111 replies to this topic

[Hakkor]

If one is dipping to crab... I strongly suggest Mountain does not fall.  If you opponent is first player, this card is amazing, otherwise its simply good.  Play it after committing a Voltron on defense, so you can then attack back with the same monster.  Mountain does not fall x3 and reprieve x3 both work.  

 

New Northern Wall Sensei should help out significantly with helping stop cards from attacking the Voltrons.  

 

Indeed, both cards have performed amazingly well. Reprieve is so much better every time I play, 50% times being free thanks to Daimyos Favor.

 

Playing against more control decks, I have found that Glory 1 characters can perfectly hold their ground Dishonored if they are packed with items. The only assasinates I fear is when heavily investing into Agasha Swordsmith with Way of the Dragon, but Reprieve or Above question solves it. The rest of the time, 1-2 costers are baits. The real stuff goes into cost 3+ characters.

 

Raitsugu is a monster. Packed with 2 Kazues and 2 Tetsubos in the deck, once one of them hits the board, he is a defense gun turret. Even if opponent manages to bow it, it still clears most of the opponent's boards (way of the dragon doubles the mayhem) with no problem. I usually keep my Let Go for possible Pacifism and Cloud the mind, since such a beast fears no katanas.

 

Playing the long game has won me the last 4 games in a row. In the end, it's a matter of tempo and forcing your opponent waste his resources and spend honor on cards, while every attachment you play will be on the board for 2-3 turns or more. I need to try it further against Scorpion and Fenix, and see if it still works.

[Botais]

If one is dipping to crab... I strongly suggest Mountain does not fall.  If you opponent is first player, this card is amazing, otherwise its simply good.  Play it after committing a Voltron on defense, so you can then attack back with the same monster.  Mountain does not fall x3 and reprieve x3 both work.  

 

New Northern Wall Sensei should help out significantly with helping stop cards from attacking the Voltrons.  

Yeah, Crab with Reprieve + MDNF is my second current go-to splash, but the game-closer synergy with Crane rarely disappointed me, while Crab 'just' helps you snowball to victory faster (still damn good splash). I think the choice of whether to splash Crane or Crab is somewhat dependent on your Dynasty picks. The synergy between Crane and Prodigy is just crazy good, but if you are not so fond of her, I can see some massive plays with our higher cost characters just refusing to bow thanks to Indomitable Will and MDNF. That moment when you have a single character participate in every single conflict in a round is priceless.

 

Edit: I do need to definitely try Unicorn, though. I had not seriously considered it before and I can definitely see the value.

[Quadratus]

Played a casual 4 round swiss tournament last night with the Crab splash deck, went 2-2. MDNF was definitely good, but I wasn't as inclined to use Reprieve when I didn't have Daimyo's Favor on the board, making it a bit dead in my hand.

 

However, Raitsugu's duels were basically the deciding factor in both of my win games. I was able to throw a Katana and a Way of the Dragon on him and watch him go to work. If Yokuni's also out, it becomes a nightmare for the opponent.

 

Now that I see the power of duels (especially Raitsugu's as it's the only kill-duel in the game at the moment), I'm excited to try out the Crane splash. The strategy with Mirumoto Prodigy sounds like fun to me as well.

 

Also would like to try Unicorn! Spyglass seems to have great synergy (as you guys already said ...)

[elrodogg]

I actually started rotating daimyo's favor out of my deck.  I am not sure the econ it provides is worth the slot.  I already have 15 attachments (both +2 mil, both +2 pol, 3x reprieve) plus 3x tattooed monks. Between ancestral and a couple of swordsmiths, I find I end up with enough attachments.  

 

MDNF was definitely good, but I wasn't as inclined to use Reprieve when I didn't have Daimyo's Favor on the board, making it a bit dead in my hand.

 

Can't be afraid to play it... just consider adding a fate to something already in play.  

[Botais]

Something I only now realised, when I was considering Blood of Onnotangu: Getting a Seeker role and playing 3x Kitsuki Yaruma can give us some serious economy. The +1 Fate for the Seeker role triggers every time the associated Provinces are revealed, not just the first time.

 

More and more I really like the idea of us scoring a Seeker (Fire or Void).

 

With the inclusion of Tears of Amaterasu, having Yaruma in a Keeper deck also starts being tempting. Between Tears, Restoration/Night Raid and Rally we can have plenty of reveal effects. In fact, when including Yaruma, I might even consider Night Raid over Restoration for repeated forced card loss (where Restoration would then be known and avoidable for the opponent).

[Hakkor]

With the inclusion of Tears of Amaterasu, having Yaruma in a Keeper deck also starts being tempting. Between Tears, Restoration/Night Raid and Rally we can have plenty of reveal effects. In fact, when including Yaruma, I might even consider Night Raid over Restoration for repeated forced card loss (where Restoration would then be known and avoidable for the opponent).

 

That's the beauty of telegraphed menaces: your enemy knows it, so if he intends to bid high he won't attack that province (leaving him to more narrow province choices). If he wants to ensure a province break, he will have to bid low (and still lose cards). In any case, he will be very conditioned for the coming turn, and you can take advantage from the situation.

