Lifestream Set Championships: What to Play
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Introduction
With the first month of another set cycle behind us, another set championships is upon us! With the team learning a thing or 2 from how the last run of Set Championships went (shout-outs to Voltempest finally getting the limelight) the team has made some adjustments this time around. Cards that were printed in Lifestream (new cards and Full Art reprints), the Lifestream Starter Decks, and any card mentioned by name on a new Lifestream card are all legal for use this time around, which in turn means that the level of playability for the different factions has skyrocketed, as now even smaller packages have their divines to work with.
With that said, the landscape of the current Standard meta is not going to translate to Set Championships well, as of the big 3 combo decks, Celestleo and Blizzstrix are unavailable and Lochagon is a good amount slower without their Tadpuff in tow. As such, we can expect to see lower to the ground strategies find a foothold here, as their high stat competition is not as strong as you’d expect, though there are still some threats in the folds.
Today, we’re going to analyze a few of the potential package options that are bound to make an impact throughout the Set Championships regardless of what decks come out on top, and from there we can discuss what decks truly are the cream of the crop.
Card Packages to Keep an Eye On
Cyanectar / Waspivy
Main Deck
Thanks to their reprints in the Dionysus Starter Deck (and all of the poison cards being mentioned on Cyanectar Champ) the Waspivy package is here in full force. Much of what to expect from this package hasn’t changed since Daybreak, however thanks to Cyanectar Champ and Poison Tipped Arrow – Artemis’ Arrow, the strategy has become far more consistent.
Unfortunately, even with the package being at a high point in strength being a viable option in the meta space, Cyroblast, the number one enemy of the Wasp, is also legal here. I wouldn’t expect to see too many of them in the main for players due to the prevalence of Frost for this metagame, but it does leave Wasp in an uncomfortable position going into games 2 and 3.
Dionysus
Main Deck
Speaking of Dio, lets talk the Champions of Dionysus. Undoubtedly, Cyprong Champ hold some massive potential here, being effectively Earthquake on legs for 1 and 2 drops, which with the field of 3s diminished does bode well.
The Ladogon package I expect will be a fan favorite, as it has been for a bit now, though may have a leg to stand on now that it’s competition has been significantly diminished.
As for the Centaurbor line, while I do believe this is going to be one of the best positions the strategy has held thus far, I still believe it’s a pipedream to get rolling reliably, especially with most of the main strategies looking to lock in attacks in the 6+ range reliably. However, it is one of the only strategies that has a reliably powerful 3 drop, so it’s worth the consideration off the back of that alone.
Baraboss
Main Deck
This is one that I’m kicking around as a side-deck option for any deck that’s focused on either Earth or Water for the format. Against Frost, sticking a turn 1 Baraboss is a game ender, as their decks will have no reliable outs to it outside of sticking a water spirit under an Eyewoolly or something in that realm. The line is expensive (6 spirits, of which 3 must be Earth and 2 must be Water), but a side in auto-win for specific matchups does seem like a consideration. On top of that, the spirit investment for it in deck building isn’t much, as you’ll be using one of the 2 types as your primary anyways and getting the required amount of the other is simple, with either the 3 earth being covered by an Earthquake and Madness package or by the 2 water being covered by Tsunami. Either way, this may be Baraboss’ only time to shine.
Mill
Main Deck
I can already hear Mike in the background. *Sigh* Mill is at a level of playability here that is kind of shocking. Both Hummbust and ChampBust are legal, with multiple options for Foretells between Royalotl, Apollo, and Solar Burst, even a more oddball option like Catarant Champ, leaving Foretell Mill in a precarious position. While Solar itself is on the backfoot of playability in this format, only having a small handful of options to work with compared to their standard line-up, Mill is easily the best option in its pocket for this format.
Fishy 5s
Main Deck
Apheros, Apheros Champ, and Magneros Champ marks 9 different Apheros available to use, which can all be a 5 if you really want them to be. A few people have made dents in the metagame with Fishy 5s at this stage (Bo and WinTheCent to name a few) and have proven the merit behind starting the game with 2+ 5s, but also one of the secret weapons of that strategy, Argo for Necklace, is not available here. I would consider Fishy 5s to be an add on to a pre-existing direction rather than the primary focus of your deck.
