And here is the master list complete with long winded posts on each. I never make a bad deck, I put a lot of work and love into each one, many will never be tier one, but they should all at least be quite playable. Some really old stuff may never make it in if it is to dated.
Summary
Lillith was my original general and is still my all time favorite. Between my long-winded explanations and the excessive amount of decks I have for her, she has to be broken into two parts to not exceed that character limit.
Bottomless Abyss Big Lillith: S rank
Summary
http://www.bagoum.com/deckbuilder#MTozMDEsMzoyMDA1OSwyOjIwMDcwLDM6MjAyNzIsMzoyMDIwMSwyOjIwMDUyLDM6MjAwNDksMzozMzksMzozMDAxNCwzOjIwMDU3LDM6MTAwMTIsMzozNDEsMzozMTQsMjoxMTA5MywzOjMyMA==
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x203/xx-jason-x/August%202017%20streak.png
Some tournament gameplay for Bottomless in the first couple games, and a match with Hive Mind at the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI8zyt55T14
This is the deck I have taken to #2 on the S rank ladder, I have also done really well with it in tournament play.
Its been awhile since Big Abyss, much less Lillith, was meta, but unearthed prophecy has brought back the archetype with style. I call it bottomless abyss because well…that would be a pretty big abyss.
Big Abyss is an old and simple archetype that revolves around ramping out abyss’s powerful late game minions Vorpal Reaver, and Revenant, alongside a few other targets that have changed out a lot over time. With Unearthed Prophecy we got two new cards, Phantasm, and Desolator.
Phantasm is a natural compliment to the big abyss playstyle as the most efficient way to play him is to limit the targets in your hand to only ideal ones, other then desolator pretty much everything else in the deck is a perfect target being either massive already, having rush, or celerity. It also limits the the total number of minions in the deck as well in favor of spells and spectral blade making it more likely Phantasm will be hitting the same target multiple times.
Desolator helps condense our slots providing healing, card advantage, and ping all wrapped up in one card. Its also a great darkfire sacrifice target…even if you just want to simply recast it.
While it may look a little light on opening plays its not, phantasm, inkling, sphere, or blade are all great turn ones. The deck sports spectacular healing with blade, desolator, and void pulse, which also lets it pretend to be an aggro deck when it needs to be or wreck other aggro decks, but normally you want to play the late game. EMP is a wonderful counter to a lot of this meta and thanks to darkfire you can get him out on time to actually help out. Emp along with grasp are wonderful tech cards but are a little overkill at 3x so I kept them at two along with voidpulse to make room. Between the decks two cycles, a high curve, and desolator, card advantage is a non issue.
The general gameplan is to try and replace hard for darkfire that way you can hopefully drop a turn two vorpal, or hold onto it and drop one of your seven drops with a globe. Even if you don’t manage to find a phantasm or an inkling to sacrifice early, lillith has got your back her bbs coming online at the exact time you can combo it with darkfire to ramp out a big minion. You always want to dig for early phantams, If your against Vanar or Mechs you tend to want to dig for emp, if your against swarm you dig for grasp, if your against vet be aware of mirage if your thinking of using revenant. If your against songhai, or a deck looks like aggro dig for your healing. Lure is an ideal removal vs factions without re position card, and usually a safe replace against those that have a lot like songhai or vanar.
It can be a little tough to pilot but it is a very powerful deck that is really well teched for the meta without any particularly bad match up. It may not be very fancy, but it is certainly effective.
Sanguimancy : Arcanyst: S rank
Summary
http://www.bagoum.com/deckbuilder#MTozMDEsMjoyMDA1OSwyOjIwMDcwLDM6MjAyNzIsMzoyMDIwMSwzOjIwMDUyLDM6MTA5OTMsMzoyMDA0OSwzOjEwMzAyLDM6MTAzMDMsMjoyMDA1NywzOjEwMzA2LDM6MTAzMDUsMzoxMTA5NywyOjMyMCwxOjMzOA==
This one got its name due to being all about spell spamming with Arcanysts, so its just a fancy word for blood magic, which is similar to necromancy, but much more about using spells directly rather then reanimating the dead to do your bidding.
Lilliths ability to fuel darkfire sacrifice and make inkling consistently cycle really helps bring this deck together. Darkfire can let you get your Arcane engine rolling quick or lead to early Deathknells. Even when you could play Trinity on curve, using a darkfire on him so you can then spam the spells he gives you is extremely effective if you have something like an owlbear or illusionist on the field.
Between Sphere, Inkling, Trinity, and some high end curve you usually do just fine on card advantage as long as you manage your resources and learn when and what to replace, and when to dig for certain things. The deck is a little cramped on room so I opted for going 2x on the more situational cards. While I usually advocate for as much 3x as possible the decks need for various tech and its ability to cycle makes this practical.
