Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
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Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 02 Oct 2011, 00:58
I´m a big fan of Shandalar and have played through it many times, for over a decade now.
The two expansions added a bunch of more cards. In the original game, you could pretty much see that some cards were anticipated to arrive in expansions. I have been told that in the first expansion (Spells of the Ancients), the enemy decks were indeed changed to include several new cards (like the green/red Ape Lord creature getting Kird Apes, etc.) but in the next expansion (Duels of the Planeswalkers), the decks were back to how they were in the original game.
Mok´s version does include some changes. I like some of them, but very much dislike other changes. For example, the Arch Angel deck lost all of its cool 'fast and furious flyers' flavour and became something watered-down and weird with Moorish Cavalery, Resurrection, etc.
Forest Dragon and Azaar decks suddenly included land destruction. And so on.
With the current 2010 .iso version of the game, we are once again back to what the decks were in the original game.
I know about the issue of not being able to get more cards into Shandalar - but I think there is no reason not to have the enemy decks make better use of the 646 cards we do have available.
So I have changed all the enemy decks in the Shandalar I play, and this far, I am very pleased with the result.
I have also temporarily moved away all other decks from my Playdeck folder, so I can run Gauntlets and meet only Shandalar creature decks. I think it´s fun both to choose a specific deck to play with, or just go with a random one. I have played at least one Gauntlet (best of 1) with each of the 55 Shandalar decks. I must say I did surprisingly bad here.
Lost in the first duel quite often. Maybe I suck, but I like to think I had bad draws more often that the cumputer did (and I was the one who could mulligan...). My best run was with the Arch Angel deck, which won 13 duels and then lost to Aga Galneer. I plan to play four more Gauntlets with each of the 55 decks, to get some more interesting numbers.
.
ANYWAY
.
.
My main goals with the overhaul were these:
1. More flavourful enemy decks, with more cards from the expansions added.
2. Stay with the themes of the decks - often strengthening them, even.
3. Make most of the decks better and more competitive, especially the really bad ones.
4. Adding some cards you can´t buy with amulets, or in Nomad´s Bazaars, so they get slightly easier to get when you play.
My main inspiration for this is a series of articles written by Abe Sargent in 2009. Quite often, I think that this guy really is spot on with his ideas (sometimes I just go with his changes), but sometimes I disagree (a little or a lot). He´s also an excellent writer.
Here are the articles:
Green decks
Red decks
Black decks
Blue decks
White decks
Five 2-colour decks
There are 55 enemy decks in Shandalar:
- 35 of them (7x5) are monocoloured (although two of the 35 splashes another colour and one splashes two other colours).
- 10 of them are two-coloured (one of each possible combination).
- 9 of them are tri-coloured (one of each possible combination except white/red/black). These are the four Djinni and the five tri-coloured Dragons.
- 1 is the five-coloured Arzakon deck.
Abe´s articles cover the first 35 decks, and 5 of the next 10. The remaining 15 decks haven´t been "Abe-d", so I´m more on my own there.
How to change the decks.
The Shandalar enemy decks are stored in the 'Decks' folder, where each file corresponds to one enemy deck. You can open and edit them with Notepad. Each card in the game has a specific number, and the next column tells the game how many copies of that card the deck has. If you need to know certain card numbers, you can just create a 'dummy' deck in the Deck Builder that contains the cards you are after, save the deck, then open that file in Notepad.
It´s a bit annoying that there are only numbers in the file names for Shandalar, but it got better for me once I included these in my reference list (see below).
Sideboard
Most of the Shandalar decks use a sideboard, that adapts 3 cards after your primary colour. I do not know what it takes to get the computer to use the 'v none' version in Shandalar, but this is the one that has traditionally been used in the Dueling section of the game, and it´s also the one I use in my Playdeck folder. Maybe it´s used if your two main colours have exactly the same number of cards? I do not know.
Some of the sideboards have 1-2 cards that is the same in all versions, effectively reducing that sideboard to 2 or just 1 card.
My house rules of Shandalar decks
(meaning: the enemy decks must also follow them)
* A deck has 60 or more cards (except for a player at the very beginning of a Shandalar campaign).
* 4 copies maximum of cards other than basic lands
* 1 copy maximum of restricted cards
(the three lines above means I have no use for the Tome of Enlightenment, so I don´t buy it)
* Mana Vault, Balance, Land Tax and Black Vise are not restriced, so up to 4 can be used
* I used no 'ante cards' other than Bronze Tablet and Jeweled Bird. I would have used Tempest Efreet if it wasn´t so buggy...
In the following posts, I will go over the enemy decks, in alphabetic order. I will first list the original deck and give a few comments, then I will quote the relevant part from Abe Sergent´s articles (if applicable) so you can read it without having to follow the link. Then I will comment on Abe´s suggestions, add some changes if I don´t agree with him, and then list my modified version of the deck, and sometimes add some closing comments. I will try to add comments about at least one deck per day, usually a couple of them.
Finally, some downloads:
My current Decks folder, zipped
My current Playdeck folder, zipped
Decks reference list for my modified versions.
The two expansions added a bunch of more cards. In the original game, you could pretty much see that some cards were anticipated to arrive in expansions. I have been told that in the first expansion (Spells of the Ancients), the enemy decks were indeed changed to include several new cards (like the green/red Ape Lord creature getting Kird Apes, etc.) but in the next expansion (Duels of the Planeswalkers), the decks were back to how they were in the original game.
Mok´s version does include some changes. I like some of them, but very much dislike other changes. For example, the Arch Angel deck lost all of its cool 'fast and furious flyers' flavour and became something watered-down and weird with Moorish Cavalery, Resurrection, etc.
Forest Dragon and Azaar decks suddenly included land destruction. And so on.
With the current 2010 .iso version of the game, we are once again back to what the decks were in the original game.
I know about the issue of not being able to get more cards into Shandalar - but I think there is no reason not to have the enemy decks make better use of the 646 cards we do have available.
So I have changed all the enemy decks in the Shandalar I play, and this far, I am very pleased with the result.
I have also temporarily moved away all other decks from my Playdeck folder, so I can run Gauntlets and meet only Shandalar creature decks. I think it´s fun both to choose a specific deck to play with, or just go with a random one. I have played at least one Gauntlet (best of 1) with each of the 55 Shandalar decks. I must say I did surprisingly bad here.
Lost in the first duel quite often. Maybe I suck, but I like to think I had bad draws more often that the cumputer did (and I was the one who could mulligan...). My best run was with the Arch Angel deck, which won 13 duels and then lost to Aga Galneer. I plan to play four more Gauntlets with each of the 55 decks, to get some more interesting numbers..
ANYWAY
.
.
My main goals with the overhaul were these:
1. More flavourful enemy decks, with more cards from the expansions added.
2. Stay with the themes of the decks - often strengthening them, even.
3. Make most of the decks better and more competitive, especially the really bad ones.
4. Adding some cards you can´t buy with amulets, or in Nomad´s Bazaars, so they get slightly easier to get when you play.
My main inspiration for this is a series of articles written by Abe Sargent in 2009. Quite often, I think that this guy really is spot on with his ideas (sometimes I just go with his changes), but sometimes I disagree (a little or a lot). He´s also an excellent writer.
Here are the articles:
Green decks
Red decks
Black decks
Blue decks
White decks
Five 2-colour decks
There are 55 enemy decks in Shandalar:
- 35 of them (7x5) are monocoloured (although two of the 35 splashes another colour and one splashes two other colours).
- 10 of them are two-coloured (one of each possible combination).
- 9 of them are tri-coloured (one of each possible combination except white/red/black). These are the four Djinni and the five tri-coloured Dragons.
- 1 is the five-coloured Arzakon deck.
Abe´s articles cover the first 35 decks, and 5 of the next 10. The remaining 15 decks haven´t been "Abe-d", so I´m more on my own there.
How to change the decks.
The Shandalar enemy decks are stored in the 'Decks' folder, where each file corresponds to one enemy deck. You can open and edit them with Notepad. Each card in the game has a specific number, and the next column tells the game how many copies of that card the deck has. If you need to know certain card numbers, you can just create a 'dummy' deck in the Deck Builder that contains the cards you are after, save the deck, then open that file in Notepad.
It´s a bit annoying that there are only numbers in the file names for Shandalar, but it got better for me once I included these in my reference list (see below).
Sideboard
Most of the Shandalar decks use a sideboard, that adapts 3 cards after your primary colour. I do not know what it takes to get the computer to use the 'v none' version in Shandalar, but this is the one that has traditionally been used in the Dueling section of the game, and it´s also the one I use in my Playdeck folder. Maybe it´s used if your two main colours have exactly the same number of cards? I do not know.
Some of the sideboards have 1-2 cards that is the same in all versions, effectively reducing that sideboard to 2 or just 1 card.
My house rules of Shandalar decks
(meaning: the enemy decks must also follow them)
* A deck has 60 or more cards (except for a player at the very beginning of a Shandalar campaign).
* 4 copies maximum of cards other than basic lands
* 1 copy maximum of restricted cards
(the three lines above means I have no use for the Tome of Enlightenment, so I don´t buy it)
* Mana Vault, Balance, Land Tax and Black Vise are not restriced, so up to 4 can be used
* I used no 'ante cards' other than Bronze Tablet and Jeweled Bird. I would have used Tempest Efreet if it wasn´t so buggy...
In the following posts, I will go over the enemy decks, in alphabetic order. I will first list the original deck and give a few comments, then I will quote the relevant part from Abe Sergent´s articles (if applicable) so you can read it without having to follow the link. Then I will comment on Abe´s suggestions, add some changes if I don´t agree with him, and then list my modified version of the deck, and sometimes add some closing comments. I will try to add comments about at least one deck per day, usually a couple of them.
Finally, some downloads:
My current Decks folder, zipped
My current Playdeck folder, zipped
Decks reference list for my modified versions.
Last edited by jiansonz on 09 Feb 2012, 09:24, edited 5 times in total.
Re: Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 02 Oct 2011, 11:20
Aga Galneer - Black Djinn
Deck file: 0434.dck
Plays: Black, White and Green
Life: 13/15/17/19
Frequent advantage*: none that comes to my mind
(* Creatures often have an advantage (a card in play) when they try to fend off an attempt from you to free a city, or when you fight in their castles. These are generic advantages taken from a small pool of cards (e.g. black creatures tend to have either Vampire Bats, Carrion Ants or Hypnotic Specter). These are NOT the advantages I am listing under this header. Here I list the advantages the different enemies can have during regular duels in Shandalar. The exception is the five wizards, as they are only found in the castles, and they each always have a particular advantage.)
Frequent special reward*: Junun Efreet
(* Nearly all enemies can give you an amulet of their deck color as extra reward. The line above is reserved for other things)
Original Aga Galneer deck
.239 8 Swamp
.91 6 Forest
.188 8 Plains
.230 1 Sol Ring
.870 2 Gem Bazaar
.259 2 Unholy Strength
.415 2 Erg Raiders
.413 2 El-Hajjaj
.108 2 Healing Salve
.237 2 Stream of Life
.512 3 Onulet
.661 2 Greed
.294 2 Ashes to Ashes
.129 2 Jade Monolith
.794 3 Spirit Link
.221 2 Serra Angel
.220 2 Sengir Vampire
.97 2 Giant Growth
.98 2 Giant Spider
.94 2 Fungusaur
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.116 2 Hurricane
.vNone
.68 3 Drain Life
.vBlack
.68 3 Drain Life
.vBlue
.68 3 Drain Life
.vGreen
.58 2 Deathgrip
.68 1 Drain Life
.vRed
.68 3 Drain Life
.vWhite
.64 3 Disenchant
This deck is centered around effects that cost life to use, and effects that give life. It features the classic 5-mana 4/4 black and white flyers as well as a good number of other creatures.
Simply switching out basic lands for quadruplets of the correct dual lands makes this deck much better (its main problem in the original version was finding the right mana for the spells in hand).
Adding dual lands for all multicoloured decks in Shandalar is such an obvious improvement that I am not even going to comment on it any more.
In the orginal game, there was only one Djinn card in the game, the Mahamoti. The blue djinn enemy (Alt-A-Kesh) has that in his deck. I have decided that all four djinni enemies should include at least one djinn of the appropriate colour. Since Aga Galneer is the black djinn, I am going to give Aga Galneer the only black djinn in the card pool. It fits the theme very well, and it combines perfectly with Spirit Link.
To make room for the Juzam Djinns, I pull the Fungusaurs. Although you can grow the Fungusaurs with Drain Life and Healing Salve (by making it survive an otherwise lethal battle), unlike the Saltrem Tor and Fungus Master decks, this deck has no consistent way to make them grow. This means that they often end up just as expensive 2/2 creatures.
