Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2006 1:06:50 GMT -5
The Reconstruction of LPR
Q here, introducing the first deck to be showcased in this here section. The following is an article of the development and strategy of the deck, but if you have no interest at this time, or ever, please skip all the way down to the deck itself, which is in italics. Thank you nonetheless for visiting with me.
What will I show? Well, LPR was all the rage at last month's Gencon, which I viewed as one of the great war of wars...Gencon that is. But...where does that leave us now in this postwar era? Well, picking up the pieces I guess, and I guess I'll pick up where some left off with LPR. This deck is a variant of an undefeated Chicago Regional deck designed by Windies, so the deck will be allout aggro Phe'Ronde.
Why Reconstruction you ask? Well, haven't you heard, slavery has been abolished! lol, all the LPR decks and most others played and strategized around Slavedriver, and now that he has been banned, it's time for the new metagame to be defined. And just like the era that took place after the Civil War ended, so to do we have the Reconstruction of LPR.
First, let's look at the core. What is the core for this deck? Fast aggro beats, fully capitalizing on that oh so sweet 2 draws a turn that LPR provides. And like Gencon has taught us, there just isn't much a faster win condition than Goblin Archers and his gang of friends that make him thrive. That is the core of aggro LPR.
Lady Phe'Ronde
4x Goblin Archer
4x Battlemonger
3x Vorex (3 is perfect IMO, you want it fast, but not in doubles)
2x Declaration of War
2x Sword of Quickness
Here you have the GA and the best ways to be deadly with him in the conventional attacking methods. 3 Vorex help those GA attack like 10 times with 2-3 power hits...very nasty. I believe that most Goblin Archer combo attack decks will have these 15 cards, not to mention LPR to draw them all...
What else now...well, the natural way to go is to now add cards that locate, support, and defend this combo. Doing so requires a little balance however of aggressive and defensive cards. What I mean is, my preference is to add cards that are both aggressive (so that even though I am searching for GA kill, my other cards are applying pressure keeping the opponent busy) and defensive (so that I can deal with the opponent's threats and not let him disrupt my plans. I don't like putting all eggs in one basket one way or the other). The core is strong, but now it needs padding.
So, secondly, the next wave of cards are the cards that locate, support, and defend GA combo kills.
2x Archer Recruiter (find GA)
2x Warrior Recruiter (find Battlemongers)
3x Sworn Defender
3x Sneaky Snyder
3x Dust of Invisibility
2x Ring of Temporal Acceleration (speed up LPR, play 3 things a turn)
A little insight on these 15 cards...the Recruiter of course to their thing, but they both have awesome double duties...Warrior Recruiter can get those mongers to join the party, but when they're done or they see a chance, they attack all in there with the best of them with their natural 3/2 stats, making him a perf example of being aggro and combo. Archer Recruiter can load your creatures with Archery Tokens to remove enemy creatures or deal direct damage to the enemy character. I love putting the tokens on Sworn Defender myself, since he sit there mostly. On the subject, I know some people don't play him anymore b/c Fire Elemental is not as prevalent, by some enemy wizard decks still will, and this of course is an excellent defense to not get cleaned out. But that is not even the main reason he is there...the awesome thing about GA is that he makes the opponent save actions from their character to defend GA, but with Sworn Defender, that strategy won't work since they won't be able to kill GA in combat. That leaves GA only vulernable to direct removal or engagement, which is where those 3 DoI come into play. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THIS CARD! It is too good, and I almost want to sneak in the 4th somewhere...it has too many awesome uses...
1. It protects GA or any other valuable creature from removal
2. It nullifies any creature that tries to defend against your attackers by cancelling their defend after they delclare it.
3. It makes your character immune to attack a whole turn against other fast decks
4. et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...
There are too many to name. I think they whole-heartedly belong in the deck. And the other item to round us off is Ring of Temporal Acceleration, so that you can play 3 things a turn and more effectively set up your plays and pressure. But don't put 2 Rings on at a time...it's usually excessive, plus you want your other Character item slot to go to Declaration of War or Trade Agreement which is coming up next...but first I want to note about Sneaky Snyder. Yes it is surely there to fetch the items that can help you turn the tide, but it also has a sneaky second function...don't be afraid to get in there and steal items, even if he becomes a loyalty issue. Against some opponents, sometimes taking away key items at least for one turn is better that anything you could recruit. Disruption is a good tactic, and we'll discuss that in more detail later...
