Quickdraw Nightmares

Hello friends!

I've always liked mono-faction decks, and have been trying to brew competitive ones for awhile now (with mixed success). The release of FOA seems to have bolstered the possibility of competitive mono-factioned decks (looking at you Alhed, Mount Breaker) and has rekindled my interest!

I cracked Mazag, the Waking Terror and immediately began thinking of the possibilities. He's a very aggressive card with good stats, maybe not a direct upgrade to Impending Doom, but rather a sidegrade. Some of the other newly released shadow cards made me consider an aggressive midrangey mono-shadow deck, so here is my take on it (definitely not a refined list) .

Card choices

Sabotage - Pretty self-explanatory. You WILL get blown out by Hailstorm and similar effects, so try and nab these ahead of time (unfortunately the deck lacks the aegis-resilience of Skycraggro)

Stonescar Sneak - After toying around with this guy, he's grown on me. The ability to mini-Rapid Shot another unit is pretty good. Not so good on his own though, may go down 1.

Cull the Deck - I've been a big fan of Scheme, but I always thought it was slightly overcosted for non-control oriented strategies. While the card digs one less, the cost reduction on Cull makes it a solid replacement for Quarry

Dreamsnatcher - low cost, nice stats, helps race against other aggro decks, and occasionally is buffed by Sabotage. Good stuff. Hopefully he'll get even better with the upsurge in discard-oriented cards released with FOA

Lethrai Target Caller - I'm a big fan of this card. The ability to give all your drawn units Quickdraw is extremely strong, and makes blocking math very difficult for the opponent when you attack en masse. Very good as a singleton on the field, but meh stats and useless in multiples made me consider 3 of them. Definitely a number to play around with though

Thief's Pick - the ONLY equipment in Eternal to give PERMANENT Unblockable to a unit, being able to Pilfer as a kicker is nice too against control/midrange decks who like to fix their topdeck. I like 2 of them (that's also all I have).

Kyrex Coach Driver - Inspire is a great mechanic, who knew? Giving your units Deadly AND Quickdraw means "I win offensive combat ALWAYS". However, she is a 4 mana 3/3, which isn't very good stat-wise. I also only have 2, but may craft a third given the Deadly/Quickdraw synergy is very good.

Devouring Shadow - Anybody who has played mono-shadow before knows how bonkers this card is. Castrate a Tavrod, crumble a Sandstorm Titan, show your undying hatred for Unseen Commando by giving it -8/-8, do what you will. The card is a bit cumbersome to have 4 of them in a non-control shell, so I think 3 is plenty.

Madness - While we can't take full advantage of the dreaded Madness/Combust/Devour combo, 2 of them helps remove stonewalling blockers and can occasionally feed Mazag, the Waking Terror. I might cut these down the road.

Impending Doom - It's big, it's scary, it flies, it's like your ex-lover with wings. Presents a quick clock for the enemy if he can't be blocked or removed.

Mazag, the Waking Terror - The card that started it all. Low cost, great stats, and can ult to pseudo-madness an enemy (it's permanent though!). If it gains Quickdraw, it becomes VERY problematic for the enemy (can't be efficiently blocked by Shelterwing Rider or Thunderstrike Dragon. However, it comes at the cost of sacrificing one of your units. Given this clause, 4 is too much (those who have played with Obrak, the Feaster understand this risk). CAUTION: MAZAG'S SACRIFICE CLAUSE IS MANDATORY. He will eat himself if you have no other units. On an off note, he might finally make a nightfall-based sacrifice deck with Argenport Sewers and Ashara, Ruthless Assassinviable (next brew!).

Cabal Standard - The Cabal Tactic this transforms into is a great combat trick and can push through additional damage (a sidegrade to Rapid Shot). As it is always depleted, I think 2 is acceptable.

Other card considerations.

Sewer Sludge - If you're familiar with Experiment One from MtG, you know how broken the Evolve mechanic can be. The Blob can get very large if not dealt with. However, this deck would see him grow to a 3/4, 4/5 at most, and is a bit slow. I feel like Sewer Sludge has a home, just maybe not here.

Territorial Elf - This card is great turn 2, 3 if it gains Quickdraw, but isn't very good anytime else. The ability to hit for 6 on turn 3 while your opponent is finding their footing is enough to put them on the backstep. It's good, but not format breaking; I will continue to play with this card and rejudge as the meta settles.

Spitefeeder - 1-cost flyer who mills 2, feeding Dreamsnatcher. I haven't played with him yet, but he could be great at sneaking in damage with Stonescar Sneak and Rapid Shot.

Corrupt - A more Midrange suited card, 1 or 2 of them may be useful in protecting Mazag or your Inspire units, as they are lightning rods for removal.

Fearbinder - I feel like this card could be useful if you must transition from an aggro to a midrange strategy. Gobbling up your little units to make fatter bodies might just be what the doctor ordered. I haven't played with it though.

Knifejack - Aggressive, but shocks you also. This + Doom may be too hard on the life counter without reliable life gain.

Shadow doesn't have many valuable 1-cost units (see Oni Ronin and Pyroknight), so I tried to shore up those slots with sabotage and suffocate. However Shadow shines in the 2-4 cost range, where 100% of this deck lies, so I tried to capitalize on that with valuable units and efficient removal. While this deck doesn't SMORC as well as Skycraggro/Stonescar aggro, I feel the deck has a slightly stronger Midgame presence given Mazag, Dooms, and deadly units (if drawn with Kyrex Coach Driver).

While I wouldn't ever consider this deck to become Tier 1 competitive, I feel like it might have enough oomph to slog through the lower rungs of the competitive ladder. This is by no means the final version of the deck, and I'm sure it will go through many iterations by myself and others, if they choose to try this. I'm not a very experienced brewer, so any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Until then, may your Impending Dooms never kill you.

Happy playing!