Modified Aga Galneer deck
.239 4 Swamp
.91 2 Forest
.188 4 Plains
.212 4 Savannah
.12 4 Bayou
.216 4 Scrubland
.230 1 Sol Ring
.870 2 Gem Bazaar
.259 2 Unholy Strength
.415 2 Erg Raiders
.413 2 El-Hajjaj
.108 2 Healing Salve
.237 2 Stream of Life
.512 3 Onulet
.661 2 Greed
.294 2 Ashes to Ashes
.129 2 Jade Monolith
.794 3 Spirit Link
.221 2 Serra Angel
.220 2 Sengir Vampire
.97 2 Giant Growth
.98 2 Giant Spider
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.116 2 Hurricane
.434 2 Juzam Djinn
.vNone
.68 3 Drain Life
.vBlack
.68 3 Drain Life
.vBlue
.68 3 Drain Life
.vGreen
.58 2 Deathgrip
.68 1 Drain Life
.vRed
.68 3 Drain Life
.vWhite
.64 2 Disenchant
.68 1 Drain Life
Sideboard comments: Interesting to see that the deck uses Deathgrip against Green but doesn´t bother with Lifeforce against Black.
It´s a common thing among the Shandalar decks to have enchantment removal against white, and that is not a bad idea. However, Drain Life is a good spell, so I think it´s not nice to deny the deck all of them when it faces White. Hence my little change.
Test Gauntlet result: Won 9 duels, then lost to Crusader.
This is a fun deck to play, as you often have several tactical decisions to make.
Deck file: 0434.dck
Plays: Black, White and Green
Life: 13/15/17/19
Frequent advantage*: none that comes to my mind
(* Creatures often have an advantage (a card in play) when they try to fend off an attempt from you to free a city, or when you fight in their castles. These are generic advantages taken from a small pool of cards (e.g. black creatures tend to have either Vampire Bats, Carrion Ants or Hypnotic Specter). These are NOT the advantages I am listing under this header. Here I list the advantages the different enemies can have during regular duels in Shandalar. The exception is the five wizards, as they are only found in the castles, and they each always have a particular advantage.)
Frequent special reward*: Junun Efreet
(* Nearly all enemies can give you an amulet of their deck color as extra reward. The line above is reserved for other things)
Original Aga Galneer deck
.239 8 Swamp
.91 6 Forest
.188 8 Plains
.230 1 Sol Ring
.870 2 Gem Bazaar
.259 2 Unholy Strength
.415 2 Erg Raiders
.413 2 El-Hajjaj
.108 2 Healing Salve
.237 2 Stream of Life
.512 3 Onulet
.661 2 Greed
.294 2 Ashes to Ashes
.129 2 Jade Monolith
.794 3 Spirit Link
.221 2 Serra Angel
.220 2 Sengir Vampire
.97 2 Giant Growth
.98 2 Giant Spider
.94 2 Fungusaur
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.116 2 Hurricane
.vNone
.68 3 Drain Life
.vBlack
.68 3 Drain Life
.vBlue
.68 3 Drain Life
.vGreen
.58 2 Deathgrip
.68 1 Drain Life
.vRed
.68 3 Drain Life
.vWhite
.64 3 Disenchant
This deck is centered around effects that cost life to use, and effects that give life. It features the classic 5-mana 4/4 black and white flyers as well as a good number of other creatures.
Simply switching out basic lands for quadruplets of the correct dual lands makes this deck much better (its main problem in the original version was finding the right mana for the spells in hand).
Adding dual lands for all multicoloured decks in Shandalar is such an obvious improvement that I am not even going to comment on it any more.
In the orginal game, there was only one Djinn card in the game, the Mahamoti. The blue djinn enemy (Alt-A-Kesh) has that in his deck. I have decided that all four djinni enemies should include at least one djinn of the appropriate colour. Since Aga Galneer is the black djinn, I am going to give Aga Galneer the only black djinn in the card pool. It fits the theme very well, and it combines perfectly with Spirit Link.
To make room for the Juzam Djinns, I pull the Fungusaurs. Although you can grow the Fungusaurs with Drain Life and Healing Salve (by making it survive an otherwise lethal battle), unlike the Saltrem Tor and Fungus Master decks, this deck has no consistent way to make them grow. This means that they often end up just as expensive 2/2 creatures.
Modified Aga Galneer deck
.239 4 Swamp
.91 2 Forest
.188 4 Plains
.212 4 Savannah
.12 4 Bayou
.216 4 Scrubland
.230 1 Sol Ring
.870 2 Gem Bazaar
.259 2 Unholy Strength
.415 2 Erg Raiders
.413 2 El-Hajjaj
.108 2 Healing Salve
.237 2 Stream of Life
.512 3 Onulet
.661 2 Greed
.294 2 Ashes to Ashes
.129 2 Jade Monolith
.794 3 Spirit Link
.221 2 Serra Angel
.220 2 Sengir Vampire
.97 2 Giant Growth
.98 2 Giant Spider
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.116 2 Hurricane
.434 2 Juzam Djinn
.vNone
.68 3 Drain Life
.vBlack
.68 3 Drain Life
.vBlue
.68 3 Drain Life
.vGreen
.58 2 Deathgrip
.68 1 Drain Life
.vRed
.68 3 Drain Life
.vWhite
.64 2 Disenchant
.68 1 Drain Life
Sideboard comments: Interesting to see that the deck uses Deathgrip against Green but doesn´t bother with Lifeforce against Black.
It´s a common thing among the Shandalar decks to have enchantment removal against white, and that is not a bad idea. However, Drain Life is a good spell, so I think it´s not nice to deny the deck all of them when it faces White. Hence my little change.
Test Gauntlet result: Won 9 duels, then lost to Crusader.
This is a fun deck to play, as you often have several tactical decisions to make.
Last edited by jiansonz on 28 Oct 2011, 09:14, edited 3 times in total.
Re: Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 02 Oct 2011, 12:19
Alt-A-Kesh - Green Djinn
Deck file: 0426.dck
Plays: Blue, Black and Green
Life: 13/15/17/19
Frequent advantage: none that comes to my mind
Frequent special reward: Bottle of Suleiman
Original Alt-A-Kesh deck:
.91 7 Forest
.239 7 Swamp
.126 7 Island
.870 4 Gem Bazaar
.831 2 Untamed Wilds
.271 2 Wall of Ice
.268 2 Wall of Bone
.267 2 Wall of Air
.15 2 Birds of Paradise
.336 2 Bog Imp
.40 2 Cockatrice
.154 2 Mahamoti Djinn
.183 2 Phantasmal Forces
.217 2 Scryb Sprites
.835 2 Vampire Bats
.859 2 Zephyr Falcon
.185 2 Phantom Monster
.433 2 Junun Efreet
.151 2 Lord of the Pit
.494 2 Energy Flux
.237 2 Stream of Life
.1 1 Ancestral Recall
.249 1 Time Walk
.250 1 Timetwister
This deck has a ton of flying creatures, ranging in cost from 1 to 7, from Vampire Bats and Scryb Sprites to Mahamoti Djinn and Lord of the Pit. It also has a couple of walls.
Alt is traditionally known as the Blue Djinn, but it is actually this djinn that resides in green dungeons and in the green castle. There is also nothing blue in this guy's avatar. Therefore, I am going to make a little switch so Alt can have some green djinni:
-1 Junun Efreet
-1 Phantasmal Forces
+2 Erhnam Djinn
Modified Alt-A-Kesh deck
.91 3 Forest
.239 3 Swamp
.126 3 Island
.258 4 Underground Sea
.12 4 Bayou
.252 4 Tropical Island
.870 4 Gem Bazaar
.831 2 Untamed Wilds
.271 2 Wall of Ice
.268 2 Wall of Bone
.267 2 Wall of Air
.15 2 Birds of Paradise
.336 2 Bog Imp
.40 2 Cockatrice
.154 2 Mahamoti Djinn
.416 2 Erhnam Djinn
.183 1 Phantasmal Forces
.217 2 Scryb Sprites
.835 2 Vampire Bats
.859 2 Zephyr Falcon
.185 2 Phantom Monster
.433 1 Junun Efreet
.151 2 Lord of the Pit
.494 2 Energy Flux
.237 2 Stream of Life
.1 1 Ancestral Recall
.249 1 Time Walk
.250 1 Timetwister
Test Gauntlet result: Won 8 duels, then lost to Azaar.
Deck file: 0426.dck
Plays: Blue, Black and Green
Life: 13/15/17/19
Frequent advantage: none that comes to my mind
Frequent special reward: Bottle of Suleiman
Original Alt-A-Kesh deck:
.91 7 Forest
.239 7 Swamp
.126 7 Island
.870 4 Gem Bazaar
.831 2 Untamed Wilds
.271 2 Wall of Ice
.268 2 Wall of Bone
.267 2 Wall of Air
.15 2 Birds of Paradise
.336 2 Bog Imp
.40 2 Cockatrice
.154 2 Mahamoti Djinn
.183 2 Phantasmal Forces
.217 2 Scryb Sprites
.835 2 Vampire Bats
.859 2 Zephyr Falcon
.185 2 Phantom Monster
.433 2 Junun Efreet
.151 2 Lord of the Pit
.494 2 Energy Flux
.237 2 Stream of Life
.1 1 Ancestral Recall
.249 1 Time Walk
.250 1 Timetwister
This deck has a ton of flying creatures, ranging in cost from 1 to 7, from Vampire Bats and Scryb Sprites to Mahamoti Djinn and Lord of the Pit. It also has a couple of walls.
Alt is traditionally known as the Blue Djinn, but it is actually this djinn that resides in green dungeons and in the green castle. There is also nothing blue in this guy's avatar. Therefore, I am going to make a little switch so Alt can have some green djinni:
-1 Junun Efreet
-1 Phantasmal Forces
+2 Erhnam Djinn
Modified Alt-A-Kesh deck
.91 3 Forest
.239 3 Swamp
.126 3 Island
.258 4 Underground Sea
.12 4 Bayou
.252 4 Tropical Island
.870 4 Gem Bazaar
.831 2 Untamed Wilds
.271 2 Wall of Ice
.268 2 Wall of Bone
.267 2 Wall of Air
.15 2 Birds of Paradise
.336 2 Bog Imp
.40 2 Cockatrice
.154 2 Mahamoti Djinn
.416 2 Erhnam Djinn
.183 1 Phantasmal Forces
.217 2 Scryb Sprites
.835 2 Vampire Bats
.859 2 Zephyr Falcon
.185 2 Phantom Monster
.433 1 Junun Efreet
.151 2 Lord of the Pit
.494 2 Energy Flux
.237 2 Stream of Life
.1 1 Ancestral Recall
.249 1 Time Walk
.250 1 Timetwister
Test Gauntlet result: Won 8 duels, then lost to Azaar.
Last edited by jiansonz on 14 Nov 2011, 18:26, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 02 Oct 2011, 12:57
Ape Lord
Deck file: 0437.dck
Plays: Red and Green
Life: 14/16/18/20
Frequent advantage: none that comes to my mind
Frequent special reward: Birds of Paradise in the next duel
Original Ape Lord deck:
.91 12 Forest
.164 10 Mountain
.157 2 Mana Vault
.15 4 Birds of Paradise
.149 4 Llanowar Elves
.490 1 Detonate
.855 4 Winter Blast
.698 4 Killer Bees
.224 2 Shivan Dragon
.49 2 Craw Wurm
.492 2 Dragon Engine
.237 3 Stream of Life
.84 3 Fireball
.65 3 Disintegrate
.85 4 Firebreathing
Lots of mana production, some powerful expensive critters and some burn spells. However, the deck tries to do a little too much with its mana.
Also, there is a distinct lack of Apes...
Abe does a great job with this deck:
"The Ape Lord is a Red/Green foe you face in the mountains and forests of Shandalar. As you can see, it has some issues to work through.
This deck is one of several that I think anticipates the later expansions. If you play with just Spells of the Ancients, the first expansion, this deck is fixed with the new cards, but after you add Duels of the Planeswalkers to the mix, that deck goes away and you are left with this lousy mix.
We need to severely modify it.
The first and obvious thing was to pull some lands for Taigas. The next thing is to add a certain card that makes this deck’s theme make sense. I pull 4 Firebreathing for 4 Kird Ape.
I’m not sure why this deck has such a severe X spell and pumping theme and yet avoids Earthquake and Hurricane (note the 22 lands). Birds, Elves and Mana Vaults are not enough, especially since the AI plays Mana Vaults very poorly. I pull them, Dragon Engine and the Detonate to make space for:
4 Barbary Apes
1 Lightning Bolt
The Apes gives you more theme. I’m going to retain the deck’s funky mana and flavor, but pulling out the worst of the lot and replacing it with some early creatures really helps the deck out a lot. "
Modified Ape Lord deck
.91 10 Forest
.164 8 Mountain
.241 4 Taiga
.15 4 Birds of Paradise
.149 4 Llanowar Elves
.855 4 Winter Blast
.698 4 Killer Bees
.224 2 Shivan Dragon
.237 3 Stream of Life
.84 3 Fireball
.65 3 Disintegrate
.437 4 Kird Ape
.576 4 Barbary Apes
.145 1 Lightning Bolt
.49 2 Craw Wurm
Well done, Abe! Those Firebreathing spells were rarely of much use, and the Dragon Engine is an inefficient pump creature.
