Scouting Party

The deck is unfinished; I'm using the sideboard as a kind of holding area for cards that could change the nature of the deck. The power base is also not correct and I will fix it later.
As it is, it plays more midrange.

It's built around Peaktop Trekker and Needlesplitter benefiting from all of the scouting you get to do.

Gustrider and Second Sight help with a bit of card draw.
I like Mining Team (as opposed to Camp Surveyor) as a unit that shifts & scouts because it has Warp which plays well in this deck and specifically with Second Sight.

Lida and Swift Refusal are there to help protect your units, and Mirror Image is there to supplement.
Rejection could be put in the market for further protection.
I don't know if Lida is the best choice for this deck but I like her being a target for the enemy's removal before the other units.

I like Bear Guard Bayonet as opposed to Longbarrel because it brings Needle's Toughness out of torch range, even though longbarrel's side-effect is better for this deck.

Crystallize and Poaching Drake are in the Market to control the game, either by letting you dome the enemy or scrap a major threat while introducing a 4 strength flier.

I mulligan hard for needle and/or trekker. At least two power is needed. 1 Crest is preferred -- to play them on the turn Needle or Trekker attack, or if I didn't start with them, then to start cycling the deck for them.

Fend Off and Pummel are great combat tricks. Pummel is necessarily for offense, and I tend to use Fend Off on defense to suddenly ramp a unit and also take a different attacker out of play.
Spy Glass is not a combat trick since it's a weapon, but it is the best scout buf in the deck, unless you really need overwhelm (aka bear guard) on needle.

My ideal hand would be a Crest, sigil, seat, needle, spy glass, scale seeker, trekker.
1: needle
2: crest + spyglass --> deal 7 dmg
3. trekker (attack again with needle)
And at that point hopefully I'd drawn mirror image, bear guard, Lida, blurreechaser/scale seeker, Refusal, or a merchant.

This deck can function on only 3 power. 4 or 5 is nice though. Strongly consider waiting to drop trekker until you can buff him with scout, or he can get torched. In the above sequence, attacking with needle will buff him before he'd get torched.
In general, there aren't that many payoff units (trekker and needle) so be somewhat frugal with them.
Mirror image and merchants (to fetch another trekker) somewhat offset this, but still.


I'd love to hear thoughts about this deck's direction. Should it go more aggro or more control? Scouting does well for control but Needlesplitter tends towards aggro. I also find I can go the one-shot strategy route and turn my 1/4 needle and 4/4 trekker into like a 13/16 and 14/14 (both with overwhelm) on turn 4, given the right cards. That's obviously an extreme case, but it has happened.