[JCG] Deck Check: Brawler's Big Bang Blow!

[JCG] Deck Check: Brawler's Big Bang Blow!

  Thursday, August 21, 2014    Lequier

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Welcome to the next Deck Check in our Booster Set 17 special! The next deck we'll be covering is another deck that's managed to blast it's way into the top tables with Big Bang Brawlers!


Brawlers were one of the first Legion archetypes of this season, starting off with a huge amount of support from their own Trial Deck and Booster Set 16. However, this was barely enough to propel them into the top tables until they were eventually scrubbed out entirely when the Regalia and Revenger Extra Boosters arrived. But with the arrival of Booster Set 17, it's time for them to claw their way back into the competitive scene with a powerful new boss that gives the deck a new direction to take!

Brawler, Big Bang Knuckle Buster is the only new boss and one of the only new cards that Brawler got in Blazing Perdition, but it's all that they needed. He's a crossride of the intended main boss for Brawlers from Booster Set 16, Brawler, Big Bang Knuckle Dragon, who was unfortunately far too weak in comparison to the other legions introduced in the set to make Brawlers a legitimate threat. But how Dragon failed, Buster succeeds by turning Brawlers into an incredibly powerful retiring powerhouse! While Knuckle Buster is in Legion with his mate Brawler, Big Bang Slash Buster, you can Counterblast 1 and moving any Big Bang Knuckle card from your hand to the Soul (Yes, this includes the base form Knuckle Dragon so you can get the crossride defences without even having to ride it!) to give him 5000 Power and the ability to attack any 4 units when he attacks! This allows you to completely tear your opponent's field apart while also powering up your rearguards to continue your vicious attack cycle!

But how exactly do you make the most of Knuckle Buster's skill? With the way it's set up to be, Big Bang Knuckle Buster is set up to be a card that will perform absolute wonders in the early to mid game in order to quickly accelerate it into the late game. But the absolute best time to use Knuckle Buster is when you have a combination of rearguards that create the most pressure when around for your vanguard to knock their rearguards for a loop. But what rearguards are those? Well, let's see...

Big Bang Gatling Punch!

17 / 14 / 11 / 8

1 Spark Kid Dragoon

4 Malevolent Djinn

2 Brawler, Plasma Kick Dragon

4 Brawler, Dokouson

2 Brawler, Heavy Trailer Dragon

4 Brawler, Green Gem Carbuncle

4 Rising Phoenix

4 Tonfa Wielding Brawler, Ark

4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld

2 Threatening Brawler, Koumei

4 Brawler, Skyhowl Dragon

4 Brawler, Big Bang Slash Buster

3 Brawler, Big Bang Slash Dragon

4 Brawler, Big Bang Knuckle Buster

4 Brawler, Big Bang Knuckle Dragon

In order to properly compliment Knuckle Buster's ability, we're going to need to play a full set of Big Bang Knuckles so that we'll be able to get off the ability as soon as it's needed. As a result, we're going to need to play 4 of each Knuckle Buster and Knuckle Dragon. While we are playing 4 Dragon, however, we do not want to be using it's Legion skill unless we really need to. This is because it is incredibly costly, using 2 Counterblasts in a deck that has absolutely no way of unflipping damage outside of healing it. As a result, this limits the capacity of your plays when you manage to dig into something such as Knuckle Buster. Do not take this as me saying to never use it, however. A well timed Knuckle Dragon skill can quite easily turn the tide of a fight into your favour, as it allows some of the rearguards we'll discuss later to power up and start tearing your opponent's advantage to shreds. 

Slash their advantage!

