Welcome to another Blood Warriors Guild Weekly Decklist. It has been a little while since the holidays and the release of Isle of Madness, but we are back with a fun combo deck. This past week, guild members had to build a deck around Renegade Magister, the Monthly Reward Card for January 2019. There were a lot of great submissions by many guild members. All decks were voted upon and one winner emerged: Renegade SOS OTK Mage is a deck by Midstorm and GunterNine. Thanks to both for their help with the write-up of the deck…

Deck code: SPAFjtkunRezjnAJppgwfWlmpbkveidMsnAJiyjHnbixgycOlYhWeJ

What is Renegade SOS Mage OTK?

Well, you’d think that maybe it’d be a Dragonborn from Skyrim that specialized in stealth and magicka, but it is in fact one of the cheapest and consistent control decks that I’ve ever had the pleasure of piloting (special thanks to Midstorm of the BWG for pointing me at this monstrosity!)

Stealer of Secrets

Shadowmere

Mentor’s Ring

The deck is based around a one turn kill combo involving Stealer of Secrets, Shadowmere, and Mentor’s Ring, and as many actions as you can cast.

Executing the Stealer of Secrets Combo

These are the steps needed to execute the combo itself:

Play Shadowmere to a lane, preferably one without a guard, or at least a guard that has four health or less. Then, play Stealer of Secrets in the same lane, or the other lane if there is no guard. Play Mentor’s Ring on the Shadowmere to give Stealer of Secrets “Charge”. Swing with Stealer of Secrets, and/or Shadowmere, if necessary.

See? Pretty simple. How we get there is an entirely different story.

Assembling the Combo

Two viable options exist to assemble the combo.

Option 1 : Draw cards until you get all 3 cards in hand.

: Draw cards until you get all 3 cards in hand. Option 2: Use Crucible Blacksmith as a tutor for Mentor’s Ring and use Laaneth to gather a second piece of the combo, using card draw to complete the trifecta.

Really sounds simple, doesn’t it? It’s not.

The rest of the deck is where it get’s tough. Why you ask? Because you have to live long enough to assemble and execute the combo. And how do we do that? With a plethora of control actions.

Control Actions in Renegade SOS OTK Mage

Execute: Simple and cheap actions used to take out creatures with low power.

Simple and cheap actions used to take out creatures with low power. Firebolt : Simple 2 damage to a creature, to either finish it off or kill it outright

: Simple 2 damage to a creature, to either finish it off or kill it outright Reverberating Strike: Great against aggressive token decks, pretty decent for anything that comes in multiples.

Great against aggressive token decks, pretty decent for anything that comes in multiples. Dragon Aspect: An aside about this inclusion, as it’s the latest addition to the deck and the first major modification made from Midstorms original concept. Given that we are playing the “long game” with this deck and going to be seeing approximately 80% of the deck in our hand at any given point, this cards inclusion makes for a good removal card early game and a great removal card late game. It can also have the secondary ability to provide additional life which increases the decks survivability.

An aside about this inclusion, as it’s the latest addition to the deck and the first major modification made from Midstorms original concept. Given that we are playing the “long game” with this deck and going to be seeing approximately 80% of the deck in our hand at any given point, this cards inclusion makes for a good removal card early game and a great removal card late game. It can also have the secondary ability to provide additional life which increases the decks survivability. Firestorm : Baby Ice Storm, also a prophecy so it can be a “free” creature kill.

: Baby Ice Storm, also a prophecy so it can be a “free” creature kill. Lightning Bolt : A staple of 4 damage to a creature or to the dome (sometimes that little bit to the skull that makes Stealer’s job easier)

: A staple of 4 damage to a creature or to the dome (sometimes that little bit to the skull that makes Stealer’s job easier) Cast into Time: Could we really call this a control deck without one of the best removal actions in the game? Great for removing a single creature, even better for removing troublesome creatures… that’s multiple.. from the match!

Could we really call this a control deck without one of the best removal actions in the game? Great for removing a single creature, even better for removing troublesome creatures… that’s multiple.. from the match! Piercing Javelin: Another great removal tool for individual creature removal, regardless of health level. And even if it doesn’t have the additional effect that Cast into Time does, in removing multiple threats, it does have the chance to be cast for “free” in being a prophecy.

Another great removal tool for individual creature removal, regardless of health level. And even if it doesn’t have the additional effect that Cast into Time does, in removing multiple threats, it does have the chance to be cast for “free” in being a prophecy. Ice Storm: Daddy Firestorm. This is a staple in removing and slowing down hyper aggressive strategies. Use it wisely.

Daddy Firestorm. This is a staple in removing and slowing down hyper aggressive strategies. Use it wisely. Spirit Knife: Originally I thought this was a bad card, but the ability to deal out 7 damage plays well for late game removal of high health creatures, along with the “draw a card” mechanic, to dig faster for combo pieces.

