Shandalar enemy decks overhaul

by **stassy** » 03 Jul 2015, 05:05

Replaced Path to Exile with Rebuke, deck updated.

jiansonz> I don't see your Necropotence Necromancer deck in this thread, you mentionned it in the Bug Tracker

by **jiansonz** » 03 Jul 2015, 07:38

stassy wrote:jiansonz> I don't see your Necropotence Necromancer deck in this thread, you mentionned it in the Bug Tracker

Nope, that was guinsoo, not me.

by **Fourth Inversion** » 05 Jul 2015, 06:28

Here's an attempt at a Wurm-themed deck for the Forest Dragon, splashing some red for Ruination Wurm, Shivan Wurm and Streetbreaker Wurm. There are a surprising number of Wurms with unique abilities, both in green and in other colours, so there's scope for a fairly diverse range of 'tribal' decks, even just with Wurms.

| Open: .11208 4 Bellowing Tanglewurm
.12954 2 Giant Adephage
.8613 4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
.13566 4 Sylvan Caryatid
.6757 1 Plated Slagwurm
.91 14 Forest
.5297 2 Shivan Wurm
.1289 4 Streetbreaker Wurm
.241 2 Taiga
.10580 2 Kazandu Refuge
.165 1 Mox Emerald
.3983 2 Defense of the Heart
.11012 4 Overgrown Battlement
.164 4 Mountain
.1473 2 Wooded Foothills
.11363 2 Slice in Twain
.1523 1 Worldly Tutor
.1121 2 Pyroclasm
.116 1 Hurricane
.13041 2 Ruination Wurm

by **Crag Hack** » 06 Jul 2015, 09:41

I would like to offer my 2 eurocents in this thread and say that since the new Shandalar includes creatures with abilities like horsemanship and shadow, and also unblockable creatures, it gives many new possibilities for variety. In the old Shandalar it was easy to set up a good defense or get stuck against a good defense like the priestess with powerful flying creatures. I just finished the game 3 times in the apprentice level with monocolored blue, white and black decks and these abilities helped me very much in overcoming the good defense of AI. If AI used them, they would be more dangerous to the player.

by **stassy** » 06 Jul 2015, 09:49

That is a nice idea, and it would fit an alternative non lore Nether Shadow deck for shadow and a Paladin/Winged Stallion deck for a horsemanship deck...thanks god there is no alternative for Sliver yet, they would be indeed fearsome too.

by **jiansonz** » 06 Jul 2015, 11:18

Some of these creatures are included in some decks that are posted in this thread. No Horsemanship yet, but I've seen at least three creatures with Shadow and at least four unblockable ones.

by **guinsoo** » 07 Jul 2015, 11:47

Been playing with a set of decks I've been playing and tuning locally and with a few friends. My main goals were to create challenging decks that the AI uses effectively. I am less concerned with theme, rarity, value, etc. I used some of the decks suggested here as baselines, took some pretty close to card for card, and did the rest from scratch.

Main guidelines that I operated under when creating the decks

| Open: 1. I try to challenge myself and my friends, so these should hopefully be challenging. I assume the player plays Shandalar in a fairly hardcore manner - buys all cards in every village for awhile and resell in cities, avoid enemy encounters as much as possible in early game, etc. So even the first few tiers of mobs aren't a pushover in most cases. If you don't play Shandalar like that, hopefully you enjoy them anyway.

2. I am a sucker for old cards that fit thematically but aren't particularly great. Cards like Icatian Priest, Benalish Infantry, Sengir Vampire. Usually just 1 copy, maybe 2-3 cards total in the deck that are clearly weaker than the rest of the cards but fit well thematically or are a cool old card I like. Also I put in single copies of cards way more often than I should.

3. As mentioned above, theme has been 'creatively tweaked' in a few areas where I just wasn't able to make a suitable themed deck. E.g. Undead Knight - insufficient good black knight cards, no 'lords' so this became a zombie deck - slightly off theme but not too far for an undead NPC.

4. I am willing to break the restricted and banned lists, but try to abide by them when reasonable. As this is a single player experience I think the fun and challenge is more important than having the AI use a perfectly balanced deck. In particular I like to give decks extra Moxes (especially for decks that need to be fast that aren't) and 'sub-power-tier' restricted cards when appropriate (e.g. Necromancer has plenty of Necropotences). I'm also willing to break the 4-card, 60-card rule, but didn't in any instances.

5. The AI plays some cards poorly right now, so I had to remove cards that were perfect for the deck simply because the AI is incapable of using them well - e.g. Children of Korlis would fit very well in the cleric Angelic Accord deck, but the AI doesn't use its ability at all even when it would get a 4/4 Angel out of it and save it a bunch of life.

6. Shandalar AI plays combat unnecessarily safe on offense (and overly frisky on defense) in my opinion, especially when both sides have a number of untapped creatures. Even if AI has a massive board advantage, will rarely attack from that point with creatures that can be blocked unless it knows it can kill you. I found it very easy to manipulate this AI flaw with even starting decks, stall a game out and wait for a bullet and then win. So in general, I tried to give the AI evasive creatures whenever possible - flying, shadow, protection, horsemanship.

7. I am not completely convinced of the AI's ability to use tutors effectively (seems to be hit or miss), so I probably use them less often for their decks than I would for mine. There are still some, just less.

8. I didn't particularly limit number of rares in any decks, though some decks ended up with less than others. I also ended up using less early fetchlands than expected, and limited number of lords in some early tribal decks like Merfolk Shaman and Elvish Magi.

9. I don't use sideboards for any enemies.

Here are the decks. Please, any feedback is most welcome.

Black enemies - Witch, Undead Knight, Warlock, Vampire Lord, Nether Fiend, Necromancer, Greater Lich

| Open

0056.dck Witch

Code: Select all: .1705 3 Bottle Gnomes .68 4 Drain Life .70 2 Drudge Skeletons .4275 4 Famine .3993 4 Fog of Gnats .5621 2 Mortivore .173 4 Nevinyrral's Disk .1689 4 Sanguine Guard .239 23 Swamp .1477 2 Slith Bloodletter .12590 1 Mark of the Vampire .1592 3 Tendrils of Corruption .55 4 Dark Ritual

Witch - weakest black minion (4 base HP). Witch deck uses regenerating black creatures with board clear; one of the few non-tribal weaker decks I made; still resembles original Witch deck. In general, I feel this deck is easier than intended; have been trying to make it tougher with recent tweaks. Is there a card that's something like 2 colored mana + X, deal X damage to all creatures?

0016.dck Undead Knight

Code: Select all: .55 4 Dark Ritual .239 22 Swamp .9946 4 Death Baron .11931 4 Diregraf Ghoul .13451 2 Gray Merchant of Asphodel .12207 4 Highborn Ghoul .435 1 Khabál Ghoul .13309 2 Liliana's Reaver .11496 2 Phyrexian Crusader .6274 2 Soulless One .12124 2 Walking Corpse .291 3 Zombie Master .6488 4 Call to the Grave .11939 2 Endless Ranks of the Dead .10732 2 Bojuka Bog

Undead Knight - second black minion (6 base HP). Knight looked very weak as a tribal option for Undead Knight, so this became a zombie deck. Call to the Grave is a delightful card for the AI. Moderately challenging, generally pretty happy with where it's at right now. When it wins, it's usually not too fast which is a nice change compared to Elvish Magi and Merfolk Shaman.

0055.dck Warlock

Code: Select all: .55 4 Dark Ritual .239 23 Swamp .7299 3 Marrow-Gnawer .7318 4 Nezumi Cutthroat .12783 4 Pack Rat .2064 4 Pestilence Rats .8273 3 Ratcatcher .1125 4 Ravenous Rats .1166 4 Swarm of Rats .12106 4 Typhoid Rats .8 3 Bad Moon

Warlock - third black minion (8 HP). Hooded Splinter, mono B rats. The rat cards were good enough to build a deck around and it was cool enough, and I'm not sure where it fits better than Warlock. Not super thrilled with how it plays overall, mostly due to the AI. It likes to duplicate Pack Rats perhaps too much and is too reluctant to attack with reasonably fat rats.

0220.dck Vampire Lord

Code: Select all: .55 4 Dark Ritual .239 12 Swamp .10603 3 Malakir Bloodwitch .12114 4 Vampire Interloper .10703 4 Vampire Nighthawk .62 1 Demonic Tutor .894 1 Mana Crypt .12272 4 Stromkirk Captain .10539 4 Feast of Blood .12395 2 Heirs of Stromkirk .230 1 Sol Ring .11943 1 Falkenrath Marauders .220 1 Sengir Vampire .9 4 Badlands .1488 4 Bloodstained Mire .1110 4 Phyrexian Arena .11863 2 Vampire Outcasts .10409 4 Dragonskull Summit

Vampire Lord - fourth black minion (12 base HP). Added a bunch more Vampires including red for Stromkirk Captain. From testing, it feels like this deck needs some improvement. Uses Phyrexian Arena to draw cards with a few life link vampires to restore health, and most creatures in the deck have some kind of evasion. This deck is usually pretty slow but can do OK once it gets going. Maybe more disruption would help - Hymn to Tourach?

0151.dck Nether Fiend

Code: Select all: .8 4 Bad Moon .55 4 Dark Ritual .1260 4 Nantuko Shade .239 18 Swamp .10702 4 Vampire Lacerator .3121 4 Dauthi Slayer .3373 4 Foul Imp .3118 4 Dauthi Marauder .13931 3 Master of the Feast .11931 4 Diregraf Ghoul .12116 3 Victim of Night .166 2 Mox Jet .1501 2 Infernal Contract

Nether Fiend - fifth black minion (14 base HP). Suicide black deck. Previously, Nether Fiend was a mono black Lord of the Pit deck, using various token creatures and Nether Fiends to feed the Lord of the Pits. No tribal theme, just lots of cheap beatdown (most expensive card is 3), with a decent amount of shadow and flying creatures. Can be challenging with varying types of evasion and the pressure and speed.

