Welcome to the The Fun Train™ where we try to have fun and break the constraints of normal SolForge. This column will highlight decks with off-the-wall strategies that make for memorable play experiences.

This week’s article will be talking about some of the Reign of Varna (Set 5) cards that have been spoiled so far. So hop aboard the Fun Train™ and let’s get to brewing!

Umbruk Admiration

Ah, Uterra-Tempys… I’ve tried many times to come up with a good deck for this faction combination and have always fallen short because UT has a hard time building a board and insulation against weak draws.

With the release of Set 5, I can see a lot of promise in UT. The card I’m most excited to tinker with is Ash Maiden.

For those who weren’t around in the closed beta, Rageborn Hellion used to be extremely powerful. His ability was that each creature would get +x/+x PER CREATURE that dealt damage to a player. I would often pair this with Ashurian Mystic for massive damage output. With Ash Maiden, we get a similar, less powerful effect on a Heroic body.

This could bring us back to the days of old with massive damage output and creatures so large that our opponent will cower in fear.

Thunder and Ash

We’ll start with three Ash Maiden. The effect is pretty powerful and can snowball into creatures that not even a Duskmaw could stop.

Next we need to add something big to the deck. Something giant, like a titan. Maybe a thunder titan. One named Ator.

Ator will increase the triggers we get from Ash Maiden and create a shell for a very aggressive deck. Everflame Mystic, Utteradon Ridgeback, Umbruk Lasher and Ashurian Brawler all pair well with Ator’s effect.

I’ll add 3 Everflame Mystic and 3 Uterradon Ridgeback since those are some very powerful effects that get stronger with aggressive. A neat combo with the Mystic is Staff of Vaerus, allowing for multiple hits from our hot-headed Mystic. Combine that with some Overload spells and we will be dealing more damage than you can shake a stick (or staff) at.

3 Ash Maiden

3 Ator, Thunder Titan

3 Everflame Mystic

3 Uterradon Ridgeback

3 Burnout

3 Lysian Shard

2 Staff of Vaerus

Let Me Repeat Myself

RoV also offers the Echoes cycle – spells with repeating actions – Uterra’s Ancestral Echoes (see WookieMike’s Ancestral Echoes Preview) could find a very cozy home in this deck.

And while we’re talking about giants and titans, what about Behemoths? That’s right, a 10/10 is pretty scary but a 10/10 with aggressive is an outright nightmare.

3 Ash Maiden

3 Ator, Thunder Titan

3 Everflame Mystic

3 Shardplate Behemoth

3 Uterradon Ridgeback

3 Burnout

3 Ancestral Echoes

3 Lysian Shard

2 Staff of Vaerus

Strength and Agility

To finish off the deck, I’ll add Borean Windweaver to allow for our big threats to move around defenses and strike for massive damage.

With one spot left in the deck I like Tangle as a tactic against decks that run annoying flying creatures that could ruin our day. It also works well with Everflame Mystic.

3 Ash Maiden

3 Ator, Thunder Titan

3 Borean Windweaver

3 Everflame Mystic

3 Shardplate Behemoth

3 Uterradon Ridgeback

3 Ancestral Echoes

3 Burnout

3 Lysian Shard

2 Staff of Vaerus

1 Tangle

After Set 5 drops, I’ll be building this bad boy up and taking it for a few spins to see what could be changed. It seems like a reasonable starting point for a brew and could potentially make some waves in the constructed queues.

Budget Version

Ator and Everflame Mystic are essential, but the rest of the Legendary cards above are just icing. A less expensive version of the deck could look something like this:

3 Ash Maiden

3 Ashurian Brawler

3 Ator, Thunder Titan

3 Borean Windweaver

3 Everflame Mystic

3 Umbruk Lasher

3 Burnout

3 Ferocious Roar

3 Lysian Shard

2 Staff of Vaerus

1 Tangle

As always, keep the fun rolling and share your suggestion or brew in the comments to get on board!