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[EoE Update] Unbreakable Combrei Aggro

Throne Deck By
sto650

+14

Cost Curve

Type

Faction

Information

RIP this deck - I'll leave it here for posterity. Since Borderlands Lookout got smacked with the nerf-bat first, this deck took quite a hit in its effectiveness. But with Shen-Ra herself taking a slap from the nerf-bat as well ... that's the end. It was a fun run, but it's over.

What follows is my old commentary on the deck, back when it was actually competitive still.
______________________________________________
Update for EoE: We have ourselves a silence meta here at the moment. And Tocas is also really good. So Tocas is up to 4x, Awakened Students are out along with 1 copy of Longhorn, and 4x Desert Marshals are in. I also happen to think that, despite the 3-cost market restriction, Fearless Crescendo is absolutely worth including over either Aurelian or Winchest merchant, as it is a beast of a card that can win a game all by itself. Flying at fast speed for 1 cost is ... pretty good. The list I have here right now (Feb 27) has taken me through D3 to near Masters at a rate of 22 wins, 6 losses.

I used this deck (slightly different versions) to hit masters four months in a row, starting in October. Currently, my highest Masters rank using this deck is Rank 4 (in January). It's a pretty straight-forward aggro list, but it's on the slower end of aggro. Stand Together is the most important card in the deck, especially if you're facing a control deck of any kind.

The Tocas slot is flexible, but he's pretty good against several different kinds of decks (including the mirror, as mentioned below), so he's probably worth having.

Public enemy #1 for this deck is Tocas, Waystone Harvester. You need to get Valkyrie Enforcer to deal with that jerk; otherwise your pump spells are useless. (However, it's worth noting that Stand Together still works, and I once used that fact to blow out an opponent who had Tocas active and therefore thought he was safe from combat tricks.)

Public Enemy #2 is Baby Vara (Vara, Vengeance-Seeker). Usually you want to sacrifice a unit to keep her small, and then try to find a way to deal with her (via silence, or Aamri's Choice, or some other trick). If Baby Vara starts showing up all over the place, I would be looking to find a way to get Xenan Initiation into the deck so we can deal with her via Killer.

Core cards that you probably shouldn't touch:
-Shen-Ra
-Teacher of Humility
-Aamri's Choice
-Finest Hour
-Intrepid Longhorn
-Record Keeper
-Stand Together
-Valkyrie Enforcer

There isn't anything that consistently wrecks this archetype, though it does lose to decks that have repeated spot removal, over and over and over again. It survives at least one board clear most of the time, which means it usually wins against mass removal. But spot removal is a lot harder to deal with consistently. (e.g. direct-damage this, defiance that, suffocate the next thing, annihilate your Cykalis, etc)

I'm still toying with the market. Not sure what are the best choices yet. I did, however, find that Gnash was an unexpectedly awesome inclusion against Reanimator. They played Sabotage while I had Fearless Crescendo in hand ... so I played the Crescendo (so as not to lose it) and got out Gnash (which they couldn't Sabotage). Tada!

Details

Shiftstone Cost
Does not include campaign cost
76,350

Premium Cost
280,800

Influence Requirements
2 2

Power Sources
18 17 10

Power Calculator
Shiftstoned Icon View Deck on Shiftstoned

Deck Rarities
11 22 20 18

Card Types
35 1 19 0 25

Archetype
Aggro

Updated
April 14, 2020

Added
October 6, 2019

Views
12,332

Eternal Version
Echoes of Eternity

BBCode For Comments

Deck URL

Revisions (Since last major patch) March 11, 2020


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Comments

Serus Eternal Version: 1.50.6
I really like this list but do you have any updates you would make with set 8 being out now?
sto650 Edited Eternal Version: 1.50.6
I've played a bit with the new set out, but not much. I'll update the list with the changes I made so far, which are very minimal.
Serus Eternal Version: 1.50.8
What are your thoughts on this now that Borderlands Lookout and Teacher of Humility have been nerfed? Would you make any changes?
sto650 Eternal Version: 1.50.9
I swapped Lookout for Awakened Student. And I dropped Teacher to 3 copies.
splodead Edited Eternal Version: 1.50.9
what do you think you'd swap Edict of Grodov for in the market now that it is 4T?
sto650 Eternal Version: 1.50.9
I had put a Pristine Light in that spot. Updated the list to show that. But it could probably be almost anything you like that costs 3.
svrQQ Eternal Version: 1.49.3
Have you tried Shift? It's really impressed me in faster Combrei Aggro decks as a 2 or 3 of. Also, personally I like 1 or 2 copies of Temple Standard to bounce blockers.

