Learning from my previous mistakes, I spent 2 weeks building my deck to counter Mel. With this build, I was prepared to endure and overcome any sort of assault that Mel would have using non-banish options. For those interested, the following is the source of my inspiration.

The Japanese build used the classic Don’t Leave Me as a cheap and stable stop-2 option, and Ancient Groove to make up for the missing 2-card advantage from opening a 1-coin advantage key. The fact that downing is emphasised is definitely due to Myu’s ease of removing enemy signi on her turn. Keeping the pointers in mind, I put a more offensive spin on things.

I was ready to deal with any threat. In order to take less damage from LRIG attacks, I added in 9 Guards. Furthermore, a high number of vanilla or power increment signi were used in order to ensure that I could withstand constant lancer assaults and threats from Red, Blue and Black. The availability of Black Tama Key gave me the option of running Memorial Five, a more versatile Don’t Move for use against White LRIGs with the added flex option of paying 1 more Blue Ener to draw a card in the case of a match against Blue LRIGs.

…not that it mattered anyways in the ensuing battles.

Today’s Matchups

1. Myu v. Allos Piruluk (Loss)
2. Myu v. Tawil (Friendly) (Loss)

Match Analysis: Myu v. Allos Piruluk

One of the demons that I have yet to overcome. I’ve fought Allos Piruluk multiple times in the past using Tama, and have been soundly defeated each time. Through the matches I’ve gotten slightly wiser with managing hand and staying above the threshold where Allos Piruluk can comfortably defeat me. Ironically, not maintaining that very threshold turned out to be my undoing, following a devastating misplay.

The fatal mistake was forgetting that Allos Piruluk holds the opponent in a stranglehold the moment they enter the lategame with less than 3 cards in hand. I committed to that amount of cards in hand by overextending, and paid the price for that selection.

Track Record of Opponent — Felix

• Longtime player of WIXOSS
• Has been a veteran player of Allos Piruluk
• Deck is updated until the Rhetoric era

Pointers from the Match

Allos Piruluk plays a control strategy. That is to say, there are no huge combos from turn to turn. She delivers a constant stream of pressure that explodes at L4 and continues to be oppressive as she goes to L5. The important turns to note are when Allos Piruluk grows to L4 and above, when she gains access to the powerful Shahraza and Anastasia.

Turn 1: Allos Piruluk played no signi and ended the turn after growing.

Illumis’s Notes

Fortunately for me and my 1-key build, Allos Piruluk started first. Due to the fact that Allos Piruluk’s discard effects affect herself, I would stand to be at an advantage should my opponent have chosen to play Manomin at this stage of the game. Starting with 6 cards rather than 5 gave me a head start over my opponent. Perhaps it is because of this concern that my opponent chose to play nothing from hand, waiting for me to provide him 3 Ener and put myself at an uncomfortable 2~3 cards in hand before discarding my hand.

Or it could simply be a case of not having cards in hand to play. Whichever case it is, it worked out in my favour as I pushed 2 damage through with a vanilla and a servant.

Turn 2: Piruluk Key was played in order to set the discard strategy into motion. The opponent started playing Manomin, but the damage to hand was negligible at this point.

Illumis’s Notes

Using vanillas and signi that boost their own power was the correct choice. It seems that vanillas are significantly more stable and capable of preserving their presence on the field, and would demand more responses from the opponent in order to have them removed. It was critical in a matchup where -power mattered.

Turn 3: The main threat during this turn would be on-attack effects from Rackham, or perhaps some sort of discard-and-reduce-power threat such as Rahab. Given that I do not recall facing any sort of problem during this turn, perhaps my opponent had either chosen not to include the Rahab-Crocell-Crocell/Rahab combo due to the risk of running out of hand before L4, or simply wasn’t able to draw into it.

Turn 4: An Allos Piruluk intent on growing to L5 will begin to push powerful threats through the Catharsis + Shahraza/Shahraza/X combo, possibly even making use of the 12 limit in order to field a full field of 13k/13k/12k power signi. This is a powerful one-turn nuke that allows Allos Piruluk to execute the double Shahraza combo with no regard for her hand, for she will draw 4 cards during the next draw phase.

