Fios gameplan
What Low Elo Is Really Like: An In-Depth Analysis
2023.04.15 15:57 PlacatedPlatypus What Low Elo Is Really Like: An In-Depth Analysis
0. Sections for Quick Reference
- This Sub's Perspective on Low Elo
- What Really Makes Low Elo Players "Bad"
- Mechanics and Fighting
- Wave Management and Laning
- Low Elo Has No Macro
- The Famed "Silver Skill Variance"
- Smurfs Ruining Low Elo
- Teammates Feeding Harder Than I Can Get Fed
- TLDR and Questions
1. This Sub's Perspective on Low Elo
Low Elo is a mysterious place, I’ve seen many posts on this sub about it and I’ve had my own ideas about it, but often people say strange things about it that I have trouble believing. A very common one is the opinion that “low elo can actually be hard(er than high elo) because the games are so random.” Another take that I see is “low elo players actually have good mechanics now, low elo OTPs can easily coinflip win lane against D+ players” or related takes like “a bronze 2 player would get high gold back in S4” (I can’t believe you guys downvoted the guy rightfully calling this out as complete cap, I was Plat in S4 and let me tell you it was nothing like Bronze today).So, for the first time in my life I decided to actually play in low elo and see what it was like. I bought an Iron 4 account, and climbed to gold MMR. I spent about 10 games in each division's MMR, at this point the account is about to hit plat MMR. Account for reference. I did end up losing twice, both times to my teammates surrendering pre-20 (I believe I could’ve carried both games, but we will never know). Here are my observations on what low elo is actually like:
2. What Really Makes Low Elo Players "Bad?"
Low elo players struggle with everything to be honest, but there were two very obvious (and more easily fixable) things. These main issues I saw low elo players having were 1. fighting badly due to bad cooldown usage and 2. not being able to maintain leads or stop enemy snowball because they would fight all the time.Low elo players seem to have no thought for what their cooldowns should actually be used for, and even if they can aim their spells, they will never be using them at the right time. This makes them seem mechanically much worse than a higher elo player even though many people think of “mechanics” as purely aim and comboing. Lucians would be dashing at me for DPS, Supports used CC aggressively instead of defensively, and Mages would use their self-peel for extra damage. Even players with >200 games on the champion they were playing would do this sort of thing.
Low elo players also take every fight whether it’s winning or losing. My lane opponents also rarely conceded the lane once I started to snowball, and would instead continue to trade with me despite it never working. By extension, players would stop farming part-way through the game to instead roam around the map looking for random bloodbaths.
I think that low elo players could improve their play a lot by thinking about when your champion really needs to use its large cooldowns, and holding them for when you need them. Also, stop fighting over everything. Seriously, stop fighting. If you have a lead you will naturally push it by threatening objectives when they’re up. You don’t need to fight. Stop fighting.
3. Mechanics and Fighting
There’s a pervasive idea that players have gotten so much better over the years that even a low elo player has a mechanical mastery of their best champions. However, I think this doesn’t take into account some major aspects of mechanics that low elo players struggle with: spacing and spell timing. Just because you can aim a spell doesn’t mean you can hit the spell. Better players will time their spell usages when the enemy is in another animation or otherwise distracted, and also have a better idea of where they and their opponent need to be to threaten certain spells.Even though I didn’t see many silver players completely whiffing their abilities, I still got hit by very few spells in lane because the enemy would just use them at a time when they were easy for me to dodge. They also spaced very badly in lane and teamfights, which exacerbated the problem and caused everyone to line up quite nicely to get hit by all of my abilities. As mentioned earlier, there additionally seemed to be no thought put into when players would use their spells and important cooldowns.
Speaking of cooldowns, low elo players don't cooldown track beyond summoner spells and (sometimes) ults. I never saw players get punished for dropping major cooldowns like Fio W or Syndra E. This also caused a lot of low elo players to have the bad habit of just dropping huge CDs in lane and then continuing to trade, letting me kill them for free. For instance, if Jax E is down in lane, he cannot approach wave without losing most of his HP. But low elo players would use Jax E in a trade, then immediately go back to trying to farm in front of me.
Overall, low elo fighting is still very bad (whether you consider this "mechanics" or not is semantic), but not really because "they can't aim their spells." Rather, the lack of positioning, fight awareness, and game knowledge is so lacking in low elo that players will fight extremely sub-optimally even if they land all of their abilities.
4. Wave Management and Laning
There’s another frequent comment on this sub that “Low elo players can freeze now! They know wave management exists!” What they aren’t telling you is that low elo players can only freeze. That’s the only wave management they know, and they never do it well. I would bounce, pull, stack waves and dive over and over and over, and the enemy players never once caught on to what I was doing. Players would pull 4 waves and then be surprised when I 1v2d them and their jungler on the gank. They backed when they were low, never looking for good back timings, and even when they did manage to pull a freeze would be easily baited into breaking it by me trading in wave. Nobody paid attention to wavestates when rotating or going for objectives either, farm was just sacrificed constantly to fuel the low elo need to fight all the time.Low elo players are (still) very bad at laning due to making no attempt to get wave control, and previously mentioned mechanical issues. I took extremely greedy scaling runes and summoners (conditioning + demolish + overgrowth, triumph, flash + ghost) every game which provided minimal lane advantage (for reference, in high elo I always go biscuits and often go bone plating or second wind, as well as bringing TP). I also would often rush Tear + Cull to further hamper my early game. I failed to win one lane the entire time. This failure was due to very bad luck, where the enemy Aatrox accidentally interrupted my W mid-dash causing me to die in a pulled wave and get behind. I recovered with a solo kill but left the lane even overall.
5. Low Elo Has No Macro
Low elo indeed has no macro, and people just fight all the time. If I could give any advice to low elo players, it would be: stop fucking fighting. Holy shit, stop fighting. I would have lost so many games if the enemy team just stopped fighting me. But I think that this is actually a benefit to someone trying to climb. If you have good laning fundamentals and can consistently win lane (something many, many, many low elo players posting on this sub claim they do…they wouldn’t lie, would they?), you should be able to take advantage of the perma-fighting. Your gold advantage will be a constant boon, because people will try to fight you all the time.6. The Famed "Silver Skill Variance"
Another frequently repeated thing on this sub is that lower elo have more “skill variance” between players. I really didn’t find this to be the case. My opponents and teammates got consistently better as I climbed, and I never saw someone who was playing particularly well or badly in the context of their elo. Even fed silver players would continue to play like silvers… Most of the lane stomps I saw came from players just losing coinflip fights early and getting snowballed on, or invades gone bad resulting in one lane starting out behind and getting further snowballed.Winrates and games played remained relatively stable with most players having a couple hundred games and around a 50% winrate. Players would tilt or make really bad-looking plays but this happens at every single elo, it’s not that “some silver players belong in plat and others in iron.”
7. Smurfs Ruining Low Elo
This is the first time I’ve smurfed in low elo, and I found it a profoundly boring and depressing experience. I told myself I was going to get to gold visual rank but I really have no desire to do so...I can’t imagine why any high elo player would want to play down here. It was very unengaging, and even when my teammates were all behind it felt like I didn’t have to try very hard to win or vary my gameplan at all.That said, across 40 games I didn’t play against anyone else as good as me. I played against three 70%ish winrate players (one on Yorick, one on Nunu, one on Samira) but rolled them over quite easily, I would estimate they were platinum at best. I got one 100% winrate Talon jungle player against me, but their duo abandoned the game to force a remake. I guess they were afraid I would ruin their winrate. Overall I saw another smurf about one in every ten games, more than I expected to be honest but less than this sub would say.
8. Teammates Feeding Harder Than I Can Get Fed
I had many games where the enemy team would get ahead of me in gold because my teammates fed faster than I could get fed. However, I would say that these games are still recoverable if you simply refuse to play as riskily as the enemy fed player (see also: stop fucking fighting). Low elo players will throw their lead, as long as you don’t throw yours and just wait for them to do so, you’ll be fine. I averaged slightly more than one death per game, and this really only rose above 1/game when I got to gold MMR and needed to sacrifice myself sometimes to avoid losing the game. This is because I would just run away from anything I would lose. Even if I was insanely fed, if four players came, I was out of there. I wouldn’t go for the 2v4 dragon contests and 1v5 baron steals. Fed enemy players were bound and determined to carry every single fight and would inevitably eventually take a bad one and lose their lead (and the game).A few notable games where one in silver where enemy Lucian left lane 10/0 with a Milio support, one where enemy Jinx left lane 7/0 with a Thresh, one where a Vayne left lane 7/0 with a Renata, and one where my team was combined 2-20 (2 kills being my solo kills toplane) at 15 minutes. All of these games were actually quite easy, with the enemy players feeding me their shutdowns randomly taking meaningless fights until I snowballed past them. The hardest games were the rare games where the enemy team simply refused to interact with me and tried to fight me as little as possible, with the game closest to a legitimate loss being one where the enemy team 1-3-1’d the entire game (running away from me whenever I showed in a lane) while my entire team fed. I lost both sidelane inhibitors, but then they grouped mid as 5, I carried the 5v5, and we ended.
9. TL;DR For the love of god, stop fighting.
Open to any additional questions about low elo, though I'm not planning on returning to the account.2021.08.01 16:54 ImperialDane Shadowverse Rotation Meta Report. August 1st
Greetings everyone and welcome to a new meta report as we head into the second month of this Expansion. Additionally we are less than 3 weeks away from the mini expansion!
Forestcraft
In the great woods of Forestcraft, where the trees reach into the clouds. We arrive to find Ladica holding some Combo lessons, though as it quickly apparent, her form of combos is a bit more.. aggressive, leaving most of the prospective students cold on the floor. The rest of the leaders decide that Ladica will no longer be permitted to teach combos in the future.
For Forestcraft Combo Forest is once more taking ahead, followed closely by Accelerate Forest and a tiny bit of Loxis Forest at the fringes.
Forestcraft sits at a decent position in the meta, though being stuck mostly with Combo decks it does lack something more aggressive to drive ahead with in the meta or to react with.
Combo Forest
Unleashing a flurry of blows upon those who would harm the forests, this cat girl shows no mercy to her enemies
A combo deck built around fairies and Ladica. A strong yet skill intensive deck. It's been gaining traction again as of late due to the rise of Sanctuary Haven, which the deck performs fairly well against and so has seen more play at a competetive level following that. While there are some versions of this deck that run the Natura core, most continue to work with the fairies as they provide the deck with more options in general.
Accelerate Forest
*Striking and sniping from the shadows, these hunters wait for the right moment to deliver the killing blow
A combo deck built around Accelerate. A solid and skill intensive deck. It has also seen a bit of a rise similar to Combo forest as Sanctuary Haven steps up, but hasn't quite seen the same rise in popularity.
Loxis Forest
A lone ranger, protecting the woods far from home. When will he ever return to gaze at it's majestic trees ?
A combo-midrange deck built around Loxis. A fringe deck that continues to see some play with avid fans, but beyond that very much lingers in the shadows as it can't pull off the same grand combos and lacks stronger amulet plays to really pull ahead with.
Swordcraft
In the eternal castle of Swordcraft, where the walls have stood for Centuries, unbroken against any foe. We arrive to find Seofon and Albert trying to figure out how those squirrels can draw so many cards, after much searching through dusty and forgotten halls. They find their answer, apparently they sleep in an old dusty pot of greed.
For Swordcraft Combo Loop Sword sits at the top, followed by Rally Sword, Aggro Sword and a tiny bit of Midrange Sword.
Swordcraft continues to sit in a fairly strong position in the meta, due to a strong deck diversity and also just strong cards in general allowing it to challenge the meta consistently.
Combo Loop Sword
Moving in for the kill himself, this king takes matters into his own hands.. or is it paws ?
A combo deck built around Bayleon/Mistolina and Dramatic Retreat. A strong deck with some skill required for best results. It continues to do well in the current meta that is heavily focused around machina portal, though the recent rise of Sanctuary Haven has given it some trouble. That said, with people eager to target sanctuary haven, it may only be a temporary inconvenience for Combo Loop Sword in the long run. A recent addition to the deck has been Io who provides the deck with a bit of extra burn damage for reach, but also healing and general tempo disruption, giving the deck a bit more room to work with.
Rally Sword
An army on the march, ready to fight for the great kingdom and shatter all those who oppose it. Many veterans making up it's ranks
A tempo deck built around Tokens and rally. A solid deck that continues to see a good amount of play on ladder, even if not as popular as combo loop Sword. As always the deck continues to be fairly varied, with Bladerights lieutenant and Ilmisuna being where some of the major points of contention are in deck builds as of late.
Aggro Sword
The King's Vanguard. Ready to push it's way through to quickly strike down the head of the enemy army
An aggro deck built around strong threats. A solid deck that continues to see some play as it can rapidly run down slower decks that aren't ready for it. Variations continue to be many as people fit the deck to their tastes.
Midrange Sword
Heroes of the great kingdom, ready to defend it with all of their might against those who would despoil it!
A midrange deck built around Natura and other efficient cards. A fringe deck that continues to see some play with those who like a midrange Sword build. But it does lack the more aggressive drive of other decks and similarly doesn't have strong defensive tools either, leaving it a bit awkwardly positioned in the meta.
Runecraft
In the great academies of Runecraft, where thousands of students are busy toiling away on countless projects every day. We Isabelle and most of the other senior leaders trying to have a serious discussion with Anne and Great about their tendencies towards burning off countless books every time they cast any magic, but they remain firmly opposed to changing their ways. Claiming it is the new way forward.
For Runecraft Void Burn Rune takes the lead, followed by Evo Burn Rune and finally a tiny bit of spellboost Rune.
Runecraft sits in a decent position due to several good decks, though the rise of Sanctuary Haven could prove to be a problem for the class in general as it is positioned to hit rune where it hurts.
Void Burn Rune
Channeling the powers of entropy and the void. These careless wizards and witches strike down all those who once laughed at them!
A midrange-combo deck built around having less than 20 cards in your deck. A strong deck that does require some skill for the best results. The rise of Sanctuary Haven has seen a bit of a dampener on the decks success as it's ability to heal plus throw up large untargettable followers is a bit of a problem for void Rune.
Evo Burn Rune
Using the power of machines, these sorcerers tap into powers thought otherwise unreachable.
A midrange-combo deck built around evolve synergies. A strong deck, it has similar to Void Burn Rune seen a bit of a drop due to Sanctuary Haven as it similarly has issues with all of the healing and the large untargettable followers.
Spellboost Rune
Conjuring up a storm of pure arcane energy, these magicians blast their way to victory!
A midrange deck built around spellboost synergies. A fringe deck that continues to see some usage, but lacking any more impressive plays, continues to be bound to the fringes of the meta.
Dragoncraft
In the great caverns of Dragoncraft, where ancient behemoths slumber amidst vast seas of long forgotten treasure. Romelia has gotten quite popular as her ability to share her lightning abilities has lead to a lot of fun for the leaders as they zip around and zap each other. Only one who can't join in though is Filene who due to her icy nature is less than a great conductor for lightning.
For Dragoncraft Face Dragon is taking charge on the ladder, followed by Evo Dragon, natura Dragon and Buff Dragon.
Dragon is in a solid position as it has multiple decks that can react to the meta well, but the current meta also seems particularly receptive to the more aggressive dragon decks, which is always good for Dragon.
Face Dragon
A tempest of fury and destruction, leaving a trail of carnage in it's wake
A tempo deck built around Ramping and strong threats. A solid deck that as of late seems to be making a steady return to the meta, variations continue to be multiple, some running Romelia and a light buff package, others trying a bit of Natura. But overall, with a good hand, able to overwhelm many slower decks.
Evo Dragon
Harnessing the power of the ancients. These dragons unleash techniques not seen in Millenia on their opponents
A midrange-combo deck built around evolve synergies. A strong deck that continues to see play at the higher competetive level, but on ladder its numbers have been dropping lower in favour of more aggressive decks.
Natura Dragon
Through a symbiotic bond with Nature, these Dragons become stalwart defenders of the woods and most savage combatants
A midrange deck built around Natura. A Solid deck that sees continued usage, more decks though are looking to go for a much more aggressive gameplan and are swinging the deck in a more face dragon style of plan with some amounts of success as it is a fairly straightforward plan. Although there is also a more disruptive plan appearing as of late with cards like Odin and Cosmic angel, but still packing larger threats.
Buff Dragon
Obsessed with Strength to the point of losing sight of everything else. These dragons scorn all wealth in favour of tougher scales and sharper claws
A tempo deck built around buffs. A decent deck that mostly exists on the fringes atm. As while the deck can do some powerful things, they are arguably slower than what Face Dragon can do faster and more efficiently a lot of the time in the current meta.
Shadowcraft
In the great catacomb of Shadowcraft, where death reign eternals amidst crumbling empires. We find Luna wondering why she needs to go through maintenance reports for the Robo-zombies when that seems more like Aeneas thing. Especially since she's got no clue as to what a Necro-capacitor even is. She ends up pushing all of the work on Ceberus who is just as clueless.
For Shadowcraft Last Words Shadow continues to rule from the throne of death, followed by Machina Shadow, Combo Shadow and a bit of Aggro Shadow.
Shadowcraft continues to excel in the meta due to the power of Last words shadow but a generally strong card pool continues to serve the class quite well.
Last Words Shadow
Reaping the dead for their own nefarious purposes, these necromancers have a particularly nasty outlook on life
A midrange deck built around Last words. A potent deck and one of the best currently in the metagame. It continues to excel on ladder and in tournaments, with few natural predators it continues to see a steady performance and strong popularity. No major changes to the deck this week.
Machina Shadow
Replacing muscles with motors and eyes with Sensors. Some necromancers look to enhance the undead under their service for maximum performance
A tempo deck built around Machina. A solid deck that continues to see some play. Overall the split continues as some favour a last word package and others prefer a more conventional package with no clear sign of which performs the best currently.
Combo Shadow
Sealed away in an ancient tomb, meant to be forgotten. This ancient curse has once more been unleashed upon the world!
A combo deck built around Darkest Desire. A fringe deck that sees some play here and there and can catch the occasional deck off guard. Mostly for those that wish to try out something a bit different at this point.
Aggro Shadow
A shambling horde of the dead, destroying all in their path as they bring new victims for their masters to reanimate
An aggro deck built around strong threats and reanimation. A fringe, but decent deck that does make appearances here and there. Can also be built in a more budget fashion. Just keep in mind Milteo rotates out at the end of this expansion.
Bloodcraft
In a decadent sprawling manor, a house of sin and ill repute. We find Medusa and Vania on cleaning duty. Well mostly directing the servants doing all of the actual cleaning, since actual cleaning is beneath them. Unless they really messed up and got punished.
For Bloodcraft Wrath Blood continues to rule with a bloodied fist, followed by Mono blood and Vengeance Epitaph.
Bloodcraft continues to hold on, but does show signs of still struggling in the metagame, though it does have some diversity, it lacks power to really make an impact.
Wrath Blood
A warrior of pain and misery. Building up in anger until it all boils over in a fury of fists
A midrange deck built around the wrath mechanic. A solid deck that continues to see some play and seems to have gained a bit more traction as of late. Some decks continue to use Luzen, but there is no real consistent pattern there.
Mono Blood
Fully powered up with nothing holding her back. She is ready to eradicate any who dares to oppose her!
A combo deck built around Mono. A decent deck that continues to see some amount of play in the current metagame. There also exists a more aggro version that skips on the combo part and just tries to run down the enemy as an aggro deck, but still has the Ark Daemon as a way to close things out, a bit rarer though.
Epitaph Vengeance Blood
Slaves to a grim artifact from an ancient past. Blood oaths to terrifying daemon masters provide a surge of profane power!
A tempo deck built around Vengeance. A fringe deck that sees a bit of play with a few ardent players. But beyond that, the lack of any larger vengeance payoffs proves to be a bit of an issue for the deck and ultimately it's achilles heel.
Havencraft
In the great summit temple of Havencraft, where all manner of deities can be found walking.. or crawling and occasionally slithering. We find everyone trying out Meowskers new Muskfruit waffles with Muskfruit jam.. Turns out he bought too much muskfruit and had to do something with all of them before they spoiled.
For Havencraft Jatelant haven continues to sit at the top, followed by Sanctuary Haven and Ward Haven.
Haven has seen a bit of a boost this week with Sanctuary Haven rising in popularity, though however shortlived that was. Showing that haven does have some more power to it in this expansion.
Jatelant Haven
A thousand prayers to Lord Jatelant for salvation are meant with blessings for his worshippers and curses for his enemies
A combo deck built around Jatelant and Amulets. A good deck that continues to rise in popularity as the meta ever shifts steadily. Able to deal with slower decks like Machina Portal, but vulnerable to more aggressive decks. Decks can vary a bit, but for the most part are largely similar.
Sanctuary Haven
Bound to defend this ancient sanctuary. Those that serve it will fight tooth and nail to preserve it and their cause!
A control deck built around healing. A solid deck with some skill requirements. It's seen a rise in popularity over the week as it is quite good for disrupting combo decks like Combo Loop Sword and the different burn runes, since it's combination of healing plus large untargetable wards makes it good for throwing their plan off. On the other hand, the deck struggles badly vs Machina Portal and so is already seeing a bit of a retreat. But remains something to keep all of the combo decks in check a bit.
Ward Haven
Dozens of holy knights, protecting high value clergy. Each ready to lay down their life for the cause!
A midrange deck built around wards. A fringe deck that continues to see some play in the current meta, but overall lacking more serious new threats, remains a bit on the weaker side currently.
Portalcraft
In the vertex colony, high in orbit over a long dead world. It's original inhabitants, long gone and forgotten. We find Yuwan worrying that if Belphomet made his appearance as a leader, then potentially Maisha could make a return that way too, only worsening his woes. He resolves himself to making sure it never happens!
For Portalcraft Machina Portal continues to rule with a steel fist, followed by Evo Portal, Resonance Portal and a bit of Artifact Portal.
Portalcraft continues to do quite well in the meta with multiple decks, even if the majority of the workload is carried by Machina Portal.
Machina Portal
Enslaved to Belphomets Will, these Machines mindlessly sacrifice themselves to further his cause
A control deck built around Machina and Belphomet. A potent deck, it has seen a rise again as with sanctuary Haven putting a bit a lid on the combo decks, it has a bit more room to maneuver once more. That said, as it pushes back against Sanctuary haven, i do expect the combo decks to return to haunt Machina Portal once more. Deck remains overall stable with no noteworthy changes this week.
Evolve Portal
Reconfiguring the hapless machines opens new doors as Belphomet seeks other ways to dominate his foes
A midrange-control deck built around evolve synergies. A solid deck that sees some play, but does ultimately linger under the shadow of Machina Portal and is mostly played by those who want something a bit different from the standard fare.
Resonance Portal
In the skies it waits, Absolute Tolerance. Waiting for the right time to strike and tear the world asunder
A combo deck built around Resonance. A decent deck that sees some play here and there. Can target some of the slower decks and do well against them, but is weak to faster and more aggressive decks.
Artifact Portal
From where do these artifacts hail ? All who have sought that answer have gone mad or wound up dead
A midrange deck built around artifacts. A fringe deck that continues to see play with a small hardened cadre of players. But beyond that has it's struggles as it just lacks the tools to really present a big threat in the current meta.
Overall a week with a lot of shifts, as decks try out new things and evolve. A brief surge in sanctuary Haven which already may be passing, but will help keep a partial lid on some of the combo deck. The new version of Natura haven will be interesting to see how that develops and how the rest of the meta responds.
At this point we are but 3 weeks away from the mini expansion and i imagine we are about 2 weeks away before the reveals begin. Will be interesting to see if any more meta developments happen before then.
Until next week, have fun playing Shadowverse!
submitted by ImperialDane to Shadowverse [link] [comments]
In the great woods of Forestcraft, where the trees reach into the clouds. We arrive to find Ladica holding some Combo lessons, though as it quickly apparent, her form of combos is a bit more.. aggressive, leaving most of the prospective students cold on the floor. The rest of the leaders decide that Ladica will no longer be permitted to teach combos in the future.
For Forestcraft Combo Forest is once more taking ahead, followed closely by Accelerate Forest and a tiny bit of Loxis Forest at the fringes.
Forestcraft sits at a decent position in the meta, though being stuck mostly with Combo decks it does lack something more aggressive to drive ahead with in the meta or to react with.
