My take on the popular FJS Removal Pile deck that I've used to reach masters.
While the deck surely isn't something new, I'll try to explain some choices that differ from the stock list:
MAINDECK -
Lingering Influence - serves as an extra
Seek Power while making my draws smoother. Scout on this card is huge and certainly makes you rage less when you draw it in topdeck mode.
-
Cull the Deck - lets you select the best card from your next 3 draws. Some people don't run a full set or don't run it at all, but I just can't imagine the deck without it.
- Two
Crest of Chaos with full sets of Justice crests - again, scout is the detail that makes the difference, and having access to extra Shadow influence without heavily relying on
Seek Power is cool. Most of the time Banners just came in depleted, so Crests where a logical choice.
- Full set of
Auric Runehammer is needed because of the rise of aegis units like
Kosul Battlemage that need to be dealt with ASAP
-
Statuary Maiden - with the decline of heavy control
Sheriff Marley couldn't pull her weight anymore. Maidens are currently the MVP of the deck because they deal with everything the deck struggles with - aegis units, killers and recursive beaters like
Dawnwalker. They also have a "pillow fort" effect on board stalemates because your opponent will rarely suicide attack his SST or Thundersaur while you get a Cudgel. The Cudgels also have multiple purposes - they give you tools to push harder with Icaria and Merchant (overwhelm!), heal more with Rizahn and can be left in your hand to enable a later trade from the Market.
MARKET -
Flamestoker - breaks stalemates and gives you a chance against Feln Control (IMO the toughest matchup because they destroy your win conditions with multiple
In Cold Blood and
Rain of Frogs)
-
Statuary Maiden - she proved to be so good in the main that I wanted to grab her more often. Playing the on curve against aggressive decks can seal the deal
NOTABLE EXCLUSIONS -
Wanted Poster - it just requires too much prior setup, while
Cull the Deck gives you access to the best card in your top 3.
-
Sheriff Marley - with the meta shifting more towards aegis and aggro, she couldn't pull her weight anymore. If I start seeing more control, I'll gladly put her back
If you have any questions regarding the deck or certain matchups, I'll be happy to answer them in the comments!
Lingering Influence
x2
1
Seek Power
x4
1
Torch
x4
2
Annihilate
x4
2
Cull the Deck
x4
2
Quarry
x4
2
Vanquish
x2
3
Ixtun Merchant
x4
3
Slay
x4
4
Auric Runehammer
x4
4
Statuary Maiden
x3
5
Harsh Rule
x4
6
Rizahn, Greatbow Master
x4
7
Icaria, the Liberator
x3
Fire Sigil
x3
Justice Sigil
x4
Shadow Sigil
x1
Crest of Chaos
x2
Crest of Glory
x4
Crest of Vengeance
x4
Rakano Banner
x1
Seat of Glory
x4
Seat of Vengeance
x2
View Deck on Shiftstoned
inspite of all the draw.Perhaps you could go into more depth on how to play
this deck.Or it might just be the meta itself.
Regarding on running out of steam, you have to learn to use your life total as a resource, don't kill everything they put on the board the same second, get rid of critical units and wait until they overextend to play Harsh Rule. Timing is everything with this deck because it doesn't run dedicated draw spells like Wisdom, Quarry and Cull are used to dig for answers to a specific situation.