If you're running Tocas now instead of Gnash I'm wondering how consistently the deck could hit 6 power for Sword of Unity.
sto650 Eternal Version: 1.49.3
Yeah, my personal version of the deck has Sword of Unity in place of Shush. But I still have never pulled it from the market.

I could definitely see an argument for Temple Standard. Might try that out. I have to admit, I don't know what you mean when you say "Shift." Are you referring to Phase Out?
svrQQ Eternal Version: 1.50.2
Yeah phase out, my bad. Camat0 had a hyper aggro Combrei list in Exp running 4 of it but I'm not sure it's strong enough for Throne.
svrQQ Eternal Version: 1.49.2
I'm experimenting with 3 desert marshals instead of Shush since it is more active since I want to pressure Endra on the board. Overall still having a great time. Also running 1 Genetrix in market over Lay Siege which I don't own.
sto650 Edited Eternal Version: 1.49.2
Desert Marshall can get work done for sure. Just be aware that it's a different answer from Shush. The reaction window for Ambush is very different from the reaction window for a Fast Spell. (Example: when opponent plays Mirror Image, you get a reaction window to use Shush immediately; you do not get that reaction window for Ambush. Ambush only triggers when opponent attacks, or when their turn ends. No other windows.)
svrQQ Eternal Version: 1.49.2
So you like Shen Ra in Throne? A lot of people I talk to don't because of so many snowballs and vara favor in the format.
sto650 Edited Eternal Version: 1.49.2
I mean, yes, she can die to those pings, and Endra as well, but if she doesn't, she's simply the best 1 drop in the game. Always gets to attack for free, can blow out any opponent dumb enough to block her (and there are many such opponents), and she can win a game almost solo. She's kinda high variance in that way, if your opponent has an answer, it feels bad. If they don't, they kinda just lose. In the Endra era, there might be better choices than Shen-Ra. I still wouldn't replace her personally though. And, just sayin, I'm guessing a lot of people you talk to didn't finish top 10 in December using only Combrei Aggro the whole time. Not everyone is an expert.
autumn7 Edited Eternal Version: 1.49.2
Brilliant deck! And +1 on shush--opponents tend to concede instantly when you shush Endra lol
sto650 Eternal Version: 1.49.2
Indeed. And if they don't immediately concede, they inevitably lose a few minutes later anyways.
svrQQ Eternal Version: 1.47.9
What is Lay Siege for?
sto650 Eternal Version: 1.47.9
Mostly it breaks permafrosts. But it can also completely blow out an opponent if you attack all units, then on the opponent's turn, suddenly ready them and defend with units that are immune to damage.
autumn7 Eternal Version: 1.49.2
Also vice versa: it doesn't seem to fit with the definition of endurance ("ready at the beginning of each turn"), but you can Lay Siege and attack immune, then ready on the next turn to defend.
sto650 Eternal Version: 1.49.2
That's why the first line of the card reads "Ready your units." Simply giving them endurance if they are exhausted already does nothing. See Withstand for reference - if you play that as a trick on an exhausted unit, you're in for a rude surprise. It does NOT ready the unit. Lay Siege specifically says it readies them.
autumn7 Edited Eternal Version: 1.49.2
Right. My point is that if you have units that are already ready on your turn, you can play Lay Siege, they attack invulnerable to damage, and then they will be ready to defend the next turn (the turn after you cast Lay Siege).
JayMathy Eternal Version: 1.47.9
I ended up replacing Gnash with Lunar Magus. It only has one less attack, lets you draw a card, deals one damage, and (usually) gives you 4 health back. Great deck, thanks for sharing!
sto650 Eternal Version: 1.47.9
That's a very interesting replacement there. I like it! Let me know how it goes. (Since I have Gnash, I'll just be leaving him there, but that replacement does bring the cost of the deck down significantly).
ReflectingMyDescent Edited Eternal Version: 1.47.9
I really like that u are still updating this deck. very good.
I have played some games of the deck and I've had some pretty good success with it.

