I played an updated version of my Rin deck at the Monday A.W.O.L. weekly on 2024-12-23, where it went 3-3 for 30th of 58.
The deck
For a detailed breakdown of the deck list, see the last time I played this deck.
The biggest change is that I acquired another Coppélia (U) that plays itself when it goes to reserve. Going down a copy of Coppélia (R) was a downside, but I included a second Cernunnos (R) in its place to make it more likely the deck can progress on T1.
I rarely kept Nurture (C), so I swapped it out for a Meditation Training (C). If you’re unable to get the ball rolling on early anchors, this would pair well with a 3-drop on T3.
Uniques
Cernunnos: 6/7
Coppélia (U-6623): 5/7
Coppélia (U-753): 5/7
Rin likes this Coppélia for the same reasons as the one above: it gives you an asleep and a fleeting character if you play it the turn before you plan to win the game with Festival.
This one’s boost from hand makes it a more impressive anchor target, but in a deck of 3-drops, it doesn’t fit as easily into your 4 or 5-mana turn.
Takeaways
Win conditions:
- I won two games on expeditions.
- I won one game with Lyra Festival (F).
- I played the Festival on the game-winning turn.
- I lost three games.
- One game I got blown out on expeditions.
- One game I failed to Festival, then decisively lost on expeditions.
- One game I failed to Festival, then barely lost on expeditions.
Lyra Festival (F) should go into mana by default, especially in the early game. Only keep one if it’s looking like your best/only chance to win. Keeping Festival too aggressively in R1 and R3 limited the plays I could make and contributed to my losses.
A single removal spell can instantly shut down the rhythm of Rin’s anchors. The Spindle, Muna Bastion (C) enables your entire gameplan in removal-heavy matchups (see R5 and R6). The key is to find a window to get this down that doesn’t interrupt your own rhythm (see R3).
Rin’s gameplan depends heavily on her reserve. She’s vulnerable enough to sabotage (see R1 and R3) that it’s worth planning for the worst.
I’m going to try to be more conservative with when I play my Coppelia (U)s going forward. They’re strong tempo plays, but so are several of the deck’s other 3-drops. Holding onto one of these can be the difference between being able to win with Festival or not.
My one successful Lyra Festival (F) attempt was made possible because I was able to pressure my opponent into spending their removal spells on my anchored characters (see R2).
If you can afford to, it’s ideal to go for a Lyra Festival win on the turn your opponent is the first player. This makes it more likely they have to fire off removal without knowing which components of the Festival win you can easily replace. Sometimes, it can force them to pass before you drop the Festival itself (see R4, where not being the first player was the difference).
The games
Round 1 (L): Treyst & Rossum
Yong-Su, Verdant Weaver (C) was my best chance at a forest progression, but it lost to my opponent’s Kelon Elemental (C) and Amelia Earhart (C), which prevented me from putting a Mowgli (R) in reserve. As the second player on T2, I was able to trade with Yong-Su and start getting cards into reserve.
My hand was light on stats, but drawing into Lyra Festival (F) opened up some interesting lines: playing Coppélia (U-6623) this turn would mean it would be both asleep and fleeting on the next turn. I had the Spindle Harvesters (C) as a 1-cost anchored character. All I would need is a 1-cost asleep or fleeting character.
I missed the sequence that gives me the best shot at a Lyra Festival win.
What I ended up doing was playing Mowgli (F) from reserve into the forest-only region, then playing Coppélia (U-6623) and the Muna Caregiver (C). I figured this line would guarantee at least one forest progression and would be less all-in on Festival.
What I failed to take into account was the fact that my opponent would be the first player next turn, and they would have access to a Tinker Bell (C) from reserve if they weren’t pressured to play it this turn.
The better play would have been to leave Mowgli (R) in reserve. If my opponent sabotaged it, I would have the Muna Caregiver (C) as another 1-cost fleeting play.
As it was, I didn’t draw into anything useful off of Rin’s ability. My opponent waited to sabotage the Muna Caregiver (C), a juicy target even if they’re not expecting the T4 Festival. I slow-played to dodge removal, then anchored an Aloe Vera (R).
Leading with Lyra Festival (F) next turn drew an immediate Kelon Burst (C) from my opponent, speaking to how scary the threat of the unknown can be. The Festival was dealt with, but I was able to go 2-0 and pull into the lead.
What play has the best chance of winning next turn?
