Monday, February 8, 2016

The "Blues"

The "Blues"
Moonlit Savior Spoilers Article #2
Article Written by Steven Peets







Hello fellow Force of Will players today I'd like to take a moment to talk about the new blue spoilers for the up coming set.  Most of which have a musical theme to them which makes me super hyped so lets get started.





















First up the new ruler Songstress of Shangri-La and her "better half" Coup d'Etat Mastermind, Shion.  I've read a lot of articles and posts about this card and for now her reputation is about as good as Martin Shkreli's.  Few people have gotten behind this card or even really tried to understand how a competitive deck could be built with her.  Being able to look at the top of your deck at any time is a powerful mechanic and having a Judgement that costs only ONE blue will and 2 void makes her easy to judgement and splash other will colors in your deck.  Now her J-Ruler side is another beast and completely busted if set up for a combo or high tempo style deck.  Putting any resonator in the game 5 cost or less onto the battle field for free is extremely strong.  Her God's Art is well placed in Water will and highly deserved.  Over all when I read this card from front to back what I see is.... I know whats on top of my deck at any point in the game.. I flip into my combo resonator or tempo resonator while also having the option to "Blazer" someones J/resonator.  At this point if I could of asked anything for Water Will last year this card is almost what I would of asked for to a T.  Knowing when its okay to shuffle your deck is and always will be a powerful mechanic in any CTCG. 

With great power comes great deck manipulation.  Like I stated above knowing what you will draw is powerful but being able to change that is even more powerful.  Early to mid game the regular tap ability on this card will be helpful.  The secondary ability will be back breaking on your opponent if your deck is set up properly.  Search for any card and place it on top of your deck is boarder line busted when you really think about it.  Game one this is still a very strong and heavy handed ability to compliment whatever your decks strategy is.  Game two and three this card is the ultimate bomb in your deck.  The reason I say this is because it allows your side board to go a little bit more broad than most ruler's will allow you.  Essentially no matter what you are facing against with this card in your deck the chances of you getting your side boarded cards are a lot higher.  This card could even be considered four extra copies of whatever tech card you've added games two and three.  The card is strong and very underestimated with the possibility of putting Water back on the competitive map.  That being said this card is not limited to water decks which makes it even better.  For those that have played MTG this is a scary card and could lead to a downward spiral of control or combo esk decks.  Whether it be in the standard format of Force of Will or future legacy tournaments this card will make a deck and be the sole reason why that arch type was made.  

Not much to really say that can't be read.  A stone that places a card into your hand when Shangri-la is your ruler or you know whats on top of your deck.  Really powerful and well placed in this color and something Water needed to keep up with other card drawing engines.  That being said it does not draw you a card which is a bit of a let down but still a nice ability. 

Not the most busted card but definitely not a bad early game resonator.  Having the possibility to stop a Cthugha train early in the game is nothing to write off and definitely something blue could use.

One of my favorite cards spoiled so far from the new set.  He is definitely combo worthy by having multiples on the battle field or having multiple attack phases with him.  He feels a little slow but if protected well enough combat math for your opponent becomes an absolute nightmare.  Attacking into him is equally as dangerous as his offensive side is.  He is also easily splash able in almost any deck thanks to one water double void cost.  If you can protect him well enough he will win you the game without much thought other than turning him side ways.  


  I like this card a lot but I'm not really happy with it.  At three cost it seems slow because its a chant spell.  I would even take it being triple Water Will to see it at instant speed.    That being said the power level on this card at the right time is back breaking on your opponent and will either win you the game or definitely swing it into your favor.  Bouncing a resonator is great putting a 2 cost water resonator into play for free is great and spending two less on a Coup's god art is amazing.  Two resonators I see as being target number one for this card to hit off the top of your deck are Hera or Muse.

Of all the resonators revealed so far in all the colors this one to me is the strongest.  There is so much value to be had with this card that its almost mind blowing.  Two cost one water one void makes it splash able.  A 400/600 body isn't bad for a blue resonator.  With Shangri-La as your ruler this card reads put a card on top of your deck into your hand 100% of the time.  Something important to note though it does not say draw a card so that is a little bit of a let down in terms of other drawing card synergies.  Her second ability is frightening to say the least.  Turning your entire board into Gareth is a whole other level of shenanigans that this game might not be ready for.  Another important note is it does not say PRINTED DEF which makes this card even better.  Putting this card into play with Shion's Hymn is essentially like living the "Dream" three will to bounce a resonator put Muse into play put a card into your hand from muse protect your team and then god art a J/Resonator out of your way for you to attack is VALUE town.  


Over all I think a lot of people have under valued some of the new blue cards and honestly rightfully so.  Unfortunately from what I've seen the power level of each color in the game is no where near balanced.  There are still strong cards in blue like Cheshire and Alice's World but these have only been splashed to further improve other decks.  Blue has been the "red headed step child" for a long time now and with the release of these spoilers I finally think blue is headed in the right direction.  Whether that be tempo, control, or combo we now have a ruler that is willing to go either or all three at the same time.  So with all that said hopefully Water will no longer have "The Blues" and can continue being a real part of what FoW was originally about.  Thanks for taking the time to read our articles and we appreciate any feed back or thoughts on current or earlier articles written by us.


Steven Peets