The Spoils

How to play a Research Investment deck - and what can be done to beat it!

Research Investment OTK

by Hampus Eriksson(edited by Terence Jason Dorman)

Hey Spoils fans!

I’m here to tell you all about the Research Investment OTK deck that I managed to pilot to a 1st place finish in the Swedish Nationals. I will explain how the deck works, how and when to counter it, and also provide three different decklists.

First, the final winning decklist:

Characters (2)
2x Cantankerous Claywork
Items (11)
4x Epiphany Ball
4x Crest of Obsession
1x Unbearably Heavy Shoes of Teleportation
1x Luteoderm Goliath
1x P3pp3r 0f 1n54n17y
Tactics (42)
4x Research Investment
4x 31337!
1x Inhibit
1x Hammer Smash
1x Day of the Tentacle
1x Rouse
4x Obsessive Compulsion
1x Cock Block
1x Shriever Attack
3x Invent
2x 0p3r4710n 1337 H4x0rz
4x All-Nighter
1x Tactician Vacation
4x Ameliorate
3x A Blazing Zero
2x Dark Awakening
2x Limited Liability
1x Bask Bile
2x Writ of Reclamation
Resources (21)
5x Elitism (2 Start)
10x Obsession
3x Rage
3x Greed

For your benefit, I'm going to break down the deck into different groups to illustrate how the cards serve the deck.

The Groups

The Combo (14)

4x Crest Of Obsession
4x 31337!
4x Research Investment
2x Dark Awakening

To be able to win quickly you need to get the Research Investment combo going, and that’s why I choose to max out all of the combo cards. Two copies of Dark Awakening should be enough because, if the combo goes off properly, you won’t have any resources left in your deck for another use of Research Investment.

Draw/Search (15)

4x Epiphany Ball
3x Invent
4x Obsessive Compulsion
4x Ameliorate

Four copies Epiphany Ball is obvious as they get the combo cards as fast as possible. 3 copies of Invent are really all that is needed, and you could even drop it down to two if you so choose. Four copies of Obsessive Compulsion and four copies of Ameliorate are there to draw through your deck if you aren’t able to search for the combo, or if you want to do the entire combo turn one (explained later). These cards also make it easier if we need to win by Bask Bile.

The Finishers (11)

2x 0p3r4710n 1337 H4x0rz
2x Cantankerous Claywork
1x Unbearably Heavy Shoes of Teleportation
1x Luteoderm Goliath
1x P3pp3r 0f 1n54n17y
4x All-Nighter

When 0p3r4710n 1337 H4x0rz resolves you have won the game if you have played the deck correctly. The reason I chose to play small quantities of the winning cards is simple: you can search for them with Invent or Epiphany Ball. The only reason I can see ever adding more of these cards is if you fear Heist Planner, Shadowy Mugger, etc. However, against Rogue decks, Bask Bile often wins the game if they sabotage your H4x0rz. The four copies of All-Nighter are needed in order to be able to do a big Invent and H4x0rz in the same turn.

The Counters to the Counters (9)

1x Inhibit
1x Hammer Smash
1x Day of the Tentacle
1x Cock Block
1x Shriever Attack
1x Tactician Vacation
3x A Blazing Zero

These cards were included so the deck could handle all possible counters to the deck. This will be explained more later in the article.

The 2nd Win Condition(5)

2x Limited Liability
2x Writ of Reclamation
1x Bask Bile

If you somehow fail to win with the H4x0rz combo you can draw your whole deck in a couple of turns and use the classic Writ/Bile combo to win instead. Of course this is much slower but is almost unstoppable against decks without a way to answer tactics.

The Resources (21)

5x Elitism (2 Start)
10x Obsession
3x Rage
3x Greed

21 resources is the perfect number in my opinion. This means you can play a resource first turn and then use four Research Investments and 2 Dark Awakenings to bring out all of the resources from your deck. To use all the cards in the deck I need only four Elitism threshold, two Rage threshold, and two Greed threshold. I choose to include one extra of each resource because an early game Heist Planner could ruin the deck if I only included the minimum threshold. If I am not worried about Heist Planner I would probably drop either one Rage or one Obsession for a sixt copy of Elitism so I could use Research Investment without playing 31337!.

So this is the decklist and the reasons why I have included each card in the deck. I’ll be happy to answer any questions about the deck, so be sure to message me or discuss this article on the forums.

