Another climb to Champion is complete, and I once again managed to improve on my record from last season. This is not a trend I expect to carry into next season, which will hopefully see the launch of Mythgard's first expansion. New cards mean new decks, new strategies, and often, a lot more losing. The next article in this series will have a large focus on laddering in a new meta.
For this season, I'm happy I met my goal (less games to Champion). I like to set a goal every season, and while the goal is often just "do better", sometimes I like to commit to playing a new deck. As I see it, there are two ways to improve: go deep or good wide. I'll often play a deck until I've reached my skill-cap, then switch to something new and start the process again. Having a deep knowledge of three to five decks becomes invaluable if you are looking to participate in the multi-deck tourney formats. It can also blunt the blow if you are in the middle of the climb and several cards from your deck get nerfed...
The Death of Red-Orange
...has been greatly exaggerated. I always find the reactions to cards changing very interesting, people almost invariably over-dramatize the effect of the change. Scion of the Pride was double-nerfed, but neither change really affected the core of the card. While it is obviously worse than before, it is still incredibly powerful, and is still my recommended first-craft Orange mythic. As for the Temptation "nerf", while it did lose some explosiveness in aggressive lists, I feel the power-level is roughly the same, if not higher. These changes altered some of my play patterns slightly, but did not necessitate any changes to my deck. I played the first half of the season with the same deck as last season to a 28-6 record:
name: ROM
coverart: The Oak of Dodona
path: journey of souls
power: infuse
2 extract life
4 strigoi pup
4 daring trapezists
2 firesong prodigy
1 dashing ringmaster
2 melpomene muse
1 shopworn bull
1 the oak of dodona
2 wings of abaddon
2 magmataur
1 serapis, false apostle
4 eager recruit
1 dark passenger
2 ghul
1 spear of destiny
2 xerxian recruiter
1 serendipity ifreet
2 peri at the gates
1 scion of pride
2 seal of exile
2 temptation
Q-Mode
I've actually played a lot more games this season than usual and that is because of Q-mode. (I finally emptied my starter pool!) Q-mode is an account flag that allows select players to play with unreleased cards. I am part of the small team of players play-testing the expansion. (Hype! I think people are really going to enjoy it.) But of course, a shiny new toy means the old toys get neglected. I hardly played ladder at all while exploring the expansion and found it very difficult to flip back and forth.
Even when testing I still take games very seriously, so I am still playing around cards and trying my hardest to win (even if playing a terrible deck). Sometimes I would go from forgetting a card exists in Q-mode to playing around cards that don't exist yet on ladder. It is also a big change from expecting near perfection from myself, to worriedly wondering if I know how to read or perform simple math. That is a big thing to remember when the expansion drops, you will make a LOT more mistakes. Small inconsequential ones and big ones that will throw games. I know a few other Q-mode players are anxious to share stories of some of their mishaps.
Because I was neglecting ladder, I was still in mid-Mythril when the nerf bomb dropped and RO died again, for real this time.
RO got double-tapped
The king is dead, long live the king. The power of the RO colour combination, and more specifically the midrange variant, is that its strength doesn't lie in any one card. It is not a combo deck that will fold if it losses its centerpiece, or a control deck that requires a certain set of cards in order to maintain board presence. Red Orange midrange decks present a consistent, powerful gameplan, and have the tools to handle most situations.
Peri died and was resurrected (sort of)
I like that Peri was changed, but the initial change missed the mark in two ways: no reason was given for the change and the new version was too weak. While the card was probably too strong, it was also one of the signature Orange cards, so changing the card without additional context really makes it difficult for players to accept the change. The post-nerf version was such a fall from grace that it didn't belong in any decks. The resurrection was handled much better, context was given (for both the initial change and the revamp) and the card was left in a state that is at least an interesting option for some decks.
While I am going to miss some of the cool interactions 2-draw Peri enabled, I like that it will force Orange players to walk on their own without the Peri crutch to fall back on. Players will have to learn to conserve their resources better and to win games in other ways than just drawing more cards then their opponent.
The second half
This time the card change necessitated I alter my deck (and forced me to flex my deck-naming skills). I'm all for net-decking, but I feel deckbuilders do have an advantage when it comes to responding to card changes. They often have a much better understanding of the role of the various cards and how any changes affect the deck as a whole. If you don't have much experience deckbuilding, new expansions are a great opportunity to test the waters. It is a much more forgiving time as you will be playing against other players trying new things too.
name: ROM2
coverart: The Oak of Dodona
path: journey of souls
power: infuse
2 extract life
4 strigoi pup
4 daring trapezists
2 firesong prodigy
1 dashing ringmaster
3 melpomene muse
1 shopworn bull
1 the oak of dodona
2 wings of abaddon
2 magmataur
1 serapis, false apostle
4 eager recruit
2 dark passenger
2 ghul
1 spear of destiny
2 xerxian recruiter
1 serendipity ifreet
1 scion of pride
2 seal of exile
2 temptationI went 16-1 with the above list, riding a 12 game win-streak into Champion. While the sample size is too small to make any definitive claims about the deck, I certainly didn't feel like I was playing with a handicap compared to previous iterations.
Overall I finished the season 44-7. I had a lot of tight exciting matches against a variety of decks and overall was a very enjoyable laddering experience.
Moral of the story?
It is human nature to overreact. It might be your first reaction to hit the Delete button on your favourite deck when the patchnotes drop, but things are rarely as bad as they seem. Necessity is the mother of invention. Sometimes being forced to make changes can lead you to something better.
Other times, it really could be the end of the road. Ironbelly Wyvern losing Rush really hurt the RO Aggro deck I was playing. I try to view changes like these as an opportunity to play something different*. While I will often play the same deck over and over, I'm not really attached, and will freely switch if the meta has shifted or I find something I like better.
*It might not seem like much of a change to switch from RO Aggro to RO Midrange, but apart from a change in play style about 40% of the cards between my decks were different.
Hot Take
Spear of Destiny is the best card I never see anyone else playing.
Spoiler of a spoiler
I should have another spoiler to share soon, but of course I am going to make you work for it. I have prepared a collection of riddles, word games, and hidden art/lore for the community to solve. Deciphering the clues to identify all the referenced cards will unlock the spoiler. Some of the clues will have a bounty...pack codes will be available for the first person to provide the correct answer. I am hoping to run the event this weekend, and will try to provide as much notice as possible, so keep an eye on the spoiler/content channel in discord for details!