Deke's Deck Garage
08-04
Deck Fix 02 - Budget Air/Light

Welcome back to the deck garage! Here's the latest deck submitted by Naniwai, who would like a quick tune-up for the tournament this weekend!

Hello there, wondered if you would be interested in taking on a bit of a challenge fixing up my deck.

I built this deck entirely out of cards from booster packs and base starter set. I did not buy any singles, nor did I buy any preconstructed decks. There are no cards from the Mystery Island expansion in this deck because I haven't even bought any! It's really a hodgepodge, mostly Dr. Sloth cards. Because I didn't buy singles, I don't have it down to exactly where I'd like it to be; however if you suggest important ones that I don't have in my collection I would be willing to pay for them.

When I first built this deck I had a couple of strategies in mind. I've been playing it as much as I can and the strategies (LOTS of SHH, items for banking only) basically died out as I revised the deck. I wondered if you could get it into some sort of decent shape and make it a worthwhile deck. Because of the card limitations I mentioned earlier, it's not currently a good deck at all but I would like to see it made into something useful, if you have time and want to undertake the challenge. I don't have a lot of experience with the game, but I am serious about playing it and a good deck would help me a lot.

Enough of my ramblings, here's the deck. It's fire and light types, and I didn't have time to type it in any sort of order. Sorry. :( [Deke: I sorted it for easier reference.]

BASIC NEOPETS

Red Eyrie

Green Eyrie
Galactic Green Grundo x3
Cosmic Yellow Grundo

Blue Kacheek x2
Red Shoyru x2

Experienced Neopets

Grundo Programmer

Mutant Grundo

Battle Eyrie

Equipment

Meowclops

Mutant Kadotie

Mutant Babaa

Items

Petpetnip x2

Planet Pops x2

Usica Berries x3

Potatoes x3

Asparagus x3

Vernax

Meaty Pie

Shadow Breeze x3

Turnips

Cheese

Starberry x3

Chokato x3

Something Has Happened

Rally x2

Secret Passage x2

Storm the Castle

Library Visit x2

Battle Stations x2

Heroes

Fyora the F.Q.

Torshac, S. S.


Villains

Sophix II


Thanks in advance if you decide to help me out!

Naniwai

As you can see from the note, the deck we re working with today needs to be made mostly out of the card list provided, with perhaps a couple of additions/changes. I also know that this particular person is going to the tournament this weekend and would like to have the deck revised ASAP. That means that we have to keep timeframe in mind because there won t be much opportunity to obtain a bunch of new cards in less than one day! So, we re going to be making our first budget fix, minimizing the addition of new rares or holos. Luckily, it s possible to build decent decks out of mostly common/uncommon cards, although not always the best.

First things first, I m going to do a basic look over of what I have to work with. It looks like it s mostly Light and Air. The specialty of Light is draw power, and Air is mostly pet mobility/management. This deck has a lot of 4-bank items, but not much firepower to bank them. There are a few decent SHH cards to help. It looks like the biggest issue with this deck is going to be winning contests. Naniwai also sent me a list of some other Air/Light cards to help me out a bit (thanks!), and let me know that most of the cards are from the base set and Return of Dr. Sloth.

As usual, I m going to start with the experienced pets. In order to facilitate speed in a deck, I usually suggest that you not have more than two species of pets. In this case, I m going to choose the Eyrie and the Grundo. The best Experienced Eyrie is the Battle Eyrie. Although I d usually recommend three, we re trying to cut down on those rares. So, we ll keep the one that is already there, and add a couple of Eyrie Guards instead (base set, uncommon, #111/234). If possible, go for a total of four Experienced Eyries, the more Battle Eyrie cards the better. The Battle Eyrie has the fantastic ability of a double die roll, which not only gives it an extra boost (+3 avg) in stats, but also doubles it s chances of winning by a six. This makes it usable in almost any arena, especially with a good equip. The Eyrie Guard gets a bonus +3 on your opponent s turn, making it a great defender for either the Strength or Agility arenas. As for the Grundos, I m going with a couple of Programmers and one Mutant Grundo. The reason I went stronger with the Programmers is because the Mutant Grundo s stats are so low, even though the effect can help here and there. For Basic Neopets, toss in three Red Eyries, and three Green Eyries (both commons). For some players, the Yellow Eyrie from the starter will work as a replacment, but it only has seven in Strength, while the others have eight. For Grundos, we can use the three Galactic Green Grundos and the Cosmic Yellow Grundo already listed. Currently, I believe that the Eyries will be the strongest component of the Deck, with one Grundo, preferably the Programmer, protecting one of the lower arenas of the board.