Basic Gameplay Strategy

Your main goal is to play 0p3r4710n 1337 H4x0rz so that you can play Cantankerous Claywork with three gears cards attached to it. A Cantankerous Claywork with Unbearably Heavy Shoes of Teleportation, Luteoderm Goliath, and P3pp3r 0f 1n54n17y attached can swing for eighteen damage immediately after coming into play, restore itself via P3pp3r 0f 1n54n17y, and swing again for another eighteen damage. All 36 of this damage is unblockable, which should be enough to defeat any opponent.

The Second Turn Combo1. On turn one, play a resource at the start of your turn and use a Draw/Search card to find the combo pieces.2. On turn two, play a resource at the start of your turn and play Crest of Obsession.3. At the end of your opponent's next turn, play 31337!4. With the threshold from 31337!, play a Research Investment. Use this Investment to get any two resources and one Obsession resource.5. When the Obsession resource enters play, resolve Crest of Obsession's trigger to search for another Research Investment and put it on top of your deck.6. Use your three new resources to draw the research investment.7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 until you have played all 4 of your Research Investments.8. Repeat steps 4 through 6 twice more, but this time search for Dark Awakening and use that to play Research Investment from your discard pile.9. The last time you trigger the Crest of Obsession you should put an Invent on top of your deck.10. You should now have 22 resources.11. Remember, this is all at the end of your opponent's second turn.12. On your third turn, start with drawing a card or playing a resource if you had one in your hand.13. Use Invent to search for The Finishers. Make sure you grab at least one All-Nighter if you do not have one already. You may need to search for another Invent with your first invent if you can’t get everything in one shot. Make sure that you leave four resources unattached.14. Use your numerous copies of All-Nighter to detach your resources.15. Play 0p3r4t10n 1337 H4X0RZ! for the win.

The First Turn ComboThe first turn combo is much like the second turn combo but with one major difference:When you attempt to play Dark Awakening instead of Research Investment, you need five open resources to draw and play it compared to three for drawing and playing Research Investment. You can’t achieve this by just playing the combo normally, but you can achieve this by using a Draw/Search card instead of paying three to draw a card. With this method you can launch the combo at the end of your opponent's first turn and win on your second turn, but it requires more pieces of the combo in your opening hand.

How and When to Counter the Deck

A lot of cards can be used to counter this deck.

Tactic TerminationThe best way to prevent the deck from firing is to counter the tactics the OTK player plays by using cards such as A Blazing Zero and Tactician Vacation. This is the best way to counter the deck. Tactician Vacation is also the hardest counter to counter as the opponent cannot respond to it. The only “counter” to Tactician Vacation for the OTK player is to use Day of the Tentacle and hope to hit the opponent's Tactician Vacation.

You should either play these cards to terminate 31337!, the first Research Investment, or Invent.

Also, remember that the problem with A Blazing Zero is that it can be countered by A Blazing Zero or Tactician Vacation.

**Abilities That Destroy Characters (ex. Athalamund Mangod, The Iron Fist)**Athalamund is also a decent counter to the deck. If I play Cantankerous Claywork while my opponent has Athalamund, and I have no way to stop Athalamund, the combo is broken and Claywork is destroyed.

The counters I chose to include for these situations are Cock Block and Inhibit. Cock Block counters the ability when it is used and Inhibit removes the text before he can even use it.

**Tactics That Destroy Characters (ex. Noble Sacrifice)**This is one of the weaker counters to the deck as these can only be played after (or during) H4X0RZ resolves. If you are playing against a deck that can has character removal in the form of tactics then be sure to have searched for Tactician Vacation before you drop the H4X0RZ combo.

**Tactics That Destroy Items (ex. Hammer Smash)**This is a much different beast than the other counters. These should be used ASAP when Research Investment is played to destroy the Crest. This completely ruins the combo for that turn and slows the deck down because the Crest is needed to successfully do the combo.

Also, this is a strong counter because the OTK player can only use A Blazing Zero to stop it if they want to keep the combo going that turn.

**Recur Cards (ex. Alluring Quicksand and Encumber)**I have not played against these cards a lot but I can see they would disturb the deck. They both should be used at the same time, which is when H4X0RZ is played. Alluring Quicksand can flip down the Claywork and Encumber can discard the important gear cards if necessary.

