Co-Op Mutation #407: Decade of Decadence

Co-op Missions Discussion
1

War is coming, with all its glory, and all its horror. After ten long years, the fight rages on. This time, you get a little help in pushing back the enemy.

Fireworks - Enemies launch a dazzling fireworks display upon death, dealing damage to your nearby units.
Lucky Envelopes - Festive envelopes containing resource pickups are dropped at random throughout the map.
Gift Exchange - Gifts are periodically deployed around the map. If you don’t claim them, Amon will!

Rating:

[Edit] This mutation is actually quite brutal. Can easily be 3-5 depending on what gift amon gets.

Video Replays on Brutal difficulty:

Player 1 Player 2
[CtG (Zeratul)] Neometal (Nova)
[CtG (Han and Horner)] Piky (Kerrigan)
[CtG (Zagara)] Iswald (Swann)
[CtG (Karax)] Iswald (Stukov)
[CtG (Arcturus)] JAMI (Tychus)
[CtG (Stetmann)] Endarthe (Alarak)

[ [Reddit Post Link]](Will add later)

Gift for Players [Randomly and separately determined for each player]: Gift for Amon [If Amon steals or claims the gift before the players do]:
Gas pickups [50gas each] are dropped. Number is 15+ game minutes elapsed A temporary mutator activates for 180 seconds
Activates Chrono Surge for the player Amon receives 30 Widowmines, burrowed Banelings, or Stasis Wards around the map
Player receives a free unit depending on race [Herc/Scout/Brood Queen] Amon receives 15 Scourge or Banelings, depending on whether the players have 5 air units
[MULE PARTY] in the player’s main base Amon receives a Hybrid army spawn, [5-8 Hybrid, depending on the game time]
Grants 10 layers of Avenger buff for one of the player’s units Amon receives an invincible Kill Bot that expires after 30 kills [50 kills, if after 10:00]
Clears Naughty List counter for all of the player’s units 5 current or future Shuttles receive Super Overcharge [80dps]
Player receives [an Archangel] All players’ units get half HP and damage for 60 seconds
[Everything is FREE] for 10 seconds
Fully heals all player’s units and structures, with constant healing for the next 60 seconds

Other Notes:

  • Ten years ago today, Blizzard released Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty. Happy 10-year anniversary!
  • When a gift spawns, it will [appear on the minimap] . However, players [cannot begin to claim gifts] until 40 seconds after the gift spawns.
  • [Players must send any unit] near the gift and clear any nearby enemies to begin claiming it.
  • Claiming a gift takes 20 seconds.
  • Whenever players get two consecutive gifts, Amon always [steals the next one] . Players cannot stop Amon’s thievery. What a jerk.
  • Fireworks target a spot with your units after an enemy unit dies. The more enemies, the more fireworks.
  • Fireworks deal area damage to units standing in a targeted circle after a few seconds.
  • Fireworks damages buildings as well.
  • Lucky envelopes is a flat out buff. Nothing about this makes the mission any more difficult.
  • The lucky envelopes give 50 minerals or gas to both allies when picked up.

Vote here who you think the top 3 best commanders are for this mutation.

Links:
Weekly Mutation Database
Maguro’s Mutation List
starcraft2coop.com

Ctg’s videos on the mutation:

5 Likes
2

I had severely underestimated this mission by picking Tychus. It was so stressful and my Mengsk ally didn’t know the prime real estate placement of ESO’s and built them directly in the attack path of the waves. We were able to beat it with only a few minutes left. Next time I’m running Mengsk or Stukov for this one.

3

Mengsk P3 was pretty good for the last two weeks, but this mutation is what he totally owns.
Explosive Troopers for taking out enemy waves, Trooper drop for claiming gifts, ESO in a nice corner to kill all the Void Shards and a bunch of Sky Furies to kill bonus objectives.

If you’re grinding for the “150 Brutal mutations” achievement, then this week is the week to go for it. With Mengsk P3 this brutation can be virtually soloed without any big difficulty.

P.S. Two things to mention though.

