First 1700 ELO! Hooah!
Hey guys. Just thought I will post my private top list for You to use and/or discuss. I could also use Your help to make this list more objective as I can add only decks that I played with recently. The list will mostly involve Invokers and Seekers (because thats what I play usually). So, without further ado, I present the list:
last update: 30th march 2015
1. Kal-Azaar 4/6/0
Spoiler: Show
2. Kal-Azaar 3/3/2
Spoiler: Show
3. Kiril 3/2/2
Spoiler: Show
4. Nahla 5/6/1
Spoiler: Show
5. Dhamiria 6/5/3
Spoiler: Show
6. Deleb 3/2/2
Spoiler: Show
7. Shaar 5/2/0
Spoiler: Show
8. Cassandra 4/4/4
Spoiler: Show
9. Kat 5/4/4
Spoiler: Show
10. Mother Namtaru, Asha's Nightmare 4/6/1
Spoiler: Show
11. Myranda 4/6/0
Spoiler: Show
12. Mother Namtaru, Invoker of Death 2/6/0
Spoiler: Show
13. Hakeem 5/6/3
Spoiler: Show
14. Garant 5/4/4
Spoiler: Show
15. Yukiko 4/5/3
Spoiler: Show
16. Ignatius 3/1/5
Spoiler: Show
Sidenote:
I know that Seekers are not that popular as they used to be (for example You will more often encounter Mukao than Yukiko etc), but it is my personal view that Seekers are currently underestimated. They are still strong. Even Yukiko isnt that bad. Also, I wouldnt care about order that much as I didnt played nearly enough for it to be accurate, but it kinda reflects what I believe to be strong and viable in current meta. Obviously Kal-Azaar on the two first places is not by an accident
Duel of Champions Grandmaster
Thanks for the lists - very interesting to see it. It always amazes me how many decks you can master.
I was surprised by two threes in the Shaar the 3 Phoenixes and the 3rd place. I'm not sure if Shaar is really that great although i think he has the best ability in STD.
About Kat - since i'm playing her the most i feel like IS aren't that great vs Kal so i limited them to 3 and put 2 Storm Rages - dunno if this is the correct approach. Also i have to question Tear in the Veil in the build since i rarely encounter Yukiko.
I know that you prefer Deleb over Kiril but i will just show Gamdur's deck because it's surprisingly effective:
Kiril 3/2/2
Spoiler: Show
First 1700 ELO! Hooah!
Thanks for the kind words
I know Gamdur's Kiril, we kinda invented this deck Kiril 3/2/2 together. But it was long time ago. Since then I much more encounter 3/2/0 version w/o Bound Succubus. It was Thoutmosis deck and it got really popular for some time. I always thought 3/2/2 version to be the best for Kiril as I always prefer more aggro approach than pure creature rush. I do agree that Kiril 3/2/2 is very good, its just that I didnt played this deck recently so I was more comfortable to include Deleb in the list instead as I have more fresh experience with her. But I do believe that both this aggro versions of Kiril and Deleb are outshined by Kal-Azaar 3/3/2 version which is the most tempo based deck in the game. (That s also a reason why I post Deleb and Ignatius that low, as I dont see them as good opponents against Kal).
As for the Kat deck, in my last version (that I did not play with yet, so it was not in my Replay Manager to copy decklist from) I do play with 2 Bloodsnake Shamans. I saw that almost everyone returned to using them. At least I saw Brunt to use them and also You. You and Brunt are the best Kat players currently I think. I played only maybe 20 games with Kat in the new meta.
And Shaar. I consider her nearly as good as 3/3/2 version of Kal-Azaar. Those are both very good tempo decks, only that Shaar is less consistent in turn 2 department. But I couldnt put her lower simply cause my results with her was so good. I did try some other versions (as You know already I did play with Sacrificial Altars too) so my deck evolved and I dont know which version is the best as every single one worked for me pretty well. The key is to build it as a tempo deck. 3 Moon Phoenixes? There are 3 of them in the Kal-Azaar tempo deck so why not here? Believe me, as surprising as it looks, it works. You can spam the abillity very much and discard Moon Phoenix if U cant keep up with 3 of them, but it is cause U want your 1st Moon Phoenix very early in the game and if U draw second one, usually U can afford to play both of them every turn. (The 3rd one U discard).
