The new and improved Genesis format can be daunting to dive into right away – older Genesis players will need to find 20 new cards to add to their decks, and most Epic Story decks are built around their key 2 rulers – not to mention the consistency of a 10 card stone deck. With no banlist, it seems like the most truly degenerate combos in the history of Force of Will should be possible – and then some! But with less consistency in your stones, your draws, and with only the reliability of your ruler to keep your games feeling the same, there’s a lot of room to experiment with familiar power as well as some new stuff. Hopefully with this article, you’ll be easily able to crack into the wonders of Genesis, and enjoy a new way to play your favorite game!
Selecting your Ruler
The most important part of building a Genesis deck starts at the top, and with only one constant in how every game we’ll play out, it’s the obvious place to start. Your ruler will define your deck’s playstyle, and whatever effects you can bring will significantly impact how many games you win, and how much fun you have. For me, I’ve always loved Lumia, the Fated Rebirth (LEL-071) // Lumia, Saint of the Crimson Lotus (LEL-071J), and she’s especially great for a format like Genesis, where almost any card with an Enter ability can synergize with her. Rulers with more specific build-arounds will definitely feel a bit weaker, as you’ll only be able to run 1 copy of their most important cards. Rulers with Extra Decks of any kind will also feel like they’ve lost some spunk, with the special limitations imbued on them. If you don’t know where to start, I’ve always had a soft spot for Lapis Cluster rulers, as most of them have a very central theme that is easy to start looking at as a build around.
Your Overall Theme
Once you’ve got your ruler, you should have at least a vague idea of some of the more powerful cards you want to put in your deck, and what potential endgames are going to look like. You won’t be able to consistently get out of ahead of your opponent, as most decks will stumble early with the lack of consistency inherent to the format, but having an overall gameplan and theme for your cards is key – do you want every card dealing damage, so that you don’t have to worry about a late game? Do you have some key combo that you want to pull off, that will require set up, protection, and most importantly, ways to find the combo? Do you want to completely outgrind your opponent, drawing as many cards as you can while limiting your opponent’s resources? There are many ways to reach a conclusion in Genesis, but making sure that each of your cards is on the same page is key. For my Lumia deck, I know straight away that I want value – I want to ramp into big resonators, and I want Lumia to recycle powerful enter abilities that would allow me to generate resources while limiting my opponent’s.
Power vs. Consistency
While building your deck, it can be difficult to find 60 powerful cards that will feel impactful. You could, for example, put the 60 best Wind cards into one deck, but the 31st best to 60th best wind cards are probably worse than the best 30 Light cards. The best 21-30 Wind and Light cards are probably worse than the best 20 Darkness cards, and so on with Fire and Water. The more colors you add to a deck, the more powerful it can become, but with a full 15 stones to a stone deck, the more difficult it can be to make everything work smoothly. If you’re going to opt for more than 2 colors, your deck has the potential for some seriously potent card combinations, but you’ll also want to dedicate some slots to cards that can fix potentially bad stone luck. Cards like Idol of Magic (ACN-144), Angel Statue of the Tower (ADK-146), and any of the mana fixers from DBV can help smooth out your stone deck, but all things told, consistency has it’s place too. With no side decks, and games of Genesis only being a best of 1, you should try to keep as few colors in your deck as you can, aiming for your best 2-3 if you can help it. For my first deck here in Genesis, I want to approach the format with as much raw power as I can, so I’m going to experiment with 5 colors out of the gate. Do as I say, not as I do!
And so, without further ado, the Lumia Pile!
