Standard Budget Deck: Nova Grappler (Hero)

Our lord and savior

With our most recent set, The Heroic Evolution, Miwa's Heroes finally became a full deck. They have an actual wincon, and a variety of support cards that share the >Hero< race. The deck in its entirety should run you less than $40, Perfect Guards included, and although they're far overshadowed by Beast Deities, they can still put in a ton of work. If you're looking for the most bang for your buck, I highly recommend picking up Heroes.



Even though Spinning Valiant's skill looks like a meme, there's definite synergy between it and the rest of the deck. Forcing Vanguard attacks has a twofold purpose, as the skill both protects important units such as Girly Dolly and Miss Splendor, and makes it difficult for the opponent to choke damage to shut off your wincon. Forcing three cards per guard is an incredibly strong way to close out games, further capitalized on by Miss Splendor's ability to lock intercepts. Girly Dolly gives you the sustain and shield value to stave off death, keeping you alive until you're ready to end the game.

And yes, we're playing four each of all the units mentioned above. Since Girly Dolly and Splendor are rears, you can call them down whenever and won't have to worry about them clogging the hand. Valiant should be ridden every turn, as more rear guard circles means more attacks, each of which is at minimum another three cards your opponent needs to use to defend.

However, having so many Grade 3s does mean that the Grade 2 count has to go down. This is for the most part negligible, as your Grade 2s aside from Stylish Hustler and Warrior of Chakram don't really matter. Cup Bowler is played mostly just because it's a Hero, and you don't really have any other options. It is worth mentioning that it makes 22k on Accel II if Miss Splendor is in play. Feel free to try Boomerang Thrower, but I've found his countercharge to be too slow and his soulcharge to be unnecessary. Brutal Jack also exists, and a free 24k Accel II beater is nothing to laugh at, but I've chosen not to use him because he lacks the >Hero< race.

Bitchin'

Stylish Hustler and Chakram, though, are where the deck shines. Hustler is pretty nuts for a rare. It firstly is a very strong, free beatstick. In addition, his very affordable anti-retire skill is amazing stuff. With attacking already shut down by Valiant, that leaves retire as the only option to deal with rearguards. That's stopped in its tracks by Hustler. Even if Hustler is targeted down first, that still forces your opponent to take him out instead of Girly Dolly or other important rearguards. Admittedly, the control matchup is still a very rough one simply due to the fact that being able to shut off Dolly heavily cripples the deck's defenses, but it's still nice to have the soft fallback of Hustler. 

Adding to Girly Dolly's already powerful defense buff is Chakram, who can reach upwards of 30k Shield, even without Dolly. His cost is easily affordable, and his skill has amazing synergy with Valiant's redirect skill. One flaw of the card is its inability to make numbers, but Splendor helps in that regard significantly. I promise, your opponent will have whiplash when they see a Grade 2 putting in more work than a Heal Trigger while guarding.

In the Grade 1 lineup, you actually have a tech slot that I've dedicated to Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout. With Shout, Dolly, Chakram, and extra Draw triggers, your survivability is, quite simply put, insane. You might think he's a little too luck-based and gacha-style, but a couple of extra cards in the opponent's hand won't make much difference once the Spinning Valiant kill-turn happens. Even in those cases, he fuels your soul and makes sure you can maintain the numerous amounts of soulblast in the deck.

Another unit you can play in this slot is Outer Princess Jacey. She's played often because the control matchup is extremely difficult for the deck, and when coupled with Hustler makes it more difficult for the opponent to break your formation. Regardless, I choose not to run her, since you're likely to still lose the control matchup. Stopping one retire doesn't amount to much, and often it's just an extra step the opponent has to take to remove your Dolleys. If she were more useful in non-retire matchups, then I'd say she's a fine choice. However, unlike Hustler, she has no additional skill that makes her worth running. A poor choice in such a diverse meta.

Smash Masher and Rocket Hammer Man are your last two Grade 1s, and both have the >Hero< race. Smash Masher is ok, but you're unlikely to use the Countercharge because Valiant will almost never go off more than once per game. He can create some huge columns if he needs to, though. Rocket Hammer Man fills a similar role, making it much easier for your attacks to hit over defensive triggers with his solid 13k boost.

The trigger lineup is pretty wonky. I run 8 Draw, 4 Front, and 4 Heal. 8 Draw may seem overkill, but this deck desperately needs the additional dig to secure your setup, since the deck has no ways to search or dig otherwise. And hey, the draw is even more valuable with Dolly's shield boost.

Crits may seem like the obvious choice for the deck to get your opponent to five damage asap, but I'm of a contrary opinion. Fronts actually put in more work when checked, essentially guaranteeing that all of your rear attacks are going to hit unless the opponent pulls multiple damage triggers, which is not something that the deck can promise otherwise. While especially powerful on the Spinning turn, it still pulls plenty of weight otherwise. Fronts are able to put in work throughout the entire game, especially during the midgame when your opponent is hard-pressed to keep their damage low so as to not lose to Valiant.

                                                  

Decklist:

NOTE: This is only an example decklist and should only be used as a base. I recommend that you create your own decklist throughout your own testing. I found this decklist to fit me, but it is up to you to find a decklist that fits you. 

Grade 3:

4x Spinning Valiant

4x Girly Dolly

4x Miss Splendor

Grade 2:

4x Stylish Hustler

4x Warrior of Chakram

1x Cup Bowler

Grade 1:

4x Smash Masher

4x Rocket Hammer Man

4x Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout

Grade 0:
1x Tap the Hyper/Sling Burster

4x Twin Blader

4x Draw Triggers

4x Front Triggers
4x Heal Triggers

                                                  
Effectiveness: 7/10

Price: $40

Competitive: Unfortunately not

Final Words: Heroes can be insanely strong against their good matchups, but will also completely fold to their bad matchups. No amount of Draws, Shouts, or Dollys will stop them from getting curbstomped by most other aggro decks. The deck is simply too slow to compete with them, and they can't do anything proactive to keep these decks from going nuts. In addition, Kagero, Shadow Paladin, Narukami, Link Joker, and a few other notable clans all shut Dolly off very easily, making it nigh-impossible for the deck to maintain formation for very long. In the same breath, though, the deck does amazing against certain Force and Protect decks, and the opponent will usually just lose as soon as that first Dolly hits the board. Since everyone in Standard needs counterblast, it's only a matter of time before the opponent hits 4-5 damage and Spinning can swoop in for the kill. The deck is definitely one that gives you the most bang for your buck, and could actually become scary if they got more support to round out the holes in the deck, making it a worthy investment. Until then, enjoy $2.50 Spinning Valiants that'll occasionally make a hoe mad.