Hot Takes?? | Hero Tier List Reaction | Altered TCG

[@antonioromaniello3080]

Robin hood is not strong per se but the fact that he is a bureaucrat and the fact that exists a leader that gives sleep to bureaucrat is what makes this combo powerful. Changing the subtype in "human" instead of bureaucrat will halve the power of this card.

[@KojoMain]

I agree completely. I heard that's what they're planning to do, but honestly with how the meta is going right now I'm not worried about Waru being too strong any more, the new problem heros are called Fen and Sigismar I think. Who knows what it will look like in a month or so.

[@_Limfi_]

this random txg just poped up on my utube feed today looks so cool cant wait for tmorow to go and get myself a deck

[@KojoMain]

You should! It's very cool and innovative in so many ways. Have fun!! You can play online too, on BGA (with your own cards) and in the Exaltered client (with all cards).

[@chilogutierrez695]

Basira when built correctly outputs huge power! It's not just a 1/1. For example I just played a game today where my bravos blade runner was 9/9/9. So in reality my Basira was giving me every round +1/+2/+3 /etc. And ofc I agree there are also those games where I just don't open anything.

[@unparfaitunconnu3997]

Great video! That said, I'm a man on a mission to prove that Atsadi is worth it, and I truly believe most people have no clue on how to build an Atsadi deck. People take his power as a payoff for playing big creatures. The thing is that's not a payoff, it's an enabler for playing a more controlly style deck that can take on the ressources of your opponent. It allows you to drag the game for longer than most deck can sustain. That way, Atsadi is much better than his Kojo counterpart for some matchup such as Afanas/Basira and Big Red Mirrors. It also absolutely stomps others control decks such as Akesha. (Kojo has better matchups against Sigismar tho) Speaking of big red, the core of an Atsadi deck isn't even made of big creature. The absolute core is constitued of small characters that will effectively act as an "after you" + some stats. Big creatures are only there when it's time to force your opponent to throw up the rest of their ressources they keep in hand. This probably won't change your opinion on it. I would love to share my decklist, but I prefer not to until a big tournament next month. I will come back to edit this comment with the decklist after the tournament. Aswell with some toughts on how it performed (Tho it's absolutely destroying things at my lgs ^^)

[@KojoMain]

Thank you! Wishing you all the best with Atsadi :D

[@philippeduret5637]

After Angers (1024 players tournement in France in oct ) we will probably see a lot of new deck.

[@unparfaitunconnu3997]

@@philippeduret5637 of course! And that's partially because I'm the one that's gonna win it ;)

[@KojoMain]

@@philippeduret5637 My thoughts exactly, I'm really looking forward to that tournament.

[@BagelTCG]

Really appreciate this video, and I think a lot of your points make sense :) I placed Arjun in C because he a very small pool of good 3-cost in the first set (just Cernunnos and Daughter essentially), but he is my main and if you get 3 strong Unique Quetzalcoatl, I think (I hope) my deck is A tier! Uniques can really change a lot of the game, but this tier list is trying to rank everything without them considered of course

[@BagelTCG]

Also would love to do a gameplay video at some point :)

[@KojoMain]

Very good point about the uniques. Many people right now are trying to find uniques for their best cards, like for example three unique Robin Hoods for a Waru deck, but I think that's exactly the wrong approach. You want to keep your Robin Hoods at Rare since they're already strong, and instead upgrade weak commons that otherwise would be too weak for the deck. In that sense going for unique Qoatls in Arjun sounds like a very good idea!

[@BagelTCG]

@@KojoMaintotally agree, instead of upgrading your rares you should be finding completely new options that support the deck! For example a ramping verdantback or son of Yggdrasil would fit perfectly in a Teijacaena deck

[@machineapions1282]

Great video ! Where can we see the results of the tournament in Italy ?

[@KojoMain]

That's a great question, I wish I knew too! I heard about the Fen deck winning it in the official Altered discord but I don't recall if there's any replays or recordings or such for the games. If you find any, I'd be interested too!

[@zacklitzsinger]

I would figure that proactive game plans are going to be better early on as people are figuring out the game. It may take some time for reactive game plans to figure out what they need to do to counter the proactive decks, especially since there are multiple axes to think about (Sabotage, permanent removal, and character removal). Waru and Mack seems like they would be pretty weak to removal but I'll have to build the deck and try it out to see.

[@KojoMain]

Those were my thoughts too. Maybe Control (or something similar to it, I don't think you can build true control in Beyond the Gates) is the secret counter to Waru xD might actually be possible since his bureaucrats being sleeping means you're not very punished if you don't manage to remove something right away. Very interesting thought!