Ruler (1)
Ramp (10)
- Wetlands of Magical Origin (LEL-094)
- Fiethsing’s Monocle (LEL-056)
- Purin Esaki, the Girl in Love (GITS2045-046)
- Attoractia, City of Verdant Green (WOM-110)
- Ziz (PofA-119)
- Timekeeper Elf (TMS-063)
- Blessing of Yggdrasil (SKL-053)
- Sorceress of Heavenly Wind, Melfee (CFC-065)
- Sacred Elf (SDL4-005)
- Elvish Priest (CMF-067)
Draw (8)
- Divine Bird of Attoractia (RDE-025)
- Valentina’s Reach (LEL-093)
- Frigg, Goddess of Abundant Harvests (VIN003-047)
- Wind-Secluded Refuge (VIN003-060)
- Ciel’s Familiar, Mikay (ADK-089)
- Familiar of Holy Wind (MPR-061)
- Tama, Familiar of Holy Wind (SDL4-007)
- Travelling Trader (SDR4-008)
Color Fix (4)
- Statue in the Sacred Temple (ACN-147)
- Angel Statue of the Tower (ADK-146)
- Machina, King of Accursed Machines (ENW-096)
- Idol of Magic (ACN-144)
Win Conditions (10)
- Captain Hook, the Pirate (CFC-037)
- Alice’s World (TAT-038)
- Umr-At-Tawil (ENW-051)
- Dance of the Shadows (TTW-075)
- Sun Wukong, Enforcer for the Future (ENW-065)
- Genesis Creation (MPR-006)
- A Heroic Epic for the Thousandth Night (WOM-109)
- Book of Eibon (MOA-042)
- Schrödinger (PofA-105)
- Djinn, the Spirit of Lamp (MPR-059)
Search Effects (12)
- Sigurd, the Covenant King (AO3-082)
- Sacrificial Altar (AOA-100)
- Fiethsing, the Fate Spinning Winds (LEL-025)
- Heavenly Instrument, Hydromonica (TMS-092)
- Kaguya’s Moonbeam Butterfly (LEL-068)
- Planting Beans (LEL-031)
- Book of Genesis (MPR-005)
- Faria’s Summon (LEL-055)
- Rachel, the Ancient Library Researcher (TSW-103)
- Speaker of Creation (MPR-015)
- Morgiana, the Wise Servant (MPR-065)
- Trou, Giant of Destruction (DBV-071)
Interaction (16)
- Seal of Wind and Light (TMS-089)
- Altesing, Mischievous Boy // A Glimpse of the Prodigy (EDL-058)
- Severing Winds (ENW-063)
- The Manticore (LEL-090)
- Grimm, the Rightful King (ENW-005)
- Blazer, the Legendary Thief (SDR6-008)
- The Final Battle (ENW-084)
- Glinda, the Fairy (TAT-062)
- Perfect Loki (DBV-098)
- Tsuiya, Cursed Spawn of the Star // Curse of Ragnarok (EDL-094)
- Laurite, Seven Luminaries Astrologian (TSW-094)
- Faerur’s Spell (ACN-096)
- Otherworld Dreams (ADK-106)
- Kaguya, Sealed God of the Moon (DBV-095)
- Athenia, Deity of Harvest and Corruption (DBV-092)
- Pricia, Ready for the Final Battle (ENW-060)
Stones (15)
- Magic Stone of Nature’s Beauty (VIN003-089)
- Gusting Darkness Magic Stone (VIN003-087)
- Misty Wind Magic Stone (VIN003-093)
- Magic Stone of Moon Light (MPR-099)
- Wind Magic Stone (CMF-105)
- Magic Stone of Moon Shade (MPR-100)
- Killing Stone (LEL-097)
- Spirit Stone (SDR4-012)
- Memoria of Reincarnation (RDE-099)
- Pricia’s Memoria (LEL-099)
- Kaguya’s Stone of Sorrow (RDE-097)
- Magic Stone of Deep Wood (CMF-097)
- Magic Stone of Gusting Skies (TAT-096)
- Magic Stone of Black Silence (CMF-096)
- Magic Stone of Blasting Waves (TAT-094)
This deck focuses very heavily on being base Wind, with only the most powerful cards off-color to bring up the overall power level. Your wind cards are the grease for the gears – you’ll find ramp, card draw, and even a few powerful search effects like Planting Beans (LEL-031) and Rachel, the Ancient Library Researcher (TSW-103). You have plenty of expensive toys for Lumia to flicker, multiple ways to search through your deck to get exactly what you need, counterspells and discard to limit your opponent’s options, and even some infinite Alice’s World (TAT-038) loops thrown in just to keep games ending on time.
It’s a grab bag of everything I loved about the different Lumia decks I’ve played over the years, which brings me to my final point when it comes to building a Genesis deck –
Have Fun!
While eternal formats can be brutal, cutthroat environments where games will end on turn 2 or even 1, the new and improved Genesis does a great job of making sure that doesn’t happen every game. As long as you build towards your core theme, and you don’t get a bit too overboard trying to fit EVERY powerful card into your deck (like me), you will consistently do the thing your deck is built to do, but it won’t always be the most powerful version OF that thing. An aggressive deck should always find a way to attack life totals quickly, but you won’t always be staring down 3 Cthugha’s on turn 2. You have some leeway to play “less optimal” cards that are more situational, because the number of situations you are going to see will be drastically higher in Genesis. And it’s an absolute blast to play because of it!
