Even though I'd have liked to put my best foot forward when entering @jungleboy1 's #AmazonsUnchained contest, I realized that my collection of Amazons were greatly lacking. I lacked a few powerhouses in most Amazon decks like Primal Guidance, Riverjumper Captain, and Myrto's Daughter. And my IMX wallet was looking painfully empty as my Divine Order collection diminished in value (plz devs, wen moon?) so I decided not to buy any cards to complete my Amazon deck. What I ended up doing was... create an """Amazon""" Nature deck.
First Attempt: Aggro Amazon Nature
Deck Link: GUDecks
My first attempt at creating an Amazon Nature deck involved me filtering my pathetic collection with the "Amazon" filter and including 90% of those cards. Since the Amazon theme revolved around putting out a wide board early and fast, I included Pack Stalk and Finnian Fruitbearer since they seemed to fit well with the overall theme. Two Marsh Walkers were also included to fill in the void as a strong 1-drop.
And of course, I can't forget Arkmonian Onslaught, the sole reason this deck exists. The extreme temptation of a wide +3/+2 and Twin Strike buff is one of the greatest pulls of creating an Amazon deck. And if it went well, Arkmonian Onslaught would be a fantastic game-ender.
Performance
Sadly, my rather unpolished Amazon deck didn't do too well in the arena. Going second against Light was almost a death sentence since Amazons are quite reliant on having some pre-existing creature on the board for their effects to proc.
Going first was easily one of the biggest factors in securing a win with this deck.
| Opponent God | Deck Archetype | Score (Wins / Total Games) |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Amazon Nature | 1 / 1 |
| Control Nature | 0 / 1 | |
| War | Aggro War | 1 / 1 |
| Control War | 0 / 1 | |
| Magic | Midrange Magic | 0 / 1 |
| Control Magic | 2 / 2 | |
| Aggro Magic | 1 / 1 | |
| Death | Zombie Death | 1 / 2 |
| Deception | Midrange Deception | 0 / 1 |
| Order Deception | 1 / 1 | |
| Sleep Deception | 1 / 1 | |
| Light | Midrange Light | 2 / 8 |
| Aggro Light | 2 / 4 | |
| Control Light | 1 / 1 | |
| Total | 13 / 26 |
However, even when going first against Light, a Mace of Calling or Light's Levy can quickly turn the game around for them. I was pretty frustrated whenever I faced a Light opponent. At this point, I was so frustrated with my Light opponents that I conceded immediately if they went first and played two creatures on the first turn.
Second Attempt: """Amazon""" Nature
Maybe it could be considered an Amazon deck since there are... 7 Amazons in the deck? (2x Barksworn Protector, 1x Gersemi, 2x Nightleaf Prowler, 2x Raging Giant) I decided that I had enough with the coin flips on who went first and tried to create a more Midrange Nature deck with Amazon elements.
Even though I didn't have enough time to play this deck more, from the few games that I managed to complete, I already enjoyed the games a lot more since I felt like I had a lot more control in each game.
From my brief stint with Control Nature, I found that I enjoyed the long grind of long control match-ups, so I decided to theme this deck as a more lategame deck. Cards like Arrow of Rage and Blazing Talisman are ace cards against faster decks.
While I had initially included Arkmonian Onslaught in this deck to hopefully combo with Nightleaf Prowler, it didn't pan out in any game; so I labeled it as a combo that sounded good on paper but would hardly ever be played in any match. As such, I removed Arkmonian Onslaught from the deck.
In my very limited testing, this deck (and its previous variation) went to win 5 games out of 7. Already looking much better than my previous deck!
So, are Amazons Bad?
I wouldn't be so quick to conclude that Amazons are bad, but they do need quite a bit of support from a few key cards to work a lot better. Cards like Underbrush Boar and Jaguar Staff would go a long way to making the deck perform a lot better in the current meta.
While I didn't manage to get out a good polished Amazon deck out, I hope you enjoyed reading my experiences trying to construct one!
Once again, thanks to @jungleboy1 for organizing this!
