Smash the coat-he-has - UKTC 1st place (1/3)

Astra Militarum Orks

Team captain of Team Deeply Struck. Undefeated (7-0) both personally and as a team

Please see this thread for a detailed battle report from the event: http://www.cardgamedb.com/forums/index.php?/topic/33307-uktc-1st-place-battle-report-team-deeply-struck/

As a joke, I thought I'd design a Coteaz deck that can take on the current elite meta. The way I saw it was that a massive attack is all well and good, but the excess damage output is irrelevant when there are several target. For example, 1 Snotling Attack defeats a Heldrake on initiative, and would need an extra unit as backup off initiative (ignoring shields of course), but the cost difference is huge. Turns out, my "joke" actually ended up being a decent deck that I was planning on taking to the Nordic Nationals (I unfortunately had to cancel that trip due to family reasons), and I have won some GNKs with it as well as being undefeated in the UKTC.

I included all forms of token generation. The Griffon is an amazing card for a Coteaz deck since it's so versatile, whilst Snotling Attack helps to add in pressure into the planets that need it the most (or just give Coteaz something to sac if he goes command sniping). The Battlewagon is probably the MVP of a lot of my games, however, since it really screws over their combat math and combos really well with Clearcut Refuge. In one game during the UKTC, I used the Clearcut twice (via To Arms) to boost a lone Battlewagon up to 16 hp and it proceeded to wipe out a planet of units, without even dying (if it wasn't Iridial I would have let it die, but healing 15 damage off a unit is such a good feeling). Initially there were 3x SA/Battlewagon, but I found it hard to consistently afford multiple Battlewagons and after the first SA I found that I had a tendency to play more army units rather than another one.

Regarding the unit composition, I've aimed for a high-low build to maximise on the swarmy aspect. 1 cost units are both cheap ways to compete in command whilst also being cheap ammo for Coteaz's hunger. Snakebite Thugs are just solid units, especially when backed up by a Clearcut, whilst Markis helps add in a layer of control. The lone Psyker is pretty much there to fill a slot. It's not something I desperately need in the deck but something I'll happily play if I see it.

Regarding the event composition, diversity is key. I could have easily just gone 3x Snotlings + 3x Preemptive + 3x Suppressive or something like that, but the split is what allows me to be far more flexible in the way the deck operates. Going down from 3x Preemptive was a hard choice, but given the high number of Ork units I found that I was mostly using it as a shield instead, so I was happy to go down on it. Death Serves the Emperor is a fantastic card that works wonders in this deck, even though there's only 5 targets. It helps fund more tricks in the following turns and has a dream combo with The Emperor Protects when applicable. There have even been times where I've used Smasha and dumped all of the damage onto my Griffon just to play DStE (especially late game if it's on a late planet) to then play more things, as well as having my opponent take damage. It's a shame it doesn't trigger upon sacrificing, but even so it's a great card in this deck. Finally, To Arms! works will most of my supports in intricate and different ways, making it a very versatile card.

Finally, the support composition. Troop Transport is an obvious choice given the deck structure. Smasha helps to combat more command focused decks (Eldorath/Kith) so that my command can simply out live theirs, especially since a Griffon gives me 8hp to play with for 4 cost, whilst it also punishes an Ominous Wind trigger to help cut away at their elites. The rest may surprise some since I've gone for a spread of 3 1-ofs, but it's consistently worked for me. Clearcut is a badass card but really gets into the zone when there's a Griffon or Battlewagon out, otherwise +2hp is nice but rarely game-changing. Catachan helps clear up Coteaz's in built attack deficiency whilst also making it easier to deal with bigger units, but the high cost curve of the deck makes expensive non-units harder to play. Staging Ground helps to add pressure at planets, especially if Coteaz goes command sniping, and to turn command gains into combat tricks. I've even used it to drop in a Trader/Pirate just as sacrificing fodder for Coteaz (think of it like a Vow of Honour in Mavros), that can potentially combo up with a Suppressive Fire and/or the Formosan Black Ship. The spread of options also means that I have a variety of choice to use my To Arms! on given the situation I find myself in.


I personally think that the deck is optimal in its current form, however here are some potential includes that I've dismissed:
- Bolster the Defence: This was in as a 1x before DStE was legal since it helps make Smasha more affordable whilst also being a decent combat trick and double shield, however I rarely found myself actually using it as anything other than a shield
- No Mercy: This was a 1x before DStE was legal since it helps guarantee kills on certain targets or during a Smasha trigger
- Seraphim Superior Allegra: This was a 1x that got replaced by an extra copy of Markis when No Mercy was removed. She has great synergy with 4 of the supports, however the likelihood of actually pulling off that synergy turned out to be too difficult to be competitive. The dream combo was to consistently trigger Clearcut Refuge on her so that she'd become near impossible to kill given she just readies and reuses it each combat round
- Inspirational Fervour: I've never found the space for it personally but it does help keep the pressure on especially after a Griffon is played to 1 (it + 1 token goes to another planet, whilst Coteaz has the second token as a guaranteed hunger fodder for the next round). Given, however, that Coteaz has a use for exhausted units, however, it's not as necessary as it may be in other warlords
- More control: I personally don't think it's needed since the aim of the deck is to outright kill what they have rather than just control them, but it does help when AoE units hit the table. Inspirational Fevour and The Emperor's Warrant are both decent includes, as well as increasing Supressive Fire to 3x
- Squig Bombin: Helps keep a lid on their tricks but is both not always useful and is another expensive non-unit (same issue as the Catachan), so in the interest of deck space I had to leave it out


Weaknesses:
- AoE: This is the obvious one. Staging Ground, Formosan Black Ship, Troop Transport, Suppressive Fire, Markis and the Battlewagons all help to limit the effectiveness of an AoE swing as much as possible but sometimes it's just going to happen (read: Warpstorm). However, I've generally found that it's hard for them to save up for a trick like Warpstorm and afford to compete at the same time, meaning I can end up being able to bare the brunt of the attack and come out on top. In one tournament I took this to 3/4 games involved a warpstorm trigger, but I still won all of the games
- Support destruction: Always a pain especially given the 1-of supports but the deck's designed to work without any of them hitting the table. Regarding the Smasha, depending on the deck you can just wait to play it so that its first swing can't be countered, which sometimes is enough especially if To Arms is added into the equation
- Command choked: I've managed to at least equalise my command against most decks I've played against, but some decks make that hard to do (especially if an Archon's Palace is out). The Smasha helps to deal with this where able, as does sniping command with Coteaz (not always easy)