My opponent’s first Haven, Bravos Bastion (F) was online on the following turn. A Kelon Burst (C) in their reserve meant that I couldn’t anchor an Aloe Vera (R). Instead, I played it unanchored, leaving 1 mana open. If they removed the Aloe Vera (R), I could Beauty Sleep (C) their Axiom Salvager (R) to start the next day at 1/2 on expeditions.
Instead, they played another character, so I slept my Aloe Vera (R), giving me two characters for next turn and a resupply for an outside chance at a Festival win.
The Aloe Vera (R) resupplied into another Lyra Festival (F), but I needed both the Beauty Sleep (C) and Spindle Harvesters (C) from my reserve to achieve asleep and anchored. My opponent’s Armored Jammer (C) sabotaged the Spindle Harvesters (C) to rule out the Festival win, and they were able to easily overwhelm me on board with two Havens.
Round 2 (W): Teija & Nauraa
Daughter of Yggdrasil (R) secured a forest progression even as the first player against Teija, which let me put Mowgli (R) into reserve. I replayed the Daughter on T2, anchoring it into an upcoming forest-mountain region.
With plenty of cards in hand, I could afford to hold onto the Lyra Festival (F) that I drew.
Cernunnos (U) anchored the Daughter of Yggdrasil, which forced a Cloth Cocoon (F) from my opponent while still winning its expedition. I used Rin’s ability to put a Kodama (C) into reserve, planning to play it and give it anchored with Cernunnos (U).
My opponent saw what was coming and played a Mana Reaping (C) on the Kodama, but since they were the first player, I was free to play out Yong-Su, Verdant Weaver (C) for a 1-0 against their Sneezer Shroom (R).
After putting Mowgli (R) into reserve, I drew into a Spindle Harvesters (C) with a Kodama (C) already in hand. Since my opponent ramped me to 8 mana, I had exactly enough for a Lyra Festival (F) win if my opponent had no disruption.
I considered whether to go all-in on the Festival win: I was ahead on expeditions at 3/4, but my opponent had a 3/3/3 Sneezer Shroom (F) and a Muna Caregiver (U) in reserve that would anchor something whenever another character joined. Since my opponent had already played two removal spells, I liked my chances at a Festival win better.
I led with the Kodama (C), then Spindle Harvesters (C), then Mowgli (R) to give myself the maximum ability to bail out if I saw removal. Once my opponent went down to 1 mana, I dropped Lyra Festival for the win.
Round 3 (L): Afanas & Senka
As the first player, I led with The Spindle, Muna Bastion (C), figuring I couldn’t prevent my opponent from taking one side regardless. I’m now doubting whether this was correct, as forfeiting the early progression prevented me from getting an Muna Caregiver (C) into reserve early enough.
By the time the Muna Caregiver did end up in reserve, my opponent’s Tooth Fairy (C) denied me the anchor. The Spindle prevented them from interacting with my characters, but my opponent was able to make them less potent by attacking my reserve instead.
I had played Coppélia (U-753) for tempo, but drawing into Lyra Festival (F) made me regret not saving her, since she was looking like the only way I would be able to get three characters on board for a Festival win.
Playing Lyra Festival (F) is a losing line unless I draw into a 1 or 2-mana character that will hit reserve this turn.
An awkward hand had me deploying the Festival on T4 rather than playing a Daughter of Yggdrasil (R) hero-side and hoping to draw into a 3 mana play. What I didn’t account for was that going 0-2 meant I would likely need to achieve the Festival win next turn if I was expecting the Small Step, Giant Leap (C) from my opponent. No characters in reserve meant I had no way of achieving the fleeting component. My best shot would have been to trade expeditions twice then try to win with Festival the turn after.
As expected, my opponent had little trouble trading expeditions, then winning with Small Step on the following turn.
Round 4 (L): Kojo & Booda
Seeing both Coppélia (U)s in my opening hand gave me a very high-tempo start against Kojo while also saving the other for the possibility of a Festival win.
While my opponent drew with a Mighty Jinn (R), I anchored an Aloe Vera (R) and kept cards flowing into reserve.
They got down a Haven, Bravos Bastion (R) on T3, but my anchored Aloe Vera and awakened Coppélia (U-753) would let me 2-0 without much trouble.
What's the best way to prepare for a Lyra Festival win? Is it worth the tradeoff?
What was interesting was that Coppélia (U-6623) and Spindle Harvesters (C) in hand together with an anchor support ability in reserve meant I could reasonably go for a T4 Festival win. The one commitment I would have to make is to anchor a Kodama as a fleeting character instead of the Aloe Vera (R) that would be blocking a water-only region. I would also start the next turn as the first player, giving my opponent more chances to interact with my gameplan.