If the issue with new cards in Shandalar ever gets solved, the first thing I am going to do is replace the two Craw Wurm cards with Ancient Silverback. The deck just screams for them!
Test Gauntlet result: Won one duel, then lost to Aga Galneer.
Deck file: 0437.dck
Plays: Red and Green
Life: 14/16/18/20
Frequent advantage: none that comes to my mind
Frequent special reward: Birds of Paradise in the next duel
Original Ape Lord deck:
.91 12 Forest
.164 10 Mountain
.157 2 Mana Vault
.15 4 Birds of Paradise
.149 4 Llanowar Elves
.490 1 Detonate
.855 4 Winter Blast
.698 4 Killer Bees
.224 2 Shivan Dragon
.49 2 Craw Wurm
.492 2 Dragon Engine
.237 3 Stream of Life
.84 3 Fireball
.65 3 Disintegrate
.85 4 Firebreathing
Lots of mana production, some powerful expensive critters and some burn spells. However, the deck tries to do a little too much with its mana.
Also, there is a distinct lack of Apes...
Abe does a great job with this deck:
"The Ape Lord is a Red/Green foe you face in the mountains and forests of Shandalar. As you can see, it has some issues to work through.
This deck is one of several that I think anticipates the later expansions. If you play with just Spells of the Ancients, the first expansion, this deck is fixed with the new cards, but after you add Duels of the Planeswalkers to the mix, that deck goes away and you are left with this lousy mix.
We need to severely modify it.
The first and obvious thing was to pull some lands for Taigas. The next thing is to add a certain card that makes this deck’s theme make sense. I pull 4 Firebreathing for 4 Kird Ape.
I’m not sure why this deck has such a severe X spell and pumping theme and yet avoids Earthquake and Hurricane (note the 22 lands). Birds, Elves and Mana Vaults are not enough, especially since the AI plays Mana Vaults very poorly. I pull them, Dragon Engine and the Detonate to make space for:
4 Barbary Apes
1 Lightning Bolt
The Apes gives you more theme. I’m going to retain the deck’s funky mana and flavor, but pulling out the worst of the lot and replacing it with some early creatures really helps the deck out a lot. "
Modified Ape Lord deck
.91 10 Forest
.164 8 Mountain
.241 4 Taiga
.15 4 Birds of Paradise
.149 4 Llanowar Elves
.855 4 Winter Blast
.698 4 Killer Bees
.224 2 Shivan Dragon
.237 3 Stream of Life
.84 3 Fireball
.65 3 Disintegrate
.437 4 Kird Ape
.576 4 Barbary Apes
.145 1 Lightning Bolt
.49 2 Craw Wurm
Well done, Abe! Those Firebreathing spells were rarely of much use, and the Dragon Engine is an inefficient pump creature.
If the issue with new cards in Shandalar ever gets solved, the first thing I am going to do is replace the two Craw Wurm cards with Ancient Silverback. The deck just screams for them!
Test Gauntlet result: Won one duel, then lost to Aga Galneer.
Last edited by jiansonz on 29 Oct 2011, 20:11, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 02 Oct 2011, 14:07
Arch Angel
Deck file: 0221.dck
Plays: White
Life: 16/18/20/22
Frequent advantage: Mesa Pegasus
Frequent special reward: +(3-4) life in the next duel
This is the biggest regular white creature, and she has one of the better decks out there.
Original Arch Angel deck:
.188 22 Plains
.157 2 Mana Vault
.290 4 Wrath of God
.231 4 Soul Net
.508 4 Mishra's Factory
.243 4 The Hive
.221 4 Serra Angel
.512 4 Onulet
.736 4 Osai Vultures
.534 4 Tetravus
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vNone
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlack
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlue
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vGreen
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vRed
.204 3 Reverse Damage
.vWhite
.64 3 Disenchant
With fast and furious flyers, powerful creature removal and life-gaining abilities, the Arch Angel can get very tough to beat if she is allowed to build up steam.
Abe makes the deck even better:
"This deck is one of the deadliest servants of the White Archmagi, and is the strongest servant to still give you ante (their main henchman does not give you ante). This deck is one of three (Vampire Lord and Elementalist) that have a similar theme.
26 Lands and 2 Mana Vault. This deck wants to drop Mana Vault on the first turn and Serra Angel on the second, but it doesn’t have enough Mana Vaults. Even without an Archangel (sic!), a Mana Vault can accelerate into a Tetravus on the third turn.
This deck obviously wants to play some powerful creatures, and it rocks the quartet of Wrath of God in order to initiate beatings. Note that the deck still has some unfortunate card choices.
Why is The Hive included in this deck? Insects are not on theme. Why not Clockwork Avian instead of Tetravus? You gain nothing with the more expensive Tetravus.
My first reaction was to pull The Hive and Tetravus for Clockwork Avian and better cards. However, I think, instead, I will change the deck so that Tetravus and The Hive are more pertinent by using an in flavor card to assist.
-4 Soul Net
+4 Angelic Voices
Now you can Crusade pump your White and artifact creatures. Now Tetravus and The Hive make some sense.
-2 The Hive
-2 Mesa Pegasus
+2 Mana Vault
+2 Swords to Plowshares
There are still too many The Hives running around though. I pull two and the Mesa Pegasus for a maxed out on-theme Mana Vault and good Swords to Plowshares."
Wow, the Angelic Voices addition certainly makes the deck more powerful! Believe me, it starts go get real scary when two or more are on on the board. 4/4 Factories and Onulets, 3/3 Vultures and Wasps, 6/6 Angels and Tetravus...
Me and Abe must have different sources for the info about the original deck. He had only 2 StP but instead 2 Mesa Pegasus. He then pulls out the flying horsies. But I like them, so I dump two vultures instead.
Modified Arch Angel deck:
.188 22 Plains
.157 4 Mana Vault
.290 4 Wrath of God
.508 4 Mishra's Factory
.243 2 The Hive
.221 4 Serra Angel
.512 4 Onulet
.736 2 Osai Vultures
.534 4 Tetravus
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.161 2 Mesa Pegasus
.564 4 Angelic Voices
.vNone
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlack
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlue
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vGreen
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vRed
.204 2 Reverse Damage
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vWhite
.64 2 Disenchant
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
Small sideboard modification: I gave the deck at least 2 StP against all decks.
The computer never pulls Teravites off Tetravus, so it isn´t using the deck´s full power. With just one each of Tetravus and Angelic Voices, you can have FOUR 2/2 creatures.
Test Gauntlet result: Won 13 duels, then lost to Aga Galneer.
Deck file: 0221.dck
Plays: White
Life: 16/18/20/22
Frequent advantage: Mesa Pegasus
Frequent special reward: +(3-4) life in the next duel
This is the biggest regular white creature, and she has one of the better decks out there.
Original Arch Angel deck:
.188 22 Plains
.157 2 Mana Vault
.290 4 Wrath of God
.231 4 Soul Net
.508 4 Mishra's Factory
.243 4 The Hive
.221 4 Serra Angel
.512 4 Onulet
.736 4 Osai Vultures
.534 4 Tetravus
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vNone
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlack
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlue
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vGreen
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vRed
.204 3 Reverse Damage
.vWhite
.64 3 Disenchant
With fast and furious flyers, powerful creature removal and life-gaining abilities, the Arch Angel can get very tough to beat if she is allowed to build up steam.
Abe makes the deck even better:
"This deck is one of the deadliest servants of the White Archmagi, and is the strongest servant to still give you ante (their main henchman does not give you ante). This deck is one of three (Vampire Lord and Elementalist) that have a similar theme.
26 Lands and 2 Mana Vault. This deck wants to drop Mana Vault on the first turn and Serra Angel on the second, but it doesn’t have enough Mana Vaults. Even without an Archangel (sic!), a Mana Vault can accelerate into a Tetravus on the third turn.
This deck obviously wants to play some powerful creatures, and it rocks the quartet of Wrath of God in order to initiate beatings. Note that the deck still has some unfortunate card choices.
Why is The Hive included in this deck? Insects are not on theme. Why not Clockwork Avian instead of Tetravus? You gain nothing with the more expensive Tetravus.
My first reaction was to pull The Hive and Tetravus for Clockwork Avian and better cards. However, I think, instead, I will change the deck so that Tetravus and The Hive are more pertinent by using an in flavor card to assist.
-4 Soul Net
+4 Angelic Voices
Now you can Crusade pump your White and artifact creatures. Now Tetravus and The Hive make some sense.
-2 The Hive
-2 Mesa Pegasus
+2 Mana Vault
+2 Swords to Plowshares
There are still too many The Hives running around though. I pull two and the Mesa Pegasus for a maxed out on-theme Mana Vault and good Swords to Plowshares."
Wow, the Angelic Voices addition certainly makes the deck more powerful! Believe me, it starts go get real scary when two or more are on on the board. 4/4 Factories and Onulets, 3/3 Vultures and Wasps, 6/6 Angels and Tetravus...
Me and Abe must have different sources for the info about the original deck. He had only 2 StP but instead 2 Mesa Pegasus. He then pulls out the flying horsies. But I like them, so I dump two vultures instead.
Modified Arch Angel deck:
.188 22 Plains
.157 4 Mana Vault
.290 4 Wrath of God
.508 4 Mishra's Factory
.243 2 The Hive
.221 4 Serra Angel
.512 4 Onulet
.736 2 Osai Vultures
.534 4 Tetravus
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.161 2 Mesa Pegasus
.564 4 Angelic Voices
.vNone
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlack
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlue
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vGreen
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vRed
.204 2 Reverse Damage
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vWhite
.64 2 Disenchant
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
Small sideboard modification: I gave the deck at least 2 StP against all decks.
The computer never pulls Teravites off Tetravus, so it isn´t using the deck´s full power. With just one each of Tetravus and Angelic Voices, you can have FOUR 2/2 creatures.
Test Gauntlet result: Won 13 duels, then lost to Aga Galneer.
Last edited by jiansonz on 19 Jul 2012, 20:35, edited 3 times in total.
Re: Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 02 Oct 2011, 18:20
Arzakon
Deck file: 0999.dck
Plays: All five colours
Life: 100/200/300/400
Frequent advantage: Celestial Prism and Black Lotus (always)
Frequent special reward: Bragging rights
Ah, the final boss. I admit that I am not that interested in doing anything about this deck. Just the obvious land fix I am not going to comment.
Modified Arzakon deck:
.9 3 Badlands
.12 3 Bayou
.189 3 Plateau
.212 3 Savannah
.266 3 Volcanic Island
.258 3 Underground Sea
.241 3 Taiga
.254 3 Tundra
.252 3 Tropical Island
.216 3 Scrubland
.425 2 Hurr Jackal
.165 1 Mox Emerald
.166 1 Mox Jet
.167 1 Mox Pearl
.168 1 Mox Ruby
.169 1 Mox Sapphire
.870 4 Gem Bazaar
.76 2 Elvish Archers
.415 2 Erg Raiders
.106 2 Grizzly Bears
.161 2 Mesa Pegasus
.942 2 Pikemen
.211 2 Samite Healer
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.286 2 Will-o'-the-Wisp
.859 2 Zephyr Falcon
.841 2 Wall of Dust
.1 1 Ancestral Recall
.14 1 Berserk
.202 1 Regrowth
.249 1 Time Walk
.250 1 Timetwister
.282 1 Wheel of Fortune
.230 1 Sol Ring
.25 1 Braingeyser
.3 2 Animate Dead
.583 2 Blood Lust
.481 1 Circle of Protection: Artifacts
.33 1 Circle of Protection: Black
.34 1 Circle of Protection: Blue
.35 1 Circle of Protection: Green
.36 1 Circle of Protection: Red
.37 1 Circle of Protection: White
.409 2 Desert Twister
.65 2 Disintegrate
.88 2 Fog
.97 2 Giant Growth
.649 2 Giant Strength
.113 2 Howl from Beyond
.679 2 Immolation
.145 2 Lightning Bolt
.162 1 Mind Twist
.179 2 Paralyze
.191 2 Power Sink
.752 2 Pyrotechnics
.198 2 Raise Dead
.227 2 Siren's Call
.794 2 Spirit Link
.508 4 Mishra's Factory
.396 1 Aladdin's Ring
.580 1 Black Mana Battery
.584 1 Blue Mana Battery
.930 2 Brass Man
.484 1 Clockwork Avian
.38 1 Clockwork Beast
.485 1 Colossus of Sardia
.931 1 Dancing Scimitar
.376 1 Diabolic Machine
.318 4 Fellwar Stone
.662 1 Green Mana Battery
.500 1 Grapeshot Catapult
.176 1 Obsianus Golem
.525 1 Shapeshifter
.534 1 Tetravus
.243 2 The Hive
.538 1 Triskelion
.539 1 Urza's Avenger
.852 1 White Mana Battery
.765 1 Red Mana Battery
With no more basic lands in the deck, I suppose Blood Moon can do a good number on it. All is not lost if that happens, though, because it still has some good red/artifact spells, plus it has the initial Celestial Prism (unless you destroy it) and packs all the moxes and mana batteries.
