. This may or may not have been obvious to most of you but I feel it is important to note. You may also include cards in multiple factions. For example, Blazing Salvo in a Fire, Primal, Shadow deck could have cards in any of those combinations including multi-faction ones.

Let’s look at the first card:

 

 

Right off the bat, this is an extremely pushed removal spell, even if it doesn’t hit face. While Char is not quite good enough for Gauntlet, it is able to kill virtually all one-drops and quite a few two-drops including Ripknife Assassin and Rakano Outlaw as a FAST SPELL. What this means is Blazing Salvo is able to pull some weight as an anti-aggro tool and lessen the need for cards like Torch and Suffocate (although you should almost always be running these in some number).

Since I am currently testing this card in a controlling build of Fire, Primal, Shadow Dragons, I will use that deck as a discussion point. I feel that even though this is just one deck, a lot of the flexibility of Blazing Salvo can be illustrated this way. My market currently consists of Eremot’s Designs, Kaleb’s Choice, Miner’s Musket, Rindra’s Choice and Rapid Shot.

Eremot’s Designs or perhaps Lightning Storm are an absolute necessity for a slower deck to be able to beat many of the token decks (decks that spam the board with numerous cheap units and then go for a kill with a spell, unit or relic that pumps them up). My build does not run any one or two-cost units, but it does have a three-health, three-cost unit. Running Lightning Storm ends up being anti-synergistic with Spellbound Vestige by causing it to kill our own unit which is critical for the deck.

Kaleb’s Choice is rarely going to be a negate effect, because we generally aren’t able to hold up power when curving out in the four-six slot with Dragons. However, for games that go very long it can function as a negate to protect a unit. The primary use is as relic hate or more precisely, to kill Xenan Obelisk. In testing a slower deck like Dragons, I found my winrate was lacking against these types of go-wide token decks, thus its inclusion.

Miner’s Musket fulfills the role of killing small units, including ones with Aegis. It has the added benefit of reducing the cost of the top unit or relic of our deck which can be a nice tempo swing, and can also finish off a relic weapon that would otherwise be a real thorn in our side. I found it to be solid against Kodosh’s Armory. That said, Edict of Shavka is probably better in this slot. It is more effective at killing larger Aegis units, as well as a catch all removal against most Justice and Primal units. I do not consider Edict of Linrei as necessary for the deck, because we have access to Annihilate to kill Sandstorm Titan. If we were a Skycrag deck, I would strongly consider the card, depending on whether I am running maindeck Ice Bolts or not.

Rindra’s Choice is in the market to kill, you guessed it, multi-faction units. For a deck that leans on Annihilate and a couple Ice Bolts (the powerbase is a little strained for Desecrate), I found that this remedies that glaring weakness effectively.

Rapid Shot can function as removal if you evaluate the likely blocks that the AI will take when you attack with a smaller unit into a larger one. It also combos nicely with Cozin Darkheart to potentially kill a unit, push damage and generate a Treasure and a 4/4 Dragon.

Let’s look at the next card:

 

 

This card can sometimes act as a blocker to trade against a one drop, or defensively to chump a large unit. The cultist subtype is relevant in a deck running Karvet as well. Since Crack the Earth pulls five-cost cards, I would consider running Auralian Merchant in addition to it (in a Time based midrange deck). Ramping us to five on turn four allow for a very consistent Worldbearer Behemoth as an example. However, Tocas, Waystone Harvester also provides ramp in the three-slot and testing would be needed to determine if you really need the additional market support and ramp when you likely have Initiate of the Sands too.

Perhaps a more interesting use of Crack the Earth would be in a Big Combrei list. You could run a Market Configuration with one of Reality Warden, Worldbearer Behemoth, or Marshal Ironthorn depending on the mix of cards you want in the maindeck. Grodov’s Stranger can potentially replace Mystic Ascendant in the maindeck which would mean four Worldbearer Behemoth may not be as necessary (although it still can help to hit eight or twelve power for the Great Parliament).

Harsh Rule or Shen-Ra Speaks is an obvious inclusion, and you can maindeck the other if you feel it is necessary.

