[Zhanna 1.5 Deck Rank 310] The Oathbreakers of Dunharrow

[bobwei]

Nice！one quick question, how do you deal with early rush?

Plz have a look at my game: wrweiranwr vs Alex vandaria

Do you have a way to counter an Eladwen like that?

[glencocoe]

I got the business first-hand....and it was very surprising. To say this deck is easy to underestimate is an understatement. It's more easy to underestimate than a 100+ card deck...lol but its GREAT!!!! wow.

[Caitlyn0]

where are the ice storms? did you take them out... and no shout out for me :O

haha

[wreon]

Loving the story and everything. Strategy is like zhannax, like some mentioned, but I give you credit for the names.

I would suggest a few curses? They effectively neuter all kris+brutalis, and turn gargoyles and sandworms to ignorable allies.

[yomaster]

Interesting deck. Very nice write up. I'll try it out but I have several questions:
- I can understand the absence of retreat but is 2 KP enough? With LLN crushing blow and stop thief being trendy, it seems risky.

Yes 2 KP is plenty. Most matches you'll never even use it. When you do use it, you'll only need it for one turn anyway, the turn you drop it. Ideally this will be when you already have a couple strong buffed allies out already. Generally this is the card I drop on the very last turn because it's the surprise card that ends the game. Doesn't matter if it gets destroyed, you'll be so far ahead you won't need it. I've even considered dropping this down to only 1.

- Kris isn't so much for EP but more to use late game with KP. It's basically a 1cc smite once KP is out. Also deals with DoU.

This is true, but nothing sucks more than someone killing your kris and blocking up your graveyard Earthen Protector or Tainted Oracle. It used to be in 1.29 that you could bring kris back to life with E.P. or Ghostmaker and attack AGAIN in that turn, but they removed that, so the value of Kris is much less. I agree he is awesome at taking out DoU, but honestly DoU is not a problem for Zhanna with her focused prayer and large number of weapons and allies.... Feel free to experiment though, I just found Kris not all that worthwhile any more.

- Brigitte + Ep don't synergise (IMHO) well even if you have GM as by this time you'll have a Aeon ready to go. x4 seems a bit high to me.

I do agree this synergy is a bit lacking, but it's not as bad as you think. Once you get more than 1 Birgette out there, it's actually very frustrating to deal with. Even if they kill her and you use up your EP, it's still not a bad deal having a 2/4 protector out there. Eventually you need to regain board control and Birgette helps you do that effectively, and she's cheap. Maybe I could swap her out for something else, I'll have to experiment. Using Aeon alone for this isn't very easy because of his high cost.

- Same critique as to Zhannax, I find that 2 EP and 2 Aeon don't pop out together often enough. Any view on that?

I never find myself in a spot where I *need* an EP or Aeon. They are really just nice to have cards. You can certainly win without them. Generally you won't be able to use an EP until turn 7 anyway (turn 4: tainted oracle, turn 5 tidal, turn 6 ghost maker -> revive tainted oracle, turn 7 drop EP). So by then, you'll usually have one, and especially with the insane card draw this deck generates, by turn 7 you'll have almost a full hand every time. And guess what? If one doesn't drop, you'll have 1 or 2 more tainted oracles to drop instead, and the fun continues. I could play this deck just fine without Aeon at all, and in fact I'm considering just dropping him for additional lower-cost allies.

Anyway as i already said very nice work, i'll try it out and post feedback.

Thanks! Try it out, I think you'll find it's a little easier to manage than zhannax. My win to loss ratio is very good ~75% with this deck! Glad to hear your feedback.

[yomaster]

where are the ice storms? did you take them out... and no shout out for me :O

haha

Ice storms are really only good for weenies, and I found it's easier just to bait the weenies with a nice jasmine meat shield and then slam them with a tidal or smite. Admittedly, sometimes my HP gets dangerously low by the end of the game, but I just keep running into too many allies that won't straight up die with ice storm, making it rather weak... If fire snake makes a comeback in the meta, I'll definitely find room for it

*Updated for credit to Cait*

[yomaster]

Loving the story and everything. Strategy is like zhannax, like some mentioned, but I give you credit for the names.

I would suggest a few curses? They effectively neuter all kris+brutalis, and turn gargoyles and sandworms to ignorable allies.

I am playing around with removing either Birgettes or Aeon's for a couple curses. I agree it's a seriously awesome card...

but so far I'm not losing very much with this deck, and whenever I do it's because I did something really stupid on my end. Maybe that's just luck, but I don't usually find myself in terrible need of a book of curses!

It is indeed very similar to Zhannax. The core mechanic is the same. I just like the balance of cards here a bit better. 4 kings pride is way too much for a cost 7 card. Just becomes sac-fodder. And you have jasmine and birgette for that, but they can also be squeaked in here and there for strategy sake.

[Preybird]

It's very similar, but I find retreat in that deck to be a big burden. It's not as good anymore since the Kris + EP bug was fixed.... Smite does a much better job I find, but that's just my style. Try both decks and I think you'll see this one is superior. I've played zhannax a lot and I like it, just not as much.

That's quite a claim. That is DnDFreak's deck you're talking about there.

But still, you're deck looks pretty good, and the synergy is definitely there.

[yomaster]

I got the business first-hand....and it was very surprising. To say this deck is easy to underestimate is an understatement. It's more easy to underestimate than a 100+ card deck...lol but its GREAT!!!! wow.

Actually, one of the strengths of this deck is its weak appearance. It's way too easy for people to drop down Oggloths or Shadow Knights when all they see are a tainted oracle and a hero with a ghost maker. But boy oh boy does the tune change when they are out of cards, have no allies on board, and I have a full deck and 11 resources to spend...

[yomaster]

That's quite a claim. That is DnDFreak's deck you're talking about there.

But still, you're deck looks pretty good, and the synergy is definitely there.

There is room for both decks in the priest world. DnDFreak's deck is awesome and this deck wouldn't exist if it wasn't for him! I've played zhannax a ton and maybe I'm not just "getting it," but retreat just ends up not working for me the way smite does. I really like retreat for decks that focus on lily, but this doesn't do that.

Retreat + KP + Kris is super awesome, but it's so rare that I actually NEED that combo to win. Most wins in this deck I rarely even get to drop an aeon. Just have a shitload of weenies that are buffed from EP's, and an opponent with no cards left.