Techfight Theoryguard:Nitpicking Techs for 

OTT & Pale Moon

This short post is just going to point out some cards I've been using lately. The tech cards will benefit Oracle Think Tank and Pale Moon.

- Subclan Crits -

Battle Sister, Muffin, and also Silver Thorn Assistant, Dixie, have a different effect ruling to the usual "If you have X, you may pay the cost". These cards instead let you return the card outright, then check for the required Vanguard. if they do not find that vanguard, they activate as much of the effect as possible; i.e., in this instance, they shuffle the deck. Handy for Silver Thorn and Battle Sister, right?

Well, how about considering using them in other builds across the clans? Magus, Susanoo, Harri and more can benefit in interesting and minute ways from critical stacking in this way.

Naturally, calling Muffin or Dixie straight from hand just to send them back to deck is a pure minus, but there are situations you can work around this, and turn matches in your favour- this wouldn't be the nitpicky-est of tech cards if it wasnt applicable in 95% of your games.

In most OTT builds (RIP OTT, I'll wait for you to get the attention you deserve), you will bully through your deck, drawing and drive checking. With very little deck replenishment available, Muffin may actually be a solution for that last turn when you have a few cards left in deck, and its all or nothing- send back a few Muffin, and you've literally stacked your deck with crits- you've a good chance of seeing them, and you won't deck out. 

Muffin is also nice because her effect might also let OTT decks tech in one of the Battle Sister stride when she's available- sure, the stride herself will be vanilla, but the critical's deck stacking, mass countercharging and slight power gain are nothing to sneeze at, especially considering there is room in the Oracle stride deck. Boy, is there room.

Dixie works in a similar way in Harri or Pure Magia builds, only you're not going to be dropping her often from hand. Instead, you can filter her through the random soulcharges, and turn those unnecessary Cat in High Boots later game calls (not as fun when there's no 5k sweetener) into a crit back to deck, before you activate Milward or Mephisto. 

It's all too easy to be a little overzealous with the Peryton and Cutie Paratroopers in the early to mid game, and deck out is a very real problem if you're not paying complete attention (it happens.) Dixie is forgiving of that.

-Personal Tech-

I might just have not seen many Nightmare Doll decks, so I'm unsure how creative or original this tech is, but Madcap Marionette is an interesting and useful card for Dolls, I find. On call it adds a card from hand to soul. This kind of minus for a specific soulcharge is mostly terrible in most other Pale Moon builds, but in Dolls, it has some nice synergy.

Firstly, he's a Workeroid, making him a friend of Beatrix. Secondly, he's completely optional. Thirdly, 6k isn't terrible in Dolls because he can be placed behind an active Jumping Jill or an Alice and hit for normal numbers.

In Dolls, I find that random soulcharging is never what you want. You want a Ginny in Soul, and Alice in soul, Catherine on VG, and an Alice in Hand or on RG. That's all. Catherine on Ride will give you one of those soulcharges, and Ginny is best ridden or even if you call her she'll swap with an Alice or Soulcharge herself. Beatrix herself can stack your soul if they're on RG, but by the time you stride, it's a little late for set up in Dolls.

Sometimes, things can go wrong. Consistency is shaky in Dolls, and sometimes, you're grateful for Madcap. He's a friend. Also, the drop from hand is fine because you shouldn't really be guarding early game anyway. You want the damage to counterstrike.

That concludes my little list of techs. What cards do you like to use?

- mawile

Sugar, Spice, & Everything Nice:

 Genesis Witches

A decklist and theory guide

*J-Pop Intensifies* 

Grade 0 - 17

Fetter of Leather, Leyding x1

Witch's Familiar, Shiroma (Crit) x4

Lemon Witch, Limonccino (Crit) x4

Dreaming Dragon (Stand) x4

Witch of Big Pots, Laurier (Heal) x4

Grade 1 - 14

Witch of Quill Pen, Onion x4

Witch of Melons, Thyme x4

Witch of Strawberries, Framboise x4

Mythic Beast, Skoll x2

Grade 2 - 11

Black Snake Witch, Chicory x3

Witch of Golden Eagles, Jasmine x4

Witch of White Rabbits, Cardamom x4

Grade 3 - 8

Witch of Eagles, Fennel

White Snake Witch, Mint x4

Grade 4 - 8

Rain Element, Madew x1

Great Angel, Doombrace x3

Witch Queen of Holy Water, Clove x4

Grade 0 Overview

Fairly standard spread, crits help us to end games faster, and with the restacking capabilities of our Legion Vanguard, makes our drive checks likely to show something nasty. 

