For those interested in this deck style, I made some tweaks to the deck.

Provinces:

Earth (5): Ancestral Lands

Air (4): Fertile Fields

Fire (4): Night Raid

Void (5): Pilgrimage

Water (4): Rally to the Cause

2F B Border Rider X 3
2F B Shinjo Outrider X 3
4F B Shinjo Tatsuo X 3
5F B Shinjo Altansarnai X 3
3F B Warrior Poet X 2
3F B Utaku Yumino X 3
1F B Moto Youth X 2
1F B Utaku Infantry X 3
2F Meishodo Wielder X 3
3F Ide Trader X 3
3F Giver of Gifts X 3
2F Keeper Initiate X 3
Imperial Storehouse X 3
Favourable Ground X 3

0F I am Ready X 3
0F Banzai! X 3
0F Court Games X 3
0F Fine Katana X 3
0F Ornate Fan X 3
1F Spyglass X 3
1F Favoured Mount X 3
1F Watch Commander X 3
0F Way of the Unicorn X 3
1F Rout X 2
1F Charge! X 2
0F Spies at Court X 2
0F Assassination X 2

0F Good Omen X 2

1F Iuchi Wayfinder X 3

The Dynasty change was another Moto Youth for a Warrior Poet. Trying to make the Dynasty deck cheaper. Trying to fit one more Moto Youth in there, but I'm not sure what to drop? For Conflict, I reduced the count for Rout, Spies at Court to add Good Omen X 2. I then took out Born in War to add Iuchi Wayfinder X 3. Reason: Trying to 'build wide' as possible and Iuchi Wayfinder is a cheap way to do exactly that. Scouting provinces also helps a great deal. Born in War is often too expensive to play, and I have 15 non-Cavalry characters. Good Omen seems like a natural fit in this deck with 17 characters that cost 3 or more. (Yet another reason to further streamline the Conflict Card costs)

The Province selections all serve to either increase the Conflict card gap between me and the opponent, or to rely on province strength to force the opponent to commit more forces (ideally, exhausting more Conflict Cards) for a break. This is then doubled up on the attack when the idea is to again force the opponent to over commit. If he/she does not, then move in to take the province. If he/she does, then perhaps commit to burn the opponents Conflict hand, or simply do nothing to bow out his/her army.

On 29.8.2017 at 7:29 PM, shosuko said:

I was thinking about this myself. I think they'd be a lot better if most of their move actions were to or away from conflicts, not just in. Then you can do a total cavalry feint, back out, and then charge the other way...

Sadly they aren't. I think Unicorn will just have to wait for Dynasty to be great. Should probably splash Scorpion to get the best of what you can. Build with courtiers and do 3x forged edicts, 3x fiery madness, and 3x calling in favors. Basically lie cheat and steal you're way to the top for now lol

I agree,

the move mechanics are nice and all, but unless there are more ways for them to not bow after battles, to straighten after moving, these abilities often just draw you a card or prevent honor loss from not defending.

Pair this with very little interaction abilities in battles and you probably have a subpar clan. You can get lots of mil on the table, but a simple bow or dishonor can often just totally ruin a battle as they can't recover from it.

putting the entite political kit into the deck for cheap battle interaction is a nice idea, but in the end other clans do it better and have better printed abilities on characters. And by putting a lot of political cards into the deck you can weaken your trademark movement and military strength.

5 hours ago, Anemura said:

For those interested in this deck style, I made some tweaks to the deck.

Provinces:

Earth (5): Ancestral Lands

Air (4): Fertile Fields

Fire (4): Night Raid

Void (5): Pilgrimage

Water (4): Rally to the Cause

2F B Border Rider X 3
2F B Shinjo Outrider X 3
4F B Shinjo Tatsuo X 3
5F B Shinjo Altansarnai X 3
3F B Warrior Poet X 2
3F B Utaku Yumino X 3
1F B Moto Youth X 2
1F B Utaku Infantry X 3
2F Meishodo Wielder X 3
3F Ide Trader X 3
3F Giver of Gifts X 3
2F Keeper Initiate X 3
Imperial Storehouse X 3
Favourable Ground X 3

0F I am Ready X 3
0F Banzai! X 3
0F Court Games X 3
0F Fine Katana X 3
0F Ornate Fan X 3
1F Spyglass X 3
1F Favoured Mount X 3
1F Watch Commander X 3
0F Way of the Unicorn X 3
1F Rout X 2
1F Charge! X 2
0F Spies at Court X 2
0F Assassination X 2

