Hello Friends! I have been working hard on the set review, but some have been contacted by some who would really like some direction on what to play in ranked. I am going to throw out some “hot take” decks that can act as a starting place. They range from “minimally tested” to “totally untested” so don’t get mad at me if they are not quite what you want. The goal of each deck should be fairly obvious in most cases, so I will offer a minimum of explanation for now. I plan to put out another article next week that actually gives more refined versions of some decks. If you have archetypes that you would specifically like to work on, be sure to comment in the Reddit thread.

Praxis Forge

3 Alluring Ember (Set2 #172)

4 Excavation Assistant (Set2 #37)

4 Torch (Set1 #8)

4 Blinkwolf (Set2 #7)

4 Temple Scribe (Set1 #502)

4 Avirax Familiar (Set2 #46)

4 Hipshot (Set2 #11)

4 Journeyman Armorer (Set2 #175)

2 Brilliant Discovery (Set2 #177)

2 Camp Physician (Set2 #52)

2 Pouncing Drake (Set2 #28)

2 Shatterglass Mage (Set2 #181)

4 Waystone Infuser (Set2 #63)

3 Workshop Forge (Set2 #182)

4 Heart of the Vault (Set2 #183)

8 Fire Sigil (Set1 #1)

9 Time Sigil (Set1 #63)

4 Praxis Banner (Set2 #171)

4 Seat of Impulse (Set0 #54)

This is basically a “warp” deck. It aims at dropping your entire deck into play. You also get to play Heart of the Forge, which is fair and balanced as you will see very quickly. If you are low on Shiftstone you can feel safe investing in Hearts, given that the card is going to see play somewhere. Smoothing all the edges on this deck is going to be extremely difficult, but SirRhino was playing something similar on stream, and it was a total joy to watch him dump his deck into play.

Makto Control

4 Seek Power (Set1 #408)

1 Suffocate (Set1 #251)

2 Annihilate (Set1 #269)

4 Kothon, the Far-Watcher (Set2 #218)

1 Vanquish (Set1 #143)

4 Vara’s Favor (Set0 #35)

1 Cat Burglar (Set2 #148)

1 Eilyn’s Choice (Set2 #220)

1 Extract (Set2 #155)

4 Feln Bloodcaster (Set1 #386)

2 Slay (Set2 #236)

4 Wisdom of the Elders (Set1 #218)

2 Auric Runehammer (Set1 #166)

1 Deathstrike (Set1 #290)

2 Steward of the Past (Set1 #287)

4 Harsh Rule (Set1 #172)

3 Inquisitor Makto (Set2 #242)

1 Staff of Stories (Set1 #234)

3 Withering Witch (Set1 #368)

4 Black-Sky Harbinger (Set1 #385)

1 Azindel’s Gift (Set1 #306)

3 Justice Sigil (Set1 #126)

3 Primal Sigil (Set1 #187)

4 Shadow Sigil (Set1 #249)

1 Hooru Banner (Set2 #216)

4 Seat of Order (Set0 #51)

1 Argenport Banner (Set2 #231)

4 Seat of Vengeance (Set0 #55)

1 Feln Banner (Set1 #417)

4 Seat of Cunning (Set0 #62)

I am a big believer in Makto, and want to see how he does in control decks. The mix of removal is just a mix of everything, so it isn’t even close to right. I am a touch suspicious of Kothon as the only Torch target, but we will see how that works moving forward.

SMOrcrag



3 Oni Ronin (Set1 #13)

3 Permafrost (Set1 #193)

3 Pyroknight (Set1 #16)

4 Torch (Set1 #8)

4 Champion of Fury (Set2 #187)

2 Kaleb’s Choice (Set2 #188)

4 Rakano Outlaw (Set1 #20)

2 Whispering Wind (Set1 #202)

2 Assembly Line (Set1 #29)

2 Cloudsnake Harrier (Set2 #114)

2 Fevered Scout (Set1 #512)

2 Vadius, Clan Father (Set2 #191)

2 Alpine Tracker (Set1 #522)

2 Groundbreaker (Set2 #21)

2 Mortar (Set2 #194)

4 Torgov, Icecap Trader (Set2 #126)

4 Obliterate (Set1 #48)

2 Soulfire Drake (Set1 #47)

1 Sindok, Rage Incarnate (Set2 #34)

10 Fire Sigil (Set1 #1)

5 Primal Sigil (Set1 #187)

4 Seat of Fury (Set0 #53)

4 Skycrag Banner (Set2 #186)

2 Diplomatic Seal (Set1 #425)

For a 2 faction deck the influence here is a mess. playing both Groundbreaker and Torgov feels greedy. There is something here that is interesting and powerful, and I expect there will be a lot of progress soon, but crafting 2 Vadius seems pretty safe if you like aggro, and most of the rest of the deck is just rare. I threw in Sindok because she looks like too much fun to sideline.

Xenan Tokens

4 Cult Aspirant (Set2 #35)

4 Initiate of the Sands (Set1 #74)

2 Annihilate (Set1 #269)

4 Oasis Seeker (Set2 #41)

4 Temple Scribe (Set1 #502)

4 Vara’s Favor (Set0 #35)

2 Ayan, the Abductor (Set2 #204)

4 Disciplined Amanera (Set2 #47)

4 Extract (Set2 #155)

2 Banish (Set2 #207)

2 Hatecleaver (Set2 #158)

4 Katra, the Devoted (Set2 #208)

4 Xenan Obelisk (Set1 #103)

3 Beckoning Lumen (Set2 #59)

3 Bloodcall Invoker (Set2 #211)

9 Time Sigil (Set1 #63)

8 Shadow Sigil (Set1 #249)

4 Seat of Mystery (Set0 #61)

4 Xenan Banner (Set2 #201)

Ketra could easily power a Xenan tokens deck. Your deck has the potential to just snowball out of control if all the pieces come together. You are weak to decks with Harsh Rule, but you are going to be a heavy favorite over many aggro or midrange decks.

Hooru Midrange Skies

4 Inspire (Set1 #129)

4 Permafrost (Set1 #193)

4 Eager Owlet (Set1 #144)

4 Kothon, the Far-Watcher (Set2 #218)

2 Lightning Storm (Set1 #206)

4 Vanquish (Set1 #143)

2 Whispering Wind (Set1 #202)

4 Aerialist Trainer (Set2 #219)

4 Spirit Guide (Set2 #83)

4 Valkyrie Enforcer (Set1 #151)

4 Wisdom of the Elders (Set1 #218)

2 Auric Runehammer (Set1 #166)

2 Hammer of Might (Set1 #170)

1 Peacekeeper’s Prod (Set2 #86)

4 Shelterwing Rider (Set2 #223)

1 Duelist’s Blade (Set2 #226)

7 Justice Sigil (Set1 #126)

6 Primal Sigil (Set1 #187)

4 Hooru Banner (Set2 #216)

4 Seat of Order (Set0 #51)

4 Diplomatic Seal (Set1 #425)

It is hard to guess right now exactly what speed you want this deck to be. Are we an aggro deck that is basically Rakano with more Aegis and flying, or are we just a value midrange deck? There are a few ways to go, bust there is come interesting stuff here for sure. We might want some protect to reset our Shelterwing Riders, but that requires testing that I haven’t done yet.

Anyway, these are some starting decks. I might post more as I think of them. There is tons of stuff to experiment with, and I encourage everyone to go ham and enjoy the exploration! Don’t take any of these decks too literally, there is lots of room for improvement. Please comment on Reddit of what you think of these lists, how you have improved them, and what else I could try to work on for next week. See you all soon!

Love,

Neon

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