The main thing to know about the deck is your not a face deck. You want to conserve your resources and try to make sure your getting some synergy out of your spells before you throw them down. While you can get quick wins, remember your strongest in the lategame thanks to Death Knells and Revenants.
Poltergeist: Midrange Swarm: S Rank
Summary
http://www.bagoum.com/deckbuilder#MTozMDEsMzozMzEsMjoyMDA3MCwzOjIwMjcyLDM6MjAyMDEsMjoyMDA1MiwzOjExMDg4LDM6MjAwNDksMzozMzksMzoyMDEzMywzOjIwMDU3LDM6MTAwMTIsMzozNDEsMzoxMDMwNiwyOjMyMA==
A poltrageist is an angry spirit, so combine Furosa (Fury/Anger), with an emphasis on death watch and that is what inspired the name.
This is an update to one of my S rank decks from Ancient bonds. It favors Desolator over Spelljammer, and Phantasm over Blood Tear.
Its a really well rounded deck that transitions from a strong early game with either Furosa/Crypto or Phantasm, into a strong midgame with sustain and control, and can close the games out with revenants, a super buffed cat, or a cresendo play.
It has decent healing and ping with void pulse and desolator, between its medium curve, cycles, and desolator card advantage is covered, and Its got a good removal package. Its a competitive deck and its strength lies in if your opponent ignores your field and tries to smorc you down you can punish them with huge deathwatch plays, or if they concentrate on removing your field they slowly loose to chip damage and end up facing down revenants and lazer kats.
Exhume: Phantasm/Nether: S rank
Summary
http://www.bagoum.com/deckbuilder#MTozMDEsMzoyMDA1OSwyOjIwMDcwLDM6MjAyNzIsMzoyMDIwMSwzOjIwMDQ5LDM6MzM5LDM6MzAwMTQsMzozMDAzNCwzOjIwMDU3LDM6MTAwMTIsMjozNDEsMjoyMDA1MCwzOjExMDc3LDM6MzIw
I call it Exhume since it likes to Unearth things with Nether Summoning.
This is the deck I took to S rank when UP dropped, its an effective and fun deck that is rather well suited for the meta. It has a ton of little combos. While I did top 50 with it early in the season I have not played it as much recently since Vanar can be a bit of a tough match up for it, and Mirrage makes being to reliant on Revenants a problem.
Onto how this thing works. Its a control deck that is filled with combos and synergy. So the obvious and popular one is Phantasm+Tiger or Revenant. However I went a bit more out of my way to optimize this strategy, the key being severely limiting the minions in the deck in favor of spells and artifacts to help make sure Phantasm is pumping up either tiger or Revenant. Rush is also a natural combo with Nether which also wont Dilute your Phantasm targets.
You typically want to replace hard trying to find Phantasm early replacing non rush minions, and playing him on the backline. Phantasm also has fun mind games, even if you don’t have minions in hand people still panic and blow removal on him early or hold off on summons putting you at an advantage either way.
Next we have my Favorite card of the Set, Mindlathe. Man this card does a lot of work and there are so many crazy things you can pull off with it. My favorite is using it then darkfire sacing your opponents minion. Remember things with dying wish or stuff like eggs become yours when they die. While you usually want to avoid equipping it until your ready to use it so that your opponent wont know to play around it, it can be used defensively to take pressure off you if you need to, since you do indeed get a turn with your opponents minions when they attack you on their turn. It also combos really nice with Demonic Lure and Lion.
Darkfire ramping out revenants is a classic tried and true tactic, alternatively you can get out early grove lions in order to abuse your two artifacts. Between lathe, Lillith BBs, Desolator, and Inkling Surge, your never short of sacrifice targets.
The deck has a high curve, several cycles, and of course Desolator to cover card advantage. Between Desolator, Lion, and Blade you have great healing and survive-ability. While you usually save Nether for rush, getting Extra Lions or Desolators can come in handy when you need it.
The deck has so much out of hand damage its really hard to stop. The only thing missing from the deck is Dispel, which I have found largely unnecessary. It dilutes the phantasm pool, and because the meta favors things with instant value because dispel and removal exists its not to important. Now the meta may shift and that may change, but for now you have enough removal and control in the deck that you don’t need it.
I have tried a dozen different Variations of the deck, but this one is certainly favorite. My second favorite variation favors Komodo Hunter and Thunderhorn over Nether and Lion. Komodo’s summons do indeed count toward Phantasm, and Thunderhorn is just a very powerful card who is extra ab-usable when combined with Phantasm and or Demonic Lure.
