Raph's "How to get Top 5 in Meltdown" guide - Deckbuilding strategies (Shhhh......!)

[fordfff]

This topic is absolutely crap. Victor is not even mentioned.

Why would it be mentioned? Unless saying avoid it like the plague. Even raikka is more useful in md than vic.

[Raphael Majere]

Why would it be mentioned? Unless saying avoid it like the plague. Even raikka is more useful in md than vic.

Lol, Pandev is jk'ing.

Vic is ...... Decent if you are 1. Blessed with good hunter cards like gambit, flame arrow , good hunter allies like lord hunter. 2. Lucky enough to draw them early in game.

Having some weapons help: so u can use Vic ability then ping off the poor soul. Allowing your opponent to play on with a 1 life PB is hardly desirable.

And oh, if you want to play Vic, you have to spend some actual time to assess if there are enough draw/support/cards to actually win a potential game.... Cuteness can only bring u so far....

I have owned players with gambit + flame arrow recycling and have been owned by other players doing the same too. When the combo comes up, it's pretty fun.

[fordfff]

Lol, Pandev is jk'ing.

Vic is ...... Decent if you are 1. Blessed with good hunter cards like gambit, flame arrow , good hunter allies like lord hunter. 2. Lucky enough to draw them early in game.

Having some weapons help: so u can use Vic ability then ping off the poor soul. Allowing your opponent to play on with a 1 life PB is hardly desirable.

And oh, if you want to play Vic, you have to spend some actual time to assess if there are enough draw/support/cards to actually win a potential game.... Cuteness can only bring u so far....

I have owned players with gambit + flame arrow recycling and have been owned by other players doing the same too. When the combo comes up, it's pretty fun.

Lol I walked into that one. Too many ifs with vic for my taste. Incredibly situational without the consistency of 4 ofs.

[Raphael Majere]

Lol I walked into that one. Too many ifs with vic for my taste. Incredibly situational without the consistency of 4 ofs.

Totally agree

[Nijjis]

I'm always checking 4 CoTC first. Dark prophecies > Shattered Fates. CotC has your best / most frequent direct damage, draw engines, and removal.

Board clears like tidal, nova, energy discharge. Direct damage like lightning strike, Engulfing flames, fireball. Soul seeker, ankle breaker, WBT. Even rusty long sword. You're getting this the most in CoTC. The best / most frequent draw engines. Removal cards like focused prayer, stop theif, smashing blow. Plenty of ally removal with crippling, now your mine etc.

30 cards max 95% of the time.

As far as priorities I rank card draw equal or slightly behind direct damage (allies, weapons, burn) A stacked BB with 1 engine and 1 cantrip might be preferable to a less potent maj with 2 engines, 2 cantrip. Card draw value is relative to core card value. When you have the right mix of high value plays you depend less on draw.

Tier 1 direct damage: BB, Zal, fireball, lightning strike, nova, high value allies. Tier 1.5 WBT, solid weapons like ankle breaker, soul seeker, medium value allies. Tier 2: engulfing flames, smite, less desirable allies ETC.

12+ allies ideally. 2-5 good 2cc and 3-8 good 3cc are about as much as you can hope for. Take these 2-3cc in spades if they are quality.

2-5 draws ideally with atleast 2 engines. Blood frenzy is potentially the most OP but CAN backfire. I look to compliment BF, or IGG with ressurection or eternal renew in many games so I don't deck out.

Burn cards double as ally removal. 4-8 ally removal sounds typical, look for good value like board wipes. Pings, weapons, and certain allies should be factored in. Freezing grip IMO is not great value.

1-2 item destruction is typically desired. Focused prayer , stop theif, and smashing blow are cash and if I don't get one of these I might go sans. Generally I wouldn't bother with shriek or LLN.

Round out your deck after addressing needs. You might want some utility: Healing touch, regeneration, eternal R, the last harvest Etc. Not enough 2cc allies? Transference gives you a play for that spot. Tier 2 direct damage or extra removal generally fit the bill.

[Nijjis]

Also infinity core is 90% worth an include IMO. You may concentrate your deck with good allies, and are able to sacrifice more cards if needed. Hold this card in hand for as long as possible look to start using late game. Don't play it on turn two just because it's your only drop. Holding off on playing ensures that you can sacrifice it if crunched for resources, and reduces the odds of it being destroyed.

Aramia is infrequently a meltdown god! If I can pull a meat wagon or certain cards look out!

