A deck Mail and I have been working on for the past several weeks.
Check out Mail's version here.
update 11/18:
i managed to go 21-7 in the Feastcalling Test Tournament but unfortunately scrubbed out on day 2 in the first round to fjs mid. g1 i was flooded and g2 i just never found a svetya or unseal when i needed it.
YET, ToroSedato miraculously was playing an earlier version of this list and managed to make it to the FINALS! I can't even begin to convey how happy this made me, you really put on a show!
Ever since the start of October I've been trying to make an aggressive hooru flyers deck.
This is actually the 7th iteration of the deck, going from
marketless, to midrange, to nostrix (
ala bbg), and back again.
With the advent of
FJS Midrange/
Control and decks playing
6 Harsh Rule,
Sandstorm Titan has fallen out of favor.
playstyle:
be aggressive in the air and lock out the opponent with
Unseal,
Svetya, Orene of Kosul, and
Hooru Pacifier.
tips:
※
Mirror Image allows us to extend the lockout, be more aggressive with
Unseen Commando, or knock threats out of the air with
Valkyrie Enforcer.
※ only 1 primal influence is needed to pilot this deck, so use
Seek Power to grab
Justice Sigil for
Icaria, Valkyrie Captain.
※ more often than not, you will play
Icaria, Valkyrie Captain as a 5 drop.
※ avoid sacrificing for
Vara, Vengeance-Seeker, always hope to
Vanquish or silence.
※ if you're flooded, you can
Jennev Merchant for
Mirror Image to take a second trip to the shops.
matchup specific:
ー highway ー
Unseal their
Madness, silence screamable threats with
Valkyrie Enforcer, protect (and ultimately try to win) with
Unseen Commando, blow out a
Bandit Queen swing with
Reinvigorate or
Crownwatch Standard. if you have enough of an air presence to finish them off, seal the deal with
Svetya, Orene of Kosul
ー combrei ー
Hooru Pacifier will be critical for denying the
Sword of Unity tempo swing, but even without the weapons
Telut, Queen's Hand is still difficult to deal with as well as
Genetrix Irel IV.
ー skycrag ー the majority of their threats fly under the
Vanquish range, while still being better aggressive units overall. this match-up is rather difficult, and it usually hinges on
Reinvigorate breaking a
Permafrost and
Unseen Commando managing to stick.
flex:
※
Reinvigorate is a pet card of mine. not only does no one plays around it, but it also is an effective answer to one of the most common removal spells in the game ー
Permafrost.
in instances where berserk is inspired, it becomes even better.
although, I could very easily see this being
Finest Hour, especially if midrange decks continue to shy away from playing the curse.
potential changes:
-1 Svetya, Orene of Kosul
+1 Reinvigorate
-1 (market) Substitute
+1 (market) Svetya, Orene of Kosul/Nostrix, Lord of Visions/Poaching Drake/Lightning Storm
We're currently running
Substitute as a poor alternative for a 5th
Vanquish, but this is the most flexible spot in the deck.
At times, I found a marketed
Svetya, Orene of Kosul to be too slow and would run into hands with too many
Reinvigorate, but given ToroSedato's recent
2nd placing in the Feastcalling event with the first iteration, it might be correct to revert back to the original build.
Otherwise, in a deck of mono 4x,
Nostrix, Lord of Visions might provide a reasonable longer game plan.
Poaching Drake might help in the Combrei match-up to shrink units and is a castable threat for berserk, and
Lightning Storm may help with Skycrag/Highway.
sigils:
※
Seek Power may just want to be
Lingering Influence or some amount of normal sigils. ultimately it comes down to your philosophy of natural drawn power versus peusdo-power cards in tandem with the mulligan rule.
※ 1-3
Diplomatic Seal should probably normal sigils, but it doesn't change the percentages that much.
※ we are only playing 2
Crest of Order because with 6 depleted sigil sources (the other 4 being
Crownwatch Standard) the chances of having two in your initial hand are around 10% - letting you curve out consistently.
conclusion:
This deck was designed to be a meta dagger, specifically seeking out
Harsh Rule based Midrange/Control decks and
weapon based removal strategies (
Auric Runehammer/
Sword of the Sky King). And while I did have a 12-3 streak at one point this month while climbing, the meta has already started to shift and toward more traditional aggressive based strategies like
Combrei,
Skycrag Agg, and
TJP Flyers which are difficult for this deck to deal with. However if the meta ever reverts back, this might be just the weapon you need.
