Nock those arrows and prepare to aim, as Flesh and Blood brings us another Armory Deck, featuring Azalea, Ace in the Hole.

Considered one of the strongest heroes in the meta after Zen, Tamer of Purpose, the preconstructed deck tries to steer Azalea into a more aim counter-centric deck, though the prevailing playstyle for the Ranger continues to be huge disruptive arrows.

As the deck is specifically made as an introductory product for newer players, there may be some concerns about her Living Legend status. She hovers at around 600 points (mostly contributed by Brodie Spurlock), but she probably won’t get LL’ed unless she shoots up to become the deck to beat. And even then, Azalea players agree that most of her pieces can safely slot into an aggressive Riptide, Lurker of the Deep shell, which means it can be an easy transition when that day comes.

What’s in the Azalea Armory Precon Deck?

Sadly, the deck lacks multiple copies of some power cards, such as Red in the Ledger and Barbed Undertow. However, it compensates with a great suite of rares and commons, most of which will survive our upgrade.

Let’s look at the deck list first:

Azalea usually wans to run low to the ground, so we need to change some yellow cards into other essential pieces instead. Other than that, core cards are already included in the list, and the deck has been well received by veterans of the game.

Power Cards

The entire suite of status attacks, such as Lace with Bloodrot, Lace with Frailty, and Lace with Inertia, are all stellar includes and are core to her identity of bogging down the opponent with various conditions.

We also have the core attacks of Bolt'n' Shot, Drill Shot, and Infecting Shot for some aggressive options.

Sleep Dart and Sedation Shot both function as attacks and disruption in one.

There are several top-deck manipulation mechanics, such as Read the Glide Path, Scout the Periphery, and Spire Sniping, which all synergize with Azalea’s ability.

Red in the Ledger and Barbed Undertow are stellar arrow attacks which can completely cripple the opponent. Line It Up and Stone Rain are new Armory Deck-exclusive cards which both play into Azalea’s game plan.

Nock the Deathwhistle is a godsend for Azalea, and it’s great we start with three copies for it. It just allows us to tutor for the perfect card for the situation.

Initial Upgrades for Azalea

Again, the preconstructed deck places a bit more emphasis on gaining additional effects through aim counters. We’ll shift the focus into the prevailing Azalea playstyle of huge, disruptive arrows, since this leads to fewer moving parts, which can be easier for newer players, and is just more refined and tested at the moment.

We’re going to run the full rainbow suite of Bolt'n' Shot, as the consensus seems to be it’s the best way to whittle down the opponent, as it lets us attack again and reload.

Disruption-wise, we’re tossing in a playset of Fatigue Shot and a couple of Tarpit Traps.

Azalea usually takes the lead through huge initial shots and closes down the game with smaller attacks. Murkmire Grapnel and Release the Tension help us end the game.

We’re adding Spell Fray Cloak and Spell Fray Leggings to deal with the Wizard class. We already have Arcane Barrier 1 from our precon chest piece Hidden Agenda.

We can look into either Perch Grapplers or Snapdragon Scalers as alternate leg pieces, although Flight Path, the precon inclusion, likewise does the job.

Look into a copy of Dreadbore, as it’s fairly cheap and significantly makes turtle matchups easier. Longdraw Half-glove is also a huge boost and may be picked up ahead of the other equipment pieces.

This is what the deck looks like after the initial upgrades:

Feel free to drop a mixture of cards depending on matchup — against fast decks, you don’t need as much reach, while against slower defending decks, you might want to drop on hits as they’re full blocking anyway.

Mid-Term Upgrades

As a deck focused on various arrows to carry out her contract killings, most of her power lies in majestic attack actions.

First off, let’s pick up two more copies of Red in the Ledger and Barbed Undertow to flesh out our singletons.

Premeditate, Seek and Destroy, and Dead Eye all allow our arrows to go so much taller – which may be deadly when they have Dominate.

Remorseless completely stops the opponent’s next turn, often forcing them to full block – that is, if we don’t give it Dominate.

Rain Razors and Endless Arrow are both fantastic cards which synergize off of each other. By playing the attack first, the opponent is incentivized to block, allowing us to follow up with the instant. This allows us to reuse Endless Arrow, specially if we have go again for another buffed attack.

Codex of Bloodrot is eclipsed by another card from the same cycle, but it’s still as potent of a disruption card.

It may be wise to pick up a copy of Judge, Jury, Executioner in case it starts seeing some play.

Long-Term Upgrades

Codex of Frailty is what really unlocks the power of Azalea, and any Ranger or Assassin deck, for that matter. There’s a reason why all these decks play the maximum number of copies. The learning curve for the card may be a bit more punishing, but it teaches us card sequencing and chain breaking mechanics sooner rather than later.

Skullbone Crosswrap pairs well with Death Dealer. Another option is New Horizon, which signals a switch to Sandscour Greatbow to maximize its effect.

As a deck that will slowly lose steam over time, Fyendal’s Spring Tunic remains the go-to chest piece.

These should set us up to efficiently complete any contract we come across – ensuring we finish the job in a swift manner. Though the Ranger meta is long gone, Azalea remains in the bubble of great decks, so she will always take some spots in larger tournaments.

Until next installment, happy shuffling!

Further Reading:

How to Play Azalea in Classic Constructed

How to Win When You’re Behind

How to Win a Flesh and Blood Mirror Match