You might not find me so cute when you see me as often as you're likely to see me.

Shiroma works well, allowing us to selectively soulcharge something from top three- Cardomom/Onion/Camomile/Melissa all excellent choices - then drop the other two to drop, letting us legion faster with no need for any of THOSE turns where we over extend simply to kick our deck off. In tandem with Thyme, who has a largely similar effect, the deck thinning allows us to reach our dangerous state of "I'm all crits and PGs, baby."

Dreaming Dragon is a recent addition for me, it's currently in testing. Stands wouldn't usually work- but with Black Snake Witch being an inherently good target, and with Clove making all witches extra powerful, you can really stand to extend those pressure turns. It is Dreaming Dragon's effect you'll want, however. 

Decking out in Genesis is a very real threat, and a misplay or fighting a stalling deck can spell disaster. Dreaming will remedy this- he'll stop your deck from being the wonderland of crits it should be, but he'll also keep you in the game. So far, he's testing well, doing excellently against decks that can and will stall you out until you have nothing left.

Leyding, our starter, offers a rearguard to field, and then we can re-legion him back for recycled use. Testing will show if Prayer Angel is required for Clove plays, but out of the two, I prefer Leyding.

Grade 1 Summary

Onion is Melissa with clogs on. +2k on call if Witch Vanguard, a la Cardomom. She's a grey wollen jumper of sorts- practical, but fairly vanilla- worth running, naturally, as she's the literal upgrade to poor Melissa, and her +2k makes her a 21k column naturally on call with a Black Snake Witch or with an active Jasmine. Her "9k for a turn" also means she could be called front row if RG are reaaaally tight. Just something to think about.

I don't think Thyme herself even knows what is going on here. Very Melon indeed.

Thyme works like Shiroma, although she doesn't restack herself and replace herself with a card. She functions similarly- stack that soul, deck thin like crazy, so you can make the deck a manipulated pile of crits.

Stride fodder is fairly standard- you'll use Mint often too- Fennel is golddust and must be rode often to loop the deck, but having more opportunity to go into Clove is a good idea.

Grade 2 Summary

Jasmine can be 12k if you want, and she can give +3 soul for 1CB if you're super desperate. She's handy. Black Snake Witch is Mint's legion mate, and her 12k attacking status makes her good for rushing, not much else to say here, besides her easy 19k/21k with your G1s makes her real nice for RG sniping.

Finding it hard to be funny about this card. Think she's got rabies THERE I DID IT

Cardie is your friend. When you soulblast, she'll make herself appear for a counterblast.The population is super handy for our propensity for beating on down, and being 11k for a turn doesn't hurt. She's also handy because if your opponent is targeting your front row rearguards (and they should, because Genesis Witch will beat them down if they don't start to get rid of the powerhouses) she'll replace those with a wiggle of her bunny ears.

There's also the opportunity of getting off extra attacks- Mint, Fennel and Clove activate on/after their attack, so if you really need to push, and don't mind calling over your other rearguards- get yourself an extra lane- Onion and Cardamon are 20k altogether before triggers. Not to be sneezed at.

Grade 3 Summary

Fairly standard line-up. Fennel is the ideal ride, and should be looped endlessly to get that crazy deck you crave. Mint is less optimal now with the arrival of Clove, but if you cannot stride for whatever reason, and you've had to ride Mint- she still keeps up the pressure if you have to use her effect, and she can get you those extra soul charges if you need them.

Fennel Forever. You'll see her over and over again.

Grade 4 Summary

Doom Brace is fun, for starters- if you can't afford the 6 soul cost of Clove, are not using an active Fennel, and want to keep up the tempo while digging for that next Fennel ride, Doom Brace is your guy. His effect can work out as effectively costless, and he can even work as an interesting first stride, to call a few Cardamon and Onion from soul if you've accrued a few and your hand is less than stellar. In short, he's consistent and good.

