Cost Analysis: $$$
Category: Expensive.
Mane Character: Rarity, Ambassador of Generosity.
Category: Expensive.
Mane Character: Rarity, Ambassador of Generosity.
Problems:
x1 Locked Out
x1 Under Lock and Tree
x1 Who is Gabby Gums?
x1 Beguiling Babble
x1 Fear Itself
x1 Heavy Lifting
x1 Gunked Up Gala
x1 Strut Your Stuff
x1 Rarity's Worst Nightmare
x1 Utterly Transformed
Friends:
x2 Rarity, Rainbow Powered
x2 Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Powered
x2 Octavia, Virtuoso
x3 Octavia, Harsh Judge
x3 Minuette, Fast Forward
x3 Noteworthy, Humdinger
x3 Comet Tail, Hale Bopper
Resources:
x2 Pony Charm
x2 Oozeaccessorized
x2 Stack of Suitcases
x2 Preemptive Flick
x2 Combat Hat
Events:
x2 Cutie Pox Scare
x3 Makeover
x2 Private Journal
x2 Private Journal
x2 Inspiration Manifestation
x3 Destiny Drain
x2 Stand Still!
x2 Fashion Upgrade
Troublemakers:
x2 Spike, Excessive
x3 Discord, Utter Pandemonium
x2 Jet Set & Upper Crust
Total: 55.
x1 Locked Out
x1 Under Lock and Tree
x1 Who is Gabby Gums?
x1 Beguiling Babble
x1 Fear Itself
x1 Heavy Lifting
x1 Gunked Up Gala
x1 Strut Your Stuff
x1 Rarity's Worst Nightmare
x1 Utterly Transformed
Friends:
x2 Rarity, Rainbow Powered
x2 Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Powered
x2 Octavia, Virtuoso
x3 Octavia, Harsh Judge
x3 Minuette, Fast Forward
x3 Noteworthy, Humdinger
x3 Comet Tail, Hale Bopper
Resources:
x2 Pony Charm
x2 Oozeaccessorized
x2 Stack of Suitcases
x2 Preemptive Flick
x2 Combat Hat
Events:
x2 Cutie Pox Scare
x3 Makeover
x2 Private Journal
x2 Private Journal
x2 Inspiration Manifestation
x3 Destiny Drain
x2 Stand Still!
x2 Fashion Upgrade
Troublemakers:
x2 Spike, Excessive
x3 Discord, Utter Pandemonium
x2 Jet Set & Upper Crust
Total: 55.
I'm not going to lie. I would NOT recommend this deck to a beginner, or even for a mid-level player, specifically because the cards in it are high price, and the deck itself comes with some hidden strategies. However, if you're going after a Regional or National title, this deck is for you.
When I built this deck, I took into consideration the fact that Troublemakers are shut down by a TON of cards right now. But that's not a problem, specifically because you're not using the TM's for their abilities, but instead for their zero points to high cost to confront ratio.
Let's take a look at three of the most powerful Troublemakers I selected for the deck:
Let's take a look at three of the most powerful Troublemakers I selected for the deck:
The first thing I noticed about these cards is that they have an extremely high power, compared to an extremely low reward for defeating them. When I think of powerful troublemakers, I think of Spike, Excessive, first and foremost. Specifically because he does not reward any points for defeating him, and he requires 7 power to even CONFRONT his problem. On top of that, your opponent has to have access to Action Tokens on their Troublemaker phase if they don't want to confront him. This card has two advantages: if your opponent decides that they can take him on, then they have to deal with 7 power, occasionally early in the game. Second, if they decide that they cannot confront this particular Troublemaker, then they end up draining their action tokens, and they reveal a weakness in their ranks.
Discord was another obvious choice for the deck because of his keyword, Villain. In terms of benefits, similar to Spike he has a power of 7, which benefits him greatly, but more than that, when he flips, he frightens every friend at his problem. Plus, he then begins to mill out your opponents deck, which can cause a major issue for them, because if Discord takes out a powerful card, you now have access to it.
Jet Set & Upper Crust break the chain in terms of power to points. You'll notice that they're power level is 0, whereas their point level is 1. I found this card to be useful for a different reason, being the fact that it requires the opponent to have a minimum of 3 friends to confront the Troublemaker, but it doesn't effect you. So, while your opponent is building up their team to fight Jet Set & Upper Crust, you can use 1-2 friends to confront your problem, and gain at least 1 point each turn.
Next up, let's take a look at the Control aspects of the deck, being Octavia, Harsh Judge and Octavia, Virtuoso.