Permafrost
x3
1
Seek Power
x3
2
Dusk Raider
x4
2
Icaria, Valkyrie Captain
x4
2
Kothon, the Far-Watcher
x4
2
Reinvigorate
x2
2
Unseal
x3
2
Vanquish
x4
3
Hooru Pacifier
x4
3
Jennev Merchant
x4
3
Mirror Image
x3
3
Unseen Commando
x4
3
Valkyrie Enforcer
x4
4
Svetya, Orene of Kosul
x4
Justice Sigil
x5
Primal Sigil
x3
Crest of Order
x2
Crownwatch Standard
x4
Diplomatic Seal
x3
Hooru Banner
x4
Seat of Order
x4
View Deck on Shiftstoned
Ps: A question about this version, why not polymorph instead of substitute?
which is to say, the meta in which this deck shines may have already passed.
recently, Krizalio brought a variation to the ETS Wildcard that plays Rilgon's Disciple over Icaria, Valkyrie Captain since it seems that the consensus is that baby icaria is bad in this list. although, out of 16 players 0 played FJS and he ended up going 2-4 in the swiss.
BruisedByGod recently played a varation of this deck on stream that incorporates Snowcrust Yeti as a more sticky early game threat, and I also have experimented with an aegis berserk hooru variant but i'm not sure which is the correct direction to be heading or if the ship has sailed.
But yeah, I feel like the meta has shifted a bit to be what you've noted (i.e single target removal plus aegis midrange), which doesn't help this deck. I think this deck can definitely show its strength like what we saw with Todo, but gotta wait for it to shift again. Hopefully it can with the new expansion coming up.
Some observations.
Over performers:
Unseal. Picked up two auto forfeits off FJS decks when I countered their Harshrule on turn 5.
Mirror Image. 3 in the main and 1 in the market is great. Sometimes, if I don't have a lot of bodies on board, I would merchant a mirror image into another mirror image, just to throw them off. Or play mirror on a merchant to get another mirror from the market. It adds a body and keeps my options open.
Svetya. I just love her. 4 for 4/4 body dodges Hailstorm, but hey, they cant cast spells anyway... Favorite game was against an FP aggro deck. By turn four I just happened to draw 3 Svetya and two mirror images. No spells for my opponent for at least 5 turns... 5 TURNS! Talk about throwing off someones tempo...
Under performers:
Icaria. Well. I don`t know... It was probably just a fluke, but I only ever hit the 6 Justice energy twice in the 15 games. I used seals and seek powers to get Justice only, but she just never really impressed. That said. She did, almost always get her ability off, which did serve to ramp and thin the deck for better draws later on. Other than that (and her acting as removal bait) she didn't do much. That said. The deck performed so well, I dont plan on changing her. Just keep on doing your thing Icaria.
Almost every creature in the deck demands some sort of answer lest you gain momentum. Kothon makes friends. Icaria grows and ramps. Commando buffs and gains you life, Svetya makes you (them) suffer for what you (they) have done...
Changes.
Honestly none...
Dishonestly... I only have two Kothon and didnt want to craft the other ones until I decided I was sold on the deck. So what to replace him with? Big bodies are a pain, right? Right! With people screaming all over the place, recursion is a thing, right? Right! So, how about Vanquisher Blade!? Cool... But, those silly Pacifiers have this thing against weapons... Meh. With only two blades, you can make it work. If your opponent isnt running any big nasty things, or a threat of recursion, or if the Pacifiers are on board and secure, pitch the sword to your Merchant and go shopping in the market... On the other hand, its not so hard to hang back on the pacifier until you get your sword into play and lock them out of the graveyard (or whatever its called). I had a couple games where the sword sat safely on my merchant while Svetya locked their spells or I had unseal ready.
