Hello everyone! Today, I’m going to share with you a Nebula Shaman deck in Standard mode, and the strategic thinking behind it.
Prior to last month’s patch update, I had posted a deck description of Nebula Shaman, and was very honored to receive some player approval. Here is the link to the site:
Nebula Shaman (Patch 11.22 is live, updated at the end of the article)
In my previous article, I analyzed in detail how Nebula Shaman unfolds, the benefits of a single Nebula card, and explored single card options. In this article, I kept the core Hyper Unfolding single card and replaced the other single cards to a greater extent, with the aim of speeding up the tempo of the deck and increasing the likelihood of Hyper Unfolding.
The details of the deck are as follows:
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Band Manager Elite Minotaur Chief in Carry: Sal’s Gift, Dehydration, Photographer Fizzle.
Compared to v1, the v2 deck has seen a significant shift in matchup thinking: whereas v1 was a shifting tempo deck, v2 has transformed into a combo deck. In short, we’re more focused on playing Nebula more consistently at 4-6 costs to win.
In terms of comparison, v1 has a better overall tempo and a more comprehensive build that takes into account both pre- and mid-late game tempo, while v2 specifically strengthens the ability to overspread, dramatically increasing the likelihood of overspreading. With the v2 deck, I have a 25-16 record in the current environment, with a 60.9% win rate in the Diamond 5 bracket. Excluding bug drops and mistakes, the win rate could be even higher. It should be noted that the sample size of the decks is still limited and the nature of the decks is more dependent on luck, so caution should be exercised when using them.
In fact, both decks are suitable for the current environment in my personal experience, and players can choose according to their personal preference and the environment they are in. It is worth mentioning that compared to v1, v2 has a clearer goal, is faster to get started, and easier to play; it has a higher possibility of hyper-expanding, stronger feedback, and is significantly cheaper than v1, which makes it ideal for players who want to try Nebula Shaman.
For a more detailed analysis of v1, please refer to the previous article, which I will not repeat in this article. In the third subsection of the latter article, I will further analyze the single card options for v2. The next first two subsections are a restatement of the previous article’s unfolding methodology and nebula mass analysis, with fewer changes. Players who have already read them can skip these two sections and go straight to the single card analysis in the third subsection.
The full text is about 4000 words, and the recommended reading time is 15 minutes.
Nebulae as well as Star Prayer were utilized many times in the early, middle, and late stages of the game to win.
The deck only carries three spell cards, allowing Triangulation and the following Astronaut to stabilize Nebulae and provide some assurance that there will be no other disruptive items when playing the following Lunar Pathfinder in the early game.
Triangulation boosts the Nebula’s hand rate to match the Moon Blazer mentioned below, and boosts the deck’s thickness to ensure that there are still spells in the library that can be drawn by Astronauts after multiple big spells are in play, and additionally creates an unlimited resource in the later stages of some matchups in conjunction with Fizzer, the Photographer.
The addition of the three new Delaney cards in the new version – Planetary Navigator, Lunar Pathfinder, and Astronaut – makes it possible to play Nebula quickly in the early game. With Specialized builds, Nebula can be played as early as 4 costs, most games can be played at 6 costs, and most games can be played at 7 costs for a low cost. Below you will find an explanation of a few ways to get started.
In a very smooth scenario, starting with Planetary Navigator + Lunar Pathfinder + Nebula and no triangulation, then:
Planetary Pilot at 2, Lunar Pathfinder at 3, and Nebula at 4 if you don’t get a random coin in your backhand. Of course, a more consistent approach would be to coin Lunar Pathfinder+Nebula at 5 on the backhand, overload at 4, and start Nebula at 5. Play Nebula at 5, and you can basically declare that you’ve won every game except Warrior. (There’s a 4-cost stabilized Nebula for the skyhook expansion later)
Starting with Parrot Paradise + Lunar Pathfinder + Triangulation/Nebula is a common play:
A 1-coin Parrot Paradise landmark in the backhand, triangulate for Nebula at 2, landmark + Lunar Pathfinder at 3, and Nebula at 4 is a 3-cost Nebula, while a turn delay is required in the fronthand.