0F Good Omen X 2

1F Iuchi Wayfinder X 3

The Dynasty change was another Moto Youth for a Warrior Poet. Trying to make the Dynasty deck cheaper. Trying to fit one more Moto Youth in there, but I'm not sure what to drop? For Conflict, I reduced the count for Rout, Spies at Court to add Good Omen X 2. I then took out Born in War to add Iuchi Wayfinder X 3. Reason: Trying to 'build wide' as possible and Iuchi Wayfinder is a cheap way to do exactly that. Scouting provinces also helps a great deal. Born in War is often too expensive to play, and I have 15 non-Cavalry characters. Good Omen seems like a natural fit in this deck with 17 characters that cost 3 or more. (Yet another reason to further streamline the Conflict Card costs)

The Province selections all serve to either increase the Conflict card gap between me and the opponent, or to rely on province strength to force the opponent to commit more forces (ideally, exhausting more Conflict Cards) for a break. This is then doubled up on the attack when the idea is to again force the opponent to over commit. If he/she does not, then move in to take the province. If he/she does, then perhaps commit to burn the opponents Conflict hand, or simply do nothing to bow out his/her army.

I am playing them un the same direction (only i Play 3xreprieve and 1xstoic gunso) due to the role, and 0 way of the unicorn. I dont like It at all.

I wanted to ask about mount and ide trader. Are they worth it? In my test, they arent, but would love to see some feedback about it

21 hours ago, Nickciufi said:

Not a unicorn player, but here's where I would start.

Unicorn has arguably the most powerful card in the set, in the form of Cavalry Reserves. Build your deck around getting big cavalry guys with 0-1 fate. They die and you recur. Killing enemy people seems like a good subtheme. Notorious trap card Fallen in Battle seems best in Unicorn. I'd probably test a Lion splash, because playing Cavalry Reserves on a bunch of bushi and adding a fate to them seems good. I'd also consider a phoenix splash for pacifism. Switch conflict to military, their guy goes home, win by 5, Fallen in Battle. That all seems pretty good.

I'd try to use my first turn or two to draw cards, crack provinces and get cavalry guys in the yard. After that, I'd start playing Cavalry Reserves for ridiculous value. My "final push" would probably be buying a champ at 0 fate, passing for the extra, then playing Reserves in conflict.

Hope some or all of this is helpful. Remember, there are no bad decks. Only unoriginal deckbuilders.

I was going to mostly sit out of this thread having said my piece plenty of times already, but I do think you touch on a pretty decent chord. In theory (realizing that doesn't amount to much) Cavalry Reserves could easily be a truly ridiculous 14 MIL!!! swing (3x Moto Youth, 1x Utaku Yumino + discard) for 3 fate. Even if you only get half that value that's some tremendous late game return on investment.

I also have a hard time putting together a unicorn deck with the core set.

I have thought that the unicorn can have an interesting totem deck, splashing lion you have 6 cards to ready characters (ready for battle + i am ready) and various actions to get back into the battle.

This is my first try: https://www.emeralddojo.com/decks/detail/135

With the expansions it can became a good deck.

For a single core evironment I would pick Lion or Scorpion as my splash.

Unicorn's big play is Calvary Reserves so you want to maximise its Effect or you want to ensure it gets resolved. Lion's For Greater Glory bumps Calvary Reserves up a whole new level. Bringing that much skill into the board for that cheap is amazing. Having it all stick around until the next turn is ridiculous. This would be a deck with a bushi focus.

If you want raw power to compliment your ponies then Scorpion has that in spades and is a great splash. It also has Forged Edict to make sure you stick that crucial Calvary Reserves. It just requires that you run enough courtiers.

These are the two combinations I would recommend when playing Unicorn in the single core environment. I would also strongly consider running a seeker role to try and maximise the best provinces even though the Keeper Initiates are better than the Seeker Initiates, in general. Since you are digging for one key conflict card, the Seekers allowing you to dig for it becomes a little more valuable.

Another option that I like is to play the Keeper Role with a Phoenix splash since you can manipulate the rings better and have a great deal of recursion between the Keeper Initiates and Cavalry Reserves, however, this approach works better out of other clans and I don't feel it's as strong as a Lion or Scorpion pairing with the Seeker role.

I play L5R too thematically to include Lion.

I also think Way of the Unicorn to not have a big enough change to include it.

33 minutes ago, Saltystig said:

I play L5R too thematically to include Lion.

I also think Way of the Unicorn to not have a big enough change to include it.

Dragon splash has shown some good results as of late. It's been less explosive but it allows me to play in a much more restrained fashion. I'd put it up there with Lion and Scorpion in terms of overall potential.

I agree WotU is bad in single core. Breakthrough however is rather good.