  1. The fireworks can damage air units too. So if you’re going to kill bonus with Sky Fury fleet, then watch out and micro them well.
  2. Additional enemy waves spawn to claim the gift and then attack your bases. There is a chance of them running towards ESO placed in a quiet corner. Make sure to cover them with a bunker or two.
1 Like
4

The main threat from what I see with this mutation seems to come from the fireworks by far. However depending on what gift Amon claims it can be a big problem. Commanders that can wipe out enemies from a distance with low risk excel here. Lucky Envelopes does make this mutation much easier then it otherwise would be through.

5

Come to think of it, that does make Alarak a great choice then. His buffed Ascendants and Wrathwalkers keep the enemy far away like nobody else. And the resources from Envelopes are enough to kickstart the early production even before saturating the 2nd base.

1 Like
6

The last time this came around, I ended up with an Avenger Archangel.

Steamroller time. Lol

1 Like
7

A few notable strategies I can think of:

  1. Dehaka - Mass Creeper Hosts

Mass Creeper hosts. Attack the enemy from afar. Just be careful that enemies don’t reach the hosts. You can also use calldowns to whittle down the enemy.

  1. Mengsk. -Mass Earthsplitter Ordience

Mass Earthsplitter ordinence is amazing here.

  1. Artanis - Mass Tempest and Aggressive SOA use.

Artanis often falls flat in many mutations like this, but mass tempest seems good here. Especially since you can snipe shards this way. Artanis can also help with some of his SOA abilities.

  1. Karax - Monolith focused defense build.

Not a good aggressive option, but Karax can make things a hell of a lot easier on your teammate if you build great defenses and Karax can use SOA abilities to deal with enemies from afar. Keep in mind that with upgrades Karax’s monoliths have about 15 range and when boosted with chrono they can basically delete anything that approaches.

  1. Zagara P2 -Mass Abberations and Corruptors

On the surface this might seem like a bad option, but the advantage is in the high health, disposability of her abberations and corruptors. Youll loose a lot of abberations, but due to all the extra resources from lucky envolopes you will always be able to replace your army at max constantly. And P2 abeerations have around the same health as an ultralisk. Cheap and disposable.

  1. Egon Stetmann - Mass Mecha Ultralisks with stetzone bonus mastery.

This is a tanky enough build with excellent healing that it should be able to carry you through all the fireworks.

  1. Nova P1 - Mostly Siege tanks or P3 sabotage drone spam.

If you are going up against a ground based build Nova mass siege tanks could be alright here because you can protect your units from damage with defense drone and Nova’s siege tanks can get good range here.

If P3 then you can kill a bunch of enemies and avoid the aoe if careful.

  1. Kerrigan - Mass ultralisks

Since they are so tanky and can revive it seems to me like they would be a good option IF you are up against ground builds.

These are a few strategies to me that stick out as being potentially quite viable for this mutation.

8

Mutation overlap 223 this week 2nd

1st clear Mengsk P3+Dehaka P2

Mutation (Decade of Decadence) play list

9

Tempests will still die to fireworks if something gets too close. It’s hard to snipe shards without killing anything (especially against Zergs, because of Vipers), and they’re too slow and too big to avoid being hit. Need to be either very careful or have 3 Stargates to replenish losses.

Mass Gateway is DA WAE, at least without P3. There’s so much resources available that sending waves of hasted Zealots backed up by Storms should deal with everything (especially that a 5 second invulnerability does much more against 50 fireworks than 400 extra health, and they actually move fast enough to walk away from explosions).

And there’s also Phoenixes that can just fly around and avoid being hit, unlike Tempests.

The problem with Monoliths is the same as with Tempests - you think they outrange everything, but then something slips through or attacks you from a different angle, and everything dies to fireworks.
I think just accepting losses and going head-on is the best choice for Karax. Either mass cheap units on P2, or SoA spam with some units for vision on P3.
Or steal what you can with Energizers, no fireworks to worry about then. :slight_smile:

1 Like
10

Tempests will still die to fireworks if something gets too close. It’s hard to snipe shards without killing anything (especially against Zergs, because of Vipers), and they’re too slow and too big to avoid being hit. Need to be either very careful or have 3 Stargates to replenish losses.

