Showing posts with label inigo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inigo. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

News: Marth Decks Dominate Tournament Results, Tops Akihabara Tourney

Chrom didn't make the cut in Super Smash Bros., and he's not making it in Cipher.

Ten new tournaments took place between June 2nd and July 6th. Of the eighteen tournaments that have been reported on since the game's launch last month, twelve of them have been won by Marth decks. Accordingly, red is also the most consistent top in the game. The second most played deck of the Warblade of Heroes format is Inigo Harem, which has easily surpassed Chrom as the primary deck of choice for blue. Marth decks cumulatively account for more than two thirds of tops, while Inigo makes up 17% of the top decks. The rest is spread between rogue decks that have only topped once. An index of the most recent tournaments is provided below.
What should be kept in mind with these results is that more than a hundred shop tournaments took place in June, and a hundred more will have finished by the end of this week. Only about 8% of all tournaments that happen are reported, and so we are generalizing from a very small sample of data that may be skewed by the low number of reporting card shops. Provided that it is accurate, the first two weeks of tournament play should not see this kind of gulf emerge between Sword of Light and Mark of Naga decks. An ideally diverse format would be split 50-50 between the two colors.

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On July 8th, Card Kingdom Akihabara held a 16-person double elimination tournament, which became the second consecutive top for Lyndis, winner of the previous Akihabara shop tournament. Lyndis' deck underwent several major revisions between tournaments, most notably removing her cost 2 Tikis in favor of running cost 1 Nowi to accelerate her bond zone instead, as well as cutting Sumia to make room for the Tharja line. Tharja has been an unpopular choice in both pure blue and multicolor decks, requiring heavy reversal costs and restrictive handsize conditions in order to force the opponent to discard and gain attack bonuses.

With particular regard to "Mage of Dark Obsessions, Tharja," the costs and difficulty of setup can be worth the investment. If Tharja's cost 3 print was class changed from either her cost 1 or cost 2 variants, her reverse 3 skill forces the opponent to discard 3 cards, which effectively counters most forms of acceleration due to the low availability of true card advantage in the game. Without cards in hand the opponent can't place bonds, deploy units, discard for evasion, or discard for critical hits; at best they must choose two of those options to be available to them, and sacrifice the rest.


King TCG held its second shop tournament over July 2nd, and uploaded the results of the tournament to YouTube on the 4th. While the previous tournament was won by a conventional Marth deck, in this tournament finals Ogma made a surprise appearance as the champion's main character of choice.  The majority of players stick to Marth because of his ability to move an opponent's unit, controllign their field and exposing them to attacks. It's this very quality that has reinforced the use of units with Flying, as their shared support skill allows one to move units without setting them to the actioned state, allowing them to move and attack in the same turn.

By playing Ogma instead, the tournament winner gave up these qualities for a better offensive game. Basic Ogma becomes a 60 attacker as long as there are two other cost 2 or less allies in play. In his promoted state as "Steel Swordsman, Ogma" he both gains +10 attack every time a cost 2 or less ally is deployed and gives +10 attack to the deployed unit, preventing the opponent's defensive checks from blocking their attacks. Steel Swordsman can also become a range 1~2 attacker by reversing one bond, which gives him comparative levels of field control to "Lodestar, Marth" since the opponent can't move their units out of Ogma's range. This also gives him the freedom to move to the rearguard area and attack from there, where the opponent can't reach him.

The Chrom player in the finals ultimately lost the game as a result of mismanaging their bonds, being unable to play the cards they had in hand due to a combination of not having the right colors face-up at key times, and not having enough to pay the costs. They were also unable to ever take the lead in orbs due to their preoccupation with attacking allied units rather than Ogma himself, whose power skill benefited from needing to deploy replacements.

Card Kingdom (Akihabara branch) shop tournament
First place: Lyndis/リンディス
Cost 5: 4
x2 Hero to His Country, Marth
x2 Manakete Princess, Tiki
Cost 4: 10
x4 Lodestar, Marth
x3 Angelic Advocate of Affection, Caeda
x3 Mage of Dark Obsessions, Tharja
Cost 3: 7
x3 Wellspring of Youth, Nowi
x4 Pegasus Knight Paragon, Cordelia
Cost 2: 7
x3 Princess of Altea, Elice
x2 Bewitching Plegian Shaman, Tharja
x2 New Exalt, Chrom
Cost 1: 22
x1 Crown-prince of Altea, Marth (Main character)
x2 Ascetic Saint, Lena
x4 Crown-princess of Talys, Caeda
x4 Practitioner of Dark Arts, Tharja
x4 Young Prodigy, Cordelia
x4 Tomboyish Manakete, Nowi
x3 Liberation Army Archer, Gordin

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

News: Inigo Harem Tops Game Plaza and Nerima Tournaments

On June 28th card shop Game Plaza Genki 302 held a 16-person Swiss Draw tournament for Cipher; the tournament fell far short of capacity at only six participants, with first place going to Kisoda playing an Inigo Harem deck similar to the one played by Haro P a week earlier. The Inigo deck has been a popular choice in the formation of the early tournament scene, as it can quickly turn into a defensive wall outside the reach of standard attackers, and rack up a strong offensive with a swarm of different Pegasus Knights cards. Second place went to Matt, and third to Lihou.

