From out of nowhere - Rainbow FG killer

[shteev]

Deck Helper comment: 
This deck was posted before the 1.32 game update and as a result may work very differently now.  Use at your own risk.
This is my very first attempt at a False God killer, first introduced in this thread (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,18989.msg259966#msg259966). I'm still tweaking it, but haven't found anything which vastly improves it's win % yet, and since I have such a big test run with this exact build (71 wins to 69 losses), I thought I'd post it now. It's a creatureless deck with no permanent control. Intrigued? Here we go:

From Out Of Nowhere

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

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Essentially, this deck sets up a solid defense very quickly, which it then endevours to turn into a full lock. The small size of the deck means it draws into multiple shards quickly, and Fire Buckler is remarkably effective at killing creatures. Eternity, too, is crucial in the early game, rewinding creatures, reducing the number of cards your opponent draws into, sometimes costing him more mana than it's costing you.

If Fire Buckler can't create a full lockdown vs creatures all on it's own, then Aflatoxin should do the job (thanks to zse for that idea!). Permafrost Shield, or Spine Carapace, will keep Malignant Cells alive whilst controlling any of your opponent's larger creatures. Antimattered Creatures will attack through your shields, and not be damaged, poisoned, or frozen.

The deck tends to win with the Eternity+Mindgate combo. This is an extraordinarily powerful combo. They're both good cards on their own, of course, but together they can put your opponent's best creature on top of his deck and then draw you a copy (or copies) of it. You can use the copied creatures to avoid decking out, but I've found that against most False Gods I don't need to; by the time I'm running out of cards in my deck, Mindgate creatures are eating my opponent to death. Some False Gods are more resilient, but often I can deck them out for the win.

One caveat... it's a slow deck, so it's not the best if you want to grind for cash, but it's fun to play as Mindgate constantly gives you a variety of options in different games.


I've got all the wins and losses against each False God logged in a spreadsheet, and I'll post them here if some nice person would show me how to do it

[TheIdioticIdiot]

add in two PAs

[shteev]

add in two PAs

I'm testing with one PA at the moment   Decking out can be a problem against certain FGs with destruction like Decay, and especially Octane, and I'm also hopeful it'll help against Seism (this deck is 0-7 vs Seism at the moment, but a 50 card variant of the deck that I tested with Hourglasses and one PA in it is 3-0).

[Optimalist]

add in two PAs

... and a Mirror Shield. ^_^

[shteev]

Tried adding a single PA to the deck, and whilst it FEELS nice to have it in the deck against gods like Seism, Obliterator, and Octane, it hasn't made a difference to the current results overall:

33 card build = 87-87, Adjusted win % of 46.85%
33 cards + PA =  60-71, Adjusted win % of 43.96 %

I know, I know, I should be setting myself specific sample sizes before I start to be scientific, but I usually just play each day til I get bored .

The problem with PA is that whilst it boosts your chances against a tiny number of FGs, it also slightly reduces your chances against every FG without permanent control who is capable of laying down a creature rush; Ferox and Elidnis are particularly happy for you to be drawing one less card against them, but it can even cost you the occasional game against easier FGs like Miracle. There are more of these FGs than you think.

[Falcon4415]

Extra Hourglasses and/or Eternities can act according to both their original purpose or as expensive PAs. It's two cards in one and might pay off better than adding a PA.

[wavedash]

You have so many shields that Hourglasses might be better Protect Artifacts than the card itself, you should be able to waste all the PC most Gods have. One or two more, maybe.

[shteev]

Here's a couple of larger versions of the deck that I've tested.

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This one is a pretty straightforward expansion of the deck using Hourglasses and Sundials. It's 46 wins to 40 losses, with an adjusted win % of 50.32%

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There's a few pretty random cards in this deck, I'll admit The idea here was to ensure that there were a high % of cards that were relevant to the Divine Glory match; this match was impossible to win for the original deck, but I had decked myself out on occasion, so I was hopeful that a larger deck might have decked him out instead. This build went 1-3 against Divine Glory, so it's nice to know that it's possible to get a win! Overall, this build was 46 wins to 56 losses, (adjusted win % of 50.51%). The only FG that this version didn't score any wins against was Rainbow.

[shteev]

So, how long has Skull Shield been killing creatures and turning them into skeletons? Is this a 1.27 update? This has got to be worth a test!

[TheIdioticIdiot]

So, how long has Skull Shield been killing creatures and turning them into skeletons? Is this a 1.27 update? This has got to be worth a test!

nope, it's not a 1.27 update
it's been around for as long as I know

/jokes

yes, it's a 1.27 update
and it's actually better than spine against some gods

[shteev]

yes, it's a 1.27 update
and it's actually better than spine against some gods

Too right! It's certainly a vast improvement on fire buckler now, since it's cheaper, prevents damage, and deals with such pains in the arse as Forest Spectre and Lava Destroyer. It's too bad that when Skull Shield kills an immortal creature that the skeleton becomes immortal also. This would have given my deck a useful out against Divine Glory. (I suspect, tho, that Sanctuary might eventually be more important to that matchup).

Also, I'm quite excited about the new skeletons which mutate when rewinded (as I'm sure is everyone!). Most False Gods play limited colors, and therefore can't make use of many of the random creatures that you would give them. A rainbow deck like this can, however, by rewinding and mindgating them. (Aside: Rainbow decks with Eternity and Boneyard just got a hell of a lot better, didn't they?)

So, now, not only am I playing with all of my opponent's cards, I'm playing with a bunch of random creatures as well. This deck just gets more and more fun Too cool. I'm back to playing a 33 card version of the deck again, without Electrum Hourglass, and without Aflatoxin, and with one PA (to give the deck an out against some of the harder FGs). The win % has probably dropped a couple of percent, but it's much more fun to play. Aflatoxin, especially, rewards dull play.

I'm off to donate. I should have done it months ago.

[shteev]

Oh, whats the kill % on Skull Shield btw?