Tala - Spirit of the Sentinel

[segalion]

Hello All,

First let me say that this deck was inspired by a player named "Mochihada". I was running a 60 card Tala as part of an experiment (that didn't worked too well) and accidently i decided to watch a match between 2 high rated players, where one of them (Mochihada) has played a Tala that used a bit different concept than usual so i decided to test and see where it gets me.
The fact is that in Current Meta (End of Season 22, beginning of season 23) is roaming with lots of hunters (BB, Baduruu, Victor) and also Serena and MS also has thier decent share (without mentioning the Mages of course), and this deck actually excells in countering them (High health allies, Steadfast, swarming board, Protectors)
I have this deck from day 2 of season 23 and it currently got me to around 320 level staying there most of the time (beginning of season 23, 11 days into season) and i have played a lot of game with it (Score is in the top 20 of the season) so i can say that it is very solid

This deck is designed to never let go of board using high health allies instead of hard to kill allies. Usually Tala likes those hard to kill allies to serve as protectors and then build an army behind (Wisps, SW, Viska, Eleanor if opponent has no direct damage). Due to this Tala (if she doesn't get explosive start) will only get rising after T8-9. This deck uses Spirit Warden, Midnight Sentinel high health allies (6hp when using Tala ability, 8 if you cast midnight sentinel) that protects others. Although they can be handled more easily then Wisps and SW, they cost less so one loss of protectors will soon be replaced with another. The fact that they have high health allow them to survive the turns between. This concept combined with Last harvest allow to put more threats on board in short time, all with high health (so it takes time to dispose of them), thus overwhelming your opponent

http://deck.shadowera.net/fates/show...1a3b4zb25n4555

***HERO***
Tala Pureheart

***Allies (24)***
3x Aldon the Brave
2x Braxnorian Soldier
4x Spirit Warden
2x Champion of Irum
4x Midnight Sentinel
1x Sorcerer of Endia
2x Irina, Guardian of the Swan
2x Yari Marksman
4x Yari Bladedancer

***Abilities (12)***
2x Smashing Blow
1x Enrage
3x Crippling Blow
4x Blood Frenzy
2x Treasured Heirloom

***Items (4)***
4x The Last Harvest

TOTAL: 40 cards + Hero


Game Play Going First
T1 – The Last Harvest
T2 – Yari Bladedancer / Champion of Irum
T3 – Spirit Warden / Midnight Sentinel / Blood Frenzy
T4 – Midnight Sentinel / Blood Frenzy / Irina / Aldon
T5 - Braxnorian Soldier


Game Play Going Second
T1 – The Last Harvest
T2 – Champion of Irum / Crippling Blow / Yari Bladedancer
T3 – Midnight Sentinel / Aldon /Spirit Warden / Blood Frenzy
T4 – Aldon / Spirit Warden / Midnight Sentinel / Blood Frenzy / Irina
T5 – Braxnorian Soldier


Cards Selection

Draw Engines:
Well, only 6 draw engines here. The reasoning is that we have high health allies, Last harvest (make them survive more), Sentinel Ability (add more health to survive more) and Tala ability (make them survive more + allow gather army)
Blood Frenzy - Well the only reliable draw engine for human warriors. Very good, allow you to gain card advantage and add lot's of threats on board but can problematic if matches take too long or if you are against a fast damage deck.
Treasured Hairloom - Backup Draw. Allows to keep rolling if we cannot get BF. Also combines well with Tala ability and Last harvest to maintain early board control.


Supproting Abilities and Items:
Smashing Blow - Tech card vs Weapons and Armours. Good vs Rouges, Hunters (especially Gwen and Baduruu), Amber/Logan, Zhanna (TKP)
Crippling Blow - This is a nessecity but i try to minimize the use of it. Nowadays almost everyone runs tech for this and a crippled ally that is left untouched and all of a sudden clear your board is bad for your game plan. I mostly use it if i need to regain board without any ally on it.
Enrage - Useful especially vs mages. Basically game plan does not rely on this but if it comes late game then it might be helpful to seal the deal
The Last Harvest - +1/+1 attack and health accross board. Allows you allies to surviev more (main purpose). Once you gather army serves as the turning point for the kill adding attack for everyone. I love to (once i have 7 resources) activate last activation, cast another one and activate again


