Aggro Energy

Aggro Energy

This deck has worked very well for me in ranked so far. The idea is to dominate the early game and finish before your opponent can stabilize. Thanks to Echomaton and a lot of Automaton synergy the deck scales pretty well into late game. Therefore the deck is not a super rushy aggro deck that loses once it's past 10 turns into the match. It works better against late game decks than aggro decks but I found that even other aggro decks such as Tempo Order struggle against it. One issue is that everything in the deck dies to Quake + Frostgale, so be careful when facing such a deck.

Scrolls:

• Copper Automaton: It's not too bad early on to take out high hp units - especially against order - and will often win you games with a Fury play later on. It's very risky to drop it without a Fury in a lot of cases but sometimes it's good to force your opponent to deal with it and keep other stuff alive instead.

• Dust Runner: Same as Copper Automaton, it's good early on and still good later with a Bombard play. It's even more scary if you put a Piercing Projectile on it. 

• Desperation: Only running two because it's more situational than Machinated. It is potentially better though and can be used as removal as well. Also it won't double your base countdown so when the health is not a huge issue I sometimes favor it over Machinated. Against Order for example. 

• Gun Automaton: Just a staple in Energy decks. Synergizes with Scout Automatons and works well with Piercing Projectile too.

• Hired Smuggler: To be honest I tend to sac it often but it's good when it's good. Also nice with Piercing Projectile. 

• Machinated: One of the key scrolls that make this deck work. The idea is to play lots of small threats that potentially become huge threats once you play Machinated on them. It's very difficult for your opponent to play around since every single creature can become a huge threat. Of course it's best played on Storm Runners or Cannonettas but with Piercing Projectile it works well on any ranged creature. It also ends a lot of matches with a sniped 10 hp idol out of nowhere. Great for aggro.

• Piercing Projectile: Maybe not as great in this deck as it could be. You cannot play it on a lot of stuff but it's still quite essential. Dust Runner, Hired Smuggler, Gun Automaton, Replicaton, and sometimes even Scout Automatons will benefit from it and become an even greater threat. It might be possible to cut them down to two but so far I found them really useful in most matches. 

• Spark: I am not a huge fan of Spark. It's always a 1 for 1 trade but it's definitely needed. It deals with a lot of stuff early on such as Hired Smugglers, Kinfolk Braves and other stuff that justify a 1 for 1 trade because your opponent could snowball out of control too fast otherwise. Two is fine since I also have Desperation as pseudo removal. Later on it will often soften up targets so that Piercing might kill a Witch Doctor or Dust Runner a Great Wolf.

• Automata Forge: Automata Forge is not very aggro, it's quite slow in fact. So why put it in a aggro deck? It wins matches against Decay! It's the key to winning against Decay I'd say. It's also a decent turn 3 play against Energy. And there is the Scout Automaton synergy as well. I usually sac it against other aggro decks though, especially in the beginning. It's not a good idea to pump the Automata Forge though, if you can avoid it you should always drop more stuff instead and let it count down on its own unless you can afford to do so. You will often be able to haste it with Fury as well. I usually play them in the back of row 2 or 4 and not as a blocker in front.

• Bombard: Well obviously.

• Cannonetta: She's not as good as she once was. Two attack just doesn't do too much so you will always need a Desperation or Machinated to truly benefit from her. But your opponent doesn't know whether you have one or not so she still generates a lot of threat. 

• Fury: Only running two since it's more situational than Bombard. You will often get the opportunity to play it though. It's especially good with Copper Automatons, Automata Forges or Echomatons to benefit from it as well. I used it to count down opponent units intentionally too. Royal Vanguard, Wings Captain, or State Machine are some units that come to mind. 

• Oculus Cannon: If you run Bombard you gotta run Oculus Cannon too :D They are of course not so great early on because ideally you want to play them with a Bombard which requires 6 Energy. It's not too bad to play them as a deterrent though. I usually play them in the back of a row. Early on you might have to use them as a chump blocker instead.

• Replicaton: It's an Automaton and syngergizes with Scout Automaton. That's the reason I play them over Boom Reaver. The two health make it very vulnerable so I tend to sac them early on when I can't yet afford to keep 2 resources open for them. They have proven to be very good against Decay though. If they get killed by poison you are guaranteed to get them back in your hand. So they are my favorite unit to take out Blightbearers.

• Scout Automaton: Key unit. Try not to drop them too early because most opponents will make it a priority to take them out. They are however quite essential to your strategy.

• Storm Runner: I remember the old Aggro Energy deck didn't have Storm Runner because he cannot hit idols. But as I said earlier with this deck you aren't so much in a hurry to finish before your opponent comes back. It's really more about staying in control of the board for as long as you can and doing some idol damage in the process until you can finish off with a Bombard/Fury + Machinated play just in time. Storm Runner is great for staying in control, especially against Decay, Order and Growth.

• Burn: Who doesn't run Burn? Show me! :P

• Echomaton: So the idea is to go to 4 Energy and never sac for resources again. Eventually your Echomatons will get you to 6 or 7 Energy which is usually enough. In reality I find myself going to 6 quite often, it's just such a good number for Bombard plays. Echomatons will get me to 8 eventually which is also nice for Storm Runner + Machinated + Bombard or stuff like that. So Echomatons allow me to compete with late game decks far longer than a normal aggro deck would.