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PHOENIX
Fire Tensai Acolyte
Overall Rating – 1.4/5
Travis (Fights Dragons) McDaniel
The Fire trait would need to have a card that single handedly wins me the game before I consider this Hiruma Yojimbo cosplayer. A vanilla 3/2 for 2 with a blank text box wouldn’t see much play, and this has a major downside just because?
Rating: 1/5
Joe (From Cincinnati) Habes
If you consider 4 stats to be average for 2 costers, you basically gain 1 military strength above average. In exchange, you can only attack in a certain ring type. It’s not oppressively bad, but a vanilla card with restrictions is just a dumb design and I refuse to endorse it as anything but.
Rating: 1/5
(Handsome) Dan Mui
Good stats on a low cost character typically come with some damning restrictions, and only being able to attack Fire ring with this character certainly qualifies as one. It’s still a reasonable defender, but there are very likely going to be too many awkward situations created by this character for it to see play.
Rating: 2/5
Aneil (Mind’s Desire) Seetharam
This card isn’t as bad as everyone likes to make it out to be, that said it’s not particularly playable so I guess it’s a moot point.
Rating: 1/5
Nicolas (Chuterêve) Simonpietri
This card would not have been too scary even without the restriction. With it, it’s just bad. I am excited to see more Katana of Fire meme decks based on it tho !
Rating: 2/5
Sincere Challenger
Overall Rating – 2.4/5
Travis (Fights Dragons) McDaniel
This is sometimes a 1/4 for 2, which sounds great in a vacuum, but its text box is marginally useful and it only gets that statblock if you give up card draw or can otherwise gain composure without much of an opportunity cost. That’s honestly a recurring issue with Composure: The effect has to outweigh the potential loss in cards over your opponent, and consistently.
Rating: 2/5
Joe (From Cincinnati) Habes
What is going on with these low costers that add event protection to themselves? Who even cares?
Rating: 2/5
(Handsome) Dan Mui
This Challenger is reasonable if only for its Composure effect being decent, as 4 pol is a fairly significant threat at this fate threshold. Unlike the other Challengers, it can protect itself from Assassinate with its duel. That being said, it’s still very average and is also missing the very powerful Shugenja keyword. This card will most likely only see play in Isawa Mori Seido decks, if at all.
Rating: 3/5
Aneil (Mind’s Desire) Seetharam
I could see this card showing up in Isawa Mori Seido decks which tend to be more courtier focused. In a more dishonor or lower bid style deck. It’s not amazing but if you can consistently get a 1/4/2 for 2 and potentially protect it that’s not a bad deal.
Rating: 2/5
Nicolas (Chuterêve) Simonpietri
This is a decent inclusion to Isawa Mori Seido decks. Composure is still tricky but even without it he can be an okay-ish character. Same for the duel on a low body. If it makes the cut in IMS, it will be only barely and because of the lack of others exciting options.
Rating: 3/5
Sage of Gisei Toshi
Overall Rating – 1.6/5
Travis (Fights Dragons) McDaniel
This is a slightly better Radiant Orator if your deck is consistently more honorable than your opponent, and Radiant Orator is far from being included in decks already. I expect almost no play for this guy in any decent capacity.
Rating: 2/5
Joe (From Cincinnati) Habes
It’s kinda like Harmonize on a stick. Problem is that stick doesn’t have the shugenja trait, which will make this hard to justify in a Kyuden Isawa deck. In IMS, it may see play. But its stats aren’t inspiring a lot of faith in the idea of it. The more honorable requirement means it will have times when it’s dead, which isn’t a good sign for below average stat characters.
Rating: 2/5
(Handsome) Dan Mui
Phoenix currently has another card with a similar effect in Radiant Orator, who does not currently see play. Bee Hat Man carries with him a different set of restrictions, all which still make him pretty unplayable. His lone redeeming factor is his rare keyword combination, but neither are strong enough currently to warrant running this card.
