Argenport Empower/Ramp

Edit: ONE OTHER THING: if you don't have the 1-of Martyr's Chains, buy the Hojan's Oathkeepers theme deck from the store for 2500 gold. It has a single copy of Rhysta (who sees play in this deck), a copy of Martyr's Chains for your market, and Hojan, who's already playable elsewhere. It also has a copy of Howling Kurtarr, which, being a 3-health 4-cost unit, isn't the greatest in a meta full of hailstorms and torches (but might be 200 shiftstone for when you open more copies!).

So, this list got updated. Feel free to take the new list for a spin. As always, WIP.

So after tuning this list, I think I'm much closer to a working variant that served me well climbing from the dumps after some unsuccessful brewing again. The idea started off with me exploring the ramp theme that seemingly is supposed to exist in TJS, only to come away disappointed. There may be something in Kerendon, but for the life of me, I can't seem to find it. The clunky power base invites disaster from aggro and control decks alike, the payoffs aren't the greatest (Sparked Molot and Nokova's meteor rain makes a mockery of Azindel and Great Parliament alike), and the whole disjointed "drew this half and not that half" option did not sit well with me, at least in my attempts. As I said, there may be something *there*, but whether it's the lack of it conforming to my playstyle, or all-in ramp just being shitty in Eternal, that faction just seems to evade me, and from what I can tell, seems to evade other people as well. However, once I tried simplifying things down and took a less all-in approach and went with a more "quality punches up the curve" approach, things started to go much more smoothly.

Let's go over the central idea:

Argenport got a new card this set in Lost Scroll. This implies an Argenport deck with a higher curve and bigger top-end than before, and I wanted to see if such a deck could exist and play like a reasonably well-constructed deck. As it turns out, it just may.

Card by card explanation:

Defiance: x2, possibly x3. I'm sure many of you have run into the new Rakano insanity on ladder that makes Skycrag aggro look like a pushover. Highland Sharpshooter -> Warhelm before you can react, and suddenly there's a massive charger coming at you. Defiance is for...those sorts of situations, because sometimes, opponents just want to shove the action. Respect them, because after sets of neglect, Rakano aggro got a LOT of love. So give it a nice, warm hug full of respect with defiance.

Sabotage: x3, possibly x4. One massive issue that high-curve decks have is protecting their investments. Your Varas, your Tavrods, your Teluts, all of that is meaningless if your premium threats are just coming down against an opponent with a grip full of spot removal. See a turn 1 crest? Throw this thing turn 1, see what the hell's going on. Even hitting wisdom of the elders is good enough to throw a wrench into the gears of Howling Peak players--and sometimes, all you see is a torch and one piece of hard removal that lets you know the coast is clear for your Vara/Tavrod/Telut.

Seek power: x1, possibly x3--fixing, used to be x3, trying an x1 + 2x vara's favor mix currently.

Update: now at an x2 seek, x0 vara's favor. Paying 2 for non-accelerating power was just too painful on tempo, and deck managed to hit medium power without the 3rd seek/favor.

Suffocate: x2, possibly x0--namely for merchants without aegis, or renown cards before they get a chance to swing.

Update: x0 now. Hammers were serving a reasonable job of clearing out early units that weren't swinging at me, defiance covered the rest.

Annihilate: x1, between 1-3 copies. Tried a list with 3 of them, decided to diversify it by 1x annihilate, 1x avigraft, 1x slay.

Lost scroll: x4--key card. This deck can use a *lot* of power, and curving Vara or Tavrod out ahead of curve can often end people.

New card: Fenris Nightshade x2--a power sink, and gives you the ability to trade life for cards in matches that call for it. Might attract removal that would otherwise go to Rhysta while netting you a card in the process.

Unwavering Exorcist: x2--a *lot* of players play Avigraft and permafrost. Many Jennev aggressive decks will have a permafrost in the market for obviously good reasons, and being a non-fire, non-Xenan faction, Argenport doesn't have amazing maindeckable answers to curses. However, what's worse than playing two maindeck 3/2s, which have reasonable rate to trade with teacher, is getting your merchant or Vara avigrafted. That's all sorts of horrible news, and where Avigraft is involved, a 3/2 + a 3/3 flyer for 2 is...pretty damn good rate. I would not recommend cutting them, or if you absolutely must, remove the dark return from the market, but don't come crying when your merchant gets avigrafted.

