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

Scarlet Starlets: The Red Witches of Oracle Think Tank

A decklist and theory guide

When it comes to aging well, CoCo could school Loreal. 

Grade 0 - 17

Little Witch, LuLu x1

Nebula Witch, NoNo (Stand) x4

Psychic Bird (Critical) x4

Vanilla Critical x4

Lozenge Magus (Heal) x4

Grade 1 - 14

Emerald Witch, LaLa x2

Divne Sword, Ame-No-Murakumo (Stride Fodder) x4

Arbitrator, Ame-No-Sagiri (PGG) x4

8k Vanilla x4

Grade 2 - 11

Silent Tom x4

Promise Daughter x4

10k Vanilla x3

Grade 3 - 8

Scarlet Witch, CoCo x4

Rose Red Witch, CuCu x4

Grade 4 - 8

Floral Witch Master, MiMi x4

Rain Elemental, Madew x1

Soaring Auspicious Beast, Kirin x1

Sword Deity of the Thunderbreak, Takemikazuchi x2

Let's dive in.

Grade 0 Summary

Everything here is fairly orthodox- crits, LuLu for a draw upon hitting Grade 3, but one card will stand out.

NoNo apparently said "no no" to school, with those spelling errors in her flavor text.

A STAND trigger? In MY Oracle Think Tank?

Call me a heathen, but as we all know, cards with the Witch name help our super handy new stride, and while ideally,you're NOT going to want to send a 10k guard, it can be worth it for the pressure it puts your opponent under. 

Also, her effect is handy for loosing stray cards in soul- want to send more triggers back to deck? Want to make that soul lower so you can reride more Rose and Scarlet Witches to draw more? Want to do all this WHILE also drawing? NoNo's your gal! Hitting her as a trigger works, too, since with the lower handcount your opponent should have, restanding will chip away at that hand- plus, once you get them to 5 damage, Crits will become sadly moot.

Grade 1 Summary

8k Vanillas for Tom, check. PGG to unflip for near constant Scarlet and Rose abuse, check. Ame-no-Murakumo for reliable stride fodder, check. Emerald Witch, LuLu....uh.

That awkward moment when you pick up the fugly-ass wand and style it out because all the cool witches are watching.

Emerald Witch, LaLa. RRR for reasons unknown to anybody. If you can get her, she's a nice addition for MiMi fodder. You'll never use her effect, though. You just don't need to. Ever. Call her only in desperation.

Grade 2 Summary

Yep, four Silent Toms. Unoriginal, I know, but he's still as good as ever, and with Mimi's potential for hand eating, he makes your opponent dance even more to the tune of his....gun. Also, he'll attract all the Rearguard hate, so be sure to stockpile him.

Finger-blasting fun with Tom. Say that 5 times fast. Congratulations, you're now my friend.

Promise Daughter is a test unit for now- she's vastly superior to Tankman Mode Beamcannon, her G-Protege, in terms of effect, viability, and even art - sorry, I'm not into mechas.

But, testing will show how likely this deck is to deck-out, even with Lozenges. If it draws too easy, then Tankman will be the way to go. If not, Promise Daughter will turn that extra hand into easy 21k columns aimed wherever you damn well please. Personally, I like to make my opponent pay extra guard to keep those key Rearguards, and with MiMi and Tom keeping their hand low, Promise may well be a retire unit.

10k vanillas offer early guard against rush, simple. Also, not many other options.

Grade 3 Summary

Scarlet Witch, CoCo is handy as always- the 3 card draw on turn three in tandem with Little Witch, LuLu is extremely handy, and challenges those hoping to Grade 2 stall to out draw her. Then, she's eligible for Madew, which is a handy first stride if you don't have enough witches in hand/want your fodder back immediately.

This whole event is really fun until one of those bunnies lands on your head. Then it's all "lawsuits this" and "lawsuits that".

" [AUTO]:[Counter Blast (1)] When this unit is placed on (VC) or (RC), if you have a vanguard with "Witch" in its card name, and the number of cards in your soul is one or less, you may pay the cost. If you do, draw two cards, choose a card from your hand, and discard it. "

Handy, huh? 11k to sit on for lategame, and easy selective draw for 1CB. Calling extra copies of her can be problematic, since you may want to discard her for MiMi, but honestly, she's great support. Super handy, and in tandem with CoCo, gives you that hand you crave, digging for the fodder you want and the Toms you want to crush with.

