Weekly Journal Entry — Pre-Event

Welcome to the first of many weekly budget (borderline pauper) decks I'll be documenting my experiences with during Weekend Ranked. My goal is to obtain a 14/25 win rate (56%+) each weekend using a newly crafted deck. Given my initial resource limitations as a fully F2P player (and technical issues trying to buy cards), my first deck is almost entirely commons.

Normally, I'll plan to share my initial thoughts, here—prior to the event starting—but I'm skipping that for this first entry. Future posts will use this section to identify weaknesses and mistakes from previous decks (especially relative to the meta) that I hope to address with each new deck.

The Deck — Aggro War (Enrage)

Any non-core cards were obtained via GODS/forge proceeds from previous weeks (I was able finally to successfully purchase cards from IMX :S), and I'd like to keep my deck values at ~$25 or less.

In this case, the deck is valued at $23.50 (as of the time of this post), but I acquired my missing cards when Etherium was <$4000. Despite being a common, Blood Rage represents the most expensive card in this deck, but with patience you can probably acquire all of these cards during weekly price fluctuations for <$20 worth of GODS. In my case, I spent just under 4 GODS, and the cards I purchased are staples in many War decks I might make.

CREATURES

Given the aggressive nature of this deck, I want at least four droppable creatures at each of Cost 1-4. Further, I want a reasonable chance of casting something turn 1 that doesn't feel forced. Springbloom Hunter, Bladecaster, and Skeleton Heavy fit the bill nicely. Raid Reveller is for defensive board states while Tartessian Skirmisher is great for doubling down on a strong position.

The "thematic" creatures forming the basis for this deck are Bearstrider and Tamed Mammoth, both having inherent damage ramp that scales favorably with Enrage. They also have enough health to take a hit, but they're definitely going to give more than they get.

Vanguard Axewoman and Archangel Bruiser serve as a form of removal that might stick around after the fact. Enrage extends their threat range to anything with 3/6 health or less, respectively, making them viable counters later into the game than usual.

SPELLS

Continuing the theme, Auric Rush, Blood Rage, and Over-proof Brew embody the spirit of Enrage. At their absolute best, Auric Rush can give Tamed Mammoth +5 Strength while Blood Rage is capable of shifting Bearstrider from a 2/5 to a 10/6 with help from Enrage. Over-proof Brew is your go-to finisher while Call to Arms helps recover from a slow start.

Also, Auric Rush serves as light removal in a pinch which can be particularly useful if trying to move a Frontline blocker out of the way.

RELICS

Given the self-destructive nature of this deck, Enduring Shield is practically a must for minimizing the chances of a recently buffed creature being immediately removed by damage/Blitz removal. Your creatures are still susceptible to hard removal like Destroy, but you can adapt your play accordingly. Just remember that whether you're playing first or second, this is a solid turn 1 play when you mulligan apppropriately.

Match Examples

Before diving into matches, here's a 10-match test run of the deck after locking in my card list:

There was some disparity between MMR, but that was likely because I moved from Gold to Diamond during these matches. In retrospect, I'm going to aim for 25-match test runs to better simulate the event, itself, but it's Christmas this week and I'm a little strapped for time ;)

Example 1 — Control(?) Magic

Since I'm going second and I can see Magic is running Magebolt, I'll be keeping Springbloom Hunter due to Regen 1 negating the plink damage. I'm also liking Deadly Arsenal, for now, so we'll mulligan the Raid Reveller.

I'm tempted to shuffle Deadly Arsenal and keep digging, but I'm not sure if I'll find something else I prefer more. I'm keeping the hand, but I've noted that this is something I want to track during my weekend matches: How important is it to have two playable creatures in my starting hand?

Because Magic didn't play a creature (no surprise), now's the time to drop Enduring Shield. Normally, War would likely drop multiple creatures (Wild Boar or Tartessian Improviser, for example). In our case, Wild Boar isn't a War creature (no health from Call to Arms) and Tartessian Improviser is slightly out of the budget.

NOTE: Tartessian Improviser is a potential upgrade for this deck that I've already noted to revist after my weekend run. My main concern is figuring out what I'd want to replace by adding her.

Also, I drew a Vanguard Axewoman, but I'd only start with her—possibly enraged—if Magic had summoned something I needed to remove.

