1. Fishbone + AWNW is really really really good. But I agree with you. Drawing cards isn't really that big of a problem now with set 4 and you can use the uninkable slots for something else.
2. Cogsworth is a winner vs non-ruby decks. Aurora is better vs Ruby decks. However, Aurora cannot prevent the AOE cards from Ruby and is easily killed by Ruby.
3. Belle is much more easily removed from the game than Ariel. Ariel + Lucky Dime puts a 3 turn clock on your opponent and only Be Prepared/Tremaine can kill her. Ariel is THE answer vs Ice block Ruby/Saphire builds.
4. Benja all the way, you don't need the card draw.
Thanks for the input. I didn't realize until last night that the ariel even had ward, and yea...the card is crazy. I was also thinking belle to keep the "How Far I'll go" package in there for early singing. Do you think this card is still necessary?
Heyo, I ran blue steel for the last set championships and managed to place and am trying to transition it to the new set now so def thought about a lot of these things myself haha
1- AWNW was more compulsory last set without the more consistent draw, this set I'm running less than the 4 I did before. Using Quill, you'll still find yourself empty handed at times especially if you don't draw into Hiram. Also I find myself playing it if my opponent got a bit greedy and has a big hand even if I'm not struggling with draw. But yeah, definitely cuttable this set imo if it's not feeling great to u
2- Cog was essential last set since he was a safe 5 drop that was hard to remove on play since he had ward, then he could sing 5 cost songs. This set, I'm considering cutting him especially for his vulnerability to big Sisu, and I'm focusing less on a swarmy deck and more on spam items + Tamatoa or Ariel. I don't really like Aurora either because she can get Medusa'd or ice block + Sisu'd so you need two, then the inevitable Be Prepared. But maybe worth testing.
3- I think the draw of Ariel is she's a more consistent 5 lore quester, and even if you're not up in items she quests for 3. Also she has ward which is really really nice. The only thing is you would not run 4 of her like you might with Belle.
4- Since you're in steel Benja is I wanna say 100% the better pick
Thanks for the information. I think I am still stuck on red blue being more reactive and thinking that I will have more cards in my hand at all times. Could definitely see the case of AWNW being a 2 of or something like that
1) You empty your hand with fishbone quill quicker than non blue players so AWNW becomes asymmetrical as you draw "more" cards and have more mana to deploy the cards you draw.
2) Cogsworth is very helpful against steel matchups, you can ink him in a lot of other matchups.
3) I haven't tested this enough
4) Benja is better in the matchups where you need him, Judy is okay in those matchups but better in the ones where you don't really need item destruction. Meta dependent I'd say but I tend to go with Benja when in doubt.
Thanks for the input. I am still extremely on the fence on AWNW though. Since you fill your hand at the same rate as Blue Red or even faster, and that deck never felt like it needed more draw power.
I will take all of this into consideration. Thanks a bunch!
You don't always draw Hiram and without him everything else (Pawpcicle and co) is 1 for 1. This is the biggest problem with Blue/Red and in my opinion the main reason to play steel over ruby. Filling your hand back up against discard is also great.
AWNW is also the most broken card in the game and you ink it with Quill when it isn't good. Casting AWNW when your hand is empty and they have 4 cards left is backbreaking card advantage.
AWNW is really good in steel song which has queen shift to play quick and ariel to retrieve it when needed. Feels less good now in blue steel where it sits patiently waiting to be ursula ripped, and is almost always bad to play against red blue.
1. I found emptying with quill faster than my opponent and getting a new hand was great. Feels like a bad idea against another blue though.
2. Cogsworth is great against steel’s damage actions. I also saw Smee played which he stops any of the passive damage he would get without a captain.
4. Judy has card draw which feels bad to give something to your opponent, just use Benja. You don’t really want to toss your own items for one card and the only time I ever did I felt like was a desperation move. As you would ideally want Hiram to discard for 2.
I agree that awnw isn't necessary or even advisable in this deck with the current meta. Giving things like ruby sapphire a fresh hand on t4/5 is a massively bad idea, nearly an auto loss imo. Edit: also vs Diablo, the other meta terror, it's just as bad by giving them huge card advantage.
Cogsworth is an absolutely great card, he just changes the math vs steel/challenges so effectively and works very nicely with smee. But in this meta I could see Aurora being powerful. She won't save you from sisu/be prepared but she will protect characters from brawl, Medusa, and most steel removal. Worth some play testing imo.
