Classic Constructed Deck Tech: Oscilio - Elemental Wizard

I have wanted to write this deck tech for a while. Here at Cards Realm, we've already covered many types of heroes and archetypes, but the hero we'll discuss today is so nuanced and complex that I doubted we could go through all his interactions in a single article. Nonetheless, we ultimately decided to bring you this guide because Oscilio is relevant in the current meta and extremely rewarding as well as fun if you know how to play him.

Today, then, we'll talk about one of the most difficult and complex heroes in Flesh and Blood. Understanding his combo and how to play around bad hands with him is definitely not an easy task. Let's explore Oscilio, Constella Intelligence!

Wizard, as a class, has always been controversial. Kano, Dracai of Aether and Blaze, Firemind (before Storm Striders was banned in Blitz) are more combo-centric, whereas Verdance, Thorn of the Rose and Iyslander, Stormbind focus more on value. Oscilio, on the other side, sits between these two styles, combining Arcane damage with the Lightning talent.

His ability is identical to Magic: The Gathering's "Cycling" mechanic. Basically, it lets you discard an Instant to draw a new card. We'll see how this will be relevant further on, but, straight away, you can already tell this deck will need many Instants to work.

Because we'll use the Lightning talent, we'll be able to use a vast pool of cards. In fact, we'll use some of the same cards Aurora, Shooting Star used, but, despite that, Oscilio is an entirely different strategy.

In my articles, I usually split each deck into a few parts and go over how each card works, but we'll do it differently this time: to understand Oscilio, we need to look at his main win condition first and how the other cards support it. Let's start with the most important card in the deck, then: Gone in a Flash.

Gone in a Flash Combo

Gone in a Flash (or GiaF, as we'll call it) is an Attack Action that returns to your hand when you play an Instant in the Chain Link. If Endless Arrow was already annoying to block because of its "infinite" effect, GiaF takes this to the next level and doesn't rely on interacting with the opponent. However, as it doesn't have Go Again naturally, your turn will end right after.

So what if we could give this Attack Go Again multiple times?

Lightning Greaves is the answer. Giving Go Again to your Instants might seem weird, but let's go through this bit by bit to understand what this means and why it is so powerful.

As a rule, Go Again is a keyword that means "when this card or ability resolves, gain one Action Point", but, as Instants don't use Action Points, this means Instants with Go Again will give you an Action Point for free.

Let's see an example:

Nic attacks Tyler with a Gone in a Flash. Tyler doesn't declare any blockers or reactions. In the damage step, Tyler takes 4 damage and Nic destroys their Lightning Greaves (paying the proper costs) and plays a Sigil of Lightning. As Sigil is an Instant, Gone in a Flash activates and Nic decides to return this attack to their hand. After this resolves, Nic gets one Action Point from the Go Again effect and attacks with Gone in a Flash again.

Understanding how Lightning Greaves interacts with Gone in a Flash is the first step to understanding Oscilio. Thanks to this equipment card, we can play the same Gone in a Flash several times with many Instants in hand. But, so far, this is the same game plan Aurora, Shooting Star follows, so what makes this Wizard different?

Volzar, the Lightning Rod is the main way this deck deals a lot of damage to the opponent. For each Lightning card you play in your turn, you'll deal +1 extra Arcane damage (like Magic: The Gathering's Storm), so if you play three Lightning cards in a single turn, you'll deal +3 extra Arcane damage the next time you deal Arcane damage, and most times you'll be able to use this weapon for free.

As such, you can probably already map out what your combo turn will look like: GiaF is your Lightning card - you'll play it and many Lightning Instants and finish with Arcane damage, activating Volzar. Turns like these are excellent because you'll deal both physical damage and a lot of Arcane damage, which is quite difficult to block completely.

You can set up these combo turns in many ways. Now, let's see the rest of the deck and understand how the other cards support this combo or develop your game plan outside these big turns.

We've already discussed Lightning Greaves, but, as it is so essential in this list, it will be your only leg piece. Besides enabling your combo, it also has Battleworn 1 and Arcane Barrier 1, which are great for defense.

Lightning Greaves' ability only costs one, but it can be quite expensive when you want to play all the cards in your hand at once. That's why this list plays these chest pieces. Old Knocker was one of the great gifts High Seas gave us: it gives us one resource at Instant time and its cost is irrelevant (tapping your hero). On the other side, the good old Fyendal's Spring Tunic covers us in longer matches.

Aether Bindings of the Third Age is one of the few Wizard equipment pieces that can defend you in some way (in this case, it has Battleworn 1). When you first read its ability, you might think it will hardly give you something like Amp 3 or more, but Amp 2 is already quite nice. Please note that this ability lasts until the end of the turn, so it interacts with cards like Blast to Oblivion (1) really well.

There are many powerful Head pieces in the game, such as Crown of Providence and Balance of Justice, but this list

actually plays Flash of Brilliance. This common Head piece isn't as defensive as others (it only has Blade Break 1), but its effect is extremely relevant. Because we can return an aura to our hand with it, we can "fix" it for the next turn.