Test Gauntlet result: Lost 1st duel to Sainted One. Ouch.
(although the deck isn´t all that crappy if it gets a decent draw. I´ve won several matches in other Gauntlets. Quite a fun deck to play with, as you never know what you are going to get.)
Deck file: 0999.dck
Plays: All five colours
Life: 100/200/300/400
Frequent advantage: Celestial Prism and Black Lotus (always)
Frequent special reward: Bragging rights
Ah, the final boss. I admit that I am not that interested in doing anything about this deck. Just the obvious land fix I am not going to comment.
Modified Arzakon deck:
.9 3 Badlands
.12 3 Bayou
.189 3 Plateau
.212 3 Savannah
.266 3 Volcanic Island
.258 3 Underground Sea
.241 3 Taiga
.254 3 Tundra
.252 3 Tropical Island
.216 3 Scrubland
.425 2 Hurr Jackal
.165 1 Mox Emerald
.166 1 Mox Jet
.167 1 Mox Pearl
.168 1 Mox Ruby
.169 1 Mox Sapphire
.870 4 Gem Bazaar
.76 2 Elvish Archers
.415 2 Erg Raiders
.106 2 Grizzly Bears
.161 2 Mesa Pegasus
.942 2 Pikemen
.211 2 Samite Healer
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.286 2 Will-o'-the-Wisp
.859 2 Zephyr Falcon
.841 2 Wall of Dust
.1 1 Ancestral Recall
.14 1 Berserk
.202 1 Regrowth
.249 1 Time Walk
.250 1 Timetwister
.282 1 Wheel of Fortune
.230 1 Sol Ring
.25 1 Braingeyser
.3 2 Animate Dead
.583 2 Blood Lust
.481 1 Circle of Protection: Artifacts
.33 1 Circle of Protection: Black
.34 1 Circle of Protection: Blue
.35 1 Circle of Protection: Green
.36 1 Circle of Protection: Red
.37 1 Circle of Protection: White
.409 2 Desert Twister
.65 2 Disintegrate
.88 2 Fog
.97 2 Giant Growth
.649 2 Giant Strength
.113 2 Howl from Beyond
.679 2 Immolation
.145 2 Lightning Bolt
.162 1 Mind Twist
.179 2 Paralyze
.191 2 Power Sink
.752 2 Pyrotechnics
.198 2 Raise Dead
.227 2 Siren's Call
.794 2 Spirit Link
.508 4 Mishra's Factory
.396 1 Aladdin's Ring
.580 1 Black Mana Battery
.584 1 Blue Mana Battery
.930 2 Brass Man
.484 1 Clockwork Avian
.38 1 Clockwork Beast
.485 1 Colossus of Sardia
.931 1 Dancing Scimitar
.376 1 Diabolic Machine
.318 4 Fellwar Stone
.662 1 Green Mana Battery
.500 1 Grapeshot Catapult
.176 1 Obsianus Golem
.525 1 Shapeshifter
.534 1 Tetravus
.243 2 The Hive
.538 1 Triskelion
.539 1 Urza's Avenger
.852 1 White Mana Battery
.765 1 Red Mana Battery
With no more basic lands in the deck, I suppose Blood Moon can do a good number on it. All is not lost if that happens, though, because it still has some good red/artifact spells, plus it has the initial Celestial Prism (unless you destroy it) and packs all the moxes and mana batteries.
Test Gauntlet result: Lost 1st duel to Sainted One. Ouch.
(although the deck isn´t all that crappy if it gets a decent draw. I´ve won several matches in other Gauntlets. Quite a fun deck to play with, as you never know what you are going to get.)
Re: Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 02 Oct 2011, 19:11
Astral Visionary (Blue Wizardess)
Deck file: 0245.dck
Plays: Blue
Life: (30/35/40/45)-X (X is the number of blue enemies you have killed during the game. X is capped at 10.)
Frequent advantage: Serendib Efreet (guaranteed on the higher difficulties)
Frequent special reward: Three different blue cards of your choice
In the original game, the ruler of Mysthold clearly has the worst deck of the five wizards. But with Abe´s changes, it gets a lot more interesting. Having played a couple of Gauntlets with it, I now "get" how it was supposed to work.
"This is supposed to be the most threatening Blue deck out there. Get ready to laugh."
Original Astral Visionary deck:
.126 24 Island
.48 4 Counterspell
.1 1 Ancestral Recall
.249 1 Time Walk
.250 1 Timetwister
.47 1 Copy Artifact
.340 4 Leviathan
.233 4 Stasis
.169 1 Mox Sapphire
.17 1 Black Lotus
.256 2 Twiddle
.550 4 Yotian Soldier
.114 4 Howling Mine
.859 4 Zephyr Falcon
.462 3 Unstable Mutation
.vNone
.69 3 Drain Power
.vBlack
.69 3 Drain Power
.vBlue
.69 3 Drain Power
.vGreen
.144 2 Lifetap
.69 1 Drain Power
.vRed
.22 2 Blue Elemental Blast
.69 1 Drain Power
.vWhite
.69 3 Drain Power
"Yup, it’s a Leviathan deck. It’s also a Stasis deck too. I’m not sure how that works out, exactly.
It’s funny to see Leviathan and Black Lotus in the same deck, but there you are.
The vigilance creatures are obvious choices to work along with Stasis. Howling Mine and Stasis work to keep people locked while you draw tons of mana. Zephyr Falcon and Yotian Solder make nice attackers.
The problems with this deck are twofold:
A). The most powerful Blue deck, in an era of Ancestral Recall and Time Walk, is a Leviathan deck at all;
B). This deck really needs to add White.
Here is a nasty deck you could build for the AV:
12 Islands
8 Plains
4 Tundra
4 Stasis
2 Kismet
4 Howling Mine
4 Serra Angel
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Sol Ring
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Balance
1 Time Walk
1 Ivory Tower
4 Black Vise
2 Moat
2 Island Sanctuary
That’s a powerful deck. That’s a deck you don’t want to cross. That would be a deck worthy of the Archmagi. Remember that the Red Archmagi, the Dragon Lord, had more colors. The Summoner, the main Green henchman, splashed White for a few cards. It would not be unreasonable to do that for this deck.
However, as much as I would like to do this for the Astral Visionary, this is not the deck I was handed. I was handed a TurboStasis/Leviathan deck. That’s what I have to build around. Yuck.
The one good thing here is that you can sac two islands to untap the Leviathan, so you can untap it while you are under a Stasis and swing with it. You can also Twiddle it to untap it, and swing. You’ll likely need to hit three times to win because the player often has a starting life total well over 20 by this time in the game. You can’t rely on the Falcon and Solider to help.
How does this deck win against Moat? There are no Boomerangs, and if you don’t have a Counterspell when I drop my Moat, you are losing. I guarantee you I won’t get decked (Feldon’s Cane) before you do. Your falcons aren’t going to kill me either.
-3 Unstable Mutation
+2 Boomerang
+1 Feldon’s Cane
Perhaps the AI will be good enough to know when to bounce a land or the Stasis. I doubt it, but you never know. Remember what I said about there being too many Unstable Mutations out there? This is a lousy deck for those, and yet here they are. Feldon’s Cane can get you a deck win and recycle those used Islands back to your deck to keep drawing and playing.
-3 Drain Power
+1 Mana Short
+2 Power Leak
Now this is the chance for Power Leak to start dealing some damage. Well tuned decks may sport Land Tax, Sylvan Library, Moat, and other good enchantments like Bad Moon or Crusade. Besides, Drain Power does not do what you want it to here.
-1 Timetwister
+1 Ivory Tower
This is not the right deck for Timetwister. This deck may win by decking the opponent, and you do not want to delay that at all.
-4 Zephyr Falcon
+4 Black Vise
You have to admit, the Vises are likely to kill a lot sooner than the Falcons will. They also are a powerful tool in making the deck a harder as an opponent. Now the Astral Visionary can just get lucky Vise kills."
Modified Astral Visionary deck
.126 24 Island
.48 4 Counterspell
.1 1 Ancestral Recall
.249 1 Time Walk
.47 1 Copy Artifact
.340 4 Leviathan
.233 4 Stasis
.169 1 Mox Sapphire
.17 1 Black Lotus
.256 2 Twiddle
.550 4 Yotian Soldier
.114 4 Howling Mine
.585 2 Boomerang
.495 1 Feldon's Cane
.503 1 Ivory Tower
.18 4 Black Vise
.vNone
.156 1 Mana Short
.190 2 Power Leak
.vBlack
.156 1 Mana Short
.190 2 Power Leak
.vBlue
.156 1 Mana Short
.190 2 Power Leak
.vGreen
.144 1 Lifetap
.190 2 Power Leak
.vRed
.22 2 Blue Elemental Blast
.190 1 Power Leak
.vWhite
.156 1 Mana Short
.190 2 Power Leak
Abe managed to take a really sucky deck and make it into a deck that´s working - at least on a regular basis. Unless you get a chance to win via Vises, I´ve found that the key steps to winning with this deck are:
* Get 1-2 Howling Mines out. Hopefully a Yotian, too, that can hold the defense a little.
* When the opponent has a bunch of tapped lands and tapped creatures, cast Stasis. The more extra mana you have when you do this, the better (as it gives you more options later)
* Keep the Stasis going until you have a Leviathan and another Stasis in hand, and a total of at least 12 mana on the board.
* If you can´t Boomerang the Stasis during opponent´s turn, you now have to suffer one very nasty enemy turn when you finally let the Stasis go. Opponent has a full hand of cards, a ton of mana and all his creatures are untapped.
* Cast Leviathan and Stasis. You now need to have at least one more mana, so you can keep this second Stasis going.
* Ride the Leviathan to victory.
Test Gauntlet result: Won 8 duels, then lost to Merfolk Shaman (stupid Islandwalking...)
Deck file: 0245.dck
Plays: Blue
Life: (30/35/40/45)-X (X is the number of blue enemies you have killed during the game. X is capped at 10.)
Frequent advantage: Serendib Efreet (guaranteed on the higher difficulties)
Frequent special reward: Three different blue cards of your choice
In the original game, the ruler of Mysthold clearly has the worst deck of the five wizards. But with Abe´s changes, it gets a lot more interesting. Having played a couple of Gauntlets with it, I now "get" how it was supposed to work.
"This is supposed to be the most threatening Blue deck out there. Get ready to laugh."
Original Astral Visionary deck:
.126 24 Island
.48 4 Counterspell
.1 1 Ancestral Recall
.249 1 Time Walk
.250 1 Timetwister
.47 1 Copy Artifact
.340 4 Leviathan
.233 4 Stasis
.169 1 Mox Sapphire
.17 1 Black Lotus
.256 2 Twiddle
.550 4 Yotian Soldier
.114 4 Howling Mine
.859 4 Zephyr Falcon
.462 3 Unstable Mutation
.vNone
.69 3 Drain Power
.vBlack
.69 3 Drain Power
.vBlue
.69 3 Drain Power
.vGreen
.144 2 Lifetap
.69 1 Drain Power
.vRed
.22 2 Blue Elemental Blast
.69 1 Drain Power
.vWhite
.69 3 Drain Power
"Yup, it’s a Leviathan deck. It’s also a Stasis deck too. I’m not sure how that works out, exactly.
It’s funny to see Leviathan and Black Lotus in the same deck, but there you are.
The vigilance creatures are obvious choices to work along with Stasis. Howling Mine and Stasis work to keep people locked while you draw tons of mana. Zephyr Falcon and Yotian Solder make nice attackers.
The problems with this deck are twofold:
A). The most powerful Blue deck, in an era of Ancestral Recall and Time Walk, is a Leviathan deck at all;
B). This deck really needs to add White.
Here is a nasty deck you could build for the AV:
12 Islands
8 Plains
4 Tundra
4 Stasis
2 Kismet
4 Howling Mine
4 Serra Angel
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Disenchant
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Sol Ring
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Balance
1 Time Walk
1 Ivory Tower
4 Black Vise
2 Moat
2 Island Sanctuary
That’s a powerful deck. That’s a deck you don’t want to cross. That would be a deck worthy of the Archmagi. Remember that the Red Archmagi, the Dragon Lord, had more colors. The Summoner, the main Green henchman, splashed White for a few cards. It would not be unreasonable to do that for this deck.
