The Antique Store

Hello everyone, my Eternal name is Azarial #2333 and I have been working on a new kind of deck archetype that I think might have some legs. It is an attempt at an Elysian Tempo deck that makes use of a combination of cheap, understatted units, cheap removal, and Torgov's Trading Post. I called the deck 'The Antique Store' because of the fact that it leans heavily on relics and Torgov's Trading Post, so the name felt appropriate.

Before I begin, I want to explain that even though this will somewhat read like a guide, I am not suggesting that people craft this if they are looking to climb ladder. Even though it's been working very well for me, I'm not super high on ladder at the moment so it lacks significant testing. This post is more or less to generate discussion, as I feel that this is a new archetype that has some significant potential and I am looking for feedback from others. I am especially interested in potential tweaks that people might make to the deck.

To give a bit of backstory, I started building the deck around Torgov's Trading Post, I felt that even though the card looked underwhelming on paper, there had to be a way to make the card good. Originally, I was trying to do some sort of weird ramp shenanigans that made use of Forgotten Finds to ramp the power that had been dumped in the Void, capping out with Pit of Lenetka. But that deck was way too durdly and never really got off the ground. That said, the more that I played with Trading Post, the more that I liked it and I think it is a lot better than people give it credit for (I'll explain this later when I go over card choices).

The deck really does feel like a tempo deck, which I think is pretty rare in this game. It doesn't really play out like an aggro deck because it has very little reach and it takes a more controlling approach to the board than aggro tends to do, but I'd hesitate to call it a midrange deck either because the most expensive card in the deck costs 4 power and the deck is really about generating an early board presence and protecting it. I find that most of the time, if you're going to win it will be between turns 6-8.

Without further adieu, I'm going to go into my justifictions for the different cards of the deck. Some explanations are very straightforward so I'm not going to go that far into them. Others will require more detail.

4 Lucky Prospector: There are times where you will have to play out Lucky Prospector as a 1/1 Endurance unit, and that isn't something that you're thrilled about. But there are a lot of cheap ways for this to be activated - Pitfall Trap, Porcelain Mask and Disciplinary weights are all capable of activating it and all of them cost 2 power or less. A 3/3 Endurance for 1 is nothing to scoff at, and the Explorer type is relevant in this deck. There really aren't any suitable 1 drops that can go in this slot, I'd be very reluctant to cut any of them. But if you're able to figure out a replacement, I'd be interested to hear ideas. Later in the game, they can also help you by giving you a cheap activation for Pitfall's ability.

4 Permafrost: Permafrost is a great card in any deck, but it's at its best in a tempo deck. Being able to turn off any non-endurance unit for 1 is too good to pass up. I would never cut even one from the deck under any circumstances.

4 Pitfall Trap: Pitfall Trap is used to its full potential in this deck. It's great for pinging one health units, it's great for removing Aegis, it provides a relic to buff Lucky Prospecter and Great Valley Smuggler, and it allows you to filter through your deck at a very quick speed. I used to run less than four but you really do want all four. These are fine in multiples because its activated ability is cheap enough to use multiple times in a turn, and if you have way too many you can always discard one with the activated ability from the one you have on the board.

4 Equivocate: This is another card that is pretty much a no brainer, as the transformation is almost always a downgrade in constructed decks. Keep in mind that you ideally want to use it while the opponent doesn't have an Aegis. You really want to make sure you're making good use of this spell - it's one of the deck's best answers to Sandstorm Titan or a unit equipped with Plate.

4 Master Cartographer: This little girl may appear unassuming at first, but she's better than she looks. She is both a draw and discard outlet, she's an explorer, and her 2/1 stats are underwhelming but given everything else she does they are passable. For this deck, I think she's kind of like a slightly better Temple Scribe. Her unassuming body also means that opponents will not be threatened by her, meaining she can stick on board if you need a weapon target, and if you have to chump block with her it isn't the end of the world either. That said, she's probably one of the most expendable cards in the deck.

