So, after reading through the cereal discussions, finally getting my 4 Dual-Wieldings and opening a few Tekken booster packs, I finally managed to build my own somewhat budget version of Little Miss Ring-Out.

Please feel free to comment about what cards you'd take out and for what other cards - bearing in mind I'm but a poor student who's got diificulty getting his hands on the rarer cards of the block ^^

Characters - 2

Primary Character : 1x Hilde. (6/6 +0M) ( Fire, Good , Order)
1x Astrid (6/6 +0M) (All, Fire , Order)

Actions - 8

4x Warrior's Path (2/5 +2M) (All, Fire , Order)
4x Dual-Wielding (4/4) ( Fire, Good , Order)

Attacks - 18

4x Pommel Smash (3/3 2H1 Stun:1 Weapon) (All, Fire , Order)
2x Eagle Talon (4/3 +2M 3M4 Combo(Low Weapon)) ( Fire, Good , Order)
3x Tyr's Warding Smash (4/3 +1H 2H4 Weapon) (All, Fire , Order)
1x Dragon's Flame (5/3 +1M 5M4 Ranged Combo(Mid Weapon, High Attack)) (Air, Fire, Good )
1x Lightning Horn (5/3 +2M 4M4 Combo(Mid Attack, Mid Attack)) ( Fire, Good , Order)
3x Astrid's Wolf Strike (5/3 +1M 4M4 Weapon) (All, Fire , Order)
3x Swooping Hawk Lunge (5/3 +2M 5M4 Weapon) (Air, Fire, Good )
1x Fierce Twin Slash (6/3 4M5 Multiple:1 Weapon) (All, Fire , Order)

Assets - 5

1x Paul's Gi (2/4 +2M Unique (All, Fire , Order)
2x Reaver's Axe (2/4 +2H Unique Weapon) (All, Fire , Order)
2x Giänzende Nova and Frischer Himmel (2/5 +2M Unique Weapon)( Fire, Good , Order)

Foundations - 35

4x Hope For One's People (0/5 +3H) ( Fire, Good , Order)
4x The Man Behind the Mask (0/5 +3M) (Earth, Good , Void)
4x From the Hawk, Alertness (1/5 +3M) (Air, Fire, Good )
2x Relentless (2/4 Weapon) (All, Fire , Order)
2x Determined (2/4 +2M) (All, Fire , Order)
4x Nobility of the Wolf (2/4) ( Fire, Good , Order)
4x Nursing a Grudge (2/5) (Air, Fire, Good )
4x Financial Troubles (2/5) (All, Fire , Order)
4x Enemies now Friends (2/5 +3H) (Earth, Good , Void)
3x Enraged Golem (3/5) (Earth, Evil, Fire )

Sideboard - 8

4x Envoy of the Queen (1/5 +3L Weapon) (All, Fire , Order)
1x Bloodied but Unbowed (2/4) (All, Fire , Order)
3x Queen's Champion (2/5) (All, Fire , Order)

Strategy

-1 : Hilde + Giänzende Nova and Frischer Himmel (aka Jimmy) + The Man Behind the Mask + Enemies now Friends + Dual Wielding + Any attack (preferably with a decent amount of damage on it, 'cuz Dual-Wielding doesn't work as well with, say, Pommel Smash ;D ) :
Little Miss Ring-Out's basic combo : reduce the heck out of your attack's damage (drawing a card with Jimmy while you're at it), E:Commit with Hilde, enjoy AND draw a card when it hits if your opponent's still alive.

-2 : Previous combo including Enemies now Friends + Any other attack (works well with a mere poke such as Pommel Smash) :
Enemies now Friends is a true gem in Hilde. Not only does it work for Hilde's Enhance, it also allows the next attack to deal a crap load of damage very easily. Killing with a 10-damage Pommel Smash is hilarious XD

-3 : 1st combo with Tyr's Warding Smash as attack + Any other attack
Similar to the second combo. Gives a nice boost to the second attack.

Combining the 2nd and 3rd combo works wonders and with the proper set-up and attacks allows a OTKO.

In case you're up against somebody who Hilde doesn't work well against, side into Astrid and take out King's foundations for Astrid's and play her as a classic Astrid deck.

Enjoy!

It looks really good, esp for a budget.

There is one major problem though! That is that you are using Dual Wielding but have nothing to use it with... Dual Wielding will only give damage bump = to the printed damage of the attack, and your highest printed damage is 4? Why not use a much better card for 4 damage, i.e. her rare action - it has a 5 check, a 2 diff (not a 4) a 2 mid block and also gives speed boost.

That or add one of the following attacks with 6+ base damage:

Hilde's Rare - Siren's Call

Astrids Rare - Odin's Wrath

Third Right

Hammer Uppercut

etc.

I realize I just listed a bunch of rares, but my point is that Dual Wielding means nothing if you aren't at least giving +5 damage, because there are better actions otherwise.

Other comments, I will add ASAP (gotta run). Altogether good job though - I love Hilde too!

- dut

Thanks for the comment dut ^^ I can't use that many rares, I'd have put Odin's Wrath in the deck (I also realised the Dual-Wielding didn't give much of a boost) but I haven't got it. I've got one of Astrid's rare action and one Siren's Call, and I'll put them in the deck. I dislike the idea of using other types of attacks, because :

1 - I side into Astrid, so I prefer using Weapons to the maximum (aside from Hilde's low combo which I use as a draw and could come out if I had other cards)

2 - I try to use as much Fire/Good attacks as possible, to get my Good foundations easier

3 - If I can't kill directly with Hilde, I chain a few attacks.

