As I wrote in a blog a while back, the next step for my SiN (Strength in Numbers) deck is to test out some of the new tools that were introduced in SEED 2. Since the deck starts with two elitism in play, any two threshold gearsmith cards and all warlord cards present new options. Let’s start with the new gearsmith cards I find… intriguing.

Before getting there though, it’s worth noting a few things:

- Replacing a card just to replace it with something new is not something I’m trying to do. I want to be careful that I don’t use a card just because it’s new.

- You have to go into this analysis with a fundamental understanding of this deck. This deck likes to win between turns three and seven. If the game goes much longer it’s only hope is a hail mary with cards like Schproing or Strength in Numbers. Rarely do I have to use either of those options, but if the game gets out of control they can find ways of winning when it looks dire.

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For two cost (and only at one threshold), a 1/3/3 isn’t bad… assuming it has some sort of ability. It actually has a few. It can deplete to pick another character. The only catch is that the restored character cannot attack. That makes this ability only really useful for two things:

1. Restoring a character who has some sort of deplete ability. There are several good abilities that fit this bill, but the only one in my deck currently is the Senior Research Assistant. If you have a SRA in play when this guy comes out, he immediately pays for himself by netting an additional 2 cost reduction. Unless I stumble upon several options to abuse this, it’s not extremely useful for me. Worth noting however.

2. Restoring a character on your opponent’s turn as an extra defender. This gets really nasty if you do it properly. With 3 health, this character can chump block pretty well. Not only that, but defenders don’t deplete until the end of a battle, so mid-battle you could stand another character. A prime candidate is of course someone like Adriel. That’s two blocks that do 0 damage and one block with this character. Could be good for holding out on that last turn.

The other ability on this guy requires three threshold… but it’s great! Simply, it is Pay 3, restore this character. He does have the one attack per turn limitation, but there are plenty of ways to abuse this. Again, he can easily defend two attacks. He can also be paired with something like a Schproinmajig to give you that extra 4 strength to win a game.

Try or Not: For now, this guy is out. He is definitely and interesting option and for a Schproing gambit he would be great. One of the big goals of SiN is to have options no matter what you draw, and this guy becomes way too situational.

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Now this guy sure is interesting. He fits the two threshold requirement, but his cost is a bit high at 5. He is really going to have to bring something to the… Oh… he’s a 3/5/3. That’s no bad. But what else does he do?

He has a pretty interesting ability. You can pay 1 and put a token on the character. If you do, you can put a micromajig into play. Now this has some serious potential. Micromajigs are great for a lot of things, especially in this deck. For starters, the namesake of this deck is Strength in Numbers. It doesn’t matter what you have out, you just need characters. So, if this guy is in play you are always threatening a pay four and get four micromajigs out move. With just this character you can have five character out. Add in SiN and you can attack for 25…

I hate having cards that only really work with certain other cards. That is especially true in The Spoils where the deck size is 75 and the odds of having any two cards consistently is not great. Does this card play well with other cards in the deck?

It actually works well with several other cards. They include:

- Noble Sacrifice – You choose a character you control (a micromajig that cost you 1 resource and 0 cards) and one your opponent controls (a character that cost them several resources anda  card). Destroy them both and draw a card. Very powerful here.

- Micromajig Master – Although he gets you two micromajigs, his ability requires that you destroy three in order to search your deck for… anything. Again, extremely powerful with this card.

- Schproingmajig – Just as with SiN, he just needs you to have characters on the board. The idea that you could have a Schproing and 0 characters out on one turn and then the next spend 8-9 to have 4-5 characters out is just insane. The big win is that it only costs you one card. In a typical circumstance, you would have to spend at least 8-9 and use 4-5 cards to have that many characters. That’s an effective savings of 9-12 resources easily.

Try or Not: Definitely. I am a little worried at the cost of the character, but overall he synergizes really well with several of the elements of my deck. Not sure how many copies end up in the deck, but he is certainly worth a try. I might start by including 2 for the occasional draw. If I really need him, between just drawing the character or using Luteoderm Prototype, Micromajig Master, or Ephiphany Ball to go get him, I should see him when I want.

