Friday, December 12, 2014

Boss Card Battles: Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon vs. Light Source Seeker, Alfred Exiv

There are many ways to build a good deck. Every clan has a way to play and there are many cards to support their play style. But what really drives what the deck is centered around? What is the key ingredient to choosing the right cards?

The answer? The Boss Cards.

Many clans and Sub clans have a leader they must follow in order to obtain victory. These Bosses form the basis, and it's up to the rest of the deck to synergize with that basis for a clean victory.

While some Bosses hold the Monopoly on their clan, however, many times there will come two or more great cards that will lead, each with a different way of playing. This is where confusion may set in, as choosing which play style to use is very tedious, and can lead to a clash of strategies. 

This is where Boss Card Battles come into play. This is a segment where 2 cards from the same clan or sub-clan will be compared against one another, viewing their Pros and Cons to determine which card will truly shine more.

With the release of Booster Set 16 coming to English format, there are a few cards that fit the bill in this new format of Legion. 

And for our first battle, it will be between two cards that share a bond with the same card, the Legions used with Blaster Blade Seeker: Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon, and Light Source Seeker, Alfred Exiv!

For fairness of our contenders, we will be giving both Pros and Cons of both cards, as well as how they combine with other cards in their sub clan. Now, with that out of the way, let's get started!


Seekers are the new Sub Clan for the Royal Paladins, and unlike some Sub Clans that have a specific gimmick that is a variation of normal gameplay, Seekers don't have that much variation in the Royal Paladin's usual Superior Calling strategies. However, the Sub Clan focuses motly on the use of Blaster Blade Seeker, which brings us to our Contenders for today:

Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon


LEGION: Blaster Blade Seeker

AUTO: (V) [CB 2, SB 3, and choose 2 cards in your hand, and discard them.] At the end of a battle that this unit attacked a vanguard, if this unit is in Legion, you may pay the cost. If you do, search your deck for up to one card named "Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon," ride it as stand, shuffle your deck, choose a card named "Blaster Blade Seeker" from your soul, and Legion

AUTO: (V) When this unit attacks a Vanguard, this unit gets +2000 Power until the end of that battle.


Thing Saver Dragon was the first Boss Card of the Seekers to be released in a Booster set, the first Boss Card being Sacred Wingal from the Trial Deck. This is one of Blaster Blade Seeker's 3 Legion Pairs, and is a powerhouse. 

Unlike Royal Paladin Boss Cards, Thing Saver Dragon does not focus on having a full field to aid its effect or give it power. Rather, it's a Restanding Vanguard with a high cost, with 2 Counterblasts, 3 Soul Blasts, and a discard of 2 cards, as well as being a Persona Ride from the deck and using the Blaster Blade Seeker in the Soul to Legion again. 

However, despite having no effect based on the number of Rearguards, that doesn't mean that Thing Saver Dragon should be alone. Many of the Rearguard cards in this deck work with Thing Saver, or Legion in general. From gaining power while in Legion, to superior calling when performing Legion, the rearguards can play off the power of the Legion Vanguard. 

However, this card also has Raging Form Dragon's Persona Ride con, where you cannot carry the power of triggers to the restand for extra power. And the very high cost means this is used mostly for pressure, and you'll need to be very careful of how many Counterblasts and cards you have in your soul and hand. 

Pros:
Restanding Vanguard means more Triggers and High Power Attacks.

Persona Legion thins deck of Grade 3's

Card can play off Persona Legion with "When you preform Legion" effects. 

Cons: 
Persona Ride nullifies self added triggers and power boosts.

Cost nullifies the card advantage of 2 twin drives, save using draw triggers.

Not as unpredictable as Raging Form Dragon, since Persona Ride is down from Deck instead of hand. 


