My 230 Zaladar Deck - "Mega-rush"

[Raphael Majere]

the biggest downside to this deck is it can really struggle if it loses tempo. if they fill the board with allies, it's real hard to come back.

Agreed. Hence it's my fun deck that I play with on the Go on my iphone. At this moment in time, I am so used to the deck that I don't have to think when I play it.

I will not use this in a competition - but it's not weak either. It's just satisfying once board control is achieved. (Opponent has no allies, any allies he cast out can be dealt with, no weapons in play, Shriek in hand)

[ertai88]

I am a fan. I love how you explain your deck, it helps me understand so well. Very clear and nice! Thanks!

[Gondorian]

What about Aeon then? That's the part why I wanted Ripper in this deck. I am not saying that its automatically the best choice. But if my oppoment plays Aeon and I have Plasma, the Ripper deals the crucial 1 damage needed to kill off Aeon. (Ripper = 2 damage, Plasma = 7 damage to Aeon, killing off Aeon, DO NOT let Plasma take the 3 damage from Aeon)

You can use Zaladar's ability on Aeon, leaving only 5 damage to do, which could be done by Chimera alone or Plasma's ability + Plasma attack or Gargoyle attack. This is why I don't think DR is necessary. I also see it as way too risky. You are playing a highly tuned deck, so any card of yours that the opponent draws will be more important than anything you gain from their deck. You have everything in here that you need to take on every deck, so you don't need to resort to pinching their cards.

That said, I have actually decided to fill the 4 spare slots I talked about previously with 1x Eternal Renewal, 1x Bad Santa and 2x Armor of Ages, after losing to a Gwen. The AoA completely shuts Gwen down. Shriek is not enough on its own because she plays Rapid Fire and then SS on the next turn and hits for 8. That was enough to kill me off in a very close game. My AoA would have pretty much been auto-win.

[Dima]

to be honest it is so a weak deck, contrs with supernova, tidal wave rabid bite(etc). you dont use potential of elemental at all, dimension reaper to give all your behemoth and chimera away?) ha). i can win you with my zaladar that have only 2 gargyle 2 brutals and 4 spite from allies easily. Such a deck is not for zaladar it is just an amount of allies that can be used by any shadow hero, thats all.

[ertai88]

You are playing a highly tuned deck, so any card of yours that the opponent draws will be more important than anything you gain from their deck. You have everything in here that you need to take on every deck, so you don't need to resort to pinching their cards.

Made a lot of sense to me. If 4 cards are bonus, then make those 4 cards reactive just-in-case you are getting into trouble and you HAVE to react. AoA sounds like a good idea.

[A1 Otto7]

Ok, here comes the heavy stuff. Ready?

If I go second and my opponent casts a Blake on his second turn, I do not summon Medusil/Keldor. I summon Gargoyle. The Gargoyles will not fall to the Blake/Aldon combo. If I do not have Gargoyle, no problem, I drop a Chimera on turn 4.

Anyway, the Blake/Aldon combo is weak against this deck. Zaladar's ability will kill off Blake and weaken Aldon to 1 life.

Puwen/Jasmine is a little complicated - but once again, Zaladar's ability will more or less take care of it.

Bad Santa - DO NOT cast them on turn 2!!!

I will sac them if I have them early. Their purpose is for late game. For example, cast Bad Santa on turn 7, draw 3, and cast a Ripper/Plasma on the SAME TURN. Hence the Ripper can be used on the same turn or the Plasma can be used on the next turn.

Or on turn 5, if I have no allies. Bad Santa would draw me 3 cards (high chance of drawing a 3cc ally) and cast it on the SAME TURN.

Regarding Bad Wolf, just to clarify, there is no Bad Wolf in the deck. It's weaker when used in a Board Control deck like this one. Medusil and Keldor and Gargolye can control the board better.

To answer your queries more accurately regarding the game play/allies, 2 cards must be discussed. Mind Control and Plasma.

Mind Control - one of the crucial cards in the deck. T5 is the crucial turning point. If your opponnent went first, at turn 5, he can cast Raven or Plasma. On your turn, you must cast Mind Control and that completely changes the game tide.

Which is why this deck is 30 c. not 40. I must draw Mind Control early. Do not use MC on weenies, unless it will change the game tide for you. Save it for the fatties.

Plasma - Another crucial aspect. I want to have all 4 in the deck. I will not have only 3, it's not enough. Why? It's another game changer and deals the MOST amount of damage to my opponent. I will try to cast it out as early as I can.

For example, if I have 3 allies in my hand on turn 5 that I can summon, Plasma is the only choice. Once it is out, the opponent cannot cast out any other ally, except Aeon. Anything else will be blasted to bits.

