Bryan Reese a écrit :I think this has been a long time coming and I owe it to the L5R community as a whole to post my thoughts on how to make Phoenix work. I probably should have done this a while ago, but things have gotten in the way.
I would also like to point something else out about myself. I love Phoenix; they have been one of my favorite clans since Imperial, second only to Unicorn (and not even that in recent years). I am really excited about the Phoenix decks I have right now and am really excited about the possibilities which are coming out in future sets. As a playtester, I am under an oath not to reveal any cards, but let me say that I am as excited about the new Phoenix box as I was when the new Lion box came out in Drums of War. It just opens up a lot of possibilities and I am excited as to see what is going to come out of it. I also am excited about the ToE Phoenix people too, partly because I know what is coming out.
That sounds like a good place to start, the new Phoenix personalities in ToE. Most have denounced them as weaker than other clans, but lets take a look at the individually for a moment.
Agasha Miyoshi - Starting with the obvious, she is 3 force and Enlightened. I am sure it is pretty obvious that rings are going to be seeing play frequently for Phoenix, so she will be a single attachment away from province crushing. She is also Cavalry; perfect for the deck she is built to go in. She has 4 ph, which can never be discounted. But her obvious strength is her ability. Dragons will be hitting your discard pile; anyone who has played T8G knows that. With tricks like Surge and Awaken the Eighth, it is pretty easy to turn her ability into permanent dragons for you. She also has a very unique ability that can't be duplicated by other cards in the environment at the efficiency she possesses, which should not be disregarded. I think Miyoshi is a very solid card and am very happy with the way she turned out. Plus, she will actually finally come into play!!!
Asako Takakazu - Again, another solid personality. While I would honestly rather see him a boxable shugenja, as people have pointed out, he turns spells into actions. This is an incredibly powerful ability with several spells, but I think the obvious one is Kuro's Fire. Making Kuro's Fire an action is an incredibly powerful combo. Just ask anyone who has forgotten the trait on the Phoenix Sword. There are other spells though that he is good with. Surge is a huge one in my opinion, as often times your opponent is planning the fact that you can either do your next action OR put a Surge into play, not both. Lets also not underestimate the power of a - honor requirement for Phoenix. I am really happy with the diversity Takakazu provides.
Isawa Kimi - Once again she is 3 force and enlightened, so she will often times be a lone attachment or force pump away from a province. But this is not her strength. She is going to be very, VERY strong with the new box. Right now she is definitely sub-par, but once Rise hits, I don't know a single deck that won't run her in the new box. I wish you guys didn't have to wait a set for her to playable, but sometimes it is unavoidable. This is definitely not the first time it has happened. Tik'Tek, for example, was printed in WoL.
Isawa Sawao - Boxable, 4 chi, duelist, enlightened, solid battle ability. WOW!!! The only thing I don't like about Sawao is the name running up the side (I love you Pat Naayer ) I don't see how you could not like Sawao. This gives you another boxable and allows access to a Phoenix dueling theme. I really like Sawao.
Shiba Denbe - There is hidden synergy with this personality that I really like. First, he works very well with the new box. You are going to want rings in play for your personalities (i.e. he and Kimi). Second, he bounces a Ring to your hand. While this may seem pointless, with my current enlightenment deck, often times the turn I want to enlighten, I need more rings in play for cards like Meeting the Keepers. I often times wish I could use Voice to put a ring into play, but then I can't enlighten with it later. I really like Denbe and think he will be a solid addition when the new box enters play. There is always something to be said for unique abilities like Denbe.
Shiba Yoshimi - He has a neat Kuon type effect for your personalities. He also has more redirection. To be honest, this is my least favorite out of the new guys. The last thing a deck like MC Hammer needs is more redirection. They have that in spades. I agree with most people's assessment that this is a sub-par personality. He is good in theory, but in practice I think you will find his ability redundant and unnecessary.
So that is my analysis of the new personalities. As you can tell, I am a little more optimistic than most, but I have the luxury of knowing where Phoenix is heading.
So now let's move onto specific decks. I have to be honest that I am a lot more versed with Morikage Toshi than Temple of the Eighth Guardians and personally feel it to be the better box. So I shall start with MT.
Using Morikage Toshi, there are quite a lot of options available. The most popular option is MC Hammer style decks, so that is where I will start. Here is a version of MC Hammer that I run. I have not yet updated the deck for Drums of War as I have been focusing on other Phoenix strategies. MC Hammer
Morikage Toshi
Kanjiro Sensei
Voice
Dynasty - 40
Personalities - 19
3x Isawa Sawao
3x Isawa Kimi
3x Isawa Toshiji
2x Otomo Taneji
3x Tawagoto
1x Sezaru
1x Agasha Shaku
1x Shiba Ningen
1x Rama Singh
1x Seppun Kiharu
Holdings - 15
1x AFR
1x G&F
3x Silver Mine
3x Venerable Master
3x Rich Coffers
3x Supply Outpost
1x Tortoise Ambassador
Regions/Events - 6
1x Price of Power
1x Death of Ryoshun
1x A New Wall
1x A Time for Vengeance
1x Harvest Festival
1x Tsuno Swamps
Fate - 40
Actions - 18
3x Reinforce the Gates
2x Misdirection
3x Whispered Rumors
3x Scroll Cache
3x No Hiding Place
2x Spearhead
1x Allegiance to the Shogun
1x Timely Arrival
Kihos - 4
2x Sap the Spirit
2x Turn of Fortune
Spells - 13
3x Kuro's Fire
3x Walking the Way
3x Seal the Way
3x Suitengu's Surge
1x Eclipse
Items - 5
3x Henshin's Amulet
1x Obi of Silence
1x Kyoryoku
This deck has the possibility of being improved with Drums of War, but I think there are other, better strategies to use. But if you like MC Hammer, it is still a solid deck. Just pray your opponent does not run 2nd Doom of the Phoenix or The Snake Speaks.