Confiscate is a possibility if you are really hurting for attachment removal, but I would probably rather see you run Sabertooth Prideleader in the maindeck instead if that is an issue as it pulls double duty as an anti-aggro tool.

Grodov’s Burden is a reasonably good card! That would give the deck a tremendous amount of lategame grinding ability.

Lumen Defender is a decent anti-aggro card that doubles as some support against midrange. The AI is often a little gun-shy about attacking into Deadly units.

Let’s look at the next card:

 

 

First off, note that this is permanent Flying and at fast speed. Imagine you have no units in the air but a big ground blocker. The AI has a 3/3 flier, you give your unit Flying, Block and kill the unit for just one power. Or perhaps you’re playing an aggro deck and need to push more damage over a stalled out ground, this card can help you out.

This card can also give you access to Harsh Rule without running Merchants in the main deck. You could run a Merchant as one of your three-slots, and a Harsh Rule and then just three other three-cost cards and if you need Harsh Rule, plan accordingly and grab Merchant, play Merchant, get Harsh Rule and then play it the next turn. I am not sure this is an optimal use of the card, but it is a cool idea if you don’t really find five useful cards.

I am having success with this card in Combrei aggro. I couple it with a few Aegis beaters to prevent the AI from easily removing my flying unit, and for Unseen Commando synergy.

Wind Conjuring grants a huge boost, and can remove a permafrost or surprise block. Late game, the invoke adds some additional value.

Vanquish is a strong removal option and it makes the market as such.

Qirin-Ascendant is a situational card that is great for this market. Not only does it have synergy with Unseen Commando, it provides a valuable attachment removal on demand. Weapons and pump spells make getting the mastery easy as well. Lifesteal helps out against aggressive decks.

Copperhall Bailiff is a gauntlet all star and comes in against aggro/token decks to stabilize the board.

My last slot is currently occupied by Knight-Chancellor Siraf, but is up for grabs. I felt having an additional three-drop that can generate late game value could help, but with Emblems we are not really at risk of flooding to seven power. Scorpion Wasp could be a fine replacement as a way to kill Aegis fliers that get out of hand.

Copperhall Bracers is another strong possibity as a weapon that helps us push damage and attack with impunity, in addition to giving us more power to work with.

Let’s look at the next card:

 

 

My first thought when seeing this was to build a deck with Wardwielder, a 5/5 for two when you have an Aegis. Paired with Rime Conclave Smuggler, maybe an Eilyn’s Favor or two, Cobalt Waystone and a few other cards as needed and you should be fairly consistent there. However, the problem with decks like these is you can only play four Wardwielder. When you don’t draw one, the deck tends to suffer a fairly dramatic decline in winrate.

Hooru control or midrange on the other hand looks at this card and sees a host of powerful options:

Avigraft is a somewhat situational removal but can still be very effective even at its nerfed four-cost.

Not every deck in gauntlet wants maindeck Auric Runehammer, but I’m always happy to see one in the market for anti-Aegis tech.

Poaching Drake can be useful as a card to knock out a flier to push through, or stop a Siraf that is closing in on seven power.

Windshaper could be an option for Hooru fliers as an Obelisk effect while keeping your maindeck four-slot open for a card like Shelterwing Rider. I especially like Transpose as a one-cost option to access the market, as Hooru fliers has notoriously been crowded at the three-slot (Enforcer, Commando, Pacifier, Merchant, sometimes Ice Sprite).

Elysian and Hooru fliers may both be viable and the deal one damage to the enemy player does one other thing, it triggers spark for Skyrider Vanguard. I especially like that card in Elysian since it has a couple one-drop fliers in general and could potentially get significant value on turn four with the transpose + Vanguard combination. Having access to Xenan Obelisk is pretty sweet as well.