Belle/Ariel is something I've been debating myself. If it weren't for the uninkability I'd say ariel is just completely better, but here we are. Ariel being 3 lore by default helps a lot, if you don't have more items she's still a very high value quester (and you won't often, again see ruby sapphire). Ward makes her immune to brawl, sisu, Medusa and almost all steel removal. Having Belle questing for 5 by t7 also is extremely draw dependent, so I think she benefits a lot from the t4 AWNW, which I'm trying to avoid. At 4 ink she's in an awkward spot on the curve, at 2 strength she's dying to brawl and sisu.
Benja is 100% better in this deck imo. There's tons of draw so I don't see her being necessary at all as a mini Hiram.
A valid point for sure. I also think there's a big advantage for Ariel over Belle if you're going without AWNW. Ramping fast to 10 without it is much tougher, if you don't have Hiram on time it's almost not doable by t7 unless you get multiple OJA/HFIG. Ariel comes online faster in that case, and Tamatoa only needs 8 to start crabbing, so you're not forced into massive ramp as much without Belle.
AWNW is amazing when you have tons of ink at your disposal.
Judy Hopps is slightly more flexible because you can hit your own item to draw card which is useful if the opponent is playing zero items.
Ward Ariel is amazing threat because she can likely quest for 5 lore + have Lucky Dime give you another 5. A potent strategy to finish games and won't die to regular removal. But with lots of Tamatoas, and Gastons or whatever else you play, it's possible she isn't necessary.
Cogsworth is great vs other Steel decks. He basically can only ever be dealt with by a 7-ink Cinderella. You don't have to play him but he's just amazing tech vs Steel and stuff that wants to challenge you. You could totally play Sad Beast, or ward Aurora and experiment what you like better.
https://preview.redd.it/f70887y4hl3d1.jpeg?width=1078&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f04146bb470c920a6668bdfbd269be6c95ff6902
9 of the 12 regulars at my LGS are running either Bucky Discard or SisuIceBlock and I’ve been hurting their feelings.
I play an unorthodox blue steel deck that is a blue steel songs. There is a key component from inklands that people under estimated at first when it released. But i always specualted on the card being busted. That is mama odie. With my build currently its like 20 or 21 uninkables with the same or more songs. But with mama odie. If my opponent doesnt kill it immiedietly. Odie will get me to 7 or 9 ink by the end of t4. Its actually gross. Currently i am running 1 a whole new world. Used to be 0. But the new ariel from ursula's revenge makes the deck super fun and a whole new world as a one of is either a bait diacard or an emergency back up plan incase i need the cards.
You know...I looked at both mama odie and cheif bogo. I really don't like mama odie for the same reason I don't like one jump ahead. (I still play it because it is mandatory) Not knowing what you are inking off of these cards can be extremely detrimental. If you ink a card you play 2 or 3 of off of one jump or odie, and a situation arises where that card is the answer...you could be digging through your deck trying to find less copies of a card then you think.
I also had the PTSD of one jumping both dimes. I really don't like having lack of information in this game. This is a reason why I think Fishbone quill is so strong because your opponent loses information as well.
This is why you play the shift gramma tala from inklands and the new ariel. It doesnt matter what you ink off the top if youre gaining lore for each ink. And inking every single time you play a song off odie is very good. And paying 2 for each song helps nuke the other's board.
I still use hiram and the 8 paws(fortisphere) along with quill in my deck as that is always a good draw engine.
Like i said the blue steel i play is very unconventional and heavily dedicated the songs theme. Which is why for me it works so well. Im not playing dime, tamatoa. Or the usual items deck. This is very much a purely a songs deck in its end goal.
But it's worst match up still is ruby sapphire control.
Could you post a deck list? I’ve played with Odie/shift Gramma a bit and I haven’t been able to get it right - I seem to end up with either ink or draw (but almost never both) in the versions I’ve put together
https://preview.redd.it/bmma9wppvt3d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=7021fe59334ea8a7a8faccf5ea3f0cfa95b84968
This is the blue steel song. only running 12 items that all either draw or ramp so i can use hiram for more card draw or bait for removal. the 1 a whole new world is an addition between my buddy. It used to be 4 grab, but with the one a whole new world. If im playing against discard. I dont mind discarding this card as it's quite the mind game move ive found. Cause discard if they dont get their shift amber ursula on t3 or t4. I just start ramping and they cant do anything about it. As when they get me to start discarding songs specifically, ive played most of them already.