But now let's discuss those rearguards I've mentioned so much. The most important ones in this deck are both Big Bang Slashes. Both of them have the same skill, except Slash Buster also has the ability to gain +2000 when attacking while you have a Big Bang Knuckle on the Vanguard Circle. The skill they share is that whenever a Brawler Vanguard's attack hits, they gain 3000 Power until the end of the turn. This is an ability that stacks, mind, so every time Knuckle  Buster manages to hit anything these guys will receive an additional 3000 Power. On average, Knuckle Buster will be attacking 3 rearguards along with a Vanguard attack. Assuming that the Vanguard attack is blocked, Knuckle Buster will almost definitely be able to retire 3 of your opponent's Rearguards from his attack connecting. This gives any of your Slash rearguards an additional 9000 power if it manages to connect, with it possibly being 12000 if Knuckle Buster also manages to connect with their Vanguard. But what would be the ideal card in this deck to boost a super huge attacker with?

Introducing another key card in the Brawler strategy, Ark! Every time one of your opponent's rearguards is retired, he gains an additional 3000 Power until the end of the turn! The important part to keep in mind about this effect is that, unlike the Kagero counterparts, this does not have to be done during the main phase! This means that you can retire your opponent's rearguards during the Battle Phase with an attack from something like Knuckle Buster in order to give this guy an easy 9000 Power boost, making him a 16000 booster! This enables any of the Big Bang Slash dragons to reach up into the early 30s, potentially even more with trigger effects. With this kind of constant power being applied to your opponent, it'll be really hard for them to mount a comeback as they have to defend against massive columns while losing nearly their entire board every turn.

But what's the trade-off?

So far the deck must have seemed incredibly good to you. The deck does have a lot of positives to it, especially now that Knuckle Buster and his mate exist, so are a really good consideration for taking into something like today's metagame. However, the card advantage this deck generates in the early game is a lot less than what other decks are capable of generating. As a result, this deck needs a lot of drawing and filtering power in order to find the right cards to push into the late game quickly. Rising Phoenix is one of the best examples of this, with it being one of the more iconic Soulblast 2 to draw a card clones in the game. Not only does it easily set up most Legion plays by giving you a half of the requirements necessary, but it also lets you play him down onto a rearguard circle for basically free. This is why you will see most topping Brawler lists playing 3-4 Rising Phoenix, as it greatly increases the amount of momentum you can get from just playing one down on a rearguard circle.

But what other units are used for this same purpose? Well, the trigger line-up is also a great help. Playing 6 Draws along with your 6 Criticals allows you to keep your hand a decent size while carrying enough damage to make it the late game a lot earlier. But one of the best additions they got came in the last set. Threatening Brawler, Koumei is the Brawler ditch and draw clone with the activation condition of when your opponent has 1 or less Rearguards in their front row. This is incredibly easy to fulfil earlier on in the game, which makes finding the ideal cards that much easier. With him also having a standard 7000 base and the ability to make your Legion faster in a deck that cannot afford to guard as much as other decks, he's one of the best Grade 1s that you could possible have for your Big Bang Knuckle deck!

These 2, along with Draw Triggers, minimize the need to have to guard excessively early in order to make a Legion play as fast as possible and instead make it so that you can take a couple of damage and guard once or twice while still making legioning nearly, if not as soon as, your Grade 3 ride. This gives Brawlers both the power and the speed to compete with the current best decks out there. However, they still have a hard time playing against that can easily create a board out of thin air. Stuff such as Liberators now that they've received their Blazing Perdition support and Musketeers are the kind of thing that Brawlers really dislike going up against, as it means that knocking out their units isn't anywhere near as important as it could be and the card advantage doesn't add up as much. They can still win on the merit of their powerful columns, however, so that is a major plus in that regard. As for decks that control your board, Brawlers will not devote as much early as to conserve their hand for when it matters so it's not as big a problem as it might seem to be. However, Brawlers are also one of those decks that does hurt if your opponent doesn't put anything down for you to kill. Be careful if they do and try to rush them down if they don't!

Overall, Brawlers got a massive buff in terms of their card pool from the release of their new boss and mate. While they may not be the best deck from the bunch to pick, they are still a huge threat against near enough any deck that isn't Imperial Daughter and can really drive games home in a matter of a turn! Feel free to let us know how you feel Brawlers are in the comments below. Thank you for reading this week's Deck Check!