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[Masters] FoX Praxis Ramp (Video included) [Gauntlet ready]

Throne Deck By
Wingflier

+17

Cost Curve

Type

Faction

Information

My last Master's deck was a non-FoX list, so I decided to make a FoX list this time. This is my take on the Praxis Ramp into Kairos deck.

"There's several of those already, what makes this one so special?", you may ask.

I have a different philosophy from other deckbuilders here. I do not like putting cards into my deck that become useless after the first few turns. This means that common "ramp" cards that are popular in these lists like Initiate of the Sands, Devotee of the Sands, and Trail Maker I refuse to include, because I think they're absolute shit.

1. They must be in your starting hand to be useful. If you draw them later in the game, especially once you're at 5+ power, they're dead cards.
2. If they get removed (very easy), your entire gameplan is utterly ruined.
3. They make the deck into an all-in strategy which, if it fails, results in an instant concede. Hoping/Gambling that all the stars align so that you can quickly ramp into 9 mana and play Kairos is not a great plan.

I do not like decks that rely on cheesy or gimmicky all-in strategies to accomplish one specific win-condition and must otherwise concede, hence I refuse to make decks using this design philosophy.

This is technically a Praxis Ramp deck that uses Kairos, but ultimately doesn't need Kairos to win, as it has many other win conditions, and all the cards (with the exception of Nocturnal Creeper who is included for synergy purposes) are individually strong on their own merits.

In other words, Kairos, Grand Champion is simply the icing on the cake. It is not necessary or required to win, and in many cases is only used to seal the deal, if used it all. I don't think making a deck that relies on a 9 cost card to win is ever a great idea (unless in the case of Reanimator that allows you to play it much earlier. However, even this is risky due to answers like Adjudicator's Gavel and Vanquisher's Blade). So that's the difference between my deck and the other iterations I've seen of Praxis Ramp. There are many win conditions here that have nothing to do with Kairos. There is ramp, but not at the sacrifice of card quality, and not for the purpose of a gimmicky all-in strategy that any good player is going to spot from a mile away and shut down.

I've tried the other Praxis Ramp lists and I don't think they're very good, for the aforementioned reasons. This however is a much more stable and consistent version that is more resistant to counter-play, and can achieve victory utilizing many different methods. I encourage you to try it out and see for yourself.

This is a great Gauntlet list as well. Its gameplan is relatively quick, and since the computer does not carry as much removal as the average player (or target your ramp), it's much easier to slam Kairos and win the game. Try it there first if you want to get a feel for how it plays. I've also included a video as well, with a few games to show how it works.

Gameplan:

The gameplan is really simple. Either beat your opponent down with your huge bodies (Sandstorm Titan, Ramba, Worldbearer Behemoth, Heart of the Vault, etc.) or stall the game long enough to slam Kairos and win.

Step 1:
Play Teacher of Humility or Nocturnal Creeper on turn 2 for extra card draw. If no other option, play Treasure Troves to dig deeper into the deck.

Always try to play Teacher of Humility on turn 2 if possible. Putting the cursed relic on your opponent increases your win probability dramatically for the rest of the game. It also reduces the downside of Nightfall from Nocturnal Creeper and Twilight Hunt, if that makes sense.

Step 2:
Player Ramba, Tocas, or the Merchant in that order. The earlier you get Ramba down the better because it has a higher chance to hit the enemy player. Tocas is better than Merchant early (but not as good as Ramba) because it has 3 more stats than Merchant and can Twist for further Ramp.

Ramba, Arena Showman is really the MVP here. I think this is the BEST card of the new set. When I first saw this card in the FoX preview reveals on Reddit, I kind of just thought, "meh". Boy, was I wrong. This card is like some unholy love-abomination between Knight-Chancellor Siraf and Great-Kiln Titan. It's a 3 drop like Siraf, but with a better stat line. However, it has a passive ability that allows you to reduce the cost of all your cards if it hits the opposing player. Then, at 7 mana you can play the top card of your deck. This is what makes it like Great-Kiln Titan. However, it's even better because it doesn't have to survive to the end of the turn to activate, and it costs 7, as opposed to the Titan's 8 cost. What's even crazier is that this ability IS NOT an Ultimate. You can use it every turn, or even several times in a turn if you have the mana. It's freaking bonkers, and demands that your opponent removes it or face the penalty of an ever-growing inevitability. Its ability is MUCH stronger than Siraf's in most cases because playing the top card of your deck is much more likely to assist your gameplan than playing a random creature that may be completely useless. Man, I could just go on and on about this card forever, but suffice it to say, it's fucking insane. It's insane early on (great stat line, the incredible passive ability), and great in the mid to late-game because of its active ability. It's insane no matter when you play it, and even more insane if your opponent uses removal on it because they're wasting their removal on a 3 drop...

