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Gauntlet Grinder - Deadly Xenan

Gauntlet Deck By
Venus

+3

Cost Curve

Type

Faction

Information

Hey Folks,

Second favorite Gauntlet Grinder here. Just trying to help out those looking for a solid gauntlet grinder that isn't too expensive to craft.

Pros:

Super reliable, record so far with this is 15-1 for completed Gauntlet Runs.

Deadly creatures really slow down the AI and Lunar Magus is a big star in the deck as he helps stabilize as does Archive Curator.

If I had more Katra I would play them as she is a beast in the deck. Trigger happy seems jank I know but it really speeds up the wins once you have a decent board with a Xenan Obelisk down.

Cons:

Very slow control deck so again, not for the speed players looking for a quick run but rather for those looking to make sure you get the full 7-0.

Lots of the cards are easily replaced if you don't have them...Zelia for instance is not necessary by any means but I've tweaked this thing a bunch to make it just right for my playstyle so this is how I like it given my cards. Hope you like it, thanks!

Details

Shiftstone Cost
Does not include campaign cost
19,100
Premium Cost
120,000
Influence Requirements
2 2
Power Sources
17 16 8
Power Calculator
Shiftstoned Icon View Deck on Shiftstoned
Deck Rarities
14 32 15 1
Card Types
33 4 13 0 25
Archetype
Unknown
Updated
May 7, 2018
Added
May 6, 2018
Views
2,126
Eternal Version
Sealed Deck League
BBCode For Comments
Deck URL
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Comments

Quadro Eternal Version: 1.31.6
Hey Venus, this deck rocks for Gauntlet! I actually took out the Devastating Setbacks in favor of some Water of Life's (1-cost, 3 life gain with Echo), after having made the same swaps (-2 Obelisk and Zelia) to add a full 4 Katras. Once you stabilize it just plows through. Thanks for the deck!
Epsilon Eternal Version: 1.31.6
Looks like a really sweet deck! I'm a big Xenan fan (fell in love with it the first time somebody stomped me with Lifeforce abuse on ladder) so I have a playset of Katras; what would you suggest replacing for the three extras?
Venus Eternal Version: 1.31.6
Hey Epsilon!
Well, honestly it would take a bit of trial and error to see just the right mix but I would start with maybe putting in 2 for an obelisk and maybe the Zelia and see how that goes. My logic is that basically Katra is a super-powered but more vulnerable version of the obelisk as the AI runs far more silence/ creature removal then it does attachment removal so she is vulnerable but if left unchecked she will win the game with all those little cheap guys around her.

I like having a toolbox setup on my gauntlet decks, so 2-ofs and 3-ofs work for my playstyle but everyone is different. If it works well you can stuff the 4th in for another obelisk or perhaps a curator.

Let me know how it goes :)
Epsilon Eternal Version: 1.31.6
Did what you suggested (dropped an Obelisk and Zelia for 2 more Katras) and went 7-0! Great deck! Katra is just incredible snowball potential once you've stabilized, especially with more than one on the board.
Venus Eternal Version: 1.31.6
Awesome! Glad to hear it worked for you.

Thanks for the input!
TraGuy Edited Eternal Version: 1.31.6
Why am I doing poorly with this? 0-5 so far, it feels like I'm not drawing the right cards. I guess I'm just that bad, can't be the deck's fault
Venus Eternal Version: 1.31.6
Hey TraGuy!
Well that's not cool, here's some things to keep in mind:

1. Mulligan: You want to see 1) Power (2 min plus say a fixer which there are many here) 2) Defense...Deadly guys, Plague (esp vs aggro decks like grenadins/ yetis), Curators, Magus)
-Power priority is pretty straightforward: TSTS
2. AI is kinda predictable and you need to exploit that
-The AI will just pump out guys so hold your sweepers, plague and devastating setback as long as possible...you can afford to lose a lot of life as you have a ton of lifegain in mid to late game so just use your deadly fliers to soak up his removal
- waste his power and stall his board til you can stabilize with magus/ curator/ and lumen defender who is a beast vs AI
-don't use your little guys to chump block unless you have to as when you start putting down Xenan Obelisks they get jacked
-also best to save a Setback until you have an Obelisk down so most if not all your guys survive---if possible obv

3. Control the board
-place guys as needed and always use only what you need to stabilize...eg. If you can lure the AI into attacking and then dropping a blistering wasp to block and kill him then do so rather than dropping a lumen defender on your turn and then not having him attack or, worse yet, having him kill the defender and still hit you with the big nasty ie...the rules of power efficiency go out the window in favor of playing the AI's weaknesses against him, er it...lol.
-late game you will start to outdraw, and outlive the AI easily and once a champ of mystery (with the necessary power) goes down it's game over though obelisk and trigger happy can also easily end games along with a lot of fliers
-last is just to say to understand the opponent's deck...if it is aggro I will try and keep Vara's favor to kill a unit or break an aegis...obv that is not always possible but don't waste them just pinging unless you need to...stabilize is the name of the game til you have a couple of fat butts to stall.

Hope that helps!! Let me know how it goes

TraGuy Eternal Version: 1.31.6
First of all thank you so much for writing such an analytical answer. Granted, I can say that I'm doing most of the things you pointed out ( except wait on the board clears enough ).
3 wins in a row so far (master gaunlet) , knowing the opponent's deck sure helps a lot.
As a f2p player I can't thank you enough. Cheers
Venus Edited Eternal Version: 1.31.6
You're welcome :)
Glad to hear it's working better for you. And yes, knowing the various AI decks helps a ton in knowing what to keep/ mulligan and how to play the early game. Good luck!