Style Points – Spirit Dance

Welcome to the latest installment of “Style Points,” an article for the creative deck builder. Here we take the underused cards in your collection and give them a place in the spotlight. I can’t promise that these decks will sweep away the metagame, but hopefully they will sweep you off your feet and give you something interesting to think about. Last time we talked about doubling your fun with Doppelgadget. Today we will look at putting some boogie in your woogie and make the most out of Spirit Dance.

So without further ado, let’s look at your collection differently.

Spirit Dance, for those who are unfamiliar with the card, is an interesting spin on the theme of deck improvement:

For 5 resources, you can make your other troops cheaper and more powerful. It sounds like a good deal, but there are some key places where the jig gets tricky. For one thing, you are devoting a 5 drop to an effect that has no immediate benefit on board. Many games of HEX can be determined by as early as turn 4. It is risky to invest for the future so late in the game.

Another potential problem is that the cost reduction is deceptive. Unless you are using Spirit Dance to play 6 or 7 drops, by the time you can play Spirit Dance you already can play anything below it. Playing your 2 drops for free is only relevant if you are spending all of your resources doing something else. Reducing costs of your huge drops is a possibility of course, but putting so much into the top end of your deck can wreak your balance and have you stumbling early game.

So to get our groove on, we need to ask the question “What does Spirit Dance need to do well?”

First and foremost, you need some lift. Ramp is Wild’s natural strength and there is no reason not to use it here. The earlier you can play your Spirit Dance, the more relevant the buff becomes. It is okay to be playing 2 and 3 drops if they outstrip your opponent’s 4 and 5 drops.

Second, you need some swing. The cost reduction on Spirit Dance becomes exponentially more useful if you can play multiple troops in a single turn. Draw effects allow you to filter through your deck and play just about everything for an explosive attack the following turn.

Finally, you need some rhythm. Specifically, Rhythmic Spiritualist. By doubling down on the deck improvement theme with Winter Moon and Rhythmic Spiritualist, it is possible to shake off board wipes and come back with even more jazz in your step. It doesn’t hurt that he also fits the theme and makes you feel like you are lord of the dance.

So without further ado, let’s see it in action:

Dance Off 2: Stepping It Up – 4Keeps 2.15

Champion: Winter Moon

This keep did end up losing against the intrepid Bacon and his Triumvirate deck. However, in every other category it was a blue ribbon contender. There are 15 sources of draw in the deck and 6 sources of ramp. It is not unusual to be able to play a Spirit Dance by turn 3 or 4 with a proper hand.

Once Spirit Dance comes down, 80% of the troops in the deck are playable for 1 resource or less. When combined with draw this can result in 5 or more troops hitting the board in a single turn. To achieve this effect, Augur of Sirion and Genesis Pool Naiad are crucial.

Augur is, in effect, a source of infinite draw. Since it allows you to see the top card of your deck and play it as if it were in your hand, so long as you have resources you can keep things tip-tapping down onto the board. With Spirit Dance reducing the cost of your troops, you are essentially gated only by shards.

Enter the Naiad. Though often overlooked in favor of the more popular Chlorophyllia, Genesis Pool Naiad is unquestionably superior ramp in this case because she allows you to get past two shards on top of your deck. Every shard you can bypass means more troops for the conga line. Plus, as a troop herself, she also benefits from the Spirit Dance buff.

Finally, the one-off Dream Dance allows for rapid-fire filtering through your deck. Wintermoon’s champion power essentially negates the downside of Dream Dance as every tossed card becomes extra draw at a later date. With this tech, it is possible to draw through your deck twice-over—guaranteeing that you will find your bombs and key combo pieces nearly every game.

The end result was a waltz through your deck that really did feel like troops were dancing off the top of it. In fact, they fly off so fast that I felt it necessary to include a one-off Cosmic Totem to prevent the embarrassing self-bury defeat.

Still, every deck is a work in progress. “Dance Off 2” was actually the second iteration of this deck idea that we played with in the 4Keeps competition. Our previous version neglected key ingredients like removal in favor of more draw from cards like Balthasar. Trimming the fat and replacing Balthasar with Crocosaurs gave our sequel a slightly toothier game-face.

What do you see missing in this decklist? How would you take this idea one step further? Personally, I think it might benefit from a one-off win condition like Onslaught to help force damage past your opponents defenses. But, the possibilities are endless. How would you razzle and dazzle? Show us your moves here in the forums!

Dream big, everybody!

Dino out~

Dino is a regular HEX streamer and the creator of the 4Keeps competition. If you enjoy building wacky decks, playing for sweet prizes, and watching hexcellent shenanigans, you can check him out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on Twitch.

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