Serving Vengeance with the Ira Armory Deck

When I first began my foray in Classic Constructed after jumping into the game with my wife, I immediately gravitated toward Ira, Scarlet Revenger. Due in part to her recent debut, in part to the flexibility she offers on a shoestring budget, and in part to her emphasis on fundamentals, she was a natural fit for me. I have never put the deck down. While I own other decks, I've dedicated myself to Ira. I can’t see myself investing nearly as much energy into another deck while Ira is in the format.

So to say I’m excited about her Armory Deck is a bit of an understatement.

Ira now finds herself in a unique situation. For the longest time, Ira’s go-to weapons have been the Harmonized Kodachis. However, in order to keep her true to form, LSS designed the Armory Deck around her proper weapon, Edge of Autumn. This completely warps the deck. Ira has long focused on a 1-2-5 “block 2, play 2” strategy to make Kodachis and Mask of Momentum (or MoM) as powerful as they can be in a midrange shell. Edge of Autumn turns this on its head, instead discouraging MoM play in favor of playing extenders at breakpoints into powerful finishers.

This gives every Ira player a choice when building their deck. Do they lean into the 'traditional' build, focused on Kodachis and Mask of Momentum to chip damage while presenting powerful on-hits, leveraging Dual Threat for spike turns? Alternatively, do they use Edge of Autumn, and utilize the new Vengeance package to play a more traditional Ninja-style deck? 

As someone who is utterly devoted to the finer points of Ira, I’m enthralled by the addition of a new variant, especially as the crescendo to an impactful release cycle. The Hunted revolutionized Ira, creating 2 unique variations; then High Seas introduced a 3rd version.

• Dual Threat became the marquee card of the Kodachi Midrange deck, otherwise known as 'Boomer'. 
• The retrieve mechanic made Flick Knives a viable option - aka 'Zoomer' Ira. 
• With the addition of Nimby, 'Orange Ira' – named for having zero blues – was born. 

To have an Armory Deck open up yet another avenue to take a deck in the same year feels like we’re being spoiled.

As we begin to examine this 4th variant, I'd like to start by talking about the wider impacts of this new equipment suite.

Iris of the Blossom comes at a dire time for all Ira variants; in fact, it’s the only new card that can be used in non-Autumn builds. Mask of Momentum has been the end-all be-all choice for Ira since the beginning of the game. But in a meta with extremely resilient heroes, MoM is no longer manipulating blocks the way it used to. MoM has become, essentially, a blade break 2 block in the armor slot, with no clear second choice. 

Iris offers the Dual Threat midrange builds a tutor for a must-answer threat. While Whirling Mist Blossom requires some additional help to make work - such as Ancestral Empowerment and the new Legacy of Ikaru - these supporting cards fit cleanly into the shell. Iris is already shaping up to be a mainstay of the hero, and I’m looking forward to seeing more Mist Blossoms slung at event tables.

The other dubious armor slot for Ira was her arms. Most midrange builds defaulted to Tiger Stripe Shuko simply because it blocks for two. It was nearly impossible to trigger its effect in these builds. Some lists leaned into Tearing Shuko for synergy with Flex Claws and Pouncing Paws on a Dual Threat turn, but to my knowledge none have ever placed highly in events.

Okana Scar Wraps give Edge of Autumn decks a real leg up in this area. While it’s high risk, at worst it has all the same qualities of Tiger Stripe Shuko. At its best, Autumn Ira got to secure a powerful Ninja on-hit. Just be careful to not use this greedily. Best case, losing Edge of Autumn is only crippling, and more often than not game-losing. It will take careful knowledge of the opponent, their defense reactions, and what they stand to gain and lose to know when to utilize this card.

Continuing the trend in Armory Decks for chest pieces to be a unique pitch-generating source, Robe of Autumn’s Fall goes a step beyond that to dignify its use. Arcane barrier is a step in the right direction for the product line as a whole, making Robe a solid equipment for the inventory. For new players picking up the deck, I would recommend grabbing a copy of Old Knocker and playing that in matchups that don’t require arcane damage protection; it’s more consistent, and blocks in a pinch.

The Vengeance package is what’s really pushing Edge of Autumn to the realm of playability. The combo approach finally makes Ira’s signature weapon viable, and also benefits from Flic Flak. Each of them are must-plays for Autumn Ira. (Comically, there’s some chatter around Katsu using these as well; it would seem that, in an effort to get Ira to use her own weapon instead of Katsu’s, they’ve given Katsu incentive to look toward Autumn as well.)

Including viable additional copies of Command and Conquer in an Armory Deck is one of the best decisions LSS could have made with this deck. It fits the play pattern of the deck perfectly, and it almost always attacks for seven, possibly eight. As a hero with her core identity resting in powerful generics, Enact Vengeance gives new players a card to introduce them to her playstyle. Enfranchised players will run these alongside Command and Conquer, giving Ira a whopping six arsenal destruction cards that can attack for seven.

