Notes & Combos

Unlike previous seasons, I intentionally held off on the final push to Master 1 this season until Maliss could release and I could test a deck against it before uploading it here.

That may have been a mistake.

Maliss in its current state is, for lack of a better term, nuts. It does everything: sets up unbreakable boards, recovers it all from a single effect, often can't be handtrapped in any way that matters, sometimes OTKs Tenpai-style, and even turbo draws for non-engine. No wonder -- despite the hype thankfully dying down a little -- the handtrap lineup of many decks has shifted to counter Maliss specifically (looking at you, Lancea). Going 2nd is still sacky as all bonkers: if you've got no turn 0 floodgate non-engine active, might as well go next. I hope that problem gets fixed soonish....

So I, a broke budget player with zero Maliss URs, after getting hardstuck with Mimikash (my fun pick from the previous sacky meta) because of its interactions with Impulse (why does Maliss get to play this too???) and Droplet (Tenpai still exists), started swapping decks desperately in the hopes of finding something to play again, from Primite Fendsmeets to Ryu-Ge Dinosaurs to Yubel, and nothing seemed to stick.

Until somehow, my classic companions at Purrely were what finally got me to M1! Those extra handtrap slots in a 40 card deck really do help with going 2nd, and special mention to Lancea itself, which can be used regardless of cards you control, making it perfect to draw with Sleepy in a meta like this.

• Always Lancea in draw or standby phase -- you don't want them chaining March Hare. This small error is what lost me some games when I first started using Lancea.
• I subbed Bloss for Belle to hit March Hare, Mirror, or GWC, because by the time I could have Blossed a White Binder or MTP, there's already an Apollousa on the board.
• Unlike in Mimikash where I tried it initially, the anti-Maliss 3 Fuwalos feels better here because they're obvious discard fodder when going 1st.
• I never had to summon Ensemblue, so that's a flex slot.

Overall, glad the cats came back, and hoping they stay mysterious enough to still be able to expose people boosted by their overtuned decks ~w~

Though I don't think it'll play very well into Ryzeal....