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FoA Hooru flier gauntlet

Gauntlet Deck By
BarnacleEd
The Esteemed POOP Clan

+26

Cost Curve

Type

Faction

Information

A fresh take on this classic gauntlet grinding archetype, focusing heavily on the berserk keyword and some of the excellent weapons that Hooru has access to.

This deck relies on 3 key concepts:
a) The AI rarely plays Sandstorm Titan or other flier-hate cards, so flying is a highly valuable keyword in gauntlet.
b) You often wind up behind early and scrambling to stabilize versus faster decks (especially the new Oni-focused deck), so lifesteal is a highly valuable keyword in the gauntlet.
c) Finally, the AI seems to greatly undervalue the new berserk keyword and doesn't seem to understand that a 5-damage berserk flying crow means 10 damage to face...or 13 damage if unseen commando is on the board! These surprise lethals make berserk even more valuable in gauntlet than on ladder.

This deck is the result of focusing on these 3 areas. Trust in your crows, your commandoes, and your shelterwings in addition to saving your berserk until you can really pump these units with Finest Hour, Cloudsnake Saddle, etc before swinging. Play aggressively but don't over-commit, aiming to win by turn 6.

Market Choices:
- Hooru Banner to help remedy powerscrew and get out Shelterwing Rider more reliably.
- Linebreaker's Shield pulls double duty since it handle annoying stuns like Permafrost on demand, while simultaneously giving our more aggresive units a weapon on demand. Crow with a shield!
- Vanquish to handle "big removal" on demand.
- Svetya, Orene of Kosul as a fallback for the few gauntlet decks that run annoying spells/weapons like Harsh Rule, Crystallize, and Divining Rod. Pull her from the market asap but save her until you need her.
- Eilyn, Clan Mother pulls double duty in that she handles stalemates with her silence and ultimate, plus she's also a big scary unit with flying and endurance (and, if you have a Dusk Raider out when you pull her from market, berserk too!)

Replacements:
- Geomar, the Steel Tempest I'm currently testing out and really liking as a 2 of. He can grow really quickly in size with a few Finest Hours or other 1 cost spells from our Crows thrown out. Plus he means more lifesteal and he cannot be frozen. If you don't have 2, look into Svetya, Orene of Kosul or Windshaper as 4 power replacements for the same curve. If you want to curve out more aggressively, consider Wild Cloudsnake which can also grow really large if it isn't countered early.
- Eilyn, Clan Mother, as stated above, is our answer for stalemates and when we need a large body on the board. Rolant's Honor Guard fits the "big body" part but isn't really a stalemate-breaker...if you switch to Jennev Merchant you can instead consider Thunderstrike Dragon for a pair of big bodies on demand or the all powerful Crystallize for a very nice stalemate breaking spell.

GLHF!

Details

Shiftstone Cost
Does not include campaign cost
39,650

Premium Cost
180,800

Influence Requirements
2 2

Power Sources
18 16 9 3

Power Calculator
Shiftstoned Icon View Deck on Shiftstoned

Deck Rarities
7 23 32 3 3

Card Types
34 10 8 0 28

Archetype
Aggro Midrange

Updated
September 11, 2018

Added
April 13, 2018

Views
17,778

Eternal Version
Balance Changes

BBCode For Comments

Deck URL

Revisions (Since last major patch) September 11, 2018


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Comments

andyh22 Eternal Version: 1.40
Love the deck, has been my go to for a couple weeks now. I have a situational question maybe you or someone could help with. Turn two I have an owl, saddle, finest hour and a couple 4 drops and no more power. Do I play the owl even tho it gets killed almost every time or wait for an additional power to protect with a finest hour.

How about if I have a power for next turn?

3 power in hand, turn two I have an owl and a 3 drop and finest hour?

