The Boost and the Cull system, which we’ve discussed last installment are not only valuable tools for smoothing out your drafts, but can even be used aggressively to force colors. Obviously this comes with some risk, and if this is a strategy you pursue, it should probably lean toward specific colors, Blue and Green, being my strong preferences. That being said, let’s see what it’s like to go all in on Blue (generally considered a strong and safe mono color in all formats) from the very start and how far we can push this run!
The Draft
Nice to have some flexibility here, as I’m a huge fan of Disk of Circadia in Arena and Turn of Seasons can go in literally any deck, but Journey of Souls and Impel are by far the safest and most orthodox options.
Well! If I wasn’t planning for force Blue already, this would have been a great opportunity! The Ingrid Packet is a great place to start, and the Valkyrie Packets in general are frankly good enough that we should consider toning them down. The Sovereign Architect is pretty good, more useful in Limited than it would be in constructed, but not really good enough to make me switch off mono Blue at this point. Dark Passenger is also solid removal, but not really enough to build around. Valkyrie packet and Sovereign Architect
We will have to be patient, and be prepared to dump picks, but due to the lower levels of removal in arena, Daughters of the Forest is actually a pretty solid pick, and a very effective defensive and offensive Minion. I don't know why I picked the packet, but I did. Daughters of the Forest and Parsa Packet
Stone Mother will almost certainly not make the cut, but I am under the impression that keep the algorithm at least a little happy is worthwhile and possible by staying in Colors that have already been drafted. By the same token, Ravenous She is the only other card in a Color we have drafted, so there we go! Stone Mother and Ravenous She
P a t i e n c e. Giant’s Stairway is a very solid pickup, a combat trick that deals a lot of damage potentially, especially with Blue Minions that have native Overrun, Alpha Strike, and Einherjar Thane’s regeneration. Dumping into Orange will hopefully keep us on track with the algorithm as well. Giant’s Stairway and Shadhavar Beast
Round 6
The Next picks were a Blue Boost (which was unsurprisingly available) and just any Cull, as they are all equally Viable Blue Boost and Red Cull
Alright, Blue Boost paying off already! Two Blue cards to pick! One of them that I will actually play! Again, I’m not sure if this is actually how any of this works, but I’m assuming that picking blue will keep the algorithm on track, no matter how little it actually moves the needle. Added Frenzy can also go on the list of reasons why Giant’s Stairway is very good to pick. Einherjar Berserkr and Field of Poppies
Well this is less exciting, but honestly Cairnhenge might make the cut, as it is a reasonable way to win trades and deal some extra damage with the lasting value of an Enchantment on the board. Even without a viable card, we have a much better option than dumping the pick by using the Yellow Cull, critical to our increasing stock of Blue picks. Cairnhenge and Yellow Cull
Getting warmer! Valkyrie Enforcer, just as in Constructed, is a brilliant swing in tempo, that stays relevant throughout the game, removing a giant minion from the board, however temporarily, while setting up an attacker or blocker of your own. Great for pushing through damage or even just slowing down an opponent while you set up your offense. The remaining three are all pretty low on my list of playable cards, but I’d but Brainstorm at the top, though still probably not making the cut. Valkyrie Enforcer and Brainstorm
Now we’re talking! This becomes one of the remaining balancing acts in forcing a mono deck, as you may be tempted to take the Red Cull here, and if our choices of Blue cards were even a hair worse than they are, I’d be considering it. As it is, Ice Spike is solid removal and stall, and Valkyrie Enforcer, especially in multiples, generates all of the value mentioned above, with the bonus that, as a Valkyrie, it has good synergy with Stormdottir’s Chosen, which we haven’t seen yet but at Uncommon we likely will, and Ingrid, which we already have! Valkyrie Enforcer and Ice Spike
