Puffin, Hightail is our first deck for the Zero to Hero series! Standard disclaimer: These decklists are meant to showcase the hero and their playstyle, variations in the meta will always happen both in your local scene and at larger events. Feel free to discuss what’s working for you in the comments.

Lets take a look at the decklists:

Commoner: Z2H: Puffin (Commoner)

Puffin has a pretty straightforward upgrade path, which makes the deck quite accessible. In the Commoner decklist, we can’t rely as much on gold or cog generation due to deck construction limitations and we don’t have access to Polly Cranka yet. Therefore, we’re including boom grenades to help poke a bit of extra damage through and provide an additional crank on those turns when we really need it. Furthermore, Golden Tipple and Swindler’s Grift will also assist with gold generation, since we’re running twelve yellow cards in our deck. Battalion Barque stands out as our best option for a chain ender, while Performance Bonus, Cloud Skiff, and Sky Skimmer serve as extenders. At this level of deck construction, we find ourselves somewhat limited in our answers to runeblades and wizards, making Arcane Polarity a necessary addition. Additionally, Sink Below and Teeth of the Cog provide us with further options against physical damage, helping us to round out the 52.

Project Blue: Z2H: Puffin (Project Blue)

In the Project Blue format, we pick up a few key options. Cloud City Steamboat gives us the option to get an extra turn out of a cog and Cogwerx Zeppelin gives us an additional source of cog generation. Copper Cog is a key pickup that vastly improves Puffin’s gameplan. HMS Barracuda is in the side for Necromancers and Illusionists. Portside Exchange and Sea Floor Salvage give us some more reliable gold generation, while Shifting Tides and Tighten the Screws can lead to some big turns. Pinion Sentry gives us a solid defensive option that can turn a used cog into a brand new one.

Blitz: Z2H: Puffin (Blitz)

Classic Constructed: Z2H: Puffin (Classic Constructed)

Puffin in Blitz and Classic Constructed doesn’t have too many huge differences between the two formats. As with any hero, unlocking Legendary equipment and Majestic rarity cards turbocharges our game plan. Cogwerx Tinker Rings, Crown of Dominion, and Polly Cracker hugely improve the synergies in the deck, allowing additional gold/cog generation and having a guaranteed crank when you really need it and Heavy Industries Gear Shift gives us some additional action point economy in the matchups we need it. Tunic is the best option at the chest slot, as with many heroes. Adaptive Dissolver and Viziertronic Model I are our arcane barrier answers. Attack options that open up at Majestic include Cogwerx Dovetail, Conqueror of the High Seas, Palantir Aeronought, and Command and Conquer in the side. Cog/Gold generation is further improved by Cog in the Machine, Cogwerx Workshop, and Loan Shark. Utility and defensive cards we’re adding in these formats include Golden Skywarden, Lubricate, Riches of Tropal-Dhani, and Shelter from the Storm.

Decklists at time of publication are linked at the top of each section, and you can support the site by purchasing them through TCGPlayer by using these affiliate links:

Z2H Puffin (Commoner)
Z2h Puffin (Project Blue)
Z2H Puffin (Blitz)
Z2H Puffin, Hightail (Classic Constructed)

Thanks to Fabrary for their awesome deckbuilder and image export, you can check them out at http://www.fabrary.net/.

Find the entire Zero to Hero series by class here. Let us know what you think of the decks in the comments!