Lyra Festival (F) still did its job; it drew a card while forcing removal that would have otherwise hit an Aloe Vera (R).
I slow-rolled the Festival as best as I could, but my opponent had the Mana Eruption (R) to discard it when I had the win on board. I was still able to go 1-2 and stay ahead on expeditions, but my opponent’s Mighty Jinn (R) counteracted the mana loss.
My opponent's Sun Wukong (U) flipped a 2-0 into a 1-2.
We traded on the following day to keep me ahead at 1/2 on expeditions. It looked like I had a good shot to keep my opponent at 1-1 for the win, barring double Intimidation (C) and/or Bravos Tracer (R). However, my opponent’s Sun Wukong (U) with an Intimidation (R) arrow effect swung both expeditions at once, putting us into tiebreakers.
Due to their Haven and Sun Wukong (U), my only shot in tiebreakers would be to win with Festival. I had three 1-drops to dodge the Sun Wukong (U) bounce, but I needed to draw into exactly a way to sleep something. I missed on the draw, but my opponent’s Intimidation (C) in hand meant I would have been one mana short of either Kodama (C) or 1-drop + Beauty Sleep (C) regardless.
Round 5 (W): Akesha & Taru
I kept my 1-of Mana Reaping (C) from my opening hand in case my Akesha opponent was on The Kadigir, Yzmir Bastion.
It looked like my opponent had an unlucky opening hand, as they had to pass on T1 against my Coppélia (U-753).
Drawing into The Spindle, Muna Bastion (C) was a godsend in this matchup, and I happily forfeited T2 as the first player to get it down early. My opponent was free to 1-0 me while sabotaging the Kodama (C) I had put into reserve, but I would be okay on resources as long as I found some card draw or starting winning forest expeditions.
The Spindle, Muna Bastion (C) allows me to anchor with impunity.
The Spindle let me feel safe anchoring an Aloe Vera (R). I was able to confidently reanchor it with Cernunnos (U) while playing out the resupplied Kodama from reserve. To make things even better, I was able to anchor the Kodama with the support ability I had put into reserve thanks to Rin’s hero ability.
Once you land the first anchored character, Rin's hero ability makes it likely it will stick around even longer.
Aloe Vera (R) resupplied into a Muna Caregiver (C), meaning that even after my opponent’s sabotage, I was able to reanchor both the Aloe Vera and the Kodama for yet another turn.
I still had Mana Reaping in the event of The Kadigir + Celebration Day (R), but my opponent didn’t go for it, and I was able to close out the game by playing out my 3-drops.
Round 6 (W): Afanas & Senka
My opponent’s self-boosting Lyra Skald (U) had a high enough forest stat that I needed to play Cernunnos (R) diagonal to it in order to secure the critical forest progression.
I kept The Spindle, Muna Bastion (C) from the opener but learned from R3 and prioritized getting early Rin activations. I replayed Cernunnos and anchored it with the Mowgli (R) I had placed in reserve. The chances that my opponent would have Off You Go! (C) would only get higher as the game went on. Fortunately, they didn’t have it here, letting me once again progress in forest and stick an anchor support ability in reserve.
My opponent led with a Sneezer Shroom (F) opposite the Cernunnos. The most logical explanation was that they had drawn their Off You Go! (C), so I immediately anchored Cernunnos with a support ability and got down The Spindle. My opponent passed with 3 mana up, which made it look like my read was correct.
The 2-mana tax especially hurts Afanas, who wants to cast multiple spells each turn.
After I reanchored Cernunnos (R) with my Cernunnos (U), my opponent played a 4-mana Off You Go!. I was totally fine with this, since I was still winning one side, and I would have the Kodama out to anchor with Cernunnos (U) on the following turn.
Coppélia (U-6623)'s effective cost of 2 opens up a strong line here.
Cernunnos (U) and the Kodama went on to lock down hero-side, while Coppélia (U-6623) could provide minimal stats companion-side. Her cost reduction left up 1 mana for Beauty Sleep (C): if my opponent overcommitted to the Mage-Dancer side, I could sleep one of my own characters. Instead, they left their multi-boosted Mage-Dancer alone, and I was able to sleep it to go 2-0.
At 1/4 on expeditions, my opponent had no way to match the oversized characters I stacked on the non-Mage-Dancer side.