When my Skybound Odyssey booster box arrived, I couldn’t have been more hyped. After opening it, I couldn’t have been more deflated. There were no great pulls. No super Uniques. Most importantly, not enough of the cards I wanted to create a new deck for my favoured faction, Muna. However, after a little reflection, I realised it gave me an incredible opportunity. It was time to journey Out-of-Faction and see what the others had to offer me – only using what I had available.

This time, I took a look at building on the Moyo and Silk Yzmir Skybound Odyssey demo deck.

With Moyo’s skill being focused on getting a 2/2 illusion after playing a 4 cost spell, I wanted to boost the spell options immediately. The demo deck actually had a decent choice but there were too many very high cost spells for my liking. We can’t wait until the fifth turn to start rolling!

Lost in the Riptide is an Out-of-Faction card for Yzmir but one I have found works wonderfully with Moyo and Silk. I can play it cheaper if the target is in water, it removes the card for them until they next draw, and it triggers a moth illusion to appear thanks to Moyo’s ability. Early game, this is a great card to buy an Expedition progress.

It also keeps its power later into a match as it has no cost limit for the target. I have had some great success playing this a few rounds in when going second – let them use up their mana, push a character away, then steal the day with the moth. It is also a great way to set up other spells which require you to have an illusion on the table. I made sure to add extra Lost in the Riptide straight away.

The Well of Tears seems like it should be in the Moyo and Silk demo deck but it isn’t. Simply having this in your Landmarks makes Moyo’s core ability so much stronger. Those 2/2 moth illusions can quickly become very beefy with this. It feels like an Yzmir staple card to me.

Getting this out early can have a huge impact if it is allowed to stay out. It can, in my experience, become an early candidate for removal. However, if they use up their mana to wipe this away you can still create those illusions from your spells. If nothing else, it draws attention away from the Expeditions, ready for you to take advantage.

Importantly, this will trigger every time you play a spell with base cost 4 or more. You will be doing that a lot with Moyo so this has huge value – especially if you get two out at the same time. I have had matches where those moth illusions have muscled me through to a win.

Once I read Sagitta’s Rare card, I knew it had to go in the Moyo Skybound Odyssey deck. Really, a lot of Yzmir decks could use it effectively. The cost may initially seem off putting until you realise you can play it for 4 if you have a 4 cost spell in Reserve. With this deck, you really should have one in Reserve every round.

Once you have eight mana in the bank, it’s time for Moyo, Silk, and Sagitta to go beast mode. You can play Sagitta, follow it up with a four cost spell (ideally removal), get your moth illusion on the board, and have strong stats on both sides. If Well of Tears is in play, you are laughing.

Of course, it is a removal target but that’s fine if you are managing your cards. With our own removal spells and Mana Moth creation aplenty, we can then capitalise on them using their mana to get rid of Sagitta. I have had matches where Sagitta has won me both sides, and ones where simply having it as a target has let me moth the board to victory.

Alelo is already in the demo deck but I can’t write about this build without mentioning it. At face value, it doesn’t seem that inviting. 5/5 for a 2/2/2 gigantic? However, it is the utility of Alelo that gives it so much power.

Perhaps most importantly, it is always considered a spell. That means it will trigger Moyo’s mana moth creation ability, it gets The Well of Tears flowing, and it reduces the cost of Sagitta when in Reserve. That’s already a lot of added bonus right there.

This pairs up so well with almost every card in this Moyo deck that it can’t be ignored. The Rare version is 1 cheaper, and 1 less powerful, which potentially makes it worth swapping out the Commons for that. This is a combo deck, for sure, so reduced card costs are always a winner.

While this deck is not without its flaws, I have seen some success when running it. The combo potential is incredibly high and when it works, it works. The only drawback is that when your opponent stops your combos, there really isn’t much you can do but stall. Regardless, I have enjoyed giving Yzmir a run and it has certainly piqued my interest going forward.

If you want to see the full deck I have been using, you can find the deck list here. Let us know your thoughts on how it plays, how you would improve it going forward, and what faction I should explore next.

Read More

Altered in the Media Weekly Post 11th October – 17th October

Out-of-Faction – Bravos Jinn Rushy

Ascend the skies: 6 Theorycrafted Decks to Play on Day One of Skybound Odyssey