This is a peasant deck (only non-campaign commons and uncommons) specifically designed to grind Gauntlet. It is pretty fast (average run-time around 20 to 25 minutes) and performed well over the 10 runs I did so far (winning 9 and losing 1 in the first game against Strange Return). The deck is not designed for PVP (throne) tho, so I cant make any promises for that. You can probably still have a decent winrate in lower ranks with it, but it isnt designed for that. I also have to admit that some of the cards in it arent the best crafts, so I would only advise to craft it if you plan on playing a fair amount of Gauntlet with it or if you already have most of the cards.
Strategy:
The deck tries to win most matchups by curving out cheap flyers and getting an advantage in the air, which allows to do more and more damage every turn. The few removal options (Permafrost, Annihilate, Ice Sprite, Dread Hellkite (only aggressive) and the market options) help to remove the few units that can interfere with that plan (flying units, lifesteal units,
Sandstorm Titan, units that can race you or generate too much advantage too fast). Vine Grafter and the 8 deadly/deadly summoning units (Razorbot and Tri-Toe) help to stall the ground against more aggressive decks and can be used aggressively against slower decks. Tri-Toe also has the nice side effect of giving you something if your board gets wiped. The deck only plays 25 power, which is a little bit risky, but it also has a fairly low curve and ways to stall a bit in case you dont draw your 3 power instantly (units with deadly or regen are great at detering AI attacks).
The deck is relatively straightforward (curve out flyers early, take attacks if the attacks coming back arent too bad, dont keep hands that are too slow or reactive, only use removal on real problems), but there are some more specific tipps I want to give: Nesting Raven is quite versatile and how you want to use it depends a lot on the matchup (and specific board state if you draw it later). Against more aggressive decks you usually want to keep the 0/4 around for a bit, but if you have a Grafter, Lightning Sprite and/or some deadly units you might not need to block and can tribute it to be more aggressive. A special case is
Oni Ronin, against whom it is usually better to go for the 1/1 to prevent repeating warcries (if you dont have another efficient way to block it). A nice interaction with Raven is to play it on turn 1 and then to play Wild Cloudsnake on turn 2 and to sacrifice the Raven to immediately buff Cloudsnake. If you already have 4 power and you only have 1 power in hand and dont need it to paly 2 or more cards immediately, its usually best to save it for a Grafter or Lightning Sprite.
Market:
Blackout is really good against flying units with aegis and big flyers (especially against The Dragons Den, where taking out 2 big dragons for 5 can win you some otherwise diffcult games), but it isnt great against decks with several small flyers (and decks without flyers of course). Edict of Makkar is mostly there for this decks biggest enemy: Sandstorm Titan. But its also nice against a lot of other units (like
Unseen Commando or
Amilli, Cloudmarshal). You can also use it to disable a non-justice or time blocker for a turn in some niche cases. Plague is great against decks that go wide (like Skycrag Blitz, Arcanum Army, Slinking Steel or Shogunate Forces), but can also just help to win boardstalls against slower decks or to remove aegis of units to make your other removal options better. Umbren Voidbringer is a great way to apply pressure (especially if you buff it with Grafter and/or if you have some Windshapers out), while also giving you some value back if you can onslaught it (which this deck can most of the time). Feartracker can help to stall the ground (especially with Regen), while also putting pressure on and stabilising your life total.
Bosses:
So far I ran into 6 different bosses and the deck felt at least decent against all of them. Against
Mindless Aggression you want to find Grafters and/or deadly units to stall up the ground (and only attack with them if you have at least a 1 or 2 other good blockers more than the opponent has dangerous attacks) and some removal for the really dangerous threats (most importantly Doom
Impending Doom), but you can use it for smaller units if necessary of course. If you can stall the ground, keep back some good blockers and keep removal for big threats you should be able to just win with some air advantage again.
Against
Power of Progress you are fine with drawing a bit more power than usual and you definitely want to draw flyers and removal. Stuns are best for the Owls from
The Great Parliament,
Order of the Spire and
Awakened Student. Removal (Annihilate, Edict) are best for
Marshal Ironthorn,
Mystic Ascendant and to a lesser extent
Civic Peacekeeper and
Pillar of Amar. Sometimes you have to remove on of the first or stun one of the second, but if you have the choice then I advise to do it like I have written it above. Early pressure in the air and removal for the most dangerous threats (that you cant handle otherwise) is the way to win again.
