Raven's Ragnarok

This is the rough draft.

I think the latest draft has more Spirit Trails - and probably should have four - perhaps taking out the low value off-structure spirits in their place.

The idea is to Fortress up to make money, make "interactive" excursions across town to play Totems on enemy deeds, and return later with a standing army to pick off isolated targets using Hupirika Sue's ability (if she still lives).

Worked out decently in practice, winning 3-out-of-4 games at the Saturday tournament before Worlds - at least twice bursting 3 CP using Nicodemus Whateley post-errata for a win - and once booting out Chief Stephen Seven-Eagles for a 4-5 CP burst.

It is also surprisingly resilient early game. Lacks an answer to Gadgets. Any suggestions welcome.

Always interested to see your decklists, thanks for posting :)

Since you seem to be the local Raven scholar, in this particular deck how did you like him? I still haven't wrapped my head around his real benefits and how best to capitalize on them, so pardon my ignorance:

What's the point of another bullet on each dude, or a couple extra bullets on your shooter, or do you not care about that particular benefit in this deck?

Good questions!

According to my "Thesis" on Raven, I find he has a primary strength which needs to be leveraged, and a weakness which needs to be mitigated, and you are essentially asking about both, so I will answer those questions sequentially.

I find generally, the best way to leverage his strength is to get your opponent to call you out on the deed you have "Declared War" upon (using the Noon ability). Because, not only will this turn a moderate stud into a mighty one, but completely bypasses the negative trait which penalizes you for being aggressive-aggressive (it reads "If you are the leader..."). In short, create a deck that is passive-aggressive, such as by playing rock-denial (Protection Racket excels at this - soon Property is Theft!), running a defensible deed-clock (like Epidemic Laboratory or Hunter Protections), or building a Spirit Fortress (like this deck), to name three examples.

To mitigate his weakness, you need to invest in Posse Bullets. Even if this means allocating a permanent bullet bonus on a dude whose function does not typically include shooting. Doing so allows you to actually be aggressive-aggresive in the later stages of the game. The more bullets your posse has, the more confident you can pick fights on turn 6, 7, or 8 knowing your opponent will be unlikely to Outbullet you and thereby assess your posse the crushing -2 stud penalty. Another way around this is to use your draw dudes to pick reckless fights - because even if your opponent has superior bullets, your dude wouldn't have a stud bonus to lose.

This decks plan is to generate cash while preparing the Ragnarok to come by sneaking into enemy camps, setting up Totems, and returning later with reinforcements when the board is ripe for the taking. With multiple Spirit Trails, it is one of the new "Spirit Chess" archetypes that Doomdog has predicted would emerge from the ashes of proper Fortress in the Post-Nicodemus era!

Hope that answers your questions. Cheers.

Very much appreciate the explanation, thank you.

That is basically what I was thinking, and while I don't want to be negative, it also further solidifies my dislike for Raven. I can see various uses for it (beyond the extra CP), like having multiple studs to make sure whoever is the shooter is at least a 2 stud (one big stud doesn't interest me as much), or in shotgun/other decks that like bullet bumps, but overall to me it just seems like a ton of effort to get around a weakness that you've paid 2 GR for.

I know you've had success with it in various decks of yours, so I don't know if its because of Raven itself, or in spite of it, but you are a very good player so either way wouldn't surprise me :)

Thanks again for your thoughts.

It's a playstyle thing, and the long and short is that it's one I happen to like. Similar to how you really like the delicious structure-puzzle that Decimator Array presents for solving during deck construction.

The 2 cost I see as not only paying for the +2 bullets, but really for the ability to treat your choice of opponent's 1 CP deeds as a 2 CP deed. Compared to Jasper Stone, whose CP you have to "earn," with Raven's you can actually dictate the battlefield over which the decisive battles will likely be fought!

Finally, it's fun to "Declare War" on a deed. My playgroup and I get a real kick out of that.

Cheers!

@Prodigy - In spite of the outward theme of 'Warband aggro,' I've always considered Raven the 'thinking person's Servitor.' As the OP notes, Raven's nuances stem from not only WHERE to apply his ability, but WHEN to apply the pressure. Raven is not for everyone (myself included), but in the right hands/decks, is probably the most powerful and potent of the Servitors.

@Prodigy - In spite of the outward theme of 'Warband aggro,' I've always considered Raven the 'thinking person's Servitor.' As the OP notes, Raven's nuances stem from not only WHERE to apply his ability, but WHEN to apply the pressure. Raven is not for everyone (myself included), but in the right hands/decks, is probably the most powerful and potent of the Servitors.

@davido Zach has definitely inspired me to give Raven a try, and I intend to delve into it full on at some point. I love "thinking person's" cards, like Putting The Pieces Together and Decimator Array which have an extreme depth to them, so it's high time I give Raven some time & thought :)