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| We're Still Here |
Anyway, I thought it'd be nice just to say, "hey we're not dead" and also start to get back to showcasing decks. All of us here look forward to creating more articles as the game develops, and we thank all of you for your continued support.
With Standard becoming the more popular format, demand for G-Era cards has gone down plenty. This makes a lot of Premium decks very affordable. Personally, I find the variety in Premium to be the most enjoyable part of the format, since the expanded cardpool allows for much more experimentation. Older cards have the opportunity to synergize very nicely with the newer additions and take some spotlight for themselves.
With all this in mind, let's talk about Claret Sword Dragon.
Claret was a popular deck at the start of G-Era that amassed massive advantage by calling Grade 1s and 0s and converting that advantage into hand. Unfortunately, it fell out of favor for some time due to Shadow Paladin support going more towards Diablo and Luard. However, with the introduction of Revolt and Helheim, it came back as a solid budget deck for Shadow Paladin.
I find the playstyle to be really fun, applying pressure starting as early as Turn 1, filtering and thinning deck to increase the chances of trigger checks as the game goes on to close games. It’s definitely one of the more aggressive decks I’ve played towards the end of the G series, with strong aggro turns at all stages of the game. Also, the art of the Claret series is too cool for me to leave alone. The blood-red blade and the fire aesthetic is awesome.
For the starter, my first choice is Pedigree Knight, Tigresse. It allows you to fish for Claret, which is important because of the deck's naturally low G3 count. While the deck can handle a G-Assist fine, it's much more preferable not to do so. Fullbau (V) is another option, but a blind draw likely won't help you early game, as you'll often just draw into another attacker early you don't necessarily need.
The trigger lineup is fairly open, but I'd at least suggest some of the V Crits and Heals. They provide more power and more shield, with the latter being especially important in a format that's full of Ezel players. Cafar's skill is strong enough to run a set. A pair of Mac Lir gives a little extra room in the Grade 1 space. Stands like Arsur and Raven are also options that can help in the deck, giving you more chances to swing with decent numbers and also fueling costs of your strides. I'd suggest only running four Stands, though, because Crits are what you'll be wanting to check more often throughout the game. While early guarding is important, a split between resource heals and V-Heals may offer more defensive versatility.
You'll be running about 16-18 Grade 1s, and the lineup should be focused on gaining advantage and providing solid columns.
Branwen and Blue Espada are staples for the deck, providing consistent striding in a deck that runs so few Grade 3s. The new Charon and Blaster Javelin from the V-Series are also key units, as they both net easy advantage while on the 8k bodies that the V-Series Grade 1s are known for.
As for other Grade 1 options, Abyss Summoner and Darkquartz Dragon were both decent picks, but now outclassed by the V support. They have lower stats, and overall provide significantly less for the deck.
Many of the Ritual Grade 1s are also held back due to needing other Ritual units, but cards like Swift Owl, Daellad, and Fuamnach are generic enough to be run as tech.
Both versions of Swordbreaker are great choices for advantage, and Nightmare Painter (V) gives you some extra soul on-demand if need be. Gururubau makes for a solid early attacker. The Grade 1s from the V-Series also have a higher shield value, which has great synergy with Revolt's GB2. There's plenty of options, so feel free to experiment until you find a lineup you like.
I prefer to run a 2/2 split between Grade 0 and Grade 1 PGs as well since there are some guard restrict units in Premium that make one or the other unusable. Generic PGs are fine, although you could go for Esras if you have the money. Karma Collector is another option if you decide to run the full set of Grade 1 PGs, and easy CC is definitely powerful.
Revolt is the main Grade 3 we want to be on. Both of his skills help us achieve the main goals of the deck. His stride
skill coupled with the skills of our main strides lets us thin the deck very
quickly throughout the game, plowing through a ton of Grade 1's so that we can hit Criticals much faster and end games swiftly. As stated before, the 10k shield of V-Series Grade 1s makes his GB2 much stronger.
The OG Claret is also not bad for calling a card of your choosing, so you can include one or two.
Badhabh Caar is a solid back up if you do want to carry a Force Gift.
Helheim provides multiattack aggression starting from the first stride and remains threatening during the turns leading up to Dragabyss.
Dragabyss is your other main stride for superior calls, but is moreso used to generate high front row numbers later in the game. He acts as the main finisher, so I recommend maxing him out. With the reprint coming in the upcoming Revival Collection, he'll be a lot easier to pick up as well. Aside from these two, there's also room for other additional strides to round out the G Zone.
