https://www.mythgardhub.com/deck?id=2450
GO Spells was my favourite Q-mode deck; it felt powerful and was very fun to play. I knew I was going to be slinging some spells when the expansion dropped. Since it has continued to be effective on ladder and is a feature deck I figured it would be an excellent choice for a Deck Tech.
The Missing Piece
Players have built spell-focused decks before, but without a dedicated path, the decks always felt like they were missing a key piece. Media Autocam is that piece.
Cheap card draw is always a potential balance issue, so I spent a lot of time trying to break this card. I didn't break it, but I was certainly impressed with its performance. I played it in every archetype and paired with every colour.
Autocam is still on my watch list, and it may require an adjustment if we ever see a spell path, but for now it is time to enjoy it.
Why Play GO Spells?
It plays differently than a lot of Mythgard decks. While it most often assumes the aggro role, it has the ability to play control or combo too.
There are a ton of choices every turn
It is very cheap to build and is composed of almost entirely staples
It draws a lot of cards. It has the highest velocity of any deck I have played to date. Who doesn't like drawing cards?
It's fun!
It's good?
I Think it's Good
I'm known for making complicated decks with lots of moving parts, but they definitely are not for everyone. I think this deck is very powerful, but it also requires attention to detail. Maximizing spell triggers and proper positioning to protect important minions is very important. I don't recommend jumping straight into ranked; take some time to get a feel for the play patterns and to learn the deck, The primer below should help get you started.
Deck Breakdown Right off the top there are a few defining characteristics of this deck:
The curve stops at 3
The colours are skewed towards green
There are only 16 minions, but 21 spells!
These points all have an effect on how the deck plays and I will touch on the implications as they are relevant.
The deck uses Disk of Circadia, and while to a certain extent it is due to a lack of better options, it does mesh well into our overall game plan.
Smite is an easy choice for this deck. Disk decks like Powers that don't require a target (so they can always be used) and Smite gives us some added reach which is important for a deck where every point of damage counts.
Plan of Attack The deck looks to get in some early chip damage before the opponent can setup any defenses. Through the middle of the game the deck uses buffs and debuffs paired with the occasional removal spell to continue to pressure the opponent. The finale if often a flurry of spells topped off with a Dire Benediction.
How to Start One drop priority: Eager Recruit > Mothmara > Media Autocam
Mothmara or Autocam don't do anything without spell triggers, and you don't want to risk losing them without getting something in return. Eager Recruit should be played on Lane 2 or 6 to protect your lurker minions. (see Lane Positioning Tactics)
After the first turn the goal should be to claim a side of the board to race. Between your buff and debuff spells your minions can support each other very well. If you spread out too much it can force you to spread your spells, which can make it difficult to protect your minions.
Burning Cards
A lot of decks are very situational with what cards they burn. This deck has a few cards that it is almost always burning:
K-nine Handler* - we really wanted this card forged, otherwise it is just a 2/2.
Dire Benediction - this is a late game card, but we also want to always see it. Burning it early gives us more time to redraw it. I also always like burning high gem cards as they help pay for their own cost.
Born Again* - Once you have flipped disk to Day, Born Again has served its purpose. You can also burn it freely if you need the gem and you have a Parsa Recruit to sacrifice on the Disk.
* you may want to burn something else if you have no other minions
Despite being packed with cheap cards this deck wants to burn almost every turn. It is not unusual to go up to 7 or 8. By turn 4 the breakdown is almost always GGGO. You often continue burning Green until you need a second Orange to finally play Dire Benediction.
Burning Players
Dire Benediction is the primary way to finish off the opponent. I would say that about 75% of the wins end with Dire Benediction. The deck chews through cards, so you are very likely to find a copy.
It is very important to not play the card too early. Playing it prematurely could turn off 2-damage smites, scare your opponent into playing defensive, turn on Wonder Drugs, or leave you without the tools to close out the game.
Another finish comes from a flurry of spells. Sometimes it is correct to save a couple of Mothmaras so that you can play them the same turn as a bunch of spells for 6+ damage out of hand.
Tips & Tricks Dire Benediction isn't strictly an offensive spell. It can be used to neutralize powerful minions, or allow you to clear a blocker without losing your minions.
The attack debuff of Halcyon decree is permanent. If you can coerce your opponent into racing this card can single-handedly win the game. The power of well timed suppression should not be over-looked either.
Led Astray loves attack debuffs and can often be paired with other cards to remove big units.
A unit with zero attack does not benefit from Slayer. Keep an eye on how you can best utilize Disk.
The only canines in the deck are K-nine Handlers, so playing a forged Handler will draw another one. This is a great way to thin the deck to increase spell density. The third Handler is great disk fodder. They can also be played in subsequent turns to constantly protect your Lurker minions.
Vengeful Heirloom can be great at generating spell triggers. Try to ensure it is never in the bottom two cards so that you can freely Raid the Tombs.
When playing second, your first power action is free. It is rarely correct to use it on the first turn, so save it until it will be most beneficial.
Try to use all your mana every turn. When you have an even amount of mana you are better of using an even cost cards instead of two odd cost cards. This will allow you to use all of your mana when you have an odd amount. This isn't a priority, but something to keep in the back of your mind.
Deported can be used on your own minions. Sometimes it is worth saving a Bela or Mothmara, or just bouncing and replaying an Eager Recruit. These types of plays are even more enticing if they allow you to draw a card.
Bela doesn't see a lot of play due to her restrictive cost, but she is a very powerful card. Her repeated stuns can cause havoc for a variety of decks and are doubly effective against decks looking to abuse enchantments.
Overkill can target enemy minions. It does not come up often, but sometimes it is better than doing nothing.
Watch the life totals carefully in order to maximize your Smite damage. One or two points of damage may be the difference in tight games.
The minions count is low, but Eager Recruit, Born Again, and K-nine Handler all act like multiple minions. Try to always have a minion in play and one in hand.
Wry Trickster is a very strong early in the game, or when racing. While it can allow your smaller minions to trade with larger ones, it does lose power as the game drags on. It is often an excellent candidate for the second Orange Gem.
Sling Some Spells
This deck is a lot of fun. It is a great Brawl deck if you just want to grind some coins or have some quests to complete and it can hold its own on the ladder. If you are interested in seeing it in action you can always check my match history or if you're lucky a twitch VOD. I'm almost always lurking on Discord, so feel free to reach out if you have questions. Pew pew!
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