Grade 4 Summary

Soaring may find itself out of a place soon, depending on how well Madew performs. MiMi at 4 is near staple- you may not pull her off that many times, but she DOES drive the deck, and striding her as often as possible is a definite plus. If in desperation, Thunder Deity makes a nice addition to your hand, should you need it.

We've all had that day where we forget to put on pants and levitate in midair. Let's all just not look, okay?

MiMi drives the deck. Her effect is potent pressure, forcing damage early game, and forcing a loss in advantage late game. Nobody likes to discard cards. Ever. Not without them doing something first, or the process being worthwhile. It gives your opponent a painful dilemma- ditch the Grade 3s without guarding potential, and give up stride fodder/PG fodder/future game options, or discard Grade 1s and 2s, future Rearguard options?

Add Tom into the mix and things get worse. Will they ditch grade 0's, needing the other units for Tom's attack, losing a potential 20k guard from hand?

Worst case scenario here, you're down 1 card, and they're down their previous turn's drive check.

When dealing damage, MiMi thankfully ignores trigger effects, pushing the opponent closer to defeat, heightening Tom and Promise's pressuring capabilities. They either discard those cards to avoid the damage, or take the damage and spend cards to guard further damage.

In short, the deck looks to be pretty fun. Testing will show how well it works, but for now, let's just admire the Red Witches.

mawile x

101 Things to do with Masked Magician, Harry

A Pale Moon article in-progress- Edition No. 1

[AUTO](VC) Generation Break 2 (This ability is active if you have two or more face up G units in total on your (VC) or G zone):When this unit attacks a vanguard, choose up to one card from your soul, call it to (RC), that unit and this unit get [Power]+3000 until end of turn.Magia-[AUTO](VC):[Counter Blast (1)] During your turn, when your G unit Stride, you may pay the cost. If you do, Soul Charge (1), choose up to one card from your soul, call it to (RC), that unit gets [Power]+5000 until end of turn, and at the end of that turn, put the unit called with this effect into your soul.

Now that we're familiar with Harry's nice art and straightforward skill, we can start. The point of this article- and the further articles to come once we've seen more support- will be to discuss all of the most potent combos that Harry can instigate- because, despite the fact that Harry himself does not generate +1 advantage with his on-stride, he does instead offer immediate population, and at GB2, allows you to +1 for free.

Combo 1: Simple Call

Call ANY 9k G2 or 7k G1, into a column with the other. At his most basic, Harry can give you a SC1 and a 21k column, and this is assuming that you've called something which cannot use it's effect- calling something like Daydream Tone, Arnie or Midnight Bunny will up the pressure, allowing that 21k on-hit to either give you what you want, or cost a lot to guard.

On hit Countercharge 2? Sure, I'll just pay 15k guard from hand to stop THAT.

Combo 2: Purple Trapesist Redux

At GB2, On attack, Harry will call a RG permanently from soul, and give it and himself +3k. With this skill, you can populate and add a little pressure power for free, and it's a cute +1. With Purple Trapesist in soul (or GB1 Equivalent, depending on support given), this on attack call can guarantee a fourth attack (yeah, we do it too, Aqua Force) and potentially a nice one at that, making Purple Trapesist hit 9k, and if you run a 12k attacker, that's a 21k column, or if you're running a standard 9k, that's a respectable 18k extra attack- enough for late game pressure units like Arny, to guarantee you even MORE population.

Combo 3: Card Juggler

Using Happiness Collector as a starter is an interesting choice. It remains to be seen how much we'll need the current stand-out Forerunners, Starting Presenter and Girl Who Crossed the Gap, but with this combo at least, Happiness Collector pays her rent and then hints at offering you more in the future.

Thanks for the tickets! Wait, why does she keep coming back-

[AUTO]:Forerunner (When a unit of the same clan rides this unit, you may call this unit to (RC))[AUTO](RC) Generation Break 1 (This ability is active if you have one or more face up G units in total on your (VC) or G zone):[Put this unit into your soul] When your other unit is placed on (RC) from your soul, you may pay the cost. If you do, draw a card, and Soul Charge (1).