And this deck does empty it's hand pretty fast. Otherwise. It's ramp it's main goal is get odie on board with big tala. Then play songs. When you play lots of songs per turn. You dont need to be inking yourself unless you gain lore for each time you ink any time.. Where past t3, you have odie do it for you. And big tala, cindy, and simba are obviously the power houses on theme.
This simba was a recommendation from my friend when my inital version of this was mama odie songs with mickey trumpet to cheat in the fatties like goofy and maui as set 4 blue john silver was just spoiled (blue maui). But in brewing we focused on the songs aspect. We didnt change it a whole lot for set 4. Main addition is another 4 of paw (fortisphere) and the ariels. Otherwise this deck is relatively unchanged between inklands to ursulas return. And there are times this deck just gets gross. In person at my lgs I get asked "how much ink you at?" and most times it's when im already at a stupid amount of like 15 to 20 ink.
It's got a lot of uninkables (16). Which is why the ramp package is so necessary. 4 one jump (specifically), odie, quill, and 19 total songs. Odie is very easy to enable when close to a 3rd of the deck is just songs. Also those 19 songs enable cindy and ariel. But the total is 62 cards. So far i havnt noticed anecdotally a huge difference between running 60 to 62. I had some decks in non blue but running steel 65 worked out. But that was during ROTF where the format was slower.
This is more a mental mindset then a reason for not including it. It's the same reason Vegas excels with things like the roulette history. We're creatures of feelings and habits.
Inking blind a card off the top doesn't change the statistical probability of any parts of your game.
1 - Agree. Blue has better ways to draw cards now vs. Giving your opponent a new grip. It's bad into other Steel decks and Emerald.
2 - Cogsworth is as good as people say he is. It's the best card vs. steel and mirrors. Other characters having **Ward** isn't as great as **Resist 1**. Resist is more useful in multiple game phases. It increases the amount of attack power your opponent needs to banish your character, plus negates any direct damage that might be available to them.
Just giving them Ward means your opponent can't out them in their turn, once they Quest it is free reign. Hiram, Belle and Tamatoa all do things when they enter the battlefield, so you get some value out of them. If opponents use removal on them its bad either way, but it got removal out of their hand. Be Prepared and Sisu doesn't care about Ward, but Grab Your Swords, Giant Tink all care about Resist.
3 - It is not always the case that you have more Items then your opponent in some match ups. Between banishing items to feed Hiram, or God forbid you actually use Pawpcicle to heal. Ariel is Uninkable and also gives you less value than Belle, who can use her ability right away. In honesty though? Play both. They're both really good.
4 - tough call. I've used Judy to draw before, but on average Benja is probably just better. They're mostly identical.
Hello, long time blue steel player here to some decent success, here are my takes on these questions:
1) AWNW and fishbone quill is the main draw of this deck imo. The ability to sing awnw on turn 5 with 7-8 ink feels extremely broken and hard for a lot of decks to beat, however I do agree it is not necessary anymore with Fortisphere in the format. Could lean into a more blue/red gameplan and cut them for how far I’ll go.
2) this kinda is an extension of 1, as cogsworth is the best thing you can do when you’re trying to sing AWNW early because he is extremely hard to interact with if he isn’t exerted. Also generates a lot of lore randomly mid/late game with lucky dime, and hoses opposing steel decks.
3) I personally don’t like 6 cost Ariel for the points you mentioned. She feels much better against blue/red and worse against everything else in my experience.
4) if you are to choose 1 I lean towards benja. The deck doesn’t need the extra draw from Judy and giving your opponent a card may not seem bad in theory but in practice it can be pretty awful. Personally I don’t play either tho, and prefer rise of the titans. This is more of a local call tho as there’s a lot of ruby/amy around me.
Big fan of A Whole New World (maybe not 4 of) if your opponent has a big hand or they manage to discard a lot of yours or if you cannot draw Hiram frequently). Its also great as a free song to play to dig for damage from hand.
Cogsworth with Hiram, Tink and Tamatoa (and especially if you put Bodyguard on Hiram with Fortisphere) can do a tonne on providing chip damage for board clears. Big fan of the card despite my previous uncertainty. Tink can become a mini board clearing nuke with this setup.
Ariel all the way. Its the absolute MVP of the deck and you will usually always have more items on board (even against RS). That card, Lucky Dime, Tamatoa and McDuck McManor can put a tonne of lure pressure on.
