Diesel Control

Hey everyone!

I don't have a fancy website, and I couldn't figure out a witty name for this, but I still came up with what I believe is a very refined version of this deck.

For a while I've been playing these colors (Hooru Tempo) and being successful at it. So, with the release of Dusk I saw the chance to change up play styles a bit and go for a slow, more grindy oriented deck.

People like to shit on Primal, but the few good cards that Primal got will be staples in several decks for a long time to come.

Strategize is a card that simply turns bad hands into good ones. It does so much work in this deck, specially since you have a few very high costs cards that you don't want to see in your opening hand (like Sword of the Sky King). Strategize gives you consistency throughout the game, and help you remove some of the situational cards like Permafrost or Unseal and get you extra fuel. Worst case scenario, you can just get rid of some extra power you won't be needing.

Unseal might not be flashy or fantastic, but it's a huge improvement from Backlash, to the point I feel playing the latter is just flat out wrong in virtually any deck. 2 points of damage is just not worth it risking a Permafrost hitting your best card.

Talking about best cards, let's talk about one of the most discussed ones on release: Jotun Feast-Caller. I mentioned during the spoiler season, in this cards reveal thread that I though Jotun Feast-Caller was the best of the Diesel Cycle. That was before Jekk was revealed, mind. I still think Jotun is incredibly powerful. The third swing with Jotun will always win you the game. Always. Getting to that point is not so easy, but is also something this deck is good at allowing. On the other hand, dealing with a Jotun is back breaking for control decks, such as Feln (of which I've been seeing a lot).

Between Permafrosts, Harsh Rules, Vanquishes.. and just the sheer density of threats this deck present every turn, Jotun will many times have an open avenue to attack. I'm only playing two copies though, and I feel that is correct for now. It is very true that sometimes it's hard to find an opening for playing him, and he is terrible against Aggro decks.

About some of the other choices, Copperhall Porter is a great anti aggro card. Basically he is always a 2x1 against aggro, netting you a card and getting rid of a card of the opponent. Kothon, the Far-Watcher is good against aggro and control, although mediocre against Midrange.

Amilli, Cloudmarshal is fantastic. But he also is a removal lightrod. Sometimes it's worth it to just wait until turn 7 to play him while backing him up with Unseal. I tried Rolant's Intervention on the deck before to help playing Amilli on 6, but it was just not worth it. The main reason I am running 4 Amillis is because he is absolutely fantastic against Midrange. He will stop most fatties on its tracks by generating a constant influx of chumpblockers, while getting in some damage and buying you time to dig deeper into your deck.

There is also a lot of space for tweaking, but I've been having success with this list. I've been exclusively testing this in "high-ish" masters (ranks 200-400) as long as some other lists, and this one got a solid 60% (should've kept better records, sorry guys). The deck has game against basically everything. Armory, Aggro, Control, Midrange, Tokens.. you name it. I've actually been having a lot of good results against aggro in particular. Control it's a little bit more of a toss-up. Feln is not favourable since you need to rely to heavily on the Jotun to win the match. Armory is quite alright, you just need to save up your Vanquishes to get rid of Tavrod and get ready to Unseal that Rise to the Challenge, and you'll be alright.

In any case, I think I've wrote quite a lot for now, although I could keep going :) (Talking about flexible spots and cards that I've been considering as well, like swapping out an unseal for a Channel the Tempest, for example). But instead, I'll stop for now, and let you guys ask the questions.

One last thing. I know a lot of people will immediately notice the distinct lack of Auric Runehammer. I just think this card doesn't kill anything important right now. I've started testing with 4, reduced it to 2 and then to 1. I was never happy to have this in my hand, except on a few very limited cases. You can still try it, but I assure you the card, right now, is terrible.

Sadly, I know the deck's not cheap, so not everyone will be able to play this version. I'll try to come up with a budget version that's not terrible.

Happy playing guys!
Varitt