0291.dck Necromancer

Code: Select all: .55 4 Dark Ritual .1456 4 Hymn to Tourach .162 1 Mind Twist .2050 4 Necropotence .173 3 Nevinyrral's Disk .68 4 Drain Life .11846 1 Sorin's Vengeance .62 1 Demonic Tutor .1519 1 Vampiric Tutor .1592 4 Tendrils of Corruption .503 2 Ivory Tower .1483 3 Diabolic Edict .1516 1 Grim Tutor .239 22 Swamp .166 1 Mox Jet .9896 2 Umbra Stalker .10190 2 Reliquary Tower

Necromancer - sixth undead minion (henchman, can't bribe or win ante). 11 base HP (can this be correct??). Made into a control old school Necro. Have been very impressed by how this AI plays, had him draw out his deck on turn ~5-7 and gain about 150 life before I was drained to death. This deck is probably too hard. Probably is in line (based on other henchman decks) to pack a Black Lotus and possibly an extra Mox, but felt with 4 Necropotence and a full contingent of tutors it probably has enough power. Still, this is a safe AI to give power cards to as the player cannot win ante from them. Also this seems like a good deck to drop 1 Elixir of Immortality into perhaps?

0141.dck Azaar, Greater Lich

Code: Select all: .55 4 Dark Ritual .117 4 Hypnotic Specter .162 1 Mind Twist .17 2 Black Lotus .166 2 Mox Jet .230 1 Sol Ring .239 21 Swamp .43 1 Contract from Below .1456 4 Hymn to Tourach .10557 3 Guul Draz Specter .1495 3 Stupor .9385 2 Mind Shatter .2821 1 Ebon Dragon .1483 3 Diabolic Edict .535 2 The Rack .62 1 Demonic Tutor .528 1 Strip Mine .226 4 Sinkhole

Azaar, Greater Lich - Black Wizard, final black mob. 20 base HP. Power hand destruction. Not too much to say, worth considering splashing white for Vindicate? Deck has a lot of power in it which seems to make it tough. Haven't fought the wizards much yet overall though. Did consider a Lich deck, but AI did not play it at all in previous versions of Shandalar and I'm not sure if AI will be able to use it effectively if it did play it.

White decks - Cleric, Priestess, Crusader, Paladin, Arch Angel, High Priest, Sainted One

| Open

0221.dck Cleric

Code: Select all: .9468 2 Apothecary Initiate .14512 2 Arashin Cleric .5489 1 Beloved Chaplain .13257 4 Angelic Accord .6123 2 Doubtless One .1801 1 Icatian Priest .3290 1 Soltari Monk .13338 4 Soulmender .3677 2 Temple Acolyte .1264 4 Teroh's Faithful .11185 2 Tireless Missionaries .11190 2 War Priest of Thune .387 2 Witch Hunter .3291 1 Soltari Priest .188 15 Plains .10576 4 Kabira Crossroads .3729 2 Congregate .11086 4 Ajani's Mantra .14158 3 Radiant Fountain .6316 2 Weathered Wayfarer

Cleric - first white minion, 4 base HP. Mono W cleric life gain, using Angelic Accord tokens to finish the opponent. This deck is probably a little harder than it should be for an easy deck - it gains a lot of life, and games usually go long even if playing a good deck. But, the AI struggles to close out games a lot of times when it should win and usually struggles against early flying beatdown. It doesn't do a good job prioritizing making Angels. There were several cards I liked for the deck that the AI didn't use well and couldn't make it - Children of Korlis, Dedicated Martyr, Avacynian Priest. If Soul Warden gets implemented it would theoretically be must include, but could very well make the deck too hard for an opening tier deck.

0204.dck Priestess

Code: Select all: .563 2 Amrou Kithkin .9094 4 Cenn's Heir .1288 4 Goldmeadow Harrier .9189 2 Kinsbaile Skirmisher .9192 2 Kithkin Harbinger .9846 3 Patrol Signaler .9235 3 Plover Knights .1457 4 Wizened Cenn .188 22 Plains .1413 4 Knight of Meadowgrain .64 3 Disenchant .240 3 Swords to Plowshares .10430 4 Honor of the Pure

Priestess - second white minion, 6 base HP. Simple Kithkin beatdown with a few Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, and Honor of the Pure. Uncertain of the difficulty, I've fought exceptionally few Priestesses. Is there some reason they would spawn less often than other enemies, or perhaps I've just gotten unlucky? It feels like I've fought 20 clerics per 1 priestess.

0283.dck Crusader

Code: Select all: .4682 4 Defiant Falcon .4560 4 Ramosian Captain .4561 3 Ramosian Commander .4564 3 Ramosian Sergeant .4565 3 Ramosian Sky Marshal .4426 2 Cho-Arrim Bruiser .4631 2 Thermal Glider .4507 3 Jhovall Queen .4544 2 Nightwind Glider .188 13 Plains .230 1 Sol Ring .894 1 Mana Crypt .4200 3 Thran Dynamo .240 2 Swords to Plowshares .64 2 Disenchant .541 4 Urza's Mine .543 4 Urza's Power Plant .544 4 Urza's Tower

Crusader - third white minion, 8 base HP. Rebel deck with Urza's Mine set and some artifact mana. Seems to often be a bit slow setting up and seems to lack good finishing Rebel cards, but with a good draw can race to a large board. Overall seems a little below par for its level and maybe needs some improvements.

0175.dck Paladin

Code: Select all: .13113 2 Armored Wolf-Rider .10080 4 Steward of Valeron .1472 4 Windswept Heath .91 1 Forest .11345 2 Razorverge Thicket .212 4 Savannah .10476 4 Sunpetal Grove .188 9 Plains .9373 2 Kinsbaile Cavalier .11138 4 Knight Exemplar .11480 2 Mirran Crusader .3285 3 Soltari Crusader .51 3 Crusade .14 1 Berserk .1236 4 Leonin Skyhunter .9235 2 Plover Knights .13240 2 Unflinching Courage .283 1 White Knight .1238 1 Silver Knight .10001 1 Knight of the White Orchid .64 2 Disenchant .789 1 Sir Shandlar of Eberyn .1482 1 Tolsimir Wolfblood

Paladin - fourth white minion, 12 base HP. Knight tribal deck, W/G. Generally speaking this deck seems to be a bit slower with higher cost creatures than other tribals like Merfolk Warlord or Elvish Magi, but makes up for it with the incredible Knight Exemplar. The creatures are generally reasonably strong, with some evasion sprinkled in.

0221.dck Arch Angel

Code: Select all: .1198 1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath .13258 4 Archangel of Thune .12310 1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope .8759 1 Crovax, Ascendant Hero .12384 2 Goldnight Redeemer .11283 3 Indomitable Archangel .167 2 Mox Pearl .4045 1 Radiant, Archangel .221 3 Serra Angel .12462 2 Seraph of Dawn .230 1 Sol Ring .13257 2 Angelic Accord .240 4 Swords to Plowshares .894 1 Mana Crypt .188 15 Plains .10 1 Balance .10576 4 Kabira Crossroads .14158 4 Radiant Fountain .64 3 Disenchant .290 2 Wrath of God .1292 1 Archangel .1656 2 Malach of the Dawn

Arch Angel - fifth white minion, 16 base HP. Angel flying beatdown, with Archangel of Thune with multiple sources of life gain as the star to beef your creatures up to extreme levels. Deck could be a little too slow for a higher level enemy, but can recover well as creatures can grow large quickly even without attacking, and the life gain from lands can help the AI hold out through an early rush, but deck is probably weak to combo or gimmicks. Has a good amount of removal, both single target and board clear, to help deck reach midgame.

0203.dck High Priest

Code: Select all: .10395 2 Captain of the Watch .10412 3 Elite Vanguard .1327 4 Field Marshal .12787 4 Precinct Captain .10482 4 Veteran Swordsmith .10481 4 Veteran Armorsmith .188 20 Plains .230 1 Sol Ring .894 1 Mana Crypt .4228 2 Shu Cavalry .4230 2 Shu Elite Companions .3292 2 Soltari Trooper .3287 4 Soltari Foot Soldier .5599 1 Lieutenant Kirtar .5926 1 Commander Eesha .10039 1 Ranger of Eos .4238 1 Zhang Fei, Fierce Warrior .17 1 Black Lotus .167 2 Mox Pearl

High Priest - sixth white minion (henchman), 11 base HP (again is that right?). Super aggressive Soldier beatdown. Board can spiral out of control quickly due to cards like Precinct Captain. Powerful lord support at multiple mana tiers like Field Marshall and Captain of the Watch. Plenty of evasion with shadow, flying, and horsemanship represented. I frequently struggle with this deck; it's probably too hard and is a big difficulty increase over Arch Angel which is probably too weak.

0021.dck Sainted One

Code: Select all: .1738 2 Ancestor's Chosen .9355 2 Feudkiller's Verdict .7238 1 Honden of Cleansing Fire .1324 2 Kiss of the Amesha .5600 4 Life Burst .10540 3 Felidar Sovereign .1 1 Ancestral Recall .249 1 Time Walk .438 1 Library of Alexandria .1525 1 Enlightened Tutor .230 1 Sol Ring .169 1 Mox Sapphire .167 1 Mox Pearl .17 1 Black Lotus .4660 4 Accumulated Knowledge .7242 1 Honden of Seeing Winds .726 1 Moat .1314 1 Magus of the Moat .503 1 Ivory Tower .11401 1 Venser's Journal .1536 3 Beacon of Immortality .1487 4 Flooded Strand .254 4 Tundra .188 9 Plains .10419 4 Glacial Fortress .48 2 Counterspell .640 2 Force Spike .10496 1 Arid Mesa

Sainted One - White wizard, 20 base HP, W/U life gain control. This deck utilizes lots of powerful card draw like Ancestral Knowledge, some control like Moat, plenty of life gain headed by Beacon of Immortality, with a little Counterspell backup and Felidar Sovereign to win. This deck is fine, it's difficult, and thematic for a white boss, but I personally don't find it that much fun to play against. It's a shame none of the white decks ended up as a white/artifact deck - the original Sainted One was one of my favorite Shandalar enemies to fight; he used Circle of Protection: Artifacts with things like Armageddon Clock, Bottle of Suleiman, and Dingus Egg. I think all the tools are there except card draw; would love to see for example a Land Tax / Scroll Rack / Zuran Orb engine if it were implemented and the AI used it intelligently. Would also like to see a few more cool artifact toys.

