[SF] Rothem, Ragemaker

[MistahBoweh]

Original article (with video): http://boweh.blogspot.com/2014/02/rothem-ragemaker.html

Basically, it's a Rothem deck that doesn't rely on Berserker's Edge/Desperate Tactics shenanigans, which means it's a lot more consistent.If you want the full rundown, follow the link for all the information on general strategy and card choices. This is basically a discussion thread.

I also consider the deck itself unfinished, as I'm not confident in the variety of opponents I've faced or that it would remotely match a tournament metagame. However, the deck itself serves as a great way to learn what that metagame is (without telepathy wolves).

The list v0.9.0:

1 Rothem
2 War Banner
2 Smashing Blow
1 Enrage
4 Crippling Blow
4 Blood Frenzy
2 Sacrificial Lamb
2 The King's Pride
4 Jeweler's Dream
2 Braxnorian Veteran
4 Wild Berserker
3 Frostmare
4 Rampant Krygon
2 Slingblade Demon
2 Yari Marksman
1 Spiked Bolas Strike

Discuss.

[Jo3yb0i]

its seems Rothem shines in late game specially when KP is in play. All the haste allies are like mini Smite and can kill the opposing hero.
My only question is how it will survive if there are more than enough allies on the board for you to control. Like a Weenie Zal.

Also, i loved the video. I liked the explanation of King's Pride vs War Banner sac. Most people wouldn't consider that item destruction that vess has. Overall, nice deck.

[Kylt]

Thanks for inspiring me. I have not played Rothem much but here's what I thought after seeing your list and video.


I think JD Rothem needs more 3cc removal cards to use at t3 and t5, not 4cc SBS

I would play something like this:

***HERO***
Rothem, King of Layar

***Allies (16)***
2x Shadow Knight
1x Braxnorian Veteran
3x Wild Berserker
3x Frostmare
4x Rampant Krygon
2x Slingblade Demon
1x Yari Marksman

***Abilities (16)***
2x Smashing Blow
1x Enrage
4x Crippling Blow
4x Blood Frenzy
2x Sacrificial Lamb
1x Nocturnal Advantage
2x Mark of the Feared

***Armors (3)***
3x The King's Pride

***Weapons (4)***
4x Jeweler's Dream

TOTAL: 39 cards + Hero

-2 Mark of the Feared and +2 Thriss Almanac or Contaminated Water depending on the meta.


Going first

t3 BF
t4 JD
t5 WB + CB / 3cc damage source (MotF/TA/CW) + 4cc Krygon or Marksman
t6 Whatever you have in hands
t7 KP


Going second

t2 CB then t3 BF
if no t2 CB then t3 MotF to kill 2cc ally
t4 JD or Krygon
t5 WB, CB+BF etc.

SK is good to return t3, 4 Krygon which you have to play when you have no other 3cc or 4cc cards in hand. Also he's useful in late-game with haste allies and slingblade demon.

MotF is versatile 3cc card. If you run Thriss Almanac, use it just like Ice Storm. CW is 1 global damage and 3cc 1 card : 3 SE trade. The deck needs more 3cc cards to run well anyway.

At least 3 KP for sure. Forces opponent to deal with it on the turn it is played. By that fact alone, it raises win rate imo.

1 NA otherwise auto-loss to MS, but I guess you can forget about that.


Cool deck idea overall. Thanks for sharing this MistahBoweh.

[Rivozzz]

Nice video and deck ideas

[MistahBoweh]

I like Mark of the Feared, I will say that, but I'll also say that a lot of the time I'm forced to play SBS on guys that don't die immediately, like dropping it on a Morbid Acolyte to save myself some damage/durability, or playing on an Aeon to help burst him down. In these situations, MotF helps my opponent more than it helps me.

Also, I will say that 3cc has historically been the big super-important number in Shadow Era. In this deck, essentially, I want T3 Blood Frenzy. No exceptions. It's the same idea with Achilles Lance playiing IGG T4. You'll play it, you'll lose the board, then you'll get it back because no matter what you play, it's hasty beats. Rothem uses an eerily similar approach.

I'll also point out that while I find SK/Slingblade absolutely hilarious, you're spending a bunch of resources on pretty much nothing. Very rarely in this deck do I not have something good to spend resources on as it is. The other thing with playing Shadow Knight is that firstly, he doesn't have haste, and secondly, he takes haste away from wild berserker, which is probably the guy you're playing SK to get in the first place. He ends up undermining your overall strategy. You really don't need the extra card when hasty allies are all 2-for-1 exchanges.

Though, I'll agree with you that an early rush will take more than a turn to stabilize against. You're going to take some damage. Eladwen is bound to be an uphill battle if you couldn't cripple their Puwen or CoI on T2, and you probably need Enrage to win. And yes, Moonstalker is a card. You can keep him at bay with more SBS and Yari Marksmen, but if he chains ten fogs in a row, you're pretty much screwed in much the same way that if you use your ability twice in a row, your opponent is probably dead.

I'm not going to say the list lacks for faults, I'm definitely still working on it. However, by the same token, there is a reason why I've chosen the cards I have. My aim, rather to compete with the opponent turn for turn, is to take the tempo loss on t3 in exchange for much larger domination throughout the rest of the match, because the cards that rothem uses to win the game and the cards he uses to control the game are one in the same. If I start stripping out hasty beats for strict control in order to smooth out the cost curve, the result is going to be serious consistency issues. I'm going to have to take a hard look at every swap I make from now on.

Besides, my curve isn't actually bad:
(2): 9
(3): 14
(4): 10
(5): 4
(6): 0
(7): 2

[rodilladehierro]

i have just bought this deck list, is it competitive?
i hope so...