Solving Riptide's Identity Crisis

It’s a tale as old as time — or at least as old as March 2023. A new player ready to start their journey peruses the heroes available to them. After passing by your usual spell-slinging Wizards and sword-wielding Warriors, they stop at a hero more unique to the fantasy world: a bloated corpse of an archer named Riptide.

Lured in by the idea of methodical play with perfectly placed traps, the young player soon realizes that is seldom the reality of a Riptide main. There are traps, sure, but the best Riptide decks are low-cost and aggressive. Riptide’s most interesting piece of identity is relegated to just a few points of damage across the game.

Such is the identity crisis of Riptide.

Traps want a slower, more meticulous game plan that is able to whittle away health with his hero ability. However, as a Ranger, Riptide struggles late game; and his shallow card pool makes traps situational. Against the right decks, double digit trap damage is possible - but against others, it might as well be zero.

I did not build this deck to solve Riptide’s identity, but that is why this deck has stuck with me so persistently. It started as a pressure test, a simple question: what would happen if I ran 9 Salvage Shots and built a deck to support it?

Over the last month of testing, refining, and discussing with Garrett, Nyx, and Limulus, I have been pleasantly surprised by the deck’s strength. The traps here excel, Codex of Frailty is put to work, and Dreadbore offers a frustrating kind of evasion that pairs well with the heavier Command and Conquers or Battering Bolts. Its matchup against fatigue decks and Wizard significantly improved with extra resources to pay for Arcane Barrier. Dominated attacks are easily blocked, and the healthy combination of both offensive and defensive generic attacks leads to a flexibility that allows for efficient turns regardless of matchup. 

This deck does it all while also feeling like what I imagined Riptide should feel like when he was first spoiled, finally convincing me to play Flesh and Blood.

The deck's thesis is to use Riptide’s unique defensive capabilities to draw out a game and close it with above-rate recursive arrows.

I prefer Arcanite Skullcap as it blocks 3 damage and has some helpful AB. Some folks like Crown of Providence to help filter for the right defense reactions.

Trench is the most useful equipment here. It turns cards in arsenal into resources for Oasis Respite, Brothers in Arms, or Ironhide Gauntlet. Plus it clears cards from arsenal, and has AB to boot. Allows for two card Codex plays, such as…

1. Play Codex,

2. Load card into arsenal with Riptide’s ability,

3. Trench away arsenal at instant speed, then

4. Grab and fire a 1-cost arrow.

Blocking for 2 is great and it’s as simple as that. We don’t need the damage from Bracers of Belief and we don’t have enough arrows for Hornet’s Sting. It also has the added benefit of being good into T-Bone if you block with it but don’t pay.

As you can see, the equipment game plan is extremely straightforward: block for as much damage as you can. Since we’re not looking to throw cards aggressively, we don’t need cards like New Horizon or Snapdragon Scalers.

Dreadbore is the weapon for Riptide at the moment. Shutting down defense reactions on arrows is huge, especially into any other fatigue deck - even most aggro lists run Sink Below or Fate Foreseen. Making those more clunky to play gives a lot of value and shakes up the play patterns your opponent is used to.

Additionally, it gives +1 attack. This is super useful in a list like this. Endless Arrow and yellow Salvage Shot can no longer be blocked with a single Sink Below. Even blue Salvage Shot gets pushed above a breakpoint. Battering Bolt, the only 6-power arrow available to Riptide, becomes an extremely formidable 7 attack that can’t be blocked with d-reacts from hand. I very rarely cast an arrow that wasn’t loaded with Dreadbore.

Quiver of Abyssal Depths is an easy inclusion for a fatigue list. Not only does this help us get back recursion arrows, but it allows us to more comfortably block/attack with those cards early.

Endless Arrow: The best recursion arrow. It constantly comes back to hand, allowing you to just fire it off every turn until they block. One of our only real tools against Dromai too, as the on-hit still procs on dragons. People will likely block this. It's good for drawing out equipment as well. This is our only 0-cost attack (except Enlightened Strike), so don’t be afraid to attack with one early so you can have it as a Codex target later.

Salvage Shot: The real meat of the decklist. Salvage Shots are not normally scary, but here they pack an extra punch. Against fatigue, your job is to send as many of these to the bottom of the deck as you can, whether that’s through Trench, Sink Below, E-Strikes, or pitching.