Madew is a tech option I'm trying, as an emergency precaution. Want to ride Fennel again? Are all your Fennels either in drop, soul or damage? Is at least one in drop? Stride Madew over your current Jasmine Legion Mate, get that Fennel back, and carry on looping- and dig for one extra trigger check, too. Might as well get some crits going on, too. So far, I've not needed Madew, but with the options for our Extra Deck so limited (although still explosive) she can make a cameo appearance quite easily.

Clove hitting the town after getting her highlights done.

Clove, our new ace, is  powerhouse. For 6 soul, she hands out 5k boosts like candy and throws a crit at the opponent, attacking for 31 unboosted. And 43 boosted. 45 if it's a recently called Onion. Her pressure is amazing, and highly affordable. I'm going to test her at 4,but I'm sure that I'm being a little over-eager there. It's unlikely that I'll be able to stride her 4 times in one game, even with Dreaming Dragon replenishing my deck.

- - - 

In short, the Genesis Witch deck may not have been heralded as loudly as Mimi and Sinclair, but they are far from bad- they're a highly consistent, hard hitting crit advantage machine, hiding under the guise of beautifully adorable witches. 

They're going to be fun.

mawile  x

Lore Post:

The Real Outlaw Witches of United Sanctuary

Cue cheesy reality TV opening title sequence

"I love what you've done with this room, Fianna. You use Pinterest or something?"

I swear after this post, I'll never mention Witches again for like a few days - in this post, I'm going to be discussing the Lore and backstory of the Shadow Paladin Witch subclan, a clan made up of a strong sisterhood, and a strong desire to really dabble in magic that others steer well clear of. SP Witches are pioneers of new magic, researching, experimenting- and some committing crimes so heinous they needed to turn to Shadow Paladin to conceal them from the rest of the United Sanctuary.

As a whole, the witches are described as those lucky few who have access to dabble and excel in the art of magic- a long time ago, the witches of the United Sanctuary were almost one- but those Witches who developed magic for the good of all, focusing on healing and nature, joined Genesis, while other Witches, who were intelligent, curious, but also savage and egotistical, joined Shadow Paladin. Some, like Goewin and Nemain, join sub factions and troops, while others, like Fianna and Femme, are reclusive, staying in their homes. But don't mistake them for docile magi.

Fianna and Femme are an interesting duo- Fianna is the elder sister, and she's a pioneer of experimental magic. The duo are also incredibly old- Fianna herself is a friend of Luquier, and they go back years. Fianna's magical prowess is so advanced that legend states that she can take on a dragon using only body modification magic. She also seems to be quite the mischievous soul- she speaks in a way to misguide others intentionally.

While Femme, looking at her artwork, her demure appearance (when compared to her sister) and lower stance may indicate that she is meek, or coy- this is not the case. Femme is an expert in research, in her own right, and is described as someone who likes to stay in her home, hidden away from the rest of society. The reason for this, is that Femme is a criminal- once, years past, she enveloped an entire city in a hallucinogenic fog, altering the recognition ability of the public for some time after. This was simply one of her experiments. She is considered highly wanted, and is considered dangerous- and rightly so.

Another witch of age and stature is the Witch of Cultus, Rias, a magi with a love for different rituals and cult phenomena. She actively practices these forbidden spells, while her colleague, Deirdre, records the results for posterity. While there is no evidence that Rias is wanted- it's highly likely that this witch who gleefully practices summoning all manner of evil for an experiment is an enemy of the state.

"Uh, Rias, I really don't think we should be doing this- I mean, I've seen this demon before."

Finally, we reach the topic of familiars. For an animal to become a Witches' familiar, to help her channel mana and assist her with her magical duties, the animal must be blessed by a deity. In Genesis, and Oracle Think Tank, the Witches actions are sanctioned, and blessings are granted. As no deity will bless an animal for the Shadow Paladin outlaw witches, instead, they make do with objects and dolls, animated by magic.

Think Five Nights at Freddy's, only they're there to help. 

Kuroma is one example, but he's been described as a capable helper, but also a little annoying, with it's sharp tongue and cruel laughter.

And there we go! We've met a few more of the witches. Wasn't that nice? The game feels so much richer when you take the lore into account, doesn't it? What's that? It doesn't? Stick to card reviews and deck builds? Well, okay then. 