Blue decks - Seer, Merfolk Shaman, Conjurer, Sea Dragon, Shapeshifter, Thought Invoker, Astral Visionary.

| Open

0069.dck Seer

Code: Select all: .48 2 Counterspell .326 2 Ghost Ship .126 15 Island .11094 3 Augury Owl .1312 2 Cancel .13856 2 Cloaked Siren .6887 2 Echoing Truth .10939 2 Gravitational Shift .12388 2 Gryff Vanguard .11137 3 Jace's Ingenuity .12003 1 Lantern Spirit .154 2 Mahamoti Djinn .1340 2 Palinchron .12822 1 Skyline Predator .11691 1 Spire Monitor .1652 2 Wall of Kelp .11160 2 Preordain .2613 4 Sky Diamond .13992 2 Temple of Epiphany .13568 2 Temple of Deceit .13819 2 Temple of Enlightenment .13569 2 Temple of Mystery .770 2 Remove Soul

Seer - weakest blue minion, 4 base HP. Non-tribal with plenty of scrying cards like Temple of Deceit for theme, some bounce, a few counters, some fliers and walls. Overall, probably the weakest deck in my entire pack/enemy set with a lot of random cards. Slow and not very effective, likely needs improvement.

0150.dck Merfolk Shaman

Code: Select all: .150 3 Lord of Atlantis .12591 2 Master of the Pearl Trident .10445 3 Merfolk Sovereign .10828 4 Sejiri Merfolk .9259 2 Silvergill Douser .14000 4 Triton Shorestalker .13584 4 Triton Shorethief .11171 4 Scroll Thief .6887 4 Echoing Truth .126 15 Island .254 1 Tundra .1487 2 Flooded Strand .2483 4 Flood Plain .4754 2 Seahunter .10675 4 Spreading Seas .188 2 Plains

Merfolk Shaman - second blue enemy, 6 base HP. U/W Merfolk tribal rush deck. This deck is entirely the opposite of the Seer - this deck is fast, relentless, and harder than its HP level would indicate. Merfolk lords are solid and with Spreading Seas can cut you down quickly with complete unblockability. Echoing Truth to remove a problem bullet like Moat. Could be even tougher without having scaled back on the lords, added some fluff like Seahunter, and if some of the better merfolk were added.

0260.dck Conjurer

Code: Select all: .193 4 Prodigal Sorcerer .126 11 Island .6428 3 Riptide Director .1687 2 Rootwater Hunter .1220 4 Shadowmage Infiltrator .9319 1 Wydwen, the Biting Gale .1294 4 Zuran Spellcaster .1640 1 Grandmother Sengir .11831 4 Onyx Mage .230 1 Sol Ring .258 2 Underground Sea .239 3 Swamp .318 2 Fellwar Stone .2613 2 Sky Diamond .7302 1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror .6887 3 Echoing Truth .48 4 Counterspell .10411 4 Drowned Catacomb .2401 4 Bad River

Conjurer - third blue minion, 8 base HP. U/B wizard deck, using the simple synergy of Prodigal Sorcerer and Onyx Mage with a smattering of other useful Wizards. Originally, I had intended to swap Mind Stealer with a blue minion because Mind Stealer was mono blue and is in a multicolor enemy slot, and is also probably easier. But swapping so far hasn't been doable for me so for now it's U/B Conjurer and U/B Mind Stealer. This deck, like Seer, seems a little on the weak side. It seems to take too long for Conjurer to get his gimmick up and running, and may need some improvements. Against a creature-based player deck that isn't too fast though, this deck can hold its own.

0218.dck Sea Dragon

Code: Select all: .126 18 Island .10675 4 Spreading Seas .14087 4 Coral Barrier .11129 4 Harbor Serpent .13831 3 Whelming Wave .1598 3 Inkwell Leviathan .9575 1 Isleback Spawn .1613 2 Man-o'-War .1139 1 Sea Monster .2613 4 Sky Diamond .230 1 Sol Ring .157 1 Mana Vault .6870 1 Darksteel Citadel .1216 4 Seat of the Synod .48 4 Counterspell .10201 2 Scepter of Insight .11532 3 Spire Serpent

Sea Dragon - fourth blue minion, 12 base HP. Mono U serpent, leviathan, kraken deck with Spreading Seas to unlock islandhome and islandwalk. Overall, this is another weaker deck (and blue is probably the weakest color overall in my deck pack). It's slow to get going and isn't even particularly strong once mid/late game hits, not enough evasion, very expensive creatures. The redeeming factor is Whelming Wave, but is it strong enough to carry this deck? Could use suggestions; at least the theme is right.

0263.dck Shapeshifter

Code: Select all: .47 1 Copy Artifact .6872 1 Darksteel Forge .11237 1 Darksteel Juggernaut .11118 1 Elixir of Immortality .10537 1 Expedition Map .1514 2 Fabricate .90 1 Forcefield .119 1 Icy Manipulator .169 1 Mox Sapphire .230 1 Sol Ring .157 2 Mana Vault .12623 1 Staff of Nin .531 1 Tawnos's Coffin .11857 2 Throne of Empires .11794 2 Crown of Empires .11841 2 Scepter of Empires .4200 3 Thran Dynamo .1627 1 Voltaic Key .11400 4 Vedalken Certarch .1351 1 Tinker .510 1 Mishra's Workshop .521 1 Reconstruction .1512 2 Tolarian Academy .11545 1 Treasure Mage .1 1 Ancestral Recall .11385 1 Tower of Calamities .7143 1 Trinket Mage .544 4 Urza's Tower .543 4 Urza's Power Plant .541 4 Urza's Mine .1216 4 Seat of the Synod .126 4 Island .1116 1 Planar Portal .10010 1 Master of Etherium

Shapeshifter - fifth blue NPC, 14 base HP. Mono U artifact control deck. Uses a fairly random smattering of controlling artifacts, including the Scepter of Empires trio, to control the board. Has lots of search and mana generation, but I'm worried about the control artifacts themselves - there's nothing as strong as say Ensnaring Bridge or Tangle Wire, and this deck just seems to lack oomph. It's not a pushover by any stretch, I just feel it lacks consistency and would love to run less control artifacts (but stronger, global board-impacting ones) so the deck could fit either more artifact searching/filtering, more acceleration, or some Counterspell. One major issue is that the AI doesn't use stuff like Vedalken Certarch very effectively, which is largely what's available for artifact-based control.

0232.dck Thought Invoker

Code: Select all: .12166 4 Drogskol Captain .12003 2 Lantern Spirit .11882 2 Battleground Geist .7891 2 Keening Banshee .12410 3 Latch Seeker .166 1 Mox Jet .169 1 Mox Sapphire .62 1 Demonic Tutor .1 1 Ancestral Recall .249 1 Time Walk .230 1 Sol Ring .1456 4 Hymn to Tourach .1310 2 Spectral Lynx .6396 2 Graveborn Muse .1302 4 Vindicate .167 1 Mox Pearl .162 1 Mind Twist .1487 2 Flooded Strand .10606 2 Marsh Flats .1486 2 Polluted Delta .254 4 Tundra .258 4 Underground Sea .216 4 Scrubland .1206 2 Arcane Sanctum .10411 2 Drowned Catacomb .1499 2 Blinking Spirit .48 3 Counterspell

Thought Invoker - sixth blue minion (henchman, can't bribe or win cards). 11 base HP. U/B/W illusion deck; tons of evasive creatures; some effective disruption cards like Hymn to Tourach and Vindicate and Counterspell; and a few extra slippery creatures. Weaker than other henchmen, but stronger than it appears at first glance.

0245.dck Astral Visionary

Code: Select all: .166 1 Mox Jet .167 1 Mox Pearl .168 1 Mox Ruby .169 1 Mox Sapphire .17 1 Black Lotus .62 1 Demonic Tutor .7238 1 Honden of Cleansing Fire .7239 1 Honden of Infinite Rage .7241 1 Honden of Night's Reach .7242 1 Honden of Seeing Winds .10 1 Balance .1519 1 Vampiric Tutor .1525 1 Enlightened Tutor .230 1 Sol Ring .250 1 Timetwister .249 1 Time Walk .1 1 Ancestral Recall .1314 1 Magus of the Moat .438 1 Library of Alexandria .726 2 Moat .290 1 Wrath of God .1302 2 Vindicate .240 2 Swords to Plowshares .48 4 Counterspell .11118 1 Elixir of Immortality .1291 1 Iridescent Angel .1342 1 Time Spiral .25 1 Braingeyser .640 2 Force Spike .503 1 Ivory Tower .162 1 Mind Twist .10353 1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind .1312 1 Cancel .1487 3 Flooded Strand .1486 1 Polluted Delta .254 4 Tundra .258 4 Underground Sea .266 4 Volcanic Island .216 1 Scrubland .3244 1 Reflecting Pool .10419 2 Glacial Fortress

Astral Visionary - final blue enemy / blue wizard, 20 base HP. U/W/B/R control. Old school style control with Hondens. Plenty of card draw, searching, removal, disruption, and protection. Solid overall deck that has been very difficult in the few times I've fought it. Few weaknesses and the AI plays it well.

Green decks - Druid, Elvish Magi, Enchantress, Forest Dragon, Beast Master, Summoner, Morgane, Great Druid

| Open

0139.dck Druid

Code: Select all: .91 23 Forest .1470 2 Explosive Vegetation .12603 2 Ranger's Path .1533 2 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary .979 4 Blanchwood Armor .698 2 Killer Bees .10636 2 Primal Bellow .11162 1 Primeval Titan .4766 2 Skyshroud Claim .10688 4 Timbermaw Larva .7013 3 Beacon of Creation .10655 3 Scute Mob .147 2 Living Lands .1191 4 Wood Elves .2049 4 Nature's Lore

Druid - first green minion, 4 base HP. Druid uses spells and creatures to get many forests into play and uses cards that benefit from having a lot of forests to finish the opponent - Timbermaw Larva, Scute Mob, etc. This deck is pretty slow but thematic; can spiral out of control pretty quickly but feels like the deck could really use trample to finish things off - Overruns maybe? Also, searching for forests is a common theme among my green decks. Is it too prevalent?

