Yesterday at the Achroma Store in Poole was the Salum Spring Grand Tournament. 23 players battled it out, with Lewis taking the top spot piloting the Spirata Planum deck that has been dubbed Rayders (short for Ray Traders). He also won the Hidden Gem tournament with the same deck in the previous week, losing only 1 game in the entire day. I was playing exactly the same decklist (more on that later) and ended up finishing 2nd in Swiss, but losing to a Clunker deck in the semi finals in a tense 2-1 battle. Ultimately, I was outplayed, and Lewis played better than me; a well deserved win. On the subject of Lewis, check out his excellent website here: achroma tools and his own deck and tournament review here.

Back when Rise of the Realm Runners was new, I started working on an idea that revolved around some mini-synergies with Fairies and with high value cards to trade to victory. It started with cutting the fairy painters that don’t represent high return on investment and putting in only those cards that consistently let you finish a round with more shards than you started with. The result was Rayders, which I played at achromacon and didn’t lose a single game:

I’d been chatting with Lewis about this build idea on and off, as he’d been working on something similar independently. There were very few differences between our builds, but a few differences stood out and after testing he was convinced.

Let’s go over how it works. This deck has several mini-synergies that mean that almost irrespective of your starting hand, you can ramp up the shards very quickly. One striking thing to note is that 10 cards in the deck have a cost of 5 or more. This deck loves trading, and when you can easily net 10 shards with a double trade in a turn, it can win fast.

It’s not all about the trading though. The deck contains Cintimani Stone (which offers ludicrous value; maybe play a Full Palette for free?) And double Dr Hue’s Lab Coat. There was not a lot of love for the latter, but for me it represents: the opportunity to play with impunity for a turn, as you cannot be drained; a 6 shard card to trade; a 6 strength object to turn an Imp into a killing machine; and 6 shard colours to push the value of Blueprint Swirl through the roof.

And of course, who could forget Ray. A value of +4 the turn you play it, it doesn’t matter terribly if he gets erased next turn, as you’re probably on course for 30 points anyway if you play him, and if the opponent is having to spend 2-3 shards to deal with a card that already netted you 4 shards, you’re not overly concerned. The biggest issue is him being claimed. To get him on the canvas, double Firetender is in the deck, and he can pull Full Palette in a pinch.

Completing the decklist are Wincey and Splat Square, which tend to pay for themselves the turn they’re played and replace themselves in your hand; Imp, which has a card draw; Sorrono/Carmella for control; and Dracon as a solid 2 cost +2 that makes Blueprint Swirl +4. The achrom cards, especially HAIM Shard Cache and Cintimani Stone mean this deck can often pull off an achrom win.

Is this deck a problem? Possibly. I spent all week trying to build a counter, didn’t get anywhere really, so just played Rayders on the day. It’s hard to see what might hit it hardest. A Ray nerf would hit it a bit, but wouldn’t kill it, so might be a good move, such as allowing you to attack Ray; he would still be a +4, he would just be less likely to persist. However, the strength of the deck comes from the value of Spirata Planum in general, the large number of high shard cards in the realm, the multiple high value combo pieces, and the powerful control cards like Carmella, Sorrono, and Role Reversal. The strongest card in the deck is probably Cintimani Stone: it comes out in a lot of games thanks to Factory Production Line, and offers crazy value. I personally would like to see this card not play the card from your dregs for free.

That’s all for now. Looking forward to seeing what the community comes up with to combat this deck.

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