"One of the titles handed out to elite knights in the first army of United Sanctuary of the clan Royal Paladin."
- http://cardfight.wikia.com/wiki/Jewel_Knights
Jewel Knights (JK)
An in depth blog post about what I am mainly playing right now =)
So I'll start with the G4s, they're pretty standard for JK decks but an essential part of any deck nowadays.
We finally got our G-FC02 in the english game earlier this year (kinda weird saying that...its really just a few weeks ago...) and with it came the stride that every JK player was waiting for; Climax Jewel Knight Lord, Evangeline (ooooft almost as long as another stride in the game...*looking at the ace*). And so here's my deck for this lovely card.
4 Climax JK Lord, Evangeline
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
Apart from her beautiful artwork her effect is pretty damn good and rivals things like Sanctuary Guard Regalie.
[ACT](V)[1/Turn]:[Choose a face down card from your G zone, and turn it face up] If you have a heart card with "JK" in its card name, and if you have three or more rear-guards with "JK" in its card name, all of your units with "JK" in its card name get [Power]+3000 for each face up card named "Climax JK Lord, Evangeline" in your G zone until end of turn.
Now let me explain why shes "damn good" not because of her looks...
But because she can be used as a FIRST stride, now assuming you have a normal JK full field (something like this):
2 4 2
1 0 1
By flipping a copy of her face up essentially both your columns get +6000 power which means both rows will hit for 22000 (again assuming these are all JK units). This is a very strong first stride play because...now theory+math...
Not counting any draw effects and assuming there was no clamping aka grade stuck game involved; you and your opponent rode straight to G3. Your opponent should have had about 8 cards in their possession:
[T1]:Start with 5 cards>draw for turn +1(6)>ride G1-1(5)
[T2]:Draw for turn+1(6)>ride G2-1(5)>attack+1(6)
[T3]:Draw for turn+1(7)>ride G3-1(6)>attack+2 = total (8)
Now these 8 cards are distributed between guarding if they did any and/or placed on (RC) for attacks etc. Lets just assume there is 2 cards on their (RC) a column of G1+ G2which is very normal since they are on G3 because they would want to have a (R) to receive the trigger buffs if the (V) attacking; this means the would likely have about 6 cards in their hand. Now lets think about what kind of cards could be in their hand (it would be easier if you took note of what they drove check irl) but in theory...at least 1 card should be a stride fodder or G3 so they can stride next turn (this card would generally not be used to guard with), 2-4 triggers if they checked any and then G1s (a PG is likely) and G2s so really they have about 4-5 cards to guard with.
A (R) swinging 22000 at a 11000 base (V) will force 15000 worth of shield which requires 2 cards, you have 2 columns that do that which means to guard both (R) columns this turn your opponent will need to at least spend 4 cards in their hand which is half their card possession. Half of their hand minimum for a first stride is damn good imo.
Generally your attack pattern would be; Column A attacks>(V) attacks>Column B attacks with trigger effects if any.
A (V) would attack and drive check; if they guard this they lose another minimum of 2 cards (20000 for 1 drive check or PG to nullify assuming (V) is 26000), if you drive check a critical trigger and it was guarded this means all effects go to the remaining (R) which would either force a good amount of cards out of your opponents hand or smack them in to their 3-5 damage which is enough for most RP decks to push for game next turn.
Now the scary thing about Evangeline isn't the first stride but strides afterwards because every time you stride her again ALL your units get stronger to the point where (R) alone can hit 16000-21000 numbers UNBOOSTED.
Basically she is essential now if you want to play JKs competitively.
2 Aerial Divine Knight, Altmile
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
Altmile here is for recovery plays, kinda like a backup plan.
Against things like Kagero and Gear Chronicle where your (R) are constantly being removed from the field you may not have the constant resources to use Evangeline's power boosts to the full potential. Where striding is usually a +2 (-1 for stride cost>+3 for drive check); Altmile makes it a minimum +3 if you get his GB2 effect off. I say minimum because you can call (R) like Swordmy or Violinist to essentially full field. His extra power while not as strong as Evangeline can be is not to look down on either, continuous 3000 to front row turns your all G2s into 11000/12000 attackers and +5000 to the called (R) means a total of +11000 to your units which is enough to force at least another 15000 (2 cards worth) shield.