You're the boss!

mawile   x

New Spoiler Card Review:

Witch Queen of Transfiguration, Sinclair

Omigod omigod it's real it's real omigod omigod

Somewhere, Stil Vampir is sobbing gently in the fetal position.

A recent reveal in the Fighters Collection Winter 2015 set has in fact unveiled a Shadow Paladin Witch Stride, something I've been wanting for a WHILE, and boy, is she worth it. Firstly, we'll dissect the effect, then I'll add my opinion on how this will change the deck.

[Stride]-Stride Step-[Choose one or more cards with the sum of their grades being 3 or greater from your hand, and discard them] Stride this card on your (VC) from face down.

[ACT](VC)1/Turn:[Counter Blast (1)] If you have a heart card with "Witch" in its card name, and the number of your opponent's grade 0 rear-guards is two or more, your opponent reveals ten cards from the top of his or her deck, chooses a grade 0 card from among them, rides it, shuffles his or her deck, until end of turn, that unit gets "[AUTO](VC):[Counter Blast (1)] At the beginning of the guard step of the battle that this unit was attacked, you may pay the cost. If you do, choose any number of cards from your hand, call them (GC) as [Rest]." and "[AUTO](VC):At the end of your opponent's turn, choose up to one card from your soul, and ride it.".

Now, if we dissect this in pieces, beginning with the basics- Witch heart is required, which works fine for us, and the opponent will need to control 2 or more Grade 0 units. Without Fianna on the VG circle for a turn, this is tougher, but not impossible- and it adds to the opponent's list of worries. 

Now, they know this card exists, and they know Diablo exists, and they know that you have access to both. The threat of Diablo will make them call units, so they can still guard, which gives you rearguards to Hex with Fianna, Adora, Dana and Deirdre, while the threat of Sinclair will make them replace those Grade 0's as soon as humanly possible, minusing themselves and making Diablo hurt more. As you can tell, it's a big wheel of variables and worry and YOU'RE the one spinning it.

So, if they're silly enough to leave 1 or 2 Grade 0 rearguards, with a Dana or Deirdre in hand, Striding Sinclair becomes quite the option. For a counterblast, you'll make them ride a G0 from the top 10 cards of their deck- but it's okay, they aren't getting completely pseudo-Gloried. They can still guard the vanguard any way they want to...by paying a counterblast for the privilege.

In a game where in most decks, counterblasts equal direct advantage, pushing your opponent to use them to do something as essential as guarding is like disruption on steroids for SP Witches. And that's just wonderful, really. A cherry on top is that your opponent's Vanguard will be on 5k at most, which, if you're hitting or 16k+ columns (which you SHOULD) all rearguard attacks will require 15k shield at least- and if they want to use any grade other than Zero...that'll be a Counterblast, please.

At the end of the turn, they can re-ride a Vanguard from their soul- in some strange and situational scenarios, they can work this to their advantage- but in any properly planned Sinclair turn, this shouldn't matter too much, as they should be considerably softened up, or even out of the game entirely. In the rare scenario where re-riding their vanguard would plus hugely for them, simply use your common sense and judgement, and either go through with it if you think it will spell the end, or just don't stride Sinclair. She doesn't mind, she'll help you mess people up another time.

Changes to the Deck

Now, this is all my own theorycrafting here, but I've been playing Witches a while- so I feel like I may have some valid points. All things discussed here will need proper testing before we know for certain if they're right.

We're now more counterblast-heavy than we've ever been.

Fianna, Diablo, Sinclair and later on, Adora all  need counterblasts to get their effects off. This applies most to Fianna- the double Hex is quite effective, and done on a regular, staggered on a once per turn basis, will really set up for Sinclair, as most opponents will find it hard to keep replacing the Rearguards they've lost, and the loss of triggers from their deck, 2 at a time, is quietly devastating.

In a match against a Granblue player not so long ago, with his milling, and my Fianna effects, I managed to make him lose all of his trigger units from his main deck. It can happen, and while it's not something you should aim for by any means, it's still worth your time to grind those triggers out. Just think, the less Grade 0's they draw/check, the more Counterblast they will need to pay with Sinclair to guard, and the more disruption you'll have spread.

