Craiteswords, once a resurrection deck, now they've taken over the role of the X-men. Yet, I rarely see them in play. So, I want to present you my Craiteswords deck, home-brewed and evolved over many iterations. A pretty strong deck, if you aren't so unlucky as to have all your thinning cards at the bottom of your deck. It's basically a combo of discard and Craiteswords.
The First Round and Discarding
The first round mostly focuses on discarding cards. I am using Birna, Derran and Skald to discard stuff while putting points on the board and discarding less useful cards. Incidentally, I am using Bomb Heaver instead of the golden removal, so I can ress it in case I do need it, but otherwise it's a discard target. In the ideal situation you'll use Derran to discard Morkvarg and Cerys, but both can be discarded by Birna or Skald as an alternative.
Freya's Blessing a Swiss Army Knife
Freya's Blessing is a Swiss army knife because you discard all your "junk", but those cards can be ressed later if they suddenly become useful. Mostly talking about Bomb Heaver which otherwise is just a 3 point play. But Skald can also be ressed if you need more thinning or Strays if you need to move a card. Otherwise, the primary target is Craitesword or Warship.
The Strength of Torrential Rain
The original deck had 4 artifacts: 2 Spears and 2 Thunderbolts. With the provision nerf, this didn't fit any longer in the deck. So, I went looking for alternatives and found Torrential Rain which is a better Spear and Thunderbolt combined. Rain has two 1 damage ticks (instead of 1 for a Spear or other bronze weather effects). More importantly, it can pre-buff the Craiteswords by playing Rain first and then a Craitesword, which immediately gets boosted by 2, putting it out of range of most sniping tools. This boost also makes Thunderbolt obsolete. Finally, even without a Craitesword, a 8 provision card for 8 potential damage isn't bad, also because no one is running weather counters.
The Ingenuity of Avallac'h
Thunderbolt might have been a protection against damage, but not against locks and targeted removal. Here comes Avallac'h to the rescue. It's primary target being Dagur, but alternatively a Craitesword will work too. Avallac'h has another function, that of being bait. Even if he gets locked or removed, that still means the danger has been redirected from your precious Craiteswords.
Damage, Damage, Damage
Torrential Rain is just for damage ticks. Your most valuable damage card is Delirium which ticks 6 times, making it a 12 point card with one Craitesword, up to 24 points with all Craites and Dagur. Incidentally, Delirium can be used as a removal tool, if needed, although a bit unreliable if the row is swamped. In the same vein, Warship is used for extra ticks with Craiteswords or as an occasional removal tool. Finally, you've got Harald which is usually a finisher and a garantueed victory if you have Craite/Dagur alive in the last round. However, sometimes you can use Harald to push round 2, if needed.
The First Round and Discarding
The first round mostly focuses on discarding cards. I am using Birna, Derran and Skald to discard stuff while putting points on the board and discarding less useful cards. Incidentally, I am using Bomb Heaver instead of the golden removal, so I can ress it in case I do need it, but otherwise it's a discard target. In the ideal situation you'll use Derran to discard Morkvarg and Cerys, but both can be discarded by Birna or Skald as an alternative.
Freya's Blessing a Swiss Army Knife
Freya's Blessing is a Swiss army knife because you discard all your "junk", but those cards can be ressed later if they suddenly become useful. Mostly talking about Bomb Heaver which otherwise is just a 3 point play. But Skald can also be ressed if you need more thinning or Strays if you need to move a card. Otherwise, the primary target is Craitesword or Warship.
The Strength of Torrential Rain
The original deck had 4 artifacts: 2 Spears and 2 Thunderbolts. With the provision nerf, this didn't fit any longer in the deck. So, I went looking for alternatives and found Torrential Rain which is a better Spear and Thunderbolt combined. Rain has two 1 damage ticks (instead of 1 for a Spear or other bronze weather effects). More importantly, it can pre-buff the Craiteswords by playing Rain first and then a Craitesword, which immediately gets boosted by 2, putting it out of range of most sniping tools. This boost also makes Thunderbolt obsolete. Finally, even without a Craitesword, a 8 provision card for 8 potential damage isn't bad, also because no one is running weather counters.
The Ingenuity of Avallac'h
Thunderbolt might have been a protection against damage, but not against locks and targeted removal. Here comes Avallac'h to the rescue. It's primary target being Dagur, but alternatively a Craitesword will work too. Avallac'h has another function, that of being bait. Even if he gets locked or removed, that still means the danger has been redirected from your precious Craiteswords.
Damage, Damage, Damage
Torrential Rain is just for damage ticks. Your most valuable damage card is Delirium which ticks 6 times, making it a 12 point card with one Craitesword, up to 24 points with all Craites and Dagur. Incidentally, Delirium can be used as a removal tool, if needed, although a bit unreliable if the row is swamped. In the same vein, Warship is used for extra ticks with Craiteswords or as an occasional removal tool. Finally, you've got Harald which is usually a finisher and a garantueed victory if you have Craite/Dagur alive in the last round. However, sometimes you can use Harald to push round 2, if needed.
