I know that this is not the first Speedbow created. I know that this is a VERY similar make to multiple Speedbows that exist. My reason for posting is due to the stats I have acquired; stats which I could scarcely believe when I recorded them. The deck:
1.272 Variant:
Mark: entropy author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6u2 6u2 6u3 6u3 6u3 6u3 6u3 6u3 713 713 745 77g 77g 7ah 7ah 7dm 7dm 7dq 7ju 7mu 7t9 7tb 80a 80a 80gSpoiler for 1.26 Variant:
Mark: entropy author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6u1 6u2 6u3 6u3 6u3 6u3 6u3 6u3 713 713 745 77g 77g 7ah 7ah 7dm 7dm 7dq 7ju 7mu 7t9 7tb 80a 80a 80gBecause of these new AI3 I had to drastically reevaluate my perception of how to maximize the potential of a Speedbow in terms of both Win rate and sheer speed. Unfortunately I cannot correctly assess and compare this deck in terms of other Speedbows because aside from TTW and number of losses, score/min; electrum/min; clicks/turn; and avg. sec/game have not yet been recorded for a full blown test versus the 1.26 AI3. Enough ranting, stats time:
1.272 Stats UpdateNo, that's not a typo. I had 0 losses when TTWing this deck. During my initial testing I realized the deck was both consistent and fast against the AI3, so I decided to run a TTW Study for 100 games just to see how much potential it really had. Astonished by not receiving a single loss, I did a full blown TTW test and came across the same results. I'm not saying that it's impossible for this deck to lose, but these stats seem to imply that such an occurrence would be a statistical anomaly.
Differences in playing style are what will make or break this deck. If you are used to playing Speedbows which require absolutely no thought when used, then expect to receive a different win rate than what I have received. This is not a mindless rush which just anyone can play. There is a great deal of strategy involved which must be used to their fullest potential to get the desired results. However, not everyone can be expected to understand how to play a deck simply from a glimpse or even a few test trials. Therefore, to compensate for this I will do my best to outline the reasoning behind the cards chosen, when they should be used, and then answer any FAQs which might appear here.
Card Selection:Original inspiration came from Rainbow itself, who is the very definition of a rush deck. After all, what does it say about a rush that is stalled into submission? Rainbow's deck is a very good example of what rush decks should look for against the new AI3, and this is what formed the basic structure here. This required a great deal of tweaking and testing to figure out what works and what doesn't. Before creating this deck I had in my mind an ideal setup where a maximum of 6 quanta would be used from each element (excluding abilities which would continue forever, i.e. Growth). You can see that evident here. The only exception to this is
, which I will explain in a moment.
Spoiler for Card List Selection:
Quantum Towers: Used for greater deck stability. I understand that using
Towers/Pendulums would allow for much faster games due to 1st turn Supernovae being much more common, but in this case the Quantum Towers allow you to fall back on something in the event that you don't draw a Supernova in your opening hand. Basically: Win more, but at the cost of greater speed.
Supernova: Self-explanatory. Use these before playing the Chaos Powers whenever possible.
Chaos Power: A surprisingly useful card. Always use this on a Wyrm for added damage potential, otherwise use this on creatures with the least HP to reduce the chances of them getting blasted by Creature Control.
Flesh Recluse: Really the only viable
card capable of being used here. Arsenic is less useful than the Vampire Dagger, and Deadly Poison has less damage potential than a Recluse. Don't use Web...
Elite Charger: Bypasses Shields, impervious to all CC except for Lightning and Reverse Time. The only other options would be Graviton Guard which is just too small for a deck like this.
Elite Graboid: Turn 2 and 4 quanta total these guys go from 2 attack to a whopping 10 damage; quite possibly the greatest asset to this deck.
Forest Spectre: The fact that these guys can grow means that after their second turn of being on the field they will most likely never die. Incredibly useful for longer games, plus them being Airborne bypasses Wings. Giant Frogs get out faster and do more damage over time earlier in the game, but are much too prone to these new AI3.
