KirriCorp

4 - Parkour L
4 - Madame Sharley
3 - Shockwave Mako
3 - Kilijoa
3 - Riptide Reef
1 - Mirielle
3 - Kafan Tara
3 - Imperial Blue

1 - Parli
2 - Mirage Flight
3 - Dvoid

2 - Stealth Matrix

2 - Slipstream
2 - Fair Wind
4 - Air Cannon

I just can't help posting when I'm enthusiastic about a new version, even when I haven't really tested enough.

Supplemental Slipstreams were re-placed. Altogether it was just too passive.

I fitted in 2 Mirage Flight because I found that I wasn't able to attack early often enough with just Parkour (somehow I don't seem to use Stealth Matrix for this). Only 2 because Mirage's main purpose is a 3 drop, later on its effect is not likely to work.

Also finally have a powerful [Damage 2] creature.

Parli boosts the cost efficiency of these ice additions, bolsters the 2-drops, plus fulfills one additional special purpose: disrupting responcers during the final turn. As long as Parli is an extra blockable creature, it can potentially be utilized to force the opponent to choose between not having enough tempo for their responcer, or letting it attack their grid directly. !!! Situationally giving me one more direct attack than I would otherwise have. It can also be used in tandem with Madame Sharley (and Riptide Reef) to cut the opponent just short of maximal tempo next turn.

I've gone ahead and added a Mirielle in advance. It gives a mid-late game unblockable and can also combo with: Mako (enable his effect despite blockers; let him attack twice) and Dvoid (ensure his [Damage 2] is not blocked; combo with Stealth Matrix to give a double [Damage 2] that only has to be runed once)

Rin wrote:Not much 'abuse' happening there (it annoys me when people use that to refer to combos in a balanced game).

when people says abuse doesn't really mean that way tho, i think you know it , it just means using it in such a way it's irritating and hence abuse.

Current version.

4 - Parkour L
3 - Madame Sharley
3 - Shockwave Mako
4 - Kilijoa
1 - Mirielle
3 - Kafan Tara

2 - Mirage Flight
3 - Dvoid

2 - Whispy Shala
4 - Fandance Wyvern

1 - Stealth Matrix

2 - Hypnotic Sway
2 - From the Depths
3 - Air Cannon
3 - Hypothermia

Pretty much everything is a distinct threat. I found that Kafan Tara tended to be instagibbed, for good reason, so there's Kilijoa to protect it and From the Depths to reraise it. Shockwave Mako + double Fandance Wyvern should be a threatening and distracting possibility. Fandance Wyvern takes some reliance off of unblockables/Kafan Tara and adds quick, effective counterattackability; and also some extra resistance to Sables Duress. Hypnotic Sway turns stacked Kilijoa into a huge threat. And in the case of a blocker wall there's always the ability to stack unblockables + Stealth Matrix for the win (hopefully having gotten some attacks in with i.e. Mirage Flight while they still had cards in hand). Mirielle adds to unblockables while synergizing with Mako and Dvoid. Whispy Shala is mostly just to make early/stacking Fandance easier, but also adds some quickness/swarm potential.

I think I found a good balance of passivity/aggression.

Yaay!

3 - Madame Sharley
3 - Shockwave Mako
3 - Polyphonic Flo
1 - Snipe Rammar
3 - Kafan Tara

3 - Whispy Shala
4 - Sanshia
1 - Niania, Tradewinds Pixie
4 - Fandance Wyvern
1 - Typhoon Wyvern
3 - Cunning Wyvern

2 - Stealth Matrix

1 - Air Cannon
3 - Wormhole
3 - Undercurrent
2 - Call to Arms


Cost info:
1 : CC C
2 : CC CC CW WW WW GG G
3 : WW WW WW WW WE E
4 : CW
5 : CC CC CW WW
6 : CC C

Average cost = 3.2

Creatures / Spells / Runes: 29/9/2

0 Radiance, 17 Wind, 0 Ice, 18 Water, 3 Gravity, 2 Earth, 0 Fire, 0 Lightning

Blockers: 7.5000005% (3/40).
Damage 2: 7.5000005% (3/40).
Responcers: 15.000001% (6/40).
Unblockables: 5.0% (2/40).