Disruption is important, and another good way to be time or opportunity for your aggression is to slow your opponent and control him. We already have some in Archer Recruiter and Sneaky Snyder, but the next 7 cards are invaluable as well...
1x Trade Agreement
4x Cranial Leech
2x Illusionist
The TA is too good. Sneaky it out sometime and turn the tide in battle. Give them crap and taketh away the golden cards, especially if your LPR already has 3 actions to use this effectively. TA is very good at taking away defenses your opponent might have set up for themselves. The Cranials are obvious...use 'em against any deck, especially the mirror. Now the Illusionist is more subtle, but equally powerful...he can tap down defender, but also enemy spellcasters which is huge, and not to mention enemy Cranials. This card gives people nightmares for a reason, so I think the 2 slots is worth it.
Now, we have a good thing going, so let's make sure to stay aggressive...
2x Dimensional Menace
4x Decorated Knight
Don't be too bewildered by these cards...they are not as tricky as the rest of the deck, but they are aggressive and mix well with the rest of the team. Those Menaces are hard to remove and are unblockable, hopefull being pumped up by Battlemongers and Declarations, so they are a must. Now the Knight is a little more subtle too, but he's good IMO because he is a natural 3/2 and hits hard. His ability might not seem impressive, but don't disregard it...even a +1 helps against those infamous enemy Gossipmongers, not to mention that if the game goes long, you can control one more creature for each one more leadership point you have.
Now, we have about 6 cards left to be done. We can go a lot of different ways, like adding more aggro or combo cards, but I find that sometimes I love using these last 6 slots as the "metagame" slots. I like to have cards here that might give answers or an edge against the decks I expect to play against in whatever tourney I'm playing in, so thus I will give the 2 options I usually go with in the current climate...
A) If I expect to see a lot of LPR decks, either like this one or variants, (like Gencon was and still could be now since she is hands down still the most popular if not best character), then I like this option...
2x Rogue Recruiter
4x Gossipmonger
Gossipmonger is a nightmare for decks like this...public enemy number one, so having one and finding them are an excellent strategy as a weapon. Fight fire with fire. If you can, pull off the Blaine (as he did in MEGA)...get Gossipmonger in multiples and or help it with Vorex. Lower enemy LPR leadership at least twice at the end of their turn, then again on yours, leaving her with zero on the next loyalty check, and unable to control any creatures with all of them autoabandoing. Killer play. But use in moderation and wisely...don't lose the game trying to pull this off or anything. Also, remember that Rogue Recruiter also finds Sneaky Snyder and Dimensional Menace if those would be situationally advantagous.
The only problem with this route is that the 4 Gossipmongers are dead cards against Grimus decks that might still be out there. The best you could hope for is that you have multiple power enhancers out there and swing with them. They would need to get sideboarded out though game 2. But no deck can be perfect, and the reward of this addition of cards might outweigh the burden.
Ok, let's say that LPR is out there, but you're more afraid of a diverse metagame, especially those that might include nasty effects like Peacetime and/or Magical Wings on Flying Glye or Sutraps...thus the other option is here and replaces the last 6 cards...
B. Diversity, you have to be able to at least have some maindeck way of dealing with some of these effects that could spell "gg" if they hit. So...
4x Elfwood Priest
2x Bella
The maindeck 4 Priests give you a good chance at establishing tempo against effects, which is what you want. Hopefully, you are taking the pressure lead, and if you recognize that the enemy deck might or could play Peacetime or Wings on a Sutraps, then playing a Priest first would make that possibility difficult. Of course you could always play it after, but that might take a turn without Vorex. It's not a surefire solution, because Peacetime decks like having creature removal for just this Priest, but perhaps with your 2 draws a turn, tempo advantage, and other disruption cards, you could force just enough of a wedge to win games. Of course, the obvious disadvanatge here is that these are dead cards if your opponent doesn't have effects, but again, you are drawing extra anyway, and if worse comes to worse, load them up and swing away. Take out game 2.
Bella is a little more oddball admittedly, but I love her as the last 2 slots, and she has many functions. Her main funcion could be her preventive ability which protects GA against the defend strategy as well, but you also help against popular burn style decks. Let's not forget she can help against enemy pingers too like Archers and Jared Firemonger. Secondly, as a flier, it is very east to surprise attack with her with 2, 3, 4, 5, or even more power! I've done it before...and lastly, sometimes I like to get creative with my sideboards and add magic cards like Purify, Tranquil Touch, or Illusionary Fighter, and Bella can cast any one of those by herself along with Illusionist. But you can sub in whatever 2 cards you like, but for my money I'm fine with Bella.
