The Q Continuum

Starhorn the Seeker

Category: Meme/Fun

Archetype: Combo

Spirit: 5500-13500

Patch: 1.96

Author: nh3maser

Submitted: 2019.07.06

Q'orrhlma'a

Part of a series on neutral meme archetypes that can be played (with variable amounts of success) in any faction.
Part 18: Q’orrhlma’a.

CONCEPT

The idea is simple: make your deck consist mostly of  1- and 2-cost minions, use Q’orrhlma’a  to gets rid of them and cut your deck down to a small set of combo cards, and use those cards to win you the game. (As an added bonus,  since cheaper minions are generally lower rarity, these decks tend be somewhat budget).

The original Q’orrhlma’a decks were AlphaCentury’s Rokhai and DDOSHai, the latter of which was so degenerate it necessitated an emergency hotfix to the game. Since the fix, the archetype is at a much lower power level since your cheap minions get rapidly outclassed and playing Q’orrhlma’a itself is further bad tempo, so you’re often dead before your combo goes off. When it works, though, it’s a real blast!

This archetype has been discussed recently in a thread on the forums.

CARDS

Cheap Minions

There’s a plethora of these, so you can adjust your choices to fit your own playstyle. I generally prefer being more proactive with removal minions, but  others prefer a more defensive approach emphasizing bodybockers. Usually you’ll also want one or two of your faction minions depending on the build.

Removal

Bloodtear Alchemist, Maw, Primus Fist, Ephemeral Shroud  – efficient answers to the enemy’s early game

Akari Headhunter, Vale Hunter – more aggressive minions which can get better trades or demand removal

Healing

Azure Herald, Healing Mystic, Rescue-RX – raw healing with decent bodies

Utility

Aethermaster – helps to find Q’orrhlma’a on time

Replicant, Dreamgazer – minor card advantage to prevent you from burning through resources too quickly

Celebrant – can get Q’orrhlma’a out early, if that’s something which still works with your combo

Cryptographer – a minor mana sink

Stall

Rock Pulverizer, Wood-wen, Sinister Silhouette – provokers and bodyblockers

Q’orrhlma’a

You play this on 6 mana and transition from attempting to stay alive with weenies to attempting to win with your combo.

Combo Finish

In-faction

Example Decklists

These decks play out similarly due to their common core of neutral 2-drops, with the exception of the actual game-ending combo, so I’ll mostly just list the combo pieces.

Lyonar – Legion + Call to Arms. Unlike the other decks, this combo doesn’t immediately win the game, instead giving you an endless stream of value in unlimited 4/5 Provokes in a manner similar to Trial decks or Koan of Horns. Very vulnerable to dispel, but with only two combo pieces it comes out very consistently, and it’s funny how some decks just can’t handle the swarm of Crestfallen. Decklist.

Songhai – Boulder Hurl + Meditate + Ornate Hiogi + Crescent Spear. A modified version of AlphaCentury’s original Rokhai combo, adding an extra combo piece to compensate for the nerf to Meditate. Decklist.

Vetruvian – Value Artifact combo. Decklist (credit Icicle).

Abyssian – Bonecrusher + Corporeal Cadence. Decklist (see my writeup here).

Magmar – In addition to the Worldcore combo highlighted above, Boronian has a less all-in version based around the classic Decispikes combo. See decklist above.

Vanar – Walls + Winter’s Wake. Decklist (see RHacker’s writeup here).

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Comments 5
5 thoughts on “The Q Continuum
  1. No one has enough time to play all of these, but they’re fun to read. :)
    How many more do you have planned? How much do you test
    each list (that wasn’t created and vouched for by someone else)?

    1. This is probably the end of the line :)
      There’s only so many neutral themes/mechanics to build around, and with these last few posts, I’ve scraped the barrel pretty dry.

      The amount of testing varies a lot. Most of my original lists underwent a respectable amount of refinement, but for some lists (especially for these later entries), I just ran a couple of games as a proof of concept.

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