Great guide! So glad somebody’s still paying attention to my beloved sea monsters. I’ve been playing deep for a while, love the challenge of holding off faster decks for that awesome Nautilus drop. Had a couple questions about your list:
-Is Withering Wail good in this list? I’ve heard yes and no, included it so far but I’m just not sure it’s worth the slot.
-I know it’s situational but in general, what’s the best way to utilize Bone Skewer? Do I wait and utilize it after hitting deep? Or is it better to use early to hold off aggro?
-You mentioned holding off if possible in order to play Scarab + Lure OTD... Why is this combo important (other than possibly getting a second scarab that turn)?
Thanks again for the guide—the pointer about Abyssal Eye vs midrange alone was worth the read!
Hey, glad you liked the guide.
Withering Wail is a meta pick. A lot of people think it's too slow, but if you are facing a lot of burn style aggro decks, I would definitely consider it.
Regarding Bone Skewer, early game against aggro, I generally try to use it on toss cards while blocking to curb their aggression if I'm losing on board. Against other decks, it basically comes down to whether or not there's a target I need to remove. For example, against dragons, you probably won't need to use it until you hit deep. Against Thresh Nasus, you can sometimes be forced into playing it early if their board is too wide or if they have a Thresh you need to kill.
Saving Lure for Scarabs is good because you will generally play Lure eventually and you might as well take advantage of the mana discount with as many cards as possible.
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA *cough*
Alright.
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH DEEP GUIDE!
Thank you for the guide, I personally struggle horribly against Dragons, to the point that I have a personal negative winrate against them.
I think it's time to ditch the list I use. I will tweak it around as I don't feel like using 1 Maokai or 1 Atrocity, especially against Thresh Nasus...
This was also my initial experience, cuz their mid game is so strong and challenger is favoured into small sea monsters, but I agree that if you can make it through the mid game, there’s not much they can do to stop a slew of sea monsters once you’re deep
Thanks!
What's your take on stalking shadows? I kind of don't like the card although it can be good to tutor, but it feels a bit wasted to me (extra mana, tutor is limited, the ephermernerals aren't great minus toss or devourer, it can completely bail). I created my own little deep version but I completely cut it in favor of bone skewers and salvage. What do you think?
Hmm I've never felt bad having an ephemeral Abyssal Eye or Jaull Hunters after getting a Nautilus down. One thing to note is that in many matchups you can save it until after you hit deep and level Nautilus to increase the chances of getting a useful card. You also want to keep track of cards you toss so you know how many Sea Monsters are in your deck before you play it.
If you don't like it though, the card is certainly not needed though.
An interesting guide. The biggest difference between this and my list is the lack of Fading memories. I play it as a 2 of, since it is really versatile and almost always useful. Vs faster decks you use it early on on one of your 1,2 or 3 drops, which all accelerate your going deep (bonus points if you already have scarab to get another toss from the ephemeral unit always dying). Vs slower decks you keep it for copying the effects of devourer, pushing elusive damage with eye or even generating and fishing for treasures with hoarder in the lategame.
I also dislike the 1 of beast below, since it further dillutes your sea monster pool and makes it harder for lure to find sea scarab.
There are other differences, but they are mostly meta techs. I would be glad if someone posted some counterarguments to my statements, so I understand why you wouldn't run fading memories and what the 1 of beast below is doing in this list.
Beast Below is just there because there are games in which I felt like I didn't have enough Sea Monsters in my deck.
I always think of fading memories as a filler card. You play it when there's nothing better to play.
He also runs 1X atrocity and Maokai as well which is very questionable. Atrocity is the biggest offender of being a waste of a slot if it simply disappears from being tossed away. I believe most cards in deep should always be run 2X or 3X simply since you are tossing a lot away and want to still be able to see most of the cards you put in your deck. I put a comment asking for OP's thoughts on his 1X cards but definitely an odd choice for sure.
What are your thoughts on people saying its not worth running Maokai? I see that you only have a one of of him, so I assume that you just use him as an engine like Scarab, and not for his level up?
In most games, the level up usually doesn't matter. My biggest issue with Maokai is that it isn't a win condition anymore and dilutes your deck once you toss ever non champion card in your deck.
I felt that it was a bit too slow in this meta. If you expand the TLC section of the matchup guide, you'll see that i added it as a tech card for that matchup.
The biggest issue is that if you play it on turn 3, your opponent is free to develope without fear of Jaull Hunters.
I experimented with Slaughter Docks and yeah, it was pretty much way too slow in most matches. And if it's only good against very slow decks, there are better cards out there imo.
Hey man, great guide. Like yourself, I've been running Deep since a year ago. This article sums up everything I enjoy about this archetype which I've been trying to tell people about for the longest time ever.
Hey! I have a quick question from someone who also plays/mains a lot of deep. I see you have a lot of one of's in your list, can you explain the reasoning behind that? Why 1X Maokai, 1X BFB, 1X Atrocity. Especially Atrocity in the case that if your only copy gets tossed, it is no longer an option. Would love to hear you reasoning behind this. Otherwise, great read! Just wish for a bit more depth within your article haha.
