Kauyon Hunt

i was your aun'shi mirror match loss.  best game ive played in months. was on the edge of my seat.

That was a tough game man, my head hurt for the rest of the day.  Two copies of Aun'shi bouncing around all over the place like an idiot is a lot to process.

Would you consider swapping Ion Rifles for Aux Armours? I wonder if the extra double shields and HP boosts (which you should be able to afford with your command) would be worth sacrificing a bit of ATK for?  

 

Also, what about the Pathfinder instead of Fireblade for higher ATK and possibility of multiple attacks?

Congrats on your win!

Didn't you consider Warrior Cadre instead of some Grenadiers, for example? 

I really love them in AunShi.

About Aux Armor - I'm not sure it's worth sacrificing the +1 ATK on Bork'ans (who hit for 7 with an Ion Rifle) and Marksmen. Also, the command in this deck is good-but-not-amazing. I'm generally more interested in planet bullying and potential assassinations than winning command, though trying to at least be even on command is important, and pretty doable with the Recon Drones and 1-for-1's. Long story short, I value the +1 ATK more than +1 HP most of the time, and the extra cost isn't ideal.

Fireblade is kind of an afterthought in this deck, but the extra hammer can be pretty helpful. And the +1 shield can come in handy when trying to weather an opponent's first strike. I don't think the Pathfinder would buy me all that much, since there aren't a ton of attachments.

Warrior Cadre and Grenadiers fulfill approximately the same niche, it's true. And a Warrior Cadre with an Ion Rifle is just as good as a Bork'an with an Ion Rifle, plus the benefit of first strike and an extra HP. But Grenadiers have been an MVP for me, so I decided to go with them over the Warrior Cadre, for the -1 cost, and the Grenadiers/Etheral Wisdom/Kau'yon Strike combo that automatically bloodies just about any warlord that doesn't have Archon's Terror or Indomitable in hand (and an Orbital City in play defends against Archon's Terror).

No ambush platform?

Maybe swap with one tense negotiations? Not telegraphed Ion Rifle or gun drones out of nowhere imo could be worth a try

Hmm...  you have a good point.  I don't like 1x cards in general, because when you put them in, you imagine "okay, this will be good when I need it and if I don't draw it I won't be too unhappy because I don't need it that much."  When it's just as likely that what will happen is "I draw it when I don't need it and don't draw it when I do."  When they have shields, and/or you can search for them (with ECT) or fish them from discard (with Shadowsun), then I like 1x cards a lot more.

 

But it is tempting to just try one Ambush Platform in there.  I think I'll give it a shot (IIRC, refbot's Aunshi that he beat me with also ran 1x Ambush Platform).  Now I just have to decide whether to remove a Tense Negotiations or a Grenadier (I'd never go below 2, but I do tend to find drawing more than 1 is redundant).  (Edit: I actually removed Fireblade Kais'vre for Ambush Platform, and am considering removing a Grenadier for a second.)

I used almost the same list for a 10 man tourney pre-enclave/gundrone nerf. I didnt get to use the combo though.

Do you find your build vulnerable against decks with a lot of direct dmg (eg. Zara swarm) or heavy control (Eldorath)? I think if a Plaguebeast hits the table, its a very difficult problem to solve for a composition like this. Also in your opinion how does Aun'shi cope with the raising elite-heavy decks?

Zarathur has tended to be a an easy matchup for me, though it's possible I just haven't played the right type of Zarathur deck.  Plaguebeast isn't a huge problem on its own, it's just 1 damage or 2 if Zarathur goes there and perfectly shieldable.  Plaguebeast + other direct damage starts to stress my shield count.  But when a Plaguebeast gets caught up in Zarathur's warlord train, it tends to be pure comedy.

 

In general, Eldorath has been an easy matchup as well, but I got totally schooled by a new-style Eldorath (i.e. old-style Eldorath + DDS and some big vehicles) in Black Crusade.  He crushed me both on command and in battle, and won in 3 planets.  A lot of things went well for him and poorly for me, so I don't know that it's a case of my deck being weak against his deck versus simply a combination of good draw for him, bad draw for me, good planet flop for him (hunt decks hate when there's a 3 planet win condition available), and a good player.

 

The main decks that I have trouble with are Ragnar and Mavros.  Though I did play 3x Ragnar and 1x Mavros in Black Crusade and went 3-1 against them, so it's not insurmountable.  But I would say that Indomitable, Iron Halo, Devastators, Unstoppable - all make for a bad matchup.

