Yellow Hand Lock
Posted by SirSavien on 28/04/2019
- 3 Storyteller 3
- 0 2 Soul Pact 3
- 4 4 Laya, Lady of Sorrows 1
- 7 4 Solem 1
- 5 2 Blightborn Specter 2
- 7 Banon, Captain of the.. 1
- 3 2 Amai Merchant 3
- 6 3 Last Nightmare 3
- 4 2 Choking Sand 2
- 1 2 2 Spirit Theft 2
- 1 1 3 Rapala, the Dope.. 1
- 4 2 1 Dustbringer Wrai.. 3
- 5 2 Llamacorn 3
- 2 2 Barter 2
This deck works by clogging up the opponents hand with cards like Amai Merchant, Rapala, and draw cards like Llamacorn and Storyteller.
A secondary goal of this deck is to gain dominance of Faeria wells, because giving the opponent hand advantage is usually bad unless they don't have the resources to play their hand. That's why I run heavy removal in this deck, with cards like last nightmare, choking sand, and spirit theft.
After the opponent's hand is clogged up, your Blightborn Specter starts getting buffed every turn. Playing a Dustbringer Wraith and corrupting it at that point basically wins you the game. Look out for times you can play Dustbringer Wraith, and on the next turn play Storyteller and trigger the corrupt effect of wraith. Also, look out for times you can play Dustbringer, and on the next turn play Rapala and trigger the corrupt effect of wraith. Giving the opponent a hand full of 2 Faeria 1/1's is basically a win.
FAQ:
Why not add a Wandering Monk to this deck since there's so much draw?
-In the first iteration of this deck, I had three monks in the deck. The problem with Wandering Monk is that I found that it's usually a "win-harder" card. If you're behind in a game; if for some reason your opponent has board advantage, Wandering Monk usually ends up being just a 4 mana 2/5.
Why aren't you running soul drain?
-The removal I run in the deck shifts with the meta. When Rakoans were more popular, I ran soul drains to deal with all the smaller creatures. However, this current meta seems to favor larger creatures, with Blue Green cards like Shifting Octopus and Thyrian Expedition (Which gives you expensive monsters) being popular. Additionally, Amai Merchant gives the opponent big creatures as well, which I need Last Nightmare to deal with in case they play them. Even yellow rush plays Sharra's Inspiration, which Last Nightmare deals with very well.
Why run Banon? Isn't he pretty bad?
-I'm still testing whether Banon should be replaced. However, what I can say is with this deck, games often last a while, and with all the draw that you put into the deck, 1/8 games go to fatigue. In those situations, Banon is basically an auto-win, which is why he's in the deck.