This is a list I’ve been tuning over the past two days and it took me from Gold to Master’s Gauntlet. My initial impression is that Gauntlet AI decks got a little bit harder since the new set release, but that’s ok. We have access to Merchants and those allow us to tech for some of the bad matchups as well as support our own strategy. This is my list and surprisingly Infinite Hour Glass is incredibly strong in it. Amaran Armadillo acts as an Obelisk with Hourglass, and we can better race aggro. Many of our units have flying, and adding endurance means that they also get buffed by Unseen Commando. The card nullifies all of the stun effects the AI plays (except Rebuke). Here is the importable decklist, as well as the link to EternalWarcry. I will discuss some of the key card choices below:

https://eternalwarcry.com/decks/details/M92W9GFhv44/enduring-combrei

4 Finest Hour (Set1 #130)

2 Infinite Hourglass (Set1 #67)

4 Lingering Influence (Set4 #100)

2 Sharpened Reflex (Set4 #102)

4 Amaran Armadillo (Set4 #60)

4 Awakened Student (Set1 #331)

2 Desert Marshal (Set1 #332)

2 Vanquish (Set1 #143)

4 Auralian Merchant (Set4 #70)

2 Stand Together (Set1 #334)

4 Unseen Commando (Set3 #122)

4 Valkyrie Enforcer (Set1 #151)

4 Geomar, the Steel Tempest (Set4 #128)

2 Sword of Unity (Set4 #249)

4 Amilli, Cloudmarshal (Set3 #136)

7 Time Sigil (Set1 #63)

6 Justice Sigil (Set1 #126)

2 Crownwatch Standard (Set4 #97)

4 Combrei Banner (Set1 #424)

4 Crest of Progress (Set4 #247)

4 Seat of Progress (Set0 #58)

————–MARKET—————

1 Infinite Hourglass (Set1 #67)

1 Stand Together (Set1 #334)

1 Sword of Unity (Set4 #249)

1 Xenan Obelisk (Set1 #103)

1 Lumen Defender (Set1 #115)

I have already talked about Amaran Armadillo, Infinite Hourglass and their synergy with the deck. Lingering Influence and Crest of Progress help greatly with the influence requirements and consistency of my Combrei build. Lingering Influence also counts as a spell for Geomar, the Steel Tempest.

Awakened Student, Unseen Commando, Valkyrie Enforcer and Geomar, the Steel Tempest are our units of choice for the deck. Geomar can get absolutely enormous with spells, and the spells can be played on other units. Finest Hour can occasionally four for one the AI when it plays into it. Lifesteal on Geomar is huge, and there really isn’t a budget substitute. Amilli, Cloudmarshal is there to take over when the games go long, and can be combined with Obelisk out of the Market for a potent top end threat.

For removal we run two Vanquish, two Desert Marshal and we have four Finest Hour and two Sharpened Reflex for combat tricks, as well as two Crownwatch Standard. Note that the +1/+1 is a permanent buff to the unit for Reflex. We have two Stand Together and two Sword of Unity which help push damage, gain life and protect our board.

Last but not least, we run Auralian Merchant and a five card market consisting of Hourglass, Stand Together, Sword of Unity, Obelisk and Lumen Defender. I am not 100% sure if this is the optimal market, but I did add Sword of Unity as the final change to the Market and the difference was night and day. It provides a key extra bit of lifegain for the deck.

This is not an easy deck to play at first, and you will need to jam some games to get comfortable with the gameplay, particularly with using the Market effectively. I believe it is a very strong deck and the games play out reasonably fast as well.

Good luck!

MagicTurtle