(I never got to look at the list, but my main inspiration for building it was a y0tta stream match vs camat0 a few weeks ago, where camat0 seemed to be experimenting with something similar)
I built this list with several goals in mind:
1. Deviate from the "Skycrag is the only viable aggro deck" meta
2. Not fold to Time units
3. Warcry matters has always been a bad idea, we're not doing it here
4. Keep it cheap
Card Choice
The main win path of the deck is to use
Censari Brigand,
Rilgon's Disciple, and
Whirling Duo with the assortment of tricks and weapons to create an explosive/surprise lethal that busts through the board.
The supporting units (
Oni Ronin,
Rakano Outlaw,
Champion of Glory,
Valkyrie Enforcer) are there to push early damage and keep the boardstate clear of units/effects that aggro units will typically fold to. Enforcer clears SST board effect in order to allow your wincons to land an
Inquisitor's Blade successfully. Outlaw and Champion exist to carry katana/longbarrel/tricks and push through the enemy's 3-4 drops
Originally I was running 2
Crownwatch Standard, but found them redundant when I added duo into the mix.
Finest Hour,
Rampage, and
Shugo Standard are all fantastic for achieving lethal/pushing damage/ and committing to 2for1 feelsbad vanquishes when necessary. I consider
Reinvigorate a flex slot, but it makes the skycrag/ely/feln matchup less painful, and often allows you to sneak your perma'd wincon through their tapped out board.
I landed on 3
Vanquish due to being marketless and actually wanting to draw the card in a majority of matchups. Vanquish feels stronger than it did a month ago, and having it consistently feels nice for this list's goals.
Seek Power looks out of place at first in an aggro list. However, with Ronin being our only 1 cost unit, Seek seems to make more 1 sigil hands keepable, and drawing it helps to trigger Rilgon's in a weapon heavy hand.
Torch (nothing follows)
Early Game
Turns 1-4 you're mostly aiming to establish a board, push damage, and make smart trades. Hailstorm feels bad here, but it's not all too devastating considering the top end. Don't be afraid to trade tricks for torch. Untapping with Rilgon's or ChaGlo usually feels better to me than having an empty board and trying to refill it.
Finishing the Game
Let's be honest, we're not trying to go to turn 10 here. If you've dropped the opponent to anywhere below 16, you can threaten lethal in 1-2 turns. Timing is everything here, and sometimes waiting for a lethal combo of Brigand, a weapon, and Finest Hour isn't the worst idea, especially against Temporal and Mask control matchups. Taking a few turns off to draw power for a finishing move
can lull your opponent into a false sense of security (but don't count on it, just assume they're packing a wasp), especially considering how aggro the early game felt for them and especially if they haven't gotten a glimpse at your top end.
Conclusion
I did not come to this project as a "1 deck to rule them all" idea, and I realize it falters against the right answers (plz delete sabotage). Regardless, I wanted to practice building decks as well as give back to a community that's been incredibly generous to me. I'm more than open to questions/critiques/considerations. Thank you for reading and if this is well received I might make more deck building attempts in the future.
Edit 1: Traded the 2
Ornate Katana for 2 more copies of
Longbarrel. After a decent sample size I've concluded that the card advantage isn't as necessary as being able to push damage/trigger Rilgon's, and for that Longbarrel is just a vastly superior card.