After another turn with nothing played (not sure why Magic didn't plink me, directly), my best guess is Magic's got a hand full of removal. With that in mind, we'll proceed with Springbloom Hunter. My go-to play is to spend a mana enraging her for the free +1 Strength, then I'll tap my opponent with my relic to force Magic to overspend if they want to remove my creature.

Notice that I've drawn Bearstrider (potential option for next turn), and I still have Deadly Arsenal ready for whatever Magic is holding onto.

After another turn with literally nothing done by Magic, I'm beginning to suspect they're either deranking or saving for some kind of board wipe. If they plan to board wipe me, I'd have expected to receive several Magebolts to the face, at least.

So, even though I'm fairly certain this match is over, I'll continue with caution. Instead of dropping Bearstrider, directly, I'm going to play Skeleton Heavy and attack. I'm holding onto my second relic swipe, and I'm erring on the side of caution by not playing Deadly Arsenal on Springbloom Hunter.

In looking back while walking through my turns, I think I should have cast it simply to force out any control that might have been lurking. Magic could push to 5 mana for Ratify, but I'd essentially be trading spells while still left with a 1/1 I could continue attacking with (and potentially pump up again). If we did trade, that's one less spell to target Bearstrider with.

At this point, I received confirmation my opponent was throwing when they started milling themselves. The rest of the match was uneventful (I attacked, they died), but I've taken the opportunity to demonstrate a potential play with Bearstrider.

Rather than waiting until he can attack, I immediately enrage him for a jump to 6/4 and apply Protect with my second relic attack. At this point, if Magic did have a board wipe or planned combo ready, it would likely be cost-prohibitive. My two strongest creatures have Protect, they lack the mana to cast enough spells to ensure both creatures are removed, and I know that I still have Deadly Arsenal ready to deploy with my Vanguard Axewoman.

Unfortunate match, but a good warm-up nonetheless.

Example 2 — Aggro War

Right off the bat, this is an ugly hand. The clear pick to toss is Over-proof Brew, so that's what I do.

RNGesus is displeased with me after my free win, so again we have a clear pick to toss.

Things are looking better, but the Bladecaster isn't a strong enough early play to justify holding Tamed Mammoth of Tartessian Skirmisher. The other elephant goes.

At this point, I need to manage my risk. My opponent is War with Slayer, so I don't have 1/1 spam to worry about. Part of me thinks Tartessian Skirmisher should go, but I do have Auric Rush for emergency removal. The only issue is this definitely isn't a good defensive hand for dealing with Aggro.

I decide to keep it, but I made another note that I'm unsure if Tartessian Skirmisher is a card I wan't to have in my starting hand, or not. Had I dropped it, my odds for a Cost 1-2 card was decent. If we lose the match, we'll make a note to dump him in future hands (if possible) given he works best as a follower.

After seeing two creatures drop, my options are Auric Rush to knockout the Volatile Imp and prep Wild Boar for a trade, but I decide to play Bladecaster just in case there's another weaker creature coming that I could tag with Auric Rush.

The rest of my hand is questionable at best, so this is a match I need to be very efficient in. If I topdeck more junk, I'll quickly lose the board.

Leading with the Wild Board attack, a successful hit on my Bladecaster leaves her open to a trade with Volatile Imp. It's not ideal, but at least I avoid face damage. Instead, Athenian Archer immediately follows to finish off my weakened creature, and I take the 2 damage anyways.

In hindsight, there is a case to be made for choosing to cast Auric Rush, instead, but I think now is the better opportunity for it given that Wild Boar will drop off the board as well.

As explained, I drop Auric Rush to even up the trade before passing the turn. I'm behind, overall, because my opponent was able to include face damage in the trade. Things aren't completely out of control, though.

With Raid Reveller on the board, my play is somewhat forced. Tamed Mammoth has the best chance of surviving, and he'll get stronger if the attempt fails. I need to keep in mind Blitz relics or Vicious Rend, but I don't have any other effective options.

The elephant is now in the room. I'm hoping that Tamed Mammoth survives with at least 2 Health, so I can play Over-proof Brew to clear the board. I'm also now realizing that a Vanguard Axewoman would be able to trade my elephant off the board with Raid Reveller's Protect.

A very much "ugh" position to be in.

Unfortunately, as expected, my opponent plays Vicious Rend :*(

. . . on my face?! As they follow up with two additional attacks on my face, I'm fairly certain this is a mistake that will cost them. Tamed Mammoth is full health, so I respond with the intended play. Had they killed him, Archangel Bruiser was ready to go. The exchange would likely have been unfavorable, though.

