-22- No Man Escapes Bastion - Sentinels(26) Manhunter(15)

- John Viola

Characters
4x Boliver Trask
4x Hounds of Ahab
9x Manhunter Soldier
6x Sentinel Mark V
4x Nimrod
1x Manhunter Giant
4x Bastion
1x SupermanHunter
4x Highmaster
Total:  37

Plot Twists
4x Enemy of My Enemy
4x Forbidden Loyalties
4x No Man Escapes the Manhunters
4x Cover Fire
4x Reconstruction Program
Total:  20

Locations
3x Genosha
Total:  3

How to play the deck:
This deck prefers EVENS.  Mulligan condition is a Trask, or both Hounds AND Mark V.  Ideal draw is Trask, Hounds and No Man Escapes.  This gives a great chance to get the opponent in a Hounds Lock if he is running a curve deck.  If the opponent has no 1-drop and just drops a single 2-drop on turn 2, and you have evens attack with Trask, use the No Man, and then attack direct to his face with Hounds to KO the 2-drop.  The 3-drop Manhunter Soldier has a 5 atk and should be able to stun most 3-drops on off initiative.  Stun each of his drops and KO with Hounds every turn.

Ideal turns:  Turn 1 play Trask.  Search for Hounds, if you already have Hounds search for Mark V.  Turn 2 play Hounds.  Turn 3 play Manhunter Soldier.  Turn 4 play Mark V.  If you miss Mark V and you have (2) Manhunter Soldiers in your hand, you can play them both as long as you have a 3-drop Soldier already in play (he makes them cost 2 instead of 3 each).  Turn 5 play Nimrod (he is great on defense, and a reason the deck prefers evens).  Backup is Manhunter Giant.  Third choice is to play (2) Manhunter Soldiers if necessary.  Turn 6 play Bastion.  The deck is built around Bastion – just like Curve Sentinel from back in the day.  Try to save Cover Fires for bouncing attacks on turn 7 (if you get Evens) or turn 6 (if you get stuck with Odds).  The Genosha’s are in the deck to pop on turn 7 after recruiting Highmaster.  They are not as good without Magneto, but just think of them as poor man’s card draw.  They will hopefully lead to more Bastion fuel and Reconstruction Programs.  Another reason the deck prefers evens is multiple cover fires and Bastion with Highmaster on 7 should brick wall attacks and basically steal the initiative.  If you get odds, try to brick wall on 6 if possible.  If you have a team-up active, then Highmaster can typically burn an opponent for 8-10 endurance.  This is an option depending on the circumstances.

No Man Escapes the Manhunters are to help with concealed characters and  to get a Hounds Lock going early if lucky.

Forbidden Loyalties is the team-up.  Can also give a +1/+1 counter if you discard a card.

Relocation Program and Genosha are meant for Bastion.  Cover Fires are meant for turn 6 or 7 to bounce attacks (along with Bastion pumps).  If you are facing a rush deck you may need to use a few tricks sooner rather than later.  When facing a rush deck make sure to play defensively (minimize damage taken as much as possible) and try to get to turn 5.  Nimrod can turn the tide with his repair counter.

When facing a stall deck you need to maximize damage as quickly as possible.  There is no 8-drop and you need to either end it on 7, or take the opponent down enough that a 10 endurance Highmaster burn on 8 puts the game out of reach for him.