Domin. Decks - Dominate your opponent for the win!

[guolin]

(Yes, this thread is probably better as an article on the Wiki, but the new Wiki is not Guolin-friendly, so I'm posting this here.)

The middle ground between rush and stall decks - many names have been given for it, but it hasn't been defined that much. Well, as a frequent user and builder of decks that fall in this "middle ground", I present to you - the Domination Deck (Domin. Deck for short).

A rush deck focuses on taking down your opponent. The rush deck's best defense is offense - if you can kill your opponent before your opponent can kill you, you come out alive, yes? (since this is just a metaphor, poison is neglectible) Similarly, a stall deck focuses on preventing your opponent from taking you down. Stall decks either have a late game damage mechanism (Siphon Lifes/Eclipse in a Devourer denial deck, for example) or a mechanism to deck out their opponent (60-card decks or Eternity).

Then what is a Domination Deck? Simply put, it's a middle ground between a rush and a stall deck. You take down your opponent while you prevent your opponent from taking you down - this two effect combine into one giant domination effect where you literally dominate the field. If set up properly, a Domination Deck will proclaim you victor in a decent amount of time.

Whats the difference between a stall deck (or a slower rush deck for that matter) and a Domination deck, you ask? A Domin. deck performs well both offensively and defensively, and has flexibility to do both. Stall decks may have a way of damage for the kill, but it requires the entire game to pull it off and may fail, since the deck is not focused on attacking effectively. On the other hand, some Shrieker Rushes may have a Diamond Shield or Quicksands thrown in - they may temporarily slow down the opponent, but the enemy can still get past it.

To better define this unusual concept, let's analyze some decks. Here is my classic Toadfish deck (reloaded):

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Let's start with the offensive capabilities of this deck: the Toadfish. Now, the Toadfish is too expensive to be a primary rush creature, so this deck is obviously not a rush deck. However, with a damage-to-cost ratio of higher than 1, it definately makes more than a dent in your opponent's health later on in the game. Combined with Ice Bolts and the Short Bow, the deck can kill much faster than a stall deck.

Also note that some of these cards are very versatile. Ice Bolts can also act as CC in addition to its offensive capabilities. Toadfish's infection helps whittle down your opponent's main damage sources while your Toadfish also attacks for a nice 6 damage. Defensively, you also have Shockwaves and Ice Shields to add insult to injury. The Domination effect is clearly seen - you take down your opponent with Toadfish, Ice Bolts, and sometimes the Short Bow while hiding behind an Ice Shield and utilizing several forms of versatile CC.

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This deck is also a great example of a Domination deck, made by the godly deck builder jmdt. While the Graboids and Destroyer whack your opponent, you have plenty of control cards to throw at your opponent and Dominate for the win. Note that the Pendulums + Supernova make the deck potentially fast - Domination decks are not based on speed as much as it is based on the content of the deck. Also, the Thunderbolts in this deck can be used for both CC and damage, making it a powerful card in this deck.

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This deck is the starter Water deck for Level 3 jmizzle7 suggested a few patches back - it doesn't work that well anymore - but it's another example of a Domination deck. Poison from Chrysaoras and Poison (spell) really withers down your opponent while Freeze stops the small rush Level 3 employs. A more modern version would use Pendulums and Ice Shields - Ice Shields really stops a lot of rushes, giving time to kill.

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The basic CCYB FG killer by Amilir. Destroyers, Fractal, and the Queen all combine to form a formidable rush while the Antimatters, Permafrost Shield, and Shard of Gratitudes usually stops many FG's damage sources. As FG's have unfair advantages, FG killers like CCYB and RoL/Hope employ the Domination effect - rush decks can be killed by FG's most of the time, and primarily stall decks may not have the damage necessary to kill 200 hp (Eternity helps, but the deck is probably too slow for FG grinding).

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Yes, Mono-Aether is a Domination deck. Phase Dragons and PU's pack a punch.

What is NOT a Domination deck

Stalls that are quick to set-up may seem like middle-ground, but if they don't have rush creatures and are only aimed towards denying your opponent, they are not really a Domin. deck.

Rushes that are rather slow don't count either if they don't have stall-ish elements (Lightning and Rage Potions are Domin.-type cards, but having one Lightning in your Rush doesn't make it a Domin. type deck). Some rushes are meant to be reliable, as in poison or high-hp creatures (like Graviton Firemasters), but they may not be stall-orientated.

Comments or Concerns? Feel free to post.

[coinich]

I suppose an option you didn't put up is my old Gravity/Death/Life deck.  Fun to play, not really updated with pendulums, and occasionally fickle, but it was excellent when things went right.

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[$$$man]

Great post Guolin, +karma

[guolin]

I suppose an option you didn't put up is my old Gravity/Death/Life deck.  Fun to play, not really updated with pendulums, and occasionally fickle, but it was excellent when things went right.

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That is pretty Domination-like - Arsenic and Condors can build up damage.

And thanks, 3$man

[Demagog]

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Nothing says total domination better than your opponent not being able to play anything.

[Essence]

So, essentially we in theory have 4 deck types, then. 

Rush

Charge

Domination

Control


I'm OK with that spectrum.  Seeing as is pretty much centered around the 'domination' deck type, I approve of this concept.

[$$$man]

So, essentially we in theory have 4 deck types, then. 

Rush

Charge

Domination

Control

Stall

I'm OK with that spectrum.  Seeing as is pretty much centered around the 'domination' deck type, I approve of this concept.

Fixed, some decks don't control but just overpower you with sheer amounts of healing/stallage.

[the dictator]

Well, another nice example of a domination deck is the deck of Neptune:

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It's only a little sad that the computer can't play a domination style.

[Appawesome]

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Would this be considered a domin. deck?

[Robotocracy]

Is this really a new category of deck?  It just seems like an "average" deck build to me.  Unless you're specifically going for a total rush or a total stall, wouldn't it be like this by default?

[cyanspirit]

These decks are simply mono or dual, somewhat strong -like the immolation lava golem deck- on the wiki, or these decks can just as well crumble before certain shields which wreck their entire strategy.

[guolin]

Is this really a new category of deck?  It just seems like an "average" deck build to me.  Unless you're specifically going for a total rush or a total stall, wouldn't it be like this by default?

Making the deck actually effective is a different story. Take jmizzle's old Water starter deck for example. I only showed it because it displayed Domin. deck traits, but it really doesn't classify as Domin. because it neither rushes or stalls that efficiently anymore.