Bronze 2 - Master: Yeti-cycle

I was getting frustrated playing standard midrange fare and wanted to look at a transitional aggro deck. You know the type, fast out of the blocks but can reload surprisingly efficiently and switch to an atrophy matchup if required.

For the MTG players of you, think BW Warriors from a couple of years back or BU Heroic... those kinds of decks were really my jam.

The card cycle that got me thinking was the merchant cycle. Yes, you have a sideboard in game. Yes, you can play conditional cards that you'd never want to draw in 90% of the matchups. However, the aspect that got me most interested is the fact that you need to trade in a card. To my mind, this meant that the market cycle can help mitigate flood in aggro builds.

As such, I wanted to build a deck that focussed on cycling away overdrawn lands to be as efficient as possible. Primal is clearly the colour that enjoys doing this the most, but I didn't want to waste my time just cycling ad-infinatum with spells: Clockroaches has that market sewn up.

Then I saw Crunch, the Hoarder and the possibilities started to develop. He has mates like Slope Sergeant & Fearless Yeti, all of whom get better with Wump, Party Starter. All of which are perfectly serviceable aggro cards that offer improved utility.

Originally I ran Torgov, Icecap Trader to try and benefit from the looting, but he was a bit too slow, Whispering Wind seems much better poised with some trade-offs. You don't have an opportunity to draw power of Wind (albeit 4 really is the sweet spot so you never wanted power of Torgov. Also you can't see what you draw first, you need to commit to your loot. However, filling the curve in the 2-drop slot is a good tradeoff for these deficits.

As for play-style: Sometimes you'll just ramp out like a beast. I've had T5-6 wins with multiple Slope Sergeant's on the table early.

However, what makes this deck more interesting than the standard aggro is that it is comfortable to go into the long game. If you don't choose to trade attackers then you can often sit with a sizeable board. Perfect for Crystallize.

Infact, knowing when to play your Jennev Merchant (not what to get) seems to be the key. As much as ou really need to know your beatdown role for if Permafrost tempo vs Backlash wrath protection is the go, you also need to make tempo assessments of how important having a three drop is on the table when you're not sure what you need to get. Often it is better to wait and make sure of the card you want.

One of the joys of this deck is that the looting effects allows you to play Seek Power without too much fear of flooding. This also means that the likelihood of getting stuck on 2 power is significantly reduced. There are some tricks for maximising your possible loots. Seek Power to thin your deck of dead power draws and loot the power, not the spell. Likewise, aim for four Fire early to turn on the Granite Waystones. Play those as free power and keep your Grenadin in hand to loot away. Whispering Wind will give you better results on a 1 drop than a power, it is marginal but not insignificant. Equally, hold onto your power beyond the 4th, you'll rarely need more than 4 unless your plan is to market up Crystallize. Otherwise, these are future extra cards. Don't waste them!

Overall, I've been having way more fun with this deck than I've expected. It just has a lot of choices and agency for an aggro deck. I'm still working my way up the ladder (having returned to the game from an extended hiatus). I'm currently Gold1 without breaking a sweat and will be curious to see how it plays against a more consistent meta in Diamond and, ideally, Masters.

Always looking for feedback, so hit me up with ideas.

EDIT: Been punching my way up through Diamond, so this deck definitely has legs. I've swapped in a cheaper polymorph effect to the market. This is an acknowledge that Endurance units are the biggest problem for the deck. Sandstorm Titan, I'm looking at you...

Cards that have been underperforming and I'm considering playing around with: Fearless Yeti & Thudrock, Arctic Artisan and, to a lesser extent, Eilyn's Intervention. Basically they are the cards that don't provide immediate benefit, or are too reliant on Wump (who is a Torch magnet, so you can never trust him to hang around).

The catch is what to replace these with. I want to respect curve, which is why Fearless is still hanging around. Iceberg Mason seems too dicey for a deck that really wants to hit power 4. Pokpok, Rockpacker has me interested as I'm always looking for spare extra cards to market or loot away, but Reckless seems bad when I'm not focussing on pumping the team. Crafty Yeti is the other one I'd like to test.

EDIT: Hit Masters. Not a bad run from Bronze 2 - Master after returning from a break. Swapped out 2 Thudrock, Arctic Artisan for an extra Slope Sergeant and an extra Cinder Yeti as both represent better card advantage. 2 drop 4/4s are pretty sweet!