Cock Block

One of the more intriguing concepts introduced in SEED 2 was the idea of cards that, once used, go face down as a resource. Not only that, but they also feature a flip up cost, which means you get to use them, have them as a resource, flip them up, and they ultimately just keep going back to your resource pile.

Cock Block is one of these cards and it fits the requirements of this deck by only having one threshold elitism. It costs three, but technically it only costs two (because it goes face down as a resource). It’s one use it to stop an ability.

Almost every deck features powerful abilities. Some examples include the Quotidian Ejector, Scintillating Chamber Pot, and Senior Research Assistant.

This really works when the costs of the ability is heavy. When they spend their tokens to use the Ejector and you stop it, it could really put them in a rough position and shut them down early. The same goes for something like Schrpoingmajig. They may destroy a character to become unblockable only to have to destroy another character.

The key here, again, is that this card then goes face down as a resource. You could use this same card several times in one turn. How many characters are they willing to kill with Schproing? Not only that, but after getting it’s benefit you get something that should cost four at no cost. Having a resource for 2-3 turns and then being able to use it again (to yet again have it come back as a resource) is really powerful.

Try or Not: For now… no. I think this is a very useful tool and if a meta develops where I keep running into abilities that shut me down it could be worth using. This deck tends to win or lose fast, so options that keep me alive longer are generally less important than ones that kill my opponent faster.

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A three cost, two threshold removal card… Always worth taking a look at. Perhaps the most interesting part of this card is that it has flip up 1. Playing it face down early and having removal in your pocket (for a cost of 1!!!) is absurd.

And I’m not talking a one cost light removal card. There are no requirements other than your opponent attacking. Rarely when you look across at your opponent sitting on one open resource do you imagine they can kill ANY attacking character. Even early if your opponent is sitting on three or four resources it’s rare that they aren’t going to be playing a resource or drawing a card.

This is fantastic against so many decks. I’m imagining Schproing or evenWarlord rush. If they dare attack with Gideon, bam. He’s gone. A pretty straightforward card, but absolutely great.

Try or Not: As great as this card is… it’s no Noble Sacrifice. A two cost naturally with flip up 0 makes even the character sacrifice aspect worth it. Not only that, but you also get to draw a card. This deck usually wins or loses quickly, so heavy removal really isn’t required. If I’m in the position to need heavy removal, I’ve probably lost anyway or need to go for the Schproing or SiN win from behind. For now, this card is out.

Thorough Sanitization

Now this is an interesting card. With one threshold, one cost, and flip up one (plus draw a card), it’s a very interesting option if the ability does anything useful. The card itself let’s you pick an item and flip it face-down under its owner’s control.

Obviously the first consideration has to be stacking it against current item removal: Repurpose. Repurpose let’s you destroy an item for four AND draw a card. So you have to pay three extra resources, but your opponent doesn’t get a facedown. So is it worth three resources to not give your opponent worth something that costs four? I think I would have to say yes.

The only other question becomes how often does the deck draw into Repurpose when it doesn’t have enough resources to use it? Like I mentioned, this deck either wins or loses pretty quickly… which makes Thorough Sanitization very, very tempting. Whether it be a Craghammer or a Chamber Pot, this card works early, gets you a card, and is cheap.

Try or Not: Certainly. I’ll put it in place of repurpose just to give it a shot. I think it could come in very handy when it counts and still accomplishes the same purpose as repurpose.

In Review

There is nothing quite like a new set when you are considering a deck you’ve been tweaking for a very long time. It’s abnormal how much time I’ve had to work on my version of SiN because of the distance between releases, but it really has matured into quite an interesting deck.

I went through all of the SEED 2 Elitism cards filtering out any that were greater than three threshold and then any that really just didn’t make any sense in this deck. At the end of it, it looks like I’ll be trying the Armored Elf and Thorough Sanitizaiton over the next few weeks.

If you feel like there are any cards I missed that I really should be looking at, I would love to hear from you. Even with the limited releases we have available, it’s pretty easy to miss some obvious options and card choices. I’ll be back next week with an analysis of the SEED 2 warlord cards that I think might fit into this deck!

Zach

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