What about Aeon then? That's the part why I wanted Ripper in this deck. I am not saying that its automatically the best choice. But if my oppoment plays Aeon and I have Plasma, the Ripper deals the crucial 1 damage needed to kill off Aeon. (Ripper = 2 damage, Plasma = 7 damage to Aeon, killing off Aeon, DO NOT let Plasma take the 3 damage from Aeon)

Ok, play on and let me know if you run into other issues!

sorry for being a pain in the @@ss but since i dont have an extra account i ask before risking my rates .so questions:
1)if u play first and have no gargoyle then blake-aldon kills both 3cc crature AND chimera.at your T5 you have 4SE to remove blake and weaken aldon so as to play what?a DRto finish aldon but leave the board open,or maybe risk your behemoth to a DD card+aldon?in both cases u drop board control and only stay with DR or worse with a killed behemoth
2)to play DR and cast PB's ability u need at least the resources of turn 8.what if aeon is casted normally in turn 6 to protect the little guys of your plasma??logically in your upcoming turn 6 u will have 3-4 cards handy with a great possibility of not having a MC.this may sound dramatical but it is very easy to happen in many games,it is not an exception

[Gondorian]

@Otto: if you've gone first, your Keldor kills their Aldon on your T4. If you've gone second, you will have 4SE on your turn 4, so you use ability on Blake/Puwen and Aldon and play any other creature. Aldon alone will not kill it. If there is a Jasmine left too, then you are in a bit of trouble but you usually have Mind Control for turn 5. Believe me: this deck is very good, even going second.

[tomasruiz]

I played against a Zaladar mirror some days ago that did a combo using Energy Discharge to gain Board Control goin 2nd

I went 1st

T
2 Brute
3 Gargyole atck hero
4 Chimera atck brute to 2 hp
5 PB kill brute and zaladar 2 gargyoles

He did Brute, Gargyole, gargyole, X, and on turn 5 Energy Discharged my brute, gargyole, chimera and PB

Next turn i casted Pb again wich he zaladared + gargyoled and summoned his own PB.

Good comeback using Energy discharge, since then i have tried unsuccesfully to integrate it in my zaladar.

What do you think of ED?

[Raphael Majere]

sorry for being a pain in the @@ss but since i dont have an extra account i ask before risking my rates .so questions:
1)if u play first and have no gargoyle then blake-aldon kills both 3cc crature AND chimera.at your T5 you have 4SE to remove blake and weaken aldon so as to play what?a DRto finish aldon but leave the board open,or maybe risk your behemoth to a DD card+aldon?in both cases u drop board control and only stay with DR or worse with a killed behemoth
2)to play DR and cast PB's ability u need at least the resources of turn 8.what if aeon is casted normally in turn 6 to protect the little guys of your plasma??logically in your upcoming turn 6 u will have 3-4 cards handy with a great possibility of not having a MC.this may sound dramatical but it is very easy to happen in many games,it is not an exception

1) I believe Gondorian did a great job of explaining this and how the threat is removed. It's pretty hard to visualise (at least for me) the scenarios unless I am playing it.

2) Regarding DFs, yes, you are right. (What was I thinking?)

BUT regarding MCs, it's pretty easy to get them in a 30 card deck by turn 5. Even if there is no MCs, there is always PB that you can cast.

Because of Zaladar's abilities, it's highly unlikely that your opponent can kill off your PB with allies. Zaladar will kill off Blake/Puwen in turn 4.

@Godorian

Thanks for the excellent explanation and clarifications! Spot on!

[Raphael Majere]

1) I believe Gondorian did a great job of explaining this and how the threat is removed. It's pretty hard to visualise (at least for me) the scenarios unless I am playing it.

2) Regarding DRs, yes, you are right. (What was I thinking?)

BUT regarding MCs, it's pretty easy to get them in a 30 card deck by turn 5. Even if there is no MCs, there is always PB that you can cast.

Because of Zaladar's abilities, it's highly unlikely that your opponent can kill off your PB with allies. Zaladar will kill off Blake/Puwen in turn 4.

@Godorian

Thanks for the excellent explanation and clarifications! Spot on!

One more thing: I am likely to go with Godorian's suggestions of the "last spare 4 cards" , i.e. remove all DFs.

+2 AoA. But I will likely put in 2 Life infusions instead of Eternal Renewal and Bad Santa.

More play testing to go and I will update. My latest test (regarding the last 4 spare cards) is using 2 DRs and 2 Bad Santa is done - I did not run into situations whereby I needed them for the win.

I am trying it now with 4 Life Infusions as the last 4 spare cards. seems to be working out well. But a note to newer players, the Life infusions are, more often than not, simply used for sacrifice.

My first post details why I do not like them in the first place. But I am having 2nd thoughts. Plus, its cheap compared to buying 4 DRs.