Double Deck Check: The Power of Regalia

Double Deck Check: The Power of Regalia

  Wednesday, July 02, 2014    byak

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Hey everyone, it's about time for another Double Deck Check! And what could be a better topic than the core of Genesis themselves, Regalia!

Bushiroad has this odd tendency to support the same kind of deck in two different regions at the same time. For the English game, the Regalia Trial Deck just hit our shelves, while the newest Extra Booster for Genesis was released two weeks ago on the 20th. Even though the rest of the English Regalia support won't be coming out until later in July, we'll still be going over the deck today, so you can be ready to complete it when Booster Set 14 rolls around!

I had already gone over the gist of Regalia in my last article, which complimented with the newest Trial Deck. Regalia start out as very strong Cross Break Ride deck, featuring Regalia of Wisdom, Angelica and Omniscience Regalia, Minerva. Minerva herself is a self-standing vanguard, while Angelica serves as powerful draw power. The two draw all of their power from hoarding onto soul in the early game, making them a menacing force in the late game.

But how exactly should the deck be built? Genesis have a lot of options that can tackle all sorts of directions. Someone who has never touched the Regalia bosses would be considerably confused, since there's a lot of cards to choose from, despite Genesis still being a new clan. Thankfully, many people have tested the deck, and based on successful builds and my own testing, I have a sample deck list that can be derived from.

Grand Omniscience
17 / 14 / 11 / 8

1 Battle Maiden, Amenohoakari

4 Battle Maiden, Kukurihime [Critical]

4 Cyber Tiger [Critical]

4 Lemon Witch, Limonccino [Critical]

4 Witch of Big Pots, Laurier [Heal]

4 Orange Witch, Valencia

4 Witch of Frogs, Melissa

3 Goddess of Self-sacrifice, Kushinada

2 Ordain Owl

1 Goddess of the Shield, Aegis

4 Grape Witch, Grappa

4 Witch of Ravens, Chamomile

3 Goddess of Trees, Jupiter

4 Regalia of Wisdom, Angelica

4 Omniscience Regalia, Minerva

Just as a refresher, Minerva's self-standing skill specifically costs three cards from your soul, three cards from your hand, and a counterblast. In addition to standing herself, she also gains +5000 power for the rest of the turn. Angelica can soul blast three of your cards when you Break Ride to net you two more from the top of your deck. The idea is to sit on Angelica early in the game and abuse her own soul charging skill to put Minerva on the field with enough resources that would allow you to finish the game. What made this even better was that Minerva was a Cross Ride of Angelica, giving you that juicy 13000 defense as you made this transition as well.

As expected as it was, the core plan of the deck is to maximize the impact of Angelica and Minerva, so I'm maxing both to see the combination as consistently as possible. The cool thing about playing eight grade 3's in Regalia is that thanks to Minerva's Limit Break, if they clog in your hand they can easily be discarded to activate her skill. Plus, having all eight makes it a lot easier to use Ordain Owl, who can shuffle them back into the deck to give power to your field. You obviously want to see Angelica before Minerva, and even in some cases you might even mulligan a Minerva to dig for an Angelica. Regardless, if you end up getting stuck on Minerva, it's possible to soul charge Angelica to get the Cross Ride bonus without having to Cross Ride.

The big question for all Genesis decks is pretty simple: how do you soul charge? Well thankfully, their new starter really helps with that. Battle Maiden, Amenohoakari is not only a mouthful of a name, but also a blessing. Whenever Amenohoakari boosts a grade 3 Genesis, you get to soul charge one. With 5000 power on top of that, she's definitely worth keeping around, and every turn you have Angelica on the board you have the potential to soul charge two cards. After two or three turns, you should basically have the minimum requirement for Angelica's skill and one use of Minerva's skill. Unfortunately, Amenohoakari doesn't make it to that point all the time due to field control decks, but when she sticks around, she really contributes a lot.

Angelica and Amenohoakari provide a reasonable base for your soul, but you still need more for a Genesis deck, especially considering the circumstances you can be in where you're shut out access from either of them. With that being said, we have our first pair of Witches: Grape Witch, Grappa and Orange Witch, Valencia.

When either of these units are sent from your soul to the drop zone, you can soul charge two more cards. Basically, soul blasting three cards gives you two back with the Witches, albeit they still chew into your deck. Despite that downside, they're some of the most reliable soul charging units for Genesis. They also come with standard 7000 and 9000 bases, allowing them to build suitable columns with the rest of your deck.