Combo Forest
Unleashing a flurry of blows upon those who would harm the forests, this cat girl shows no mercy to her enemies
A combo deck built around fairies and Ladica. A strong yet skill intensive deck. It's been gaining traction again as of late due to the rise of Sanctuary Haven, which the deck performs fairly well against and so has seen more play at a competetive level following that. While there are some versions of this deck that run the Natura core, most continue to work with the fairies as they provide the deck with more options in general.
Accelerate Forest
*Striking and sniping from the shadows, these hunters wait for the right moment to deliver the killing blow
A combo deck built around Accelerate. A solid and skill intensive deck. It has also seen a bit of a rise similar to Combo forest as Sanctuary Haven steps up, but hasn't quite seen the same rise in popularity.
Loxis Forest
A lone ranger, protecting the woods far from home. When will he ever return to gaze at it's majestic trees ?
A combo-midrange deck built around Loxis. A fringe deck that continues to see some play with avid fans, but beyond that very much lingers in the shadows as it can't pull off the same grand combos and lacks stronger amulet plays to really pull ahead with.
In the eternal castle of Swordcraft, where the walls have stood for Centuries, unbroken against any foe. We arrive to find Seofon and Albert trying to figure out how those squirrels can draw so many cards, after much searching through dusty and forgotten halls. They find their answer, apparently they sleep in an old dusty pot of greed.
For Swordcraft Combo Loop Sword sits at the top, followed by Rally Sword, Aggro Sword and a tiny bit of Midrange Sword.
Swordcraft continues to sit in a fairly strong position in the meta, due to a strong deck diversity and also just strong cards in general allowing it to challenge the meta consistently.
Combo Loop Sword
Moving in for the kill himself, this king takes matters into his own hands.. or is it paws ?
A combo deck built around Bayleon/Mistolina and Dramatic Retreat. A strong deck with some skill required for best results. It continues to do well in the current meta that is heavily focused around machina portal, though the recent rise of Sanctuary Haven has given it some trouble. That said, with people eager to target sanctuary haven, it may only be a temporary inconvenience for Combo Loop Sword in the long run. A recent addition to the deck has been Io who provides the deck with a bit of extra burn damage for reach, but also healing and general tempo disruption, giving the deck a bit more room to work with.
Rally Sword
An army on the march, ready to fight for the great kingdom and shatter all those who oppose it. Many veterans making up it's ranks
A tempo deck built around Tokens and rally. A solid deck that continues to see a good amount of play on ladder, even if not as popular as combo loop Sword. As always the deck continues to be fairly varied, with Bladerights lieutenant and Ilmisuna being where some of the major points of contention are in deck builds as of late.
Aggro Sword
The King's Vanguard. Ready to push it's way through to quickly strike down the head of the enemy army
An aggro deck built around strong threats. A solid deck that continues to see some play as it can rapidly run down slower decks that aren't ready for it. Variations continue to be many as people fit the deck to their tastes.
Midrange Sword
Heroes of the great kingdom, ready to defend it with all of their might against those who would despoil it!
A midrange deck built around Natura and other efficient cards. A fringe deck that continues to see some play with those who like a midrange Sword build. But it does lack the more aggressive drive of other decks and similarly doesn't have strong defensive tools either, leaving it a bit awkwardly positioned in the meta.
In the great academies of Runecraft, where thousands of students are busy toiling away on countless projects every day. We Isabelle and most of the other senior leaders trying to have a serious discussion with Anne and Great about their tendencies towards burning off countless books every time they cast any magic, but they remain firmly opposed to changing their ways. Claiming it is the new way forward.
For Runecraft Void Burn Rune takes the lead, followed by Evo Burn Rune and finally a tiny bit of spellboost Rune.
Runecraft sits in a decent position due to several good decks, though the rise of Sanctuary Haven could prove to be a problem for the class in general as it is positioned to hit rune where it hurts.
Void Burn Rune
Channeling the powers of entropy and the void. These careless wizards and witches strike down all those who once laughed at them!
A midrange-combo deck built around having less than 20 cards in your deck. A strong deck that does require some skill for the best results. The rise of Sanctuary Haven has seen a bit of a dampener on the decks success as it's ability to heal plus throw up large untargettable followers is a bit of a problem for void Rune.
Evo Burn Rune
Using the power of machines, these sorcerers tap into powers thought otherwise unreachable.
A midrange-combo deck built around evolve synergies. A strong deck, it has similar to Void Burn Rune seen a bit of a drop due to Sanctuary Haven as it similarly has issues with all of the healing and the large untargettable followers.
Spellboost Rune
Conjuring up a storm of pure arcane energy, these magicians blast their way to victory!
A midrange deck built around spellboost synergies. A fringe deck that continues to see some usage, but lacking any more impressive plays, continues to be bound to the fringes of the meta.
In the great caverns of Dragoncraft, where ancient behemoths slumber amidst vast seas of long forgotten treasure. Romelia has gotten quite popular as her ability to share her lightning abilities has lead to a lot of fun for the leaders as they zip around and zap each other. Only one who can't join in though is Filene who due to her icy nature is less than a great conductor for lightning.
For Dragoncraft Face Dragon is taking charge on the ladder, followed by Evo Dragon, natura Dragon and Buff Dragon.
Dragon is in a solid position as it has multiple decks that can react to the meta well, but the current meta also seems particularly receptive to the more aggressive dragon decks, which is always good for Dragon.
Face Dragon
A tempest of fury and destruction, leaving a trail of carnage in it's wake
A tempo deck built around Ramping and strong threats. A solid deck that as of late seems to be making a steady return to the meta, variations continue to be multiple, some running Romelia and a light buff package, others trying a bit of Natura. But overall, with a good hand, able to overwhelm many slower decks.
Evo Dragon
Harnessing the power of the ancients. These dragons unleash techniques not seen in Millenia on their opponents
A midrange-combo deck built around evolve synergies. A strong deck that continues to see play at the higher competetive level, but on ladder its numbers have been dropping lower in favour of more aggressive decks.
Natura Dragon
Through a symbiotic bond with Nature, these Dragons become stalwart defenders of the woods and most savage combatants
A midrange deck built around Natura. A Solid deck that sees continued usage, more decks though are looking to go for a much more aggressive gameplan and are swinging the deck in a more face dragon style of plan with some amounts of success as it is a fairly straightforward plan. Although there is also a more disruptive plan appearing as of late with cards like Odin and Cosmic angel, but still packing larger threats.
Buff Dragon
Obsessed with Strength to the point of losing sight of everything else. These dragons scorn all wealth in favour of tougher scales and sharper claws
A tempo deck built around buffs. A decent deck that mostly exists on the fringes atm. As while the deck can do some powerful things, they are arguably slower than what Face Dragon can do faster and more efficiently a lot of the time in the current meta.
In the great catacomb of Shadowcraft, where death reign eternals amidst crumbling empires. We find Luna wondering why she needs to go through maintenance reports for the Robo-zombies when that seems more like Aeneas thing. Especially since she's got no clue as to what a Necro-capacitor even is. She ends up pushing all of the work on Ceberus who is just as clueless.
For Shadowcraft Last Words Shadow continues to rule from the throne of death, followed by Machina Shadow, Combo Shadow and a bit of Aggro Shadow.
Shadowcraft continues to excel in the meta due to the power of Last words shadow but a generally strong card pool continues to serve the class quite well.
Last Words Shadow
Reaping the dead for their own nefarious purposes, these necromancers have a particularly nasty outlook on life
A midrange deck built around Last words. A potent deck and one of the best currently in the metagame. It continues to excel on ladder and in tournaments, with few natural predators it continues to see a steady performance and strong popularity. No major changes to the deck this week.
Machina Shadow
Replacing muscles with motors and eyes with Sensors. Some necromancers look to enhance the undead under their service for maximum performance
A tempo deck built around Machina. A solid deck that continues to see some play. Overall the split continues as some favour a last word package and others prefer a more conventional package with no clear sign of which performs the best currently.
Combo Shadow
Sealed away in an ancient tomb, meant to be forgotten. This ancient curse has once more been unleashed upon the world!
A combo deck built around Darkest Desire. A fringe deck that sees some play here and there and can catch the occasional deck off guard. Mostly for those that wish to try out something a bit different at this point.
Aggro Shadow
A shambling horde of the dead, destroying all in their path as they bring new victims for their masters to reanimate
An aggro deck built around strong threats and reanimation. A fringe, but decent deck that does make appearances here and there. Can also be built in a more budget fashion. Just keep in mind Milteo rotates out at the end of this expansion.
In a decadent sprawling manor, a house of sin and ill repute. We find Medusa and Vania on cleaning duty. Well mostly directing the servants doing all of the actual cleaning, since actual cleaning is beneath them. Unless they really messed up and got punished.
For Bloodcraft Wrath Blood continues to rule with a bloodied fist, followed by Mono blood and Vengeance Epitaph.
Bloodcraft continues to hold on, but does show signs of still struggling in the metagame, though it does have some diversity, it lacks power to really make an impact.
Wrath Blood
A warrior of pain and misery. Building up in anger until it all boils over in a fury of fists
A midrange deck built around the wrath mechanic. A solid deck that continues to see some play and seems to have gained a bit more traction as of late. Some decks continue to use Luzen, but there is no real consistent pattern there.
Mono Blood
Fully powered up with nothing holding her back. She is ready to eradicate any who dares to oppose her!
A combo deck built around Mono. A decent deck that continues to see some amount of play in the current metagame. There also exists a more aggro version that skips on the combo part and just tries to run down the enemy as an aggro deck, but still has the Ark Daemon as a way to close things out, a bit rarer though.
Epitaph Vengeance Blood
Slaves to a grim artifact from an ancient past. Blood oaths to terrifying daemon masters provide a surge of profane power!
A tempo deck built around Vengeance. A fringe deck that sees a bit of play with a few ardent players. But beyond that, the lack of any larger vengeance payoffs proves to be a bit of an issue for the deck and ultimately it's achilles heel.
In the great summit temple of Havencraft, where all manner of deities can be found walking.. or crawling and occasionally slithering. We find everyone trying out Meowskers new Muskfruit waffles with Muskfruit jam.. Turns out he bought too much muskfruit and had to do something with all of them before they spoiled.
For Havencraft Jatelant haven continues to sit at the top, followed by Sanctuary Haven and Ward Haven.
Haven has seen a bit of a boost this week with Sanctuary Haven rising in popularity, though however shortlived that was. Showing that haven does have some more power to it in this expansion.
Jatelant Haven
A thousand prayers to Lord Jatelant for salvation are meant with blessings for his worshippers and curses for his enemies
A combo deck built around Jatelant and Amulets. A good deck that continues to rise in popularity as the meta ever shifts steadily. Able to deal with slower decks like Machina Portal, but vulnerable to more aggressive decks. Decks can vary a bit, but for the most part are largely similar.
Sanctuary Haven
Bound to defend this ancient sanctuary. Those that serve it will fight tooth and nail to preserve it and their cause!
A control deck built around healing. A solid deck with some skill requirements. It's seen a rise in popularity over the week as it is quite good for disrupting combo decks like Combo Loop Sword and the different burn runes, since it's combination of healing plus large untargetable wards makes it good for throwing their plan off. On the other hand, the deck struggles badly vs Machina Portal and so is already seeing a bit of a retreat. But remains something to keep all of the combo decks in check a bit.
Ward Haven
Dozens of holy knights, protecting high value clergy. Each ready to lay down their life for the cause!
A midrange deck built around wards. A fringe deck that continues to see some play in the current meta, but overall lacking more serious new threats, remains a bit on the weaker side currently.
In the vertex colony, high in orbit over a long dead world. It's original inhabitants, long gone and forgotten. We find Yuwan worrying that if Belphomet made his appearance as a leader, then potentially Maisha could make a return that way too, only worsening his woes. He resolves himself to making sure it never happens!
For Portalcraft Machina Portal continues to rule with a steel fist, followed by Evo Portal, Resonance Portal and a bit of Artifact Portal.
Portalcraft continues to do quite well in the meta with multiple decks, even if the majority of the workload is carried by Machina Portal.
Machina Portal
Enslaved to Belphomets Will, these Machines mindlessly sacrifice themselves to further his cause
A control deck built around Machina and Belphomet. A potent deck, it has seen a rise again as with sanctuary Haven putting a bit a lid on the combo decks, it has a bit more room to maneuver once more. That said, as it pushes back against Sanctuary haven, i do expect the combo decks to return to haunt Machina Portal once more. Deck remains overall stable with no noteworthy changes this week.
Evolve Portal
Reconfiguring the hapless machines opens new doors as Belphomet seeks other ways to dominate his foes
A midrange-control deck built around evolve synergies. A solid deck that sees some play, but does ultimately linger under the shadow of Machina Portal and is mostly played by those who want something a bit different from the standard fare.
Resonance Portal
In the skies it waits, Absolute Tolerance. Waiting for the right time to strike and tear the world asunder
A combo deck built around Resonance. A decent deck that sees some play here and there. Can target some of the slower decks and do well against them, but is weak to faster and more aggressive decks.
Artifact Portal
From where do these artifacts hail ? All who have sought that answer have gone mad or wound up dead
A midrange deck built around artifacts. A fringe deck that continues to see play with a small hardened cadre of players. But beyond that has it's struggles as it just lacks the tools to really present a big threat in the current meta.
At this point we are but 3 weeks away from the mini expansion and i imagine we are about 2 weeks away before the reveals begin. Will be interesting to see if any more meta developments happen before then.
Until next week, have fun playing Shadowverse!
2021.07.25 17:03 ImperialDane Shadowverse Rotation Meta Report. July 25th
Greetings everyone and welcome to another meta report ! What has happened over the last week ? Read on and get a general picture !
Forestcraft
In the great woods of Forestcraft, where ancient have stood tall for millenia. The leaders have been assembled (Sans Arisa) to discuss the matter of Arisa and how on earth she'll recover from her case of Edgelord-ism. With Selwyn suspecting that the upcoming storyline may finally provide a cure, one way or another.
For Forstcraft Accelerate Forest still sits at the forefront, followed by Combo Forest and Loxis Forest.
Forestcraft is finding itself a bit adrift in this expansion. Still decent, but with decks that are fairly skill intensive but also lack sufficient power in the current meta.
Accelerate Forest
Stalkers of the great woods, they snipe and harass their prey until the right time comes to deliver the killing blow
A combo deck built around Accelerate. A good deck with fairly high skill requirements. It continues to see some play, but does have some tougher matchups in the current meta that holds it back a bit.
Combo Forest
A lone Guardian of the forest, her mighty paws as able to deliver swift death as they are big fluffy hugs
A combo deck built around Ladica and big Combos. A good yet skill intensive deck. It continues to see some play as well similar to Accelerate Forest, but lacking more flexible tools in the current meta and sufficient prey is ultimately held back a bit.
Loxis Forest
An outrider of the great woods, he seeks to keep harm away from his ancestral home at all costs
A midrange-combo deck built around Loxis and Amulets. A fringe deck that continues to see a tiny bit of play with certain enthusiasts. The deck overall though struggles with good parts of the top decks and is overall showing a need for new cards at this point to give it new options.
Swordcraft
In the eternal castle of Swordcraft, where countless generations of knights have served for centuries. We find Erika at the Admiralty of cats to inquire whether or not they have a hand in Mistolina and Bayleon's recent powers of Teleportation. The assembled cat admirals inform her though that such matters are outside of their purrview. Erika walks away, forced to seek answers elsewhere.
For Swordcraft Combo Loop Sword has taken the lead, followed by Rally Sword, Aggro Sword and a tiny bit of Midrange Sword. There's also Levin Combo Sword but it seems to have fallen out of favour with the rise of Combo Loop Sword.
Swordcrafts in a very good spot with the rise of the COmbo deck as it has a strong variety of decks with plenty of options. Giving the deck a strong position in the meta and in general quite a few deck building choices.
Combo Loop Sword
Sometimes a king must take matters in their own hands to settle the score
A combo deck built around M&B and Dramatic Retreat. A potent deck that can strike down many a slower deck, though is vulnerable to more aggressive decks and decks that can put up large wards. Recent refinements have made the deck more popular this week, with Great mother's embrace being well.. embraced by pretty much all decks, additionally Swordmaster's Sweep is also becoming very popular as a way to deal with the decks weakness to large ward walls.
Rally Sword
A Legion of hundreds, raw recruits and hardened veterans. All united into one singular force
A tempo deck built around tokens and the rally mechanic. A good deck that continues to see good play. With the rise of Combo Sword, more decks are starting to get a bit more aggressive to help their matchup against combo Sword, but beyond that. Rally Sword continues to be quite the varied deck archetype with a dozen builds for it.
Aggro Sword
The King's vanguard. There to finish the battle before it has a chance to drag on
An aggro deck built around strong threats. A solid deck that continues to see good usage as it can get under a lot of decks with it's sheer speed and aggression. Similar to Rally Sword, Aggro Sword decks continue to be fairly varied with many variants depending on the player themselves.
Midrange Sword
The King with a chosen bodyguard of heroes. They will fight to their last to defend Naterra.
A midrange deck built around Natura. A decent deck that is seeing some play. A bit of a fringe deck, it can deal with some decks fairly efficiently due to the Natura package which is quite solid, though it does lack the speed and aggression of Aggro and Rally Sword which does ultimately hold it back in the current meta.
Runecraft
In the great mystical academy of Runecraft, where knowledge of all kinds flourish. We arrive to find Anne and Grea doing community service to help pay off some of all the damage their fights have done. As numerous libraries and their contents have been burned to ashes from their incendiary arguments. All under the watchful eye of Erasmus who's observing it all while munching on waffles.
For Runecraft Evo Burn continues to sit at the top, followed by Void Burn rune and a tiny bit of Spellboost Rune.
Runecraft continues to perform quite well in the current meta with several strong decks and a decent amount of variety available to it in the current metagame.
Evo Burn Rune
Fusing Machines and magic together. Some Wizards and witches achieve a greater understanding of the soul.. and of its destruction
A midrange-combo deck built around Evolve synergies. A strong deck, it's seen a slight drop as the meta has shifted and the rise of Combo Loop Sword poses a bit of a problem for it. Still, it is overall quite strong and can blast it's way through a lot of slower decks thanks to it's many value generation tools.
Void Burn Rune
In their search for ultimate power, they got too close to the void, and the price has been their sanity
A midrange-combo deck built around 20 cards or less and spellboost. A potent yet skill intensive deck. It has shown great results in many JCG Opens, repeatedly taking first place, but few people use it. So while it is good, it is tough for players to manage it would seem.
Spellboost Rune
Wielding Vast arcane power, these wizards and witches bend reality to their will, or at least try really hard to
A midrange deck built around Spellboost Synergies. It exists as a fringe deck at the moment, there seems to have been some attempts to use Chimera meister for a secondary win condition. But overall these experiments so far seem to have been fruitless.
Dragoncraft
In the great caverns of Dragoncraft, where vast subterranean seas hide ancient behemoths. We discover Rowen with a plot to finally get Hiro out of his hair. Pretending to have knowledge of a sequel to Champion's Battle, he tells hiro that he must go out and collect every Shadowverse Card out there, and that when he is done. A sequel to Champion's battle will be announced. It takes all of Rowen's acting skills to say it all with a straight face.
For Dragoncraft Evo Dragon sits at the top, followed by a resurgent Face Dragon, Buff Dragon and a bit of natura Dragon.
Dragoncraft sits in a good spot currently with multiple strong, though not exceptional decks with a variety of archetypes available to it. Giving the class plenty of flexibility in the meta.
Evo Dragon
Making pacts with Ancient Gods, some dragons sought a different way to power, a different kind of existence. But have they reached what they sought ?
A midrange deck built around Evolve synergies. A good deck that continues to see a good amount of play as it packs potent finishers and has access to a solid selection of Disruption tools. but does find itself a bit vulnerable to Combo decks in the current meta.
Face Dragon
A surging tempest of rage and destruction. Laying waste to all before it
A tempo deck built around ramping into strong threats. A strong deck that continues to put up numerous variations. Some including Romelia, but by now the Phoenix is becoming more popular as it gives the deck some disruption and healing. I have even seen some decks that are starting to pull more in a midrange direction with even more healing and card draw.
Buff Dragon
Hardened scales, sharpened claws. Always focusing on their own strength, these Dragons have forsaken all treasure for the sake of power
A tempo deck built around buffs. A decent deck that continues to see a fair amount of play, but does linger a bit in the shadow of Face Dragon. Most decks at this stage are fairly similar with only minor variations.
Natura Dragon
Rather than destroy the forests, these dragons rather seek to protect them and rule them as their own domain
A midrange deck built around Natura. A decent deck, it has been pushed more towards the fringe as a result of the recent meta shifts. There have been attempts to make faster and more aggressive builds, but so far nothing really seems to stick for long there.
Shadowcraft
In the great catacomb of Shadowcraft, where death lingers around every corner amidst vast oceans of dust. We find Mordecai and Cerberus discussing their chances of getting new prints of themselves and what they would look like. Cerberus though being a bit worried she'll just get a joke card this time around.
For Shadowcraft Last Words Shadow continues to rule with a skeletal hand, followed by Machina Shadow, Aggro Shadow and the newly arrived Combo Shadow.
Last Words Shadow
To some Necromancers. Death is a bountiful harvest, ready to be reaped for their needs
A midrange deck built around last words. A potent deck that continues to perform quite well. While it is weak to decks that can out-tempo it, it overall continues to show few very consistent weaknesses as it has tools to deal with a variety of threats, including Celeste Omega to disrupt combos and other non-interactive decks.
Machina Shadow
Merging Steel and Sinew, Muscles and Motors. These blasphemous necromancers look only for new ways to enhance undeath
A tempo deck built around Machina. A strong deck that can generate a lot of tempo fast to kill the enemy. It's starting to become popular again as it can overwhelm slower decks and combo decks, additionally seemingly performing well against Combo Loop Sword as it can overwhelm the deck and has access to some disruption in the form of Celeste Omega.
Aggro Shadow
A shambling horde of corpses. Driven forwards by ruthless and uncaring masters
An aggro deck built around strong threats and reanimation. A decent deck that continues to see some play as it can run down decks here and there, especially combo decks that may not be ready for the sheer speed it can unleash. Deck continues to overall remain the same though with few variations.
Combo Shadow
Past vaulted doors, in sealed of crypts. An ancient secret lies buried away that can destroy anyone who tries to unearth it
A combo deck built around Ceres. A recent arrival in the meta. The overall gameplan is to use Darkest Desire to buff a follower with high attack and then kill it in the same turn to defeat the opponent. A bit of a fringe deck atm, it does require some skill to set up as well. But is an option for those who want it.
Bloodcraft
In the great and decadent manor of bloodcraft, where sin flows like fine wine. We find Seox having a discussion with Urias and how he feels a bit out of place with all of these little girls and asks Urias how does he manage. Urias answer is.. he honestly stopped thinking about it some time ago and just went with the flow.
For Bloodcraft Wrath blood continues to cling to the blood throne, followed by Mono Blood and Epitaph Vengeance Blood.
Bloodcraft continues to hold on in the meta, having access to some variety of decks. But continues the overall struggle, though is showing some signs of improvement as of late as the meta continues to shift and evolve.
Wrath Blood
Encased in anger and rage. This deck seeks only bloodshed and destruction
A midrange deck built around the Wrath mechanic. A solid deck that continues to see some play and seems to have gotten a bit more popular as of late as the combo decks seem to be giving it an opportunity to push through with it's own gameplan. Luzen continues to appear in some decks, but nothing particular consistent so far.
Mono Blood
A steel Avenger from the ruins of Aiolon. Those who feel her steel fists, seldom rise again
A combo deck built around Mono. A solid and skill intensive deck. It seems to be gaining a bit more traction as people seem to find more effective builds of the deck. This particular version managed the top 16 of the JCG Open. Will be interesting to see if this particular build catches on.
Epitaph Vengeance
Seeking even greater power no matter the cost, some berserkers seek out an ancient artifact. Forged in brass and blood, said to be able to enhance their rage ten-fold!
A tempo deck built around Vengeance. A bit of a fringe deck at the moment. Can still overwhelm some decks here and there, but lacks that extra bit of oomph to really give the deck more presence in the meta game currently.
Havencraft
In the serene gardens of enlightenment in the great summit temple. We find Eris with the assembled council of Haven leaders, trying to understand the current crisis of faith. With many suggestions, from Iconoclasm, to more strict rules. The one for "More Satanic Worship" from De La fille of all people raises quite a few eyebrows, but ultimately gets ignored.
