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UPDATED 8/2: Craggro Barter

Expedition Deck By
Rainhall

+9

Cost Curve

Type

Faction

Information

UPDATE August 2:

I am currently testing Telia, Perfect Timing. She is not necessarily a 4-of, but she's a 3/2 for two and we like that. Don't fall in love with her text box. It can be very handy, but it's expensive. Sometimes she's just a 2-drop that eats removal and that's fine, she's not a key card and we're not obsessed with her ultimate. Note that the aegis is repeatable. Your opponent will note that when they cast The Fall of the Spire and you just re-aegis her and swing face.

This deck is very tunable right now. If opponents are having too much success with one certain card or another, look to see which of our 2- and 3-ofs play well against that card and bump those up.

Lipa, Witch of the Woods and Karrina, Embercaster have been trimmed back not because they're not very strong, but because of their double influence. Getting two of them stuck in a hand can be a death sentence, so we've greatly reduced the chance you'll be holding two when you get pinched for influence.

UPDATE June 4:

This is the version of Craggro Barter I'm playing now. It takes into account nerfs to both Lanterns and there's one more Permafrost in response to the popularity of Riftfeeder Wasp, which some people tell me is a pretty good card. However, our main counter to it is the fact that it can only block one thing and we keep swinging face. Absolutely DO kill Combrei or Praxis ramp cards if you can so they don't get it out early.

Please stop sending hate mail to Ankle Cutter just because his text box is underwhelming. He's a 3/2 for 2, and he's out here doing his best.

What follows is the original text I posted with this deck, not updated for the current meta:



This is an awkward time to be posting a deck, with new cards about to shake things up, but take it for what it's worth. This deck was really well-positioned against the meta here in the first days of April. Like, silly. Like you-should-try-this-deck silly.

It's Skycraggro, and the "Barter" comes from us paying for things in ways besides power. We play cards that trade life, discard cards, and meet outsized influence requirements in return for inexpensive power costs and superior tempo.

The card that inspired this deck was Check-Raise. This card is perfect for aggro where our opponent needs answers NOW. It's easy to hold up at only one power cost. If we get to where our opponent can pay three more for their board wipe, we've probably lost anyway, so don't fret the occasional feels-bad moment when Check is useless. Instead revel in all the negated Save the Day, Bone Music, In Service, Living Reflection, Heavy Hail, etc., etc.

All the three-ofs are not accidents. There are some cards where the second one is not as good as the first, so 3-ofs makes us more likely to have different options in our hand.

Cards:

Ascetic Lantern and Lethrai Marauder give us things to do with useless card draws. This includes wrong amount of power, cards we don't currently have the influence for, and Check-Raises, if they're situationally weak. Be willing to pitch excellent 4-cost cards if doing so allows you to increase pressure now or improve your ability to play units in turns 2 and 3. With Marauder, it's typically right to pitch something to get the extra 2/1 body. I occasionally used the killer/scout, and never the Formbend.

It's usually right to take Volatile Reaction damage to our face, but be aware if we have a Permafrosted friendly unit, we have no way to recover it, so might as well blast it.

Starlight Guide is just here for the flying body. Be aware of the summon, but don't fixate on getting value out of it.

I've put Ossuar Longbow on units more frequently than I ever did in other decks. It's still not more than half the time, but be aware of the possibilities. A flying aegis'd Lipa, Witch of the Woods wears it well, and if our opponent has a large Permafrosted unit, suiting up a unit of our own gives the bow a chance to swing more than once. On an activated Twilight Lantern, we're often happy to get the silly amount of damage even if it gets removed the following turn.

It's typically right to hold up Check Raise if you can still play a cheaper unit and do so, rather than tap out to play your best unit. Longbow is a different story, because it likely hunts you an Advantage that can (and should) be played immediately for the hold-up. Against primal control, absolutely Check their card draw. In the long run, this will pay off more than trying to save it for the perfect negate. I have yet to Check a Seek Power, but the dream is still alive in me. Once we get some outsized tempo out of the Check Raise, we can concentrate on dumping our hand and using all power, so be wise, but don't be overly choosy with it.

Gameplay here: Craggro Barter

Final Advice: Don't scoop. This deck topdecks silly things. Make them beat you.