Seek Vengeance is the best zero cost extender Ira can play now. The fact that it comes in red and blue has me absolutely floored. They block three, they attack for five (or three) on the second link, and they cost zero. They’re excellent targets for Okana Scar Wraps, as well to let Edge of Autumn swing twice. What more could we possibly ask for?

Vengeance Never Rests - aka Devotion Never Dies for those of us without fancy talents - is a blue that attacks for four when combo is active, and can go over defense reactions with Okana Scar Wraps. With a resource from Fyendal’s Spring Tunic or Old Knocker, it can extend out another loop. This often means Vengeance Never Rests needs to be respected, and thanks to our last card, may warrant being overblocked enough to keep us from getting to play it a second time.

Legacy of Ikaru is a new, blue, slightly narrower Ancestral Empowerment. These being blue make them far more flexible than Empowerment, and it’s exactly what Ira needs. Autumn Ira will almost assuredly be playing six 0-cost attack reactions that draw cards. These are ways to convert tutor-able Whirling Mist Blossoms into new cards. Respecting our Vengeance Never Rests and Mist Blossom is now going to take serious thought and investment, or the opponent risks getting blown out. Because it’s a 0-cost blue, it may see play in Kodachi Ira as an additional copy of Nip at the Heels.

The secret new card in the deck, blue Bittering Thorns is a nice option. However, I would rather be playing the yellow copies to threaten breakpoints with Ira. Perhaps a very aggressively-slanted build will try these, but I don’t see them making the cut very often.

While Kodachi Ira will very likely remain viable for those of us (myself included) who love it, Autumn Ira presents a marked shift in the hero. While most Armory Decks supported the hero’s existing shell, Ira was instead given an entirely new one. Where does this take Ira now?

At present, this is what I’m testing. It’s a rough draft based on what I have. I don’t own Fyendal’s Spring Tunic yet, so I’m using Old Knocker for now (in my previous Boomer lists, I played Blood Splattered Vest). It’s possible Prismatic Leyline doesn’t belong here because of it, but I don’t have enough games with it to determine if that’s the case. It’s also possible there aren’t enough zero cost extenders, and that the deck would benefit greatly from Scar for a Scar.

The main gimmick is to keep some of Boomer Ira’s resilience, while turning Whirling Mist Blossom into a bomb. With Ancestral Empower and Legacy of Ikaru, respecting Mist Blossom is an exercise in calculated risk. If they guess wrong, we draw three new cards to sling at them. 

Prismatic Leyline pumps our shockingly respectable yellow and blue attacks to haymakers. The rest is the tried and true disruption of Censor, Command and Conquer, and a suit of disruptive attacks in the inventory for any given matchup. Combo blues for Flic Flak is a tried and true strategy I still play in Boomer Ira today. Nip at the Heels is yet another pump effect, and Flex is some spice I took from a friend. It’s wonderful for making hands of mostly blues into something respectable. While it’s better in Boomer, I think it’s still worth trying here.

Of course, this is just a rough draft that doesn’t have many games under its belt. It’s an example of just one direction we can take Autumn Ira. This build is still a midrange deck at its core, but we can send more damage more efficiently than ever. Ira will almost always want to leverage disruption in the generic card pool, but now she has her own Ninja spin to it.

For new players wanting to get into the hero, you may find Ira has a reputation for being expensive. Most of the powerful generic on-hits are staples, which means cards like Command and Conquer, Censor, and Erase Face fetch a hefty price tag. Seeing me constantly refer to these cards might put a damper on things, but don’t let it. Ira is extremely powerful on a budget because of how many viable cards there are that benefit from her hero ability. If you’re looking to upgrade, I’ve put together an easy upgrade list that shouldn’t break the bank.

The only expensive upgrade I kept was Ancestral Empowerment. It’s a must-have, and I would make it the first upgrade I get. Otherwise, all I did was add some good value attacks that are budget-friendly, clean up the blue suite a little, and trim some oddities like Energy Potion in favor of more usable blues. Any combo blue could fit in Fluster Fist’s spot. I included a generic shell to an inventory on a budget. It won’t be a perfect fit for any given meta, but if you don’t know what to bring to your first Armory, this covers most bases. Add your choice of disruption from the Maybe section – and potentially Pouncing Paws to make a Crouching Tiger into an attack reaction target – and you’ll have a solid starting 80 cards for your first event without paying much more than the cost of the Armory Deck.

I’ve been a disciple of Ira since I began my journey into the game, shortly after her Constructed release at World Championship: Osaka. I’ve spent most of my FAB career honing my skills and finding my own path to mastery. I’m overjoyed to see my favorite hero and deck get so much direct support from an Armory Deck. While I will always love my Kodachis and Mask of Momentum, the Armory Deck breathes needed life into a much-beloved hero. I’m sure I’ll be alternating between the builds as the metagame continually evolves. Edge of Autumn and the Vengeance package offers a whole new school of thought for me to master, and I couldn’t be more excited to sink my teeth into it. So long as there is Ira, I will claim vengeance at every event.