4 hours ago, Saltystig said:

I play L5R too thematically to include Lion.

I also think Way of the Unicorn to not have a big enough change to include it.

I don't think Lion splash supplements Unicorn's weaknesses enough to be the top splash for them. (IMO)

Way of the Unicorn is excellent if you can sustain tempo with Political attacks. I find that it gets devalued by players that focus on Military decks. In my experience, those decks lose too much tempo in the back half of the round. At which point, Way of the Unicorn does not provide enough of a tempo re-adjustment for it to matter. The Military match becomes a slug fest instead of the sustained pressure a more Political deck can provide.

Way of the Unicorn gives you access to the first Fate-ladened ring, better allows you to pass first -- netting a Fate, and gets you on the attack first -- which keeps the opponent on the back foot. Helps make Meishodo Wielder 2/2 for 1 as well. I think it's underrated.

On 8/31/2017 at 1:53 AM, Doji_Shiematsu said:

I am playing them un the same direction (only i Play 3xreprieve and 1xstoic gunso) due to the role, and 0 way of the unicorn. I dont like It at all.

I wanted to ask about mount and ide trader. Are they worth it? In my test, they arent, but would love to see some feedback about it

I took out Reprieve because there are only a few key characters that I wish to retain per round, and I usually double Fate them regardless. Further, I use Good Omen already, so it ended up getting cut. It also costs a Fate which is important. The Conflict Deck already feels expensive...

My thoughts on Way of the Unicorn are above.

Favoured Mount + Ide Trader nets me 2-3 cards every other match. Ide Trader is very important to the Unicorn deck that wants to press Political attacks. Favoured Mount allows some of the 15 non-Cavalry characters in my deck to move around. I include both in the deck independent of the combo. I think if you're stingy with your draw bids, the combination can make the difference in a game. This combination and Spyglass+Border Rider/Shinjo Tatsuo/Shinjo Outrider fuel the card draw for my deck.

@Anemura

Maybe I was too harsh on way of the Unicorn.

17 hours ago, Ishi Tonu said:

Dragon splash has shown some good results as of late. It's been less explosive but it allows me to play in a much more restrained fashion. I'd put it up there with Lion and Scorpion in terms of overall potential.

I agree WotU is bad in single core. Breakthrough however is rather good.

I like the Dragon splash too. When we get more battle maidens, I'd consider Crane splash to keep em honored.

27 minutes ago, Saltystig said:

I like the Dragon splash too. When we get more battle maidens, I'd consider Crane splash to keep em honored.

Crane splash is already excellent. Been running 3x Admit Defeat, 3x Voice of Honor, and 1x Steward of Honor with good results. Each of those cards do wonderful things for your ability to out tempo opponents

2 hours ago, Zetsubou said:

Crane splash is already excellent. Been running 3x Admit Defeat, 3x Voice of Honor, and 1x Steward of Honor with good results. Each of those cards do wonderful things for your ability to out tempo opponents

Still on the table while i try stuff out.

3 hours ago, Zetsubou said:

Crane splash is already excellent. Been running 3x Admit Defeat, 3x Voice of Honor, and 1x Steward of Honor with good results. Each of those cards do wonderful things for your ability to out tempo opponents

I'm only speaking of single core options for Unicorn. They get a lot better in the constructed environment and many more influence spashes become possible.

When all the single core events due down and constructed play gets under way, Unicorn players gonna be like.......

KG after the Celts won the finals.

Anything in possiblllllllllllllle

I have had some limited success with "unbow" unicorn - playing 3 copies of I am Ready and splashing Dragon for Indomitable Will and Mirumotos Fury. These three cards seem to kind of remedy the problem of always being outnumbered(your movement tricks being useless) and lets you keep your most powerful characters always ready.

I have also cut some low impact cards or just bad ones in general like: Aggresive Moto(1 drop stats for 2 fate), Way of the Unicorn(currently does almost nothing), maybe a bit controversial: Cavalry Reserves(it is essentialy a pump spell that you need to fuel first - useless in early game(not like you want to use it early anyway), limited to military conflicts and costing 3 fate - getting it cancelled loses you the game instantly and often the amount of stats it gives you is not worth such an overcommitment even when resolved) and Captive Audience(granted this can be sometimes useful but I feel Unicorn need very high impact cards not situational ones, also bad against dishonor matchup).

I also don't play assasination(crazy right?) and play 3 copies of Rout which helps you break provinces/dishonor/defend when needed.

