Counterplay Games‘ innovative collectible card/turn based strategy game Duelyst is quite the undertaking. Over the past couple of months, its fully supported ranked play has been running strong, pitting wits against one another in player versus player throwdowns with spots on the ranked ladder on the line. Like its contemporary, Hearthstone, Duelyst’s ranked “seasons” reset at the beginning of each month. Unlike Blizzard’s magnetic card game, Duelyst adds new cards each new season. January’s theme for new additions is pretty exciting.
I’m not a master at this game, but I’ve played enough to hone in on a short list of my favorite strategies. My favorite card ability is easily Opening Gambit, which triggers whatever effect described on the card upon being summoned. Low cost minions with Opening Gambit are often great options, because even if they are killed before they get the chance to activate next turn, they will have already done whatever they were meant to do. That 2-cost Blood Siren will do her 1 damage to enemies without actually having to activate. Well played, Abyssians.
January’s batch of four cards features three minions with Opening Gambit. More options to make my deck as multitasking and efficient as possible? Yes, please.
My favorite of the new additions has to be Keeper of the Vale. At 5-cost, it’s the perfect price for around the time when you’d need it: mid to late game. Its Opening Gambit summons a friendly minion that was destroyed nearby it. That’s two minions for the price of one. It’s especially frustrating when your opponent has spent a lot of resources to drop a high value card of yours, just for it to come back with a buddy next turn. The potential plays are boundless. There are ways around it, though. Especially in Magmar and Vanar, who pride themselves on having tons of creature removal that doesn’t explicitly involve killing anything.
Another gem is Prophet of the White Palm, the 1-cost 1/1 who prevents all spell damage the turn he’s played. Spells will still go off, mind you. The damage that spell does will just read as “0.” Now, any additional effects that a spell may inflict still happen. Flash Freeze will still Stun a target without doing its damage to it. Spells that don’t do immediate damage like Grasp of Agony will still trigger as usual, as well as abilities like that of the Bloodrage Mask.
The Sun Elemental is a pretty straight forward Opening Gambit creature. A 3/3 for 4-cost that gives two random minions +2 health. I know of no minions in the game that wouldn’t benefit from more health, unless you’re playing something like Azure Horn Shaman, who is arguably more useful dead. Even after its ability is spent, being a 3/3 around turn 4 can really help add pressure to the opponent’s board alongside your newly buffed minions. Just be warned, Sun Elemental cannot choose itself as a target for the buff.
Last, but not least, is the Araki Headhunter. When in play, this 2-cost 1/3 will gain +2 attack for every minion with Opening Gambit played from the action bar. Considering there are so many card options with this ability present, this guy should find his way into any deck making use of the ability. Keep in mind that these creatures have to be played from the bar to count, so being revived by Keeper of the Vale will not trigger this. If the Araki Headhunter is revived by the Keeper, than it loses this ability. Also, minions like Ash Mephyt that summon copies of itself only trigger the buff once. Paired with some low costs Opening Gambit minions like Healing Mystic and Ephemeral Shroud, you can almost taste the synergy.
How can these cards help your deck? Let us know on Twitter @CurseGamepedia, or on our Facebook page. And drop by our Duelyst Wiki for a comprehensive list of cards, factions, and abilities, as well as tips and strategies to conquer your enemies.