Step 3:
Play Sandstorm Titan to defend yourself against aggressive decks or apply pressure against control.

Step 4:
Play Worldbearer Behemoth and Heart of the Vault to Ramp and/or apply further pressure to your opponent.

Step 5:
Play Kairos and win, if you haven't already won.

A good starting hand includes:
1. 3-4 Power cards
2. Seek Power
3. Torch
4. Teacher of Humility or Nocturnal Creeper

A mediocre starting hand includes:
1. AT LEAST 2 Power cards
2. Three Drops like Merchant or Ramba
3. At least one of your power being a Crest that can Scout for more power.

If you don't have at least 2 power cards in your starting hand, and a card you can play that costs 3 or less, mulligan.

FAQs:

1. Why is Nocturnal Creeper in this list?

Originally, I had included Temple Scribe over Nocturnal Creeper. However, I realized that one of the only ways this deck can lose is if your opponent has a massive threat. Praxis has no removal that can deal with massive, oversized threats. It doesn't have hard removal like Justice or Shadow, or stun options like Primal. I realized that I was losing some percentage of games (maybe 10-15%) to threats that were so big that even an 8/9 Behemoth with Killer could not deal with. Thus, I recognized that given Twilight Hunt is already in the deck, combining it with Nocturnal Creeper's poison gives you a reliable option for taking out even the biggest of enemies. In the end, Creeper has a similar role as Temple Scribe. It draws you an extra card, though obviously the downside (Nightfall) is that it draws your opponent a card as well. It's still better than Scribe in this list because of its synergy with Twilight Hunt. It's also much better as a defender than a vanilla 1/1, which can sometimes make a difference against aggro and midrange (or eat a removal like Torch or Permafrost).

2. For a Ramp list, there's not much ramp...

Isn't there? Merchant, Tocas, and Behemoth all Ramp you pretty reliably. Ramba and Heart of the Vault Ramp you indirectly by reducing the cost of your cards. That's technically 20 "ramp" cards in the list. It's just that they're all useful and individually good, as opposed to dedicated 1-2 cost Ramp garbage that have no other purpose and are useless after the first few turns.

3. How do you use the Market in this list?

A. Most of the time when you go into the Market, especially on turn 3, you'll be pulling Worldbearer Behemoth. Behemoth is a strong option in most situations as it puts a huge threat on the board, applies a ton of pressure to your opponent, and further Ramps you towards Kairos. It's also a massive form of removal with Twilight Hunt.

B. However, you'll also be pulling Praxis Banner occasionally, especially if not doing so will make you miss a power on that turn. With this deck you need to be playing a power EVERY turn, no exceptions. So if Merchant allows you to play a power that you otherwise couldn't, it's usually the best option.

C. Xenan Initiation is a substitute for Twilight Hunt and is used for the same reasons, as removal or ramp (with Behemoth).

D. Kairos is a great choice if you're near or already at 9 mana and you're ready to end the game.

E. Infinite Hourglass is the choice you'll be using the least, but is good in some situations against curse or stun-heavy lists, or in Gauntlet.

If you're not sure what to choose, Behemoth is usually a safe bet.

4. Any Budget options for this list?

1. Yes, you can swap Kairos out of the main deck for 3-4x Merizo, Gladiator Hero.
2. You can swap 4x Xo out for Saber-Tooth Prideleader or Yushkov, the Usurper, depending on your preference.
3. You can swap Teacher of Humility out for Temple Scribe.
4. You can swap Tocas out for Devotee of the Sands.
5. You can swap Sandstorm Titan out, again, for Yushkov or Prideleader.

Worldbearer Behemoth is pretty important. It would be difficult to replace in this list.

Tutorial video with further explanation and gameplay footage.

EDIT:
Swapped out Saber-tooth Prideleader for Xo of the Endless Hoard. Prideleader is good in some situations (like against Aggro or Relic decks), but ultimately Xo's ability to give you extra card draw and Market fodder helps the deck much more substantially. Since it's a Ramp deck, it's also not impossible to play him at a reasonable time.