Well, there you have it, the complete decklists, in either form of metagame you choose. I'll write down B as the default (which is how I have my deck now...)
Postwar LPR by Q
Lady Phe'Ronde
4x Goblin Archer
4x Battlemonger
3x Vorex
2x Declaration of War
2x Sword of Quickness
2x Archer Recruiter
2x Warrior Recruiter
3x Sworn Defender
3x Sneaky Snyder
3x Dust of Invisibility
2x Ring of Temporal Acceleration
1x Trade Agreement
4x Cranial Leech
2x Illusionist
2x Dimensional Menace
4x Decorated Knight
4x Elfwood Priest (or 4 Gossipmonger option)
2x Bella (or 2 Rogue Recruiter option with above)
Sideboard? Hey, that's your battle. Depends on the metagame of course. I'd be glad to help you out if you'd like me to. As for me, mine changes day to day, depending what I'm up to. All in all, I think this deck is quite efficient and formidable. Is it the best? I don't know, as I can already sense some of you thinking it is beatable. But it's all beatable, baby! The bigger picture is that I think this deck is a threat not to taken lightly as it can gg it up on turn 2. I think anyone who took this into a tourney would have a good performance, and if I was that person, well, I think I'd be ok with not too many changes. Why give up the secrets? I don't believe in secrets. Besides, I think the better players prosper the most when all the cards are face up on the table...but that's another story.
That does it for this installment of Deck of the Week. I know I wanted to post this Monday but am a little late...maybe I'll leave it here for next week too, who knows. I hope this was fun for you all, and/or I hope you found this article educational and helpful to understanding the new metagame I like to call the Era of Reconstruction, or at the very least you have acknowledged the opinions of one silly Windy, that being me. I think no matter if anyone likes this deck or not, the sharing of decks and ideas will help ME grow, thus the Deck Garage and this showcase. Please feel free to ask anything about this deck or my personal experience with it, or even to add comments or concerns with potential weaknesses...I'd love to discuss them with you. Constructive criticism always welcome by my book. So...cheers!
Q here, introducing the first deck to be showcased in this here section. The following is an article of the development and strategy of the deck, but if you have no interest at this time, or ever, please skip all the way down to the deck itself, which is in italics. Thank you nonetheless for visiting with me.
What will I show? Well, LPR was all the rage at last month's Gencon, which I viewed as one of the great war of wars...Gencon that is. But...where does that leave us now in this postwar era? Well, picking up the pieces I guess, and I guess I'll pick up where some left off with LPR. This deck is a variant of an undefeated Chicago Regional deck designed by Windies, so the deck will be allout aggro Phe'Ronde.
Why Reconstruction you ask? Well, haven't you heard, slavery has been abolished! lol, all the LPR decks and most others played and strategized around Slavedriver, and now that he has been banned, it's time for the new metagame to be defined. And just like the era that took place after the Civil War ended, so to do we have the Reconstruction of LPR.
First, let's look at the core. What is the core for this deck? Fast aggro beats, fully capitalizing on that oh so sweet 2 draws a turn that LPR provides. And like Gencon has taught us, there just isn't much a faster win condition than Goblin Archers and his gang of friends that make him thrive. That is the core of aggro LPR.
Lady Phe'Ronde
4x Goblin Archer
4x Battlemonger
3x Vorex (3 is perfect IMO, you want it fast, but not in doubles)
2x Declaration of War
2x Sword of Quickness
Here you have the GA and the best ways to be deadly with him in the conventional attacking methods. 3 Vorex help those GA attack like 10 times with 2-3 power hits...very nasty. I believe that most Goblin Archer combo attack decks will have these 15 cards, not to mention LPR to draw them all...
What else now...well, the natural way to go is to now add cards that locate, support, and defend this combo. Doing so requires a little balance however of aggressive and defensive cards. What I mean is, my preference is to add cards that are both aggressive (so that even though I am searching for GA kill, my other cards are applying pressure keeping the opponent busy) and defensive (so that I can deal with the opponent's threats and not let him disrupt my plans. I don't like putting all eggs in one basket one way or the other). The core is strong, but now it needs padding.
So, secondly, the next wave of cards are the cards that locate, support, and defend GA combo kills.
