Hi y’all! First post in the new forum, but I’m a Duelyst veteran. This is a deck I used to get to S-rank top 50 last month, and has already let me coast to rank 4 this month (I really haven’t played much-- just started a new job -_-.
Here’s the list:
And Duelyst db page: http://duelystdb.com/decks/view/10458
The deck is designed to make the most use possible of Magmar’s ‘clean the board while dealing face damage too’ theme. As such, depending on the match-up, you pilot it more as control or as face aggro.
Some specific choices: Keeper is there to facilitate bringing back mankators or saberspine tigers, although it can also just function as value if you’re ahead on board-it’s an amazing card, and when I get to use it to bring back a mank I almost always win. Grovekeeper handles Ironcliffs and Shieldmasters, and the occasional Mankator or Sword of Mechaz0r. Bounded lifeforce is your most important finisher, I try not to replace it from turn 3 on if I think I can snag the game at 7 mana (which is common). The other 7 drops (Nemesis and Synja) could easily be swapped out, they just add the most pressure among the existing 7 drops imo.
While piloting this, I often find myself filtering certain cards, depending on the opponent’s faction. Claws are not great against Abyssian or Faie or Songhai, as they run a lot of ping. Natural Selection is often bad against Lilithe and Faie.
Overall, Faie and Lilithe are the hardest matchups, with Riva or any Mech deck close seconds- this deck is vulnerable to ranged minions and decks that flood the board (if you don’t draw a mankator early enough). In the these matchups I go mainly for face, and if your opponent doesn’t play around Bounded lifeforce correctly (few people do) you can snag a surprise lethal from a board disadvantage in lategame. Vaath’s bbs really helps with this.
If I had to get rid of the legendaries, Sojourners can replace the Spelljammers, Dancing Blades can replace the keepers, repulsor dogs the hallowed grovekeepers (changes the curve, but eh), Synja/Nemesis can be any well-statted 6 or 7 mana minion. The Taygetes could be either Nagas or Veteran Slithars-- Slithars would make the Abyssian matchup a lot harder, but Naga is a meh minion and doesn’t synergize well with Flash Reincarnation since 1 health leaves it v vulnerable. Other than that the deck is relatively cheap-- the epics (Mankator/Bounded Lifeforce) are irreplaceable.