ProQuest: Chilling with Jarl

Well those 4 cards below are a good start. Jarl gets to play with some of the strongest effects in the game, while being able to directly destroy equipment without having to give the opponent a decision.

You also get to play a ton of defense reactions and life gain in this deck.

If you're up for grindy games and don't hate that sometimes you will go to time outside of your control, it's a fantastic deck to show up with.

This version of Jarl doesn't rely on the usual effects of Felling of the Crown and Plow Under, but instead feels more like a throwback to old days of an underpowered Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity.

I've put together a little report on my pro quest, so I hope you enjoy it.

-Rob

Round 1 vs Noah on Marlynn, Treasure Hunter.

I think I won the die roll and was able to Crumble to Eternity on his Fyendal's Spring Tunic and his Gold-Baited Hook. Rampart of the Ram's Head was good especially vs Golden Tipple (Blue). I had a few turns where I was able to line up defense reactions. Matchup seems like it favors Jarl, but it was the first time I was playing it so I can't say for sure. I was able to land a Oaken Old and Tear Asunder. He had drawn all 3 Three of a Kind In hindsight, I probably should have put a counter on his Sealace Sarong instead of his Gold-Baited Hook since it would make the 5 power Tear Asunder that much more difficult to handle.

Round 2 was Paul was on Gravy Bones, Shipwrecked Looter.

I never played this matchup before and only really had context to relying heavily on Midas Touch for the end game. What I didn't recognize was Crumble To Eternity on the Compass of Sunken Depths. Due to inexperience I targeted Dead Threads. Things were going okay and I was keeping up with him, but over time his count of gold exceeded what I could keep up with. He was able to get 18 points of damage out of all 3 Prismatic Leyline and eventually succumbed to the wide and tall attacks. Maybe the game would have been favorable had I correctly targeted the Crumble on his Compass of Sunken Depths, but it was a good learning experience.

Round 3 was Aaron on Arakni, Huntsman.

Opponent was on a very heavy fatigue list and it looked like only 3 Cut to the Chase (Red). I mistakenly also played hammer instead of sledge. I focused mainly on not getting my Tear Asunder and Oaken Old banished with his defense reaction. It was a long game and over time I got attritioned due to blocking. I was able to Oaken Old fuse him at least 3 times and then got several attacks in with Tear Asunder. Unfortunately it just didn't seem to matter. Maybe some combination of using Fate Foreseen to know the top card of the deck and then sledging, or just risking it and coming in for 6 over and over again could work. At the end of our game I had my loop combo ready, but he had Surgical Extraction as well as Codex of Frailty and multiple Remembrance to keep it going.

Round 4 was Ning on Puffin, Hightail.

I actually started turn 0 with 2 Crumble to Eternity, one on Unicycle and one on his Teklo Foundry Heart. I didn't hit any way kill either of them throughout the game and didn't draw enough Oasis Respite, Fiddler's Green. He just had several turns where there was a large amount of damage (3-5 attacks per turn and each one was 4+ except the gun). At some point I misplayed and decided to try to get value out of my shield, but he came over the top with Palantir Aeronought. There was probably just too many mistakes on my part and need some more reps into this deck. I had only played against it twice before. I wonder if it makes sense to actually play with Sledge here as the deck is blocking a ton and maybe the 4 damage hammer just isn't enough. Again, I got a few Tear Asunder and I think only one Oaken Old fused.

Round 5 was Clinton on Verdance, Thorn of the Rose.

The last game was fairly typical. At one point I was up to around 55 health, but then awkward hands and was down to a more reasonable 30 health. I was able to Roiling Fissure for his Ring of Roses. When he went to return it back to his deck with a Everbloom // Life, I greedily responded with a Poison the Well. He responded with a Rampant Growth // Life, and he was able to return it. I hit another Roiling Fissure onto a Channel the Millennium Tree, but had to take around 8 damage. We ran out of time with him at around 15 life and 4 Healing Potion in play. I had another Poison the Well and I think my life total was around 25. It would have come down to the next few turns and it was difficult to say if he had enough resources to kill me, but it was a fun game overall.

I decided to opt for Jarl Vetreiði over Dash I/O, despite going 3-0 at my local just a few days prior. I think it was still a good choice for the event as there was quite a few Cindra and some awkward matchups like RKO, Jarl, Verdance, Huntsman, and Marlynn. (as well as a strong Dash player).

I could have used a bunch more reps with the deck and hadn't considered the deck seriously until 2 days ago when I realized I could borrow a Heart of Fyendal from another player at the store.

I think I played at a pretty fast pace, but that isn't going to necessarily help opponents speed up. You get most of your time to think through your turn on their turn, which means that most of the decisions for both players occur on your opponent's turn.

I'd love to try out some cards like Righteous Cleansing and maybe Buckle, since those would function as some additional Tear Asunder in some matchups where they will be redundant in taking out the equipment.