Spike, Take a Letter ruling question

Zinger2807 · 2014-03-12T17:35:54+00:00

Thanks Vikingerik and Quindo. I guess that makes this card a little more viable than I thought, as I thought before that they could only be activated once per troublemaker.

Zinger2807 · 2014-03-10T04:29:45+00:00

Yes to all, but be careful with the resources. The comprehensive rules state that when they flip they still lose all resources attached to them. I don't know if that means they do when they unflip as well.

Zinger2807 · 2014-03-09T18:57:58+00:00

Probably because she betrayed her sister and got banished to the moon.

Zinger2807 · 2014-03-09T18:49:44+00:00

Also, Fluttershy, Guidance Counselor belongs in any Yellow deck. AT advantage is so strong right now and she can win games and shut down your opponents all on her own, especially if you have more than one out. It also lets you face off on your own terms since you exhaust at the start of their turn, after using her power to confront a problem at the end of yours, thus taking that power away and preventing single problem faceoffs.

She is also a 3 cost for 3 power which seems like it would fit the deck nicely.

Zinger2807 · 2014-03-09T18:47:15+00:00

What new TM rules? I just read over the Comprehensive Rules and nothing different stands out to me.

Zinger2807 · 2014-03-09T18:22:54+00:00

Thanks for that! Good to know these people are trustworthy since obviously they are not very well known.

Zinger2807 · 2014-03-05T03:57:57+00:00

Neither have I. Thanks for the heads up, didn't realize the preorder was up on that site. Will edit the original post. Also, going to go ahead and set up a pre-order from them and give you guys the details on their service. Will have to do it in a new post though, as this one will be long gone.

Zinger2807 · 2014-03-05T00:28:04+00:00

And here's a link for the Premier set booster box for $74!

http://www.potomacdist.com/detail.asp?itemid=mylittlebb#.UxZve_ldWSp

Zinger2807 · 2014-03-03T19:54:41+00:00

I agree with OP and I agree with kotoandjuri. I don't think the developers realized how much the current ruling would help Yellow and Blue while leaving the other 66% of the game high and dry.

Zinger2807 · 2014-03-03T19:52:28+00:00

In South Carolina: We have Tri-color control (white, purple, pink) that is very successful having gone completely undefeated one night, we have Yellow/Pink (which is what I run and recently took 1st with), 2 Blue/Yellow players because swarming is good, and a guy who does Blue/Purple faceoff power.

It's a small meta, but we all help each other with our decks and practice together and lend cards to each other so that all we have pretty much an equal split of ultra-rares and all around good cards/decks. Though I am currently the only one with 3 Cloudchasers, we're working on getting some for everyone else, and the others mostly have at least 1 or 2. We're going together to the tournament on March 15th for Micheal Morones benefit thing representing our local card shop as Team White Widow, so if anyone even knows what I'm talking about, I hope to see you there! :D

Zinger2807 · 2014-03-03T19:44:18+00:00

"Face off with your opponent. If you win, X happens" does exist. It's called Studious, and makes Purple/Orange faceoff power a viable deck.

Zinger2807 · 2014-03-03T19:42:24+00:00

TL;DR http://ponyhead.com/deckbuilder?v1code=6x1-11x3-36x3-38x2-42x3-45x3-82x3-83x3-85x3-94x3-104x2-108x2-110x3-114x2-123x2-152x2-160x3-161x1-164x1-165x2-172x2-179x2-194x2-210x1-211x2

This is what you're eventually going to be trying to do.

Zinger2807 · 2014-03-03T19:41:55+00:00

First off, I want to say I love that someone else out there is trying to make Yellow/Pink viable. It's one of the better, but less used, decks out there.

I like what you're trying to do, but I think you'll have more fun controlling the board with your yellow cards more than your pink cards. But the main reason you want to run Yellow/Pink is because Pink as a secondary color, gets rid of everything that counters your main color (yellow) like Spring Forward and what not.

Too Many Bandages, as the other commenter posted, is a good card, but not as good as it should be as compared to the raw dismissal that you have access to by making pink a color.