Retro Ramp: Highly Competitive
Summary
http://www.bagoum.com/deckbuilder#MTozMDEsMzoyMDA1OSwyOjIwMDcwLDM6MjAyNzIsMzoyMDIwMSwzOjExMDg0LDM6MTkwNTAsMzoyMDA0OSwzOjEwOTgxLDM6MjAwNTcsMzozMTIsMzozNDEsMzozMTQsMjoxMTA5MywyOjMyMA==
Inspired heavily by @mrmana3’s deck of the same name, as I had basically forgotten about Deepfires Existence. I took his base and tuned it up a bit into what I believe is a more refined version for this meta, but most of the credit still goes to him.
Its very similar to my Bottomless Abyss deck, but it skips the phantasm package. Its awfully nice to get away from that on occasion, although its pretty hard to argue with the brute power of the phantasm/rev/tiger package, which means I still favor my Bottomless Abyss deck as the stronger of the two, but this one is way less awkward to play and has a stronger early game.
Lets start with what makes this deck different from Bottomless. Instead of the phantasm package we sport Deepfire Devourer and Azure Horn Shaman which is just such an amazing turn one into turn two play. Shaman is also just great with the decks other many sources of sacrifice effects. Since we are not running phantasm I was able to shift our healing back into minions which provide more consistent opening plays and Devourer food. Vorporal Reaver is a powerhouse of a card, especially when ramped out on turn two, and it also provides some pretty scary Devourer food.
So of course at the decks core its a ramp deck sporting a high end game curve to be cheated out early with Darkfire Sacrifice. Its got amazing healing to deal with aggro. Between its cycles, desolator, and its high curve it has great card advantage. In order to deal with walls/flying vet it has a touch of aoe with Devourer’s frenzy, and Grasp which are both abuse-able with lure. The deck has great removal, and of course ramped EMPS to deal with a lot of the meta.
Its a very competitive deck and is a lot of fun. Getting good use out of Devourer takes a bit of practice as you have to be careful with how much you want to invest into it, but thanks to the stream of other threats its going to be hard to have enough removal for everything your going to put out.
SWARm: Competitive
Summary
http://www.bagoum.com/deckbuilder#MTozMDEsMzozMzEsMzoyMDI3MiwzOjIwMjAxLDM6MTEwODgsMzoyMDA0OSwzOjMzOSwzOjIwMTMzLDM6MjAwNTcsMzoxMDAxMiwzOjMwMDAyLDM6MjAwNzIsMzozMTAsMzoxMDk3NQ==
A very aggressive deathwatch list featuring Grimwar. I don’t often include War and Cresendo in the same list as Cresendo is usually for less aggressive lists, but they both really fit the deck and make it work. It has a very low curve and short of an early tempest its very hard to stop you if you get either Grim or Cresendo.
Its one of my only abyss decks that doesn’t include Desolator since this one likes to win before you would start using deso and its back up plan banks on Phantasm making spelljammer a much better buff target then Desolator while providing the card advantage you need if the game runs late. Deathwatch adds a whole new complicated layer to whether your opponent wants to remove jammer or not, remove it and loose the draw for themselves, or dont and risk it comboing with death watch.
Grimwar is very useful at protecting your swarm, it is not only fine, but encouraged to throw it on before you plan to go in for the kill as it will make it very hard to deal with your swarm. While you need to be a little more careful with Cresendo you should not be greedy with either of them or you risk loosing your field, if you can get a couple procs you should go for it.
Its a strong deck that can steal a lot of quick wins, but it can get shut down really hard by aoe so digging for grimwar is usually a top priority. Unearthed Prohpecies helped out the deck keeping it from being a one trick pony thanks to the added consistency with the extra cycle from Inkling, and having Phantasm as a back up win con that can alternatively force removal or aoe early clearing the way for you to go crazy.
War: Competitive: SWARm
Summary
http://www.bagoum.com/deckbuilder#MTozMDEsMzozMzEsMzoyMDI3MiwzOjIwMjAxLDM6MTEwODMsMzoxMTA4OCwzOjIwMDQ5LDM6MzE3LDM6MjAxMzMsMzoyMDA1NywzOjMwMDAyLDM6MjAwNzIsMzozMTAsMzozNDE=
Part of my Horsemen Series:
This one gains the title of war well because GrimWAR, SWARm, you get the point. Its a variation of my previously posted SWARm list which was orginaly inteneded for this series but ended up getting posted seperatly.
A very aggressive deathwatch list featuring Grimwar. I don’t often include War and Cresendo in the same list as Cresendo is usually for less aggressive lists, but they both really fit the deck and make it work. It has a very low curve but maintains card advantage between cycle and desolator on top of ending games very quickly, and short of an early tempest its very hard to stop you if you get either Grim or Cresendo.
