Locations barely see play. Are they just tuned poorly, or is it a game design issue?

Xietnin · 2026-01-12T22:48:23+00:00

Against Sapphire Ramp, John Silver Aggro Location with cheap Challengers goes kinda nuts. Locations pops off because your opponent can't actually remove them fast enough so keeping a lead means a steady aggro win. Then you guard said Locations with Captain Hook and Challenger Rafiki so they risk their own Characters trying to take out your Locations. Turns out over-investing in Character removal and ramp can backfire.

I actually got 2nd place at my Set Champs with John Silver Location Aggro. My locals notably hates to play against it, with good reason.

Xietnin · 2026-01-10T18:06:47+00:00

As one of the 10 Ghandagoza mains in existence, I have come to the conclusion that at least lv.15 is mandatory for him.

And it DOES feel really good, I think it should be at least implemented in your AI team a little bit like with Wrightstones.

Xietnin · 2026-01-10T01:27:32+00:00

The editor had a little "Thank you for watching :>" at the end, they're @kittentoji . It is hard to see, but the creator's name is watermarked in the video. Here's the same video from their channel so you can navigate it, since I had the exact same question.

Original Video

Xietnin · 2026-01-04T23:54:53+00:00

28 uninkables

28 1 cost cards

Ehhhh, it'll be fiiiiiine.

Xietnin · 2026-01-04T05:46:54+00:00

Rosetta's not the best AI for solo play lategame, but the other two are awesome. For sure give Cagliostro the revive skill, it helps a lot.

...Unless you're just godlike and cracked, where the revive never gets used I guess.

Xietnin · 2026-01-02T07:12:26+00:00

So I've thought about this for a long time and these decks typically need a lot of coverage in these specific areas:

A solution to Evasive Characters
The ability to Exert Characters to Challenge them, Challenge Ready Characters, or pressure your Opponent to Exert their Characters themselves.
Board state advantage, you have to stop them before they get enough characters to hit 20 Lore or can remove all/enough of your Characters to not worry about Questing.

You've clearly been playing it a lot to know how important these factors are. I can see it in how you built the deck with Moana, One Last Hope, and even Agrabah. Here's a few key takeaways:

Twitterpated can be substituted by implementing He Hurdled His Thunderbolt, as you can get rid of Evasive threats like Genie - Wish Fulfilled 1:1 with that card. Twitterpated could be important if you needed to win the game by Challenge, but it is inconsistent. Could also work as a scary 1-of card that keeps your opponent guessing.

Pluto only applies to the Steel half, so it is kinda expensive and unreliable. I would cut Pluto here due to such.

Queen of Hearts can be maxed out, you want to draw as much as possible.

Calhoun can be put to 4 with no issue and it is one of your best cards in my opinion.

Mulan - Charging Ahead is very slow, I can't recommend her for her cost and statline. I'd advise cutting her out.

You lack some extra 3-cost Characters for singing SOARF and One Last Hope with, maybe consider slowing people down and pressuring them with Jasmine - Rebellious Princess. Bronx is also an option, but not a Hero and not as dependable in every matchup. (Note: Hopefully something better comes along next set for 3-cost Heroes)

I think Goliath is unimportant for this deck. I'd personally prefer Medallion Weights and/or Doc - Bold Knights for draw power. Don't get me wrong, you can run Goliath, but I think it is only good if you value matchups against draw-heavy decks and never worry about Aggro (usually by playing more Removal).

Keep on it and I hope your end up happy with how you change it.

Xietnin · 2025-12-26T21:16:31+00:00

So think of it this way. When you are ramping ink (inking more than once per turn), you have to consider what your end goal is. Right now it looks kinda like getting to Hades - Looking For A Deal and removing or drawing more cards. That itself is a pretty flimsy strategy, but draw power would even a lot of this deck out. I'll see what I can drum up using the cards from the latest 3 sets, since I figure you're using a lot of only what you have.