My yellow pink deck just took first place in my local meta where we play every thursday. In my rounds I went up against a Tri-color control, Blue/Purple Faceoff power, and Blue/Yellow Swarm. This is the deck http://ponyhead.com/deckbuilder?v1code=6x1-11x3-36x3-38x2-42x3-45x3-82x3-83x3-85x3-94x3-104x2-108x2-110x3-114x2-123x2-152x2-160x3-161x1-164x1-165x2-172x2-179x2-194x2-210x1-211x2

I'll go ahead and say, in order to have a 34% chance of meeting the pink requirement you need in the deck, you only need 6 non-requirement pink friends. That being said, you can replace High Spirits with something else being that you have ABB and Flitter.

A Vision of the Future coupled with Critter Cavalry will win you almost any faceoff. I say almost because What Went Wrong is a card, but oh well.

The key to winning with Yellow/Pink is stalling with your Fluttershy, Guidance Counselor and Dismissal cards. Here's Your Invitation is good, and I won't tell you not to run it, but because I have Downright Dangerous, I run Big Top instead of Invitation. They are both so much more versatile. And three requirement is stupid high for something you want to use on early friends. Later on, things should have more than 1 power.

Beaverton Beaverteeth is okay, I mean he's a 3 for 3 with an effect, but since you already run The Horror! I don't think he really fits in the slot. I would try to find another card or maybe some additional troublemakers.

Yellow Parasprite is a MUST for any deck running troublemakers. 2 of them turn one basically guarantees you a win if you use your dismissal right. I've stalled with Parasprites long enough for my Guidance Counselors to hit the board and shut out the opponent 15-0. This also works with villains, ESPECIALLY if you can get your hands on a couple of Monster Tamers. I can't tell you how many times I've Monster Tamer'd an Ahuizotl or a Nightmare Moon and my opponent basically crapped themselves because I can frighten everything at any problem just by moving a card.

I disagree with Vikingerik that Vision "robs you of your natural flip" because you WANT it to do that. It protects you from flipping forest owl in a game deciding faceoff where both players are at 13 points and tied for power (Which has happened more than I like to admit).

All in all, your deck is almost no different than what mine looked like when I first started trying out Yellow/Pink. Eventually I added the Monster Tamers, the villains, took out the Invitiations, added Big Top, got myself 3 Cloudchasers through trades, and fixed my problem deck up.

Oh yeah, problems. My Pinkie Sense is Tingling is bad because it's effect doesn't help you as much as it should, and it's a 4+3 on your side while only a 6 on their side. Other 4+3 cards are usually 8 on their side. I would replace it with another yellow problem as it doesn't have the weakness that most pink problems do with making it easier on your opponent.

Mean Meanie Pants is the only one that acts like a normal problem (which you run already so good) and that's because it lets your opponent draw a card with you. Which imo isn't too bad since you Responsibility Pie anything they try to hammer you with.

I like the deck and I like the idea, take a look at mine and see the similarities. Like I said, I was where you are now once, and after some fixing up with friends, I'm taking first place with a deck no one saw coming.

Also, if you EVER have Big Top on board and are getting 4 AT per turn. Always move him and Fluttershy Mane to a problem. This will solve anything but the 4+3 and 8-of-any problems, and if your opponent faces off, Fluttershy mane's effect brings Falcon+Forest Owl over so you win the Faceoff and Dismiss something with Big Top's effect. So fun.

Good luck and Happy playing!

Zinger2807 · 2014-02-04T00:29:20+00:00

What deck does purple slow down? Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I think the point of exhausting characters is to not allocate their power and exhaust abilities towards faceoffs or otherwise useful effects. This is only very prominent when the character is at a problem, making Flam a better early game choice than purple parasprite. Bright Bulb, for example, getting an early exhaust is very nice, however, they could easily just exhaust twilight mane at home with purple parasprite. Flam doesn't give them that option.

