Here’s a quick list of Constructed decks seeing play right now including some up-and-comers and some familiar archetypes with new tech.

I recently wrote an overview article on decks for the current metagame (Konan’s Deck Lists for All Faction Combinations) and will update it with what I see in constructed queues and elsewhere in the community.

If the archetypes below are competitive enough to go 3-1 in the Constructed Queue (on a good run) I will add them to the main article.

If you want to see your own decks showcased here, write me on the forums (konanTheBarbar) and I will post your deck idea if you give me a short summary about the deck. Also comments about the different decks and optimizations for the current metagame are much appreciated.

Today’s article features a list and commentary by TrTl.

AT Burning Winds

3 Borean Windweaver

3 Brimstone Tyrant

3 Frostmane Dragon

3 Master of Elements

3 Relic Hunter

2 Korok, Khan of Kadras

2 Windspark Elemental

3 Oratek Explosives

3 Oratek Battlebrand

3 Rage of Kadras

(2 Burnout / Violent Outburst)

The first version of the deck had Static Shock, Flamebreak Invoker and Ashurian Flamesculptor in it. After playing some games and going 3-1 twice I thought that something in the deck still didn’t feel right, I asked Turkis what he thinks about the deck. He suggested that I forget about using Static Shock and Relic Hunter in the same deck, because it is too inconsistent. Now the deck has more of the AT Goodstuff core, but is a little more burn focused. You basically try to level Master of Elements in PL1 and gain value by playing free spells with him. Apart from that Tyrant and Frostmane Dragon are your must level cards. Use Violent Outbust if you see yourself losing to Thundersaur – otherwise use Burnout.

Must-level: Frostmane Dragon, Master of Elements

Good Match-up: AN, UT

Bad Match-up: AU Moving Golems, NU Tarsus

NU Tarsus

3 Duskmaw, Twilight Drake

3 Leyline Demon

3 Malice Hermit

3 Shardplate Behemoth

3 Spiritstone Sentry

3 Tarsus Deathweaver

2 Leyline Golem

2 Suruzal, Emissary of Varna

2 Dysian Siphon

2 Ferocious Roar

2 Immortal Echoes

2 Nethershriek

There was already a similar NU list in the original article, but this version is more streamlined and probably also more competitive – that’s why I thought I had to add it to the collection. The list has a good mix of underdrops, threats, removal and cards that allow you to stay ahead in it. On top of that it is quite good against AT – which not a lot of decks can say of themselves.

Use your creatures to force your opponent to use the side-lanes – where you can block with Spiritstone Sentry or let them open lane their creatures so that you can use Nethershriek or Duskmaw to take out threats. Tarsus is basically your threat amplifier and also makes the Leylines stronger if you can trigger them. Immortal Echoes is best played as underdrop when you have a Tarsus on the board in PL2 and beyond. There are cases when you can use it aggressively in PL1 – e.g. an early Behemoth died, but in general it is best used later. I initially had Broodqueen in the deck and replaced her with Suruzal, Emissary of Varna. Broodqueen is really good in some matchups, but can easily mess up your own Death Pile and was therefore replaced.

Must-level: Spiritstone Sentry, Nethershriek

Good Match-up: AT Goodstuff, AU

Bad Match-up: NT Hate

NT Torment & Destruction

3 Borean Windweaver

3 Byzerak Spitemage

3 Duskmaw, Twilight Drake

3 Herald of Destruction

3 Ebonskull Knight

3 Grimgaunt Devourer

3 Leyline Demon

2 Sorrow Maiden

3 Scythe of Chiron

2 Howl of Xith

2 Frostshatter Strike

Have you missed the good old days, when NT Removal was among the best archetypes? Hectares took some of the traditional NT core – Grimgaunt Devourer (GGD), Ebonskull Knight and Byzerak Spitemage – and mixed it with some “Hate” cards like Herald of Destruction, Sorrow Maiden and Leyline Demon to get competitive. I could just briefly play with this deck and it was great to have the opportunity to play with some “old” friends 🙂 One small piece of advice – pay attention to the matchup and don’t play GGD against AT.

Must-level: Sorrow Maiden, Herald of Destruction

Good Match-up: UT, some UN variants

Bad Match-up: AT

NT Abominable Grimgaunts

3 Abyssal Maw

3 Byzerak Spitemage

3 Contagion Lord

3 Ebonbound Warlord

3 Grimgaunt Devourer

3 Progeny of Xith

3 Sorrow Maiden

3 Xithian Direhound

2 Rot Wanderer

2 Bitterfrost Totem

2 Epidemic

This deck was messaged me via PM on the forums by TrTl and is designed for the Random Queue. It is a fun and cheap deck and I think it’s great if I show other players the deck idea – even if the deck isn’t for competitive play.

Here is what TrTl has written about the deck:

It’s a mono Nekrium tempo/control style deck that relies on building momentum through incremental plays to shut down the opponent’s board. Basically, you set up a rhythm of constant debuffs and trades throughout the game with cards such as Abyssal Maw and Contagion Fiend. Your main threats are Sorrow Maiden, Contagion Lord and Grimgaunt Devourer.

The constant debuffs tend to keep your Sorrow Maidens relevant throughout the game, and soften the blow against any creatures trying to take out your Grimgaunts or Lords. Typically, the worst of these is Grimgaunt if you haven’t been able to establish rhythm. However, Lord into Maiden on the same turn, or even across two consecutive turns, is very disruptive, especially considering that there is an abundance of support for each card given proper planning and piloting.

This is a budget, thematic deck birthed from a need to just play something different in the random queues. As such, it suffers from the same problems that unpopular/less powerful archetypes face and that is simply a lack of heroic/legendary support. However, I think it fits well in the random queue meta because it is something that not many people run. It combines the best qualities of control and tempo decks to cover the weaknesses of each and allow their strengths to shine. Honestly, I feel very proud to run this deck through the queue because it wins and loses in a very fun way, is budget friendly, and has the potential to really grow with future card releases.

TrTl

Must-level: Grimgaunt Devourer, Sorrow Maiden, Contagion Lord

Good Match-up: Slow decks

Bad Match-up: Tier 1 decks