Accel Drive

This one's a weird little number I thought up when I saw the extremely... particular change to Reliquary Raider. I mean... Of all cards in the game...? Reliquary Raider...? Going from a 4/4 for 5T to a... 1/3 for 3TT? It felt so targeted that I actually looked at it for the first time since she was one of my only Rares.

I still feel like I'm assessing her effective power level, but there's several things I already know that are... well, simple facts. 1/3 for 3 is a terrible body. Which blocks Oni Ronin beautifully and gains you 3 life if they left their Torch in their other pants. At 3 mana, she's one of the earliest units that just... flat draws you a card. No major conditionals that require setting up a combo, no discard tied to it, no sacrificing any other units, just 'turn me sideways and I cantrip'. Lots of people glued to Lunar Magus becoming one of the best 3s in the game now, and they're not wrong for it, but she is now another card that costs exactly the same to cast in Time, which is non-negligible.

So my immediate thoughts were all along the lines of 'what can I do to abuse this that gets the job done cleanest?' And, well...
... She's in the same color as Accelerate and the best Diesel in the game. That's what got my gears turning.

Elysian was my first pick for a few reasons. Permafrost, Levitate, and, of all cards, Eye of Winter are really cheap, reliable ways of making attacks safe. You're playing with a 1/3 that wants to attack, you kind of want to baby her so she can do her best. Crystallize is both this, and the classic Elysian game-ender. It's always fun finding an excuse to play that card.

One piece of the Elysian toolkit that I initially glued to because it was cute, before realizing how potent it is in this deck, is Accelerated Evolution. Outside of being 'a really good excuse to call this the fastest deck in Eternal', it manages to do a whole shitload in the context of an actual game. Opponent Permafrosts your 5-drop of choice? Drop it onto the field. It turns out all your Permafrosts were actually blank this whole time. Huh, weird. Not threatened by fliers, but the ground is yucky? Get up into the sky, I hear that's a cool place to be when you want to swing for free. Your opponent's in Fire and you're really anxious about them drawing the Torch to get your Raider off the field? What are you so scared of? She's a 2/4, she doesn't die to Torch. Also she has Flying by the way.

Obviously, this is a whole lot of deck so far to base around one card that's probably still only mediocre. I don't blame anyone for skepticism. That said, why only have one card in your deck that loves getting free hits in?
Worldbearer Behemoth is an absolute no-brainer. I'd go so far as to call him one of the best things you can do for 5 mana in the entire game. If it needs to be explained why, then just... Do yourself a favor for me and read his text. Get it? Got it? Good.
Jotun Feast-Caller is the other Diesel in this color combination, and he happens to be the one with the highest value ceiling, so that's nice. You have juuust enough early drops that you might be able to scare the aegis-poppers out of your opponent by the time he hits the field, at which point you've probably won the game. He pairs really nicely with Accel Evo because suddenly his biggest downside, being Torchable, is literally not a mechanic anymore.
Fearless Yeti is a real fun one that honestly is really good at doing the job. If he runs wild, then shit my dude you just got a free scout and bonked face for 3. Maybe even two or three times. If he eats a Torch or a Vara's Favor, that's a wasted turn 2 and removal that isn't being flung at Raider or Feast-Caller.
Torgov, Icecap Trader... I'd argue he never wasn't a good card. It was just hard to find the deck that adored him like he deserves for a long time. After his buff, he's suddenly a relatively consistent 7/8 with, guess what, incentive for attacking in. On a bad day, 4/5 for 4 is respectable stats, honestly, considering he threatens a good deal if gone unblocked.

In terms of the rest of the kit, well...
Mirror Image is really good in this deck because it synergizes with both of your Diesels (It does, in fact, copy the amount of triggers they've gotten, for the unaware!) and it's super strong following Accel Evo because suddenly your opponent has two worryingly buffed threats to contend with. God help them if you do both of these at the same time.
Polymorph is another card that I'd honestly argue at least a little bit was never not good, you just don't feel good running it. It neuters threats you could be scared to swing into, and removes things you otherwise have a lot of trouble with. (Cough cough sharpen those horns.)
Xenan Initiation is all of removal, a buff to your smaller-statted units, and, technically, an attack trigger. Turning a Fearless Yeti into 'Deal 4 damage to a unit', or 'a unit-only Torch that scouts' is a decent way of using something that is good at being dead later in the game, too.
Exactly two Trail Maker because this deck needs triple/triple, and loves hitting 5, but only exactly 5. It's the magic number for your diesels, your Cirso, the Great Gluttons, it's what it takes to slap Accelerate onto your Raider and play it, or play it and Initiate it, it's when the good stuff starts rolling.
Daring Pioneer makes for an interesting problem to present if you're confident the opponent is about to kill something you care about, or drop Harsh Rule. Backlash that can punch your opponent in the head is, if nothing else, fun to play with.

Things I'm concerned about with this deck... Well, it feels unit-light, at currently only 24. I'm doing a lot of experimenting still, so I'm unsure what to cut. That said, Sandstorm Titan is a pretty big no-brainer include if there's any good four things to cut. A majority of the ways you push through are stun-based, and it's... I'm not gonna pretend I'm glad I made a deck that folds to Tavrod in the year of our lord 2018, but that's something I don't feel bad blaming on DWD. And speaking of Argenport, this deck currently has a whopping 2 cards in it that don't die to Annihilate. So... It'll probably be pretty good if people finally start playing lots of dual-color units again? Eheheh...

Comments and thoughts are hugely appreciated-- Please, don't feel afraid to tell me how I fucked up and how to fix it! I'm all for solving the bizarre jank puzzles I make for myself.
... That and maybe making real people actually play Elysian again. Seriously, am I the only one who hasn't matched against someone playing straight-up Elysian Midrange since, like, September of last year? It's depressing, frankly.