[SF] Moonstalker: Endless Swarm


Intro

This is my take on the Wulven Tribal Moonstalker. Basically it’s a ramp deck, it starts off relatively slowly but inexorably takes control of the board and the game with an endless supply of allies and amazing draw power.

Allies

Naturally every ally is Wulven, to allow Bloodpack Shaman to trigger. Realistically the deck revolves around this ally which makes it kind of unique in Shadow Era, as most decks rely on their 3 cost allies to carry the day. That being said they will not win the game by themselves so there is a lot of support here.

Soothjaw is an interesting choice here, especially as he outwardly conflicts with Shaman, preventing Wulven allies from going to the graveyard. However he is a brilliant draw engine and he allows you to push through your deck really rapidly. Also the longer he is out the more allies you essentially have!

Griptooth is a star, allowing you to shield your horde of allies from most nasty threats. There is however only two of him so you need to be careful when you play him. It is highly recommended you have a Soothjaw on the table before you do, so that when Griptooth invariably dies he will (generally) get cycled back into the deck.

Wulven Predator is surprisingly good, allowing you to punch through stealth and protector. Very good in the mirror and vs Tala and Lance.

Wulven Scout is a card I really appreciate in this deck. For me I’ve always felt Moonstalker requires a very precise touch, you need to know when to hold, play and when to bluff your opponent. Scout takes the guesswork out of the equation. He’s saved me so many times by giving me the advanced warning I needed. Sure skilled players will generally know their opponent’s deck compositions and likely hand contents, but Scout makes the knowledge a certainty.

Tiger Wulf is gold as always, giving you an out vs really hardened targets (Sandworm, Wisp, Aeon, Dakrathetc). His base stats are nothing to be sniffed at either, but his true power lies in his ability.

Control

Because the deck doesn’t always take off really quickly I’ve got a significant amount of ally control to start with. 3 Death from Above and 3 Now You’re Mine generally mean cheaper allies won’t last long, and the Captured Preys coupled with Tiger Wulf are there for the bigger guys. Overwhelm is your late game finisher, clearing the board or at least weakening your opponent enough to take him down.

Draw

I have three draw options here, Blood Moon, Wrath of the Forest and Soothjaw. Each of them has their own purpose and you will note that each of them is a different card type. This is very deliberate as it makes it extremely hard for one opponent to shut down all your options. For example I will prioritise Blood Moon and Soothjaw vs Rogues and Warriors, Wrath of the Forest vs Mages, Elemental and Hunters, and generally I’ll use all three vs Wulven and Priests (especially Priests as they are the only class that can counter all of them reliably, so I flood the board with draw as a response).

Strategy

Your first six to seven turns are usually a heavy control game, especially if you’re going second. If going first and you get a Shaman and Dread Wolf in hand you can usually go a more aggressive route, but going second a T2 Blood Moon is definitely your preferred play. From there you can drop an ally and hide or use control cards to mitigate damage until such time as you are ready to chain ability usages.

So going first this sort of strategy is my preferred play:

T1 Nothing
T2 Shaman (or Blood Moon)
T3 Predator/Scout
T4 Dread Wolf (or Blood Moon + NYM / DFA if you dropped Shaman. Soothjaw is also a valid option vs non-mages)

Going second this is my preferred play:

T1 Nothing
T2 Blood Moon
T3 Predator/Scout (may hide depending on enemy board state)
T4 NYM / DFA + Shaman

With both of these plays by turn 4 you have draw, an ally presence and control if everything went well.

Later game you are aiming to use Shaman to build up your ally presence. From there it’s a case of hiding them and then either using Overwhelm or simply going for the throat.

Conclusion

Moonstalker has really solidified himself in the upper echelons of the game, with very few bad matchups and some extremely good ones. He still takes time to master, but he is a monster in the right hands.

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3 Comments

  1. So im giving this one a whirl. There is a lot of potential here. Tricky to play but i defiantly see the potential. Thanks for posting.

  2. So, why are you trying to play blood moon at the very beginning? On the third move you are most likely to go stealth, wasting the duration of blood moon. Can you explain, please? I really like your deck, though.

    • Ideally you will not go stealth right off the bat. You will save shadow as late into the game as is possible to set up your overwhelm. Sometimes you need to stealth strategically to avoid losing your allies or WOTF tho.

      If I play first it’s T2 bloodmoon, T3 ally, T4 wraith of the forest, he can have my ally I’m drawing cards.
      Or T4 now your mine/ death from above destroying his ally.
      Or T4 shadow font and not stealth. If my turn 3 ally dies so be it I’m drawing cards.

      These are a few scenarios. The last thing you want to do is stealth unless you calculate it’s necessary.

      You let your hero and ally soak up the hits, stealth for enough turns to flood the board late game then overwhelm.

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