Champions of Poseidon
Main Deck
You know, if I had a nickel for every time I thought Champions of Poseidon had a chance in set championships, I’d have 0 nickels. Sadly, without access to Poseidon’s Fury, even the dream of going Eyevory Champ to hit everything you could dream of sadly will not get you very far. It is funny though.
Aphrodite
Main Deck
Easily one of the 2 most hotly anticipated decks for this specific format. Lochagon is one of the only meta strategies to remain mostly intact coming into set championships, but has suffered one crucial casualty: Tadpuff. Without Tadpuff, you are REQUIRED to stick a guy or play something janky like Rise from the Depths in order to reliably execute your Lochagon lines, and that piece means your opponent has that much more time to find their outs, as all of the currently played outs to the line are legal and available, such as Gorgons, Dense Fog, and Spoiled Fruit.
Even with all of that stacked against it, its hard to say that Lochagon isn’t in a fantastic position with this meta. Aside from the one tool, everything else the deck is known for is full at its disposal, from both Lochs to both Drataguas, even tools like Peliquarius are available here, which cannot be understated. Without question this would be one of the decks I’d recommend for taking to your set championship, with only one other strategy even coming close to its power level at its standard level.
Krakatuga
Main Deck
At first glance, Krakatuga seems to be in an ideal position: Smoltuga Champ, OG Krak, and Hephaestus are all legal and ready to be abused. And then you realize Eruption is not in the card pool. Even still, Krakatuga Champ is worth an exploration alongside a strategy that can make its artifact love worth it, like Waspivy thanks to the Poisoned Tunic access. Not a strategy I’d put a ton of stock in, but one to keep on the radar.
Whalance
Main Deck
Narpoon Champ and the original Whalance are in the pool, which alone tells me that someone, somewhere is going to get an unpleasant surprise when a Necklace of Aphrodite gets played against them, and that alone makes the entire thing a consideration as a side deck tool for Water strategies.
Lycavolt
Main Deck
At this particular stage, it should be no secret that one of my favorite packages in all of Lifestream is the Ampup to Lycavolt line, and this may be one of the best opportunities it has ever had to make a meta impact. A line of 3 Ampup, 1 ChamPup, and 1 Lycavolt with 4 thunder spirits is such an easy sell of an inclusion to many decks in the format that I do expect we’ll be seeing it a TON for this formats run, especially since a 12 attack hand ripper is going to demand an answer every time.
Thunderstorm
Main Deck
On paper, this one seems like a slam dunk. You’ve got OG Funglow, Brontoglow Supercharged, Thunderstorm, and Supercell all at your beckoned call. The issue though comes in how much of the auxiliary lines you’re missing. No Titanostrike, no Strike Champ, not even something like Jolten to bridge the gap to Supercell. You’re going to be leaving your fate to seeing Funglow and a Thunderstorm at the same time for most games, and those odds are not something I would be betting on.
Wind
Out of every element, the one that easily got shafted the most with this format’s pickings is Wind. While every other element got at least 1 decent pick for a strategy or play, Wind was left with next to nothing. Even with Hermes and Avialith Champ, you’re missing so many critical pieces that make Wind a decent pick in standard that there is simply no reason to play it over literally any other element right now. Even Fire has Up in Flames and Krakatuga Champ. Those aren’t fantastic, but theyre options.
Frost
Main Deck
This is the other option for Set Championships that I feel most players are going to gravitate towards. Thanks in large part to Caleb’s first place finish at this past weekend’s Premier with Frost Swarm, many players are going to be adapting their list nearly 1-to-1, with the only exclusion from the standard variant being Tadfloe. With that in mind, lets break it all down.
Morphrost is going to be exceptionally powerful here. The ability to swarm makes the threat twofold, as you not only need to deal with the 5 power Chimera they stuck, but you’ll also need to deal with the Lycan that got revived in the process, otherwise you’ll be dealing with an Eyewoolly Champ and an entire entourage of Frost buddies on the crack back.