 

 

Let’s look at the final card in this cycle:

 

 

Some of the cards this can pull are Suffocate (although you should almost always maindeck three-four of these I have found), Edict of Makkar as a very efficient situational removal, Sabotage for attachment and removal hate, Shakedown to snag a removal spell or early pest like a Desert Marshal or Valkyrie Enforcer, Spiteful Strike as a nice combat trick when you prefer Rapid Shot maindeck, Torch if you are a slower deck that doesn’t need face damage to close out games regularly and instead opt for four Suffocate in the main deck. This is not as crazy as it sounds as it kills Steward of the Past, Memory Dredger, Streetwise Informant, Skywalk Enforcer, Kimi Expedition Guide, Horde Plunderer, Karmic Guardian, Auric Sentry to name a few, and most of the things Torch kills with the notable exceptions of Iceberg Warchief and Champion of Fury). Note that Torch is dramatically nerfed in Gauntlet as a Slow Spell because it no longer can blow out the AI mid combat, hence why I think Suffocate is far better overall in slower midrange and control builds.

Bore is a very powerful attachment removal and conveniently is just one power.

Charchain Flail is now unnerfed to being a one-cost relic weapon with the flexibility to kill Aegis units and larger units at the price of some health.

Flame Blast can help close out games and you might opt for a card like Obliterate in the maindeck instead or more likely if you’re playing a late game card, Eclipse Dragon.

If you are in primal, it can pull a great removal like Permafrost if you opt to exclude it from the maindeck for whatever reason.

Levitate is a neat option when you need to get through on a stalled board or surprise block the AI.

Argenport might want Condemn to pull the recent campaign card Shattered Hopes which is actually maindeckable as well if you can find room for it. I’d opt for a Paladins build where the Decimate matters and access cards like Soulflame Rider which can often be a free 6/6 flying endurance or a three-cost very consistently.

 

Also of note is the voidbound is relevant as it can kill Dawnwalker and keep it dead.

 

Thank you for reading this article! Please let me know your thoughts on these cards, what you have tested and what has worked and not worked thus far. Happy brewing!

Forging Rakano Renown

Hello everyone,

Today I wanted to share another forge walkthrough, this time with a Rakano Renown deck. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Defiance Forge Walkthrough

Hello everyone,

Today I wanted to share a video walkthrough of a Masters level forge. I take the time to explain my thought processes every step of the way and this should be a great watch for beginning and intermediate players alike. I hope you enjoy it!

Hooru Fliers post Defiance!

Hello everyone,

Today I wanted to share an updated list for a popular archetype, Hooru Fliers. This list has been getting me many seven win runs at Masters Gauntlet. I discuss the deck in a brief video and then include gameplay video with a detailed analysis explaining every decision with newer players in mind. I apologize for the background sound at the start of some of the videos.

 

Highlights include a missed lethal on Rebel Forces (8 minutes in but we still win the next turn), and an epic game where we grind through ALL FOUR Black-Sky Harbingers against Midnight Storm.

 

A couple notes that I meant to discuss in the videos:

Against Rebel Forces, the opening hand also lacked a 2-drop which was a big consideration when re-drawing.

Against the boss:

When I loot Aniyah away, we are ahead and can race the AI so I will not need the stun. The AI is unlikely to get a random flier and we can win in the air. We want to commit to developing our board and can safely ignore the AI’s ground.

 

I hope you enjoy!

 

 

https://eternalwarcry.com/decks/details/RwfGMybpR5Q/hooru-fliers-defiance

The Eternal Post

I wanted to let everyone know that I have now started writing for theeternalpost.com which is a community site which features articles from multiple authors on a variety of topics.
This is my latest article, and it is a history of how Xenan Killers has evolved over the course of the game and adapted to the varying meta:

 

https://theeternalpost.com/competitive-play/ranked/history/xenan-killers

 

At the end of the article, I include a possible approach to the archetype in gauntlet. Over the next couple of weeks when I have had a chance to refine the deck more, I will do a deck tech writeup here.

 

Going forward, I will continue to post gauntlet specific content here, but check out the new website for more articles and videos on other modes of the game!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Argenport Midrange!