Basically when is it worth the tempo loss of not playing a unit (when you suspect it'll be killed immediately) to play one more power and protect it?
Blackguard Eternal Version: 1.37.4
I made some changes to the deck and finally decided I had my own idea. Below is my version of your deck. I feel like it is more consistent and I cleared it a few times to test. See what you think if it modifies your own.
4 Finest Hour (Set1 #130)
2 Permafrost (Set1 #193)
2 Seek Power (Set1 #408)
4 Cloudsnake Saddle (Set1 #199)
4 Eager Owlet (Set1 #144)
4 Honored Skyguard (Set4 #155)
4 Kothon, the Far-Watcher (Set2 #218)
2 Vanquish (Set1 #143)
4 Acquisitive Crow (Set4 #164)
4 Privilege of Rank (Set1 #157)
4 Unseen Commando (Set3 #122)
4 Valkyrie Enforcer (Set1 #151)
4 Winchest Merchant (Set4 #126)
4 Geomar, the Steel Tempest (Set4 #128)
7 Justice Sigil (Set1 #126)
6 Primal Sigil (Set1 #187)
4 Hooru Banner (Set2 #216)
4 Seat of Order (Set0 #51)
4 Diplomatic Seal (Set1 #425)
--------------MARKET---------------
1 Bring Down (Set2 #217)
1 Vision of Austerity (Set1002 #17)
1 Eilyn's Choice (Set2 #220)
1 Auric Runehammer (Set1 #166)
1 Sword of the Sky King (Set1 #186)
Blackguard Edited Eternal Version: 1.37.4
I would like to make a few explanations. Eilyn’s Choice in the market is perfect to counter a potential Harsh rule. I liked the Honored Skyguard and Privilege of Rank combo for acceleration and a 3/3 flyer that draws 3 cards. Geomar, the Steel Tempest was preforming well, so I tested it with 4 and found he consistently is a powerhouse. Vision of Austerity works wonders as a Market draw for any relic played. Lastly. Your deck is fast, but has a bunch of clunky depleted power cards that screw up early game. I removed all of them and found this to smooth out the first 3 turns.
BarnacleEd Eternal Version: 1.37.4
I've hum'ed and haw'ed over marketing both Eilyn's Choice and Vision of Austerity since they're great situational cards (even versus gaunlet AI). So I'm on board with those inclusions and with bumping up Geomar to a 4-of; I only have 2 personally but he's been consistently good for me as well!

I'm not keen on the Honored Skyguard combo since it's slow and honestly just looks clunky to me. All power to you if it's consistently working out for you I guess though, but it seems like the wrong call to me personally.

Finally, the powerbase here could definitely use some tweaking to avoid early depleted power. I'm on the fence about the Diplomatic Seals if you're still running Seats, and I'd keep at least 2xCrest of Order just for the sake of card cycle personally. I'm thinking about dropping to 2 crests and 2 crownwatch standard then doing a bunch of sigils to handle any early depletion. If it works it works though!
pquizz Eternal Version: 1.37.4
Great updated list, lots of fun too!
BoyTorero Eternal Version: 1.37
added 4 harshrule, can't live without them. removing duskraider
BarnacleEd Eternal Version: 1.37
That's absolutely the wrong approach in this deck - you need an explosive start and to make strong plays on curve for this deck to really excel. Dusk Raiders mean added draw and berserk shenanigans (as Ravager noted below) whereas all Harsh Rule will do 9 times out of 10 is be dead in your hand since you'll destroy your own established board if you play it.
BadBug Eternal Version: 1.37
Thanks for sharing!
Anyone tested this list lately - I mean this month ?
BarnacleEd Eternal Version: 1.37
I've only done 2 gauntlet runs with this deck since Set 4 hit tbh - 6 wins and 4 wins respectively. The second run did involve a few questionable card changes though.