I went 4 -1 with it for now, 1 loss being against Scorpion(which I feel is a bad matchup in general). Utaku Yumino participating in 3 conflicts a turn, Ide Trader with favored mount and Spyglass and Moto Hordes are MVPs of the deck. It wins mainly with dishonor(low bids, use the draw from Trader and Spyglass, Spies at Court and Earth Ring for card advantage) and/or province break.

I will test it a bit more, seems to be the strongest thing I can come up with in Unicorn, still doesn't compare favourably with a Lion deck I have made during lunch break tho.

Who are you dishonoring with spies at court? That card makes you overcommit another body just so your maidens o courtiers do not dishonor themselves, kind of expensive, and It is no so easy to win a Pol conflict agaisnt some clans, like crane or scorpion

13 minutes ago, Doji_Shiematsu said:

Who are you dishonoring with spies at court? That card makes you overcommit another body just so your maidens o courtiers do not dishonor themselves, kind of expensive, and It is no so easy to win a Pol conflict agaisnt some clans, like crane or scorpion

It often goes on Meishodo Wielders, Shinjo Outriders, Utaku Infantries, Keeper Initiates and Iuchi Wayfinders but most of the time I just dishonor a body with no more fate on it one that wouldn't be much of use for me anyway. Well it isn't really an overcomittment if I win the conflict right? I didn't play the Crane matchup yet, I didn't have that many problems winning political against Scorpion. They much prefer to save their bombs for attack, when they can be Mirumotos Furied. Also rout helps a ton here

The problem with Scorp matchup is that they cannot be dishonored and their province breaking is similar to/stronger than yours with their clan Champ and other bombs. Also they have just so many tricks. Oh and also constant card disadvantage with their province, high bids and fate disadvantage due to 2 free fate from keeper of air.

Usually to sin scorpion you must have more cards than them, and be able to deal with shoju. Not so easy in fact

Well it's certainly hard to go as an underdog against one of the top clans(if not the best one) right now Useless Unicorn Champ doesn't help either

1 hour ago, BordOne said:

I have had some limited success with "unbow" unicorn - playing 3 copies of I am Ready and splashing Dragon for Indomitable Will and Mirumotos Fury. These three cards seem to kind of remedy the problem of always being outnumbered(your movement tricks being useless) and lets you keep your most powerful characters always ready.

I have also cut some low impact cards or just bad ones in general like: Aggresive Moto(1 drop stats for 2 fate), Way of the Unicorn(currently does almost nothing), maybe a bit controversial: Cavalry Reserves(it is essentialy a pump spell that you need to fuel first - useless in early game(not like you want to use it early anyway), limited to military conflicts and costing 3 fate - getting it cancelled loses you the game instantly and often the amount of stats it gives you is not worth such an overcommitment even when resolved) and Captive Audience(granted this can be sometimes useful but I feel Unicorn need very high impact cards not situational ones, also bad against dishonor matchup).

I also don't play assasination(crazy right?) and play 3 copies of Rout which helps you break provinces/dishonor/defend when needed.

I went 4 -1 with it for now, 1 loss being against Scorpion(which I feel is a bad matchup in general). Utaku Yumino participating in 3 conflicts a turn, Ide Trader with favored mount and Spyglass and Moto Hordes are MVPs of the deck. It wins mainly with dishonor(low bids, use the draw from Trader and Spyglass, Spies at Court and Earth Ring for card advantage) and/or province break.

I will test it a bit more, seems to be the strongest thing I can come up with in Unicorn, still doesn't compare favourably with a Lion deck I have made during lunch break tho.

On the Dragon Splash and Indomitable Will: I don't often end conflicts with just one attacking character. Unless, you are attacking a province the defender chooses to leave undefended? That's where I think Indomitable Will can shine. If the defender chooses to block with one defender, then I will try to overwhelm with more characters to win. So I'm curious as to how effective IW has been for you? How often do you find yourself using it?

I too have cut many of the same cards. Captive Audience is fantastic in a pure Military deck though.

On Way of the Unicorn: In the turns where you are first player, do you normally buy 2 characters and then pass? That's how I've been playing, and it usually grants me a Fate (to make up for the extra Fate granted to the 2nd player). That's part of the benefit to WoU: It adjusts play so you can net a Fate before your opponent (usually). Further, it messes with the conflict tempo of your opponent. I've had it where an opponent will attack with a more useful Ring in their second conflict, usually RoF or RoV, while ignoring the Ring with extra Fate on it -- knowing he/she will play into that Ring on his/her First attack on the next turn. WoU ensures I get that extra Fate instead. Lastly, I think the time where a player is most vulnerable is when he/she can be attacked twice. That happens at the end of turn when the 2nd player attacks last, and then gets to attack first on the next turn. This creates a big swing in play. WoU is the answer there. It's a card built upon an indirect strategy, much like Way of the Phoenix. It has a place in certain decks, IMO.

