Thursday, January 30, 2014

Deckbuilding 109 - Kas Blast!


 I approach Kas with caution. I suggest you approach this deck the same way.

The first deck ideas around Kas were the "Magical Solforge Christmasland" deck. Simply draw Kas on turn one, then draw three Static Shock and 2 Primordial Slam, and do 108 damage. It turns out that while T2 wins are cool this isn't consistent, and filling decks with Lightning Brands and Slams has seemed to only led to disappointment. 

For some reason N/T is where people seem to think Kas should live. Removal is nice with Kas since he like empty lanes, and he fits in with Predator control decks. However, without the emphasis on spells that Kas likes, Kas is competing with a lot of great cards that put damage in more consistently. For the same reasons that Zyx, Storm Herald gets left out so does Kas, because deck spots are valuable.

If you are looking for a reasonable Kas deck I do like aggro U/T. Use Fervant Assault to get Kas, Flameblade Champion, Cinderfist Brawler in to hit the face. Use Ferocious Roar with Echowisp and Zyx to make hard to deal situations for opponent. Have plenty of removal spells so Kas gets opportunity to go to town. It's a reasonable deck; it appears it has similar issues in current meta as Mono-Uterra aggro, but if your opponent is low you have easy ways to get the last hit in.

But, none of these decks are unreasonable enough for my tastes. And that's why Kas Blast resides in T/A territory, and plays unreliably. So, here we go.

Core: Kas, Metasight, Static Shock, Energy Surge

 The goal of this deck is to get a Kas on the board, play a handful of spells, and win. With a 14 attack Kas you deal 98 damage if you play 6 spells, and that's insanity that only Arboris matches.

The way to do that as quickly as possible is through aggressive leveling, particularly with Metasight. By Player Level 2 the goal is to have hands full of free spells that make Kas happy. Static Shock is a freebie, making it powerful in any deck run by spells. Energy Surge is crucial, particularly because you can find more spells to play by drawing.

Synergy Spells: Cypien Augmentation, Aerial Surge, Primordial Slam

Cypien Augentation helps potentially make Kas bigger, and is free. Aerial Surge helps Kas find an empty lane, and is free. Primordial Slam is gimmicky, but helps shorten how many turns you have to hit with Kas, perhaps to 1.

Synergy Creatures: Synapsis Oracle, Ghox, Stasis Warden

Synapsis Oracle helps us level more cards. Ghox helps see more spells, so we are more likely to make a Energy Surge chain. Stasis Warden is the premier staller in the game, particularly with the amount of spells flying around.

Support: Sonic Pulse, Choice Removal


What this deck needs is to get out of the first few turns alive. Sonic Pulse is typically great at stalling, since 15 less damage each turn from your opponent really is a lot. The problem, of course, is that Sonic Pulse is awful against Weirwood, which is found in the majority of top decks. All leveling decks, be they trying to get to level 2 (Scorchmane) or level 3 (Chrogias), are inherently struggling in this meta, but alas.

There are quite a few other cards I would like to insert into this deck, but I also want more or less to have 3 of each card already mentioned. The only caution I have is against Master of Elements, which is too slow in this deck. Getting numbers right is up to testing, but since I personally lack full sets of some of the legendaries that's up to you.

Tips:
 
Getting a crucial card (Kas, Stasis Warden) in the middle lane is important to get full use of out of Cypien. You can use Stasis Warden on your own creatures to get extra activates from Synapsis or Ghox. Ghox is a powerful play to give consistency to this deck, but is more powerful right before leveling up, so you see extra cards in the always important beginning of a new Power Level. Always level Static Shock. Don't get greedy with Metasight, but do realize that without outleveling your opponent the deck is awful. If everything is going pear shaped (it will, a lot) then play a Kas. Who knows, maybe your next hand is 3 Energy Surge into 3 Static Shock, an unleveled Aerial Surge and Primordial Surge for 102 damage.

My IGN is pwndnoob, I apologize to anyone who runs into me online playing Stasis Warden decks, and always appreciate comments, questions, and criticism.