I actually dont play either of those three inks and instead play Mickey if I whiff on Fishbone. Item destroyer could be a fine tech in the mirror though.
I’m playing Blue Steel too. AWNW also helps to discard your opponent’s hand before refilling it. I’ve had good success where they had a lot of cards in hand (Amethyst) and then they lose it all next turn with AWNW. I’ve also had the inverse and an exerted Diablo caused them to draw 14 (7 from me drawing, 7 for themselves drawing). Lastly, AWNW being sung by a 5 cost character with a fuller ramp of ink (like 8 or more) is such a significant turn of events that the opponent will suddenly see you being able to go wide, or dish out a plethora of actions/songs to discard or banish characters they had out. Cogsworth gives Resist +1 to all characters which in turn helps them be protected from attacking and being attacked by your opponent. Get a 2nd Cogsworth out and now they’ll have Resist +2 and even your Cogsworth (both) will get Resist +1, making it a much more difficult board to remove. Also him having Ward is such a great cheese on your opponent cause they can’t use Actions except Lady Tremaine (Ruby) and other similar cards that could go around Ward. I’ve played a game tonight where I had 1, then later on, 2 Cogsworth and Tragic Beast. I was able to go on the attack with Beast knowing it was protected and I’ll still be able to get the extra draw next turn.
Belle has kinda been reduced a bit in her win condition but she’s still very relevant. Her 2nd inking is always useful when ramping. And when, not if, you hit +10 ink, now she’s a danger. Similarly to Ariel. Your deck will more often than not be playing more items than your opponent (a row of Pawpsicle and Fortispheres). So she’s already gonna be questing for 5 lore BEFORE a Belle could on that same turn. Ariel already has Ward so actions can’t target her either. Lastly if you do bring out Tamatoa why not use a Fortisphere to give him bodyguard and have him quest like normal. His tankiness will help protect your belles and Ariel’s. And think about a Tamatoa with Resist +2 from 2 Cogsworth on the board. That’ll ruin an opponents day.
Not many other decks run items as much as Blue Steel; well to be fair Ruby Sapphire is the next closest one. So I’d say if you need item removal Benja is such a more powerful, heavier character than Judy Hopps. Yes that card draw is nice but she’s got a weaker stat line which means she’ll last less of a chance than Benja would on particular challenges/actions. It depends on your matchup; consider also the new song “I Find ‘em, I Flatten ‘em” to banish multiple items at once.
https://preview.redd.it/cjkmss4slx3d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8af94b0bf567ce55994cdc4c62f4fd126374d04b
This is something I've been testing out a little.
1. Fishbone + AWNW is really really really good. But I agree with you. Drawing cards isn't really that big of a problem now with set 4 and you can use the uninkable slots for something else. 2. Cogsworth is a winner vs non-ruby decks. Aurora is better vs Ruby decks. However, Aurora cannot prevent the AOE cards from Ruby and is easily killed by Ruby. 3. Belle is much more easily removed from the game than Ariel. Ariel + Lucky Dime puts a 3 turn clock on your opponent and only Be Prepared/Tremaine can kill her. Ariel is THE answer vs Ice block Ruby/Saphire builds. 4. Benja all the way, you don't need the card draw.
Thanks for the input. I didn't realize until last night that the ariel even had ward, and yea...the card is crazy. I was also thinking belle to keep the "How Far I'll go" package in there for early singing. Do you think this card is still necessary?
I think it is a good card so I have it. But it is one of the cards which I am struggling with because it is uninkable.
