Back in the Game: Why My $7 Nature Deck Might Win Me the New Expansion
As a long-time, on-again TCG player, every new Gods Unchained expansion tempts me back to the workshop. This time, I'm chasing value: a $7 Nature deck that wins 64% of the time and might just carry me to free Guardians of Elderym packs.
If you liked this game as much as I do, you’d be doing the same: grinding through Weekend Ranked, creating synergy, and losing track of time. I learned some the best lessons from losses. In fact, I just lost. I'll take it as a sign to stop romanticizing and start writing on the new expansion set.
Let's cover my budget deck and the strategy I plan to use to get the new expansion cards.
Deck Snapshot: Cheap, Strong, and Wild
The new expansion grabs my attention especially after sitting out for 2 in a row: Fallen Age and Tower of Dread. My deck is humbly seasons behind the regular crowd but the latest set could change things.
For example, we have 2 new tribes: Guardians and Pets.
After you play a Guardian, if you have a pet in your hand with equal or lesser mana cost, select one and reduce its mana cost to 1. Otherwise draw a pet from your deck with equal or lesser mana cost.
This Guardian-Pet dynamic rewrites the early game curve and could redefine how players stabilize or swing board control.
Let's look at another reason why the game changed.
Kharkuk, the Chieftain is one of sick new Nature cards I'm watching the most. It's a 6 mana Nature Guardian. Will I get it? Time will tell. Here's why I'll dream of it until I do:
Blitz. Regen 4. Level Up 7: Gain twin strike and overkill.
At 6 mana, this is a solid body on the board with 4 strength, 9 health. Any damage taken while clearing is recovered via 4 Regen.
My Current Deck Strategy: Regen, Ramp, Repeat
One thing is certain: it will take time to master this new mechanic.
Even though it drops in two days, I used a small loophole to play some. Take this card, Shellback Sprinter. It boasts a valuable description.
After you refresh mana, add a random Nature card to your hand.
Thanks to this Wild creature's effect, I add a random Nature card whenever I refresh mana. You refresh mana once a turn, but with other creatures and cards, you can refresh even more.
The new expansion includes Nature cards, so thanks to this little strategy, I've played Pack Master, Tybor and Pollen a few times already.
I love this strategy so much, it's at the heart of my deck with this one other card: Crescent Werewolf. The wolf complements the other half of the play:
After you summon another Wild creature, refresh 1 mana.
Can you see the vision yet? I play the Werewolf for 2 mana. I play the Sprinter for 3. When the Sprinter drops on the board, I refresh 1 mana, because it's a Wild creature. After I refresh mana, I add a random Nature card!
Out of necessity, I employ a few stratagems in my deck, as a stopgap measure for bad draw or the opponents' removal options. I like to refresh mana, summon wide, and buff with Regen and more.
The more sets and keywords, the more possibilities. And the community appears to flourish with that newfound creativity.
The Meta Is Shifting, And I'm Part of It
I am single-handedly inspiring the meta. Of course, what's more likely is that many people are experimenting with their owned cards and arriving at similar conclusions given the synergy of certain keywords.
I enjoy mana refresh. It may contribute to long turns and roping, but it's unintentional. The real intention is the devastation when you fill your hand with new cards just by adding Wild creatures to the board.
I'm talking about the matrimony between Crescent Werewolf and Shellback Sprinter. I'm looking forward to all the new ways I'll incorporate the new cards.
Expansion Cards I'm Watching
| Card Name | Mana Cost | Effect Summary | Strategic Commentary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pack Master | 1 | Give a creature +1 Regen, then +X/+X where X = total Regen. Remove Order, Sleep, and Burn. | 🠖 Early-game Regen amplifier and soft cleanser. Great synergy enabler. |
| Second Wind | 1 | Deal 2 to the weakest enemy. If frenzied, give strongest friendly creature +2 Regen. | 🠖 Cheap reactive play with strong upside. Ideal for setting up Regen scaling. |
| Pollen | 2 | Give a friendly creature Deadly. Afterlife: Add a random Nature card to your hand. | 🠖 Trade tool that punishes big threats. Refuels hand while removing enemy tempo. |
| All Things Grow | 3 | Refresh X mana and delve X mana worth of Nature spells, where X = total Regen on your board (max 12). | 🠖 Huge tempo swing for cheap. Converts Regen investment into board extension. |
| Jadey | 6 | Regen 1. Level Up 6: Double Regen on all friendly creatures and give them +X health (X = Regen). | 🠖 Regen climax card. Turns passive healing into an immediate, tanky, buffed-up board. |
| ___ | |||
| Pack Master is interesting. So is Second Wind. | |||
| Pollen could make frontlines costly for opponents. |
Thanks to the "Refresh Hand" play I outlined, I've pulled All Things Grow a couple times, too. I see where they're going with this. Nature might evolve again.
Just picture Jadey. In light of this article, I'm in high spirits for the new set.
Final Thoughts: Why I’m Betting on Regen
There were only two tribes introduced this expansion. That means, no other tribes got attention, in terms of additional cards in their tribes. However, some of the card descriptions like the ones I mentioned above are outrageous for the development of popular strategies I noted lately.
The new set drops tomorrow. With my strategy outlined and a goal in mind, I'm excited to prove you don't have to pay to win. And I look forward to my Sealed mode debut. While I don't like the buy-in, the new cards offer more than enough reason to enter.
I'm worried this is gonna be some money to make happen. At the same time, I'm more interested in having fun, so I won't go overboard.
I’m betting on a blend of luck, loops, and meta reads. I might drop $20, maybe more, but the point is fun and experimentation. And if I get lucky? I’ll flip the extras and fund my next run.
Whether I earn my packs or buy into Sealed, this expansion hooked me. If you're looking for a budget-friendly entry into Gods Unchained, this $7 Nature deck proves that you don't need deep pockets to win big.