Frost - The Element of Options
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Introduction
Asking those who know me for an element that best represents my deck choice and playstyle, the initial thought would be Thunder. While that is true, my second choice has for the longest time been Frost. Since Frostfall and Frost’s release, the element has had a bit of a reputation for being explosively powerful, but incredibly expensive to pull off plays. With the release of Firestorm, that factoid has not changed, though the variety in how one can build Frost as an element has grown, with each set since its inception bringing a new threat to potentially build around, so let’s dive in.
The Frost Core
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Side Deck
This is the shell that I would start with for any frost deck since the release of Firestorm, and though it has a lot of familiar faces, there’s a couple of newer additions to the line-up.
Narpoon is a tried-and-true staple of Frost decks. Water lets it run through Tsunami easily, 4 attack is solid for a 1 drop, and being able to grab any Frost 1 drop is an effect that you will regularly see force a Gorgon’s because of how powerful the Frost 1s are.
Brumalynx Champ is the new addition to the Frost core with the introduction of Firestorm and honestly is one of the best tools the element could have asked for. If you’re familiar with Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Goat Format, you’re familiar with Breaker the Magical Warrior, a monster that can be used either as a beater, sporting the highest no-set up attack for the time, or as a backrow remover, dropping its attack stat to a still respectable amount to clear an opponent’s tool. Brumalynx Champ operates on the exact same axis, with its search either finding Boreas, which boosts its attack to 5, the highest printed attack for a 1 drop, or Blizzard, which can remove a backrow threat to clear the way for an advantage push. This versatility makes it a regular staple of effectively any Frost strategy now, as can be seen from Josh’s 1st place finish with Blizzstrix at the start of the format.
The list of recommended cards are mostly staples at this stage, but I do want to specifically talk about the counts for Cryoblast. Because Frost is a viable option right now, depending on your local scene, you may or may not want to look at including Cryoblast in the main deck, as running into a Frost matchup means the card is mostly going to be useless in that game 1 before you can side it out. No matter what it should at minimum be included at 2+ copies in the sideboard for any frost deck, and when used in combination with Zeus, the rune can clear any 5 defense or lower Elestral, just not the ones with a Flurrmine underneath.
Picking a Direction - Basics
Unlike many of the other elements, Frost right now is wide open in terms of directions you can take it. At present, there are at least 5 different payoff inclusions for Frost piles, with each having their own unique upsides and drawbacks. When building a Frost Pile, you are standardly going to settle on 2 payoffs to build the deck around. Each of these have explosivity to their play lines but also come with debilitating drawbacks if you are not mindful of your play, resource control, and spirit management, and each’s drawback is different from the others. With that said, let’s break down the common payoffs for Frost.
Kryovyrn - Old Faithful
Starting off with Kryovyrn, this is the default you will see many Frost decks move towards when first starting out with testing, and there is a good reason for that. It is the most reliable, low investment, and pilots itself in many instances, but knowing the deeper interactions are what separates this from Auto-Pilot Frost and the higher level plays it can enable.
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Side Deck
For those who are unaware, Kryoling, gains 1 attack for every frost in your underworld, and when its attack goes to 6 or higher, must either destroy itself or special ascend into Kryovyrn from hand or deck. Because of this, any deck that plays more than 5 frost spirits can utilize a Kryovyrn line by managing which spirits you expend throughout the early game.
Emphrostrix is an option I almost always include with a larger Kryoling package because of the ability to convert a single Kryoling into 2 Kryovyrn by reviving the Kryoling after its first effect usage. It also makes your Narpoon a more valuable trigger since opening with a Kryoling naturally might take some of the impact off your Narpoon search.
Kryoscorch is the last piece we need to discuss on this package. While it is an option, playing Kryoscorch does require a properly enchanted Kryovyrn to trigger, which may not always be ideal. Generally, Kryoscorch should only be considered as an option for a hyper-aggressive build of Frost, particularly in combination with Rhinosect, which we’ll discuss later in this guide.
Advantages
· Thanks to its low commitment nature, you can play either a small 3 card Kryovyrn package, a medium 5 card package, or go all in with the frost utility by utilizing Emphrostrix to cycle multiple Kyroverns at once or even Kryoscorch as a game finisher.
