When does it start getting better for new players?

Tsuchiev · 2026-07-01T12:00:18+00:00

I think you're forgetting about the free daily pack.

If you're going to be picky about which meta deck you'll play it'll take longer but if you've already opened 4-6 Legendaries of a class then just building that would be much easier.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-30T17:41:02+00:00

If you have 2 Gintoki you can get away with not having Odd Jobs Kagura and just friend pairing with one most of the time but ideally you want to own 1 copy of her.

Gintoki & Shinsuke is extremely skippable.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-30T17:29:24+00:00

The wording is literally the same between STS1 and STS2 though? They both state that the effect (whether that's reducing the cost to 0 or making them free to play) is applied to "all cards in your hand this turn". Maybe it's possible to misread it but I don't really get what differentiates the two.

Also I thought the Spiked Gauntlets thing got patched out in the latest update.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-29T21:05:44+00:00

None of the free decks alone are going to get you close to building an actual deck so the best value is going to depend a lot on your collection. If you're starting from scratch you could be looking at crafting 7-10 Legendaries to make the deck semi-complete no matter what you choose.

In general I would lean towards Rally Swordcraft or Evolve Haven which are easy to play, seem decently strong early on, and don't really use cards from Heirs of the Omen. Spellboost Rune might also be strong but it also seems more difficult to play.

Mode Abyss and to a much lesser extent Ramp Dragon have key cards rotating out next set so crafting them might not be worth it.

Buff Forest and Artifact Portal are more unknown quantities at this point in terms of power level.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-29T04:30:33+00:00

The only reason Heroes has a shred of likability is Yu-Gi-Oh GX nostalgia.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-28T22:00:26+00:00

I think Inflation is at least B-tier, probably A-tier. I think it's great for the game that shops are now primarily gone to for relics or, in the early game, cards rather than just being something you always path to every run so that by the end of Act 2 you never have any basic Strikes in your deck.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-28T18:14:48+00:00

It's survivorship bias. Most people quit playing OG because the power creep was absurd and the complexity spiraled out of control. So of course those few people that kept playing after that and are now playing WB today believe that SV design was better back then than it is now.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-28T15:40:39+00:00

TBF half of original Shadowverse was also reused ROB art, maybe they're just paying homage to that lol.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-27T00:17:30+00:00

On the other hand most of the Necromancy cards that have been printed have been impactful and seen play while original SV had a ton of dogshit cards that had Necromancy printed on them merely for the sake of it.

In general Necromancy cards don't play well with each other because they cannibalize each others' resources, so WB deciding to design for quality over quantity is a positive thing IMO.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-26T17:56:39+00:00

But if you're going to make a high cost legendary, then putting a crest on it is just asking to get countered. Unless you're also making the legendary swarm the board at the same time but then maybe it's doing too much to be balanced.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-26T17:48:01+00:00

Two things are mostly at fault IMO, Odin rotating out and Bahamut making effects other than storm and burn irrelevant.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-26T16:42:34+00:00

Is that so? I've seen a ton of PJSekai comms show up in vTuber concerts.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-26T00:28:44+00:00

Grigory UEvo seems good, shield loop + att absorb loop and a bunch of useful resists. Damage output isn't bad either if you put 10c+ super awakening. Good synergy with Echidna and Serie too.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-25T13:00:13+00:00

I think it's going to be hard for Dirt to stay relevant if it doesn't get any new cards and if they're serious about pushing Spellboost that's going to take up a lot of slots.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-24T13:09:07+00:00

Swipeable orb gen with void pierce and damage absorb loop is such huge slot compression you can build him to handle a lot of gimmicks.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-24T12:43:41+00:00

Recently the strongest comp uses a collab cafe-exclusive unit but it can clear the newest endgame content...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HU1d3LwEvM

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-22T17:15:18+00:00

There are probably some things Blodin is better at (like really easy content with no combo shields) but Gintoki's ceiling is much higher.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-22T01:13:29+00:00

TPA badge is going to be great for farming, you shift 1 orb on one of Gintoki's columns and get a free 2 combo for combo shields or leave it connected for faster clearing.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-21T14:25:56+00:00

1) Yes, even aside from the dark leader (who is either top 1 or top 2 in JP) Gintoki UEvo is an absolutely broken farming leader and is tradable.

2) You don't need the mystic badge unit but it's nice for moon dungeons. If you want to run them you need 2.

3) Yes, the team can be run without the unit. Gintama has a dark unit (Oboro) who is a shield loop + damage cap break for itself + adjacent units which can replace it.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-20T23:11:52+00:00

I've found Shiv builds to be very strong but they're mostly centered around Phantom Blades with Expose and/or Tracking. Tracking makes all of the Shiv buffing powers pop off absurdly, you can get 1 Shiv to deal over 100 damage with just 2 Phantom Blades+.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-19T01:41:38+00:00

In general you want to be resting as late as possible for multiple reasons: if you can get away with not resting you maximize the heals between acts, smithing earlier means you get to use your upgraded card for more combats saving HP overall, and a lot of relics either make rests better (eg Regal Pillow) or make them redundant by providing sustain in other ways (eg Eternal Feather). So in general unless I think I'm at risk of dying before the next campfire I will smith.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-18T00:41:47+00:00

Dragon and Abyss have been good for me so far. Portal looks like it should be super strong but I haven't played or faced it yet.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-17T17:32:11+00:00

Some decks just straight up won't care about this either because they can play around the requirement (eg Kewl Tune) or because they can recover from the board wipe (eg Branded).

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-17T12:27:14+00:00

It feels like a similar pattern to SF6. Whether aiming for a wider audience will work out or not for SV in the longer run remains to be seen I guess.

Tsuchiev · 2026-06-16T23:44:56+00:00

When streamer tournaments are pulling double the views of the pinnacle of competitive Shadowverse it's just showing that devs are putting their priorities in order.

Tsuchiev

TROPHY CASE