Healyonar Tactica, Tips & Tricks [Resource]

[thematsjo]

[quote=“ancientmage, post:53, topic:5331”]
This deck is. . .stupid, but I love it, and it’s incredibly fun to play with. I would never lie and say I have a consistent winrate with this deck, and some card choices are obviously inefficient, but I’m just a diehard control player no matter what cardgame I’m playing. Of course there are still the classic Healyonar combos, but it’s more about controlling the game state.[/quote]

Another pretty ballsy deck! You don’t see many players with the cojones to run a deck with no P1T1 play! But, judging from the top-heavy nature of this list that might actually turn out okay. As a true control deck I think this looks pretty fleshed out, even without the stereotypical Martyrdom. Sterope and Solarius keep your hand stuffed so that should be okay as well. No Skorn, but I’m guessing Sterope, Riser and Immo are taking crowd control duty. I’ll add it to the list.

Certainly, I will do my best. Admittedly It took me awhile to get the hang of it myself. I also think the original deck was meant as a meme, but I digress.

Meme or not, I think it deserves a place in the decklists section, thanks for sharing your reasoning. We haven’t seen a real toolbox deck like this one before. I’d personally swap out Fiz for Azurite Lion or Lightchaser though.

[Sn0wCh4s3r]

Oh, right, 3 days later and I realise you wanted a name for the deck, not the player…

um, Shuckle Lyonar.

[thematsjo]

Well well well, look what we have here:

[details=Scintilla Speculation]

Not just Excelsious, not just Trinity Oath, but now here’s Scintilla to try and help us out! To me she looks like she just might be the absolute real deal, and the 3 mana is an ideal cost since Skorn got bumped up to 4. What say you?[/details]

[phayze]

I say she’s scintillating, heh. Ob a serious note, good card and always something you can drop if you don’t feel like dropping Lancer or wanna combo out Lancer + bbs next turn to get +2 attack.

[thematsjo]

The strong 3/4 body really makes her a viable pick there; having something that can take 3-4 drops reasonably reliably is gonna help me out tremendously, even on off-BBS turns.

[thematsjo]

Zir’An, Stalwart [Streamlined]

Rank 3

Hardened through years of battle, we find Zir’An as an up-and-coming but still relatively unknown combatant employing tactics of pro-active attrition. She appear indestructible as she cuts through the battlefield–ever on the front lines–seemingly unscathed, brushing off tongues of flame and slashing claws as if they were mere illusion. In truth, her powerful magic and restorative experts help her recover as fast as she is harmed. She grits her teeth as she smiles at her foes, waiting for her allies to praise the sun and gather their strength.

Deck Discussion

So, Rise of the Bloodborn has transformed my main Healyonar deck quite a bit. Scintilla and Trinity Oath are game changers in general, but particularly so for me and I get a lot of benefit from both. Gone are the days of scraping by on single-healing-trigger turns in the early game. Gone are the days of running out of steam juggling Azure Heralds and Sundrop Elixirs to trigger combos. This deck is now a weird aggro-control hybrid mid-range combo deck, and the best dedicated Healyonar theme deck that I’ve ever been able to create.

The Stalwart deck relies on the effects of Sunforge Lancer and Sunriser to win–as many Healyonar decks do–but this version is able to be a lot faster and a lot more aggressive. With a very clean mana curve and a very tight card selection I’m able to very reliably do what I want and need it to do.

In this deck Zir’An is pushed to the forefront of combat: she should always be trading into things, taking face damage and punching the enemy General because guess what: we can generate waaay more health than the enemy can. In a battle of attrition, you just win. I summon Scintillas and Lancers out of the enemy’s reach and I stack bonuses for massive damage from Lightchasers, Sunrisers and Zir’An herself: that’s all.

