The Doom Deck (Deck Guide)
Are you getting tired of the starter deck and looking for something new, but you’re on a tight budget and can’t afford any of the expensive cards? This deck has you covered, as a powerful build for the standard gen4 ranked meta that can be built as low as $20.
Let’s discuss… the doom deck!
Decklist:
Game Plan:
Early Game (Turns 1-4): If we’re going first, we hope to establish tempo with a turn 1 Fuku or, depending on turn 2 options, maybe a turn 1 Bouldo.
If we’re going second, we hope to get two 2-drops so we can use White Lily on turn 1 to play a 2-drop right away. It’s important to focus on setting up an early Vilegrub (if you draw one), which means usually playing Timberfawn first and then following up with vilegrub on the same turn that the Timberfawn dies. This will set up Vilegrub behind the two icecoobs with provoke, guaranteeing additional soul reaper buffs.
This strategy gets even better if you can put a Sluggernaut in front of a Vilegrub after it starts buffing. An ideal scenario would be turn 1 Timberfawn, turn 2 Vilegrub, and turn 3 Sluggernaut – getting your Vilegrub a strong defense while it ramps up to huge stats.
Be mindful of Vilegrub’s health, always trying to keep something else on the board with less hp so it isn’t vulnerable to a quantum shift.
Also, don’t be afraid to use an early Vroom in a defensive manner, clearing one of your opponent’s creatures, if that is what it takes to establish the early board control. This deck does not want to lose tempo.
Mid Game (Turns 5-8): Now our options really open up.
We can play Pazuzu to continue building soul reaper value as we defend it with our provoke creatures.
We can use Fungorth and Sangur to clear out any wide board from the opponent, even better if we have a soul reaper creature on board to get buffed at the same time. Fungorth is ideal for this, since if your soul reaper is above 5hp, it won’t take any damage and gets purely buffed.
Most importantly, we are hoping to set up Nazur as our big win condition creature to ramp up to huge stats with its double Soul Reaper effect. Every time a creature dies, Nazur gets +2/+2, and it is remarkable how fast those buffs add up.
Your best way to end a game is to hit them in the face with a giant Nazur several turns in a row – but remember to keep provokes up to block Hex and avoid getting Quantum Shifted.
End Game (Turns 9+): Not much has changed since the mid game, as this deck only plays one card above 6 energy: Cyclonius. You know how Cylonius works, so use it to clear opposing boards (and hopefully buff your soul reapers) as well as to just hit them in the face and get lethal damage when you are close.
Vroom, Fuku, and Mewn are all helpful for reaching lethal when you are close in the end game as well. Whatever it takes, get the last bits of damage you need to finish the deal and end it before the game goes too long.
Evolution Lines:
Since this deck is a low curve aggro build focused on stat buffs, it only runs one evolutionary line: Strawbash -> Berricane.
On a budget? Try subbing out the Vrooms for Quakka. Quakka evolves from Stubby, giving you one more evolutionary line. More importantly, Bofa can target it to evolve it into Gigaquakk for Vortex 14, dealing 14 damage to the opponent’s face. This is a great aggro line to add to the deck, along with the defense value of Quakka’s hydroblast ability.
When this deck works, it’s incredibly fun to play. Your opponents will be filled with fear after you create multiple gigantic soul reaper creatures right in their face. Good luck!