A version of my Mask deck (link below) I cooked up that runs Primal for draw. So far it's feeling pretty good. The increased amounts of card draw from
Strategize and
Wisdom of the Elders bump the consistency up quite a bit. The main things I'm looking into atm is how to refine the powerbase (How many seats, sigils, crests, etc.) and some considerations like
Rain of Frogs vs
Vara's Choice, and
Feeding Time vs
Deathstrike. I might also look into running a third copy of
Mask of Torment over a
Hall of Lost Kings because of how this deck doesn't heal as much as the other one, so staying above 25 is a bit more challenging. As it stands though, I only own 2 copies, so if someone could test that for me, that'd be great.
As per usual, I'd appreciate any feedback!
Link for the pure Xenan Mask deck: https://eternalwarcry.com/decks/details/bqI2WgguD60/mask-of-lost-words
The sweepers are critical. Once I get a chance to jam some more games, I plan on going up to 4 Stay for sure. At the very least, shrinking their team to buy you time, which this deck needs, is clutch.
Rain of Frogs has been a house, and I love it vs everything but Aggro.
I think I will make room for another sweeper for sure, just to make sure I hit them every game, ideally as many times as possible, and change Hall to Celestial just to be able to tutor up answers. Otherwise, I am pretty happy with how it feels.
With that said, after doing some more testing today I've actually been thinking of grabbing an Omen myself, but couldn't think of where to put it. I could see it taking the Hall slot, yes. Last Word has been good enough for me that I have not felt the need to replace it. It can be an infinite value removal piece against decks that lack direct damage, and an instant "I win" button if they don't have board. Vs faster decks it doesn't come into play anyway, but thanks the Strategize that's not much of an issue. I have also found Rain to be amazing. Went 10-2 during testing today (still small sample size, but hey, holiday season) and had several key hits, from Deepforged Plates to Clockroaches. It can end games when played early on something important. Same with Gift, for that matter.
Personally between Lightning Storms and Stray I didn't feel like I needed more aoe. Perhaps I'm playing greedier than you do, so I killed more things with one, trading some life; or I just drew better. Whatever the case may be, I found myself even putting Strays back in the deck with Strategize because I felt in control enough of the game to not need more than 1-2. I did however think about going 2/2 split on Deathstrike/Feeding Time to have 2 fast spell answers to anything Banish can't answer.