On Moto Horde: Can you elaborate as to why this card is your deck's MVP? I cut it in my more balanced deck because it's very focused on just Military, and I had already taken out Charge!, Cavalry Reserves and Captive Audience. That suite of cards works best together. I also tried to make the deck cheaper, since I was also running Shinjo Tatsuo (another 4 cost).

Your deck wins mainly on dishonour? Very cool. What is your usual starting bid if I may ask? Usual bids every turn? How surprised are opponents when you drop Spies at Court on them?

17 hours ago, Zetsubou said:

Crane splash is already excellent. Been running 3x Admit Defeat, 3x Voice of Honor, and 1x Steward of Honor with good results. Each of those cards do wonderful things for your ability to out tempo opponents

Admit Defeat is the card that had me seriously consider a Crane Splash. If Unicorn had another way to send someone home consistently, I would run the Crane splash more readily. In the end, Watch Commander won out... for now.

How effective is Voice of Honour for you? Do you actually have more honourable characters than your opponent? Because I find that I do not. How does it fare against Crane or Lion match ups?

1 hour ago, Anemura said:

On the Dragon Splash and Indomitable Will: I don't often end conflicts with just one attacking character. Unless, you are attacking a province the defender chooses to leave undefended? That's where I think Indomitable Will can shine. If the defender chooses to block with one defender, then I will try to overwhelm with more characters to win. So I'm curious as to how effective IW has been for you? How often do you find yourself using it?

I often end conflicts with 1 attacking character. Sometimes I want to push for it so I will move people in, in that case obviously I cannot use it but you need to judge the situation on case to case basis. Mostly I use it when attacking or defending with my buffed guy - Yumino, Warrior Poet even moto horde from time to time - it makes opponent commit characters, sometimes even two to defending/attacking while you don't lose any. It is particularly useful for Uni cuz their characters are so few. I often use it on defence against a nasty ring effect I don't want to go off. It worked very well for me, every game I use it I tend to win.

Last game for example I had a Scorpion attack a province with a Liar. It was elemental fury. I changed ring of air into ring of fire, defended with my overbuffed Warrior Poet and won, getting 1 fate, reviving my keeper and keeping her straight after that just to attack politically.

1 hour ago, Anemura said:

I too have cut many of the same cards. Captive Audience is fantastic in a pure Military deck though.

Mine is more balanced I still run Moto Hordes though.

1 hour ago, Anemura said:

On Way of the Unicorn: In the turns where you are first player, do you normally buy 2 characters and then pass? That's how I've been playing, and it usually grants me a Fate (to make up for the extra Fate granted to the 2nd player). That's part of the benefit to WoU: It adjusts play so you can net a Fate before your opponent (usually). Further, it messes with the conflict tempo of your opponent. I've had it where an opponent will attack with a more useful Ring in their second conflict, usually RoF or RoV, while ignoring the Ring with extra Fate on it -- knowing he/she will play into that Ring on his/her First attack on the next turn. WoU ensures I get that extra Fate instead. Lastly, I think the time where a player is most vulnerable is when he/she can be attacked twice. That happens at the end of turn when the 2nd player attacks last, and then gets to attack first on the next turn. This creates a big swing in play. WoU is the answer there. It's a card built upon an indirect strategy, much like Way of the Phoenix. It has a place in certain decks, IMO.

No matter if I go first or second I always try to go tall on one 3+ cost dude, putting 2 fate on him(always at least 2 so he doesn''t go down from void), and buy one/two chuds with zero. This way I have ok board, strong against assasination and very good with my standing tech.

I can see that Way of the Unicorn can maybe get you a fate or two? I will think about it a bit more maybe playtest it also. However when I played it earlier everytime I was wishing it was a card that actually helped me win conflicts/increase card advantage. Instead it creates card disadvantage. Unicorn really need impactful conflict cause their character abilities are only move effects. Also getting more than 1 in your hand is the worst feeling in the world.

From your explanation I guess it is very good lategame? For Unicorn the weakest part of the game is the early game and that is where they should focus their gaze imo. It might have a place in some decks, just not in mine, since I tend to go for card advantage/dishonor and this card actively disrupts my gameplan.

1 hour ago, Anemura said:

On Moto Horde: Can you elaborate as to why this card is your deck's MVP? I cut it in my more balanced deck because it's very focused on just Military, and I had already taken out Charge!, Cavalry Reserves and Captive Audience. That suite of cards works best together. I also tried to make the deck cheaper, since I was also running Shinjo Tatsuo (another 4 cost).

