FakeMews Flux Wheel Pilots Guide in depth summary part Six: Nature post-update
This episode we are taking a turn from what we have been doing. The previous 5 episodes of the series focused on decklists used during my 23 win weekend ranked flux wheel run. However, with the recent balance patch I felt it was a bit odd to be doing a pilots guide deck for an already outdated list. Today we are going to examine my latest nature theory craft
Flux deck Profile 6: “Wild Nature”
Deck Code: GU_1_5_GAwIDNIDNCAuCAuHAEHAECATCATCAvCAvIASBEXBEXBCCBCCCBxCBxIALIALCDLCDLCArCArGAbCByCByIDOIDOGCT
God Power: Always Animal Bond
Deck Description:
This weekend ranked I am forced to play an “Aggro” weekend ranked as I must get my games in under 4 hours to catch my flight in time. So my post-patch focus has been on aggro lists with nature being one of the decks in my “committee” for this weekend ranked. Sitting down I was originally eyeing a gloam druid list then mid-way through the deck build I decided I was a wildfire wild list with a 1x trial of the hydra included. Not a lot of data to back up which is better but I will take your through my thought process revolved around this list. This list curves out at 5 and must obtain board early to have a chance. Its an “all-in list” perfect for fast games but if you lose the first 4 turns of the game you usually cant overcome that deficit.
Mulligan tier system:
In an effort to save time I am designing a pretty basic mulligan tier system that I will assign to each card on a 1-5 scale 1 being the most desirable cards to keep while 5 being the least desirable.
Tier one mulligan: These are the premium cards you want to keep in your opening hand during the mulligan phase. Your dream is to end up with 3 cards of this tier by the end of the Mulligan.
Tier two mulligan: Solid card you don’t feel bad ending up with this in your opening hand It’s a keep over any tier 3, 4 or 5 card in the mulligan phase I also suggest keeping these if you are on your last charge in the mulligan (at this point you’re more likely to get a worse opening hand card than improving. However if this is your worst mulligan card in your hand with 2+ charges left you ditch these.
Tier three mulligan: These are not the worst cards to end up with at the end of the mulligan however I always recommend mulligan aggressively on these even with one charge left. This is your mid-tier type of card while not a disaster to end up with in your opening mulligan to have a good starting hand you will not want multiple cards of this tier/worse in your opening hand.
Tier four mulligan: You will feel bad if you end up with any of these cards in your opening hand. Maybe there is a rare niche case you can consider keeping one of these however in reality you will always feel bad if one of these ends up in your opening hand.
Tier five mulligan: These are the worst possible cards you can get in your starting hand for your deck list. Typically characterized by your most expensive cards ideally these are cards you might be wanting to top deck when you have 9 mana crystals however you do not want to have early.
Mulligan tier lists:
Tier 1 mulligans:
Chiron, the Teacher
Wild Hog
Low Hanging Fruit (assumption being you have another minion you can also play)
Marsh Walker
Black Jaguar
Pyramid Warden
Faeflame Blade (exactly 1 don’t keep 2)
Finnian Fruitbearer
Underbrush Boar
Tier 2 mulligans:
Rabid Bear
Selena, Champion of Nature (vs other Aggro) vs. control this is a tier 5 mulligan).
Tier 3 mulligans:
Bladefly
Overgrown Rhino
Lightning Strike
Tier 4 mulligans:
Falling Star
Wildfire (situationally can be high)
Tier 5 mulligans
Trial of the Hydra
Selena (vs control)
Card by card analysis:
Chiron, the teacher: Excellent early game card can buff a marsh walker also can eliminate pesky relics. Depending on your opponent’s list this isn’t an auto drop early game if you can eat something like a necroscepter vs zombie death this can be an absolute gamechanger.
Low Hanging fruit- Kind of like a delayed shieldbearer which was always great in aggro. Also messes with math and can finish off 1 health minions. Great for early game board control which is essential to this list.
Wild Hog: Cheap solid stat minion benefits from the “wild” tribal tag which is relevant for Wildfire and Trial of the Hydra.
Marsh Walker: The meme dream is Marshwalker + Wildfire + trial of the hydra. You then have a 5/8 regen 3 Marshwalker which dies to Lightning Strike still. (All joking aside great early-game minion)
Pyramid Warden: Great early game card for fighting for board control. Annoys opponents if you can stick a Chiron or low-hanging fruit on this minion as well.
Black Jaguar: Excellent early game minion regen + wild synergizes with late game burst of wildfire+trial of the hydra
Faeflame Blade: Great early game relic for contesting the board. With this list just take as much damage as possible. Your health is a resource.
Finnian Fruitbearer: Auto-include in every nature list despite the nerf. For 2 mana if you play it while frenzied you get a 1/1 apple boi buffing another minion for 1/1 this is worst case scenario. Worse case scenario of 2 mana for 4/4 in stats? I’d take that.
Underbrush Boar: Nature’s signature toxic Genesis card. Very strong turn 1 or two option for obtaining board control.
Lightning Strike: Assuming you obtain board sometimes opponents like to stick a large minion (EX: Guild Enforcer). This is the only pure-removal spell in the list.
Rabid Bear: Solid stats for cost benefits from wild tag. Has added flexibility of being confused or not confused.
Bladefly: Generates 3 minions excellent synergy with wildfire/Trial of the Hydra/ Falling Star (in situations) Fastest way to go wide. Aftermath’s favorite card.
Overgrown Rhino: I had an internal debate with wetlands ogre vs Overgrown Rhino. The “traditional” pick is the rhino which is what I went with however, the lack of the confused can give the ogre legit consideration. Both minions benefit from the “wild” tag.
Selena, Champion of Nature: Arguably the best card in the entire list vs other aggro lists. And worst card in the list vs control.
Wildfire: This list is filled with wild minions and this synergizes with the list. Animal Bond minions are also wild keep that in mind. This is a situational snowball card but in the right spot can be a game closer
Falling Star: Its like a bladefly that buffs your board and gives something burn 6. Delayed removal and helps you go wide and helps you buff. Synergizes with wildfire and trial of the hydra. This card has a lot going for it.
Trial of the Hydra: Best card after a wildfire. Worst card on an empty board. It’s a gamble running this in the list but sometimes you just need to make meme dreams come true.
Salute to the 23/22 win flux wheel participant list:
Deck Code: GU_1_5_GAwIDNIDNCAuCAuCATCATCCOCCOCAvCAvIASBEXBEXBCCBCCIDKIDKCBxCBxGAbBHDIDMIDMICHICHGAnIDFIDFIDX
(Note this list was build pre-balance patch) The spirit of the list and curve are most definitely playable. These lists pilot very differently with the OG flux wheel deck being better later in the game.