Gauntlet Shredder

Why it’s a Gauntlet Deck
I do not play much multiplayer at all because the time I have to play is limited and so I just grind gauntlet for now to save up as much gold as possible for the new set in February. I had been struggling with finding a consistent deck against the gauntlet and after trying many gauntlet decks found here, I finally created one that had some construction from other fast Stonescar deck builds I've seen in the deck list. For some reason this combination just rips the gauntlet to shreds better than any deck I've had so far.

Maybe I'm crazy, but it sure seems like the Gauntlet AI adjusts to any deck that gets a couple of wins and then it becomes damn near impossible to do well with a deck as you get matched up with opponents designed to take your deck down. I've won 13 of 17 gauntlet runs with this deck, 1 of the 4 losses was against the boss, the other 3 were after round 2.

Truly the only way to lose with this deck is for the AI to bring in a super deck and get a perfect draw to have an answer for every play you make. Or for the cheating AI to screw you on power for your first draw and a redraw. It seems to happen often that after winning the first 4 or 5 rounds quickly, all of the sudden first draw is one power, a lone sigil, redraw is 2 power both of the same influence. And the cards in hand are the opposite influence. Don't care what anyone says, but I believe the AI does this on purpose. However if you get a Cull the Deck, it can keep you from being a quick exit if it is the only card of the influence you drew power for.

The Strategy
As with any deck the key is the draw. You want to pull at least 3 power, hopefully with Seat, Crest or insignia, at least one Champion of Chaos, just love me some ChaCha, Vara, Vengeance-Seeker, a Torch or Extract. Again, this is not designed to battle for ladder, this deck was made to exact a pound of flesh from the Gauntlet AI. I kept the cost curve low because the Gauntlet loves aggro and this build has many answers for those ridiculous Grenadin decks the AI wants to constantly run. Baby Vara always makes it fun to rip Aegis away as the Gauntlet tries to run a ton of units with Aegis.

9 Face damage spells and with 9 units that have charge can overwhelm the AI many times.

Endra, Champion of Shavka is there to be a distraction because the AI always sees Endra as a holy terror that must be eradicated. The stupid AI has ignored a lethal threat quite a few times just to kill Endra and then it loses because it ignored the lethal threat.

The one change I recently made was to add the Cen Wastes Smuggler so I could adapt to the AI's seemingly evolving of its existing decks to take mine down. My favorite play, if the games drags on too long, is pulling Vara, Fate-Touched from the market and just start cycling in Vicious Highwayman and the Piercing Grief from the void, which the Grief gets me an extra card draw thanks to it having Destiny from the void. Jekk, Lone Gun was part of the original build, but he is more effective coming in later from the market instead of sitting in my hands waiting on enough power to come online. Draconic Ire is a fantastic relic/attachment eradicator that is also perfect to come from the market at just the right time. I have won several games and pulling a victory from certain defeat by destroying a 4+ cost attachment and getting the face damage. And Combust is great to take out a huge threat that you have no answer for, which is a situation the Gauntlet AI loves to put you in many times late game. And then you dark return your Smuggler to grab the other card back if it was a nice card you had to stick in the market.

I am sure others would make tweaks that could improve the deck, but as constructed this thing can chew the Gauntlet to pieces. It’s fast, has plenty of scouting, lots of lifesteal, lots of deadly, and sometimes it just feels good to obliterate the Gauntlet AI with two straight attack rounds of 2 baby Vara’s, A highway man and a couple of Bandit Queen's and see its life total get to -25.

Enjoy!