Explosion: Permanent Control. Use it extremely wisely. Breaks the 6 quanta rule only because it's that important to draw it at the right time.
Lava Destroyer: A staple for the fastest decks and it stands to reason. Grow him and fast.
Archangel: Awesome stats, plus the ability basically means it can't die. Pegasus conflicts too much with
quanta, so it goes unused in this deck.
Elite Wyrm: There has been debate as to whether or not this card is more useful than Unstable Gas. For this deck, Unstable Gas has both the nasty downside of using up more
as well as getting stopped dead by the off chance that the AI actually plays an Emerald Shield. Wyrm's Dive makes it a perfect partner with Chaos Power and a force to be reckoned with when that happens.
Improved Steal: Such an important card. Getting rid of the AI's permanents is critical to this deck's success.
Vampire Dagger: Cheap, strong as heck, and makes EMing the AI more common than otherwise. Helps to keep you alive in case something goes horribly wrong as well.
Thunderbolt: This card also needs to be used with great caution. There are times when using a Thunderbolt the wrong way can cost you the duel, so make sure to pay attention to the opponent you're fighting.
Phase Recluse: Strength unparalleled in the
domain. Unfortunately it's also one of the easiest creatures to remove which lowers its potential tremendously.
Now then, the difference between victory and defeat ultimately depends on how you use the cards above. One small mistake can risk you losing the duel, so be sure to know your opponents:
Spoiler for Mono Aether:
Mark: aether author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
61o 61o 61o 61o 61o 61o 61o 61o 61o 61o 61o 61o 61o 61o 61o 61q 61q 61q 61r 61r 61s 61s 61t 61t 61t 61t 61t 61u 61u 61v 61v 61v 620 620 620 620 623 623 623 623 624 624This threat appears to have been mitigated slightly in the 1.272 update; I'm not sure what caused this. One thing I cannot stress enough: Do not waste any Permanent Control. Your sole priority for destroying Permanents are those Dimensional Shields; nothing else is of consequence. Also, I advise you not to use them too early on in the duel if your damage is running low. Why? Simple, early in the game you're taking less damage and you're also dishing out less damage. You're more at risk to lose the duel if you waste an Explosion or a Steal at this point in the duel. Pay attention to the amount of quanta remaining in the AI's pool as well; Dimensional Shield costs 6
, if you're holding off on playing an Explosion/Steal for fear of another Shield being played, make sure the AI has enough quanta first. Thunderbolts should either be used on the AI's HP or on Phase Spiders which attack you while you're stuck against a Dimensional Shield; I don't advise using Thunderbolt on them other than when this occurs. Use Chaos Power on creatures with ~4HP to avoid getting Lightning'd.
Spoiler for Firefly Queen:
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
5c6 5c6 5c6 5c6 5c6 5c6 5de 5de 5de 5de 5de 5de 5de 5de 5de 5de 5de 5lk 5lk 5lk 5lk 5oc 5oc 5oc 5oc 5oc 5oc 5oc 5oj 5oj 5oj 5oj 5oj 5oj 5ol 5ol 5ol 5on 5on 5onNot much of a threat. Priority list (from highest to lowest): Owl's Eye -> Empathic Bonds -> Wind Pillars -> Life Pendulums. Thunderbolt HP. I've never had an occasion where this AI was able to get out a Hope before I killed it, so that threat is practically nonexistent. Use Chaos Power on creatures with ~3HP first to avoid Shockwave.