All the Purity and healing cards should be more or less familiar to you so let me go over the utility cards briefly. Sunstone Templar is a real find and is great against a lot of common threats, combined with Sun Bloom I have all the dispel I’m realistically going to need. Aegis Barrier is great on four of my main Minions and helps me curve out and thin my deck for even more consistency. Martyrdom is an absolute necessity for my hard removal needs and this deck is strong enough in the mid-game to make up the enemy health gain (although it’s still best to try and play this card early on, before I start stacking significant damage). Trinity Oath is a perfect mid game play and the loss of tempo is manageable the vast majority of the time.

And that’s pretty much it!

Win Conditions

Zir’An Sunforge - Sunforge Lancer does a lot of work in this deck, and if things go okay you’re likely to reach 5 Attack or more with Zir’An. This gives her plenty of power to wail on the enemy General–occasionally even outpacing Vaath–and finish a match herself. She’s going to be on the front lines anyway so we might as well make use of that.

Sunriser - Scintilla has really pushed Sunriser to the forefront in terms of power. You’re very likely to be able to double trigger Sunriser on her summoning turn just as long as you can get a Scintilla to stick around. It takes more setup than Holy Immolation but there’s also potential for a lot more payout, especially when you reach the late game.

Lucent Beam - Lucent Beam just helps me push in that last 4-8 damage I need for the win. It’s nothing fancy, it just works. This deck can have trouble putting in that last bit of damage once the big enemy threats really start rolling but like a good neighbor, Lucent Beam is there.

[spudmessy]

Testing this out from a noob/trench tier perspective - will let you know my results !

[mrwavey]

So this is the list I’m currently using to climb in diamond. I originally added the 2 Skywind Glaives as a bit of a joke but i must say they have been preforming surprisingly well the added attack power really gives the deck an added kick.

Progress Report
Total Games: 17
Wins : 14
Losses: 3

[anti]

I’d like to introduce my list. I can’t complete my Climb to S-Rank with family in town but the deck is tech’ed against the current meta and has been performing very well. Winrate a little below 70% in Diamond.

Overview
This deck is a modified smash list that performed well pre-RoB. With the aggressive meta and out-of-hand damage I’ve made several changes. I needed to beat Magmar, Abyssian, and Argeon consistently. Control Faie and Abyssians running necrotic sphere are the toughest matchups but when piloted well this deck can go wire to wire with most anything on the ladder. Control the board at all costs and set-up lethal by 8-9 mana. Outlasts most aggro. Has enough draw and tempo to beat all but extreme control lists.

Pitfalls would be going face too early, misusing Dampening Wave/Martyrdom, playing into Plasma Storm/Necrotic Sphere/Enfeeble.

Most card choices seem obvious so I’ll touch on what’s given me an edge.

Azure Herald
Pre-RoB this was a Sundrop Elixer but bodies on the board is a must. The 4 HP synergies with afterglow and battles wraithlings well. The additional 9 healing is often the difference between winning or losing against decimus spike. Herald is poor against Makantor and Revenant but other tools exist for them.

Windblade Adept
I would be very happy when Lightchaser would get to 4/3 as I felt that body was impact full enough. With that benchmark Adept is simply better. I get that body on board guaranteed and trade up most times. I’ve been playing Healyonar since release and I’ve won a single game because of snowballed Lightchaser but having the Adept early game power has won me plenty.

Silverguard Knight
Serves several purposes. Extra 3-drop to combo with player 2/turn 1 3-Drop + Dampening Wave. The provoke controls space. 5 HP is a big break point for this deck as Knight baits hard removal.

Blistering Skorn
Heavily boosts the effectiveness of Afterglow. With a minion on board this is a guaranteed heal trigger. This card keeps Lilith under control and stops Chrysalis Burst shenanigans. Two or three copies is an internal debate. When I see less Lilith, I’ll drop to two. Survives Plasma Storm and potentially Makantor.

Dancing Blades
I’d rather use Blades + General attack to clear a minion over Circle of Life. Better tempo, I can heal the life back, and Blades lives through Makantor and Elucidator. The 4/6 statline is important for the deck as I don’t lose to Plasma Storm either. Good card to finish off Revenant.

