New to Dragon

By WookieHairdresser, in L5R LCG: Deck Building

So I've not played much of the game but I've just built a dragon deck I'm excited about playing and need some tips before I take it for a spin (I haven't played a game with any deck for 8+ weeks)

It is essentially what I would assume is standard dragon with a bunch of attachments (23/40) and crane splash for above question. I'm running like 7-8 holdings because I figure I'll be buying 1 big and maybe 1 little guy each round so won't be needing a character in every province.

So, my question is really what do I need to watch out for in each match up and what should my general strategy be for each? Go slow and build board state? Rush to break asap?

Help needed!

The typical splash for Dragon for competitive play is Crab, but, Crane is a good choice if you are expecting to face a lot of players that will be trying to nail your characters with events (Scorpion and Crane mostly). The problem you may face is that Phoenix is on the rise (no pun intended) and they play more events that target their own characters so you could be in a position where you have little interaction with your opponent. Lion is another match up that plays a lot of stuff on their own characters so not much in the way of interaction there either, but, they are on the decline somewhat.

Edited by Ishi Tonu
On ‎5‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 11:17 PM, WookieHairdresser said:

It is essentially what I would assume is standard dragon with a bunch of attachments (23/40) and crane splash for above question. I'm running like 7-8 holdings because I figure I'll be buying 1 big and maybe 1 little guy each round so won't be needing a character in every province.

I think your holding count might be on the high side. Dragon doesn't go through its dynasty deck very well, not often playing its full cadre of available cards. I run The Imperial Palace and 2-3 copies of Mountaintop Statuary . My worst opening would be all four holdings. I keep 3 copies of Walking the Way to hedge against that (or search for different characters). The advantage of Mountaintop Statuary is that it doesn't remain (if you choose) on your province.

L5C05_72.jpg L5C05_66.jpg

L5C08_28.jpg

I am considering Favorable Ground so that I can move a bowed Ascetic Visionary into a conflict whereupon I can use his ability to ready himself. The limitation there being that someone has to initiate that conflict.

L5C01_128.jpg L5C01_63.jpg

On attachments, that sounds reasonable. It all depends on what they of course, but most of the Dragon attachments are useful. I too splash Crane for their Above Question .

The Agasha Swordsmith is fantastic. Remember that Togashi Kazue and the Tattooed Wanderer are characters, and cannot be added to your hand via the Swordsmith. Both of them are excellent and are seldom played as characters, but given the right circumstance they are both good as characters, so the option is nice. The Swordsmith shouldn't be underestimated. I have use him and his ability to bring in attachments, play them on him, and break provinces. It's not his primary function, but he is a Dragon.

Daimyo's Favor is tremendous for attachment focused decks. On a character you'll be keeping around and adding attachments to, it pays for its deck slot over and over. The last (or next to last) game I played, my beat stick (a Seeker of Enlightenment ) had no remaining fate on her. My opponent swung at me using a character with fate on him. I defended with the Seeker, used the non-participating Swordsmith to find a copy of Daimyo's Favor, played it and a second copy I already had in hand on the Seeker, then used both of them, played Kazue with my only fate, moved my opponent's character's fate onto her, and then won the conflict. That's not a, "This one time..." story. That's an every three games story.

I believe that Togashi Yoknui has more FAQ on cardgamedb.com than any other card in the game. I'll share a few of them here:

  • Given an opponent that has her own copy of Yokuni, you cannot copy that Yokuni's ability. This is to prevent some eventual infinite combo.
  • He may only copy 1 character in a round "Max 1 per round.". If he has Way of the Dragon attached to him, he may use the copied ability twice.
  • Triggered abilities are any: Action , Reaction , Interrupt
  • He cannot use his ability while out of play, therefore he cannot gain the utility of triggered ability that triggers when the character enters play - such as Kitsuki Yaruma 's reaction ability.
  • He can target and use an ability that removes him from play - namely, her can copy and use Adept of Shadows ' action. In doing so, any fate on him is discarded. While Yokuni is your hand, he is treated as conflict character and can be played at any time that a conflict character can be played, by paying his 5 cost. He may also be discarded from hand to add 1 fate to a different copy of Yokuni. Like any conflict character, when you play Yokuni from hand you can put extra fate on him. Like any card that leaves play, when Yoknui is put back into play, he is treated as a new copy of that card and can use his ability - even if you already used his ability this round.
  • He can copy the printed ability of someone who has had their text blanked by cards like Cloud the Mind .
  • Kitsuki Investigator 's ability is "Max 1 per conflict." The rules on Max X per X are limited to copies of the given card (by unique name) controlled by a given character. So, if you and your opponent both have 2 Investigators in the conflict, you can each use the ability once (making sure to mark which of your Investigators used the ability in case either have the opportunity again in the round). If Yokuni is in a POL conflict with a Investigator, both of them could use the ability (as both Togashi Yoknui and Kitsuki Investigator are unique names). The ability may not be used an additional time in a given conflict through an attached Way of the Dragon.
  • Spinning through other posts I am reminded that Yokuni's ability can only be used on characters in play - which face up in either the discard pile or on top of a province are not. Like anyone normal character, his copied ability is lost when he is discard. Therefore, he cannot use a Keeper Initiate 's ability and subsequently be brought back into play. He also cannot use his ability while out of play - on a province, in your hand, or in the discard pile.

L5C01_65.jpg L5C01_154.jpg L5C02_6.jpg L5C01_180.jpg L5C01_61.jpg

If you charge Kitsuki Yaruma into a conflict where you are defending, you can use his ability to flip down the contested province. It flips face down. Then, as the conflict is at that province, it immediately flips face up. Any reaction ability that triggers upon its reveal triggers upon its new revealing. This is because, like Yokuni when he was returned to your hand, the province is treated as a new instance of the card and therefore may be triggered again. This also means that any other triggered ability may also be used anew.

  • So, the reveal-reaction on Restoration of Balance , " Reaction: After this province is revealed - your opponent chooses and discard cards from his or her hand until that player has 4 or fewer cards in hand." may be triggered a second time. Normally, that isn't very useful because they're already at 4 or fewer cards. However, if you successfully defend against their attack, they may dig deep during the subsequent round's bid. They reason that the danger is gone, but it's not. :D Expect this to fool somebody once at most.
  • Other actions, like Manicured Garden , " Action: During a conflict at this province - gain 1 fate." could be how you got to charge him into the conflict in the first place. Then, after the province is re-flipped, you can gain another fate.

Imperial Advisor has a Focus on the Dragon article for the core set( http://imperialadvisor.com/wp/2017/06/30/clan-focus-the-dragon/ ). They're spot on, however, they used lazy writing to describe the Enlightened Warrior , which after a few packs would make him less useful than he is. They say his ability is, "after an opponent claims fate off a ring," but it's actually, " Reaction : After an opponent selects a ring with fate on it - place 1 fate on this character." The claiming fate from rings could be useful against Phoenix, and at the time of the writing it there was no other gameplay distinction. However, with The Stone of Sorrows , they may not be claiming the fate. If they do select the ring, his ability triggers.

L5C01_60.jpg L5C06_94.jpg

There are many combos for the Dragon I'll let you discover on your own. But that's my two-bits. Enjoy them!

Edited by Duciris
ran into an error before I was done

Thank you for an amazing post!!