HEX has been on life support for over a year now. I stopped playing thinking the game was beyond redemption. Maybe it still is but last week we saw a tiny life sign. We got a letter in weekly Friday update from Cory. I liked the part about Immortal and thinking about how to make something new using the lessons learned.

That night I started HEX for the first time in over a year. I played a few games of constructed ladder. It was fun, and I remembered that despite the current state of the game, HEX is still a fun game. I played all the way to cosmic, played in the FiveShards monthly and played a Fight Night. And I think I’ll continue to play, but not as much as when I believed in a Set 10 release.

With hexpvptools online again, we can see what archetypes there are in the current format. This is not a full list of every deck, but more of a guideline to what I believe are some of the viable decks in the current format. There are of course more decks, but these are the tuned decks I’ve been playing or facing the most when playing Ladder or tournaments for the last couple of weeks.

Momentum

CHAMPION

Lady Avalanche

TROOPS (28)

4 Righteous Waxshot

4 Leprechaun Artist

4 Brilliant Annihilix

4 Shamrock, The Goldfather

4 Exalted Pathfinder

4 Eldurathan’s Glory

4 Eternal Seeker

ACTIONS (8)

4 Winter’s Grasp

4 Palm of Granite

RESOURCES (24)

8 Wild Shard

4 Diamond Ice

4 Remnant of Life

4 Wax Sacrament

4 Well of Life

RESERVES (15)

2 Wayfaring Sharpshooter

4 Merry Caravan

4 Brosi-Buk, Mischief Master

2 Rotting Chompknight

2 Sunlit Sentence

1 Gargalith

GEMS

Brilliant Annihilix socketed with Major Wild Orb of Growth and Minor Diamond of Tactics

Momentum is the current top deck in the format. I’ve been playing it to great success when laddering, and in the last FiveShards monthly. The deck pair cheap snowballing momentum troops with a bit of ramp and finishers. Exalted Pathfinder gives the deck card draw, and Eternal Seeker acts as a one sided board wipe. Momentum doesn’t play that much removal or evasion main deck, and can stumble of you disrupt their Golden Coin generation.

Solis Control

CHAMPION

Obliteron Solis

TROOPS (6)

1 Silver Talon Adjudicator

2 Eldurathan’s Glory

1 Bowie Starlight

1 Dark Heart of Nulzann

1 Doombringer Kha

ACTIONS (28)

4 Blaze of Glory

4 Guidance

2 Runebind

4 Scour the Archives

3 Winter’s Grasp

2 Discombobulate

3 Runic Upheaval

1 Excruciate

2 Sunlit Sentence

2 Annihilate

1 Psychic Ascension

RESOURCES (26)

4 Remnant of Purpose

4 Ruby Ice

4 Wax Sacrament

4 Well of Conquest

3 Root of Innovation

3 Sapphire Ice

2 Remnant of Innovation

2 Well of Purpose

RESERVES (15)

1 Runebind

2 Gravebane Vial

2 Hawkward Turn

1 Scouring Light

1 Verdict of the Ancient Kings

1 Clash of Steel

1 Discombobulate

1 Stifling Sting

1 Assimilate

1 Runic Upheaval

1 Eldurathan’s Glory

1 Eternal Seeker

1 Psychic Ascension

GEMS

Dark Heart of Nulzann socketed with Major Sapphire of Vanishing and Minor Sapphire of Mists

This deck plays the most efficient removal in Winter’s Grasp and Blaze of Glory. This combined with some two for ones and a few counters makes Solis Control a reliable deck. This is a deck I’ve seen pop up a lot, and for good reason. Most match ups seem good, and The toolbox style finishers enabled by Scour the Archives means that this deck can outmaneuver almost any deck. The disadvantage with a deck like this is that you can draw the wrong answers at the wrong time.