The other, more common and simple way to play the game is to start with Planetary Navigator + Astronaut:
A 2-cost Planetary Navigator and 5-cost Astronaut will allow you to play a 4-cost Nebula on the 6-cost turn; if you want a 4-cost Coin + Astronaut, you’ll need to play a Jazz Bass/Greedy Mate on the 3-cost turn before you can play a Nebula on the 5-cost turn.
Starting with Planetary Navigator + Lunar Pathfinder + Nebula and a Parrot Paradise/Jazz Bass at the same time would be a no-brainer:
Parrot Paradise: 2-cost Parrot Paradise, 3-cost Landmark + Planet Navigator + Landmark + Lunar Pathfinder, and 4-cost Nebula that can be played for 2. And this hu is not afraid of triangulation topdecking: after testing with a limited sample, Lunar Pathfinder’s Battlecry is not going to give a spell card that would otherwise be the corresponding mana cost.
Jazzbeth: 2-cost Planetary Navigator in the backhand, 3-cost Jazzbeth + Attack, 4-cost Coin + Lunar Pathfinder + Attack, and playing Lunar Pathfinder’s Overload upgrades Jazzbeth’s Necropotence to reduce it by two, with just enough of the remaining 1-cost to play Nebula; the first hand delays it by a turn.
These are some of the main ways of unfolding to play Nebula at 5 or even 4 costs upfront, and may not be seen much in practice. With the above cards and the flexibility of Fairy Tale Woodland/Greedy Companion, more than half of the games can easily start at 6, and almost all of the games can start Nebula at 7.
In the previous subsection, I focused on the unfolding methodology of Nebula Shaman. In this subsection, I would like to set aside the analysis of other single card choices and prioritize showcasing the current pool of 8-cost followers in the environment, and incorporate some probability calculations to give you a more intuitive idea of the strength of the core single card, Nebula.
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In short, there are 14 Shaman+Neutral 8-cost followers in the current environment, and in the set above, the single-card order is roughly what I would consider to be the single-card quality ordering, and basically represents Nebula’s choice of priorities.
There are three of the weaker cards: 6/6 Joy Surger Yebito, 4/8 Beginning Hatchling, and 6/5 Fine Artist Kori Firo. The probability of more than two of these three showing up in a single discovery is 9.3%.
Additionally, there are five 8/8 white attachments. Since Nebula grants Taunt and Disturbing Magic to summoned attachments, the actual effect of the above 5 attachments is almost the same, and I didn’t take into account hand return gain, etc. to meticulously rank them, but one of the Battlecry Attachments, Son of Hordir, is to be prioritized, and may be able to be paired with Turbulent Elemental Tephrites for added size.
Of the remaining 6 cards, the following three are in the strongest bracket, and the other three are of decent situation-specific strength.
The three cards above; Kolingarn, Splintering Starstone, and Ragnaros, Lord of Inferno are all undoubtedly very powerful one-drop cards that can be very useful in almost any matchup. Of these, Kron Garn is the best weapon against Chillax Deluxe 3000.
Splintered Starstone’s field-dependent ability can be combined with Sal’s Gift + Bloodthirsty Decimator in some situations. At the same time, its maximum split to 1/1 and 3 layers of laydown in the dead language make it difficult to deal with cleanly in a short period of time even for professions with a lot of untap like Warrior, and its very high frequency makes it perform well against Chillas Deluxe Edition 3000. One thing to keep in mind is the number of grids to prevent Nebula from being released properly. Another thing to keep in mind is that Splintering Star Rock will recharge Boundless Hollow quickly.
The probability of any of these three appearing at least once in both discoveries is 79.4%.
