Introduction

Since Zorro was so kind enough to give us a nice big look into the hellish kitchen of his brain with his high Entropy Thrass deck, I can’t stay behind. Be prepared for a long ride into No Rare Clave.

Of all the races, Clave probably have the best No-Rare cards (with No Rare cards I mean cards that are very easy to get, mainly Uncommon and Common cards) in the Star Chamber Universe. I think my No Rare Clave deck demonstrated that by qualifying for the (disappeared) Galaxy Cup.

How It All Started

I got sick of playing high tech, powerful rares like Rebel Battlecruiser, Remote Informant, Underground Resistance, etc, etc.. I wanted a deck that would bring out the best in Star Chamber, without bringing out the worse in a players wallet. I wanted to show newer players that this game can be played on a high level (big stake tournaments) with just some Common and Uncommon cards.

I think it took me 2 months to fine-tune the deck for tournament level play, but I think I did it in the end. The result is a well balanced, fine-tuned No rare Clave deck that can go head to head to some of the best decks around in tournament play.

Some of you might remember the topic I started on this deck on the forums. The input I got from veteran players made the deck into a powerhouse that really is a blast (pun intended) to play.

Without further ado, here is the deck

• 4 x Clave Cruiser
• 4 x Clave Scout
• 4 x Mounted Laser
• 4 x Humiliation
• 3 x Gone Rogue
• 2 x Obliteration Beam
• 3 x Sabotage
• 3 x Asura Model
• 4 x Ground Assault
• 2 x War Cry
• 3 x Bounty Hunter
• 2 x Medal of Triumph
• 3 x Mounted Pulse Gun
• 3 x Iconoclasts

Total 44 cards.

The Tech structure is 3L 1C 4E.

The deck breaks down roughly into this:

• 8 Citizen Removal/destroy cards
• 8 ships
• 7 Weapon modifications
• 3 Anti-Hero cards
• 2 cards to get war
• 9 Anti-Ship cards

All these cards together make a fine, well balanced deck that can withstand the most played deck types.

Let's breakdown the Card choices in this deck, shall we:

4 x Clave Cruiser 2L3E
4 x Clave Scout 2L2E

Clave have great cruisers and scouts, so why not play them? If you do not have them, you can opt to swap them out and use Light Gunship from Mealstrom, and perhaps Bushwacker. I prefer to stay with the basic ships, since Light gunship gets stationary all the time, and I hate to wait 6 rounds during combat before the Bushwacker starts to shoot its cannons. Clave Cruiser also only cost 2L3E, so it’s damn cheap.

4 x Mounted Laser

On the right map, a turn 1 Mounted Laser could mean the end of the game. Late game, it’s never a wasted card to increase your firepower.

4 x Humiliation

What a great card this is. It has no hidden or extra costs, and can target anyone you want. A great card to remove those pesky un-bombable heroes with influence! Just be careful not to overdue it on citizens, you might need those humiliations later on for heroes.

3 x Gone Rogue

Why not 4? Simply because those rogue ships can turn around and hunt you down, and a simple Forbidden brings it back under your opponent’s control. Still a great card to deny a scout shuttling citizens to the Star Chamber, or from any other planet. To get the best use out of this card, leave your starting hero, or some not needed Iconoclasts on key planets. Your opponent will be flying around them for the rest of the game.

2 x Obliteration Beam

Infinity Driven ships giving you problems? Scouts with 34 shields and 44 hull are roaming free behind your lines? Obliterate them! This card really shines against Order decks that like to pack some modification removal like Bergauldt ray or forbidden. Let them try to remove this! 3 x Sabotage

Your opponent must be mad to send only one ship over to any planet where you have a persona present. That ship and its crew may never return again. A great strategic opportunity it to “strand� your starting hero on a key planet (barren, industrial, It does not matter). And then when a juicy target tries to pass..Sabotage! (Beastie Boys style!). This card together with Gone Rogue, makes Clave a frightening Race to pay against.