Candles

CHAMPION

Cassia Goldenlight

TROOPS (8)

4 Acolyte of Flame

3 Scion of Lyvaanth

1 Lyvaanth

ACTIONS (27)

4 Guidance

4 Light ‘Em Up

3 Cremate

4 Runic Candescence

4 Flamelick

4 Wax Dawn

4 Choir of Lumos

CONSTANTS (2)

2 Wings of Wax

RESOURCES (23)

7 Ruby Shard

4 Wax Sacrament

4 Well of Conquest

3 Diamond Ice

3 Ruby Ice

2 Root of Conquest

RESERVES (13)

2 Blinding Ire

3 Arcing Light

2 Burning Ire

2 Scouring Light

4 Robogoyle

Play some candlekin, grow them bigger and attack with 3 7/7 with flight on turn 4. Not that uncommon in Candles. The deck has a fast start, some reach and efficient removal. The difficulty of playing Candles is knowing when to go wide and when to start growing your candlekin. Sweepers are annoying, and spot removal can slow you down a lot.

B/R Refuel

CHAMPION

Rhiannon of Flame

TROOPS (34)

4 Boltspasm

4 Flare Imp

4 Flare Fiend

4 Lazgar’s Bloodsworn

4 Zomboyz

4 Replipopper 4000

4 Boltwing Phoenix

3 Fleetmaw Terminus

3 Nefarious Corruptor

ACTIONS (4)

4 Refuel

RESOURCES (22)

8 Ruby Shard

6 Blood Shard

4 Remnant of Hatred

4 Root of Hatred

RESERVES (15)

3 Return to Cinder

2 Gorge of the Gore God

4 Burning Ire

2 Blight Knight

2 Disruptor Drone

2 Noxious Turn

GEMS

Nefarious Corruptor socketed with Major Ruby of Pyromancy

Replipopper and Refuel is a Great combo. Refuel is an aggressive deck designed to use deathcry triggers for additional value. The deck is great against slower controlling strategies due to its reach and deathcry abilities. Beware of removal that voids your cards, or to a lesser extent, your crypt.

Mono Blood Control

CHAMPION

Bar’dak the Butcher

TROOPS (13)

4 Vampire Prince

3 Bride of the Damned

2 Dark Heart of Nulzann

2 Eternal Seeker

2 Primordial Cockatwice

ACTIONS (17)

3 Withering Gaze

4 Demented Whispers

2 Strangle

4 Herofall

4 Massacre

CONSTANTS (2)

2 Journey Into Nightmare

ARTIFACTS (3)

3 Mysteres de l’angoisse

RESOURCES (25)

17 Blood Shard

4 Blood Ice

4 Necropolis Coins

RESERVES (15)

4 Blight Knight

2 Disruptor Drone

2 Strangle

2 Replipopper 4000

2 Stalking Quarry

1 Dark Heart of Nulzann

2 Eternal Seeker

GEMS

Dark Heart of Nulzann socketed with Major Blood Orb of Fleshcraft and Minor Blood Orb of Ghouls

Removal, hand disruption and card advantage. Mono Blood Control uses a lot of the tools available to Blood in HEX. Vampire Prince is an effective two-drop that buffers your health and acts as card advantage.

B/D Control

CHAMPION

Adoni-Zeddek

TROOPS (5)

1 Glimmer Fox

2 Eldurathan’s Glory

2 Primordial Cockatwice

ACTIONS (25)

4 Guidance

1 Withering Gaze

4 Demented Whispers

3 Cruel Sentence

1 Winter’s Grasp

4 Zeddek’s Judgment

1 Herofall

3 Massacre

3 Sunlit Sentence

1 From The Ashes

CONSTANTS (4)

4 Twilight Justice

ARTIFACTS (2)

1 Mysteres de l’angoisse

1 Corners of the World

RESOURCES (24)

4 Blood Ice

4 Blood Shard

4 Diamond Ice

4 Root of Retribution

4 Wax Sacrament

4 Well of Retribution

RESERVES (15)

2 Withering Gaze

1 Brink of Madness

2 Gravebane Vial

1 Steal Intel

1 Winter’s Grasp

1 Massacre

2 Journey Into Nightmare

1 Eldurathan’s Glory

1 Sunlit Sentence

2 Annihilate

1 Primordial Cockatwice

Much like Mono Blood, but with Annihilix and better board wipes. Ashes to Ashes can act as a sweeper and win condition based on the opposing deck. B/D can be built with or without a Verdict theme.