4 Porcelain Mask: Holy shit this is a hell of a card. I used to have it as a market card and ran Power Stone in the main deck, but I would never go back. This just does so much - it hits Merchants, turns bombs into just piles of stats, and makes utility creatures worthless. It also gives you information into what the opponent has in their hand. It activeates your Lucky Prospectors and Great Valley Smugglers. And the best part is that the Overwhelm is actually very relevant in this deck. This deck very often has a 7/8 on the board with Torgov, sometimes has a 6/6 Ancient, and if it comes down early it can be the difference between getting through a blocker with a Teacher of Humility. It's a freaking allstar and I would never cut one.

4 Teacher of Humility: I don't feel like I need to explain this one at all. One of the best cards in the game and the slower our opponents are forced to go the better off we are as a tempo deck.

4 Torgov's Trading Post: I see a lot of people talking about how Howling Peaks is the only good Site and I really disagree. While this has nowhere near the impact of Howling Peaks, it costs 2 and it accomplishes up to 6 small things over time while being difficult to remove. Its abilities synergize well with the deck.

- The passive ability is actually a big deal for the deck even though you don't really use it for any form of ramp. Not only does it thin your deck significantly over time, but it also fills your Void with cards. Considering that you run 4 copies of Torgov and 4 copies of his Trading Post, getting to 10 cards in your void is a BIG freaking deal. Its the difference between a 4/5 and a 7/8.

- Call the Ancients is not worth a card slot on its own for almost any deck, but it's only a small portion of the Site. 2 cost 6/6 Endurance/Aegis units are a big deal, and its not actually THAT unlikely that you'll end up seeing one while you play because you cycle through this deck really quickly and you are also actively thinning your deck with each turn that Trading Post is left in play. If I feel comfortable with how my hand looks at the time of playing Trading Post, and I don't need to pop an opponent's units Aegis right away, this is usually the first spell that I use when I play the Trading Post.

- Ask for Directions is a card that this deck is really able to capitalize on. The fact that you get a scout out of it is nice, but what really makes this card work in the deck is that there are a lot of explorers to activate its ability to return to your hand from the void. And it's a great card to discard when you are activating the Draw/Discard effect from Pitfall, Cartographer and Torgov. it can turn card selection into card advantage over time.

- Weather the Storm is primarily used to either pop the Aegis on an enemy unit, or proc the Renown on Skycrag Scalebreaker. It can also pump up an explorer enough that it can attack and survive, which can sometimes allow you to return Ask for Directions to your hand. It's probably the least impactful of the three options.

- Torgov himself is a strong card, and he gets better with his trading post. The site isn't that hard to keep alive because it comes down early and it doesn't really look like its doing that much, and people think of Torgov as a 4/5 instead of a 7/8 (that will change if this deck rises in popularity). A lot of time, people will let it live. If they do, Torgov will become a 7/8 very quickly because the Site itself is going to be dumping 7 cards in your void by the end of the turn where Torgov enters play. That means you only need 3 additional cards to give him his buff. 2 mana 7/8 with a relevant ability? Sign me up.

- The last effect is the psuedo 'fog' effect offered by any site that people want to remove via attacking. It's been rare for me that this has an impact, but I like that it forces players into suboptimal lines of play.

Anyways, that's my thoughts on the card. It may not look impactful but it accomplishes a hell of a lot for 2 power, and it's not that hard to stick on the board despite its low health.

4 Great Valley Smuggler: Merchants are sweet, and this is a merchant that is overstatted as long as you have a relic. Which you almost always do by the time that this guy hits the board. I am never unhappy to see this card. I primarily use the market as a way to negate spells or destroy attachments. I really like spell negation in this deck but I generally find I only need to use it once or twice, so the black market functions really well for picking the right tool for that job and I don't end up with it awkwardly in my hand before I'm able to make use out of it.

4 Skycrag Scalebreaker: This card is very strong but there are times where it feels slow for the deck. A 3/3 for 3 is ok, and its renown ability is relevant, but the main reason I keep it in the deck is the fact that it's two cards in one. I like being able to trade either it or its weapon into the market, and I also like having an extra card in my hand to choose from if I have to discard one. It's also an explorer. It would probably be one of the first cards I would look at cutting if I was looking to open up room in the deck but for now I'm sticking with it.