To mitigate this, Shadow Paladin has some counterchargers we can use. In English, I'm currently running 3 Adra, whom functions as an impressive pressure unit- opponents generally know WHAT that countercharge and soulcharge will be doing, so they will guard her. Witch of Goats, Medb, is also an option, but calling a G0 Stand Trigger for a countercharge and soulcharge is getting more difficult these days- not only is a Stand Trigger difficult to run (Stands only being really worth it on Rias or Sinclair turns) but giving up a 10k shield for a 4k Rearguard that then stays on the field is NOT worth it.

And then, I personally will be defecting to Karma Collector. While Nemain has the name (which only really matters for Adora especial counterblasts and dumping for Kuroma/Rias/Securna, but it's not as if you'd drop a PG for those), Karma gives us the countercharge we need. Nemain's draw and drop is cute, and sometimes hits gold, but in dire straits, it's usually a one card mill, and set up for the Legion turn is no longer really a valid reason, when you can easily stride before Legion (usually Dark Knight, Grim Recruiter, or Aurageyser if you're nasty).

With Adra and Karma, you should be set for some nice countercharging- 2 gets you a Fianna go, 1 gets you to have fun with either Diablo or Sinclair.

Dana and Deirdre are staple at 4 now more than ever.

Speaks for itself really, Sinclair turns can come about now and then if your opponent can't/won't rid themselves of the units Fianna gave them, but savvy players will know to get rid of as many as possible- if they leave one, or none, however, Sinclair is still possible thanks to Dana and Deirdre. Call them as a column and you've got a Sinclair turn.

Although, careful not to hold too tightly onto them in your hand- sometimes, to keep up the tempo, you'll need to call Deirdre or even Dana just to remain offensive enough so that Sinclair/Diablo will be offensive pushes and not just damage turns- it's okay if sometimes you can't make Deirdre or Dana activate their effects. Plan ahead as best you can.

= = = 

To summarize, waking up this morning and seeing this card announced honestly made my day. It's diabolically cruel, and fits Witches like a glove. I'm happy.

mawile  x

A "Fun" Deck List: A Wonderful Magical Basket of Chimeras

Please enjoy, and look forward to what will appear next!

While waiting for Pale Moon support reveals, I've been driving myself mad with theories, ideas, and possible crazy combos. To mitigate this, I've built a fun little deck based around Nightmare Doll, Chelsea, that I'd very much like to share with you. 

Now, this deck is far more casual in nature compared to the current meta- don't take this to a tourney and expect to top, but if you're like me, waiting on tenterhooks for news, and you have these cards lying around- why not have fun and build your own little combo deck, to remind you of the good old days? Think of the satisfaction when you win.

Deck List is as follows:

Grade 0 - 17

Girl Who Crossed The Gap x1

5 [Draw] 7 [Crit] 4 [Heal]

Grade 1 - 14

Perfect Guard x4

Midnight Bunny x4

Purple Trapezist x4

Egg Juggler x2

Grade 2 - 11

Flying Hippogriff x4

Heat Elemental, Bwah x4

Dancing Princess of the Night Sky x2

Nitro Juggler x1

Grade 3 - 8

Nightmare Doll, Chelsea x4

Miracle Pop, Eva x4

Grade 4 - 8

Miracle of Lunar Square, Clifford x4

Rain Elemental, Madew x2

Snow Element, Blizza x2

Now to break it down, section by section.

Grade 0 Summary

The Grade 0 section is fairly straightforward, special triggers are preferred if available,but this current set up works fine. It's what I call the "Dark Irregular Set Up", where 6 Draws feels like too many, but 4 draws leave you with death hands. With 5, you'll hit them often, which helps you keep up, since you don't really have any way to plus outside of Egg Juggler and getting off Chelsea's skill.

Girl Who Crossed the Gap does her job well- she essentially becomes anything you have in soul, all for one counterblast- call a Midnight Bunny behind something for pressure, call a Purple Trapesist to rescale your field, or simply call Egg Juggler to draw- she's never really dead. Before choosing Gap, I did consider Starting Presenter, despite the completely offputting artwork- but you will soul charge enough sitting on Eva, with Dancing Princess giving you what you need, if you didn't just ride it. 

