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The Big List of Competitive Decks
Newly edited for the post-Maelstrom environment!
About a year ago, to help newbies get acquainted with what to expect in tourneys, I posted a list of (what were IMHO) competitive decks to complement the list of combos that was on the old forums. (The combo list has since been more than replicated here on KitsDB.) The post came up in conversation in the Mezz over the holidays, and I realized that many of the decks on it are quite outmoded. We have had a lot more time to digest the Maelstrom cards, and the meta-game is quite different now.
The original forum post is here -- Editor.
Since there's been some interest, I have rewritten and cleaned up the deck list, taking into account the feedback to the post (thanks to all who gave feedback, especially Doctoryes & Sooty). This new list is meant to be comprehensive. However, if I have missed any competitive deck types, do let me know. I'm sure there will be disagreements about what should or shouldn't be on the A-list. Leave comments on this article, and I will edit the list and repost in a couple of months. I have not attributed the decks to anyone, as the history of any particular deck is often long and complicated (but feel free to claim credit in the comments!)
A few notes on how the list is organized. Cards listed are those that, in my opinion, define a particular deck type. People can and do mix and match between deck-types to create hybrids. Auto-includes like Courier for Humans, Tractor Beam for Ferrier, and Scrapyard Scavengers (for all Cyber races) are not listed unless they are central to how the deck plays. Non-splash balanced decks should usually carry ship cards. Decks without ship cards should probably carry 4 Disarmaments. Cards linked with a '&' denote a combo.
State of the art.
See Tsai's article, Bending Tech.
See Armand's article, The Silica Question.
See Zorro's article, My Best Deck (So Far).
Close, but probably won’t win the tourney.
| doctoryes | Jan 14, 2008 | ||||||||
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| This is awesome. Just exactly what new players need to see in order to begin building their collections with a specific goal in mind.
There is one big exception I take, and it's right up at the top. I think that if a new player were (as I did) to aggressively pursue Android capitals as a tourney deck, he would soon find that he was on a very, very wrong track. In almost every tourney you will face Clave at least once. Likewise Kej SuperCruisers (aka 'Black Kej', E-splash) is going to be very, very vulnerable to Clave. I don't think that makes the A-list either. Two avengers ago Lars and I both got out of our matches at the same moment, around t8. He said, 'I had forgotten how you either have to play Clave or anti-Clave'. I had just been thinking the very same thing. Also, I understand the last Avenger (pop. 6, granted) was won with a Thrass deck that wasn't Speed Kill-y at all. Something with Thrall Master definitely makes the top tier, imo. Maybe Wup can elaborate.
EDIT: Wuppin has elaborated on his Thrass deck in the forums. I'm pulling his comment over here in the interest of keeping this reference material up to date. He says his deck includes: To read the full discussion of this article, go to: |
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| MajorMajor | Feb 12, 2008 | ||||||||
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| A post by Banslay from the forums: I haven't played in a ton of CRM tourneys lately, but I have still played in a decent number of them and I think I still have a pretty good grasp on the current metagame, so here's my brief take on the list of competitive decks. I know if I must have forgotten some deck archetypes and not have specified every variation of each archetype, but my goal wasn't to make an exhaustive list of every single competitive deck either, just a general overview. After having seen tsai's take on the metagame and now mine, I'd like to know what other players think. Before the actual list, here are some definitions: Tournament decks are often divided in 3 tiers: Tier 1: Decks that consistently have a lot of good matchups* and still have a shot even in the bad matchups, so ultimately have a good chance of winning a tourney Tier 2: Decks that have a decent number of good matchups (and may have many if no one is prepared to face it) but also a decent number of bad ones, and, as such, will need luck with the pairings in order to win a tourney Tier 3: Decks that have many bad matchups and have a hard time beating the best decks, and can only win a tourney with the help of a lot of luck *The number of good or bad matchups doesn't refer only if it's good or bad against how many decks in the abstract, but also good or bad on how many maps in the CRM rotation. Good Stuff deck: Deck which plays the best cards available to its tech combination, without any real theme or special element Tier 1 decks Android Good Stuff (often with a war sub-theme) (balanced tech) Notable cards: Master Shipwright, Daemon Nu (Dark Hammer), Lilith Model, Iconoclasts Android Speed Kills (Entropy tilt) Notable cards: Secret Police, conquerors, Shrieker, Entropic Burst *This deck is probably tier 1 at the moment but I can see it go to tier 2 if most players can recognize it and slow it down before Secret Police hits or are able to deal with Secret Police. Clave Good Stuff (balanced tech) Notable cards: Gone Rogue, Humiliation, Bounty Hunter, Rebel Battlecruiser Ferrier Spreading the Message (balanced tech) Notable cards: Spreading the Message, conquerors and heroes, tech accelerators, Propaganda *This is a strong deck but I'm not absolutely sure it's tier 1, though, since I only had the occasion to see it in action once. Omior Destiny Rocket (Life tilt) Notable cards: Underground Resistance, Remote Informant, Foreign Aid, Archaeologist *The nerf of the Omior racial ability might have relegated this deck to Tier 2, though. Omior Good Stuff (balanced tech) Notable cards: Gilded Sage, Disciple of Roots, Briarward (Limb of the Treeship), Isolation Thrass Speed Kills (Entropy tilt) Notable cards: Secret Police, conquerors, Shrieker, Entropic Burst *This deck is probably tier 1 at the moment but I can see it go to tier 2 if most players can recognize it and slow it down before Secret Police hits or are able to deal with Secret Police. Tier 2 decks Android Harbinger (Order splash) Notable cards: Harbinger (The World Bleeder), Research Academy, tech accelerators *The biggest advantage of this deck is its element of surprise; if most players learn how to recognize and deal with it, it will probably be relegated to tier 3. Clave Destiny (Life tilt) Notable cards: Underground Resistance, Remote Informant, Fat Cats, Humiliation Ferrier Good Stuff (often with a voting subtheme) (balanced tech or Mind tilt) Notable cards: Zorwahl (Heir Apparent), Emperor, Imperial Battlecruiser, Archon Overseer Human Versatility (sometimes with a subtheme such as Global Representation) (balanced tech) Notable cards: Landing Party, Courier, Professor Hernandez, Space Marines Ixa Good Stuff (often with Death Shields subtheme) (balanced tech or Entropy Tilt) Notable cards: Death Ray, Barrier Shields, Stalker in the Shadows, Hunter Seeker Kej Catacomb Claim (balanced tech) Notable cards: Catacomb Warden, Logical Claim, conquerors, Astral Escort Kej Life (Life splash) Notable cards: Landing Party, Courier, Ground Assault Kej Super Cruiser (Entropy splash) Notable cards: Torpedo Tubes, Power Surge, Logical Sacrifice, Coalescent Shielding Silica Good Stuff (often with a conqueror subtheme) (balanced tech) Notable cards: Stonecutter (Veteran of the Exchange), Accomplished Shipwright, Hand of Conquest, Assault Troopers Thrass Heroes (balanced tech) Notable cards: Thrall Master, Hive Queen (Reborn), Parasite Message edited by Banslay on 01/12/2008 20:03:18. | |||||||||
| MajorMajor | Feb 12, 2008 | ||||||||
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| I have no idea how to make the above easily readable. Too bad as it's a great post. Kit? | |||||||||
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