Rating: 2/5
Aneil (Mind’s Desire) Seetharam
“NOT THE BEES!”
Rating: 1/5
Nicolas (Chuterêve) Simonpietri
Instead of trying to play that, you should just play Radiant Orator in IMS decks.
Rating: 1/5
Isawa Ujina
Overall Rating – 4/5
Travis (Fights Dragons) McDaniel
This is what you bought the pack for as a Phoenix player. Ujina does so much for the current deck it’s really scary to think about. Not only does he turn any void ring win into a kill on someone with 1 or less fate, but he also combos very well with Consumed by Five Fires to remove a freshly played threat. The Reaction being forced means you thematically should be very careful playing with the void, but with Display of Power and a general propensity for Phoenix to put a good amount of fate on characters, I think Phoenix will be hard pressed to be hurt by his ability. I think most decks can, and probably should, make room for him.
Rating: 5/5
Joe (From Cincinnati) Habes
Hot Diggity Dog! This should have been a Crab card. The forced nature of the reaction means it could potentially backfire if your opponent attacks void when all of their characters have fate and one of yours doesn’t. But then you can just defend with that 0 fate character and then who cares if it’s removed afterwards? For that reason, you can likely dismiss that risk as a “niche occurrence.” The fact that the ring is claimed after the effect of the ring takes place means this character can effectively remove from the game any character with 1 fate or less on it.
Rating: 4/5
(Handsome) Dan Mui
Ujina brings with him a pretty unique effect that makes the Void ring quite powerful, being able to permanently delete characters. Since this is a Forced Reaction, it can create some awkward situations for the Phoenix player, but those situations may be a little overstated. While the effect is strong, Ujina also doesn’t offer the same utility for winning conflicts that some of Phoenix’s other characters currently offer. That being said, he still should be solid. Expect Ujina to slot in nicely into the current Phoenix Kyuden Isawa deck.
Rating: 4/5
Aneil (Mind’s Desire) Seetharam
This card is weird, in a good way, with a strong unique forced reaction that can remove characters from the game! Time will tell how impactful this will be, but phoenix are well positioned to make use of it, with the ability to add the void element to rings via Isawa Kaede or remove fate with consumed by five fires and protect themselves with display of power.
Rating: 4/5
Nicolas (Chuterêve) Simonpietri
Here comes a new challe…elemental master. Kaede’s dad might not bring enough to the table to deserve a spot in a Phoenix deck already very filled with high drop. The reaction being forced mean that the ability might backfire if you are not careful enough. Assuming you have an ideal setup, Ujina might be able to get rid of an important fateless body but it raises the question of why this fateless body was not in the conflict in first place when void was contested. There can be good reason for it, just not always.
Ujina seem to work well against save, forcing to burn them. Aside of that, i am a bit skeptical of him being good enough to be included in current Phoenix decks.
Rating: 3/5
Ancestral Shrine
Overall Rating – 1.8/5
Travis (Fights Dragons) McDaniel
Phoenix more than anybody can make use of double-claiming a ring. This effect has proven very niche on cards like Know the World, where you can’t really justify the conflict deck slot for the situations where it’s useful; but on a holding that’s very different. Beyond being useful to just double claim rings, you can also use the action in the fate phase to just gain some honor without actually hurting your ability to fight for the favor. Overall, it’s flexible and potentially worthwhile, but it’s waiting on a few more reasons to want to double-claim specific rings.
Rating: 2/5
Joe (From Cincinnati) Habes
If Phoenix honor rush becomes a thing, then this card effectively adds an additional half an air ring to each ring you claim. Not a bad effect, but it does create some awkward moments where your opponent may break it before you can get 2+ rings to throw back in the pool (plus, if you do it mid turn to prevent this from happening, you’re allowing your opponent to potentially claim a ring you already claimed that round.) I think it’d be interesting to win the air ring, gain 2 honor, return it to the pool and gain 1 honor and then attack with it again to gain 2 honor again though. Could create some interesting shenanigans. But, until Phoenix honor becomes a more reliable win con, shenanigans is where this card will remain.
