and yep. beaten again last night ( though it is taking some high level decks and players - i will mention no specific names, but you know who you are - haha ). so no, this is NOT a nightmare deck. you just need to work out ways to get around it. it IS a strong deck ( as it is ), perhaps tier 2, and looks all scary ( and often is ), but definately no unstoppable demon from the netherworld. though i am modifying it to become worse……. but thats MY little secret and MY little deck, because i really should stop handing out these babies, as im seeing them played against me already.

i will also say that this is indeed the strongest deck that i have ever built, and with the above mentioned mods, MIGHT even make it to tier 1 standards ( as that is all that is beating it so far in its present state ), especially as i become more accustomed to playing not only this deck but hastur in itself for the first time ( not to mention the game as well, as i have only ever played 28 times total now ). but time will tell, but probably not either, as i'll never get to test the revised version at the worlds !!

i will revise that above statement. the only thing beating it are good decks, and myself. i cannot stress how important play experience is, and that if youre not playing regularly to begin with, it will definately show in your games, as at the moment i'm like a learner driver in a rally car. i have been humbled once again due to a hugely erronius resourcing stumble, that forced me to put my first 2 alyssa's in the resources and then had to shock transform her in instead of the final lock card ( mod ) !! - haha. STOOPID. but, the lesson is learned and the risk i took will not be repeated, as sometimes your deck will just BITE you for it, so i am glad to have lost that one. so yeah, if you can't find players, jump on lackey and learn to drive these things properly !! sure, i can make an OK deck, but without the rigorous playtesting and experience, it will always just truly suck sometimes, so i'm on lackey everyday to change that. 30 games and counting !!

also, full congratulations to the opponent, who pounced on my early mishap and made it too late to recover from ! good game !! thanks for the whipping that will not let me forget it.

and the deck in its maturing form has been seen by a few people on lackey, and will be seen by many more as i refine and build my experience in playing it, so i'll give in to my slightly egotistical pride, my excitement of really just being a newbie with a fancy new toy, and tell you a bit about my mods so far. plus i'm absolutely poo at keeping my own secrets ( yet strangely can be implicitly trusted with anybody elses ?? ). i'm way down here in australia and will never get the opportunity to 'surprise' any tournaments with it anyway.

the final piece of my deck was the wraith. with alyssa on the board and the wraith cycling through a bell / midwife loop, it amounts to the opponent getting NO cards in his draw phase. and has to make do with the cards on the board ( in most cases ), which are slowly whittled away by the bell as well. it's not an easy combo :

alyssa graham

corrupted midwife

wraith

the 3 bells

but 3 of these can be shock transformed in as well to provide missing peices to the puzzle, and only alyssa is needed to start the decline until the rest appear in some way or another. so really the bell is the key, and i've already got new and improved ways of getting it back from discard ( with heaps of snow graves removal ), and am working on ways to bring it forward as well. so thats the COCLCG combo. once in place, it can make things tough.

the other changes have also given me a lot more control over the characters that do make it to the board in time, and really should have been in there in the first place, but in my struggle for 'individuality', my decks often suffer. but i won't let it be the case with this one. if i am to play with the big boys, i have to start using the common big boy toys.

so although the lock is there, unlike a glimpse deck, the rest of the deck can perform well enough without it. there are 14 other card types ( 38 cards ) working independently as a regular deck, but also with the combo cards as they are not uniquely useful to the lock only, so in reality its a functioning 50 card deck with a lock hidden inside. if i get 3 or 4 in the draw, it's gonna be difficult ( or take ingenuity ) to break.

so yeah. thats it. my lock down deck ( when it works ). claimed and certified. and apierophobia and ya-te-veo really have nothing to do with it ( though no hand cards to start isn't looking good ).

but no, its certainly not unbeatable, and cops a thrashing at the hands of a certain opponent while i stumble along learning how to use it and react to different deck styles. but it is nice. it has potential to grow. and i do love playing it.

                                                                           THE ONE TRICK PONY

                                                                                   ( Version 1.1 )

                                                                            3 x Performance Artist
                                                                          3 x Priestess of Bubastis
                                                                                    3 x Ya-te-veo
                                                                                      3 x Wraith 
                                                                                3 x Demon Lover
                                                                          3 x Diseased sewer rats
                                                                             2 x Marcus Jamburg
                                                                              3 x Alyssa Graham
                                                                            3 x Corrupted Midwife
                                                                          2 x Grasping Chthonian
                                                                              2 x Crazed Arsonist

                                                                      3 x Shocking Transformation
                                                                           3 x Burrowing Beneath
                                                                                3 x Apeirophobia

                                                                           3 x Infernal obsession
                                                                                 2 x Stygian eye
                                                                               3 x Snow Graves
                                                                             3 x The Three Bells

of course this is not the finished product. i already know that one of the 1 costs is likely to go now that i have another candidate for the bell ( ie the wraith ) and am thinking of perhaps either black dog for some more early oomph, or Y'golonac ( yes, yes, i know ), but not for his capacity in drawing out opponents characters. some of my cards rely on exhausting to perform actions, and he would be a nice touch to make sure this happens, or make it happen more than once per turn. burrowing beneath can likely go for thunder in the east for the draw card and also byahkee attack may make a return ( but i doubt it ). but above is the current 'released' version until concrete changes are made. i'm sure other cards may come and go within the small changes to be made, but its getting pretty close to being completed.
                                                                          

ok. its been ruled that alyssa is NOT a draw miller, but the deck still works to a degree and alyssa will become x2 to put diseased sewer rats and wraith back on deck for re-use when midwife not around.

.Zephyr. said:

Alyssa Graham can be used to bring Apeirophobia back.  She doesn't increase total card draws, but in the right circumstances you can guarantee that you get it back for next turn.  Very powerful, and in fact I think her most powerful ability is event recursion; sort of a Hastur version of The Large Man.

I think this is still a relatively powerful concept, even with the rule clarification on Alyssa Graham.   A forced sacrifice for both players every turn lets you get ahead, because you're ready for it (with Midwife and other supporting cards) while the opponent isn't.

Unfortunately, I think the deck will have to be retooled after the new FAQ comes out.  I suspect that at least one of those cards, but possibly more than one, will end up on the restricted list, and with Diseased Sewer Rats already on the roster, something else will have to go.