[@vivinogueras5660]

I mostly agree with your picks kojo especially in upper tier, reliability on a hero is almost mandatory but this is a first set as you said. Some of these B or below heros could be shining next year. The only choice that bugs me out is Nevenka, in a 60 card definetly it could be D but in 3rd round you draw the 25% of your deck by default without ressuply or something more (because there are 39 cards), and i think that is C top just by probability. It is a highrisk hero i know but lyra despite his 0 stat in some cards has some chonky spikes on board that are really hard to match and the same happens to Auraq that is really misunderstood, the way to go with both of these is aggro.

[@KojoMain]

Very true! I admit I'm not as comfortable with playing Lyra yet as I'd like, I often misjudge the stats of the characters because they're so uneven, but they are very strong if handled properly, which is, as you say, in an aggro deck. I think Auraq especially could become very strong as more cards are added to Lyra in later sets.

[@StephaneRoumanille]

Globally agree with your comments and ranking. Fen is no longer a sleeper. Thanks for the great content! :) Also, where can information be found on the tournament in IT you mention? If you have, could you share?

[@KojoMain]

Thank you for the kind words! I sadly don't have any more info on the IT tournament, I just heard some things about it on the Altered discord channel. I wish I knew more about which decks were played etc, so if you come across any more info on it, send it my way!

[@ZoidbergForPresident]

Atsadi triggers also when you play from reserve, right? Including cards that costs less than his number of counters played from the reserve (with handcost equal or higher to the counters). Lindiwe also gives a character to sacrifice. Cool video, thanks.

[@KojoMain]

The Atsadi thing is interesting, that's not something I considered. Not sure how often you can make use of that though... And yes, sacrificing Maw is a very useful play. It enables Kraken and Kuwat very nicely!

[@topshelfco]

Really enjoyed your takes! Agreed that only Waru is S tier at this time. Your point about Fen is very important, you're forced to play into mana at all times which I view as a major draw back. One thing that makes things really interesting is uniques. Because they are all so different, there will be cards that significantly increase the power level of any individual deck. This is going to make it hard to have a standard tier list as there will ALWAYS be outliers. There will be a wide variety of deck lists compared to your average TCG, so the meta shouldn't get too stale at any given time. Once festival decks are refined, that could be meta defying. This is one where uniques could particularly have a huge impact.

[@KojoMain]

I agree with you about uniques, they are definitely keeping things exciting! Such a cool design idea.

[@SgtLix]

I certainly agree with your last points (keeping it fun - stale metas always ruin tcgs for me)! And it's definitely too early to have it all figured it out - and that's good! But tier lists are just always juicy things to debate about, so I'm really happy we have this one to talk about! Let me just talk about two heroes in this list (as I agree with most other things you said): Subhash and Auraq. I think Subhash is a crazy strong aggressive hero. I don't think he reaches the heights of Treyst's strength, but I feel like if people only boil him down to brassbug hive, you miss the entire gameplan of being aggressive. I think Subhash decks are a crazy fun engine, with you always paying the one (especially in those early rounds) and putting value in your reserve (coppelia, amelia, armorer) and eventually slamming down an ogun (especially after an armorer play). At least to me, Subhash has the potential to be in A. I still am a firm believer, that Auraq is the best Lyra hero for festival. Yes, that might be my crackpot theory (and maybe I've inhaled the disney magic dust), but the extra card Auraq provides every now and then can be the make or break for your festival strategy. Does that mean Auraq is competitively viable? Probably not. Is it fun to hit a Lyra Festival off the top of your deck (or that missing piece for a potential push for festival)? Absolutely!

[@KojoMain]

Thank you so much for those thoughts on Subhash! Fascinating, I can't wait to build him now :D from how you're describing his playstyle he sounds exactly up my alley! And Auraq festival is definitely a stunning idea, I'd be thrilled to see that pulled off - Surprise Festival off the top of the deck sounds absolutely awesome! xDxD

[@zyjinn8596]

I’m a Gulrang enjoyer and I do believe she can be very strong, getting those early bodies to stall out the game, especially with the landmark that auto advances makes it feel like one of the more viable control decks

[@KojoMain]

I wouldn't call it control but I agree with you that it's strong. I'm testplaying different builds for her right now for my upcoming video which will hopefully be about her, and she seems to be able to keep up with the stronger decks very decently, besides being loads of fun to play :D

Great video!

[@KojoMain]

Thanks so much!

