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[Top 5 Masters] Hermit Hate Pile

Expedition Deck By
DonCoyote

+3

Cost Curve

Type

Faction

Information

I've seen a lot of versions of this deck posted, everyone has their own pet cards they like to include, but I think what sets this deck apart from the others is the faster mana base.

The whole deck can be cast with one Fire pip and one Shadow pip. The only multiples you need are Primal, so the power base reflects that. Over half of it is plain, old sigils plus a couple copies of Seek Power and three of Eilyn's Favor to increase the chance of getting your Seat of Cunning and Seat of Fury out on curve undepleted. Mark of the Den can often be used without paying the power tax for the extra pip.

Cylixes slow the deck down and are straight-up bad, especially in any deck that has Omniscience in the game plan. When your hand gets refilled after every turn, creating a Treasure Trove is an absolute waste of two power that can cost you the late-game.

It kind of plays more like a midrange/tempo deck than control. It's a simple gameplan.

Turns 1 and 2: Mana fix
Turns 2, 3, and 4: Kill stuff and draw cards.
Turns 4, 5, and 6: Drop sticky minions.
Turns 6+: Swing the board in your favor and attack for lethal.

I'm still experimenting with the brew of removal and late-game cards, if not the power base. It's still a work in progress, but it's close. I also run a version with a Shadow market, so I included those cards in the sideboard.

Expedition Information

Expedition #29
October 18, 2023
Behemoths of Thera [Set14] Battle Lines [Set15] The Devouring [Set1145] Separate Ways [Set1155] Behemoths of Thera Reprints Battle Lines Expedition Vault Battle Lines Reprints Grand Excursion Save the Day Gareth, Veteran Lantern Colossal Rodent Altin, Bird Whisperer Surveying the Rift Morbid Deal Patrice, Outcast Queen Protective Crow Dran the Farmer Tripwire Trap Coerce Back to Back Nomnom, Epic Epicure Monarch Cloak Citycrusher Gekkota Menace Furious Accusation Aggressive Meeting Bounty Board Finneas and Finneas The True-Sight Map Eris Beastbane One Eye, the Huntress Unlikely Pack Tight-Lipped Ziat's Crackdown Defy Authority Steelwarren Noble Enormous Anura Corrupted Croaker Squash Belief The Hive Falls Invitation Eyes of The Hermit Krogar, Unburdened Rift's Edge Telia, Perfect Timing Altruistic Bonepicker The Beast Slicer Working Together Injustice Seek Refuge Steelwarren Rebel Lystia, Flighty Mistral Sky Race Gareth's Advice Scared Beetender Vara, Decisive Action Svetya, Demand Justice Talir, Looking Forward Eilyn, Battle Ready Queen Corrupted Riftborn Riftbreak Aeda, Heretical Forgemaster Ageless Knight Icy Scrying Listening Bug Marvelous Imperion Master Archivist Mogen, Demagogue Ooze Tower Unstable Hellion Zadia, Fearsome Outcast Zephyrus, Unparalleled Youngblood Guide Boundless Hunger Cuno, Localized Rewind Camrin's Sniper Rifle Deathless Lurker Led Astray Zora, First Responder Ancient Agreement Sparring Session Conscriptor General Rite of Purification Daisuke the Imposing Shade-Drinker Subdue Veena's Masterpiece Tenacious Heron Veena, Rising Queen First Shipment Murgo, Reluctant Councilor Fundraiser Sightless Tunneler Friendly Discount Feral Centipede Crisis of Faith Akalur, Hecaton's Chosen Akalur's Ravager Lost Traveler Proof of the Journey Paranoid Sheriff Well-Traveled Waystone Commander Ironthorn Evelina's Insight Ghodan's Takedown Velok, the Witherflame Alliance of Convenience Untapped Rift Mouth of the Hermit Omniscience The Rending Squall Abhorrent Revival Sky Hive Protector Winter Tomb Protective Embrace Phila, Honey Chef Marrow Cutter View All

Details

Shiftstone Cost
Does not include campaign cost
36,950

Premium Cost
173,600

Influence Requirements
1 3 1

Power Sources
7 19 7 8

Power Calculator
Shiftstoned Icon View Deck on Shiftstoned

Deck Rarities
13 15 21 14 4

Card Types
17 6 32 0 25

Contains Cards From Campaigns
Separate Ways [Set1155]

Archetype
Control Midrange

Updated
October 24, 2024

Added
October 22, 2024

Views
1,668

Eternal Version
Separate Ways

BBCode For Comments

Deck URL

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Comments

ZE1TGEIST Eternal Version: 24.10.02
I don't think Tripwire Trap is a good market card, AT ALL. Like when would I ever think, oh, maybe my opponent might play a creature later, better market for a card to anticipate that. No, either they played the creature already or are just playing them all over the place.

