User:Blinkingline/Sandbox/Essay:Getting the Most out of Curia Saurus

Disclaimer - I enjoy long thinky games of KeyForge, which informs a lot of the below. I also crashed out the KFPL event with a Curia deck because I thought Pile of Skulls was Shattered Throne, so also bear that in mind!

I like Curia Saurus, I think it's a fun and interesting card and I wish it had been in WC instead of another exalt protection card like Imperial Scutum. It's a much better way for Saurian to eke an advantage while keeping the intended risk/reward aspect of the exalt mechanic.

Because I love Curia I play it a lot on [https:thecrucible.online TCO], but I find it hard to gauge how good a Curia deck really is as a decent amount of wins come from the opponent misunderstanding Curia. It's not uncommon to see a board wipe get played, then they concede because they didn't understand that the board state has got to a point where they shouldn't destroy everything simultaneously.

Much like Soul Snatcher, Grump Buggy, etc… Curia is a double sided effect that is likely going to massively benefit the player who introduces it to the game. Just like you would adapt to a Soul Snatcher being in the game, you should be changing your strategy once Curia drops in.

If this is all incredibly obvious stuff that everyone knows then I apologise, but from what I’ve seen on TCO a lot of people file Curia’s effect as ‘confusing’ and haven’t tried to work out how to turn it to their advantage.

In case you can’t remember, Curia Saurus is an artifact that reads:

Each creature with on it gains, “Destroyed: Move 1 from this creature to the most powerful enemy creature.”

Always remember that creatures cannot gain destroyed effects once they are tagged for destruction. This is the main reason boardwipes are rarely advantageous.

It's actually not that amazing on its own, for a Curia deck to be great it needs a fair bit of support, you almost require the whole deck pulling in the same direction or it won't work. Just like a Grump Buggy deck would want a lot of 5+ power creatures in the other houses to be useful, Curia needs the other houses to help out.

Playing a Curia deck

The general rule that I think everyone knows about Curia is that you want Æmber on your side of the board spread out and Æmber on the other side of the board concentrated on one creature (hopefully the most powerful one). Following that rule gets you a long way to using Curia, but on its own it is not enough. It's not even the most important rule.

Never clear the opponent’s side of the board

I can't stress this enough. If there are no creatures down, you are giving them the option to wipe your creatures and take all your Æmber. One of Curia's great strengths is that it can make your opponent's board wipes unplayable. A clever player will be able to use an empty board to their advantage. Often discarding creatures when you have an empty board in a Curia match is the correct move.

Playing a boardwipe and emptying the opponent’s board can of course be the correct move, but it’s always worth double checking the potential benefit outweighs the potential downside..

Kill your own stuff

You have a few 4 power creatures and a 6 power creature with an Æmber on it on the board. That 6 power creature has to go immediately. The longer your highest power creature sticks around the more Æmber ends up on it and the more of a liability it becomes. If you are killing it by fighting it remember to make sure the creature you fight into either doesn't die or doesn't have an Æmber on it. You don't want it to capture another Æmber as it leaves play.

You also want to kill your own stuff if you're about to cash in on a big Curia payday. They've got a 5 power creature with 4 Æmber on it and it's time you got it back (the Æmber was probably all originally theirs but that's not the point actually). This is bad news for any small creatures you have with Æmber on them. Every creature of yours that you can destroy before you take out that 5 power creature is more tasty profit when it dies.

Their variable power creatures need to go! Anything that can increase and decrease in power is a problem. You need to know where Æmber is going and when. A Picaroon could be their most powerful creature one turn and their weakest the next. Bad news for your plans.

Likewise if they have a tie between their most powerful creatures you need to do something about it. You can't have your opponent choosing where your Æmber goes, they worked hard for that Æmber and the thought of them actually getting it back and forging a key with it should make you physically sick.

At the start of each turn take the time to remind yourself which creature is the most powerful on either side and which creature currently gets you the most Æmber if it dies. What methods do you have to get more Æmber onto their creatures, and what methods do you have to get that Æmber. These bits of information will pretty much always get you to your best turn.

General things to look out for in a Curia deck

Æmber control

Specifically capture, the more capture the better, Curia essentially makes capturing a long winded steal effect and slows the game down enough for you to craft the perfect board state.

Exalting

You want stuff that exalts on play if possible, optional is best because then you don't have to trigger it if the Curia isn't out yet. The creatures that exalt to do damage are the best as you get some creature control as well. Faust gets a mention here because you already want lots of Æmber on creatures Faust and Curia have the same gameplan. Consul Primus and Chant of Hubris are the other main Saurian cards to look out for. Anything that moves Æmber around is perfect for you.