0076.dck Elvish Magi

Code: Select all: .13284 3 Elvish Mystic .1293 3 Fyndhorn Elves .1363 4 Elvish Visionary .149 3 Llanowar Elves .1461 3 Imperious Perfect .1024 2 Elvish Champion .1463 1 Eladamri, Lord of Leaves .10413 2 Elvish Archdruid .3860 4 Priest of Titania .14159 2 Reclamation Sage .9120 1 Elvish Promenade .91 18 Forest .76 1 Elvish Archers .1703 3 Elvish Warrior .1513 1 Gaea's Cradle .14622 4 Shamanic Revelation .3269 3 Seeker of Skybreak .3222 2 Overrun

Elvish Magi - second green minion, 6 base HP. Mono G tribal elf beatdown. Green has excellent lords headed by Archdruid. With tons of mana coming out of early elves, and the lords and Overrun beefing them up, this deck can be very, very fast with a good draw. Seems very strong for a tier 2 deck despite some recent nerfs. Would love to swap Forest Dragon and Elvish Magi if it were possible, making Forest Dragon much easier and Elvish Magi a middle of the pack enemy.

0262.dck Enchantress

Code: Select all: .262 4 Verduran Enchantress .285 2 Wild Growth .91 10 Forest .4383 3 Ancestral Mask .3775 2 Gaea's Embrace .9122 1 Epic Proportions .6213 1 Mythic Proportions .8163 1 Wurmweaver Coil .1194 2 Yavimaya Enchantress .755 2 Rabid Wombat .5132 2 Sterling Grove .1472 4 Windswept Heath .8912 1 Daybreak Coronet .1525 1 Enlightened Tutor .7177 2 Cage of Hands .11889 2 Bonds of Faith .1319 2 Armadillo Cloak .3983 1 Defense of the Heart .80 1 Fastbond .14616 1 Sage's Reverie .212 2 Savannah .3894 1 Serra's Sanctum .10476 2 Sunpetal Grove .15 3 Birds of Paradise .188 2 Plains .11345 2 Razorverge Thicket .10872 3 Aura Gnarlid

Enchantress - third green minion, 8 base HP. W/G enchantment/aura deck. Uses Verduran Enchantress to draw cards, a smattering of buffing and stalling and searching enchantments, and a few creatures like Aura Gnarlid. Pretty similar to original Enchantress, one of my favorites, hopefully just a lot quicker and better. Moderately difficult, games seem to be hit or miss. Sometimes the AI gets a very fast, aggressive draw. Perhaps streamlining the deck and removing some one-ofs would help.

0049.dck Forest Dragon

Code: Select all: .409 2 Desert Twister .149 4 Llanowar Elves .91 22 Forest .11208 2 Bellowing Tanglewurm .11788 3 Carnage Wurm .1251 3 Carven Caryatid .12161 4 Dawntreader Elk .9775 1 Duskdale Wurm .1234 2 Havenwood Wurm .4722 4 Nesting Wurm .6757 2 Plated Slagwurm .1533 1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary .1250 3 Wall of Blossoms .4090 2 Yavimaya Wurm .1470 3 Explosive Vegetation .14 1 Berserk .230 1 Sol Ring

Forest Dragon - fourth green enemy, 12 base HP. Mono G big fatty rush, focused on wyrms. This deck is not very good relative to its spot as 4th minion, but as alluded to above, I had been hoping I could swap Forest Dragon (probably even all the way down to the weakest green minion). I think this deck can be made better through some refinement; perhaps adding some non-wyrm fatties like Verdant Force Child of Gaea etc may help, the wyrms are in general not awesome (no evasion, not particularly beefy, no notable redeeming features) and are probably most what holds this deck back. Like Druid, this deck runs a bunch of cards to put forests from deck into play.

0170.dck Beast Master

Code: Select all: .165 1 Mox Emerald .91 13 Forest .10793 4 Leatherback Baloth .13255 4 Advocate of the Beast .1222 2 Ravenous Baloth .3560 2 Skyshroud War Beast .1610 2 Indrik Stomphowler .11125 4 Garruk's Companion .2784 4 Stampeding Wildebeests .3347 1 Carnassid .1513 1 Gaea's Cradle .13307 4 Kalonian Tusker .10437 1 Kalonian Behemoth .13968 1 Satyr Grovedancer .11156 3 Overwhelming Stampede .1293 4 Fyndhorn Elves .13497 1 Nylea's Disciple .10696 2 Turntimber Grove .1472 1 Windswept Heath .12127 1 Woodland Cemetery .1473 1 Wooded Foothills .10612 1 Misty Rainforest .1363 1 Elvish Visionary .149 1 Llanowar Elves

Beast Master - fifth green NPC, 14 base HP. Mono G beast fierce rush deck. With plenty of great beasts available, this one seemed like a no brainer. Leatherback Baloth and Kalonian Tusker provide the first wave, and Stampeding Wildebeests are big and provide bounce utility for cards like Elvish Visionary and Indrik Stomphowler. Quality overall deck, probably stronger than the next summoner deck. Ravenous Baloth is great but AI likes to senselessly eat its creatures, so 2 copies only - maybe should be 0.

0030.dck Summoner

Code: Select all: .979 2 Blanchwood Armor .11162 2 Primeval Titan .11802 2 Dungrove Elder .1243 4 Harmonize .91 20 Forest .1470 4 Explosive Vegetation .9565 3 Howl of the Night Pack .7013 4 Beacon of Creation .3222 4 Overrun .10384 2 Ant Queen .1610 2 Indrik Stomphowler .165 3 Mox Emerald .12603 2 Ranger's Path .1124 4 Rampant Growth .17 1 Black Lotus .7945 1 Scion of the Wild

Summoner - sixth green enemy (henchman, can't bribe, no ante). 11 base HP. Gets forests into play, makes as many token creatures as it can (headed by Beacon of Creation), and then Overruns your face. Fun, cool deck, but right now is too slow for its slot as a henchman deck. Wish the AI used cards like Dawntreader Elk and Sakura Tribe Elder better. Probably would be a perfect deck for a level 3-4 difficulty minion, if swapping were easier. Perhaps like Summoner 3, Enchantress 4, Elvish Magi 5, Beastmaster henchman.

0095.dck Morgane, Great Druid

Code: Select all: .91 20 Forest .9106 4 Dauntless Dourbark .14123 4 Kalonian Twingrove .9291 4 Timber Protector .11802 4 Dungrove Elder .1470 4 Explosive Vegetation .1533 3 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary .165 3 Mox Emerald .17 2 Black Lotus .14 2 Berserk .9246 3 Rootgrapple .230 1 Sol Ring .11162 2 Primeval Titan .1191 4 Wood Elves

Morgane, Great Druid - green wizard / final enemy. 20 base HP. Mono G forest / treefolk rush. Haven't fought this deck much as it's a wizard, but it's proven to be plenty difficult. The trees spread quickly and become indestructible and very large. Can't help but wonder if Treefolk Harbinger should be included to find the trees he wants quickly. Rootgrapple to remove a problem card like Moat, but they remain a bane of this deck.

Red decks - Sorceress; Sorcerer; Troll Shaman; Goblin Warlord; Hydra; War Mage, Kzzy'n
*In general, I found it difficult to create 7 interesting, distinct, viable decks. Lack of tribal options compared to other cards; not enough cool, deck-defining non-creatures available; burn is red's thing, but fairly limited burn options

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0074.dck Sorceress

Code: Select all: .164 22 Mountain .8406 2 Lovisa Coldeyes .9453 2 Vengeful Firebrand .11783 3 Blood Ogre .14077 2 Borderland Marauder .11813 2 Gorehorn Minotaurs .13485 2 Minotaur Skullcleaver .14148 3 Paragon of Fierce Defiance .4316 2 Ravaging Horde .13209 2 Riot Piker .14421 2 Valley Dasher .1147 3 Shock .1406 3 Pillage .4313 1 Lu Bu, Master-at-Arms .9371 1 Kindled Fury .6729 4 Molten Rain .11302 3 Melt Terrain .10666 1 Slaughter Cry

Sorceress - first red enemy, 4 base HP. Mono red deck that's loosely tribal centered on Lovisa, Coldeyes (berserkers and warriors) with some light land destruction. Not terribly exciting, and difficulty is only moderate - feels like she could be a nudge harder. This deck has a lot of intentional downgrades, e.g. Shock over Lightning Bolt and low lord support.

0192.dck Sorcerer

Code: Select all: .145 4 Lightning Bolt .164 18 Mountain .295 4 Ball Lightning .1638 1 Eron the Relentless .1067 3 Lava Hounds .9640 4 Pyre Charger .1122 4 Raging Goblin .3183 4 Kindle .1263 4 Spark Elemental .1476 4 Slith Firewalker .12172 4 Erdwal Ripper .3817 2 Lightning Dragon .1488 2 Bloodstained Mire .10654 2 Scalding Tarn

Sorcerer - second red minion, 6 base HP. Not tribal, but this deck is angry. All haste creatures and burn, featuring Spark Elemental and Ball Lightning. This deck can be overbearing for a tier 2 deck, but it depends largely on its draw. Additionally, since the haste creatures are a bit on the weaker side in terms of power/toughness, the AI can be stalled out if you can get some early fat on board (watch out for the burn though!). Probably needs a little bit of a scale back.

0261.dck Troll Shaman

Code: Select all: .164 1 Mountain .3691 4 Albino Troll .10401 4 Cudgel Troll .8790 4 Hedge Troll .6820 4 Troll Ascetic .10252 2 Colossal Might .10174 4 Might of Alara .219 4 Sedge Troll .1590 4 Tribal Flames .9 1 Badlands .12 1 Bayou .1488 1 Bloodstained Mire .91 2 Forest .189 1 Plateau .212 1 Savannah .216 1 Scrubland .241 3 Taiga .252 1 Tropical Island .1473 3 Wooded Foothills .266 1 Volcanic Island .10706 1 Verdant Catacombs .10496 1 Arid Mesa .1472 2 Windswept Heath .145 2 Lightning Bolt .14 1 Berserk .1744 2 Charging Troll .10612 2 Misty Rainforest .3222 2 Overrun

Troll Shaman - third red minion, 8 base HP. R/G/W tribal troll beatdown deck with lots of regeneration. Tribal Flames and Might of Alara provide some big surprises. This deck has solid creatures and is hard to rid its board of, but the creatures aren't evasive or monstrously strong, so the deck is pretty slow. Difficulty seems about right, perhaps a hair on the easy side.

