Top 100 Elysian Ambush Midrange

I was chatting with EarthsOverseer on Saturday about how I missed good old Elyasin midrange decks. This list came out of that conversation. It was drafted by EO, but I tweaked it after some testing.

I started the month making D2 on day one with an AP list, then I hit a brick wall. Eventually, I fell back down to the bottom of D3 and was looking for something different to play. I took a couple of days off to recharge, then this deck came out of that unsettled feeling with this meta where I wanted something with an old school feel to play. This deck took me through Diamond to Masters in a day and a half.

The Deck

The build is pretty simple. There is early game with Alhed Ascending, Desert Alchemist, Maveloft Huntress, and Trail Maker. Market access comes in Great Valley Smuggler.

Tocas, Waystone Harvester with Trail Maker helps with ramp. and Tocas shuts down Hooru Kira Ascending decks. Saber-Tooth Prideleader is your relic hate against Dichro's Ruin and other relic decks, and Sandstorm Titan locks down the air. None of these are new cards, but they serve a specific purpose.

EO's original build included Predator's Instinct for a more proactive strategy. I chose Equivocate for tempo. I prefer making someone cast things multiple times. Of course, there is the potential downside to the card, and I did get burned on my run.

Touvon, Skybreak Giant and Xumucan, the Surveyor are the main finishers. EO originally had Rost, the Walking Glacier, but we were being really greedy, so I switched it to Touvon. Warping in an ambushed Xum can just destroy an opponent, and it did so on many occasions. The Speaking Circle is just a great card, and it can be the difference, especially against Garden of Omens control decks.

The Market

EO originally had Grodov's Stranger, but I switched it to Lumen Reclaimer. It's your choice, really. I prefer Reclaimer against Mill strategies. I added Gnash, Desert Prince for Hooru matchups. Linrei's Codex is your late game finisher provided you don't have SST on board and want to lock your opponents board for a turn or fly over them for the win. In only one game did I forget that Gnash and Codex don't really work well together. It was against a unitless control deck, and I had run out of options. I did win in the end, but it was close. EO originally had Grodov's Burden with the killer effects which makes sense.

Matchups

If you're in a spot on ladder where you're facing nothing but Xenan Reanimator or Elysian spells, you might shy away from this deck. It can sometimes win those match ups, but it's inconsistent. They are not great matchups.

But if you're in a place like Diamond was for me this weekend, where it's kind of a wild west and you're facing different decks from opponent to opponent, this deck does pretty well.

Potential Areas of Improvement

I'm not certain this is the right power base. I found myself wanting more Cobalt Waystone for face aegis, and there seemed to be quite a few Ice Bolt flying around made me wish for more sigils. Getting to eight Time influence seemed harder than it should have been. So, that's something that might need improvement.

Conclusions

The deck worked well, but that could be just because I'm very comfortable with this sort of deck. You may not have similar success with it. What's interesting about this sort of deck is that you can make changes on the fly to it depending on what you're facing. If you're not seeing a lot of relics, swap out Prideleader for something else. Want to try that killer build? Ditch Equivocate and Codex.

Anyway, the deck is fun. It got me through Diamond into Masters, so I'm pleased with it. And thanks to EarthsOverseer for the basic build and the discussions on it as I played and tweaked it.