Steemmonsters is a thing now. New players spend their time trying to eke out wins in the bottom 1,000 points. I decided I'll help.
I'll go over the new rule, which lasts for 48 hours (but usually 36 from when I post this, due to time zones), go over its ramifications, and then suggest a handful of decks to win, using the new ruleset.
The catch? Each of those decks will be buildable for under $2, the cost of a single pack. So sell a day's pack, and make one (or more!) of these decks, and win.
The Rule:
"No neutrals" is what jumps out at us here. The first reaction, while not untrue, will have you thinking, "That means I better have a wide collection, to actually fill in the mana cap without neutrals!"
And that is true, but not the real issue.
The real issue, which I'll elaborate on in a future post, is that your "specific targeting" cards fall by the wayside. That is to say, ignoring legendary cards, no faction has more than a single card with Sneak or Snipe, so you're going to have to either spread your damage, or go through one monster at a time.
The Decks:
1) Concentrated Magic
Points: 21.
Cost: $0.95
The first deck we'll go over is this water deck. Death's Zintar will not affect this deck much. Sneak in particular will meet a healer in the last position, and while the Spineback Turtle tanks the opposition's hits, you will be dealing 5 magic and 2 ranged shots to the target at the front each turn, which is enough to melt a tank, or a couple of non-tanks, every turn, quite rapidly.
This line-up will also make quick work of anyone foolish enough to rely on armour.
2) Concentrated Ranged
Points: 21.
Cost: $0.62/$1.70
The second list we'll go over also goes for the concentrated force approach, but rather than relying on Magic like the Water list, this one instead relies on Ranged.
Furthermore, this list preys on the first list, by having an anti-magic tank that packs a punch in the first row, and with its big health pool, combined with a tank-healer in the second slot, it should give the ranged army in the wings quite enough time to mince the opposition's tanks. An opposing tank with Shield will make things tougher, but not undoable.
Again, the rear slot is taken by a relatively beefy minion in the form of Air Elemental, further aided by the Light summoner's power, and 6 Speed, giving it a good chance to dodge any Sneak attacks.
Finally, you can take the basic deck and level up the healer and the summoner, in order to gain a bit of magic attack thrown in, but it is not necessary. It is more cost-effective to buy level 1 and combine them (you need a total of 3 copies for the summoner, and 5 for the Divine Healer).
3) Diffuse Fire
Points: 21.
Cost: $0.66/$1.96
I wanted to try one of the "non-concentrated" approaches, which does make use of abilities such as Sneak and Snipe, and for a couple of reasons, I feel Fire is the best option to do so on the cheap. First, their Snipe and Sneak abilities are both found on common units, allowing to level them up cheaply. And while it is also true for Water, Sneak gains an extra buff from the Fire summoner's ability, making it carry a big punch for little mana.
Now, you can make the list with all level 1 for 66 cents, or you can combine some cards (which is cheaper than buying the already-combined card) for close to 2 dollars, the cost of a pack. You'll need a total of 3 copies of the summoner, and 5 each of Fire Beetle and Kobold Miner. If you want to spruce this deck up further, then leveling up Goblin Shaman to level 3 (again, requiring 5 copies), is the way to do it.
Now, while Cerberus might be better than Pit Ogre in general, and against other "diffuse strategies," I suspect with the fact most lists under this rule will target the starting position with all their might, more health will be better. Stun might buy you an extra turn.
Goblin Shaman now removes 1 health from each enemy monster, after the rework of Weakening this season. Since you split your attention with Snipe, Sneak, ranged, and melee, removing 1 HP from various monsters is more efficient, as you are just trying to get them down to kill range.
Until next time, and if you have any feedback, feel free to share!
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© Guy Shalev 2018.