 

My other thought about Aun'shi is that Planetfall was not kind to him.  I don't use any Planetfall cards in this deck, plus there's more support hate around than before.  Plus beefier units are becoming more common (since you ask, they are a little bit of a problem, but IMO less so than they are to many decks, because I am perfectly capable of generating enough attack power to take them down - I just prefer to use it on warlords when possible).

 

I felt like Aun'shi was tier 1 or at least solidly 1.5 after The Great Devourer, even though that was against the prevailing opinion.  But after Planetfall, I think he's definitely not tier 1, and only "probably" tier 1.5.

I have seen a similar deck use Harlequins in it, since when they die you get to exhaust an Enemy unit, including Warlords.

 

Then you Kauyon Strike over all your Ethereals and have a beat down.

I felt like Aun'shi was tier 1 or at least solidly 1.5 after The Great Devourer, even though that was against the prevailing opinion.  But after Planetfall, I think he's definitely not tier 1, and only "probably" tier 1.5.

 

he got absolutely 0 cards last cycle.  the new enforcer is the first aunshi card in forever.

I agree that the classic Aun'shi deck has not gotten any cards since Warlord Cycle but I won a regional using Aun'shi/Eldar vehicles and another player used that idea to place 3rd in the Denmark regional.  That deck uses 5-6 planetfall cards and I believe to be a legitimate contender.  I think Aun'shi may have diverged into two different deck styles now. 

I agree that the classic Aun'shi deck has not gotten any cards since Warlord Cycle but I won a regional using Aun'shi/Eldar vehicles and another player used that idea to place 3rd in the Denmark regional.  That deck uses 5-6 planetfall cards and I believe to be a legitimate contender.  I think Aun'shi may have diverged into two different deck styles now. 

 

Yeah, but that's just weird.  I must stress that I do not advocate or recognize those decks as valid, but hey, do what you want (and I'm mostly joking, but only mostly).  Aun'shi doesn't give armorbane to Eldar, so I'd rather play that style of deck out of Shadowsun.  

 

The more standard Aun'shi decks are pretty convergent right now.  There's a clear choice between Viorla Warrior Cadre and Fire Warrior Grenadiers for your muscle (backing up Bork'an Recruits, who are more-or-less too good not to include), with IMO only a very small contingent opting for another choice like the Prototype Crisis Suit (or XV8-05 Enforcer, but I don't think he's been around long enough for opinions to crystallize).  And then there's a little bit of variance in events regarding how many copies of things like Tense Negotiations, For the Tau'va, and Even the Odds.  But otherwise, aside from your weird divergent builds that use allied units, Aun'shi decks are pretty similar.

 

Tactical Withdrawal might shake things up a bit, and probably also the Herald of the Tau'va coming in Deathworld Pack 4, though we don't yet know what it does.

I have a lot of fun with it, and Aun'shi gets to do things Shadowsun simply cant do.  The deck is a "best of both worlds" combination for me.  I do love classic Aun'shi too and am really looking forward to some of the Deathworld cards to try in both builds.

yeah. i pretty much shake my head at the aun'shi vehicle decks too. seems absurd. i also handily beat one in an aun'shi mirror match with a deck extremely similar to the one above, for what that's worth.

 

the enforcer is amazing in aun'shi. i killed anrakyr hiding behind a lychguard sentinel yesterday.

enforcer with an ion rifle. 0 dmg on anrakyr. swung for 7 at lychguard. moved all 7 to anrakyr. bloodied anrakyr.

felt great.  also someone pointed out that it combo's hilariously with heavy marker drone.

HMD was the first thing I thought of when I saw Enforcer.  Pretty sure only the damage still assigned to the HMD target gets doubled though, not any reassigned damage.

Zarathur has tended to be a an easy matchup for me, though it's possible I just haven't played the right type of Zarathur deck.  Plaguebeast isn't a huge problem on its own, it's just 1 damage or 2 if Zarathur goes there and perfectly shieldable.  Plaguebeast + other direct damage starts to stress my shield count.  But when a Plaguebeast gets caught up in Zarathur's warlord train, it tends to be pure comedy.

 

In general, Eldorath has been an easy matchup as well, but I got totally schooled by a new-style Eldorath (i.e. old-style Eldorath + DDS and some big vehicles) in Black Crusade.  He crushed me both on command and in battle, and won in 3 planets.  A lot of things went well for him and poorly for me, so I don't know that it's a case of my deck being weak against his deck versus simply a combination of good draw for him, bad draw for me, good planet flop for him (hunt decks hate when there's a 3 planet win condition available), and a good player.

 

The main decks that I have trouble with are Ragnar and Mavros.  Though I did play 3x Ragnar and 1x Mavros in Black Crusade and went 3-1 against them, so it's not insurmountable.  But I would say that Indomitable, Iron Halo, Devastators, Unstoppable - all make for a bad matchup.

