"We're gonna need a bigger hook"
-- Jason Statham
Current Updates
8/23/2024 -- I got the combo to work for once! it was 15 points, and got hit with a Poison Nova, but I still blew off the confetti bomb. It really only works when People have a scheme in mind that doesn't pan out. There's no player that doesn't kill Pudge on-site when they know this combo is coming. Wining with rolling Boulder felt like justice considering it was a Water Avatar that could teleport anywhere.
3/15/2024 -- I really liked the addition of and decided to push it...and the Boulder. It's a card your opponent has to consider dealing with.
4/18/2024 -- Similar to Bears, the part where I'm forcing my opponent to play their hand earlier seems to be really effective. is another card that gives opponents Hell before I start slamming down Jaws/Butcher. Now I'm also trying out some 3 mana range dudes in the form of . Cards I would like to double up on are and . I'm really turning this game into a game of checkers at this point trying to make it really difficult to move around. is always a feeling a bit replaceable, but the ability to just put someone on Death's Door makes it such a slammer some times.
Strategy Tips
The deck only needs 5 sites in play.
Sites to look for in your opening hand:
Mulligan aggressively for a and a Earth site. Then start using Seer's ability to set this up if you didn't get there. The ideal set up is to put the non-water site under your Avatar, then a Floodplain in front of the Avatar. Build your sites sideways until you can get a Floodplain and some other water sites in the row above the Avatar.
Because of Giant Shark, it's important to "build a pond" in front of your Avatar and play defensively and allow to still progress your game inf the shark is in play (not often since people kill it on site). And, if Flood Plain is in front of the Avatar, you can still do upwards of 20 damage in a turn by flooding the site under your Avatar.
Spells to look for in your opening hand:
, , ,
Because Shark is 5 mana, it's not as important in your opening hand. Just dig for it instead.
Getting your opponents to Death's Door:
Use Seer's ability aggressively to look for Shark, Butcher, Angel's Egg, or Manuscript. Obviously use the board state to determine when to pass up cards, but I wouldn't pass the mentioned cards. is also a hard card to evaluate, but it's often a great card never to pass up.
Giant Shark + Pudge Butcher is the ideal combo. Dragging the opponents Avatar into a body of water with Shark and Pudge is usually game over. There's often not a lot of outs to move or run if this doesn't kill them. And it does happen...though not reliably enough. Often your opponent will throw everything they have to kill Pudge or Shark as soon as they're played, and you find yourself in more of a control game where your opponent is trying to figure out ways to get around them.
Remember also can put your opponent at Death's Door if you're already there. Just note you won't gain the life.
Death's Door:
, , and are your win cons here. I guess will cause some weird scenarios too.
Synergy and Combos
+ -- Dragging units to your water sights, shark fights, then butcher fights if it's still alive. You do 5 damage for each water site the unit gets dragged through, so you can do upwards to 20 damage in a turn...best of luck!
+ -- Riptide has the ability to pull in units from non-water sites for the shark to fight them. If you can manage pulling in an Avatar, chaining Riptides is very deadly.
+ or Frog tokens -- Card advantage engine
Frog Tokens + or -- just a lot of damage out of no where.
Single Card Discussion
is unfortunately a necessary card in this deck. It does enable a lot of things when it works, and kills burrowing too.
while a common sense tool, is often not great. Silence effects are often welcomed against me.
-- This card is a little misunderstood. I'm not trying to win the game with this card by attacking my opponent. Instead, think of it more like a water board wipe. It's a card that when played, makes the game frustrating for your opponent, and often requires them to throw at least a couple of cards at it to kill it. So at it's worst, it's a 2 for 1. Another note to make about Shark in this deck is it makes Drown and similar effects a little less sought after. Shark will take out most units in the body of water, so just let your opponent deal with them!
-- Just a good card in general, and another card that gives your opponent fits.
-- Adds power to Pudge and Shark if you're seeing bigger enemies. Also great with tokens, bears, and turtles
-- My favorite water card. This card is just very annoying for opponents to deal with. It also survives your own Shark attacks.
-- Their main purpose is to retrieve the Boulder, but it's also just nice to have that chip damage early in the game and apply a little bit of pressure or force removal.
-- An interesting effect. isn't too great in a multi element deck. But this card is a bit more reliable, while also attacking your opponents life. I've taken a few opponents to death's door with this card, and for that alone it's been quite useful.
-- A card I originally hated in the deck because the amount of water, but I've really come around to learning to play with this card. The possibility of a 2 for 1 is pretty high with this card, and the ability to rearrange sites is absolutely phenomenal in this deck. Putting a Pudge on a water site, then moving it to a better position and not getting buried is a huge upside; or connecting Floodplains and water sites for Shark to be more effective is quite tricky.