The only problem with these two units is getting them into the soul consistently. Since your only soul charging comes into play once you hit grade 3, you might have a hard time ramping up before then. The solution to this conundrum comes from riding, which is by far the most consistent way to put the cards you want in your soul. Usually if you ride Valencia and Grappa in the early game, you're going to be set with soul for the late game, and you don't even have to invest any rear-guard skills to achieve this. If you end up missing them it can suck, but it's pretty hard to not open either one Grappa or one Valencia, especially when you're running four.

Our other pair of Witches, Witch of Frogs, Melissa and Witch of Ravens, Chamomile work well in your soul, but instead of helping build your soul, they help build your field. These two Witches have built a reputation for themselves, as they were two of the first defining units for Genesis. When you soul blast either of them, you can call them to the field at the cost of a counterblast! They synergize very well with Genesis, since most bosses don't counterblast that much. In our case, Minerva is only one per use and Angelica takes up none at all, giving you plenty of room for your Witches. Also, since Minerva soul blasts during the battle phase, you can soul blast the Witches for her Limit Break and call them over rested units, giving you extra attacks! Granted, they're more important for filling your field, but if the time is right, they can really help punish your opponent. It might be hard to assemble these units in the soul, but they're the second go-to units to ride when you don't draw into Valencia or Grappa.

With all of this on the table, it should be pretty easy to understand the game plan of the deck. Prioritize riding Valencia and Grappa to set up your soul, and then just transition from Angelica to Minerva. Once you're on Minerva, you can let your 12 critical triggers and self-standing skill carry you to victory. While you might not be able to sustain Minerva long enough, as long as you have enough critical triggers in your deck, Minerva will force out a huge amount of guard every turn, making her a terrifying force to deal with. Melissa and Chamomile help sustain your field as well, while Ordain Owl makes Minerva even scarier.

While I gave a lot of attention to the Quintet Wall and Apple Witch, Cider combo in the previous article, testing really shows that it isn't needed, and the overuse of Goddess of the Shield, Aegis really eats into the deck. Surely enough you can amass a lot of soul, but your odds of decking out increase by a lot the more you use it. You really only need 6-9 cards in your soul throughout the game anyway, so it's not too necessary. I still do play one copy of Aegis, though. The reason being you'll usually have the open counterblast for one Quintet Wall, and if you're in a pinch, it can occasionally be more useful than Perfect Guards. You can also mill your Regalia grade 3's with it to fuel Ordain Owl, but you still need to be very careful with it.

With that being said, Regalia have proven themselves to be a consistent top deck in the Japanese metagame. Minerva itself probably has one of the highest power levels compared to all of the new units coming in Booster Set 14, and it's really a force to be reckoned with. However, the advent of Legion has, like most Limit Break decks, shoved it out for new, stronger decks to take the spotlight. Thanfully, Bushiroad was quick to reboot Genesis and the Regalia archetype itself, with a brand new Legion unit!

Meet Cosmic Regalia, CEO Yggdrasill and its Mate, Regalia of Fate, Norn. Yggdrasill doesn't stand itself like Minerva, but it carries damage in a way that has only resurfaced recently with the introduction of Metalborgs. When Yggdrasill attacks a vanguard while it's in Legion, you can soul blast six cards. If you do, Yggdrasil gains an extra critical during that attack, and on top of that, your opponent can't call grade 1's or higher from their hand to guard with! This kind of skill was almost unheard of, bar the very old Blue Storm Supreme Dragon, Glory Maelstrom. And if you compare the two, there's a few big reasons why this card is strictly better. Yggdrasil's skill isn't a Limit Break, or an Ultimate Break for that matter. It also gains an extra critical in the process, making it much more of a threat than Glory Maelstrom ever will be.

You also have to consider that Yggdrasill gains the extra 9000 power from its Mate, and an extra 3000 power from its second skill. Without a booster, the total power is a whopping 230000 without a booster, which makes even Cross Ride decks panic! But that's not all, because Yggdrasill's mate, Norn, has a very useful skill while its in the soul. If it gets soul blasted, you can give your Regalia vanguard an extra +5000 for the turn, making it hit even harder! Normally, something like this would be irrelevant due to the existence of Perfect Guards, but in the case of Yggdrasill, those are completely out of the question. Your opponent needs a bucket full of grade 0's to protect them after every attack, eventually whittling their resources down to none.