So, this combo is a little less straight forward as the others so far, but it's still easy to pull off, and hints at ways that Pale Moon can grab hand advantage.

So, ride/get Egg Juggler to soul. On stride, call Egg Juggler, SC1 for Harry, SB1 for Egg, Send Happiness Collector to soul, SC1, and draw 2 cards, one for Egg, and one for Happiness.

Follow that? Good. The result of such, is a net +1 Soul Charge (since these soulcharges are random, chances are you'll be fine soulblasting for Egg Juggler), 2 cards drawn to hand, and an 11k Egg Juggler (can hit a vanguard by herself if she's alone, or makes a workable column if not), who will return to soul at the end of the turn to be comboed with later. And all this cost 1CB. Bear in mind, this is all before even taking into account what your Stride can do.

Summary

Combos like these are to be expected from the new Pale Moon support, and adding cards like Betty to the equation only serve to push a little harder. We're waiting on Magia support, as at the time of writing  Betty can only call copies of Harry himself from soul, but we know that currently, she can at least push for a 4th attack for CB1. Despite not knowing the vast majority of the support we're due to get, we'd best hope for a way to filter soul, and get the cards we WANT in there.

mawile x

Link Joker Deck List; Lock is Love, Lock is Life

Perverted Purpose, Heroism Corrupted

AKA Link Joker, Binary Star Build 1.0

"I am full of rage and sin. Locked inside this cage again. Where evil reigns because people like to win... it may seem sweet, but we won't like the end. So we shine brightly from the light within." 

As a long-time player of Aqua Force, right from the day Link Joker were announced, they have been the personal bane of my existence. Many players find the clan notoriously frustrating and stressful to play against because of their mechanic's nature limiting the actions that you can take. Essentially preventing you from playing the game. Which I HATE.

But this does not mean that I shun the clan completely. Their aesthetic is undeniably cool. And in being forced to all but memorize their abilities in order to combat them most effectively, I know the gist of how to play them! While we already have another resident of this blog far more adept in using the invaders than myself *coughDaisycough* I have decided to step outside my usual comfort zone in order to try my hand at designing a casual deck which under normal circumstances I would utterly hate to play against! Based on the budget Grade 3 promo Binary Star Twin Gunner, who is often neglected by most players.

Cue someone inevitably making this deck and turning my own creation against me. Alas, such is the course of life... again, not naming any names here.

Grade 0 - 17

[1] Star-Vader, Dust Tail Unicorn (Starter)

[4] Recollection Star-Vader, Tellurium (Heal)

[4] Beloved Child of Superstring Theory (Draw)

[4] Star-Vader, Weiss Soldat (Crit)

[4] Star-Vader, Apollonel Dragon (Crit)

Dust Tail Unicorn is just about everything you could need in a starter for a unit like Binary. Upon locking one of your opponent's cards, he enters the soul and locks one more for just 1CB, which is standard value for a lock effect. Binary Star's ability locks two rearguards in one go, and requires soul to boot, thus Unicorn can assist twofold by providing the third lock needed to create a triangle lock while replenishing the soul in one fell swoop.

Beloved Child of Superstring theory is the other Grade 0 of note, being the clan's resident Margal clone capable of being placed into the soul as an ACT ability to give a 3k boost to any one unit for the remainder of the turn. She replenishes a dwindling soul, and can also be used with some of your more powerful rearguards to hit the magic numbers required to force out guard.

While I have not opted to use them here, it is also worth mentioning that stand triggers can be viable in this build. Most of your Grade 2 attackers either possess on-hit ability or can get very large very quickly, making re-standing such units a legitimate threat.

Grade 1 - 14

[4] Flowers in Vacuum, Cosmo Wreath (Perfect Guard)

[4] Demon Claw Star-Vader, Lanthanum

[4] Prison Gate Star-Vader, Palladium

[2] Destiny Dealer (Stride Fodder)

Using the Perfect Guard with the counter charge ability is an essential measure in this deck, as most of your abilities are very hungry in their consumption of your resources. Flipping over spent counterblasts whenever possible will greatly extend the longevity of your skills. With the downside being that you cannot PG the rearguard if it should become necessary. Thankfully you have no real dependence upon them, making it a moot point most games.

