Hey guys and girls, thought I’d share some decklists i’ve been using to and in S this month (currently S15 as of writing) and offer brief (or in depth) explanations on them. So here we go:
Firestorm Mantra
First up we have a deck that needs no intruduction, the oh so interactive Firestorm Mantra, while different variants exsit, this is at it’s heart a control list that uses a shell very similar to another deck ill touch on in a bit. Control the board via spells that also push face damage and chip at them with burn and Blood Rage Mask until you can burn them out, usually killing them outright with a powerful Mantra or healing yourself back up for those longer games.
Tech options include less Twin Strike (a star vs swarm and lyonar tho) for even more burn in Spiral or maybe some utility with Eternity Painter, which would also let you squeeze in some Bamboozles if you feel the need for it.
**Credit to NowayitsJ for the spicy Marauder tech
Build Kaleos
Credit goes to Henrykator for the initial shell although I’ve departed quite a bit from it as I went on. The list i played more than any in S this season, what we have here is a removal resilient Midrange list, looking to play out buildings and grind away at our opponent with our heals, draw engine in T2 and eventually close with sustained Penumbaxx damage and our powerful Midrange tools.
Try to play defensively as you have good aggro matchups and anti aggro tools as long as you don’t position too aggressively. Bad matchups would be Magmar although Ragnora moreso than Vaath, though you have strong tools in that matchup as well.
CrankyHai/Artifact Songhai
Next up we have probably my most played deck in all of Duelyst, clocking in almost a insane 8 months back to back exclusively playing variants of this shell. What would later become the basis for the Mantra decks, here we have a control list that aims to use your mobility to escape opponents, keep your distance and finish out with either chip damage via burn/artifacts or big combo turns with Bangle and Saberspine Seal.
While easy to chalk off as less powerful than the Mantra list, Artifact songhai has a much higher range of consistent damage it can do per turn and a far stronger Magmar/Lyonar matchup, while boasting the same anti aggro tools and blanking removal against other decks.
Suggested changes would be cutting a Geomancer and a Tracer (only if you’re comfortable with your positioning) For 2 Zendo/Painter/tech of your choosing, which once again opens up your options to fir in a Bamboozle or two as you see fit.
Arcanyst Shidai
Lastly, another recently popular option in the Songhai arsenal has been Arcanyst Songhai, a deck that aims to abuse Shidai’s natural ability to trigger spellprocs and minions that synergize with spells being cast. This is essentially a snowball machine, looking to establish any number of arcanysts on board and completely overwhelm your opponents with the near infinite value provided by units such as Chakri Avatar, Owlbeast, Kindling etc.
Special mention goes to Scroll Bandit for being part of your most obnoxious opening turns and one of the most powerful in all of Duelyst, as playing it turn 1 and following up with a Owlbeast or Kindling + Juxtaposition is near gg against most decks in the meta. Kindling also deserves a mention of his own, being able to generate insane lethals by boosting the attack of your units to monstrous levels and especially for his synergy with Prismatic Illusionist.
Bad cards to go up against is EMP and just very aggressive lists in general, though in the former’s case you can still use Onyx Bear Seal or Kindling to usually start winning back the board. Suggested changes would be to use less Illusionists and kindlings/4 winds to buffer up your 3 drop spot, possibly with something like Ki Beholder since that shores up a lot of the deck’s weaknesses. Overall a fun and very powerful list.
That’s all for now, have fun on ladder and have a good day!