Grade 1 Summary

Everything here is pretty straightforward, too- Midnight Bunny pressures further attacks if her column hits, and considering the unit she boosts will hit 16-18k, that's a nice bit of pressure. The ages old combo of her with Purple Trapezist also still stands- simply keep a Purple or two in soul ready for this effect (keeping a Purple or two in soul also works out great for Chelsea).

Purple Trapezist needs no explanation, it's wonderful- shame it's 6k, but this doesn't matter so much when your ideal RG will be 11k anyway.

Egg Juggler gives you hand, while filtering out the cards Eva soulcharges- she also combos with Girl Who Crossed the Gap for an easy draw. Getting her into Soul and calling her out from it is a doddle.

Grade 2 Summary

Sporting surprisingly apt art for Pale Moon, Heat Elemental Bwah fits right in- on hit, he retires himself and searches one of your G3's. Hitting by himself will help mitigate Chelsea's persona blast, or even search you Stride Fodder. He's a helpful little bugger, and his name is fun to say. Go on, say it now, while sat in your chair. Say "BWAH." Go on, there's no shame, I do it too.

Flying Hippogriff reads as a trashy common, but 11k once you hit G3 is nothing to sneeze at- you could alternately play Crimson Beast Tamer, but she requires a little more set up, while Hippogriff also makes an amazing Eva swap target, as he can naturally hit vanguards on his own, and makes low power rearguards like Purple Trapezist and Egg Juggler safe to use, hitting a respectable 17k, pushing for a 10k. He doesn't reach 11k on Stride Turns, but usually you use those as either finishers (pushing that Blizza for games where it's REALLY crunch time and you have NOTHING else) or set up and hand fillers- Madew and Clifford.

Dancing Princess and Nitro Juggler are tech options- Nitro is filler, I'm considering using a vanilla, since on-call soulcharge really isn't what Pale Moon should be right now. Dancing Princess will get you those things you just HAVE to have in soul- spare Purple, Hippogriff to surprise the opponent with later, she helps you plan several turns ahead. Sure, she's 8k. Intercept with her. She's there to usher your next act in, not rush the opponent herself. It's no loss of guard to call her. 

Grade 3 Summary

Eva is fun, you'll want to sit on her until you reach 4 damage and you can REALLY go off. Against most decks, you can reach 4 damage easily (once we get LB enabler we can probably rely far less on the opponent and just rush rush rush, but I guess when we get enabler we won't be playing hype.dek, so that's a catch 22, isn't it?). You'll reach 4 damage easily, while keeping combo pieces in hand- while getting to 4 damage, you'd play as normal, setting up, pushing and pressuring with Bwah and Bunny.

Chelsea will populate your field a little for a price that's actually quite affordable, and much easier to activate with Bwah. She also works in the battle phase, like Eva, meaning she can push 2 more attacks if you've got the soul for it, or at least get out a nice column. If you combo both her AND Eva in the same turn, you can get a full field "restand". Not bad, really. Usually, though, I like to stagger their effects, especially since I like to have Trapezists on field for Eva's breakride. 5 attacks in one turn, then another 5 the following turn, without taking into account how many more potential attacks you can pressure with Midnight Bunny, or how many Egg Juggler calls you make- you'll eat hand rather nicely for a casual deck.

Grade 4 Summary

Fairly standard, here- we have no options outside of Clifford, and Madew is nice if you're sat on Chelsea and want a Stride, but don't really want to pay for it- or if you used a Chelsea earlier and want to search it back from drop zone.

Blizza is a "finisher" of sorts, which can hit for high numbers, if you've had to stride several times in the game, but it's mostly filler. You won't stride Clifford 4 times, but as we've yet to get more support, fill the space if you want (I only run 2 Clifford in real life. I never stride him more than that, the on-hit has more variables than other on-hits, but it's usually one your opponent will guard).

Backstage Preparation

Remember to just have fun with the deck- it's mainly designed for fun with friends, and to inspire them to try similarly zany or interestingly creative builds, while you're waiting for further support. Think of it as an appetizer - albeit an appetizer with a little more bite than your opponent will bargain for- and may the new card reveals be swift and beautiful for us all.

mawile   x