After considerable testing, I arrived at this final version of AP midrange:

https://eternalwarcry.com/decks/details/6QxyO-aJYKg/tavrod-is-still-busted-in-gauntlet

Some key differences between my list and a standard ranked list are Tranquil Scholar instead of Crownwatch Paladin. I find Paladin to be less optimal given the amount of random 1/1s that the AI plays. My list also runs 0 Bloodletter, which would play well on Paladin. Tranquil Scholar has a very low probability of hitting reckless, and FOA added Berserk as a possible skill which is incredible if you hit it. Additionally, charging or killer Tavrod is a brutal beating on the AI.

 

For weapons, I ended up cutting down on copies and went with 2 Copperhall Bracers instead of Bloodletter. These did serious work, allowing you to smash through a board stall, and pull out power from your deck. I wanted to minimize the total number of weapons in the deck to avoid losing to draws that are too unit light, as consistency is key in gauntlet. 2 Copies of Vanquisher’s Blade are additional removal that can be drawn with Tavrod. These are great, but somewhat clunky and I wouldn’t go above 2.

 

The rest of the units are what you would find in a standard ranked list, except Copperhall Bailiff instead of Auric Interrogator. Bailiff is absolutely vital to be able to consistently beat the many go wide aggro decks in gauntlet. Popping aegis is also useful.

 

For spells, I go a little more aggressive than in Ranked with 4 Finest Hour (in for Sabotage in ranked lists). Combat tricks wreck the AI, plain and simple. 4 Slay is standard, and 3 Annihilate help against aggro and Predatory Carnosaur in particular (defending an Impending Doom for example). 2 Dark Return is additional copies of your best unit that has died or been milled by Tavrod.

 

The powerbase includes 2 Crownwatch Standard for additional combat tricks, lifegain and “flood protection” and these have won many games that would otherwise end in a loss. The 2 Seek Power / 3 Vara’s Favor split has worked really well for me. See TonyGeeeee’s list here that also runs only 3 Favor: https://eternalwarcry.com/decks/details/njK5F1HEFvQ/argenport-mid

I would like to run the 4th as it’s so good in gauntlet, but it can be a little clunky at times when you want to curve out, and we have Bailiff as additional ways to pop Aegis.

 

One thing of note is that I run no Merchants. I tested Winchest Merchant and found that the benefit wasn’t enough to upset our curve as Enforcer, Commando, and Bailiff are essential 4 ofs and the 3-drop slot gets pretty crowded. A 2/2 flying doesn’t apply any pressure nor serve as a blocker. The deck was very consistent for me without Merchants.

 

Here is a screen shot of my results. Read it from bottom to top then move to the next column and repeat. I try to paste some overlap to make it easier to follow. The only early losses were the deck getting stuck on 2 power:

 

Results:

Boss Wins: Defender of the Spire, Highly Skilled, Highly Skilled, Labyrinth Treasury, Highly Skilled, Highly Skilled (feels not random).

Boss Loss: Power of Progress.

Good luck and thanks for reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alessi Aggro

Update: This list was doing fairly well for me, but I noticed that the unit to spell ratio felt a little low. A few other people observed that as well and their results weren’t quite as good as mine. I updated this list, and it actually combines the strong aggressive elements of this aggro list with my more consistent but slower build with Amilli. Here is the updated list that has a bit more strength in the mid to late game and runs Merchant:

https://eternalwarcry.com/decks/details/CxYwwbDjngk/combrei-midrange

4 Alessi, Combrei Archmage (Set4 #248)
4 Finest Hour (Set1 #130)
3 Seek Power (Set1 #408)
2 Sharpened Reflex (Set4 #102)
4 Awakened Student (Set1 #331)
3 Desert Marshal (Set1 #332)
2 Inspire (Set1 #129)
3 Vanquish (Set1 #143)
3 Xenan Initiation (Set2 #44)
4 Auralian Merchant (Set4 #70)
4 Stand Together (Set1 #334)
4 Unseen Commando (Set3 #122)
4 Valkyrie Enforcer (Set1 #151)
4 Geomar, the Steel Tempest (Set4 #128)
2 Amilli, Cloudmarshal (Set3 #136)
7 Justice Sigil (Set1 #126)
5 Time Sigil (Set1 #63)
3 Combrei Banner (Set1 #424)
4 Crest of Progress (Set4 #247)
2 Crownwatch Standard (Set4 #97)
4 Seat of Progress (Set0 #58)
————–MARKET—————
1 Xenan Initiation (Set2 #44)
1 Sword of Unity (Set4 #249)
1 Xenan Obelisk (Set1 #103)
1 Lumen Defender (Set1 #115)
1 Combrei Banner (Set1 #424)