Having now cleared the board as planned, my next play was one of two things: Drop Tartessian Skirmisher to deal with multiple creatures, or drop an enraged Archangel Bruiser after attacking with Tamed Mammoth to wipe my opponent's board, again.

Strangely, my opponent immediately concedes. I can only assume their hand lacked worthwhile reponses that I probably would have easily killed. The 13 Health gap might have been enough to salvage a win for them, but this is the part of the match where my damage is likely to outpace Slayer

Sadly, we'll never know. . . :*(

Example 3 — Midrange Death

Since Death likes to play Zombies and other 1/X Creatures via Afterlife, I want to keep Springbloom Hunter. She'd normally also be effective against Blood Ritual (Destroy a Creature with 1 Health, Heal 1), but we don't have to worry about that in this match.

Call to Arms feels premature, so we'll drop it for something better.

Archangel Bruiser is nice, but we're going first and I need a good opening play. She'll have to wait for now.

A pair of Raid Reveller's isn't bad, but I feel like pushing my luck and drop one.

Upon seeing the Blood Rage and Tartessian Skirmisher, I'm feeling pretty good about my hand. I need to be careful about prematurely pumping Springbloom Hunter, as it'll only encourage Death to remove it with Blight Bomb. By saving my extra mana, I can have a strong turn 2 if they don't go for the trade.

With nothing hit the board, it's time to get stronk! I fully anticipate seeing removal after swinging for 7, but I've got Raid Reveller to follow-up with and an Auric Rush handy, if needed. Raid Reveller into Tartessian Skirmisher could form a solid trade if Death summons anything.

Death's response is lackluster, and the absence of a removal spell clears the way for me to take control of the match. I could clear the board and drop Raid Reveller for more pressure, but this is an aggro deck and damage is king!

Tartessian Skirmisher helps kill off the Frontline obstacle and I swing for another 7. My only concern at this point is AoE removal or repeated Sleep.

The relic play reveals that Death is seriously hurting for removal. I'm surprised a creature wasn't played, but I can understand the urgency in wanting to kill my flower power.

First, we play more creatures and make sure something weaker than my stronk friend is ready for sacrifice. There's an interesting opportunity to manipulate the relic, though.

By enraging the Tartessian Skirmisher, I can apply more face damage while also ensuring its the creature that dies to Death's relic. This leaves my other Springbloom Hunter alive to pump the following round for 4 + 3 damage rather than 3 + 4. Yes, it's the same amount, but hitting for an extra point a turn sooner is more threatening.

Also, Dust to Dust (Destroy all Cost 2-3 Creatures) might be about to hit the board. I'm being somewhat greedy by playing two creatures (Bladecaster might have been worth holding onto), so the 4 damage might be all I get for a couple turns.

Unfortunately, it looks like Death didn't have Dust to Dust, and they tap out.

Final Thoughts

In an earlier iteration of this deck, I ran Reckoning to fetch Enduring Shield. I dropped them for Auric Rush, but I'm unsure how often I'll actually use it as planned. This is something I may reverse during my run.

While I intend to do 25-match runs in the future, my 10-match run was still informative.

Breakdown:

• Death x2 (100% winrate)
• Magic x2 (100% winrate)
• Nature x2 (50% winrate)
• War x4 (50% winrate)

I didn't face Deception or Light, but I think Light is more likely to be problematic. They have two forms of hard removal (Imperious Smite and Purification Filter) that would cause problems if I stack my creatures too tall. That particular match-up could be a weak-point going into the weekend.

Also, all of my losses were against fellow aggro decks. Each War loss came down to a combination of poor mulligan choices on my part and lack of early pressure. I need to remember that this deck has a slower burn, but once it lights up it's ferocious.

My Nature loss was against the standard Big Beasts deck. I got antsy and played creatures too early without proper support. They were promptly swept off the board with Canopy Barrage and Lightning Strike. I was more controlled in my second Nature game in that I made sure I was playing creatures with Protect or Blitz to ensure decent trades. In Nature match-ups, it might be worth keeping Call to Arms if it shows up in my hand for the extra health.

Lastly, I might need to drop a copy of Over-proof Brew and something else to make room for more War creatures at either Cost 1 or 2. We'll see how the matches go, but it's on my radar.

As a little bonus, here are my pack pulls from leveling up during the test run. Got a couple promising cards for a future Nature deck:

Until next time!

~ Ent