Tech Allies:
Sorcerer of Endia - Late game tech card. I mostly Sac it unless going vs heavy item/attachment heroes (Rouges, Priests, Warriors)
Yari Marksman - Allows you to control board if you get overwhelmed all of a sudden. Useless on it's own (meaning that if you have no allies and opponent has 3 then he will not help that much)

Allies:
Yari Bladedancer - Staple in all warrior decks. His ability is awesome and allows you to better control board. Combine it with Irina, Tala ability and Last harvest and you will be able to do lot's of damage in one turn
Champion of Irum - Secondary 2cc drop. This build is all around board presence and this 2cc drop is great to help hold board and very good in late game (3/5 for 2cc is just awesome)
Aldon - Needless to say. More damage? yes please. Combines well with both Bladedancer and Irina. Good with allies that was buffed by Sentinel (getting ambush in the process).
Spirit Warden - Well most Tala runs FFM (haste, combines very good with Dancer at begining). Spirit warden is here becuase he has steadfast. With all Hunters around, Snare traps is very common, and this guy just put a dent in thier early game plan. Add the fact that he cannot be exiled by Loest, or by abilities like Retreat / RLT / Banish and you get a very good ally that allow you to protect your army if needed without easy way to deal with him
Midnight Sentinel - give high health allies more health to survive more? yes please. Give Ambush so they won't loose Health when attacking? yes please. Have high health by himself so he can serve as protector? yes please. This guy toghether with Warden make this deck stick.
Irina, Guardian of the Swan - This ally Combine Well with all the attack buffs this deck has (Aldon, Bladedancer, Last harvest, Tala Ability). Combined with high health that allows her to stick, this one can shine given the optimal terms
Braxnorian Soldier - Hard to kill ally (cannot be attacked by 3hp or less allies), with high health and prevented haste (depriving opponent from trying to regain board).


Bad Matchups:
1. Priests (Especially Jericho) - The fact that they have board wipe regardless of allies health (unlike Nova) combined with control tools (Zail, Banish), excellent Draw and item destruction make them very hard matchup for this build
2. Rush Aramia. Well this just too fast for Tala. I'd say it's not an auto loss but many things should happen (very good draw, mediocare to bad draw for opponent) in order to beat it. The real problem here is the dagger combined with low cost allies and ability to control board + board wipe. This is why other rush mage builds present less of a problem (with no dagger) and allow us to gain control on board and survive board wipes with our high health allies.

Final Word:
Keeping board is crucial here. most of the times if you lost the board and opponent has 2+ allies you will not be able to regain it. You should do everything you can to prevent this. Use your protecting powers wisely to allow at least one ally on board at each time




Be happy to hear thoughts on issue and answer any questions

[Kylt]

I think his name is mOchihada, not mAchihada

[segalion]

Well at least I got some comments
You are correct, fixed

[Lahiri]

Nice deck, I'll try it.
Isn't FFM good for this kind of strategy?

[segalion]

Well as I stated, FFM is very good with Tala. The reason that I took spirit warden is the hunters running around. That steadfast really put dents in their game plan based on snare traps.
Also warden is useful when making him protectors against loest and the lot of retreat that is back in fashion. The additional 1 attack bonus is also more threatening

[Pat Jay]

Nice deck Segalion

Very similar to what Middle Aged Nerd is running

Glad you're having some success with it!

I also run 24 allies in my tala deck albeit different ones

May I suggest +1 crippling blow - 1 The Last Harvest ?

Crippling blow is such a great disable... Having 4 is really handy and increases your chance of getting it on turn 2 when you need it going second

The Last Harvest only really provides benefit when you use it and not whilst it is in play like Wrath of the Forest

So since it is unlikely for you to ever use 12 charges of The Last Harvest in one game... you don't need 4 of them...

Some might disagree with this ... but that is how I see it

[segalion]

I Actually might drop 1 harvest but in favour of additional Ally
As i stated, the problem with CB is that so easily removed this days so i don't like counting on this
Also lot's of allies just have ability CP will not prevent (Zailen, Aldon, Grimghast, MA, Jas, DMT and a whole lot more) I find CP mostley useful against Shadow more than Humans and therefore i think 3 is enough
It is still a great tool and sometimes is really needed but this is my current feel

[Arcadius]

I must try irina in my Tala deck.