However, as much as I would like to do this for the Astral Visionary, this is not the deck I was handed. I was handed a TurboStasis/Leviathan deck. That’s what I have to build around. Yuck.
The one good thing here is that you can sac two islands to untap the Leviathan, so you can untap it while you are under a Stasis and swing with it. You can also Twiddle it to untap it, and swing. You’ll likely need to hit three times to win because the player often has a starting life total well over 20 by this time in the game. You can’t rely on the Falcon and Solider to help.
How does this deck win against Moat? There are no Boomerangs, and if you don’t have a Counterspell when I drop my Moat, you are losing. I guarantee you I won’t get decked (Feldon’s Cane) before you do. Your falcons aren’t going to kill me either.
-3 Unstable Mutation
+2 Boomerang
+1 Feldon’s Cane
Perhaps the AI will be good enough to know when to bounce a land or the Stasis. I doubt it, but you never know. Remember what I said about there being too many Unstable Mutations out there? This is a lousy deck for those, and yet here they are. Feldon’s Cane can get you a deck win and recycle those used Islands back to your deck to keep drawing and playing.
-3 Drain Power
+1 Mana Short
+2 Power Leak
Now this is the chance for Power Leak to start dealing some damage. Well tuned decks may sport Land Tax, Sylvan Library, Moat, and other good enchantments like Bad Moon or Crusade. Besides, Drain Power does not do what you want it to here.
-1 Timetwister
+1 Ivory Tower
This is not the right deck for Timetwister. This deck may win by decking the opponent, and you do not want to delay that at all.
-4 Zephyr Falcon
+4 Black Vise
You have to admit, the Vises are likely to kill a lot sooner than the Falcons will. They also are a powerful tool in making the deck a harder as an opponent. Now the Astral Visionary can just get lucky Vise kills."
Modified Astral Visionary deck
.126 24 Island
.48 4 Counterspell
.1 1 Ancestral Recall
.249 1 Time Walk
.47 1 Copy Artifact
.340 4 Leviathan
.233 4 Stasis
.169 1 Mox Sapphire
.17 1 Black Lotus
.256 2 Twiddle
.550 4 Yotian Soldier
.114 4 Howling Mine
.585 2 Boomerang
.495 1 Feldon's Cane
.503 1 Ivory Tower
.18 4 Black Vise
.vNone
.156 1 Mana Short
.190 2 Power Leak
.vBlack
.156 1 Mana Short
.190 2 Power Leak
.vBlue
.156 1 Mana Short
.190 2 Power Leak
.vGreen
.144 1 Lifetap
.190 2 Power Leak
.vRed
.22 2 Blue Elemental Blast
.190 1 Power Leak
.vWhite
.156 1 Mana Short
.190 2 Power Leak
Abe managed to take a really sucky deck and make it into a deck that´s working - at least on a regular basis. Unless you get a chance to win via Vises, I´ve found that the key steps to winning with this deck are:
* Get 1-2 Howling Mines out. Hopefully a Yotian, too, that can hold the defense a little.
* When the opponent has a bunch of tapped lands and tapped creatures, cast Stasis. The more extra mana you have when you do this, the better (as it gives you more options later)
* Keep the Stasis going until you have a Leviathan and another Stasis in hand, and a total of at least 12 mana on the board.
* If you can´t Boomerang the Stasis during opponent´s turn, you now have to suffer one very nasty enemy turn when you finally let the Stasis go. Opponent has a full hand of cards, a ton of mana and all his creatures are untapped.
* Cast Leviathan and Stasis. You now need to have at least one more mana, so you can keep this second Stasis going.
* Ride the Leviathan to victory.
Test Gauntlet result: Won 8 duels, then lost to Merfolk Shaman (stupid Islandwalking...)
Last edited by jiansonz on 02 Oct 2011, 22:58, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 02 Oct 2011, 21:19
Azaar - Greater Lich (Black Wizard)
Deck file: 0141.dck
Plays: Black
Life: (30/35/40/45)-X (X is the number of black enemies you have killed during the game. X is capped at 10.)
Frequent advantage: Hypnotic Specter(guaranteed on the higher difficulties)
Frequent special reward: Three different black cards of your choice
In a remote corner of Castle Necris you can find the foe that I probably have the worst record against over the years. Especially on Wizard difficulty (where he starts with Greed in addition to the Specter, and has lots of life to abuse the Greed with), he has turned many duels that were looking good for me into humbling defeats. I see this deck as being much better than what Abe makes it sound like. I do like some of his changes, though.
Original Azaar deck:
.239 22 Swamp
.55 4 Dark Ritual
.230 1 Sol Ring
.166 1 Mox Jet
.17 1 Black Lotus
.18 1 Black Vise
.162 1 Mind Twist
.68 4 Drain Life
.117 4 Hypnotic Specter
.220 4 Sengir Vampire
.534 3 Tetravus
.151 2 Lord of the Pit
.661 2 Greed
.286 3 Will-O-The-Wisp
.100 1 Gloom
.336 3 Bog Imp
.113 4 Howl from Beyond
"Remember, this is supposed to be the most powerful deck mono-Black can muster. Here is the evil archmagi in all of his glory and power.
Are you afraid? Of course not, not with cards like Bog Imp, Lord of the Pit, Howl from Beyond and Gloom. These are not some of the most powerful cards in the color. These are hardly going to put the fear of the Lichlord in you. We need to seriously overhaul this deck (which is true for most of the archmagi).
Let’s begin.
-1 Black Vise
+1 Demonic Tutor
Black Vise is a great card, but with Hyppies and Mind Twist, I’m not sure it fits this deck. On the other hand, Demonic Tutor is powerful and useful.
-2 Lord of the Pit
+2 Juzam Djinn
We already have a Lord of the Pit deck, and frankly, it’s not that great of a card to begin with. This should be a powerful deck, not a deck with high power creatures. Juzam Djinn is powerful, and great off a Dark Ritual, Black Lotus, or other acceleration.
-3 Bog Imp
+1 Swamp
+1 Contract from Below
+1 Juzam Djinn
22 Swamps plus Mox, Dark Ritual, Lotus and Sol Ring feels like it needs just one more Swamp to put it where I would want it. Contract from Below has obvious power. I wanted a 3rd Juzam Djinn.
-1 Gloom
+1 Terror
This deck is not great at killing things. We need to change that,
-3 Tetravus
+1 Terror
+2 Nightmare
It’s a good time to add a pair of solid Nightmares. I also wanted another Terror. Without Lord of the Pit in the deck, Nightmare is simply better than Tetravus and the same mana cost.
-4 Howl from Beyond
+2 Oubliette
+2 Demonic Hordes
In the right deck, Howls are fine, but they are card disadvantage and they don’t seem like a great addition here. I wanted to add a couple more creatures, and the Hordes look like a great choice. They have a good size and they can destroy an opponent’s mana base in short work. I wanted a bit more creature kill, and I love Oubliette, giving Black a way to handle any creature you want, instead of just non-artifact, non-Black creatures."
OK, that was a major overhaul. Yeah, the imps and the Gloom really needed to go, but I won´t accept all his other changes. When I think of Azaar, I think of Lord of the Pit. This guy pretty much is that card for me. So the Lords stay.
Contract from Below doesn´t work for me here, since there is no ante cost for a 'final wizard' to use it. The reward is the same anyway. That borders on cheating, as I see it. I understand its power and this enemy is supposed to be powerful, but...no.
Yeah, good idea with some removal, and I like the Nightmares, Juzams and Demonic Hordes. But since I am keeping the Lords, I want to leave two of the Tetravuses (Tetravi?) in as well. Besides, the deck has a flying theme, and I think it needs some artifact creatures so it won´t be completely hosed by a CoP:Black. I will also leave two Howls from Beyond in. It´s a great knockout punch for when the opponent gets low on life.
So I only have room to make some of the changes. I pick the Juzams, the Nightmares and two of the removal cards. Maybe that leaves me with a half-hearted deck, but it´s still powerful. I am probably still not quite done with this deck (really like the Demonic Hordes idea, but I have no space for them at the moment). So, for now...
Modified Azaar deck:
.239 23 Swamp
.55 4 Dark Ritual
.230 1 Sol Ring
.166 1 Mox Jet
.17 1 Black Lotus
.162 1 Mind Twist
.68 4 Drain Life
.117 4 Hypnotic Specter
.220 4 Sengir Vampire
.534 2 Tetravus
.151 2 Lord of the Pit
.661 2 Greed
.286 3 Will-o'-the-Wisp
.113 2 Howl from Beyond
.62 1 Demonic Tutor
.434 2 Juzam Djinn
.174 2 Nightmare
.242 1 Terror
.447 1 Oubliette
Test Gauntlet result: Won two duels, then lost to Cleric.
Deck file: 0141.dck
Plays: Black
Life: (30/35/40/45)-X (X is the number of black enemies you have killed during the game. X is capped at 10.)
Frequent advantage: Hypnotic Specter(guaranteed on the higher difficulties)
Frequent special reward: Three different black cards of your choice
In a remote corner of Castle Necris you can find the foe that I probably have the worst record against over the years. Especially on Wizard difficulty (where he starts with Greed in addition to the Specter, and has lots of life to abuse the Greed with), he has turned many duels that were looking good for me into humbling defeats. I see this deck as being much better than what Abe makes it sound like. I do like some of his changes, though.
Original Azaar deck:
.239 22 Swamp
.55 4 Dark Ritual
.230 1 Sol Ring
.166 1 Mox Jet
.17 1 Black Lotus
.18 1 Black Vise
.162 1 Mind Twist
.68 4 Drain Life
.117 4 Hypnotic Specter
.220 4 Sengir Vampire
.534 3 Tetravus
.151 2 Lord of the Pit
.661 2 Greed
.286 3 Will-O-The-Wisp
.100 1 Gloom
.336 3 Bog Imp
.113 4 Howl from Beyond
"Remember, this is supposed to be the most powerful deck mono-Black can muster. Here is the evil archmagi in all of his glory and power.
Are you afraid? Of course not, not with cards like Bog Imp, Lord of the Pit, Howl from Beyond and Gloom. These are not some of the most powerful cards in the color. These are hardly going to put the fear of the Lichlord in you. We need to seriously overhaul this deck (which is true for most of the archmagi).
Let’s begin.
-1 Black Vise
+1 Demonic Tutor
Black Vise is a great card, but with Hyppies and Mind Twist, I’m not sure it fits this deck. On the other hand, Demonic Tutor is powerful and useful.
-2 Lord of the Pit
+2 Juzam Djinn
We already have a Lord of the Pit deck, and frankly, it’s not that great of a card to begin with. This should be a powerful deck, not a deck with high power creatures. Juzam Djinn is powerful, and great off a Dark Ritual, Black Lotus, or other acceleration.
-3 Bog Imp
+1 Swamp
+1 Contract from Below
+1 Juzam Djinn
22 Swamps plus Mox, Dark Ritual, Lotus and Sol Ring feels like it needs just one more Swamp to put it where I would want it. Contract from Below has obvious power. I wanted a 3rd Juzam Djinn.
-1 Gloom
+1 Terror
This deck is not great at killing things. We need to change that,
-3 Tetravus
+1 Terror
+2 Nightmare
It’s a good time to add a pair of solid Nightmares. I also wanted another Terror. Without Lord of the Pit in the deck, Nightmare is simply better than Tetravus and the same mana cost.
-4 Howl from Beyond
+2 Oubliette
+2 Demonic Hordes
In the right deck, Howls are fine, but they are card disadvantage and they don’t seem like a great addition here. I wanted to add a couple more creatures, and the Hordes look like a great choice. They have a good size and they can destroy an opponent’s mana base in short work. I wanted a bit more creature kill, and I love Oubliette, giving Black a way to handle any creature you want, instead of just non-artifact, non-Black creatures."
OK, that was a major overhaul. Yeah, the imps and the Gloom really needed to go, but I won´t accept all his other changes. When I think of Azaar, I think of Lord of the Pit. This guy pretty much is that card for me. So the Lords stay.
Contract from Below doesn´t work for me here, since there is no ante cost for a 'final wizard' to use it. The reward is the same anyway. That borders on cheating, as I see it. I understand its power and this enemy is supposed to be powerful, but...no.
Yeah, good idea with some removal, and I like the Nightmares, Juzams and Demonic Hordes. But since I am keeping the Lords, I want to leave two of the Tetravuses (Tetravi?) in as well. Besides, the deck has a flying theme, and I think it needs some artifact creatures so it won´t be completely hosed by a CoP:Black. I will also leave two Howls from Beyond in. It´s a great knockout punch for when the opponent gets low on life.
