Concept

Ilena is the “stun” general, and has lots of support cards which synergize with stun, most of which are too weak to see play. Here, we play a lot of them anyways in a surprisingly effective shell.

Cards

Stun Package

Stunners

• Icy
• Frigid Corona
• Permafrost

The best of Vanar’s stun cards for this deck’s gameplan. Icy’s Battle Pet body is good for nothing, but crucially, its effect can stun the enemy general, as can Permafrost indirectly if they’re next to one of their own minions. This can be important for setting up for the finishers below. Meanwhile, Corona’s nerf to not hit generals was a huge decrease in power level, but the card is still too efficient not to run.

Payoffs

• Iceshatter Gauntlet
• Cryoblade
• Disciple of Yggdra

Gauntlet is like Ilena’s Punish, combining with her BBS to kill anything (close by). Cryoblade isn’t impressive but is passable as a mostly vanilla minion who gets in a little extra damage here and there, and can hit hard with Razorback on a combo turn. The Disciple is quite strong once she transforms into Voracity, offering a lot of stats and stickiness for the cost.

Snowshot Package

• Walls (Gravity Well, Luminous Charge)
• Lady Locke
• Razorback

Surround your opponent with walls (ideally buffed by Locke) and then drop Razorback next turn for massive damage. This package was innovated by the eponymous Snowshot. It works especially well in this deck since in addition to Provoke you can potentially lock the enemy general down with Stun effects.

Miscellaneous

Ramp

• Wisps (Crystal and Malicious)

Get you to the endgame sooner and disrupt your opponent.

Draw

• Spelljammer

The deck isn’t super aggressive, but it has enough speed and a low enough curve to make good use of the Jammer.

Notable Exclusions

Flash Freeze – not enough draw to support, can’t hit generals.

Shatter – a worse Iceshatter Gauntlet, often straight card disadvantage.

Hydrogarm – Ilena’s BBS can’t always be reliably cast, which makes Blood Surge also unreliable.

Essence Sculpt – fits better in a slower, more value-based deck.

If you’re looking for a deck that gets to play the latter two profitably, I recommend Zohan’s Build Faie: see videos here and here.

Gameplay

This deck can be tricky to play, but the main idea is straightforward: outtempo your opponent early on with your Stun cards and use ramp to set up for a Snowshot combo. Voracity is the key card for surviving the midgame since it’s your only minion with above-the-curve stats. Even though the combo requires a turn of setup and can be disrupted, it’s pretty reliable once it comes out since many decks lack counterplay. Even just played straight, your Stuns can provide enough tempo to allow you to develop a board and steal some games with a random Razorback.