Also. I am totally a Reinvigorate junky too. Actually that was the deciding reason for giving your list a try. I figures we must be kindred spirits. ^_^
Finally. Just a little advice to anyone else giving this deck a try.
Read Svetya`s ability and think about the implications. Don`t be afraid to run her out on turn 4. She will be fine. Then, on the next turn you can hold up Unseal for their turn 5 or 6 board wipe, or just Mirror image her and laugh or just play another one and laugh and laugh and laugh. Dont underestimate how much damage just screwing with your opponents tempo can do.
That`s all. And thanks again.
Unsealing a Harsh Rule has to be one of the most satisfying things you can do in eternal. i'm honestly surprised there haven't been more aggressive decks playing with it up until now. then again, we didn't have multiple copies of harsh rule until set 4 and aegis (TJP fliers) was the most common form of protection until Vara, Vengeance-Seeker dropped.
yeah Icaria, Valkyrie Captain is a little tricky to get online. i think part of it is making sure you're sequencing your sigils properly. like, playing a Crownwatch Standard as depleted power turn 1, utilizing your Diplomatic Seal at the right time for justice, or grabbing justice with Seek Power. ever since we started testing with her i haven't wanted to go back, but maybe set 5 will provide some quality alternatives.
Reinvigorate sure is interesting, and i particularly love playing it on Hooru Pacifier. it's like, not only did you just blow out their crack back but now suddenly you have a mini SST in the air. i described this deck as being aggressive when i first made it but i think the deck can also be just as defensive, especially with all the endurance throughout the deck. sometimes it's just a matter of picking your spots to get in, and -really- get in.
i'd also suggest people read Svetya, Orene of Kosul's activated ability as well! it doesn't happen very often but there can be those games where you're allowed to get 1-2 activations and restock your hand in a game where you've both run out of gas.
I also lost to the mirror match. They played Amilli (or whatever that big Valk who makes other Valks on the attack is called). Since most of their units dodge Vanquish, the match really came down to a unit battle, which Amilli can really take over. But I think our match ultimately came down to Enforcers and the fact that I went first (and some probably some stupid plays on my part). If we assume that our hands were relatively identical, going first actually kinda sucks. My reasoning is (I know there are so many possibilities and combinations of draws and lines of play), all things considered, my turn three is really bad, while theirs is pretty good. What I mean is that if I have no good Enforcer target and so I run out my Pacifier (probably Pacifier) or Commando on turn three, it gets knocked out of the air by their Enforcer. My turn 4 is no better. I dont really want to enforcer their enforcer (unless that is really the answer here O_o), I have no good Mirror targets (because my unit is silenced), so I run out my commando, which promptly gets Copy-Enforcer`d. Now I am going into turn 5 staring down a flying board. No targets for the vanquish and no (good) targets for my enforcer or Mirror image... It made me realize that while this deck can be aggressive on account of the evasion, it is also really wants to respond to whatever your opponent is doing. I say this, because, in the case of the mirror, cards like Unseal and Svetya (my usual allstars) didnt so much as make my opponent blink.
I think that if you are on the play, a T2 Dusk raider might be the key... They will definitely have to give that silence priority over your other units.
Anyway, your thoughts on the mirror (or pseudo mirror match) are appreciated.
Also thanks for the reminder about Svetya`s activated ability. With the number of units in the deck, I can usually hit 2 units off its activation. That can make all the difference at the end game.
You are probably right about Icaria and my sequencing. Though I still dont mind putting her out there early.
Also, I am curious about your thoughts on how to use Dusk Raider. I rarely try to protect it. I just run it out on turn two and let it soak up the torch or Annihilate that would have killed my commando or another flyer. My thought process generally runs along the lines of being happy if it sticks, but not really banking on its triggers activating.
I think I have only ever gotten one or two berserk units off its trigger. It really has a giant bulls-eye on its head and so much that can kill it. Also, (this is probably completely the wrong thing to do but) I tend to throw Dusk Raider under the bus against aggro decks. I think most people expect me to protect it and will swing into it early. Situations vary, but I will often take the trade to slow down aggro decks, knowing that my turn 3 Pacifier and turn 4 Svetya are much more reliable bodies.