2 Holy Dragon, Saint Blow Dragon
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
Only stride in to this guy if you know for sure 100% your opponent doesn't have a sentinel in hand; his able to hit above the 40000 power mark so your opponent is gona have to drop his hand or risk the damage from criticals.
Otherwise every situation use the other strides =P
4 Broken Heart JK, Ashlei "Reverse"
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
Imho you can really run any G3 since your probably gona be striding 99% of the time anyway but for the turns you cant for eg no stride fodder or first turn G3; Ashlei is still a very strong card to play.
[CONT](V):If you have a card named "Pure Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei" in your soul, this unit gets [Power]+2000.
Ashlei has long been one of the best tool-boxing cards in the game and remains so to this date; her LB4 which can be enabled very early via Sabremy at the cost of just 1 CB and locking a unit which is more/less irrelevant you can retire one card your opponent has that you don't like (eg Tidal Assault) AND call a JK (R). So it's a -1 for your opponent and +1 (potentially more) for yourself; mathematically its kinda a +2 advantage for you.
2 Pure Heart JK, Ashlei
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
[AUTO](V): When this unit attacks a vanguard, this unit gets [Power]+2000 until end of that battle.
There's honestly not much to say about this Ashlei, she's not really THAT useful but does have some cool plays against things like Megacolonies once in a while and break-riding when your opponent has no PG but otherwise she's really just there in the off chance I can't ride Ashlei "Reverse".
1 Leading Jewel Knight, Salome
I guess you can call this a "tech" =S
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
[ACT](V):[CB(2)card with "JK" in its card name] Search your deck for up to one card with "JK" in its card name, call it to (R), and shuffle your deck.
Because I run 12 crits in my deck there are games where I literally crit every turn I attack and by the time I ride G3 they're on 4-5 damage. Most players know if they're going to be able to stride next turn, if I know I can't (eg opponent is still on G2) I can search this with Christine and potentially end the game with Swordmy+Sabremy/Cymbeline/Tiffany power plays.
The act skill though is mostly irrelevant; very rarely would it be used because other cards in the deck does the same thing but cheaper cost...
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
No seriously...its busted.
Super simple effect, amazing results. Best tool-boxing card ever. Basically this furry guy nets you a +1, his your advantage generator without hitting draw triggers or drawing random cards from effects which if you took note of my awesome hand size calculations will realize how strong this "+1" is. It allows the deck to start pushing out 16000+ columns at G2 without the cost of expending hand size and also use it as guard fodder afterwards, you can literally kill 2 bird with 1 stone and deck slim...it also combos with Cymbeline, Christine and Violinist stupid well for massive power spikes or pluses. There's so much more this can do but...
3 Fellowship JK, Tracie
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
No explanation just it hits numbers and she's something you'd like to see often =)
A 12000 attacker when you have a field (not hard in this deck...) combined with Evangeline's power boost on 2nd or 3rd stride Tracie hits 18000 or 21000 unboosted. Mmmmm those magic numbers =)
When boosted and powered up, she will literally hit like a truck. For example:
12000 base+Evangeline's 9000 power=21000 +
G1 7000 base+Evangeline's 9000 power=16000 +
Cymbeline effect +10000 to 1 unit +
Tiffany effect +3000 to 2 units =6000
Total: 53000
Uh...how much can your (V) hit?
2 Blowing JK, Altgaro
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
Pressure is very valuable in this deck; you can buff your (R) all you want but it only does 1 damage if it hits...unless you have a crit or...an on hit effect.
Altgaro can be a very powerful card in this deck because he superior calls a G1 when he hits, he can be used early since there's no GB restriction like Twin Sword and to top it off its nice to have a card that uses SB instead of CB. Powering him up gives him the power to assert pressure throughout the game forcing your opponent to waste cards guarding if they don't want you to plus.
