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Mono Primal (obligatory rank 1 clickbait)

Expedition Deck By
LordPerth
LordPerth+2561
Team Not-Tavrod

+18

Cost Curve

Type

Faction

Information

This is the deck I played to get from diamond 3 to rank 1 master this month (and marvin_the_imp played it with great success on his stream on twitch yesterday even tho he took it to throne). It started with an insane streak (19:1 to 75/100 on Dia I), but stopped working earlier today and I dropped to the bottom of Dia I. After some changes it started working again and got me to master with an 8:1 streak. The deck is a midrange deck with all the standart parts of that (removal, big units, some card draw etc.), but it has some really interesting play patterns that require a learning process.
You usually want around 3 power in your starting hand (including Etchings), but it depends on how expensive the other cards in your hand are and if you are on the play or draw (on the draw you can sometimes even keep 2 power hands). The best cards in your starting hand (if we assume that you dont have knowledge about the opponents deck) are Prism Golem, Serpent (if you can play it on turn 2) and Maveloft (if you have a good imbue target like Golem, Serpent or Jarral). If you expect control, Dazzle and market access are really good, against midrange TTS and Mave rise in value and against aggro you want From Elements.
Against aggressive decks (MonoF, Skycragg) you try to get something on the board to stick (Golem, Torgov and Linreis are the best units for that because they all survive Jekk, Mercenary Hunter). From there on you try to stabilise and go into a boardstall until you are in a favored position and can start to attack and apply pressure yourself (If your life is really low you might have to take more risks, because you want to kill the opponent before they draw burst damage. If your life total is high you can stay calm and wait until you are really ahead). Try to really think about on what to use your removal on (e.g., dont use Maveloft on a Milos on an already stabilised board if she is your only removal, because you might need her for a flyer instead). The best market choice in the early/mid game is usually Permafrost, but if you already stabilised all options are solid (Backlash might be necessary if you dont have a Dazzle and are at a low life total to have a counter to Thunder of Wings, Sear or Flash Fire.
Against midrange decks (MonoP, Xenan, FTP) you want some tempo in the early game (Serpent, Prism). At some point you usually have to decide if you are the aggressor in the game and plan your plays accordingly (If you try to win by tempo you value damage highly and try to get attacks in as often as possible. You also value the other 4 market options higher than Helio (which one you take depends on the board state). If you try to get into a value war you try to get as much value as possible out of every card. Broker for Helio or Incursion is great here. In that case you also have to think what targets to use TTS and Mave on (Mave more for immediate threats, TTS more for cards you dont want to see again at a later point)).
Against control (TJS, Worldpyre) you usually have to apply pressure, because outvaluing Grodov's Burden and Worldpyre isnt really possible for this deck (mostly because it doesnt have relic hate. I tried Formbend in the market, but its just to bad as a card to play). The important part here is to apply the right amount of pressure to force them to do things they dont want to do (e.g. playing removal instead of drawing cards/playing their value engines), but you shouldnt overcommit and play into mass removal (Equalize (fine if you have face aegis), Shen-Ra Speaks and Solar Blast) to much, except for when you have Dazzle or Backlash open. Jarral and Savage Incursion (especially with Broker) can help to close out games.
Good luck and have fun!

Expedition Information

Details

Shiftstone Cost
Does not include campaign cost
31,700

Premium Cost
193,600

Influence Requirements
3

Power Sources
25

Power Calculator
Shiftstoned Icon View Deck on Shiftstoned

Deck Rarities
16 17 21 9

Card Types
31 1 23 0 25

Contains Cards From Campaigns
Shadow of the Spire [Set1087]
Awakening [Set1095]

Archetype
Midrange

Added
September 4, 2020

Views
5,812

Eternal Version
Awakening

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Deck URL

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Comments

Arete Eternal Version: 20.09.03
This list got me into masters this month, thanks for posting it. A word of advice for other people, this deck takes a leaning curve, don't expect to do great your first few times using it.
PandaBroPound Eternal Version: 20.09.03
Most efficient mono primal I've played. Thank you!
Drossla Eternal Version: 20.09.03
ok now i know why are so many blue decks out there...xD
BHV Eternal Version: 20.09.03
2 questions:
What can I use instead of Linrei's Stranger until I craft it, if anything?
Would Broken Contract be any good in this deck, or is the influence too important?
Cid7707 Eternal Version: 20.09.03
Be bold. Run Channel the Tempest like an OG.
LordPerth Eternal Version: 20.09.03
Linreis is really good in this deck and hard to replace, the best option I could think of right now is Isra, Loyal Mount. I dont think you want to run Contract in this list. You want a lot of primal influence to play Serpent on curve, get Jarral to 6P (and optimally later 8P) and to get a good refill with Helio if the game goes long (or severall good Helios with Broker). The deck also usually doesnt have a unit in the void before around turn 4, so Contract is a dead draw if you draw it until then, and the 4/1 isnt that good in this deck, especially if you only get him after turn 4.
BHV Eternal Version: 20.09.03
Yeah, I figured as much. Thanks for the quick reply, and I'll be sure to try Isra!
Cthulhudud3 Eternal Version: 20.09.03
Pretty fun list! Linrei's Stranger is probably my new favorite legendary now. Been having good success with it too! Thanks and cheers!
Rizahn Edited Eternal Version: 20.09.03
I read what you said about TJS strategy, but I've gone 0-5 against that deck with this...Keep in mind I suck, but keep in mind if you are trying to play this deck and you also suck.

The early units get TTS-ed...then you can only negate so many board clears...and you can't do face damage because they have face aegis...and there' not a lot of reach
LordPerth Eternal Version: 20.09.03
I didnt run into to many TJS lists on my climb, but I can see how that matchup is a bit more difficult. Most people that play TJS right now probably use Royaltys list(or a variation of that), and that deck has some things that are hard to deal with with Mono Primal, but its not an impossible matchup. You cant detstroy Burden and outgrinding it is pretty hard too (but sometimes possible, e.g. if you Broker Helio and draw enough tempo to go with it. You also need to TTS Blightmoth and Rolant at somepoint to get the advantage in the air), so your best chance is tempo (Early Snake and Golem and Linreis on curve. Dazzle and Backlash to play around SRS and face aegis to counter Equalize. Keep Alchemist in mind when they have 2 power open, in some cases its even better to not attack with ground units then.). The best TTS target is usually Rolant, then Diana and then either Horn or Blightmoth (If they have Burden Blightmoth is usually the better target).
Rizahn Edited Eternal Version: 20.09.03
This is very helpful - the reason I mentioned it specifically is because I've found this deck so consistent against all the aggro/midrange builds.

But I still can't any deck that relies on backbreaker.
smokinadoobs Eternal Version: 20.09.03
Been looking for an excuse to craft premium Linreiā€™s Stranger, thank you!
leejtr Eternal Version: 20.09.03
I played the first iteration of this and went 14-3 from gold to diamond 3, Thanks LordPerth !, This guy is playing a huge role in shaping the meta and giving us affordable yet powerful lists to play. Unbelievable