For Havencraft, Jatelant Haven continues to hold on, followed by Ward Haven and a bit of Sanctuary Haven.
Havencraft continues to hold on in the meta, but it's continued weak performance in the meta besides Jatelant haven is a bit concerning and we'll see what happens over the next few weeks.
Jatelant Haven
A god of bounty. Plenty of blessings, and plenty of punishments to those who stray from the one true path
A combo deck built around Amulets. A solid deck that continues to make a slow return to the meta and has a few times now made appearances in the top 16 of the JCG Open. Showing that the deck still has some power left in it. That said it is more vulnerable than before, in particular to aggressive decks.
Ward Haven
Sworn to protect the great temple no matter the cost. These holy knights are ready to die for the cause!
A midrange deck built around ward synergies. A fringe deck that continues to pop up here and there as it can deal with more board based decks. But it generally struggles with a lower power level in the current meta, which ultimately holds it back.
Sanctuary Haven
Devoted to the restorative art of healing, they use ancient artifacts to do help stay safe as they help the weak
A control deck built around healing synergies. A fringe deck that continues to see some usage, but with all of the combo decks in the meta and a lack of tools to disrupt them, the deck is having a pretty tough time and so is tough to recommend.
Portalcraft
In the Vertex Colony, high in orbit over a long dead world. It's halls filled with wonderous contraptions, all forgotten. We arrive to find Spinaria and Orchis playing with Artifacts when Belphomet appears and asks them why they're not playing with Machines instead. They just ignore him, not used to that.. he walks away a bit confused.
For Portalcraft Machina Portal continues to hold the lead, followed by Evo Machina Portal, Resonance Portal and a bit of Artifact Portal.
Portalcraft remains a strong class in the meta with an increasing variety of decks with good potency in general. Though that said, the rise of Combo Loop Sword is proving to be a of a thorn in the side of the class.
Machina Portal
Slaves to Belphomet. These machines march ever onwards for their master, ready to be sacrificed at a moments notice
A control deck built around Machina and Belphomet. A potent deck, it has seen a lot of challenge with the rise of Combo Loop Sword as that deck can fairly consistently get under Machina Portal. So while it does have plenty of other good matchups, it has overall seen a decrease due to Combo Sword.
Evo Machina Portla
Not content with merely sacrificing them, some seek to strip the machines of all their worth to power more sinister weapons
A control combo deck built around Machina and evolve synergies. An evolution on Machina Portal which was already running some evolve elements, this deck goes all the way and uses the Machina Portal to defend itself as it sets up for the combo, or then uses Belphomet as a secondary win con. Giving the deck some more punch, but it does perform less well overall, at least for now.
Resonance Portal
Pulsating, twisting and turning. This deck churns ever onwards to its violent desires, looking to unleash them in one violent wave!
A combo deck built around Resonance. A decent deck that continues to see some usage, as it can blow up some decks, but does struggle against faster combo decks and aggro decks.
Artifact Portal
These alien machines obey their masters with unerring precision, destroying all in their way.. or does their masters obey them instead ?
A midrange deck built around Artifacts. A fringe deck that continues to see some play here and there. But lacking more artifact support, does find itself relegated to the edges of the metagame.
This week saw the aggressive rise of Combo Loop Sword which has shifted Machina portal a bit back. Additionally more decks have appeared, showing that the meta is far from finished and who knows what else may appear ? That said, Haven and Blood do appear a bit concerning and could possibly receive buffs if nothing changes. Beyond that, with the rise of more COmbo decks, i do expect more aggressive decks, and we're already seeing that with Machina Shadow returning for example, so i would anticipate more of that slowly appearing.
Beyond that, next week we get the next story update and in a bit over 3 weeks we get the mini expansion.
So until next week, have fun playing Shadowverse!
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In the great woods of Forestcraft, where ancient have stood tall for millenia. The leaders have been assembled (Sans Arisa) to discuss the matter of Arisa and how on earth she'll recover from her case of Edgelord-ism. With Selwyn suspecting that the upcoming storyline may finally provide a cure, one way or another.
For Forstcraft Accelerate Forest still sits at the forefront, followed by Combo Forest and Loxis Forest.
Forestcraft is finding itself a bit adrift in this expansion. Still decent, but with decks that are fairly skill intensive but also lack sufficient power in the current meta.
Accelerate Forest
Stalkers of the great woods, they snipe and harass their prey until the right time comes to deliver the killing blow
A combo deck built around Accelerate. A good deck with fairly high skill requirements. It continues to see some play, but does have some tougher matchups in the current meta that holds it back a bit.
Combo Forest
A lone Guardian of the forest, her mighty paws as able to deliver swift death as they are big fluffy hugs
A combo deck built around Ladica and big Combos. A good yet skill intensive deck. It continues to see some play as well similar to Accelerate Forest, but lacking more flexible tools in the current meta and sufficient prey is ultimately held back a bit.
Loxis Forest
An outrider of the great woods, he seeks to keep harm away from his ancestral home at all costs
A midrange-combo deck built around Loxis and Amulets. A fringe deck that continues to see a tiny bit of play with certain enthusiasts. The deck overall though struggles with good parts of the top decks and is overall showing a need for new cards at this point to give it new options.
In the eternal castle of Swordcraft, where countless generations of knights have served for centuries. We find Erika at the Admiralty of cats to inquire whether or not they have a hand in Mistolina and Bayleon's recent powers of Teleportation. The assembled cat admirals inform her though that such matters are outside of their purrview. Erika walks away, forced to seek answers elsewhere.
For Swordcraft Combo Loop Sword has taken the lead, followed by Rally Sword, Aggro Sword and a tiny bit of Midrange Sword. There's also Levin Combo Sword but it seems to have fallen out of favour with the rise of Combo Loop Sword.
Swordcrafts in a very good spot with the rise of the COmbo deck as it has a strong variety of decks with plenty of options. Giving the deck a strong position in the meta and in general quite a few deck building choices.
Combo Loop Sword
Sometimes a king must take matters in their own hands to settle the score
A combo deck built around M&B and Dramatic Retreat. A potent deck that can strike down many a slower deck, though is vulnerable to more aggressive decks and decks that can put up large wards. Recent refinements have made the deck more popular this week, with Great mother's embrace being well.. embraced by pretty much all decks, additionally Swordmaster's Sweep is also becoming very popular as a way to deal with the decks weakness to large ward walls.
Rally Sword
A Legion of hundreds, raw recruits and hardened veterans. All united into one singular force
A tempo deck built around tokens and the rally mechanic. A good deck that continues to see good play. With the rise of Combo Sword, more decks are starting to get a bit more aggressive to help their matchup against combo Sword, but beyond that. Rally Sword continues to be quite the varied deck archetype with a dozen builds for it.
Aggro Sword
The King's vanguard. There to finish the battle before it has a chance to drag on
An aggro deck built around strong threats. A solid deck that continues to see good usage as it can get under a lot of decks with it's sheer speed and aggression. Similar to Rally Sword, Aggro Sword decks continue to be fairly varied with many variants depending on the player themselves.
Midrange Sword
The King with a chosen bodyguard of heroes. They will fight to their last to defend Naterra.
A midrange deck built around Natura. A decent deck that is seeing some play. A bit of a fringe deck, it can deal with some decks fairly efficiently due to the Natura package which is quite solid, though it does lack the speed and aggression of Aggro and Rally Sword which does ultimately hold it back in the current meta.
In the great mystical academy of Runecraft, where knowledge of all kinds flourish. We arrive to find Anne and Grea doing community service to help pay off some of all the damage their fights have done. As numerous libraries and their contents have been burned to ashes from their incendiary arguments. All under the watchful eye of Erasmus who's observing it all while munching on waffles.
For Runecraft Evo Burn continues to sit at the top, followed by Void Burn rune and a tiny bit of Spellboost Rune.
Runecraft continues to perform quite well in the current meta with several strong decks and a decent amount of variety available to it in the current metagame.
Evo Burn Rune
Fusing Machines and magic together. Some Wizards and witches achieve a greater understanding of the soul.. and of its destruction
A midrange-combo deck built around Evolve synergies. A strong deck, it's seen a slight drop as the meta has shifted and the rise of Combo Loop Sword poses a bit of a problem for it. Still, it is overall quite strong and can blast it's way through a lot of slower decks thanks to it's many value generation tools.
Void Burn Rune
In their search for ultimate power, they got too close to the void, and the price has been their sanity
A midrange-combo deck built around 20 cards or less and spellboost. A potent yet skill intensive deck. It has shown great results in many JCG Opens, repeatedly taking first place, but few people use it. So while it is good, it is tough for players to manage it would seem.
Spellboost Rune
Wielding Vast arcane power, these wizards and witches bend reality to their will, or at least try really hard to
A midrange deck built around Spellboost Synergies. It exists as a fringe deck at the moment, there seems to have been some attempts to use Chimera meister for a secondary win condition. But overall these experiments so far seem to have been fruitless.
In the great caverns of Dragoncraft, where vast subterranean seas hide ancient behemoths. We discover Rowen with a plot to finally get Hiro out of his hair. Pretending to have knowledge of a sequel to Champion's Battle, he tells hiro that he must go out and collect every Shadowverse Card out there, and that when he is done. A sequel to Champion's battle will be announced. It takes all of Rowen's acting skills to say it all with a straight face.
For Dragoncraft Evo Dragon sits at the top, followed by a resurgent Face Dragon, Buff Dragon and a bit of natura Dragon.
Dragoncraft sits in a good spot currently with multiple strong, though not exceptional decks with a variety of archetypes available to it. Giving the class plenty of flexibility in the meta.
Evo Dragon
Making pacts with Ancient Gods, some dragons sought a different way to power, a different kind of existence. But have they reached what they sought ?
A midrange deck built around Evolve synergies. A good deck that continues to see a good amount of play as it packs potent finishers and has access to a solid selection of Disruption tools. but does find itself a bit vulnerable to Combo decks in the current meta.
Face Dragon
A surging tempest of rage and destruction. Laying waste to all before it
A tempo deck built around ramping into strong threats. A strong deck that continues to put up numerous variations. Some including Romelia, but by now the Phoenix is becoming more popular as it gives the deck some disruption and healing. I have even seen some decks that are starting to pull more in a midrange direction with even more healing and card draw.
Buff Dragon
Hardened scales, sharpened claws. Always focusing on their own strength, these Dragons have forsaken all treasure for the sake of power
A tempo deck built around buffs. A decent deck that continues to see a fair amount of play, but does linger a bit in the shadow of Face Dragon. Most decks at this stage are fairly similar with only minor variations.
Natura Dragon
Rather than destroy the forests, these dragons rather seek to protect them and rule them as their own domain
A midrange deck built around Natura. A decent deck, it has been pushed more towards the fringe as a result of the recent meta shifts. There have been attempts to make faster and more aggressive builds, but so far nothing really seems to stick for long there.
In the great catacomb of Shadowcraft, where death lingers around every corner amidst vast oceans of dust. We find Mordecai and Cerberus discussing their chances of getting new prints of themselves and what they would look like. Cerberus though being a bit worried she'll just get a joke card this time around.
For Shadowcraft Last Words Shadow continues to rule with a skeletal hand, followed by Machina Shadow, Aggro Shadow and the newly arrived Combo Shadow.
Last Words Shadow
To some Necromancers. Death is a bountiful harvest, ready to be reaped for their needs
A midrange deck built around last words. A potent deck that continues to perform quite well. While it is weak to decks that can out-tempo it, it overall continues to show few very consistent weaknesses as it has tools to deal with a variety of threats, including Celeste Omega to disrupt combos and other non-interactive decks.
Machina Shadow
Merging Steel and Sinew, Muscles and Motors. These blasphemous necromancers look only for new ways to enhance undeath
A tempo deck built around Machina. A strong deck that can generate a lot of tempo fast to kill the enemy. It's starting to become popular again as it can overwhelm slower decks and combo decks, additionally seemingly performing well against Combo Loop Sword as it can overwhelm the deck and has access to some disruption in the form of Celeste Omega.
Aggro Shadow
A shambling horde of corpses. Driven forwards by ruthless and uncaring masters
An aggro deck built around strong threats and reanimation. A decent deck that continues to see some play as it can run down decks here and there, especially combo decks that may not be ready for the sheer speed it can unleash. Deck continues to overall remain the same though with few variations.
Combo Shadow
Past vaulted doors, in sealed of crypts. An ancient secret lies buried away that can destroy anyone who tries to unearth it
A combo deck built around Ceres. A recent arrival in the meta. The overall gameplan is to use Darkest Desire to buff a follower with high attack and then kill it in the same turn to defeat the opponent. A bit of a fringe deck atm, it does require some skill to set up as well. But is an option for those who want it.
In the great and decadent manor of bloodcraft, where sin flows like fine wine. We find Seox having a discussion with Urias and how he feels a bit out of place with all of these little girls and asks Urias how does he manage. Urias answer is.. he honestly stopped thinking about it some time ago and just went with the flow.
For Bloodcraft Wrath blood continues to cling to the blood throne, followed by Mono Blood and Epitaph Vengeance Blood.
Bloodcraft continues to hold on in the meta, having access to some variety of decks. But continues the overall struggle, though is showing some signs of improvement as of late as the meta continues to shift and evolve.
Wrath Blood
Encased in anger and rage. This deck seeks only bloodshed and destruction
A midrange deck built around the Wrath mechanic. A solid deck that continues to see some play and seems to have gotten a bit more popular as of late as the combo decks seem to be giving it an opportunity to push through with it's own gameplan. Luzen continues to appear in some decks, but nothing particular consistent so far.
Mono Blood
A steel Avenger from the ruins of Aiolon. Those who feel her steel fists, seldom rise again
A combo deck built around Mono. A solid and skill intensive deck. It seems to be gaining a bit more traction as people seem to find more effective builds of the deck. This particular version managed the top 16 of the JCG Open. Will be interesting to see if this particular build catches on.
Epitaph Vengeance
Seeking even greater power no matter the cost, some berserkers seek out an ancient artifact. Forged in brass and blood, said to be able to enhance their rage ten-fold!
A tempo deck built around Vengeance. A bit of a fringe deck at the moment. Can still overwhelm some decks here and there, but lacks that extra bit of oomph to really give the deck more presence in the meta game currently.
In the serene gardens of enlightenment in the great summit temple. We find Eris with the assembled council of Haven leaders, trying to understand the current crisis of faith. With many suggestions, from Iconoclasm, to more strict rules. The one for "More Satanic Worship" from De La fille of all people raises quite a few eyebrows, but ultimately gets ignored.
For Havencraft, Jatelant Haven continues to hold on, followed by Ward Haven and a bit of Sanctuary Haven.
Havencraft continues to hold on in the meta, but it's continued weak performance in the meta besides Jatelant haven is a bit concerning and we'll see what happens over the next few weeks.
Jatelant Haven
A god of bounty. Plenty of blessings, and plenty of punishments to those who stray from the one true path
A combo deck built around Amulets. A solid deck that continues to make a slow return to the meta and has a few times now made appearances in the top 16 of the JCG Open. Showing that the deck still has some power left in it. That said it is more vulnerable than before, in particular to aggressive decks.
Ward Haven
Sworn to protect the great temple no matter the cost. These holy knights are ready to die for the cause!
A midrange deck built around ward synergies. A fringe deck that continues to pop up here and there as it can deal with more board based decks. But it generally struggles with a lower power level in the current meta, which ultimately holds it back.
Sanctuary Haven
Devoted to the restorative art of healing, they use ancient artifacts to do help stay safe as they help the weak
A control deck built around healing synergies. A fringe deck that continues to see some usage, but with all of the combo decks in the meta and a lack of tools to disrupt them, the deck is having a pretty tough time and so is tough to recommend.
In the Vertex Colony, high in orbit over a long dead world. It's halls filled with wonderous contraptions, all forgotten. We arrive to find Spinaria and Orchis playing with Artifacts when Belphomet appears and asks them why they're not playing with Machines instead. They just ignore him, not used to that.. he walks away a bit confused.
For Portalcraft Machina Portal continues to hold the lead, followed by Evo Machina Portal, Resonance Portal and a bit of Artifact Portal.
Portalcraft remains a strong class in the meta with an increasing variety of decks with good potency in general. Though that said, the rise of Combo Loop Sword is proving to be a of a thorn in the side of the class.
Machina Portal
Slaves to Belphomet. These machines march ever onwards for their master, ready to be sacrificed at a moments notice
A control deck built around Machina and Belphomet. A potent deck, it has seen a lot of challenge with the rise of Combo Loop Sword as that deck can fairly consistently get under Machina Portal. So while it does have plenty of other good matchups, it has overall seen a decrease due to Combo Sword.
Evo Machina Portla
Not content with merely sacrificing them, some seek to strip the machines of all their worth to power more sinister weapons
A control combo deck built around Machina and evolve synergies. An evolution on Machina Portal which was already running some evolve elements, this deck goes all the way and uses the Machina Portal to defend itself as it sets up for the combo, or then uses Belphomet as a secondary win con. Giving the deck some more punch, but it does perform less well overall, at least for now.
Resonance Portal
Pulsating, twisting and turning. This deck churns ever onwards to its violent desires, looking to unleash them in one violent wave!
A combo deck built around Resonance. A decent deck that continues to see some usage, as it can blow up some decks, but does struggle against faster combo decks and aggro decks.
Artifact Portal
These alien machines obey their masters with unerring precision, destroying all in their way.. or does their masters obey them instead ?
A midrange deck built around Artifacts. A fringe deck that continues to see some play here and there. But lacking more artifact support, does find itself relegated to the edges of the metagame.
Beyond that, next week we get the next story update and in a bit over 3 weeks we get the mini expansion.
So until next week, have fun playing Shadowverse!
2021.07.18 16:58 ImperialDane Shadowverse Rotation Meta Report. July 18th
Greetings everyone and welcome to another Meta Report ! The meta is slowly moving onwards and evolving, day by day.
Let us dive into it and see what things people have been up to !
Forestcraft
In the great woods, where countless of generations of Elves have lived beneath the canopies of ancient oaks. In a small clearing we arrive to find Setus and liza having a small talk about adjusting to life outside of the City as Setus isn't actually used to living in the woods as it turns out and is finding it all quite unsettling.
For Forestcraft, Accelerate Forest has climbed to the fore, followed by Combo Forest and a tiny bit of Loxis Forest holding on for dear life.
Forestcraft remains in the same position as last week, fairly complex to play meaning most players don't bother with it, but the few that do can be quite the challenge. The fairy package continues to find it's way into more and more decks, highlighting just how flexible it is.
Accelerate Forest
Striking from the shadows of the great forests, slowly wearing down their prey until the time is right!
A midrange deck built around Accelerate. Seeing a steady increase in popularity as the meta makes more room for it, but also because people have realised that with Gigantic Blossom, they can include the Fairy package, giving the deck a few more options in terms of fighting for the board and drawing cards. So while strong, it is fairly skill intensive, additionally most of the Accelerate package will be rotating out at the end of the expansion, making it a bit tough to recommend.
Combo Forest
Defender of the great tree of Naterra, Ladica tears down all those who would harm the forests!
A combo deck built around Ladica. A solid yet skill intensive deck. There continues to be two major variations, one with Fairies and one with Naterran trees. Both have their strenghts and weaknesses. In the current meta the deck has lost a bit of ground to Accelerate Forest but still remains good. No major changes to the deck this week.
Loxis Forest
An outrider for the great forests. He seeks down troublemakers before they can become a problem, and silences them forever
A midrange combo deck built around Loxis. A fringe deck at this point, that continues to see some play with enduring fans of his playstyle. But in the greater scheme of things lacks the same strength and tools as either Accelerate Forest or Combo Forest.
Swordcraft
In the Eternal Castle of Swordcraft, where armies of Maids and butlers take care of all manner of logistical matters as knights march out of the gates. We find the Council of Swordcraft leaders assembled to ask Garven.. How does he do it ? The answer it turns out is.. The Power of Friendship, much to the utter amazement of the entire council who didn't think that actually works.
For Swordcraft Rally Sword continues to rule the Iron Throne, followed by Aggro Sword, Natura Combo Sword and Levin Combo Sword. There is additionally a Midrange Sword deck out there, but as i focus on the 4 "best" decks and also lack a more specific decklist for it, i won't be giving it a writeup in this meta report. Though here is an example list for those curious
Swordcraft remains in a fairly strong spot in the metagame with a strong selection of cards available to it resulting in a plethora of decks being playable and i think for the first time Swordcraft is the class with the most identifiable decks.. never mind two of them are Combo decks ! I never thought i'd be writing that.
Rally Sword
Legions on the march. Countless soldiers arrayed in vast ranks, ready to bring down those who would oppose their masters
A tempo deck built around the Rally mechanic. A strong deck archetype that continues to remain quite varied in the meta with numerous builds. That said there have been two major trends this week. First more decks are starting to run Garven and build more around him in response to last words Shadow. Additionally Pompous summons is startint to get run more, typically cutting scrupulous preperation as while summons requires some work to draw 2, it ultimately is cheaper and searches for followers. Beyond that though, dozens of builds, i still see some running Brave Buccaneer for example.
Aggro Sword
The King's vanguard, smashing its way through the gaps in the enemy lines and going straight for the head
An aggro deck built around a variety of strong threats. A good deck that continues to see ample usage as it can run under a lot of decks, especially if they're not ready for it. Variations continue to be numerous depending on what the deck wishes to aim for. Some run more storm, some more neutrals, some run Bandit run. Though they all run Garven as both tempo removal and a good fininisher.
Natura Combo Sword
Sometimes the King has to take matters into his own hands to see the task done
A combo deck built around Mistolina & Bayleon and Dramatic Retreat. A solid deck that continues to see play as it can take down some slower decks. Recent adaptations has been running a few copies of Great Mother's Embrace and Shadowed Memories to help survive a bit more but also draw cards.
Levin Combo Sword
An assault team based out of the Kingdom of Levin. They will strike down their target, no matter the cost!
A Midrange combo deck built around Levin and Eahta. Steadily making it's return in the meta after the nerfs. It does lack the tutors and searches of the version before the rotation. So it has adopted a slightly more midranged version that can still win with the board if it comes down to it. But otherwise looks for the pieces and hopes to win with them. A more tricky deck to pilot.
Runecraft
In the great mystical academies of Runecraft, where the libraries are overflowing with vast arcane knowledge. We find Tetra busy with the process of upgrading the libraries using her Robot friends so they work more smoothly and efficient. Only to find pushback from a lot of the regulars who rather prefer the old ways.. Mostly because it gives them time to eat waffles while they're waiting for things to happen.
For Runecraft Evo Burn Rune takes the top, followed by Void Burn Rune and finally a tiny bit of Spellboost Rune.
Runecraft sits in a good position in the current meta with several strong decks, additionally the meta has transitioned to a more midranged one which tends to be the type of meta where Rune does quite well.
Evo Burn Rune
Machine and man, working together for one common goal. Destruction!
A midrange deck built around Evolve synergies and Burn damage. A potent deck that continues to see a good amount of play in the current metagame. Variations can range from the more aggressive ones with Bandits that look to kill the enemy faster, to slower more evolve focused ones that run Lucifer as a secondary win condition.
Void Burn Rune
Succumbing to the madness of the world, these once wizards and witches now only care for carnage and annihilation!
A midrange deck built around having less than 20 cards in your deck and burn damage. A good deck that has been rising in popularity as of late, even taking nr 1 place in a recent JCG Open. By combining the deck with spellboost synergies and Elmott, the deck has gained more consistency and reach. Making the deck more formiddable in the current metagame.
Spellboost Rune
A conclave of battle magi, ready to unleash a storm of arcane energy on those foolish enough to oppose them!
A midrange deck built around spellboost synergies. A fringe deck in the current metagame as it basically lacks any major source of burn damage or other big splashy damage to really compete in the current metagame, and so while it does see a tiny bit of play here and there. It very much exists in the shadow of the other runecraft decks.
Dragoncraft
Deep within the vast cavernous networks of Dragoncraft, where vast lakes of Molten lava can be found alongside slumbering behemoths. We arrive to find Aiela and Filene in a bit of a fight over who is the "Best Girl", which quickly turns into a fairly violent brawl until Rowen intervenes and tells to both knock it off. Explaining that obviously Rola is the best girl because she has a Robot Dragon!
For Dragoncraft Evo Dragon sits at the top, followed by Natura Dragon, Buff Dragon and Face Dragon.