Please note that some auras in this list do something when they leave the board. We'll go over them later on.

Cap of Quick Thinking was a weird equipment piece in Armory Deck: Aurora, but it is an excellent sideboard piece in decks that play multiple Attacks in a row, such as Dash I/O. It is particularly great against heroes that play Daggers, like Cindra, Dracai of Retribution because it stops Flick Knives.

Unlike Aurora, Oscilio uses just a few Attacks because he also needs a good number of Instants and ways to deal Arcane damage as well. So, as a result, this list will only use the best Attacks for its game plan.

Blast to Oblivion (1) is the second potentially "combo" card in this deck. Sometimes, it will be just an Attack, like any other, but with the right setup, it is a powerful tool that creates incredibly powerful turns. If you return Sigil of Brilliance to your hand with it, you'll draw a card, and if you return Sigil of Lightning to your hand with it, you can give Go Again to your next attacks. It interacts with other cards as well. Because of this synergy, this list plays this Attack in red and yellow, but some lists also use the blue version.

Flittering Charge (1) fits this deck rather well: it is a Lightning Attack that doesn't cost anything and gets Go Again if you fulfill a very simple condition. That's why it earned a spot in this list.

With Aurora, Current Funnel was more a "blue card that blocks for three", but with Oscilio, it is much more than that. As most cards in this list don't have Go Again, this Attack will fix certain game states and make your turns more dynamic. For instance, you can use it to give Go Again to Gone in a Flash or to an Arcane Damage Action.

Eclectic Magnetism is one of the few cards that costs something in this deck, but it is great when you need to play shorter hands. It doesn't have Go Again, but its ability lets you play a Non-Attack Action as if it were an Instant (that is, without using an Action Point). You'll usually use it to deal Arcane damage.

This deck needs a reasonable number of Non-Attack Actions that deal Arcane damage so you don't get multiple of them in your hand at once. That's why it only plays the absolute best options for its game plan.

Etchings of Arcana (1) is one of the best options because of its Surge effect. It lets you return the best Sigils from your graveyard to your hand so you can either build your arsenal or play them immediately (since they're Instants). As for Mind Warp, it is the best disruptive option for this hero when you need to buy some time to set up big turns.

But the most important Arcane damage cards in this list are Shock cards. As they're Instants, you can play them on your opponent's turn and get unexpected wins. Apart from Comet Storm, which just deals 5 Arcane damage, the other cards are only in this list because they are Shock cards.

A deck that interacts so much with Instants needs a lot of them, but each one below actually plays an essential role in this list.

Sigils also play an essential role in this deck. Besides having effects like Aether Bindings of the Third Age, these Sigils discount the cost of Volzar, the Lightning Rod and thus let you stack Amp for free. Each one of them also has a unique effect, but we must highlight the specialization above in particular.

Sigil of Brilliance, one of the most powerful cards in this deck, and Sigil of Conductivity, which stays in the arena "forever", make Volzar free for the rest of the game.

Some Instants that were staples in the Aurora, Shooting Star list are also useful in this list. Electromagnetic Somersault (1) is extremely powerful, Electrostatic Discharge (1) is quite aggressive, and Channel Lightning Valley, besides drawing cards for you so you can find your combo pieces, makes your turns longer.

The other Instants are useful tools in certain game states. Blink gives you one Action Point, Sigil of Solace (1) is more defensive, Lightning Press (1) is also more aggressive, and Calming Breeze protects you from small amounts of damage, like Daggers and Runechant.

Now let's go over some cards that seem a bit "lost" in this deck but actually play specific roles.

Battlefront Bastion (1) is only in this list to destroy Prism, Awakener of Sol's Phantasm attacks. Burn Bare also plays this role, but because it deals a lot of Arcane damage, it is also quite flexible. You can use it in other matchups, particularly if the opponent also plays lots of Arcane protection.

And, because this deck needs some time to find its essential pieces, Sink Below (1) will filter your hand and hold off aggressive decks like Cindra, Dracai of Retribution or Dash I/O.

Here are some tips on how to play this deck:

Before you use Oscilio's ability, think it through. If you use it incorrectly, instead of fixing your hand, you'll make it even more inconsistent.

Don't wait for the perfect combo with GiaF or Blast to Oblivion (1), particularly in aggressive matchups. Any combination of cards that deals a considerable amount of damage is already worth it.

Always monitor how many Lightning cards you've played each turn, even if you don't have any way to deal Arcane damage in hand.

As Shock is an Instant (as is Volzar, the Lightning Rod's ability), you can win the game on your opponent's turn if they don't have a lot of life.

Sometimes, it's better to put a Sigil in the arsenal instead of playing it immediately.

Oscilio is, without a doubt, one of the most difficult decks in Classic Constructed. The way it flows between physical and Arcane damage, several cards that don't block, and how to play them in the right order are the greatest challenges. However, once you master it, Oscilio can bring you to the top of tournament rankings.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!