Nothing to blow the doors off the place, but very solid choices. The information from Lore Broker, though not quite as valuable as many assume, isn’t nothing, and a 2/3 for 2 Mana will make the cut in many Arena decks. Triassic Kraken is a little underwhelming on offense, but an absolute beast on defense, regenerating and locking down the opponent’s board to limit their ability to make trades or force damage past blockers. Especially good with Impel which we have already seen is available. Lore Broker and Triassic Kraken
Good Lord. I honestly wasn’t even counting on Rider of Edda as an element of Valkyrie synergy. The 4/5 Overrun body for 4 Mana is already worth it, and the ability to fill one’s hand with Einherjar Thanes for playing your Valkyries is an incredible value engine, but to top it off, it comes in a packet with two Valkyrie Toughs! A great reason to play mono Blue in the first place, as it is a formidable two-drop in any format, this packet, once again, makes me think that maybe we should look at balance here as they are uniformly insane. The Blue Boost is also a great pickup here, and we should have smooth sailing on drafting blue for the rest of our picks. Rider of Edda Packet and Blue Boost
Speaking of Valkyries, Freki Sidecar is a powerful card in Constructed, and even more exciting here, where it is unlikely to be hit by early removal or even Thunderclaps. I’m not wild about anything else in this pack, as Enchantment removal is a low priority and Root of the World would make a lot more sense if we had better ways of making Ephemeral Minions. The most useful generically is Rune of Denial, but I doubt it will make the cut. Freki Sidecar and Rune of Denial
I guess I shouldn’t have tempted fate by saying how uninterested I am in Root of the World and Rune of Denial. Fortunately Hyperborean is a nice solid finisher that goes GREAT on Giant’s Stairway, and once again we have a nice Purple Cull to take up a pick that would otherwise be dumped, even in color. Hyperborean and Purple Cull
Oh boy. Honestly, it isn’t that hard to put together full playsets of these Valkyries and the consistency of a mono-Color deck in this format is well worth pursuing. The Freki Sidecar and Valkyrie Tough would be decent picks on their own, as a bundle they are simply incredible. Daughters still makes the cut, and is a nice piece to fit into the curve we’re working on, as we want to push more midrange minions at this point. Freki Sidecar Packet and Daughters of the Forest
This is what we’re looking for, many choices in Blue, more than two that are viable, honestly, and a good way to react to what we already have in terms of curve. We’ll probably see more Freki Scouts in the future, and even if we don’t, we’ll probably be happier with these durable defensive beaters in Einherjar Thane and Timberland Troll. Timberland Troll and Einherjar Thane
Field of Poppies still doesn’t really make the cut, so we’re down to our two Blue cards, but honestly, I’m pretty happy with both. Einherjar Berserkr is at worst, a 3/3 for 3, which is fine, but if left alone will grow into a serious offensive threat. Honed Edge won’t make the cut in many Constructed decks, but here it is definitely worth the pick, especially with how Minion heavy this deck, and most Arena decks are. Einherjar Berserkr and Honed Edge
Even as one of the least insane packets we’ve seen, this one is still pretty good. I’m a bit wary of too many one-drops in Arena slugfests, but these have a solid keyword and are in our tribal synergies. Valkyrie Tough is honestly worth the pick over Winter Wolf especially with the synergies we have available, and just as a nice way to set up our board early. Freki Scout packet and Valkyrie Tough
The Canine packet obviously doesn’t do much for us (though honestly could probably fit into less blue focused drafts), and so our real choices are between combat tricks and more one-drops. I like the combat trick, and because we already have a ton of Freki Scouts (you won’t be offered cards that you can’t add to your deck because they are over the rarity limit but you can receive them in packets), I’m looking at Grease Monkey. The renewable healing ability makes it perform very well throughout the game and make for multiple trades in the grinding match, and it is a Valkyrie.
Honed Edge and Grease Monkey
Again just solid Rares to flesh out the top end of our curve. Where Triassic Kraken is the defensive powerhouse we mentioned above, Draugr is a brutally effective offensive tool, and a great way to close out games in a hurry, even over a crowded board.
