The Crusade
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| Standard Ban List 23.09 (latest) |
| Standard Ban List 23.08 (active) |
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Cerberus 4881
I started testing this RP Grail deck to see if the concept was any good, so that I could consider adding Excalibur to it when The Source is available in the UK. What I found was that the Grail suite significantly helps the early game situation, since the runners do not want to run without a full breaker suite once they see some Grail Ice. This stops the standard play of drop a Killer and run, which puts all your servers under pressure and means the runner can threaten your asset economy. Once the RP drip economy is online it is a devastating deck, and I have found that the Grail Ice allow you to get to this stage much easier.
Agendas - Standard RP agenda suite, you want the agendas to be difficult to steal. Nisei MK II is a devastating card that can win you games if it is scored. I believe that 3 Future Perfects is correct for this deck as you only want to score 3 agendas to win.
Economy - Standard drip economy of Mental Health Clinics and Sundews, getting these online and protected is key to success. I am running Medical Research Fundraiser instead of Celebrity Gift because I do not want to reveal if I do, or do not have Grail Ice in hand, however I need early game burst economy to threat the expensive ice. In a lot of games if you can get your drip economy going there won't be a need to play this card, but it is definitely needed for early game. Melange Mining Corp is another card to try in its slot, but it needs to be defended and makes your R&D more porous.
Ice - The Grail suite has really been extremely good, the key is to keep Lancelot in hand unless you need Ice on the board, this is because Runners will not run without a sentry breaker against RP, however they will run without a Barrier and Code Gate breaker, which will allow you to hit them with program destruction using Merlin and Galahad. It is also worth noting that Net Damage done by Merlin will often have a significant game impact, killing key cards and in some rare cases flat-lining the runner. Due to The Source not being released in the UK yet, this deck is missing 2x Excalibur which I will be testing in place of Pup. This should remove the runners ability to cheaply run Archives and bounce across to remotes.
Many runners will take time to set up because they do not want to run without a full breaker suite. This will mean they play breakers and draw a lot, I have found that this creates scoring opportunities that are not normally there and getting out the first Nisei MK II can win you the game.
Criminal is this decks best match up, which is good because of how strong Criminal is right now. Shaper is also a good match up, though the Parasite recursion can hurt, it is definitely manageable since they need to do a lot before they can run, as long as you can keep your ice on the board. The 2x Interns help with this a lot, as well as getting back Sundew or Caprice if needed. In fact Interns has been a key card in this deck, and made an important difference in most games. Noise is likely a worse match up, as he always is for RP due to the Parasite recursion, though hopefully the Grail impact will lessen that. I've not tested enough to know yet in all honesty.
I have played this a lot in local meet ups and in one 25 person tournament. It has gone undefeated so far, and was particularly note worthy in the tournament with four of its wins being 7-0. It won the remaining game 7-4. This is not enough testing, but is a good start, therefore one of the reasons I am publishing this is in the hope that others play it and can report back on what works and what doesn't.
| 12 comments |
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31 Dec 2014
moistloaf
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31 Dec 2014
Cerberus
In regards to is this better than Dan's ELP, I think it is too early to tell (and its a big ask). It definitely has different strengths, this is great in the early game and can do surprise damage and program trashing. But doesn't become as taxing late game. The plan is to use the early game advantage to get that first Nisei MK II scored. Which then translates to a win hopefully. |
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3 Jan 2015
Orpheus
Since the runner can jack out after encountering a single ice, I wonder if Labyrinthine Servers would work here. It is an agenda more useful for a Jinteki aiming to flatline, but making sure the runner hits a Grail ice he's unprepared for (so you can use Excalibur's "no more runs" subroutine out of hand would benefit this deck too, I think. Perhaps in place of NAPD Contract? |
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7 Jan 2015
Orpheus
Piloted this deck twice today against the same player, someone much more experienced than me. I lost both games, but I saw immediately how I could have avoided giving the runner a scoring opportunity through better play. I've played <15 games, most of the Corp side as Jinteki PE flatline, so let's discount my errors and look at the deck: Grail ice works exactly as intended. The fear of Lancelot rally gives you a chance to develop your economy, and a well-played Excalibur is beautifully demoralizing. To be blunt, this deck is better than I am, but it's the most fun I've had playing Corp. I look forward to learning how to better play thedeck. The only element I felt was missing was tag punishment. I don't see a good way to fit that in, but that's my only negative feedback. |
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7 Jan 2015
Cerberus
If you really want to run tag punishment I'd suggest a single Closed Accounts. You'd need to drop an Interns and replace the Eli with another ice. This is really only worthwhile against Tag Me runners since the deck itself doesn't tag the runner and why I've not included it. Depends on your meta.
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7 Jan 2015
Orpheus
It did not occur to me to ask permission until I'd posted it. Sorry. So if you don't want it there, I'll delete it immediately. Just say the word. I'm hoping to get done thoughtful responses. |
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16 Jan 2015
lpoulter
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16 Jan 2015
Cerberus
I've always been worried about using Gift, its really important to the deck to have the early economy and Gift doesn't have that guarantee! You think its better than MRF? Melange has been quite good in testing as well, as it forces runs often when they don't want to face check the ice. Pleased its done you well in the league (and that you liked it enough to try it) |
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16 Jan 2015
lpoulter
Main mistake people make is not running with a full suite even if they know I'm running grail. People also like to flaceplant an exbuilar on archives after an iaa. In terms of gift I've not been afraid to reveal a hand full of grail so it's always great early econ and I loath to give the runner money. Melange is worth testing but there is already alot for the runner to trash out of rd. |
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16 Jan 2015
Cerberus
Interestingly I've been having people do the opposite, they won't run at all without a full suite out. This is great for getting Sundews up and running and scoring out that first Nisei. Which can often snowball into winning the game. I think I've only ever flatlined someone once to date. I think archives is great for Excalibur but I've been finding it useful on other centrals and the remote. One of my favourite things is Excalibur on the remote when you have a Nisei (or Caprice). You can chain Nisei's if they have no AI breaker. :) |
oh heck yeah! excalibur seems made for RP. this is Dave Hoyland right? been enjoying your guest spots on Winning Agenda. if you continue to test and play this deck, it'd be awesome get a deck tech segment on it someday. do you think it is better than Dan's ELP brew? the more popular Switchblade](/en/card/06077) becomes, the better Grail gets.