Dev Download: Verdance

Welcome to Dev Download, where we share red hot tips and tricks fresh from the game devs at Legend Story Studios so you can pick up a deck and play like a pro! This week we’ll be covering how to play each of the heroes in Rosetta, focusing on Booster Draft and Classic Constructed!

Today we heal and deal with Verdance, Thorn of the Rose!

Booster Draft

Rosetta is a dynamic Booster Draft experience, with dual talents (Earth and Lightning), dual classes (Wizard and Runeblade), and explosive arcane damage!

Verdance is an Earth Wizard, sending Earth cards to the graveyard in order to decompose them. Once she has banished 4 or more Earth cards this way, she'll use life gain to stay in the battle while her hero ability deals arcane damage to chip away at the opponent! Her Wizard non-attack actions can close out the game, or be used defensively with Embodiment of Earth tokens.

Key signals that Verdance is open are powerful Earth cards that can decompose, such as Blossoming Decay, Rootbound Carapace, and Cadaverous Tilling. The two Earth equipment are also strong signs that Earth is open, and provide some much needed protection against both physical and arcane damage. Keep an eye out for cards that gain life, such as Harvest Season, Fruits of the Forest, and Fertile Ground. Be sure to also pick up Pulsing Aether // Life if you see it, as it has a lot of utility.

You'll want to pick up about 3-5 decomposers, and roughly at least 10-15 Earth cards to support them. The rest of your deck is flexible, but you should aim to include at least one arcane damage win condition to avoid getting decked out. Cheap burn spells you can amp with your staff to gain surge effects such as Perennial Aetherbloom, Trailblazing Aether, and Pop the Bubble are perfect. Perennial Aetherbloom in particular is an all-star Verdance card, as it can recycle itself once your opponent is out of protection. You don't have to go all out on arcane damage - in the early to mid game Verdance is just as happy tossing out big 7-power attacks such as Fyendal's Fighting Spirit, Autumn's Touch, and Earth Form.

Classic Constructed

Verdance brings slower, steadier, but by no means less deadly Wizarding tactics to Classic Constructed. A key card that plays a role in multiple Verdance builds is the all-powerful Channel the Millennium Tree. Funneling the amp it produces into cards that replicate it is a reliable way to produce truly spectacular arcane damage explosions. One such example is Surgent Aethertide, which when paired with the tree can go over the top of your opponent's arcane barrier, then also transfer that damage buff to a follow-up burn spell.

Unlike most Wizards, Verdance's hero ability is locked to her own action phase, but this doesn't mean she can't steal games out of nowhere! Storm Striders is a key pickup for Classic Constructed as simply having them on board will change the way your opponent interacts with your burn spells. All of a sudden, taking the arcane damage to low life totals is far more dangerous and they may be more inclined to try and prevent it, which draws out the game and allows you to soak up mad value while you plant some big trees. Aether Flare and Snapback is also a naturally strong combination to include as it can be tied into your Channel the Millennium Tree turns, or used with Storm Striders when your opponent has spent their resources to catch them off guard with an unexpected blast!

A lot of the time Verdance will get into a winning position by surviving long enough until she finds a way to flip the score with a big flashy combo. Rampant Growth // Life requires a little bit of setup but is extremely rewarding. Once Verdance's hero ability is turned on, toss out multiple life gain cards such as Harvest Season, Fruits of the Forest, Sigil of Solace, and/or Heartbeat of Candlehold, then play Rampant Growth // Life, into Surgent Athertide, into a burn spell to finish. Both halves of Rampant Growth // Life are also instants, which means you can also use them in a Storm Striders combo on your opponent's turn.

There are a few different variations of Verdance, some focus on setting up big combos like Rampant Growth // Life, others on midrange value leaning on Verdance's hero ability, others on attack actions backed by Channel Mount Heroic. But regardless of playstyle, the Wizard card pool contains many tools that are potent in all of these builds. Cards like Mind Warp for instance, benefit greatly from sources of amp, while commons like Voltic Bolt, Scalding Rain, and Zap have strictly better upgrades like Swell Tidings, Aether Quickening, and Trailblazing Aether. There are also some key inventory cards for certain matchups, such as Scour, which can wipe out Runechants, Spectral Shields, and Agility tokens, or Aetherize to deny transcend cards or negate pesky protection like Sigil of Solace and Oasis Respite.

If you’re interested in taking Verdance for a spin casually at your local Armory or just among friends but don’t want to commit to expensive Legendaries just yet, try out our Budget Verdance Decklist below!