Lance Vs Moonstalker

[jacelkos]

Hi all,

I've been playing a fairly straightforward Lance deck for a couple of weeks now, that's fairly similar to the one Raphael posted in its 19.99$ DP guide:
http://www.shadowera.com/showthread....ophecies-quot-!

I'm now sitting around a 220 rating and see a fair amount of Moonstalker decks, both mill and ally-based.
Although the matchup is not great I can manage the ally-based deck, but I don't think I've ever won against a MillStalker.

Is there something I'm doing horribly wrong or is MillStalker an auto-loss for a Lance deck?
Once it starts hiding and chaining Rain Delay, Full Moon and Shadow Font it's usually GG.
And there's so many annoying weapons/items to get rid of that I never really know what to use my Stop Thief! on (What Big Teeth, Bazaar, Evil Ascendant, ...).

Do you guys have any advice for this matchup or is it just a lost cause?

Thanks!

[Elunatic]

Well, there's a few options. Not too great ones, but still options. Millstalker is an impossible battle for some, and when it's not impossible, it's still damn tough.

-Best way to deal with Moonstalker's ability as a Rogue is probably Nowhere to Hide. Keeps him from being able to put Stealth on himself, but it'd still work on his allies, so...
-That's where Layarian Diplomat comes in. Relatively weak compared to other 2cc human allies, but his ability can unstealth an ally you need dead asap. Otherwise, Assassination's your best bet.
-Smoke Screen can help blunt a Millstalker's plan right after his uses his ability and is planning to attack.
-In terms of what artifacts/support stuff you should focus on first, I'd go with Evil Ascendant. Being very ally-based, Lance needs them to stay alive, and he has enough problems with Now You're Mine and Captured Prey. I'd use Stop Thiefs on those first; 'course, you could always add in a few Good Ascendants of your own. Cheaper, destroys the Evil one, and heals your allies. Just watch out for more Evils.
-For Rain Delay and Full Moon, there're three options: Storm Coat (only works on Rain Delay, and therefore highly situational), Shrine of Negatia (extremely cheap and affects both, but only bounces them back to the hand, it's just a temporary solution), and Change of Fortune (outright destroys the support card, but a bit on the expensive side).

Hope this helps.

[Irell]

Hmm against the rain delay the storm coat might be annoying for the millstaller, cause your allies could attack in rain

[ahmet476]

Aeon and one ally behind it at a time might be useful against Millstalker. Keep buffing that ally and hit him when you get the chance. This will also save you cards against his Evil Ascendant both by making your allies survive longer and keeping your cards in your hand. You might also resist mill by hand-lock occasionally if that becomes an issue. Before Dark Prophecies was released I'd say go for his Bazaar with Stop, Thief but now he usually has Blood Moon in his deck too. Killing Evil Ascendant when his draw is plenty might not help for long.

If Millstalker is not using Crescendo or you went the route to flood the board or when you have a couple times buffed ally with Aeon, destroying a stall card like Rain Delay / Full Moon might be worth it. Be careful that he didn't use stealth too though.

Against ally-MS, Retreat and Assassination, Jasmine, Layarian Seductress work well. If you can control his allies, he won't pose a problem.

[Kylt]

Try Lyra Blackrose

[Unruler]

Try not hitting END TURN button and see who quits first.

It's the game of patience.

[jacelkos]

Thanks a lot for all the answers! I'll definitely try some of them.

Nowhere To Hide and Storm Coat seem perfect against Moonstalker, but are they effective against any other heroes? Cange Of Fortune does seem more generic.
However I feel like improving my matchup against Millstalker will seriously decrease my chances against other archetypes ... I guess that's the problem of teching :-)

I also realized that some Millstalker builds only run at most a playset of What Big Teeth as their only alternate set of damage in addition to the mill.
I guess I could save my Stop Thief! for them, hand-lock myself when I'm close to being decked out and just force the draw/win.
The problem is that it won't work if he saved an extra weapon in his hand, or if he has good healing set up (e.g. Lone Wolf ...).

Plus it'll take me 2 hours to say the least, and I always run into a Millstalker in that "last QM before going to bed/work" :-)

[Ubereem]

vs millstalker, i would focus on getting rid of bazaar personally, as you may be able to outlast the storm if he doesn't have the draw power to slow you down enough. the ally version is pretty easy to hold down with assassinate, retreat, jasmine and seductress.

[Wes Davis]

It's a tough matchup for any ally based deck. Maybe bouncing PotL with Voltesian Orders would work?

[danae]

Sandworms behind Aeon getting buffed steadily. Also have a Retreat handy to bring back Aeon from dying and when he's been Captured Preyed. These cards won't necessarily be dead draws against other decks.

You can also try Mystic of the Vale to prevent him from healing with Lone Wolf and removing CP from any of your allies. I used to keep one Shrine of Negatia in my deck before just for Millstalker decks. One was enough as you're usually certain that you'll end up going through your entire deck anyway and timing the use of it for that one burst of damage was enough to win.

Not an easy win game to win though.