Vara's Favor: currently x2. There's a lot of aegis and Hojan running around, so a couple might be worth running. But if you don't have targets for this, paying 2 for power is just such a tempo loss in a deck that can't afford to fall too far behind.

Update: x0 now, as I said above, the tempo loss was just too much; Vara covers the anti-aegis, and defiance takes care of most problematic attackers.

Avigraft: x2--it's avigraft, we know it's good, a 1 or 2-of won't hurt.

Bloodletter: x2. This deck plays Tavrod, so a lifesteal weapon to fetch won't hurt. Obviously a lot worse naturally drawn, might be worth it to play Falchion given this deck's curve instead.

Update: x0 now. Wasn't really doing much against aggro as it needed to, and with setback and vanquish in the market, this card felt unnecessary.

Smuggler: duh. Argenport merchants suck, this card on the other hand, absolutely does not. 3/3 lifesteal is a very good defender against aggressive strategies if you can fade the torches.

Winchest Merchant: new x1--for more access to turn 4 tomb vs. control decks, really, along with extra access to vanquish.

Rhysta: "oh look, someone just torched my amber acolyte. Oh look, now they permafrosted her. Slayed her? Oh, they didn't? What's this? My amber acolyte's beating their face in for 4 damage a turn? Sure, don't mind if I do." I feel like so long as you have your bases covered against a counterattack (suffocate, defiance), Rhysta just does something good, no matter what happens. As I said before, this is a deck with some pretty heavy payoffs, so getting board presence *and* more power is pretty awesome. Compare it to Privilege of Rank, which is just a tempo blowout unless you have a discard engine (bulletshaper). That said, I do wish she'd be able to block. A 2/3 for 3 is a pretty awful blocker as it stands, so it'd be nice to have the emergency option. I suppose it's similar to Rizahn's recklessness--a not so subtle hint that you should be ATTACKING with her.

Slay: x1, possibly x2-x3: it's slay, but the 3-slot is fairly crowded as it stands.

Update: x2 now

New card: Mug x3--an outright concession to the howling peak meta. This is the only way to rip that damn card from their hand before it wreaks havoc on the board.

Valk Enforcer: x3, possibly x0. Generally, this card gets better and better as you're more and more ahead of an opponent. The problem with playing valk enforcer in decks that want to get "more and more ahead"? Inclement weather. On defense, not the greatest card, but shutting down something like a champ of fury or teacher's infiltrate isn't the worst. I could see cutting it entirely in favor of more removal/utility across the deck (I.E. +1 defiance, +1 annihilate, +1 sabotage).

Update: x0. Great general unit, but tuning this list felt like it wanted more particular cards.

Auric Runehammer: x4--we're playing Tavrod, and aegis is fairly prolific in this meta. This card is still the best-in-class for dealing with those blue bubbles. Also note: Marley is a 4/4, as is Copperhall Elite, as is Jotun Feast-caller. This is not a coincidence, and a point of balancing. Build your decks with this interplay in mind. Depending on how you view Tavrod, you might want to shave a copy.

Vara, Vengeance Seeker: x4--Still a terrific card against anything but a tokens deck. Nevertheless, you need to support her with sabotage effects to keep her alive, as she's your first vanquish target in the deck.

Tavrod: x4--not the god of the game he used to be, but Eternal's equivalent of Spiderman's Kingpin, now in Minotaur form, can still hand out the beatings assuming you've been able to get him to stick.

Telut: x4--a SHINGLE SHPEAR suddenly turns lifestealing units into game-ending threats in a heartbeat, thins your deck, and the enemy board. Furthermore, there's a card in the market that is pure brutality when combo'd with him. I tried 3 of him and was disappointed in that I wanted to see him a bit more. This is a deck with a lot of decent units, and all it takes is one swing with any of them for the game to go sideways in a hurry for your opponent.

Acantha: x2, possibly x0. Okay, so I wanted a little more ramp payoff, and her power level isn't exactly up to snuff; however, she *does* have pledge, giving you more opening hand keeps, and at top-end, this deck packs a bunch of threats for opponents to burn removal on. This deck is decent at extending the game with lifestealers, and at ramping up to high power counts. 9 power is an obscene amount to ask for, but keep in mind that with a little bit of ramp and power draw (at some point, drawing a power with Rhysta is a functional equivalent of ramping for most decks, as most of them don't just hit 1-7 in stride while maintaining board presence), the moment you take a Telut swing, you're at Acantha power. Furthermore, Telut's buff removing all enemy aegis (ditto Vara) means that Acantha often has a clear kill shot. That, and fine, I wanted to play with black dragon rider bae because she gives me Legend of Dragoon Rose vibes, what with being black dragon knight badass lady and all. <3.