Crowd control not Creature control

One of Curia's strengths is that you can create a board state where wiping the board or playing something like Hysteria is better for you than your opponent, making those cards unplayable against you. You want a high creature control stat that ideally isn’t really made up of board wipes. To make the most of Curia you want to always be able to remove specific creatures whenever you want. Creatures that can survive fights are also good for this (as long as they don’t stick around too long if they are high power). Bouncing Deathquark is the ultimate Curia creature control card to have.

Creatures

You generally want a lot of creatures and specifically multiple high power creatures if you just have one Galeatops then chances are your opponent will just pile Æmber on in and then eventually destroy it. Several 5 or 6 power creatures will stick to the board and give you options for where to put the Æmber you’re capturing.

Six non Saurian cards that elevate Curia

Obsidian Forge

In a Curia deck you want a lot of creatures that stick around until you decide their time is up. This means Obsidian Forge is basically a free key at the end of the game. Before that though you can use the forge to manipulate Æmber on any Dis turn. Sacrificing your creatures with one Æmber on so that you're creating a ticking time bomb on the other side of the field. Also an easy way to empty your side of the board so you can wipe and profit.

Imp-losion

Imp-losion is already a great card in most decks, even better with Curia because you basically want everything on your side to die at some point. Combos with the Obsidian Forge so that even when you don't get the free key you do get all the Æmber you want from your opponent's overloaded creature. It was struggling to carry all that Æmber anyway, what you're doing is a kindness really. Best used for bursting into check for key three.

Equalise

Equalize essentially wins you the game on its own if you play it at the right time.

Font of the Eye

I won't bother naming every card that captures. But an artifact like Font of the Eye can capture every turn! That's worth a shout-out. Snarette also gets an honourable mention.

Bouncing Deathquark

It doesn't get much better than this. BDQ is Curia on easy mode. You kill stuff one by one and you get to choose when it stops.

Fangs of Gizelhart

Any removal that gets around destroyed effects is great to see. Fangs is particularly great because you can make it remove their most powerful creature. Obviously can become complicated if you have the most powerful creature, but you're cleverer than that!

My other honourable mention is Smite, it's a great crowd control card and it allows you to suicide a creature of yours that has an Æmber on it. Can be annoying if it comes when they only have a few creatures left as you don't want to remove their board.

How good is Curia?

It has the weakness of any deck that relies on an artifact. If you've played Quixxle/Fangtooth/Buggy deck in an event you likely know the pain of either not finding the artifact for ages or it leaving play as soon as it turns up. The advantage Curia decks have is that they slow games down anyway. Giving you a bit of time to find it. I haven't played a Saurus Rex / Curia deck but I can imagine that's a useful way to bring Curia into the game or get it back after a shuffle.

Ultimately a Curia deck should be able to win without Curia for it to be considered competitive, which is something mine have struggled with. It's another reason Obsidian Forge is a great card to have as it will often draw the artifact removal target away from Curia. One of my decks has a double Curia which is also a good way to make it more reliable (plus it makes all those capture two effects like Squire Alys and Cornicen Octavia even better).

Because it compliments so many Saurian cards well I am always happy to see Curia in a deck, however most of the time it's a bit of a distraction rather than the win condition.

Curia Saurus and Praefectus Ludo

Ludo is an interesting card in a Curia match. Because both Curia and Ludo give all your creatures destroyed effects it's up to the active player the order they are resolved in. Ludo can help or hinder your Curia plan and adds a level of complexity. Ludo's effect is:

• Each other friendly creature gains, “*Destroyed: Move each from this creature to the common supply.”

This means if your opponent kills your creatures with 1 Æmber on them they can choose that the Æmber goes to the common supply, before resolving Curia. Which completely interrupts your plans. When you make the choice for your own creatures you can still choose to resolve Curia first but it does give a lot of control over the Æmber to your opponent.

However, if you find you have stacked a lot of Æmber on creatures and have Ludo out then the choice isn't nearly as important. Your opponent will still move ALL the Æmber to the common supply but it will really hurt them to do it. This benefits you massively.

I think Ludo is a bit too much of a distraction in the perfect Curia deck. you still can't really concentrate Æmber on your own creatures (unless you're immediately killing them) because it's too risky that your opponent removes Ludo before hitting the piles of Æmber. As long as you're changing how you play when Ludo and Curia are both out it can work for you, and it's a nice distraction for your opponent. Ultimately, with Ludo out you want your captured Æmber concentrated and with Curia out you want it spread out. So it becomes a bit of a balancing act. As long as you're in control of your own creatures dying then you should still be able to make it work.