Nekuro said:

Makes sense, I think the most appropriate thing is Siren's Call then, running 3 2s is worth the risk considering - Sirens - Dual - Hilde - Rare action = 21 damage. And just Sirens - Dual - Hilde = 17 damage.

I have like 9+ Siren's call, you should send me your mailing address, you can reach me at [email protected] , if you want and I will send you 3 more - no cost or trade. I will also pack in 3 more of Hilde's rare action "Aura of Strength" (I also have too many of this).

- dut

Also, I don't know how many 'good' only cards you want to run, but you should put in:

Memories of a Nightmare. Why? This blanks out Paid to Protect (void) which is Hilde's only weakness barring Rashotep. It also gives attacks +1 or -1, which is weak but can also help in a pinch.

- dut

Oh yeah, deck also SCREAMS Cursed Blood... Think about it. Good and Order, easy to patch in off of a lot of your stuff.

- dut

Thanks about the Memories of a Nightmare idea, I'm going to have a good look at it and see what could be taken out for it if need be

I realised about Cursed Blood just a few hours ago when I took another look at the two in my binder and realised it had Order AND Good '^_^ And now that I've finally gotten 4, they're going in.

Also, thanks for the offer about Hilde's rares, I'd love that, but there's one BIG problem... I live in France and I think the cost to send a letter there might be actually quite expensive '^_^

Ok, update after a local tournament.

We were 7 players, 5 Fire & 2 Death, I ran 4 matches (2 rounds, first was bye) with Hilde. So now that she's been tested (after a few mods though, included one Siren's Call and 4 Cursed Blood), here's my comments :

1 - God does she hit! Capable of hitting T2 with at least a 9 damage and high speed attack. Managed a 17 T2 against a Paul Phoenix, would have been a 21 had I not failed by 2 my check for Dual-Wielding thus committing 2 Enemies now Friends. He bashed me out afterwards, that Paul Phoenix was a beast and his owner kept getting VERY aggro, nearly always killing T2 O_o Also left Nina at 3 LP, but same problem - I just ain't lucky when it comes to basic checks, and when Nina kicks in with her own ability (although I usually drew too many cards for her to be that efficient) it's hell just to get an attack through, let alone Dual-Wielding

2 - She REALLY needs a T2-3 KO. I can't hit hard enough to kill yet and those 18 LP are very hard to protect even with a handful of blocks.

3 - Nursing a Grudge is just great against Nina : you get your Dual-Wielding back that her abilities kept sniping

4 - When I've got 3 or 4, Memories of a Nightmare is indeed going in (thanks for the idea dut!) Not only because of Paid to Protect, but also to counter Flexible Body (which saved Nina's ass today).

So, the deck is indeed fun to play, and I still think Hilde's good in Block 4 (although a one-trick pony), but she needs working on to get better.

Comments and ideas, anyone?

Nekuro said:

I've been playing her for a week and a bit now (only 7 games or so). That said, I don't think she is a one trick pony any more than any other character in block 4. Every character, so far, has a fairly straightforward ability that 'combined with a limited card pool' leads to one or few viable tactics. Rather, becuase Hilde has a +x speed pump on her I believe she is the least one trick pny around, i.e. she can push damage through on a single attack a turn better than any other character in the meta. I think this is best reflected in my last game, dealing 26 damage to Jin, 13 turn 2 with a cleave, and another 13 turn 3 with a pommel smash... Any other attack and it is certain death turn 3.

Combine this knowledge, i.e. gauranteed damage on an attack (less Rashotep, less Paid to protect, less umpteens of damage reduction), and you can easily exploit any of the 'if this attack deals damage abilities', something that most other characters cannot do reliably.

I've been fairly sucessful with her, winng 5/7 matches, and the two I lost I left my opponent at 1 and 2 life respectively after attacks turn 2/3. This is the crux with her, if you mess up you will lose. Almost any character in the meta can do 18 damage reliably against a tapped out character, so if you go for the kill you need to suceed at the kill. At the same time, if you attack to injure (not kill) turn 2 you need to be confident in your defense to survive to turn 3, etc. This goes without saying for any character that doesn't OTK, i.e. they need to expect another turn, with Hilde however you are left less protected granted you usually don't have the 25+ vitality that the others do to expect another turn.

What it boils down to is that you can kill sub 20 vit turn 2 if you get a decent turn 1. You can kill 25+ reliably on turn 3 if you draw an attack with printed damage 5+. Might need a bit more luck turn 2/3 if you need to pommel Rasho/Paid to Protect or if you need to blank the latter.

Otherwise it is best to defend with your damage redux and kill turn 4+... And herein lies the biggest problem, having the patience to defend and counter with Hilde is a problem for me. I am drawn to attack with her becuase I know I have a lot of pump, and I know it will be an unblockable speed attack... Nevertheless, DO take a pen and paper into a match, and DO ensure you will win before you commit to trying to.

Personally, Hilde's worst matchup is against Brian Fury, especially one that sets up... 29 vit is a lot, and once he gets 5+ foundations out he can reliabily shut your damage pump (minuses) down. When he chooses to attack he can then shut down the majority of your defense (damage can't be reduced) and if he pumps throws it is effectively game. I have a few strategies to use against this monster, some of which are unconventional Hilde play, (i.e. slow the game down vs, ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK), but they are necessary, and if you don't believe me simply have your friend build an Earth Brian Fury, one with 12 throws and the rest foundations.

- dut