[Botais]

That's the beauty of telegraphed menaces: your enemy knows it, so if he intends to bid high he won't attack that province (leaving him to more narrow province choices). If he wants to ensure a province break, he will have to bid low (and still lose cards). In any case, he will be very conditioned for the coming turn, and you can take advantage from the situation.

 

That is fair, but a threat that cannot be played around can be nice in itself. If an opponent bids high to balance out the guaranteed loss from Raid, he is at least behind on Honor.

It does make me wonder if Dragon Dishonor decks will ever be a viable thing. Certainly in those cases Raid would be the better choice because of the aforementioned.

[Hakkor]

It depends a lot in deck build and strategy. It's nice to see so many viable builds of Dragon.

[Quadratus]

That is fair, but a threat that cannot be played around can be nice in itself. If an opponent bids high to balance out the guaranteed loss from Raid, he is at least behind on Honor.

It does make me wonder if Dragon Dishonor decks will ever be a viable thing. Certainly in those cases Raid would be the better choice because of the aforementioned.

 

Somehow in most of my games with Dragon (other than against Scorpion), the other player ends up on 5 or 6 honor by the end of round two, because 1) they expect Dragon players to bid 5 turn one, and I don't, and 2) Assassinations come out on solid low cost characters like Doomed Shugenja, Niten Adept, and Mirumoto Prodigy. I think it could eventually be quite viable in a Dragon-control setup.

[Hakkor]

Actually that's what usually happens when I play my Dragon voltron build. I don't go to dishonor at all, but keep my bids at 2-3, depending on dinasty flop and number of ancestral attachments in hand. And, for some reason, opponent starts to spam banzai's and assassinates due to high pressure, and end with 6 honor (more o less) without me doing anything special about it.

 

Then, once you get an agasha swordsmith to search your key tools, you can keep your bid at 2 and don't fall behind on cards. If your opponent goes high bidding to outpower you, punish their honor and that's a win. If he plays safe and goes down on the bid, he has little cards to prevent you from breaking provinces.

[Botais]

Actually that's what usually happens when I play my Dragon voltron build. I don't go to dishonor at all, but keep my bids at 2-3, depending on dinasty flop and number of ancestral attachments in hand. And, for some reason, opponent starts to spam banzai's and assassinates due to high pressure, and end with 6 honor (more o less) without me doing anything special about it.

 

Then, once you get an agasha swordsmith to search your key tools, you can keep your bid at 2 and don't fall behind on cards. If your opponent goes high bidding to outpower you, punish their honor and that's a win. If he plays safe and goes down on the bid, he has little cards to prevent you from breaking provinces.

 

That matches my experience, but they tend to wise up fast enough that pushing them fully to 0 usually does not pan out.

[Quadratus]

That matches my experience, but they tend to wise up fast enough that pushing them fully to 0 usually does not pan out.

 

Exactly. I can get them to 4 or 5 without too much thought, but after that they start to become extremely conscious of their remaining honor.

[Botais]

So Seeker of Fire it is. I am quite happy with that choice, already started updating my decks. The Stone of Sorrows cannot come soon enough.

[FightingWalloon]

What does Dragon look like after Worlds? What goes in Dynasty to replace Keepers?

[Botais]

What does Dragon look like after Worlds? What goes in Dynasty to replace Keepers?

 

For me, Yaruma. I have also been experimenting with Seeker Initiates in preparation of full Monk decks where they will be useful for High Kick fodder.

[Quadratus]

For me, Yaruma. I have also been experimenting with Seeker Initiates in preparation of full Monk decks where they will be useful for High Kick fodder.

 

Same. Also went to one-of Mantra of Fire, just in case I ever get to pull it off (prolly against Phoenix or Scorpion).

[Kingsley]

Here is my current Dragon build + a brief strategy guide:

 

https://fiveringsdb....1ccf16fca4/view

[DaigotsuRyuzen]

Its nice to see a new Dragon build again.. its been a while since someone posted here..

[Asklepios]

Interesting stuff. Thought Feast or Famine was a strong reason, but a lot of us here thought you were going for Night Raid / Restoration of Balance combo, though of course that was before we saw this amazing card!

 

Nice to see your Let Go thoughts too. My own analyses of recent meta changes have been similar, making me value Let Go a lot less than I did in core.

 

I still think I prefer Crane alliance overall, as Above Question gives more protection than Reprieve, though admittedly you get the character for one turn less. It's not just kill effects I want to prevent, but also soft control of all sorts, as losing a turn of action with your voltron because it gets bowed is very harmful to tempo.

 

Having said that, I think you're onto something with Pathfinder's Blade. It is indeed a very strong card for Dragon...

[FightingWalloon]

Thanks for the write up, Kingsley. I hope L5R starts to generate more strategy and deck building content in permanent forums. Discord is nice but ephemeral. Wisdom shared there disappears quickly.