Kenna's Edgy Drone Room

So, new set, new cards, new experiments.

As soon as I saw Kenna and Helio, I knew I had to brew around them. This is the first such experiment for me, and it went 10-2 in the top 20 (give or take) of throne. So, here's a 10,000 foot overview:

When it comes to playing goodstuff midrange, Skycrag is...honestly garbage. You have terrific card draw, you have some very tempo-efficient removal spells, but as far as units that make your opponents say "oh crap" because of their board presence as opposed to their ability to quickly go face, Skycrag just...leaves a lot to be desired. So, we have to get creative.

My first answer to this is: throne room, carver, and edge of uprising. AKA cards that can deal with the fact that we're going to be playing low-value dorks, and to use them to enable other cards. Here's the thought process:

Grenadin Drone: still the best go-wide 1-drop in the game. Provides fodder, provides chip damage, embarrasses any 2/1 for 1, etc.

Carver: we're going to be playing dorks, and need a way to make use of said dorks in the event they get invalidated by larger units. Especially Kato's 0/1. We've seen carver around, we know how good he is, and in a deck like this with nearly no card above 4 power, carver can start working his magic pretty quickly.

Nesting Raven: walls off aggro early on, then once you play mother of skies, provides a multifaction unit for a cloudsnake. If you thought grenadin drone was good, what about a *flying* grenadin drone with an extra 1 health attached?

Permafrost and Torch: 1-cost removal spells. This deck starts off low to the ground, so it can't afford to play a ton of power, so you need to be as efficient as possible with the removal suite. Yes, permafrost nonbos with edge of uprising, but if your opponent has nothing but permafrosted units on the table, you're probably happy. Torch is obviously torch.

Kato: lategame insurance in a low-cost card. Only playing 3 because this deck isn't turbo all-in on the sacrifice theme like Stonescar + X variants are, and 12 is a lot of units. You don't want him early without a mother of skies, either, so I think 3 is a reasonable number.

Tripwire grenadin: for synergy with throne room. 2 extra hits out of combat, or pinging off an X/1 means this card provides a LOT more utility than you may think. Obviously, without throne room, this card's value goes way down, but we take what we can get.

Jennev Merchant: board presence and market access on demand. That, and I'm just not sure what to cut for etchings. Drone? No. Raven? Multifaction unit, so no. Kato? No. Tripwire? Throne room needs it. You get the idea.

Throne Room: again, the name of the game here is developing high-value threats without needing to wait for god knows how much power. Daraka is pretty reliable. Eilyn a bit less so, but still appears every so often if you get throne room down early enough, simply because you have a bunch of expendable dorks that nobody wants to burn premium removal on.

Honor of Claws: 4 is too many for this card when the deck runs the bare minimum 25 power. However, the deck does play a bit more midrange-y, so you need card draw to make sure your midrange deck doesn't just sputter out.

Kenna, Uncontained: one of the two new stars of the show. In my opinion, she doesn't have as many targets as Jekk (that is, she'll trade into Rizahn instead of killing him, and deadly units are obviously a no-no), but on the upside, she's more *dependable*. Given that this is throne, carrying a lot of sigils in the power base is its own cost, because it means a loss of utility from the power base. Furthermore, even with 9 sigils (or more), Jekk still can brick on that vital double damage sigil, and when he does, the body he leaves around is just...unimpressive. In contrast, Kenna can still take out some very high-value targets, such as midnight gale, Jekk himself, new Rindra, and so on, while leaving behind a very respectable attacker. Oh, and because this deck goes wide, her ultimate is actually *not* flavor text. In fact, this deck actually has the opposite problem. Rather than have Kenna's ult be a pipe dream, too often, this deck might not even have a spell in the void. Try to keep an eye on Kenna's counter and see if you can throw a torch or a treasure trove into the void, and she'll make it worth your while.

Edge of Uprising: another go-wide payoff. It definitely nonbos with permafrost, but considering that this is a low curve deck and that a 6/6 relic weapon is *really big* for how cheap this thing can become, we're often looking at a 2 or 3 for 1 from this card.

Power base:

Insignias are a duh. Crests still provide value. We run a lot of dorks, so banners are fairly dependable once you have some unit on board that nobody wants to waste removal on, and cylixes are the real deal. There's rarely an instance that a cylix isn't at least an insignia, and getting that trove is phenomenal. Beyond that, there aren't any seats or Jekks in this deck, so there's no worry about insufficient sigil counts, meaning the deck can run the full 4 obscenely powerful cobalt waystones, and then the rest is just 5 primal sigils to make sure that the deck always has Kenna's primal influence by turn 4, and a 3-card Helio by turn 6.

Market:

Swift refusal: you're a go-wide deck, so sweepers can hurt. Blowing out a hailstorm or a harsh rule means a lot more damage going the other direction.

Kaleb's choice: more negation if you need it, and relic kill as well considering that Combrei definitely has a bit of a push in that direction nowadays.

Hailstorm: break glass in case of emergency. If you absolutely need to smack an aggro board, it's there as a desperation option, but will leave mother of skies and Kenna alive, giving you the advantage.

Turn to seed: problematic midrange unit-b-gone. If an opponent has two on the table, it's a guaranteed 2 for 1 on the board and a massive tempo blowout.

Helio: lastly, helio's the real deal. In instances in which the game draws out, she's at least a 4 for 1 for 5 power, which is an insane rate. And where throne room is involved, yes, a flyer, *any* flyer matters, because those chip hits will tick up its counter.

Cards excluded:

Primal etchings: ultimately, my issue with this card is that a lot of the dorks in this deck are fire, rather than primal, and this deck doesn't run fire sigils. If you can stick mother of skies, great. But if you *can't*, well, I don't want my market access gated behind sticking a high-profile undefended 2-drop.

Ice bolt: controlling the board with your units means not accelerating your opponent's development. Ice bolt is a removal you don't want until too late. Stick it in the market if you absolutely must use it.

Royal decree: probably worth considering in the market, but less dependable and far less tempo-efficient than simply slamming a key spell with a swift refusal. Also, if your opponent doesn't play units, then your relics are going to make them pretty miserable in all likelihood. Cut K-choice for this if you must have it.

Jekk: the influence base is built for Kenna and Helio, not for Jekk. If you find a way to make Jekk work with Kenna, I'll be much appreciative.

Any big, dumb dragon: base 25 power means no playing overcosted fatties.

Overall: probably not a prohibitively tier 1 deck. Giving Kenna a home means scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as unit quality goes, and A+B synergy decks (drone room, kennadins, etc.) always run the fatal risk of not drawing the right mix of enablers and payoffs, and so many of the units feel a bit too small, as opposed to cards that carry a huge individual presence, like Champion of Chaos, Champion of Cunning, or Icaria. That said, it does feel like it can at least be competitive.

Enjoy!