i Savannah Salt

VDB

Highlights

This is a Tremere u swarm deck using The Embrace to get more minions and bleed for one, getting around bounce and reduction defenses. The intersting trick here is it uses Powerbase: Savannah to avoid combat, and Salt of Thoth to protect the Powerbase: Savannah itself.

This funny contraption was brought to us by the inimitable Bram Van Stappen, who won a small Finnish tournament with it. Given the highly competitive meta there, and the infamous combat-heavy nature of it, it is an impressive achievement.

The deck contains a lot of Locations to support the Powerbase: Savannah, and a lot of Deflection to defend against strong bleeders. A bit of vote defense with Delaying Tactics and Poison Pill, some Bram-typical Ashur Tablets recursion, a Gran Madre di Dio just to contest it if it goes out, but also to provide yet an additional Location, and an Uncoiling to remove the incidental Scourge of the Enochians.

Considerations

Now that swarms have falled a bit out of fashion thanks to Gangrel Thing and the Emerald Legionnaire nerf, opponents are lessed prepared to it. And if, normally, a combat-oriented meta could control this easily, Powerbase: Savannah offers a really efficient response, jamming the hand of wall and grinder decks while also denying any removal from stealth deck with Salt of Thoth. It also tailored against Gangrel Thing decks using Earth Meld for unlock, since Powerbase: Savannah will prevent that card to be played altogether.

So, is this thing strong, or it just just a fluke? Hard to tell: Bram is certainly a talented player, and him winning with this deck does not mean the lot us can. Additionally, a first win can often be credited to the opponents underestimating the deck or failing to foresee its mechanics. On the first confrontation, one would for sure underestimate the amount of combat Powerbase: Savannah can end, and how difficult it would be to remove it because of the loads of Salt of Thoth here.

So maybe this can only win once as a surprise. But it won a tournament finals, so even knowing the deck, the finalists there couldn't best it. This might be worth trying and investigating and, who knows? Maybe it's the new swarm we're all going to worry about now.