So I haven't played a lot of games with this deck obviously, but I've been planning it for almost a month, I just want to start this pledge deck train as soon as possible, because I think
Glasshopper is an amazing card.
While I'm sure better deck builders out there will take this idea and execute it better here is my current list and the idea behind it.
there are 18 pledge cards in the deck, I did not feel like figuring out the math on odds of having them in hand so I did a montecarlo simulation i found online. That found the odds of having at least 1 pledge card in your hand and 2-3 sigils at around 50%, and you are going to want to use that pledge.
Why you ask? well read the cards my friend we are here to capitalize off strong pledge cards and
Glasshopper, and if for whatever the odds you don't draw a
Glasshopper all game it also helps to make an indestructible
Silverwing Courier.
Now to attempt to explain all the cards in the deck and why.
Cargos and seeks: cuz power fixing and they're the only card draw not off put by
Andrik, Renegade Priest.
Annihilate: cuz removal, it's fast it's nice maybe you want to switch out a vanquish for it? I don't judge.
Glasshopper: The cornerstone of the deck, it's card draw it's ramp it's a body! it's everything fun and creative and a body, depending on who u pledge you might be playing this deck very differently!
Vanquish: again removal, it's a little slower, but it helps us deal with big threats without worrying about their factions.
Vanquisher's Blade: same deal as
Vanquish, but also graveyard hate and a lil extra damage.
Display of Vision: mana fixing that maybe you'll get to use the other 2 modes on who knows what the meta is gonna be?
Hidden Road Smuggler: cuz smuggling, only running 4 smugglers because they don't synergize with
Andrik, Renegade Priest very well.
Valkyrie Enforcer: a silencing 3/3 flier in a primarily justice deck? yes please! also it's good with
Andrik, Renegade Priest, and
Telut, Queen's Hand
Andrik, Renegade Priest: my boy and my inspiration, cuz his primary ability hates on merchants and control, and his secondary ability synergizes with
Telut, Queen's Hand for extra big face damage (assuming you aren't swinging with Andrik himself)
Cykalis, the Burning Sand my other boi, aces face hates on sites and
Glasshopper makes him cost 3!
Moonstone Vanguard: cuz card draw and life and pledge, be careful with him if
Andrik, Renegade Priest is on the board too.
Silverwing Courier: cuz flying indestructible pledge! he's a hard to kill boi making him great with
Telut, Queen's Hand, he's still weak to plenty tho, but he'll pull out their harder removal.
Reyna, the Unwavering: Ms. hard to kill ya can't
Permafrost me! good at staying on the board as a blocker and a body with
Telut, Queen's Hand. I honestly might increase the # of her because she's fun and u don't see her often.
Telut, Queen's Hand: cuz wincon.
quick market rundown: power cuz power, slay cuz removal, tomb cuz good card, sword cuz life steal and occasionally aegis, and lastly chains cuz extra wincon.
I really think this deck could be competitively viable, and if not it sure as heck is fun, because as long as you draw your
Glasshopper the deck is going to play different depending on what you pledged. Also this deck might switch, market power for
Burglarize
I took your list and updated it with some of the cards from the comments to replace some of the cards I don't have. I don't have Vanquisher's Blade or Cykalis, the Burning Sand. The deck still ended up being really close to your original list with the replacement suggestions. I only have one Howling Kurtarr and one Reyna, the Unwavering, unfortunately.
I tried it out in Gauntlet to learn how everything interacted together and how easy it was to play around an extra draw. I took your idea of removing the smuggler package since that was causing some big issues in Gauntlet. Ended up removing Kerendon Cargo completely because I didn't want to worry about playing around the extra draw, even though I love all the Cargo cards. I think Burglarize would be a great addition to this deck, but I only have one of them so without a Market, it wouldn't do much for me.
I didn't really want to get rid of Valkyrie Enforcer, but I sort of subbed it out for Peacekeeper's Prod after running across Imperial Loyalist in my card collection. She's working really well in avoiding extra card draw while still gaining some tempo by directly playing a card to the board. I added Valkyrie Wings so I could pull anyone from Reyna, the Unwavering on down.
I also put Acantha, the Huntress in the deck for some extra Pledge and for her removal ability but I'm finding she's not consistently playable so I may swap her out with Valkyrie Enforcer.
I switched out Annihilate and Vanquish for Slay and added Avigraft for extra removal. Against some decks, I'm finding that my beefy, powerful units keep getting blocked by boards full of chumps and tokens so I added Porcelain Mask to allow all of my units to have Overwhelm since I only have two Serene Meditants.
I wasn't trying to completely upend your list, but I hope I've still kept its spirit alive since this is really fun to play and definitely seems to be competitively viable! Just moved up to Gold rank with it, so we'll see if it can carry me to Diamond...and beyond!
Here's my current list:
4 Seek Power (Set1 #408)
4 Glasshopper (Set1005 #5)
3 Porcelain Mask (Set5 #47)
3 Display of Vision (Set5 #249)
3 Slay (Set2 #236)
4 Andrik, Renegade Priest (Set1005 #25)
4 Avigraft (Set5 #95)
1 Howling Kurtarr (Set5 #212)
4 Imperial Loyalist (Set5 #98)
3 Peacekeeper's Prod (Set2 #86)
2 Serene Meditant (Set5 #189)
4 Silverwing Courier (Set1005 #10)
1 Reyna, the Unwavering (Set5 #109)
3 Valkyrie Wings (Set1 #181)
4 Telut, Queen's Hand (Set1004 #12)
3 Acantha, the Huntress (Set5 #185)
4 Time Sigil (Set1 #63)
8 Justice Sigil (Set1 #126)
4 Shadow Sigil (Set1 #249)
3 Crest of Progress (Set4 #247)
3 Crest of Mystery (Set4 #266)
3 Crest of Vengeance (Set3 #264)
edit: Howling Kurtarr is also an option despite the potentially problematic influence. I also play 4 Seek power and 2 Cargo instead of the opposite.
I think Svetya's ultimately not real great, but she can fit alright in here because of the consistent mana. To go pure pledge, I think yours is a good kicking off point, but I'd look for ways to get card advantage/selection that don't require drawing. I'll also note, the only card I've tended to really need off smuggler is more removal.