21-0 Grodov Ramp Gauntlet Grinder

TLDR:

Ramp into Grodov's Burden and beat face.

Deck Stats and History

Full 7/7 of this deck can be found here.The first match the AI was able to destroy Grodov's but it didn't matter. This rarely happens though.

Another full 7/7 gauntlet run found here. This includes the Alhed Ascending addition, which saw a lot of play especially on the final boss: Burn Scars.

21-0 Match history. The deck is currently 70-0, a full 10 runs going 7/7. Update: deck went 13-0 before losing mid-way on the run due to power flood.

Average turns per win: 8
Average time per full gauntlet (7/7) run: ~23 minutes

Deck Concept and History

There are a few Grodov's Burden gauntlet decks out there, but this one specifically ramps into it using power dorks like Initiate of the Sands, Open Way Supplier, and Logistics Expert. After slamming Burden, the game is pretty much won. In other Grodov decks, you can get screwed if you don't have units to exalt, however with this deck you'll have a ton of power dorks and Temple Scribe and Temple Looter's to buff in case your main threats are killed with Grodov out, so you can continue the assault. You do need to be aware of board wipes Harsh Rule and Deep Freeze. Just be aware of which AI decks run them and play around them.

I came back from a 4 year break and started playing the TS Spire Shadows deck by 241ackerman. While the pre-nerf Spire shadows deck was insanely broken, a lot of the times I did have to decide between marketing out Spire Shadows or Burden. After the nerf, I realized that the deck could still work without Spire Shadows, albeit a bit less broken. The core of this deck is taken from 241ackerman's Shadow spire deck with some adjustments. Lastly, I listed card alternatives in case of budget constraints, but do realize that you will cut into the performance of the deck and the cheaper alternatives have not been tested so YMMV.

Power Ramp

Logistics Expert - the overwhelm can be relevant here and can be combined with killer which you get from..

Open Way Supplier - your primary source of Killer and combos well with Grodov's Burden. It's entirely possible that you will grant killer to an Auralian Merchant or another card with a low attack value, but it doesn't matter with Grodov in play. Just suicide the unit (it'll have a minimum of 1 attack with Grodov out) into an enemy unit using killer to start the Exalt chain.

Tocas, Waystone Harvester - This might not seem to be needed, but the AI will do some dumb attacks with this out and not realize it can't buff their units, so free kills for you. Some budget alternatives include: Devotee of the Sands, Kickflip Monk and Desert Alchemist

Card draw / Chump blockers

Temple Scribe and Temple Looter - These are just used to dig deeper into your deck. They can also be used as chump block fodder for the aggressive decks and then can turn into stat pumpers once Grodov is out. The AI will sometimes do stupid stuff like buff a card to kill a blocking Temple scribe/looter. I've had instances where it will Permafrost a scribe just to get a X/1 in for small damage.

Removal and Utility

Send an Agent - Cheap removal. You can also use Annihilate, which is what I'm doing as I don't have Bastion Rising yet.

Vara's Choice - Although not a fast spell, I do like the option of peeking into the opponent's hand to plan for future turns. The silence and bounce effect are also good for hosing strangers and weapon heavy decks that the AI uses.

Huntmaster Vikrum - Can be quite broken, but also heavily prioritized by removal from the AI. The AI sometimes kills the stolen unit instead of Vikrum but that happens very rarely. Budget alternatives include: Desert Alchemist, Blistersting Wasp, Annihilate, Deathstrike or more copies of Vara's Choice.

Win Conditions

Riftfeeder Wasp - Your primary win condition. Pretty straight forward, fly and beat face. if it dies with Grodov out, just turn your power dorks into a beefy flyer and continue beating face. I would say this is mandatory and an alterative doesn't exist.

Worldbearer Behemoth - More power to feed Riftfeeder and a second source of overwhelm for Grodov. Don't be afraid to attack and trade 2:1 or 3:1 as it will turn something else into a huge unit with overwhelm when it dies with Grodov out. I wouldn't want to play this deck without Worldbearer but you can try Predatory Carnosaur or Braun, Regal Courier if you have that campaign.

Hive Queen Uther - Life recovery vs super aggressive decks. You don't want to stay at low life for long due to direct damage that AI decks pack. Using Grodov's Burden's ability with this out will get you 6 life each use and put you back to a safe health amount in no time. The fliers will probably die, but with Grodov out it doesn't matter. No budget alternatives at uncommon, but at rare you can try using: Moonstone Vanguard or Krogar, Burdened Hero. If you have only 1 copy of Hive Queen, you can put it in the market (replace Mystic Ascendant) and add 2 of any other card in this list for redundancy. I would probably add Kickflip Monk as it's a good early blocker, helps with power screw and its last ability will neuter void based AI decks.

Alhed Ascending - I was thinking about adding this card but ackerman's comment below pushed me into testing it. My original concern was that I didn't want to focus on aggro too much, but I replaced 2x Ebon Dune Smuggler and made 2 other cuts for Alhed and as expected, it's been nothing short of extraordinary. This one change has made the deck go 10-0. Decay + killer + godov is just disgusting. Decay can also mess with the AI as it will block anything under powered and not take decay into consideration which is very abusable.

Market

We have 8 cards to access the market with Time Etchings and Auralian Merchant. If you find that is not enough you can add in a few copies of Ebon Dune Smuggler. (Replace Tocas, Waystone Harvester or Temple Looter/Scribe.)

1. Grodov's Burden - The card that the entire deck is built around, obviously it's irreplaceable. I learned that the hard way when I tried TS Spire and replaced this card with Xenan Obelisk, thinking it was a suitable replacement and it definitely is not even close. Giving all your units Exalted is just so broken that the AI cannot really handle it and will make poor decisions that you will capitalize off of. In terms of gameplay, this will be the first card you typically market, unless you need to deal with fliers or need mass silence/attachment removal. You really want to slam Grodov when you have 6 power as any units that die without it up is losing you value. I sometimes cast Hive Queen Uther first if I am low on life.

2. Banish- cheap removal. You can main deck these and put another removal card that you prefer.

3. Gnash, Desert Prince - it doesn't play well with your primary win condition Riftfeeder Wasp but it can pretty much hose the flier decks that the AI pilots. The killer snakes it spews out also combos very well with Grodov, so you have to include it.

4. Passage of Eons - I put this in every gauntlet Time deck, it's just too good. Clears fliers, removes weapons/annoying relics, wrecks AI Stranger decks and gets rid of the ever annoying Permafrost.

5. Mystic Ascendant - Flex spot. You can put whatever you want here but I opted more for late game value. Some cards that you can put in place are: Forget, Infinite Hourglass, Sandstorm Scarf, Xenan Obelisk, Azindel, Revealed.