Rating: 2/5
(Handsome) Dan Mui
This holding might see some niche usage in decks that try to abuse one particular ring type (Air ring for dishonor maybe? Or Void for Ujina tricks). However, its effect doesn’t seem nearly good enough to make the cut in an already competitive dynasty deck. Maybe if Honor Phoenix becomes a thing–but as of now, that’s not a real deck.
Rating: 2/5
Aneil (Mind’s Desire) Seetharam
This holding sucks, niche use in phoenix honor runner if that ever happens.
Rating: 1/5
Nicolas (Chuterêve) Simonpietri
It is an interesting effect even if you might give up on favor for it. It might enable some tricks by allowing the use of a same ring twice in a row. Obviously, the holding is good in an honor run type of deck…but then, you need to find out how to gain conflicts first in a honor deck. Overall, a tricky piece that might fit the puzzle of a Phoenix deck one day but i won’t put all my hopes in it.
Rating: 2/5
Unmatched Expertise
Overall Rating – 3.6/5
Travis (Fights Dragons) McDaniel
An unrestricted +1/+1 for 0, that also protects against dishonor is ridiculously strong. With Phoenix having as many stand effects as it does, those stats and immunity go a long way. It’s only fair that it have a drawback like it does, but I don’t view it as a major downside more than just a way to balance an otherwise insane card. This is very much worth looking at a Fire role for after Phoenix grabs Seeker of Void.
Rating: 4/5
Joe (From Cincinnati) Habes
0 for +1/+1 is good all on its own. Not being able to be dishonored is a give and take, as it makes For Shame a guaranteed bow unless they’re honorable. Aside from that, though, the high glory Phoenix cards will appreciate this card, for however long it is able to last. Of course…role restricted…Sad.
Rating: 4/5
(Handsome) Dan Mui
Free, non-restricted attachments are enough to warrant an eyebrow raise, and this one offers a cool +1/+1 along with protection from becoming dishonored. Possible applications include preventing the dishonor effect of Shameful Display, and even putting it on your Scorpion opponent’s characters to prevent Forged Edict. However, this attachment also falls off the second you lose a conflict, and it’s also locked to the Fire Role. It’s neat, but I don’t see it getting much use at this time.
Rating: 3/5
Aneil (Mind’s Desire) Seetharam
0 cost non restricted +1/+1 is huge, but cannot become dishonored is much worse than cannot be dishonored as it doesn’t keep your status token safe. Its drawback is also not that bad as it doesn’t cost any fate to play it. Role restriction on this kind of sucks but this card is the real deal.
Rating: 4/5
Nicolas (Chuterêve) Simonpietri
Unmatched expertise give decent stats for a 0 cost attachment and is not restricted, which make it interesting for towering. The cannot be dishonored clause certainly has some uses, even with Scorpion being less dominant than before. Works well with For Shame! kind of effect too. The restrictions are a bit regrettable and won’t help a card that is already hard to fit in decks.
Rating: 3/5
Gift of Amaterasu
Overall Rating – 1.6/5
Travis (Fights Dragons) McDaniel
A slightly less expensive Benten’s Touch, costing a fate rather than a body, that is unfortunately not good enough and I’m sad about it. Not being able to be used during a conflict makes it probably slightly worse than Benten’s Touch overall, and Benten’s isn’t good enough to make decks currently. It’s not hard to play, you just have better options in the conflict deck available to you.
Rating: 2/5
Joe (From Cincinnati) Habes
On the one hand, I’m sure IMS decks would love a way to honor more characters. On the other, this feels overcosted and relatively difficult to trigger. If this were free, it’d be a bit more likely to see play.
Rating: 2/5
(Handsome) Dan Mui
While it isn’t difficult for Phoenix to reach ridiculous numbers in conflicts, you also have to ask yourself if paying a fate and a card slot to simply honor a character is worth it. Phoenix would love more ways to reliably honor their characters, but this one just isn’t worth it.
