So I've been doing some thinking and really besides Soul Eater, what does Riku really have over Sora? X-Mas Sora has 7/1 status. Sure he has 3 HP but he can play Tink lvl 0 and 1 and boost that up. Riku can't play lvl one magical friends, Sora can and that takes away the direness of the SS ( search specifc) card that seem to appear in Riku Aggro.

Plus you usually only play Soul Eater once or twice during a game, other than that you hit for one anyway.

right now the soul eater is about it. and attack power. but even that is not a huge difference

Well like I said X-mas Sora has 7 atk as well and even CoM Sora can have 7 with Wakka.

Yeah, Riku's only advantage is a slight boost in attack. And that promo Sora that gets +4 in a challenge is actually better than most other players to begin with. Soul Eater is the only thing Riku has going for him...

Actually I dont see soul eater being a big enoug reason as to making riku good for aggro cause i made a awesome sora aggro without the use of soul eaters, it consisted of utilizing stopga for like consecutive turns just about. The X-Mas Sora is good but the problem with it was when you fight a riku he could soul eater you on the first turn and your luck wouldnt be good and you would have anything to help give you life which would end in X-Mas Sora's defeat but i seriously prefer the new Sora lv2 from L&D as the best sora for balanced play if you cant get a hold of the promo.

The one thing I can see Riku having an advantage of is his Dark Riku card. While yes, he can play heartless as friends, he can also use Soul Eater as well. A lot of the dark cards can help as friends and as cards placed on worlds. However, I prefer using a Sora card over the Riku card. There's just something about the extra health or magic that I tend to use, especially with the new set's level 1 magical friend cards. Riku can't pull that off in, nor can Dark Riku play magical friends in general.

I guess it really depends on what style I'm wanting to play.

I actually just did a blog review of the Riku lvl 3's and Sora lvl 3's

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&Mytoken=7040EC1D-CEBA-4E87-823ED62C80914C7D490888269

I dont know if you need a myspace or not or if you need to be logged in but it was a new source of getting it across and so far I just posted and have 19 views so who knows.

Sora has more variety, card choice-wise. The new Sora lvl 2 with 6 atk and 5hp is really good and MerSora is still good too. The promo sora is good with other expensive costing cards but not really a top-tier deck. MerSora is still my favourite. The 1 magic is nice for abusing those lil critters. (I do not condone animal abuse)

Riku is good at beating face and only has 3 player cards to choose from but has Soul Eater, which is huge. without soul eater I don't aggro would be able to win. Tink lvl 0 also helps riku out in the healing department, and if you tread into the dark side dark riku is something to consider in his arsenal.

Roxas_Lawliet said:

That made my week. Snowed in this and the Impala pic made my week.

Thats basically what I said even though I was looking at lvl 3 player cards only. I'll probably venture into the lower level player cards soon.

I didn't read your blog, as I don't a myspace, but it's important to mention the lower levels in this sort of argument. 2 lvl 1 and 4 lvl 2's to choose from give Sora a bit more playability.

I wasn't sure if you needed myspace to view the blog. I just found out you do. But I was doing the aggro scence first with the lvl 3. If I can find a place where you can view publicly without being a member I'll get one of those but I was hoping that since myspace has many members that it would be more effective. Plus Zeffie and You have the youtube scene covered.
Next time I plan on covering Sora 1-2 (set 1,3 and promo) Riku lvl 2 (set 3 and promo) and Ansem. It'll cover Joat and WR.

But so you can view Roxas, here is the myspace blog:

Alright since many of my friends from FFG Heart Forums website have found me on myspace and youtube is clogged with card reviews, I figured I'll do something new and get the word out to not only my friends from the forums but also my real life friends as well since the game isn't well known in the area and it's a great game. I call Sora and Riku lvl 3 from the packs CoM because of the picture, it looks like the original art work for CoM.

Cards Reviewed Today are: Riku lvl 3 (CoM), Sora lvl 3(CoM), Dark Riku, X-Mas Sora (Halloween Town).

More and more I find myself at the same question when I do deck strategy work lately, What makes Riku so much better for Aggro (beat you're opponent to 0 HP) than Sora?

Riku lvl 3 (Chain of Memoires)

Pros
1) 7 Attack - comes in handy for control
2) Use Soul Eater - Soul Eater lets you take away an Extra HP when you win a challenge
3) HP - Riku has more HP than either Sora

Cons
1) Magic Value - This is the part that makes me always question player choice. With 0 magic, Riku can only use Tink lvl 0 and regain 1 where Sora (either) can play Tink lvl 1 (same stats) and get a +2 to HP.
2) Rarity - To the common player, buying a box isn't really a going to happen. Being a rare he's easier to get than X-Mas Sora. But still....

