Having played this archetype now in probably over 200 games, and having tried all sorts of variations of it to see what works optimally and WHY it works optimally, here are my issues with your build:
Cinderborn Fatebreaker, despite being a Homunculus, is a sub-optimal ally for this build because as a turn 2 drop it won't help you to trigger Rankett on turn 3. Plus in a deck built around growing allies to huge and unmanageable levels for your opponent, it's too easily killed by every ability your opponent has. Additionally, turn 2 is not an ally-playing turn for this deck. It's when you want to play an item (Shards or Crown) that are going to allow you to trigger Rankett on turn 3. Playing Cinderborn on turn 2 guarantees you cannot use Rankett on turn 3, stifling your draw power, as well as your board-buffing ability.
Removing Flamespitter and Packbeast means only having Flameborn Devourer and Arachnid as turn 3 drops, which translates into incredibly poor chances of a turn 3 ally worth buffing with Factory - only Arachnid - since Devourer is a suboptimal ally to be used on the board in this deck. Plus in the current meta, Flamespitter is an excellent drop against Camaflouged Foe and sets up your Gremlin to kill it immediately after triggering its transformation because Flamespitter deals 2 damage to it when it gets attacked, despite Ambush.
Supernova, in addition to being a board wipe, is a game ender, in SO many games. Plus either Armored Packbeast OR Voracious Arachnid survive it when
Raikka's ability is used.
Splicer's Crown is very needed, and serves a twofold usefulness. It can be used to trigger Rankett, as well as being yet ANOTHER turn 2 drop that can feed your turn 1 Gremlin, which is super key for the consistency of activating your turn 3 Rankett.
No
Crystal Shards means no early feeding of the grave which is useful for
Splicer's Crown at any later point, and also means no turn 2 draw in the event you don't get a good opener. Plus, Shards is another turn 2 playable item that Gremlin can eat if you don't get a turn 2 Factory.
Falseblood Cultist, as a 2/3 body, and also not a Homunculus, is a terrible turn 4 play, even for the sake of a little extra draw. But having taken out the
Crystal Shards, now the deck is lacking quick, cheap draw power, and replaced it with slow, generally inefficient drawing (for this deck's purposes).
Amulet of Conjuring uses your Shadow Energy, and you need SE for Rankett. Rankett is the heart of the deck, and also its primary draw engine. You need your SE.
If if you want more draw, add more
Crystal Shards, which serve THREE functions in the deck, or
Bad Santa, as it is cheap and efficient. Both are turn 2 playable, and allow you to begin replenishing your hand early and cheap. And in this deck, by the time you get to turn 3-4, if you have an optimal opening, you'll be topdecking. No, you need a functional Rankett by turn 3 or you're going to get dusted, repeatedly. Shards helps with this, Falseblood and Amulet do not, until it's already too late. Hell, probably 33% of my wins alone come by turn 5-6, by which time you'll just then be able to play Cultist or Amulet to any usefulness.
I can't see how your build, for the multitude of reasons listed above, could be seen as an improvement. Almost every card you removed/replaced serves the deck with 2-3 core mechanics, and as such are highly efficient and synergistic together.
I can't see how less useful allies, less viable turn 3 plays, less triggers for Rankett (which is what makes the deck work in the first place) and replacing the cheaper, faster draw provided by
Crystal Shards with the expensive draw of Cultist who doesn't benefit from Rankett and is a weak body ally, and Amulet, which kills your ability to use Rankett by draining your Shadow Energy - can be considered an improvement on the original deck in any way.
Not it trying to be dismissive, but I think this is a pretty solid case for why this version is a vast disimprovment on the deck, rather than an improvement.
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