Cosmic Omniscience
17 / 14 / 11 / 8

1 Regalia of Prayer, Pray Angel
4 Far Sight Regalia, Clear Angel [Critical]
4 Regalia of Foredoom, Lot Angel [Draw]
2 Mirror Regalia, Achlis [Stand]
2 Battle Maiden, Kukuruhime [Critical]
4 Regalia of Benevolence, Eir [Heal]

4 Regalia of Frozen Breath, Svalin
4 Exorcism Regalia, Shiny Angel
4 Regalia of Purify, Pure Angel
2 Apple Witch, Cider

4 Regalia of Fate, Norn
4 Regalia of Midday, Hemera
3 Evening Regalia, Hesperides

4 Cosmic Regalia, CEO Yggdrasill
2 Regalia of Wisdom, Angelica
2 Omniscience Regalia, Minerva

As it would appear, Regalia got way more than just a Legion. The newest Extra Booster extended the Regalia name to all of the other grades, which gave them support units and triggers under their name.

You might notice that, even though Regalia got a second Legion, I'm setting it aside to play two copies of Minerva and Angelica. The new Legion is called Regalia of Midnight, Nyx, and after testing, it's not as useful as I thought it would be. Before it Legions, it has a once per turn activate skill that, if you have three or less cards in hand, lets you soul blast three to draw a card. You'd think that this skill helps you acquire Legion pretty early on, since Genesis have very few options that put four cards in your drop zone, but it can be laggy more often than you'd want it to. With very little exterior soul charging, you can't actually have all three cards to soul blast by the time you ride Nyx, unless you ride another Nyx over it. Secondly, unless you open with a hand that's either good for early guarding or early commitment, it's going to be difficult for you to have three or less cards in your hand that early on.

While there are definitely games that you might play where you can use Nyx's skill to let you Legion early on, its Legion skill doesn't really make it worth it. While Nyx is in Legion, if you soul blast a copy of herself or her Mate, Regalia of Midday, Hemera, she gains +5000 power and a critical. You can only get the effect once per turn, and it's really not worth it when you consider the power that Yggdrasill can reach. Therefore, we're using Angelica as a good unit to sit on before you draw into Yggdrasill, and we're using Minerva as a unit that can pose as a finisher after Yggdrasill.

The support units that Regalia have gained in this set are probably what really push them over the top. Regalia of Fate, Norn, as I mentioned earlier, is extremely helpful for both Minerva and Yggdrasil. However, what really helps Regalia are Regalia of Midday, Hemera and Exorcism Regalia, Shiny Angel. They're another pair of grade 1 and grade 2 units, with 7000 and 9000 power respectively. Whenever they're called to a rear-guard circle, you get to choose three of your Regalia units in your drop zone and send them into the soul. This introduces a new perspective of soul charging that helps tackle one of Genesis' weak points: decking out. While these two units might not be useful early on, they become very useful later in the game due to the amount that they add to the soul. They also don't pull from the deck, keeping your deck full of cards to keep yourself going. Additionally, you have a choice of what to send into the soul, meaning you can add a unit like Norn back and get the +5000 power again. Hemera and Shiny Angel help Regalia as a whole create comebacks when they exhaust their deck and their soul, giving the deck a better endurance factor.

Regalia also gain another useful unit that you'd want in the soul. Evening Regalia, Hesperides makes its debut in the Promo Pack following the release of the Genesis Extra Booster, meaning it's not as easy to come by as the rest of the Genesis support, but it's still possible to get. Like Norn, when Hesperides is sent from the soul to the drop zone, your vanguard benefits from it. However, instead of giving it +5000 power, during that turn, if your vanguard's attack hits, you can retire a rear-guard. There's no followup cost or anything, you just have to get it to your soul and send it out. This synergizes really well with Yggdrasill herself, since she's so hard to guard against. A non-lethal Yggdrasill swing will probably not be guarded, allowing you to resolve Hesperides' skill and gain card advantage off of it. Hesperides is also really good with Minerva, since each hit has the potential to retire a unit. Another thing to note is that Hesperides stacks, meaning you can amass multiples and give your vanguard crazy on-hit pressure.

Unlike the English iteration of Regalia, we actually can successfully use the Apple Witch, Cider and Quintet Wall combo. There's no harm in milling yourself through Quintet Walls with a Legion vanguard, since your Legion can just shuffle cards back into the deck to keep yourself sustained. Apple Witch, Cider and Regalia of Frozen Breath, Svalin is one of your primary soul charging engines, but you can also use Svalin by herself to get to Legion sooner. One of the big differences between Genesis and other clans is that they don't have any draw power that can fuel Legion skills. Units like Rising Phoenix and Lake Maiden, Lien had the ability to put multiple cards into your drop zone from the start, making it extremely easy to Legion in the decks they came in. However, Genesis have nothing of the sort, meaning they have to rely on either Quintet Walls or early commitment to get going.