As soon as I saw Alessi TJP lists tearing up the ladder, I have been theorizing how to make a successful gauntlet variant. I ruled out TJP quickly because, while the small amount of games lost on ladder due to influence screw are acceptable there, in the context of gauntlet where we want to be able to hit seven wins as often as we can (even as an aggro deck if possible) and can’t lose once, this will be too detrimental to the deck. So to state the obvious given Alessi’s influence, we need to build an aggressive combrei deck. For a slower but very consistent build, check out my deck here:

https://eternalwarcry.com/decks/details/M92W9GFhv44/enduring-combrei

 

So I thought about this deck for a long time, and didn’t think we had the critical mass of spells to pull it off. Sure we had units like Kosul Battlemage and Geomar but Finest Hour, Vanquish and maybe a couple Sharpened Reflex can only go so far as to making Alessi a reasonable card. It wasn’t until after seeing Mouche’s winning ETS list:

https://eternalwarcry.com/decks/details/H4FvWiA1uE8/i-heard-alessi-is-still-free-to-grow

that I was able to find a good fit for Alessi. Mouche’s particular innovation of Safe Return  (a card that I haven’t thought about in years) and Xenan Initiation gave me the critical mass of spells and efficient removal to finally make this list possible:

 

4 Alessi, Combrei Archmage (Set4 #248)
4 District Infantry (Set1 #134)
4 Finest Hour (Set1 #130)
4 Safe Return (Set1 #330)
4 Awakened Student (Set1 #331)
4 Ironfist Chancellor (Set4 #108)
4 Vanquish (Set1 #143)
3 Xenan Initiation (Set2 #44)
4 Kosul Battlemage (Set4 #119)
4 Stand Together (Set1 #334)
4 Unseen Commando (Set3 #122)
4 Valkyrie Enforcer (Set1 #151)
9 Justice Sigil (Set1 #126)
5 Time Sigil (Set1 #63)
4 Combrei Banner (Set1 #424)
2 Crownwatch Standard (Set4 #97)
4 Diplomatic Seal (Set1 #425)
4 Seat of Progress (Set0 #58)

 

This ended up being a lightning fast, extremely resilient aggro deck with a lot of decisions. Most of those decisions are fairly intuitive however but make for fun gameplay. Here is a cool spot where I take a line that may not appear obvious at first glance:

 

 

We have started our fourth turn but haven’t played our power yet. The line I took here was attack with Awakened Student, giving the AI an easy trade, then play power and both Chancellors with tribute as 4/4s. The game was effectively over at that point as I either would draw units/spells for more pressure, or a fifth power to make repeatable copies of a 4/4.

 

Here’s a screenshot that shows how much Alessi can grow from a couple pump and removal spells:

 

 

Look to set up blowouts with this deck. Sometimes you can finest hour an unblocked unit because Battlemage will grow enough to kill its blockers just from the +1/+1, this helps you push more damage. See this screenshot:

 

 

This was a game that started out with a horrible draw. I was forced to play Xenan Initiation on District Infantry to kill an Initiate of the Sands and hope to stop flooding out, buying some time. I proceeded to draw two Safe Returns, re-play Infantry, then power, kill their units and finally draw some gas.

 

I will leave you with several screenshots of what I think was my most epic gauntlet game of all time. It’s against a Combrei deck that managed to activate multiple Hero of the People to make gigantic flying aegis lifestealing threats, then even bigger threats like Elias:

 

(note the 8/8 hero in the void)

 

 

Elias!

 

 

And again with the revenge…

 

 

Thanks for reading!