I feel you shouldn't cut them unless you don't run Charge. Obviously they work really well with it. However even without charge midgame I often tend to straight up buy them with 1 or even 2 fate on. This card says: you win a military conflict on attack or defense. With indomitable will or I am Ready it says: you win both(obviously they won't attack into them if standing but it means they give up their conflict). It might be weaker against more military clans like Lion(with whom I didn't play yet, I mostly play scorp and crab, they are still very good against crab) but works wonders against balanced/political clans, almost throwing their whole military plan out of the window.

I run Shinjo tatsuo. To be honest I am always more happy to see the Horde other than extreme late game with wide boards. I would also leave charge if I were you since it is good even in "political" deck. Treat it like a banzai for 1 fate if you will. Unless you go pure political which I can't imagine in Unicorn or actually anywhere since you still need to win military.

1 hour ago, Anemura said:

Your deck wins mainly on dishonour? Very cool. What is your usual starting bid if I may ask? Usual bids every turn? How surprised are opponents when you drop Spies at Court on them?

I would say it is fifty fifty dishonour and province breaking. My usual starting bid depends on opponent and my hand. Against non scorpions I tend to go 1 on first bid especially if I have spyglass/ favored mount with Ide trader on board. Against scorp I tend to go 4 or sometimes even 5. It is key that your bids are closest possible to them with most optimal bid being equal. Just to turn off Blackmail, City of Open Hand and I can Swim for example.

Later in the game against non scorps I go for 1 every turn and try to proc earth ring and air ring every turn, however I will go for void fire and water in that order if needed. I will later win on them bidding high for cards or just them bidding 1 and having no tricks. Spies at Court I am not entirely sold on just because in some matchups(scorp) its nearly a dead card and even in good ones it sometimes can't be used. However when it finally goes off(usually with earth ring) it is devastating, my opponents are always pretty surprised when they suddenly go to 0 cards.

Against scorp you need to win on board presence. A lot depends if you can get void rings and unfortunately also on if the opponent is spending their fate well. If they go 2 + fate on one character each turn I feel it is very hard to beat. And obviously Bayushi Shoju is just op. My deck is pretty good against him though with 3x Mirumotos fury and 3x Rout.

It is still pretty hard to win against tho.

Oh yeah btw I don't run Endless Plains, do you?

Also I feel Lion matchup might be problematic but I didn't play them yet.

7 hours ago, Anemura said:

Admit Defeat is the card that had me seriously consider a Crane Splash. If Unicorn had another way to send someone home consistently, I would run the Crane splash more readily. In the end, Watch Commander won out... for now.

How effective is Voice of Honour for you? Do you actually have more honourable characters than your opponent? Because I find that I do not. How does it fare against Crane or Lion match ups?

Definitely seconded on the returning home point; Favorable Ground is great but having more than 3 ways to send a character home would be superb. That being said, I find that sending in one guy with two plus available to add to the conflict can already create huge trades in the Uni player's favor, even if they will ultimately have to bow that single guy more often than not. With regard to Voice of Honor, I find it works extremely well, although I do only play constructed games with the clan's official role so far. Being Keeper of Fire results in swinging for Fire rings often enough just to get those Keeper Initiates for free that I find it fairly easy to satisfy the conditions for VoH. Between having a swing for fire each turn (more often than not) and running Shameful Display I don't seem to have much trouble having more honored characters in play than the average opponent. It isn't always the case, but it is fairly consistent.

12 hours ago, BordOne said:

I often end conflicts with 1 attacking character. Sometimes I want to push for it so I will move people in, in that case obviously I cannot use it but you need to judge the situation on case to case basis. Mostly I use it when attacking or defending with my buffed guy - Yumino, Warrior Poet even moto horde from time to time - it makes opponent commit characters, sometimes even two to defending/attacking while you don't lose any. It is particularly useful for Uni cuz their characters are so few. I often use it on defence against a nasty ring effect I don't want to go off. It worked very well for me, every game I use it I tend to win.

Last game for example I had a Scorpion attack a province with a Liar. It was elemental fury. I changed ring of air into ring of fire, defended with my overbuffed Warrior Poet and won, getting 1 fate, reviving my keeper and keeping her straight after that just to attack politically.

Mine is more balanced I still run Moto Hordes though.

No matter if I go first or second I always try to go tall on one 3+ cost dude, putting 2 fate on him(always at least 2 so he doesn''t go down from void), and buy one/two chuds with zero. This way I have ok board, strong against assasination and very good with my standing tech.