Details

Shiftstone Cost
Does not include campaign cost
104,400

Premium Cost
352,000

Influence Requirements
3 3

Power Sources
20 22 16

Power Calculator
Shiftstoned Icon View Deck on Shiftstoned

Deck Rarities
20 10 16 28

Card Types
40 1 13 0 26

Archetype
Combo Midrange

Updated
October 16, 2019

Added
October 14, 2019

Views
5,609

Eternal Version
The Flame of Xulta

BBCode For Comments

Deck URL

Revisions (Since last major patch) October 16, 2019


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Comments

SinthoraS Eternal Version: 1.47.5
7:2 in Trick or treat, overall great deck. won there every mirror match!
Still playing saber over Xo, cos the Most losses Are against aggro
Wingflier Eternal Version: 1.47.5
Yep I had Sabertooth in there before Xo, it's still a good fit for the deck in many situations.
leobanz Eternal Version: 1.47.5
Been burning cards like crazy just to do 1/2 of the legendary cards at first, but oh boy did this deck fit my tastes! Hands down one of the best decks for an antisocial Gauntlet Grinder like me. xD
Wingflier Eternal Version: 1.47.5
Has it been working well in Gauntlet for you?
leobanz Eternal Version: 1.47.5
Yes it has. Unless the "FAIR AND SQUARE" *rolls eyes* AI decides to screw me over, the deck is pretty consistent and now I'm back to the daily grind.
Shadowcran Eternal Version: 1.47.5
It's doing nicely and I too hate the "no use after a few turn" cards as well. I'm only curious as to "Gauntlet Ready". I know gauntlet better than most and indeed, praxis anything seems to have a damned good run in there. Is it Masters gauntlet ready or Masters PLUS gauntlet ready? PLUS is where the AI goes into GOD MODE, plays the toughest version of their AI Deck with perfect draw and curve, has an answer for most anything you play, and even PLAYS THE CARDS MUCH FASTER. You get this after you've played a ton of Masters Gauntlet and the game seems to think you need to be taken down a peg.

I only have 3 Kairos so far(which will shortly be remedied) so I replaced it in main deck with the 4th Behemoth and put Porcelain Mask in instead for some overwhelming opportunity. As to Hourglass....every deck using time needs to have 1 in market, IT's saved my ass in THIS deck already 3 out of 5 wins. As to the banner, always need that trump card to get out of power jail so the guy who replaced it with a unmake should really consider keeping the banner. And if you HAVE to have something in the market to combat relics, I suggest Passage of Eons.
Wingflier Eternal Version: 1.47.5
Thanks for informing me about Masters Gauntlet PLUS. I had no idea this was a thing. How did you find out about it?
Shadowcran Edited Eternal Version: 1.47.5
https://eternalwarcry.com/decks/d/oeG7Xb2dEYM/ramba-kairos-gauntlet-obliterator Someone else made this deck as a copy of yours but with changes for gauntlet. Check it out. Here is a link for the reddit site that specializes in vs the AI play: https://www.reddit.com/r/AIEternal/
Shadowcran Eternal Version: 1.47.5
Over 5,000 hours on Gauntlet(I estimate). I play gauntlet to forge and often fill my collection pretty fast. I've played Card games for years, finished first in Duels of the Planeswalkers 5 years in a row and was there for the beginning of MTG paper. Masters PLUS is a real thing. I can take a deck that wrecks everywhere else, including an earlier gauntlet and be beaten in under 6 turns when it's like that. It's not the legendary cards added to the deck(they are but are not the thing) it's the curve and "luck" of it. You can often feel helpless and can't even damage the opponent when it's in GOD MODE. I've played just about everyone here and this AI buries the top players. You have to play a LOT of it before it gets like this but playing vs it will improve your own gameplay.

Any of the AI's stonescar decks in this mode can and will beat you in 5 turns. The Darkness decks are the ones you really feel helpless against as well as Amaran Excavators and now Dragon's Den(new AI deck) but these will take a few more turns to do so. Often the Void one(wisps and radiants, I can't remember name) can clobber you and make all your attempts worthless. If you stumble one turn on power, expect to lose. If you're flooded, expect to lose. WHen it's in this mode..you will notice the AI plays twice as fast.
TaxMan5x Eternal Version: 1.47.5
Been playing your deck for about a week or so now and I really like it. The only change I made was to take the banner out of the market and added an Unmake because I kept running into random relics and/or curses that were just wrecking me out of nowhere. So far I haven't really missed the banner but the Unmake has been key a few times.
Bikespokes Eternal Version: 1.47.5
if i may suggest running extra dorks to get to kairos faster since its almost always an auto win when you play him
TheL0rd0fSpace Eternal Version: 1.47.5
If you dislike ramp pieces that are bad late game, what's your opinion on Call for Aid? It's a Power Stone early, and a cantrip late game, and is much harder to interact with than a ramp unit.
Wingflier Edited Eternal Version: 1.47.5
I think Call for Aid is generally a lot more useful than any of the 1-2 cost ramp for the reasons you stated. I've used it before and it could even be a budget replacement for something like Tocas or Xo.
DrawMister Eternal Version: 1.47.5
Wow. Just wow. Pwaxis has always been my favorite faction. I just love fatties and a deck that costs the most Shiftstone while still remaining fairly competitive. Your deck scratches all those itches. I just windmill-slammed this pile into the deep DEEP Masters.

