As someone that had played many TCG’s before stumbling across Shadowverse, I already knew what my favorite archetypes and strategies were. Coming from the Magic: The Gathering community, I was no stranger to ramp archetypes. I may have started playing Shadowverse as a Roach Forest main but I quickly gravitated to the ramp-craft that we all know and love: Dragoncraft.
Despite being a mostly free-to-play gamer the hefty price tag often associated with Dragoncraft never deterred me. Upon the release of Tempest of the Gods Dragoncraft was often referred to (not-so-affectionately) as “Walletcraft”. This was the first time we had ever seen lists costing upwards of 50,000 Vials. Filled to the brim with powerful Legendaries, Dragoncraft was the only thing standing in the way of Demonlord Eachtar’s initial reign of terror. I like to think of Dragoncraft as the hero of that story, as Eachtar has been and most likely will remain a nasty curve-topper, but I may be in the minority there.
A brief history of Ramp Dragon’s conception goes something like this:
Bahamut Ramp- Rise of Bahamut is released. Dragoncraft went from being solely focusing on the tempo provided from Dark Dragoon Forte and soon adopted the enormous Legendary Bahamut. Before his nerf this world-ending dragon blew up amulets as well as all followers. On top of that he was initially a 13/13.
Neutral Ramp- With the release of Tempest of the Gods came an influx of burly neutral Legendaries. Chief amongst them being Israfil. The craft was also introduced to the incredibly busted Grimnir (unnerfed). Hitting ten Play Points when the opponent was only at five or six was often how Dragon buried its opponents. Sahaquiel, a holdover Legendary from Rise of Bahamut, also became a key catalyst of the new Ramp shell. There were also a few design/development mistakes that slipped through the cracks here. This included, but is not limited to Windreader Zell costing only two PP, Ourorboros gaining you three HP upon dying, Lightning Blast’s enhance banishing the opponent’s WHOLE board. The deck suffered many nerfs throughout its lifecycle, thus came new iterations.
Queen of the Dread Sea Ramp- When Wonderland Dreams released and we faced a hellish nightmare where Neutral Blood dominated the metagame. After a month of brewing anti-meta answers to mostly no avail, Cygames finally nerfed many of the primary offenders. This allowed for the metagame to grow. Before her nerf, Queen could cost down a neutral and a non-neutral card in your hand to zero PP. Combing this with Zeus and Genesis Dragon you could chunk out HUGE amounts of storm damage. After her nerf, the craft quickly ditched her but kept the storm aspect of the deck at the top of its curve.
Storm Ramp Dragon- After ditching all of the gimmicks of having to use a neutral pay-off suite or using Queen of the Dread Sea, Ramp Dragon finally stream-lined into a Storm-based killing machine. Hitting ten PP on turn six meant you could start dropping Zeus and Genesis Dragons on the opponent’s head early. This also meant that the craft started adopting Forte once again. While the ramp deck maintained the control elements of its predecessors, the games would often end quickly as it would only take a few swings from the massive Storm threats that this deck produces.
Polyphonic Ramp- This is a revisiting of the controlling Dragon Ramp decks of old. The deck needed a little more staying power and a way to grind down the control elements coming from Haven and its Heavenly Aegis/Aether of the White Wing package. Most decks would play one or two and cut something like Genesis Dragon. It worked for the most part, though it was slow and left the deck a little more susceptible to the aggro decks of the format.
Roost Ramp- As the format became flooded with aggressive strategies Dragon players started going back to the gimmicks. Couple this with the fact that Dragon Roost had been unplayable (literally, you weren’t even allowed to put it into your deck) at several points in time in the game’s first two years. Players were eager to see just what the card could do and it seemed like a good way to speed up your clock. The main problem with this was simple: Other Storm Dragon decks. I personally never played this variant but I can say I super KO’ed every person that’s ever dropped a Roost on the board. They tap out and I usually one-shot them with Forte’s and Zeus’s.
