Card Spotlight - Ranged Creatures

Card Spotlight returns after the release of the Oversky Expansion. In this series we will investigate how the Oversky has shaped the Faeria landscape. Expect to read about old and new cards and discover what decks they can feature in. Included in every article is a video of these decks in action!

Ranged Creatures

Ranged Creatures have had an interesting history in Faeria. The ability to damage or destroy enemies from afar is very powerful in a game that is played on a board. Ranged Creatures can fire in a straight line or diagonal but can’t attack if they move naturally. This can limit their power since creature can move or be summoned out of their reach.

Moving a Ranged Creature normally stops you from attacking. However, you can use Events and Abilities to move them and still attack. Yellow and Blue have the best tools when positioning Ranged Creatures. Flash Wind lets you move a space while Shifting Tide can move a land your Ranged Creature is sitting on.

Ranged Creatures are pretty straight forward mechanically and requires positioning or movement tricks to full utilize them. The recent Metashaker competition challenged players to make Ranged based decks. For this episode I’m going to rank my top five Ranged Creatures and attach a deck list to each one. These decks will either come from the Metashaker competition or are my own builds. Let’s get started!

5. Boulder Thrower

Boulder Thrower makes the top cut due to it’s power as a cheesy turn two play. Boulder Thrower is very expensive but only requires one Mountain. This means you can play Boulder Thrower on turn two if you follow these simple steps: Turn One play a Mountain. Turn Two, +1 Faeria off the Power Wheel. This will give you 7 Faeria and the required Mountain. This strategy will often force your opponent to build lands aggressively towards you. Another thing to note is Boulder Thrower’s ability, damages all enemies adjacent to its target. This forces your opponent to spread out their creatures in fear of getting hit by stray boulders.

4. Flamesilk Faerie

This little Faeria can pack a real punch if you trigger it’s ability. A 4/2 ranged creature packs a lot of damage but is unfortunately weak to popular removal. I really like building Green around this Faerie to push it’s Life outside of common removal. Green also gives you access to Flowersilk Faerie, arguably the best of the lot. The list below is a Red Yellow Events that focuses on Faeries and card draw. It’s incredibly aggressive and with an explosive play style!

3. Yakkapult

I was conflicted on where to place Yakkapult. In the end I put it below my choice for number two and I’ll explain why soon. Yakkapult is a fantastic card and one of my favourite cards from the Oversky. I covered Yakkapult extensively in an earlier episode of Card Spotlight. You can read about the card and watch me play this deck here.

2. Windstorm Archer

When working out my placements for the cards I decided to rate Windstorm Archer higher. This card has enormous potential to deal massive damage. One of my favourite pre-Oversky deck’s was “Blue Yellow Pew Pew”. This deck had both power and mobility to allow the Archer to deal massive damage. You could easily control the board or burst your opponent down. The reason I speak about this deck in past tense is because of the Oversky meta-game. Red and Yellow are the top dogs right now which means Seifer’s Wrath, Flame Burst, Soul Drain and Choking Sands will easily dispatch of Windstorm Archer. I’m a little sad that Blue Yellow Pew Pew didn’t survive Oversky but I do understand it’s a very dangerous deck. If you’d like to try it then check out my new Oversky build!

1. Oradrim Sagittarius

I’ve always rated Sagittarius highly. Any creature that gives you Faeria has the potential to be very powerful. Sagittarius recently made a return when I constructed a Yellow Rush deck built around it. Their are two main strengths to this card. The first is the Faeria generation. In a rush deck you can use Sagittarius as an alternative to collecting any Faeria. This means you don’t necessarily need to build land next to your opponent’s Faeria Well. The second strength of Sagittarius is Khalim’s Prayer. A Ranged Creature offers a whole new angle to activate this card. A shot from Sagittarius and Khalim’s Prayer gives you 3 Faeria and a card draw. This helps accelerate a win condition like Zealous Crusade, a common card to be played in a Sagittarius themed deck. I made a Deck Doctor and Pilot for Sagittarius Yellow Rush which you can find here.

Conclusion

The Ranged mechanic is an interesting one but can be maneuvered around. This is why I rate Sagittarius at the top, as long it hits something (Orb or Creature) you gain value. Ranged might not be the most competitive mechanic but it is really fun. Who doesn’t want to hurl Yaks across the battlefield?