Discord was another obvious choice for the deck because of his keyword, Villain. In terms of benefits, similar to Spike he has a power of 7, which benefits him greatly, but more than that, when he flips, he frightens every friend at his problem. Plus, he then begins to mill out your opponents deck, which can cause a major issue for them, because if Discord takes out a powerful card, you now have access to it.
Jet Set & Upper Crust break the chain in terms of power to points. You'll notice that they're power level is 0, whereas their point level is 1. I found this card to be useful for a different reason, being the fact that it requires the opponent to have a minimum of 3 friends to confront the Troublemaker, but it doesn't effect you. So, while your opponent is building up their team to fight Jet Set & Upper Crust, you can use 1-2 friends to confront your problem, and gain at least 1 point each turn.
Next up, let's take a look at the Control aspects of the deck, being Octavia, Harsh Judge and Octavia, Virtuoso.
Octavia has always been associated with Control in my mind, specifically because of these two right here. Take a look at Harsh Judge: for only 2 AT's, and 2 White power, you can lock down an opponent's deck by naming a card that you know they favour. The way you can do this is with either Destiny Drain, or with Risky Business, to gain knowledge of what your opponent is playing. Another card I find useful for this is Private Journal, because it forces your opponent to reveal their hand during a faceoff.
Next up, Minuette, Fast Forward.
I suggest you use this card to banish Octavia, Harsh Judge, so that her 'Enters play' ability will be able to trigger several times in a turn, effectively eliminating multiple threats from your opponent's deck.
I suggest you use this card to banish Octavia, Harsh Judge, so that her 'Enters play' ability will be able to trigger several times in a turn, effectively eliminating multiple threats from your opponent's deck.
When you think of White Control, a lot of cards come to mind. My favourites in terms of resources are pictured below:
In terms of Resources for Control, these are 5 of the most powerful ones I could find.
Pony Charm is an obvious choice in terms of control, specifically because it can take over an opponent's friend, without having to return it at the end of the turn. The only downside is the cost. At 3 AT's and 5 White power, Pony Charm can be expensive, but worth it's cost during the mid to late game.
Combat Hat is a piece of a combo that will lock your opponent out of the game. If you put it on Octavia, Virtuoso. When their abilities stack, you have your opponents paying 5 AT's to move a single friend to the problem. On top of that, if your opponent has a ton of friends on a problem, you can move the hat over to a friend at that problem in order to lock down that problem as well.
Oozeaccessorized is another powerful white Rare, because of it's ability to banish a friend or drain your opponent of all of their action tokens.
Stack of Suitcases is another enjoyable control card because when you use it with Octavia and Combat Hat, or on it's own early in the game, you can lock down a problem so that only you can confront it.
Preemptive Flick is a card that I am hesitant to say is a particularly 'good card' in terms of control. Sure, it'll hit hard if you use it with Octavia, Combat Hat, or Stack of Suitcases, but on it's own, it's just a mediocre bounce spell.
Pony Charm is an obvious choice in terms of control, specifically because it can take over an opponent's friend, without having to return it at the end of the turn. The only downside is the cost. At 3 AT's and 5 White power, Pony Charm can be expensive, but worth it's cost during the mid to late game.
Combat Hat is a piece of a combo that will lock your opponent out of the game. If you put it on Octavia, Virtuoso. When their abilities stack, you have your opponents paying 5 AT's to move a single friend to the problem. On top of that, if your opponent has a ton of friends on a problem, you can move the hat over to a friend at that problem in order to lock down that problem as well.
Oozeaccessorized is another powerful white Rare, because of it's ability to banish a friend or drain your opponent of all of their action tokens.
Stack of Suitcases is another enjoyable control card because when you use it with Octavia and Combat Hat, or on it's own early in the game, you can lock down a problem so that only you can confront it.
Preemptive Flick is a card that I am hesitant to say is a particularly 'good card' in terms of control. Sure, it'll hit hard if you use it with Octavia, Combat Hat, or Stack of Suitcases, but on it's own, it's just a mediocre bounce spell.
The deck itself currently runs 6 events, with an 80%-20% split between White and Purple. Digging a little deeper into why they're played, you'll notice that 1/2 of them will search your opponent's deck and/or hand, whereas the other half will trigger off of your opponent moving friends, and either denying them that ability, or draining Action Tokens so that they cannot move another character.
Makeover is in my top 5 favourite events, because of how well it can work in terms of getting other coloured cards out on early turns.
Makeover is in my top 5 favourite events, because of how well it can work in terms of getting other coloured cards out on early turns.
Overall, I think this deck is a good archetype for players that like to have control of the board. While I do enjoy playing Control decks, this one doesn't really excite me as much as some of the other types of decks that I play.
Rank: 3.5/5.
Rank: 3.5/5.