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[top 5 masters] cranky's scream queen

Throne Deck By
crankypanda
The Barbarian Camp

+17

Cost Curve

Type

Faction

Information

Hello friends.
This is a deck I have had a lot of fun playing. I had been running into a lot of Icaria Blue, so I decided to brew a Haunting Scream list to counter it. I used this to climb from rank 50 masters to peak at rank 3 (and am currently sitting at 4 or 5). Felnscar scream has been something of an overlooked archetype in Set 4 after initial interest at release faded. The concept and construction is fairly straightforward, but I will explain a few notable choices.

(1) Crunch at 3-power instead of Assembly Line or Gorgon Fanatic: I think Assembly Line is quite weak right now outside of Kennadins and Obelisk decks. In this deck, the strength of Assembly Line is heavily dependent on drawing combo pieces (Queen, Devour, Combust), all of which are already good when combined with other cards in the deck. In terms of value per power spent, Assembly Line is just a bad version of Grenadin Drone, and I would never be comfortable casting it against Combrei. When comparing Crunch to Gorgon Fanatic, I think Crunch is the superior burn card (and this is a burn deck). Overwhelm makes infiltrate substantially easier to proc, and is a great combo with quickdraw. The fact that Crunch doesn't die when it connects also threatens much more damage. Lastly, the discard effect can be a relevant way to put berserk units into the void for combos in future turns.

(2) No 2-power draw spell: Power is very precious for this deck. Your goal is to continuously pressure your opponent and threaten damage. Cards like Cull the Deck and Quarry are tempo negative. Historically, Quarry has been used to fish for specific combo pieces that would eventually guarantee lethal (ignoring the rare instances where its discard is also relevant). I think Merchants, which are also understatted for their cost and therefore tempo negative, have largely taken over this role. I do not think that running 8 copies of hand customization is reasonable in a deck as fast as this one, which already has access to other draw effects and nightfall.

(3) Kerendon Merchant: I actually had to sell myself on this card over time via testing, but I adamantly believe that it is the right merchant for the deck. Before I even talk about the market, I will mention that the deadly keyword has been surprisingly relevant for both attack and defense in my games. The reason that Shadow is the best Market that it provides access to the Madness combo, Haunting Scream, AND a 4-cost charge unit of your choice. The marketed charge unit is an excellent way to find more gas when you don't draw it naturally, and a great combo with Dusk Raider. I chose Bandit Queen because I think the guaranteed quickdraw ensures the biggest berserk payoff.

I haven't spent a lot of time working on the power-base, but I have not run into many problems either. The deck has been running smoothly for me, but I look forward to hearing about y'alls experiences and suggestions. Peace :)

Edit 08/21/18: Lots of Teacher and SST in my pocket meta, so I am testing Annihilates. If this doesn't apply to you, use the original decklist! Currently rank 4 after laddering today.

Details

Shiftstone Cost
Does not include campaign cost
45,950

Premium Cost
200,800

Influence Requirements
2 1 2

Power Sources
16 11 13 18 4

Power Calculator
Shiftstoned Icon View Deck on Shiftstoned

Deck Rarities
31 20 21 8

Card Types
28 2 24 0 26

Archetype
Aggro

Updated
August 22, 2018

Added
August 20, 2018

Views
8,316

Eternal Version
Balance Changes

BBCode For Comments

Deck URL

Revisions (Since last major patch) August 22, 2018


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Comments

Rymac25 Eternal Version: 1.37.4
I just want to let you know that I just made it to Masters exclusively playing this deck this season. It is a blast to play. I had a very favorable win rate in this meta. The really tough matchups for me were Aegis decks like Skycrag, and Lifegain decks. Most wins were on turn 7, so a lot of the Big Combrei decks that are so popular right now couldn’t really get going, and had to play defense. Also stealing Teachers and their big baddies for leathal was the best!

I didn’t have many of the Legendaries. I only had two Queens and I had 0 Highwayman. I subbed in Pyre Elementals for the Highwayman, they always came out for 2, and synergized well with Dark Return and Haunting Screen to really blitz the opponent.

I just wanted to say kudos and thanks for the deck.

Now it’s time to play some jank!
screamqueen Eternal Version: 1.37.4
I've been playing this deck for a few weeks now, and posted my build & thoughts. Would love feedback! https://eternalwarcry.com/decks/details/4Bz_VROaUD4/top-75-masters-scream-queen
addykelz404 Eternal Version: 1.37.4
Very strong deck,

After testing with this for about a week I feel that Rindra is better than Vicious highway - Although Vicious is better in certain occasions (early) - the charge is good but the lifesteal depends on having another way to kill than the single 1 shot it gives for 1 damage. Screaming Rindra is far superior to screaming vicious. The only drawback is that rindra does tend to get silenced more before going to the void, but I still think its better. The mana isn't impacted that much - just need an extra blue. If you scream rindra dark return her and she is better than returning a screamed vicious from the the void. I think the late nightfall is bad because it lets the opponent draw more but typically its over in the next turn if you manage a screamed zerked rindra.

