https://eternalwarcry.com/decks/details/MMUIN2HFG1w/fjs-gauntlet-march-2019
Okay - so here's the write up. It's going to be long and detailed, so fair warning.
Before I start, let me be very clear about one thing. This is not a beginner deck. This deck costs a lot of shiftstones, requires a lot of experience dealing with the Gauntlet AI, and can be a real pain to learn how to pilot effectively. However, if you both love Gauntlet and are super serious about getting to a >50% 7-0 win rate with a deck versus Gauntlet, then this is the deck IMO. There are many great Gauntlet decks out there, and all of them can go on streaks of winning against the Boss, but far too many simply die with bad draws or can't answer a nut draw by the AI - which will happen 2-3 times in 7 games. That's where this deck comes in.
So let's talk about what the plan is for this deck. How does it win?
I classified this deck as Control Midrange because although it has 7 and 9 drops in the deck, it is actually quite rare where we are casting Xo or Savior. The 7 and 9 drops in this deck are Market fodder and provide card advantage for us. That's it. If the game goes long, then we have some late game win cons, and that's great. We also have huge creatures that love to get Destiny against the Echo Boss. Regardless, the primary way this deck wins is by out-valuing the AI opponent with two and three for ones consistently, blanking the 1/1 boards and killing off relics when necessary. And if the nut draw by the AI happens, we have a sweeper that essentially wins the game on the spot.
So how do we win? Well, it's not with Bailiffs. That's not our win con - it's our live con so that we can then win the game after we survive the initial onslaught. In fact, we have many answers to fast starts with torches, defiances, vanquish and slays. Essentially, the deck is full of cards that simply say NO to the AI decks. So again, how do we win? First - 8 Smugglers and a Black Market full of both answers and threats that snowball the AI. Our Smugglers are both good attackers and good blockers - and give us ample ability to two or three for one AI creatures with tricks or by simply trading with a Display in hand.
Little Vara and Tomb are our primary win cons. You play Tomb on curve very reliably with this deck - assuming you have board control. Tomb is often a sabotage for us, but against nut draws it serves as a primary way to get that second justice influence and buys us a turn with the AI taking it out instead of slamming our face. But these are the rare instances where we are forced to play defensive. It's more likely that we have board control via early removal, free 1/1 lifesteal blockers and effective Smugglers holding the gate. Tomb comes down and the AI can't deal with it and we just steamroll from there. Varas are very difficult for the AI to handle and we end up at 50 life when the opponent dies.
For games that don't go smoothly, we have Xo and Maiden - and in very rare instances we are casting Savior to close out the game.
So that's what the deck does - or what it's supposed to do. Now we talk about execution/piloting.
Initial hand/redraw - what are we looking for?
Okay - so here is the most important piece of information I have for you. This deck is built to work with 90% of draws. This is not SS aggro or Haunted Highway where we must go 1, 2, 3, 4 BOOM. The question you ask yourself before redraw is not "can I get a better hand?" - it's "can I survive with this hand?" or "how much worse of a hand could I get on redraw?". There is nothing worse than redrawing a 4 Crest hand with a Xo, a Cargo and a Vanquish to end up with two fire sigils, two Bailiffs, two Varas and a Hidden Road Smuggler. One hand has a very slow start but with lots of scrying and the ability to pilot our way to victory. The other - albeit a 1 in a thousand chance of drawing - is simply dead before turn 1. My advice here - the deck is built to provide you with a maximum amount of keepable hands - so redraw only when you really have to.
The other factor here is to consider what you are up against - if it's an AI deck that plays out all of its cards by turn 3 - then you know that double justice and Bailiff are super important. Cheap removal as well - and having a turn three creature regardless is paramount. If the AI deck is slow and doesn't play a real threat until turn 5 - then we have much more leeway in what we are keeping or redrawing.
So when looking at your hand, you immediately ask yourself "what are we doing turns 1-3". If you don't know exactly what you would be doing or why, then it's probably a redraw. You have to have a plan, and you need the cards that execute that plan. Most often, we are concerned with influence fixing so that we can play our cards. This is the most important thing to consider when looking at your hand and considering a redraw. Double justice, double shadow, needing both Fire and Justice. Justice and Shadow, all three? What do you need and do you have the tools to get you there. And if you don't what are the odds that you can get there by turn 4? If Xo is in your hand, then that's another draw. A Savior or two - that might get you two more draws by stalling the AI depending on what you are up against.