Illumis’s Notes

This is when I realised Allos Piruluk’s immense staying power. This is a highly threatening board that can reduce the power of the opponent’s signi by 12k twice, possibly even more depending on the add-on that Allos Piruluk chooses to field. Threatening adds include Rackam, who can possibly banish on-attack when going first, such as during this match. To add insult to injury, Allos Piruluk cannot be damaged by your LRIG at all, so she could keep non-servant signi in hand after fielding her combo.

Fortunately, the solution to this board was available in the form of a band of high-powered signi that could withstand the subtractions. In my case, I simply used Memorial Five to recover my hand while downing two of the attacking signi. The excellent synergy with Silent simply means that my opponent loses three Ener for their troubles.

Turn 5 onwards: Allos Piruluk stabilises by this point, no longer taking any form of LRIG attack damage unless she chooses to. Should you be caught with 3 or less cards in hand, there would be no turning back from the jaws of defeat unless you still have an ARTS or a Spell capable of generating advantage, for Piruluk will discard 1 card from your hand every turn (your guard) for free, while you desperately field signi in order to stop her attacks. In order to break the stranglehold, a decisive signi attack is needed using whatever resources available.

Interestingly, The Law was used in this build as well, in order to cycle Shutendo or Shahaza back to hand as needed. However, the load of providing rise materials for The Law eventually took its toll on the Allos Piruluk’s hand.

Illumis’s Notes

This is when both Allos Piruluk and my LRIG run dry on resources. After the explosive L5 turn, Allos Piruluk will be scraping the bottom of the figurative barrel in search of options to field. At this point, Allos Piruluk was looking for options within the 2 cards drawn per turn, any available Anastasia in trash, any topdecked Shutendo as well as the 1/turn recovery of the MIRACLE Spell.

To challenge Allos Piruluk, field high-power signi in order to disrupt Shahraza plays. Allos Piruluk herself is unable to recover signi from trash, and almost no hand to afford Shahraza’s attack phase AUTO ability. This way, one can continue to contend with Allos Piruluk’s strategy while providing one with enough Ener to fuel abilities that draw cards.

The recovery of the MIRACLE spell will enable Piruluk to obliterate any hand with hand size 2 or below using both MIRACLE and Peeping, hence it is advised to only field 2 signi per turn if hand conservation is a priority. For LRIGs like Myu where options to reload the hand are plentiful, spartan use of Ener in order to afford Eskimo or Nebula Connect plays will create difficulty for Allos Piruluk to put into motion her hand-death strategy.

It is advisable to move into the final phase of this battle with 2 or more life cloth remaining if one expects a protracted battle. That way, one can continue to receive resource resupplies in terms of Ener from Life Cloth crushed by the opposing Allos Piruluk’s attacks. (No, guarding is impossible at this stage of the game when you need at least 2 guards in hand to avoid guaranteed damage.)

A TELOS Piruluk build may exert constant pressure over the course of the game with her discard options, but this particular conservative build will not pose much of a threat to modern, post-Alternative LRIGs. Having access to spells and signi that draw makes fighting against Allos Piruluk much more manageable, to the point where it is possible to outlast Allos Piruluk and watch her destroy herself through her self-destructive playstyle.

For reference, this TELOS build ran Piruluk Key, Don’t Leave Me, Don’t Move and Select Happy 5.

The important rule of thumb here is to apply pressure early and guard early. The value of servants decreases drastically towards lategame, either being discard bait or field filler. This is especially true for post-Alternative LRIGs that can recover hand size easily on the L4 turn and mount a counteroffensive from there.

Match Analysis: Myu v. Tawil

Unlike the match against Allos Piruluk, I had no experience battling against Tawil. Armed with only knowledge from hearsay, this was pretty much a blind matchup where I didn’t know what to stop.

Within the SG community, Tawil is known for single-handedly reviving the use of on-attack banish signi due to Primal. Reviving three signi while maintaining access to their On-Play effects is as ridiculous as it sounds.

Track Record of Opponent — ??? (Name to be added)

• Regular player of WIXOSS
• Liwat player
• Has finished 2nd as Remember during the August WPs
• Personally, I know this player for his aggressive rushdown decks

Pointers from the Match

Turn 1~2: As Tawil, hand remains plentiful while creating many situations to crush the opponent’s Life Cloth. The use of Kaishin Tenka every turn early on enables the ever-popular Doarf engine, to Ener Charge, Draw and open lanes at the same time. This eventually leads to the use of HanaMido Key, which continues to fuel Tawil’s Ener.