Disdain Midrange- After the release of Omen of the Ten, Aggro Dragon became a mainstay in the Unlimited format. As a natural evolution in most TCG’s a midrange variant soon popped up. Is still used the Galmieux, Disciple, Servant, Serpent Drake, Disdainful Rending core as its Aggro predecessor, yet it utilized a heavier ramp package. This included the recently un-nerfed Sibyl as well as Breath of the Salamander and the Poseidon/Masamune package. Going just a bit bigger than the aggro deck is often a sound way of neutralizing it.
Cocytus Ramp- This takes us to the present day. After having played Altersphere on a consistent basis the consensus is in: The Cocytus Deck is beyond broken. That said, Prince is a hefty nine PP and hitting turn nine is never promised in a format where anything goes. This is where Dragoncraft comes in. Having access to all of the most efficient ramp options throughout the game’s history means that Dragoncraft theoretically hits ten PP on turn six 75ish percent of the time. Prince of Cocytus on turn six is hardly fair and having playtested the deck non-stop its just as fun as it sounds.
Most lists run a full 18 pieces of ramp. That is a playset of Dragon Oracle, Aiela Dragon Knight, Aiela Dragon Sword, Draconic Fervor, and Sibyl of the Waterwyrm. The common build also plays a full playset of each Poseidon and Masamune, Raging Dragon. The duo is decimating rotation right now, and after having played them I can see why.
Another common piece of tech that the deck has is the Lyria, Azure Maden package. Most Satan Ramp decks are built in such a way that Cocytus is the only hit of Lyria.
Here is my current Configuration of Satan Ramp:
Card Choices:
Lyria, Azure Maden- A key piece of Satan Ramp’s late game as she tutors up your haymakers. Another small thing to note is her damage shield. Being able to shrug off one attack is not a non-factor when evaluating her worth on the board. I’ve actually had a situation in which her damage shield made her survive to my next draw step and I ripped Astaroth’s Reckoning.
Aiela, Dragon Sword- One of the best pieces of ramp in the deck. Her low cost and the fact that she can trade on the board in the evo turns is paramount to bridging the evo turns to your “late game” action. She is what I consider to be the second-best ramp option in the deck.
Whitefrost Dragonewt Filene- This is a piece of technology that is underplayed in my opinion. So far I’ve only seen the Disdain Aggro variants playing her still. For me, she’s a good early play, affects the board with her solid body, her ping off of evo, and the Whitefrost Whisper. I cut a Lyria, a Masamune, and an Aiela, Dragon Knight to fit a full playset of Filene in. Its a steep cost as Lyria and Masamune are integral to the deck’s core, but I honestly feel like its necessary against the aggressive decks in the format. She also acts as the decks only four-drop. By playing her and her spell she allows you to curve out on turn four while maintaining card and board advantage.
Masamune, Raging Dragon- The power of this two-drop cannot be overstated. The way that Masamune takes over the board is unrivaled by another two-drop in the entire game. With just Masamune and some trash ramp leftovers, you can take back board-control while also mounting a lethal force for the following turn. The way that he and Poseidon synergize is one of the more obvious combos, yet none the less deadly.
Aiela, Dragon Knight- Arguably the worst piece of ramp in the deck. I chose to cut one in order to fit more utility into the deck. while she is admittedly lackluster, she’s on the rise in Unlimited ramp decks as hitting nine PP as early as possible is paramount. The earlier Cocytus hits the board the less likely the opponent is to be able to slog through it.
Dragoncleaver Roy- An infinitely better three-drop than Aiela, Dragon Knight, Roy gives us one of two things: cheap ramp, or a solid-rate removal spell. While he is slower than just playing Dragon Oracle, he is still the second fastest ramp option to it. Roy also gains value as a way to contain the board through trading as he already nets you the spell when he hits the table. He also gives us an additional “five-drop” as deploying him and the spell on the same turn is pretty decent too.
Sibyl of the Waterwyrm- The true lifeblood of the deck. Sibyl’s un-nerf allowed Ramp Dragon to become a viable strategy in the Unlimited metagame once again. Both ramping and healing you, Sibyl bridges you from the mid-to-late game perfectly. On top of her other benefits, she is huge. Sibyl must be answered when she comes down lest the opponent risk all of their work on your life total be undone.