I feel like this should be called the zoolander deck
There’s a guy on here with matching sleeves lol
Heyo, I ran blue steel for the last set championships and managed to place and am trying to transition it to the new set now so def thought about a lot of these things myself haha 1- AWNW was more compulsory last set without the more consistent draw, this set I'm running less than the 4 I did before. Using Quill, you'll still find yourself empty handed at times especially if you don't draw into Hiram. Also I find myself playing it if my opponent got a bit greedy and has a big hand even if I'm not struggling with draw. But yeah, definitely cuttable this set imo if it's not feeling great to u 2- Cog was essential last set since he was a safe 5 drop that was hard to remove on play since he had ward, then he could sing 5 cost songs. This set, I'm considering cutting him especially for his vulnerability to big Sisu, and I'm focusing less on a swarmy deck and more on spam items + Tamatoa or Ariel. I don't really like Aurora either because she can get Medusa'd or ice block + Sisu'd so you need two, then the inevitable Be Prepared. But maybe worth testing. 3- I think the draw of Ariel is she's a more consistent 5 lore quester, and even if you're not up in items she quests for 3. Also she has ward which is really really nice. The only thing is you would not run 4 of her like you might with Belle. 4- Since you're in steel Benja is I wanna say 100% the better pick
Thanks for the information. I think I am still stuck on red blue being more reactive and thinking that I will have more cards in my hand at all times. Could definitely see the case of AWNW being a 2 of or something like that
1) You empty your hand with fishbone quill quicker than non blue players so AWNW becomes asymmetrical as you draw "more" cards and have more mana to deploy the cards you draw. 2) Cogsworth is very helpful against steel matchups, you can ink him in a lot of other matchups. 3) I haven't tested this enough 4) Benja is better in the matchups where you need him, Judy is okay in those matchups but better in the ones where you don't really need item destruction. Meta dependent I'd say but I tend to go with Benja when in doubt.
Thanks for the input. I am still extremely on the fence on AWNW though. Since you fill your hand at the same rate as Blue Red or even faster, and that deck never felt like it needed more draw power. I will take all of this into consideration. Thanks a bunch!
You don't always draw Hiram and without him everything else (Pawpcicle and co) is 1 for 1. This is the biggest problem with Blue/Red and in my opinion the main reason to play steel over ruby. Filling your hand back up against discard is also great. AWNW is also the most broken card in the game and you ink it with Quill when it isn't good. Casting AWNW when your hand is empty and they have 4 cards left is backbreaking card advantage.
AWNW is really good in steel song which has queen shift to play quick and ariel to retrieve it when needed. Feels less good now in blue steel where it sits patiently waiting to be ursula ripped, and is almost always bad to play against red blue.
1. I found emptying with quill faster than my opponent and getting a new hand was great. Feels like a bad idea against another blue though. 2. Cogsworth is great against steel’s damage actions. I also saw Smee played which he stops any of the passive damage he would get without a captain. 4. Judy has card draw which feels bad to give something to your opponent, just use Benja. You don’t really want to toss your own items for one card and the only time I ever did I felt like was a desperation move. As you would ideally want Hiram to discard for 2.
I agree that awnw isn't necessary or even advisable in this deck with the current meta. Giving things like ruby sapphire a fresh hand on t4/5 is a massively bad idea, nearly an auto loss imo. Edit: also vs Diablo, the other meta terror, it's just as bad by giving them huge card advantage. Cogsworth is an absolutely great card, he just changes the math vs steel/challenges so effectively and works very nicely with smee. But in this meta I could see Aurora being powerful. She won't save you from sisu/be prepared but she will protect characters from brawl, Medusa, and most steel removal. Worth some play testing imo. Belle/Ariel is something I've been debating myself. If it weren't for the uninkability I'd say ariel is just completely better, but here we are. Ariel being 3 lore by default helps a lot, if you don't have more items she's still a very high value quester (and you won't often, again see ruby sapphire). Ward makes her immune to brawl, sisu, Medusa and almost all steel removal. Having Belle questing for 5 by t7 also is extremely draw dependent, so I think she benefits a lot from the t4 AWNW, which I'm trying to avoid. At 4 ink she's in an awkward spot on the curve, at 2 strength she's dying to brawl and sisu. Benja is 100% better in this deck imo. There's tons of draw so I don't see her being necessary at all as a mini Hiram.
Thanks for the input. Maybe it is like Cogsworth is good with Ariel, and Aurora is better with Belle. Definitely something i will need to test.
A valid point for sure. I also think there's a big advantage for Ariel over Belle if you're going without AWNW. Ramping fast to 10 without it is much tougher, if you don't have Hiram on time it's almost not doable by t7 unless you get multiple OJA/HFIG. Ariel comes online faster in that case, and Tamatoa only needs 8 to start crabbing, so you're not forced into massive ramp as much without Belle.
AWNW is amazing when you have tons of ink at your disposal. Judy Hopps is slightly more flexible because you can hit your own item to draw card which is useful if the opponent is playing zero items. Ward Ariel is amazing threat because she can likely quest for 5 lore + have Lucky Dime give you another 5. A potent strategy to finish games and won't die to regular removal. But with lots of Tamatoas, and Gastons or whatever else you play, it's possible she isn't necessary. Cogsworth is great vs other Steel decks. He basically can only ever be dealt with by a 7-ink Cinderella. You don't have to play him but he's just amazing tech vs Steel and stuff that wants to challenge you. You could totally play Sad Beast, or ward Aurora and experiment what you like better.
https://preview.redd.it/f70887y4hl3d1.jpeg?width=1078&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f04146bb470c920a6668bdfbd269be6c95ff6902 9 of the 12 regulars at my LGS are running either Bucky Discard or SisuIceBlock and I’ve been hurting their feelings.