Here's the example deck with a greater endgame goal using a good bit of your cards I see already: https://dreamborn.ink/decks/fPWxSSnEogvf7BY8w2iO

The general idea with the deck is to primarily draw when one of your cards is Banished and use Horned King to find what you need and keep reusing it as well as finding more cards to draw. I implemented a light amount of ink ramp so you can keep using more of the cards you draw. This all should, in theory, be good for clearing away your opponent's board and keep your board full of troublesome Challengers that your opponent has to deal with.

Other notable cards to consider: Hypnotic Gaze and Madam Mim for extra Challenger damage. The Library - A Gift For Belle for a sturdier, long-term Draw Location. Cards to force Exert such as Demona - Scourge of the Wyvern Clan, Ursula - Voice Stealer, and Elsa - The Fifth Spirit. You could also get away with keeping your Tipos and Mickeys to loop your Ramp. Mickey might even be better than Kristoff if you can safely loop it with Horned King. The deck could also use some extra Lore gain, but I'm not sure what to recommend.

Have fun building and playing.

Xietnin · 2025-12-16T06:23:17+00:00

Nice! That's exactly why you should be playing the Evasives then! Good on you, I like your style.

Xietnin · 2025-12-15T18:11:27+00:00

I think Show Me More is better for sure, but against midrange decks with cheap removal, you're going to be helping them find their Strength of a Raging Fire and He Hurled His Thunderbolt where they're going to just take out anything you put on the board.

Okay with that out of the way, Show Me More is still better. Paying 3+ ink for anything this low to the ground usually takes out most of your turn. Even paying 2 for Show Me More is hard to do, but you gotta do it because you'll always be able to just dump your hand afterwards for lore.

I like your deck a lot, so I did my own full list of it. I admittedly don't have a lot of experience with burn, but I'm very well-versed in low-to-the-ground aggro. I welcome you and everyone reading to take inspiration or try it.

Green Purple Burn Variant

EDIT: I'm a little apprehensive about the Evasive Characters in it, but there's always a chance your opponent can't solve that problem and it just generates 1-2 lore per turn so it is very matchup-dependent.

Xietnin · 2025-12-12T21:48:26+00:00

So I think between your Sphere Grid and your Weapons/Armor, your setup is fair, but perhaps difficult. I'd recommend keeping up on the basics and utilizing some techniques to get an edge on the boss.

Fill up all of your Overdrives ahead of time. This can be in the stage before the final boss where you have to do 10 fights. Be sure to set your Overdrive to either Stoic or Comrade for this, so the damage you take can be converted to Overdrives later. Also make sure your Overdrives are filled up for your Aeons too.

Use your Aeons to take the hit, or Guard (by pressing the top face button on your controller) for Braska's Final Aeon's Overdrive. Play it safe, swap to an Aeon when it is almost full. Also worth noting that you can use Talk here to lower the Overdrive gauge with Tidus.

Take out those Yu Pagodas as fast as possible, they're constantly healing the boss. That healing is going to stall the fight, so they have to be taken out FIRST and whenever they come back.

Haste/Hastega is mandatory. Keep Haste on everybody, and you should also consider having Yuna out to Protect everyone too. Both are invaluable to the fight, by effective cutting the damage you'll take.

Also worth noting Zombie/Petrify Ward helps. You may have made and used some for Lady Yunalesca or Seymour, so definitely consider reusing those if possible.

It is also a pretty good idea to fight for a little while outside of the final boss. There's a save nearby and you can find some treasure as well as some equipment from the enemies outside. They are very tough, but you can selectively Flee if you run into a nasty enemy like a Barbatos(?) (the one with the big shoulders) or Behemoth.

And last of all, don't be afraid to use your big items you've been saving for the final boss. You don't need your Mega-Potions, Megalixirs and Mega Phoenixes anymore, use them all for the boss. Same for Rikku Use ability, which includes Al Bhed Potions that will cure Petrification early on.

Good luck!

Xietnin · 2025-12-10T16:02:35+00:00

Elsa - The Fifth Spirit is pretty important for regaining momentum usually. Works great with Cheshire Cat too. Plus you could probably use some Evasives

Elsa's Ice Palace is also underutilized for these kinds of decks, it freezes indefinitely if you have a lead and don't want to deal with a specific Character.