A pair of PBD is solid as a cheap and easy cheese, as well as the obvious instawin against Gyze. A copy or two of Dragstrider is fine, as he's a really well-rounded card. Carnivore Dragon at one copy could be a neat alternative first stride to fuel Helheim. Aurageyser is ok, and you can run a pair if you wish, although it's probably preferable to call more things out to the field. Spectral Blaster is also a bit too costly in my opinion but a restand is a restand. If you want some control, you can always grab Ogma. The GB8 doesn't synergize too well since you want to end the game before you can use it, but even if you somehow get to it, you won't have many targets (if any) that you'd want to call.
For G-guards, Plotmaker is
a big shield for free, as the deck reaches Ritual 3 without any effort, and Darkveil
can give much more shield as the game goes on. As this pair of G-guards is so strong by themselves, you can do away with the others. Jeliddo is
ok, but a similar guard can be achieved through Revolt's skill alongside either of your G-guards, and since we're not carrying the GB8 there's no reason to ramp. Bronarch is
also decent if you want to further turbo G1s but I prefer to keep my Grade 1s in deck so as to make sure there are plenty of call targets. Cray Elemental G-guards like Colburn and Agleam/Ractome are an option, but are far from necessary.
Claret was a popular deck at the start of G-Era that amassed massive advantage by calling Grade 1s and 0s and converting that advantage into hand. Unfortunately, it fell out of favor for some time due to Shadow Paladin support going more towards Diablo and Luard. However, with the introduction of Revolt and Helheim, it came back as a solid budget deck for Shadow Paladin.
I find the playstyle to be really fun, applying pressure starting as early as Turn 1, filtering and thinning deck to increase the chances of trigger checks as the game goes on to close games. It’s definitely one of the more aggressive decks I’ve played towards the end of the G series, with strong aggro turns at all stages of the game. Also, the art of the Claret series is too cool for me to leave alone. The blood-red blade and the fire aesthetic is awesome.
For the starter, my first choice is Pedigree Knight, Tigresse. It allows you to fish for Claret, which is important because of the deck's naturally low G3 count. While the deck can handle a G-Assist fine, it's much more preferable not to do so. Fullbau (V) is another option, but a blind draw likely won't help you early game, as you'll often just draw into another attacker early you don't necessarily need.
The trigger lineup is fairly open, but I'd at least suggest some of the V Crits and Heals. They provide more power and more shield, with the latter being especially important in a format that's full of Ezel players. Cafar's skill is strong enough to run a set. A pair of Mac Lir gives a little extra room in the Grade 1 space. Stands like Arsur and Raven are also options that can help in the deck, giving you more chances to swing with decent numbers and also fueling costs of your strides. I'd suggest only running four Stands, though, because Crits are what you'll be wanting to check more often throughout the game. While early guarding is important, a split between resource heals and V-Heals may offer more defensive versatility.
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| Did he mean his own head? |
Branwen and Blue Espada are staples for the deck, providing consistent striding in a deck that runs so few Grade 3s. The new Charon and Blaster Javelin from the V-Series are also key units, as they both net easy advantage while on the 8k bodies that the V-Series Grade 1s are known for.
As for other Grade 1 options, Abyss Summoner and Darkquartz Dragon were both decent picks, but now outclassed by the V support. They have lower stats, and overall provide significantly less for the deck.
Many of the Ritual Grade 1s are also held back due to needing other Ritual units, but cards like Swift Owl, Daellad, and Fuamnach are generic enough to be run as tech.
Both versions of Swordbreaker are great choices for advantage, and Nightmare Painter (V) gives you some extra soul on-demand if need be. Gururubau makes for a solid early attacker. The Grade 1s from the V-Series also have a higher shield value, which has great synergy with Revolt's GB2. There's plenty of options, so feel free to experiment until you find a lineup you like.
I prefer to run a 2/2 split between Grade 0 and Grade 1 PGs as well since there are some guard restrict units in Premium that make one or the other unusable. Generic PGs are fine, although you could go for Esras if you have the money. Karma Collector is another option if you decide to run the full set of Grade 1 PGs, and easy CC is definitely powerful.
For Grade 2s, Morion Spear and Slaptail are key. They're both powerful beaters that can count as Grade 1s while in the deck, which makes them easy call targets for Claret's stride skill. Morfessa is
also a fine option as she adds to this, though you won't be able to grab her
out in the same fashion.
In terms of the V cards, Blaster Dark’s twin drive can give us another chance to get Claret for the turn, though the retire isn't stellar after Turn 2. Cursed Lancer, Emer, Macha, and Cathbad are also strong beaters to choose from. If you want more shield, Blaster Axe is an option, but the deck focuses much more on offensive, making him synergize poorly.
