Even Xenan Goodstuff

After trying to make a Mono Time Xenan Obelisk deck work in Gauntlet and failing I looked to Shadow to pick up the slack. This deck is now 7-0 in gauntlet runs with 4 wins over Sudden Death. As unlucky I was to run into Sudden death that many times in testing I was mostly lucky in winning for posterity.

As the deck name suggests the list is just high value cards with Xenan Obelisk to make your dudes gooder. The shell is pretty flexible and can be changed to your preference. Currently the two biggest weaknesses, imo, is the lack of Aegis to protect your dudes and the pre Xenan Obelisk unit stat lines. The deck is really vulnerable to removal and silence. In my experience the majority of the decks I played against had Fire or Shadow and that means shit is getting blown up. Most of the time you will stabilize as the deck is constantly digging and putting out more bodies than the AI can handle.

Mulligan aggressively. You really want a diverse starting hand to handle whatever is thrown at you. This deck can make 2 starting power work and with cards like Blistersting Wasp and Ripknife Assassin you can hold thing down until a Xenan Obelisk gets online.

Card breakdown:

Blistersting Wasp / Ripknife Assassin: If something absolutely has to die in combat accept no substitute. The AI has a severe aversion to Deadly units and will only attack into you if it thinks it's a good trade. Swing with Ripknife whenever you get the chance or know you can trade up. Blister Stingwasp is rock solid and keeps things "fair" in case you struggle to find a Sandstorm Titan.

Devotee of the Sands / Trail Maker: Xenan Obelisk enablers and your savior if you get power screwed. Devotee of the Sands can be shifted if your expecting removal from your opponent. Trail Makers acts as a 5th Devotee but occasionally fixes your influence.

Evenhanded Golem / Temple Scribe / Amethyst Waystone: Draw! No merchants here so we're digging and 2(3) can dig a lot quicker than 1. While restricting your deck to only even cost cards, Evenhanded Golem is amazing card draw compared to most of your options in Time and Shadow. Temple Scribe is a nice little package especially with a couple Obelisks. Once played they can be used to trade with your opponent as needed.

Marisen's Disciple: What would you like? What have you got? Marisen's Disciple is a great tool box providing you with what you need most when you need it. I usually grab the Scorpion but the Locust and Sandcrawler are great when you just need to gum up the board or get in the air.

Sandstorm Titan: The classic. A true beatstick that will have the AI's fliers sucking sand. Don't hesitate to play this when you have fliers of your own on the board. Will keep you alive when you face Sudden Death at the end of the gauntlet. He's got Endurance so swing away. If you're opponent has no fliers he's usually beefy enough to take out 2 or more enemies if you need to clear the board.

Vara, Vengeance-Seeker: Formerly the "baby" Shadow version of Sandstorm Titan. Vara still has game and is a real headache for the AI. A bit more susceptible to getting Torched but you'll usually get value out of her before she goes down. One of the few source of life gain in the deck. Keep her alive if you can. At worst she kills a dude, chump blocks, break Aegis and nets you 3 life.

Annihilate / Desecrate / Vara's Choice: The AI is packing some bullshit that Time just can't deal with and your only option is to blow it up. Don't go nuts with Desecrate or you risk killing yourself or worse you used too many and have to kill a multicolored unit. Vara's Choice is the flex option. Silence things as needed or just bounce something in your way. The AI likes to dump their hand so the second option is rarely useful.

Xenan Obelisk / Clock of Stolen Hours: Make your dudes big and strong. Clock Of Stolen Hours is essentially a diet Xenan Obelisk. I've yet to get an extra turn with it although not for lack of trying. The games are usually over before it procs.

That's all, folks! If you like the list or play a different version let me know. I'd love to get some feedback and improve the deck where I can.