Set 4: Ascension of Dragons - SPOILER SERIES!

Spoiler season is upon us once again, so I will be working hard to bring you coverage on every card in set 4. That's right, I'm going to provide a review on absolutely every single card in Ascension of Dragons. It will be a lot of work, but I'm prepared for it. Are you ready to take on this arduous journey with me? I sure hope so, because I look forward to bringing you these previews and reading your comments.

Without further delay, on to today's set of previews!

Oddsay

Oddsay is one of those Spirits you have to look hard for a reason to run in your White deck. A lot of people skip over these cards and deem them unplayable or situational, however, I believe this card has potential to give White a boost in the early and middle game. I'm sure you're wondering how we could accomplish this feat; the finer points of Oddsay are his refreshing ability and his reduction cost.

A Simple Blocker

Most people are a fan of The Buckler Langlies (Buckler) and they have a good reason to be; Buckler has high battle points, doesn't cost a lot to level up, and has a low printed cost. Oddsay sports similar attributes to Buckler and the addition of a useful effect. Yes, Oddsay's battle points are less than spectacular, but we aren't going to be blocking our opponent's beatsticks with him. Instead, we will put Oddsay to good use by making him our front-man for combating against Speed Decks.


One reason White has problems against the current meta is because it lacks the ability to quickly play down a lot of effective Spirits. This is rectified through using Oddsay. I know what I'm saying sounds crazy, but trust me on this; Oddsay has a spot alongside Liorider in every White side-deck to combat against decks that attempt to play a lot of Spirits quickly. Speed Decks attempt to defeat you early by swarming the field with enough Spirits to deplete your life. This tactic relies heavily on controlling more attacking Spirits than your opponent's blockers. White decks can help their cause by making full use of Oddsay's second ability to nullify your opponent's speed strategy.




Ability Blocker

The effect of Oddsay allows him to refresh whenever you take damage to your life; this means that you can take attacks from problem Spirits and block low battle point Spirits over and over. This tactic will allow you to stay ahead in field presence; your opponent may have a lot of Spirits on their side, but they won't be able to get around Oddsay with ease; this allows you to build up your field and trounce your opponent in the turns that follow.

It's a shame that Oddsay's effect is limited to the amount of life you have. You can solve this problem by combining Oddsay's effect with life gaining abilities such as High Elixir and Shadow Elixir. High Elixir is a little costly and probably wouldn't help you re-use Oddsay's effect early, however, it would let you take damage early to use Oddsay's ability without worrying; this is due to High Elixir allowing you to replenish your life later in the game. Shadow Elixir can be splashed in any deck and it will help you out early, so either will work for you; it all depends on how often you need to use Oddsay's ability. I recommend throwing Shadow Elixir into your side-deck for another option to handle the various Speed Decks you encounter.

Cost & Battle Points

Oddsay has a printed cost of 2 and a cost reduction of 2; this allows you to put him into play at a minimal cost of 0! You have to love cards that come into play without forcing you to use up resources; I certainly am a fan of all cards that come into play for free. White needs more cards that reduce to a cost of 0 in order to compete with Speed Decks. It wouldn't hurt for White to receive additional Spirits with an effect like Oddsay either; if that were the case they wouldn't have any problem whatsoever with Speed Decks.

A small downside to Oddsay is his battle points; he has 3000 at level one and 5000 at level two. That doesn't put him in rank with all the defensive beatsticks that White has, however, it is enough battle points to take out all the weenies that a Speed Deck uses. You could also increase Oddsay's battle points with the nexus Timeless IceField or the Spirit Gomazarashi. They would give you an edge to take full advantage of and abuse the refreshing effect of Oddsay.

Machine Beast

I think we should throw a party because The DragonTank EarthGuard is getting more support! His first effect is more useful now! Players in my area have been saying that The DragonTank EarthGuard wasn't great; their argument centered on his first effect needing additional support, to which I replied, "his second effect is extremely useful". Some people agreed with me, but were reluctant to give a full okay on the card. I'm going to have a party for this card and those gripers are going to be the guests of honor, because The DragonTank EarthGuard has another card to put onto the pile of support cards.

Conclusion

Oddsay is a great new addition to the Machine Beast family. He helps White decks and gives The DragonTank EarthGuard additional targets for his "When Summoned" effect. Oddsay will make a great tech card against Speed Decks because he has the potential to stop them in their tracks when coupled with Liorider, or even just by himself. Repeatedly use Oddsay's ability by combining it with life gaining cards such as High Elixir and Shadow Elixir. Those are two available combos and I'm positive you've found several that I missed. which combos have you thought of? I can think of at least one combo that I didn't mention in this article. Oddsay is extremely affordable, but his battle points leave a lot to be desired. Do you think this will become a problem when running him in the average White Deck? Do you think Oddsay will become a staple in Machine Beast decks?

Share your thoughts on these questions and discuss them with Cameron in the Eye of the Vortex Forums. We strive to create a friendly and respectful board community that encourages everyone to provide their opinions on anything related to gaming!

I hope everyone is getting the most out of spoiler season. Check back at Eye Of The Vortex daily for more reviews and spoiler previews from Set 4: Ascension of Dragons. Good luck to all my readers in all your future deck building ventures!

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