This card is amazing at pressure, and has been a controversial part of the deck named Sing Saver Abyss, using the rule of mixing Shadow Paladin's and Royal Paladin's. With the new ruling of only 4 Blaster Darks limiting this deck now, this Card does work well with the synergy of the deck, yet it should not be something that's used without planning. Poor Planning and lack of support will render the Legion Skill mute, as it has a hefty cost for the effect to even work. 


Now that we have given Thing Saver Dragon its spotlight, time to look over the next contender:

Light Source Seeker, Alfred Exiv


LEGION: Blaster Blade Seeker OR Blaster Blade

CONT: (V) During your turn, if this card is in Legion, this card gets +1000 Power for each of your other units with "Seeker"in its name. Then, if the number of rearguards you have is five or greater, this unit gets +1 critical.

ACT: (V) [CB 2-cards with "Seeker" in its card name] Search your deck for up to one card with "Seeker" in its name, call it to (R), and shuffle your deck. 


The King returns to his throne as a new Boss Card originally released in The Movie Booster: Neon Messiah. Now as another card released in the English version of Legion of Dragon and Blades, he competes for a true spot as the top Seeker card to have. 

One unique power Alfred Exiv has is his Legion is not only limited to Blaster Blade Seeker, but can also be Legioned with the original Blaster Blade. This allows variety in the deck, as well as a way to have Blaster Blade use its Vanguard effect, since while in Legion, the Mate is considered being placed on the Vanguard Circle. 

Alfred Exiv's Legion Skill, unlike Thing Saver Dragon, does focus on the number of rearguards you have. Since his power gain ability focuses on Seeker units, this will include the Legion Mate, meaning if you Legion him with Blaster Blade Seeker, this will add 1000 more power to this pair. However, his rearguard effect gives him even more pressure, as he gains a critical for having a full field. 

His normal ability is a standard call ability using an Especial Counterblast, similar to Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred, but with more precision than luck. 

This card may not have the restand ability of Thing Saver Dragon, but his added critical and power is threatening on his own. He doesn't have the synergy with combining with the effects of rearguards, but still synergize a with his power and ability to call them himself. 

The only problem with his dual Legion is the usability of Blaster Blade itself. Not many Seekers can be combined with a Non-Seeker card, and there are more Blaster Blade Seeker support cards that cannot make the adjustment. And even Alfred cannot use a Damaged Blaster Blade for his Counterblast, limiting the usability of the damage should it happen. 

Pros:
Power and Critical based on the number of Seekers and rearguards respectively.

Flexibility with Legion using either Blaster Blade or Blaster Blade Seeker.

Superior Call ability to help hand advantage and fill the field.


Cons:
Blaster Blade is not synergize with Seekers.

Call Ability has a specific and somewhat high cost in a deck with many small Counterblasts. 


Both Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon and Light Source Seeker, Alfred Exiv have a lot going for them in this Sub Clan, and the Seekers are a great cln for those who enjoy the effect of a full field. However, their playstyle is very different when comparing these two. Thing Saver Dragon is focused on boosting the units with triggers as well as combining with cards already on the field, while Alfred Exiv gains power from its comrades and helps fill the field with useful units. Each have their ups and down, which makes them perfect for being competitive units.

However, if I had to choose only one of these cards to use as my true boss card:

I would pick Light Source Seeker, Alfred Exiv.

His cons are really just affected by the addition of Blaster Blade in the deck, which can be avoided by putting in another Seeker Grade 2. His Counterblast ability can easily be fixed with support cards like Grangal Seeker, as well as draw triggers to help further the field's progression. 

But my biggest selling point is the consistent pressure Alfred Exiv gives. Thing Saver has a massive cost as well as a limit of having Thing Saver Dragon in the deck, which means rarely will you use this effect more than once without precision planning. Alfred Exiv keeps his pressure with a full field, and while destructive clans like Narukami and Link Joker can hinder it, the it's still more consitant when you put just as much planning for such clans. 

This is my honest opinion. Feel free to leave your opinions or questions in the comments, and also please suggest new battles for the future. 

Until Next Time:

Daltorus. 





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