And I get it, I think of you have multiple traps the others are redundant for a moment. And having them kill a Beekeeper or something is lame. But I don't think you go to your market for it (to time it for say a Riftfeeder Wasp or Corrupted Riftborn) because of that.

I wouldn't put Furious Accusation in market either. I think you either run it, (or maybe just a couple if you're worried about life)or don't.

I also disagree with the power here. Not a fan of the 6 non primal here. And I disagree with you about cylix. It's a dual is what I'm thinking. Of you run your power in a way that most of them are primal, every cylix is guaranteed untapped turn 4 and on. Forget the card draw for this deck specifically, it's got your untapped with 2 colors, and an added bonus of a card draw before Omniscience comes. And by the time you have like 10 power and playing cards, you don't fret much about dumping two Mana on the few cylixes you play to swap for a new card. And that's if you're still digging deeper after you've drawn to 9. Sure Cylixes aren't perfect, but definitely not "Straight up bad". And I think they have a place in many decks with Omniscience, especially the dual color decks. And especially to have an extra cantrip before Omniscience comes. I don't think you snuff that.
DonCoyote Eternal Version: 24.10.02
I use Tripwire Trap as a cheap way to ping an opponent's self-aegis when I can't find a snowball, it's also a nice way to be proactive when I have multiple Wilderness Delivery stuck in hand. If I'm not using it for a ping, at worst, it cycles, which is better than using a bunch of deliveries to junk up my draw with too many high-cost cards.

Furious Accusation isn't included in the main deck, because as I explained, the deck is built to only require multiple Primal pips and I don't want anything that needs two Shadow pips, especially by 2. Cheap card draw is always nice in the market, though, where I don't mind having a few things with multiple Shadow pips.

Cylixes are bad in this deck because I want undepleted power by turn three, at the latest. I really prefer it by turn two, so I can answer everything with a Futility. Killing an on-curve Apprentice Mage before they can snowball it into a four-drop is often the difference between winning and losing.

I don't believe in right or wrong when it comes to deckbuilding, but this thing fits my style. I finished #7 with it last season and I hit #1 with it this month before I got bored and started farting around with other decks in ranked. I'm not the best player around, so I got to think that some of it is due to the deck's efficacy. Not saying it's perfect, I switch the list often to react to the meta, but it's a good baseline.
ZE1TGEIST Eternal Version: 24.10.02
You said it yourself, it's a way to be proactive. Which you indeed sometimes find yourself looking to be at only very specific times. I'd go a different way for sure. But I won't force you to change it 🤣 I8ght not sleep at night knowing someone's running Tripwire Trap in their market... But that's my problem.

Formbend could be there. Of course it's not going to preemptively take an aegis. Instead it will only hit one when an opponent has a relic. But usually if you're trying to take their face shields off, you're likely going after a relic anyway. Formbend also has different uses. In a different way though.

I usually ALWAYS have either a power card or way to create power in my market. Usually it's a card with inscribe, so as to have land or a card. I don't think there's much(or any) inscribe in Expedition, but definitely things that can be like that. Blue ruin land is a hefty 3 for a snowball. But it IS a land or snowball there.

Or keep it 🥹
DonCoyote Eternal Version: 24.10.02
I mean, sure, you only want to be proactive situationally, but that's exactly what the market is for, IMO, cards that you don't want to maindeck, but want every once in a while.

I hate Formbend in the market. Spending three power to turn the opponent's Omniscience into a 6/6 that I now have to deal with is the worst. Not efficient removal at all.

Ever since you first commented, I've been experimenting with the deck and lately I've ditched the market entirely and just crammed in 4 copies of Omniscience. I also replaced the fire sigils with Ruinous Rift. Seems to work okay, but I'm honestly pretty bored of this deck and have moved onto Feln midrange this season.

If you come up with market choices you have success with, let me know.
ZE1TGEIST Edited Eternal Version: 24.10.02
Sorry, didn't mean to make you hate the deck or anything.

I have about 5-6 versions of this deck. In one day I made 4 versions that all slammed 4 Omniscience in main.

A TPF:
The beauty of this revolves around Krogar's Grave. Card is amazing 3 dmg on turn 3 with ramp. Amazing. Let's you get Omniscience on turn 5. Not that it's crucial to do so, but sometimes if your opponent is slow to get going, if you get that out before you have to commit every turn to must remove threats, then it's really easy going from there. Also white lets it run some Antique Polisher and Steelwarren Rebel. The latter also lets me instant speed kill an enemy Omniscience before they can draw from it... A big theme here lol.