Poseidon- He is just one of the many versatile cards from Rotation to make its way into the Unlimited builds of Dragon. In a pinch, he provides an early game Ward when you accelerate him. In the mid-game, when you’re a few PP ahead of the opponent he stalls long enough for you to find a Bahamut, Prince, or Lyria. After you’ve hit the ten PP mark he forms the infamous combo with Masamune that Rotation players know all too well. Overall, I really just love how flexible Poseidon is. There have been plenty of games that his accelerate mode has just protected a turn four Aiela, Dragonsword on the play and that was enough to bridge me to a turn five Sibyl.
Prince of Cocytus- The namesake of the deck, Satan himself. Not much more needs said about the power of the Cocytus deck. On top of that, he is tutorable with Lyria and with her ability to refund seven PP you can tutor and drop him in the same turn if you have ten PP available. Given that this is a “control” deck his stats matter too. Being a PP cheaper than the original Prince of Darkness and the fact that he’s +1/+1 bigger means that he is more effective on the battlefield. Control decks can often hold their evo points longer given the fact that they boast an extensive removal suite to contend the board with. A 9/9 is nothing to scoff at when it comes to clearing lethal attackers. I’ve also had the circumstance arise (more than once) when I dropped Satan and also cleared another attacker with Blazing Breath. Original Satan couldn’t do that.
Bahamut- A control options from formats past, Baha may have been nerfed, but he is still the best at clearing a board of followers. His 9/9 (11/11 after evo) body is also huge. I’ve lost track of how many times Lyria has missed Prince and found Baha and its won me the game the following turn. I drop Baha, clear their board and they come up shy of his 11 Def and concede. His drawback of not being able to attack if their board has two or more guys is laughable in this deck. Between Breath of the Salamander and Masamune (not to mention most of the cards in the Cocytus deck) all pave the way for Baha to wipe out half of the opponents life points.
Blazing Breath- One of the most effective removal tools in the game. Its a simple effect, but can make the opponent stumble just enough for us to ramp ahead. I would never cut this card, despite its power waning when the metagame shifts away from board-based decks. Its just been such a live draw in the opening turns.
Seraphic Blade- A catch-all that protects us from strange outlier cards in addition to being mainboard hate for a turn-two City of Gold. I rarely sand-bag this Blade as it is a nice way to buy time and breathing room in the first few turns.
Dragon Oracle- The heart and soul of the deck. This is THE card you want in your opener, and the more the better. It’s even OK in the mid-game as it will draw you a card in addition to ramping you ahead. NEVER mulligan this card back.
Breath of the Salamander- The other side of the coin as its counterpart Seraphic Blade. Its solid spot removal, but even better as a sweeper. The fact that we’re so focused on ramping actually breaks this card. You can enhance it around the same time you’d be dropping a Sibyl (usually turn four). I will sandbag this card unless absolutely necessary as its so good at catching back up.
Draconic Fervor- Another oldie but a goodie. Every part of this card’s text is relevant to the ramping/controlling role we are aiming to play every game. I actually prioritize Fervor over Sibyl whilst mulliganing. The fact that its guaranteed to ramp you on five PP, unlike Sibyl is what pushes it to the front for me as far as opening hands go.
Mulligans and Play Patterns
Prioritize cheap ramp. This consists of Dragon Oracle, Both Aielas, and Draconic Fervor (in that order). Aiela, Dragon’s Sword gains some points if you are going second as she will evolve sooner. Next, Prioritize removal or a five-drop ramp card. These two will serve the same purpose as you are looking to make the opponent stumble or undo some of the damage they’ve done to your life total. After that, I would throw back anything else other than cards that fit into these two categories. If the game drags out your topdecks are better than the average opponents as your deck is stocked full of haymakers that will be lights out as soon as you cast them.
The single goal of the deck is to drop an expensive “lights out” follower way before you’re supposed to. The full suite of 17 ramp cards means that on average you’ll be about two-and-a-half PP ahead of the opponent. A Bahamut or a Prince of Cocytus on turn seven will usually mean game over for many of the higher tier strategies in Unlimited.
I hope this look through time at my favorite archetype hits home for some of you and gives you that extra nudge to play a ramp deck in Unlimited, or just give you the insight that Unlimited is home to many fun decks. It’s not all aggro decks that end the game by turn six.
-MAC