what I like:
- traditional combrei playstyle
- a lot of tempo if you are the one starting turn 1
- stand together is insane

what I don't like:
- lack of removal
- if you can't get a decent board before AoE's stand together is worthless
- new emblems can deny you power pretty hard if you choose to decimate
- in 20 games played I've used vanquishers blade only 1 time. absolutely dead card.
- awakened student is great in the early game but absolute garbage as a topdeck. I would like to replace him. maybe with crownwatch paladin!

overall a very fun deck and I will continue to play it.


also: how do you trigger muster on gnash with this deck?
sto650 Eternal Version: 1.47.9
If you replace Awakened Student, Hojan is probably the best option. Or Resolute Monk.
ReflectingMyDescent Eternal Version: 1.47.9
I value aegis more so I think crownwatch paladin is the best option. the warcry is also pretty good too on already overstatted minions.
sto650 Eternal Version: 1.47.9
You don't trigger Gnash's muster. He's there because he survives hailstorm and torch and blocks extremely well when you need to be defensive. Basically, he's an over-statted 3-drop, which fits the game plan perfectly. Possibly there is another choice besides him, but he's been very good to have around.
sto650 Edited Eternal Version: 1.47.9
I took out the Vanq blade for exactly the reason you mentioned: it was too often no good. I replaced it with 3x Gnash. The list is definitely better with the Gnash. You're correct that Stand Together only shines when you can buff multiple units, but there are times that even just saving one unit is worth it and allows for a lethal push. Feel free to mess around with the list a bit, but do keep in mind that I have played several hundred games with slight variations of this list, and the one I have up right now is probably the best version.

You are definitely correct that you have to be very careful about your decimating with the emblems. But it's totally fine to take one damage and play one as a sigil, because the times that you need to decimate a unit out of them are worth the downside of the times that you cannot afford to do that.
ReflectingMyDescent Eternal Version: 1.47.9
thanks for your explanations. I will keep playing ur list and maybe do tiny changes but most likely it will stay unchanged.
I have another question: why did you remove sword of unity out of the market? other than that it's hard to get to 6 power to make it worth playing it I must say that it won me some games due to the lifesteal and the overwhelm. Genetrix in throne is pretty meh in my opinion.
sto650 Eternal Version: 1.47.9
I literally never used the sword once in dozens of games. Without the ramp units that I used to have in older versions of this deck, I almost never get to 6 power. In contrast, in just the 20 or so games since I put in Genetrix, I've already gotten multiple lethals off her buff. When you're trying to push the final damage through, Genetrix creates very difficult situations for your opponent to deal with, or she just straight gives you lethal. Basically, she's a finisher, pure and simple. And she definitely works in that role.
ReflectingMyDescent Eternal Version: 1.47.9
alright, I will try her out. good luck on the ladder :)
htraos Eternal Version: 1.47.8
Would you still recommend this deck now that the meta has changed a bit?
sto650 Eternal Version: 1.47.8
It still seems like it's a good deck, sure. Depends if you like the playstyle or not. But the biggest reason to play combrei aggro rather than some other kind of aggro is Stand Together, which protects your units from removal and sweepers. It is an immensely powerful card. Also, the particular legendaries in this list are also used in plenty of other places, so you'll never regret adding them to your collection.
ReflectingMyDescent Eternal Version: 1.47.5
very interesting deck, why not 4 cykalis?
sto650 Eternal Version: 1.47.5
Mainly because he's expensive. You don't ever want two of him in hand, so only 3 copies seems right. Could be wrong, but seems right.
ReflectingMyDescent Edited Eternal Version: 1.47.5
I think it's fine since you can also pledge cykalis if you have one stuck in your starting hand.