Author Topic: Samaria Theorycraft  (Read 6524 times)

Offline Bobbert

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Samaria Theorycraft
« on: December 06, 2020, 10:39:02 PM »
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The other day on Discord a conversation sprung up around Gates of Samaria, and I mentioned that I'd been theorizing about using Noah to recycle Samaria sites back into deck, to give an alternative (or supplement) to the usual Shrine to Artemis. It's something I'd had knocking around in my head for a while, and since LoC provided some fun new blue/green heroes to play with I decided to finally sit down and throw something together.

Disclaimer: I've played three games with this deck, and it's been tweaked between each of those. This is far from finalized, or even streamlined, and I think that unless something comes along to protect and/or recur Gates even a fully optimized Samaria list will have trouble being competitively viable. But dang if it isn't fun.

56 Cards

7 Lost Souls
Remnant
Hunter
Exiles
Darkness
Prosperity
Distressed
Dull
I'll be honest, beyond the obligatory hunter/remnant/exiles this is less a 'soul package' than it is a 'what did I have open at the time'. The setup souls Prosperity and Darkness (usually to Fallen King) can help get Gates going early. I think finding space for a Humble may be worth the effort.

7 Dominants
Son of God
The Second Coming
Angel of the Lord
Destruction of Nehushtan
Three Woes
Shipwreck
Mayhem
I've been moving away from Martyr being a staple, although I think that like any deck with a fragile combo this deck may want one to deal with problem heroes like Joshua.

11 Support
Noah's Ark (Ark of Salvation)
Storehouse
Gates of Samaria
Sheol
Samaria (PoC)
Samaria (Pi) x2
Endless Treasures
Book of the Covenant
Covenant with Abraham
Covenant with David
There's an argument that this deck doesn't need Storehouse. It has other ways to get everything in Reserve, and with the all the punishes running around there may be value in cutting it. Ark's main purpose is to hold covenants, although we certainly won't say no to the territory protection. The Samaria city is invariably the first 'site' you pull, grabbing either Gates or a King (again, often Fallen King). Covenant with Abe usually focuses on grabbing the sites in Reserve, and only takes the hero when convenient. Covenant with Dave is useful on both sides!

7 Heroes
Noah (CoW)
Shem, Covenant Keeper/Fatihful Son
Japheth
Father/Faithful Abraham
Jacob, Follower/Israel, Retainer of God
Isaiah (FooF)
The Angel of His Presence
The offense is the part of this build that feels weakest, which is a shame because at a surface level it's very fun and synergistic. The idea is that Noah shuffles Samaria sites to pull out the rest of the offense - first his two sons, then either Abraham or Isaiah. While there's only one way in the deck to reset Abe, I honestly think that using him once and then keeping the meek version around is worth it. Both Shem and Jake can band to him, and having an extra body in battle can be the difference between a soul and a failed attempt (with the numbers having a much smaller impact on initiative than most bands). Decreasing Isaiah to 1/2 can be a lot of fun - an initiative hero that can instantly recur a cbn battlewinner can be tough to deal with, especially when they negate evil characters. And if your opponent tries to decrease him more to kill him, you can just heal with Angel of His Presence!

« Last Edit: December 06, 2020, 10:41:32 PM by Bobbert »
ANB is good. Change my mind.

Offline Bobbert

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Re: Samaria Theorycraft
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2020, 10:41:05 PM »
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9 Good Enhancements
Well Reopened
Two Bears
Isaiah's Call
Live Coal
His Name
The Lord Provides
Abraham's Descendant (LoC)
Offering Your Son
Eve's Descendant (PoC)
Nine GEs seems like a lot, especially with only seven heroes, but remember that Well Reopened is an evil card (and Offering Your Son is looking a little dubious). I went back and forth on which/how many Isaiah battlewinners to include - I think there's still a strong case to be made for Razor, but for now His Name is the only one (though of course Live Coal is there as an option too, and one that's easy to dump from hand for the extra d1 if you have two angels and nothing in discard pile). Call is mostly there as an out for a bad draw - pulling Seraph with a Live Coal from reserve can get the Isaiah package going if Noah and Abraham decide to hang out on the bottom of the deck. I feel like the deck could use one more solid blue battlewinner -  it's times like this I really miss Reuben's Torn Clothes - but at the same time a pile of negates can go a long way. Eve's Descendant has additional value in being blue/green, allowing both Isaiah and the full blue Genesis heroes to play it. Lord Provides may actually be the weakest link, surprisingly.

5 Dual Icon
King Saul (CoW)
Persian Horsemen
Deceit and Vengance
Speak Favorably
King Saul's Spear
Honestly, most of these aren't really dual-aligned. Saul and his Spear are always evil, and Horsemen is almost always a character. D&V and Speak Favorably can go either way, although I tend to find myself playing Speak as evil since I have chonky kings and enough good negates.

6 Evil Characters
The Fallen King
King Jeroboam II (PC)
King Omri
The Lying Prophet
Necromancer
Profane Daughters
The playable Kings of Israel along with a small meta-brown package. Fallen King is who you're really looking for early, since he can CBI pull the Samaria site to get Gates rolling (or, if you already have Gates, pull the site to decrease a hero). Omri does the same, but not CB-anything, and if either of them die Necromancer can keep the chain going (as long as you have one of the other two kings). Lying Prophet is not only the solid card he usually is, but when the opponent inevitably has a way to destroy Gates if you're running low on resources, you can snipe the prophets trying to get into your plethora of green sites.

4 Evil Enhancements
Stiff-Necked
Wickedness of the Tenants
Reap the Whirlwind
Return the Captives
+24/+24 king + cbn negate = sad heroes
Return the Captives is the only way to bounce meek heroes.


10 Reserve
Samaria (Pi) x2
Magic Charms
Shrine to Artemis
Covenant with Noah
Covenant with Adam
Wasting Disease
Unsuccessful
Seraph with a Live Coal
Haman's Plot
Samarias are pulled by Cov w/ Abe. The usual Profane Daughters/Persian Horsemen package, although I could see trying to fit a Scattered as well. Covenant with Noah is a better I Am Creator. Shrine, of course, recycles Samarias and is pulled by Endless Treasures (there's an argument to run Priest of Zeus, and one version of the build did, but I honestly think hitting the Sheol unity is more valuable).


Again, this is something I threw together relatively quickly and is barely tested, let alone solidified. The balances are off, I'm sure I'm missing some very good cards, and I'm not even sure that the offense should go in the direction it does (I think there's a very solid case to be made for full prophets with Jerry instead of the blue/green hybrid). But, it's fun, and an interesting starting-off point for anyone looking for Samaria ideas.

Now if only there was a way to get Gates back so that half the defense didn't fall apart with one fort destruction...
ANB is good. Change my mind.

Offline TheJaylor

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Re: Samaria Theorycraft
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2020, 01:40:36 PM »
+1
Might be worth splashing in a Fire Foxes as another recycler.

 


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