With Dreadbore, reds swing for a respectable 6, yellows come in above Sink Below at 5, and blues can poke above a standard 3 block at 4 attack. In the late game, these all demand at least 2 cards, driving your opponent to fatigue. While most fatigue lists are limited to a 4-attack weapon, we get to throw these extremely above-rate attacks. If they block them out – which many opponents will be hesitant to do – we can bring them back with Codex, Quiver, or Remembrance.

Between Endless Arrow and Salvage Shot, you will have 9-12 recursion arrows in your deck.

Against aggro, attack with these whenever you like, especially the reds. Either leak damage or strip cards from hand. You will still be able to fatigue them with the additional recursion tools. Just keep track of what cards you still have left in your deck. If you are running low, it may be worth saving a few arrows for fatigue.

Against fatigue, stockpile these recursion arrows. Pitch them to the bottom, get to 2nd cycle, and swing in with these above-rate cards.

Battering Bolt: An extremely powerful card. Swings in for 7 with just a blue; and if any of that hits, all the d-reacts that are stuck in hand because of Dreadbore will be discarded. Good as a powerful attack, really good against certain decks (Warrior).

Remorseless: There are a lot of arrows that could theoretically take this slot. I like Remorseless because of the extra evasion. Try to save these for a turn where you just feel that they have a d-react in arsenal. Aggro decks will almost always block this.

Intoxicating Shot: This is simply a 0-cost blue block 3 that attacks for 4. Most of the time I’m pitching or blocking with this card. Every now and then, a 4 attack is just a solid play late game. Very, very rarely am I ever attacking with this to help set up traps. I only take that risk if I have the traps in hand and the damage/effects are relevant.

Infecting Shot: A solid offensive option. I run 3 blues as an endgame threat, and in some builds I run 1-3 yellows. I already have plenty of reds that I like better, but red Infecting Shots could easily be included.

These attacks all serve a variety of functions. Most importantly, they apply extra pressure to eat d-reacts and equipment. Some are more defensive, some are more offensive, but you should feel fine attacking with any of them.

Command and Conquer: It’s CnC, need I say more? Powerful attack, evasive, and clears out arsenal. Perfect for getting rid of a d-react they have in arsenal due to Dreadbore. This is also one of my favorite Codex targets if I’m trying to close out a game and don’t need recursion.

Cadaverous Contraband: This is a card we included early, cut, but have since brought back. The basic combo with Codex of Frailty:

1. Pitch blue to Dreadbore (don’t load)

2. Codex

3. Grab Cadaverous

4. Swing with Cadaverous

5. Grab Codex

6. Draw and load Codex with your Ponder token.

As long as you draw blues and yellows, you can block with 2-3 cards and swing for 6 every turn while giving them permanent Frailty until they block. Most decks will block the Cadaverous early, stripping two cards from hand.

This is an extra source of infinite attacks for the end game, but it’s effectiveness changes depending on the deck. This is good against Dromai where you can reliably clear any dragon every turn, even the 6-health dragons that sit above Endless Arrow range. I also liked this against Lexi, where the constant Frailty put in a lot of work. It’s also a nice card to grab off the opponent’s Codex.

As always with Codex plays, be wary of what they have in their discard.

Enlightened Strike: Versatile, powerful, and helps us pitch stack in secret. This card is especially great in this deck.

1. If you have a card in hand and no other available attacks, buff power (75%)

2. If you have no cards in hand, draw a card (20%)

3. If you have extra cards to attack with, choose go again (5%)

I find that most of the time, I am buffing power to either leak damage, eat 3 cards, or start whittling down equipment.

Brothers in Arms: If you want to stand a chance against Bravo, you need block 4’s. This blocks for 4 and is a popper. Swinging for 6 isn’t half bad either. Just a nice card that has flexibility turn to turn. Pairs well off a yellow with Ironguard Gauntlet or Oasis Respite.

Codex of Frailty: A+, 10/10. Strips cards from hand, brings back recursion arrows (or whatever else works best). Gives Frailty to help defend and keeps your arsenal stocked with Ponder.

My only word of warning is be wary of what cards your opponent has in their discard. Giving them an opportunity to grab a CnC or Crippling Crush can easily lose you a game if you’re not careful.