Illumis’s Notes

Primal costing only 1 coin ensures that Tawil can reuse Kaishin Tenka at least 3 times (given this player runs the 2 coin HanaMido Key) to obtain 1 beat, banish an opponent’s signi, and then activate the signi’s beat effects to banish. It’s Ridiculous.

The moment the opposing Tawil fielded a Doarf-Doarf board on Turn 2, I knew it was too dangerous to allow that to go through. However, I had no response to that: I couldn’t exceed, I didn’t have ener to use any ARTS either. The downfall of the single-key build is thus: there is no way to accumulate the resources needed to answer dangerous, early boards on Turn 2 without an advantage key.

Unlike other Red LRIGs that require playing spells such as Blessing of Five Lights to reload their hand for hand-intensive plays, Tawil’s advantage engine operates highly independent of the opponent’s choices.

Perhaps an elegant solution to this problem would be to take damage early in this matchup such that it is possible to put a stop to this engine using the Ener feedback from being attacked?

Turn 3~4: Tawil maintains superb banishing abilities through the use of the Kaishin Tenka-Hellhound combo, banishing 2 signi for 2 Red Ener and a coin. It is not uncommon to see all three lanes open for Tawil’s attack, given that she has seemingly infinite resources to pay effects with. By stacking enough effects, it is possible to field the Nakiru–Caim–Shub Niggura board, which can deal upwards of 5 damage a turn.

Illumis’s Notes

Very frankly, I have no idea how to stop these combos. It seems that Tawil has infinite capacity to rush down the opponent while packing superb defense. HanaMido Key is a superb key, granting both hand from on-play and Ener from exceeds. Shub-Niggura is ready to deal 2 damage the moment she gets to so much as attack. Primal can combo with a Munkaru/Nakiru and Hellhounds to banish the entirety of the opponent’s field on their turn for 1 coin and 3 Red Ener if need be. It’s very oppressive.

Perhaps a more aggressive policy regarding the use of ARTS is required in order to contend with Tawil towards the lategame. Ener is in high supply thanks to the constant banishing, and exclusions should be used to create difficulty for the opponent in recalling cards in trash as Beats.

Pressure from Tawil is very consistent and very oppressive. This is the hallmark of an aggro deck, and perhaps should warrant it being fought like any other aggro deck: using early responses and high-power signi walls.

The main threat that Tawil poses to the opponent is Shub-Niggura, which can crush 2 life cloth in a single attack. Responses must be saved for this particular signi. Other than that, responses should be used liberally to reduce incoming damage from the opponent, perhaps with expectations that Life Bursts are to work in tandem with early responses to stop Tawil’s signi attacks.

Maintaining a high life cloth count is also critical for preventing Tawil from using Kabu Nekkyou to close the game on an unsuspecting opponent off using 3 LRIG attacks. Perhaps keeping 2 guards in hand would be ideal, otherwise one should be able to pressure Tawil to the point where she has to use Kabu Nekkyou defensively.

For reference, this Tawil used HanaMido Key, Kabu Nekkyou, Kaishin Tenka, Caught in Your Own Trap and Storm Warning. This is a total of 5 signi responses within the ARTS slots itself, with Caught in Your Own Trap possibly stopping both a signi attack and banishing an additional signi through Beat effects. It is a highly fragile aggro deck, and, in hindsight, its frailty should be taken advantage of.

From here on out

In the end, my lack of skill in piloting the deck continues to hamper my ability to win with the deck. Myu is definitely in a good spot right now — what with easy access to cards and removal — but needs an adequate selection of ARTS cards in order to support her earlygame against aggressive opponents. At the very least, it seems that Myu is able to deal with TELOS comfortably if she does not overextend.

…or place signi in the wrong lanes, resulting in losing the critical 1 damage she needed to win the game with. Sigh.

Went into today’s party at Sanctuary Gaming with Myu. Influenced by the Japanese build, my Myu build was focused more on power-increase signi in order to stablise earlygame.

This was probably a mistake.

Today’s matchup was as follows:

1. Myu v. Mel — Loss
2. Tama (Japanese Build) v. Mel — Win

Match Analysis: Myu v. Mel

This was my first time fighting Mel since the release of EXPLODE. Having decided that Myu was the stronger LRIG of the two, I chose to build Myu, thinking that Chaos Outbreak was the solution to Mel’s Charm-based tactics. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Track Record of Opponent — WH

• Topped the WP before this one (17/08/2019, at TTZ)
• Mel player since EXPLODE
• Midoriko player before (?)