Cock Block can be used against these counters but if the opponent has multiple copies of the cards in their discard pile then it is really difficult to stop.

Departments Of RejectionsThis card is a one cost Banker Location that reads, “Your opponent must pay 2 to search their deck.” To be blunt, it is absolutely brutal against the OTK as it shuts down the combo and makes it take much longer to execute. If multiple copies of this hit the table you will have a really hard time land the combo fast enough, if you can't land it at all.

The counter I chose to include for this problem is Inhibit. Inhibit is probably the cheapest way to maneuver around this problem, however it only solves the problem for one turn. Also, Inhibit only works on one copy of the location, so if the opponent has multiple out, you are still in rough shape.

**Influence Gain (ex. Gold Summit)**The deck is built to do 36 damage in one shot and win the game. However, if your opponent has gained influence in some way and has passed the 36 influence mark, you need to either hope that the Claywork can stay in play to attack again next turn or hope for Bask Bile to work.

Ferrous FerretThis little beast is also a really good counter as anything that can pick it must pick it. This means I can’t play my gears while he is in play as picking is part of the cost of playing a gear.

Inhibit works well against Ferret but if multiples Ferrets hit play it will be really hard for you to win the game. You may just have to waste a Bask Bile to destroy it and get it off the table so your combo can work effectively.

G14n7 5p0rk D3f3n53This is the one of the best counters Gearsmith has as it can destroy the Cantankerous Claywork with ease. However, Cock Block can easily counter this ability when it is used, so there are ways around it.

Heist PlannerThis guy can delay the combo a lot and even destroy the combo entirely if combined with cards that remove cards from the discard pile, such as Master Scavenger.

Although it isn't much of a counter, Writ of Reclamation can get back the cards from the discard, but it will take some time and slow the deck down.

**I Drink Your Milkshake!**This is the best card against the OTK deck. If the opponent know what cards to pick he can destroy the whole deck by taking one of the gear cards and/or Bask Bile. The best cards to pick with this are probably any of the gears, the Crest, or Cantankerous Claywork.

Tactician Vacation and A Blazing Zero can be used to counter this, although a first turn I Drink Your Milkshake means the OTK player MUST have an A Blazing Zero.

Incriminating PhotographAnother good card that is strong if the opponent knows what card to pick. A turn one Photograph on Crest, Research Investment, or 31337! is really powerful.

Again, though, Inhibit or Hammer Smash can be used to handle this threat.

**Milling Cards (ex. Jackmove)**When the OTK player is about to draw a Research Investment that he just put on top of the deck, the opponent has a window where he can disturb the combo by discarding the top card of your deck and disrupting the combo.

Most of these types of effects are tactics or abilities, though, so Cock Block or A Blazing Zero can be used to counter these effects.

Limited LiabilityThis is actually a good answer if played right. This should be played as soon as possible in the turn after the Research Investment loop. If used in this way the only answer is A Blazing Zero as the OTK player will not want to use Tactician Vacation as it prevents him from playing H4X0RZ.

If Limited Liability is played in response to my attack, though, I can respond with Tactician Vacation.

**Quotidian Ejector (or other cheap bounce effects)**This isn't really a counter to the deck but it can delay the combo by bouncing the Crest when Research Investment is played. If the opponent is able to bounce the Ejector repeatedly (with Gilded Yurt and Inadequate Wand, for instance) he can delay the combo for a while, possibly until he can counter all of options the OTK deck has.

Sadistic ColonelThis guy can be really naughty against the OTK deck as it plays a LOT of tactics to launch the combo. If this card hits the field you need to get rid of it ASAP.

Shriever Attack is in the deck mainly for this, so try to use it fast. Inhibit can also be used.

The Bask Bile Version

Characters (4)
4x Toxic Cultivator
Items (8)
4x Epiphany Ball
4x Crest of Obsession
Tactics (44)
4x Research Investment
4x 31337!
1x Inhibit
1x Hammer Smash
1x Postmortem Debenture
1x Day of the Tentacle
4x Obsessive Compulsion
1x Shriever Attack
4x Selective Gluttony
4x All-Nighter
4x Ameliorate
3x A Blazing Zero
4x Dark Awakening
2x Limited Liability
2x Bask Bile
3x Writ of Reclamation
1x Remember
Resources (2)
2x Elitism (2 Start)
11x Obsession
3x Rage
4x Greed

This is another variant of the OTK. Here you try to use Bask Bile five times (25 damage) to win the game. I have not played this version as much as the main deck but I did play this at couple of local tournaments and it worked really well. As long as you can get out two (or four) Toxic Cultivators you should not have a problem with drawing the whole deck and using Bask Bile five times.