Update: x0 :( :(. Acantha's a really fun card, but 9 is just too expensive to come down in time. You really need to be drawing 3 cards a turn or something insane to really hit her in stride. Not sure where she goes, but it feels like playing her fairly is a mistake.

Power base: basically a dirt-simple Argenport 25. 3 duals, pretty even split on J/S sigils.

MARKET:

Dark return: sometimes, you just want that 1 extra threat. I'm not often that happy to be using this mode, as I don't just want to trade 1-for-1 with enemy removal, but if you just need that one more Vara, Tavrod, or merchant, sometimes, you just need them.

Update: replaced dark return with Amilli for a bigger, airborne threat. If you can nab their vanquishes, Amilli can sometimes eat Rizahns for free if you play him on reaction, and being a diesel, he can threaten to run away with a game if given enough time. I definitely think he's better than Makto when you have Tavrod swinging.

Vanquish: omitted from maindeck so I can pull it from here. Pretty straightforward 3+2 fatty-be-gone play. Again, not a card you *want* to fetch if you can avoid it, since it's never card advantage, but if you need it, it's there.

Devastating Setback: again, Rakano aggro got some much needed love, Skycrag's still around because Champ of Fury can only be so bad, and justice aggro in many of its forms has good reason to see play. Setback is a nice tool against that--and also against control decks. Sometimes, you need that one additional sabotage effect.

Regent's Tomb: removal piles love to just lock down the field with spells. This is a very hard punish for that style of deck. Furthermore, given that this is a high-curve deck, you love the sabotage against the proper opponent, you love the lingering influence (gets you much needed power AND sets up your next draw), and if you see their hand and know the coast is clear for your own threats to come down, this means that you get swear vengeance on, well, just about *any* high-quality threat. Rhysta? More power! Merchants? More marketing! Vara? She grows! Tavrod? Good luck dealing with him again! And, of course, given the matchups, if you're going through the entire agenda, you get a huge flying lifestealer with revenge to *further* tax your opponent's depleted resources. Obviously, not a great card when facing down pressure on the board, but a fantastic card when opposing pressure comes from the hand.

Martyr's Chains: a new justice ramp payoff. Far from easy to get to, but an absolutely devastating card when behind A SHINGLE SHPEAR. We're talking a turn or two of just wiping out your opponent's units with Telut, and then putting your own units out of range of any damage-based removal. A complete hammer of a card in games that go that long, though does require a board to get the most mileage from.

Omissions:

Hojan: the problem with Hojan is that unless you're playing mirror image or finest hour already, you're not in a deck to support him. Renown units require a special deck built around them to get the most from them, and this just isn't it. Your units are big enough without the finest hours, and other weapons sting that much more if removed. That, and Jotun Hurler is a card. I tried him in initial iterations, and he just did not work out too well. Still, your mileage may vary.

Baby Icaria: I feel like without bulletshaper, or without many other valkyrie to buff up (I.E. Amilli, possibly Makto), she's just a bit too small for too long, and when I'm hitting my 3-4-5 stride, I want to commit harder to the board. For instance, Rhysta gets me power while giving me some board presence.

Dreamsnatcher: just took too long to get to 10 power. Most likely much better if you're on mask of torment (you know, xenan cultists/wisps/radiants have a thing going).

Unseen Commando: great card if you're going hard on the aggression with mirror images or stand togethers. A lot less great as part of a generic goodstuff deck, especially as one of the cheapest units in your deck.

Auric Interrogator: may be worth a try for the Tavrod targets, but the 3 slot is already very packed. Might try cutting enforcers for him, and the value from bloodletter, Tavrod, or Telut are undeniable. Generally, not a great standalone card, and needs support from warcries and dark returns, which this deck has very few of.

Update: trying as a 1-of because of the tomb empower synergy. He draws you a card with it, then draws a removal. Card advantage is hard to come by, so I'm trying a copy currently.

Ripknife assassin: your plan against midrange isn't to attack with small dudes into their big dudes--it's to hard-remove a couple of them, and then ramp to chains and nuke them.

Crownwatch Paladin: sabotage is a more direct way of attacking hard removal, and the anti-synergy with Vara.

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So yeah, thanks for reading. If you're feeling adventurous and have the desire for a competitive high-curve deck, this is definitely a step off the beaten path.