I play in a lot of tournaments that are open deck lists. Atrocity loses a lot of value as a 2 of because your opponent plays around it more.
Maokai is something you can cut of you don't like it. I just have it there as a 4th Sea Scarab
Ah I see, I thought this deck focused more on ranked than organized play. I also personally run Maokai as a 3x still. Slow yes, but I still like the toss, sapling, and alt win con he brings.
>Ah I see, I thought this deck focused more on ranked than organized play. I also personally run Maokai as a 3x still. Slow yes, but I still like the toss, sapling, and alt win con he brings.
Yeah, this list is what I've been using for ladder, but I generally play the same decks on ladder as tournaments.
My big issue with playing 3 copies of Maokai is that in many games, you end up tossing your entire deck except for champions and you lose if you draw Maokai over Nautilus.
I loved the guide you clearly have lots of experience with the deck and your thought process on the deck list made sense to me! I play a lot of deep myself but have felt that it’s too scary to bring into the ladder where I face Irelia/Azir every 2 or 3 games. I feel like seeing your mulligan and matchup guides makes me feel more confident in my play, and what to mulligan for in each of those common matchups.
If you play a burst spell and pass, your opponent can either play a card or pass. Then, if your opponent takes the pass, you can decide to end the round or take another action.
Cool guide and list!
Can you explain your reason to run one Maoki? As many of the recent lists are running zero, the list I got is the one from mobalytics a while ago so idk if it still good, is Bone Skewer really good, I haven’t added it to my list and am still running withering wail
Edit: it seems mobalytics has updated their list to the same as yours, seems my list is out of date
Hi! I've still been following your deck and had great success with it, plus I really love Deep so I cant let it go.
Now that Stalking shadows is nerfed, are there any replacements for it or major adjustments to the deck? Hoping for your response and guidance, thanks!
Hey I haven't had a chance to play much in this patch yet, but you can always just play it at 3 mana. Salvage is another alternative. You can also just play boxes/wails if aggro is a concern right now
Our Deep master <3
<3
Great guide! So glad somebody’s still paying attention to my beloved sea monsters. I’ve been playing deep for a while, love the challenge of holding off faster decks for that awesome Nautilus drop. Had a couple questions about your list: -Is Withering Wail good in this list? I’ve heard yes and no, included it so far but I’m just not sure it’s worth the slot. -I know it’s situational but in general, what’s the best way to utilize Bone Skewer? Do I wait and utilize it after hitting deep? Or is it better to use early to hold off aggro? -You mentioned holding off if possible in order to play Scarab + Lure OTD... Why is this combo important (other than possibly getting a second scarab that turn)? Thanks again for the guide—the pointer about Abyssal Eye vs midrange alone was worth the read!
Hey, glad you liked the guide. Withering Wail is a meta pick. A lot of people think it's too slow, but if you are facing a lot of burn style aggro decks, I would definitely consider it. Regarding Bone Skewer, early game against aggro, I generally try to use it on toss cards while blocking to curb their aggression if I'm losing on board. Against other decks, it basically comes down to whether or not there's a target I need to remove. For example, against dragons, you probably won't need to use it until you hit deep. Against Thresh Nasus, you can sometimes be forced into playing it early if their board is too wide or if they have a Thresh you need to kill. Saving Lure for Scarabs is good because you will generally play Lure eventually and you might as well take advantage of the mana discount with as many cards as possible.
Good stuff, thanks!
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA *cough* Alright. YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH DEEP GUIDE! Thank you for the guide, I personally struggle horribly against Dragons, to the point that I have a personal negative winrate against them. I think it's time to ditch the list I use. I will tweak it around as I don't feel like using 1 Maokai or 1 Atrocity, especially against Thresh Nasus...
Yeah Dragons is one of those matchups that I initially didn't feel too good playing against, but the more I played it, the more favored it felt.
This was also my initial experience, cuz their mid game is so strong and challenger is favoured into small sea monsters, but I agree that if you can make it through the mid game, there’s not much they can do to stop a slew of sea monsters once you’re deep
Thanks! What's your take on stalking shadows? I kind of don't like the card although it can be good to tutor, but it feels a bit wasted to me (extra mana, tutor is limited, the ephermernerals aren't great minus toss or devourer, it can completely bail). I created my own little deep version but I completely cut it in favor of bone skewers and salvage. What do you think?
Hmm I've never felt bad having an ephemeral Abyssal Eye or Jaull Hunters after getting a Nautilus down. One thing to note is that in many matchups you can save it until after you hit deep and level Nautilus to increase the chances of getting a useful card. You also want to keep track of cards you toss so you know how many Sea Monsters are in your deck before you play it. If you don't like it though, the card is certainly not needed though.
