Saving Sabotage
I crafted 3 Paradigms, and have been playing Control Ciphyron ever since. Well, it is weak. I’d even argue this is the weakest deck I have ever played. It’s a lot of fun, but it simply doesn’t have an upper edge over any decks in the meta today. This post is my personal thoughts and suggestions to save the archetype. I’m no expert on this subject or whatsoever, but I believe I may have some valid ideas.
Why is Sabotage so weak?
After testing out a Control Ciphyron deck, I was able to narrow down 5 main issues with the deck: lack of direction, limited card pool, no consistent win-con, inability to deal with big threats, and conflicting design ideas in a single archetype.
Lack of direction
I think this is the most critical issue with the deck. Stealing enemy minions is nothing more than an idea, a thematic concept. There are no synergies or whatsoever related to stealing enemy minions. You may argue that stealing enemy minions creates value on its own, but that simply isn’t enough. For example, Healyonar wouldn’t be a deck without healing synergies, even though healing itself is an immediate benefit. The archetype needs cards that can create direct value out of stolen enemy minions.
Limited card pool
A no-brainer here. Ciphyron, out of all Generals in Duelyst, was given the least amount of support cards. There’s Blindscorch, Conduit, Dominate Will, and Paradigm. That’s really it. 4 cards! How pathetic is that? At this point, I’m doubting whether or not was Ciphyron was even designed to be a Control General. Maybe he was supposed to be something else altogether.
No consistent win-con
Not only does the deck have no synergies or support cards, it doesn’t have a win-con either. The inherent issue with stealing enemy minions is that it widely relies on the opponent. If the opponent doesn’t summon minions worth summoning, you can’t use it proactively. You can use it defensively, as it’s essentially sabotaging enemy plays, but that alone is definitely not a win-con. But on top of that, that minion needs to be weakened before it is stolen; that is why cards like Conduit feel so underwhelming. That is why the deck has to turn to options other than Control cards for win-cons, and that only makes the deck cluttered and janky.
Inability to deal with threats
Ciphyron can’t steal big minions! The -2 Attack is a measly number for most minions that cost 6 or more. Sure, there’s Blindscorch, but to think that a combo of a spell and a 6 mana minion is the only way to steal big minions is pretty sad. Other Vetruvian Generals can deal with threats just fine, where Zirix has Kha, and Sajj has her BBS and Iris Barrier. Sure, there is always BoA, but it alone just isn’t enough for the deck survive late-game.
Design inconsistencies
This is just a small issue, but it’s noticeable. Some Control-related cards have blatant anti-synergy with each other. Blindscorch reduces a minion’s Attack to 0, but Psychic Conduit only takes control of an enemy minion that turn. So if you Blindscorch a minion and then steal it with Conduit, it won’t be able to attack that turn and will return to the enemy General when your turn is over.
So what now?
Not that we have recognizes some crucial, albeit obvious, issues with the deck, lets; try fixing it. I will propose two main solutions to save the archetype: buffing existing cards and printing support. If these proposals do indeed take place, Ciphyron would best be elevated to at least Tier 1.5 status, or maybe even Tier 1.
Balance Changes
These are desirable changes to Control-related cards that would make them stronger and easier to play. It will also address the design inconsistency with Blindscorch and Psychic Conduit I mentioned above.
1. Blindscorch
Vetruvian has decent basic cards in General, but this one sticks out like a sore thumb. It’s obviously a combo enabler, but it’s really not worth it because it’s only useful with Paradigm, and even that is a whopping 7 mana combo. I lowered its mana cost to 0 but nerfed its effect to only reduce the Attack to 2. But in reality, it’s really not a nerf, because now we can finally use the card with Conduit.
2. Psychic Conduit
I’m really not sure about this one. It’s a big buff, that’s for sure, but it could also be too much. My main problem with Conduit was that it’s far too situational with a mediocre payoff, as the minion that it steals has 2 or less Attack anyways. Best case scenario, it kills off two Wraithlings but that’s mostly it. Either way, the card needs to be buffed one way or another; I’m just unsure how.
3. Grapnel Paradigm
Kind of the elephant in the room? I initially thought the card would be pretty powerful, but it actually just sucks ass. My first idea to buff the card was to make it take control of all nearby enemy minions with 2 or less Attack, but I thought that would take away from the flavor. I settled on this change after I played a match and the enemy had a Sojourner and 2 Wrathlings aligned in a single column, and realized how much flexible the card could get if it could choose either the row or column to take control of minions.
Support Cards
If I were to print some support for this archetype, these cards would probably be a pretty good representation. I made sure they are pretty powerful, so they may have the issue of having use in decks outside of Ciphyron, but I doubt it.
1. Apostasia
Vetruvian isn’t particularly lacking in strong 2 drop options, but this one is just for Ciphyron. It can burn and sustain at the same time, with a decent statline and a Desolater-esque swing. It’s an awkward opening play, but players can easily follow up with a Conduit next turn.
2. Paradox
Its effect itself may be weaker than Apostasia’s at face value, it will solve the fundamental problem that the cards stolen by Ciphyron are generally weak. I didn’t make Paradox buff the Health though, as in some cases like Conduit, the enemy minion needs to be given back. Buffing its Health would just make it harder for it to kill itself.
3. Planar Ascendant
Slow but effective. Its effect is weaker than Mindlathe, but it is also decently statted and has synergetic potential with cards like Kinematic Projection and Astral Phasing. It would most likely just get removed as soon as it hits the board, but if it sticks, the opponent will pay.
4. Epoch Diaspora
This is obviously Paradigm support, but the opponent would probably just play around it by not aligning their minions. It’s a strong effect nonetheless, and it might even have use outside of Control decks. But many Vetruvian decks are Aggro-based anyways, so I don’t think it would be a serious problem.
5. Eschatology
A pretty solid win-con. Best case scenario, it will probably only deal about 5 or 6 damage, but combine that with a huge body and that’s some real value. This card also combos well with Conduit, as Conduit alone can create 2 stacks.
6. Esoteric Intervention
Most likely, it would be best to use this card after summoning Paradigm. It may seem underwhelming at a first glance, but just drawing two or so cards with this is a still huge win. Sure, it’s extremely conditional, but it’s also very low-risk as it costs 0 mana.
7. Cerebral Shift
Pretty straightforward Paradigm support. It’s essentially a better version of Ciphyron’s BBS, and it should be very useful when you want to fish for more than one minion with Paradigm at once. It can also be used with earlier in the game with cards like Thunderhorn and LitD.
8. Mastermind’s Thesis
This one is purely for shits and giggles. It’ll either be extremely overpowered or a stupid meme; I still don’t know. But it is win-con nevertheless, and it will actually give Dominate Will a decent reason for existence.
That’s a Warp
I suppose that’s it for now. I highly doubt CPG will ever come across this post, but I hope they realize Sabotage needs some serious helping out. Thank you for reading so far, and feel free let me know your thoughts on this. I honestly think some cards I suggested could be overpowered, but I guess that’s kind of the point.
) that could punish slamming big threats on the board with huge attack stats.
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