So I only have room to make some of the changes. I pick the Juzams, the Nightmares and two of the removal cards. Maybe that leaves me with a half-hearted deck, but it´s still powerful. I am probably still not quite done with this deck (really like the Demonic Hordes idea, but I have no space for them at the moment). So, for now...
Modified Azaar deck:
.239 23 Swamp
.55 4 Dark Ritual
.230 1 Sol Ring
.166 1 Mox Jet
.17 1 Black Lotus
.162 1 Mind Twist
.68 4 Drain Life
.117 4 Hypnotic Specter
.220 4 Sengir Vampire
.534 2 Tetravus
.151 2 Lord of the Pit
.661 2 Greed
.286 3 Will-o'-the-Wisp
.113 2 Howl from Beyond
.62 1 Demonic Tutor
.434 2 Juzam Djinn
.174 2 Nightmare
.242 1 Terror
.447 1 Oubliette
Test Gauntlet result: Won two duels, then lost to Cleric.
Last edited by jiansonz on 27 Mar 2012, 09:00, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 03 Oct 2011, 14:49
Beast Master
Deck file: 0170.dck
Plays: Green
Life: 16/18/20/22
Frequent advantage: Timber Wolves
Frequent special reward: Timber Wolves in the next duel
Original Beast Master deck:
.91 21 Forest
.15 2 Birds of Paradise
.247 4 Timber Wolves
.444 4 Nafs Asp
.106 4 Grizzly Bears
.237 2 Stream of Life
.7 4 Aspect of Wolf
.868 4 Aswan Jaguar
.618 2 Durkwood Boars
.97 4 Giant Growth
.281 2 Web
.831 2 Untamed Wilds
.98 2 Giant Spider
.vNone
.409 2 Desert Twister
.237 1 Stream of Life
.vBlack
.409 2 Desert Twister
.237 1 Stream of Life
.vBlue
.253 1 Tsunami
.409 2 Desert Twister
.vGreen
.409 2 Desert Twister
.237 1 Stream of Life
.vRed
.409 2 Desert Twister
.237 1 Stream of Life
.vWhite
.409 2 Desert Twister
.251 1 Tranquility
The Beast Master is one of the beefier green enemies. His deck is all about animals. Lots of them.
Once again, Abe and I have a slight discrepancy for the original deck. He doesn´t have any Desert Twisters in his list, but 2 Killer Bees instead.
"The obvious theme is that these are beasts controlled by the Beast Master. Therefore, everything should be wild animals, and not a lot of fantasy animals like Wurms and such. Note that the natural animals here include insects, arachnids and snakes, birds, wolves, bears, jaguars and boars.
There are a lot of good additions to the deck from the later sets, so I can fine tune the deck’s theme. First, I pull the Streams of Life. Every Green deck should not have them, here they are not on theme, and this is supposed to be the most powerful normal Green creature’s deck.
I add 3 Wyluli Wolves. They are totally on theme.
I am very disappointed that Master of the Hunt did not get added in the Legends/The Dark update, because it would be very on point here.
I pull 2 Nafs Asp for 2 Giant Badger. I pull 2 Web for 2 Giant Turtle.
The result is more on theme. I stayed clear of adding more snakes or insects (like Emerald Dragonfly or Marsh Viper)."
Yeah, I like this. But I think that taking away the Webs makes the deck a little too vulnerable against an aerial attack. I also want to keep both the Bees and the Desert Twisters. The deck needs at least some removal.
To fit all of this in, I take out two Bears and one each of the Wolf spells compared to Abe´s modified list. Since one of the sideboard cards is now pulled out, I need to move something else down there. I picked a card from the only remaining 4-pack of animals in my list.
Modified Beast Master deck:
.91 21 Forest
.15 2 Birds of Paradise
.247 3 Timber Wolves
.444 2 Nafs Asp
.106 2 Grizzly Bears
.7 4 Aspect of Wolf
.868 3 Aswan Jaguar
.618 2 Durkwood Boars
.97 4 Giant Growth
.831 2 Untamed Wilds
.98 2 Giant Spider
.698 2 Killer Bees
.464 2 Wyluli Wolf
.898 2 Giant Badger
.650 2 Giant Turtle
.281 2 Web
.vNone
.409 2 Desert Twister
.868 1 Aswan Jaguar
.vBlack
.409 2 Desert Twister
.868 1 Aswan Jaguar
.vBlue
.253 1 Tsunami
.409 2 Desert Twister
.vGreen
.409 2 Desert Twister
.868 1 Aswan Jaguar
.vRed
.409 2 Desert Twister
.237 1 Stream of Life
.vWhite
.409 2 Desert Twister
.251 1 Tranquility
Test Gauntlet result: Won 5 duels, then lost to Ape Lord.
Deck file: 0170.dck
Plays: Green
Life: 16/18/20/22
Frequent advantage: Timber Wolves
Frequent special reward: Timber Wolves in the next duel
Original Beast Master deck:
.91 21 Forest
.15 2 Birds of Paradise
.247 4 Timber Wolves
.444 4 Nafs Asp
.106 4 Grizzly Bears
.237 2 Stream of Life
.7 4 Aspect of Wolf
.868 4 Aswan Jaguar
.618 2 Durkwood Boars
.97 4 Giant Growth
.281 2 Web
.831 2 Untamed Wilds
.98 2 Giant Spider
.vNone
.409 2 Desert Twister
.237 1 Stream of Life
.vBlack
.409 2 Desert Twister
.237 1 Stream of Life
.vBlue
.253 1 Tsunami
.409 2 Desert Twister
.vGreen
.409 2 Desert Twister
.237 1 Stream of Life
.vRed
.409 2 Desert Twister
.237 1 Stream of Life
.vWhite
.409 2 Desert Twister
.251 1 Tranquility
The Beast Master is one of the beefier green enemies. His deck is all about animals. Lots of them.
Once again, Abe and I have a slight discrepancy for the original deck. He doesn´t have any Desert Twisters in his list, but 2 Killer Bees instead.
"The obvious theme is that these are beasts controlled by the Beast Master. Therefore, everything should be wild animals, and not a lot of fantasy animals like Wurms and such. Note that the natural animals here include insects, arachnids and snakes, birds, wolves, bears, jaguars and boars.
There are a lot of good additions to the deck from the later sets, so I can fine tune the deck’s theme. First, I pull the Streams of Life. Every Green deck should not have them, here they are not on theme, and this is supposed to be the most powerful normal Green creature’s deck.
I add 3 Wyluli Wolves. They are totally on theme.
I am very disappointed that Master of the Hunt did not get added in the Legends/The Dark update, because it would be very on point here.
I pull 2 Nafs Asp for 2 Giant Badger. I pull 2 Web for 2 Giant Turtle.
The result is more on theme. I stayed clear of adding more snakes or insects (like Emerald Dragonfly or Marsh Viper)."
Yeah, I like this. But I think that taking away the Webs makes the deck a little too vulnerable against an aerial attack. I also want to keep both the Bees and the Desert Twisters. The deck needs at least some removal.
To fit all of this in, I take out two Bears and one each of the Wolf spells compared to Abe´s modified list. Since one of the sideboard cards is now pulled out, I need to move something else down there. I picked a card from the only remaining 4-pack of animals in my list.
Modified Beast Master deck:
.91 21 Forest
.15 2 Birds of Paradise
.247 3 Timber Wolves
.444 2 Nafs Asp
.106 2 Grizzly Bears
.7 4 Aspect of Wolf
.868 3 Aswan Jaguar
.618 2 Durkwood Boars
.97 4 Giant Growth
.831 2 Untamed Wilds
.98 2 Giant Spider
.698 2 Killer Bees
.464 2 Wyluli Wolf
.898 2 Giant Badger
.650 2 Giant Turtle
.281 2 Web
.vNone
.409 2 Desert Twister
.868 1 Aswan Jaguar
.vBlack
.409 2 Desert Twister
.868 1 Aswan Jaguar
.vBlue
.253 1 Tsunami
.409 2 Desert Twister
.vGreen
.409 2 Desert Twister
.868 1 Aswan Jaguar
.vRed
.409 2 Desert Twister
.237 1 Stream of Life
.vWhite
.409 2 Desert Twister
.251 1 Tranquility
Test Gauntlet result: Won 5 duels, then lost to Ape Lord.
Last edited by jiansonz on 03 Oct 2011, 17:15, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 03 Oct 2011, 15:28
Centaur Shaman
Deck file: 0179.dck
Plays: Green and Black
Life: 14/16/18/20
Frequent advantage: none that I can think of
Frequent special reward: Conservator in the next duel
This guy hits you with a lot of damaging enchantments (3 different types), then he tries to delay the fight (Paralyze, life-gaining stuff, blocking with Cockatrice, etc.) long enough for those enchantments to kill you. He also rocks the clever Pestilence + Whirling Dervish combo. Also, Pestilence is pretty nasty by itself, especially when you start to get low on life.
This deck is good enough (meaning: perfectly annoying!) as it is, so I see no reason to modify it any more than the obvious. The expansions didn´t bring any centaur-esque spells for these two colours.
Modified Centaur Shaman deck:
.91 9 Forest
.239 9 Swamp
.12 4 Bayou
.179 3 Paralyze
.276 4 Wanderlust
.278 4 Warp Artifact
.237 2 Stream of Life
.53 4 Cursed Land
.15 2 Birds of Paradise
.40 3 Cockatrice
.512 4 Onulet
.55 2 Dark Ritual
.589 2 Carrion Ants
.182 1 Pestilence
.851 4 Whirling Dervish
.vNone
.182 1 Pestilence
.589 2 Carrion Ants
.vBlack
.182 1 Pestilence
.142 2 Lifeforce
.vBlue
.182 1 Pestilence
.589 2 Carrion Ants
.vGreen
.182 1 Pestilence
.58 2 Deathgrip
.vRed
.182 1 Pestilence
.589 2 Carrion Ants
.vWhite
.182 1 Pestilence
.589 2 Carrion Ants
Test Gauntlet result: Won 1 duel, then lost to Seer.
Deck file: 0179.dck
Plays: Green and Black
Life: 14/16/18/20
Frequent advantage: none that I can think of
Frequent special reward: Conservator in the next duel
This guy hits you with a lot of damaging enchantments (3 different types), then he tries to delay the fight (Paralyze, life-gaining stuff, blocking with Cockatrice, etc.) long enough for those enchantments to kill you. He also rocks the clever Pestilence + Whirling Dervish combo. Also, Pestilence is pretty nasty by itself, especially when you start to get low on life.
This deck is good enough (meaning: perfectly annoying!) as it is, so I see no reason to modify it any more than the obvious. The expansions didn´t bring any centaur-esque spells for these two colours.
Modified Centaur Shaman deck:
.91 9 Forest
.239 9 Swamp
.12 4 Bayou
.179 3 Paralyze
.276 4 Wanderlust
.278 4 Warp Artifact
.237 2 Stream of Life
.53 4 Cursed Land
.15 2 Birds of Paradise
.40 3 Cockatrice
.512 4 Onulet
.55 2 Dark Ritual
.589 2 Carrion Ants
.182 1 Pestilence
.851 4 Whirling Dervish
.vNone
.182 1 Pestilence
.589 2 Carrion Ants
.vBlack
.182 1 Pestilence
.142 2 Lifeforce
.vBlue
.182 1 Pestilence
.589 2 Carrion Ants
.vGreen
.182 1 Pestilence
.58 2 Deathgrip
.vRed
.182 1 Pestilence
.589 2 Carrion Ants
.vWhite
.182 1 Pestilence
.589 2 Carrion Ants
Test Gauntlet result: Won 1 duel, then lost to Seer.
Last edited by jiansonz on 30 Oct 2011, 19:28, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 03 Oct 2011, 16:39
Centaur Warchief
Deck file: 0897.dck
Plays: Red and White
Life: 14/16/18/20
Frequent advantage: none that I can think of
Frequent special reward: Swords to Plowshares
Original Centaur Warchief deck
.188 12 Plains
.164 12 Mountain
.221 4 Serra Angel
.550 4 Yotian Soldier
.273 2 Wall of Swords
.229 3 Smoke
.628 2 Eternal Warrior
.145 2 Lightning Bolt
.108 2 Healing Salve
.699 3 Kismet
.485 2 Colossus of Sardia
.306 2 Cave People
.394 2 Ali Baba
.67 2 Dragon Whelp
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.710 1 Land Tax
.vNone
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlack
.136 2 Kormus Bell
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlue
.439 2 Magnetic Mountain
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vGreen
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vRed
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vWhite
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
A key card in the Warchief´s deck is Smoke, as several of his creatures do not tap to attack.
An obvious change to do is to include a card that fits this theme perfectly: Windseeker Centaur. This card´s picture could actually be seen already in the installing sequence of the original game, but it wasn´t included in the game until later.
To make room for the centaurs, I pull out a Yotian and a Colossus.