Come to think of it, thats why I didn’t bring up Dehaka and Abathur’s primal guardians. They have very good range, but they are fragile and can get killed easily if too many enemies get close.

Mass Gateway is DA WAE, at least without P3. There’s so much resources available that sending waves of hasted Zealots backed up by Storms should deal with everything (especially that a 5 second invulnerability does much more against 50 fireworks than 400 extra health, and they actually move fast enough to walk away from explosions).

A very good point. Lots of commander could probably mass stuff here easily that requires minerals.

The problem with Monoliths is the same as with Tempests - you think they outrange everything, but then something slips through or attacks you from a different angle, and everything dies to fireworks.
I think just accepting losses and going head-on is the best choice for Karax. Either mass cheap units on P2, or SoA spam with some units for vision on P3.
Or steal what you can with Energizers, no fireworks to worry about then. :slight_smile:

You bring up an excellent point here. Commanders that have abilities which let you take control of units can bypass some of the fireworks. So it seems to me that mass energizers could be really in this mutation if you can use reclaim good. I played earlier with someone going templar apparent and they did this.

1 Like
11

This mutation requires either expendable units or heroes to get the envelope first before the enemy does. Recommended commanders:

  • Nova P3
  • Tychus P2
  • Zeratul P2
  • Stukov P1/P3
  • Zagara P1
  • Stetmann P1/P2
  • Mengsk P1-P3
  • HH P1-P3
  • Karax P3
12

Another thing about this mutation to be careful of is that there is a great deal of luck involved. Its possible to for a gift to spawn far behind enemy lines shortly into the game and you can’t do much about it. This happened earlier and I got a killbot that required 30 kills shortly into the game and we had to restart. Because of this Rng, its a good idea to have at least one partner that can be good at dealing with killbots. Another problem is that you can get random mutations with this. And you could get something pretty nasty like void rifts, boombots, propagators. Because of this each playthrough of this mutation could vary wildly. Which in itself could be pretty fun. But it could also end badly depending what you get.

1 Like
13

This is more than “not b+!”

My only win thus far as Karax P3 + Tychus
1st bonus wasn’t too shabby. For the 2nd bonus, we were taking so many hits and losses that we just pushed to end the game ASAP. Having more SoA lasers definitely helps. I zap things from further away, or just to take out problem units.

it helps if you layer your approach. Send a few zealots in so that if you fail to dodge the fire works, your losses are minimized. I would layer your towers too. Have some space between them so they’re not all taken out at once. USE SHIELD BATTERIES! They can heal shields, but are cannon fodder! Good b/c they’re only 100 mins (if you gotta lose something that’d be it)

Spam PB whenever you can. With a 3 minute cd, it goes a long way. Especially since the Purifier Beam itself isn’t afraid of Fireworks, so it does double duty in taking out stuff, while wasting their Fireworks.

.

In general, see if you can layer your approach. Again, to minimize losses. Even Zagara P1 having to replace 70 supply of units is sucky. I had up to 6 to 7 Hatches just for that!

Keep up with collecting envelopes. The resources aren’t everything, but it helps on a rainy day! And helps you recover (time withstanding). Use workers so it doesn’t interfere with using F2

I recommend skipping the 2nd bonus, if not both of them

2 Likes
14

#223 Decade of Decadence – SOLO ALL CLEAR

Mutators: Fireworks, Lucky Envelopes, Gift Exchange

https:// youtube.com/shorts/D_t7pwRJShc?feature=share

https://youtu.be/d14FlAxJR7M (Stetmann p2)

This mutation is extremely fun, but can also be extremely frustrating. The first gift can spawn behind enemy lines (in the top left corner, behind the 2nd area, in the 2nd bonus area, deep in the base on the right side…). If you want an avengered hero, it’s best to play hero only for as long as you can. Kerrigan and Zagara should not make queens because they can get avenger. Remember that observers can capture gifts and prevent their capture as well.

Commanders should always prepare for kill bots, especially if that’s the only thing that can ruin you. Make extra command centers and production structures. Overcharged shuttles does nothing, so that’s a freebie.

