by DB Elcarim
I. Introduction
With the release of Darkness Over Vellsar came two very important cards in Anne Mysterian Imperatrix and Grea Scorching Fury. These two cards not only provide a reliable win condition via token generation i.e Rending Blast and Resentful Blaze, but also provide strong mid game board presence. They also provide utility by milling cards in order to get to twenty as well as healing and play point recovery via evolution. The deck has finally picked up steam after nerfs and with the meta slowing down as a result. The deck’s game plan is very straightforward and it usually wins in the same fashion regardless of match up. Stall the game with removal while gathering Anne and Grea’s spells. OTK the opponent using a combination of damage on turn eight or nine ideally with 5 cards in deck for increased damage.
II. Rotation
The deck lost Mystic Absorption with the rotation of World Uprooted, serving as both valuable removal and card draw. It would definitely still be relevant now especially with all the Last Words Shadow running amuck in the current meta game. But overall much of the deck still remains intact.
III. Decklist
The list is pretty standard some run three copies of retracing the past or copies of Crystal Fencer to spellboost. There are even other cards like Glimpse Beyond that you can run for added utility. For the most part you will see most lists are something like this just with different ratios of cards. The most common way to win is turn 8 with Elmott and two Rending Blasts
IV. Other Cards
Transcendent Simulacrum – can be used to further accelerate gameplan as well as getting Anne and Grea’s twenty or less effects especially going 2nd, but overall it is not necessary in my opinion you can mill very fast even without it
Magical Squirrel – Spellboost and draw, it’s a good card in this deck feel free to use it. It is definitely more standard alongside Elmott and Covenant Mage
Covenant Mage – Draws and can cost zero making it a good target for Rending Blast in the late game, but unfortunately does not spellboost
Elmott Pyrestarter – This card serves a similar purpose to Lynkal in that it helps you OTK more consistently, typically run at three copies
Crystal Fencer – used to spellboost both Runie and Elmott when under twenty cards, but can be played early
Glimpse Beyond – utility spell used to recover evo points for Anne and Grea ideally, can be run but is not necessary
VI. General Gameplan
Turns 1-4
Draw cards, gather combo pieces, and minimize damage with removal such as Riven Earth, Authoring Tomorrow, Aleister accelerate, etc.
Turns 5-7
Swing the board using Anne, Grea, or Aleister while using evos to mill cards from the deck. Continue to draw cards if possible in order to reach five.
Turns 8-10
OTK your opponent using any Rending Blasts, Resentful Blazes, Runies, and or Elmotts that you have accumulated over the course of the match.
VI. Tips and combos
If you evolve Grea she is only 1pp which allows you to play multiple spells or Annes in the mid or late game.
When duplicating either Anne or Grea make sure you have at most twenty-six cards in deck with evolution. Anne is preferred, try to play them only them to not copy the wrong card.
– Against classes that don’t heal evolving two Annes allows you to win even through a big board. Try to hit face with her effect if possible
– It is okay to evolve Aleister even if his evolve isn’t free his evolve mills the same number of cards as Anne and Grea. His accelerate can be used to mill 6-8 cards alongside them in the same turn.
– Don’t be afraid be afraid to use Runie for draw or removal in the early game, it doesn’t have to always be used for damage.
-Save a Crystal Witch or a Covenant Mage as a target for Rending Blast
VI. Matchups
Machina Portal (Favored)
They don’t put on a ton of pressure early, although the armored tentacle can be quite annoying to deal with. You can burst them even if they play Belphomet on turn nine. Sometimes they do have double Absolute Tolerance in the mid game, but you should be favored most of the time.
Last Words Shadow (Slightly Unfavored)
Celeste Omega shuts down your OTK and usually that one turn is enough to give them a good chance of winning but if they chain multiple it can be devastating. Try to create a large board in the mid game with Grea or Anne to dissuade them from playing it, but they can also just clear with Tyrant and play Celeste the next turn, if you are unable to kill them. Try to keep an answer to Celeste like Anne or Aleister
Evo Dragon (Favored)
You should have time to set up OTK’s most of the time as the deck is fairly slow, some do run Archangel of Evocation which can make it quite awkward. Try to set up a large board in the mid game as it can be difficult for them to deal with, even with something like Georgius. Try to have a board in order to make Grimnir lethal less likely before 10 play point orbs in combination with Direstan.
Rune (Even)
Against both Evo Rune and in the mirror you are both generally looking to race to OTK, more so in the mirror. Evo Rune is definitely more proactive in the early game so play accordingly. In both matchups the opponent will most likely not give you a target to Rending Blast so keeping Crystal Witch or Covenant Mage as a target in hand is a good idea. Likewise, try to leave an empty board if possible. In the mirror try to cast spells while developing followers if you have multiple copies as sometimes you will not have enough play points to play them all in one turn. Against Evo rune clearing a big board can be difficult especially without Vincent’s effect, If anything you can stall Grimnir lethal.
Sword (Unfavored)
Against Rally Sword try your best to minimize damage and ideally copy Anne with Arcane Duplication. Authoring Tomorrow on even turns is very good in this matchup. It is okay to use Grea’s spell to clear boards especially if they invoked Fieran. They will usually always have a board so use Crystal Witch and Covenant Mage to cycle instead of saving them to Rending Blast. Against Bayleon Sword they usually can kill you faster than you can kill them. Anne is not always a reliable ward to counteract it unfortunately. Try to keep your health high as sometimes they are only able to deal eighteen damage. Grea’s spell can be used to kill Leod in either matchup which can be very useful.
Forest (Unfavoured)
If they are going full in on the OTK they usually can just combo faster than you can. If they have Aria active it usually makes it very to clear any boards you do have. Using Grea evo to play alongside Anne in the same turn is usually very good. You can play out Grea’s spell to force out Sluggers if they haven’t played them already. Try to mill as fast as possible looking to kill them on turn seven or eight. Using Grea evo to play alongside Anne in the same turn is usually very good. You can play out Grea’s spell to force out Sluggers if they haven’t played them already. Try to mill as fast as possible looking to kill them on turn seven or eight.
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