Lanthanum is your ideal rearguard booster whenever you can lay him down. With many of your abilities locking at least two cards at once, he can accumulate power very quickly and provide some offensive pressure to supplement your mostly defensive playstyle. 

Meanwhile Palladium, while included as a useful means of replenishing the soul and keeping a pesky column out of action, is to be used with discretion rather than spammed at every opportunity. Otherwise you will run out of resources too fast for your own liking. Rather than using him at the first opportunity, watch and wait to see when his use will hurt the opponent most, or just when you need the soul to pull off your next Binary.

Grade 2 - 11

[4] Furious Claw Star-Vader, Niobium

[4] Heat Elemental, Bwah

[3] Chain-battle Star-Vader, Technetium

Just like we discussed already with Palladium, use the skill of Technetium with due care. Whenever he hits with his ability active he soulcharges one and countercharges. Making him support Binary Star's skill perfectly while attacking for high numbers for pressure. Discarding a card is the price to pay for such an ability, and while in most cases you can afford to do this due to needing less guard to deal with an opponent on average, spamming him without thinking can drain your hand surprisingly fast when coupled with the fact you're technically minusing yourself to place Palladiums and Superstring theories into the soul too.

Popping up again, as he is sure to do in many decks, Heat Elemental, Bwah is the unit with the name nobody can take seriously and the effect that enables so many possibilities. Use him to fetch out Binary as your main ride, breakrides, and stride fodder as appropriate. He's such a versatile little unit, and one many people will go out of their way to guard because of that fact. Letting you toolbox while putting out pressure at the same time... and so cute.

Niobium rounds off your selection by being a solid 11k or 13k attacker on most occasions. Out of all your Grade 2 units, protect him the most, because he is an essential player in making your final offensive pushes possible. Putting a Lanthanum behind him and then locking half of their field is a sure way to put them out of the misery you've been putting them through all game long. Link Joker is all about psychological warfare. Seeing big numbers swinging their way while they languish in helplessness is soul-breaking. 

And that's exactly why you play this clan in the first place, isn't it? You terrible human being.

Grade 3 - 8

[4] Binary Star Twin Gunner

[4] Star-Vader, Infinite Zero Dragon

Now we come to the big players. Breakriding as a practice fills up the soul indirectly, which can be used by Binary Star to further effect. By riding Binary atop Infinite Zero you lock two units automatically, with the further option of using Binary's skill to lock two more at your own personal leisure. Remember Niobium and Lanthanum from earlier? 

Yeah. This is where having those two units out in play becomes quite terrifying. 

Between riding Infinite Zero, using Binary's skill, and the striding we will talk about in the next section - it is quite easy to keep a whole column out of action consistently for 3-5 turns. You can adapt this at your choosing. If you have your power gainers in play, you can lock their entire field for a massive boost and attempt to go for game. But generally it is more effective to stagger out your lock effects and consistently benefit from them while playing the long game.

Grade 4 - 8

[4] Nebula Dragon, Big Crunch Dragon

[4] Nebula Dragon, Maximum Seal Dragon

Infinite Zero locks a column worth of units. Binary Star locks a column's worth. Guess what Big Crunch does...? Yes! He retires all your opponent's units. Not really. Far worse, he locks a column outright, or rather, omega locks them. For the price of 1CB. Utterly infuriating. 

Using these three units in combination, for a very sustainable cost, it isn't hard to keep more than half your opponent's field in a state of complete chaos. While Lanthanum and Niobium profit off each lock to provide you with pressure, having at least four units locked also gives you a prime opportunity to bring in Maximum Seal Dragon. While normally this unit would not be viable, given just how many units you can keep locked on an average turn, he can easily be brought in and gain 10k-20k extra power still during the first couple of stride turns. 

Striding won't be a problem for you anyway, as Bwah can fetch copies of Binary Star to be tossed, and you also run a minimum number of Destiny Dealers to make it no hassle. 

_________________________________________________________________

So there you have it folks. My first stab at a casual deck for the clan I hate the most of all. Would it run well? Is it viable? Well, I know that personally, it's a recipe for everything I hate neatly rolled up into a single accessible article. But it was enjoyable to expand my horizons a little and see the world through the eyes of the enemy. Until next time!

