Hey everyone, today I am here to show you a new build of Stormsire's Cursebreakers that I believe will be very powerful in the upcoming meta.
In this article you can expect a deck list, card breakdown, and play strategy.
Time to harness the storm!
Deck:
So at first glance, the deck looks similar to current popular Cursebreaker builds. For those of you who may not have seen it, the older version of this deck relied on pumping up Stormsire and going to town with a bunch of spells. The fact that the warband also has an in-faction version of Blessing of Vytrix makes casting a lot of powerful spells a trivial matter.
With the release of the new universals from the Hrothgorn's Mantrappers and The Wurmspat expansions, this play style has become, in my opinion, a lot more powerful and, more importantly, consistent.
In addition to the normal Stormsire shenanigans players can tap into, there is now a way to add further consistency. In fact, at worst it's a backup plan. At it's best, you have two very powerful offensive spell slingers. The reason being is that you can effectively have another Stormsire on the board via some key upgrades.
There are many ways to pull it off and below I have demonstrated a way in which you can ramp up either Ammis or Rastus to Stormsire levels of power.
In this example, we have Ammis upgraded with Arcane Savant, Jared's Spirited Sphere, and Tempest's Might.
As you can surmise, Ammis now becomes a level 2 wizard with a range 3, 1 damage, ensnare spell attack action that can hit for 2 damage. If you happen to Empower her, she also get's a built in re-roll as well. It's dirty.
But wait, it looks like you need a significant number of upgrades to make this work reliably, right? Well, yes. But, as we all know, Cursebreakers have a lot of ways to gain quick and reliable glory. I recently played a game where I scored 7 glory in my first activation... Yeah, it can be silly sometimes.
We've all been on the offending and receiving end of magic spam Cursebreakers but we've all had a way to neuter the deck - eliminating Stormsire. Now, that is going to be a lot harder.
Objectives:
Harness the Storm: No surprise seeing this in the deck. It's the easiest and perhaps one of the most powerful score immediates in the game.
Magical Supremacy: Another very easy to score card - reliable and easy glory generation.
Measured Strike: Your fighters are dealing between 2-3 damage naturally - super easy to score. It's a must have.
Death from Afar: Most of the time you will score this with Stormsire or your fully kitted out mini-Stormsire. The great thing about this card is that if you are 3 or more hexes away, you can score this with a damaging gambit spell as well.
Fired Up: The Cursebreakers have probably one of the easiest ways to inspire in the game due the innate spells printed on their fighter cards. A quick Empower will secure you a quick glory at the end of the phase.
Great Gains: I recently replaced Combination Strike in a bunch of my decks for this card. It's pretty easy to score 5 glory in a turn with the Cursebreakers. You've got a bunch of easy score immediates, your fighters are great combatants, and you can work towards your end scoring as well. If you prefer Combination Strike, you could probably sub that in, instead of this. I just found this to a be a little less reliant on draw. Keep Chopping is another possible replacement. I was running it for the last couple of weeks and is probably easier to score now that you've got a second spell attack action.
Magical Storm: I've found this card to be fairly reliable over the past couple of weeks. In this deck, you have 3 innate spell actions/attacks and 6 gambit spells. Furthermore, one you get Jared's Spirited Sphere online, the chances of scoring this jump through the roof.
Opening Gambit: You've got 6 score immediates in the deck so unless you get really unlucky, you'll probably score this in the end phase.
Overpower: Statistically, you're bound to roll a handful of crits over the course of the game. The dream is scoring this off an Empower - that's a spell cast, an inspiration, and a potential glory too.
Strange Demise: You can score this via Stormsire's spell attack action, a gambit spell that does damage, or via an upgraded Rastus or Ammis. Reliable and will come up often.
Aggressive Strategy: This is probably the most draw dependent, and potentially brick-able, card. I think the surges in this deck are pretty easy to score and, as my readers know, I love glory multipliers. In the age of 6/6 this might be harder. You can replace this with Combination Strike or Keep Chopping.
Rising Power: Stormsire himself will probably be scoring this card for you the most. However, a Rastus/Ammis with Arcane Savant and Jared's Spirited Sphere can also score this for you. Both will need some help via Haymaker, Potion of Rage, or Well of Power. While a little draw dependent, you've got 3 ways to score the card. Furthermore, it can be a form of passive glory while also boosting you offensive power.
Gambits:
Cry of Thunder: On two dice, rolling a double channel isn't unheard of. Once you get an innate on your wizard, rolling a single on channel on two dice is pretty trivial. Being able to damage a bunch of fighters from anywhere on the board (as long as you have line of sight) is busted.
Abasoth's Unmaking: In an objective dominant meta, a key unmaking can rain on anyone's parade. If you aren't facing an objective based opponent, this is a very easy way to inspire Stormsire and work towards a plethora of objectives in the deck.
Abasoth's Withering: Great way to inspire a fighter, weaken an enemy fighter, or finish one off. While you can't score Strange Demise off of it, it helps work towards everything else.
