Full force has been a series about the viability of archetypes for a while, but there are other ways to explore the format. By now most people have seen the power of GB counter decks, especially with Winding Constrictor, whose power reaches even into Standard. However, you probably haven’t tried to play the GB counter deck with a bunch of Pew Pew Lasers.
*Note: Not to actual scale. Laser may be smaller than depicted on packaging
Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about Consulate Turret! No, I hadn’t tried to play it either, are you kidding? That card is awful. It averages out to half a point of damage every turn, for three mana!
Well OK. I guess that Winding Constrictor speeds it up to 1 damage a turn. Still pretty bad.
Sure, I’ve had Longtusk Cub stranded as a 2/2, but just constrictor and Cub are hardly enough…
Wait… Is Consulate Turret playable in the right deck?
No dummy. You can’t believe everything you read. Or at least, it probably isn’t. Keep an open mind and watch and judge for yourself:
Even after drafting and playing with it, I’m still pretty split about the card. Did I win because the rest of the deck was good and Consulate Turret was a liability that I overcame? My impression upgraded from “never ever play” and now rests firmly in “possible sideboard for a deck with a metric ton of synergies”, which isn’t huge, but it is worth noting. Before this recording I would never bother to take a Consulate Turret at all and while I won’t be first picking them again anytime soon, I feel that taking one for the sideboard in the right deck could be correct.
Recording this, even though the results were fairly close to what I expected was a good reminder to stay open to ideas, even about traditionally “bad” cards. There are some match ups that are just slow and grindy enough that a Turret can blast its way to victory.
GRADE: F D-
Next week we’re moving into a new archetype, so watch for the voting on my Twitter and good luck wrangling up a few wins!
