Monday, February 25, 2013

Kagero - Iron Fist of the Dragon's Fury (Lawkeeper)

It IS my main deck (and forever will be, perhaps).  I love it.  It does so many things with a single limit break. Many small, subtle things that add up in a cohesive manner; IT'S BEAUTIFUL!

And it finally showed up in the anime.  For about 2 seconds.  And it was great.
I'd put some snappy comment here, but I'm too busy staring at the awesomeness that is Lawkeeper.
(Oh, and Rin made this GIF for me!  Isn't it great?)
To commemorate this event, and "celebrate" the arrival of crossrides.  I give them a warm welcome with 23k and 18k rows EVERYWHERE!


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Grade 0:
1x Lizard Soldier, Conroe
4x Blue Ray Dracokid (Critical)
4x Embodiment of Spear, Tahr (Critical)
4x Demonic Dragon Mage, Rakshasa (Critical)
4x Dragon Monk, Genjo (Heal)

Grade 1:
4x Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
4x Iron Tail Dragon
2x Lizard Soldier, Raopia
2x Demonic Dragon Mage, Kimnara
2x Wyvern Guard, Barri

Grade 2:
4x Cross Shot, Garp
4x Dragon Knight, Nehalem
3(2)x Berserk Dragon

Grade 3:
3x Dragonic Lawkeeper
3x Dual Axe Archdragon
2x Dragonic Overlord
(1x Dragonic Vanisher)

*Vanisher would replace a 3rd Berserk Dragon, although this spot could also be given to another Lawkeeper or Archdragon.
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I'm not going to go into detail about these again besides the minor changes.  If you'd like something more in depth, check out my last 2 Lawkeeper deck analysis paragraphs:

My old personal variant (the unit choices would be for the same reasons and the deck methods are about identical).

A more "pure" Lawkeeper dedicated deck.

The changes are mainly for the new and "not so improved" meta I have to deal with.  Between Conroe, Iron Tail, Berserk Dragon, Kimnara, Lawkeeper, and occasionally, Overlord, counterblasts are used up at a good pace. (An unused damage is a wasted damage!)  Iron Tail makes a pseudo 8k which along with Bahr, make it stupidly easy for this deck to hit 18k.  Lawkeeper has a personal booster in the form of Raopia though, so the vanguard column hits a nice and pretty 23k (looking at those crossrides and those Shamsiels there).  In case an opponent fails to crossride, Archdragon is still there to hit for some 21k.

Let's just list out all the nice columns this deck can make:
Garp + Bahr = 18k
Nehalem + Bahr = 18k
R Lawkeeper + Bahr = 18k
Overlord  + Bahr = 19k
Overlord + Iron Tail = 18k
Archdragon + Bahr = 18k - 21k
V Lawkeeper + Raopia = 23k

And for a counterblast we have:
Garp + Iron Tail = 18k
Nehalem + Iron Tail = 18k
R Lawkeeper + Iron Tail = 18k

Running a max number of 10k vanillas and as many strong boosters as possible makes these columns all but guaranteed in a game.  What sets this build apart is probably its inability to make BAD columns.  Kimnara and Barri don't count as shitty boosters because they're not meant to boost most of the time.  Berserk Dragon is a +1 and an intercept (read: expendable in most cases allowing a field fix).  With this in mind, almost any column you can make is a good column.  Contrary to popular belief, 10k vanillas do win games.
Gonna beat the crap outta some crossrides!
I do have to point out that this is STILL my favorite deck to play.  Everything in it just flows together so well.  Rarely are there awkward columns or uncomfortable situations (except Nemain; gotta kill that thing fast).  It must suit me well too, because there's almost never a time when the move I want to make, isn't the same move as the one I should make.

4 comments:

  1. Wait, whuuut?

    Dragonic Vanisher? Isn't DO 11k enough? Why not just add in another DO if you just want another 11k hitter?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vanisher hits for 12k, Executioner isn't very nice looking, but it's an option as well.

      Delete
  2. Vanisher is a 9k, when attack by a crossrided DOtE boosted by an aermo thats 19k so you have to guard for 20k for a two to pass

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you have to ride Vanisher, you're screwed anyways.

      I wouldn't call it to the rear if my opponent was playing DOTE.

      If it was a casual match, i'd just take it out. If it was a tournament, I'd have visually surveyed the player group for DOTE decks anyways (not that I usually use Vanisher; it was a gift from a friend and has nice card art...which MATTERS).

      I'm not saying Vanisher is the best choice for this deck, but it is viable in a few ways.

      Delete