One crucial play pattern that I rarely see discussed is the ability to play a 2-cost card off of Codex. This can work with any bow that says you “may” load an arrow into arsenal. It goes like this:

1. In hand you have a blue and Codex

2. Pitch blue to Dreadbore

3. DO NOT load anything with Dreadbore

4. With two resources floating, cast Codex

5. Grab a 2-cost card (I suggest CnC or Cadverous)

6. Fire off that big hit!

You can also cast a 2-cost card with 3 in hand by pitching a yellow to Dreadbore, then Trenching away the other card in hand. Just make sure to load Dreadbore before you do any Trenching, otherwise the resource from Trench will pay for Dreadbore’s activation.

If you want to follow this play pattern but have another card in hand you don’t want to discard, simply load it off of Codex with Riptide’s ability and Trench it away, as described above in the Trench section. This could theoretically allow you to cast a 3-cost card. While I rarely recommend it, I can see its usefulness if there is no CnC in your discard OR if you really need to gain a life off of Fyendal’s Fighting Spirit.

Oh boy, it's finally trap time!

Inertia Trap: An easy trap to trigger. Inertia is great because it keeps their arsenal clear of d-reacts. If I got off an Inertia Trap, I feel much better about swinging in with an early recursion arrow.

Frailty Trap: One of the most reliable and effective traps. Also easy to trigger, and if you’re lucky you’ll get an extra point or two of value off of the Frailty.

Pitfall Trap: The only Crucible trap I currently run. It pitches to fuel most of our turns, it always deals at least 1 damage, and if you time it right it can deal an additional 2. Helpful for closing out close games. Some decks will always be able to pay, some won’t. Try to play when you can get maximum value.

Boulder Trap: If you can get these off early, GREAT. Shredding through equipment means they have to block with more cards from hand. If you can’t trigger this early, it’s no big deal. It blocks 3, maybe gets off a point of damage, and as a yellow it turns on most of your turns.

Tarpit Trap - Probably my favorite trap, really good at shutting down various on-hits.

Buzzsaw Trap: The first of Riptide’s specialization cycle, this card can easily shut down a power turn. Dawnblade gets out of control? Buzzsaw Trap. Big Lumina turn? Buzzsaw Trap. 3 pumps on a Red in the Ledger? You guessed it, Buzzsaw Trap. It is so incredibly helpful, essentially a get out of jail free card. Always try to get as much value from it as you can. I try to save it for late in the game.

Collapsing Trap: Another A+ card, it can easily shut down power turns in nearly every deck. Forcing your opponent to discard 2, 3, or even 4 cards is extremely helpful in this fatigue list.

Spike Pit Trap: Ok, they can’t all be aces. Most decks aren’t running a ton of attack reactions; I wouldn’t worry too much about trying to trigger it. It’s best use case is against Assassin, when you can save it for late in the game, trigger it, and hopefully deal some real damage. Aside from Assassin and Warrior though, it’s just a blue block 3. If you wanted to cut a card, this would be a good candidate.

Rockslide Trap: I think this card is mostly bad. It’s clunky and the opponents will always choose the mode that works best for them. That being said, it’s a blue and I need more blues. Good for pushing through the last damage, and on the right turn can give a lot of surprise value.

Take Cover: An extremely underrated card. It’s another block 4, and being able to reload twice is surprisingly useful. It helps to smooth out awkward turns with Pitfall Trap and allows you to load a Pitfall from arsenal. Also EXTREMELY helpful against dominate attacks. If you have three d-reacts in hand, you can block a dominate attack with all of them. It can also help with hand filtering if you need it. Most of the time, I prefer this over Fate Foreseen.

Here’s the play pattern for extra dominate blocking:

1. Block with Take Cover from hand

2. Load d-react with Riptide

3. Play new d-react before Take Cover resolves

4. Load 3rd d-react with Take Cover’s ability

5. Block

We also use Fate Foreseen and Sink Below. They're good cards and block for 4.

Sigil of Solace: Gain 3 life. Good against aggro, good against other decks. Allows you to load with Riptide. Cast these when you can.

Oasis Respite: “Blocks” 4 and if you time it right can give you an extra life as well. Good against dominate and Wizards.

Remembrance: A great engine card for fatigue. I often run 1 main board and will side in a second against other fatigue decks or Dromai. Grabbing 3 poppers against Dromai is great.