Shall we talk Mulligans? Sure. I would love to hear your general plan. Personally, I always shoot for 3 power or 2 and a Seek Power. I will keep a four power hand if it also has a merchant... But I think those are pretty basic rules for most decks (maybe?). So, lets say we have the required 3 power, when to send it back? My general rules for mulligans are (in no particular order) as follows:
- Spells out number units (send it back) Our spells all work around our creatures (to protect or buff or copy), if we dont have creatures. We dont have a chance. We also lack any draw spells to make up for a lack of units.
- No 3 drop creatures (send it back) This is our sweet number where we really start screwing with peoples hopes of beating us. Lifegain, silence, market access, a good blocker who can lock out weapons. The two and four drops are the brains but the 3 spot is the lifeblood (arm / sword / spiked club) of the deck. The right power and any ONE of our 3 drops, is usually a keep-able hand.
I dunno if it really matters to get more specific than that...
Yeah, we need removal, but our units are the key here. Even against aggro, just run those 2 drops out early and let them get torched or whatever (love when my opponents best play is to permafrost my T2 Dusk Raider). Every turn aggro has to spend removing your creatures is one less turn they will be punching you in the face before you have a creature with a decently sized rear-end. (...I still think you are cute Svetya.)
Finally, market questions. I am curious about your priority or heirarchy of what is OK to pitch to the market.
Also, against decks that use CookBook, do you think it is reasonable to grab Vision of Austerity on turn 3 regardless of whether they have played the Book of Cooking yet or not? I mean, if they didn't play it right away, it is almost always going to be their first trip to the market.
Maybe that is the wrong idea entirely... I suppose they will probably just go grab Bore to deal with Austerity... Actually... Maybe I am ok with that... That wastes a market trip that might have grabbed something to stabilize their board (*cough* curse your Rizahn *cough*)...
Thanks again!
mirrors and psuedo mirrors:
it's pretty rough. i'm going to expand that to TJP Fliers as well because essentially our deck is geared with the mindset that the skies are clear and all of our fliers are perfectly evasive. we want to slay midrange threats and counter sweepers. at the moment, most aggro decks and midrange decks are grounded with the exception being Rizahn, Greatbow Master but he comes down on six. other than that, Valkyrie Enforcer is the Torch of justice and can be super problematic for us as silencing a Unseen Commando can be awful, but an Icaria, Valkyrie Captain is even worse.
my suggestions are to prioritize playing out Hooru Pacifiers before the two aforementioned units against decks you suspect to have silences. also, do not get carried away with berserk. i have only ran into a literal mirror match once and i lost because i tried to go for a big tempo swing: Mirror Image-ing a berserked, Reinvigorate'd Valkyrie Enforcer. i knocked one of their teamblockers out of the air, only to proceed to end up losing both of my reckless enforcers on the proceeding turns to a Hooru Pacifier and eventual Kothon, the Far-Watcher that i wasn't able to answer.
Dusk Raider-ing:
i don't have a clear cut way and it probably is one of the more critical aspects of piloting the deck. you might want to ask ToroSedato since they actually piloted the deck to a 2nd place finish in the DWD event.
at times, i try to think about it like this (from a recent grimfan interview with tonygee):
i would very much would like for them to Torch/Annihilate our raiders rather than our Unseen Commando. except, our problem is that our 'aegis units' are just holding up Unseal or running out Svetya, Orene of Kosul. and the nightfall actually gives our opponent more gas to work with and doesn't actually exhaust their resources. regardless, i tend to play it out when i need to hit mana drops or will sandbag it for when we expect a Harsh Rule but have no protection.
mulligans:
yea not much to say here, you seem to have a grasp on it.
marketing:
my most common market grabs are Permafrost and Mirror Image. i particularly like Mirror Image as it allows me to visit the market a second time if i need to tread water. actually, i feel like i rarely have the time/right scenario to grab Vision of Austerity. sometimes it'll turn the heat down from praxis token's Xenan Obelisk but the threat of a wide Rally is always there. a few times i've used it against Mask of Torment but i can't think of much else.
and more to your question, i actually will pre-emptively grab an Unseal against a cookbook deck (assuming you have a few units in hand) because they almost certainly will have a Harsh Rule and have to play it before they can cook the books more than 2/3+ times.