Modified Centaur Warchief deck:
.188 10 Plains
.164 10 Mountain
.189 4 Plateau
.221 4 Serra Angel
.550 3 Yotian Soldier
.273 2 Wall of Swords
.229 3 Smoke
.628 2 Eternal Warrior
.145 2 Lightning Bolt
.108 2 Healing Salve
.699 3 Kismet
.485 1 Colossus of Sardia
.306 2 Cave People
.394 2 Ali Baba
.67 2 Dragon Whelp
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.710 1 Land Tax
.897 2 Windseeker Centaur
.vNone
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlack
.136 2 Kormus Bell
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlue
.439 2 Magnetic Mountain
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vGreen
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vRed
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vWhite
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
Test Gauntlet result: Won 4 duels, then lost to Kiska-Ra
Deck file: 0897.dck
Plays: Red and White
Life: 14/16/18/20
Frequent advantage: none that I can think of
Frequent special reward: Swords to Plowshares
Original Centaur Warchief deck
.188 12 Plains
.164 12 Mountain
.221 4 Serra Angel
.550 4 Yotian Soldier
.273 2 Wall of Swords
.229 3 Smoke
.628 2 Eternal Warrior
.145 2 Lightning Bolt
.108 2 Healing Salve
.699 3 Kismet
.485 2 Colossus of Sardia
.306 2 Cave People
.394 2 Ali Baba
.67 2 Dragon Whelp
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.710 1 Land Tax
.vNone
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlack
.136 2 Kormus Bell
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlue
.439 2 Magnetic Mountain
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vGreen
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vRed
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vWhite
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
A key card in the Warchief´s deck is Smoke, as several of his creatures do not tap to attack.
An obvious change to do is to include a card that fits this theme perfectly: Windseeker Centaur. This card´s picture could actually be seen already in the installing sequence of the original game, but it wasn´t included in the game until later.
To make room for the centaurs, I pull out a Yotian and a Colossus.
Modified Centaur Warchief deck:
.188 10 Plains
.164 10 Mountain
.189 4 Plateau
.221 4 Serra Angel
.550 3 Yotian Soldier
.273 2 Wall of Swords
.229 3 Smoke
.628 2 Eternal Warrior
.145 2 Lightning Bolt
.108 2 Healing Salve
.699 3 Kismet
.485 1 Colossus of Sardia
.306 2 Cave People
.394 2 Ali Baba
.67 2 Dragon Whelp
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.710 1 Land Tax
.897 2 Windseeker Centaur
.vNone
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlack
.136 2 Kormus Bell
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlue
.439 2 Magnetic Mountain
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vGreen
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vRed
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vWhite
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
Test Gauntlet result: Won 4 duels, then lost to Kiska-Ra
Last edited by jiansonz on 30 Oct 2011, 19:29, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 03 Oct 2011, 17:10
Cleric
Deck file: 0211.dck
Plays: White
Life: 4/6/8/10
Frequent advantage: Benalish Hero
Frequent special reward: Benalish Hero in the next duel
Original Cleric deck:
.188 21 Plains
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 2 Disenchant
.112 4 Holy Strength
.111 3 Holy Armor
.159 3 Meekstone
.13 4 Benalish Hero
.161 4 Mesa Pegasus
.211 2 Samite Healer
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.563 4 Amrou Kithkin
.942 2 Pikemen
.533 4 Tawnos' Weaponry
.vNone
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.vBlack
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.134 1 Karma
.vBlue
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.vGreen
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.vRed
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.45 1 Conversion
.vWhite
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
"Another of the early foes you might face is The Cleric, one of the most powerful early foes in the game. The most powerful early foes including the Warlock with its Dark Ritual + Hypnotic Specter combo, and The Witch with her full slate of Nevinyrral’s disks. Let me tell you, though, that this deck gets really annoying quickly, and often drops annoying early creatures like Savannah Lions and then just storms through with beaters and pump. Now, it is not as fine tuned a deck as The Crusader, which we will meet in a bit, nor is it that consistent, with its 2 Savannah Lions for example.
The late game goal of the deck is to Meekstone down your big creatures while it keeps swinging with its own. Ideally, it would use Tawnos’s Weaponry to pump one of your own two powered creatures and keep them locked down permanently. However, it usually just uses it for the attack.
The AI does not use Holy Strength well with Meekstone. It has been known to drop a Holy Strength down on a Savannah Lion, then play Meekstone next turn. Holy Armor is the better choice, but why even play it in an aggro deck? It’s these inconsistencies that allow you to get wins against the Cleric regularly, because a dedicated aggro deck can punish your low starting life until you get stabilized.
You see Karma and Samite Healers in this deck? Their mutual presence tells me that this deck is about more than quick beats, pump, and a Meekstone. This deck is about clerics too. Let’s make some modifications that not only make the deck better, but make it more thematic as well.
-1 Karma
-2 Holy Strength
+3 Blessing
Blessing is perfect in this deck and an ideal enchantment for Amrou Kithkin. It works wonders under a Meekstone.
-3 Holy Armor
+3 Keepers of the Faith
Although three mana, they give you a creature that actually has the size to block, while also being able to get in through a Meekstone.
With these minor changes, we clear up some of the issues, add some creatures, and hopefully give the deck a little power. Remember, this is not about making the best WW deck with the cards available in Shandalar, but making the Cleric more focused."
Very well done, Abe.
Since I had Karma just in a sideboard in my list, I need to pull another card. I chose a Disenchant. There are still two of them left against most enemies.
Modified Cleric deck:
.188 21 Plains
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.112 2 Holy Strength
.159 3 Meekstone
.13 4 Benalish Hero
.161 4 Mesa Pegasus
.211 2 Samite Healer
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.563 4 Amrou Kithkin
.942 2 Pikemen
.533 4 Tawnos's Weaponry
.21 3 Blessing
.696 3 Keepers of the Faith
.vNone
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.vBlack
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.134 1 Karma
.vBlue
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.vGreen
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.vRed
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.45 1 Conversion
.vWhite
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
Test Gauntlet result: Won 10 duels, then lost to Centaur Shaman
Deck file: 0211.dck
Plays: White
Life: 4/6/8/10
Frequent advantage: Benalish Hero
Frequent special reward: Benalish Hero in the next duel
Original Cleric deck:
.188 21 Plains
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 2 Disenchant
.112 4 Holy Strength
.111 3 Holy Armor
.159 3 Meekstone
.13 4 Benalish Hero
.161 4 Mesa Pegasus
.211 2 Samite Healer
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.563 4 Amrou Kithkin
.942 2 Pikemen
.533 4 Tawnos' Weaponry
.vNone
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.vBlack
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.134 1 Karma
.vBlue
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.vGreen
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.vRed
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.45 1 Conversion
.vWhite
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
"Another of the early foes you might face is The Cleric, one of the most powerful early foes in the game. The most powerful early foes including the Warlock with its Dark Ritual + Hypnotic Specter combo, and The Witch with her full slate of Nevinyrral’s disks. Let me tell you, though, that this deck gets really annoying quickly, and often drops annoying early creatures like Savannah Lions and then just storms through with beaters and pump. Now, it is not as fine tuned a deck as The Crusader, which we will meet in a bit, nor is it that consistent, with its 2 Savannah Lions for example.
The late game goal of the deck is to Meekstone down your big creatures while it keeps swinging with its own. Ideally, it would use Tawnos’s Weaponry to pump one of your own two powered creatures and keep them locked down permanently. However, it usually just uses it for the attack.
The AI does not use Holy Strength well with Meekstone. It has been known to drop a Holy Strength down on a Savannah Lion, then play Meekstone next turn. Holy Armor is the better choice, but why even play it in an aggro deck? It’s these inconsistencies that allow you to get wins against the Cleric regularly, because a dedicated aggro deck can punish your low starting life until you get stabilized.
You see Karma and Samite Healers in this deck? Their mutual presence tells me that this deck is about more than quick beats, pump, and a Meekstone. This deck is about clerics too. Let’s make some modifications that not only make the deck better, but make it more thematic as well.
-1 Karma
-2 Holy Strength
+3 Blessing
Blessing is perfect in this deck and an ideal enchantment for Amrou Kithkin. It works wonders under a Meekstone.
-3 Holy Armor
+3 Keepers of the Faith
Although three mana, they give you a creature that actually has the size to block, while also being able to get in through a Meekstone.
With these minor changes, we clear up some of the issues, add some creatures, and hopefully give the deck a little power. Remember, this is not about making the best WW deck with the cards available in Shandalar, but making the Cleric more focused."
Very well done, Abe.
Since I had Karma just in a sideboard in my list, I need to pull another card. I chose a Disenchant. There are still two of them left against most enemies.
Modified Cleric deck:
.188 21 Plains
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.112 2 Holy Strength
.159 3 Meekstone
.13 4 Benalish Hero
.161 4 Mesa Pegasus
.211 2 Samite Healer
.213 2 Savannah Lions
.563 4 Amrou Kithkin
.942 2 Pikemen
.533 4 Tawnos's Weaponry
.21 3 Blessing
.696 3 Keepers of the Faith
.vNone
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.vBlack
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.134 1 Karma
.vBlue
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.vGreen
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
.vRed
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.45 1 Conversion
.vWhite
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares
.64 1 Disenchant
Test Gauntlet result: Won 10 duels, then lost to Centaur Shaman
Re: Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 03 Oct 2011, 22:10
Conjurer
Deck file: 0260.dck
Plays: Blue
Life: 8/10/12/14
Frequent advantage: None in particular
Frequent special reward: A duplicate card of your choice (Yay!)
Special abilities:
- Can turn invisible in the Shandalar outdoor terrain
- "Why don´t you try this deck!" (Sometimes the Conjurer will hand you a random Shandalar deck to play him with)
Original Conjurer deck
.126 22 Island
.318 2 Fellwar Stone
.193 4 Prodigal Sorcerer
.186 4 Pirate Ship
.274 2 Wall of Water
.267 2 Wall of Air
.48 2 Counterspell
.234 2 Steal Artifact
.2 2 Animate Artifact
.260 2 Unsummon
.208 4 Rod of Ruin
.396 2 Aladdin's Ring
.300 4 Apprentice Wizard
.131 3 Jayemdae Tome
.vNone
.422 3 Giant Tortoise
.vBlack
.154 1 Mahamoti Djinn
.422 2 Giant Tortoise
.vBlue
.422 2 Giant Tortoise
.427 1 Island Fish Jasconius
.vGreen
.422 3 Giant Tortoise
.vRed
.22 1 Blue Elemental Blast
.422 1 Giant Tortoise
.265 1 Volcanic Eruption
.vWhite
.191 3 Power Sink
The Conjurer wants to hide behind his Walls and Tortoises and slowly ping you and your creatures to oblivion.
Let´s see what Abe does with this one:
"I guarantee you that everyone has seen this deck at one point in time or another. In fact, most of you have probably built this deck. Building this deck, which at first seems so powerful, sometimes seems so ubiquitous that it may be one of the fundamental decks of magic, along with Lure + Basilisk.
Yes, this is the Tim deck. Now, at the time there were not a whole heap of Tims, so they included what they could, including Aladdin’s Ring (in a deck with 22 Islands and 4 Apprentice Wizards).
It addition to maximum Timmage, the deck sports some defensive creatures like walls and Giant Tortoises in order to keep opposing creatures at bay while the Tims do their work.
Then the deck has this weird Animate Artifact/Steal Artifact subtheme. There is an artifact friendly deck later (The Shapeshifter) , so I don’t want to push that theme too much. The problem here is that there are not too many cards to take the place of the crappier cards here.
One problem with this deck is simple. Too many creatures don’t attack. The deck features 19 creatures plus two Animate Artifacts which can make creatures. Of those, 4 cannot attack, 4 have no power, and 7 are just 1/1s when they attack, and 4 cannot attack unless the opponent has an island. This is not a powerful offense.
Therefore, the deck only wins through Timming, whether by Rod or Ring, or whether by tapping the Sorcerer and Ship. Therefore, you really only need to kill the Tims, and you have plenty of time to take out this foe.
I think the deck needs a couple more cards to punish you for going the long game. What this needs is to push the theme and add some threats.
-2 Steal Artifact
-2 Animate Artifact
+2 Triskelion
+2 Psionic Blast
This gives us a beater that can also supplement the Tims as needed. Similarly, the Blast is creature removal or a way of killing the bigger creatures that might normally be out of range of Tims, or a player finisher if needed.
-2 Fellwar Stone. Why is this even here?
+2 Islands. This deck needs the mana.
-2 Unsummon
+2 Rocket Launcher
I have no idea if the AI will use the Launcher correctly or not, but it’s a great way to deal some extra damage. It’s much better than Unsummon.