The basic strategy behind MC Hammer, is make one large unit (preferably Sezaru, but can be anyone) which your opponent cannot handle. Then using the Sensei, Misdirection, Turn of Fortune, etc. redirect all of their actions to other, smaller personalities you control. It is an effective strategy, but pretty slow. Quite possibly too slow for the current environment.
Next I will display the deck that has gotten so much controversy on the Phoenix boards, Groundhog's Day. Why would I display the decklist after refusing too for so long now? Because I have confirmed my initial beliefs that the deck is indeed very much hurting in the Drums of War environment. Cards such as Crossroads of Destiny, Tawagoto, Yoshinko, Gakuto, and Provoke neutralize the entire deck. The reason I called it Groundhog's Day is because it was holding destruction. Very effective holding destruction in which most games I would destroy every card my opponent had in play, so they were doomed to repeat turn 1 over and over again. This is a very boring deck to play against and that is why I have safe guarded it for so long. But now that I do not believe it will be very tournament competitive anymore, I feel safe in releasing it. Groundhog's Day
Morikage Toshi
Voice
Dynasty - 40
Personalities - 16
3x Isawa Sawao
3x Chitik
3x Isawa Toshiji
3x Isawa Kimi
1x Agasha Shaku
1x Rama Singh
2x Ratling Conjurer
Holdings - 13
1x AFR
1x G&F
3x Silver Mine
3x Secluded Waystation
3x Rich Coffers
2x Temple of the Lotus
Regions/Events - 11
1x Test of the Jade Champ
1x Price of Power
1x Commanding Favor
1x Ki-Rins Exodus
1x Regions of Rokugan
1x A Time for Vengeance
1x Harvest Festival
1x Fortune's Gift
1x Shining Son
1x Kanashimi Toshi
1x Tsuno Swamps
Fate - 40
Actions - 15
2x Explosives
3x Scroll Cache
3x Conserve Your Strength
3x No Hiding Place
2x Allegiance to the Shogun
1x Misdirection
Kihos - 4
3x Banish All Shadows
1x Sap the Spirit
Spells - 14
3x Fist of Osano-Wo
2x Kuro's Fire
3x Walking the Way
3x Seal the Way
2x Suitengu's Surge
1x Awaken the Eighth
Followers - 3
3x Bloodsmith
Items - 4
3x Henshin's Amulet
1x Kyoryoku
Ring - 1
1x Ring of Air
Again I have not yet updated it for Drums of War, though there was not much updating to be done. The strategy behind this deck was to buy a personality on turn two, and then on turn three find a Fist of Osano-Wo and Bloodsmith or Ring of Air and blow up a holding. Then blow up a couple more on the next turn. By turn 4-5 my goal is to reduce my opponent to no holdings. There is another weakness I found with the deck while playing it. By the time you get towards the end of a tournament, people know what you are doing. They keep holding early where they would normally discard them. This makes it harder to play and can even cost you the game. So there it is, enjoy it in all of its boring splendor .
Now that brings us onto Phoenix Enlightenment. I personally think this Phoenix's best deck currently. Just to be up front, I won't be sharing this decklist. While I personally do not feel my deck contains any nifty or super secret tricks, I personally would just prefer to hold onto this decklist until after Gen Con. There is a possibility I might play it, and I would prefer to keep some secrets to myself. Hopefully this won't cause too much backlash.
That being said, I will still give you my insights towards building an effective Phoenix Enlightenment deck. One thing I cannot stress enough is speed. I recommend using as many boxables as you feasibly can. Personalities like Shiba Ningen and Sezaru are simply too expensive in this deck. I like to get out a personality second turn and snatch the favor. This gets you straightening on the next turn and a card. Both very key elements to a quick enlightenment. When building your enlightenment deck and playtesting it for a major tournament, remember that the key ingredient is speed, speed, and speed. Good luck with this one!
That brings us to Temple of the Eighth Guardians. I personally really like Dragons, I think they are fun. However, I have been focusing my Phoenix energies on Morikage Toshi, the more versatile stronghold. I have yet to build a Phoenix Dragons deck in Lotus. However, in my head what I see being key is getting out a few important Dragons (mainly Void) and getting their abilities (traits) to go off. It would occur to me, however, that if you could consistently get Void to go off in a game, then Phoenix Dragons would be winning more than they are. That leads me to believe that usually Void is taken care of and it should be important to have contingency plans.
With new cards like Crossroads of Destiny and Vengeance Cannot Wait, it seems safe to assume that you can get your Dragons out quick. However, it is important that once you get your dragons out, you keep them out and they stay alive. Cards like Ancient Battlefield, Storms of Isawa, A Test of Courage, Fields of Pyyrhic Victory, and Surge all would seem to be important cards in a Phoenix Dragons deck. Now it also occurs to me that you have two big advantages over similar decks such as Big Oni and Orochi. You are Cavalry and Shugenjas. I would try to abuse these two factors as much as possible. Cards such as Kuro's Fire, Surge, and Seal the Way all seem like good additions.
In conclusion, I hope this helps improve the current status of Phoenix and brings the Phoenix clan back to getting the results I personally think they can. Thank you.
Note: I started writing this over 2 hours ago, before the apology thread. I don't want it to be conveyed as "Ok, now that you have apologized, I will help you." It was simply a coincidence.