Grimwar is very useful at protecting your swarm, it is not only fine, but encouraged to throw it on before you plan to go in for the kill as it will make it very hard to deal with your swarm. While you need to be a little more careful with Cresendo you should not be greedy with either of them or you risk loosing your field, if you can get a couple procs you should go for it.
Its a strong deck that can steal a lot of quick wins, but it can get shut down really hard by aoe so digging for grimwar is usually a top priority. Unearthed Prohpecies helped out the deck by adding further consistency with inkling surge and the ever popular Desolator as a mini back up win condition.
Watch the Master Variax: Competive
Summary
http://www.bagoum.com/deckbuilder#MTozMDEsMzoyMDA1OSwzOjMzMSwyOjIwMDcwLDM6MjAyNzIsMzoyMDIwMSwzOjIwMDUyLDM6MTEwODgsMzoyMDA0OSwzOjIwMDU3LDM6MzEwLDM6MzQxLDI6MTAzMDYsMzozMTQsMjozMzM=
This deck used to be all about Death Watch and The Grandmaster, thus the name. Unfortunately when I updated it for UP most of that got cut. Only Blood Priestess remains now, but I am still attached to the name.
An update to one of my old Variax Decks. While Variax has fallen out of favor since its nerf, the meta has slowed enough that she is yet again viable, and not just viable, but a great way to combat some of the powerful late game decks running around.
The deck has one of two primary objectives, either pull off a turn two vorpal reaver, or your grandmaster a couple turns later. You should always aggressively replace for darkfire and either grandmaster or vorpal, between doing that and the cycle provided by sphere and inkling you can pull off one of those two things pretty consistently. The deck also sports a decent number of ways to get wraithlings making Variax extra potent.
So beyond its basic gameplan we have furosa/crypto for another way to potentially pull ahead in the early game, we have the classic priestess in order to capitalize on our small swarm, we have great healing and ping with desolator and void pulse, and some meta tech with grasp and light bender.
It has enough healing and answer me now threats that you can deal with aggro, and thanks to your grandmaster you can match anyone’s late game even Vanar or fault vet. Card advantage is well covered between its medium curve, its cycles, desolator, and the fact that once your grandmaster hits your hand hardly matters.
It opts out of abyss’s usual favorites win cons like Revenant/Phantasm because it needed room for tech and its pretty good at closing games, it also skipped Cresendo/Grimwar since it just doesn’t have enough swarm generation to make those consistent. Its a powerful deck that takes initiative early while having a phenomenal late game.
Unfortunately Variax still feels slow, and its hard to compete with the power that the phantasm/rush package gives, but it is a very solid deck that is a bit nostalgic with Variax and is a nice change from the meta.
Eternal Army: Off meta Swarm: Competitive
Summary
http://www.bagoum.com/deckbuilder#MTozMDEsMzoyMDI3MiwzOjIwMjAxLDM6MjAwNDksMzozMjYsMzoxMTAxNCwzOjIwMTMzLDM6MjAwNTcsMzoxOTA0NSwzOjExMDQzLDM6MzEwLDM6MzQxLDM6MzE4LDM6MzIw
Its a very old deck of mine, I have given it a an UP makeover but it is a bit dated now, and gor is a bit of a liability with thunderhorn and phantasm in the mix. The decks still pretty competitive but it is not what it once was.
Anyways onto the deck. The name is fairly simple, just a reference to Sarlac the Eternal and his little brother Gor, and now joining their ranks their father figure Desolator.
Skorn has been a nightmare for swarm decks for some time now. Lyonar is regularly running tempest, plasma storms and mankantors are everywhere, ghost lightning is seeing play, even vanar has aoe now. Sarlac and Gor are natural counters to all of this. They also serve as dispel bait.
Now for a long time they have both been considered pretty bad, slow, and awkward. It was not until I started running skorn alongside them that I discovered just how strong they can be when working in conjunction.
Sarlac/Gor +Blistering Skorn+ death watch does insane things on top of it just being good ping and aoe to beat swarm and walls. They provide reliable sacrifice fodder, and they give you the ability to place important units in safe places even if your boxed in.
There are many combos with the deck. It has threat after threat, good removal, great healing and a sticky field. Being effectively immune to aoe on top of having your own makes for a very deadly deck.
Thanks to desolator and inkling card advantage is no longer a real issue, you still need to know how to manage your resources, and its a little hard to master when and how to pull off your combos, but when you get the hang of it, it is a ton of fun.
I will figure it out!
Only one deck, but that’s just a first step, I believe)