Dragoncraft finds itself in a good spot, nothing wildly powerful, but plenty of decks and some variety inbetween them giving the class some good choice and flexibility in the current meta.
Evo Dragon
Harnessing the souls of ancient Dragons, these acolytes turn that power into strength and destruction!
A midrange deck built around Evolve synergies. A strong deck that continues to see a good amount of play in the current metagame, with a good amount of disruption and burn damage it can deal with a lot of decks.
Natura Dragon
Harnessing the power of the woods for his own designs, Valdain once more strikes out!
a midrange deck built around Natura. A solid deck, it has been getting a bit more popular as of late as it can take advantage of the current meta with it's stronger midrange threats. But does lack the sheer speed and aggression of Face dragon. Note that some Natura dragon decks do try to go faster and more aggressive. Others include the Phoenix for more control options.
Buff Dragon
Hardened scales and sharpened claws. Such is the obsession for strength with some Dragons that they will never stop seeking it, at the cost of everything else in their life
A tempo deck built around buffing your followers. A solid deck that continues to be popular in the current meta. Most variations typically focus on whether or not to run Tempest Dragon and overall how fast the deck is. Some run Dragonclad Lancer for a bit more speed and aggression for example.
Face Dragon
A tempest of Rage and anger. Demolishing all it sees before it !
A tempo deck built around ramping and strong threats. A good deck that has been making a slow return as of late. Partly due to the metagame leaving more room for it. The overall gameplan of ramping into big threats and killing the enemy fast remains the same though. Odin being the major new inclusion in the deck and Forte is starting to make a return.
Shadowcraft
Deep within the great Catacomb of Shadowcraft, where vast Necropolises are all that remains of once glorious ancient empires. We find Luna dealing with Chris and Ceres, both quite anxious about there whereabouts of Eachtar and when he's coming back to Rotation. Sadly Luna just doesn't know and fobs off the work of finding him to Cerberus.
For Shadowcraft Last Words Shadow rules the Throne of death, followed by Machina shadow and a smattering of Aggro Shadow.
Shadowcraft is in a generally strong state though somewhat reliant on Last Words Shadow atm, But possessing some flexibility in general.
Last Words Shadow
Seeing death as not just an end, but an opportunity for personal self enrichment. Some Necromancers always know how to exploit someone else's demise.
A midrange deck built around last words. A potent deck in the current meta. There's been some developments as people look to enhance the strategy for the current meta. For some decks this means running Tri-head hound over otherworld gatekeeper alongside Fieran for a more board heavy strategy. Others include Gold Mine necromancer as a way to rapidly revive last words followers, in fact some of the tri-head hound decks also run him. So the deck has plenty of variations and options for experimentation.
Machina Shadow
Why stop at reanimation when you can mechanize the dead ? Such is the thinking of some necromancers as they bring forth new horrors into the world
A tempo deck built around Machina and reanimation. A good deck, it has seen a drop in popularity as of late due to suffering from consistency issues in the current metagame and lacking further options for exploration at the moment. So while the deck continues to see play, it does seem to have hit a limit for now.
Aggro Shadow
A tide of rotting flesh, clattering bones and wailing spirits. All unleashed by hateful and vengeful necromancers
An aggro deck built around strong threats and reanimation. A decent deck that continues to see some play in the current meta. But for the most part exists at the fringes lacking any major new cards to play with.
Bloodcraft
Within the ancient manor of Bloodcraft, once Imperial and Proud. We find Vania and Medusa trying to catch up with Mono who has really started to flex her recent powers quite a bit. Unfortunately for Urias that is causing some issues as she's knocking down walls left and right. And while he has many skills, masonry is not one of them.
For Bloodcraft Wrath Blood sits atop a throne of Brass and blood, followed by Epitaph Vengeance and Combo Vengeance.
Bloodcraft is in a weaker state in the metagame atm. While it does have some strong cards, it doesn't quite have enough of them. In particular the Bronze and Silver department bloodcraft could do with a bit more quality.
Wrath Blood
A berserker lost in the dance of death and pain. Harming itself just as much as it harms the enemies at this point
A midrange deck built around the wrath mechanic. A solid deck that continues to see some play, but can struggle as it does lack some big power plays. There are some variations as people continue seeking out the most optimal build.
Epitaph Vengeance Blood
Seething with rage and violence. This ancient artifact promises great power, in exchange all it demands is total obedience
A tempo deck built around Vengeance. A decent deck that continues to see play as it can run down a lot of slower decks and overwhelm them, but can struggle a bit with consistency in terms of payoffs a bit. Some versions of this deck may also include an ark daemon or two for a bit of lategame power as well.
Combo Vengeance
Letting the hatred and anger build into one shattering blow. Some berserkers have achieved a mastery of their rage that cannot be matched
A combo deck built around Vengeance. A decent deck that continues to see some usage, but due to it's higher skill requirement and slight issues with consistency it is overall held back.
Havencraft
In the great summit temple of Havencraft, where choirs sing out prayers daily in worship of all manner of Pantheons. In an abandoned Chapel we find Garuda and Eris having an argument about Marlone and how a supposed Peace Advocate can blow up entire boards. How is that Peace ? With Eris pointing out that in the aftermath there is peace.. just.. very violently achieved.
For Havencraft Jatelant Haven continues to hold on to top, followed by Ward Haven and a bit of Sanctaury Havne.
Havencraft continues to hold on in the meta just barely. Slowly clawing it's way back in as the meta allows for it. But it does find itself in a bit of an awkward spot.
Jatelant Haven
The power of hundreds of prayers combined in the hands of The great lord Jatelant, shattering the faithless!
A midrange-combo deck built around Amulets. A decent deck that seems to be making a slow comeback in the meta as it does perform fairly well against Last words Shadow as it can disrupt the strategy with it's many banishes. And one even managed the top 8 in a recent JCG Open. So Jatelant haven does seem to be making a slow return, with many running a few copies of Bahamut to combo with Meowskers for extra burn damage or Ra for a steady stream of it.
Ward Haven
Sentinels of the great Summit temple. These Knights are ready to die for the cause!
A midrange deck built around Wards. A decent deck that continues to see play in the metagame. But does find itself lacking the speed to really threaten any of the top decks. Still, it performs fairly well and can make for some explosive turns at times.
Sanctuary Haven
Turning healing into power. This artifact has been in the care of the great temple for so long no one really knows where it came from
A control deck built around healing.A fringe deck that occasionally still sees usage. But overall struggles against a lot of the top decks in the current meta.
Portalcraft
In the vertex colony, in orbit over a long dead world. Yuwan once more has issues to deal with as Maisha is quite upset that she didn't get a leader but Belphomet did! Yuwan just shrugs and says he doesn't make the rules and to take it up with the management.. whatever that is.
For Portalcraft Machina portal rules with a machined fist, followed by Resonance Portal and a bit of rally Portal.
Portalcraft remains in a very strong position, though mostly due to Machina portal and the sheer strength of that deck.
Machina Portal
Slaves to Belphomet and his Iron will. These Machines march willfully to their own demise
A control deck built around Machina and Belphomet. A strong yet skill intensive deck. By now the Evolve build is the most popular one, though some still run the puppet version. Additionally Slaus is now being run as he is a good disruptive card for a lot of matchups, including the mirror match. That said the deck does struggle against Last Words shadow and some of the burn decks in the meta.
Resonance Portal
Through achieving a greater state of being, it achieves greater destruction of its enemies
A combo deck built around Resonance. A decent deck that sees some play as it can blast through slower decks, but does struggle against faster and more aggressive decks.
Rally Portal
Hundreds of puppets, all marching to the beat of an unseen puppetmaster, their only goal is destruction
A midrange deck built around Rally and destruction. A fringe deck that continues to see some play with a few enthusiastic players, but for the most part languishes in the shadow of Machina Portal.
This week was very much marked by the rise of Last Words Shadow to counter Machina Portal and the general response to that. With a rise in burn decks to counter it or decks including some form of burn to push through. Plus the potential return of Jatelant Haven to the meta in greater numbers.
Beyond that the meta remains fairly varied with most of the main archetypes having a lot of minor variations on them as players do have some flexibility in how to build them. Additionally the meta is marked by less of a gap in power between the top decks and the decks below them. So several good signs of a healthy meta there i'd argue.
Will be interesting to see how the meta develops from here, what new decks are possibly discovered and how people respond to the various changes in the metagame.
So until next week. Have fun playing Shadowverse!
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Let us dive into it and see what things people have been up to !
In the great woods, where countless of generations of Elves have lived beneath the canopies of ancient oaks. In a small clearing we arrive to find Setus and liza having a small talk about adjusting to life outside of the City as Setus isn't actually used to living in the woods as it turns out and is finding it all quite unsettling.
For Forestcraft, Accelerate Forest has climbed to the fore, followed by Combo Forest and a tiny bit of Loxis Forest holding on for dear life.
Forestcraft remains in the same position as last week, fairly complex to play meaning most players don't bother with it, but the few that do can be quite the challenge. The fairy package continues to find it's way into more and more decks, highlighting just how flexible it is.
Accelerate Forest
Striking from the shadows of the great forests, slowly wearing down their prey until the time is right!
A midrange deck built around Accelerate. Seeing a steady increase in popularity as the meta makes more room for it, but also because people have realised that with Gigantic Blossom, they can include the Fairy package, giving the deck a few more options in terms of fighting for the board and drawing cards. So while strong, it is fairly skill intensive, additionally most of the Accelerate package will be rotating out at the end of the expansion, making it a bit tough to recommend.
Combo Forest
Defender of the great tree of Naterra, Ladica tears down all those who would harm the forests!
A combo deck built around Ladica. A solid yet skill intensive deck. There continues to be two major variations, one with Fairies and one with Naterran trees. Both have their strenghts and weaknesses. In the current meta the deck has lost a bit of ground to Accelerate Forest but still remains good. No major changes to the deck this week.
Loxis Forest
An outrider for the great forests. He seeks down troublemakers before they can become a problem, and silences them forever
A midrange combo deck built around Loxis. A fringe deck at this point, that continues to see some play with enduring fans of his playstyle. But in the greater scheme of things lacks the same strength and tools as either Accelerate Forest or Combo Forest.
In the Eternal Castle of Swordcraft, where armies of Maids and butlers take care of all manner of logistical matters as knights march out of the gates. We find the Council of Swordcraft leaders assembled to ask Garven.. How does he do it ? The answer it turns out is.. The Power of Friendship, much to the utter amazement of the entire council who didn't think that actually works.
For Swordcraft Rally Sword continues to rule the Iron Throne, followed by Aggro Sword, Natura Combo Sword and Levin Combo Sword. There is additionally a Midrange Sword deck out there, but as i focus on the 4 "best" decks and also lack a more specific decklist for it, i won't be giving it a writeup in this meta report. Though here is an example list for those curious
Swordcraft remains in a fairly strong spot in the metagame with a strong selection of cards available to it resulting in a plethora of decks being playable and i think for the first time Swordcraft is the class with the most identifiable decks.. never mind two of them are Combo decks ! I never thought i'd be writing that.
Rally Sword
Legions on the march. Countless soldiers arrayed in vast ranks, ready to bring down those who would oppose their masters
A tempo deck built around the Rally mechanic. A strong deck archetype that continues to remain quite varied in the meta with numerous builds. That said there have been two major trends this week. First more decks are starting to run Garven and build more around him in response to last words Shadow. Additionally Pompous summons is startint to get run more, typically cutting scrupulous preperation as while summons requires some work to draw 2, it ultimately is cheaper and searches for followers. Beyond that though, dozens of builds, i still see some running Brave Buccaneer for example.
Aggro Sword
The King's vanguard, smashing its way through the gaps in the enemy lines and going straight for the head
An aggro deck built around a variety of strong threats. A good deck that continues to see ample usage as it can run under a lot of decks, especially if they're not ready for it. Variations continue to be numerous depending on what the deck wishes to aim for. Some run more storm, some more neutrals, some run Bandit run. Though they all run Garven as both tempo removal and a good fininisher.
Natura Combo Sword
Sometimes the King has to take matters into his own hands to see the task done
A combo deck built around Mistolina & Bayleon and Dramatic Retreat. A solid deck that continues to see play as it can take down some slower decks. Recent adaptations has been running a few copies of Great Mother's Embrace and Shadowed Memories to help survive a bit more but also draw cards.
Levin Combo Sword
An assault team based out of the Kingdom of Levin. They will strike down their target, no matter the cost!
A Midrange combo deck built around Levin and Eahta. Steadily making it's return in the meta after the nerfs. It does lack the tutors and searches of the version before the rotation. So it has adopted a slightly more midranged version that can still win with the board if it comes down to it. But otherwise looks for the pieces and hopes to win with them. A more tricky deck to pilot.
In the great mystical academies of Runecraft, where the libraries are overflowing with vast arcane knowledge. We find Tetra busy with the process of upgrading the libraries using her Robot friends so they work more smoothly and efficient. Only to find pushback from a lot of the regulars who rather prefer the old ways.. Mostly because it gives them time to eat waffles while they're waiting for things to happen.
For Runecraft Evo Burn Rune takes the top, followed by Void Burn Rune and finally a tiny bit of Spellboost Rune.
Runecraft sits in a good position in the current meta with several strong decks, additionally the meta has transitioned to a more midranged one which tends to be the type of meta where Rune does quite well.
Evo Burn Rune
Machine and man, working together for one common goal. Destruction!
A midrange deck built around Evolve synergies and Burn damage. A potent deck that continues to see a good amount of play in the current metagame. Variations can range from the more aggressive ones with Bandits that look to kill the enemy faster, to slower more evolve focused ones that run Lucifer as a secondary win condition.
Void Burn Rune
Succumbing to the madness of the world, these once wizards and witches now only care for carnage and annihilation!
A midrange deck built around having less than 20 cards in your deck and burn damage. A good deck that has been rising in popularity as of late, even taking nr 1 place in a recent JCG Open. By combining the deck with spellboost synergies and Elmott, the deck has gained more consistency and reach. Making the deck more formiddable in the current metagame.
Spellboost Rune
A conclave of battle magi, ready to unleash a storm of arcane energy on those foolish enough to oppose them!
A midrange deck built around spellboost synergies. A fringe deck in the current metagame as it basically lacks any major source of burn damage or other big splashy damage to really compete in the current metagame, and so while it does see a tiny bit of play here and there. It very much exists in the shadow of the other runecraft decks.
Deep within the vast cavernous networks of Dragoncraft, where vast lakes of Molten lava can be found alongside slumbering behemoths. We arrive to find Aiela and Filene in a bit of a fight over who is the "Best Girl", which quickly turns into a fairly violent brawl until Rowen intervenes and tells to both knock it off. Explaining that obviously Rola is the best girl because she has a Robot Dragon!
For Dragoncraft Evo Dragon sits at the top, followed by Natura Dragon, Buff Dragon and Face Dragon.
Dragoncraft finds itself in a good spot, nothing wildly powerful, but plenty of decks and some variety inbetween them giving the class some good choice and flexibility in the current meta.
Evo Dragon
Harnessing the souls of ancient Dragons, these acolytes turn that power into strength and destruction!
A midrange deck built around Evolve synergies. A strong deck that continues to see a good amount of play in the current metagame, with a good amount of disruption and burn damage it can deal with a lot of decks.
Natura Dragon
Harnessing the power of the woods for his own designs, Valdain once more strikes out!
a midrange deck built around Natura. A solid deck, it has been getting a bit more popular as of late as it can take advantage of the current meta with it's stronger midrange threats. But does lack the sheer speed and aggression of Face dragon. Note that some Natura dragon decks do try to go faster and more aggressive. Others include the Phoenix for more control options.
Buff Dragon
Hardened scales and sharpened claws. Such is the obsession for strength with some Dragons that they will never stop seeking it, at the cost of everything else in their life
A tempo deck built around buffing your followers. A solid deck that continues to be popular in the current meta. Most variations typically focus on whether or not to run Tempest Dragon and overall how fast the deck is. Some run Dragonclad Lancer for a bit more speed and aggression for example.
Face Dragon
A tempest of Rage and anger. Demolishing all it sees before it !
A tempo deck built around ramping and strong threats. A good deck that has been making a slow return as of late. Partly due to the metagame leaving more room for it. The overall gameplan of ramping into big threats and killing the enemy fast remains the same though. Odin being the major new inclusion in the deck and Forte is starting to make a return.
Deep within the great Catacomb of Shadowcraft, where vast Necropolises are all that remains of once glorious ancient empires. We find Luna dealing with Chris and Ceres, both quite anxious about there whereabouts of Eachtar and when he's coming back to Rotation. Sadly Luna just doesn't know and fobs off the work of finding him to Cerberus.
For Shadowcraft Last Words Shadow rules the Throne of death, followed by Machina shadow and a smattering of Aggro Shadow.
Shadowcraft is in a generally strong state though somewhat reliant on Last Words Shadow atm, But possessing some flexibility in general.
Last Words Shadow
Seeing death as not just an end, but an opportunity for personal self enrichment. Some Necromancers always know how to exploit someone else's demise.
A midrange deck built around last words. A potent deck in the current meta. There's been some developments as people look to enhance the strategy for the current meta. For some decks this means running Tri-head hound over otherworld gatekeeper alongside Fieran for a more board heavy strategy. Others include Gold Mine necromancer as a way to rapidly revive last words followers, in fact some of the tri-head hound decks also run him. So the deck has plenty of variations and options for experimentation.
Machina Shadow
Why stop at reanimation when you can mechanize the dead ? Such is the thinking of some necromancers as they bring forth new horrors into the world
A tempo deck built around Machina and reanimation. A good deck, it has seen a drop in popularity as of late due to suffering from consistency issues in the current metagame and lacking further options for exploration at the moment. So while the deck continues to see play, it does seem to have hit a limit for now.
Aggro Shadow
A tide of rotting flesh, clattering bones and wailing spirits. All unleashed by hateful and vengeful necromancers
An aggro deck built around strong threats and reanimation. A decent deck that continues to see some play in the current meta. But for the most part exists at the fringes lacking any major new cards to play with.
Within the ancient manor of Bloodcraft, once Imperial and Proud. We find Vania and Medusa trying to catch up with Mono who has really started to flex her recent powers quite a bit. Unfortunately for Urias that is causing some issues as she's knocking down walls left and right. And while he has many skills, masonry is not one of them.
For Bloodcraft Wrath Blood sits atop a throne of Brass and blood, followed by Epitaph Vengeance and Combo Vengeance.
Bloodcraft is in a weaker state in the metagame atm. While it does have some strong cards, it doesn't quite have enough of them. In particular the Bronze and Silver department bloodcraft could do with a bit more quality.
Wrath Blood
A berserker lost in the dance of death and pain. Harming itself just as much as it harms the enemies at this point
A midrange deck built around the wrath mechanic. A solid deck that continues to see some play, but can struggle as it does lack some big power plays. There are some variations as people continue seeking out the most optimal build.
Epitaph Vengeance Blood
Seething with rage and violence. This ancient artifact promises great power, in exchange all it demands is total obedience
A tempo deck built around Vengeance. A decent deck that continues to see play as it can run down a lot of slower decks and overwhelm them, but can struggle a bit with consistency in terms of payoffs a bit. Some versions of this deck may also include an ark daemon or two for a bit of lategame power as well.
Combo Vengeance
Letting the hatred and anger build into one shattering blow. Some berserkers have achieved a mastery of their rage that cannot be matched
A combo deck built around Vengeance. A decent deck that continues to see some usage, but due to it's higher skill requirement and slight issues with consistency it is overall held back.
In the great summit temple of Havencraft, where choirs sing out prayers daily in worship of all manner of Pantheons. In an abandoned Chapel we find Garuda and Eris having an argument about Marlone and how a supposed Peace Advocate can blow up entire boards. How is that Peace ? With Eris pointing out that in the aftermath there is peace.. just.. very violently achieved.
For Havencraft Jatelant Haven continues to hold on to top, followed by Ward Haven and a bit of Sanctaury Havne.
Havencraft continues to hold on in the meta just barely. Slowly clawing it's way back in as the meta allows for it. But it does find itself in a bit of an awkward spot.
Jatelant Haven
The power of hundreds of prayers combined in the hands of The great lord Jatelant, shattering the faithless!
A midrange-combo deck built around Amulets. A decent deck that seems to be making a slow comeback in the meta as it does perform fairly well against Last words Shadow as it can disrupt the strategy with it's many banishes. And one even managed the top 8 in a recent JCG Open. So Jatelant haven does seem to be making a slow return, with many running a few copies of Bahamut to combo with Meowskers for extra burn damage or Ra for a steady stream of it.
Ward Haven
Sentinels of the great Summit temple. These Knights are ready to die for the cause!
A midrange deck built around Wards. A decent deck that continues to see play in the metagame. But does find itself lacking the speed to really threaten any of the top decks. Still, it performs fairly well and can make for some explosive turns at times.
Sanctuary Haven
Turning healing into power. This artifact has been in the care of the great temple for so long no one really knows where it came from
A control deck built around healing.A fringe deck that occasionally still sees usage. But overall struggles against a lot of the top decks in the current meta.
In the vertex colony, in orbit over a long dead world. Yuwan once more has issues to deal with as Maisha is quite upset that she didn't get a leader but Belphomet did! Yuwan just shrugs and says he doesn't make the rules and to take it up with the management.. whatever that is.
For Portalcraft Machina portal rules with a machined fist, followed by Resonance Portal and a bit of rally Portal.
Portalcraft remains in a very strong position, though mostly due to Machina portal and the sheer strength of that deck.
Machina Portal
Slaves to Belphomet and his Iron will. These Machines march willfully to their own demise
A control deck built around Machina and Belphomet. A strong yet skill intensive deck. By now the Evolve build is the most popular one, though some still run the puppet version. Additionally Slaus is now being run as he is a good disruptive card for a lot of matchups, including the mirror match. That said the deck does struggle against Last Words shadow and some of the burn decks in the meta.
Resonance Portal
Through achieving a greater state of being, it achieves greater destruction of its enemies
A combo deck built around Resonance. A decent deck that sees some play as it can blast through slower decks, but does struggle against faster and more aggressive decks.
Rally Portal
Hundreds of puppets, all marching to the beat of an unseen puppetmaster, their only goal is destruction
A midrange deck built around Rally and destruction. A fringe deck that continues to see some play with a few enthusiastic players, but for the most part languishes in the shadow of Machina Portal.
Beyond that the meta remains fairly varied with most of the main archetypes having a lot of minor variations on them as players do have some flexibility in how to build them. Additionally the meta is marked by less of a gap in power between the top decks and the decks below them. So several good signs of a healthy meta there i'd argue.
Will be interesting to see how the meta develops from here, what new decks are possibly discovered and how people respond to the various changes in the metagame.
So until next week. Have fun playing Shadowverse!
2021.06.20 17:28 ImperialDane Shadowverse Rotation Meta Report. June 20th
Greetings everyone and welcome to another Shadowverse rotation meta report. Reveals are starting to pick up again and we are a little over a week away from the release of Renascent Chronicles, meaning the next meta report will be a speculative one as it will be just 2 days away from the expansions release.
So with that in mind, we're off to the last proper report of this expansion !
Forestcraft
In the great woods of Forestcraft, where the fairies flitter and beasts roam beneath the canopies. We find Selwyn out walking Omnis when he starts to see the return of the great Naterran trees, mere saplings now, but ready to burst into mighty trees.. He wonders if perhaps they should be considered an invasive species at this point.
For Forestcraft Fairy forest continues to sit at the top, followed by Loxis and a tiny fraction of Evolve Forest.
Forestcraft continues to hold on for now but is struggling in a shadow and portal dominated metagame. That said, the return of the great naterran trees does hold promise for the class.
Fairy Forest
Consumed by an unending hatred and rage, they tear apart all before them
A tempo deck built around fairies. A good deck, yet one that currently struggles quite a bit with the heavy presence of Last word shadow and artifact portal as both decks can shut down what the deck does. Also the deck does stand to lose intertwined resolve in the upcoming rotation.
Loxis Forest
An outrider of the great woods, protecting it with all means necessary against those who would seek to despoil the forests
A midrange deck built around Loxis and Amulets. A good yet skill intensive deck. Also struggling in the current metagame. That said the return of the great naterran trees does hold significant promise for the deck.
Evolve Forest
Harnessing the now corrupt magic of the fairies, some elves seek to reach greater heights power no matter the cost
A midrange deck built around fairies and evolve synergies. A fringe deck that continues to see some play, but it's hybrid nature combined with the current state of the metagame for forest continues to hold it back.
