Epic Strategy #3: From Zero to Golden Hero

From Zero to Golden Hero

The keeper of secrets was notorious for his golden medal collection.  He dreamed of the day that White Wizard Games would make him worth a gold.

-Random Epic Fan Lore

        Hello all, it is time for Epic Strategy #3!  Today we are going to focus on the all to classic story of a zero becoming a hero.  I have already mentioned my love for zeros in my past two posts, but I wanted to take you on an even closer in depth look at how powerful these zeros can really be.  In this post you are going to read about some of my favorite zeros in the current game.  I wish I had the time and energy to describe each and every zero that I adore, but today we will just lay the foundation.  A part two may be in order based on how well this post is received.  Once again, I need to advise you to take everything I say with a grain of salt.  In complex strategies games there are usually exceptions to every theory and general strategy.  I would say that about 90% of the time I will take these zeros if I see them in a draft.  I call these zeros the "golden hero's" as there has been many times where I would of gladly spent my gold for the powerful effect they have on the board.

     With the right card combinations you will feel like you are spending two gold a turn!  For each card I show, I will give you some example scenarios of the card in action so you can get a sense of how to use it.  Lastly, I want you to know that these are not ranked in any order of power.

Zero Hero #1

Muse

          When I first started drafting I knew that zeros would be important, but I did not value a lot of them correctly.  Fortunately, Muse was a dead give away on a top zero in the game.   Card draw is so important in Epic and this card is geared to help you get cards for free.  Not only does she perform amazingly well in that regard, the airborne is the perfect touch of power to her.   Since my opponent is very likely to remove her asap, I usually attack with her when I am able to.  Airborne zeros are much harder to deal with in the game than ground based ones.  9 times out of 10 the text on this card really ends up being.  

Muse 2/2

Draw 1 card

Deal 2 damage

Force your opponent to use removal that they would of liked to save for something else.

You just cant beat the value of this card.  If it sticks on the board for two turns it has done massive work for its cost.

A quick reminder for new players...  Only play this card at the end of your opponents turn AFTER they have spent their gold.  Do not get sucker punched by playing this only to get it removed instantly by a board wipe or removal giving your opponent more value.  Of course, every card has counters so don't expect an auto win when playing this.  Wizards was wise to introduce plenty of new 2 damage zeros to help combat Muse.

Scenario #1

           The opponent plays Draka's Enforcer to an empty board to establish some presence and card draw.  He attempts to end the turn.  At the end of turn, I draw two and then place muse down.  He has no removal, so he attempts to end the turn again.  At the start of my turn, I draw a brave squire(more card draw magically makes you draw the right cards! How crazy is that?).  I swing in with muse, and he blocks with Draka's Enforcer.  I then brave squire the muse taking out the Drakas enforcer and leave the board with a muse and human token, and I have not even spent my gold yet!  I attempt to end the turn to get even further ahead.  If my opponent banishes the muse, then I can play a blitz creature or draw more cards.  If he lets the turn end, then I still have a muse in play that he needs to deal with.

Zero Hero #2

Amnesia

Adam:  What is it Jon

Jon; My... My discard pile?  Its gone.

Adam:  Your right, I...... discarded it(Evil Punny Laugh)

              I thought Amnesia was very weak at first, until I realized the insane power of this card.  This card was especially powerful in the core set only(Watch out during Alpha as this card will spike in power until they release the other sets.).  Simply put, this card just does work.  Graveyard hate is the real deal in Epic.  You can lose a lot of games if your drafted deck does not have some answers to the graveyard in Epic.  This card allows you to deal with any graveyard threats as soon as they are played.  At the same time, you end up answering the threat and drawing a card with a recycle?  Sick!  This card can also finish out close games as it allows you to win the decking race if the game gets to that point(This is less viable at the release of Uprising as there are now many cards that banish entire discard piles).  On top of that, the card has a built in draw two cards for a safety net.  This is an A+ pick for any draft.

Scenario #1 of usefulness

            After several bloody turns, the board is clear.  Player A's graveyard is stocked to the brim with White heroes.  Since you have just spent your gold wiping the board, he smiles as he plays his Angel of Mercy.  He then passes priority back to you, only to turn white as you amnesia his graveyard clearing all of the white goodies that were about to wreck you whilst drawing fresh goodies yourself.  This is a massive swing that has won me several games.

Scenario #2 of usefulness  

           In a close game, you have taken light board control with 2 tokens, but have taken significant damage and are sitting at 12 life.  Player A has 2 cards in hand, and you have 6.  If you can just stay alive, you will be able to destroy him in just a few turns.  Instead of drawing two cards, he decides to go for the kill and plays Lightning storm hitting you for 6.  His plan is to recall the card and finish you for the last 6.  The second he passes priority, Amnesia hits the table and ends his parade.  When my friend did this play to me, there was about 20 seconds of awkward silence.

