For 's competition, I wanted to create a special deck. Not a meta-deck, because those would surely be covered by many people, but rather something fun and thematic. Would it work? Unlikely, especially during the weekends in the Mythic bracket. But I just had to try. I scoured the card list on GUDecks for potential meme-worthy decks and decided on a card that I would center the deck around - Fertility Idol.
Deck Overview
Deck Link: GUDecks
Working around the central card of Fertility Idol, I tried to think of how I could maximize its ability. The main aim was to have a buffed unit one turn before the turn I have 7 mana gems before playing Fertility Idol to reproduce that buffed unit. As it is a late-game control deck, I slotted in quite a number of early removal like Canopy Barrage and Lightning Strike. On top of the standard Nature deck fare, I decided to insert a couple of hidden 1-cost units so I could set up for one turn before Fertility Idol was played.
Did it work out? Unfortunately for me, the deck only mustered a low 33.3% win rate across 12 games. (4 wins out of 12 games) Granted, I played in the Mythic bracket on a weekend which led to battling with some truly meta decks, I wanted to give this deck an honest try at the toughest time of the week.
Card Choices
The centerpiece of the deck. As a hefty 7-cost, it had truly laughable stats - 0 attack and just 6 health. The main thing it had going for it was its effect, which would summon an exact copy of a random friendly creature. This meant that all buffs and stat changes were copied over which could lead to ridiculous combos if left unattended. While most games didn't allow me to play this card comfortably, a few did. In one of these games, I managed to copy an armor-buffed Marsh Walker, which was pretty neat even though it didn't immediately win me the game.
Playing a second Fertility Idol caused even more Fertility Idols to be created, which was pretty funny although it was just a bunch of low-attack creatures on the field 😂
Imagine this card's full potential!
This trio of 1-cost units was picked for their ability to be buffed easily. Dockside Prowler and Wiccan Warrior could be set up with an Aspect of the Pangolin for 5 mana on one turn and could be followed with another big buff the next turn. Marsh Walker was simply just tanky and could snowball into a large unit if combo-ed well with all the buffs in the deck.
Big Broccoli Boy isn't a meme.
I included Munosian Infiltrator as a response card to early Skeleton Heavys and Pyramid Wardens. Not too shabby, but I found that I preferred the extra stats on a Skeleton Heavy sometimes.
My choice of 3-drop creatures included Celestial Stag, Ominous Burrow, and Gersemi. I had unopened a Gersemi in a core pack much earlier, so I decided to just put it in. If there was already a big creature on the field, Gersemi could help cement that position by giving it additional Regen. Celestial Stag could generate value and essentially had frontline as the enemy usually doesn't leave it around. Ominous Burrow was used to cheat out early 5-cost units, but sadly, it usually felt too slow.
Canopy Barrage, Lightning Strike, and The Hunt were my choices of removal spells in this deck. I found them to be less useful in this deck as compared to a regular mid-range Nature deck, since I often couldn't single the target. I remember why I decided not to have Nature as my main deck - the randomness really irked me sometimes!
I had a grand vision with these buff cards. To create the largest creature ever to smack the opponent's face in. But sadly, these were often too little too late. With the right supporting cards, these cards could be amazing. But I think they probably would do better in a deck without Fertility Idol...
The last of the cards in this deck are these two 5-drops. Simple, big creatures that could be cheated out with the aid of an Ominous Burrow. It was a little sad that they were often undermined by some response card from the opponent.
Conclusion
This exercise in deckbuilding was fun, but I realized how hard it is to build a meme deck that plays well. (I fell in rank to Ethereal Diamond while playing this deck 😂) I do think that a deck centered around Fertility Idol could work, but with the aid of other cards that could prolong the game more effectively.
Thanks to for organizing this giveaway! If you're interested in what the contest is, do head down to his giveaway post and submit your Nature decks with the #NatureUnchained tag.
Post Header image source: GU Official Media Kit