These three cards: Windlord Orakiel, Thundersteed, and Rock Stitch Monster are relatively good against fast attacks. One of the noteworthy things is that Thunderbolt Stallion can pull Turbulence Elemental Tebulus/Ablative Elemental from the library, so its choice is prioritized higher when there is still an Ablative Elemental in the library.
For any given card in the 14-card Attendant deck, the probability of that card appearing at least once in two discoveries is 38.3%. The more common scenario in the matchup might be that we need to discover a Cologne Garn to deal with some tricky attachments such as Chillax Deluxe 3000, and now we know from our calculations that this probability is actually okay, not very low.
Overall, the quality of Nebulae has a very high ceiling while the lower limit is somewhat guaranteed. It’s also worth noting that Iso-Painted Nebula opens up the Iso-Painted version of an 8-cost follower, of which there’s only one Red Giant Giant in the current environment. Currently, Nebula can only be purchased through the store. (11.20 Isoprint Nebula was in the store, but has been removed from the store)
Having understood the basic way the deck unfolds with the quality of Nebulae, in this subsection I will analyze some other single card options and briefly analyze their application in the game.
Compared to the v1 build in the previous article, the v2 deck drastically reduces the deck curve, replacing 10 single cards:
- -2 Waterbaby Fishman -2 Mixer – Seer Nupton – Shad Woodcut – Shrieking Parrot Sakok -2 Starry Prayer
- Sal’s Gift +2 Greedy Mate +2 Cactus Cutter +2 Gold Digger +2 Needle Rock Totem
- Band Manager Elite Minotaur Chief in: – Boundless Void + Dehydration
One of the main changes is the removal of two Starry Prayers. One could argue that this trade-off is entirely for the consistent triggering of Moon Blazer, which prevents cost-cutting to Starry Prayer instead of Nebula when we play Moon Blazer early. Meanwhile, the one spell slot we freed up carries a Sal’s Gift: the reason is that its three options, Enchantment, Lightning Storm, and Bloodthirsty, are all too good to be discarded in the HoF, and the reason for carrying only one is to avoid drawing stuck on the turn we play Moon Blazer, and to improve the odds of success if we need a Cactus Cutter to find a Nebula.
With the removal of the four early tempo monos, Waterbaby Fishman and Blender, three midrange monos, Nubodon the Seer, Shardwood Carver, and Shrieking Parrot Sakok, and one extra slot freed up by spells, we carry eight additional 2-cost attachments: Gold Digger and Needle Rock Totem to lubricate the deck; Greedy Companion to save up for the cost; and Cactus Cutter to retrieve Nebulae.
The lowering of the curve makes a significant difference in the way we think about the game: we don’t have to worry about drawing too many high-cost singleton cards in the starting hand, and we don’t have to keep tempo cards like Water Babies, Fishers, and Blender, so we can go for the starting hand without worrying about it. It’s worth mentioning here that it’s still important to leave Ablative Elemental when facing fast attacking professions, which can significantly improve our chances of winning, which is why he’s carried in both v1 and v2.
In Band Manager Elite Minotaur Chief, I replaced Boundless Emptiness with Dehydration, this is due to the fact that without Shad Woodcut we can’t get both Photographer Fizzle and Boundless Emptiness in Bulls, in which case Boundless Emptiness is much less valuable. The replacement of Dehydration can make Bull a good tempo mono card, and in some cases may even sway the game because of the 4 damage and 4 replies.
It’s also worth noting that some Nebulusa builds will carry Mormor, Mystic Witch Hagatha to boost their front and mid-expand caps, create a huge field in one turn, and additionally put Boundless Void directly into the deck. After trying it out, I think it’s hard to deal with the starting hand, and at the same time it relies too much on triangulation to prevent not having enough nebulae in the library, so it doesn’t feel as good as v1 and v2, so you can try it out; there are some builds that will carry Iscindios, which seems to work well with Parrot Paradise, triangulation, etc., but it doesn’t really fit in with the overall gameplay of v1, so you can probably try to replace it in v1 to use it. Maybe you can try to replace it in v1.
