Ixtun Pledge

My take on a more aggressive FJP Pledge-matters Korovyat Palace deck.

After getting to Masters with Hooru Pledge (like many people this month, post-Homecoming) my earliest ever, converted it to Ixtun leading up to the ECQ (my first Eternal tournament!). Went 14-14 in that event, then a few days later I played it again in the 16-player Tuesday Night Eternal (got 4th! Ixtun Pledge).

The deck can definitely be improved, the only testing it got before the ECQ was a couple days of Ranked grinding. It may just be strictly worse than the more streamlined Hooru builds, or more top-heavy Ixtun midrange.

Some notes on specific cards:

* Svetya's Bravery
This card has been in the deck since my initial Hooru build. Bear Guard Bayonet (and sometimes Copperhall Bracers, if it gets a hit in) giving an undepleted power means that Svetya's Bravery can be left up to negate removal. This is at its best when the opponent doesn't expect it - Bravery doesn't seem to be played very often. If it gains in popularity, or in a deck-published tournament, its surprise value definitely diminishes.
Bravery can also trigger Renown on Hojan or Aniya if needed, and its response window pause can sometimes let you bluff a Torch.

* Inquisitor's Blade
This was a late switch from Deepforged Plate in the market. While Plate can sometimes get free wins, in other situations Blade's Flying has been just as powerful (getting past a Vara, for example). Blade is also easier on the influence requirements (sometimes Plate is stuck waiting on that second F), and it let me shave a couple Cargo for more action cards.

* End of the Story
This would probably be better as a Harsh Rule. The theory was, vs other Palace decks with giant Aegis units, a suicide attack into a site may not appear too suspicious, which would trigger EotS's Tribute. In practice, I don't think that situation has come up even once so far.

* Merchants
The upgrade to Red Canyon Smuggler over Winchest or Jennev Merchant was a big reason for adding Fire (along with access to Vargo), but it definitely results in seeing Palace a whole lot less when they're all in the main.

* Eilyn's Choice
While I was grinding the Hooru build, I was seeing a lot of Maul & Reanimator, and a well-timed marketed Rejection was great there. While not quite as backbreaking, Choice fills that role and can be grabbed by Red Canyon Smuggler.