Speaking of, the Catarant and Eyewoolly packages are insanely powerful for this format, allowing one to go from sticking an Eyewoolly Champ to effectively vomiting any and all guys from the top of their deck onto the board with the greatest of ease.
Brumalynx Champ is available as an option thanks to its reprint in the Khione Starter, and similarly has access to Blizzard, Whiteout, and Boreas, the latter of which means that your guys are all going to be hulking behemoths, while also giving you the option to grab Whiteout to make your Eyewoolly resolve through Gorgon’s.
Ursicle Champ is a more recent addition to lists, but its theory is sound. When you initially cast Ursicle Champ, you’ll search Khione, which in turn means that if your opponent outs the Ursicle, you can recur it with said Khione. The next turn, you can cast the Ursicle Champ and search Frostbite, which means that the Ursicle will be much harder to out the second time and you’ll have a reliable combat trick in your backrow until it’s used, which just threatens Eyewoolly all the more easily.
Lastly is Ice Age. The deck has access to a board wipe against any deck that isn’t Frost. It is so remarkably easy to access it between the Morphrosts putting 2 on board, Khione putting 2 on board, and even Brumalynx Champ putting 2 on board, so it’s always live.
This deck should be a consideration for your deck to use, but because of its popularity, I would almost recommend side decking the Ice Ages rather than maining them. It’s a weird meta out there.
Artemis
Main Deck
When I think of decks with potential, I think Artemis. All of their tools are here and available, from their new pieces to older ones thanks largely in part to the Artemis Starter Deck, giving Artemis specific tools like Fawnlit, Komalice, and the older champs. Even Specteris has been made available here, which is a powerful boon to every deck in need of a 5 suppresser.
The standout though is undoubtedly Werepup, who not only gets its OG Lycavoid as an option for a standard Werepup line, but also the new Lunar Eclipse, which has vastly increased the potency of the Werepup line in standard, and now also here for Set Championships. While I do not have faith in the Lunar deck’s ability to convert to results, the Lycavoid line, similarly to the Lycavolt line, should be expected as an option for most decks to splash into.
Decks to Play
With all of that laid out, what are the strategies that I would bring for the set championships? Today I have 3 that I’d like to share with you all, and 2 of them shouldn’t be surprising in the least.
Lochagon
Main Deck
Spirit Deck
Shock of all shocks, Lochagon would be my first pick here. Losing Tadpuff does hurt a lot for the strategy in this format, but with a tool like Foamee you can make up the lost ground fairly quickly, even being able to access it with Aphrodite onto Foamee Champ if necessary. The deck is a meta mainstay for a reason, and sticking the full Lochagon line is still a powerful play. If you do choose to play this though, be mindful of Spoiled Fruit, which you should expect to be in EVERY side deck.
Frost
Main Deck
Spirit Deck
This list is very much a modified variant on Caleb’s list from the last premier. I should note that even though I actively do not make side deck suggestions for these as I believe the side deck should be tailored to the format in your local area, the side deck should ABSOLUTELY include at least 2 copies of Ice Age here. I simply did not include it in the main deck as you will, more often than not, be playing the mirror, and as such the card will not serve you nearly as well as you’d hope. Even still the deck is fierce and the closest thing we have to a mono-colored deck in the meta at the moment, only seeing deviations from frost in the spirit deck for your side deck choices.
Wolves
Main Deck
Spirit Deck
This is a different kind of deck that aims to be more akin to the midrange packages that we’ve seen in the past, with 3 different packages of Elestrals aimed at capitalizing on weaker board states to push their advantage through. Lycavolt, Lycavoid, and Ladogon are all fantastic aggressive options that can quickly spiral a game out of control, and this shell provides an excellent opportunity to convert a single push into a game winning shift.
Conclusions
Overall I’m excited for this round of Set Championships. I truly do believe the team made the right decision in bringing in the auxiliary pieces to the format while not taking it a step too far, and in doing so have made a format that can potentially shift and evolve in the coming weeks into one that truly can surprise all of us.
An in-depth dive into all of the Elestrals with high-level immunities, how to play them, how to counter them, and what are the best of the best.
A primer going over the various options when building Frost for the Firestorm metagame, discussing 5 different options for deck building.