Ruby Rifter
Yes, I still run Rifter with 3x Trinity Oath. This list is midrange and I’ll take all draws. Once again the 4/6 statline matches well against Magmar. Skorn and Dampening Wave create additional draw & lethal opportunities.

Dampening Wave
MVP card. Faster and more consistent than Lucent Beam. Incredible early game tempo. Kills nearly everything (sup Decimus) with Kelaino being a notable exception but her healing can be used to this decks advantage. Three copies put me in the red too often but two has worked out well. Being able to target ANY minion has created some obscure lethals.

Martyrdom
Criminally underrated. This meta requires hard removal. People are too concerned with giving the enemy general health. That HP gained is often negated by our own heal procs. This deck wins on board control. How often has the opponent dropped that Ironcliffe, Juggernaut, Mandrake, etc in top-deck mode which is just enough for them to win? Of course we can Martyrdom our minions to get that extra Sunriser/Lancer proc.

Notable Cuts
Circle of Life: Too slow and this deck is midrange, not control.
Lucent Beam: Still a great card but I wanted the unconditional 4 DMG even at the cost of life.
Arclyte Regalia: Pings are everywhere. Didn’t want to overload the 4 mana slot.
Slo: Not worth the slot just for the Holy Immolation combo.
Excelsious: This deck has better things to do with 8 mana.
Tempo: Great card at the moment but Ziran needs bodies AND effects so I’ll rock Skorn instead.

[phayze]

If I don’t have Sunstone Templars (which I don’t) what would you suggest as the next best card to replace them?

[thematsjo]

Testing this out from a noob/trench tier perspective - will let you know my results!

How have things been going; any luck?

So this is the list I’m currently using to climb in diamond. I originally added the 2 Skywind Glaives as a bit of a joke but i must say they have been preforming surprisingly well the added attack power really gives the deck an added kick.

Looks pretty fun; do you run out of cards at all? And don’t you mind the self-ping on Draining Wave and Tempest with Glaives? Can you tell me some more about how you benefit from Glaives?

I’d like to introduce my list.

Looks like just a pretty nice deck without any obvious problems. Don’t imagine you drain your hand very often . Appreciate the write-up as well!

If I don’t have Sunstone Templars (which I don’t) what would you suggest as the next best card to replace them?

That’s a tough one. The benefit to Templars is their ability to mess up the enemy’s plan and dictate their movement by threatening dispels. Azure Herald is a decent pick but it doesn’t pressure the enemy as an opening play (which Templar really does). There’s no real close equivalent and I wouldn’t go for Ephemeral Shroud unless you’re not bringing Sun Bloom so I think I’d recommend packing some Azurite Lions. They have the reach to ramp and threaten enemy openers; or at least push them backwards.

[spudmessy]

To be honest - it’s a pretty tough deck to grasp for a newbie like me. I had to play a few rounds before I could understand the gist of the deck. I would say this is not really a straight forward deck !

[thematsjo]

After coming to grips with the RotB cards I’m finally ready to post my de-jankified updated deck list. I removed my one-of copies of Sunbreaker and Excelsious as well as a single Skorn to make room for 3x Aegis Barrier, and that’s it! Here’s the updated decklist:

