Scarzig seems very popular huh…
This week we have another battle of design, this time between the Mech faction rares! Vote for your favourite mechanic/design!
- Echo Deliverant
- Silica Weaver
- Oakenheart
- Dusk Rigger
- Seismoid
- Nightmare Operant
0 voters
A Gauntlet thread has spawned out of nonsense!
2 Likes
I had been getting stuck on 7 wins for a few drafts in a row, but I broke through recently with this nice Kara list (12-2).
I would’ve liked a little more hard removal, another heal, and a slightly lower curve, but you can’t argue with results. It felt good having strong card quality at every point on the mana curve (with either solid stats or powerful Opening Gambits), with the only real duds at 3 in Toth and Mantella. Thoughts on individual cards: Jax may be the best Legendary for Kara, and him plus BBS was always gamewinning. Sometimes he ate a sweeper, but I was always left with something behind, and of course if enough of him survived then 6+ ranged power closes out a game swiftly. Meanwhile, Eyolith was not as impressive as I had hoped it would be - it’s a lot better with Faie, who can take better advantage of the Snowstorm effect to just run away and Warbird the enemy down.
3 Likes
Echo Deliverant won the competition, probably because they have all the memes to supply the masses.
This week will be a battle of aesthetics! It will be between some of the more fancy Structures available:
- Gate to the Undervault
- Simulacra Obelysk
- Trygon Obelysk
- Bloodfire Totem
- Bastion
0 voters
2 Likes
I don’t mean to spam this thread with decklists (and I would be very interested if anyone else cared to share some of the drafts they’ve had success with), but I’ve been on a run recently with some fun lists that played really interestingly and I wanted to share 
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Control Zirix (12-1)
Boatloads of removal (although the fact that most of it was proximity-restricted required my general to usually be in thick of things, which led to some nail-biters). Special props to L’kian, who one game gave me the package of Blindscorch + Equality Constraint - and then I never even ended up using it since I kept saving it while using my more conditional removal 
. The loss was in a match in which I lined up all my minions to try to play around Star’s Fury, and then got 4-for-1’d by Grapnel Paradigm 
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Combo Ragnora (12-2)
All about that Ripper cheese. Every time I’m drafting with Ragnora, this is the type of deck I try to build: aggressive with access to egg combo to steal games. It’s a surprisingly consistent plan since there’s so much redundancy among the combo pieces and they come mostly at low rarities, and there’s not really a downside since they’re all decent enough cards on their own. Blood Rage was an MVP - it doesn’t require that much setup to provide a really impactful buff. It was good early game on a backline Ranged unit or Flyer, good late game when combined with Krater for a huge buff onto any active unit within striking distance, and of course led to ridiculous overkill lethals when used on a Ripper.
3 Likes
Gate…
I-I cannot comment on this.
Sentinels, aesthetic votes again.
- Bound Tormentor
- Drake Dowager
- Freeblade
- Xerroloth
- Hundred-Handed Rakushi
- Mind-Cage Oni
- Mizuchi
- Moonlit Basilysk
- Skull Prophet
0 voters
1 Like
I really want to know the reason behind the Rakushi votes. Sure, he’s cool and all but is he really that popular…
This week continues the competition of looks with the list of non-General ladies of Songhai. okay i know everyone hates songhai just bear with me
- Suzumebachi
- Sparrowhawk
- Widowmaker
- Keshrai Fanblade
- Storm Sister Alkyone
- Hamon Bladeseeker
- Scarlet Viper
- Xenkai Cannoneer
0 voters
3 Likes
I’ve decided to stop caring about spam and embrace this thread as a repository of my sweet draft lists, but this time I’m also going to try to parlay it into a discussion of Gauntlet-relevant topics.
First, some of the latest lists:
Starhorn (12-0)
I started a Starhorn draft because I was on the Magmar quest and he was the only Magmar general offered to me. When I chose him I was just hoping to not go 0-3, and after the draft came together nicely I figured I had a decent shot at getting to 7 wins, but I was not anticipating one of the rare 12-0s. Mandrake is always great, but with the relatively low curve here he consistently came out around the 6 or 7 mana turn, which is the real sweet spot for maximum board impact.
Ilena (12-2)
Overall good card quality. It was a little difficult dealing with backline threats, but chaining proximity-based answers usually let me find a way. The Iceshatter Gauntlets in particular were extremely strong (more on this below).
This leads to the discussion: As I see it, there are several components which make up a successful Gauntlet run:
- Luck: in what Generals/cards are offered to you in the draft, draw luck in the games themselves, and in whom you’re matched up against.
- Skill in drafting: card evaluation and deckbuilding considerations.
- Skill in playing: both knowing your deck and knowing what to play around.
Originally, I put a lot of credence into picking generals with “good” BBS, and it’s certainly true that doing so makes the run easier. Over time, however, I’ve come around to the notion that even “bad” generals can consistently perform well as long as you draft around them properly. It requires a little bit of luck, but there are generally a few lower-rarity cards that support each lesser-played general, and if you prioritize picking them up you can go quite far. Iceshatter Gauntlet for Ilena is a good example: while Faie is much better at being aggressive, Gauntlet gives Ilena access to hard removal (which Vanar can otherwise have trouble with) and allows her to control the lategame very well. Even for generals without common synergy cards (e.g., Starhorn), something as simple as drafting to a lower curve helps get you some benefit.