4 Clutch of Talons: This card is busted. It's just so strong. The influence requirements are never a problem for this deck but it can sometimes struggle at getting to 6 mana. While you usually do want to play this for 6 mana, there are times where you just have to suck it up and play it at 4 because you need to continue to put pressure on your opponent. There's a possibility that I might cut down on these because there are times where they sit in my hand, but they can also close out games very effectively. Even if you aren't going to play this deck, these are worth crafting.

4 Torgov, Icecap Trader: I kinda feel like I've already gone over this card when I went over his site, but he's just so damn good in this deck. He can really close out the game once you turn him into a 7/8, especially when he has either Flying from a weapon or Overwhelm from Mask. He's an explorer and he helps you to cycle through the deck.

2 Seek Power, 5 Time Sigil, 8 Primal Sigil, 4 Crest of Wisdom, 2 Elysian Banner, 4 Seat of Wisdom, 2 Diplomatic Seal: The power base of this deck is pretty lean. There are 27 power sources, and if you play down Torgov's Trading Post it's going to be actively thinning out your deck. But that said, you end up seeing a LOT of your deck because of the amount of draw/discard effects you have access to, so I haven't really been noticing myself struggling on power too much. The deck also has a very low curve, which helps. I don't run Waystones and only run 2 banners because it's really important you are able to hit your power requirements in early turns so you want the best possible odds for activating your Seats - but with that said, I am considering running some Waystones and eliminating the banners and seeks because face Aegis is a good way to ruin Avigraft and that card is so fucking strong. Crests are too good to give up IMO and the 2 Diplo Seals really help with flexibility in early turns (I'm a little afraid to up the diplo seals to 4 though). This is probably the area of the deck I am most looking for help with because I feel good about some of my choices but questionable on others.

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1 Savage Denial: This is kinda my go to selection if I'm against midrange. Fast Speed removal is very popular and Savage Denial is hard to play around. The fact that it only costs 1 is very important because you don't usually have a ton of mana to work with in this deck. It's pretty likely that after playing Great Valley Smuggler that I'll be able leave up one mana.

1 Disjunction: This is the only option that the deck has for dealing with attachments. I generally use it against relics or relic weapons but if there's even a hint of an Avigraft in my mind then I may save it for that. This deck DOES have a lot of ways to give your units flying which helps against Avigraft, but the curse can really just ruin your day.

1 Unseal: This is mainly in the deck to deal with Harsh Rule, but I think it's also capable of hitting Avigraft which is important as well. The deck is capable of generating a very significant board so your opponent will be planning to Harsh Rule and you want to be prepared.

1 Cirso's Choice: This is probably the card people will be most questionable about, but it has won me a few games. The board wipe can help against aggro that's going wide, the life gain can help against decks with reach, and the Face Aegis can help against reach and Avigraft (maybe I'm just too afraid of that card, but if Torgov, Great Valley Smuggler or a Titan gets hit with it its just SO bad for you).

1 Swindle: Probably the Market card I am most open to changing. 5 mana can be tricky to hit, but it's not that uncommon to proc the spark on it because usually by the time you are playing it, all your units have overwhelm and possibly flying as well. Perhaps I should be running Wisdom of the Elders here instead, but the third card draw feels very impactful and you only ever have to pick Swindle when you feel it will be useful. I like it against attrition based midrange like Argenport or Cookbook.

TLDR: Just kidding, you're not going to get a TLDR. There isn't really a way for me to make this consise. But that does pretty much wrap up everything I have to say about the deck. I encourage you to try it if you are looking for a fun new deck to experiment around with. It involves a lot of decision making and it's a LOT of fun to play. But it also took me some time to get comfortable with it, and I know 4 Torgov's Trading Post is a pretty steep investment. If you play with it, please let me know how you feel about it. Feel free to add me if you'd like to play against it and help me test it.

Cheers!