Introduction
Last week's start was amazing, I got from Midnight Shadow to Mythic in a few days, got a rating of 1400 and I felt on top of the world. My zoo type strategy was simple, get as many mana 1 creatures as possible without compromising the late game and dominate the board as early in the game as possible. My deck construction had not changed for 2-3 weeks and I climbed the ranks very fast.
The weekend event was a rude wake-up call that knocked me out of my element, only 4 wins out of 25 matches. I managed to lose 250 rating points and fall from Mythic to Midnight Shadow.
Deck Analysis
At the beginning of a game, I always spend the mana gemstone in order to bring two 1 mana cost cards, and if those creatures have the ability Hidden I get to build an army before attacking the enemy, usually with 4 creatures by turn 2.
Felid Assassin is a valuable card, especially in the first 3 rounds with the Hidden ability. This allows me to build an army on the board without having to trade one creature for another. Having stats 3/1 easily lets me attack the opponent's life points instead of destroying a creature because the opponent usually gets a 2/2 creature in the first turn and it doesn't pay off to attack me directly.
Switch Duelist follows the exact same strategy, but it is even better because it cannot get destroyed as easily as Felid Assassin since it has 1/3 stats when on defense.
Umber Arrow allows for an easy counter-measure in the early stages of the game of the player can match the number of creatures on the game board. It can be useful in the late-game phase too if the opponent has some nasty backline creature with low strength hiding behind a frontline wall.
The Singsong Satyr is a no-brainer in a zoo type of strategy where the goal is to have the numbers on your side. If I have five 2/2 one mana cost creatures on my side I can upgrade them with the satyr and deal 50% more damage in a single turn.
Rapture Dance helps if the zoo strategy fails and the opponent has more creatures on the field than me. I use this card as a last resort in the late game if the opponent snowballed out of control and I need an easy fix. This card is even better if I play 2-3 creatures with Hidden in the previous turn and they cannot get destroyed, so I can launch my counter-attack as soon as I use the Rapture Dance.
Strategy Issues
This strategy was just OK for two weeks and then this happened:
The Guild Enforcer card was part of almost every match I played and it destroyed me. Having 1 armor on top of 5 health meant that I have to spend 3-4 creatures to break the opponent's frontline. I have no card in my deck that can deal with this monstrosity that puts a stop to the zoo strategy single-handedly. This card allows the opponent for 2-3 turns in the mid to late game to assemble an army with a higher cost than my 1 mana creatures and then destroy me with ease.
Conclusion
The current deck is average at best. It got me to Mythic, but then it failed me back to Midnight Shadow again. The previous weekend event was more manageable with around a 65% winrate. I still want to continue playing and master Ludia with the zoo strategy, but I need to find a way to deal with strategies that rely on 1 strong creature.
Any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated. I hope that you found my experience with this deck educational and gave you an idea of what not to do! 😄
GL HF,
Pure Gameplay