Thanks for the build and the very thorough guide.
Wingflier Edited Eternal Version: 1.47.5
I'm really glad the deck performed well for you. It's nice to see people having fun with it. I also love the Praxis playstyle.
jmarlo Eternal Version: 1.47.4
I had to make an account just to up vote this deck and say thank you. You description was great and helped a ton. I love that you put budget on here. I was sitting on so much shift-stone and you convinced me to use it for this. I do not regret it at all. Also I agree with not liking "common ramp" and so glad someone else voiced my thoughts so well. Again thank you, hope to see more in the future.
Wingflier Eternal Version: 1.47.4
I'm really glad you liked the deck. It is incredibly expensive to craft so I'm kind of amazed you blew all that shiftstone to do it, but I hope it met your expectations. I've been having a lot of success with it, and it's fun in Gauntlet too. Thanks for the kind words!
strawwmann Eternal Version: 1.47.4
"I'm kind of amazed you blew all that shiftstone to do it"
@jmarlo: You've been betrayed! ;)
SinthoraS Eternal Version: 1.47.3
The best discription of a deck and how to play it, nice job.
And the deck is even better, last time D1 to Masters lasted hours, with this deck it was a 7:0 enjoyment, thank you !
Wingflier Eternal Version: 1.47.3
I'm glad it worked for you!
Nahtanojrepus Eternal Version: 1.47.3
Thank you so much for this list. I'm a huge fan of Kairos and have been trying a lot of kairos ramp decks, but I found I just hated playing them. I think you've really hit the nail on the head here - too many of the small ramp cards just aren't actually good. Been having a blast with this one.
Shadowcran Eternal Version: 1.47.5
no argument here. I'd go "Power Stone" before any of those.
biologynut99 Eternal Version: 1.47.4
Having initiates and that 2 power 2/1 ramp cards they'd just die so easily and waste tempo.
Wingflier Eternal Version: 1.47.3
I'm glad you're enjoying it. I've been wrecking Gauntlet with it and having quite a bit of success in PVP as well. It's a lot of fun.
frmorrison Eternal Version: 1.47.3
If the nine drop Kairos is not necessary to win, could he be replaced in the main deck? He is great in the market at least.
Wingflier Eternal Version: 1.47.3
In short yes, Kairos is not necessary to have in the maindeck (but highly recommended in the Market at the very least). A great budget replacement for him is 4x Merizo, Gladiator Hero.
biologynut99 Eternal Version: 1.47.3
I played this kind of deck (here be kairos, or Kazed Kairos peaks) when I only had 1 kairos (in market) and it was really good.

That said, having him in maindeck lets you do things like have Heart of the Vault reduce his cost by 2, and also lets your merchants be free for tools you need for any particular matchup.

Are you playing Gauntlet or Standard mostly? Would change what kind of card best replaces kairos (if you must replace him).
frmorrison Eternal Version: 1.47.3
Standard ranked mode mostly.
Wingflier Eternal Version: 1.47.3
I added a budget section in the FAQs. Hope it helps.
biologynut99 Edited Eternal Version: 1.47.3
Interesting take on one of my favourite new deck types . I play a lot of "here be Kairos" and yet wanted to put Ramba in and checked to see if anyone already had!

I only have 3 Behemoths so I dunno what I'll replace with...

Gonna go try the deck.

First thought : have you thought of using deadly ambush wasp instead of nocturnal? Seems to me works better to be able to ambush the stupid AI, and works alright vs humans.
Wingflier Eternal Version: 1.47.3
Scorpion Wasp is a decent card, but remember that one of the benefits of Noctural Creeper in this deck is that it also acts as a card draw mechanic, which is just as important as its Deadly effect. It also costs 1 less. Having only one 2 drop in the deck is too greedy I think, and for pseudo-Combo decks like this it's important to have as many card draw options as possible in order to get your pieces.
biologynut99 Eternal Version: 1.47.4
I see what you mean, but I have still found far too many games where, not having any spell removal (slay/vanquish/etc) there is one enemy unit too large to be taken out, yet when I have a scorpion wasp I can do just that.

Relying on not only having a creeper out, but a killer spell in hand, was too hit and miss.

To each his own, but my win/loss is better with wasp than without.

Great deck anyway, ramba is such value, even one hit
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