I can see that Way of the Unicorn can maybe get you a fate or two? I will think about it a bit more maybe playtest it also. However when I played it earlier everytime I was wishing it was a card that actually helped me win conflicts/increase card advantage. Instead it creates card disadvantage. Unicorn really need impactful conflict cause their character abilities are only move effects. Also getting more than 1 in your hand is the worst feeling in the world.

From your explanation I guess it is very good lategame? For Unicorn the weakest part of the game is the early game and that is where they should focus their gaze imo. It might have a place in some decks, just not in mine, since I tend to go for card advantage/dishonor and this card actively disrupts my gameplan.

I feel you shouldn't cut them unless you don't run Charge. Obviously they work really well with it. However even without charge midgame I often tend to straight up buy them with 1 or even 2 fate on. This card says: you win a military conflict on attack or defense. With indomitable will or I am Ready it says: you win both(obviously they won't attack into them if standing but it means they give up their conflict). It might be weaker against more military clans like Lion(with whom I didn't play yet, I mostly play scorp and crab, they are still very good against crab) but works wonders against balanced/political clans, almost throwing their whole military plan out of the window.

I run Shinjo tatsuo. To be honest I am always more happy to see the Horde other than extreme late game with wide boards. I would also leave charge if I were you since it is good even in "political" deck. Treat it like a banzai for 1 fate if you will. Unless you go pure political which I can't imagine in Unicorn or actually anywhere since you still need to win military.

I would say it is fifty fifty dishonour and province breaking. My usual starting bid depends on opponent and my hand. Against non scorpions I tend to go 1 on first bid especially if I have spyglass/ favored mount with Ide trader on board. Against scorp I tend to go 4 or sometimes even 5. It is key that your bids are closest possible to them with most optimal bid being equal. Just to turn off Blackmail, City of Open Hand and I can Swim for example.

Later in the game against non scorps I go for 1 every turn and try to proc earth ring and air ring every turn, however I will go for void fire and water in that order if needed. I will later win on them bidding high for cards or just them bidding 1 and having no tricks. Spies at Court I am not entirely sold on just because in some matchups(scorp) its nearly a dead card and even in good ones it sometimes can't be used. However when it finally goes off(usually with earth ring) it is devastating, my opponents are always pretty surprised when they suddenly go to 0 cards.

Against scorp you need to win on board presence. A lot depends if you can get void rings and unfortunately also on if the opponent is spending their fate well. If they go 2 + fate on one character each turn I feel it is very hard to beat. And obviously Bayushi Shoju is just op. My deck is pretty good against him though with 3x Mirumotos fury and 3x Rout.

It is still pretty hard to win against tho.

Oh yeah btw I don't run Endless Plains, do you?

Also I feel Lion matchup might be problematic but I didn't play them yet.

The Lion match up is part of the reason for keeping character costs as cheap as possible. Running both Moto Horde and Shinjo Tatsuo can be onerous in that regard. (I already run Ide Trader, Giver of Gifts, Utaku Yumino and Warrior Poet in addition to Shinjo Tatsuo - so things can get a bit expensive)

I do not run Endless Plains. I do things to try and encourage my opponent to over commit to conflicts. Endless Plains works against that play style.

When my opponent goes 2+ Fate on one character a turn, I tend to target the Fire Ring as much as possible (dishonour key opposing characters). Which then plays into the Keeper Initiate. As an aside, Way of the Unicorn helps me in attacking with the Fire Ring before my opponent gets a chance to do so.

My experience playing against Scorpion with this deck is limited. I will employ the strategy you outline here, see how it works.

I may substitute Charge! in for Born in War. Right now, I have 17 characters that are 2 cost and under. Most of those characters are 2 Military or under. Of the remaining 17 characters that are 3 cost and over, only Altansarnai and Tatsuo have 3 Military or more. So Charge! often feels like I'm not getting value from the entering character.

Moto Horde feels like a twice amplified Aggressive Moto to me. Ability to defend being the separator.

Way of the Unicorn is an 'all game' (early or late) card to me. I like being able to get the Ring of choice on the 2nd turn, even when starting the game as 1st player. When going at a 2 character per turn pace, this also nets me a Fate on the 2nd turn when passing first. I like it mid-game when both sides are trading provinces because if we're even at 2 breaks a piece, I get to push first for the 3rd province. Or, if I'm down 2 breaks to 1 break, then I can try and get my 2nd break before my opponent attempts to break my 3rd province. It's all about staying ahead in tempo first, and then using WotU to keep it, or to wrest it from my opponent if I have lost it.

Last question: What do you mean when you say that Unicorn characters are so few?