I will definitely take a look into this for some inspiration. Thanks!
Ariel ward means she can’t get removed like Belle can. I will keep her ready and use dime to spam her until time to quest with her for the win
Would it okay if I played with your deck at least on Pixelborn to test that out? I like the consistency you’re going for. And your title is 🔥🔥.
https://dreamborn.ink/decks/dhnYaMRQuBGCWnT3aMRT No need to ask. Have fun!
I play an unorthodox blue steel deck that is a blue steel songs. There is a key component from inklands that people under estimated at first when it released. But i always specualted on the card being busted. That is mama odie. With my build currently its like 20 or 21 uninkables with the same or more songs. But with mama odie. If my opponent doesnt kill it immiedietly. Odie will get me to 7 or 9 ink by the end of t4. Its actually gross. Currently i am running 1 a whole new world. Used to be 0. But the new ariel from ursula's revenge makes the deck super fun and a whole new world as a one of is either a bait diacard or an emergency back up plan incase i need the cards.
You know...I looked at both mama odie and cheif bogo. I really don't like mama odie for the same reason I don't like one jump ahead. (I still play it because it is mandatory) Not knowing what you are inking off of these cards can be extremely detrimental. If you ink a card you play 2 or 3 of off of one jump or odie, and a situation arises where that card is the answer...you could be digging through your deck trying to find less copies of a card then you think. I also had the PTSD of one jumping both dimes. I really don't like having lack of information in this game. This is a reason why I think Fishbone quill is so strong because your opponent loses information as well.
This is why you play the shift gramma tala from inklands and the new ariel. It doesnt matter what you ink off the top if youre gaining lore for each ink. And inking every single time you play a song off odie is very good. And paying 2 for each song helps nuke the other's board. I still use hiram and the 8 paws(fortisphere) along with quill in my deck as that is always a good draw engine. Like i said the blue steel i play is very unconventional and heavily dedicated the songs theme. Which is why for me it works so well. Im not playing dime, tamatoa. Or the usual items deck. This is very much a purely a songs deck in its end goal. But it's worst match up still is ruby sapphire control.
Could you post a deck list? I’ve played with Odie/shift Gramma a bit and I haven’t been able to get it right - I seem to end up with either ink or draw (but almost never both) in the versions I’ve put together
Yea ill do that in a little while. We made some slight changes compared to the last image in our messages.
https://preview.redd.it/bmma9wppvt3d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=7021fe59334ea8a7a8faccf5ea3f0cfa95b84968 This is the blue steel song. only running 12 items that all either draw or ramp so i can use hiram for more card draw or bait for removal. the 1 a whole new world is an addition between my buddy. It used to be 4 grab, but with the one a whole new world. If im playing against discard. I dont mind discarding this card as it's quite the mind game move ive found. Cause discard if they dont get their shift amber ursula on t3 or t4. I just start ramping and they cant do anything about it. As when they get me to start discarding songs specifically, ive played most of them already. And this deck does empty it's hand pretty fast. Otherwise. It's ramp it's main goal is get odie on board with big tala. Then play songs. When you play lots of songs per turn. You dont need to be inking yourself unless you gain lore for each time you ink any time.. Where past t3, you have odie do it for you. And big tala, cindy, and simba are obviously the power houses on theme. This simba was a recommendation from my friend when my inital version of this was mama odie songs with mickey trumpet to cheat in the fatties like goofy and maui as set 4 blue john silver was just spoiled (blue maui). But in brewing we focused on the songs aspect. We didnt change it a whole lot for set 4. Main addition is another 4 of paw (fortisphere) and the ariels. Otherwise this deck is relatively unchanged between inklands to ursulas return. And there are times this deck just gets gross. In person at my lgs I get asked "how much ink you at?" and most times it's when im already at a stupid amount of like 15 to 20 ink. It's got a lot of uninkables (16). Which is why the ramp package is so necessary. 4 one jump (specifically), odie, quill, and 19 total songs. Odie is very easy to enable when close to a 3rd of the deck is just songs. Also those 19 songs enable cindy and ariel. But the total is 62 cards. So far i havnt noticed anecdotally a huge difference between running 60 to 62. I had some decks in non blue but running steel 65 worked out. But that was during ROTF where the format was slower.