0102.dck Goblin Warlord

Code: Select all: .1122 4 Raging Goblin .102 3 Goblin King .10422 4 Goblin Chieftain .6577 2 Siege-Gang Commander .145 4 Lightning Bolt .164 22 Mountain .3780 2 Goblin Matron .6156 4 Goblin Piledriver .7433 1 Zo-Zu the Punisher .12584 1 Krenko, Mob Boss .11119 4 Ember Hauler .1354 4 Mogg Fanatic .4720 1 Moggcatcher .8855 2 Stingscourger .11099 2 Bloodcrazed Goblin

Goblin Warlord - fourth red minion, 12 base HP. This guy can be really tough, but a major weakness is the quality of the early creatures - Mogg Fanatic, Bloodcrazed Goblin for example are OK, but not as good as say even Llanowar Elf for Elvish Magi. Goblin Lackeys would really take this guy over the top, also Goblin Grenade! Feels like this guy could be a hair stronger; the deck is a hair weaker than Elvish Magi or Merfolk Shaman but is a 4th level enemy instead of 2nd (or, Goblin Warlord could be a lower tier enemy once we have better control over that).

0207.dck Hydra

Code: Select all: .65 2 Disintegrate .84 4 Fireball .192 4 Power Surge .207 4 Rock Hydra .224 1 Shivan Dragon .270 3 Wall of Fire .168 1 Mox Ruby .164 6 Mountain .155 4 Mana Flare .1248 4 Heartbeat of Spring .92 1 Fork .237 3 Stream of Life .3767 3 Fault Line .1492 1 Dragon Roost .1490 1 Centaur Glade .1473 4 Wooded Foothills .11229 4 Copperline Gorge .10460 4 Rootbound Crag .241 4 Taiga .165 1 Mox Emerald .508 1 Mishra's Factory

Hydra - fifth red minion, 14 base HP. R/G big mana deck, featuring Power Surge, Mana Flare type cards, and x spells. Fairly simple and true enough to the original deck. Not an overly reliable or powerful deck, but it will surprise you sometimes with a massive fireball on turn 5 or so. Feels like this deck is very matchup dependent, depending on how well you can use Mana Flare mana and it seems to often come down to a race.

0229.dck War Mage

Code: Select all: .3860 4 Priest of Titania .1363 2 Elvish Visionary .10413 4 Elvish Archdruid .13284 4 Elvish Mystic .1293 4 Fyndhorn Elves .84 2 Fireball .149 4 Llanowar Elves .3222 1 Overrun .3269 4 Seeker of Skybreak .14622 3 Shamanic Revelation .1521 2 Sylvan Scrying .282 1 Wheel of Fortune .6721 3 Mass Hysteria .165 3 Mox Emerald .17 1 Black Lotus .480 1 Candelabra of Tawnos .1533 1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary .80 1 Fastbond .1473 4 Wooded Foothills .1513 2 Gaea's Cradle .91 5 Forest .241 4 Taiga

War Mage - sixth red enemy (henchman, no bribe, no ante). 11 base HP. Well, this is definitely my least thematic deck. Not only are elves not particularly thematic to a War Mage, but the deck is primarily green. Still, I feel like any time the game ends with a 100 point Fireball, the deck is red enough. It fits red thematically and a massive fireball seems like a win condition for War Mage I can get behind. The fact that the deck is mostly green is unfortunate

Still, if Elfball doesn't go here, where does it go? Would love to swap War Mage with Dragon Lord. Dragons are too cool to fight only once while playing Shandalar, and War Mage is unquestionably the stronger deck.

0135.dck Kzzy'n, the Dragon Lord

Code: Select all: .4375 2 Thunder Dragon .224 1 Shivan Dragon .1492 2 Dragon Roost .11881 1 Balefire Dragon .96 4 Gauntlet of Might .282 1 Wheel of Fortune .84 2 Fireball .894 1 Mana Crypt .157 1 Mana Vault .230 1 Sol Ring .168 3 Mox Ruby .17 1 Black Lotus .164 24 Mountain .6515 1 Dragon Tyrant .11805 2 Furyborn Hellkite .299 2 Blood Moon .3650 1 Brimstone Dragon .12629 2 Thundermaw Hellkite .1269 1 Rorix Bladewing .1539 3 Bogardan Hellkite .1261 1 Magus of the Moon .11088 2 Ancient Hellkite .10800 1 Mordant Dragon

Kzzy'n, Dragon Lord - red wizard/last enemy. 20 base HP. Mono red dragon beatdown. Well, it's a fun deck, but it's not competitive. I don't see how any reasonably competitive, power-fueled deck can lose to this guy barring a freak draw, but I also don't see any great ways to make the deck significantly stronger. Best solution as noted above is to make Dragon Lord not the red boss, but rather a minion you fight more often, likely henchman, (which would knock out a bunch of birds with one stone). So, I'm happy with this deck, but it's certainly not of the quality a color boss demands.

Weaker 2-colored enemies - Tusk Guardian, Sedge Beast, Fungus Master, Mind Stealer, Elementalist - 10 base HP

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0414.dck Tusk Guardian

Code: Select all: .12817 3 Selesnya Sentry .1196 4 Trained Armodon .11631 4 Loxodon Convert .4341 3 Southern Elephant .277 3 War Mammoth .10467 2 Siege Mastodon .15 4 Birds of Paradise .14 2 Berserk .1085 2 Might of Oaks .230 1 Sol Ring .1319 2 Armadillo Cloak .414 4 Elephant Graveyard .212 4 Savannah .1472 4 Windswept Heath .91 2 Forest .188 2 Plains .11345 3 Razorverge Thicket .10476 4 Sunpetal Grove .463 2 War Elephant .14618 2 Sandsteppe Mastodon .11156 3 Overwhelming Stampede

Tusk Guardian - G/W Elephant tribal beatdown deck. This deck is merely OK, due to common AI holdups and card issues (elephants are meh, no lords). AI will still end some games with Overwhelming Stampede/Might of Oaks/Berserk. Unsure how to really make this deck significantly better without more cards being added or a theme change.

0219.dck Sedge Beast

Code: Select all: .1221 2 Blazing Specter .1337 3 Blightning .55 4 Dark Ritual .117 4 Hypnotic Specter .1456 3 Hymn to Tourach .434 3 Juzám Djinn .1098 2 Nekrataal .219 4 Sedge Troll .226 4 Sinkhole .230 1 Sol Ring .11209 4 Blackcleave Cliffs .9 4 Badlands .1488 4 Bloodstained Mire .10409 4 Dragonskull Summit .528 1 Strip Mine .239 4 Swamp .1471 2 Terminate .145 4 Lightning Bolt .5232 2 Flametongue Kavu .164 1 Mountain

Sedge Beast - 'Sloppy' black/red deck - no focus but a lot of efficient cards that work pretty well together. Some land destruction, some hand destruction, some burn, and some efficient creatures. Was not effective enough in previous versions, so I beefed it up, and since it's been surprisingly effective. Terminates may be unnecessary (Diabolic Edict may also fit better to get rid of protection, indestructible, hexproof etc).

0399.dck Elementalist

Code: Select all: .266 4 Volcanic Island .10654 4 Scalding Tarn .14399 4 Swiftwater Cliffs .12094 4 Sulfur Falls .126 4 Island .164 4 Mountain .4660 4 Accumulated Knowledge .3183 4 Kindle .1552 4 Electrolyze .92 1 Fork .1084 1 Merchant Scroll .13559 4 Spellheart Chimera .11160 2 Preordain .5521 1 Cognivore .145 3 Lightning Bolt .6937 2 Pulse of the Grid .1395 1 Frantic Search .230 1 Sol Ring .282 1 Wheel of Fortune .5696 3 Shower of Coals .48 4 Counterspell

Elementalist - R/U counterburn deck, instant and filtering focused (adapted from someone's suggested deck). Uses Accumulated Knowledge and Kindle with lots of sifting, sorting, and drawing. Fills in the gaps with burn and a few counters. Difficulty seems OK; being burn focused (and having limited amounts of burn available with no X spells), the elemental seems to be tough early on, but once the player gets more mana links and tougher/more survivable creatures becomes an easier dispatch. Look forward to some other R/U cards becoming available.

0094.dck Fungus Master

Code: Select all: .1117 4 Plow Under .11214 4 Blight Mamba .11657 4 Phyrexian Swarmlord .11334 4 Plague Stinger .11700 2 Toxic Nim .10309 3 Maelstrom Pulse .894 1 Mana Crypt .230 1 Sol Ring .12 4 Bayou .239 5 Swamp .10706 4 Verdant Catacombs .12127 4 Woodland Cemetery .91 7 Forest .11340 3 Putrefax .1003 3 Creeping Mold .10379 3 Acidic Slime .11281 4 Ichor Rats

Fungus Master - G/B infect deck with light land destruction. This deck is definitely slow, and I don't feel the AI uses infect very well, but it's not too bad. The biggest issue is how slow it is to set up. Unsure of how to improve this deck in the absence of some better options becoming available. There are some cards that could be good for this deck but the AI doesn't use well enough like Phyrexian Vatmother. Few evasive creatures with infect, too many good creatures at the 6 level.

0289.dck Mind Stealer

Code: Select all: .44 4 Control Magic .1000 4 Confiscate .230 1 Sol Ring .126 5 Island .508 3 Mishra's Factory .1341 4 Treachery .12475 3 Spirit Away .7827 4 Dream Leash .48 4 Counterspell .1220 3 Shadowmage Infiltrator .7814 3 Dimir Cutpurse .10575 4 Jwar Isle Refuge .10411 4 Drowned Catacomb .1486 4 Polluted Delta .258 4 Underground Sea .8774 3 Enslave .1160 3 Star Compass

Mind Stealer - U/B steal your stuff deck. There were tons of control magic variants available (more than can really be run in a deck) so this one was a no brainer. Also I find this deck quite amusing. The deck is quite slow, but against a creature heavy deck once it turns the tide mid game it's not going to give the board back (barring something like a Tranquility). Against a noncreature deck, it has far too many dead cards to stand much of a chance, though I added Mishra's Factory anyway for that type of matchup. Against a control deck that finishes with creatures, this deck could have a shot.

Harder 2-color enemies - Centaur Warchief, Centaur Shaman, Lord of Fate, Winged Stallion, Ape Lord - 14 base HP
*This entire tier of multicolor decks is weaker than the 10 HP 2-color tier (except maybe Tusk Guardian). Would love to swap them, or perhaps merge them into a single tier of monsters. If Fungus Master was U/G like was in original Shandalar, there would be one deck of each two-color combo, but I'm not sure what to make with that. Seem to be few easy options for improving the quality of decks on this tier outside of getting new cards or changing theme.