Spoiler for Panda Voodoo:
Mark: darkness author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
4vo 4vo 4vo 4vp 4vp 4vp 4vp 4vp 50u 50u 50u 50u 50u 50u 50u 50u 50u 50u 50u 50u 50u 50u 5ul 5uo 5up 5uq 5uq 5ur 5us 5us 5uu 5uu 5v0 5v0 5v0 5v0 5v0 5v0Eh, this guy can be tricky but surprisingly wasn't that great of a threat to me. The Pendulums mean that Pandemonium can take a while to spam against you, and playing your creatures smart can mean that Pandemonium is almost wasted against you. Priority list (from highest to lowest): Entropy Pendulums (If 3 or less are played on first turn) -> Dusk Mantle -> Vampire Stiletto -> Entropy Pendulums (If 4 or more are played on first turn, or
quanta pool is too great). Use Thunderbolts on Black Dragons first, then target HP; in other words it's better to save this for HP until the last turn. Use Chaos Power on creatures with ~3HP; the chance of them getting blasted by Pandemonium is much less than anything with less HP. Burrowing your Shriekers as soon as possible and avoid spamming creatures like a madman is your safest route here.
Spoiler for Entropy/Death:
Mark: death author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
4vc 4vc 4vc 4vc 4vd 4vd 4ve 4vk 4vk 4vk 4vo 4vp 4vq 4vq 4vq 50u 50u 50u 50u 52g 52g 52g 52g 52g 52g 52g 52h 52j 52j 52k 52k 52k 52n 52n 52p 52p 52p 52q 52r 52v 52v 52vThis guy can be frustrating if he gets the right cards early enough. Most annoying of these being Bonewall. Priority list (from highest to lowest): Arsenic -> Boneyard -> Soul Catcher -> Bone Wall -> Pillars/Pendulums. For creatures, ALWAYS save the Thunderbolt for Maxwell's Demon. Be very careful against him, if he actually manages to get those exclusive cards out at the same time (Bone Wall, Pandemonium) then you're in for some real trouble.
Spoiler for Gravity/Earth:
Mark: earth author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
55k 55k 55k 55m 55m 55o 55r 55s 55t 55t 55v 561 561 576 576 576 576 576 576 58o 58o 58o 58o 58o 58o 58o 58o 58o 58o 58r 58u 58v 592 593 593 594 594 594 595 595 595 595 59cEasy duel, easy EM. It can stall you a lot, but it goes down all the same. Target weapons with your PC first, then go for Catapults; nothing else really matters. Thunderbolt should always be used on the Nymph or the Oty (whichever appears first). Slight Edit: With the updated the Nymph is far more dangerous than before, but will only stall you to death even more.
Spoiler for Rage Voodoo:
Mark: fire author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f3 5f3 5f6 5f6 5f6 5f7 5fb 5fb 5fb 5fb 5fb 5fb 5fc 5fc 5fc 5uk 5uk 5uk 5uk 5uk 5uk 5uk 5ul 5ul 5uo 5up 5up 5up 5v0 5v0 5v0 5v2Okay, this one's tricky. Rage Potions can make things very difficult, but the easiest way to counter this guy is really just to know your opponent. Rage Potion costs 3
to play. If the AI plays anything less than 3 Burning Pillars first, those should be your top priority. The AI will sometimes Rage Potion a Voodoo Doll over one of your creatures, but be cautious when playing creatures nevertheless. Otherwise target Fahrenheit or Dusk Mantle first. Cloak should only be targeted if a Black Dragon appears that you need to use Thunderbolt on for fear of it killing you (don't waste them on Phoenix since they just come back again). Use Chaos Power on creatures with ~4HP first. Slight Edit: I didn't make note of this the first time, but before the AI buff it didn't usually target creatures with exactly 5HP with Rage Potion. It does consistently now.
Spoiler for (Almost) Mono Gravity:
Mark: gravity author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
55k 55k 55k 55k 55k 55k 55k 55k 55k 55k 55k 55k 55k 55k 55k 55l 55m 55m 55m 55m 55n 55n 55o 55o 55p 55q 55q 55q 55r 55r 55r 55s 55s 55t 55t 560 560 560 560 560 61p 61p 61p 61pVery easy duel. Get rid of Titan or Gravity Shield; ignore everything else. Thunderbolt Otyugh. Don't grow or buff creatures while Gravity Shield is up, and don't play a creature with less HP than the Oty unless it's the finishing blow. It's that easy.