Sugar Rush Combo

CHAMPION

The Blackberry Knight

TROOPS (14)

4 Earth Mother

1 Eager Lackey

1 Sugarpuss

3 Dreamsmoke Diva

3 Rowdy Piper

2 Pippit Hustler

ACTIONS (21)

3 Treacherous Search

3 Runebind

3 Tilling the Soil

1 Raucous Revelry

4 Eyes of the Heart

3 Sugar Rush

4 Consult the Talon

CONSTANTS (1)

1 The Pleasure Tent

RESOURCES (24)

5 Sapphire Shard

5 Wild Shard

4 Sapphire Ice

3 Root of Instinct

3 Wild Ice

2 Well of Instinct

1 Permafrost

1 Shard of Instinct

RESERVES (15)

2 Prison of the Mind

2 Halt

4 Verdict of the Ancient Kings

1 Into the Unknown

2 Pippit Hustler

2 Moss Geyser

2 Robogoyle

The boogeyman combo deck of the format. Leveraging Rowdy troops with Sugar Rush and taking extra turns, the deck is built to take a four to five turns in a row, playing a lot of cards and winning the game either by milling with Sugarpuss, or attacking with a few small troops for a few turns. Sugar rush plays a linear game and can be disrupted by hand disruption, counters or removing Rowdy Piper.

Kha Reanimator

CHAMPION

Blue Sparrow

TROOPS (19)

4 Briny Ray

4 Scribe of the Flayed Man

3 Voice of D’endrrah

4 Doombringer Kha

4 Primordial Sabretooth

ACTIONS (17)

3 Return to Cinder

4 Scour the Archives

4 Theorize

2 Scars of War

4 Mordrom’s Gift

RESOURCES (24)

4 Nameless Draught

4 Remnant of Hatred

4 Remnant of Innovation

4 Well of Innovation

3 Root of Cunning

3 Sapphire Ice

2 Ruby Ice

RESERVES (15)

1 Dreamcall

1 Return to Cinder

3 Verdict of the Ancient Kings

2 Gravebane Vial

1 Iconoclasm

2 Jouncing Carnage

1 Scars of War

2 Excruciate

1 Eternal Curator

1 Eternal Seeker

GEMS

Mordrom’s Gift socketed with Major Ruby of Twinstrike

Kha Reanimator as all about Mordrom’s Gift on Doombringer Kha into an attack for 20 (Kha dealing double damage from the gift). The rest of the deck is built to make this happen. Briny Ray is a great discard outlet while dealing small amounts of damage to you opponent, getting them down to 20. With Momentum staring on 22 health, a single Ray attack puts them in range for your combo. The problem with this deck is that if your opponent knows what’s coming, it’s hard to get the win.

Red Deck Wins

CHAMPION

Angus the Arsonist

TROOPS (29)

4 Baby Yeti

4 Boltspasm

4 Escape Goat

4 Frothfang Cackler

4 Righteous Outlaw

3 Matriarch of Flames

4 Mama Yeti

2 Primordial Sabretooth

ACTIONS (8)

4 Cremate

4 Fireball

RESOURCES (23)

20 Ruby Shard

3 Heart of Agony

RESERVES (15)

4 Return to Cinder

2 Reginald’s Riposte

2 Ruby’s Favor

3 Flamelick

2 Inquisitor of Lumos

2 Pyre Strike

Mono Ruby aggro (or Red Deck Wins) has always been a part of HEX. The goal of the deck is to get your opponent to 0 health as quickly as possible. With the format being a bit slower the deck can punish a lot of decks game 1 and try and win one of the last two games in a match. This deck is probably the quickest to play, you win fast or lose fast.

Conclusion

HEX is great.. if you look at HEX purely as a card game. The game is well balanced with a diverse meta game. There have been a lot of issues with the game, and I’m never gonna play it the same way I used to. But in my mind it’s still one of the best card games out there. I hope HexEnt can turn it around somehow with HEX 2 (if there ever will be such a thing) because there is a lot off lost potential in HEX.

I hope more people try and play the game, have some fun with Merry Melee, and maybe dabble a bit with Constructed. But you have to beware that the game is currently not that well supported and finding a match can take a while (outside of tournaments). Enjoy HEX for what it is, not what it “was supposed to be”. See you in game.