However, Regalia did actually get another unit that can help with their Legion, but not in the most guaranteed way. Regalia of Purify, Pure Angel eats up a counterblast when you call her, but when you do, your Regalia vanguard gains +5000 during the turn, and if it hits, you can soul blast three to draw a card. In the case of Yggdrasil, this can help you soul charge before you can activate your Legion, which is beneficial because there's no other way to get units out of your soul before this. The only downside is your opponent has the option to straight up block the attack. Sure, the attack will be around ~23000 power or so, but if it slows down your strategy, your opponent might as well drop a Quintet Wall to stop it. That's not to say this skill won't go off ever, because it will. It's just not easy to rely on, which is why your own Quintet Wall is the most reliable way to reach Legion.

And the Regalia support doesn't stop there! Regalia's new soul power extends into their trigger lineup as well, rounding out the deck even further. Regalia of Foredoom, Lot Angel is a 4000 power draw trigger that adds one to your soul from your deck when you guard with it. Regalia definitely need to play draw triggers in the deck to get past their very weak early game, and this skill only makes it even more convincing to use it.

It definitely doesn't come with the combat stats to be used as a rear-guard, especially without power attackers, but you're going to want to hold it for guarding every time to take advantage of the soul charging it provides. It's also important to realize that Lot Angel also triggers off of your Quintet Walls, making your early Quintet Walls have a lot more potential to be rewarding.

Regalia also pick up a stand trigger with a useful skill. Mirror Regalia, Achlis essentially has the same skill as Norn, giving your vanguard +5000 power when it goes from the soul to the drop zone. The logic behind including Achlis is that you want a lot of units with this kind of skill in your deck. Each one you pull together makes Yggdrasill even scarier, considering that you can't disregard the numbers with a Perfect Guard. Each 5000 power that Yggdrasill gains demands another 5000 guard, so if you use up a lot thanks to Hemera and Shiny Angel, you can translate that soul blasting into pure card advantage.

With the inclusion of four draw triggers and two stand triggers, there's a slight lack of critical triggers in the deck as a result. While initially sounding unappealing, if you're using Yggdrasill correctly, you will almost always have a static critical anyway, meaning you don't have to rely on additional triggers for damage. Critical triggers with Yggdrasill are still the dirtiest thing, since you can cheese a victory while they're at three damage, but it's not necessary if you want to round out all other stages of the game.

The new Regalia as a deck suffer two apparent weaknesses. The first is that it's harder for the deck to actually reach its Legion stage. As said before, the three ways that you can activate Legion is through Svalin, Pure Angel, or just early commitment. While these are all viable options, they all come with their downsides. Using an early Svalin obviously prevents you from having one later, despite the fact that you're going to shuffle it back anyway. Pure Angel is hard to resolve, given the situation, and you need to use other units to reach three soul to begin with. If you commit early with Regalia, you almost never get it back. Yggdrasill and Minerva don't increase your card advantage, as they mainly focus on damage pressure and whittling down your opponent's hand.

This leads to Regalia's second problem. If you fall behind on rear-guard presence, it's hard to recover it. You don't have units that create field presence or hand advantage, and the units you do have either work inside your soul or help fuel it. Therefore, using up most of your units early will end up setting you back in the long run. You need to be able to conserve your Hemeras and Shiny Angels, as they keep your soul full up until the late game.

With these problems aside, Yggdrasill hits extremely hard. Each turn you have the soul blast can end up being lethal, thanks to the six critical triggers in your deck. And the best part about that is that your opponent needs to invest a large amount of cards to stop you. Odds are, they won't have enough and will have to risk you not getting a critical trigger or something of the sort, which is why this deck is so powerful. The only challenge is being able to cover its weak points and keep even with your opponent's advantage.

I think Regalia definitely have the potential to jump into the metagame with a lot of power, but it's all up to the players of the tournament scene to bring it to the top. They might not be able to keep up with the likes of Raizers and such, but maybe I might be wrong. Anyways, that's all for this article. I want to make an apology for not writing any articles for so long, as I've been sort of busy with Yugioh business. I should have a bit more free time through July to post some new articles, especially because of the new cards coming to English shores and new cards for the Japanese games! Until then, see you next time.