3 x Asura Model

This girl comes in play with 2 Leadership for Clave, thus giving +1 weapons to each of your ships. Should the Galaxy ever turn to war, she becomes a little monster with 4 leadership, almost guaranteeing you will fire first in battle and also giving +2 weapons to each of your ships. Let them spend their assassins on that! If you don’t need them anymore, just leave them on minor planets to be of some use for Sabotage and/or Gone Rogue

4 x Ground Assault

A great way to gain, and keep control of an Artifact planet. Don’t worry about the -2 Destiny if the Galaxy is at peace. One turn and you will get the 2 Destiny back. Keep a good eye out on who has the Edge, especially against Androids (Planetary Bombardment) and Silica (Ground Assault).

2 x War Cry

There are 12 cards in this deck that benefit from War, so why not declare it and get a cruiser AND a bomber for a mere 3L3E? What a great card. If you are not in destiny trouble, just use your Iconoclast to go to war through this card. You can play this card on every planet, even on the Star Chamber! A great way to start out your turn 7.

3 x Bounty Hunter

Don’t be fooled by this weird card. It does its job, and it does it very, very good. Bounty Hunter will take care of a lot of problems, like Remote Informant, Landing Party and all nasty Ferrier Heroes at the Star Chamber that we don’t like to see (like Archon Overseer). Yep, Bounty Hunter can be used for the Star Chamber, be it just once. Even leaving him behind at some random minor planet can be a big obstacle for an opponent to cross.

2 x Medal of Triumph

Not only does one of your Heroes get conqueror (to use with the Mounted Pulse Gun) it also makes a random enemy ship lose Alert Crew status, which could result in 10 minor damage to your ships. Very nice for just 1E.

3 x Mounted Pulse Gun

Originally these were Proton Cannons, but I swapped them for Mounted Pulse Guns, since they are playable on all my ships, and get the extra bonus from the Conquerors. +5 Beam is nothing to laugh at.

3 x Iconoclasts

Even if you are not playing against a Destiny oriented deck, Iconoclast can give you an easier Destiny victory yourself when you get good control of the map. They will never be dead cards in your hand, since you can use them for Mounted Pulse Gun and War Cry. Worse of worse, strand them on minor planets to make use of Gone Rogue, Sabotage and Ground Assault when your opponent flies by with his fleet.

Now, it would be near impossible to explain to you how to play this deck, because that all depends on the map and/or opponent. Usually you want to take artifact planets, and frighten the hell out of your opponent if he tries to come close. I think Destiny and Military victory are the easiest to achieve with this deck, although I do had some Political victories against Android players, where the galaxy was somewhat in a stalemate.

This deck tends to be a bit slow before the first vote. Don’t worry, after the first vote, this deck kicks into high gear, and planets and opponents will fall quickly. Just hang on to your cards. Hole a card or two if needed, and prepare to do some serious damage turn 7-12.

If you are not very good in playing Splash decks, or just don’t want the hassle, you can swap the Cyber cards out and include some of the following cards:

3 x Gate Crasher for 3 x Asura Model. 5 leadership really looks like fun, but you better be prepared to play very aggressively with him to get the best effect.

+1 Gone Rogue, +1 Sabotage for the 2 x Obliteration Beam. Personally I like to have more flexibility in my decks, but this can work too.

2 x Honored Elder and 2 x Slow Poison for the 4 x Ground Assault. Honored Elder is a great way to keep control of your planets. And the added bonus for getting war is music to your ears. You can even use it on your Iconoclasts for great effect.

Even though slow poison can be postponed, it really can hinder your opponent, and can be a great card at the right time. Your opponent will surely forget to ditch a card mid game, when he will have bigger things to worry about.

The problem Non rare Clave decks have it that they have too many useful cards to choose from! I can list a few more cards that would definitely fit this deck well.

• Boarding Party, a 2 Leadership Hero with a build in sabotage.
• Time Bomb, a risky card to play, but it does its job well.
• Rallying Words, +1 leadership and alert crew status.
• Rebel Camp, +1 culture and rebel for my leaders.
• Heroism, the +1 leadership could bring some heroes to 2 leadership, and Gate Crasher to 6! That is a lot of extra firepower for 6 turns.

And of course the cards already mentioned in this article: Light gunship, Bushwacker, honored elder, Slow poison and Gate Crasher.

Even if you want to play some Rares in your deck, this No rare clave deck can be a great base to start out with.

Don’t be afraid, sharpen your nails and claw away!

XchokeholdX