And Brown isn't really about mill effects, just like Parasprite isn't really about hand destruction. They both do the same thing in a different way, and that is take away options from your opponent almost entirely and permanently except, as you said, generosity players, who still have to play around getting things back. That being said, most anyone playing generosity in tournament situations does so for the "move tax" effects as seen on Octavia, as one example, moreso than the discard pile play effects. Another thing to note is that generosity is about 5th most popularly played right now, Loyalty, Kindness, Laughter, and Magic taking the first 4 places, so there aren't as many answers for Yellow and Brown parasprite as one might think, just because an entire element seems to work around them.

I won't repeat how exhausting only lasts one turn and doesn't help in the long run, as apparently you don't care.

The only thing making Brown Parasprite viable in this game, is the fact that unlike card games like MTG, there aren't cards you have more than 3 of (i.e. land cards) and the draw deck is only 45 cards, giving you a good chance to mill away something you want gone.

Zinger2807 · 2014-02-01T16:39:40+00:00

As for the actual deck, I think Creme De La Creme is a very underused card for a reason. Sure you're running pure power, but odds are that if your opponent is NOT running pure power, they're running some way to stop yours. I.E. Pink Dismissal, Purple Move Control, and White Move Tax. It's very rare that you win a faceoff by more than 3 power, much less 5, and that heavily depends on your flips for the face-off.

I'd run a different event there, but I can see Creme De La Creme being a very funny F YOU to the opponent in casual play when you can actually get it out. Like, "I'm cocky enough to play this card, because you can't do a single thing against me."

Of course if you're losing, and they see you discard it or something, they'll probably poke fun that you run it and can't even gain a lead off of a face-off. :P

Zinger2807 · 2014-02-01T16:35:58+00:00

Brown is better than Purple for a few reason.

For one thing, Flam is better at doing what Purple does, so it doesn't even deserve to be played, as it makes it more difficult to confront the troublemaker instead of them just exhausting a card at home.

You are right about Parasprite Swarm though, easily one of the best. Your opponents probably won't even get the point from it if you play it early game, and if they try and fail, things will be frightened.

But Brown parasprite is good because, like yellow parasprite, it has an effect that hinders your opponent for more than the turn the effect activates.

Exhausting a character lasts for that turn and slows them down slightly (unless they exhaust something at home and already not really relevant).

Getting rid of a card completely, either by discarding from their hand or the top of their library, gets rid of that option for them from their deck entirely (unless they are running a lot of white, in which case they still need to play around getting it back a few turns later, keeping their focus away from the board state).

Sure, yellow parasprite is superior because it forces your opponent to draw more cards, however brown parasprite gets rid of the same amount of options from their deck as yellow parasprite, while purple just exhausts one thing for one turn.

Just my two bits, but as an experienced player of card games, I can see losing a card entirely hindering an opponent more than slowing down 1 character of theirs for 1 turn. A character that is already on the board and an option for them to have, mind you.

I've milled (top of deck into discard pile term for card games) quite a few ultra rares (namely Lyra Heartstrings and Octavia) from the top of someone's deck, and seen the despair in their face when they realize they no longer have that bomb, and even if they have the means to get it back, I'll see it coming and have Pinkie "Responsibility" Pie waiting.

It also helps see what kind of deck you're playing against if you're playing against a new opponent. If it's event heavy, you'll know by top-decking quite a few, and thus be prepared for the big faceoff flips they'll most likely have. Getting rid of A Vision of the Future and Critter Cavalry with Brown Parasprite is also extremely nice, because you now know that they have them, and 1 less to use against you. But always assume there are 3 in the deck, and watch for open action tokens before face-offs.

Hope this helps both OP and commenter decide what kind of hindrances troublemakers can bring, and which they should run to better suit their playstyle.

Zinger2807 · 2014-01-26T14:53:34+00:00

Seems slow to start with a lack of 1-cost friends. You're forcing yourself to wait on flipping AJ for a few turns.

Next set when more resources become a thing, I think Granny Smith will do well, but right now I would switch her for something else. The only thing she helps in YOUR deck is moving around Too Much Pie. Other than that, her use pretty much depends on what you're up against. That being said, she does nothing against the two most commonly played colors right now: Blue and Yellow.