Expedition Information

Details

Shiftstone Cost
Does not include campaign cost
33,450

Premium Cost
168,800

Influence Requirements
2 2

Power Sources
13 12 4 4

Power Calculator
Shiftstoned Icon View Deck on Shiftstoned

Deck Rarities
3 24 22 4 5

Card Types
37 7 6 0 25

Contains Cards From Campaigns
Enter the Arcanum [Set1135]

Archetype
Aggro

Updated
August 3, 2023

Added
April 5, 2023

Views
4,025

Eternal Version
The Devouring

BBCode For Comments

Deck URL

Revisions (Since last major patch) August 3, 2023


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Comments

Serus Eternal Version: 23.08.17
Nice list! Is there a reason why you chose to omit ignite and chizue?
Rainhall Eternal Version: 23.08.17
The Primal removal deals with a wider range of threats, with more reasonable influence costs. Volatile Reaction is almost always better than Ignite. Chizue is just a little slow. I'm currently running Youngblood Tactician, which can affect the board the turn it comes down. But I don't think Chizue's a bad choice, if you want to run her. I do think Ignite isn't a good fit.
Serus Eternal Version: 23.08.17
Gotcha gotcha, yeah I’m running both volatile reaction and ignite in my build but I’m open to switching it up. Thanks!
martyvburen Eternal Version: 23.07.19
I wish I could give this another thumbs up for the 8/2 update. Both work great!
Rainhall Eternal Version: 23.07.19
Glad to hear it!

How'd you pick our 8th president for your screen name. Was it the exquisite mutton chops?
martyvburen Eternal Version: 23.07.19
Hah! Old college nickname that stuck when I was trying to think of a general username. I did have (short-lived) mutton-chops when I got the nickname though.
Rainhall Eternal Version: 23.07.19
That is a great, great answer.
martyvburen Eternal Version: 23.05.24
Nice deck! The one time I've used Formbend to (limited) effect is if it's the only answer I have to a Skysplitter or Wasp. Longbow on Lipa is devastating.
Rainhall Eternal Version: 23.05.24
Karrina can also blow up a Skysplitter. Our hope with Wasp, outside of Permafrost, is that we are wide enough on board to get the remaining damage we need for a win.
martyvburen Eternal Version: 23.05.24
I find Karrina oddly hard to draw in this deck. I mean, yes, she's the perfect answer for Skysplitter, but I feel like that thing needs to be answered almost right away or it stalls everything.
Diadallos Edited Eternal Version: 23.05.24
Made Master with this today after a brief hiatus (Diablo 4 Lol!)
This is the premier aggro deck in the post-lantern format given that it handles wasp so well with maindeck permafrost, and has tools to kill the Combrei ramp cards. Check Raise was only ever bad when I had 3 stranded in my hand, and Ankle Cutter is much more relevant now that Midrange plays things like West On the Trail , Skysplitter, and Dunehill Clan. Sometimes slumps happen, but the matches will be quick and you will out volume the midrange and control players in terms of time spent ranking up.
Rainhall Eternal Version: 23.05.24
Nothing wrong with going down to three Check Raise. Three is a good number for cards where the second one is usually not as good as the first one. I built the deck with four at a time when there was more Hooru Control, Bone Music, and Feed the Hecaton.
LUppercut Eternal Version: 23.05.10
I have been playing this deck for the past week and it is really fun. Once you get a good understanding of what cards to discard based on the situation, this deck really excels. I also got to use a check on a seek power, it was fantastic.
argocontrol Edited Eternal Version: 23.04.05
Thanks for the recommendation. Shot me into masters pretty quick just playing my 9 wins the last three days. Sitting at 10th currently. Check raise is pretty clutch. I was skeptical about grove supplier, but with the elf it’s really good. Definitely ended up being surprisingly good. Ankle cutter never ended up being relevant though, I might swap it for something else.
Rainhall Eternal Version: 23.04.05
Ankle Cutter's text hasn't been relevant for me, but it's still a 3/2 for 2. Tell me if you've found something else.
Diadallos Eternal Version: 23.04.05
Hey! Trying it out at Master now, it's the real deal. A great amount of threats, with the right mix of interaction. Thanks!
Rainhall Eternal Version: 23.04.05
Thanks for the comment, glad it's working for you!