Future Visions: Shadow Paladin Witches

"The Dark" Legend Deck: Ren Suzugamori 

and its effect on Shadow Paladin Witches

Now, in the English format,Shadow Witches are doing well, but they're obscure.  They aren't played as much anymore, with a small, cult (aha) following. The deck is still rather good, however, in spite of new disadvantages that plague the build.

I'll cover these disadvantages first, then we can discuss exactly which cards in the new deck advance the Witch agenda. Firstly, Witches need more support.We're due some support soon, and Adora, the Promo Witch, is due a release in English. This support is needed because there's very little variation in modern Witch builds- 4 Fianna, 4 Rias, etc, etc. A dedicated Stride would also be incredibly helpful. All the strides we have for Shadows- currently work, but feel a little clunky- with some exception, more on that later.

A mechanic which also plagues us is the advent of more and more useful triggers- depriving them of the checks, and pseudo-retiring units is still fun, and advantageous, but the amount of triggers that can then be used, make the calling mechanic advantageous for the opponent. We've always known that Witches can be a double-edged sword, but it's never been sharper, and it'll only get sharper and sharper.

So, let's see what the Legend Deck gives us to play with.

Firstly, we'll start with Young Skull Witch, Nemain.

[CONT]: Sentinel (You may only have up to four cards with "[CONT]: Sentinel" in a deck)[AUTO]:[Choose a card from your hand, and discard it] When this unit is placed on (GC) from hand, you may pay the cost. If you do, choose one of your vanguards that is being attacked, and that unit cannot be hit until end of that battle. Then, if you have a card named "Young Skull Witch, Nemain" in your drop zone, draw a card, choose a card from your hand, and discard it.

Firstly, Young Skull Witch, Nemain, gives us the Witch name. This is useful for one; continuing the theme, and allowing us to rid ourselves of the outdated quintet, and the off-theme Mac Lirs. It's also useful tech-wise for the purpose of Witch of Attraction, Adora, whom requires a "Witch" counter blast.

Effect wise, she's interesting- rather than the unflip of the most recent Perfect Guards, she'll give you a card, and then make you discard. This can make Legion even easier to achieve later in the game in Witches (around the stage where you need to be boosting with Arianrhod rather than tapping her to ditch cards) by adding three cards to drop zone and giving you a card. The effect also leads to interesting situations, possibly drawing you a new Perfect Guard when you need it most, or allowing you to dig even deeper into your deck for the cards you need, alongside drawing units such as Fianna.

In short, she's good, despite some controversial opinion. Worst case scenario, you just discard the card you draw, if it's not what you need, and in a Legion Deck that ISN'T Oracles/Genesis, the claims of decking out are unwarranted- you're doing it wrong if you deck out simply from adding this card.

[AUTO](RC) Generation Break 1 (This ability is active if you have one or more face up G units in total on your (VC) or G zone):[Counter Blast (1)] When this unit attacks a vanguard, if this unit is boosted, you may pay the cost. If you do, search your deck for up to one grade 1 card, call it to (RC), and shuffle your deck.

Macha is an interesting choice. Without Adora, there's most likely some space in your deck taken up by Comet Witch, Serva. At 10k, she's a useful ride and a nice beater for when Rias is doing her thing, but with a little imagination, Macha can function like a tool box, getting you exactly what you need for each situation, and setting you up for the big boss.

As the call is guaranteed for only 1 counterblast (easily unflipped by one of the 4 Witch of Goats you should be running)- Macha will call a G1 to your field from the deck, and with the sometimes sparse fields Witches can suffer with, this is a big help.  And the Toolbox effect is also incredibly handy. Everything set up for a Dana play, but no Dana in hand? Use Macha. Ready for a beatdown, but the hand is all triggers and defence? Use Macha, calling Scatchach. Want to set up grave for Legion next turn? It's unlikely you'll need to, but you can use Macha, and call Arianrhod.

In short, she can fetch you whatever you need fetching. She will also most likely call attention to herself on the field, making your opponent target her, which is not so much a problem in Witches as the deck doesn't rely on her at all, simply using her effect to gain advantage. And if she lives, and you're conserving CB for the bosses- she makes excellent fodder for the next card we're going to use, or can be easily intercepted, to be replaced with a Femme or Deirdre the turn after.

