Marks in Time prerelease weekend was a big hit in a bunch of game shops around the US and Canada, and more are arriving in Europe June 10-26! If you haven't seen a map of those locations yet, be sure to check it out.
For lots of CCG players, deckbuilding is just as fun as playing the game. Sometimes that's a whole new deck, but often it's doing incremental improvements to old favorites as new sets come out with awesome new cards to play with.
With that in mind, Adam from the MLP: CCG design team has shared a deck list that is a before and after: before Marks in Time released, and now how it could be improved using new cards from the new set you might have found at prerelease. Head down below the break to read up!
Marks in Time brings a wealth of new cards for all archetypes, and more than enough to add some new decks to the mix, but it’s also always interesting to see how the decks you’ve already been playing evolve when they incorporate cards from a new set. Blue aggro decks have been a staple since the beginning - today, we’ll be taking a look at what those decks might look like after the release of Marks in Time!
There’s a fair amount of variety in the precise build of any given deck, but the example we’ll be starting from is this one. What sort of upsides might Marks in Time have in store for this deck? Well:
Night Glider, Ambitious Aerobat: This card is a great way to project a lot of power into a faceoff when you’ve already got a bunch of small bodies on the board – it’s particularly good in conjunction with Spitfire, Wing Leader’s tokens or the Friends Rainbow Dash, Winged Wonder might bring with her.
Pipsqueak, Class President: Every aggro deck needs a way to get bothersome Troublemakers out of the way, and if you’re tired of options like The Hard Way or Epic Win that go away once they’re used, Pipsqueak can cover the same ground, but leave behind a surprisingly large body. With only 1 requirement, he can slot into a deck without disturbing the placement of your most powerful high-req cards, and in Troublemaker-free matchups he’s still a 3-cost Friend who brings 5 faceoff power to the table!
Ever Vigilant: Most mono-blue aggro decks include at least a couple copies of a movement-discounting Event – there are plenty of good options, but Ever Vigilant brings another one to the table, and shines particularly well in a Dilemma-heavy environment where it might let you move three or four characters instead of just two.
The Rainbow Connection: Mono-blue is always on the lookout for ways to win a faceoff, and The Rainbow Connection is a great one. Its +3 power is no Critter Cavalry, but it’s more than respectable, and unlike most similar cards, that +3 power is going to stick around if you win – just make sure you do!
Tirek’s Reign of Terror: Speaking of Dilemmas, this is a great one for an aggro deck – drop it, confront it, net a point and frighten a Friend – and if you can confront something else at the same time, you’ll be able to break a Troublemaker with it, too!
Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Helping to flesh out the mono-color-friendly Problem base, Guilty Until Proven Innocent gives you some free movement – on its face, it’s not quite as potent as To Griffonstone, but don’t be fooled; it comes with a 2-point bonus, to help add value to those Problem faceoffs!
With all that in mind, a mono-blue aggro deck updated for Marks in Time might look a little like this:
Mane:
1 x Princess Luna, Dream Warrior (High Magic)
Problems:
2 x Fire When Ready (Absolute Discord)
2 x Guilty Until Proven Innocent (Marks in Time)
2 x Ready to Fight (Equestrian Odysseys)
2 x To Griffonstone (EO)
1 x Blending In (EO)
1 x Under Lock and Tree (High Magic)
Draw:
3 x Two Bits (Premiere)
3 x Rainbow Dash, Winged Wonder (PRE)
2 x Queen Chrysalis, Identity Theft (AD)
3 x Scootaloo, Flying High (EO)
2 x Trashed (EO)
3 x Rainbow Dash, Back in Black (HM)
3 x Prince Rutherford, Quick to Judge (HM)
3 x Spitfire, Wing Leader (HM)
3 x Wild Fire, Speed Racer (PRE)
3 x Lightning Dust, Ruthless Racer (EO)
3 x Cloudchaser, Wonderbolt Trainee (HM)
3 x Tirek’s Reign of Terror (MIT)
3 x Pipsqueak, Class President (MIT)
3 x The Rainbow Connection (MIT)
2 x Ever Vigilant (MIT)
3 x Night Glider, Ambitious Aerobat (MIT)
Try it out – or keep an eye out for it, especially variants that replace Rainbow Dash, Back in Black with 3x copies of Night Glider, Overpowering!
And tune in next week when we'll take a look at a deck using the new Sweetie Belle Mane Character card, focused around using Dilemmas as a major part of the deck's winning strategy. See you then!
