Here we are with yet another episode of 12-wins Duels deck lists. Wailing Caverns, the Forged in the Barrens Mini-Set, will be available in a couple of days, and it will bring with itself a handful of tools that are very likely to shake the meta.
While we wait to be able to use said cards, let's continue our climb through the rating system! As usual, in the article below you'll find a collection of Duels starting lists that their respective authors piloted all the way to the 12 wins mark. Pick the one you like the most and good luck!
Jamyjamy's Combo Demon Hunter
Remember when Outlander used to be a Passive Hero Power and, with the right Passive Treasures, you were able to generate insane amounts of burst even in the very first few turns of each match? Those were the times. For now, you'll have to increase your draw (Blade of Quickening is particularly useful, especially if you manage to go through the first matches and upgrade it) and behave as if you are playing an OTK deck. With this general game plan in mind, Altruis the Outcast is definitely a minion you want to bring from home.
Black_veggie's Tempo Mage
Quite the interesting take if we can say so. This list features a few new Forged in the Barrens tools:
- Refreshing Spring Water - Even though it got nerfed at 5 mana, it can still be acceptable if you refresh 2 mana, even more, if you're able to pick a Passive Treasure with good synergy
- Wildfire - 2 damage Wyrm Bolt is cute
- Runed Orb - A classic!
Aegwynn, the Guardian is certainly the most important card of the starting deck, so make sure to start the Spell Damage chain as fast as possible, in order to benefit from it with all your other cards.
As for Passive Treasures, a solid plan would be picking very synergistic ones (Arcane Flux) or generally good ones (Emerald Goggles, Double Time or Khadgar's Scrying Orb).
AirHater's Divine Shield Paladin
4 mana Humble Blessing is still quite the effect if you manage to play it early and follow it up with units like Onyxia, Onyxia the Broodmother, and Alexstrasza. However, now other strategies have a chance to be experimented with.
In particular, this list features a Divine Shield-heavy build, with lots of minions that create much resilience in combination with From Golden Light: Righteous Protector and Annoy-o-Tron are good early game examples, but Goody Two-Shields and Cariel Roame speak for themselves.
Sure, the deck presents some rather unique inclusions (C'Thun's Chosen with no C'Thun, as well as Divine Rager), but there are quite a few Passive Treasures that will turn your gameplan upside down if you manage to get them: Righteous Reserves and Avenging Armaments are definitely your jam.
Miracle Priest
Even though back in the first days of Duels Mind Tether was considered a pretty bad Hero Power, Madness at the Darkmoon Faire and Forged in the Barrens (as well as the introduction of Shadow Word: Void) gave us a few sustainability pieces that made Miracle Priest appear in the meta.
Tip: Mind Tether plus Fireshaper is nutty.
Chrome575's Murloc Shaman
Murlocs are one of those tribes that heavily really on the board: if you manage to take control before they do, there's little to no room for recovery. On the other hand, if they snowball, you may as well go bottom right and pass on to the next game.
While it hasn't seen much play in Standard, but this is probably because of Shaman's issues rather than the card itself, Firemancer Flurgl remains a force to be reckoned with: leave it be and you won't have a good time.
Of course, try to get Battlecry-related Passive Treasures, like All Together Now, Battle Totem and Rally the Troops.
Viniciusbalby's Soul Fragment Warlock
I personally played with different iterations of this deck concept, and I can assure you that both Soulcial Studies and Demonizer (but especially the former) are way better than expected, even in a class with Dark Arts.
While you shuffle Soul Fragments into your deck, you fight against aggro thanks to the Imps you summon and, if you're lucky, a bunch of discounted Demons from Demonizer.
Passive Treasures suggestions - Go for All Together Now (get your Demons out of hand faster), Recycling (nice recovery tool for an archetype that summons lots of token from multiple effects), Battle Totem (look at the value) and Emerald Goggles (see All Together Now).
PersiaHS' C'thun Bomb Warrior
Pretty similar to a decklist we showcased in a past article. While this version features the recently buffed Shieldmaiden (now a card you can actually play in 2021 and strictly better than the Ironforge Portal you used to run) and Coldlight Oracle for even more Bomb shenanigans, the goal remains the same: try to stall the game for as much as possible and grind your opponent to pieces.
While there's a rather varied pool of Passive Treasures you could choose from, Battlecry synergy is always good and you should go for it in case you have the chance.
Do you like Duels? What are you playing over there right now? Let us know in the comments!
Comments
Thanks! I love these articles.
When duels first launched, I tried so hard to make From Golden Light not terrible. The only build that was consistently going to 6 or more wins was a divine shield build.
I've only realised now that the Outlander HP and Blade of Quickening are a reference to the Highlander movies 🤦♀️
Thanks for the duels content! I enjoy this mode and I make a point of referring to these for ideas.
Glad you enjoyed our content! Have some good runs ;)