[@Thagor95]

I think Sierra is really underestimated. I still prefer Treyst, but the fact that you can play a permanent without losing any tempo is worth a lot. And then if your opponent takes the time to destroy it, it costs them tempo. I've been playing a lot, and I optimized multiple decks, and Sierra ends up being not far behind Treyst in my tests. I also think Akesha has way more potential than people think, but her biggest downside is that there are too many removals for permanents. You can build her without the Kadigir's tower, but then the low stats of Yzmir characters will hurt you. Of course you can still build a good deck with her, but without the Kadigir's Tower, C tiers feels fair. With the tower she becomes a power house able to come back from a huge disadvantage even the turn the tower is being played. But if your opponent knows that, then he just have to keep a permanent removal for the 8-9 mana turn and just win the game on the spot.

[@KojoMain]

Nice points, thanks for commenting! Is the tower really worth it? I've neglected it so far... As you say, it seems so easy to play around and it's so expensive... As for Sierra, completely agree with you that her ability not making you lose tempo when playing permantents goes a long way towards making an "Enchantress deck" (deck built around permanents) viable. I just fear she'll have to wait for the second set to really get enough strong permanents for her needs.

[@Thagor95]

@@KojoMain For Akesha, if the tower sticks on the board, the deck becomes unstoppable. She can play the spell that stops everyone from advancing expeditions for free while making it lose fleeting, meaning she can also play it on the next turn. Along with the permanent to advance one expedition at noon and the spell to advance one as well, she can fully lock his opponent while advancing on her side. And that's just one example. The possibilities it opens are incredible. For Sierra, I think she is already viable. More permanents would be cool, but my deck currently only play 6 of them, and it is enough. You don't have to abuse her power, just being able to play those 6 without losing tempo is so valuable. I didn't think it was so powerful before testing it seriously. Like I destroyed multiple waru players with the deck, it wasn't even close.

[@justinodemon619]

With regards to Sierra, I believe she is still very strong as a midrange deck, especially with the right Uniques. She snowballs very easily due to the tokens the deck puts out, especially when you have the rare Hive. I actually pulled a Unique Coppellia that costs 1 more with a 3/1/1 stat line, and comes out of reserve asleep for free when put there from expedition, and she gives a character a boost whenever I make a token. I'm so hyped to run more of her when print on demand comes out.

[@KojoMain]

@@justinodemon619 That sounds really cool, it's definitely a good fit for a Sierra deck. It's true, each of these tier rankings will be modified a lot by which uniques you own. If you have suitable uniques, even a weak hero may be the best option for you since it will make a strong deck with those uniques. It's a beautiful system :D

[@simonneumann6762]

Hi thx for Video. Do i have a decklist for warun and treyst?

[@KojoMain]

Thank you! Both of those heroes are so commonly played that you can easily find decklists online. I recommend the exalts league discord!

[@sinisterpuddle6655]

Arauq is very consistent. You always get a free card, and you have the ability to build your deck to minimize bad hits. From my testing it seems pretty impactful even if you just hit a 2 drop character, and if you hit something bigger or more powerful like a Hydracaena or Robin Hood the game can just be over

[@KojoMain]

That has been my observation as well, it's not necessary to go for a crazy combo with him, just hitting any half-decent character is enough payoff.

[@tawnos1787]

I recently finished 3rd in a LGS event playing an Auraq deck. The only deck I lost to was, surprise surprise, Waru Bureaucrats. I like to run a single copy of Mind Apotheosis with Auraq, the dream being to hit it for free and cheat two Hydracaena's into play. I've hit the Apotheosis a couple times now, never quite got the two big boys off it yet. But still, so long as you don't hit a Martengale, Auraq is pretty impactful.

[@sinisterpuddle6655]

@@tawnos1787 that's surprising to me. My matchup against Waru has been fantastic with Arauq

[@tawnos1787]

@sinisterpuddle6655 On average the matchup might be okay (Cloth Cocoons is very strong into Waru), just saying it's no surprise that that was my one loss given how dominant Waru is.

[@gavkenny]

Festival is viable but it can be shaky, however the same would be true for any Lyra or Muna deck if you build it that way.

[@KojoMain]

I can't wait to try it out for myself, it's one of the deck ideas on my list that I'm really interested in. Which hero would you recommend for it? And do you think it's better in Lyra or in Muna?

[@gavkenny]

With Basira you don't just have spells to provide the boosts. Your Haven AND you other characters can do this too.

[@KojoMain]

Haven is a very important part of that deck that's true. I was hesitant to mention it because it's banned in the Exalts league but technically speaking I think one has to admit that right now, Haven is the strongest card in just about every Bravos or Axiom deck imaginable xD

[@BlindedGuardian]

i've made a little tournament this week end (32 players) : finished 3rd ( one Promo card in my reward boosters yay!) (i've lost Only to a Lyra festival which i was prepared to face but didn't pick any cloth cocoon during the game. I lost by a turn..) i love my deck! :D

[@KojoMain]

Congrats on the top3 finish! 3 out of 32 is a very good result, I'm jealous you guys even had a 32 player tournament! Sounds like great fun :D

[@gavkenny]

KojoMain. Thalia ONLY affects non creature spells. Robin Hood affects all spells including creatures, which is why he is a step more obnoxious.