Against
Sibling Rivalry you want some form of answer to the Scion that can come out as early as turn 2 or 3 (Annihilate is the best one, but permanent stuns are fine too. You can also try to set-up a good block, but thats a bit more risky). Grafter and the deadly units are really good in this one because stalling up the ground is really impoertant to survive early. In this specific matchup its also great to be able to play 5 (primal) power in the first 5 turns because
Eilyn, Fearless can just win the game on her own. But otherwise air advantage is your win-condition again.
The other 3 bosses (Highly Skilled, Limitless Possibilities, Labyrinth Treasury) I only played once, so I cant say too much about them. Highly Skilled can be rough when they have several Silverwing Familiar, but blackout and some good blocks in the air (your flyers are also a lot better, especially if you give one regen with Grafter) can answer that. Limitless Possibilities has a lot of variance due to its rule, but in general you should try to be rather aggressive because you can rarely outvalue it. Labyrinth Treasury depends a lot on the draw of the AI. The deck has a lot of annoying cards for you (Sandstorm Titan, 8 units who silence and
Scorpion Wasp), but also a lot of units that you can answer efficiently or just ignore and your units costing 1 less allows you to have even more aggressive starts. For all the other bosses you just have to try out for yourself what the best strategy is.
I havent tested any upgrades yet, but I also didnt feel like I needed to so far because the deck just worked well in its budget state. But there are of course some rare and legendary flying units that you can try out over the worst ones in this one if you have them (like
Mother of Skies,
Midnight Gale or
Honored Skyguard).
A special thanks to Siatarr and Nordos (and the whole Team Gauntlet discord) for helping with the list.
Good luck and have fun and feel free to ask questions!
FORMAT:Throne
3 Shadowfang Valkyrie (Set10 #356)
3 Permafrost (Set1 #193)
4 Twilight Raptor (Set1 #379)
3 Annihilate (Set1 #269)
2 Exploit (Set10 #73)
2 Sky Serpent (Set9 #121)
4 Vine Grafter (Set10 #197)
4 Wild Asri (Set11 #105)
4 Wild Cloudsnake (Set1 #195)
3 Extract (Set2 #155)
4 Foraging Tri-Toe (Set11 #199)
3 Ice Sprite (Set1 #214)
3 Lightning Sprite (Set6 #160)
1 Midnight Gale (Set1 #378)
2 Dread Hellkite (Set7 #142)
2 Impending Doom (Set1 #286)
3 Windshaper (Set1 #230)
6 Primal Sigil (Set1 #187)
4 Shadow Sigil (Set1 #249)
1 Crest of Cunning (Set3 #267)
4 Feln Banner (Set1 #417)
4 Feln Insignia (Set6 #234)
4 Feln Painting (Set10 #77)
2 Feln Vow (Set9 #208)
---------------MARKET---------------
1 Blackout the Skies (Set10 #307)
1 Dark Return (Set1 #250)
1 Edict of Makkar (Set7 #123)
1 Invasive Species (Set10 #378)
1 Plague (Set1 #274)
I added a Cunning champion in the market, and also removed 3 asris to add breeders and illus. Please tell me what exact cards should I exchange to further make this deck stronger.
update: had some more good runs 6/7 wins. I then made some changes that are not super budget friendly by replacing the wild asri with honored skyguard, tri-toe with kerendon merchant, and lightning sprite and dread hellkite with acquisitive crows, a midnight gale that I happened to have, and one more wind shaper. I am not so great at deck building so I can't say for sure, but the deck feels a bit more consistent. I also took another Rubenklober's idea to add a champion of cunning to the market. While the changes are not super in the spirit of the budget of the deck, I had the cards and it was fun tinkering with it. Definitely recommend this deck to anyone who wants a fast, cheap, and effective gauntlet deck!
how did you end up with only the 2 windshapers? i would think that they are the most valuable card in the deck.
the glaring hole here for me is wild asri. my replacement would be shifting illusion for the power help, 25 power can be brutal in gauntlet. cyber skimmer, gustrider, cloudsnake mount, cloudsnake breeder, fledgling owlet, yeti griffin rider all have abilities that i would consider more valuable than +1 attack.