Member
This is an incredibly useful resource, thanks for posting! I didn't know a Shaar tempo deck existed.
I've been seeing a lot of a slightly different version of Kal as well, maybe your thoughts to its viability?
Kal-Azaar 5/6/0
Spoiler: Show
The doombringer and caller of the void are the different cards which IMO are really strong, especially against cards like warding inquisitor and blackskull crusher the db acts as a panic button (with wotd). CotV also applies much more guaranteed pressure unlike for example juggernauts which can sometimes be denied by cheap blockers or evade. Just my thoughts and contribution, take it all with a grain of salt since I lack the experience to make proper judgement or analyses.
Member
It's not as strong as you think. It's just "funny" to trick people with that, but a good player know how to deal with that.Originally Posted by zontik777 Go to original post
Senior Member
Thank you Jkk this is really helpful
I know you enjoyed playing Mass Rage decks as well, did you try it in the current meta and find it noncompetitive?
I have been playing giko.Kopev's 6/4/1 Kenage deck quite a lot and I find it rather good for the current meta at 1600elo at least. Kal is a difficult matchup and you need to plan your game very carefully, but it can be won (in my limited experience). My biggest threat has been the Deleb you posted since I can't handle the mass indirect damage.
First 1700 ELO! Hooah!
I thought it was totally out of the meta. You are among two guys that I encounter to still play this deck. I always believed it to be worse version of Namtaru frozen wave deck (which is on my list). Lack of Insect Swarms and Stone Shields make this deck overly dependant on Frozen Wave. And agains aggro it may be too late to save You. Akane lock supposed to be at least very good against other control decks, but it is usually 50:50 at best. Necro has lot of flyers to finish of with Time Jumps even when Frozen Wave on board. And even Kal-Azaar can deal with Frozen Wave by enthralling Your flyers, playing his Moon Phoenix and finishing with Ariana and TJ. The same thing I did to You I did to the other guy I played against. So if I can beat this deck with Kal-Azaar that plays 0 flyers, then what is the point?Originally Posted by zontik777 Go to original post
First 1700 ELO! Hooah!
@MintzPanda
Its almost the same deck as I posted. There is lot of different builds for Kal-Azaar control 4/6/0 deck and I find almost all of them viable. It is a matter of prefference. For example I dont play with Alone in the Dark, but everyone else do. I never try to play with Doom Bringer, maybe it can work too.
@StoneofHelp
I didnt try mass rage decks. I would figure that they cant win against Inferno burn decks and there is so many of them. Kal-Azaar 3/3/2, Deleb 3/2/2, Kiril 3/2/2, Garant 3/3/3. Al those decks are insta losses. But there is still plenty of mass rage players who dont mind.
Member
jkkk89 is back with his favourite trick: setup a list of best decks of meta to get everybody playing those decks, then come with a new meta breaking deck the week after!
Jokes aside, thanks for doing this, should be really helpful for new comers!
Myranda spirits is BAD vs Kal, average vs Namtaru and favourable in other matchups. She is not unstable at all, playing 4 t1 drops and 12 t2 drops (4 being false t2 if you did not play sholar 1st) gives her really stable and strong start to close most of your games at turn 6 or 7. I played like 200 games with her at 1800+ elo, she has more than 70% winrate.
Shaar tempo can go to 5 might for BS crusher and/or Gust Harpy.
Other missing decks in your list:
-Kieran barracks (4/4/0 or 4/6/0 versions, Lurifaxb is doing fine with him)
-like Stoneofhelp said, Kenage fatties is really consistent too, you should try Giko 6/4/1 version
-Seria Tokens played by a capable player wrecks Kal Azaar and is more consistent than what people may think