Dark Awakening is the Most Valuable Card here because you can recycle three copies of Dark Awakening with every Writ of Reclamation. Afterwards you can decide what to use with the Dark Awakenings, whether it will be Writ of Reclamation again, All-Nighter, or another Bask Bile.

The Siege Machine Version

Characters (4)
4x Gideon
Items (10)
4x Epiphany Ball
4x Crest of Obsession
2x Siege Machine
Tactics (4)
4x Research Investment
4x 31337!
1x Inhibit
1x Hammer Smash
1x Day of the Tentacle
4x Obsessive Compulsion
1x Shriever Attack
3x Invent
4x All-Nighter
4x Ameliorate
3x A Blazing Zero
2x Dark Awakening
2x Limited Liability
1x Writ of Reclamation
3x Brainbath
1x Rouse
1x Tactician Vacation
Resources (21)
4x Elitism (2 Start)
10x Obsession
4x Rage
3x Greed

The third version uses multiple copies of Gideon and a Siege Machine. To do this you need a lot of stuff to make the combo work properly: you will need one Tactician Vacation, one Limited Liability (so that you may play multiple Gideons at once), 2-4 Gideons, 1 Siege Machine and 4 All-Nighters.

The idea is to have at least two Gideons in play, that way each activation of the Siege Machine does 3 damage. You do this is many times as possible until you have only four resources detached. At this point you play your All-Nighters and repeat the process until your opponent loses.

Mathematics & Why the Claywork version is better than the Siege Machine version

Terence's Note: I am not much of a mathematician so if there are any errors in this portion, be sure to mention them to Hampus and be sure to leave me out of it ;)

Siege Machine Version:1. Invent for Tactician Vacation, Limited Liability, Siege Machine, 4x All-Nighter and 2-4x Gideon.2. Play Limited Liability. Play All-Nighters. Play Tactician Vacation. Play Gideons & Siege Machines.3. Destroy resources.

The equation for the Siege Machine deck will be:(R= resources used, G=Gideons & N=Number of pieces already in hand(N<=11)R=16+G*2+2-20+4+G+2*25G+1-2NR=2+3G+(50G+1)-2NResources needed to do All-Nighters: R=20+2G-2N

Results

Gideons

Resources Used Total

Resources Needed To Be Able To Use All-Nighters

Resources Needed At Most

30-2N

22-2N

25-2N

24-2N

26-2N

24-2N

28-2N

As shown here none of these can combos be used with only 22 resources if you do not have any of the combo cards in the hand. This is important as the Cantankerous Claywork version requires only 22 resources to launch the combo.

**I’ll do the math for the normal OTK too(N<=10):**1. Invent for 4x All-Nighter, 1 Claywork, the 3 gear cards, H4X0RZ, and at least one Counter.2. Play All-Nighters.3. Play H4X0RZ.Resources used total:R=14-2NResources needed to do All-Nighters with one Invent:R=26-2N

Resources used to do All-Nighters with two Invents:

1. Invent for 4 All Nighters and one Invent= 122. Play All Nighter= 16 attached at most3. Play another All Nighter= 2 attached4. Invent for Claywork, 3 gears, H4X0RZ and Tactician Vacation= 16 Attached5. Play All-Nighter= 20 attached as most6. Play other All-Nighter= 6 attached7. Play H4X0RZ= 18 Attached8. Play Tactician Vacation if needed= 22 AttachedYou’ll need 22-(2*number of All-Nighters in your hand) resources.

Resources Used Total

Resources Needed To Be Able To Use All-Nighters with one Invent

Resources Needed To Be Able To Use All-Nighters with two Invent

Resources Needed At Most

14-2N

26-2N

16-2A

You need a maximum of 22 resources to do the combo.

I hope this shows why H4X0RZ and Claywork is a stronger combo than the Siege Machine variant.

Final Thoughts

The OTK deck is definitely a deck to test, both as your deck and against it. It has a incredible speed and can explode as early as turn one.

If you have any questions or want to discuss this article, please write in the forum thread!

Hampus Eriksson_Swedish National Champion 2011_

research-investment-OTK