Hermes
Hermes has 2 copies of each of the following cards :
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| Mark: 3x Earth |
| Creature control: 4x Fire Storm, 12x Fire Lance, 2x Fire Buckler, 4x Rage Elixir |
| Permanent control: 12x Explosion |
Strategy
Hermes is a horrible god to play against, His strategy is raw firepower, golems, ruby dragons, spectres, even a fahrenheit here and there. The main problem is if he gets a large number of pillars out quickly, purely because of his fahrenheit. Golems are extremely fragile but strong even at base stats, however if he plays a heavy armour, he turns that cannon fodder into a near invincible titan capable of monstrous damage. Ruby dragons are not too hard, a good bolt (or two if he plays a heavy armour on it) should kill it, same with fire spectres, however there is a very good chance that by the time you kill his creatures you will be dead. Fahrenheit is unspeakably powerful with enough pillars, (20 damage from that ALONE on occasion is entirely possible), so that must be your first priority. Heavy armour is not a pleasant sight when played on a golem, AND he has 6 of these I think, thats 6 health on 6 creatures (OR - 36 extra health if its one creature ramped up to invincibility) you have to kill off. To make matters worse, you then have to worry about rage potions which are in essence - anti-otyugh cards, but while he does have this new weapon at his disposal, you also have secret weapons - in the form of a few new very useful cards. The main problem is once golems get out there and get enough health, his attacks are ONLY going to get stronger until you are overwhelmed, or can (somehow) neutralise his creatures.
Along side this, you also have to watch out for his permanent AND creature control. This means aether has next to no chance of beating this god, and gravity is out too, while the golems may be stopped, his spirits, ruby dragons and fahrenheits will hit you through the shield and whittle your health down in no time. A time deck coupled with earth would be a very powerful combination of stopping this god since hermes main weakness is time, since a reverse time or eternity can send his units straight back to his deck at base stats, delaying him for a good number of turns, the trouble with Time-Earth however, is that you wont be able to counter his control, and you cannot defend against attacks, even if you take his creatures out, his fahrenheit once he plays one will shred you in a few turns.
Sundials are very good for the creatures, since they delay the creatures, but his deck is almost all fire, and as such can bring out explosions to kill you off. Another good card is bone wall, since this copes against explosions or steals quite effectively, taking anything from 1-12 (basically one of or all) of his explosions. Coupled with sun dials and fire storms much like the graviton god, you have an extremely powerful anti-hermes deck, since hermes has no other means of getting rid of your shields other than via explosion, plus he tends to waste some on your pillars, the most obvious problem though is even if you both have the perfect draws, it will take AT LEAST 3-6 turns for his entire deck of explosions to be wasted, in which time he could of gotten through all your shields, sundials, or more importantly, your health.
As of a recent update, immortal creatures CAN get killed by the firewall, as a balancing tool for aethers immortal-loving creatures. This means you will have to import another means of protection for your creatures - by all means have a few Qunitessences to avoid fire bolts, but don't rely on it. Having healing creatures (Angels!), and otyughs will deny the enemy that chance to kill your otyughs, or other important creatures. However due to the rate firewall can get out, expect your chances of winning with any deck as of now to be rather slim.
Your best bet is to use something involving SoSac, or failing that, a deck with all of its important creatures and permanents protected. ANY creature or permanent based setup is at best, medium difficulty, and at worst, a one-in-a-googol chance.
Oracle Counter
The best known counter to Hermes is Mono Aether + Enchant Artifact. Use Enchant Artifact on your Dimensional Shields. Parallel Universe his Lava Destroyers. (Start the Shield chain early, otherwise, he’ll Fire Lance you to death.)
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Works even better upgraded.
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