Hooramp to Masters (rank 16)

This is based on LocoPojo's Orene Eilyn deck. I started with his list, then tweaked it as I played from Gold 2 to Masters (I was the 16th person there this month). This is what I ended up with, but I'm still testing modifications. The basic idea is to use Hojan, Icaria, Bear Guard Bayonet and Copperhall Bracers to ramp into bombs. It's very proactive as all the interaction is in the Market or on Weapons/Units.

Strats

The strategy is pretty straightforward, but it can be kind of tricky to execute sometimes. The main important thing is ramping/fixing as the deck is filled with expensive bombs but runs 25 power and no Seek Power effects (although it does have 10+ pledge units). For example it's usually correct to wait until 3 to play Hojan if you have a Bayonet. It's also usually right to grab a power from the Market if you already have a 6+ drop (or even a bunch of 4+ drops) ready. The main exception to this would be if you really need a specific answer like Defiance or Vision.

The deck is packed with bombs so making the game go longer is usually the right play. You can have some very explosive draws, but usually you're just trying to ramp, stay alive, and stay even on board until you can start playing 5+ drops to win.

Generally you want to redraw (to 7 not 6) if you don't have pledge but there are plenty of very keepable hands without it. If you have a good proactive curve, especially if you have some ramp or a Merchant, then it's fine to keep a no-pledge hand.

Nearly all the interaction is on Weapons/Units so you have to be careful about how you use your threats (since they're also your removal). Knowing the matchup is pretty valuable as things like knowing when to use Enforcer as a 3 drop 3/3 vs a Silence can win or lose you games. All of the interaction is like this but some more than others - 8 drop Eilyn is always going to have a good target (but sometimes you want to save her for a site). The main cards to really think about using this way are Enforcer, Vanquisher's Blade, and the Merchant (especially if you're running Harsh Rule and/or Vanquish).

The main important Market cards are Defiance, Banner, and Palace. They were super excellent and I'd never change them. Vision of Austerity is probably not useful often enough to be worth, but it's also meta dependent. Eilyn was somewhat useful but I don't think she's really necessary. Harsh Rule, Vanquish, and Auric Runehammer are on the top of my list for Market cards to try. Right now I'm testing Harsh Rule and Vanquish instead of Eilyn and Vision and it seems pretty alright.

Cards

Korovyat Palace is goddamn ridiculous, usually it's what you use to win. Theoretically Svetya is great for the deck with 35 units but it's actually pretty hard to get through the Agenda without winning the game, I think I only got to her once. Every Agenda card is great, although Sack the City is definitely the least useful. But playing Palace as Sack the City to deal a bunch of extra damage and/or force some bad blocks is a common wincon. Sometimes you need to use the Site as Wisdom + a distraction, but that's usually a last resort.

Reyna, the Unwavering and Amilli, Cloudmarshal have both been pretty nice. The extra Pledge from Reyna is great and she's straight up impossible to kill (or much harder) for a decent number of matchups. And if not, a 6 drop 6/7 with Endurance is usually pretty strong. Amilli is just a nice synergy card. He's a Valkyrie for Icaria, a good cheap blocker, and a one card wincon. Plus he's crazy good with the site.

If you don't have Reyna or Amilli (or you want a more aggressive build), the 4 cost Svetya would be a good replacement. In fact, I'm testing 4 of her instead of Reyna and Amilli right now. I'm still not sure if it's better overall but it's definitely better in some ways. Silverwing Courier is another potentially good option, the Pledge synergy is obviously nice but it's also a Valkyrie for Icaria. It's very possible the Courier is the best card for that spot.

Both Eilyns have been great, the only one I'd cut is in the market. And it's probably worth putting her back in the main. Eilyn, the Rising Storm is definitely better as a wincon, but Eilyn, Clan Mother isn't strictly worse. A lot of games end with you beating them down with a succession of Eilyns. Generally you want to play them proactively, it's rarely worth waiting for a good target. The main exception is if you have other bombs that can win like Palace and Amilli to soften them up first, or if you know they're going to play a Site or some important unit.

Linebreaker's Shield and Vanquisher's Blade play similar roles but neither is always better so I think 3 of each is correct. The main reason you want them is the 2 cost 2/2 weapon part. Copperhall Bracers is nice redundancy for all the main themes of the deck. It's ramp, a renown activator, an attack buff, and a way to convert a decent board into a strong advantage. But it also kind of clogs up your hand, and it's not really the best at any of those things, so I think 2-3 is the right amount. Bear Guard Bayonet is actually pretty nice without Pledge as a way to give random huge units some evasion or buff a Borderscout, but it's still pretty mediocre. However with Pledge it's absolutely nutty and well worth building this entire deck around.

Shadowlands Borderscout wouldn't be in the deck without pledge (unless it had better stats), but it's actually amazing and low-key one of the best cards in the deck. Obviously when it gets to stick and draw a bunch of cards you'll probably win in a very commanding fashion (if you weren't already). Even drawing one card with it is nice, But the real reason it's great is it gives the deck another angle of attack as well as yet another must-answer threat to overload their removal. A Borderscout is extremely threatening regardless of its attack damage, your opponent's life total, and even board state to some extent. Basically, playing it forces your opponent to spend cards/power interacting with you unless they're very far ahead. The deck wants to be the aggressor as much as possible, so this is extremely valuable to regain the initiative or keep them on their back foot.

Overall the deck feels really strong. I'd say it's probably the best Hooru deck I've played so far, and one of the best ways to use Palace. The meta is obviously in flux but I'd say something like this will probably be tier 1/2 once it settles. Adding Fire or Shadow might make the deck better, but I'm not sure exactly how I want to do that and this version is very strong already.