If they guard it means your future attacks will become easier and if they don't there are some cool combos with Christine and Bartram for extra attacks or draws.
I find 2-3 of these guys is a good number to play. You don't always want to call G1s.
2 Starlight Violinist
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
Like his name says; he can really be the star sometimes.
Violinist is my answer to the popular clamp/rush/counter rush game. If you've taken a ton of damage early from being rushed Violinist can net you a +2/3 advantage at a cost of a few CB and 1 SB.
Violinist effect>Swordmy effect>Christine effect>G3 on field
Most JK builds don't play him and I don't understand why, consistency issues is bs because you play 40 other cards that are JKs and the 8000 base is not an issue since your G1s are 7000; 7000+8000=15000 which still hits the magic number on G2.
Violinist can also be used as field recovery (along with Aerial Altmile he can almost give you a full field). I like to play the grade stuck game so I play this guy, he has great synergy with the deck and has great swarm plays.
2 is a good number because you really only need to get his effect off once in a game.
4 Holy Knight Guardian
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
I prefer this PGG over the JK PG, the consistency lost is barely noticeable imo but Holy Knight's ability to counter charge is too good not to have in RP decks since we do CB a lot.
Do note these PGGs cannot guard (R)s and the guard effect only works when placed from hand.
4 Laurel Knight, Sicilus
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
[CONT](Hand):While you are paying the cost for Stride, this card gets grade+2.
Not much to say...I want to be able to stride every turn, I also only place 7 G3s so I play 4 of this guy =)
3 Heat Wind JK, Cymbeline
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
For power plays, Cymblines the man.
Very simple effect and its very useful. Cymbline is kinda like a win-more card. He's super good because his +10000 power can be active throughout the game right from the start at G1 which allows you to make a lot of aggressive power plays between himself, Swordmy and Altgaro. As soon as stride wars begin Cymbline will make those crit triggers really REALLY hurt.
2 is the standard number but I never see him enough or he gets damaged when I need him so I play 3 =)
3 Calling JK, Christine
Along with Evangeline we also got Christine in G-FC02 and she does her job as a G3 search very well. Combined with Swordmy and Altargo you can make extra attacks, fill the field for your other JK effects or choose precisely which G3 JK you want to ride.
1 JK, Sabremy
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
[CONT](R):Your vanguard's "LB4" is active even when you have three or less damage.
I don't use him all the time so I swapped the 2nd copy of him for Cymbeline which imo is more useful+he can easily be called via Swordmy that's why I play him at 1. His purpose is pretty self explanatory...enables LB4 effects (Ashlei) early.
Good little utility card =)
4 Straight JK, Bartram
I'll only be going over Bartram because he's the only trigger with an effect you need to know about.
He's a cool little utility card in the deck that allows to make some cool plays in certain situations and against certain decks.
Example1; if you know you for sure your opponent is going to survive your attack this turn no matter what you bring on the field, you can use bartram as a booster/attacker; when you place cards onto the field you won't get them back so its a minus, Bartram will basically trade himself in 1 for 1 so at the end of the turn, you attacked and you got a card back in hand (the extra card could be crucial as fodder for your PG).
Example2: Link Jokers...they're probably the most annoying deck to play against with RPs since they just lock all your (R) and you can't do anything except attack with your (V) which they can easily guard...cause you only have 1 attack...
Bartram lets you dodge the locks, for locks to go off you need a (R) on the (RC). So basically call Bartrams to attack and then during the end phase he will return back to the deck. You don't lose anything because you get to draw a card. 4000 base may be weak but you can buff him easily with JK effects and triggers, RPs are a (R) reliant deck so its better than not having any (R)s to attack with...
8 Other Critical Triggers and 4 Heals
Note they are all JKs for consistency.
