Post by jeremyat on Jul 25, 2012 8:46:00 GMT -5
So after my lengthy discussion with Ironclad about my original counterdraw deck (http://acreedrecollection.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=comp&action=display&thread=712; I've made many modifications since then), I decided to rebuild it with memories from the Revelations expansion. I have to say that I think it's pretty powerful.
Income:
Den Defense x 5
Forced Inheritance x 5
Counters:
Mentor's Wake x 5
Suleiman x 4
Guard Duty x 3
Preemptive Strike x 3
Draw:
Militia Intimidation x 4
In-Depth Analysis x 5
Kill Cards:
Piri Reis x 5
Cesare Borgia x 3
Leonardo Da Vinci x 5
Forum of the Ox x 3
The deck is a little more complicated than it used to be, but the essential strategy's the same: outdraw the opponent and counter everything that they throw at you. There are really two key cards in the deck that make this deck run extremely well: Piri and Mentor's Wake. Piri is essential to get down immediately for several reasons. First, he completely shuts down opposing counter decks. Second, any surprise removal is also shut down, so you can counter any attempts to remove him from the game. Third, you can play all of your cards without fear that they will not resolve. I like to combo him with Militia Intimidation so that he gets down instantaneously and your opponent, if he's running counters, cannot counter him.
Mentor's Wake is also essential to the deck because almost everyone waits until you run out of gold to play a card because they're waiting for Suleiman/Court Order/Guard Duty/etc. Mentor's Wake shuts down everything because you will almost always have at least four income so that you can get to two gold by the time any card your opponent plays resolves. Furthermore, you can counter anything played in the first turn by Political Patronage, which is critical to stop a PP/Piri or a PP/Machiavelli/Odai setup. The fact that your opponent gets a card out of it doesn't really hurt you in the long run because you will outdraw most any player.
Once you're set up with Piri, get your draw up and running. It's always fun to use a Militia Intimidation in conjunction with Leonardo; you get three cards, one income, and a 5/5 with cunning. Also, do not underestimate how important Leonardo is. He's still one of the top agents in the game not just because he nets you two cards but because he gives you cunning as well. In a meta that can see a heavy-thief deck or a fierce-heavy deck running at you, cunning is extremely important.
While there aren't many dedicated anti-site cards in the deck, I haven't really run into much of a problem with dedicated site decks. Most site decks come in one of two variants: counter (with the cistern and Byzantine Ruins) or slow-build (with Ottoman Gunman). Neither poses much of a threat because the counters are neutralized with Piri and you can counter all of your opponent's sites. If necessary, you can play a Forum of the Ox as a back-up to knock out your opponent's influence and drop their score in the region (since it has defender) while you wait for your big agents to win you the region.
If you can't get a Piri down early, just bide your time. Most dedicated counter decks in this meta don't play anything anyway, so it's always fun to wait until you've got enough income to drop a Forum of the Ox and then multiple other threats to force them to counter. You've also got Cesare as a back-up surprise threat as well.
Let me know what you think about the reformed deck!
Gamecenter ID: JATATT
Income:
Den Defense x 5
Forced Inheritance x 5
Counters:
Mentor's Wake x 5
Suleiman x 4
Guard Duty x 3
Preemptive Strike x 3
Draw:
Militia Intimidation x 4
In-Depth Analysis x 5
Kill Cards:
Piri Reis x 5
Cesare Borgia x 3
Leonardo Da Vinci x 5
Forum of the Ox x 3
The deck is a little more complicated than it used to be, but the essential strategy's the same: outdraw the opponent and counter everything that they throw at you. There are really two key cards in the deck that make this deck run extremely well: Piri and Mentor's Wake. Piri is essential to get down immediately for several reasons. First, he completely shuts down opposing counter decks. Second, any surprise removal is also shut down, so you can counter any attempts to remove him from the game. Third, you can play all of your cards without fear that they will not resolve. I like to combo him with Militia Intimidation so that he gets down instantaneously and your opponent, if he's running counters, cannot counter him.
Mentor's Wake is also essential to the deck because almost everyone waits until you run out of gold to play a card because they're waiting for Suleiman/Court Order/Guard Duty/etc. Mentor's Wake shuts down everything because you will almost always have at least four income so that you can get to two gold by the time any card your opponent plays resolves. Furthermore, you can counter anything played in the first turn by Political Patronage, which is critical to stop a PP/Piri or a PP/Machiavelli/Odai setup. The fact that your opponent gets a card out of it doesn't really hurt you in the long run because you will outdraw most any player.
Once you're set up with Piri, get your draw up and running. It's always fun to use a Militia Intimidation in conjunction with Leonardo; you get three cards, one income, and a 5/5 with cunning. Also, do not underestimate how important Leonardo is. He's still one of the top agents in the game not just because he nets you two cards but because he gives you cunning as well. In a meta that can see a heavy-thief deck or a fierce-heavy deck running at you, cunning is extremely important.
While there aren't many dedicated anti-site cards in the deck, I haven't really run into much of a problem with dedicated site decks. Most site decks come in one of two variants: counter (with the cistern and Byzantine Ruins) or slow-build (with Ottoman Gunman). Neither poses much of a threat because the counters are neutralized with Piri and you can counter all of your opponent's sites. If necessary, you can play a Forum of the Ox as a back-up to knock out your opponent's influence and drop their score in the region (since it has defender) while you wait for your big agents to win you the region.
If you can't get a Piri down early, just bide your time. Most dedicated counter decks in this meta don't play anything anyway, so it's always fun to wait until you've got enough income to drop a Forum of the Ox and then multiple other threats to force them to counter. You've also got Cesare as a back-up surprise threat as well.
Let me know what you think about the reformed deck!
Gamecenter ID: JATATT