Swordcraft
In the eternal castle of Swordcraft, where the halls are bedecked with banners and standards. We find the news of Leod's return being met with a good deal of confusion.. Seeing as he is dead and they're not in Shadowcraft the last time they checked. In the end it is Seofon that suggests maybe it's a callback to a younger form of him ? Even if it doesn't quite add up, it is what they go for.
For Swordcraft Aggro Sword continues to lead the charge, followed by Rally Sword and a bit of Combo Sword.
Swordcraft continues to do decently in the meta thanks to Aggro Sword. But beyond that struggles to maintain a greater presence in the meta. We'll have to see what the expansion brings besides Leod for Sword.
Aggro Sword
Racing through the lands, looting and plundering, nothing is safe from these raiders!
An aggro deck built around a variety of strong threats. A solid deck that continues to make a decent impact on the meta being probably the best aggro deck atm. A variety of versions exist, some with Garven, some without. Some with Oluon.
Rally Sword
A legion on the march, ready for any task thanks to it's great numbers and strong discipline!
A tempo deck built around the rally mechanic. A decent deck in the current meta, a few variations exist on it. Some faster, some less fast but may include Ernesta and Sera for a bit more midgame plays and disruption of aggressive decks. Garven also tends to be standard at this point.
Combo Sword
An elite strike team, ready to bring down any target, no matter the cost!
A combo deck built around Eahta. A fringe deck at this point as it ends up being too slow to contend with most of the top decks or even the ones targeting the top decks. Additionally with Amelia and Gelt rotating out the deck also stands to lose core card that will make it a lot less consistent.
Runecraft
In the great mystical academies of Runecraft, where all manner of arcane research happens. We find Isabelle quite ecstatic at the return of her friend Eleanor. Meanwhile Erasmus is busy trying to clear out all of the trees that have started to pop up all around the campus.
For Runecraft Void Rune sits at the top, followed by Vincent and Spellboost Rune.
Runecraft has a decent if a bit perilous position in the meta, lacking any major tools to significantly threaten the top decks in the meta and is at this point awaiting the next expansion for fresh blood.
Void Rune
Harnessing the powers of the great void, these wizards and witches don't quite seem to care about the great cost, that comes with it
A midrange deck built around having less than 20 cards in your deck. A solid deck that continues to see a decent amount of play and experimentation. Even seeing attempts at a more aggressive build of the deck. Though succesful they are is hard to say, especially at this point in the meta.
Vincent Rune
Enforcer of the law, dealer of silence and bringer of justice. At least that is what he titles himself with
A tempo deck built around Vincent and Amulets. A solid deck that continues to see a decent amount of play as with access to silence effects can push through some of the top decks and disrupt their gameplans.
Spellboost Rune
Wielding arcane powers beyond the comprehension of most mortals. They can rain down death or conjure up powerful servants
A midrange deck built around spellboosting. A decent deck that continues to see some play, but in the current meta finds itself outpaced while lacking the tools to significantly disrupt the gameplans of the top decks. That said, the new expansion could hold some strong cards for the deck.
Dragoncraft
In the great caverns of Dragoncraft. Where ancient behemoths slumber for Aeons. We find Valdain quite pleased with the return of the Great naterran trees and Viridia Magna. Meanwhile every other leader is starting to get terrible flashbacks..
For Dragoncraft. Face Dragon continues to rule the roost, followed by Ramp Dragon and a bit of Evolve Dragon.
Dragoncraft continues to be in a good spot, mostly due to Face Dragon. But overall still has a strong card pool with good variety in it and the return of Valdain could herald more strong decks for Dragoncraft potentially.
Face Dragon
A tempest of Fire and hatred. Not one ounce of Mercy can be found in this mean spirited beast
A tempo deck built around ramping and strong threats. A potent deck that continues to see a good deal of play as it is one of the few decks that can consistently challenge artifact portal and Last words shadow. While it does take a few hits going into the next expansion, it has proven to be a resilient archetype so i expect it to bounce back with new cards.
Ramp Dragon
Soaring through the skies, not a care in the world. This tyrant of the skies cares only about it's own desires
A ramp deck built around Phoenix roost. A good deck that does require some skill for the best results. It continues to have a decent presence in the higher tiers of tournaments as well if a bit rarer on ladder.
Evolve Dragon
Unleashing the inner power of the dragon soul. These maddened dragon cultists don't care about the cost to attain these powers
A midrange deck built around Evolve synergies. A solid deck that continues to see play even at the higher tiers of competetive play though it is comparatively rarer to both face dragon and ramp dragon.
Shadowcraft
In the great catacomb of Shadowcraft, where death reigns eternal amidst a thousand dead empires. We find Luna busy with Aenea and Mordecai in dealing with all of the weeds that have started to appear recently even down there in the necropolis. How trees grow down there is a complete mystery to Luna.
In Shadowcraft Midrange Last words continue to reign with a bone fist, followed by Tempo Last words and finally Aggro Shadow.
The class continues to be in a strong position and one of the best currently. With plenty of strong cards and a good diversity of them as well. Even with the loss of cards like Gremory and Nightmare Devourerer, the return of the Naterran great trees could usher in new and terrible things.
Midrange Last words
Harnessing the souls of a thousand dying. Some necromancers find themselves wielding near limitless power
A midrange deck built around last words. A potent deck that can fight fairly well against most decks in the meta. That said, losing several critical cards with the upcoming rotation, it is tough to recommend atm.
Tempo Last words
The bounties of death can reap a great harvest for the attentive necromancer
A midrange deck built around last words. A faster yet less popular version of Last words shadow that does see some fringe usage here and there but overall very much lingers in the shadow of it's Gremory based older sibling.
Aggro Shadow
A terrible storm of decaying flesh and brittle bone. Unleashed by wrathful necromancers
An aggro deck built around strong threats and reanimation. A decent deck that very much lingers in the shadow of Last words shadow and can struggle against it, but can still overwhelm some decks here and there.
Bloodcraft
In the ancient manor house of bloodcraft. Where all manner of sin can be experienced. We find Vania and Medusa a bit sad with the upcoming rotation of Ravening Corruption as they did for.. whatever reasons find it to be an entertaining playmate. Mono and Urias decide to just let it be rather than enquire further.
For Bloodcraft avarice blood sits on the throne of corruption, followed by Vengeance blood and a bit of Evolve Blood.
Bloodcraft continues to be in a solid position, doing alright in the meta but lacking anything particularly noteworthy to make an impact on the metagame. That said, the return of Mono could spell new victories for bloodcraft in the future.
Avarice Blood
Consumed by greed and desire. Some people seek to only have more and in the process are afflicted with curses more terrible
A tempo deck built around the Avarice mechanic. A good deck that can burn its way through a variety of decks. That said, with Ravening corruption rotating out, it is tough to say what will happen to the deck and most likely it will cease to be. Making it tough to recommend
Vengeance Blood
A violent berserker, tearing its way through all manner of enemies. With only one goal in mind : Carnage
A tempo deck built around the vengeance mechanic. A decent deck that can blast it's way through a lot of decks as long as it draws the right cards, and consistency continues to be one of the weaknesses of the deck.
Evolve BLood
Some ancients of the vampire race hold access to antediluvian powers beyond the reckoning of their lessers
A control-midrange deck built around Evolve synergies. A decent deck that continues to see some usage here and there, but for the most part exists on the fringes of the current meta. Additionally the loss of Nerea could prove to be an issue for the deck.
Havencraft
In the great summit temple of Havencraft, where the divine can be found. We find Meowskers utterly ecstatic at the idea of getting a Legendary card. Meanwhile Ramina is utterly furious that she has still to get a new card in ages.
For Havencraft Ward Haven continues to sit at the top, followed by Sanctuary Haven and a bit of Amulet Haven.
Havencraft sits in a solid position, though like Blood does lack something more pronounced to make a more significant impact on the metagame. That said, the return of great naterran trees holds great promise for Amulet based decks.
Ward Haven
Countless stalwart knights have given their lives in service of the great temple, and more will continue to serve and die
A midrange deck built around Wards and evolve synergies. A good deck that continues to make an impact on the meta and make appearances in tournaments. No real changes to it this week either and with nothing to lose from the rotation, it only stands to potentially gain.
Sanctuary Haven
An ancient artifact capable of great miracles as long the right prayers are said
A control deck built around healing. A good yet skill intensive deck that continues to see some play in the meta. But overall doesn't have a great presence.
Amulet Haven
Through the power of a thousand prayers to Lord Jatelant can the evil be vanquished !.. or so he claims
A midrange deck built around Amulets. A solid deck, recently the deck has once more shifted to a more tempo oriented build, again cutting Anvelt and other slower cards for something to push more tempo and more consistently pop amulets faster. With the return of the great Naterran trees, there is great potential for this deck to become stronger.
Portalcraft
In the great vertex colony, high in orbit over a long dead world. We find Spinaria and Ralmia most upset about the coming rotation and the loss of a great number of Artifact cards. Causing them to bug Yuwan about it and somehow have him fix it.. not that he can.
For Portalcraft we find Artifact portal at the top as usual, followed by Evolve Portal and a bit of tolerance portal
Portalcraft continues to be in a strong position for now. Though with the upcoming rotation and the loss of a lot of core cards for artifact portal, it's future does look a bit uncertain.
Artifact Portal
Mastery of alien machines await those with the will.. or are the machines mastering them ?
A midrange deck built around artifacts. A potent deck that continues to have a strong influence on the metagame for now. Though with the upcoming rotation sending out a lot of core cards, it is tough to say how the deck will do in the future.
Evolve Portal
Harnessing the power of the soul, or so they are told. These warriors seek out on a path of glory!
A control deck built around evolve synergies. A decent deck that continues to see some play, but overall lacks a bigger plan in the current metagame to really make a greater name for itself.
Tolerance Portal
Always searching for something at the behest of unknowne masters. What are they looking for ? And will they like it when they find out ?
A combo deck built around Absolute tolerance. A fringe deck that sees a tiny bit of play. But overall is a bit too narrow in the current meta to really contend with the top decks.
So there you have it. Not a lot has really happened this week as most people at this point have their eyes on the next expansion and what happens with the upcoming rotation. With plenty just focusing on take two all stars for now.
So until next week. Have fun playing Shadowverse!
submitted by ImperialDane to Shadowverse [link] [comments]
So with that in mind, we're off to the last proper report of this expansion !
In the great woods of Forestcraft, where the fairies flitter and beasts roam beneath the canopies. We find Selwyn out walking Omnis when he starts to see the return of the great Naterran trees, mere saplings now, but ready to burst into mighty trees.. He wonders if perhaps they should be considered an invasive species at this point.
For Forestcraft Fairy forest continues to sit at the top, followed by Loxis and a tiny fraction of Evolve Forest.
Forestcraft continues to hold on for now but is struggling in a shadow and portal dominated metagame. That said, the return of the great naterran trees does hold promise for the class.
Fairy Forest
Consumed by an unending hatred and rage, they tear apart all before them
A tempo deck built around fairies. A good deck, yet one that currently struggles quite a bit with the heavy presence of Last word shadow and artifact portal as both decks can shut down what the deck does. Also the deck does stand to lose intertwined resolve in the upcoming rotation.
Loxis Forest
An outrider of the great woods, protecting it with all means necessary against those who would seek to despoil the forests
A midrange deck built around Loxis and Amulets. A good yet skill intensive deck. Also struggling in the current metagame. That said the return of the great naterran trees does hold significant promise for the deck.
Evolve Forest
Harnessing the now corrupt magic of the fairies, some elves seek to reach greater heights power no matter the cost
A midrange deck built around fairies and evolve synergies. A fringe deck that continues to see some play, but it's hybrid nature combined with the current state of the metagame for forest continues to hold it back.
In the eternal castle of Swordcraft, where the halls are bedecked with banners and standards. We find the news of Leod's return being met with a good deal of confusion.. Seeing as he is dead and they're not in Shadowcraft the last time they checked. In the end it is Seofon that suggests maybe it's a callback to a younger form of him ? Even if it doesn't quite add up, it is what they go for.
For Swordcraft Aggro Sword continues to lead the charge, followed by Rally Sword and a bit of Combo Sword.
Swordcraft continues to do decently in the meta thanks to Aggro Sword. But beyond that struggles to maintain a greater presence in the meta. We'll have to see what the expansion brings besides Leod for Sword.
Aggro Sword
Racing through the lands, looting and plundering, nothing is safe from these raiders!
An aggro deck built around a variety of strong threats. A solid deck that continues to make a decent impact on the meta being probably the best aggro deck atm. A variety of versions exist, some with Garven, some without. Some with Oluon.
Rally Sword
A legion on the march, ready for any task thanks to it's great numbers and strong discipline!
A tempo deck built around the rally mechanic. A decent deck in the current meta, a few variations exist on it. Some faster, some less fast but may include Ernesta and Sera for a bit more midgame plays and disruption of aggressive decks. Garven also tends to be standard at this point.
Combo Sword
An elite strike team, ready to bring down any target, no matter the cost!
A combo deck built around Eahta. A fringe deck at this point as it ends up being too slow to contend with most of the top decks or even the ones targeting the top decks. Additionally with Amelia and Gelt rotating out the deck also stands to lose core card that will make it a lot less consistent.
In the great mystical academies of Runecraft, where all manner of arcane research happens. We find Isabelle quite ecstatic at the return of her friend Eleanor. Meanwhile Erasmus is busy trying to clear out all of the trees that have started to pop up all around the campus.
For Runecraft Void Rune sits at the top, followed by Vincent and Spellboost Rune.
Runecraft has a decent if a bit perilous position in the meta, lacking any major tools to significantly threaten the top decks in the meta and is at this point awaiting the next expansion for fresh blood.
Void Rune
Harnessing the powers of the great void, these wizards and witches don't quite seem to care about the great cost, that comes with it
A midrange deck built around having less than 20 cards in your deck. A solid deck that continues to see a decent amount of play and experimentation. Even seeing attempts at a more aggressive build of the deck. Though succesful they are is hard to say, especially at this point in the meta.
Vincent Rune
Enforcer of the law, dealer of silence and bringer of justice. At least that is what he titles himself with
A tempo deck built around Vincent and Amulets. A solid deck that continues to see a decent amount of play as with access to silence effects can push through some of the top decks and disrupt their gameplans.
Spellboost Rune
Wielding arcane powers beyond the comprehension of most mortals. They can rain down death or conjure up powerful servants
A midrange deck built around spellboosting. A decent deck that continues to see some play, but in the current meta finds itself outpaced while lacking the tools to significantly disrupt the gameplans of the top decks. That said, the new expansion could hold some strong cards for the deck.
In the great caverns of Dragoncraft. Where ancient behemoths slumber for Aeons. We find Valdain quite pleased with the return of the Great naterran trees and Viridia Magna. Meanwhile every other leader is starting to get terrible flashbacks..
For Dragoncraft. Face Dragon continues to rule the roost, followed by Ramp Dragon and a bit of Evolve Dragon.
Dragoncraft continues to be in a good spot, mostly due to Face Dragon. But overall still has a strong card pool with good variety in it and the return of Valdain could herald more strong decks for Dragoncraft potentially.
Face Dragon
A tempest of Fire and hatred. Not one ounce of Mercy can be found in this mean spirited beast
A tempo deck built around ramping and strong threats. A potent deck that continues to see a good deal of play as it is one of the few decks that can consistently challenge artifact portal and Last words shadow. While it does take a few hits going into the next expansion, it has proven to be a resilient archetype so i expect it to bounce back with new cards.
Ramp Dragon
Soaring through the skies, not a care in the world. This tyrant of the skies cares only about it's own desires
A ramp deck built around Phoenix roost. A good deck that does require some skill for the best results. It continues to have a decent presence in the higher tiers of tournaments as well if a bit rarer on ladder.
Evolve Dragon
Unleashing the inner power of the dragon soul. These maddened dragon cultists don't care about the cost to attain these powers
A midrange deck built around Evolve synergies. A solid deck that continues to see play even at the higher tiers of competetive play though it is comparatively rarer to both face dragon and ramp dragon.
In the great catacomb of Shadowcraft, where death reigns eternal amidst a thousand dead empires. We find Luna busy with Aenea and Mordecai in dealing with all of the weeds that have started to appear recently even down there in the necropolis. How trees grow down there is a complete mystery to Luna.
In Shadowcraft Midrange Last words continue to reign with a bone fist, followed by Tempo Last words and finally Aggro Shadow.
The class continues to be in a strong position and one of the best currently. With plenty of strong cards and a good diversity of them as well. Even with the loss of cards like Gremory and Nightmare Devourerer, the return of the Naterran great trees could usher in new and terrible things.
Midrange Last words
Harnessing the souls of a thousand dying. Some necromancers find themselves wielding near limitless power
A midrange deck built around last words. A potent deck that can fight fairly well against most decks in the meta. That said, losing several critical cards with the upcoming rotation, it is tough to recommend atm.
Tempo Last words
The bounties of death can reap a great harvest for the attentive necromancer
A midrange deck built around last words. A faster yet less popular version of Last words shadow that does see some fringe usage here and there but overall very much lingers in the shadow of it's Gremory based older sibling.
Aggro Shadow
A terrible storm of decaying flesh and brittle bone. Unleashed by wrathful necromancers
An aggro deck built around strong threats and reanimation. A decent deck that very much lingers in the shadow of Last words shadow and can struggle against it, but can still overwhelm some decks here and there.
In the ancient manor house of bloodcraft. Where all manner of sin can be experienced. We find Vania and Medusa a bit sad with the upcoming rotation of Ravening Corruption as they did for.. whatever reasons find it to be an entertaining playmate. Mono and Urias decide to just let it be rather than enquire further.
For Bloodcraft avarice blood sits on the throne of corruption, followed by Vengeance blood and a bit of Evolve Blood.
Bloodcraft continues to be in a solid position, doing alright in the meta but lacking anything particularly noteworthy to make an impact on the metagame. That said, the return of Mono could spell new victories for bloodcraft in the future.
Avarice Blood
Consumed by greed and desire. Some people seek to only have more and in the process are afflicted with curses more terrible
A tempo deck built around the Avarice mechanic. A good deck that can burn its way through a variety of decks. That said, with Ravening corruption rotating out, it is tough to say what will happen to the deck and most likely it will cease to be. Making it tough to recommend
Vengeance Blood
A violent berserker, tearing its way through all manner of enemies. With only one goal in mind : Carnage
A tempo deck built around the vengeance mechanic. A decent deck that can blast it's way through a lot of decks as long as it draws the right cards, and consistency continues to be one of the weaknesses of the deck.
Evolve BLood
Some ancients of the vampire race hold access to antediluvian powers beyond the reckoning of their lessers
A control-midrange deck built around Evolve synergies. A decent deck that continues to see some usage here and there, but for the most part exists on the fringes of the current meta. Additionally the loss of Nerea could prove to be an issue for the deck.
In the great summit temple of Havencraft, where the divine can be found. We find Meowskers utterly ecstatic at the idea of getting a Legendary card. Meanwhile Ramina is utterly furious that she has still to get a new card in ages.
For Havencraft Ward Haven continues to sit at the top, followed by Sanctuary Haven and a bit of Amulet Haven.
Havencraft sits in a solid position, though like Blood does lack something more pronounced to make a more significant impact on the metagame. That said, the return of great naterran trees holds great promise for Amulet based decks.
Ward Haven
Countless stalwart knights have given their lives in service of the great temple, and more will continue to serve and die
A midrange deck built around Wards and evolve synergies. A good deck that continues to make an impact on the meta and make appearances in tournaments. No real changes to it this week either and with nothing to lose from the rotation, it only stands to potentially gain.
Sanctuary Haven
An ancient artifact capable of great miracles as long the right prayers are said
A control deck built around healing. A good yet skill intensive deck that continues to see some play in the meta. But overall doesn't have a great presence.
Amulet Haven
Through the power of a thousand prayers to Lord Jatelant can the evil be vanquished !.. or so he claims
A midrange deck built around Amulets. A solid deck, recently the deck has once more shifted to a more tempo oriented build, again cutting Anvelt and other slower cards for something to push more tempo and more consistently pop amulets faster. With the return of the great Naterran trees, there is great potential for this deck to become stronger.
In the great vertex colony, high in orbit over a long dead world. We find Spinaria and Ralmia most upset about the coming rotation and the loss of a great number of Artifact cards. Causing them to bug Yuwan about it and somehow have him fix it.. not that he can.
For Portalcraft we find Artifact portal at the top as usual, followed by Evolve Portal and a bit of tolerance portal
Portalcraft continues to be in a strong position for now. Though with the upcoming rotation and the loss of a lot of core cards for artifact portal, it's future does look a bit uncertain.
Artifact Portal
Mastery of alien machines await those with the will.. or are the machines mastering them ?
A midrange deck built around artifacts. A potent deck that continues to have a strong influence on the metagame for now. Though with the upcoming rotation sending out a lot of core cards, it is tough to say how the deck will do in the future.
Evolve Portal
Harnessing the power of the soul, or so they are told. These warriors seek out on a path of glory!
A control deck built around evolve synergies. A decent deck that continues to see some play, but overall lacks a bigger plan in the current metagame to really make a greater name for itself.
Tolerance Portal
Always searching for something at the behest of unknowne masters. What are they looking for ? And will they like it when they find out ?
A combo deck built around Absolute tolerance. A fringe deck that sees a tiny bit of play. But overall is a bit too narrow in the current meta to really contend with the top decks.
So until next week. Have fun playing Shadowverse!