2x Archer Recruiter (find GA)
2x Warrior Recruiter (find Battlemongers)
3x Sworn Defender
3x Sneaky Snyder
3x Dust of Invisibility
2x Ring of Temporal Acceleration (speed up LPR, play 3 things a turn)
A little insight on these 15 cards...the Recruiter of course to their thing, but they both have awesome double duties...Warrior Recruiter can get those mongers to join the party, but when they're done or they see a chance, they attack all in there with the best of them with their natural 3/2 stats, making him a perf example of being aggro and combo. Archer Recruiter can load your creatures with Archery Tokens to remove enemy creatures or deal direct damage to the enemy character. I love putting the tokens on Sworn Defender myself, since he sit there mostly. On the subject, I know some people don't play him anymore b/c Fire Elemental is not as prevalent, by some enemy wizard decks still will, and this of course is an excellent defense to not get cleaned out. But that is not even the main reason he is there...the awesome thing about GA is that he makes the opponent save actions from their character to defend GA, but with Sworn Defender, that strategy won't work since they won't be able to kill GA in combat. That leaves GA only vulernable to direct removal or engagement, which is where those 3 DoI come into play. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THIS CARD! It is too good, and I almost want to sneak in the 4th somewhere...it has too many awesome uses...
1. It protects GA or any other valuable creature from removal
2. It nullifies any creature that tries to defend against your attackers by cancelling their defend after they delclare it.
3. It makes your character immune to attack a whole turn against other fast decks
4. et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...
There are too many to name. I think they whole-heartedly belong in the deck. And the other item to round us off is Ring of Temporal Acceleration, so that you can play 3 things a turn and more effectively set up your plays and pressure. But don't put 2 Rings on at a time...it's usually excessive, plus you want your other Character item slot to go to Declaration of War or Trade Agreement which is coming up next...but first I want to note about Sneaky Snyder. Yes it is surely there to fetch the items that can help you turn the tide, but it also has a sneaky second function...don't be afraid to get in there and steal items, even if he becomes a loyalty issue. Against some opponents, sometimes taking away key items at least for one turn is better that anything you could recruit. Disruption is a good tactic, and we'll discuss that in more detail later...
Disruption is important, and another good way to be time or opportunity for your aggression is to slow your opponent and control him. We already have some in Archer Recruiter and Sneaky Snyder, but the next 7 cards are invaluable as well...
1x Trade Agreement
4x Cranial Leech
2x Illusionist
The TA is too good. Sneaky it out sometime and turn the tide in battle. Give them crap and taketh away the golden cards, especially if your LPR already has 3 actions to use this effectively. TA is very good at taking away defenses your opponent might have set up for themselves. The Cranials are obvious...use 'em against any deck, especially the mirror. Now the Illusionist is more subtle, but equally powerful...he can tap down defender, but also enemy spellcasters which is huge, and not to mention enemy Cranials. This card gives people nightmares for a reason, so I think the 2 slots is worth it.
Now, we have a good thing going, so let's make sure to stay aggressive...
2x Dimensional Menace
4x Decorated Knight
Don't be too bewildered by these cards...they are not as tricky as the rest of the deck, but they are aggressive and mix well with the rest of the team. Those Menaces are hard to remove and are unblockable, hopefull being pumped up by Battlemongers and Declarations, so they are a must. Now the Knight is a little more subtle too, but he's good IMO because he is a natural 3/2 and hits hard. His ability might not seem impressive, but don't disregard it...even a +1 helps against those infamous enemy Gossipmongers, not to mention that if the game goes long, you can control one more creature for each one more leadership point you have.
Now, we have about 6 cards left to be done. We can go a lot of different ways, like adding more aggro or combo cards, but I find that sometimes I love using these last 6 slots as the "metagame" slots. I like to have cards here that might give answers or an edge against the decks I expect to play against in whatever tourney I'm playing in, so thus I will give the 2 options I usually go with in the current climate...
A) If I expect to see a lot of LPR decks, either like this one or variants, (like Gencon was and still could be now since she is hands down still the most popular if not best character), then I like this option...