In this subsection, I’ll briefly go over Nebulosa’s card retention ideas as well as some matchup choices.
(*Pictured here is a 4-cost Nebula’s Tenho starter)
In terms of card retention, we have Super Expand as our first priority, which is pretty much the way to keep cards in a self-closing deck. Any of the Hoop starts mentioned in the first section are to be left to hear one card if only one is missing. All cards will not be left more than one:
- Planetary Navigator: keep in any situation;
- Lunar Pathfinder: keep it in the backhand, keep it in the fronthand with Planetary Navigator, Greedy Mate, and Parrot Paradise, which can be cost-reduced;
- Nebula: don’t keep unless you hear a card;
- Astronaut: can be kept with Planetary Navigator, slightly higher priority in backhand;
- Ablative Elemental: keep it against fast attackers.
All cards other than that are not kept except for Hoop and Listen.
One of the more common decision points in the matchup is which card to play for 2 since the deck has a 2-cost curve of up to 14 cards. When there are no Hoop cards, my thinking is to play roughly in the following order of priority: Planetary Pilot > Greedy Companion > Parrot Paradise > Needle Rock Totem ≈ Gold Rush > Cactus Cutter ≈ Triangulation. Prioritize playing Triangulation when you already have Lunar Pathfinder in hand, and Cactus Watercutter if you don’t have Nebula/Triangulation yet.
Another decision point is whether or not to coin down monsters for 1 cost. Since coins are useful for Nebulas, and in many cases can make up a key cost, the author’s thought process is to only play Parrot Paradise for 1 coin on the HoF.
Another point to note is that you need to discard Sal’s Gift and Coin from your hand early before playing Moon Blazer. One detail is that Moon Blazer’s battlecry will not give spells that are originally the corresponding cost, meaning that a 1-cost Moon Blazer will not trigger to Sal’s Gift, a 2-cost will not trigger to Triangulation, a 3-cost will not trigger to Sorcery, and a 5-cost will not trigger to Bloodlust, which we can utilize to overstretch ahead of time in some situations.
Another point worth mentioning is Jazz Bass, in addition to using it in the Hoop, some common scenarios are to play Nebula on 6 after Nebula, attacking on 7 with a knife, attacking on 8 and triggering Necrotic Reduction, or simply double jumping coins on 6/7+triggered Necrotic+Nebula, or Astronaut+triggered Necrotic+Nebula on the 10-drop turn, which also lets us play Nebula on the 10-drop turn after an overload of 2. Nebula is a very versatile cost reduction card overall, and the 3/3/2 weapon itself is quite useful.
There are relatively few other options, but it’s worth mentioning that against Warrior and Blood dk decks that have a lot of untap cards, if you don’t crush your opponent with Nebula in the early-mid game and the field is pretty well disposed of, you might want to consider prioritizing 2-drops, keeping Sal’s Gift + Bloodthirsty Threat, and keeping Nebula for a while, to prevent tempo breaks from being broken by a big untap card.
In some cases, it may be necessary to keep a Nebula and a Triangulation after being reduced by a Moon Blazer/Astronaut, and then get Fizzle the Photographer through Bull to form an infinite resource to play Triangulation+Photograph+Nebula every turn. Note that Nebula + Triangulation should ideally be on the leftmost side of your hand in order to form a true infinite resource, otherwise you’ll end up stuck with at least one more Photo in your hand every turn. If you can’t, try to keep your low cost Nebula on the left side of your hand.
To sum up, this Nebulusa deck is easier to play, more up-tempo, more stable, and cheaper to build than my Nebulusa v1. We recommend that you try it out if you like to play in a hyper-expanded deck, and we welcome you to share screenshots of your cards in the comments section.
(*Replaying, it doesn’t seem like you should play 0-cost Pachis this turn, and you can 5-cost Astronauts and 6-cost Nebulae by tapping Landmark again next turn)
At the end of the day, I hope that this deck will bring something new to the table and experience the joy of Hyper Unfolding, which fulfills my original intention of making this shared article.