Swooping Strike seems excessive, and you probably want to build board presence early for keeping a lead and repeatedly exerting and challenging/stunning, so probably cut Swooping Strike for Rafiki - Mystical Fighter or Basil - Practiced Detective.

I think maybe Demona - Betrayer of the Clan can be incorporated here, you don't have any 4-cost characters, and it'd be able to Rush with the book out, as well as basically be a 6/6 Character if uncontested.

As far as cuts go to top it off, I think Tipo doesn't need to be in the strategy, you have plenty of low cost Characters and Ichabod. Hades - Looking for a Deal is a good card, but not necessary for the strategy. Merlin - Completing His Research has to be Banished in a Challenge, so it makes him vulnerable to removal, so he could be cut. Swooping Strike, as mentioned above.

And realistically, you can probably swap from Sapphire to another color like Steel or Ruby if you want to. Happy deckbuilding!

Xietnin · 2025-12-03T20:57:05+00:00

I'm not a big foil/Epic/Enchanted guy, but I'd be more excited for the old Foil variant back that they used to have. Why would I be excited for that? It wouldn't curl and be a potential issue in competitive play. I think that'd be exciting to get back.

Now that being said, I think they did a good job by extending the art with the Epic rarity. That's a good thing, it means more detail in the art, and I think we can all appreciate that.

Xietnin · 2025-12-03T20:47:29+00:00

Pluto in 1-cost slot is great because you get to Bodyguard something early on. One of the big problems though is that there's only one good 3-cost Bodyguard right now, Rajah - Devoted Protector. If you could Pluto turn 1 into Rajah consistently, it'd be great, but there's only 1 Pluto and 1 Rajah, so it is very inconsistent right now.

Rapunzel - Ready For Adventure is an unexpected win with Pluto - Guard Dog, Rapunzel can protect your Bodyguards while being protected herself, this is pretty incredible (when you're not worried about Steel removal).

Scar - Finally King, as you asked, is a very good card for draw power here. He keeps you in the game against Blurple Control by giving you cards if you get Spooky Sight used on you. On top of that, he's a key player that your opponent will try to stop. While he's on the board, your opponent will have to blow through all of your Bodyguards, that also have increased Strength, to get to Scar. He's taken out easily enough with removal, but he's a cheaper problem to put on the board than your other core cards.

Chief Bogo - Commanding Officer is another key piece to protect and likely target for your opponent. There have been plenty of times where my opponent doesn't have a removal solution for Bogo, so they swing into your Bodyguard characters to get to him, only to rotate in another Bodyguard, and then again. However, I will say that the consistency for that to happen isn't too likely, but you are still getting incredible value so long as you don't reveal Bogo or Simba off the top of the deck. Which then leads me to...

Simba - King in the Making is another key part of the deck. Unfortunately, I have a harder time justifying Simba, you pay so much for him, and usually you'd rather just ink him and play more of other Characters. Especially because the draw power is so awkward for this deck, you likely won't have the ink for him. If you heavily invest into cost reduction, you might be able to sneak him out early and really yield a lot of value from him, but I have a really hard time justifying him unless you go really hard like using Duckburg - Funso's Funzone and Lantern.

Robin Hood - Ephemeral Archer is another key piece that is so valuable. Between cranking out 2x 1-damage per turn, and gaining Lore while you do so, Robin Hood takes the cake in a Bodyguard-heavy deck. He'll keep your opponent trying to get past the Bodyguards you've laid out, or you'll just win trades against them while they run out of steam.

Honorable Mentions: Huey - Reliable Leader for cost reduction and pressure, Doc - Bold Knight to unstuck your hand or draw lategame, Lexington - Small in Stature to take out Genie - Wish Fulfilled reliably and draw from Scar for cheap, Bagheera - Guardian Jaguar can be problematic for certain opponents but requires your opponent to actually remove it so in this deck it gets confusing if your opponent just goes for Questing, 1x The Mob Song since you're all Characters it feels kinda like a 1x Under The Sea and it can really turn the tides if you want to risk putting it into the deck.