Sora lvl 3 (Chain of Memories)
Pros
1) Availability - It's Uncommon and you'll usually get one within a few packs of set 1 or in the Goofy Starter.
2) Magic - I covered this with Riku, that 1 magic lets you cast lvl 1 magical friends of the bat. You dont need a caster. You can cast Tink lvl 0 during a challenge and null the damage from Soul Eater. Simba lvl 1 you can cast and then sac it for it's own effect.
3) Attak Value - It's up there so it would take the World Rush/Racer (get the world level to 13) with little problems. It's only one lower than Riku lvl 3 and X-Mas Sora and 2 lower than Dark Riku. Wakka fixs this problem so that it's on par with them (except Dark Riku)

Cons
1) No Soul Eater - He can't play Soul Eater which means a couple extra turns for them to draw into something more powerful. With Sephiroth and Cloud here now, less turns to let them bring it to the board is better.
2) Attack - Tidus/Darkside/Simba/Gravity all take out Wakka and you're back to having to play catch-up.

Dark Riku lvl 3
Pros
1) Attack - 8 Attack Value is the highest lvl 3 in the game so far (Ansem lvl 10 has 9 but he's weak)
2) Soul Eater - Utilizing Soul Eater for a 10 total in the first turn.
3) Swarm - Dark Riku is different from the others because Ansem and him being a new asspect to the game, Dark Friends. Taking those Dark Cards and using them to add another + 2 or 3 when it counts. Plus you can swarm and power them up easily.
4) Magic - He has a 2 magic value so he can play the basic magic (Fire,Blizzard, Thunder, Aero, Gravity, Cure, Cura). He can not play magical friends though so he loses a good deal of Magic Friend support

Cons
1) No Friends/Magic Friends
2) Simba lvl 4 - This card wrecks swarm decks, taking them from 15 friends or more to 1.
3) Availibility - Same as Riku lvl 3, it's rare and you're local players who can't afford to play and pay the price to play professional it's harder to get a hold of.
4) Wakka - If Riku lvl 3 or X-Mas Sora play Wakka you really can not get rid of it.

X-Mas (Halloween Town) Sora
Pros
1) Attack - 7 attack so it competes with Riku lvl 3
2) Magic - Same magic value as Sora lvl 3 (CoM)
3) Wakka - This also goes for Riku lvl 3 (CoM), Wakka raises him to 8 atk and par with Dark Riku at which point the light deck is back in control of the match because it has more options.

Cons
1) HP - with only 3 HP Soul Eater does it in first turn and brings it to near game ending.
2) No Soul Eater
3) Rarity - This is the only Promo lvl 3 Player Card...You can not pull them, You can redeem heart points for them, but yeah 60 HP is alot to turn in for a card. Ebay however is a good way to get them.

Thats my view on them, most times I find Riku lvl 3 to be the better choice. However, as I've said the lack of a magic value is a real pain. Dark Riku will always make you waste a card to beat it but the lack of options you can use with it limit it's usefullness

I'm hoping to make this a weekly or multi-weekly thing like the old writer's rant (which is now gone RIP) but it's mostly to bring awareness to the game.

People laugh at you for playing but 9/10, from real life experence, the people that play card games do get the better jobs because they can think ahead and plan accordingly. I've met people who accel in the army and play cards, people that work in better known businesses that played, in the end they make better money and all that and end up learning skills that come in handy such as better attention to detail and being able to plan ahead and improvise.

Either way, If you have the money and the time try it out, I'd being willingly to help people with deck construction and I'm also working on a tournament for KH in lower Michigan (still working on details). I have a list of places that sell them and I would be more than happy to tell you where the closest place(s) to you is and if you find a place that sells them please let me know so I can update the list.

Roxas, you don't full cover all aspects of the player card choice, there's more to it than just soul eater over Tink lvl 1 debate. Riku lvl 3+1HP=6 Sora lvl 3+Tink lvl 2=6 and Riku is still ahead in attack power, Sora has to play catch-up in either circumstance with either power or HP, and Sora can't play Soul Eater, which should out weigh Tink lvl 1 anyday. Soul Eater you can have 3 of, Tink lvl 1 you can only have 1 of and Soul Eater helps you to win games, Tink lvl 1 is good for buying a turn or two. A rare isn't that big of a deal, and Riku lvl 3 is probably one of the most common rares in set 2. same with Dark Riku. Riku lvl 3 can do everything the other two soras can do and more, that's why he is the best option for aggro.

Roxas_Lawliet said:

Tink lvl 1 was just an example.There's also Simba lvl 1 which you can run three of, and Tink lvl 1 with X-Mas Sora puts him back on par with Riku accept for Soul Eater and the Magic Value (Sora). Level 1 Magical Friends also help with when you end up with out D Isle or a Level 1 Friend. Like I said I was looking at all potential player cards because for a while I was considering running Sora because all Riku has on him is Soul Eater and 1 extra Atk point.

But even still I put Soul Eater as a pro. Alot of the people I know can't spend alot on cards which is why the rarity thing is there, this isn't just for the people that play cards and buy boxes, I'm talking real local people since well it's myspace. I've only pulled 6-7 RIku's and thats buying mostly set 2 and only 1 Dark Riku from any of the packs I've brought from the local stores, that was also included for rarity (this is counting from time set 2 came out in MI stores which was two months after the release of the set itself till now)