2021.06.18 13:00 LordlyMedusa Racing the Meta for Fun and Profit (DoV Sword GM write-up).
 | Proof: submitted by LordlyMedusa to Shadowverse [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/ffmuj4g6jz571.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7bde9c9b9186aa96f4378be541931a65deb1da0f Decklist that I shamelessly lifted from something I saw in an Ignideus stream recently. Preamble: Wasn't actually planning on hitting GM this expansion cycle, but I was already sitting at 7.5k when I gave up and with all the buzz around the 5th Anniversary I decided to dip my toes back in the water. Went on an 11 win streak with the deck, so I kind of just lucked into it, I guess. So here's my customary victory lap/cathartic write up. https://preview.redd.it/xfvcygqfkz571.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c3a5cb39a90a08ff4199486af5069f6ed7c201b5 First things first, I don't recommend playing Sword if you're still looking to seriously climb. You've got better options, so only play this for the fun of it or because you're a stubborn Sword main. However, this deck does have a few things going for it. Like most aggro decks, this thing plays fast. You're going to have a pretty good idea of whether you've won or lost by turns 4-6. It's also not difficult to pilot, at least compared to something like Loxis Forest. The Cards: Both Garven and Cat Admiral are great editions from the mini expansion. Garven can be used as his accel to help keep the board and as a turn 8 finisher. There's a total of four traits in the deck, so he can slap the opponent for up to 10 damage. Not bad. Cat admiral is just an all round good card. Fine as a play on two, helps flood the board on Evo, and offers a bit of extra no hassle chip damage with a fairly easy condition she can pump herself. It's no secret that Sword's two drops have fallen off in favor of the vehicle neutrals, and personally I'm hoping for some good two drops in the next expansion. Chariot may look out of place at first, but he's actually a great fit for the deck compared to other options like Sera. He doesn't need an Evo to get the most out of him, and all three of his options aid in the game plan. Ward helps to protect your two drop and/or preserve your gunslinger for a juicer target, an extra 1/1 is always welcome, and the face pings are obviously great. We're an aggro deck. His RNG form may look scary, but if you play it right most of the time you'll come out on top. What I mean by that is play it when you're behind or running out of steam. If things are looking dicey on 7 your chances arn't that great anyway. If you can afford to tank a hit, but your opponent can't, it's probably worth it to go for it. The chance he hits you twice on an empty board is 1/4. It's also a 1/4 that he hits your opponent twice, and a 1/2 that he hits both of you once. In the case I've outlined, 3/4 of the cases are in your favor and you win the match (although if your opponent dies on the first hit the second roll isn't needed but you get the idea). The buff to Bunny&Baron, or more specifically their car, is significant. Stuffing a two drop inside is much easier to work into the gameplan, and getting the car off is very important in a lot of matches. It's very annoying for many decks to deal with B&B, then the car, then the minion. Most of the time something's going to slip through. The accel is the key to winning matches when you go second. The price of the Evo is usually worth it, as you'll be ending games fairly quickly anyway. The rest of it is pretty standard. Hit the ground running and get your damage in, planning around whatever finishers you've got in hand. Stroke on six, Chariot on seven, Garven on eight, or Dark Albert on nine. General Mulligan Advice: Radical Gunslinger and Quixotic Adventurer are auto keeps virtually all the time. They help you keep the board early, buff your three play to make it hard to answer, allowing you to springboard into the midgame. Archangel is a keep against Shadow or Portal. She helps slow down their gameplan by removing LWs and the early game artifacts, and she can be used for draw in a pinch too. Scrupulous Preparations or Chariot are good keeps going first. Panther Scout is hand dependent. Being a 1pp 2/2 is really good, but if you waste it she's mediocre. B&B is a keep against Dragon. They're going to Georgius our board and B&B is our only play where we come out ahead. More on that later. Cat Admiral is a keep if you're going second. B&B tends to be a keep going second if you've got at least a two drop (using the accel), save it for the Evo turn alongside another two drop ideally. Not only will you probably have a solid grip on the board, turn five is going to be a huge power turn. Matchups: LW Shadow: This comes down to whether on not they hit Nighmare on five to sweep your early game pressure. Ominous Tyrant is kind of bad too, but at that point your finishers are starting to come online and it probably won't matter. Chris and Gremory arn't problems because you'll be putting on so much pressure they won't have the time. Hit hard, hit fast, ignore their minions for the most part and get them in range of one of your stormers/finishers. B&B isn't great in this matchup, but cards like Jeno and Dark Albert are key. In fact if you're going first I recommend keeping Jeno and trading off your weenies on four to activate him. If they don't Nightmare on five, they usually crumble under the damage. Artifact Portal: This one is difficult, because they have access to the healing artifact. A key point in this matchup is to not let them drop Factory. They also have an efficient way to silence, so B&B arn't great here. Although using the accel is still a good idea. Use archangel to slow down their P-shifts. If they heal too much too quickly it's GG. Face Dragon: They're going to Georgius our early game, accept this, plan for it. The good news is they tend to ramp on turns 2/3 with Oracle and Furor in which case it's free reign until they slap that Georgius. Tiamat is a pain too but she doesn't get dangerous until they hit overflow. For this reason the 2pp 2/1s like Archangel and Kunoichi are bad in this matchup. How do we rebound from the wipe? With B&B that's how. You'll kill him for 'free' leaving a dangerous 5/5 on the board, and if/when they kill them you get to slap face with the car. Beyond that you're trying to outpace their healing while not dying yourself. The 7pp Chariot is pretty good here, as you'll probably be near full health most of the game and they'll probably be in range of a single hit from the Chariot. Fairy/Sekka Forest: This is a race, pure and simple. Sekka comes online too late to matter one way or the other, your biggest problems are actually Dark Aria and Fairy Slugger. Dark Aria because they can now comfortably clear your board every turn while pinging you to death, and Fairly Slugger can heal them for a lot if they set up properly. If they get Aria on time your stormers/finishers are the only cards that get to do anything, so finding them and setting them up is key. As I said, this one's a race. Ward Haven: This one comes down to how quickly they can get Anvelt down. Otherwise you'll just bulldoze them. They can steal wins with an early Sarissa if you get careless, so be mindful of her when she drops on the field. Sanctuary Haven: Abandon hope all ye who enter here. Amulet Haven: Same basic concept as face dragon. The early game is basically free, but then the scary stuff comes online with Selena. Either leverage that early damage to a win or get drowned out and finished by Jatelant. Anything else I fought wasn't often or memorable enough to write about. It was a pretty short sprint from where I left off near the start of the expansion. The win streak has almost certainly skewed my perspective, so as always take this will a healthy dose of doubt/criticism. I'll probably give my thoughts on the Sword cards for this expansion when they all come out, so look forward to that, |
2021.01.24 18:11 ImperialDane Shadowverse Rotation Meta Report. January 24th
Greetings everyone and welcome to another Rotation meta report for Shadowverse!
As always i'll be relying on a variety of sources to stitch together a decent picture of the Rotation Meta. Using Gamewith, Shadowverse-wins.com, tournament results along with my own experiences.
Forestcraft
Deep in the great woods of Forestcraft, in an ancient oaken hall that has stood there since before anyone can ever remember. We find all the leaders assembled trying to figure out what is up with Xeno Sagittarius. Doesn't help that no one can understand it's strange language, in the end the issue gets pawned off on Selwyn as everyone else suddenly has more important matters to attend to.
For Forestcraft Accelerate Forest continues to rule the forests followed by Loxis Forest which has overtaken Aggro Forest. Forestcraft continues to be a strong class with several strong decks and remains one of the dominant tournament classes atm.
Accelerate Forest
A whirlwind of activity, swift and ruthless as the wind! A flurry of arrows and blows strikes down any foe, allowing for a mighty warrior to finish the job
A midrange-combo deck. A strong deck with a higher skill requirement. This week has seen Accelerate forest pull up a bit and start to include Xeno Sagittarius, likely in response to an increase in Rally Haven and board heavy shadow decks, but in other matchups can also serve as card draw and cycle.
Loxis Forest
An outrider of the forests, patrolling its borders and keeping it's safe from all those who would seek to harm its denizens
A midrange-combo deck built around amulets. Loxis Forest has been steadily climbing in popularity, both on ladder and in tournaments as the deck continues to be refined and understood better. While skill intensive, in the right hands it can be potent.
Aggro Forest
The wrath of the forests made manifest, a horde of raging beasts and outcasts ready to strike down all before it!
An aggro deck built around a variety of strong threats and disruption. Seeing a slight drop off in the current meta as Loxis Forest and accelerate forests gains better understanding and refinement, while Aggro Forest just sits about. Still good and a far more straightforward deck than the other two.
Swordcraft
In the eternal Castle of Swordcraft. Past countless banners and standards, tapestries depicting glorious battle. We find Albert being gently taken aside by Seofon after asking Arthur why he's shrunk since last. Seofon requests that Albert avoids questions like that since apparently there's a million Arthur's about out there in the Multiverse. Keeps producing them, that and Jeanne d'Arcs.
For Swordcraft Evolve Sword continues to rest its flaccid buttocks on the throne, followed by Walfrid Sword, Rally Sword and Aggro Sword. Overall Sword remains in an awkward spot, since while it has a decent variety of decks, most are struggling in power level and consistency and generally good tempo plays.
Evolve Sword
Paragons of their art. These heroes stand ready to strike down those without honour!
A control deck built around Evolve Synergies. Evolve Sword continues to be a good deck but one struggling to close out matches at times and there continues to be a lot of experimentation with the deck, but so far, no great results .
Walfrid Sword
An army of men and women devoted to one man's cause. This fleet of the blue skies will follow him to the end of the multiverse
A midrange deck built around Walfrid. A decent deck that suffers from being very linear and a bit slow. Continues to see play here and there, but has consistency and tempo issues.
Rally Sword
A Legion on the march. It's numbers will result in victory, either by breakthrough or by sheer attrition!
A Tempo deck built around the Rally mechanic. A decent deck that continues to see fringe play. This version was recently posted on Twitter and personally i've used it to climb to Grandmaster. So it's fairly decent at least. That said, can struggle with consistency. But it's fun.
Aggro Sword
A wild band of outcasts and outlaws. Their mission to ruin the day of anyone who gets in their way
An aggro deck built around Vehicles. Continues to see fringe play, some versions may experiment with Naht's Henchman and Oluon continues to see some usage as well.
Runecraft
In the mystical Academies of Runecraft, where knowledge rules above all. We find Erasmus supervising the expansion of the Runecraft council chambers, since the recent massive influx of leaders has made it way too cramped. Caglisotro really wanted to do it, but after having seen her plans. All the other leaders left the job to Erasmus.
Runecraft sees Control Karyl rule from the ivory tower, followed by Spellboost Rune, Vincent rune and finally Earth Rite Rune. Rune's in a decent position, but does have it's issues in the current meta.
Control Karyl
Destruction and annihilation is all that follows in the wake of this Girl, as she has concluded that it is the only way for her to get some peace and quiet
A control combo deck built around Karyl. Continues to be the top Runecraft deck, but is a more skill intensive one. Additionally with Karyl rotating out at the end of March, it is tough to recommend.
Spellboost Rune
Magical Servants for every purpose ! As long as that purpose is destroying your foes
A midrange deck built around Spellboost Synergies. A solid yet slightly tricky deck that continues to see a good amount of play. Do keep in mind that Kuon will rotate out at the end of the expansion and we don't know what Kuon will be replaced with.
Vincent Rune
A man who forges the law on his own, and he enforces it as well, ruthlessly!
A tempo deck built around Vincent and Vehicle Amulets. A decent aggressive deck that continues to see play, though does lack some strong threats.
Earth Rite Rune
The peak of Alchemy ! Mighty golems and wonderous magicks that will sear the very flesh of your enemies bones!
A midrange deck built around Earth Rites. A decent deck existing on the fringe. Continues to see play with a small group. Keep in mind that both Karyl and Forbidden Darkmage will rotate out at the end of the expansion, making it slightly tough to recommend.
Dragoncraft
In the great caverns of Dragoncraft, where all manner of behemoths can be found sleeping, waiting for the right time to awaken and bring doom upon the world. We find Hiro on cleanup duty as punishment for his little power trip a few weeks ago. Turns out Forte is quite the slob and he ends up spending days cleaning up her room alone.
For Dragoncraft Face Dragon remains high in the skies, followed by OTK Dragon, Ramp Dragon and Discard Dragon. Dragoncraft remains in a strong position with a good variety of strong decks and no real threats to the class short of any nerfs.
Face Dragon
An incendiary storm unleashed upon its enemies. This deck is full of pyrotechnics and death!
A tempo deck built around a variety of strong threats and answers. Easily the strongest dragon deck and still fairly popular even as Haven has risen up to keep it in check. A part of its strength though is that it can highroll to a degree where it becomes difficult for other decks to stop it. Additionally Jerva has become a staple in the deck with most decks running a copy or two now for extra burn that also happens to work well with Bahamut.
OTk Dragon
A terror from the deepest seas, swallowing up the entire world in its abyssal maw!
A combo deck built around Disrestan. A strong deck though vulnerable to more aggressive and tempo based decks that can run it down. But great vs slower decks as they can find themselves crushed by its OTK.
Ramp Dragon
Soaring high in the skies, ever higher until it unleashes its payload of fire and doom upon those beneath it
A ramp deck built around Resplendent phoenix. Continuing to see some play, there's overall been no real changes to the deck this week either. Solid, but not as fast as Face Dragon or as consistent as OTK dragon.
Discard Dragon
Tossing all to the winds in the hopes of gaining everymore. For this deck, no sacrifice is to steep in the quest to destroy its foes!
A midrange deck built around Discard cards. A bit of a fringe deck at the moment as it isn't as fast as the other decks nor as splashy. So it is mostly played by a small dedicated group of players at this point.
Shadowcraft
In the great Catacomb of Shadowcraft. Where death rules eternal. We find the leaders assembled for a small concert headed by Niyon. A soothing affair deep in the sepulchral depths and Luna ends up gently falling asleep to it.
Shadowcraft Finds Gremory as always at the peak of the Pyramid, followed by Aggro Shadow, Reanimate Shadow with Evolve Shadow arriving to push out Vaseraga Shadow. That deck is still about, but is on a lower power level and so doesn't get a writeup this week. But it does mean Shadowcraft now has 5 decks. Overall Shadow is in a great spot, good variety and good strength.
Gremory Shadow
A vortex of death and souls, all centered around a little girl. Her wicked grin dispelling any notion of innoence
A midrange deck built around Gremory and Necromancy. A strong deck with multiple ways of winning the game, either by Necroimpulse or simply building a board the opponent can't clear. Combined with lots of card draw and a decent amount of healing. The deck is quite potent.
Aggro Shadow
A shambling horde of the dead, their mortal coils motivated only by anger and hatred of the living.
An aggro deck built around very potent threats and Necroimpulse. A strong deck and one of the best Aggro decks in the meta, but is weak to certain control decks and so finds itself surpassed by Gremory Shadow. There has been some experimentation as of late with Winged Zombie for extra burst damage.
Reanimate Shadow
Death is not the end with this deck. it is only the beginning of eternal service for its undying master
A midrange deck built around reanimate and burial rites. Less popular than Gremory but with more control tools built into it, so while slower, it can deal with certain threats better.
Evolve Shadow
Something stirs in these corpses, a new form of unlife! Whatever twisted shreds of their souls remains, formed into something new and terrifying
A midrange deck built around Evolve Synergies. Something that's been brewed on for quite some time but now seems to be catching on. A bit slower in some ways but much heavier on board and can set up for some big bursts of its own.
Bloodcraft
In the great decadent manor of Bloodcraft, where every manner of sin can be found. We find Medusa and Vania grumbling about the lack of remakes and vengeance support. Also Volteo keeps conning Medusa out of her allowance, although Mono is always quick to get it back for Medusa.
For Bloodcraft Wrath Blood continues to rule from its throne of Opulence followed by Volteo Blood and Control Blood. Overall the class is in a decent spot but largely carried by Wrath Blood and really could do with some help to form other archetypes.
Wrath Blood
Pain and Strength are the same thing in the mind of this deck. The greater the pain, the greater the glory!
A midrange deck built around the Wrath mechanic. Continues to be a good deck that does fairly well, even in tournaments. Beyond that, no real changes this week.
Volteo Blood
Everything can be found in Volteo's magnificent Casino, even victory. Just be careful not to get bamboozled
A highlander deck built around Volteo. A fringe deck that continues to have a dedicated following. Fairly skill intensive, it is not for everyone.
Control Blood
A terrible demon propels this deck forward, promising death and sweet destruction, if only its requirements are met
A control deck built around Xeno Diablo. A fringe deck that does continue to see play, but not one i'd generally recommend.
Havencraft
In the mighty summit Temple, where the light shines eternal! We find Eris in her personal quarters, going through her investment Portfolio and really being upset that she didn't invest in Skullfanes in time. She could have made a killing.. All for the greater good of course and not at all for her retirement fund.
Ruling from the holiest of holies we find Sanctuary haven followed by Rally Haven, Control Haven and finally Ward Haven. Amulet and Summit also exist, but out of the 6, those are the weaker ones and so won't get a writeup this week.
Sanctuary Haven
An ancient sanctuary, providing its boons to those who seek to sooth and bring comfort so they will not have to fight, doing so in their stead
A control deck built around the Sanctuary. A strong control deck that continues to see good play as it performs well against Face Dragon. But does struggle against more board heavy decks as it doesn't have a lot of AoE.
Rally Haven
A holy army seeking to bring down those who would stand against the righteousness of Havencraft! Their numbers and their faith are their weapons
A midrange deck built around Rally and Goddess of the West Wind. A strong deck that can overwhelm a lot of slower decks and decks tha don't generate enough tempo. Goddess of the West Wind, Set and Noah being the core of the deck.
Control Haven
The righteous Judgement of one god shines burning light down on the enemies of the Divine as everything else is banished away
A control deck built around Ra and a lot of removal. A less played deck and more skill intensive. But in the right hands can perform well, but does see less play than both Sanctuary and Rally as it does end up lacking a more offensive gameplan.
Ward Haven
A host of Shielded warriors, these holy knights will stop at nothing to protect the weak and innocent!
A midrange deck built around wards. A solid deck but one that does rely a bit on highrolling and in the current meta does have issues with the top decks. Also Wilbert will be rotating out at the end of the expansion.
Portalcraft
In the Vertex Colony, high in orbit over a long dead world. Many of its passages unexplored and abandonded for centuries. Yet strangely, dust never accumulates. Today we find that Lishenna decided to show off and so assembled everyone for a great dance contest to determine who is the best dancer (obviously thinking she'd win it easily).. Turns out her dance skills are nothing compared to Yuwans. Apparently working for Nerva gives you some real smooth moves.
For Portalcraft Rally Portal continues rule from beyond the outer stars, followed by Evolve Portal and Artifact Portal. Portal continues to struggle a bit, lacking stronger plays for the class in general. Though still has some diversity at least.
Rally Portal
A shambling horde of puppets, mastered by some unknown puppeteer. What sinister purpose do they work towards ?
A midrange deck built around Rally and Destruction. A decent deck that continues to perform alright in capable hands. There is some light experimentation with the deck, but so far nothing solid.
Evolve Portal
Wonderous warriors, their movements refined beyond belief, their skills beyond peer. What sort of bargains must they have made to attain them ?
A control combo deck built around Evolve synergies. A decent yet skill intensive deck that mostly exists on the fringes of the meta.
Artifact Portal
Mysterious machines and artifacts, their origin unknown, their method of propulsion.. alien. What secrets do they hide ?
A midrange deck built around Artifacts. A fringe deck at the moment, lacking more payoffs for its artifacts currently. The deck being more skill intensive as well finds itself played by a small dedicated cadre.
So there you have it. Meta continues to very slowly evolve, with decks responding and changing. And we even see a new one here and there. A bit impressive for sure and certainly one suspects there might be a few surprises to go.
That said with an update coming soon we could see a balance update as well. Dragon, Shadow and Forest would be the likely candidates for a nerf. But there's also a chance we may just see some buffs instead, as Cygames does seem to prefer doing that if it can get away with it. That said, nothing may also happen. As there is a fair amount of deck diversity going about at the moment and no deck is showing really dangerous patterns from what i can tell. So we'll have to see tomorrow what is posted if anything is. Since Cygames does seem to be getting more cagey about things like that as of late.
But until next week, have fun playing Shadowverse!
submitted by ImperialDane to Shadowverse [link] [comments]
As always i'll be relying on a variety of sources to stitch together a decent picture of the Rotation Meta. Using Gamewith, Shadowverse-wins.com, tournament results along with my own experiences.
Deep in the great woods of Forestcraft, in an ancient oaken hall that has stood there since before anyone can ever remember. We find all the leaders assembled trying to figure out what is up with Xeno Sagittarius. Doesn't help that no one can understand it's strange language, in the end the issue gets pawned off on Selwyn as everyone else suddenly has more important matters to attend to.
For Forestcraft Accelerate Forest continues to rule the forests followed by Loxis Forest which has overtaken Aggro Forest. Forestcraft continues to be a strong class with several strong decks and remains one of the dominant tournament classes atm.
Accelerate Forest
A whirlwind of activity, swift and ruthless as the wind! A flurry of arrows and blows strikes down any foe, allowing for a mighty warrior to finish the job
A midrange-combo deck. A strong deck with a higher skill requirement. This week has seen Accelerate forest pull up a bit and start to include Xeno Sagittarius, likely in response to an increase in Rally Haven and board heavy shadow decks, but in other matchups can also serve as card draw and cycle.
Loxis Forest
An outrider of the forests, patrolling its borders and keeping it's safe from all those who would seek to harm its denizens
A midrange-combo deck built around amulets. Loxis Forest has been steadily climbing in popularity, both on ladder and in tournaments as the deck continues to be refined and understood better. While skill intensive, in the right hands it can be potent.
Aggro Forest
The wrath of the forests made manifest, a horde of raging beasts and outcasts ready to strike down all before it!
An aggro deck built around a variety of strong threats and disruption. Seeing a slight drop off in the current meta as Loxis Forest and accelerate forests gains better understanding and refinement, while Aggro Forest just sits about. Still good and a far more straightforward deck than the other two.
In the eternal Castle of Swordcraft. Past countless banners and standards, tapestries depicting glorious battle. We find Albert being gently taken aside by Seofon after asking Arthur why he's shrunk since last. Seofon requests that Albert avoids questions like that since apparently there's a million Arthur's about out there in the Multiverse. Keeps producing them, that and Jeanne d'Arcs.
For Swordcraft Evolve Sword continues to rest its flaccid buttocks on the throne, followed by Walfrid Sword, Rally Sword and Aggro Sword. Overall Sword remains in an awkward spot, since while it has a decent variety of decks, most are struggling in power level and consistency and generally good tempo plays.
Evolve Sword
Paragons of their art. These heroes stand ready to strike down those without honour!
A control deck built around Evolve Synergies. Evolve Sword continues to be a good deck but one struggling to close out matches at times and there continues to be a lot of experimentation with the deck, but so far, no great results .
Walfrid Sword
An army of men and women devoted to one man's cause. This fleet of the blue skies will follow him to the end of the multiverse
A midrange deck built around Walfrid. A decent deck that suffers from being very linear and a bit slow. Continues to see play here and there, but has consistency and tempo issues.
Rally Sword
A Legion on the march. It's numbers will result in victory, either by breakthrough or by sheer attrition!
A Tempo deck built around the Rally mechanic. A decent deck that continues to see fringe play. This version was recently posted on Twitter and personally i've used it to climb to Grandmaster. So it's fairly decent at least. That said, can struggle with consistency. But it's fun.
Aggro Sword
A wild band of outcasts and outlaws. Their mission to ruin the day of anyone who gets in their way
An aggro deck built around Vehicles. Continues to see fringe play, some versions may experiment with Naht's Henchman and Oluon continues to see some usage as well.
In the mystical Academies of Runecraft, where knowledge rules above all. We find Erasmus supervising the expansion of the Runecraft council chambers, since the recent massive influx of leaders has made it way too cramped. Caglisotro really wanted to do it, but after having seen her plans. All the other leaders left the job to Erasmus.
Runecraft sees Control Karyl rule from the ivory tower, followed by Spellboost Rune, Vincent rune and finally Earth Rite Rune. Rune's in a decent position, but does have it's issues in the current meta.
Control Karyl
Destruction and annihilation is all that follows in the wake of this Girl, as she has concluded that it is the only way for her to get some peace and quiet
A control combo deck built around Karyl. Continues to be the top Runecraft deck, but is a more skill intensive one. Additionally with Karyl rotating out at the end of March, it is tough to recommend.
Spellboost Rune
Magical Servants for every purpose ! As long as that purpose is destroying your foes
A midrange deck built around Spellboost Synergies. A solid yet slightly tricky deck that continues to see a good amount of play. Do keep in mind that Kuon will rotate out at the end of the expansion and we don't know what Kuon will be replaced with.
Vincent Rune
A man who forges the law on his own, and he enforces it as well, ruthlessly!
A tempo deck built around Vincent and Vehicle Amulets. A decent aggressive deck that continues to see play, though does lack some strong threats.
Earth Rite Rune
The peak of Alchemy ! Mighty golems and wonderous magicks that will sear the very flesh of your enemies bones!
A midrange deck built around Earth Rites. A decent deck existing on the fringe. Continues to see play with a small group. Keep in mind that both Karyl and Forbidden Darkmage will rotate out at the end of the expansion, making it slightly tough to recommend.
In the great caverns of Dragoncraft, where all manner of behemoths can be found sleeping, waiting for the right time to awaken and bring doom upon the world. We find Hiro on cleanup duty as punishment for his little power trip a few weeks ago. Turns out Forte is quite the slob and he ends up spending days cleaning up her room alone.
For Dragoncraft Face Dragon remains high in the skies, followed by OTK Dragon, Ramp Dragon and Discard Dragon. Dragoncraft remains in a strong position with a good variety of strong decks and no real threats to the class short of any nerfs.
Face Dragon
An incendiary storm unleashed upon its enemies. This deck is full of pyrotechnics and death!
A tempo deck built around a variety of strong threats and answers. Easily the strongest dragon deck and still fairly popular even as Haven has risen up to keep it in check. A part of its strength though is that it can highroll to a degree where it becomes difficult for other decks to stop it. Additionally Jerva has become a staple in the deck with most decks running a copy or two now for extra burn that also happens to work well with Bahamut.
OTk Dragon
A terror from the deepest seas, swallowing up the entire world in its abyssal maw!
A combo deck built around Disrestan. A strong deck though vulnerable to more aggressive and tempo based decks that can run it down. But great vs slower decks as they can find themselves crushed by its OTK.
Ramp Dragon
Soaring high in the skies, ever higher until it unleashes its payload of fire and doom upon those beneath it
A ramp deck built around Resplendent phoenix. Continuing to see some play, there's overall been no real changes to the deck this week either. Solid, but not as fast as Face Dragon or as consistent as OTK dragon.
Discard Dragon
Tossing all to the winds in the hopes of gaining everymore. For this deck, no sacrifice is to steep in the quest to destroy its foes!
A midrange deck built around Discard cards. A bit of a fringe deck at the moment as it isn't as fast as the other decks nor as splashy. So it is mostly played by a small dedicated group of players at this point.
