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The Derriest Mandrake

Throne Deck By
isomorphic

+31

Cost Curve

Type

Faction

Information

I've only been playing this deck for a couple days and the list is still pretty rough, but my record with the deck is quite good and I've been having a lot of fun with it so I thought I'd post it now. The deck consists of two interlocking synergy packages, both of which are supported well by Dark Return and Mirror Image.

1) The more obvious (and powerful) package is The Merriest Mandrake + cheap units with relatively cheap ultimates. Once we have two Mandrakes on the board, all our units with ultimates become ridiculously good - even the unassuming Veteran Strategist functions as a 0/4 Evenhanded Golem with summon: gain 5 life - and we can quickly become very far ahead in all respects (board, lifetotal, cards). Dark Return and Mirror Image are crucial here in helping us to keep two Mandrakes on the board (you can still get a solid amount of value with just one Mandrake but two is the real goal, while three is usually more than you really need), as well as allowing us to reuse ultimates.

2) The other package is best described as Dino Killers - we only have 10 dinos in the deck, but that's enough to get value from Avisaur Patriarch's abilities and play the very tempo-efficient Twilight Hunt. Once a dino has been Twilight Hunted, both Dark Return and Mirror Image become very powerful in the traditional Killers way. It's worth noting that Derry gains overwhelm from its ultimate and can be re-ulted each time it is Returned or Imaged, so it really doesn't take much to do lethal with Derry killer attacks. If we don't have a dino for Twilight Hunt, playing it on a 4/4 Lifespeaker can also be good enough (since again, it can use its ult to grow each time you refresh the killer).

In the maindeck, the non-power slots I'm unsure about are Suffocate, Spellshaper, and Twinbrood. You definitely need some amount of removal (and spells for Derry), but it's a little unclear which spells are best, while Twinbrood has nice synergies in the deck but can be a bit clunky. I'm also not sure yet about the powerbase - there are pretty good arguments for various combinations of crests, banners, and seats, and I only started with the all-seat powerbase for simplicity. In the market, all I'm really sure about is that you want Mandrake and Hunt. Azindel has been pretty good for me in the grindier games, but there might be other options.

Details

Shiftstone Cost
Does not include campaign cost
22,050

Premium Cost
156,000

Influence Requirements
2 2 2

Power Sources
13 13 9 13 4

Power Calculator
Shiftstoned Icon View Deck on Shiftstoned

Deck Rarities
9 33 24 4 1

Card Types
31 4 19 0 26

Contains Cards From Campaigns
Jekk's Bounty [Set1001]
Dead Reckoning [Set1003]
Into Shadow [Set1004]

Archetype
Combo

Added
January 13, 2020

Views
7,584

Eternal Version
Promises by Firelight

BBCode For Comments

Deck URL

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Comments

jemini Eternal Version: 1.50.2
hi i dont have avisaur patriarch yet. what is the best alternative for it?
Reyemile Eternal Version: 1.49.3
Having a ton of fun with this deck.

I'm very, very tempted to stick an Accelerated Impact into the market, though. This deck makes a LOT of 0/4s!
wavertongreen Eternal Version: 1.49.3
This deck is a blast to play. I think a handful of crests goes a long way towards improving early game consistency, but the core cards work so well together. I’ve been messing around with a 4 faction version using reweave to help ensure an early mandrake (and the shift helps it dodge removal), I’m not sure if overall that’s a net improvement, but when playing something spicy like this I’m always looking for an opportunity to add an extra faction to the mix!

Thanks for the inspiration, I’d been struggling to find something fun post the endra nerf and this has rekindled my interest :)
biologynut99 Eternal Version: 1.49.3
This deck is so hit-and-miss!

Without mandrake, so many of these units are just poopy.

WIth mandrake you have an INSANE draw advantage.

Unreliable as heck but fun when it goes off (though I'd like some big guys added like ila+mizo or something)
wavertongreen Eternal Version: 1.49.3
Alhed is a good option if you’re looking for some bigger threats that still fit with the ultimate package
Levexecus Eternal Version: 1.49.3
Leave it to Iso to come up with the spiciest brews

I'm testing Equivocates in the maindeck over suffocates. The 0/4s are pretty good at blocking 3/xs so you need to focus on threats beyond that until you have your engine going. I also like Immortalize over Dark return because exalting killers is fun and the fast speed is sometimes meaningful. Some sort of relic removal in the market seems good for avigrafts/gavels.

Simkeoda Eternal Version: 1.49.3
Good job! Extremely fun deck.
PinkShadow Eternal Version: 1.49.3
Great deck !
svrQQ Eternal Version: 1.49.3
Lost a game against that Azindel (and also me being an idiot and not sticking swords of unity and swinging aggressively earlier) late game. Strong list and very cool double synergies.
DefMiksi Eternal Version: 1.49.3
Jesus this deck is fun as f. Always thought Mask versions are weak and unreliable. Gratz
GGCrono Eternal Version: 1.49.3
Have you tried Feln Bloodcaster? The influence cost is a little greedy but Mandrake turns its ability into a draw three.
isomorphic Eternal Version: 1.49.3
I considered Bloodcaster but decided that SS was a bit awkward and that I could draw just as many cards by chaining cheaper ultimate units together.