{"ops":[{"insert":"Build Philosophy"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThis is a budget upgrade to the otters precon found in the starter set. When building it, I used the following restrictions:\n\nOnly cards from Bloomburrow"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Only cards that have a cost of less than one dollar (at time of writing)"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Keep as much of the precon as possible, particularly the legends"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Try stick to the otter theme"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nIs it great? Probably not. I'm no master of standard. But is it better than the precon? Absolutely it is. And there's plenty of room to upgrade with more pricey cards.\n\nStrategy"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nGet a bunch of otters out and start casting as many non-creature spells as you can. [[Coruscation Mage]] and [[Kindlespark Duo]] are the MVPs of the deck. They both basically do the same thing: when you cast a spell, deal one damage to your opponent. Coruscation Mage is better at this because it doesn't need to be tapped, it's cheaper, and it can create a weaker copy of itself via its offspring ability that adds even more damage.\n\nYou will also be casting and creating a lot of creatures with Prowess, which gives them extra power during the current turn whenever you cast a spell. You can do this before you attack of course, but it's important to note that you can also do this during your opponent's turn with instant spells. Wait until your opponent declares attackers. Then after you declare blockers, you can buff up your creatures so that they kill things your opponent didn't expect could be killed, or survive fights your opponent didn't expect them to survive.\n\nWaiting to cast spells is generally a good thing. It gives your opponent less information, and makes them have to wonder what you have. Why do you have four mana open? Do you have a counterspell? A combat trick? They might hesitate to make bold moves, which is a benefit for you. Or perhaps they spend a bunch of mana to cast a spell that you counter, or buff a creature that you bounce back into their hand. Creature spells can usually only be cast during your turn, but they can be cast in either of your two main phases. Usually you want to wait until the second main phase to cast them though, because during combat your opponent won't know what creatures you'll have to defend with during their turn. But creatures with haste, or creatures with abilities that need to be activated earlier should be cast in main phase one where possible. [[Stormcatch Mentor]] is a good example of this, both because it has haste and because it has an ability that is active immediately that you may want to use immediately.\n\nUpgrades"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nYou have two ways to take this deck. You can build on Prowess and focus on combat damage, or you can build more on pinging your opponent for damage with Coruscation Mage and Kindlespark Duo. You'll have some of both regardless, but a focus can be helpful.\n\n[[Stormchaser's Talent]] can replace [[Daring Waverider]]. It still gives you a creature and still lets you get a card from your graveyard. But it comes online much faster, and being a non-creature spell it feeds into everything you've got going on. You may never use the final level, but that's fine. This feeds both combat and pinging."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"[[Harnesser of Storms]] could replace Alania's Pathmaker. It costs less mana, triggers multiple times, and is tougher. But it's weaker before you start buffing, and you get less time to cast the exiled spell. I do think it's a better fit, but in the spirit of rule 3 I didn't make the change. This is particularly better for a ping focus."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"[[Valley Floodcaller]] will let you cast more spells on your opponent's turn. The longer you wait to cast spells, the less information your opponent has. Even without that, buffing all your otters is great. The untap bit works beautifully with [[Kindlespark Duo]] as you can have it untap itself, tap it again, then have valley floodcaller untap it, and tap it yet again. You can also attack with all your otters, then cast a spell to untap them so they can block. This does more work for a combat focus."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"[[Ral, Crackling Wit]] will give you more otters, draw you more cards, and maybe give you a crazy emblem. It also is a noncreature spell, so it turns on all your stuff. He does more work for a combat focus because he can give you an otter every turn. As a noncreature spell (planeswalkers aren't creatures) he also triggers all your stuff. Planeswalkers are a bit complex though, make sure to look up how they work."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nYou might also consider playing some [[Tempest Angler]]s. Unlike creatures with prowess, it keeps its power ups, so it can get big over the course of the game. This could go in place of [[Kindlespark Duo]] if you want to focus more on combat damage than direct damage. You can also include a fourth copy of Coruscation Mage or Kindlespark Duo, cutting Bria to go more in on spell damage. Alania is another cut target. She's good, but very expensive. at 5 mana.\n"}]}