The Xenan Six

This is the second trip for this deck to #1 master this month. It is really good against the current meta with the exception of Rakano which it still has a lot of game against.

The Xenan Six refers to the six power threshold that when you meet, you start to take over.

It is great against armoury and praxis midrange. 60% plus winrate against both. Also 60% or better against Skycrag.

Tough match against Feln control, but nobody plays it. (Also Feln is such an inconsistent deck for an aggro heavy meta)

Had lots of fun and will continue to have lots of fun with this deck... Talir's favored is the right call - don't doubt it as they block fatties and get devoured.

Cheers

Edit - Deck and Mulligan guide:

Mulligan guide: You need a two drop and a way to get to your third power source. Sometimes I will keep a 3-power hand with no two drop but it will almost always have an Ayan in it. Certainly if you have no 3 drop then mulligan. If you have no bodies that affect the board then mulligan. You need plays for turn 4, 5 and 6 and ideally all three.

Things to keep in mind when playing the deck:

1. Ayan on turn 3 at ambush speed is amazing whether you are blocking or not. If they have an big body coming in, play Ayan at EOT and hit back. If it's a Sandstorm Titan, play Ayan anyway. Let them waste their torches on Ayan because it means they will have a harder time trading up to your bigger units.

2. Saving Ayan until the turn before you get to 9 power is a good play. EOT Ayan, play a power and resurrect a guy is great. You don't need to play Ayan if you have an advantaged board. Ayan after Harsh Rule is devastating. Surprise Ayan after a weapon attack is also amazing. When you have 12 power, sometimes it's right to play Ayan main phase and resurrect a big body so you can attack next turn.

3. Sometimes you will want to stop playing power once you hit 6. I will frequently save power in my hand when I have 6 down in order to wait for a Mystic Ascendant. Also, there is almost no situation that you should be playing a mystic ascendant that does not grow. A 4/4 ascendant that dies sucks. Wait until you have the seventh power and then play it. There are times when you will want to play your power, but that is usually because you are holding Ayan in hand. See #2.

4. Save Vara's Favor as long as you can. This has great targets against Praxis and allows your Sandstorm Titan to trade for other Sandstorm Titan and dinosaurs. Also it assists in killing weapons which happens all the time and removes Aegis on the various annoying dudes that carry them.

5. Sometimes you want to play a Slimespitter Slug just so it can grow. You don't always have to kill units with it to play it. Also, shrinking down the flying units can be good enough. 1/1 and 2/2 fliers match up poorly against all of your beaters.

6. You don't have to play Waystone Infuser when you hit 5 power. The turn you hit, you won't be able to play the power on top of your library anyway, so if you have a four drop, you may want to play that one first.

7. Avoid devouring your good bodies unless there is a removal spell aimed at them that will kill them. There are always exceptions to the rule, but devours are for your chump blockers. If you can get a block with a devour that's great. If you need to devour on your turn to keep the power flowing then you do that.

8. Combine Waystone Infuser and Devour and Temple Scribe to cycle land to the top of your deck that you can play. Extract also works with this.

9. The removal package is flexible. With Banish's cost going to three it has become a more appealing option than Extract. So I updated the deck to reflect what I have been playing with now. I like 4-ofs so my preference is 4 Banish and 4 Deathstrike, but I there are people that have been playing this game for much longer that would probably prefer a different removal package. Extract has the added benefit of reach which you give up with the other removal and Annihilate would also be good. Honestly, I don't know what is best, but I have felt this to be very consistent.