For equipment, I m going to toss in the common big-guns, Bzzt Blaster, Goo Blaster, and Battle Hammer, up to two each if possible, expand to three only if you find you never have what you need or don t get them soon enough. Since it's there, I ll keep the Mutant Babaa in. Although the other two equips are decent cards, I don t think they are in line for this deck. However, if the above commons are not available, petpets like the Meowclops with 2,3,2,2 or similar well-rounded stats can be helpful as replacements. Some equips will definitely be needed though to make these pets dominate their arenas. I also recommend adding three Sceptre of Banishing cards to help against Villains.

For SHH cards, we re going to keep the one Storm the Castle, to be used with Battle Stations (x3 preferred), as they make a very nice combo. Although Rally is nice to use early in the game and with Storm the Castle, I don t think it s worth including in decks unless you find yourself losing your Experienced pets a lot. I m also going to leave out Secret Passage and Library Visit for now. Instead, I m going to suggest Misdirection x3. Misdirection is one of the most underrated SHH cards in Neopets. If you use it on your opponent s pets, not only do you usually give yourself an advantage in two arenas (yes, at the cost of a tap, true), but you force them to waste most of their next turn reversing the move. I m also going to add three Take a Dip in since we don t have the option of Rainbow Paintbrushes. We ll add Library Visit back in only if we find we re short on cards to meet the minimum 40.

I m not going to include any Heroes in here, although Xarthab wouldn t be a bad addition should one happen along. If you win with him against a Neopet while you have less points than your opponent, you get to bank a card of your own and discard one of theirs.

For Villains, I m going to add in two Farlax V. Although it falters against the ever-popular Dark, Agility may be a weak arena for this deck, and this Villain doesn t untap its rivals.

I m not going to add any Locations either. The ones that help just don t help enough to be worth the card slot, and they help the opponent too. Now, if you happen to find a Training School (Mystery Island, HoloFoil, #15/100), it would be helpful with some of the items we ll use. But, it s not a game-breaker, and it s certainly not budget!

Last, but certainly not least, we come to the items. I m going to shoot for 16 or so items, about 45 total cards for the deck. I want to keep some of those big bankers, but since I need six cards to win anyway, I m going to look at some cards with three points and an effect. If you do have the Training School, it s great to use with Essence of Brain, Faerie Dishwater, Potion of Speed, and Potion of Strength. By doing so, you can get a free draw and possibly keep your item (and either draw or bank for your win as well). Either way, I d still include two each of these, taking one or two out later if your find you usually avoid a particular arena. If you have them, use Jerdana s Orb as a replacement for the ones you take out to help with those nasty Villains. The other eight cards are going to be your 4-bank cards. I m going to take the Shadow Breeze x3, Planet Pops x2, Petpetnip x2 (banking only!), and I ll add a Light Faerie Token if possible. Otherwise, stick to any non-food 4-bank card (Golden A, Illusen s Charm, Moon Charm, etc ). We stick with non-food because of cards like Crop Failure.

That should just about do it! Here s the completed deck list!

Basic Neopets

3 Green Eyrie

3 Red Eyrie

3 Galactic Green Grundo

1 Cosmic Yellow Grundo

Experienced Neopets

1 Battle Eyrie

3 Eyrie Guard

2 Grundo Programmer

1 Mutant Grundo

Equipment

2 Battle Hammer

2 Goo Blaster

2 Bzzt Blaster

1 Mutant Babaa

3 Sceptre of Banishing

Items

2 Essence of Brain

2 Faerie Dishwater

2 Potion of Speed

2 Potion of Strength

3 Shadow Breeze

2 Planet Pops

2 Petpetnip

1 Light Faerie Token

SHH

1 Storm the Castle

3 Battle Stations

3 Misdirection

3 Take a Dip

Heroes

None

Villains

2 Farlax V

Locations

None

Total Cards (not including Basic Neopets): 45

This deck works by getting your Experienced pets out quickly, but simply banking those 4's as fast as you can. Don't be afraid to bank a 3 if you don't have a 4. The Battle Eyrie will hopefully help defend in enough contests to keep your opponent stalled until you win. Good luck!

As with all decks, play test this or any other deck against opponents in your area as much as possible, removing the cards that usually end up in your hand instead of helping you. Also, deck fixes are always suggestions only. Creativity with your own deck is strongly encouraged!

If you have any questions, comments, or wish to submit a deck of your own to the deck garage, send it with a brief description to NeopetDecks@yahoo.com!
 

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