The biggest thing for me, in the latest set, was Sanshia. Before this, I had no assault-oriented Wind 2-drop to support my Fandance stacking. But Sanshia brings a lot to my deck, both offensively and defensively, comboing with Mako and Kafan.

(Another gem I found after my latest return, was Call to Arms. How was I not using this before! Note, I love how it's a responcer, so you can take away your opponent's ability to react to it! Or, alternately, use it to misdirect your opponent!)

[Note: This is not the epitome of a Shockwave Mako deck. The Morning Glory variant has gained a lot as well, through the sets. It's simply too slow for me.]

So, the deck.

I am Shockwave Mako. But I am also shinobi, and a shinobi's deck needs multiple paths to manipulate their opponent. Initially, the 'keystone' of my deck was Fandance Wyvern. Both Mako and Kafan rely on him. Kafan has Stealth Matrix, but I don't believe you can 5->0 their grid with that with three crappy blockers in the deck to protect your rune; and the instantaneous power boosts won't get you far by themselves. It was only some time after I added the Cunning Wyverns, that I realized how important they really were. 6000 power is not going to stay at the top of the conflict for long, but most likely it won't be a blocker taking that crown. With Kafan Tara at his side, however, all he has to worry about is blockers (generally speaking). As a bonus, Kafan acts like a 'saver' to him for spells, as the opponent often has to take her out before they can touch him, granting him a crucial extra turn to finish the duel. And he has sufficient base power to make Sanshia (and Undercurrent) useful; turning those single-play cards into a destroyed blocker or two destroyed grid points.

The long and the short of it is, it's an effective combo that doesn't rely on Fandance, so I don't get screwed over if my opponent assassinates them. But more than that, I can pretend to pursue the combo I am least equipped for and let them play their hand around that, while I secretly aim for the other.

So, we have these two combos, both relying on Fandance:

• 4 - Fandance Wyvern
  3 - Shockwave Mako
  4 - Sanshia
  3 - Undercurrent

• 4 - Fandance Wyvern
  3 - Kafan Tara
  4 - Sanshia
  3 - Undercurrent

And one combo that doesn't rely on Fandance:

• 3 - Cunning Wyvern
  3 - Kafan Tara
  4 - Sanshia
  3 - Undercurrent
  [Cunning can still combo with Fandance to create field dominance]

And topping off any of these 'assault combos', we have a 'terminus combo':

• 3 - Undercurrent
  2 - Stealth Matrix
  
  (Undercurrent is used here on a spare 5-drop to give 2 extra tempo for Stealth Matrix.) You can use Stealth Matrix to finish the duel in one or two turns. It's super effective with [Damage 2], and Cunning + rune can be un-interruptible.

Madame Sharley can tell you if your 'all-in' will be enough or not, potentially followed up by Niania if necessary.

There are two more 'minor combos':

• 4 - Fandance Wyvern
  4 - Sanshia
  3 - Undercurrent
  3 - Wormhole
  1 - Typhoon Wyvern
  1 - Snipe Rammar
  
  This combo amplifies Fandance and replays Sanshias. The Undercurrents are really vital in my deck; usually I'll be attacking with a single creature, then ideally terminus with multiple -- and Undercurrent helps in both regards.

• 2 - Call to Arms
  3 - Undercurrent
  1 - Niania, Tradewinds Pixie
  1 - Typhoon Wyvern
  3 - Wormhole
  1 - Snipe Rammar
  
  These are some further combos that increase Undercurrent's utility. It's hard to believe it does so much, and also saves creatures from attacks.

There are three cards I still have my eye on:

• - Snapjack Scarab
  - Riptide Reef
  - Mirielle

Snapjack Scarab would increase my resistance to power-based destruction (and I can stand to boost my responcers because Undercurrent refreshes tempo); Riptide Reef would help a lot vs decks that are very 'mono'; Mirielle would create an insane 4-grid terminus with Cunning and Stealth Matrix (and one more creature). My wiggle room is basically Snipe Rammar, Niania, and Typhoon Wyvern, all of which still seem pretty justified to me (Typhoon doesn't seem to have its day very often, but it seems valid in my mind still).