Spoiler for Life/Entropy:
Mark: life author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
4vc 4vc 4vc 4vc 4vc 4vc 4vc 4vd 4vd 4vd 4vf 4vl 4vm 4vm 4vm 4vm 4vo 4vo 5bs 5bs 5bs 5bs 5bs 5bs 5bs 5bt 5bt 5bu 5bu 5bv 5bv 5c0 5c0 5c2 5c4 5c5 5c6 5c7Okay, now this one gave me some problems when I was still tweaking this deck. Never under any circumstances should you Thunderbolt anything besides a Maxwell's Demon using this deck. It is entirely possible to lose a duel simply because you failed to get rid of this sucker. Seriously, don't make that mistake. Priority list (highest to lowest): Druidic Staff -> Empathic Bond -> Discord -> Amethyst Pillars (Emerald is of little importance). Don't forget that Thunderbolt can't blast through Emerald Shield.
Spoiler for Light/Air:
Mark: light author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
5l8 5l8 5l8 5l8 5l8 5l8 5l8 5lb 5lb 5lb 5le 5le 5lf 5lf 5lf 5li 5ll 5ll 5ll 5ll 5oc 5oc 5oc 5oc 5oe 5oe 5oe 5ol 5ol 5oo 5op 5op 5op 5pu 5pu 5pu 5pu 5pu 5puAnother fairly easy duel, if only slightly more annoying because of Wings. Fortunately even without PC a good number of heavy hitters go right through it. Get rid of the Owl's Eyes, Thunderbolt Crusaders only if Vampire Dagger or Owl's Eye is out at the same time. Stealing Pillars is also useful for powering either the Archangel or Wyrm.
Spoiler for Life/Time:
Mark: time author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
561 576 576 576 576 5c2 5c2 5c5 5c5 5c6 5c6 5c6 5de 5de 5de 5de 5de 5de 5rg 5rg 5rg 5rg 5rg 5rj 5rl 5rl 5rl 5rl 5rq 5rq 5rq 5rq 5rs 5rs 5rs 5rs 5t2 5t2 5t2 5t2 5t2Very easy. I've never had the Scarabs start eating my creatures too fast with this deck before. Priority List (highest to lowest): Procrastination -> Druidic Staff -> Empathic Bond -> Hourglass (Love stealing these) -> Anything else. It's generally okay to just use Thunderbolts on HP.
Spoiler for Timebow:
Mark: time author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4vd 4vl 52p 52t 55r 55v 590 593 5c5 5c8 5f6 5fa 5ib 5ie 5lb 5lf 5og 5on 5rl 5rl 5rr 5un 5up 61q 621Bah, this one's annoying if nothing else. Creatures should be hit with Thunderbolt only if they have instant kill abilities or the Squid. Everything else is inconsequential or just too slow to pose a threat. Use PC on Fog Shield, then either Druidic Staff or Discord.
Spoiler for Time/Light:
Mark: time author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
5lf 5lf 5lf 5lf 5lf 5lf 5lh 5mq 5mq 5mq 5mq 5mq 5mq 5mq 5mq 5mq 5mq 5mq 5mq 5mq 5rh 5rh 5rh 5rj 5rk 5rk 5rk 5rp 5rp 5rp 5rp 5rt 5rt 5rt 5rtBoth annoying and potentially lethal. Target Procrastination with Explosion over a Sundial. NEVER Steal a Sundial.
Don't waste Explosions on Sundials when there's more than 1 on the field The AI now chains Sundials properly; be careful. The Reverse Times make things tricky. Sometimes you can predict when the AI has a RT, sometimes you can't. Try luring them out with lower costing creatures if possible. Thunderbolt creatures only if you think their damage might end up killing you (Blessed Deja Vu for instance). Keep those tips in mind and you should be fine.
