My Classic Forestcraft Deck (prototype)
(Just to clarify, this is primarily for story and for fun play, nothing competitive here!)
Never posted about it before, but I have been a huge fan of Shadowverse for a while! I've played the game off and on across a few accounts for a few years, and due to my steam version being funky I installed a fresh account on Bluestacks.
Well, after making some "decent" decks using the newer packs they've given for being new, I got curious as to what kind of decks I could make using only the free starter cards given + cards from only the very first set released in game. So, here's my first of the 8 decks made: my Forestcraft deck!
(Just a note, these cards are all from any free starter cards they give and anything from a single 10-pack pull of the Classic set!)
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
My first thought when building the deck was "okay, I can see a good consistent flow of Fairy in my hand." Let me tell you all, that thought was but an UNDERSTATEMENT.
For those who aren't too knowledgeable on the game, Forestcraft decks have many cards that gain extra effects when 2 or more cards are played in the same turn when you play that card. Thus, you'd want to play cheap cards to easily meet those conditions.
Enter, "Fairy"
It doesn't seem like much, a simple 1/1 vanilla for 1 mana. On its own, yeah it's not much. But in this deck, these little fey are a CORNERSTONE of the making sure the deck gets going.
With how cheap these are, plus how easy it is to get them in your hand, you can more than likely meet conditions of having played 2 or more cards in a single turn fairy easily, making for easy activations and great pop-offs.
______________________________________________________________
Let's talk about how exactly we get Fairy into our hand, though. To do this, we need to simply look at a fourth of our 40 card deck.
Water Fairy is one of the free cards you get as a starter card, and we use it well. One of our better starter cards, it's a simple 1/1 for 1 mana that grants us a Fairy on its death. Cheap, easy to use, overall appreciated.
Despite only costing 1 more mana, Fairy Whisperer is such a big help for getting plays made. A 1/1 for 2 may not seem like the best, but on summon, it gives you two Fairy which makes it much more worth it. Especially for a certain card I'll mention this for later, it makes for a nice 2-part combo!
Sylvan Justice is just...a nice spell to have regardless. For 2 mana, it deals 2 damage to any enemy monster and gives you a Fairy in hand. Add on that you get 3 for free, as just like the last two cards, they're included in the starter pool of cards, and we just appreciate having the card in the deck.
One of the two amulets we have, this card is the culprit for sometimes having a hand just full of Fairy, but man does it help! For 3 mana, you're gifted a Fairy at the end of your turn for basically the rest of the game, unless your opponent somehow removes it! It's also the first card in the deck that I pulled from my 10-pull, and if I get more I'd probably play one additional copy, but I don't think 3 is needed. 1-2 will be the good range, in my opinion.
______________________________________________________________
I wanted to quickly avert our attention to 2 cards I pulled from the 10-pull that help to spam Fairy easily, by just removing the cost for them and making them free summons!
Fairy Bringer doesn't mislead with its name. A 1/3 for 2 mana is subpar on its own, but the fact it makes a Fairy in hand a free summon by simply summoning her is pretty valuable, and if I can get a third copy then I'll definitely play it!
Elven Princess Mage is our other cost changer, but it's a bit more tricky to use. A 3/4 for four is fine, but the fact you need to evolve her to get the change can be useless in the late game, once you've used up your evolution points. However, pulling it off is VERY helpful, as unlike the Fairy Bringer, this one GIFTS you the Fairy, so you cut out the middle-man. I think 1-2 is good, but I don't think 3 is really needed!
______________________________________________________________
Now, we have our Fairy givers, so lets go ahead and see who all we have to profit off playing 2 Fairy a turn?
Elf Guard is yet another free playset you get, and a pretty cheap card to play earlier on! A 1/3 for 2 is nothing bad, but add on it turning into a 2/4 with Ward following 2 Fairy makes it even sweeter, especially in the early game. This is the card I was talking about with Fairy Whisperer, where turn 2 you get your free 2 Fairies, turn 3 do whatever (just don't play the fairy!) then turn 4, summon both Fairies and this for 3 bodies on turn 4, with one of them being significantly more annoying to get rid of!
Although not immediately free, you can get your playset of Elf Metallurgist by playing the first story mode for Forestcraft. She fills a similar niche to Elf Guard, but instead of being a 1/3 to become a 2/4 with Ward, this is a 2/1 that gains a small burn when paired with two more monsters! Also pairable with Whisperer, she's not needed but very loved to have!
A BIG jump in mana cost, but Treant is yet another free set given at the start. Definitely a late game type of card, as a 4/4 for 5 isn't the best. But hey, a 6/6 for 5 on turn 7, or even turn 5 if you have two free-cost Fairy in hand, that can turn into a 8/8 when evolved? Now we're talking! Still, probably one of the cards I'd trim down on when we start getting more cards to change the deck up with!