 Stride (Released when both players' vanguards are grade 3 or greater!)-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) & Choose a face down card named "Dark Dragon, Phantom Blaster "Diablo"" from your G zone, and turn it face up] If the number of face up cards in your G zone is two or more, until end of turn, this unit gets [Power]+10000/[Critical]+1 and "[AUTO](VC):[Choose three of your rear-guards, and retire them] When this unit attacks a vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, your opponent may choose two of his or her rear-guards, and retires them. If he or she does not retire two rear-guards, until end of that battle, your opponent cannot call cards from hand to (GC).".

Dark Dragon, Phantom Blaster Diablo is an incredibly powerful card. There are accusations flying that its unbalanced, too overpowered. I'm not going to get into that, but I am going to discuss a topic that I've not seen many discuss: how it can work for Witches.

Firstly, Witches find it harder to pay this cost than other Shadow Paladin builds, but they can manage. Lir, for one, eases this- either you pull her effect off, calling two Witch of Goats, getting the unflip, and then dumping those units for Diablo, or if Lir failed, send her. Macha eases the cost, even during the turn you stride Diablo, helping not to throw yourself off kilter. So, it's payable.

The effect will make the opponent retire at least 2 of their units, or make them suffer the onslaught. This works out as a win/win, even in witches. Diablo in Witches functions more as a problem solver as an out-and-out finisher, as for a finisher, look no further than Rias (potential for a pseudo +25k boost to each column for only 1 retire). The problems Diablo solves are thus- the opponent is savvy enough to know that leaving the Grade 0's is going to end badly for them, so they minus themselves more by calling more units over them, stopping your extra draw and finishing effects.

This is a dangerous move for them, but it does disadvantage us- no draws from Fianna, and no finisher with Rias. What do we do? Stride Diablo. The worst possible time for them to face Diablo is when they're low on resources. This is especially true of any Stride, but with Diablo, it can really harm them. If they want to guard, they're losing those shiny new calls to pay for the right to do so, and then when they guard, they're dealing with at least a 36K double crit unit with Triple Drive. Then they're losing cards from their small hand (Perfect Guards, mainly).

Or- if they decide to keep their rear guards (or if they don't have 2 rearguards) you're hitting them for at least 2 damage, straight up. Easy. In short, Diablo can disadvantage the opponent further, can strike for game, and can add more control to the Witch deck. Just play with the timing.

One Card Review:

Maiden of Lost Memory

Neo Nectar, Grade 2

[AUTO](RC) Generation Break 1 (This ability is active if you have one or more face up G units in total on your (VC) or G zone):[Counter Blast (2)] When this unit's attack hits a vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, for each unit you have with the same card name as this unit, draw a card, choose a card from your damage zone, and turn it face up.

Maiden of Lost Memory is an interesting unit. Taking it at face value, it's a mid-game card, that offers you not very much in the early game, where she will function as an 8k Vanilla Grade 2, which is just plain bad. Very few 8k Grade 2s get away with it, examples being Silent Tom, etc.

However, what changes this is it's effect. Copying her (easily done in the Maiden Stride deck where she is most welcome) means that she becomes a fairly scary pressure unit. On hit draw 2 (factoring in the Unflip)? And she has TWO chances to do this each turn? You could draw more cards, and unflip more, by playing more copies- but this is getting into unnecessary "win-moar" territory.

Back to the cons- how's she going to hit a vanguard with 8k? Even with Sour Slicer boosting her (and Sour Slicer SHOULD be boosting, or something is wrong) She's going to be 15k at least, or 18k with the field done right. She's best played when Ahsha reaches GB2. Then, the resulting 10k to the column will make her a much scarier 27-28k beater capable of drawing some serious cardage. Just leave the counterblasts open. So, to summarize:

Pros

1. Easily cloned like any other unit, making her "cost" easily paid
2. The drawing effect is essentially free if you're doing it right
3. The pressure and the possible defense gain is really handy for late game Maidens

Cons

1. She's an 8k Vanilla for most of the early game, bad ride, bad call, dead in hand almost
2. Once again, when the effect is active, 8k will require the best boosters (and Ahsha) to hit
3. Takes deck space away from more "reliable" cards- Watermelon Barrage/Maiden of Gladiolus

Overall Score:

3.85/5

Scary if done right, and horrifying if done wrong. A fun card none the less. Also, I've no idea what the hell it is she's holding.