· Kryovyrn does not require proper enchantments to be useful. By coming down as a 7 attacker, it will put on significant pressure on its own. This allows for added technical play by misenchanting it with Water to avoid Tsunami most commonly, though this play line does leave you susceptible to Galaxea plays.
Disadvantages
· Because of the nature of the Kryoling effect, you will have to commit a substantial amount of your spirit deck to Frost (minimum of 6 for a 3-card engine). This does leave less room for tech choices like Earthquake, Lavalith, or Lycavoid Champ, but for Frost Piles already aiming at multiple frost bosses, it is not as big of an issue for the purposes of this guide but is a point to consider with bringing Kryovyrn into other decks.
· Needing Frosts in the underworld to be useful means that Kryoling is not a power play until turn 4/5 (unless you are playing HYPER aggressively). Because of this, you will need to find another Elestral to start lines with, ideally Narpoon or Brum Champ.
Kryovyrn is ol’ faithful for a reason. With the fall-off of basic Galaxea, I personally see this as being an opportune moment for Kryovyrn, though its biggest hater is Galaxea Champ, so proceed with caution.
Moralith – The Low Commitment Option
Another Frostfall boss and the first of the Liths, Moralith has been a threat looming for a while now, having a simple cast condition of having more Elestrals in Underworld than the opponent. Unfortunately, the part that turns off most players is the self-mill (until very recently) so while it is powerful, it has not seen as much standalone success as its contemporary in Kryovyrn.
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Side Deck
What many people do not realize about Moralith is that fulfilling its cast condition is shockingly simple. Let’s set up a scenario. You start the game with Astrabbit set a backrow pass. Your opponent develops an Eddy or Galaxea Champ and moves to clear the rabbit. Now it is your turn again, you have the rabbit in Underworld, and they have an empty underworld. Casting Moralith is a lot easier than many realize in the initial stages, which is where it shines best.
The Morphrost package is an option you will regularly see paired up with Moralith, and that is entirely on the back of Lycan form. By discarding and expending, Lycan Form can grab a Batt and Scorpio out of deck, which not only sets you up a clearing and swarming option but puts an Elestral in the Underworld right at the start of the game, enabling Moralith.
Advantages
· On the low end, this only takes up 3 slots in your deck. This leaves plenty of room for other tools and strategies to pair with it.
· Depending on the package you pair with it, the mills may be beneficial to your strategy.
· Easy condition to fulfill. Mainly achievable due to being a come-from-behind condition. If the condition is not meetable, you are generally winning already.
Disadvantages
· Depending on the scenario, this may brick in your hand, especially when dealing in multiples. You still must see enough little bodies to make Moralith accessible.
· Milling can be a negative, as you can mill options you will need for later in the game. This can be circumvented by optimizing deck composition but can still be a detriment.
Moralith is the possibility that is going to be the more take it or leave it tool we go over here, namely because its utility is very polarizing of “It’s Always Amazing” or “It Always Bricks”. Your millage may vary.
Rhinosect – The Daybreak Sweeper
Say what you want about Aggro decks, but there are a few of them that will just pop off and end the game in a single turn with the right opening. Rhinosect is that deck for Frost, able to completely end a game on its own, with a single 1 drop avalanching into up to 3 2 drops hitting the board simultaneously, all ready to push massive damage.
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Side Deck
Rhinosect as a boss is the one that is going to take more practice than the others, as there are many little interactions with the engine that only become second nature with practice. Let’s take another example board state. You control an Astrabbit, your opponent controls an Elestral and 1 backrow. You develop your Rhinymph, now who do you empower with its effect?
The answer is to Astrabbit on your field. If you attach it to the opponent’s Elestral, they now flip their backrow, Tsunami, paying off their Elestral for no effect, under-enchanting it and moving it to the underworld with your Rhinymph in tow. On the other hand, by empowering your own Astrabbit, you lose the single remaining choke point there could be, as you can special cast the Rhinosects with a water spirit underneath to dodge the Tsunami anyways, resulting in a massive swing turn. Any other backrow would affect you the same way for either choice but doing it this way plays around the final out.
This scenario might be a bit specific but is one that will come up from time to time when playing the deck simply because of how the Rhinymph to Rhinosect line works. Many of these can also be circumvented by leaning into a Hurricane package, which while expensive can result in massive advantage swing turns.