I think it's in a fine place for what it is. Personally I've been preferring decks with more lifesteal/lifegain in them these days however.
BadBug Eternal Version: 1.37
Thanks for the honest reply!
BarnacleEd Eternal Version: 1.37
Delayed response but I've taken this deck in a slightly-different direction and I think this newer core is the right way to go about it. 2 back to back gauntlet clears with the changes so far :)
EsnesNommoc Eternal Version: 1.37
Can something be replaced with Kothon to make the deck better or is he not needed?
BarnacleEd Eternal Version: 1.37
I don't really see the need for Kothon here tbh. You could maybe try it instead of the cloudsnake or owlet, but to really get the full value from Kothon you want to trigger his ult which means waiting until 6 power, and this deck tends to have sealed the game well before turn 6 hits. Could be worth experimenting with if you have 4 of him though.
Ravager Eternal Version: 1.37
Haha, Unseen Commandos and Berserk... I had no clue they interacted that way. Leads to some OP stuff.
BarnacleEd Eternal Version: 1.37
Oh yeah I was surprised the first time I got a berserk shelterwing out on the board with commando...swinging once with a 6/6 then again with a 7/7 flyer was awesome!!
Comment Deleted
BarnacleEd Eternal Version: 1.31.6
I think you meant to comment on a different deck...I run 0 copies of Umbren Reaper (which is what I assume you meant by "umbreen") since it's a shadow card and this deck has no shadow influence. Similarly, I could not put Inquisitor Makto in this deck due to a lack of shadow influence.
merovingian Eternal Version: 1.31.6
can you tell me whats the point of farming gauntlet? i mean if you can substain a 50% win rate in vs casual or ranked its always better than gauntlet right?
BarnacleEd Eternal Version: 1.31.6
I think this is question bigger than this specific deck. In my opinion, however, gauntlet means a theoretically endless stream of rewards (whereas both casual and ranked ladder stop giving rewards after a few wins per day) and also no ladder anxiety. I personally like gauntlet when I'm on public transit with an unreliable connection or when I'm winding down at the end of the day for some low-key card gaming.
damanjeff6 Edited Eternal Version: 1.31.6
Instead of Icaria, Valkyrie Captain, I've been using Wild Cloudsnake. Easier on the influence requirements and it gets big fast. Been doing great in gauntlet! I've been using @dreamer 's version since I've also had influence requirements problems so the additional power has worked better for me.
BarnacleEd Eternal Version: 1.31.6
Hey thanks for the feedback on Icaria, Valkyrie Captain. I definitely agree that her influence requirement is annoying and she's one of the weaker cards in the deck - I'll give the cloudsnake a whirl on my next gauntlet run since that feels like a much inclusion given this deck's theme.
Wok Eternal Version: 1.31.6
100% success so far.
Comment Deleted
Dreamer Eternal Version: 1.31
This has become my go to deck for grinding. Very well done, my friend. I would like to mention though, that I found trouble meeting the influence requirements early on a lot of matches, so I reworked the mana base and opted to add 4 Common Cause. It rarely doesn't proc and the results are fantastic.

3 Levitate (Set1 #190)
4 Permafrost (Set1 #193)
3 Bring Down (Set2 #217)
4 Eager Owlet (Set1 #144)
4 Icaria, Valkyrie Captain (Set1003 #7)
4 Strategize (Set3 #165)
4 Vanquish (Set1 #143)
3 Aerialist Trainer (Set2 #219)
4 Hooru Pacifier (Set1003 #23)
3 Unseen Commando (Set3 #122)
3 Valkyrie Enforcer (Set1 #151)
3 Shelterwing Rider (Set2 #223)
3 Windshaper (Set1 #230)
11 Justice Sigil (Set1 #126)
6 Primal Sigil (Set1 #187)
2 Cobalt Monument (Set1 #418)
3 Cobalt Waystone (Set3 #151)
4 Seat of Order (Set0 #51)
4 Common Cause (Set3 #279)
BarnacleEd Edited Eternal Version: 1.31.6
Thanks for the feedback on the power base. I was skeptical on the common causes at first, I'll admit, but I've also found that they work surprisingly well and I've had almost no trouble activating them.

What I'm much less keen on, however, is dropping any Shelterwing Riders from this deck since it's a fantastic card. It makes sense to toss in some additional power cards for the influence requirements, but I'd rather keep the shelterwings too. I'll have to fiddle with this a little further and will be posting an update here hopefully soon!
flippyflop Eternal Version: 1.31.6
nice work dewd ;w;b
Blackguard Eternal Version: 1.31
First attempt with this was flawless. Great deck. Worked awesome! No subs.
Blackguard Eternal Version: 1.31
Second time through was 7:0
jakecard Eternal Version: 1.31
Been sitting in Master Gauntlet for a while and just got a "Beat a Gauntlet boss" quest. Banged my head on it for a few days before trying this deck and immediately charging through the whole thing. Thanks for the pack!
BarnacleEd Eternal Version: 1.31
Glad to hear this deck worked well for you :)