Amber Rain - Double Edge

[Narziss]

This is what my Amber Rain deck looks like:

1 Amber Rain

4 Sandra Trueblade
4 Blake Windrunner
4 Aldon the Brave
4 Aeon Stormcaller

1 War Banner
1 Enrage
3 Crippling Blow
4 Blood Frenzy
4 Berserker's Edge


Main problem, however, is that when you go second, you really don't have a means of keeping your hero alive from the growing wave of human allies. Other heros at least have an inherent ability that pings away enemies.

How do you stop a t2 Blake, t3 Aldon, when you are on the draw (playing second)?

This deck is really offensive, but I don't see it having any defensive capacities, and that just simply doesn't make it viable.

Sure, you'll absolutely obliterate someone when you play first, but what will you do when you are playing against an aggressive human deck and you are forced to play second?


Zaladar and even Boris is at least a more balanced deck.

[TotallyImba]

Thats why you could do with Valiant Defender and Shield Bash.

[Narziss]

Thats why you could do with Valiant Defender and Shield Bash.

I see Shield Bash was updated. But it is about par with Crippling Blow in usefulness. I don't know what you would replace it with.

Valiant Defender, however, doesn't protect your hero. So like I said, how are you supposed to stay alive when you go second and the opponent plays the standard lineup (Blake/Aldon/Sandra)?

At least Boris can ping away allies so you can recover.

[yaemon]

It is possible to re-gain board control with Amber when going second, but it is more difficult than doing that when playing Boris, and I found my Amber deck to be less consistent because of this. Also I had many problems with my weapons being easily destroyed or even stolen (Zaladar) so I went back to my other decks. Based on the current game status I don't feel comfortable to rely too much on weapons.

[Melodia]

I tried this deck.. Fun.. If i go second, n opp drop blake, that is why i have crippling blow n shield bash to neutralize opp allies

[lightside]

Do you think it would be worth removing the 3 x War Banner and putting in 3 x Shield Bash to give 3 direct damage?

I found that sometimes to bring down high HP allies like Aeon and Chimeras I have to sometimes loose an ally to do damage so maybe Shield Bash could fix this issue for me.

You're losing a card either way (whether you hit Aeon with a Sheild Bash or with a Blake). I'd rather use the card that has other uses outside of ally elimination (i.e. an ally, because it can also attack a hero).

That having been said, I think you have to evaluate for yourself whether you want Aldon #5-7 (three Warbanners) or Blake #5-7 (three Shield Bash, for one-time 3-damage).

[jam.logic]

I've been trying to focus 1.24's release around this specific hero, and after many different versions I've come up with what I feel is the best Amber deck

Amber Rain

Allies

Sandra Trueblade x4
Blake Windrunner x3
Aldon the Brave x3
Aeon Stormcaller x2

Spells & Items

Smashing Blow x2
Enrage x1
Crippling Blow x3
Blood Frenzy x4

Weapons

Berserker's Edge x4
Jeweler's Dream x4

Total: 30 Cards

Pre 1.24, I was sitting at around a 420 rating. Testing earlier versions of this deck dropped me down to around 380, but I've been consistently winning with this particular build, getting back to just above 400. The key changes I made were adding the 4 Jeweler's and 4 Sandras (I tried a version without her; painfully bad mistake). I found that this format, with nearly third of the cards being weapons, you are able to better utilize Amber's ability, as well as adding some cleanup for low level Blakes, Sparks, and whatever durability the sword is able to withstand while serving on the defense line. The Jeweler's add an incredibly helpful resource boost at turn 4 or 5, and there are a handful of good 2 or 3 costs that come out of it, as well as helping recover from HBM and Sandra. Furthermore, it's a lot easier to sacrifice a heavy-costed weapon early on knowing you're very likely to pick up another thanks to Blood Frenzy.

This deck has many strategies, but I'd say this is the main goal: keep the board as clean as possible with early Blakes, Aldons, and Crippling blows. Turn 4 can either be Sandra or Jeweler's Dream - Attack - 2 cost card (preferably Blood Frenzy at this point, which establishes some of the best card advantage in the game). The Jeweler's+Blood Frenzy combo can be powerful at times (dropping 2 sandras on turn 6 is pretty demoralizing), but the main purpose of the Jeweler's is to gain control of the board enough to drop a Berserker's Edge.

Berserker's Edge has the potential to do 20 damage to a hero within a 4 turn span, and can't be stopped by Rain Delay. Swing it responsibly, as it's last few turns are it's sharpest. The rest of the cards are basically just for defense/setup/fluff. Do what you want with it, but make sure it's as close to the 30 card minimum as possible.

[lightside]

I've been trying to focus 1.24's release around this specific hero, and after many different versions I've come up with what I feel is the best Amber deck

Amber Rain

Allies

Sandra Trueblade x4
Blake Windrunner x3
Aldon the Brave x3
Aeon Stormcaller x2

Spells & Items

Smashing Blow x2
Enrage x1
Crippling Blow x3
Blood Frenzy x4

Weapons

Berserker's Edge x4
Jeweler's Dream x4

Total: 30 Cards
...

Do you find the 2x Aeons are really vital to your deck? Are they there to divert damage away from Amber while she swings away with the Berserker's Edge? Also, surprising to see there are only 3 Blake, 3 Aldon, and 2 Smashing Blows.

[jam.logic]

Do you find the 2x Aeons are really vital to your deck? Are they there to divert damage away from Amber while she swings away with the Berserker's Edge? Also, surprising to see there are only 3 Blake, 3 Aldon, and 2 Smashing Blows.

Aeon is vital in the same way the Enrage is; if you play them just at the right time, and don't just rush them out turn 6, they can be game changing. I keep them in mostly for late game dynamic, whether to protect myself while Amber cleans house, provide some offensive threat, or both. They can backfire, though; I usually just sac them against elemental decks, as they are too big of a threat of being stolen from my hand or on the board.

Getting to that tight 30 card fit meant losing some allies. I wanted to maximize Amber's ability, so I chose to max out the weapons as opposed to the allies. It works well, too, as the Blood Frenzy as early as turn two really helps dig for those 3-offs. As for the Smashing Blows, I would consider adding another one, but they can often be a dead draw. Two seems to be fine for now.