Advantages
· As explosive as they come. A single Rhinymph connecting can lead to as many as 3 Rhinosect hitting the board at once.
· Can be done at any point of the game so long as there is an Elestral on the field.
Disadvantages
· Lives and dies on seeing Rhinymph alongside Rhinosect. While Nymph is searchable via Narpoon, Sect is not searchable (outside of the odd Aardvarum variant). On top of that, seeing too many Sect with no Nymph can lead to extremely awkward bricked hands.
· Most of the matchup is going to be what interactions you know better than your opponent and your ability to read a game state.
Rhinosect is by far the most hyper Aggro of the strategies we are going to discuss here because of its nature to explode out 2-3 2 drops in the span of 1 turn but its also the one where you need to learn more niche interaction points. These will come naturally with enough skilled play with the deck but does just take practice. Still, the payoff is worth it. We’ve seen multiple top 8 finishes (even a Premier win) with Rhinosect recently, so the strategy is clearly still a solid pick-up.
Blizzstrix – Highest Investment, Biggest Payoff
Oh Blizzstrix. The boogeyman of the Moonrise meta game that seemed to fall of the side of a cliff only to rise from the ashes with the limiting of said Rise. This is going to be a different section considering that Blizzstrix as a deck already has a partner in many respects, and I don’t think it is getting replaced anytime soon, on top of having the most rigid requirements section so far.
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Side Deck
Blizzstrix is without question of the of the bads of the format right now. After Josh took a surprise first place finish with the deck at the June 7th premier, it has been on everyone’s radar to be ready for this behemoth. *Psst* Let me let you in on a little secret.
If Blizzstrix is a known quantity, it is not a good pick.
The reason it did so well is because everyone had forgotten about Blizzstrix moving into Firestorm, written it off as a Moonrise only deck and moved onto the new hotness. The reality of the situation is that as good as Blizzstrix is, if you know it is in the pool of decks to face, it is decently easy to have a counter plan ready.
The other factoid as pointed out by Josh in his winning deck profile is that Asprowl has become a much larger focus for the deck because of the introduction of Brumalynx Champ and the easy access to Mountains of Boreas. This same factoid is why the other options for Frost have gotten significantly better. The difference here is that Asprowl as a 9/6 can also potentially cast out additional 6/8 bodies in Cedarsaurs that you hit with the mill trigger, which are far more potent than they were previously as 4/6 bodies.
Moralith is a requirement for this particular direction, playing into the mill game plan far stronger and consistently being able to trigger its cast condition thanks to Snowlet getting your initial mills off. The other reason is with most of the other boss lines not being stand-alone like Moralith, milling a copy or 2 of something like Kyrovyrn is back breaking because not only do you lose the boss access, but now your Kryolings for the remainder of the game are useless, an issue not seen with a Moralith pairing.
Advantages
· Strong swarming potential with Cedarsaur / Morphrost. Also provides easy access for Frost ascensions.
· Plays the most powerful Frost drop in the game in Blizzstrix (unless you count Kryoscorch).
Disadvantages
· Mills, by their nature, are inconsistent. If you play this, you must accept that sometimes you will roll high and sometimes you will roll low.
· The heavy concentration of 2+ drops means you are prone to bricking. Mulligan aggressively if you must.
Blizzstrix is a polarizing deck in general and is a great sleeper option when there isn’t a target painted on its back. Right now is not the time for it but keep it in the back pocket for a rainy deck. The player base is bound to forget about it again with time.
Nyximera – The New Kid on the Block
You opened your Firestorm, you want to use the cool new deck idea, so here it is. I’ve been in the tank with Nyximera a smattering of times already since Firestorm release, and I feel like I change course with it every single time I hop back in. Sometimes it’s Frost focused, sometimes it’s synergistical good Solar and Lunar cards, sometimes it’s something absolutely bizarre like 4/4 turbo (that last one didn’t pan out). While I am still unsure of the best path for the package, the frost direction is by no means a bad one.
