Style Points – Hideous Conversion

Hello everyone! Dino here.

Welcome to the latest installment of “Style Points,” an article for the creative deck builder. Here we like to convert the underused cards in your collection into powerhouse plays. The process is often messy, but I like to think the end result is worth it. Last time we took a seminar on the Infernal Professor. Today I’d like to check the exchange rate on the (only mostly) Hideous Conversion.

So without further ado, let’s look at your collection differently.

War might never change but card context in HEX certainly does. With each set that’s released, underused cards in your collection undergo a metamorphosis, changing into cards that are just a little more meta-worthy. Hideous Conversion is one such beauty. It has constant potential that is just waiting for a fresh batch of (un)willing victims. I have it on my watch list and so should you. But if you’re not familiar with this mutable mutation, it goes a little something like this:

Two resources gives you a constant that can turn any troop into a temporary resource. It is as simple as that. Sacrifice a troop; gain a resource. If a troop has been hit by an Inner Conflict or you find yourself in a sticky situation with Incubation Webs: Boom. Resource. If a troop can’t get past a stubborn blocker or maybe just looks at you funny, you can grind it down into fodder for your other, more relevant drops. It’s a pretty good deal.

The hideous part of this conversion, however, lies in the fact that you are giving up board presence and card advantage every time you liquidate a troop. Remember, most games are won by reducing your opponent’s health total to zero, and the most efficient way to do this is to have more and bigger bads on your side of the board. When you sacrifice a troop with Hideous Conversion, you are weakening your own position for a temporary benefit. Furthermore, anything you play with those resources won’t do you any good if your opponent just Kills it dead. Using Hideous Conversion too liberally can be a sure way to turn your own troops into trouble.

This means that using Hideous Conversion effectively requires us to shift our thinking. What if the best part of a troop was not its body, but rather what it can do for us coming and going? “When this enters play,” “when this leaves play,” “when this dies” – these are the magic words that tips the exchange rate in your favor. If you have already gotten value from your troop simply by having it change zones, its presence on the board becomes less relevant. Shroomshaw is the gold standard since it can be exchanged for a 3 resource boost in one turn, but my personal favorite is Wrathwood Master Moss. With a little inspiration, this mossy boss redefines what it means to “go infinite.”

Let’s see it in action:

Keep 2.07 – Circle of Life

Champion: Running Deer



Azurefate Sorceress socketed with Major Ruby of Destruction and Minor Wild Orb of Conservation

The core of this deck lies in the interaction between Hideous Conversion, Azurefate Sorceress, and Wrathwood Master Moss. An Azurefate gemmed with a Major Ruby of Destruction and a Minor Wild Orb of Conservation makes your Mosses functionally immortal. Since it explicitly states that Wrathwood Mossling is put into play, the Major Ruby of Destruction will proc and immediately turn the Mossling back into a Master Moss. Combined with spellshield, this makes your Moss immune to anything short of a Purge or a Comet Strike.

Now one of the perks to having an immortal troop is that the downside to Hideous Conversion is completely negated. In fact, you are now rewarded for using it! With every sacrifice of the Master Moss, you deal 2 damage to your opponent and gain one temporary resource. This means that you can gain infinite resources and deal infinite damage once your combo is achieved. Talk about a total transformation!

Because that combo is so powerful, the rest of the deck exists primarily to ensure you can play it every game. Troops like Moon’ariu Sensei and Phoenix Guard Messenger not only combo with Hideous Conversion through triggered effects, but also serve as draw so you can find your combo pieces faster. Withering Touch protects your Azurefates from pesky Countermagics and Adaptable Infusion Device acts as both draw and threshold fixing.

I should mention that, as a quad shard deck, careful management of your thresholds is essential for playing “Circle of Life.” Early game, Sapphire and Wild are crucial as they allow your draw engines to come online. If you are being pressured, however, you should rush double Blood to get your Extinctions ready. All told, the dual shards in HEX make it fairly easy to get every threshold you need in a game, but be aware that the order and timing does matter.

Finally, if you enjoyed this article but don’t have some Master Mosses lying around, I encourage you to experiment with Hideous Conversion anyway. There are a number of cheaper options like Darkspire Priestess and Shroomshaw which can make running Hideous Conversion a transformative experience.

Hopefully I’ve been able to adjust your views on Hideous Conversion. As they say, change is the only constant. How do you go about transforming your enemies into a Pile of Bones? Are there modifications you would make to the deck? Make sure you cycle on over and share with us in the forums!

Dream big, everybody!

Dino out~

Dino is a regular HEX streamer and the creator of the 4Keeps competition. If you enjoy building wacky decks, playing for sweet prizes, and watching hexcellent shenanigans, you can check him out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on Twitch.

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