Pointers from the match:

Mel has a sleepy turn 1 that does not threaten much. This should be used to push as much damage through as possible if going second.

Starting from turn 2, Mel can use the massive number of coins she starts with to play True Yuzuki Key. A massive combo involving Carbo–Vitamin B2–Fibre was set up this turn, not only threatening 5 damage, but also being capable of defending against attacks next turn using Vitamin B2’s Attack Phase ability.

Illumis’s Notes

At this point in the game, Myu is likely L1 or L2, with access to perhaps 3 Ener after True Yuzuki Key banishes.

The most elegant solution to this board is likely Black Tama Key + Number Bind. Unsure if true.

The presence of Mel begs the change in deckbuilding philosophy: playing a Key that gives card advantage on T1 seems to be not ideal in this situation.

Against Mel, it is ideal to keep non-Banish responses in handy for the lategame, where threats will sport Banish and Bounce resistance.

On turn 3, Mel is likely to board Copper, Vitamin B2 and Fibre. After the initial power spike from betting 3 coins on True Yuzuki Key, Mel’s offense slows down. However, using the Lancer effect of Copper to push damage against an opponent’s signi while maintaing a stable, powerful field secures safe passage to L4.

Illumis’s Notes

The fact that Mel’s signi threaten damage while remaining sturdy makes mounting an offense difficult. Hence it is advisable to drop a response at this juncture to remove Copper and possibly Vitamin B2.

From Myu’s perspective, this is probably the final window to play Chaos Outbreak without its effectiveness being completely neutered.

Moving on into Mel’s final phase with as much LC as possible is advised.

Once Mel hits L4, expect immunity effects abound. Common board setups include Wedding-Wedding-Biotin, which enables easy access to Wedding’s 3-Charm effects, neutering responses that Banish while opening up lanes. This may be supported by the use of HanaMido Key in order to maximise the damage this board threatens. A variant to this board is the use of Wedding-Protein-Biotin/Copper, where the L3 signi is protected by Protein while Wedding gains banish immunity.

Illumis’s Notes

Double Wedding boards are difficult to deal with. In Myu’s case, an observant Mel player would use the power increments of Wedding and Biotin to circumvent the use of “power-to-0” effects, which is exactly the type of effect Chaos Outbreak uses. Myu is further jeopardised by the use of banish immunity, which punishes Myu’s removal effect of choice. However, this strategy has one glaring weakness: the lack of burst damage.

The majority of Mel’s burst damage exists in the earlygame in this particular build, on Turn 2. Banish-oriented responses should be used then to stymie the damage taken early on. This provides breathing room for Myu when Double Wedding boards are played, for the setup can only deal a maximum of 3 damage a turn. Given prudent use of Hanayo Key and Guards, it is possible to take only 2 damage per turn from here on out. Mounting a counterattack using Myu’s more durable signi (Helix, for example) is recommended, especially when Mel, crippled by the lack of S Lancer, is incapable of outright banishing signi outside of ARTS usage in a post-Wedding lategame, and thus lacks the ability to close a game.

It is possible that this match was lost through sheer inexperience with combating Mel. However, this deck has inspired a review of my current Banish-centric ARTS deck. Perhaps the reason Ancient Groove and Don’t Leave Me are played in a Japanese winning list would be to combat Banish immunity while maximising Silent’s value.

This was probably the first time I was so soundly beaten in a WIXOSS Party since a year ago, when I first begun playing the game. Once again matchup knowledge and experience is highlighted and underscored: there is no game when one doesn’t even know what an opponent’s deck is capable of. Skill remains the factor that decides whether a player wins in this game.

Extra: Tama v. Mel

This match uses the Japanese variant of Tama that includes Flaming Innocence. Played during a friendly against the same Mel player.

As it turns out, Flaming Innocence makes it really difficult for Mel to play Requiem. By combining Yukime Key for variable search/removal with Tama’s Innocence, it is possible to leave Mel unable to play any meaningful response against Tama’s board. (For reference, I had a Sanpoke-Pakkuncho-Arcgain board and the only meaningful response Mel had was Select Happy 5 due to the particular build used.)

Tama’s degeneracy knows no bounds.