The first attack wave also comes early, so prepare accordingly.

Lucky envelopes: patrol workers to get VISION of resources. The patrolling workers’ role is NOT to collect the money. Hotkey a second worker and shift-click the resources on the map to collect money. Hotkey 2-3 workers if you can handle it.

For duos: Karax and Zagara

For solo queue: Stetmann, Dehaka

Successes [and key points]

Regular play

Stukov (p1) https://youtu.be/lFybcJRm5Zg [factory units defend the center, Aleksander steals the air units in the 3rd and 4th areas, banshees take out the shards]

Vorazun (p3) https://youtu.be/itXKtIqCxyY [I couldn’t get over 100 supply]

Raynor (p3) https://youtu.be/C9CvyM5kh9k [quite difficult]

Artanis (p3) https://youtu.be/qocmbyJtsxU [almost lost everything]

Karax (p2) https://youtu.be/-oVVZIjIIG0

Swann (p0) https://youtu.be/n2EZ93TzU6U

HH (p3) https://youtu.be/HRCaIKrwbC0

Amon gets all the gifts

Mengsk (p3) https://youtu.be/1jUDdMBDXyk [most difficult “Gifts for Amon” run]

Zeratul (p2) https://youtu.be/QeOZHcBknWA

Stetmann (p2) https://youtu.be/rzPG-EdCORY [doesn’t matter if Amon gets all the gifts; still steamroll]

Zagara (p3) https://youtu.be/_igiqAgEP-0

Nova (p1) https://youtu.be/AZ6PIawQk2c [the ending…]

Kerrigan (p0) https://youtu.be/z8uWbcdrI7o

Karax (p2) https://youtu.be/gfaavylKMRk [HYBRID HYBRID HYBRID HYBRID]

Dehaka (p2) https://youtu.be/C6LcKUaSQ6M

Tychus (p2) https://youtu.be/0gfH_BvVxxM

Feel the POWER (Avengered heroes)

Abathur (p0) https://youtu.be/LKgHZGr5ONc [best run ever]

Artanis (p3) https://youtu.be/zSFf1sgC-lM [unofficial run because… hero unit]

Tychus (p2) https://youtu.be/ea1anGAeXtc [Sam]

Tychus (p2) https://youtu.be/H5ooCdp1Eb0 [Tychus]

Kerrigan (p3) https://youtu.be/iBp_JovC4hU [hero only]

Kerrigan (p2) https://youtu.be/xjyeRWUI1wc [hero only]

Zeratul (p3) https://youtu.be/3I2PxiV-IXA [no mining]

Zeratul (p2) https://youtu.be/YrSVhCkZd04

Stetmann (p2) https://youtu.be/THwmLrXjfdw [100% Gary]

Dehaka (p3) https://youtu.be/nVKyNVn4wuI [no army units]

Zagara (p3) https://youtu.be/XvqzoLaXJ28 [no army units]

Fenix (p2) https://youtu.be/hPAHQr3ryYU [Taldarin, but it was kinda late]

Alarak (p3) https://youtu.be/2R1LlXLHpQw [mothership]

Nova (p1) https://youtu.be/e1T6WMhEQs0

Abathur (p2) https://youtu.be/q8_3c-TgGik [brutalisk]

Questions about any of these runs are welcome. Runs will be uploaded throughout the week because there are so many.

2 Likes
15

This is more than “not b+!”

Thats exactly what I was thinking. This was copy and pasted from CTG’s earlier thread, but I am gonna add a caption that states this is mutation can range from being 3–5 difficulty. This is definitely harder then last week’s mutation. Especially since you can sometimes get really hard mutations if Amon gets a gift.

it helps if you layer your approach. Send a few zealots in so that if you fail to dodge the fire works, your losses are minimized. I would layer your towers too. Have some space between them so they’re not all taken out at once. USE SHIELD BATTERIES! They can heal shields, but are cannon fodder! Good b/c they’re only 100 mins (if you gotta lose something that’d be it)

I agree. Trying to deathball is a good way to get one’s army wiped.

