GY Haste combo - How to become a good combo-deck player.
Posted by Minocaro on 26/07/2017
"GY Haste Combo" is an untypical deck. What that is mean ?
That's mean to be played on top ladder, or just to climb with it, you need a really good practice. But 1st of all, you need tu understand how it work. This is why i make this Guide.
- 3 Wisdom 1
- 3 2 Elderwood Embrace 3
- 2 2 Ruunin's Guidance 3
- 3 2 Oradrim Monk 3
- 1 2 Khalim's Follower 3
- 4 2 Choking Sand 1
- 5 2 Oakling 3
- 2 1 Earthcraft 3
- 1 5 Feed the Forest 3
- 0 3 Khalim's Prayer 3
- 3 2 Wind Soldier 3
- 9 2 Doomsday 1
- To Start this, I'm sorry, because I'm not too great at speaking English, it may be difficult for you, the reader, to understand exactly what I'm trying to say in this guide.. But anyway.
- You should watch the "Aquablad" VOD, a video linked on bottom of this guide, in which he plays my version of GY Haste deck. He nicely explains how the deck works in theory.
1/ Why should you learn to play GY Haste ?
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This is not a "Tier 1" deck since the pilot must be skilled and knowledgeable enough to really understand how to play the deck. Moreover, it's nothing like "Blue Jump," which can arguably be played by anybody. While one mistake when playing "Blue Jump" may be a small misstep, one mistake with this deck could cost you a game. That's why I don't consider this deck "Tier 1" material, but it is still extremely powerful if played correctly.
- I've solely played the deck during the end of the last season, and you see for yourself: I ended at rank 2 and 3 with my Main and Smurf accounts (day before reset).
- So :
- Really strong deck to answer this meta.
- It's fast and easy to climb the ladder since games tend to end quickly.
- Like most combo decks in Faeria, it's fun to play and learn.
- Good way to progress, gain some skill.
2/ History of GY Haste? Really ?
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As a matter of fact, I'm not the builder of this archetype. But don't be disappointed because the credit belongs to SuperbLizard, my Zenith teammate.
- He created this list about five months ago: As you can see, the only difference is the addition of "Court Jester" in his deck. A few days later he added the soon-to-be-nerfed 4 Faeria "Doomsday", and we all know what is that forced Abrakam to do.
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I came back with GY Haste about 2 months later and won a qualifier with the well-thought addition of Rebel Glider, which worked nicely when encountering land blocks.
- Finally, I came back again with this deck in MC XII and received 3rd place, a position mostly owed to the addition of some tech cards i'll explain later.
3/ How can You win with it ?
Go watch the Aquablad video as he explains how the deck works: mulligans, land-placement, etc... I have to say thanks to you Aqua even though it's the most annoying part to write out of this entire guide :P BUT, I want to add some important RULES that must be understood if anyone desires to be better at this deck.
Quick review :
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You are looking for these lands : If you have explore : If your opponent is playing rush, or if he tries to landblock you :
- For your strating hand, keep Feed and Earthcraft as a priority, then Oakling.
RULES:
- Never play earthcraft turn 1 and turn 2. Wait until turn 3. (you don't give informations to early, you don't let your opponent block you easily).
- Same for explore, wait until turn 3.
- Always end your turns at 3 Faeria (such gives you the potential draw + oakling-feed combo next turn). The rules seem strange, but trust me, they will totally change the outcome of your games when playing this deck.
- Don't use feed + oakling early in the game, except against blue, or if you can burst the same turn during a free board. Try to trade your Oakling with opponent creatures.
- Never play Oakling if you don't have ONLY haste creatures in your hand. If you have 2 oaklings, wait until you have 10 faeria to play both in the same turn.
- Always keep in mind your Actual Burst damage, how much more you need, and which card you need to win. Some turns can be difficult to perform in time, so you should put thought into your next two turns before ending the current turn. - Don't Broke the ennemi defense if you don't have lethal within the same turn. If you don't have 100% lethal, just wait. Wait until your very last turn alive to give you the maximum chance of drawing lethal.