Rating: 2/5
Aneil (Mind’s Desire) Seetharam
I guess if you don’t want to play Benten’s Touch you can run this instead?
Rating: 1/5
Nicolas (Chuterêve) Simonpietri
Ok, Phoenix is not supposed to honor characters as easily as Crane but this is a really bad, hard to trigger and pricey honoring tool. I don’t think that the fact that it is a spell can save it from oblivion.
Rating: 1/5
Severed from the Stream
Overall Rating – 1/5
Travis (Fights Dragons) McDaniel
I had to think for a good long while to figure out where this is maybe good, and I came up with 1 real case where it’s barely worth the slot and that’s if your deck is based entirely around Shiba Tsukune and her ability. The other cases are using it in a conflict to remove your opponent’s claimed rings for favor or to make them put the Earth ring back for Tadaka if you somehow let that one slide. Card is bad, and I hate to see amazing art wasted on a coaster like this.
Rating: 1/5
Joe (From Cincinnati) Habes
Phoenix is the one clan that definitely gets the most “What am I even going to do with this card?” effects. This is one of them. Like…why would you pay a fate to make your opponent return their rings to the ring pool? Outside of extremely niche scenarios, where a ring your opponent already claimed would win you the game outright or this gets you the favor which activates Kanjo District which wins you game next round, what is this for? Slots are almost certainly too valuable to justify this in almost every deck.
Rating: 1/5
(Handsome) Dan Mui
I see very little practical application for this card outside of some weird ring-hungry jank decks, or to slightly boost Tsukune’s value in decks that run her. It’s a shame too–the art is pretty cool.
Rating: 1/5
Aneil (Mind’s Desire) Seetharam
Another weird Phoenix card that has to do with claimed rings, at least this one has really awesome art.
Rating: 1/5
Nicolas (Chuterêve) Simonpietri
Probably severed from any playable deck. Will make some Phoenix player liking fun decks happy probably tho.
Rating: 1/5
Subdue the Spirits
Overall Rating – 2.4/5
Travis (Fights Dragons) McDaniel
The effect is strong enough for it’s cost, but it’s the requirement of needing more honor than the other guy that’s holding this card back but who knows, maybe a deck that can consistently do that without giving up too much advantage is right around the corner.
Rating: 2/5
Joe (From Cincinnati) Habes
Expensive event for strength boosting in a clan that already has a ton of strength boosting. While it’s not really a “bad” card, it’s more just a redundant, overpriced card. Of course, it could definitely lead to a guaranteed win during a stronghold push, and that alone makes it worth considering when building a deck. The more honorable text drops it from a 4 to a 3.
Rating: 3/5
(Handsome) Dan Mui
Adding in additional glory to a conflict can be a pretty huge buff in some fights, especially in political where the buffs come few and far between. That being said, this is a 2 cost event and one that requires you to be more honorable on top of that. If this sees play at all, it’ll likely be as a 1x game closer type card. The upside is there for this, though.
Rating: 3/5
Aneil (Mind’s Desire) Seetharam
This card is potentially a large amount of force pump as it affects all your characters, I could see this being played with Isawa Mori Seido, you just need to make sure to keep your honor higher so you can actually play it. I don’t think this card will be amazing but it’s cool.
Rating: 2/5
Nicolas (Chuterêve) Simonpietri
Without the more honorable requirement, I could have seen Subdue the Spirits played as a 1x in Isawa Mori Seido maybe. With it, it will still probably be tried but I don’t expect it to give any good results.
Rating: 2/5
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Something nobody mentioned about Sincere Challenger: if you manage to purposely lose the duel you can cause your opponent’s character to be immune to events. This includes events played by your opponent. So you can turn off Banzai, Court Games to honor, your opponent’s duel events, etc. That’s a bit more flexibility than the analysis indicates.