I run 12 crits, I think this is pretty much standard for RP decks now, some still run 2 draws but basically the idea is we can make a (R) as big as we want but 1 dmg is 1dmg...if there's no on-hit effect or crit it's not exactly threatening unless its the 5 damage mark.
1 Dreaming JK, Tiffany
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| http://cardfight.wikia.com/ |
[ACT](R):[Put this unit into your soul] Choose up to two of your other rear-guards with "JK" in its card name, and those units get [Power]+3000 until end of turn.
Tiffany is imo the best forerunner starter for my build, she can boost 2 units +3000 which can make units hit magic numbers eg Swordmy 9000+3000=12000. But wait there's more because it say's "up to" 2 units I can simply just put her in to the soul for SB which is extremely useful in the G2 clamp/grade stuck game where I want to pull off both Violinist and Altgaro's effects. Being able to go in to soul at will also allows her to dodge effects from Gears and Kagero (if your starter is gona be removed by their effects, might as well have her go to soul and get the bonus power right?)
And that's it...
Here's the complete list:
G4:
4 Climax JK Lord, Evangeline
2 Aerial Divine Knight, Atmile
2 Holy Dragon, Saint Blow Dragon (these can be swapped out for Samuel and/or Gablade)
G3:
4 Broken Heart JK, Ashlei "Яeverse" (Sprout JK, Camille is a decent replacement)
2 Pure Heart JK, Ashlei
1 Leading JK, Salome
G2:
4 JK, Swordmy
3 Fellowship JK, Tracie
2 Blowing JK, Altgaro
2 Starlight Violinist
G1:
4 Holy Knight Guardian (PGG - sentinel)
4 Laurel Knight, Sicilus (Stride Fodder)
3 Heat Wind JK, Cymbeline
3 Calling JK, Christine
1 JK, Sabremy (LB4 enabler)
G0:
12 JK Critcal Triggers
4 JK Heal Triggers
1 Dreaming JK, Tiffany (Starter)
Tips:
Your first large power spike begins at g2 if you draw into Swordmy or Violinist, basically using their effects to superior call a free field. It is important to know how much value you can get out of your cards for example:
- You may want to wait a turn to take extra damage so that you can Violinist effect>Swordmy effect>Christine effect>g3 for a +2/3
- If Altgaro+another JK (R) is on field you can Swordmy effect>Cymbeline effect>+10000 to Altgaro; 19000 (you can buff him more with tiffany for 25000 power) swing to the (V) at g2 is very strong forcing either 15000 shield or a chance for you to +1.
- Before riding to g3 consider the amount of advantages you can get vs the amount of advantages your opponent can get. If your opponent is a stride reliant deck; as long as you have your Swordmy or Violinist you CAN stay on g2 as they will net you the +1 every turn (provided you have cb) which would be the same as twin drive at g3. Staying on g2 against a stride deck means your opponent is playing a deck of vanillas.
- Don't hesitate to use your g2's as shields/intercept especially Swordmys and Violinists after they've used their effect; you already got your +1 so you don't actually lose any card advantage losing them.
Depending on game state; your second power spike is your first/second stride:
- As per the calculations for Evangeline at the beginning of the post, you can potentially end the game however before you try and go all in consider the amount of cards you will have vs the amount of cards your opponent will have after attacking; if you don't think you can end the game you can save the cards in your hand, you don't need to have a full field all the time; you only need 3 JK (R) to have Evangeline's effect.
- Your second stride with Evangeline is very important as this determines whether you want to stall the game more or end now. Choose wisely whether to maximize Evangeline's power boost (9000 if you flip a copy of her or 6000 if you flip something else which lets you stride in to her again next turn).
- You don't have to stride every turn! Don't be afraid to skip striding a turn to use Ashlei's retire/tool-boxing skill. Against certain decks and grind games that require a board such as aqua force or megacolony it might be more beneficial to save resources and remove opponent's units.
I hope my first post wasn't too bad of a read, hopefully I improve over time so any comments/criticism is cool =) I'll most likely post some like this once a week so please visit my blog again~ cheers
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