My only win thus far as Karax P3 + Tychus
1st bonus wasn’t too shabby. For the 2nd bonus, we were taking so many hits and losses that we just pushed to end the game ASAP. Having more SoA lasers definitely helps. I zap things from further away, or just to take out problem units.

Dehaka, Zagara and Mengsk are pretty good here too. I’ve beat it so far with Dehaka and Zagara P2. Dehaka can wipe enemy armies from afar with Creeper hosts. Zagara can just straight up overpower more enemies with mass abberations unless you get an air focused build.

In general, see if you can layer your approach. Again, to minimize losses. Even Zagara P1 having to replace 70 supply of units is sucky. I had up to 6 to 7 Hatches just for that!

Go Zagara P2. Her army will be able to tank a fair number of hits before being wiped out. And although you will have to replace a lot of them, you won’t have to replace them as often as you do with banelings plus the fireworks insta kill most of your army.

I recommend skipping the 2nd bonus, if not both of them

If you have Dehaka on your team, then all he needs to do is send one wave of creepers to take that out. Easy peasy. I’ve beat this with Dehaka before while having collected all the bonus objectives.

This mutation is extremely fun, but can also be extremely frustrating. The first gift can spawn behind enemy lines (in the top left corner, behind the 2nd area, in the 2nd bonus area, deep in the base on the right side…). If you want an avengered hero, it’s best to play hero only for as long as you can. Kerrigan and Zagara should not make queens because they can get avenger. Remember that observers can capture gifts and prevent their capture as well.

Commanders should always prepare for kill bots, especially if that’s the only thing that can ruin you. Make extra command centers and production structures. Overcharged shuttles does nothing, so that’s a freebie.

I got avenger on Zagara once. It was nice. However I one time had a game were avenger went to a splitterling :frowning:

2 Likes
16

Tychus (P2) Solo: https://youtu.be/m8oRr5HwKDI

Played with only Tychus and Sam. I thought that getting my expo would be a great idea, until my first gift gave me an avengered Sam. Nothing more to say. He destroyed every single shard all by himself. Even both bonuses.

Abathur (P2) + Ally Artanis (P0): https://youtu.be/AWeyV1pIeZA

Got paired with an Artanis level 5 (No Mastery points, No prestiges). Last time I played Abathur was like 3 months ago, so I felt kinda rusty. Anyway, ally did a great job collecting resources from the map in the first 5-10 minutes, as well as helping with the first enemy waves. He massed goons, I did the same with swarm hosts. Once I got a decent amount of SH, we turned the tide. Got both capital ships.

1 Like
17

Right! It’s definitely B+ just based on the fact that there are mutators active.

The reason CtG states it as “Not Brutal +” is because there are no mutator points assigned to these three mutators. So, they can’t be added up and assigned a B+ number. That’s usually the case with all the special mutators. (Afraid of the Dark, Trick or Treat, Turkey Shoot, Naughty List, etc)

1 Like
18

I like these videos. I was watching the Dehaka one. I usually go mass swarm hosts for that, but one thing I love about mass wurms combined with P3 is how much of a spectacle it is to see. If we are rated on style points then mass wurms with P3 is up there in style.

19

Another win with Karax P3, but with Stukov P3 . Got both bonuses too!

Same deal… Stukov will take care of pushing. It’s best Karax focuses on defense. Not having to run interference with base defense b/c a gift of hybrids are knocking on your base doors will let him focus on taking down the objectives. And do layer or group your towers! If one section goes down, you have backup groups/sections nearby for redundancy. Karax’ towers remain excellent to keep attack forces at bay. Just use SoA lasers to assist with that.

Speaking of which, while you’re doing d, you can spare SoA lasers to help out Stukov. Cloaked Banshees or Wraiths, Lurkers, SH picking off his infested walkers. Just zap them to be done with them. It’s a PITN to have to send Detector units over as without careful micro, they get zapped by fireworks. Use SoA lasers to take out offending units like Colossi, BCs, Carriers, that’ll stall their progress.

20

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Zagara P3 here. Her ability to deep tunnel anywhere even without vision comes in handy. It allows her to grab gifts quickly and snipe shards. Plus she can also deal with killbots good.

1 Like