The strategy is fairly straightforward: Get as many 2-for-1 interactions as you can to extend the game and overwhelm them with Recursion arrows.

How you do that will change match to match, but the big thing is keeping an eye on A) the value of your cards and B) the opponent’s strategy.

For those unfamiliar, the basic idea is each card will get you a certain amount of “points”, or value. If a card swings for 4, you present 4 points of damage. If that attack has an on-hit, such as giving a Bloodrot, extra value can be added. A red Infecting Shot immediately presents 5 points of damage, but if they let it hit, the Bloodrot gives you an extra 2 points of damage for a total of 7.

A standard value for a card is 3. This is why most cards block for 3. If you can extract more than 3 value per card used (including pitching and additional costs), you will be in a good position.

Where this most comes into play here is with Riptide’s traps. All of the traps (aside from 2 exceptions in Crucible) block for 3, making them actually quite bad as far as defense reactions go. However, that value increases if you manage to trigger a trap, and the value increases again if the trap effect is relevant.

As you can see, the ceiling on some of these trap interactions are quite high, all for a single card.

Each time the opponent attacks, you need to evaluate whether you will get more value by blocking for 3 now without a trigger, or taking the 3 damage to have a more powerful block later. This is why you need to understand your opponent’s strategy and deck.

Traps will not be equally good against every deck. Some decks, like Lexi or Warriors, will trigger just about every trap that we have. Others, like Bravo or Wizard, rarely trigger traps.

Frailty Trap against Lexi is huge. I will want to play it on a turn where I am getting as much value as I can, by shutting down a Bolt n’ Shot or lower the ceiling after they cast Three of a Kind. Because the value can be so high, I probably don’t want to play when they attack with an arrow with one card in hand.

On the flip side, Bravo and Brute rarely trigger Frailty. If they do swing with a go again, take that opportunity! At the very least you’ll get 4 points of value from the block and ping. Maybe some extra value if they were planning on a weapon attack that turn.

Because the ceiling is so much lower against Bravo, I feel comfortable playing this trap as a simple block 3– especially if I can use it to get around dominate. Cast Frailty Trap, load another d-react off of Riptide, block some more! This is a way to get extra value out of a card not by the trap trigger, but by Riptide’s load ability. I probably wouldn’t block 3 damage from a hammer swing when this could help me get around harder to block damage later.

Some traps will be REALLY good against a certain deck. Buzzsaw Trap can reset a Dawnblade Dori no matter how many counters or attack reactions they have. Collapsing Trap can turn a powerful ninja turn into an awkward attempt at efficiency. Spike Pit Trap has the potential to deal considerable damage to Uzuri in the late game.

If you’re not familiar with a deck, keep an eye on the cards your opponents are playing, pitching, and blocking with. What patterns are you seeing?

The other thing to evaluate is your semi-defensive attacks (Brothers in Arms and Fyendal's Fighting Spirit mainly). Generally, we want to attack with our arrows, E-Strikes, and CnCs, but what about these flexible cards?

I find that what impacts my decision is less about matchup and more about game state. Let’s take Brothers in Arms into Bravo for example. If the Bravo is playing a defensive fatigue game plan, they can easily block 6 attack while swinging in with their weapon regularly for 4. Having a 4 block can be helpful to avoid leaking damage in the end game.

On the other hand, if Bravo is playing more aggressively, then throwing extra 6 attacks can keep their hands lean or apply pressure to their life total.

There are two ways to win: by bringing their cards to 0 or bringing their life to 0. Your path to victory might change in the middle of a game. Keep track of life, your opponent’s power turns, and cards in deck. If you need to threaten life, attack. If you need to fatigue, then sit back and block.

Welcome to the part of the write up where I tell you to run 74 card decks every game!

Ok, it’s not quite that ridiculous, but I find myself running more cards fairly often. Here’s what I have so far...

All in all, I think this deck is a very solid addition to the Riptide lineup. I don’t know if it will be the best deck with Lexi gone and Bulls Eyes Bracers back, but it is an option that does much better into other fatigue decks then the more aggressive Riptide lists.

I think this will always be an option. I myself will likely bounce back and forth between this and aggro lists depending on the meta. Between the two, I think we can keep folks guessing even as Riptide finds his footing in the competitive scene.