12 hours ago, Zetsubou said:

Definitely seconded on the returning home point; Favorable Ground is great but having more than 3 ways to send a character home would be superb. That being said, I find that sending in one guy with two plus available to add to the conflict can already create huge trades in the Uni player's favor, even if they will ultimately have to bow that single guy more often than not. With regard to Voice of Honor, I find it works extremely well, although I do only play constructed games with the clan's official role so far. Being Keeper of Fire results in swinging for Fire rings often enough just to get those Keeper Initiates for free that I find it fairly easy to satisfy the conditions for VoH. Between having a swing for fire each turn (more often than not) and running Shameful Display I don't seem to have much trouble having more honored characters in play than the average opponent. It isn't always the case, but it is fairly consistent.

I'm curious to test this Crane splash against the Crane and Lion. It's true that the Keeper focus does isolate the Ring of Fire for Unicorn. It may work out in their favour overall. Just have to test it.

@BordOne makes a great case for Indomitable Will and Mirumoto's Fury as well.

1 hour ago, Anemura said:

The Lion match up is part of the reason for keeping character costs as cheap as possible. Running both Moto Horde and Shinjo Tatsuo can be onerous in that regard. (I already run Ide Trader, Giver of Gifts, Utaku Yumino and Warrior Poet in addition to Shinjo Tatsuo - so things can get a bit expensive)

I do not run Endless Plains. I do things to try and encourage my opponent to over commit to conflicts. Endless Plains works against that play style.

When my opponent goes 2+ Fate on one character a turn, I tend to target the Fire Ring as much as possible (dishonour key opposing characters). Which then plays into the Keeper Initiate. As an aside, Way of the Unicorn helps me in attacking with the Fire Ring before my opponent gets a chance to do so.

My experience playing against Scorpion with this deck is limited. I will employ the strategy you outline here, see how it works.

I may substitute Charge! in for Born in War. Right now, I have 17 characters that are 2 cost and under. Most of those characters are 2 Military or under. Of the remaining 17 characters that are 3 cost and over, only Altansarnai and Tatsuo have 3 Military or more. So Charge! often feels like I'm not getting value from the entering character.

Moto Horde feels like a twice amplified Aggressive Moto to me. Ability to defend being the separator.

Way of the Unicorn is an 'all game' (early or late) card to me. I like being able to get the Ring of choice on the 2nd turn, even when starting the game as 1st player. When going at a 2 character per turn pace, this also nets me a Fate on the 2nd turn when passing first. I like it mid-game when both sides are trading provinces because if we're even at 2 breaks a piece, I get to push first for the 3rd province. Or, if I'm down 2 breaks to 1 break, then I can try and get my 2nd break before my opponent attempts to break my 3rd province. It's all about staying ahead in tempo first, and then using WotU to keep it, or to wrest it from my opponent if I have lost it.

Last question: What do you mean when you say that Unicorn characters are so few?

I always go fire if I have 1 or more Keepers. I don't go for it just to dishonor usually because of how fiddly and easy to remove it is(unless I am well on dishonor strategy and already used air).

I might try to go for more swarmy Unicorn but I feel most characters you can get in one turn would be around 3. If most of them are two costers than you can't even put fate on them most of the time. I also would be wary of playing Born in War on them - enemy plays assasination and you not only lose the conflict but also lose your 3/4/5 fate investment. If charge doesn't do enough than add moto horde But seriously Unicorn buffs are so few and far between/overcosted that I feel they should play everything they could get that is a good card.

Ya Moto Horde is two Aggresive motos in one that can defend which is a huge buff already. They also take only one province slot. If you don't feel them its ok did you try them out tho? give em a try maybe they are better than you think, I will test Way of Unicorn on the other hand.

btw Take my Scorpion experience with a grain of salt. Yesterday I lost two matches in a row against them. I feel they don't even need to go tall they just don't need to go wide. If they go two 1/2 costers and leave 4/5 fate it is not possible to win anything against their 10 card hand of tricks and shinobis. Also they get fate advantage so easily. I am considering putting in assasination just for them, since they tend to go for small characters early, but getting it cancelled is just so bad if not game losing(even not getting it cancelled often puts you in bad position). So yeah I feel Scorp matchup is very bad in one of my games I didn't win even 1 conflict due to bouncing shinobis and fate advantage the air provinces provide. Him getting Shoju in second turn didn't help either(I got our clan champ too but it is not even fair to compare them).

Unicorn have few characters for me because they realistically can get around 3 characters in per turn. Also most of their cheap characters have weak stats, so the whole swarm doesn't provide the sheer amount of stats that something like Lion would.

Anyway I think I will give up on them and go back to playing Lion