In the great Catacomb of Shadowcraft. Where death rules eternal. We find the leaders assembled for a small concert headed by Niyon. A soothing affair deep in the sepulchral depths and Luna ends up gently falling asleep to it.
Shadowcraft Finds Gremory as always at the peak of the Pyramid, followed by Aggro Shadow, Reanimate Shadow with Evolve Shadow arriving to push out Vaseraga Shadow. That deck is still about, but is on a lower power level and so doesn't get a writeup this week. But it does mean Shadowcraft now has 5 decks. Overall Shadow is in a great spot, good variety and good strength.
Gremory Shadow
A vortex of death and souls, all centered around a little girl. Her wicked grin dispelling any notion of innoence
A midrange deck built around Gremory and Necromancy. A strong deck with multiple ways of winning the game, either by Necroimpulse or simply building a board the opponent can't clear. Combined with lots of card draw and a decent amount of healing. The deck is quite potent.
Aggro Shadow
A shambling horde of the dead, their mortal coils motivated only by anger and hatred of the living.
An aggro deck built around very potent threats and Necroimpulse. A strong deck and one of the best Aggro decks in the meta, but is weak to certain control decks and so finds itself surpassed by Gremory Shadow. There has been some experimentation as of late with Winged Zombie for extra burst damage.
Reanimate Shadow
Death is not the end with this deck. it is only the beginning of eternal service for its undying master
A midrange deck built around reanimate and burial rites. Less popular than Gremory but with more control tools built into it, so while slower, it can deal with certain threats better.
Evolve Shadow
Something stirs in these corpses, a new form of unlife! Whatever twisted shreds of their souls remains, formed into something new and terrifying
A midrange deck built around Evolve Synergies. Something that's been brewed on for quite some time but now seems to be catching on. A bit slower in some ways but much heavier on board and can set up for some big bursts of its own.
In the great decadent manor of Bloodcraft, where every manner of sin can be found. We find Medusa and Vania grumbling about the lack of remakes and vengeance support. Also Volteo keeps conning Medusa out of her allowance, although Mono is always quick to get it back for Medusa.
For Bloodcraft Wrath Blood continues to rule from its throne of Opulence followed by Volteo Blood and Control Blood. Overall the class is in a decent spot but largely carried by Wrath Blood and really could do with some help to form other archetypes.
Wrath Blood
Pain and Strength are the same thing in the mind of this deck. The greater the pain, the greater the glory!
A midrange deck built around the Wrath mechanic. Continues to be a good deck that does fairly well, even in tournaments. Beyond that, no real changes this week.
Volteo Blood
Everything can be found in Volteo's magnificent Casino, even victory. Just be careful not to get bamboozled
A highlander deck built around Volteo. A fringe deck that continues to have a dedicated following. Fairly skill intensive, it is not for everyone.
Control Blood
A terrible demon propels this deck forward, promising death and sweet destruction, if only its requirements are met
A control deck built around Xeno Diablo. A fringe deck that does continue to see play, but not one i'd generally recommend.
In the mighty summit Temple, where the light shines eternal! We find Eris in her personal quarters, going through her investment Portfolio and really being upset that she didn't invest in Skullfanes in time. She could have made a killing.. All for the greater good of course and not at all for her retirement fund.
Ruling from the holiest of holies we find Sanctuary haven followed by Rally Haven, Control Haven and finally Ward Haven. Amulet and Summit also exist, but out of the 6, those are the weaker ones and so won't get a writeup this week.
Sanctuary Haven
An ancient sanctuary, providing its boons to those who seek to sooth and bring comfort so they will not have to fight, doing so in their stead
A control deck built around the Sanctuary. A strong control deck that continues to see good play as it performs well against Face Dragon. But does struggle against more board heavy decks as it doesn't have a lot of AoE.
Rally Haven
A holy army seeking to bring down those who would stand against the righteousness of Havencraft! Their numbers and their faith are their weapons
A midrange deck built around Rally and Goddess of the West Wind. A strong deck that can overwhelm a lot of slower decks and decks tha don't generate enough tempo. Goddess of the West Wind, Set and Noah being the core of the deck.
Control Haven
The righteous Judgement of one god shines burning light down on the enemies of the Divine as everything else is banished away
A control deck built around Ra and a lot of removal. A less played deck and more skill intensive. But in the right hands can perform well, but does see less play than both Sanctuary and Rally as it does end up lacking a more offensive gameplan.
Ward Haven
A host of Shielded warriors, these holy knights will stop at nothing to protect the weak and innocent!
A midrange deck built around wards. A solid deck but one that does rely a bit on highrolling and in the current meta does have issues with the top decks. Also Wilbert will be rotating out at the end of the expansion.
In the Vertex Colony, high in orbit over a long dead world. Many of its passages unexplored and abandonded for centuries. Yet strangely, dust never accumulates. Today we find that Lishenna decided to show off and so assembled everyone for a great dance contest to determine who is the best dancer (obviously thinking she'd win it easily).. Turns out her dance skills are nothing compared to Yuwans. Apparently working for Nerva gives you some real smooth moves.
For Portalcraft Rally Portal continues rule from beyond the outer stars, followed by Evolve Portal and Artifact Portal. Portal continues to struggle a bit, lacking stronger plays for the class in general. Though still has some diversity at least.
Rally Portal
A shambling horde of puppets, mastered by some unknown puppeteer. What sinister purpose do they work towards ?
A midrange deck built around Rally and Destruction. A decent deck that continues to perform alright in capable hands. There is some light experimentation with the deck, but so far nothing solid.
Evolve Portal
Wonderous warriors, their movements refined beyond belief, their skills beyond peer. What sort of bargains must they have made to attain them ?
A control combo deck built around Evolve synergies. A decent yet skill intensive deck that mostly exists on the fringes of the meta.
Artifact Portal
Mysterious machines and artifacts, their origin unknown, their method of propulsion.. alien. What secrets do they hide ?
A midrange deck built around Artifacts. A fringe deck at the moment, lacking more payoffs for its artifacts currently. The deck being more skill intensive as well finds itself played by a small dedicated cadre.
That said with an update coming soon we could see a balance update as well. Dragon, Shadow and Forest would be the likely candidates for a nerf. But there's also a chance we may just see some buffs instead, as Cygames does seem to prefer doing that if it can get away with it. That said, nothing may also happen. As there is a fair amount of deck diversity going about at the moment and no deck is showing really dangerous patterns from what i can tell. So we'll have to see tomorrow what is posted if anything is. Since Cygames does seem to be getting more cagey about things like that as of late.
But until next week, have fun playing Shadowverse!
2020.11.29 17:20 CerberusZX I Reached Grand Master Using Only OTK Portal, Vincent Rune, Jerva Dragon, Buff Sword, Aggro Forest, Aggro Shadow, Baal Blood, Acc-
 | At some point I swore to myself that I wouldn't do another one of these posts, but now it's gotten to be a habit and I can't move on without sharing my experience--and what an experience it's been! This has definitely been the craziest meta that I've tried to climb in with a wide variety of viable decks with proper ladder presence. submitted by CerberusZX to Shadowverse [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/sapv675hf7261.jpg?width=2220&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7eb5623d1d39d157b7eafe7c3429607ba867738c As always, I'll have write-ups on my decks below the long-winded story no one should care about. It's mostly just there so I can get my thoughts in order. Start of the ExpansionI gave Ward Haven a shot during the pre-release and did well enough, but after reaching Grand Master with Elana and Ward Haven last expansion I was sick of the class. Volteo seemed like a fun card, so I built a deck around him and even got a few wins early on. I also gave the new and improved OTK Portal a spin and saw some success.While there were more decks I wanted to try, I started seeing a lot of complaints here about Anvelt. Having hit Grand Master with Ward Haven last expansion, I knew full well how oppressive the deck could be with its natural predator (Hades) out of the picture and so I set out to prove that Anvelt alone was not the problem using a deck that did not include him. While I only used the deck for a brief period, it catapulted me up to ~3500 points. I also suggested that Enchanted Knight's cost should be increased to 3, which is exactly what happened. Having accomplished my mission, I set my sights on the next seemingly fun deck, and that's when it all fell apart. I like decks that have an OTK as their primary win condition and I pulled a few copies of Immortal Monster Trio, so when I saw that it could be used for an OTK, I leapt at the chance to craft the deck. However, it was at this point that the meta started to settle. Pretty much every match was against either Ward Haven, which prevents their opponent from going face, and Evo Sword, which always stopped the OTK with either wards or Steadfast Samurai and then cleared my board while healing and threatening lethal themselves. I didn't get a single win. I saw someone else reach GM with a build that included Deathbringer for removal and heals to stand a chance against Ward Haven so I switched to that. I didn't get a single win and dropped to 0 points. With nothing left to lose, I decided to go back to fun looking decks. Inspired by a video I saw here, my next deck was Buff Sword and I climbed all the way back to ~1500 in a day. I was happy to have found a deck that was both fun and viable, but then the next day I fell back to ~700 points, gave Volteo another failed shot, quickly switched to OTK Portal because I really wanted a win, and finally hit 0 points again. I did a bit more climbing with Buff Sword but eventually hit 0 once more. At that point Evo Sword was starting to fall out of favour with the rise of Gremory Shadow, but Ward Haven was definitely the most common matchup I was seeing, and so I again returned to OTK Portal since I was too poor for Evo Sword and OTK Portal was the only other deck I knew of that had a shot at winning. Sure enough, I managed to gain ground and when I hit ~3000 points I decided I would reach GM using only this one deck. Post-nerfI heard that aggro was finally viable thanks to the nerfs, so I immediately went back to Buff Sword and had fun while slowly but surely climbing. Still, Ward Haven hadn't completely gone away and while I did get a few wins against them, I eventually made the switch to Aggro Forest because it has Wolfraud. He did get me a number of wins, but the new Portal decks were becoming quite a nuisance and I wanted something with AoE to spite them.My first instinct was to switch to Dragon because it has Jerva and the discard package. Early testing showed that discard pings were not sufficient to remove a wide Portal board, so I decided to go all-in on Jerva. I did better and every win felt well earned, but I was still losing far too often and I eventually went back to Aggro Forest. Then I got pig'd, and I had to try that myself. Vincent/Pig Rune has access to some strong combos and it won me a good number of games, but it is very dependent on finding those combos with little draw power which makes its greatest foe itself. With the mini-expansion on the horizon, I went back to the deck that had been most consistent for me after the nerfs, which was Aggro Forest. When the mini-expansion finally released, I had ~5000 points. After the MiniBefore trying any of the crazier new toys, I wanted to see how the Goblin Queen would fit in my existing Aggro Forest deck, and I happened to draw 2 copies of her so that worked out. I never got a chance to play her and the new decks crushed me.I always liked the idea behind Item Shop's deck building restriction, so Walfrid was naturally my first choice of new decks to try. Steadfast Samurais that aren't easily removed makes the Ward Haven matchup so much easier than it was with Buff Sword. I mean, the deck does good in general, but that alone made me quite fond of the deck. After climbing to ~6000 points, I tried the next shiny new deck. Acceleration Forest (Speedy Forest from here on) being a control deck that kills with burst was a really nice change of pace after spending so much of the expansion trying to outvalue opponents. Probably my favorite new deck of the expansion, though it also seems to be the least popular. With all its healing and Resolve of the Fallen, it's even able to stabilize after big Loxis plays and I've won that matchup very nearly every time. Still, it can take a long time to win (over 13 turns on more than one occasion), so it's not the deck I use when I want quick games. Wanting something that could reliably come out ahead while racing Portal, I put together a Baal Blood deck that has less control than the ones I've been seeing but it has the speed I need. I've even managed to outpace the healing of Forest and Sanctuary Haven decks, though not often. I can't say whether or not it's better than the decks that run more of the Natura package, but I did have a positive win rate with it. Since most of the decks in the current meta environment want to go face with followers, Ward Haven seems like a good choice and I occasionally switched to it during the final portion of my climb. However, for the final ~1000 points I just wanted speed, so I put together an Aggro Shadow list and an 8-win streak got me to the trials. Lost twice, won twice, and wrote this up. The DecksOTK Portal - This deck aims to stall until a turn 9 win (or 8 going second) using a Dimension Dominator buffed Capsule Homonculus and a Vesha generated by Awakened Ragna, but The World on turn 10 can also work. The deck has techs for every occasion and Kaiser's accelerate helps find them when needed. Lazuli's evolve can stop an OTK. I generally mulligan for Dimension Dominator but I'll hold onto Ramiel going second. The deck has so many techs and so much draw power that you don't really need to hold onto anything specific, so setting up the kill takes priority. If you have Dimension Dominator but not Capsule Homonculus, you can give the pp refund to a puppet and draw into the Homonculus later.The deck is decent against Ward Haven. They can use Yukari to prevent your OTK for a turn, but they typically board lock at that point and often don't have lethal, so you can just wait it out. Other matchups are winnable, but decks focused on small storms such as Aggro Forest are unfavored. While Romantic Chanteuse is useful versus Ravening Blood, I haven't used this deck since the mini-expansion and I get the feeling it's no longer enough. Jerva Dragon - Always mulligan for ramp. You have enough draw and tutors and stumble into your wincons, so ramping early is top priority. Once you have Jerva's effect online, remove the opponent's board 4-5 times for the win. If you can't remove their entire board or didn't draw Jerva, play whales to protect your face and set up an alternate wincon. Most decks in the meta kill by going face, so a wall of big wards is nice to have. That said, Rally Portal doesn't care about your wards thanks to the train and it's tough to deal 3+ damage to everything on a wide board every turn, so it's often a hopeless matchup. I haven't played this deck since the mini-expansion, but I get the feeling Ravening Blood is also hopeless as they're likely to deal more damage to you per turn than you do to them. Vincent (Pig) Rune - This deck has more ways to buff things already on the board than any other which means it's the best at making big bandits. It can also build a big board with lots of healing via Sweetspell Sorceror + Words of Judgment which helps stabilize while applying pressure, then Words of Judgment spam can get the win after stabilizing. These strong plays give the deck a fighting chance against anything in the meta. HOWEVER, these plays require getting specific combinations of cards at the right moments and it just doesn't have the draw power to do so reliably. I moved up the ladder more than down while using this list and even got a 7-win streak, but it wasn't exactly a smooth climb. Anway, mulligan for Bandit and Vincent, then pray for the best. Buff Sword - I deleted this deck once Walfrid was a thing, but I think this is the build I settled on post-nerfs. The deck wants to be aggressive, so mulligan for your 1 and 2 drops. Going first against decks other than Portal, you can usually get away with turn 1 Bandit and buff it on 3, but you'll need to play it with a buff going second. Using Wandering Chef's evolve to give Steadfast Samurai ward is a strong play, but I generally mulligan the Chef away unless I have both and I'm going second because he's the most lackluster turn 2 play you have. If your opponent has enough removal or wards to stop you from winning, The Chariot serves as a Hail Mary. A fun deck overall, but probably not good for climbing. Ward Haven (sans Anvelt) - This deck punishes greedy board based decks with Wilbert's effect and small wards that will keep them board locked. As Wilbert is the deck's primary wincon you may want to aggressively mulligan for him (I certainly did last expansion), but Enchanted Knight lets you get away with an early curve which in turn allows potential Sarissa shenanigans, so he's worth holding onto. That said, you will need Yukari more than Wilbert against Ravening Blood and it still won't be a favorable matchup. The deck is also unfavored against Sanctuary Haven since Benevolent Light wipes your small wards. Walfrid Sword - Honestly, I was so focused on what I can do to win that my opponent's plays never really registered for me, so I have no clue how it fares against which matchups aside from big Steadfast Samurais and Graceful Maneuver ruining Ward Haven. Mulligan for either Walfrid or Gelt, get Walfrid's effect online ASAP, then put out as many threats as you can and overwhelm your opponents, whoever they are. Speedy Forest - It's a given that you're going to find accelerate cards, so I generally mulligan for Fairy Flowering. It's your main wincon and it doesn't do you any good to get it set up and then not have it. Kokkoro gives you something to do on turn 2 while also thinning your deck and maintaining hand size, so she's generally okay to keep. Irene is often a brick early on, so while she can be good with Fairy Flowering, she's not something to keep in mulligan. Against aggressive decks and Blood, I want Carmine in hand and I will throw out everything else to find her. The deck can heal back early damage, but only so much and getting repeatedly hit in the face with an early fully statted follower while fighting a deck that kills quickly is not ideal. Depending on the cards in hand, I typically build a Chipper Skipper board on turns 6 or 7. They'll likely get removed, especially when facing Sword thanks to Nahtnaught, but racking up evolves for Resolve of the Fallen is the main goal. While Lionel as an accelerate is nice removal, playing the body after the opponent uses The World is fun and limits what the opponent can do next turn. Lionel is also great against Loxis Forest, but that's an easy matchup in general. I have also had success using Primal Giant's body after Lionel was killed to get another one and with a manual evolve the opponent is likely screwed. It usually takes 2 bursts of Fairy Flowering to achieve lethal. Optimistic Beastmaster can help soften the opponent up or finish them off and also removes wards so you can go face. Some people seem to be hesitant on Carmine since she can hit your own followers. Your followers do their job on the turn they're played and they're probably just going to be removed next turn anyway so who cares if they get hit? Aerin and Optimistic Beastmaster won't die from one hit and you can evolve Chipper Skipper so she can activate her effect without fail as well. Any enemies removed are just a bonus. Sometimes, Carmine's body can be useful too. Levon is not an accelerate and therefore does not advance your gameplan. I can sort of see the appeal as it's targeted removal and it returns to hand for Elf Queen pings, but it's best to maximize cards that advance the deck's gameplan so you can quickly take down opponents that need to be beaten with speed. Ward Haven and Roost Dragon are the deck's worst matchups. Ravening and Control Blood can be problematic too, and the same goes for aggro decks when you fail to find the right control tools in time, though aggro decks are easy when you do find the tools you need which happens more often than not. I have a very high win rate against Loxis Forest and Sanctuary Haven. Evo Sword and Rally Portal are about even. Speedy Forest was my primary deck when climbing from 6k to 8k points and it's way stronger than its lack of ladder presence would suggest. Aggro Forest - I deleted my deck once it stopped working, but I think it was something like this. I don't think it has any particularly good matchups anymore and I wouldn't recommend it, but it's here for those who want to take a look. Generally speaking, you want to mulligan for your 1 and 2 drops. Against Haven, try to find Wolfraud instead as you'll likely need his enhance. Against other decks, he's a decent 3-drop that can maybe become really big, especially nice if you play him on 3 going second and the opponent can't answer him. A pretty straightforward deck. Play followers, activate buff combos if possible, and go face. Ravening Blood - Some deck lists run more Natura cards for healing which probably helps in certain matchups, but I play this deck for the speed at which it kills, so I forego the Natura nonsense so I can consistently get the cards I want. Always mulligan for either Ravening Corruption or Nightprowl Vampire. If you have both, you can play both to activate Ravening's 2 damage burn and +1 ping next turn. If you have Ravening, aim for your 2/2s or Bloodsoaked Archdemon. An early archdemon is a big deal. Io's evolve effect is great, but I can and will play her on 2 against decks that will struggle to remove her such as Spellboost Rune and Loxis Forest. The more damage you deal in the early game, the less work you'll need to do later on. Always keep a Lucius in hand when fighting Sword. He can remove a problematic follower such as a buffed up Steadfast Samurai for 1pp. I will gladly deal 1 less damage from Baal fusion to ensure lethal next turn. Aggro Shadow - Like any aggro deck, mulligan for early followers. You generally want to go face when you can, but it's usually worth making sure you have enough followers in hand to activate The Lovers on 5. Gold Rush Ghost's enhance can be nice, but he's still a 2 drop if you fail to find others. Bone Fanatic and Helio give you good odds of having something to buff with Gabriel. Turn 5+ Quixotic Adventurer into Abysmal Wraith with no Burial Rite is 1 more damage than Abysmal Wraith with Burial Rite and that difference has been enough to win. I've outpaced decks with a lot of healing but few wards while ward-heavy decks have been more problematic. Ravening Blood can kill fast, but Shadow is generally faster. |
2020.09.15 10:02 gemowater Zendikar Rising Brawl Set Review
As is now tradition, I present my set review for Zendikar Rising.
I will be looking over any cards which I find interesting for brawl or which have implications for the format as well as each and every new commander. Below are the links to the documents. Each card is given a general review as well as a "best friends" section which lists commanders that the card potentially goes well with, in the case of certain commanders that I don't think are viable outside of the command zone the "best friends" section will instead list good synergy pieces. Commanders will be reviewed as a commander as well as in the deck.
I'm trying to gear set review so that it is helpful both for multiplayer and 1v1, but I might not have hit every card that's good in 1v1 brawl as the number of playable cards is much higher in 1v1 as opposed to multiplayer.
As for card images, including them in the documents does weird things so I've included a link so that by clicking on the name of the card you will be taken to the Scryfall page so you can be reminded what the card does.
Also, a quick note on modal double faced cards (feel free to skip this part): I'll touch on this more in the individual card reviews, but these cards are inherently very good in brawl (multiplayer in particular). Many brawl decks have a gameplan that involves using the first few turns of the game to build up the board, meaning that playing tapped lands early on is not a bad thing to do. Later in the game, they serve as slightly overcosted spells, but the fact that you have the option of playing these as lands or spells makes them incredibly powerful. The power comes from being relevant throughout the game, as they serve as lands in the early game and powerful spells in the late game. As such, the best ones will be ones where the spell card is either most relevant in the late game or throughout the game. It will be correct for almost every deck to run a handful of these, with mono-colored decks and decks that don't already run a lot of tapped lands being able to play a greater number. It's not correct just to play them on their own usually, but if a modal DFC has an effect that you want on it, it will usually be correct to play it in multiplayer brawl. They are weakened in 1v1 because of the fact that it is a faster format, but they will still be powerful there. The mythic rare cycle is absolutely insane, but I'll touch more on that in the actual review.
Commanders
White
Blue
Black
Red
Green
Multicolored, Colorless, and Land
Let me know what you think I got right and what you think I got wrong. And as always, happy brawling!
submitted by gemowater to mtgbrawl [link] [comments]
I will be looking over any cards which I find interesting for brawl or which have implications for the format as well as each and every new commander. Below are the links to the documents. Each card is given a general review as well as a "best friends" section which lists commanders that the card potentially goes well with, in the case of certain commanders that I don't think are viable outside of the command zone the "best friends" section will instead list good synergy pieces. Commanders will be reviewed as a commander as well as in the deck.
I'm trying to gear set review so that it is helpful both for multiplayer and 1v1, but I might not have hit every card that's good in 1v1 brawl as the number of playable cards is much higher in 1v1 as opposed to multiplayer.
As for card images, including them in the documents does weird things so I've included a link so that by clicking on the name of the card you will be taken to the Scryfall page so you can be reminded what the card does.
Also, a quick note on modal double faced cards (feel free to skip this part): I'll touch on this more in the individual card reviews, but these cards are inherently very good in brawl (multiplayer in particular). Many brawl decks have a gameplan that involves using the first few turns of the game to build up the board, meaning that playing tapped lands early on is not a bad thing to do. Later in the game, they serve as slightly overcosted spells, but the fact that you have the option of playing these as lands or spells makes them incredibly powerful. The power comes from being relevant throughout the game, as they serve as lands in the early game and powerful spells in the late game. As such, the best ones will be ones where the spell card is either most relevant in the late game or throughout the game. It will be correct for almost every deck to run a handful of these, with mono-colored decks and decks that don't already run a lot of tapped lands being able to play a greater number. It's not correct just to play them on their own usually, but if a modal DFC has an effect that you want on it, it will usually be correct to play it in multiplayer brawl. They are weakened in 1v1 because of the fact that it is a faster format, but they will still be powerful there. The mythic rare cycle is absolutely insane, but I'll touch more on that in the actual review.
Commanders
White
Blue
Black
Red
Green
Multicolored, Colorless, and Land
Let me know what you think I got right and what you think I got wrong. And as always, happy brawling!
2020.07.19 18:11 ImperialDane Shadowverse Rotation Meta Report. July 19th
A week has passed since last and the meta continues to slowly evolve as time passes. Additionally we're not too far away from Code Geass Collaboration either and i'd expect them to start teasing that more over the coming week.
But what has happened in the previous week ? Read on and find out !