I’d like to hear other people’s thoughts on this: how important do you find the choice of general? Is it more important for some factions versus others? Does anyone have any more examples of a less popular general performing well, and what were the key cards that allowed them to do so?
5 Likes
My guess is that he’s like a mini dancing blades. 2 damage can set the 3 toughness minions to just 1 hit away from removal; from either an alchemist, ghost lightning or just a general tap. Sure it’s more situational but I’d certainly consider picking it if I was near the end of a run and had no removal.
1 Like
I’ve had quite a few successful rounds with Cass. The bbs is obviously neat, Punish is amazing, and Night Fiend and Munch can be effective when combined with the usual Shadow Novas, Ooz and Crawlers. And games can be hilarious if you happen to get even 1-off of the higher rarity synergy cards (especially Variax).
1 Like
Not adding to your discussion but I really like the 2 Terradons in your Starhorn list. Such a monster 
2 Likes
Welp, I definitely forgot Duelyst existed for a good while.
It was an aesthetic vote
This week where I revive the thread again by disregarding @nh3maser 's efforts, I bring back the traditional poll of utility draft, where you vote solely for Gauntlet effectiveness. This week is between the more popular Neutral Epics with Opening Gambits.
- Alcuin Loremaster
- Araki Headhunter
- Sunset Paragon
- Twilight Sorcerer
- Spriggin
0 voters
2 Likes
Should have expected a potential boardwipe to be topping the list but oh well
I will bump this thread again and again without fail because the moment this thread dies Duelyst dies and that’s a fact gonlet is the literal last thing you can do here
Vote for cuteness factor this time!
- Panddo
- Kin
- Puka
- Ursaplomb
- Wraithling
- Scarabyte
- Chrysalis Egg
0 voters
2 Likes
How can you not choose Ursaplomb?
6 Likes
I bump from the shadows.
@boronian somehow got all his religious Ursaplomb supporters to bump it up to the top.
This time I’ll bring in the Mythrons. Who’s got the coolest style?
- Mythron Wanderer
- Hideatsu the Ebon Ox
- Underlord Xor’xuul
- Hatefurnace
- Notion of Starless Eternity
- Grand Strategos
- Oak in the Nemeton
0 voters
3 Likes
I’m glad you’re keeping the thread alive, and if you prefer to do so with aesthetics polls, that’s your prerogative. But seeing as this is the gauntlet thread, is it too much to ask that the cards be at the very least gauntlet draftable?
Also, it’s around time for another one of my periodic decklist dumps. Here are a couple of good (and fairly similar) Zir’an drafts I’ve had recently:
Zir’an 1 (12-2)
Zir’an 2 (current run, 7-0 so far)
Beyond the obvious good cards, some all-stars these lists share in common are Fighting Spirit (which plays kind of like a discount Inner Oasis), Azure Horn Shaman (a solid 2-drop in general but with extra Zir’an synergy), and Divine Bond/Liturgy (steals games out of nowhere as early as turn 4, and people are less prone to attack into your high-toughness minions in the first place knowing you can heal them).
I remember Gauntlet allstar @1pancakess (back when he still played) suggesting that Zir’an is actually a better Gauntlet general than Argeon (see Reddit post here). I wouldn’t go quite that far, but she’s certainly a fine option. Going back to what I said in my last big post, while it’s possible to have success with anyone if you get a sufficiently high-quality draft, I think what really differentiates between high-tier and low-tier generals is how many low-rarity cards have synergy with your BBS. Looking at Lyonar for example, Argeon wants Ranged (and to a lesser extent Forcefield and Rush) units, of which there are plenty to be had at low rarities. Brome on the other hand really needs his Afterblazes to function well and can struggle without them. Zir’an is good because as long as you pick up enough Provokes and high toughness units you can get value out of her BBS and do well, and this is an even broader pool to pick from than for Argeon.
6 Likes
I haven’t been Dueling in months Sorry 'bout that.
Zir’an was never into consideration in my Gauntlet drafts since I rarely even play Lyonar, but the broad synergy pool point you made is completely understandable. Liturgy for one has been extremely powerful for the very few Lyonar drafts I have ever made since playing Gauntlet; sticky boards become sticky Juggernauts in one spell.
2 Likes
Figured it’s time I make polls for actual Gauntlet use again, as @nh3maser pointed out. Instead of voting for cards, let’s vote for something else:
- Build
- Mech
- Golem
- Arcanyst
0 voters
In the case that you’re having quite sufficient luck to pull off one of these archetypes, which would you prefer?
2 Likes
Once in a while, I’ll just bump this thread for the sake of it. I still think it’s imperative to have a proper Gauntlet thread but the game’s dying anyway.
2 Likes
For some reason, hatefurnace speaks to me in a spiritual level. I don’t know why.
3 Likes