Spoiler for Fire/Water:
Mark: water author=willng3
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f0 5f3 5f3 5f6 5f6 5f7 5f8 5f8 5fk 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i7 5i7 5i8 5i9 5i9 5id 5id 5ii 5ii 5ii 5ii 5iiMuch harder after the 1.272 update for some reason. Freezes and Ice Bolt are almost always seen early game but in general Rain of Fire is far too expensive to be a threat by the time it can be played. 9 times out of 10 the AI seems to have either a Freeze or an Ice Bolt (or both) in its hand. Early on it's usually a good idea to hold off on playing some of your heavier hitters to bait any of that CC; Ice Bolt always seems to Freeze me regardless of the AI's current quanta amount. Take out Ice Shield, Steal Fahrenheit.
I've never seen the Red Nymph appear against this deck, so with that you're set. Red Nymphs are dangerous but easily manageable. For one, I've noticed the AI tends to target the Nymph with its own ability over any of it other creatures (it WILL kill off any of your creatures first most of the time). Thunderbolt it after this happens if you only have one to spare. But it's still a fairly rare card to encounter, much less pose as a threat. The Steam Machines in here are extremely dangerous.
When it comes to discarding a card from your hand, generally you should choose something which is useless to the opponent you're facing. Also, don't concern yourself with EMing as a top priority.
Additional variations:Arena Destruction 101:PvP Destruction 101:FAQ:Q: I'm not fond of this build, can I substitute anything here?
A: Yes actually, but this is just the build I felt was most stable. The 2nd Explosion is sort of a wild card because I honestly wasn't sure of what to add. It adds extra Permanent Control, but aside from a few Elders isn't really "necessary." Other cards I tried were Unstoppable, Electrum Hourglass, and an extra Quantum Tower. The Hourglass seemed to be too costly and the other two didn't really seem to make that big of a difference. Precognition could be used, but in general something else could take its place. I advise against anything else because of it threatening the quanta balance, but experiment if you want.
Q: I just had a game where I didn't draw a single Quantum Tower! Isn't that impossible!?!
A: No, it's not impossible. If my math is correct you have approximately a 5.5% chance of having a game where no QTs appear in your first hand. During my first 100 games I had 5 games with no Towers. The second had 4. So this seems to be correct.
Q: Can this deck win in 3 turns?
A:
No, you can't get enough damage out in that time period. 4TTW is already extremely lucky. With the newer update this -is- actually possible, but requires insane luck. You'd have to play a Quantum Tower (or two), gain 2
from it (them), Supernova Twice, play a Wyrm and then buff it twice with Chaos Powers, giving +5 attack each time. By turn 3 if you keep getting 2
per turn the Wyrm will deal 75 damage on its own which means that playing the Dagger on the first turn and a Charger/Destroyer/Angel anywhere in between there will be 100 damage for a 3 turn kill. There are other ways to to do this, but they all require ridiculous amounts of luck to pull off.
Q: Can this deck work unupped?
A: Possibly, but not nearly as well. There are several other unupped Speedbows which work better than this which you should use. And since the cards used in those two will most likely be similar, it's a better place to start.
Q: Can this deck work against FGs? PvP?
A: FGs, yes but with very little success. You just don't rush them
PvP, yes but there is a much better variation of this deck built specifically for facing PvP.
It's a meaner, more manipulative version of the AI3 killer and is very menacing in PvP environments. Highly recommended for PvP2 especially.
Q: Did you even search before posting this? [Insert Username] has a deck almost exactly like this.
A: Read the first part of the post please...
*****
UPDATES!!!*****
1 - Step-by-step breakdown for each Elder updated to take the AI's latest intelligence patch into account.
2 - Slight deck modification for the 1.272 update
3 - New testing for the deck after the 1.272 update.
4 - Step-by-step breakdown updated yet again as well as a few miscellaneous pieces of information.
5 - T50 version added to original post after much praise for the deck itself.
6 - T50 version name changed to PvP Destruction 101 after T50 was removed from the game.
7 - Arena version added to original post after incredible popularity.
