Valpocalypse (1st Place Meeple Madness ATL SC)

dodgepong 1796

First: 100% of the credit for this deck goes to @yeoda. I've recently been trying a few different Siphon/Apoc Anarch decks, mostly out of MaxX but he showed me his Val version and I really liked the flexibility to pressure remotes that Val added, not to mention not having to deal with random mills, as well as cheaper Keyholes from the bad pub. I took the deck from him, removed a Retrieval Run, and added a Run Amok because I wanted to try it out. He's built a real monster, here.

This deck feels so good to play, better than any of the other aggro MaxX builds I've played. Basic strategy, of course, is to pressure centrals with Siphon/Wanton and Keyhole, and camp remotes with Blackmail recursion. Apocalypse if things get out of hand.

I like Run Amok as a card, but I think it's better suited to a deck that runs standard breakers and expects to have to make it though remotes like a normal person. I don't think it fits in Val, so I'd remove it if I played this deck again.

The Street Peddlers will become Making an Entrance when that comes out. Peddler seems dumb in a deck with 25 events, though I was surprised at how well it actually turned out in practice. You really need to see as many cards as possible in a 50-card deck, and you have enough recursion to deal with losing a few events. I didn't hit a 3-event misfire all day. A couple times I got 2 events and a SOT, so it all worked out. Wyldcakes isn't really an option in a deck that often might go tag-me, or wipe its own board with Apoc.

The only loss it had all day was to an NEH FA/Scorch deck. I was in a great position but couldn't find a Keyhole or IHW/Plascrete to start putting on the hurt. He Astrotrained out before I could capitalize on my early game advantage. However, I had a rematch with that same player and his deck in the cut, and that time I was able to find the Plascrete early, Siphon into tag-me, land the Keyhole, and close the game.

6 comments
31 Jan 2016 yeoda

I've got a few edits for you come 3rd/4th pack mumbad. That will rocket this deck closer to tier 1 ;). You played it like a BEAST. Well done and Congratulations to you,dodgepong, on an awesome victory

1 Feb 2016 Boston1809

Yeah, I actually didn't have any kill cards in that first game, I just lucked into the Astrotrain before you could wreck me. And I had neither kill nor Astro in the second, my luck had definitely run out for the day! I really appreciate all that you guys taught me, and I appreciate your patience as I was fairly nervous to be flying in such august company in my first tournament :) And thanks to Meeple Madness for doing an amazing job hosting, I just wish it wasn't such a long drive for me. :(

1 Feb 2016 evilgaz

Looks a decent list, I've got one similar. I tend to go Dirty Laundry over Queens Gambit as I often guess wrong. Interested in the Street Peddler doing okay - will have to test that out.

After Worlds people tend to shore up their HQ against me all the time now, so not sure how viable it is for me!

Have you tried a Retrieval Run? I'm forever losing a breaker or Keyhole to Inject or greedy Faust (not appearing in your list).

Do you get value out of Earthrise? I don't like the up-front cost for limited boost later - do you see them often enough when you're monied up (as there are only two)?

I'd play 3 DDoS rather than the Amok, but you've identified that on it's own it's not great.

1 Feb 2016 dodgepong

The Run Amok was originally a Retrieval Run, and I swapped it for funsies. I do think that 1 RR is probably right. I don't like Earthrise, it feels so bad to install without Career Fair. Making An Entrance I think will help this deck a lot. A 3rd DDoS would be nice, too.

1 Feb 2016 Dothanite

With the singleton mimic and yog, what do you do after an apoc? How many times did you successfully Apoc during the tournament?

Great decklist, and definitely a great pilot. I really need to drive up to play more ATL SCs this year to match up against you again!

1 Feb 2016 dodgepong

I think I only Apoc'd once during this particular tournament, and I won 2 turns later. I also don't think I ever installed the Mimic or Yog, though I wouldn't ever cut them. Maybe I just got lucky and never saw a Turing or Swordsman on a central. Usually all I lose on an Apoc is Eater + Keyhole. Sometimes I'm lucky and they have a program trasher on a central that I can let fire so I don't end up losing anything. Blackmail and Keyhole got me there for the other games.

In the Grand Finals, I won 2 our of 2 psi games on remote Blackmails, scoring 2 points both times, but if I hadn't won that way I would have been setting up for an Apoc. Landing an Apoc against ETF is usually a pretty good plan of action, especially when their Caprice has the remote locked down and many servers are 2-3 ICE deep.