Yet another free 3-of, Magna Botanist is just such a nice late game drop. A 5/5 for 6 isn't the worst, but add on its +1/+1 general boost to your whole board following up 2 Fairy? It's just...nice. Nice is the perfect word for it. There's nothing not to love about it!
Costing only 1 more mana than its younger form, the Elder Treant is a card that, in my opinion, is better in every way. A 5/4 for 6 mana isn't the worst, but the fact that it evolves into a 7/6 when played behind two Fairy is just appreciated! Not many enemy monsters can stand getting smacked for 7, plus free evolutions are always appreciated! I would probably play 2-3, so I can't wait to hopefully pull more of him!
The last of these types of cards, Forest Archelon is, in my opinion, the funniest of them all to get to activate. A 5/7 for 7 mana is alright, but when you play and suddenly that push your opponent was building up no longer can pick away your field? The best feeling, especially if your board will kill them next turn and they can't easily clear out your threats. Would run another copy, but I think 3 may push being bricky.
______________________________________________________________
These nect three are somewhat similar to the last group, but moreso just enjoy you playing cards, regardless!
The only one of the three that still want to be in hand to get the boost, Rhinoceroach can fill in that last slot, but that's besides the point. Storm allows him to be able to attack the enemy leader directly upon summon, ignoring summoning sickness, so if you can get a pretty high number, then (for the turn it's summoned, at least) you can deck your enemy in the face for a good amount! It loses its boost at the end of turn though, which is a big turn off, so I'd probably limit this to maybe 1-2 copies unless your confident you can work with 3 consistently!
Tam Lin is, in my opinion, a bit better than Rhinoceroach in a few aspects, yet the fact there's no Storm really sets back its usefulness. But for 1 more mana, you get a 2/2 that gets a +1/+1 boost to keep, which in some cases may just be better than the storm that the roach has. But I don't think Tam needs a full playset in your deck, so just like the roach, 1-2 should be good! They both fit different roles.
The only one of the 3 here that you actually get for free, I just love this good boy. Okami gets a +1 attack boost that's permanent, and when you're often trying to summon 3 monsters in one turn, that quickly makes Okami a 6/4 for 4, maybe even more if you keep Okami around long enough to make for a big beater! There is some favoritism here, since I just love Okami, but I will keep playing 2-3 copies!
______________________________________________________________
The last few cards Im gonna mention all were basically last minute inclusions, or there wasn't anything better to play, but I'll do my best to explain how they can be useful!
Probably the most useful of the last cards, Woodland Refuge surprisingly has quite a few targets to make its effect live! Of course all the Fairies you summon are candidates, but cards like Water Fairy, Fairy Whisperer, Elf Guard, Fairy Bringer, the roach, and Fairy Champion all also can use the boost! I might play 2-3, but I only have the one for now so let's hope I get more!
Another cheap card I only pulled one of, Fairy Champion isn't required to have, but being a 1/1 with Ward for just one mana isn't bad! Better to play than a Fairy for sure, so once I get more I'd definitely make it a 3-of!
Elf Prophetess is a card I think can be used really well if I had more copies. Having Ward is of course nice, but the ability to recycle Fanfare (aka when summoned) effects like Fairy Whisperer or Fairy Bringer can be crucial to making the next turn be even more explosive! However, its 5 mana cost can be a little iffy, so 2-3 can be good, probably staying at 2.
Fairy Princess is one of the two temporary cards that I have in here (alongside Rose Queen), but man is her effect pretty good! On summon, just completely fill your hand with Fairies! This can make for plenty of cheap drops for your cards per turn users, but also works well with the next card on the list! Once I get her, I'll try to run 2 copies of Princess.
Rose Queen, as stated, is the other temporary card we're running, and if this isn't the epitome of niche usage that I've seen, I don't know what is. On summon, turn all Fairy in hand into Thorn Burst seems good, and combos well with Fairy Princess, but for me, her cost really holds her back, making her an end game type of card. But there are cases where she can end a game on her own, since Thorn Burst dealing 3 damage for 2 mana on even the enemy leader can be a quick way to finish off a weakened enemy. For sure a 1-of, but a funny inclusion.
Quite literally the last pick, Elf Tracker makes it due to not many other better options. It was either her or Dark Elf Faure, but I found that I appreciated the little chip damage more than the Fairy add-on every attack, since we already have enough ways to get Fairies and clog our hand often enough. At the very least, since you get 3 of both Tracker and Faure, I can see arguments for both being ran so do whatever you all think would help more!
______________________________________________________________
Well, there's my deck break-down for this step of the deck so far! I'm currently grinding out coins to buy more packs, so let's see if maybe Ill pull some more copies of cards we need, or even brand new cards to change up the deck!