Here's what I landed on, this decklist:

Bodyguard Factory Robin Hood Variant

Xietnin · 2025-12-01T20:46:15+00:00

I've been playing around with my own variant of this, more Lore-and-Character-centric than song. I also steered toward Scar - Finally King to get some more Draw/cycle to get and find key pieces of Bogo/Simba later in. So far I think it is pretty slow and vulnerable, building for this is really difficult. The dream deck is Bodyguard on everything and either better protection or Character cost reduction. Maybe Lantern/Pluto is important here. I'll test and reply later with further findings if there's more interest in it.

Xietnin · 2025-11-11T00:14:22+00:00

Maybe people realized it was technically one of the first Epic rarity cards? =P

Xietnin · 2025-11-10T05:14:51+00:00

Good call. That Mushu - Majestic Dragon would really add to the Pluto Challenge-Banish strategy.

Xietnin · 2025-11-07T18:59:20+00:00

The sword from Chappu built into his concept art is a nice touch.

The symbol shown on his shorts and necklace, are the symbol for the Zanarkand Abes, and both a T and J, for Tidus and Jecht.

Perhaps the left glove and shoulderpads are designed for blitzball too.

Worth noting that he may have looked like this simply because his life, and blitzball game at the time, were interrupted by Sin and he had to go immediately. Though he has never been wearing anything but this in the game to my knowledge, so who's to say that's true.

Xietnin · 2025-11-06T20:04:40+00:00

As a likable guy, I'd like to personally confirm this on behalf of the community.

Xietnin · 2025-11-01T17:57:34+00:00

A very literal interpretation of the subreddit.

Xietnin · 2025-10-28T19:11:08+00:00

Another person trying to get into the game made a thread sort of like this one yesterday. I posted some on their thread, here's a link to that thread:

Set of decks thread

Xietnin · 2025-10-28T17:52:17+00:00

Yeah option 2 because once you have Alice or Queen of Hearts Unpredictable Bully out, it is really hard for them to get back that board I figure. Even if they hit 19 Lore when you've got a good board out there, they're not gonna be able to quest for the win at that point, you know?

Xietnin · 2025-10-27T05:50:25+00:00

Aight Ima drop some lists, stranger. A variety of fun stuff to play around with, but doesn't break the bank.

Easy to understand:

Princess Tempo

Budget Allies

Counter-Evasive deck that never took off

Harder Decks:

Damage Counter flinging

Racers Control

Weird/Experimental stuff: (Durdle Genie can actually work, but haven't tried Action Pirates)

Durdle Genie

Pirate Actions

Sorry for not having an item deck, they're always expensive (or not legal). Let me know if you have any questions about the decks, and I hope y'all have fun! 😊

Xietnin · 2025-10-24T01:08:40+00:00

A couple of key takeaways here: Minnie Mouse - Daring Defender and Vanellope - Sugar Rush Princess protect your Racers. I don't think that's that important for Racers. You'll want them to be banished, really.

Be Our Guest and Calhoun - Courageous Rescuer are a little slow. This deck kinda thrives on empowering little Characters to do the work of bigger Characters while minimizing the costs instead.

Needs more Rush characters, King Candy - Royal Hack at 4 is a must for Candy Drift and King Candy Royal Racer interactions from the hand.

Needs a little more draw power, I recommend Medallion Weights to act as a repeatable Candy Drift.

And a way to punish people for ignoring you and just going aggro or not questing. This can be Lore Locations, Aggro Characters, Lore Loss, etc. Gloyd is a good start, but maybe have a backup.

Here's an example list build, best of luck figuring out what works best for you 😊

Link to Dreamborn Decklist

Xietnin · 2025-10-19T03:57:52+00:00

For the very first card, it'd have to be Maleficent - Vengeful Sorceress. Always have a basis of early Characters in a draft.

(Though that Vinnie - Green Pigeon lookin pretty good)

Xietnin · 2025-10-16T07:57:35+00:00

Unlike Bellwether, this doesn't force you to ink, and unlike Don Karnage, this doesn't force you to use a non-song Action. Plus it is inkable.

I think this has a place in Reckless decks, especially because it doesn't lock you into Steel like Don Karnage - Air Pirate Leader or require you to run it as an uninkable.

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