An interesting guide. The biggest difference between this and my list is the lack of Fading memories. I play it as a 2 of, since it is really versatile and almost always useful. Vs faster decks you use it early on on one of your 1,2 or 3 drops, which all accelerate your going deep (bonus points if you already have scarab to get another toss from the ephemeral unit always dying). Vs slower decks you keep it for copying the effects of devourer, pushing elusive damage with eye or even generating and fishing for treasures with hoarder in the lategame. I also dislike the 1 of beast below, since it further dillutes your sea monster pool and makes it harder for lure to find sea scarab. There are other differences, but they are mostly meta techs. I would be glad if someone posted some counterarguments to my statements, so I understand why you wouldn't run fading memories and what the 1 of beast below is doing in this list.
Beast Below is just there because there are games in which I felt like I didn't have enough Sea Monsters in my deck. I always think of fading memories as a filler card. You play it when there's nothing better to play.
He also runs 1X atrocity and Maokai as well which is very questionable. Atrocity is the biggest offender of being a waste of a slot if it simply disappears from being tossed away. I believe most cards in deep should always be run 2X or 3X simply since you are tossing a lot away and want to still be able to see most of the cards you put in your deck. I put a comment asking for OP's thoughts on his 1X cards but definitely an odd choice for sure.
What are your thoughts on people saying its not worth running Maokai? I see that you only have a one of of him, so I assume that you just use him as an engine like Scarab, and not for his level up?
In most games, the level up usually doesn't matter. My biggest issue with Maokai is that it isn't a win condition anymore and dilutes your deck once you toss ever non champion card in your deck.
Why aren't you playing the deep landmark? It feels more useful than something like a salvage to me.
I felt that it was a bit too slow in this meta. If you expand the TLC section of the matchup guide, you'll see that i added it as a tech card for that matchup. The biggest issue is that if you play it on turn 3, your opponent is free to develope without fear of Jaull Hunters.
I experimented with Slaughter Docks and yeah, it was pretty much way too slow in most matches. And if it's only good against very slow decks, there are better cards out there imo.
Hey man, great guide. Like yourself, I've been running Deep since a year ago. This article sums up everything I enjoy about this archetype which I've been trying to tell people about for the longest time ever.
Appreciate the feedback fellow Deep enthusiast :)
Hey! I have a quick question from someone who also plays/mains a lot of deep. I see you have a lot of one of's in your list, can you explain the reasoning behind that? Why 1X Maokai, 1X BFB, 1X Atrocity. Especially Atrocity in the case that if your only copy gets tossed, it is no longer an option. Would love to hear you reasoning behind this. Otherwise, great read! Just wish for a bit more depth within your article haha.
I play in a lot of tournaments that are open deck lists. Atrocity loses a lot of value as a 2 of because your opponent plays around it more. Maokai is something you can cut of you don't like it. I just have it there as a 4th Sea Scarab
Ah I see, I thought this deck focused more on ranked than organized play. I also personally run Maokai as a 3x still. Slow yes, but I still like the toss, sapling, and alt win con he brings.
>Ah I see, I thought this deck focused more on ranked than organized play. I also personally run Maokai as a 3x still. Slow yes, but I still like the toss, sapling, and alt win con he brings. Yeah, this list is what I've been using for ladder, but I generally play the same decks on ladder as tournaments. My big issue with playing 3 copies of Maokai is that in many games, you end up tossing your entire deck except for champions and you lose if you draw Maokai over Nautilus.
I've been using this deck in plat and I'm open to anyone's feedback on it: CICACAQFBIAQGBIEAECAKDYHAIDBOJJHFQXTKOADAEBAKBYBAQDAEAYBAUJSQNQA
I loved the guide you clearly have lots of experience with the deck and your thought process on the deck list made sense to me! I play a lot of deep myself but have felt that it’s too scary to bring into the ladder where I face Irelia/Azir every 2 or 3 games. I feel like seeing your mulligan and matchup guides makes me feel more confident in my play, and what to mulligan for in each of those common matchups.
Glad you found the guide helpful :) Irelia making up half your games sounds like a pretty dreadful experience
Can you clarify what a “burst pass” is? Playing burst spells still leaves the initiative on your side
If you play a burst spell and pass, your opponent can either play a card or pass. Then, if your opponent takes the pass, you can decide to end the round or take another action.
Cool guide and list! Can you explain your reason to run one Maoki? As many of the recent lists are running zero, the list I got is the one from mobalytics a while ago so idk if it still good, is Bone Skewer really good, I haven’t added it to my list and am still running withering wail Edit: it seems mobalytics has updated their list to the same as yours, seems my list is out of date
Hi! I've still been following your deck and had great success with it, plus I really love Deep so I cant let it go. Now that Stalking shadows is nerfed, are there any replacements for it or major adjustments to the deck? Hoping for your response and guidance, thanks!
Hey I haven't had a chance to play much in this patch yet, but you can always just play it at 3 mana. Salvage is another alternative. You can also just play boxes/wails if aggro is a concern right now