Forestcraft
In the great Forests amidst buzzing fairies we find Arisa and Selwyn in heavy discussion about Wolfraud and where he keeps getting all those things he's carrying around. The only thing they've been able to get out of him so far is that it just "Merely fell of a truck" though they're not buying that one. After pressuring him some more all they get is "Well you can't spell Wolfraud with Fraud!" and then he runs away..
For Forestcraft there's Terrorformer forest at the peak, followed by Amataz Forest, Roach Forest and Evolve Forest. Overall Forestcraft possesses quite a bit of deck diversity though overall strength of the class remains more modest despite that, still there is a selection of decks to pick from.
Terrorformer forest
A midrange.. combo deck thing built around the Terrorformer and accelerate cards that looks to either kill the enemy with the Terrorformer or overwhelm them with a number of other threats. By now Colosseum on high has become a standard inclusion as it allows for more effective stalling and additionally makes Terrorformer and other storm followers bigger giving the deck a bit more punch though overall its success remains mostly modest though it is relatively popular. A decent deck that does require some skill to pilot properly.
Amataz Forest
An aggro combo deck built around Amataz that looks to swiftly overwhelm the enemy with Fairies typically by giving them storm and can occasionally chain multiple Amataz or Divine smithing for a combo. A somewhat inconsistent deck it has nonetheless climbed in popularity as it can blast through some of the decks in the meta with ease though will struggle quite a bit with the recent surge in Elana decks. A solid deck it will require some decent skills to make the most out of .
Roach Forest
A combo deck built around roach. It's seemingly getting a smidge more popular as of late as there are slightly fewer aggressive board decks about and more stalling control decks which gives the deck more room to maneuver though it still has a very bad time against Reanimate Shadow and other board decks as it can't effectively slow them down. a decent deck but with high skill requirements for proper success.
Evolve Forest
A control deck built around evolve synergies. It remains mildly popular and while it performs well against certain decks it does have a terrible time against Dirt rune and other burn/combo decks as it can't do enough to really slow them down. So definitely not a deck for the average player at the moment.
Swordcraft
In the halls of the Eternal Castle Swordcraft Albert suddenly is suffering from a small case of panic as he suddenly realizes that he and most of the Levin troops will be rotating out but Latham is quick to appear and calm him down and assure him it won't be that bad.. Just that Sword is almost unplayable in Unlimited, but it's no big deal. A guy as popular as Albert should easily get a remake.. Latham on the other hand.. who knows ?
For Swordcraft Evolve Sword remains steadfast at the vanguard followed by Rally Sword, also there's a bit of Hybrid Sword going on currently pushing things up to 3 decks. Overall though Sword struggles due to a lack of a finisher in a meta filled with AoE and a lack of ways to protect its boards or build really big ones fast and consistently like reanimate shadow.
Evolve Sword
A midrange deck built around Evolve synergies. The deck continues to be the most popular Sword deck as it can handle a variety of threats and has some counter plays but even then it does struggle from a way to close out matches at times which does leave it hanging a bit. Overall a good deck but one that will require some skill to pilot succesfully in the current meta.
Rally Sword
A tempo deck built around triggering rally synergies and either running down your opponent fast or building a big board your opponent can deal with. Notably less popular as the AOE heavy meta is quite discouraging for it, though it can still win in it, just not as easily and the lack of a consistent finisher means you're gameplan in a lot of cases is to hope to build a big enough board your opponent can't deal with, which Rally Sword can struggle to pull off consistently. Still a decent deck if you know how to pilot it, but it is on the more skill intensive side of things at the moment to get the best out of it. Additionally there is some experimentation with a Levin Variation for Lounes, Levin Justice and Jeno for a bit extra push at the low end and a way to help Amelia draw other cards more consistently.
Hybrid Sword
A mix of Evolve and Rally for a slightly faster Midrange deck that can get more aggressive and under decks but like the other two will struggle to close out in certain situations. Additionally as a hybrid deck it will be tougher to pilot as you have to manage the two halves of it. Not sure how relevant Honoured frontguard general is, but it looked neat. Ultimately just one build of Hybrid Sword so keep that in mind before delving into it, not a recommended deck for new players.
Runecraft
In the mystical academies of Runecraft it is Erasmus great Triumph ! .. or so he'd like to believe but he is starting to feel like it's actually Karyl who's pulling the strings and he is doubting how much in charge he actually is.. The girl is frightening he quickly concludes and he wonders how much longer he may actually be in charge if he ever was.
For Runecraft Earth rite Rune remains the leading deck by far followed by Arcane Item shop, additionally there are signs of the return of Karyl rune. Overall Runecraft is in a strong position due to multiple strong cards like Vergewalker and Madcap Conjuration that can easily keep a board clear while allowing it to advance to its win conditions at the moment.
Earth Rite Rune
A midrange deck built around Earth rites. Overall the deck continues to change and by now is actually featuring fewer earth rites as Madcap Conjuration has become a full part of the deck allowing it to clear all boards, cycle through cards and even put threats into play, all for 2pp. A strong deck with few direct weaknesses currently.
Arcane Item Shop Rune
A combo deck built around the Arcane Item Shop. It's steadily been getting less popular as Earth Rite rune and other decks appear in larger numbers like Reanimate Shadow which it struggles with heavily so while it can win out here and there the small 15 minutes of fame of the deck are over. That said it can still win here and there. Overall the cheapest deck in the meta which is one reason it was so popular in the first place and probably what sustains it for now. Decent but hardly all powerful.
Dragoncraft
In the great caverns of Dragoncraft it's the big cleanup day as all the trash is discarded with all sorts of means and everyone is effectively trying to discard Valdain as well. But he is proving to be a tough nut to crack in that department and continues to stick around having learned a lot of the place by now. Rowen swears he'll get rid of him one way or the other and Forte joins him in that vow!.
For Dragoncraft Discard Dragon is by far the most popular followed by Natura and the occasional Big Dragon deck. Dragon remains in a steady position largely by virtue of Discard Dragon which can handle a lot of decks in the meta though the rest of Dragoncraft at the moment is a bit vestigial.
Discard Dragon
A midrange deck built around discarding cards. The deck remains a solid deck that can threaten a variety of decks though it may struggle with Elana Haven which can easily get under it and ignore most of what it does so that could pose a problem for Discard Dragon down the road. A trickier deck to pilot due to having to manage hand size and discard the right cards at the right time it is not recommended for everyone.
Natura Dragon
A midrange deck built around Valdain and Natura synergies. The deck seems to be making a tiny comeback as of late though i am less certain why, perhaps a rise in less interactive decks has given it an opportunity to prey but it is still going to struggle against Reanimate Shadow. A sort of decent deck it is not one i'd particularly recommend to the average player.
Big Dragon
A combo deck built around Titanic Showdown. It's a weaker one on the fringes that sees play mostly for fun. Not one i'd particularly recommend but it does see play and it does have its fans.
Shadowcraft
In the great Catacomb of Shadowcraft where Death Reigns with a rusted fist. We find Aisha dealing with the shocking revelation that everyone had actually forgotten her. Finding herself unable to deal with this fact she decides to pretend like it never happened and just act like everything is fine rather than accept the facts. Luna and the rest decides that is an excellent plan of action and goes along with it as they quickly catch on.
For Shadowcraft Reanimate Shadow remains at the top of the Necropolis followed by Hades Shadow, at the very farthest fringes there is some Natura shadow but i don't even have any lists to use for that so won't make a writeup for it. Overerall Shadow is largely succesful thanks to the power of reanimate and its ability to throw up big boards other decks will struggle with. If that were to get nerfed Shadow would be in a worse spot than Sword most likely.
Reanimate Shadow
A midrange deck built around burying and reanimating big threats and overall build a big board most decks can't easily clear out. A potent deck base off that though it still has its issues and can struggle to gain back board if it first loses it. But a potent and relatively straight forward deck to pilot in the current meta.
Hades Shadow
A combo deck built around Hades. The deck continues to see some play but by now has for the most part been eclipsed by Reanimate Shadow as its win condition will be too slow in a lot of cases though may find some success against Elana Haven. A decent deck but not particular popular and rather dependent on player skill for success.
Bloodcraft
In the great and decadent manor of Bloodcraft where sin runs like rivers. We find Vania wondering when she's going to get her remake. Garuda is back and theren's an awful lot of new things out there that sound suspiciously much like her. So where's her remake ? ANd preferrably something a bit more playable this time she asks out loud.. to no one in particular since Medusa is off doing a cross over event in some other game.
For Bloodcraft Control Blood remains the most played by far followed by Midrange blood and Wrath Blood. Overall reliant on Control as it has no great threats in the current meta to consistently play aggressively with and most attempts at Aggro so far seem to have little success, but who knows, success may be found eventually.
Control Blood
A control deck built around Burn and AoE. It continues to be the most popular blood deck as it can handle a variety of threats and even deal with some finishers thanks to Azazel, that said it is coming under pressure and is seeing a slight drop in play as a result. Overall a more challenging and skill intensive deck but in the right hands quite good.
Midrange Blood
A midrange burn deck. It continues to see some play but as of late not that much and the increase in Elana Haven poses a significant issue for it as it effectively counters Midrange bloods strategy leaving it out to dry. So while decent it is a bit tougher to recommend at the moment.
Wrath Blood
A midrange deck built around Wrath and self harm. The deck is not seeing that much play as it lacks the strong tools of Control blood and can't quite push faster in its current incarnation either. So a decent deck but from my experience mostly sees fringe play at the moment.
Havencraft
In the great Cathedral of Havencraft Elana's Prayers ring out, even as Elana Herself has yet to appear. With the good seraph serving as a stand in for now.. even as she mumbles about getting a remake soon. Garuda meanwhile is despondent that his remake took off as well as the previous one and that his reign of angry birds has yet to materialize.. once more.
For Havencraft Elana Haven is by far the most popular followed by a smattering of Amulet Haven and at the very fringes, the occasional Ward haven deck. Overall haven is in a decent position thanks to recent successes of Elana Haven, if that were to fail, the rest of the class would be worse off too.
Elana Haven
A midrange deck built around Healing. Having seen some restructuring the deck is back in some force with a more aggressive plan built around storm followers and buffing them up, additionally Blind Justice is starting to be run. with some running a single copy and others a full 3. It is starting to see a lot of competetive play with these changes as it can handle a lot of threats thanks to its healing and ability to pump up big threats fast and even dodge some amulet removal thanks sweetwing seraph. A solid deck that will require some skill in piloting properly.
Amulet Haven
A midrange deck built around Amulets. It sees some fringe play here and there as it can make for some spectacular high rolls, but owing due to a lack of consistenty it does see minimal play as it ends up as a sort of highrolly reanimate shadow that when it does not highroll.. performs very poorly. A weaker deck that is mostly played for fun.
*Portalcraft
In the Vertex Colony, amidst alien technology. We find Nexus all on her own as the rest are off to buy a new wafflemaker as the last one grew sentient and proceeded to go off on a quest to seek the holy sword Excalibur and Nexus.. well doesn't do too well in social situations. So she is left behind with a box of crayons and some paper to draw on and the rest hope the Vertex colony hasn't crashed and burned in the meanwhile.
For Portalcraft Artifact Portal leads the pack followed by Control Portal. Overall Portal remains in a weaker spot as it has no strong finishers and lacks any ways to build consistent big boards or any counter play to all the big finishers at the moment. So while it can win, it has a tougher time of it.
Artifact Portal
A midrange deck built around Artifacts. More and more decks are starting to run Zelgenea and Ragna Awakens as the deck seems to be heading in a more controlling direction which does help in some situations but does leave it vulnerable to decks with faster finishers. So it is a bit of a tradeoff there. A decent deck that does require a good amount of skill to perform succesfully with in the current meta.
Control Portal
A control deck built around Floating play points. The deck continues to see some play but owing to a lack of more aggressive decks and and increase in combo decks or decks with strong finishers it is having a tougher time of the meta until it can get some combo counter or something else happens. A decent deck but one that requires a good deal of skill. Not something i'd recommend personally.
So there you have it. The meta seems fixated around decks that can either build big enough boards to not be easily wiped or decks that can finish consistently enough fast. It is starting to look like the nerfs to Sword were too hasty and it might be an idea to revert them or at least lessen the degree of them perhaps, we'll have to see though. That said there is some deck diversity and variety, but i do think it would benefit from more aggressive decks. Another option could be to perhaps tone down some of the AoE though that may necessitate nerfs to Shadow then. So it's a bit of a tricky one there.
We'll have to see what happens over the coming weeks as with the upcoming Collaboration there could be balance changes.. and maybe the beginning of the next story arc.
So until next week. Have fun playing Shadowverse!
submitted by ImperialDane to Shadowverse [link] [comments]
But what has happened in the previous week ? Read on and find out !
In the great Forests amidst buzzing fairies we find Arisa and Selwyn in heavy discussion about Wolfraud and where he keeps getting all those things he's carrying around. The only thing they've been able to get out of him so far is that it just "Merely fell of a truck" though they're not buying that one. After pressuring him some more all they get is "Well you can't spell Wolfraud with Fraud!" and then he runs away..
For Forestcraft there's Terrorformer forest at the peak, followed by Amataz Forest, Roach Forest and Evolve Forest. Overall Forestcraft possesses quite a bit of deck diversity though overall strength of the class remains more modest despite that, still there is a selection of decks to pick from.
Terrorformer forest
A midrange.. combo deck thing built around the Terrorformer and accelerate cards that looks to either kill the enemy with the Terrorformer or overwhelm them with a number of other threats. By now Colosseum on high has become a standard inclusion as it allows for more effective stalling and additionally makes Terrorformer and other storm followers bigger giving the deck a bit more punch though overall its success remains mostly modest though it is relatively popular. A decent deck that does require some skill to pilot properly.
Amataz Forest
An aggro combo deck built around Amataz that looks to swiftly overwhelm the enemy with Fairies typically by giving them storm and can occasionally chain multiple Amataz or Divine smithing for a combo. A somewhat inconsistent deck it has nonetheless climbed in popularity as it can blast through some of the decks in the meta with ease though will struggle quite a bit with the recent surge in Elana decks. A solid deck it will require some decent skills to make the most out of .
Roach Forest
A combo deck built around roach. It's seemingly getting a smidge more popular as of late as there are slightly fewer aggressive board decks about and more stalling control decks which gives the deck more room to maneuver though it still has a very bad time against Reanimate Shadow and other board decks as it can't effectively slow them down. a decent deck but with high skill requirements for proper success.
Evolve Forest
A control deck built around evolve synergies. It remains mildly popular and while it performs well against certain decks it does have a terrible time against Dirt rune and other burn/combo decks as it can't do enough to really slow them down. So definitely not a deck for the average player at the moment.
In the halls of the Eternal Castle Swordcraft Albert suddenly is suffering from a small case of panic as he suddenly realizes that he and most of the Levin troops will be rotating out but Latham is quick to appear and calm him down and assure him it won't be that bad.. Just that Sword is almost unplayable in Unlimited, but it's no big deal. A guy as popular as Albert should easily get a remake.. Latham on the other hand.. who knows ?
For Swordcraft Evolve Sword remains steadfast at the vanguard followed by Rally Sword, also there's a bit of Hybrid Sword going on currently pushing things up to 3 decks. Overall though Sword struggles due to a lack of a finisher in a meta filled with AoE and a lack of ways to protect its boards or build really big ones fast and consistently like reanimate shadow.
Evolve Sword
A midrange deck built around Evolve synergies. The deck continues to be the most popular Sword deck as it can handle a variety of threats and has some counter plays but even then it does struggle from a way to close out matches at times which does leave it hanging a bit. Overall a good deck but one that will require some skill to pilot succesfully in the current meta.
Rally Sword
A tempo deck built around triggering rally synergies and either running down your opponent fast or building a big board your opponent can deal with. Notably less popular as the AOE heavy meta is quite discouraging for it, though it can still win in it, just not as easily and the lack of a consistent finisher means you're gameplan in a lot of cases is to hope to build a big enough board your opponent can't deal with, which Rally Sword can struggle to pull off consistently. Still a decent deck if you know how to pilot it, but it is on the more skill intensive side of things at the moment to get the best out of it. Additionally there is some experimentation with a Levin Variation for Lounes, Levin Justice and Jeno for a bit extra push at the low end and a way to help Amelia draw other cards more consistently.
Hybrid Sword
A mix of Evolve and Rally for a slightly faster Midrange deck that can get more aggressive and under decks but like the other two will struggle to close out in certain situations. Additionally as a hybrid deck it will be tougher to pilot as you have to manage the two halves of it. Not sure how relevant Honoured frontguard general is, but it looked neat. Ultimately just one build of Hybrid Sword so keep that in mind before delving into it, not a recommended deck for new players.
In the mystical academies of Runecraft it is Erasmus great Triumph ! .. or so he'd like to believe but he is starting to feel like it's actually Karyl who's pulling the strings and he is doubting how much in charge he actually is.. The girl is frightening he quickly concludes and he wonders how much longer he may actually be in charge if he ever was.
For Runecraft Earth rite Rune remains the leading deck by far followed by Arcane Item shop, additionally there are signs of the return of Karyl rune. Overall Runecraft is in a strong position due to multiple strong cards like Vergewalker and Madcap Conjuration that can easily keep a board clear while allowing it to advance to its win conditions at the moment.
Earth Rite Rune
A midrange deck built around Earth rites. Overall the deck continues to change and by now is actually featuring fewer earth rites as Madcap Conjuration has become a full part of the deck allowing it to clear all boards, cycle through cards and even put threats into play, all for 2pp. A strong deck with few direct weaknesses currently.
Arcane Item Shop Rune
A combo deck built around the Arcane Item Shop. It's steadily been getting less popular as Earth Rite rune and other decks appear in larger numbers like Reanimate Shadow which it struggles with heavily so while it can win out here and there the small 15 minutes of fame of the deck are over. That said it can still win here and there. Overall the cheapest deck in the meta which is one reason it was so popular in the first place and probably what sustains it for now. Decent but hardly all powerful.
In the great caverns of Dragoncraft it's the big cleanup day as all the trash is discarded with all sorts of means and everyone is effectively trying to discard Valdain as well. But he is proving to be a tough nut to crack in that department and continues to stick around having learned a lot of the place by now. Rowen swears he'll get rid of him one way or the other and Forte joins him in that vow!.
For Dragoncraft Discard Dragon is by far the most popular followed by Natura and the occasional Big Dragon deck. Dragon remains in a steady position largely by virtue of Discard Dragon which can handle a lot of decks in the meta though the rest of Dragoncraft at the moment is a bit vestigial.
Discard Dragon
A midrange deck built around discarding cards. The deck remains a solid deck that can threaten a variety of decks though it may struggle with Elana Haven which can easily get under it and ignore most of what it does so that could pose a problem for Discard Dragon down the road. A trickier deck to pilot due to having to manage hand size and discard the right cards at the right time it is not recommended for everyone.
Natura Dragon
A midrange deck built around Valdain and Natura synergies. The deck seems to be making a tiny comeback as of late though i am less certain why, perhaps a rise in less interactive decks has given it an opportunity to prey but it is still going to struggle against Reanimate Shadow. A sort of decent deck it is not one i'd particularly recommend to the average player.
Big Dragon
A combo deck built around Titanic Showdown. It's a weaker one on the fringes that sees play mostly for fun. Not one i'd particularly recommend but it does see play and it does have its fans.
In the great Catacomb of Shadowcraft where Death Reigns with a rusted fist. We find Aisha dealing with the shocking revelation that everyone had actually forgotten her. Finding herself unable to deal with this fact she decides to pretend like it never happened and just act like everything is fine rather than accept the facts. Luna and the rest decides that is an excellent plan of action and goes along with it as they quickly catch on.
For Shadowcraft Reanimate Shadow remains at the top of the Necropolis followed by Hades Shadow, at the very farthest fringes there is some Natura shadow but i don't even have any lists to use for that so won't make a writeup for it. Overerall Shadow is largely succesful thanks to the power of reanimate and its ability to throw up big boards other decks will struggle with. If that were to get nerfed Shadow would be in a worse spot than Sword most likely.
Reanimate Shadow
A midrange deck built around burying and reanimating big threats and overall build a big board most decks can't easily clear out. A potent deck base off that though it still has its issues and can struggle to gain back board if it first loses it. But a potent and relatively straight forward deck to pilot in the current meta.
Hades Shadow
A combo deck built around Hades. The deck continues to see some play but by now has for the most part been eclipsed by Reanimate Shadow as its win condition will be too slow in a lot of cases though may find some success against Elana Haven. A decent deck but not particular popular and rather dependent on player skill for success.
In the great and decadent manor of Bloodcraft where sin runs like rivers. We find Vania wondering when she's going to get her remake. Garuda is back and theren's an awful lot of new things out there that sound suspiciously much like her. So where's her remake ? ANd preferrably something a bit more playable this time she asks out loud.. to no one in particular since Medusa is off doing a cross over event in some other game.
For Bloodcraft Control Blood remains the most played by far followed by Midrange blood and Wrath Blood. Overall reliant on Control as it has no great threats in the current meta to consistently play aggressively with and most attempts at Aggro so far seem to have little success, but who knows, success may be found eventually.
Control Blood
A control deck built around Burn and AoE. It continues to be the most popular blood deck as it can handle a variety of threats and even deal with some finishers thanks to Azazel, that said it is coming under pressure and is seeing a slight drop in play as a result. Overall a more challenging and skill intensive deck but in the right hands quite good.
Midrange Blood
A midrange burn deck. It continues to see some play but as of late not that much and the increase in Elana Haven poses a significant issue for it as it effectively counters Midrange bloods strategy leaving it out to dry. So while decent it is a bit tougher to recommend at the moment.
Wrath Blood
A midrange deck built around Wrath and self harm. The deck is not seeing that much play as it lacks the strong tools of Control blood and can't quite push faster in its current incarnation either. So a decent deck but from my experience mostly sees fringe play at the moment.
In the great Cathedral of Havencraft Elana's Prayers ring out, even as Elana Herself has yet to appear. With the good seraph serving as a stand in for now.. even as she mumbles about getting a remake soon. Garuda meanwhile is despondent that his remake took off as well as the previous one and that his reign of angry birds has yet to materialize.. once more.
For Havencraft Elana Haven is by far the most popular followed by a smattering of Amulet Haven and at the very fringes, the occasional Ward haven deck. Overall haven is in a decent position thanks to recent successes of Elana Haven, if that were to fail, the rest of the class would be worse off too.
Elana Haven
A midrange deck built around Healing. Having seen some restructuring the deck is back in some force with a more aggressive plan built around storm followers and buffing them up, additionally Blind Justice is starting to be run. with some running a single copy and others a full 3. It is starting to see a lot of competetive play with these changes as it can handle a lot of threats thanks to its healing and ability to pump up big threats fast and even dodge some amulet removal thanks sweetwing seraph. A solid deck that will require some skill in piloting properly.
Amulet Haven
A midrange deck built around Amulets. It sees some fringe play here and there as it can make for some spectacular high rolls, but owing due to a lack of consistenty it does see minimal play as it ends up as a sort of highrolly reanimate shadow that when it does not highroll.. performs very poorly. A weaker deck that is mostly played for fun.
In the Vertex Colony, amidst alien technology. We find Nexus all on her own as the rest are off to buy a new wafflemaker as the last one grew sentient and proceeded to go off on a quest to seek the holy sword Excalibur and Nexus.. well doesn't do too well in social situations. So she is left behind with a box of crayons and some paper to draw on and the rest hope the Vertex colony hasn't crashed and burned in the meanwhile.
For Portalcraft Artifact Portal leads the pack followed by Control Portal. Overall Portal remains in a weaker spot as it has no strong finishers and lacks any ways to build consistent big boards or any counter play to all the big finishers at the moment. So while it can win, it has a tougher time of it.
Artifact Portal
A midrange deck built around Artifacts. More and more decks are starting to run Zelgenea and Ragna Awakens as the deck seems to be heading in a more controlling direction which does help in some situations but does leave it vulnerable to decks with faster finishers. So it is a bit of a tradeoff there. A decent deck that does require a good amount of skill to perform succesfully with in the current meta.
Control Portal
A control deck built around Floating play points. The deck continues to see some play but owing to a lack of more aggressive decks and and increase in combo decks or decks with strong finishers it is having a tougher time of the meta until it can get some combo counter or something else happens. A decent deck but one that requires a good deal of skill. Not something i'd recommend personally.
We'll have to see what happens over the coming weeks as with the upcoming Collaboration there could be balance changes.. and maybe the beginning of the next story arc.
So until next week. Have fun playing Shadowverse!