Originally I thought this was a bad card, but the ability to deal out 7 damage plays well for late game removal of high health creatures, along with the “draw a card” mechanic, to dig faster for combo pieces. Ancano : Yes, he’s control. He’s 8 magicka for 5 damage and a 5/5 body leftover to be more removal. His breakthrough ability is also synergistic with spells like Ice Storm and Lightning Bolt.

: Yes, he’s control. He’s 8 magicka for 5 damage and a 5/5 body leftover to be more removal. His breakthrough ability is also synergistic with spells like Ice Storm and Lightning Bolt. Dawn’s Wrath: Sometimes you just need to clear the board. This is also a great tool to use against creatures that you can’t directly target. Don’t be afraid to use this to clear a single creature from the board, over a wipe, especially if it’s a creature that you can’t deal with effectively.

But, we’re not done yet. If we packed ONLY removal and damage spells, we wouldn’t survive all that long. I mean, sure, we’d have a pretty good chance, but it’s not enough in most cases. This is why we include the following.

Supporting Ensemble in Renegade SOS OTK Mage

Healing Potion : An aside to talk about this card. I can’t express how valuable this card is to the deck, and it really is what separates it from it’s Battlemage brother version. With 3 of these in the deck and the serious potential to see all 3 (maybe 4+ from Revealing the unseen) over the time of the match effectively starts you with 45 health instead of 30. That’s a lot of health for an opponent to eat through, especially when they are struggling to keep creatures on the board. What’s more is that it is a prophecy, so early game damage could be entirely negated when they proc a rune. Speaking of, the additional 15 health between the 3 copies in the deck make it “safe’ to allow up to 3 rune procs and draws before needing to refill your health bar.

: An aside to talk about this card. I can’t express how valuable this card is to the deck, and it really is what separates it from it’s Battlemage brother version. With 3 of these in the deck and the serious potential to see all 3 (maybe 4+ from Revealing the unseen) over the time of the match effectively starts you with 45 health instead of 30. That’s a lot of health for an opponent to eat through, especially when they are struggling to keep creatures on the board. What’s more is that it is a prophecy, so early game damage could be entirely negated when they proc a rune. Speaking of, the additional 15 health between the 3 copies in the deck make it “safe’ to allow up to 3 rune procs and draws before needing to refill your health bar. Ice Spike: This helps whittle down your opponent’s health, making Stealer’s job easier, and helping you dig to the combo.

This helps whittle down your opponent’s health, making Stealer’s job easier, and helping you dig to the combo. Dismantle : Who doesn’t hate pesky support cards, like Necromancer’s Amulet for example. I’ve found myself actually tutoring for this at 12 magicka more often than I have tutored for Shadowmere or Stealer of Secrets.

: Who doesn’t hate pesky support cards, like Necromancer’s Amulet for example. I’ve found myself actually tutoring for this at 12 magicka more often than I have tutored for Shadowmere or Stealer of Secrets. Revealing the Unseen: While this deck has a plethora of action spells dedicated to removal and utility, sometimes 39 just isn’t enough! Besides, if your opponent catches on to what you are doing, this will give you additional actions for Stealer and provide some mystery that they cannot account for.

While this deck has a plethora of action spells dedicated to removal and utility, sometimes 39 just isn’t enough! Besides, if your opponent catches on to what you are doing, this will give you additional actions for Stealer and provide some mystery that they cannot account for. Knife to the Throat: Sometimes all you need to do is silence a creature. The drawing of a card is certainly a bonus that helps us dig.

Sometimes all you need to do is silence a creature. The drawing of a card is certainly a bonus that helps us dig. Merchant’s Camel: Another digging tool, and potentially damage to the dome or annoyance for ground forces.

Another digging tool, and potentially damage to the dome or annoyance for ground forces. Namira’s Shrine (insert “Most interesting Man in the World” meme): We don’t always play 3 spells per turn, but when we do… we might as well get paid off for it, right?

Renegade Magister: The monthly reward card that ought to be included in the BWG’s weekly deck. It is a big enough body to lure out your opponent’s removal actions. At the same time, it doubles the damage of your own actions, if you get the Magister to stick. Ideally, you follow him up with Ancano and some damage-dealing actions on your next turn to benefit from Ancano’s Breakthrough effect for actions. But even without Ancano, Renegade Magister and Ice Storm is just plain beautiful…

The monthly reward card that ought to be included in the BWG’s weekly deck. It is a big enough body to lure out your opponent’s removal actions. At the same time, it doubles the damage of your own actions, if you get the Magister to stick. Ideally, you follow him up with Ancano and some damage-dealing actions on your next turn to benefit from Ancano’s Breakthrough effect for actions. But even without Ancano, Renegade Magister and Ice Storm is just plain beautiful… Laaneth: Combo piece, or toolbox, tutor.

So, there you have it. Do you have the knowledge and the skill to survive long enough against the hordes or Orcs, Vipers, Dragons and Gods to steal a few games from your fellow players?

Load ‘er up, and find out!

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