I opted to add 2 plagues - 1 to the deck and 1 to market (took out the mana) - I'm not seeing the mana issues others see. I dropped 1 annihilate in the deck for the plague. Plague gives you two things - if someone is running a weenie deck and you get it early with market you can stop before the buffs hit and stall their progression. The other big one is Aegis - plague rules Aegis. As someone else pointed out vicious is usually only good at popping aegis this will open up the field for madness and removal.

Madness in combo with combust and devour is brutal! Bonus if you can use it on a 4 cost to scream it.

Getting out an early dusk raider (turn 2) is a huge bonus. Even if she gets removed shes cleared the way and can just get returned. Early Zerks on BQ or Fury Champ is win.

Cheers
Fedayeen Eternal Version: 1.37
Amazing deck. But the power base is too slow. I changed it and I am winning a lot at master
screamqueen Eternal Version: 1.37.4
How did you change the power base? I've also found it to be wanting and opted to add an additional banner to the main deck.
martyvburen Eternal Version: 1.37
Okay, I'm missing something here. Whether it's the hands I'm keeping, or the order in which I'm playing the units, or what, but I can't seem to win consistently. That 9-11 seems right, if even a little high.The massive amount of depleted power, while I get are necessary for a three-color deck, is holding this back from doing much of anything in the early game. Vicious Highwayman doesn't ever really kill anything, except if it's a token deck or somesuch, so it's hard to get anything of value from a four-cost unit that comes in and basically dies to most of what's already on the board. It seems like you've had success, so I'm not writing off the deck, but something's missing here, for me at least.
crankypanda Edited Eternal Version: 1.37
I don't think I am playing this deck at a skill ceiling or anything, but I did go 17-3 on my first day. My winrate has dropped in the top 5 due to opponent quality, but I am still winning enough to stay in the top 5 after 30-40 games in a day. I do think the deck is hard to play, and there is only so much I can explain in a short message. I don't mind being watched or watching games, I believe my in game tag is crankypanda+1420. My general advice with respect to power is this: (1) Mulligan pretty aggressively for a 1 or 2 drop, which will activate all your banners. Something like 40% of your hands will have a Diplo Seal or a Waystone in them before you even draw. The other acceptable opener is an undepleted power that you play on turn 3 so you can play a 3-drop on curve. It is perfectly fine to cast Torch/Perma/Annhilate on opening turns, but Dusk Raider is the ideal case (20% of opening hands or so). Vicious Highwayman is little more than a burn spell. He doesn't kill much for me either, but he CAN contribute significant value as a free Aegis-popper for Torch or Permafrost on 5. My last bit of piloting advice is that you should not value Haunting Scream as a card as much in this deck as you would in other scream decks. Unless you want to cycle with Crunch, or enable a flying Dark Return, scream should often be held as a finisher. It is often correct to market for Bandit Queen before scream, because she leaves a body on the board that threatens further damage in the future. Time Merchant walls you pretty badly, so the Praxis and Combrei matchups are a bit strange. There is often something of a board standstill. You should play this patiently until it is time to finish the game off quickly with successive quickdraw and scream turns to go over their blockers. Icaria on the other hand is your best and easiest matchup. Madness is great here and you should have an easy enough time burning them out in a straightforward fashion.
Ravager Eternal Version: 1.37
Nice to finally see a good Scream deck, cheers!
anomia Eternal Version: 1.37
I felt for one more panda's bait and again, no regrets.
I have tried this on diamond 2 and I have now 9-11, which is not awful. But I feel like something has to change. Maybe the power base, maybe adding some buffs to our units like Shugo Standard. idk
The deck is indeed really funny to play btw.
Dillon Edited Eternal Version: 1.37
Edit -
Dillon Edited Eternal Version: 1.37
Take that as a no.
Schu4481 Eternal Version: 1.37
Hey man, really enjoying this version of the deck. Been running it with pretty good success in 300s Masters. Quick question though, did you test Rindra? Turning on nightfall to draw more gas, plus the overwhelm and life gain to win a race seems very strong. Berserking Rindra out of the void is just hard to beat. Thanks.
crankypanda Eternal Version: 1.37
Rindra is cool, but I think she requires a different shell. She makes the influence screwy so you wouldn't want to run Fury Champ, Queen, or Highwayman. I would play her in a Rapid Shot/Gift of Battle combo deck, or something grindy with Torgov.