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0897.dck Centaur Warchief

Code: Select all: .229 4 Smoke .221 4 Serra Angel .240 2 Swords to Plowshares .167 1 Mox Pearl .168 1 Mox Ruby .164 2 Mountain .188 6 Plains .1198 1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath .13303 4 Imposing Sovereign .10250 4 Cerodon Yearling .1329 2 Bull Cerodon .12310 1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope .11595 1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite .230 1 Sol Ring .157 1 Mana Vault .894 1 Mana Crypt .11704 1 Urabrask the Hidden .1019 3 Diving Griffin .10496 4 Arid Mesa .189 4 Plateau .14432 2 Wind-Scarred Crag .11906 4 Clifftop Retreat .1328 3 Lightning Helix .4238 1 Zhang Fei, Fierce Warrior .64 2 Disenchant

Centaur Warchief - R/W vigilance deck with Smoke. This deck is interesting; it's not bad and it's a bit quirky and does well against some player decks. But it seems like this deck is too weak, like it would be more appropriate in the previous group (10 HP, weakest multicolor minions). It's also clearly off theme at this point (though it follows the vigilance theme of the original deck, its hardly a centaur deck of any kind) - maybe some kind of red/white soldier or warrior deck could work on this slot, playing to the warchief part of Centaur Warchief?

0010.dck Lord of Fate

Code: Select all: .14241 4 Chief of the Edge .14242 4 Chief of the Scale .1143 4 Serpent Warrior .1302 4 Vindicate .7318 3 Nezumi Cutthroat .167 1 Mox Pearl .166 1 Mox Jet .55 4 Dark Ritual .4270 1 Cao Ren, Wei Commander .4238 1 Zhang Fei, Fierce Warrior .10606 4 Marsh Flats .216 4 Scrubland .11995 4 Isolated Chapel .188 5 Plains .239 4 Swamp .14518 4 Aven Skirmisher .1456 4 Hymn to Tourach .10702 4 Vampire Lacerator

Lord of Fate - B/W warrior tribal beatdown. Similar to Centaur Warlord, this deck feels overmatched for this slot. There aren't good enough warriors available - Chief of the Edge and Chief of the Scale are OK, but they're no Knight Exemplar; few warriors with evasion; mana curve is flat. Feels like this deck would be much suitable as a 10 HP minion rather than 14. Too easy to stalemate this AI due to lack of evasion and weak buffing of creatures. Uses efficient cards Hymn to Tourach and Vindicate to try to get around that, but could maybe use some Swords to Plowshares as well, even Armageddon could work as a finishing card. Indomitable Ancients is the kind of card I'd put in if it were a human playing the deck, but is the kind of card that the AI uses as poorly as possible.

0437.dck Ape Lord

Code: Select all: .1242 3 Ancient Silverback .14 1 Berserk .15 4 Birds of Paradise .2291 2 Gorilla Chieftain .437 4 Kird Ape .165 1 Mox Emerald .168 1 Mox Ruby .3541 4 Ravenous Baboons .4379 2 Silverback Ape .1698 3 Uktabi Orangutan .5232 2 Flametongue Kavu .11156 3 Overwhelming Stampede .1117 3 Plow Under .145 4 Lightning Bolt .1473 4 Wooded Foothills .241 4 Taiga .528 1 Strip Mine .11229 3 Copperline Gorge .10460 3 Rootbound Crag .164 2 Mountain .91 4 Forest .230 1 Sol Ring .894 1 Mana Crypt

Ape Lord - R/G tribal ape beatdown. For a tribal deck with no lords and no cards that make having all apes tangibly useful, the deck is reasonably good. Uses a smattering of land destruction (Ravenous Baboons) and creature-based removal (Flametongue Kavu). Overwhelming Stampede starts to show up in every green deck as it helps the AI overcome its reluctance to attack without evasion creatures. Plow Under is one of my favorite cards.

0179.dck Centaur Shaman

Code: Select all: .165 1 Mox Emerald .166 1 Mox Jet .91 6 Forest .239 2 Swamp .1490 2 Centaur Glade .13950 4 Pheres-Band Warchief .10397 2 Centaur Courser .13514 2 Pheres-Band Centaurs .1110 3 Phyrexian Arena .62 1 Demonic Tutor .10309 4 Maelstrom Pulse .894 1 Mana Crypt .1280 2 Nessian Courser .13497 3 Nylea's Disciple .14159 2 Reclamation Sage .230 1 Sol Ring .13818 4 Swordwise Centaur .6820 2 Troll Ascetic .12 4 Bayou .10696 2 Turntimber Grove .10706 4 Verdant Catacombs .12127 4 Woodland Cemetery .11156 2 Overwhelming Stampede .9219 1 Nath of the Gilt-Leaf

Centaur Shaman - B/G tribal centaur deck with Phyrexian Arena draw. This deck isn't great, no other way to say it. Lack of great centaurs (especially with a lot of crowding at certain mana costs like 3) hurts, lack of green/black good cards also hurts (Maelstrom Pulse is solid but about the only one). Unclear how to improve this deck significantly if it needs to stay in this slot. Perhaps adding some hand or land disruption.

0127.dck Winged Stallion

Code: Select all: .6058 4 Aven Brigadier .5476 2 Aven Smokeweaver .6495 2 Coast Watcher .5926 1 Commander Eesha .5599 1 Lieutenant Kirtar .12425 3 Mist Raven .6248 3 Screaming Seahawk .11174 4 Squadron Hawk .726 2 Moat .167 1 Mox Pearl .169 1 Mox Sapphire .6039 2 Airborne Aid .1487 4 Flooded Strand .11356 4 Seachrome Coast .10419 4 Glacial Fortress .254 4 Tundra .188 3 Plains .126 3 Island .956 2 Aven Cloudchaser .13879 2 Eagle of the Watch .1478 2 Esper Cormorants .5742 1 Treetop Sentinel .10709 2 Welkin Tern .10939 2 Gravitational Shift .230 1 Sol Ring

Winged Stallion - W/U tribal Bird flying deck, with soldier support. This deck has potential, but is still largely a mess in terms of how it's constructed. Has too many focuses, the creatures try to do too many things. Moat and Gravitational Shift are very powerful enchantments to back this deck, but deck could use removal or counter support. Creatures need to be streamlined and the mana curve is an utter mess (to be fair, there are very few 1 and 3 cost birds available). Of the 5 decks in this tier, this one probably has the highest potential, but the deck needs polish.

Djinni - Alt-a-Kesh, Aga Galneer, Queltosh, Saltrem Tor - medium difficulty 3-color enemy, 13 base HP.

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0426.dck Alt-a-Kesh

Code: Select all: .9319 1 Wydwen, the Biting Gale .10369 2 Vedalken Heretic .5445 3 Temporal Spring .1220 3 Shadowmage Infiltrator .10309 4 Maelstrom Pulse .7814 4 Dimir Cutpurse .12928 2 Dinrova Horror .10557 3 Guul Draz Specter .117 4 Hypnotic Specter .169 1 Mox Sapphire .166 1 Mox Jet .165 1 Mox Emerald .230 1 Sol Ring .1456 3 Hymn to Tourach .15 4 Birds of Paradise .162 1 Mind Twist .10305 1 Lord of Extinction .10612 2 Misty Rainforest .1486 2 Polluted Delta .10706 3 Verdant Catacombs .12 4 Bayou .252 4 Tropical Island .258 4 Underground Sea .14339 2 Opulent Palace

Alt-a-Kesh - B/U/G pressure deck featuring creatures that either draw when hitting an opponent or cause them to discard, with Maelstrom Pulse and Temporal Spring to clear the way. AI doesn't play this deck as well as I'd like, but it seems about right for difficulty. Game can quickly spiral out of control if any of these creatures start to get through. May benefit from some counter support as well as extra creature removal, maybe Diabolic Edict.

0434.dck Aga Galneer

Code: Select all: .1609 3 Angel of Despair .1328 4 Lightning Helix .14321 1 Mardu Roughrider .3271 1 Selenia, Dark Angel .13232 1 Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts .1302 4 Vindicate .14437 1 Zurgo Helmsmasher .168 1 Mox Ruby .167 1 Mox Pearl .166 1 Mox Jet .230 1 Sol Ring .5232 4 Flametongue Kavu .3658 4 Ogre Arsonist .10496 2 Arid Mesa .1488 2 Bloodstained Mire .10606 2 Marsh Flats .9 4 Badlands .216 4 Scrubland .189 4 Plateau .528 1 Strip Mine .11145 2 Manic Vandal .956 3 Aven Cloudchaser .3972 3 Bone Shredder .3687 2 Abyssal Horror .11995 4 Isolated Chapel

Aga Galneer - W/B/R deck featuring 187 creatures likes Bone Shredder. Lots of fun multicolored cards in this one and lots of ways to disrupt your board while putting power in it. Wide variety of ways of removing all kinds of permanents. Deck's main weakness is that it's slow to get going, but nearly all of its midgame drops start blowing things up. Haven't fought this deck as much as I'd like.

0442.dck Queltosh

Code: Select all: .14271 2 Flying Crane Technique .14313 4 Mantis Rider .1225 4 Lightning Angel .1328 4 Lightning Helix .13370 4 Akroan Hoplite .10250 1 Cerodon Yearling .1239 3 Isamaru, Hound of Konda .12091 3 Stromkirk Noble .1233 4 Deft Duelist .167 1 Mox Pearl .168 1 Mox Ruby .169 1 Mox Sapphire .6 4 Armageddon .240 2 Swords to Plowshares .10496 2 Arid Mesa .1487 2 Flooded Strand .10654 2 Scalding Tarn .254 4 Tundra .266 4 Volcanic Island .189 4 Plateau .10419 1 Glacial Fortress .12094 1 Sulfur Falls .11906 2 Clifftop Retreat

Queltosh - R/W/U deck that tries to drop some early strong beatdown creatures and then lock in the advantage with Armageddon. Efficient creatures at almost all mana curve points (Isamaru, Hound of Konda, Mantis Rider, Lightning Angel). Flying Crane Technique is a hilarious finisher, couldn't bring myself to remove it. 1 and 2 drops are generally a little less awesome than 3 and 4 drops, so it starts a bit slow.