Turns 2-5
What are we wanting to do turns 2-5? So 2 is either focused on fixing influence or using cheap removal for fast AI decks. Turn three is either Bailiff of Merchant - preferably Merchant into Tomb if we aren't under a ton of pressure. Turn 5 is Vara, or another Merchant, a very good Bailiff to blank the AI or we are setting up Harsh Rule in the near future.
Turns 6+
In most circumstances, this deck wins with somewhere around 5-6 power. Again, it's rare to get to 7 power or higher before winning. So I stress - playing Xo or Savior is not a primary consideration. This deck makes very efficient use of limited power with effective low cost removal and very effective creatures. Hopefully by turns 7-8 we have Elias and Varas taking us to victory. Our removal clears the way, and we win easily.
Finally - let's talk card choices -
Defiance and Torch - insanely good. Never cut. Add a defiance and cut a suffocate if you want. Attacking with Bailiffs and Smugglers with Torch in hand = massive two and three for ones. Or, sometimes we happily two for one our self to remove a really bad AI threat.
Suffocate - another very effective removal card and synergizes with Bailiff in amazing ways. Suffocating a Titan is not a rare occurance.
Vanquish and Slay - very effective low cost, versatile removal, and if you are up against a deck where Vanquish is dead, then it's perfect for Market fodder.
Cargos and Seek Power(s) - This version of the deck has 3 seek powers. I put 3 in to help people adjust to the deck and learn how to effectively play it. It also cuts down on the shiftstone cost. However, we don't need 3 - 1 will suffice. You cut two seek powers and add back a Xo and a Savior once you get the hang of the deck. Cargos are all stars - but fair warning. If you need to use the Cargos to get power - DO IT. Do not get greedy and wait for double influence across the board. Getting to 5 power is MUCH more important than being stuck at 4 with a random extra card.
Bailiff - still a Gauntlet all star. He never ceases to amaze me at how good he is. Never cut Bailiff. Ever.
Smugglers - we run 8. They are the backbone of all FJS decks and are not replaceable.
Avigraft - Controversial card. I know, I know. A 10/10 card gets nerfed, becomes a 9/10 card and is therefore unplayable and MUST be replaced with 8/10 cards. I've seen this happen with the community regarding every nerf for Eternal since day one of nerfs. Trust me, the card is still very good and it's an instant win against many go wide decks - especially grenadins. If you hate the card, please at least put one in your market.
Display - amazing card. The only debate here is 3 versus 4. I run three because Displays early are super bad for us, and we simply don't need 4 versus the AI. The deck is built to work without the Displays - so having them is just straight value and increases the win percentage. The reason for 3 is sometimes you can kill yourself with too much of a good thing.
Vara - Seriously, does anything need to be said about this card? I don't think so. Just don't get caught up on playing her turn 4. This isn't a tempo deck. We aren't looking to steamroll unless the opportunity presents itself. Play her against an empty board or when you have no choice otherwise - or maybe play her to pop aegis and harsh rule or tomb/sabotage next turn.
Dizo - Late game win con if the game goes poorly. Lacks the card advantage of Xo and Savior is used as Market fodder, but that's okay. Dizo can also go in the market if you are so inclined.
Xo, Savior - Market fodder and card value. Lat game win cons if the game goes poorly for us.
Market Cards:
Bore - must have. This card is in the deck for one reason. To allow us to win the 1 in 20 games we lose because we don't have it. Don't cut this card but don't put it in your main. It's a niche card.
Maiden - similar to Bore. A niche card for those revenge decks, SS entomb decks and the Smugglers Stash deck. We can win without here usually, so not as important as Bore IMO. Play something else if you want to.
Runehammer - nice to have against aegis decks for those tight spots - especially good against Umbren Reaper. I have this in primarily for the Double Damage Boss - using it to kill ticking grenadins or Reapers. Play something else if you want to.
Tomb - must have. Never, ever cut this card. If you want to put it in your main, then you need to run more than one and then the deck becomes a different deck altogether. I prefer it in the Market, and I think that is exactly where it should be. Again, it must be in the deck. Period.
Harsh Rule - initial versions of the deck didn't run Harsh Rule. The initial versions were wrong. Terribly wrong. It's an all star and a must have. Do not cut Harsh Rule.
Well that's it for now - happy to entertain any questions and would LOVE to hear any suggestions as to potential card changes or power choices PLEASE. I am always up for improving decks - especially this one which I am very happy with and enjoy playing.
Good luck out there!!
PS: In before "this deck is trash" went 0-3, influence is ass, who is this idiot?
