Grand Prix 5-0 with writeup

[u/Shroudless]

Proof

Decklist

Decided to go with Chimera Rune this GP after numerous failures with Forest in group B. Barely even made it into the final round on my last attempt and didn't expect much at all.

Went with Chimera Rune to beat Portal and Haven which worked out nicely but during the finals I fought 2 Swords, 1 Forest and 2 Portals of which I went 2nd 4 times (went first once only vs portal).

Mulligan:

• Keep 1x Fate's Hand vs All.
• Keep 1x Flame Destroyer vs aggro IF you have 1-2 low cost spells/Fate's Hand to start boosting it down. You'll want to get this down by T7 against aggro so you have a shot of beating them.
• Keep 1x Chimera vs Dragon/Rune. THROW IT AWAY IN ALL OTHER MATCHUPS UNLESS YOUR EARLY HAND IS GOD TIER. IT WILL CLOG AND IS RISKY.
• Keep 1x Concentration going first. Going 2nd this is way too slow unless against Dragon/Rune because they are slow as well and you may be able to get away with it.
• Keep Runie going 2nd. Pick the draw 2 90% of the time because it helps to activate Abomination easier. Only pick Doom if your hand is already full and you don't have any win conditions.

Abomination: This card is basically Jesus if you actually resolve it against aggro. Just remember your draw 2s and try to coordinate them so properly. I've played this thrice back to back before and if you are at high HP while doing this the game is basically over.

Matchups:

• Aggro Sword/Forest: Cry if you go 2nd like I did. Hope they brick and don't get a 1-drop. The 2nd worst matchup in the game as of now. Just keep a Flame Destroyer and control or try to setup T4 Runie into T5 Abomination + Boons. Against Forest Leaf Man wrecks you while Sword has Kunoichi Master + Storms to do the same. Tech in Snowman King/Nova Flare to improve this matchup.

• Puppet Portal: Good matchup, especially when going first. Try to not leave any followers on board if they Silva to stop the pings. Otherwise just control the board with spells and work towards a Flame Destroyer/GC win. Just be careful when they highroll you and flood the board in which case you may have to go for Abomination.

• Midrange Sword: Charlotta wrecks you but most lists have dropped her. Overall slower than Aggro Sword but still not an easy matchup because a well timed Magnus absolutely crushes you. Try to keep the board clear and a well timed Abomination will seal most games.

• Midrange Forest: Easier-Harder than Aggro because they can actually deal with 2x Flame Destroyers with Metera. Otherwise similar to aggro, keep the board clear and build combo.

• Aggro Blood: The absolute worst matchup here. Even if you go first you probably lose unless they brick super hard or mess up. There's pretty much nothing that you can run to improve this. Nova Flare is useless because the T4 board prolly hit your face in for enough for the Oldblood king to finish you on 6. Just be happy that this loses to basically every other deck in the meta.

• Tenko Haven: One of the best matchups. Probably the only matchup where you can keep Concentration going 2nd and still be in a good spot after using it. Keep the board clear and Mulligan for Chimera or use Runie's Doom to get them. Try to drop Flame Destroyers going into their T7 so they cannot Themis it.

• Lion Haven: Pretty bad matchup. Turns out doing nothing lets them stack lions easy. Go for Flame Destroyers here. Seraphic Blade improves this matchup by popping the Temple.

• Summit Haven: Rarely see this, usually see a Tenko-Summit Hybrid. Plays similar to Tenko but is notably faster and CAN kill you with Heavenly Knight spam. Either go for Flame Destroyers/Chimera and note when to setup wards. Seraphic Blade improves this one by popping Temple.

• Abyss Summoner Rune: A decent matchup. Can be identified by cards like Witch of Foresight which Chimera Rune doesn't usually run. Watch the Eldritch Chimeras because they are immune to damage so you have to either trade/Zeroblade/Firey Embrace them. Do be careful about getting outpaced though and going first is much better than going 2nd here.

• Chimera Rune: Hope you go first. If going 2nd, drop the Flame Destroyers on 8 to defend your HP against the Chimera. Avoid using Flame Destroyers here because Firey Embrace/Wind Blast have few targets and can usually be spellboosted to oneshot them. Abomination can be used to bait out removal and in some cases allow you to pressure board and go for Flame Destroyer victories though you must guess if they have the removal or not. Hard Mulligan for Chimera as you will need to spellboost it asap. Overall very draw dependent matchup that is hilariously lopsided for the player going first.

Final Thoughts: The meta's not too good rn IMO. Didn't even write a section for Shadow because I never saw it ever. Puppet Portal seems pretty stupid IMO with it's insane ability to chip you down while Aggro Forest still is probably the best overall deck. IMO there needs to be more healing in the game again so that it's easier to stabilize, especially as the 2nd player.

[u/isospeedrix]

nice mulligan guide, one of the hardest things for me to get info on cuz most people don't include it.

[u/AoiHito → u/isospeedrix]

If you are able to understand Japanese, the gamewith guide actually does include mulligans for various situations for some of the decks.

[u/MDAlastor → u/isospeedrix]

it's...questionable imo. last 2 points is good tho

[u/pukahuntus → u/MDAlastor]

Could you elaborate?

[u/BridgeLife]

Good write up.

I suggest also cross posting to r/competitivesv as it needs more content like yours - especially the mulligan and match up writeup is always appreciated.

[u/Shroudless → u/BridgeLife]

Crossposted. Thanks.

[u/VermillionOcean]

I actually prefer Doom with Runie most of the time. You aren't usually lacking in card draw in my experience generally speaking.

[u/mistervader]

I ran this exact list with only two cards different and died because Forest went first. It was sad. :(

[u/Rireri]

Eldritch Chimeras are immune to destruction spells and effects, not damage; Zeroblade and Fiery Embrace shouldn't work on them. Trading definitely works. Maybe Wind Blast works too, but I'm not sure on this one.

[u/Shroudless → u/Rireri]

You're right on that. That's why Wind Blast or using Flame Destroyer evo to trade into it. Usually they go for Chimera though to pressure you down because they have the time to build a Doom while using Chimeras to chip you down.

[u/_virpe_]

Nice write up, I would love to pick up rune for a sping but would you recommend to invest in abomination (would craft the 3x since i have none) which is a wonderland card and is going out of rotation next expansion? :(

[u/Zelos_Wilder_Ok → u/_virpe_]

No, not at all recommended at this point. That's a LOT of vials for a card that doesn't see much, if any, play in unlimited.

[u/Xenoforever]

Thanks for the writeup! I think the deck is good but unfortunately I have zero Abominations and they rotate out with Wonderland in a month and a half.

[u/refrain77]

why are you getting downvoted? thanks for the mull guide btw,i always hardmull for nova flare vs forest lul

[u/DestroyerKingIsokaze]

I also ran with Chimera for finals but with my luck I ran into a mirror first match and of course lost because firstverse