0456.dck Saltrem Tor

Code: Select all: .1552 3 Electrolyze .12780 2 Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius .13559 2 Spellheart Chimera .5445 4 Temporal Spring .10369 4 Vedalken Heretic .169 1 Mox Sapphire .168 1 Mox Ruby .165 1 Mox Emerald .11118 1 Elixir of Immortality .48 4 Counterspell .7014 1 Beacon of Destruction .92 1 Fork .145 3 Lightning Bolt .84 1 Fireball .1140 1 Searing Wind .1312 4 Cancel .25 1 Braingeyser .202 1 Regrowth .282 1 Wheel of Fortune .126 1 Island .10612 1 Misty Rainforest .10654 4 Scalding Tarn .1473 1 Wooded Foothills .12094 4 Sulfur Falls .241 4 Taiga .252 4 Tropical Island .266 4 Volcanic Island

Saltrem Tor - U/R/G control deck, somewhat similar to Elementalist but more focus on control and countermagic and less focus on burn and Spellheart Chimera. Uses Vedalken Heratic to draw cards rather than instants. Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius is a super cool big beefer but easy to remove. I like Temporal Spring only slightly less than Plow Under, very cool card. I love putting things on top of people's libraries.

Dragons and Arzakon - hard tri-color minions, harder than all but the wizards, 18 base HP. Dracur, Whim, Kiska-Ra, Mandurang, Prismat, Arzakon.

| Open

0990.dck Mandurang

Code: Select all: .166 1 Mox Jet .168 1 Mox Ruby .169 1 Mox Sapphire .17 1 Black Lotus .1 1 Ancestral Recall .249 1 Time Walk .1456 4 Hymn to Tourach .55 4 Dark Ritual .117 4 Hypnotic Specter .1221 2 Blazing Specter .7814 4 Dimir Cutpurse .1337 4 Blightning .162 1 Mind Twist .43 1 Contract from Below .1471 3 Terminate .535 2 The Rack .9385 1 Mind Shatter .10557 1 Guul Draz Specter .230 1 Sol Ring .894 1 Mana Crypt .1488 2 Bloodstained Mire .1486 2 Polluted Delta .10654 2 Scalding Tarn .9 4 Badlands .258 4 Underground Sea .266 4 Volcanic Island .239 3 Swamp

Mandurang - B/R/U hand destruction deck. Uses multicolor cards like Blazing Specter and Dimir Cutpurse to differentiate itself from black wizard, but may still be too similar of decks too close together in difficulty/power. Not a whole lot to say.

0991.dck Whim

Code: Select all: .17 1 Black Lotus .166 1 Mox Jet .167 1 Mox Pearl .169 1 Mox Sapphire .3 4 Animate Dead .2899 4 Breath of Life .1439 4 Careful Study .43 1 Contract from Below .1395 1 Frantic Search .6937 4 Pulse of the Grid .1508 1 Windfall .62 1 Demonic Tutor .1 1 Ancestral Recall .249 1 Time Walk .1198 1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath .12310 1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope .1596 1 Godsire .12386 1 Griselbrand .1598 1 Inkwell Leviathan .11839 1 Rune-Scarred Demon .10353 1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind .11069 1 Ulamog's Crusher .1609 1 Angel of Despair .230 1 Sol Ring .894 1 Mana Crypt .1487 3 Flooded Strand .1486 4 Polluted Delta .258 4 Underground Sea .254 4 Tundra .216 4 Scrubland .10 1 Balance .3650 1 Brimstone Dragon .5595 1 Laquatus's Creativity .3323 1 Verdant Force

Whim - B/U/W reanimator. Uses blue cards like Careful Study and Pulse of the Grid to draw cards and get creatures into the graveyard. Animate Dead and Breath of Life to bring creatures back (could just as easily be Zombify, but then white wouldn't have much purpose in the deck). Uses a wide variety of creatures to hopefully allow the AI to handle a wide variety of situations.

0092.dck Prismat

Code: Select all: .17 1 Black Lotus .165 1 Mox Emerald .167 1 Mox Pearl .168 1 Mox Ruby .12686 1 Collective Blessing .10080 4 Steward of Valeron .1297 2 Watchwolf .8470 2 Wilderness Elemental .1369 4 Woolly Thoctar .1326 4 Wild Nacatl .10123 3 Cliffrunner Behemoth .5232 3 Flametongue Kavu .14 1 Berserk .282 1 Wheel of Fortune .1610 3 Indrik Stomphowler .11156 3 Overwhelming Stampede .13370 4 Akroan Hoplite .10496 3 Arid Mesa .1473 3 Wooded Foothills .1472 3 Windswept Heath .189 4 Plateau .212 4 Savannah .241 4 Taiga

Prismat - G/W/R super aggressive rush deck. This color combination boasts some very cost-effective creatures, from Wild Nacatl to Woolly Thoctar. Deck lacks evasion but AI has no problem using Overwhelming Stampede as a finisher. Undoubtedly one of the toughest decks; deck is however weak to cards like Moat. Fast, brutal, strong.

0993.dck Dracur

Code: Select all: .17 1 Black Lotus .165 1 Mox Emerald .166 1 Mox Jet .168 1 Mox Ruby .528 1 Strip Mine .10379 2 Acidic Slime .1003 2 Creeping Mold .6729 4 Molten Rain .3658 3 Ogre Arsonist .1406 2 Pillage .1278 4 Wrecking Ball .10305 4 Lord of Extinction .226 4 Sinkhole .230 1 Sol Ring .62 1 Demonic Tutor .202 1 Regrowth .282 1 Wheel of Fortune .15 4 Birds of Paradise .92 1 Fork .10706 2 Verdant Catacombs .1473 2 Wooded Foothills .1488 2 Bloodstained Mire .9 4 Badlands .12 4 Bayou .241 4 Taiga .10409 1 Dragonskull Summit .10460 1 Rootbound Crag .12127 1 Woodland Cemetery

Dracur - R/G/B land destruction. Surely the weakest of the dragons but no pushover nonetheless; gets weaker of course as the player gets faster, more powerful decks, go Moxes. But if the land destruction can start before the player can get going, things can easily go in Dracur's favor. Wonder if Tarmogoyf would be a good fit.

0094.dck Kiska-Ra

Code: Select all: .1 1 Ancestral Recall .249 1 Time Walk .15 2 Birds of Paradise .165 1 Mox Emerald .167 1 Mox Pearl .169 1 Mox Sapphire .121 4 Instill Energy .233 4 Stasis .1525 1 Enlightened Tutor .5132 3 Sterling Grove .13566 4 Sylvan Caryatid .1395 1 Frantic Search .699 2 Kismet .1740 2 Frozen Aether .127 1 Island Sanctuary .1439 4 Careful Study .1198 1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath .156 2 Mana Short .12310 1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope .7682 1 Kiyomaro, First to Stand .1487 3 Flooded Strand .10612 3 Misty Rainforest .212 4 Savannah .254 4 Tundra .252 4 Tropical Island .11985 2 Hinterland Harbor .10419 2 Glacial Fortress

Kiska-Ra - W/U/G Stasis lock. AI plays the deck reasonably well, often plays a Stasis too early and loses it (don't know if it was incorrect to do so as I didn't see its hand). Uses Instill Energy to pay for Stasis correctly. Usually doesn't prioritize Kismet/Frozen Aether/Mana Short before putting out the Stasis, but this can still lead to a good lock. Island Sanctuary is a win condition I'm not sure if the AI uses.

0999.dck Arzakon - Slivers - needs refinement but can work well.

Code: Select all: .13268 2 Bonescythe Sliver .1381 4 Bonesplitter Sliver .1382 4 Crystalline Sliver .8557 2 Fury Sliver .13290 3 Galerider Sliver .13314 4 Megantic Sliver .1378 4 Might Sliver .1377 4 Muscle Sliver .13322 4 Predatory Sliver .13333 3 Sentinel Sliver .6435 2 Shifting Sliver .1386 4 Sinew Sliver .14175 2 Sliver Hivelord .9020 2 Sliver Legion .1437 1 Sliver Queen .13349 2 Syphon Sliver .1391 2 Watcher Sliver .17 1 Black Lotus .25 1 Braingeyser .62 1 Demonic Tutor .894 1 Mana Crypt .165 1 Mox Emerald .166 1 Mox Jet .167 1 Mox Pearl .168 1 Mox Ruby .169 1 Mox Sapphire .1342 1 Time Spiral .249 1 Time Walk .250 1 Timetwister .1302 4 Vindicate .282 1 Wheel of Fortune .1488 2 Bloodstained Mire .9 3 Badlands .12 4 Bayou .403 4 City of Brass .10606 2 Marsh Flats .10612 3 Misty Rainforest .1486 3 Polluted Delta .212 3 Savannah .10654 2 Scalding Tarn .216 3 Scrubland .241 2 Taiga .252 3 Tropical Island .254 3 Tundra .258 4 Underground Sea .1472 3 Windswept Heath .266 2 Volcanic Island .10706 3 Verdant Catacombs .1524 4 Eladamri's Call .1 1 Ancestral Recall .230 1 Sol Ring .4212 1 Yawgmoth's Bargain .438 1 Library of Alexandria .1110 4 Phyrexian Arena .1379 1 Battering Sliver .2050 1 Necropotence

by **stassy** » 07 Jul 2015, 13:19

In Wizard difficulty they can be quite troublesome indeed at T3 (Witch has 10 hp and always keep 1 mana available at least for regen, Undead Knight has 12 hp and can put a Phyrexian Crusader at T1), nice ones

And also when I picked up my 2nd duel against the Witch, she summoned...a Vampire Lord instead with 18 hp (not edited yet though) :mrgreen:

by **jiansonz** » 07 Jul 2015, 19:56

@guinsoo: What great additions to the decks pool! At a first glance, there are quite a few I think I'll like better than what's been presented so far for those particular enemies. I'll be sure to try out several of them. I'll comment more on some specific decks as I gain experience with them (also, there are still a lot of cards that are completely new to me).

I'm not fond of breaking restrictions though (or having Contract from Below in a deck that isn't used in regular ante duels), so I will tinker a bit with the Lichlord deck in particular.

Witch deck looks great, very much in-line with the traditional theme. I like Undead Knight a lot, too. It did have some zombies earlier as well. I will definitely use those two decks in Shandalar for my next Shandalar game. Even so, that other Undead Knight deck that stassy has made (the one with all the infected creatures) is pretty unique and hard to replace.
LOL @ the geezer rat-loving Warlock. Hilarious.