 

My other thought about Aun'shi is that Planetfall was not kind to him.  I don't use any Planetfall cards in this deck, plus there's more support hate around than before.  Plus beefier units are becoming more common (since you ask, they are a little bit of a problem, but IMO less so than they are to many decks, because I am perfectly capable of generating enough attack power to take them down - I just prefer to use it on warlords when possible).

 

I felt like Aun'shi was tier 1 or at least solidly 1.5 after The Great Devourer, even though that was against the prevailing opinion.  But after Planetfall, I think he's definitely not tier 1, and only "probably" tier 1.5.

Thank you for your summary! I brought Aun'shi to our league finals today (the 8 best players from our group with double elimination) despite haven't been playing him for 6 months, and just won the tournament (3 games against Worr, 1x Eldorath, 1x Gorzod). I used the classic build with a bit higher unit count than yours, and I also splashed a Devastator in. The chess-like problem solving this warlord brings to the table felt really refreshing, and winning against some pupular decks was rewarding as hell - my brain though is completely burned out. I think consistency issues are derived from the mentally very demanding style of the warlord, and not from drawing into those orbitals early or or not. From time to time, I'll surely revisit this unique beast. 

  I think consistency issues are derived from the mentally very demanding style of the warlord, and not from drawing into those orbitals early or or not.

 

I agree with that!  Also, thanks for the very interesting discussion guys.  It's a little unfortunate that it is going on here underneath my boring Aun'shi deck and not in the deck-building thread.  

Great to see Tau winning championships!

I am contemplating on Heavy Marker Drone x3 with Ambush Platform x3, plus being able to ambush Ion Rifle. But, something would have to be cut from the deck. I feel like in this warlord, Heavy Marker Drone is a great way to chew through elite units or something big. But, then you are sacrificing a swing that could potentially be forwarded towards bloodying opponent's warlord, and you would have to sacrifice already great deck spaces to fit in those 6 cards (drone and platform). 

 

Also, batshit crazy as refbot said that you can re-assign the enforcer's damage past any defenders! That is a neat trick, I totally read it wrong and though that you have to apply damage to a unit and the remaining extra damage would be re-assigned. This however makes it so much more awesome, plus you can spray multiple units most of the time- Lychguard is only one of the few defenders that can shield a warlord.

 

If you were going to add 3x Ambush Platform, 3x Heavy Marker Drone, and maybe 1-2x Enforcer, would that totally mess up the deck? 

 

If anything, just adding 3x Heavy Marker Drone though... I feel like it is one of the best cards for Aun' Shi. But I think I can see the problem-  it can't target the opposing warlord, so you kind of "waste" a swing to hit some heavy unit vs. opposing warlord in order to bloody him. Might be good against elite decks.

 

Aun'Shi is starting to become one of my favorite warlords. He seems to be one of the hardest warlords to snipe, and has flexibility to move around and cause serious threat to opponents with his ability. 

I am thinking there are a lot of changes to this deck in the Death World Cycle.  The Enforcer seems worth it to displace the Grenadiers.  I liked them a lot, but even at +1 cost, it's hard to argue against the Enforcers.  Then Tactical Withdrawal is a mandatory 3x in my opinion.  Question is what to take out between Deception, Even the Odds, and Tense Negotiations.  Currently leaning towards removing both EtO's and one Deception.

 

I can definitely see adding Heavy Marker Drones if you add the Enforcer, and I can see adding Ambush Platforms to support the HMDs and Gun Drones.  But what would you be leaving out?

 

I already removed the Fireblade Kais'vre above, despite not updating this deck list, but that still leaves me at 28 units, which is kind of a lot for not having Trader Pirates, especially if adding in another 4 cost unit.  So the unit count could probably come down.  Maybe remove Trailblazers?

 

It's also a little bit of a crazy thought, but I'm wondering if the new Ethereal is worth it even without any elites?  1/1/3 for 2 is not terrible, and the Ethereal trait makes this deck go...  Maybe if there was one more point of Ethereal synergy, but as it is, he's not gonna make the cut.

Oh, and you kind of hit on this - but yeah, I've never put HMD in Aun'shi before because it can't hurt the enemy warlord, and my thought was that anything that doesn't help assassinate is wasted.

 

But with Enforcers, suddenly you CAN use the HMD to hurt the enemy warlord.

On OCTGN I've been running 2x Enforcer 2x Sniper Drone Team to test them with 3x HMD and it has handled all of the elite decks I've been playing against.

its kind of hard to argue that enforcer is in any way better than the sniper drone team, unfortunately.