Creatures of the Deep is a control deck that aims to stall out your opponent, while you build up your mana/threshold towards some awesome splashy plays that are very tough to deal with!
AVATAR:
Pathfinder is the perfect avatar for this type of a control deck as not only do you put out a ton of sites and get a major mana/threshold advantage, but you also get the benefit of constant avatar movement. The obvious drawback to Pathfinder is controlling threshold and spellcaster placement. For this reason, I like to stick with a tri-color deck (earth/water/air); that only has a splash of air cards, and many of those air cards all double as spellcasters.
SITE PLACEMENT:
You have an option for your second site placement. If you start off with some minions that are easy to cast, you would want to play one site in front of the other and move the game-state forward early (this is how I prefer to start). This will help you take advantage of bordering your opponents sites early, which will help with casting effective border controls. If you do not have any early game plays, you can play to the side and try and control how fast your opponent can reach your sites. Work your pathfinder around the board so that you are always aware of your opponents placement and do not work yourself easily into a cut off path. This will slow you down and bring your pathfinder close to danger.
CANNON FODDER:
This deck is all about putting out pesky little minions to stall your opponents attacks out. This is especially crucial while playing against an aggro deck. You want to effectively use your border militia's, plague of frogs and sites that create tokens to help you stall out your enemies advances. You will also see another reason to get out a lot of tokens for a splashy combo play that I will note a little further on. Use your early drawn common senses to help you get at least 1 or 2 border militia's.
THOSE THAT LURK IN THE DEPTHS:
This is the FUN part of the deck. As you find yourself controlling the early game board state, keep in mind that you are working towards something greater; something EPIC. You want to set yourself up in such a way that you can start dropping bombs on your opponents. By utilizing Pathfinder's mana producing ability, mana boosts like cores/four waters/philo-stone, you certainly CAN get out the big minions the good-old fashioned way; by casting them.
COMBOS!!:
What's even more fun that casting big creatures, is cheating big creatures on to the battlefield for less! This is where SHAPESHIFT comes in to play. Being able to shapeshift a 0/0 frog token into a Great Old One is a real GLOW UP! Why not cheat out the Great Old stud and then SELFSAME SIMULACRUM into another Great Old son of a B! Now your opponents heads are really spinning.
Grapple Shot is also an awesome way to DD an opponent in one turn. If you manage to shapeshift into Great Old One, keep in mind that token wouldn't have summoning sickness. So you can Grapple Shot into your opponent's avatar for 16 and then attack their avatar for 16 for a truly lethal blow!
*My personal favorite combo* that I have ever managed to do with this deck was a TURN 3 Conqueror Worm. I had a four waters and philo-stone in my opening hand; turn 1: philo-stone, turn 2: four waters, turn 3: conqueror worm, turn 4 opponent concedes!
CONTROL CARDS:
Border Militia/Plague of frogs: token cannon fodder
Divine Healing/Angel's Egg: these are super important to help you gain life back after taking an early game beating. They will greatly extend your game, and help put you in a position to cast those bigger creatures/combos.
Common Sense: the true goat of fetch cards. Let's you find border militia's, grapple shots, dispel (if your oppo is killing you with aura's or artifacts) or just a nasty old Lugbog Cat or Autumn Unicorn for some minion punishment.
Atlantean Fate/Earthquake: These two board-wipe like cards can really mess your opponents strategies up quick. They may feel good about having a plethora of minions out early, and just the right mana/threshold to feel cozy, but when you destroy all their minions with an earthquake, or turn all their threshold into water; they may get a bit seasick.
Amulet of Niniane: I really like to save this card for when it's most useful. The Pathfinder is already tricky to hit with magic as it moves all around the board. Putting the Amulet on one of your massive creatures who's on the front battle lines, might be the better play.
I have had a blast playing this deck and am constantly finding new ways to WOW my opponents with fun combos and splashy plays. If you are tired of aggro decks that fizzle out by turn 5 or stuck in a rut with your midrange ho-hum decks, give Creatures of the Deep a whirl!