Blitzing with Bright Lights

Chane, Kano, and Kassai, Cintari Sellsword - all gone! With these three major Blitz bullies already out the door you may be wondering what to play next at your upcoming Skirmish. True to the mantra of Metrix it’s out with the old and in with the new, so let’s take a look at the latest line of Mechanologists and the brighter future they promise. Dash and Maxx have already been making waves in Classic Constructed but today we’ll be diving into how to build and play each of the techy trio in Blitz so you can suit up and throw down!

Maxx thrives as an aggro boost deck, aiming to clean the opponents clocks well before running out of gas. Creating Hyper Drivers allows you to abuse Teklo Foundry Heart for endless resources, and the mighty Nitro Mechanoid will close games outta nowhere! Blitz does bring forth a few challenges - you have less copies of key cards to work with and less time to set things up, so approach this deck with a flexible mindset. Work towards getting three Hyper Drivers on board (pro tip: you don’t have to crank), and if your boosts are unlucky, pivot towards setting up big triple attack turns to push over the top. The key to success is knowing exactly when to switch gears.

For control matchups it can help to bring Teklo Plasma Pistol, as this allows you to set up some nasty High Octane turns as a back-up in case things with Nitro Mechanoid don’t work out (it’s not you, Mechanoid, it’s me…). For those ludicrously aggressive decks that don’t give you a single second to assemble anything, you can swap the Nitro Mechanoids for Maximum Velocity and take them for the ride of their life.

You’re telling me there’s no Kano? No Iyslander? Well then, things are finally looking up Teklo! There couldn’t be a better time for old mate to rise and shine. Sure there’s still a few pesky bundles of arcane damage to watch out for, but on the whole the market is looking ripe for a flashy newcomer with big ideas. Take what you’ve learned in Bright Lights Sealed and Draft, and apply it here with added tools and consistency. The goal is still build-an-evo workshop, with Evo Upgrade payoffs hot off the assembly line.

Step 1: Survive. We’re packing a lot of defensive tools to outlive the aggressive decks long enough to suit up and start slamming down the haymakers. Step 2: Stomp. Once you’ve got enough working parts, you can start playing some insanely efficient two card hands, with Teklo Leveler backing you up every step of the way. Aim to outvalue the opponent and run them out of cards, using your equipment blocks generously. Blitz doesn’t always offer a lot of legroom for workshopping mid-battle, so play as efficiently as possible, finding ways to scrap your Evos after blocking with them in order to salvage as much value as you can.

We still haven’t forgotten Thomas Dowling’s incredible run at Calling: Melbourne with Dash I/O. This is one possible variation of that decklist, adapted for Blitz format. Dash, Database is a very dynamic hero that can push out some eye-watering spike turns, which are perfect for dunking games in Blitz! There are several ways to do this, whether through combinations of High Octane, Tome of Fyendal, and Maximum Velocity, or simply harnessing the raw power of Symbiosis Shot. Your starting life deficit is much more noticeable here, and unlike Classic Constructed you have very few windows to set up knockouts. Luckily, seeing the top of your deck will give you the perfect information needed to decide whether to go all in, or keep your life total afloat for another turn.

Staples like Boom Grenade, Backup Protocol, and Spark of Genius have so much more purchase in a game of Blitz, shifting the entire narrative in an instant. You’ll need to play to your outs, thinking constantly about what you may draw next and what components you need to close. An unexpected Boom Grenade will win you more games than you realise, so focus on getting that chip damage through so you can work towards an endgame. We’re also running a little package consisting of Prismatic Lens and Scrap Harvester in the inventory to bring in against control decks that will aim to disrupt our spike turns and force us to run out of steam.

Good luck for the rest of Skirmish Season. Get into the lab and show us what you’ve been cooking up! The wide world awaits with all its mysteries and machinations, and all it takes is one bright spark to change the course of destiny…