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Side Deck
And there’s the first mention of the current format boogeyman, so let’s get this out of the way. Lycavoid Champ is by far and away the BEST enabler for Nyximera. Opening hand with any Nyximera form + Werepup and a backrow means you are off to the races. Cast Werepup, search Full Moon, set the Full Moon and backrow, pass. Draw Phase of the opponent’s turn, you fire the Full Moon with a proper lunar underneath, enchant the lunar to Werepup, and ascend to Lycavoid Champ with a Frost Underneath, casting out only 1 additional Werepup from deck. Doing it this way gives your Lycavoid Champ the best possibility of surviving the turn while also letting you use the backrow to help protect the Werepup.
The following turn, ascend your Nyximera over the Werepup by enchanting a Solar to it and syphoning the frost spirit off of Lycavoid Champ. Doing it this way will give you 2 2-drops on your second turn, and in doing so have your Nyximera fully loaded with the proper spirits already. Exaltus Champ as an option accomplishes a similar goal, being a pseudo-backup to opening with a Bunnyx to ensure you have an ascension point the following turn.
Beyond that, Nyximera can answer backrow rapidly, protects itself from removal runes, and is powerfully self-sufficient. Make sure you are utilizing the extra ascension spirits wisely though, as syphoning for runes is a great way to maintain pressure.
Advantages
· This is the best boss to synergize with other Firestorm options outside of Frost. Access to Lycavoid Champ cannot be undersold.
· Nyximera, once going, is a self-sustaining engine in many respects.
Disadvantages
· Maintenance of Nyximera is expensive. For each of your turns, it takes 2 spirits to maintain. Luckily these can be refunded for rune casts or used to push more damage, but it is still an investment.
· You do still have to ascend into it manually. Nyximera does not have an easy button like all of the other Frost options we’ve covered.
· If you draw 1 Nyximera (or have it milled) you cannot Bunnyx for the other to hand, as the first resolution of Bunnyx must send to underworld.
Nyximera is the most open of the 5 strategy points because it is so new. Only time will tell what the best option for the strategy is, but I’m hopeful this one will stick around, namely because it is, in my opinion, the most fun of the 5 right now.
Sample Starting Points for You
The options are all on the table now, lets get into some example decks for you guys to work with.
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Spirit Deck
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This is Shurit’s Top 4 KryoSect list from the June 7th premier, and it covers many of the ideas we’ve discussed in both the Kyrovyrn and Rhionsect sections. By utilizing both, he has the explosivity of the Rhionsect package as well as the reliability of the Kyrovyrn package, melding together well with 9 different starter Elestrals (Narpoon, Astrabbit, and Brumalynx Champ) and utilizing Emphrostrix for the additional burst power. Hurricane here also makes it simplistic to end the game because of the raw power from the 2 bosses, and because of Narpoon and Astrabbit already utilizing 2/3 spirit types for it, including the wind is trivial.
Bean Soldier - Webcam Tournament Hosted by Elestrals - 06-07-2025
Player: Bean Soldier
View full deck details →Main Deck
Spirit Deck
Side Deck
Josh’s 1st Place Blizzstrix list needs no introduction at this point, utilizing Moralith and Blizzstrix as their core pieces. This is the one strategy here that MUST cut down on the Ambrosias and backrow to an extent to fit everything it needs to operate, but the trade off from your defensive options is a much heavier offense. Plus, you’re not shirking them entirely, as Tsunami, Shield and Gorgon’s still do much of the heavy lifting.
Main Deck
Spirit Deck
Side Deck
This is my current direction for a heavier Frost package Nyximera. Because space is so tight between all of the additional packages needed, we dropped down the Kyrovyrn package to a 2-1 split, which still gives us access to it when needed with proper spirit management. It’s an extremely tight list though, so your millage will vary when piloting it.
Conclusions
Overall, Frost right now is in a powerful position for the current meta space, but also, thanks to Josh, has a target painted on its back. My advice when testing and preparing for the next event is this:
· Be mindful of your deck choices. You are the only one who can know when something is and isn’t working for your chosen paths.
· Don’t be afraid to pivot. If a path is not working for your, change it. The key to improvement is to remain flexible.
· Keep an eye on the meta. When a shift occurs, you need to be ready to shift with it. Cryoblasts to the main if it’s a good option for the meta, Galaxea Champ if too many people aren’t respecting it, etc.
This is meant to be your starting point, not the end all be all. The only one stopping you from getting better is yourself, so get to it.