In terms of the V cards, Blaster Dark’s twin drive can give us another chance to get Claret for the turn, though the retire isn't stellar after Turn 2. Cursed Lancer, Emer, Macha, and Cathbad are also strong beaters to choose from. If you want more shield, Blaster Axe is an option, but the deck focuses much more on offensive, making him synergize poorly.
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| Reverse L Holder |
The OG Claret is also not bad for calling a card of your choosing, so you can include one or two.
Badhabh Caar is a solid back up if you do want to carry a Force Gift.
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| Dual Wield! |
Helheim provides multiattack aggression starting from the first stride and remains threatening during the turns leading up to Dragabyss.
Dragabyss is your other main stride for superior calls, but is moreso used to generate high front row numbers later in the game. He acts as the main finisher, so I recommend maxing him out. With the reprint coming in the upcoming Revival Collection, he'll be a lot easier to pick up as well. Aside from these two, there's also room for other additional strides to round out the G Zone.
A pair of PBD is solid as a cheap and easy cheese, as well as the obvious instawin against Gyze. A copy or two of Dragstrider is fine, as he's a really well-rounded card. Carnivore Dragon at one copy could be a neat alternative first stride to fuel Helheim. Aurageyser is ok, and you can run a pair if you wish, although it's probably preferable to call more things out to the field. Spectral Blaster is also a bit too costly in my opinion but a restand is a restand. If you want some control, you can always grab Ogma. The GB8 doesn't synergize too well since you want to end the game before you can use it, but even if you somehow get to it, you won't have many targets (if any) that you'd want to call.
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| I did it for the plot |
Decklist:
NOTE: This is only an example decklist and should be used as a base. I recommend that you create your own decklist through your own testing. I found this decklist to fit me, but it is up to you to find a decklist that fits you.
Grade 0:
1x Pedigree Knight, Tigresse (V)
4x Taboo Mage, Cafar
4x Darkside Trumpeter (V)
2x Death Feather Eagle (V)
2x Dark Shield, Mac Lir (V)
2x Dark Shield, Mac Lir (V)
2x Emancipating Revenger, Allyl
2x Abyss Healer (V)
2x Abyss Healer (V)
Grade 1:
4x Knight of Yearning, Branwen
3x Blue Espada Dragon
2x Perfect Guards
4x Black Sage Charon (V)
3x Blaster Javelin (V)
Grade 2:
3x Blaster Dark (V)
4x Morion Spear Dragon
4x Slap-tail Dragon
Grade 3:
2x Supremacy Dragon, Claret Sword
Dragon
4x Supremacy Dragon, Claret Sword
Dragon Revolt
Grade 4:
4x True Supremacy Dragon, Claret
Sword Helheim
4x Dragabyss, Luard
1x Dragstrider, Luard
2x Dark Dragon Phantom Blaster
Diablo
1x Dark Dragon, Carnivore Dragon
2x Dark Dragon, Plotmaker Dragon
2x Dark Dragon, Darkveil Dragon
Price: $85-110
Effectiveness: 8/10. It does what it needs to fairly well but can run out of resources when constantly pushing for damage.
Competitiveness: 5/10. It can hold it's own and do fairly well when it pops off, but will still be run down by other decks from control, rush, or losing advantage early.
Final Words: Overall I find the deck to be very fun as it generates pressure through high power and thinning for triggers, but it will struggle before stride as you have to dig for claret, and you do have to try to win on the Dragabyss turns, though you do have options for before or after that, despite not being the best compared to what other clans have to offer. Give it a try if you've been a Claret fan in the past or are interested in variants of the G Shadow Paladin era.
Effectiveness: 8/10. It does what it needs to fairly well but can run out of resources when constantly pushing for damage.
Competitiveness: 5/10. It can hold it's own and do fairly well when it pops off, but will still be run down by other decks from control, rush, or losing advantage early.
Final Words: Overall I find the deck to be very fun as it generates pressure through high power and thinning for triggers, but it will struggle before stride as you have to dig for claret, and you do have to try to win on the Dragabyss turns, though you do have options for before or after that, despite not being the best compared to what other clans have to offer. Give it a try if you've been a Claret fan in the past or are interested in variants of the G Shadow Paladin era.
yay i love homebrew premium
ReplyDeleteAm I wrong, or is the main deck list only 49 cards?
ReplyDeleteOh my mistake. I'll go ahead and fix that.
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