Market is bad for this one, definitely not in a finalized deck. Market:
Formbend
Light the Beacon
Mistveil Drake
Quicksilver Mirror (The card that really doesn't fit, but I needed win con other than some TS map in main)
Elysian Cylix

A FPS version with heavy blue. Also slamming 4 Omniscience. Love the rainbow cards of this 3 color faction. Running 3 One Eye's Choice main, and I use that card way more than I imagined. It's not ideal to continue bringing back Feral Centipede early game, so many times. But I end up doing it in so many games 🤷 F Centipede just kills so many things I hate. Like Lipa, Tenacious Heron, Corrupted Riftborn, and so much more.

I don't like running the red Caravan delivery, simply because it can't be discarded to Heavy Hail, but I really like the market for this one:
-Ruin (a must). Let's me destroy enemy Omniscience at instant speed before they can draw. Alongside One Eye's in main, means I can deviate opponent Omniscience in mirror.
-Urn of Choking Embers
Flamestoker Win con
- The Hermit's Triumph
Stonescar Cylix

And 2 heavy blue versions which play land that can create other colors in case I want for TS Map, or a market card. Both versions running formbend in side. Formbend is so important because I'm relying heavily on stun. Especially with Winter's Tomb.

So, Formbend. It actually only costs 1. Of course the ideal way to use it to to turn a Skysplitter before using Deep Freeze. On top of that it transforms my extra Omniscience into 6/6's, pops aegis on stuff I wanna remove. Not ideal in an obvious way, but VERY IDEAL in the way of versatility. Good against cards like Master Archivist, Tongue Lasher, anything that grows or has a small original cost. And since it doesn't silence, it doesn't silent my Permafrosts, if I'm in a sticky situation. Formbend is in many of my Primal side boards in the game. I don't think I'm looking to hit an Omniscience with it, unless I have a permafrost, board clear, or kill card for it too. And of course the opponent already drew from it if I'm playing it on an Omniscience. But if I'm casting Deep Freeze, and I have the means to make and permafrost a 6/6 out of an Omniscience, I might. 🤷 Same with Skysplitter, as endurance is the mono primal control's bane.
Matyssa Eternal Version: 24.10.02
Hello DonCoyote

I enjoyed your deck for testing it, it's very good!
I would like if you read my message to discuss it again with you on discord, I sent you a private message if you could look ... Thanks in advance
DonCoyote Eternal Version: 24.10.02
I don't have a Discord account, but I'm happy to discuss it here. I'm glad you liked the deck when you tested it out. That makes me very happy and it's why I posted it here.
Matyssa Eternal Version: 24.10.02
Discord is so convenient... you should try it and already come to the official Eternal account, there are other players and discussions about the game and decks.. here it's not really appropriate to have conversations.. let me know if you plan to try it, I'll be happy to discuss it with you, and see about adding us in game..
thewamts Eternal Version: 24.10.02
6 non Primal sources is not tenable if you want to cast Severin on 5, cut it down to 2.
DonCoyote Eternal Version: 24.10.02
I mean, this is what I use to climb to top 10. I've been hitting the Hermit on 5 consistently enough for that, at least. More important to me is that I'm hitting the undepleted power requirements to cast my two-drops on curve. Execution Pit or Futility on turn two is fucking clutch.
astronautis28 Eternal Version: 24.10.02
Nice analysis. Personally, I find it sad that this is a top tier deck since it's the most fun-killer deck in this meta 100%. I sincerely doubt even the people playing it enjoy a mirror match.
DonCoyote Eternal Version: 24.10.02
To each their own.

I'm a control player at heart, so I love interaction. If I lose because someone pings my face aegis with a snowball and Ruins my Omniscience, or they nuke my Heavy Hail with a Beastly Disruption, it's a bummer, because I like to win, but I tip my hat to my opponent and move on to the next game. "Good game. Well played."

The fun-killer for me is un-policed battlecruisers ramping for three turns to see who can get a better top deck with their Patrice, Your New Home or Boar Riders.
astronautis28 Eternal Version: 24.10.02
I very much agree that the Boars are also lame, they take second place for me. But IMO this deck isn't very interactive. Snowball+Ruin is scycrag only, any other faction has to pay dearly to remove your Omni which has likely already paid for itself, and as for beastly disruption, it's only played by other primal decks which are basically only this one or a similar Feln decks, plus you have an insanely strong counter to it with Corrupted Riftborn. And in fact, this entire deck's lineup is unreachable both with weapons and with spells due to high stats and aegis, which again to me, is the opposite of interactive, though maybe it feels interactive to the one playing because they have all the answers. I wouldn't be surprised if the only decks it loses to are itself and a lucky draw from the afforementioned boars. But anyway, clearly I am biased and as you said, to each his own.
No hard feelings, enjoy the game!