2x Rogue Recruiter
4x Gossipmonger
Gossipmonger is a nightmare for decks like this...public enemy number one, so having one and finding them are an excellent strategy as a weapon. Fight fire with fire. If you can, pull off the Blaine (as he did in MEGA)...get Gossipmonger in multiples and or help it with Vorex. Lower enemy LPR leadership at least twice at the end of their turn, then again on yours, leaving her with zero on the next loyalty check, and unable to control any creatures with all of them autoabandoing. Killer play. But use in moderation and wisely...don't lose the game trying to pull this off or anything. Also, remember that Rogue Recruiter also finds Sneaky Snyder and Dimensional Menace if those would be situationally advantagous.
The only problem with this route is that the 4 Gossipmongers are dead cards against Grimus decks that might still be out there. The best you could hope for is that you have multiple power enhancers out there and swing with them. They would need to get sideboarded out though game 2. But no deck can be perfect, and the reward of this addition of cards might outweigh the burden.
Ok, let's say that LPR is out there, but you're more afraid of a diverse metagame, especially those that might include nasty effects like Peacetime and/or Magical Wings on Flying Glye or Sutraps...thus the other option is here and replaces the last 6 cards...
B. Diversity, you have to be able to at least have some maindeck way of dealing with some of these effects that could spell "gg" if they hit. So...
4x Elfwood Priest
2x Bella
The maindeck 4 Priests give you a good chance at establishing tempo against effects, which is what you want. Hopefully, you are taking the pressure lead, and if you recognize that the enemy deck might or could play Peacetime or Wings on a Sutraps, then playing a Priest first would make that possibility difficult. Of course you could always play it after, but that might take a turn without Vorex. It's not a surefire solution, because Peacetime decks like having creature removal for just this Priest, but perhaps with your 2 draws a turn, tempo advantage, and other disruption cards, you could force just enough of a wedge to win games. Of course, the obvious disadvanatge here is that these are dead cards if your opponent doesn't have effects, but again, you are drawing extra anyway, and if worse comes to worse, load them up and swing away. Take out game 2.
Bella is a little more oddball admittedly, but I love her as the last 2 slots, and she has many functions. Her main funcion could be her preventive ability which protects GA against the defend strategy as well, but you also help against popular burn style decks. Let's not forget she can help against enemy pingers too like Archers and Jared Firemonger. Secondly, as a flier, it is very east to surprise attack with her with 2, 3, 4, 5, or even more power! I've done it before...and lastly, sometimes I like to get creative with my sideboards and add magic cards like Purify, Tranquil Touch, or Illusionary Fighter, and Bella can cast any one of those by herself along with Illusionist. But you can sub in whatever 2 cards you like, but for my money I'm fine with Bella.
Well, there you have it, the complete decklists, in either form of metagame you choose. I'll write down B as the default (which is how I have my deck now...)
Postwar LPR by Q
Lady Phe'Ronde
4x Goblin Archer
4x Battlemonger
3x Vorex
2x Declaration of War
2x Sword of Quickness
2x Archer Recruiter
2x Warrior Recruiter
3x Sworn Defender
3x Sneaky Snyder
3x Dust of Invisibility
2x Ring of Temporal Acceleration
1x Trade Agreement
4x Cranial Leech
2x Illusionist
2x Dimensional Menace
4x Decorated Knight
4x Elfwood Priest (or 4 Gossipmonger option)
2x Bella (or 2 Rogue Recruiter option with above)
Sideboard? Hey, that's your battle. Depends on the metagame of course. I'd be glad to help you out if you'd like me to. As for me, mine changes day to day, depending what I'm up to. All in all, I think this deck is quite efficient and formidable. Is it the best? I don't know, as I can already sense some of you thinking it is beatable. But it's all beatable, baby! The bigger picture is that I think this deck is a threat not to taken lightly as it can gg it up on turn 2. I think anyone who took this into a tourney would have a good performance, and if I was that person, well, I think I'd be ok with not too many changes. Why give up the secrets? I don't believe in secrets. Besides, I think the better players prosper the most when all the cards are face up on the table...but that's another story.
That does it for this installment of Deck of the Week. I know I wanted to post this Monday but am a little late...maybe I'll leave it here for next week too, who knows. I hope this was fun for you all, and/or I hope you found this article educational and helpful to understanding the new metagame I like to call the Era of Reconstruction, or at the very least you have acknowledged the opinions of one silly Windy, that being me. I think no matter if anyone likes this deck or not, the sharing of decks and ideas will help ME grow, thus the Deck Garage and this showcase. Please feel free to ask anything about this deck or my personal experience with it, or even to add comments or concerns with potential weaknesses...I'd love to discuss them with you. Constructive criticism always welcome by my book. So...cheers!