Haymaker: While you are relying on a lot spell casting, at the end of the day you need to eliminate enemy fighters to win the day. This helps you get those important attacks off while also helping you score Rising Power.
Sorcerous Riposte: I wasn't a big fan of this card until very recently. The thing is, your opponent is bound to miss during a game, statistically at least, and so being able to cast this by anyone on the board (usually Stormsire) in order to deal 2 damage is powerful. Innate's help, of course.
Sphere of Aqshy: One of the strongest spells in the game and restricted for good reason. Easy to cast, helps score the objectives in your deck, and can take people out. What's not to love?
Seggut's Salvo: A more balanced version of Sphere of Aqshy, you take it for all the same reasons. The push is nice too and can bump foes into lethal hexes as well.
Nightmare in the Shadows: So another copy of distraction. Well, that's busted. This card can get your fighters in range, push enemies out of range, and bump a bunch of fighters into lethal hexes.
Unnatural Truce: Since this version of the deck has 11/11 I wanted to include a draw engine in the deck. You could probably cut this and an upgrade to hit 10/10. If you do want to include a draw engine, this is probably the one to slot in.
Distraction: Well, I guess we put that in the deck.
Spectral Wings: The one problem with Cursebreakers is that they are a bit slow. In a meta where the average move is 4, the spell slingers can sometimes have trouble engaging. This card can be used as a great initiator or, in a poor situation, a way to get out.
Upgrades:
Eye of the Storm: Innate's are awesome and the fact that Cursebreakers have an in-faction version means you can double up reliably. Slap this on a caster and your chances of scoring double channel spells sky rocket.
Lightning Whip: I love this card. Not only does it give Rastus and Ammis a bit of an extra punch in melee, it also works with Jared's Spirited Sphere. So whether you're able to get Tempest Might out or not, you can still get that extra damage.
Tempest's Might: Speaking of Tempest's Might, this card is pretty much a Great Strength for spell attack actions. Stormsire can potentially hit for 3 damage while a souped up Ammis/Rastus can deal 2 (3 with Lightning Whip).
Arcane Savant: This card can make Ammis or Rastus a level 2 wizard. The benefits for this are numerous but it is integral for reliably mimicking Stormsire's potency with someone else.
Blessing of Vytrix: As I mentioned earlier, innate's are awesome. Double channels become a lot easier to cast.
Potion of Rage: A staple since its inception, this card makes it easier to hit things. It also helps proc Rising Power.
Tome of Offerings: Your second restricted choice and probably one of your most important. If you can get the elimination train going, this will accelerate your glory gain to obscene levels.
Well of Power: Your final restricted choice, this card is amazing. All spell casting becomes so much easier and your attacks become pretty accurate as well. There is a risk of double critting yourself and taking backlash damage but it is probably worth the risk. Also, another way to score Rising Power.
Eldritch Ward: The benefit of playing Cursebreakers is that all of your fighters are wizards. Stick this on anyone and watch them tank a hit or two more than they probably should have. In a 3 man warband where every fighter counts, that is a boon.
Iara's Instant Shield: You take this card for Stormsire because it really helps his survivability. Furthermore, it's another potential spell that can help score towards Magical Storm, Magical Supremacy, Harness the Storm, and Overpower which would could also lead to Great Gains and Aggressive Strategy.
Jared's Spirited Sphere: Last and certainly not least, we have the card that has spawned this whole deck. It's crazy, when I got my preview set and saw this card, I immediately knew that this was going to be very good in Cursebreakers. In fact, I had been lamenting the other week that I wish there was a universal spell attack upgrade. Well, as they say, ask and ye shall receive! This is the sole reason you can rock a second Stormsire in the build and man, is it scary when you get two ranged spell slingers online.
Final Thoughts:
Stormsire's Cursebreakers have been a very good warband for a long time and these latest expansions take them to even greater heights.
The deck I created is 11/11 but that's really because there were a lot of good options. You'd probably cut it down to 10/10.
I look forward to people trying out this deck, refining it further, and unleashing a fusillade of spells at their enemies.
Also, shoutout to the Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs for winning the Super Bowl!
Update:
After some trial and error, I have found a more consistent version of the deck.
As you can see, I switched out Aggressive Strategy and Great Gains for Perfect Match and Solid Gains. Making this a Perfect Match build makes sense because you've got a bunch of easy to score cards. In fact, the hardest card to score, outside of Perfect Match, is Magical Storm. Aside from that, you've got 10 simple 1 glory objectives that add up pretty quick. That's the main reason for Solid Gains as well - it's more consistent over it's big brother.
I've played 12 games with the new deck and won 11 of them. My single loss was to Mantrappers. In 5 of those games, my opening hand contained Perfect Match. I simply held on to it and was able to score it successfully in 4 of those games.
I hope the updated deck brings you success with your favorite wizard triumvirate.
Cheers,
Aman