One particular offensive combo has been noted in Japan for taking advantage of a Flying-affinity lineup in a way no other deck can. The CCS of "Gentle Flower of the Shepherds, Sumia" gives +10 Attack to every unit that's supported by card with the Flying affinity, and this combos with "Guardian of Rosanne, Cherche," whose Wyvern Screech skill gives all Flying units +10 Attack. With over 70% of the deck being made up of Flying units, this on average doubles the attack power of every attacker other than Inigo.

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Game Plaza followed up on the tournament with another 16-person Swiss Draw competition on July 5th, but again had attendance problems with only 5 persons attending. Kisoda placed second in this tournament and Matt in third, with first place going to Higashi playing a Sword of Light deck. This is one of the most streamlined versions of the Sword of Light build seen since its debut, focusing on promoting five core lines of units and supporting them with a lineup of 25 support cards that each either overlap with the promotion lines or can act as reliable low-cost attackers that don't interfere with the deck's overall strategy. "Angelic Advocate of Affection, Caeda" is the defensive axis of the deck, able to search the deck when her attakc hits for copies of Marth to use for evasion, and "Crimson Reaper, Navarre" is its offensive axis, destroying a second enemy unit every time he destroys one by battle.

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On July 3rd, the Nerima branch of Card Kingdom hosted a 16-person Swiss Draw tournament. This tournament marked the second top by Taketea, who had also won the previous week's tournament. Although he played an Inigo Harem deck like Kisoda above, as at the previous tournament, Taketea thanked his "working 3" the Pegasus Knight sisters Palla, Catria, and Est, who have quickly become his trademark in local play. The multicolor deck shares a number of characteristics with the monocolor Marth build he played in the previous week, using Minerva's Iote's Shield to protect his units with Flying, and setting up his field with the lower-cost Pegasus sisters prior to promoting.

Game Plaza Genki 302 shop tournament (6/28)
First place: Kisoda/キソダ
Cost 4: 4
x2 Angelic Advocate of Affection, Caeda
x2 Affectionate Saint, Lena
Cost 3: 20
x4 Man of Flower's Fragrance, Inigo
x4 Gentle Flower of the Shepherds, Sumia
x4 Guardian of Rosanne, Cherche
x2 Pegasus Knight Paragon, Cordelia
x2 Aura's Heiress, Linde
x4 Wings of Restoration, Caeda
Cost 1: 27
x4 Cultivator of Smiles, Inigo (Main Character)
x4 Wyvern Loving Knight, Cherche
x4 Young Prodigy, Cordelia
x4 Maiden of Flower Fortunes, Sumia
x2 Eldest Pegasus Rider, Palla
x3 Young Princess of Macedon, Maria
x2 Crown-Princess of Macedon, Minerva
x2 Middle Pegasus Rider, Catria
x2 Youngest Pegasus Rider, Est

Game Plaza Genki 302 shop tournament (7/5)
First place: Higashi/ヒガシ
Cost 5: 1
x1 Hero to His Country, Marth
Cost 4: 14
x4 Lodestar, Marth
x4 Angelic Advocate of Affection, Caeda
x4 Sage of Gales, Merric
x2 Crimson Reaper, Navarre
Cost 3: 5
x3 Steel Swordsman, Ogma
x2 Wielder of a Bloody Blade, Navarre
Cost 2: 4
x4 Princess of Altea, Elicei
Cost 1: 26
x2 Crown-prince of Altea, Marth (Main character)
x4 Mage of Winds, Merric
x4 Crimson Fencer, Navarre
x4 Talysian Mercenary, Ogma
x4 Liberation Army Archer, Gordin
x4 Crown-princess of Talys, Caeda
x4 Princess of the Divine Dragon Tribe, Tiki

Card Kingdom (Nerima) shop tournament
First place: Taketea/竹てぃー
Deck name: Triangle △ Formation/トライアングル△フォーメーション
Cost 3: 22
x3 Pegasus Knight Paragon, Cordelia
x2 Eldest Pegasus Sister, Palla
x2 Middle Pegasus Sister, Catria
x2 Youngest Pegasus Sister, Est
x3 Princess, Minerva
x2 Wellspring of Youth, Nowi
x4 Gentle Flower of the Shepherds, Sumia
x4 Man of Flower's Fragrance, Inigo
Cost 2: 2
x2 Princess of Altea, Elice
Cost 1: 26
x2 Cultivator of Smiles, Inigo (Main Character)
x3 Princess of Talys, Caeda
x1 Practitioner of Dark Arts, Tharja
x2 Intellectual Inquirer, Miriel
x3 Young Prodigy, Cordelia
x2 Eldest Pegasus Rider, Palla
x2 Middle Pegasus Rider, Catria
x2 Youngest Pegasus Rider, Est
x3 Crown-princess of Macedon, Minerva
x4 Maiden of Flower Fortunes, Sumia
x2 Young Princess of Macedon, Maria