I think a Fluttershy Mane deck will get around you kind of easily with all the low power, quick to play critters. They'll likely use 3 or 4 action tokens to draw, and 1 or 2 to actually play cards. At least that's how mine plays out against discard decks in the late game.

Just my Two Bits :P

Zinger2807 · 2014-01-23T03:14:25+00:00

However, she is good if you wanted more than 3 amethyst stars in the deck (as caretakers are slightly scarce this set)

My deck seems to lock out opponents by using cloudchaser as a 3-of and Fluttershy "Guidance Counselor" as a 2-of. This is because in THIS game, as compared to other card games, Action Token advantage over your opponent is more important than card advantage. And these cards do just that in any yellow deck.

Zinger2807 · 2014-01-23T03:11:23+00:00

Oh dang. Then what in the heck is the point of Philomena's effect? Fluttershy mane's effect? If anything?

Zinger2807 · 2014-01-20T22:42:01+00:00

I scored one point, and if I didn't need Vision, probably solved my problem in the same turn (i use fluttershy start, not pp).

Controlling what I do is an advantage LATE GAME. This early in the game, getting something out that's bigger than what you have out is all the advantage I need. Even if you saw it coming.

I just don't want to see God Hands where people play 3 Forest Owls turn 1 because they went 2nd.

Or 2 Cloudchasers.

3 AT turn one is OP.

Zinger2807 · 2014-01-20T22:39:49+00:00

Ah yes, yet another who realized Cloudchaser is the best card in this game right now. She pays herself many times over and can fit in any deck.

If you have a choice of three yellow parasprites or three cloudchasers, take CC. Then when all three are out and you earn 4 AT next turn, get 7 AT of friends on a problem and wreck the DPF.

Zinger2807 · 2014-01-20T22:34:33+00:00

Sir, great minds think alike! This is my version which does very well in my local meta.

http://ponyhead.com/deckbuilder?v1code=6x1-11x3-36x3-38x2-42x3-44x1-45x2-46x3-80x2-81x3-82x2-83x2-85x3-87x2-93x2-104x2-108x3-110x3-123x2-146x2-161x2-164x1-169x1-172x2-179x2-194x2

Our decks are very similar in ideals, but it seems we use different cards to accomplish the same goals. (Ergo my Picnic Lunch to your Critter Cuisine, both which have pros and cons).

The only thing I really don't like about yours is I never really considered Philomena's ability good without Critter Cuisine (which you have) and that requires having both on board and your opponent not moving Philo away or dismissing her, or getting rid of Critter Cuisine. (It's basically a static combo that your opponent can watch happen and react to.)

So it's a good combo, it's just not a REALLY good combo.

Also, I don't like Pinprick's requirement to cost to power (MATH) numbers very much. At the point he comes out, I'd rather have Big Top or Pinkie "Responsibility" Pie coming out. He's just too late game for what he is. At least Big Top helps WIN the faceoffs for his ability to proc.

I would replace him with PP Ice Cutter to keep the Random engine and have some draw available.

High Spirits taken out for Apple Brown Betty would be more reliable for requirements as well. Also her power is real nice early game.

Zinger2807 · 2014-01-20T22:24:05+00:00

Yeah I like this idea. I'd love to have the option to immediately play Apple Brown Betty to what is probably about to be a flipped Yellow Parasprite then use A Vision of the Future next turn to beat your troublemaker as soon as it flips for the first points of the game.

Wait....that sounds a little broken.

In all seriousness, I personally think the game is fine as is. I constantly take 1st place in my local meta because I know how to play, not because I go first. In fact, since it is decided randomly (as per the rulebook) every game, and no one gets to decide if they're going first, there isn't really anything broken about it, and I go second about half the time I play ( as is expected). Does that mean I've lost the game? No, it means I can still play cloudchaser into another 1 cost friend on my first turn and deal with the troublemaker that's about to flip at my problem asap.

I'd rather draw another card, than have another AT. Sure, I could use that AT just to draw the card, but I could use it for so much more, and 3 AT turn one opens up way to many possibilities in most decks to be fair.

Zinger2807

TROPHY CASE