Hello. I just finished getting my 12th consecutive Master Tier gauntlet run with this deck (84-0). Unfortunately on the 13th run I lost to a turn 4
Nahid, the Immortal, preventing me from setting up. But getting 12 gauntlet wins in a row is a first for me. Out of all of my other decks, I haven't been able to get more than 4 wins in a row, so that should give you an idea of the consistency of the deck. Also this deck doesn't need a market, so you don't have to worry about not drawing into your market access cards.
Card explanations:
Logistics Expert is there to ramp 1 turn, but can be used as a finisher if the game goes long.
Master Archivist is actually one of the best cards in the deck, since we run so many depleted powers it's common to play it as a 4/5 on turn 3.
Send an Agent is useful for dealing with big single-faction units, or units with powerful effects like
Dran, Won't Back Down.
Spiritweaver the main board-stabilizing tool along with
Azindel, Mastermind. Once you have a big unit, Spiritweaver should heal you back up to full in no time, especially with
Riftfeeder Wasp. It also has plunder if you need a power card, or have too many of them.
Banish is another good removal tool for Xenan. 5 or less may sound restrictive, but it hits almost anything you could need to kill.
Expand the Reach is another ramp card, but has the added bonus of plundering, if you need another power to get to the 5 mana sweet-spot of the deck.
Huntmaster Vikrum is so good. Even if they kill Vikrum immediately, they still lose an attack with the unit you took, unless it had endurance, but if it did, you could have swung with it the turn you stole it. Not always, but many times the AI will target their own unit you took, rather than killing Vikrum. It makes me cringe and smile at the same time.
Azindel, Mastermind is such a powerful card. The AI will almost always deal with the known threats before they deal with stealthed units, so Azindel almost always triggers at the start of your next turn. Even if he just pulls two power cards, you ramped 2 power and got an 8/8 with lifesteal. Just make sure you don't block with Azindel, even if there would be a good block, as it reveals him and turns off his ability.
Riftfeeder Wasp is a staple in almost all time decks, for just how insane it is. It fixes your power plays for 2 turns, and gets bigger until dealt with, and since it has flying it is an excellent defender in the air, or a potentially unblockable finisher.
Worldbearer Behemoth is in the same vein as Riftfeeder Wasp. It fixes your future power needs while being a giant beater. It's especially nice when he pulls
Crest of Mystery to scout or
Xenan Cylix to draw a card later.
Severin of the Dark is probably one of the most game-changing units I've ever seen. Just playing a power after Severin is out deals 6 lifesteal damage and another 6 lifesteal damage when you redraw the
Piercing Grief's. Just insane.
Azindel, Revealed is a game ender. Thanks to Wasp, Behemoth and Mastermind (all the 5 drops) Azindel is very easy to drop on the board. The turn after he is played the value you get from him (even on an empty board) is very hard for the opponent to recover from, unless they are one of the 2 gauntlet decks that run
Harsh Rule. But even if they do, you should still have enough gas to close out the game.
Deck Tips:
The best cards to try and start with are
Master Archivist and
Expand the Reach. They really smooth out your first few turns. Even if you don't get a Master Archivist early, try to play as many powers as you can depleted, so when you do draw one it's big, and may even gain lifesteal with Spiritweaver. If you have Expand the Reach and the 3 powers to play it, it will guarantee that you can get to 5 power, which is the amount needed for the 12 board-stabilizing power houses. Each one can also ramp you into
Severin of the Dark and
Azindel, Revealed. Either one will end the game in short order.
Final Suggestions:
You may be able to switch some cards for budget reasons (I know it has a lot of Campaign cards) but just know that your results may vary, as I probably haven't tried using what you substituted. If you used this deck, and got a good gauntlet streak, please let me know, I'd be super interested to hear what anyone has to say about it. Good luck and have fun.
It's fun and I'll play it some more, but I got nowhere the 84 wins streak you had.
https://eternalwarcry.com/decks/d/y66v8gfjZpI/xenan-dyno-mid
>very much appreciate the detailed deck explenation =)