Thanks for the thorough answers.
My most common market trips are for Permafrost and Mirror Image as well. Most other market trips are to pick back up a card I dropped in the market to get a Permafrost. That said, with how little I use the other current market slots, I am considering trying something different. I still dont want to Svetya in the market, but Thunderstrike Dragon does seem like a nice body to pull for a meaningful late-game presence. Pulling him while a Dusk Raider is out would just be icing on the cake. I am not sure how reasonable it would be to drop another unit in the market with the express purpose of pulling it out while Dusk Raider is on board. But that seems waaaaaay to situational to make any sort of strategy out of. Thunderstrike might require some energy base retooling...
I did have a couple games against FJS where I responded to their T3 market pull by my own T3 market pull of Vision of Austerity (I already had unseal in my hand). It always feels good when you guess and counter your opponents moves accurately.
That aside. Unseal does seem like a better auto pull from the market versus FJS.
Actually (as you described in this deck description), FJS is usually a comfortable matchup. Thanks little fying buddies!
Well... I come back to Icaria again... I dunno. She just isn't doing it for me. I get her. I really do, and I even tried playing her as you recommended, but in every game against a deck carrying the threat of Harshrule, she is not what I want to play on turn 5. If I send her out and activate, I get blown out by Harshrule. What I really want on turn 5 is Svetya or a 3CM body or some disruption / removal while holding up Unseal. Dropper her on turn 4 or 5 while holding up Unseal, just feels lackluster... Though, I guess any turn in which you counter Harshrule is a good one... I would just rather develop my board in a stronger way and counter.
The other reason I am a little unhappy with her is that decks that dont run Harshrule tend to be aggro in nature and she just doesn't do enough to slow them down early game.
I am going to try and drop her in favor of giving Lightning Storm a try. Though I dont think I want 4 lightning storms in the main...
I think I will craft the 2 Kothon I am missing and swap him for two of the Icaria and lightning storm for the other two.
Then again... Two doesnt give me a reliable enough draw chance given the amount of aggro out there... Maybe three is the answer and one in the Market. I can always pitch it to my Merchant if I am not up against an aggro deck...
Finally. Instead of accounts of things going my way I just want to compliment the guy (whoever you are) that totally baited me into an unprotected Harshrule... Kudos and cookies and popcorn for you. It was beautiful though.
Some sorta JTS deck. Late game. I have had answer for most of his stuff. Even countered one Harshrule. He dumps his hand on the board. Just loads it with creatures. Merchant (Yellow one), Vara, the little dude that draws you one card and gives you 1HP (I really should learn all the cards names...). He has two cards left in hand (after the market trip). What does that mean to you? Who is going to fill their own board with creatures just to Harshrule them away. Usually I see that kind of move as a sign of desperation. Merchant to get something to slow me down, Vara to gain some life, the little dude to gain a little life and draw a card hoping beyond hope that it will be what you need... Maybe it was what he needed...
Anyway. I didnt know what he was doing, but kinda expected Azindel to hit the board from the market the next turn and he wanted any many triggers as possible. With this in mind, if I followed suit, and dumped my creatures on the board, I could present lethal on the following turn with a Vanquish for captain ugly-pants. So I was greedy. I could have waited. I had the Unseal in hand for any shenanigans, but I was really afraid of the expected Azzy pulling some of my flyers and shutting my offensive down...
Anyway, like I said. I got baited into Harshrule (or he had a clutch draw or whatever). But I like to think he played well. So popcorn and icecream and BigRed gum to you Mr Man. You da Man. ^_~
unfortunately there just aren't enough exciting 2 drop fliers in hooru at the moment.
i'd suggest Eager Owlet (although it's easy to get blown out and weak to silence), Tinker Overseer as a distant second, or maybe just Strategize (but a lower density of units might be more problematic, Kothon, the Far-Watcher poses the threat of basically becoming an army of its own)
yea i'm excited to see if unseen aggro will be a thing in set 5 based off the recent spoiler. i actually was moderately successful with an unseen aggro variant in a recent casual tourney, so there might be something there!