TIPS:
- Playing Oakling turn 2 is a good way to prevent land block (you could most likely step onto the opponent's lands within your next turn).
- When playing against hard-removal decks (LN, Frogify, Voice of truth) you want to feed your haste minion after it attacks face in order to reacquire your Faeria for future turns.
- It's sometimes decent to use Elderwood or Guidance on your Oakling if it allows for board control.
- Sometimes, against decks without hard removal, it's decent to use Wind Soldier for no reason to ensure that the buff from Oakling lands on a follower or monk.
- In a difficult matchup (blue, green rush) always try to keep your guidance for heal after doomsday.
- Playing Oakling against Blue (frogify, Phantasm) should only be done during rare occasions. Usually, you want to feed your oakling the turn you play it to ensure you get the +5/+5 buff. However, it's sometimes good to force your opponent to use Frogify, or bait him so he runs out of them for future turns.
4/ How can you make this deck yours ?
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Which cards could you add to this deck ? Before helping you with this, I have to explain my Tech Choice :
1/ Doomsday: this card may seem bad since it's 9 faeria; however, against all slow decks, it increases your win rate of 25% to a whopping 100% win rate. As for the following, slow decks can't do much to counter your potential burst, nor play around Doomsday throughout the entire game. You should play this while Oakling is on the board and guidance is in your hand. 2/ Choking is really polyvalent. Even with the Khalim nerf, you have many targets with it, especially taunts you don't want to trade into, but also a small creature if your opponent tries to block you from hitting face. You can also use it to kill your own creatures, such as Oaking to get the buff, or non-buffed haste creatures to clear way for another Haste creature to go face. 3/ Wisdom I recommend you only play this card if you play the deck perfectly by following all the "rules" I've previously mentioned, especially "Faeria cost rules." Otherwise, you will lose momentum in your games by playing Wisdom. Having a Wisdom in hand means you increase your potential lethal by OTK, and even more, you prepare for it by hitting +1 instead of drawing.
- Ok. Now, I've selected some other cards you may add depending on the current meta and your preferred style.
Rebel glider : This card is really good if your opponent chooses to land block you. Moreover, you don't have to use a haste unit to acquire an aggressive land. Just one problem... It's a creature, so it has the chance of stealing an Oakling buff from a preferred Haste creature. WindGate : It's a cool way to increase your range, and it's not a creature, so it can't receive the Oakling buff. I recommend you use Wind Gate only if you already run Wisdom. Otherwise, it's a really annoying draw if you want to draw into a Haste creature or buff. With Wind Gate you can invade lands for “Wind Solider” lands, because with Wind Gate your monks and followers theoretically have "charge 3.” Soul Pact : Especially if you don't play the deck well yet, Soul pack will give you a lot of flexibility. I recommend you play soul pact with Wisdom. Soul pact in the list means you never have to +1, so you can draw during your turns instead. Green Faerie : Be careful with this add. You have to play a more control style deck instead of the style I've explained above.
5/ Is this deck really perfect ?
The weeknesses of this deck : LandBlock, taunts, and counter-rush.
- Usually, if only one of these things is done by your opponent, you are still favored. But if he mixes these styles such as taunts + counter rush , you are in bad spot.
- With practice, and you listen to my rules, you will find lethal even if your opponent has everything to beat you. EXPECT : BAERU and SUNKEN TOWER. Without doomsday, you loose instantly to Baeru, and sunken tower may ruin your land placement by forcing you to double land many times.
- So, now, if you want to enjoy this deck, you should try it a bit on your own to see if you can endure the "stress" of this combo deck.
- If you want to "Counter" this deck, just play Blue with Baeru and Sunken Tower.
FootNote: If somebody tells you " GY Haste combo is a rush deck", you can laugh at his/her stupidity, because now you know the truth. :P
Thanks to Tikup for editing a correct English version.