Scenario #3,054 of usefulness(Just pick this card mkay?)

         With two stacked graveyards after turn 10, both players are looking to finish each other.  Player A has just used Palace guard to banish your Kong off the board.  With a quick glance, you notice you have 10 champions in your graveyard to his 9 champions.  He attempts to end the turn so you first play Amnesia banishing his graveyard.  Then you play Zombie Apocalypse finishing the palace guard off and creating 10 zombies vs his 1 zombie.  With that swing, you are able to finish him off the next turn.

Zero Hero #3

 Raxxa's Curse

"Sometimes you get to stare at a lovely muse, and sometimes you get smashed by the demon lord himself."

Ancient Epic Card Game Proverb

         This card does work, absolute work.  Putting a demon token into play is great, but wait, I get to break a zero champion as well?  This card is great for stopping tempo plays as we discussed in Epic Strategy 1.  I am very satisfied if a card balances the tempo, but this card goes the extra mile, by giving the tempo back to you on a silver platter.  As always, having that extra draw 2 ability seals the deal on the power of this card.  The more choices the better.

Scenario

          Player A has it all set up for turn 1.  He is going to play little devil to try and draw Player B into a trap.  He has Lord of the Arena with Lash in hand ready as a follow up to Player B's response to little devil if there is any.  He plays little Devil and swings in ready to take charge of the game.  Player B simply says "Nope!" and plays Raxxa's curse destroying the devil and getting his own start on the battlefield at the same time.  With both gold's up Player A does not risk playing his Lord of the Arena/Lash combo and draws two instead.

Zero Hero #4

Wolf's Bite

           This card is another great Zero Hero that just wins games.  Do you have plucker problems?  Not anymore!  Are you tired of necromancer lord forcing you to spend your gold to remove him?  Not anymore!  Do you need to remove a muse while getting a chump blocker for a Steel Golem? You need WOLFS BITE.  Order now, and you get to do all of the following while drawing an additional card.  This card is unbelievably good.

Scenario

          At the end of your turn, your opponent happily plays Thought Plucker forcing you to discard.  He is confident with his Steel Golem conquering the board.  His plan is to force you to remove the Plucker with your gold, and then he is going to hit you hard with Steel Golem.  It looks as if you are doomed, but then you say "Wolf's bite!"  Now the plucker is dead, and the Steel Golem is going to chase a wolf around the next turn instead of beating your face into a pulp.

Zero Hero #5

Flash Fire

 

"If I had a dollar for every token this card has destroyed then I could maybe buy half of that standard mtg deck that will be useless in 1.5 years..."

#Shotsfired

         Flash fire is ridiculous.  I cant tell you how many times this has saved my ass.  This card has so many uses, I could go on for hours with the scenarios.  Free board wipes of tokens/Dark Knights/Pesky cards such as Necro lord/Plucker/Muse is incredibly good.  When I do not need the wipe, I can casually draw two.  If I have memory Spirit and this card vs a token deck I am going to win a lot of games.

Scenario #1

         Player A noticed during the draft that he was passing lots of white token cards to his opponent.  Subsequently, he was missing lots of white cards on the pack passes.  HMMMMMMMM.., I wonder if hes playing white?  He hard picks flash fire over a sea titan as he knows it will be more useful in the battle.  Sure enough game 1 of the draft looks like this.  

Turn 1 Player A Draws two.

At the end of the turn Player B plays Secret Legion + Courageous soul and is ready to crash the board.

Player B happily plays Flash fire and enjoys the soothing awkward silence that follows as Player A cant figure out how everything went haywire in 5 seconds.

Scenario #2

            Player A removes a Crystal Golem with Hands From Below(Another hero zero!) generating two zombies.  Player B decides to lick his wounds and draw two cards.   At the end of the turn Player A plays Reap or Sow and puts four zombie tokens on the field getting his total to 6.  Then at the start of his turn he plays Plague Zombies to get his total to 9 zombies that are ticking bombs.  After Player B uses some banish/bounce cards to survive the Zombie threat with 10 hp left, he is shocked when Player A announces that he is going to play flash fire.  The flash fire destroys all of the zombies triggering their effects and finishing him off with direct damage.

Conclusion

           There are another solid 10 or so zeros that I consider heroes.  I encourage you to take the cards discussed in this post and really put them to use.  These cards really shine and help turn the tide of the game.  Remember a zero can always become a hero.