Draugr and Triassic Kraken
Well, you can’t win them all. Daughters of the Forest is still solid if not actively exciting, and between the other two Blue cards, I’ll take Skilled Hacktivist as we don’t have very many Enchantments to speak of, and even if we did, unless we had three Demolition Speedways, I still wouldn’t be that happy to see Tailroot Wurm. Hacktivist likely won’t make the cut, but feels like it has more of a chance than Tailroot. Daughters of the Forest and Skilled Hacktivist
Well speak of the Devil. Normally I would be thrilled to snap up that Demolition Speedway, but the added value of the packet makes the two-way utility of Godsblud Transfusion, which helps make trades, regenerate minions, and add extra Strength, even more enticing. Then there is the absolute bomb in Bridgeway Troll. Just as in mono Blue Constructed decks, this lets you completely rearrange the board, making perfect trades or even just piling every attacker to one side to swing for the kill. Very easy choice even over a great card like Speedway. Godsblud Packet and Bridgeway Troll
Unbelievable. These Valkyrie Packets really are out of hand. While the Hyperborean seems useful, having a renewable buff in Giant’s Stairway is pretty appealing at this point, as we are filling out minions quite nicely, and have a reasonable number of inexpensive combat tricks already drafted. Stairway is a bigger investment, but will pay dividends down the line. Freki Sidecar Packet and Giant’s Stairway
Solid Blue Minions, and the added value of Valkyrie Enforcer still draws my attention, but for the second pic, I’m looking more at Winter Wolf than Einherjar Berserkr. The 3 slot in our curve is looking quite healthy, and Winter Wolf is a very good two-way threat, using Swift to set up a block or even attacking and then sliding into a trade. Valkyrie Enforcer and Winter Wolf
Einherjar Thane is an easy pick here and while Honed Edge might make the cut, having something that adds more lasting value to the board seems like a good thing to balance out the combat tricks we already have access to. Cairnhenge will do nicely. Einherjar Thane and Cairnhenge
Obviously Valkyrie Enforcer is as appealing to me as it ever has been, and we’re late enough in the draft that we’re not really scrambling to squeeze value out of any picks, so might as well pick the Blue card. Valkyrie Enforcer and Eir Healing
Ice Spike, like any removal options, will never go wrong and the other picks are pretty meaningless but I think I could get some value out of Field of Poppies (I won’t) compared to Sons of the Pack, so sure let’s go for that. Ice Spike and Field of Poppies
The Deck
With Journey of Souls, prioritizing as many Minions as possible will maximize the benefits of the path, and ensure a consistent pressure, starting with the 1-drops which also can trade early to generate Souls. The handful of other slots go to the Giant’s Stairways, which will ensure that even your most humble Minions can do plenty of damage and trade way up, which being slowly returned to your hand, a few buffing combat tricks in Godsblud Transfusion and Honed Edge, and even some light removal in a pair of Ice Spikes. The deck produces consistently offensive opening hands which ratcheting up the threats with increasingly potent minions, utilizing some synergies in Ingrid, but mostly just good, old-fashioned beatdown!
The Arena Run - A breakdown of a few games
Game 1 Opening Hand Plan
Absolutely solid starting hand, and a reasonable sample of the kinds of opens that were common with this deck. It can establish a Grease Monkey early, either to sneak in damage or to lure an early challenge, which will then be handled by a turn two Valkyrie Tough that Grease Monkey can then immediately heal! The board can either develop with Valkyrie Toughs or even to play Freki Sidecar on curve, demanding an immediate answer or taking over the game with bulky regenerating minions like Timberland Troll and Triassic Kraken to trade and protect the Sidecar.
Game 4 Opening Hand Plan and Turn 7
A slower open, especially with a well placed Mind Freak disrupting a beautiful curve. The ability to open with a 1-drop though still led to a quickly developing board which could take advantage of the combat tricks in hand, luring out challenging blockers that were killed by combat tricks in Honed Edge or later Godsblud Transfusion. The curve has plenty of options getting up to four and allows for a very consistent escalation!
Despite contracting the Yana Virus, the ultra buffed Grease Monkey stuck around for a long time, healing Rider of Edda, which itself came back with Journey of Souls. As you can see the value of the Einherjar Thane tokens can quickly spiral out of control, especially as they are used to trade with enemy Minions with Rush from Freki Sidecar.
Game 7 Opening Hand Plan and Turn 4
Even on draw, the Pursuit ability of Journey of Souls presents a valuable ability to control the tempo of the game, setting up trades and getting the Freki Scout back right away. This curve—Freki Scout into Lore Broker into Daughters of the Forest—provides a lot of pressure and even disruption of an enemy’s ability to keep up, as the Daughters of the Forest with Alpha Strike probably requires removal rather than trading, even though we are on draw.
Even playing on draw, the ability to set up this quick offense, assisted by a Freki Sidecar and Freki Scout, returned to hand by Journey of Souls, on Turn 4, allows a perfect time on Turn 5 to have an open Minion to slip Giant’s Stairway under. This intimidating board is even more exciting as it is backed by a strong tempo play in Valkyrie Enforcer and in case of emergency, Ingrid to bring back all of the dead Valkyries if that Cataclysm rears its ugly head.
Finale
This deck cruised to a perfect 9-0 on the strength of not only it’s consistent offensive firepower, but especially the combat tricks, and synergistic bomb Mythics in Rider of Edda and Ingrid Stormdottir. The mono Blue scheme shined, as Valkyrie Toughs on curve, Bridgeway Troll, and other gem heavy beaters led the way. Even with only a couple of ways to get Valkyrie synergy (drafting Stormdottir’s Chosen would have been great), the sheer volume of Valkyries available in packets ensured that I would draw plenty whenever I did get Rider of Edda or Ingrid Stormdottir in hand.
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