Shapeshifter looks mighty interesting, as does Astral Visionary.

Yeah, I also have a fondness for the original Sainted One deck (or rather, Abe Sargent's remake of it). Apart from the CoP:Artifacts, he also protects himself against artifact damage with Martyrs of Korlis, which I think is elegant.

Nice going, keep them coming.

As for the henchmen's life, their base life is 11 plus the number of 'dots' you have scored against their wizard master. So they top out at 21 (27 on wizard difficulty)

BTW, is your forum name inspired by a certain +4 dagger from the old classic CRPG Eye of the Beholder?

by **guinsoo** » 08 Jul 2015, 04:46

jiansonz wrote:@guinsoo: What great additions to the decks pool! At a first glance, there are quite a few I think I'll like better than what's been presented so far for those particular enemies. I'll be sure to try out several of them. I'll comment more on some specific decks as I gain experience with them (also, there are still a lot of cards that are completely new to me).

I'm not fond of breaking restrictions though (or having Contract from Below in a deck that isn't used in regular ante duels), so I will tinker a bit with the Lichlord deck in particular.

Witch deck looks great, very much in-line with the traditional theme. I like Undead Knight a lot, too. It did have some zombies earlier as well. I will definitely use those two decks in Shandalar for my next Shandalar game. Even so, that other Undead Knight deck that stassy has made (the one with all the infected creatures) is pretty unique and hard to replace.
LOL @ the geezer rat-loving Warlock. Hilarious.

Shapeshifter looks mighty interesting, as does Astral Visionary.

Yeah, I also have a fondness for the original Sainted One deck (or rather, Abe Sargent's remake of it). Apart from the CoP:Artifacts, he also protects himself against artifact damage with Martyrs of Korlis, which I think is elegant.

Nice going, keep them coming.

As for the henchmen's life, their base life is 11 plus the number of 'dots' you have scored against their wizard master. So they top out at 21 (27 on wizard difficulty)

BTW, is your forum name inspired by a certain +4 dagger from the old classic CRPG Eye of the Beholder?

It is indeed from that dagger! One of my favorite games of all time, just delightful and hard and was a little bit scary when I was young (like level.. 4? the spider level). Can't even remember the name of the +5 dagger because it was found much later in the game, Guinsoo was found on floor 1. Actually Eye of the Beholder is loaded in my SNES right now

Did you ever try Eye of the Beholder 2 or 3? They were PC only, but they sold them in a compilation thing and you could use your save data from EotB 1 to play 2, and then 2 to play 3, which was awesome especially for its time. Problem was, EotB 2 sucked and 3 was good, but not quite as good as the original.

I actually hadn't thought about Contract From Below being used in the context of a henchman or wizard where the player can't win ante (makes the card even better than Contract in a normal game, where it's already possibly the best card in the entire game), it's a good point. After thinking about it, I don't mind Lichlord using it TOO MUCH, as you only fight him once and the fight is supposed to be really hard (so removing it would be fine if the fight is too hard, but if he's not a particularly tough wizard I'd prefer to keep it) - but I would have an issue with Necromancer using it and I certainly wouldn't blame you for removing it or the duplicate Mox Jet / Black Lotus.

I forgot about Martyrs of Korlis (and Veteran Bodyguard), indeed that was a nice addition to that deck. I always enjoyed that match, it was a very well constructed deck for the Shandalar of that time.

by **jiansonz** » 08 Jul 2015, 08:26

guinsoo wrote:
It is indeed from that dagger! One of my favorite games of all time, just delightful and hard and was a little bit scary when I was young (like level.. 4? the spider level).

Yes, that part was scary! When you first got there, all you had against the spider poison was the clerical Slow Poison spell, which really only prolonged the suffering for the poisoned character. A poisoned character was still doomed if you had to rest. Ranged weapons and spells were key to kill those damn spiders before they reached melee. Then let the dwarven shaman on the next floor resurrect the dead. (There were cure poison potions on the spider level but you had to get through plenty of spiders to reach them.)

And the Mind Flayers on level 11. Yikes, they were scary! I once had 5/6 of my guys getting stunned right away.

guinsoo wrote: Can't even remember the name of the +5 dagger because it was found much later in the game

'Flicka'

guinsoo wrote:Did you ever try Eye of the Beholder 2 or 3? They were PC only, but they sold them in a compilation thing and you could use your save data from EotB 1 to play 2, and then 2 to play 3, which was awesome especially for its time. Problem was, EotB 2 sucked and 3 was good, but not nearly as good as the original.

Yes, I had EoB2 for the Amiga (as I did with EoB), and I think it's better than the first!

My roommate had EoB3 on his PC, and it is also good. End boss fight is less awesome than in the other two games, though.

guinsoo wrote:I actually hadn't thought about Contract From Below being used in the context of a henchman or wizard where the player can't win ante (makes the card even better than Contract in a normal game, where it's already possibly the best card in the entire game), it's a good point. After thinking about it, I don't mind Lichlord using it TOO MUCH, as you only fight him once and the fight is supposed to be really hard (so removing it would be fine if the fight is too hard, but if he's not a particularly tough wizard I'd prefer to keep it) - but I would have an issue with Necromancer using it and I certainly wouldn't blame you for removing it or the duplicate Mox Jet / Black Lotus.

CfB does bring great power, and one copy may have its place for the black wizard, I agree. But his standard deck has always been my toughest opponent (The starting Hypnotic Specter + Greed + lots of life is part of that. The standard deck is really well suited for building up tons of swamps and then explode with Nightmare/Drain Life/Howl from Beyond).

I changed your deck like this:
-1 Mox Jet
-1 Black Lotus
-1 Contract from Below
+1 Swamp
+1 Cruel Edict
+1 Abyssal Specter

guinsoo wrote:I forgot about Martyrs of Korlis (and Veteran Bodyguard), indeed that was a nice addition to that deck. I always enjoyed that match, it was a very well constructed deck for the Shandalar of that time.

Veteran Bodyguard was my Playdeck folder replacement for Martyrs because their ability did not work in the non-Shandalar part of the game setup I had.

Ah, I see you've added the green and red enemies. I'll be sure to check them out.

by **stassy** » 09 Jul 2015, 10:06

Banging my head for a few days because of Dracur, tried some Jund deck but not enough cards available so went for Ramp Dwagon, still need some tweaking...:

Dracur (0993.dck)

| Open: .6512 2 Dragon Mage
.6515 1 Dragon Tyrant
.13594 4 Voyaging Satyr
.13284 4 Elvish Mystic
.1248 2 Heartbeat of Spring
.155 2 Mana Flare
.285 4 Wild Growth
.91 6 Forest
.164 6 Mountain
.10460 4 Rootbound Crag
.241 4 Taiga
.1124 4 Rampant Growth
.11881 1 Balefire Dragon
.10800 1 Mordant Dragon
.11805 1 Furyborn Hellkite
.14624 1 Shockmaw Dragon
.4375 1 Thunder Dragon
.12629 1 Thundermaw Hellkite
.11457 1 Hellkite Igniter
.1269 1 Rorix Bladewing
.3650 1 Brimstone Dragon
.12464 4 Sheltering Word
.13579 4 Titan's Strength

Basically it's land, fetch some land, put some mana generator that also bait the player then pull the dwagon and protect them with some instant.
The problem is :
- AI don't play well Voyaging Satyr, I only seen him attacking instead of untapping
- AI prefer to use Sheltering Word for lifegain (on my creatures) instead of hexproof

by **jiansonz** » 09 Jul 2015, 18:01

My attempt at an updated Sainted One deck. I stay with the theme of the original but focus less on damage prevention and more on life gain. The deck runs a full batch of Serra Ascendants, which can mean a tough start at the two highest difficulty levels, as they will start out "ascended", at least if Sainted One gets to play first.

0021.dck

| Open: .188 16 Plains
.167 1 Mox Pearl
.230 1 Sol Ring
.17 1 Black Lotus
.510 1 Mishra's Workshop
.283 2 White Knight
.10 1 Balance
.481 1 Circle of Protection: Artifacts
.471 2 Armageddon Clock
.400 2 Bottle of Suleiman
.46 2 Copper Tablet
.505 3 Martyrs of Korlis
.11138 3 Knight Exemplar
.13258 3 Archangel of Thune
.11172 4 Serra Ascendant
.10540 1 Felidar Sovereign
.10576 3 Kabira Crossroads
.14158 3 Radiant Fountain
.10383 1 Angel's Mercy
.290 2 Wrath of God
.1413 2 Knight of Meadowgrain
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.13872 2 Dictate of Heliod
.1358 1 Indomitable Ancients

by **Korath** » 13 Jul 2015, 22:34

guinsoo wrote:If Fungus Master was U/G like was in original Shandalar,

It is blue/green. It's entirely possible I screwed up while posting enemy stat dumps here; only the monocolored colors get automatically translated into human-readable text by the software I'm using.

by **Fourth Inversion** » 14 Jul 2015, 10:08

Here's another possible deck for the Witch, mostly to find a home for Duh, as it's strongest at the start of the game, when the player is likely to have more creatures, and hence more reminder text.

| Open: .13655 4 Duh
.14201 3 Witch's Familiar
.13390 2 Blood-Toll Harpy
.10398 2 Child of Night
.3597 1 Dakmor Sorceress
.10403 2 Disentomb
.1446 3 Douse in Gloom
.10544 2 Giant Scorpion
.1087 2 Mind Rot
.11831 2 Onyx Mage
.14151 2 Paragon of Open Graves
.12447 2 Renegade Demon
.12836 3 Stab Wound
.461 3 Stone-Throwing Devils
.239 24 Swamp
.1477 2 Slith Bloodletter
.6496 1 Consumptive Goo

Just a thought - how 'fair' should the Wizard decks be? I guess what I mean is, from decks that @jiasonz and @guinsoo have posted, there are cards like 6/6 Serra Ascendant and anteless Contract from Below, neither of which exist in paper magic, but on the other hand, there are various 'unfair' combos like Time Vault + Voltaic Key (both of which are currently in Shandalar) that commonly appear in extended formats, and really place a limit on the sorts of 'fair' decks that have any sort of a viable matchup against them.

Shandalar enemy decks overhaul

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My full set of new enemy decks

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Re: My full set of new enemy decks

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