-2 Counterspell
+2 Drafna’s Restoration
Although Counterspell is absolutely great, this deck is not that hot on it with just two copies. It would rather have two Restorations than counters. With additions of Triskelion and Rocket Launcher plus Rod, Ring and Tome, you have some value in a Restoration, so it still has a pair of minor artifact helpers, keeping it closer to the original theme. "
Great changes! Makes the deck much stronger overall (although you can no longer experience the horror of being attacked by a 8/8 Aladdin´s Ring...)
Modified Conjurer deck:
.126 24 Island
.193 4 Prodigal Sorcerer
.186 4 Pirate Ship
.274 2 Wall of Water
.267 2 Wall of Air
.208 4 Rod of Ruin
.396 2 Aladdin's Ring
.300 4 Apprentice Wizard
.131 3 Jayemdae Tome
.538 2 Triskelion
.194 2 Psionic Blast
.523 2 Rocket Launcher
.491 2 Drafna's Restoration
.vNone
.422 3 Giant Tortoise
.vBlack
.154 1 Mahamoti Djinn
.422 2 Giant Tortoise
.vBlue
.422 2 Giant Tortoise
.427 1 Island Fish Jasconius
.vGreen
.422 3 Giant Tortoise
.vRed
.22 1 Blue Elemental Blast
.422 1 Giant Tortoise
.265 1 Volcanic Eruption
.vWhite
.422 1 Giant Tortoise
.191 2 Power Sink
The sideboard is all over the place. It´s so wacky that I like it, and I´m keeping it - with one minor change.
Test Gauntlet result: Won 2 duels, then lost to Troll Shaman.
Deck file: 0260.dck
Plays: Blue
Life: 8/10/12/14
Frequent advantage: None in particular
Frequent special reward: A duplicate card of your choice (Yay!)
Special abilities:
- Can turn invisible in the Shandalar outdoor terrain
- "Why don´t you try this deck!" (Sometimes the Conjurer will hand you a random Shandalar deck to play him with)
Original Conjurer deck
.126 22 Island
.318 2 Fellwar Stone
.193 4 Prodigal Sorcerer
.186 4 Pirate Ship
.274 2 Wall of Water
.267 2 Wall of Air
.48 2 Counterspell
.234 2 Steal Artifact
.2 2 Animate Artifact
.260 2 Unsummon
.208 4 Rod of Ruin
.396 2 Aladdin's Ring
.300 4 Apprentice Wizard
.131 3 Jayemdae Tome
.vNone
.422 3 Giant Tortoise
.vBlack
.154 1 Mahamoti Djinn
.422 2 Giant Tortoise
.vBlue
.422 2 Giant Tortoise
.427 1 Island Fish Jasconius
.vGreen
.422 3 Giant Tortoise
.vRed
.22 1 Blue Elemental Blast
.422 1 Giant Tortoise
.265 1 Volcanic Eruption
.vWhite
.191 3 Power Sink
The Conjurer wants to hide behind his Walls and Tortoises and slowly ping you and your creatures to oblivion.
Let´s see what Abe does with this one:
"I guarantee you that everyone has seen this deck at one point in time or another. In fact, most of you have probably built this deck. Building this deck, which at first seems so powerful, sometimes seems so ubiquitous that it may be one of the fundamental decks of magic, along with Lure + Basilisk.
Yes, this is the Tim deck. Now, at the time there were not a whole heap of Tims, so they included what they could, including Aladdin’s Ring (in a deck with 22 Islands and 4 Apprentice Wizards).
It addition to maximum Timmage, the deck sports some defensive creatures like walls and Giant Tortoises in order to keep opposing creatures at bay while the Tims do their work.
Then the deck has this weird Animate Artifact/Steal Artifact subtheme. There is an artifact friendly deck later (The Shapeshifter) , so I don’t want to push that theme too much. The problem here is that there are not too many cards to take the place of the crappier cards here.
One problem with this deck is simple. Too many creatures don’t attack. The deck features 19 creatures plus two Animate Artifacts which can make creatures. Of those, 4 cannot attack, 4 have no power, and 7 are just 1/1s when they attack, and 4 cannot attack unless the opponent has an island. This is not a powerful offense.
Therefore, the deck only wins through Timming, whether by Rod or Ring, or whether by tapping the Sorcerer and Ship. Therefore, you really only need to kill the Tims, and you have plenty of time to take out this foe.
I think the deck needs a couple more cards to punish you for going the long game. What this needs is to push the theme and add some threats.
-2 Steal Artifact
-2 Animate Artifact
+2 Triskelion
+2 Psionic Blast
This gives us a beater that can also supplement the Tims as needed. Similarly, the Blast is creature removal or a way of killing the bigger creatures that might normally be out of range of Tims, or a player finisher if needed.
-2 Fellwar Stone. Why is this even here?
+2 Islands. This deck needs the mana.
-2 Unsummon
+2 Rocket Launcher
I have no idea if the AI will use the Launcher correctly or not, but it’s a great way to deal some extra damage. It’s much better than Unsummon.
-2 Counterspell
+2 Drafna’s Restoration
Although Counterspell is absolutely great, this deck is not that hot on it with just two copies. It would rather have two Restorations than counters. With additions of Triskelion and Rocket Launcher plus Rod, Ring and Tome, you have some value in a Restoration, so it still has a pair of minor artifact helpers, keeping it closer to the original theme. "
Great changes! Makes the deck much stronger overall (although you can no longer experience the horror of being attacked by a 8/8 Aladdin´s Ring...)
Modified Conjurer deck:
.126 24 Island
.193 4 Prodigal Sorcerer
.186 4 Pirate Ship
.274 2 Wall of Water
.267 2 Wall of Air
.208 4 Rod of Ruin
.396 2 Aladdin's Ring
.300 4 Apprentice Wizard
.131 3 Jayemdae Tome
.538 2 Triskelion
.194 2 Psionic Blast
.523 2 Rocket Launcher
.491 2 Drafna's Restoration
.vNone
.422 3 Giant Tortoise
.vBlack
.154 1 Mahamoti Djinn
.422 2 Giant Tortoise
.vBlue
.422 2 Giant Tortoise
.427 1 Island Fish Jasconius
.vGreen
.422 3 Giant Tortoise
.vRed
.22 1 Blue Elemental Blast
.422 1 Giant Tortoise
.265 1 Volcanic Eruption
.vWhite
.422 1 Giant Tortoise
.191 2 Power Sink
The sideboard is all over the place. It´s so wacky that I like it, and I´m keeping it - with one minor change.
Test Gauntlet result: Won 2 duels, then lost to Troll Shaman.
Last edited by jiansonz on 12 Oct 2011, 22:13, edited 3 times in total.
Re: Shandalar enemy decks overhaul
by jiansonz » 04 Oct 2011, 15:17
Crusader
Deck file: 0283.dck
Plays: White
Life: 8/10/12/14
Frequent advantage: 'First Strike', which means that the Crusader gets first move AND draws an 8th card during the first move.
Frequent special reward: 'First Strike' in the next duel (although the game now calls it 'First Move').
Original Crusader deck:
.188 22 Plains
.51 4 Crusade
.28 4 Castle
.64 2 Disenchant
.283 4 White Knight
.417 4 Eye for an Eye
.347 2 Morale
.942 4 Pikemen
.862 4 Rainbow Knights
.478 2 Battering Ram
.931 2 Dancing Scimitar
.13 4 Benalish Hero
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vNone
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlack
.19 2 Black Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlue
.23 2 Blue Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vGreen
.105 2 Green Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vRed
.200 2 Red Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vWhite
.284 2 White Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
"Of the White decks, this is one of the better ones, all ready to go. Note the Crusader theme. All of the creatures fit that theme (almost). We have Battering Ram, Heroes, Knights and Pikemen. We have Castles and Crusade and Morale. Now we need to make a few edits.
I love Rainbow Knights in this deck, and this adds your basic pump knights from Fallen Empires and Ice Age early, and with a random element included.
-2 Dancing Scimitar
+2 Knights of Thorn
They fit the deck flavor-wise much better than Dancing Scimitar does. Other cards worth considering include D’Avenant Archer, Jihad, Army of Allah, Moorish Cavalry, Piety or Shield Wall, Lance, Blaze of Glory, Wrath of God, Righteousness, perhaps Great Defender, and so forth.
-2 Castle
+2 Angelic Voices
I like the Castle in this theme deck so I am leaving two in, but I’d rather be running more offensive enchantments in the deck, so I included some Voices.
I decide to stick with these two changes. The deck was already pretty good, so adding these four cards give more Crusade options and more Knights."
I am going for a little more offense than Abe does. I pull out the remaining two Castles and add two Jihad instead. Ground defense is already going to be pretty good with all the pumping, First Strike and Banding that´s going on. And along these lines, I am replacing the Morale cards with Army of Allah.
(Note: I have discovered that Army of Allah works fine in Shandalar, but that it does not work in the dueling section (the attackers do not get the power boost). Therefore, I keep the Morale cards in the Playdeck file.)
I do not want to leave the deck without any aerial defense, so I do not remove the Scimitars. Instead, I take out a Hero and a Pikemen.
Modified Crusader deck:
.188 22 Plains
.51 4 Crusade
.64 2 Disenchant
.283 4 White Knight
.417 4 Eye for an Eye
.13 3 Benalish Hero
.942 3 Pikemen
.862 4 Rainbow Knights
.338 2 Knights of Thorn
.478 2 Battering Ram
.931 2 Dancing Scimitar
.240 4 Swords to Plowshares
.432 2 Jihad
.564 2 Angelic Voices
.397 2 Army of Allah
.vNone
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlack
.19 2 Black Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlue
.23 2 Blue Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vGreen
.105 2 Green Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vRed
.200 2 Red Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vWhite
.284 2 White Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
Test Gauntlet result: Won 3 duels, then lost to Kiska-Ra.
Deck file: 0283.dck
Plays: White
Life: 8/10/12/14
Frequent advantage: 'First Strike', which means that the Crusader gets first move AND draws an 8th card during the first move.
Frequent special reward: 'First Strike' in the next duel (although the game now calls it 'First Move').
Original Crusader deck:
.188 22 Plains
.51 4 Crusade
.28 4 Castle
.64 2 Disenchant
.283 4 White Knight
.417 4 Eye for an Eye
.347 2 Morale
.942 4 Pikemen
.862 4 Rainbow Knights
.478 2 Battering Ram
.931 2 Dancing Scimitar
.13 4 Benalish Hero
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vNone
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlack
.19 2 Black Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlue
.23 2 Blue Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vGreen
.105 2 Green Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vRed
.200 2 Red Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vWhite
.284 2 White Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
"Of the White decks, this is one of the better ones, all ready to go. Note the Crusader theme. All of the creatures fit that theme (almost). We have Battering Ram, Heroes, Knights and Pikemen. We have Castles and Crusade and Morale. Now we need to make a few edits.
I love Rainbow Knights in this deck, and this adds your basic pump knights from Fallen Empires and Ice Age early, and with a random element included.
-2 Dancing Scimitar
+2 Knights of Thorn
They fit the deck flavor-wise much better than Dancing Scimitar does. Other cards worth considering include D’Avenant Archer, Jihad, Army of Allah, Moorish Cavalry, Piety or Shield Wall, Lance, Blaze of Glory, Wrath of God, Righteousness, perhaps Great Defender, and so forth.
-2 Castle
+2 Angelic Voices
I like the Castle in this theme deck so I am leaving two in, but I’d rather be running more offensive enchantments in the deck, so I included some Voices.
I decide to stick with these two changes. The deck was already pretty good, so adding these four cards give more Crusade options and more Knights."
I am going for a little more offense than Abe does. I pull out the remaining two Castles and add two Jihad instead. Ground defense is already going to be pretty good with all the pumping, First Strike and Banding that´s going on. And along these lines, I am replacing the Morale cards with Army of Allah.
(Note: I have discovered that Army of Allah works fine in Shandalar, but that it does not work in the dueling section (the attackers do not get the power boost). Therefore, I keep the Morale cards in the Playdeck file.)
I do not want to leave the deck without any aerial defense, so I do not remove the Scimitars. Instead, I take out a Hero and a Pikemen.
Modified Crusader deck:
.188 22 Plains
.51 4 Crusade
.64 2 Disenchant
.283 4 White Knight
.417 4 Eye for an Eye
.13 3 Benalish Hero
.942 3 Pikemen
.862 4 Rainbow Knights
.338 2 Knights of Thorn
.478 2 Battering Ram
.931 2 Dancing Scimitar
.240 4 Swords to Plowshares
.432 2 Jihad
.564 2 Angelic Voices
.397 2 Army of Allah
.vNone
.240 3 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlack
.19 2 Black Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vBlue
.23 2 Blue Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vGreen
.105 2 Green Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vRed
.200 2 Red Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
.vWhite
.284 2 White Ward
.240 1 Swords to Plowshares
Test Gauntlet result: Won 3 duels, then lost to Kiska-Ra.
Last edited by jiansonz on 14 Nov 2011, 18:13, edited 1 time in total.
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