Playstyle Snapshot: A resilient deck that starts slow, using Spells to clear the board and then Relics equipped to the Summoner to close out the match. Both Spells and Relics sent to Discard can be cycled back into play, giving this deck surprising staying power, while certain combos can provide hefty burst damage potential.
Difficulty: Medium
Decklist:
Summoner
Meera
Souls
Spells
Relics
- 2 x Human Scribe
- 3 x Master Relicsmith
- 3 x Master Scribe
- 2 x Protection
- 3 x Equality
- 2 x Fate’s Judgment
- 1 x Korikana’s Breastplate
- 1 x Korikana’s Helm
- 1 x Korikana’s Shield
- 1 x Korikana’s Sword
- 1 x All-for-One
Card Info:
Summoner
Meera’s ability allows you to return any of your eight Spells to your deck since your only Weapons are of Mythic and Legendary rarity. This means you can be freer with casting your Spells and using them to Block with from Hand, which should be your primary defense before you have Souls and Relics to protect you.
Souls
Master Scribes serve three critical functions:
– Retrieving any pieces of the Korikana set you do not already have or the one you need at the moment (e.g. Armor against Rush).
– Retrieving All-for-One.
– Buffing All-for-One, your Protection and Fate’s Judgement Spells, as well as the regular Scribe. This is due to Bolster increasing your Hand size by the # listed.
Master Relicsmiths are just as valuable as Master Scribes to this deck since they can buff Korikana’s Sword and All-for-One. More importantly, they can retrieve any Relic that is Destroyed, which ensures that your win condition isn’t stopped if the opponent plays some Relic removal.
Summoning an early Scribe can setup the rest of your game, letting you respond to the type of deck your opponent is playing or simply let you move the Korikana pieces up to the top of your deck. You can also get added value out of the regular Scribe if you already have a Master Scribe in play or by doing an Order Source Explosion before playing him. Even by himself, the extra 1 card the Scribe lets you look at can be clutch. Late game, the Scribe’s value drops considerably, so running 1 or 2 is sufficient.
Spells
Equality is a solid Hand Blocker and an important early game play against aggressive decks, sometimes as early as your second turn. However, deciding when it’s worth it to expend all your Source is one of the trickiest aspects of piloting this deck, so be careful. If you’re going to Devote all your Source, it’s usually best to have a Korikana piece, a Scribe, or Protection in Hand, so you can play something on your following turn should you wish to.
Fate’s Judgement is your best Hand Blocker, and, when you have enough Source, also your best board removal because it won’t destroy your own Souls. In fact, either type of Scribe being out will make it even more effective. Late game, you’ll often clear with this Spell and then attack with All-for-One.
Protection has value in this deck both because of the Scribes boosting its defensive capabilities and Meera’s ability to cycle the Spell back into your deck when she is equipped with a Weapon. In addition, on turn one, Protection is a decent defensive option since you won’t mind it going to Discard. Three are included in the original deck, but when sideboarding cards in, some Protections can be the first to go.
Relics
Due to their low cost, getting any of the Korikana pieces early is a good thing, especially because they buff each other. That said, unless you’re facing a Burn deck, you’ll usually
want the Armor or Shield first for some initial protection and then the Sword so you can start putting pressure on the opponent or to kill the Souls that they sent at you. Late
game, with even just three pieces, you become very tough to kill and can pack quite a punch, and it is possible to win with just that, especially if you’re consistently clearing the opponent’s board with Spells, leaving the way free for you to attack each turn. With all four though, you become even studier and harder hitting and can begin to pump out Korikana Spirits, which can be used for protection or offense. Once you reach this point, unless the opponent has a strong counter, the match will likely be yours since, at the least, you’ll win most battles of attrition.
All-for-One can be a much more explosive ender than the Korika set because both types of Scribes, Relicsmiths, and Order Source Explosion can all be used to increase your attack value quickly. And, if you can harm the opponent while All-for-One is so charged, potentially after having cleared their board so there’s no one to stop your attack, you’ll Destroy their whole deck, after
which it will be very challenging for them to mount a comeback. While it’s true that you can’t have All-for-One and the entire Korikana set equipped on your summoner at the time, All-for-One makes an excellent Hand Blocker, which can be recycled with your Relicsmiths. In addition, often the opponent will ignore your Souls since they all have 0 attack, but if there is an opening, you can equip All-for-One on one of them and attack for just as much damage as with your summoner.
With five Relics, don’t be worried about overequipping your Summoner and thus sending one Relic to discard. Arm yourself for what you need, and a Relicsmith can always bring the lost Relic back.
Win Condition: This deck actually has three different win cons.
- Using a combination of Scribes’ Bolster effect and Relicsmith’s damage boost to hit for over 10 damage with All-for-One. Order Source Explosion can help speed this along.
- Getting enough pieces of the Korikana set that the Sword can hit for 4+ damage a turn. If you’ve been outvaluing them with your board clears this can actually be enough to end the game.
- Getting the full Korikana set and overwhelming your opponent with Spirits of Korikana.
Mulliganing: Korikana pieces for early plays and a Fate’s Judgment for Hand Blocking — Equalities and Protections can be early Hand Blockers if needed. A few turns in having a Scribe to re. After
Sideboard: When playing 2 out of 3, you can switch cards between matches. 7 cards can be in your Sideboard: 1 Summoner and 6 Summon cards.
Osvalt is the summoner of choice to swap in because he covers this deck’s harder match ups: Rush and Enhance. Not only does Osvalt’s Armor protect him from early game aggression, but his ability to convert Walls into Bodyguards can provide much needed staying power, especially if the opponent doesn’t have Overkill.
When using Osvalt, you’ll want 2-3 Ramparts to act as your Bodyguards beyond your initial Ice Wall. Swap them in for Protections against Rush and for Equality and Fate’s Judgment when facing Enhance.
When facing Relic heavy decks, 2-3 Orbs of Unmaking will be critical to neutralize those threats.
When facing Life Enhance, particularly Spells like Fluid Grace or Mighty Change, you’ll want 1-2 Disruptor Golems.
Bad Match Ups: While this deck has some answers to early game aggression, if the opponent pushes too hard or you don’t have the right answers, the game can be over before it starts. Also, against an opponent who uses little to no Souls, five of your Spells will be relegated to Hand Blocking. When that happens, follow the above Sideboarding recommendations.
Beyond the problem cards already mentioned, here are two others that can present difficulty:
Treasure Hunters will usually mean that you’ll never get your full Korikana set. Thankfully, they can’t steal All-for-One, so that win condition is preserved. Side boarding in Trix will provide an additional win con, but her Devoting will mean the opponent can attack her directly, which could be a problem when facing the type of deck Treasure Hunter usually plays in: Rush.
Kitsanya can grind through your Relics faster than you can bring them back. However, both Equality and Fate’s Judgment can get past her Stealth. Just be sure to use those Spells when she can’t Counter them.
Closing Thoughts: Overall, this is a fun, effective Enhance deck — fun because of Hand size card counting and Relic set building and effective because you can clear a whole board and then go in for a massive swing. If you’re someone who’s familiar with Control decks and wants to branch into Enhance, or vice versa, this deck is a great option.
This Deck Tech was designed and written by Furious Scribe