[@KojoMain]

It also costs double my dude

[@GamingZurghel6446]

@@KojoMain you play RH tourn two, as well as Thalia

[@kaba9926]

I would have bet on Akesha. I think there are aggro/tempo builds with her finishing games with small steps/big leaps

[@KojoMain]

Very interesting idea! I know that Step/Leap is strong in Limited formats but I haven't seen it yet in Constructed...

[@RarecuisineSaucegod-ig8bc]

the beauty of altered is not being entirely bogged down by your hero choice. you shouldnt feel entirely disadvantaged playing your D tier hero, something other games can't seem to achieve

[@chilogutierrez695]

Unfortunately most games are well balanced actually on the first set. I say give altered a few years. It will power creep as well

[@RarecuisineSaucegod-ig8bc]

@@chilogutierrez695 I play a lot of Bandai games, where their set 1 is typically 1 good deck

[@chilogutierrez695]

@@RarecuisineSaucegod-ig8bc I don't touch bandai with a 10 ft pole

[@altaripa8130]

Thank you for this very interresting video 👍 Fyi Booda is not a cat, but a cheetah 😉

[@KojoMain]

Delighted to hear you liked it!

[@QUAKEMS]

I agree Atsadi isnt very good. His hero power triggers off hand cost right not when played from hand? So Sakarabru from reserve triggers him. If we get more cards like that and ways to get them into the reserve he'll go up in playability

[@KojoMain]

The difficult part would be to get Sakarabru into reserve yes... But given that there have been some cards with that structure that even have a from reserve effect, I'm hopeful there might be strong cards for Atsadi in upcoming sets.

[@gavkenny]

Atsadi needs one or two other cards before he is viable. There are cards that COULD make him viable in the future, but he doesn't have the tools yet. He's definitely D tier.

[@KojoMain]

Completely agree! Looking forward to what the upcoming sets might have in store for him.

[@gavkenny]

I think Nevenka is a C personally not D tier, but I like her non the less.

[@KojoMain]

I can't deny she's a blast to play, that dice rolling makes every game fun and exciting, even when you're not winning.

[@tawnos1787]

I disagree with your thoughts on Robin Hood being overrated. You can't compare Altered effects to Magic effects, because the only thing the two games have in common is that they're card games. The board and win conditions for Magic are entirely different than those for Altered. I think of Altered as more closely related to territory-control miniatures games than traditional TCGs. Does anyone else remember Dreamblade from the mid 2000s? In games like that, there's a direct correlation between effective resource value on the board and win rate, and effects that reduce your opponent's resource efficiency create sizable imbalances in this environment. Altered is no different. Robin Hood is so incredibly punishing and creates immediate board advantage for the person playing him. One option is to remove him quickly, but his hand cost of 4 sizes him out of removal effects targeting 3 or fewer, really limiting the options for some factions. The other possibility is to try to play few but larger creatures to limit the impact of the tax, but Ordis also has the Sticky Note Seals, a card that has uncapped potential to swing mana advantage. I agree that some of Robin Hood's strength lies in the supporting cards in the Ordis faction, but resource tax effects in games like this tend to be incredibly strong. Lyra decks run out of faction Robin Hood, even though that faction has few cards that directly support him, because he's just that good (plus he has a 0 stat to power Auraq, if that's your jam).

[@KojoMain]

Thank you for your thoughts! I am very excited to see whether bureaucrats or Fen will be the "strongest" deck in the end.

[@tawnos1787]

@@KojoMain I need to do some games with Fen. I think she has a lot of potential.

[@GO-vx9yy]

Kojo is far better than Bazira to me, first because as sigismar you can play it in différents ways , bazira only one is reliable so it makes no easy choice when you have to set your mana Next Basira must sometime go suboptimal in order to be exhaust Finaly kojo control is a power house able to hit 14 mana as fast as you hit 8 and totally destroy waru with an almost unmatched winrate

[@KojoMain]

The way you describe Kojo, it seems almost too good to be true.

[@GO-vx9yy]

@@KojoMaini saw it in action actually, with unique that give mana it's incredibly fast plus character with toughness but there is weaknesses like hole in character stats and can be sensible to the fastest aggro deck

[@gavkenny]

Agree that Teiga is probably B tier

[@chilogutierrez695]

Crazy...... Putting basira in D tier.

[@triis2]

also, auraq is she/her while she's auraq

[@triis2]

arjun uses they/them pronouns

[@OverlordParadox]

Don't/care