[Raphael Majere]

I'm always checking 4 CoTC first. Dark prophecies > Shattered Fates. CotC has your best / most frequent direct damage, draw engines, and removal.

Board clears like tidal, nova, energy discharge. Direct damage like lightning strike, Engulfing flames, fireball. Soul seeker, ankle breaker, WBT. Even rusty long sword. You're getting this the most in CoTC. The best / most frequent draw engines. Removal cards like focused prayer, stop theif, smashing blow. Plenty of ally removal with crippling, now your mine etc.

30 cards max 95% of the time.

As far as priorities I rank card draw equal or slightly behind direct damage (allies, weapons, burn) A stacked BB with 1 engine and 1 cantrip might be preferable to a less potent maj with 2 engines, 2 cantrip. Card draw value is relative to core card value. When you have the right mix of high value plays you depend less on draw.

Tier 1 direct damage: BB, Zal, fireball, lightning strike, nova, high value allies. Tier 1.5 WBT, solid weapons like ankle breaker, soul seeker, medium value allies. Tier 2: engulfing flames, smite, less desirable allies ETC.

12+ allies ideally. 2-5 good 2cc and 3-8 good 3cc are about as much as you can hope for. Take these 2-3cc in spades if they are quality.

2-5 draws ideally with atleast 2 engines. Blood frenzy is potentially the most OP but CAN backfire. I look to compliment BF, or IGG with ressurection or eternal renew in many games so I don't deck out.

Burn cards double as ally removal. 4-8 ally removal sounds typical, look for good value like board wipes. Pings, weapons, and certain allies should be factored in. Freezing grip IMO is not great value.

1-2 item destruction is typically desired. Focused prayer , stop theif, and smashing blow are cash and if I don't get one of these I might go sans. Generally I wouldn't bother with shriek or LLN.

Round out your deck after addressing needs. You might want some utility: Healing touch, regeneration, eternal R, the last harvest Etc. Not enough 2cc allies? Transference gives you a play for that spot. Tier 2 direct damage or extra removal generally fit the bill.

loving all of the above.

4 cotc is great. I prefer the 1 SF, 1 DP, 2 Cotc because there is more variety. But I do agree cotc is the best.... it's too boring for me. And oh: DP/SF gives u more allies, sometimes 4 cotc won't give u enough allies.... but you already know that of cos.

I am leaning more towards 3 cotc + 1 sf or 1 Dp now.

I do not like transference though.

Also infinity core is 90% worth an include IMO. You may concentrate your deck with good allies, and are able to sacrifice more cards if needed. Hold this card in hand for as long as possible look to start using late game. Don't play it on turn two just because it's your only drop. Holding off on playing ensures that you can sacrifice it if crunched for resources, and reduces the odds of it being destroyed.

Aramia is infrequently a meltdown god! If I can pull a meat wagon or certain cards look out!

yes, infinity core is 90% auto-include.... which is why i mentioned that it's a great card, but sometimes I do get crazy lotsa burn and DD and I want to go super saiyan 3 and use only 30 cards and no more (aka build a death-race burn deck) and infinity core just gets in the way.

Aramia to get the tome of knowledge...... super sweeeet.

great stuff, Nijjis.... love all your insights and inputs.

[Pat Jay]

Great stuff Ralph and welcome back!

Do check out my meltdown tier list in my signature

[Nijjis]

Thanks Ralph! You the man.

Id say sticking to these tenets.. I'm probably winning 90% of my meltdown games (you see a lot of Bad players with 55 card decks tho)

1) the first thing i always look for is Zal and BB. Having Zal or BB is worth about 5 really good cards out of your deck, I'm pulling that number out of my ass but their value really can't be overestimated.

2)Then i look for allies. Having plenty of turn 2-3 allies are super important. I'm comfortable with at least 2 but hopeful 4-5 2cc. At least 4 but hopefully 6-8 3CC. This doesn't mean grab everyone, pick based on need and value.

3)it has to have some amount of draw depending on the deck stength. The stronger the deck, the less card draw that is mandatory. Do you want a crap deck with draw (more cards but worse options) or a stronk deck with less cards in hand but better options?

4)it needs to be able to kill. Plays that give you damage and board presence win you games you want mostly these. Abilities (especially attatchments) armors, artifacts and situational cards.. You want to pick very selectively.

[maskee]

Nowadays 90% of wins are really manageable... I won 17 games in a row once, but its only bcs many weak players plays since MD is free.

I think that Elementalis is T1 in meltdown. If you have good allys resource curve he is almost unbeatable! I play him almost every time I can.