You can read everything else you need to know here, but I’ll briefly touch on the changes. Sunbreaker is a pretty cool card, and one that I think can have a place in a true Lyonar control deck. Problem is: we can’t run one (yet). What’s so cool about the card is that it really puts the opponent in a weird position because they know for sure you’re threatening a Tempest unless they can get rid of/dispel Sunbreaker’s ability, which can be difficult to do. Getting it dispelled is pretty okay because that means other things aren’t drawing dispel, and a 2/4 Forcefield is just strong enough to be useful by itself even when you can’t use the Tempest. I cut it because it’s too unreliable in my deck and makes my draws less reliable. I have a strong preference for streamlining my decks and Sunbreaker just doesn’t do enough, and disables a round of Afterglow triggers to make things worse. I’ll revisit Sunbreaker when we get a true control deck win condition. Speaking of: Excelsious is as bad as I predicted it’d be, for the reasons I gave at the time. The card’s too slow, too unreliable and even as a one-of it’s just too much of a dead draw to be worth a spot for me. RIP my hopes and dreams. I took out the single Skorn because it’s less impactful right now and Scintilla has made it easier to get heal triggers so I think I’m better off running it as a two-of to counter artifacts and Wraithlings (which don’t turn up so much because it’s all Variax all the time now). Aegis Barrier seems like a good pick for me because I have four minions that can really benefit from the protection, it helps me curve out almost every single turn and it helps thin out my deck for even. more. consistency. I mean, this deck runs 14 different cards in a game where you can run a minimum of 13; that’s consistent (and I haven’t even mentioned Trinity Oath).

[clinicaldaz]

Do you really get any value out of Lightchaser? I know it fits the archetype and all that but i’ve never really had one get big enough to make it worth while

[thematsjo]

It think Lightchaser’s a really contentious card and a bit of a ‘noob trap’ in the sense that most new players expect a card like this to be really good because of its extreme potential while experienced players know that’ll only happen once in a blue moon.

I suspect I’m in the minority of people who advocate for it, but I like Lightchaser quite a bit because it helps me push momentum on the board and force the opponent to expend resources on it, preserving me my key cards a lot of the time. Lightchasers draw removal and dispel like crazy which lets them get their mana’s worth in value a heck of a lot of the time in decks like mine where I go really heavy on the healing gimmick.

In the later game (6-7 mana-ish) Lightchaser allows me to play two Purity minions and trigger them both on the same turn which lets me reclaim the board in a serious way and in several matchups I can get one to stick later in the game to start swinging with like 6-8 Attack, no problem. Aegis Barrier is great for non-Vanar matchups there.

The release of Trinity Oath and Scintilla really helped this little dude out so I don’t hesitate in recommending it, but I don’t think you’re handicapping yourself without it either.

[clinicaldaz]

interesting - well yeh for sure it’s a dispel or removal target, I suppose there is that!

[phayze]

Is Arclyte still worth running in any Healyonar lists?
I’ve got a couple but I don’t play Argeon, just Zir’an.
Wanted to know if worth keeping or better of DE’ing for more important cards.

[thematsjo]

Personally I don’t see the use for it in dedicated Healyonar decks (many would disagree). Regalia is exceedingly powerful when you have initiative on the board because you get to dictate what you attack, allowing you to use it without expending its charges (too) quickly. In other words, if you’re playing a deck that allows you to maintain pressure it can be unstoppable.

Healyonar doesn’t typically offer that kind of play style. You’re working with a lot of individually weak cards that require some setup to snowball which gives the enemy the turn needed to ping down your Regalias. Sunforge Lancer already mitigates its relative value because it doubles up on its function and the Healyonar deck is usually filled with quite a bit of healing to keep Zir’An healthy which provides you with much-needed healing triggers to boot (preventing damage can cause anti-synergy here).

So no, I don’t believe Regalia is worth it for dedicated Healyonar decks and Sunforge Lancer is the superior pick for the archetype. That said, I’d strongly advise against disenchanting your Regalias because it’s a really strong, expensive card and you’re likely to want to branch out and try different Lyonar deck types sooner or later! For Healyonar though, I don’t expect you’ll miss them, I certainly haven’t felt compelled to play any for a good long while.

[humancalc]

Just double checking. Was you referring to Arclyte Regalia?
I thought of Arclyte Sentinel when I read Arclyte

On Regalia, while no space in my own deck, seems to be one of the better cards on testing.
Heal combos can often be costly and complicated. Then you have 4 mana Regalia pseudo-removal, which usually also wastes enemy resources.
I wouldn’t worry too much on anti-synergy. If you can’t heal yourself because you are full health AND the enemy can’t hurt you, then you are probably in a winning position .

[excogitator]

Not gonna let @mmf out-necro me.