Saturday, June 27, 2015

News: Multicolor Inigo Harem Deck Tops GPC Tournament, First Tournament Video

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June 27th, 2015. TCG Shop Grand Panda Canyon in Akihabara held a sixteen person Swiss tournament. The shop's staff reported the tournament to be at maximum capacity; its winner was Haro P(@DenoHaro), playing a multicolor deck built around "Cultivator of Smiles, Inigo," to take advantage of his ability that gives him power bonuses for having female units in play. Haro P commented on Twitter that he felt there were too many improvements needed for the deck. In his tournament experience, there were not many players who understood the value of Gordin nor how dangerous range 2 units could be, and this contributed to his victory. Haro P's Inigo deck relies on Inigo's cost 1 print always attacking for 50 base power when a female ally is in play, 10 more than the standard power for a cost 1 lord. This also means that on average Inigo doesn't need as powerful support checks as his opponent for his attacks to hit. His promoted form also gets +20 attack power during the opponent's turn if he destroys an enemy by battle, making him a defensive 80.

This deck's trump cards are the promoted prints of Lucina and Cordelia, the former of which can stack the top 2 cards of the deck to predetermine support checks, and the latter can attack again after successfully defeating an enemy--including the opponent's main character. Cordelia is a force to be reckoned with in tournament play, as it's infinitely easier for an attack to hit in Cipher than it in other games, and with Princess Minerva to negate the effective bonus of archers against Flying units it can be very difficult to bring Cordelia down in spite of having low base power for a cost 3. Haro P's full decklist is transcribed below.

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The Mizonokuchi branch of Card Kingdom also held a 16-man Cipher tournament today. Tournament champion Narumiya(@otyapara) played a Sword of Light deck built around "Lodestar, Marth" from the War of Darkness starter deck, and her deck shared several of the same pieces as Taketea from Card Kingdom's Nerima branch. Narumiya credited her victory to the Attack Emblem support skill, which is shared by the cost 1 prints of Abel, Cain, Ogma, Cord, and Bord. Attack Emblem grants +20 attack to the attacking unit when its support checked, and as every card that has Attack Emblem has a base support value of 10, this grants a net +30 during the attack phase. She also lamented not having room for Draug in the deck in a later tweet, wishing to build a deck with her self-described husband as the main character.

Haro P is not the only multicolor player to come out of the woodwork this week. Over the 25th the first recorded tournament finals in Cipher's history were uploaded to the web, from card shop King Trading Cards in Noda. Unlike the Panda Canyon and Nerima tournaments, King TCG used a tournament bracket throughout the entire sixteen-person competition, rather than playing Swiss rounds. The finals were a multicolor Sword of Light versus a monocolor Mark of Naga deck, and the video is presented below.


The tournament finals were best of one, with a 30 minute time limit. The Sword of Light multicolor deck took advantage of having cards from both colors with the Magic Emblem ability, which allows a player that support checks it to draw a card and drop a card. This game also demonstrated one reason why Emblem cards have become so popular in the first few days since the game's launch; the Sword of Light player was able to consistently check both Attack and Defense Emblem cards that granted a +20 bonus on either the attacking or defending turn, putting them 10 points above the opponent's power every time. No decklists have turned up for the King TCG tournament.

Grand Panda Canyon Shop Tournament
First place: Haro P/ハロP
Cost 4: 11
x4 Knower of the Future, Lucina
x4 Angelic Advocate of Affection, Caeda
x3 Princess, Minerva
Cost 3: 12
x4 Man of Flower's Fragrance, Inigo
x4 Pegasus Knight Paragon, Cordelia
x2 Wellspring of Youth, Nowi
x2 Aura's Heiress, Linde
Cost 2: 4
x4 Princess of Altea, Elice
Cost 1: 23
x4 Cultivator of Smiles, Inigo (Main Character)
x4 Young Prodigy, Cordelia
x2 Myrmidon from Parts Unknown, Athena
x2 Young Princess of Macedon, Maria
x3 Crown-Princess of Macedon, Minerva
x4 Crown-Princess of Talys, Caeda
x4 Swordsman Known as Marth, Lucina

Card Kingdom Mizonokuchi Shop Tournament
First place: Narumiya/なるみや
Cost 4: 4
x4 Lodestar, Marth
Cost 3: 5
x3 Steel Swordsman, Ogma
x1 Infamous Knight "Raging Bull," Cain
x1 Infamous Knight "Prowling Panther," Abel
Cost 2: 5
x3 Loose-Cannon Swordsman, Naarre
x2 Princess of Altea, Elice
Cost 1: 36
x4 Crown-Prince of Altea, Marth (Main Character)
x4 Verdant Knight, Abel
x4 Scarlet Knight, Cain
x4 Talysian Mercenary, Ogma
x4 Crown-Princess of Talys, Caeda
x4 Talysian Fighter, Bord
x4 Talysian Fighter, Cord
x4 Crown-Princess of the Divine DragonTribe, Tiki
x4 Ascetic Saint, Lena