Hi all,
Here’s my Zaladar deck that got my ETC Preybird account over 300. It’s a reiteration of an old classic, with a few changes and some new tricks.
Zaladar
2 x Brutalis
3 x Ironhide Karash
4 x Infernal Gargoyle
2 x Morbid Acolyte
3 x Death Mage Thaddeus
3 x Darkwood Wraith
4 x Mind Control
4 x Shadow Font
2 x Shriek of Vengeance
2 x Ley Line Nexus
4 x Bad Santa
2 x Antimatter
3 x Shadowvein
2 x Morphic Armor
40 cards + hero
Interesting ally split….
It is, and it works. For 2cc, everyone knows the value of Karash, but sometimes his low health just doesn’t cut it (Mages, Banebow, Amber), so Brutalis is in there to provide a cheap effective tank should I need it. Besides, he’s still got his use in conjunction with Zaladar’s ability, though he sometimes needs some help in DMT to take down those 5 health allies (but that’s nothing really new).
In regards to the 3cc, Gargoyle is still a 4 x auto-include in my books, even though Morbid’s ability is just so damn good. This means that Morbid is at 2, and you just can’t throw them at the enemy. You need to time them to make sure they’ll survive to do their job, cutting through stealth and protector, preventing TO draw, etc. Morbid will win you the game against Moonstalker in particular, so be sure to keep him in your hand. There’s only 3 DMT because that 1 damage isn’t as effective as it used to be, and I’d rather the space for another 2 attack ally.
For the sole 5cc in the deck I’ve put Wraith. The reason being is that he controls one of Zal’s great nemeses, Gargoyle. He’s also great at preventing people from dropping hordes, and forces your opponent to come at you in a more piecemeal manner. The other thing is that he allows you to bounce your own crippled and disabled allies. Wraith is worth his salt and then some in this deck, and while he’s not the most aggressive ally out there, he can hold the board down and let your other damage sources do their job. You could use Furrion Terror here, but I find the Wraith just has so much utility I can’t go past it. (It also ruins Elementalis singlehandedly.)
Antimatter?
Yeah my earlier versions didn’t use it, but I can’t look past a permanent engine at the moment, particularly as I don’t have as much incidental draw in CM3 (no Ripper). However it’s still a massive tempo loss and that discard hurts, so it’s a secondary draw. I may only trigger it a couple of times a game, mostly relying on Bad Santa for my draw instead. Sacrifical Lamb also isn’t as useful here because I can reactivate my crippled allies with either Wraith or Morphic Armor.
Morphic Armor?
This card is incredible. It wins you games with Zaladar, simply because it messes with his bad matchups (bar Banebow) so much. Steal Blood Frenzy, Enrage, Rampage, Lone Wolf, Speedstrike, Rapid Fire, bounce crippling attachments, and generally wreak havoc. Its high SE cost is completely offset by the tempo gain. Sometimes I’ll intentionally leave crippled allies lying around as a ‘bank’ of sorts It does hurt your ability use a bit, but that’s where the next card comes in….
Shadowvein
The Ripper replacement. This thing is great in some matchups, less awesome in others (DO NOT USE AGAINST ZHANNA OR GWEN). Allows you to gain SE at a phenomenal rate and will win you games, despite accelerating your opponent in a similar manner. The best counter to your opponent’s gain is to simply not give their ability any targets (no allies in many cases). With Shadowvein and a couple of Mind Controls you can usually go solo and get the win anyway.
Conclusion
Well, that’s my Zaladar. It’s a nice straight forward evolution of Crystal Miner and it hits hard and fast, and gains you plenty of SE. Which is good, because you burn through it! So it lives up to its name a lot more than previous versions.
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