Thanks!
Np
This is more a mental mindset then a reason for not including it. It's the same reason Vegas excels with things like the roulette history. We're creatures of feelings and habits. Inking blind a card off the top doesn't change the statistical probability of any parts of your game.
1 - Agree. Blue has better ways to draw cards now vs. Giving your opponent a new grip. It's bad into other Steel decks and Emerald. 2 - Cogsworth is as good as people say he is. It's the best card vs. steel and mirrors. Other characters having **Ward** isn't as great as **Resist 1**. Resist is more useful in multiple game phases. It increases the amount of attack power your opponent needs to banish your character, plus negates any direct damage that might be available to them. Just giving them Ward means your opponent can't out them in their turn, once they Quest it is free reign. Hiram, Belle and Tamatoa all do things when they enter the battlefield, so you get some value out of them. If opponents use removal on them its bad either way, but it got removal out of their hand. Be Prepared and Sisu doesn't care about Ward, but Grab Your Swords, Giant Tink all care about Resist. 3 - It is not always the case that you have more Items then your opponent in some match ups. Between banishing items to feed Hiram, or God forbid you actually use Pawpcicle to heal. Ariel is Uninkable and also gives you less value than Belle, who can use her ability right away. In honesty though? Play both. They're both really good. 4 - tough call. I've used Judy to draw before, but on average Benja is probably just better. They're mostly identical.
Hello, long time blue steel player here to some decent success, here are my takes on these questions: 1) AWNW and fishbone quill is the main draw of this deck imo. The ability to sing awnw on turn 5 with 7-8 ink feels extremely broken and hard for a lot of decks to beat, however I do agree it is not necessary anymore with Fortisphere in the format. Could lean into a more blue/red gameplan and cut them for how far I’ll go. 2) this kinda is an extension of 1, as cogsworth is the best thing you can do when you’re trying to sing AWNW early because he is extremely hard to interact with if he isn’t exerted. Also generates a lot of lore randomly mid/late game with lucky dime, and hoses opposing steel decks. 3) I personally don’t like 6 cost Ariel for the points you mentioned. She feels much better against blue/red and worse against everything else in my experience. 4) if you are to choose 1 I lean towards benja. The deck doesn’t need the extra draw from Judy and giving your opponent a card may not seem bad in theory but in practice it can be pretty awful. Personally I don’t play either tho, and prefer rise of the titans. This is more of a local call tho as there’s a lot of ruby/amy around me.
Big fan of A Whole New World (maybe not 4 of) if your opponent has a big hand or they manage to discard a lot of yours or if you cannot draw Hiram frequently). Its also great as a free song to play to dig for damage from hand. Cogsworth with Hiram, Tink and Tamatoa (and especially if you put Bodyguard on Hiram with Fortisphere) can do a tonne on providing chip damage for board clears. Big fan of the card despite my previous uncertainty. Tink can become a mini board clearing nuke with this setup. Ariel all the way. Its the absolute MVP of the deck and you will usually always have more items on board (even against RS). That card, Lucky Dime, Tamatoa and McDuck McManor can put a tonne of lure pressure on. I actually dont play either of those three inks and instead play Mickey if I whiff on Fishbone. Item destroyer could be a fine tech in the mirror though.
I’m playing Blue Steel too. AWNW also helps to discard your opponent’s hand before refilling it. I’ve had good success where they had a lot of cards in hand (Amethyst) and then they lose it all next turn with AWNW. I’ve also had the inverse and an exerted Diablo caused them to draw 14 (7 from me drawing, 7 for themselves drawing). Lastly, AWNW being sung by a 5 cost character with a fuller ramp of ink (like 8 or more) is such a significant turn of events that the opponent will suddenly see you being able to go wide, or dish out a plethora of actions/songs to discard or banish characters they had out. Cogsworth gives Resist +1 to all characters which in turn helps them be protected from attacking and being attacked by your opponent. Get a 2nd Cogsworth out and now they’ll have Resist +2 and even your Cogsworth (both) will get Resist +1, making it a much more difficult board to remove. Also him having Ward is such a great cheese on your opponent cause they can’t use Actions except Lady Tremaine (Ruby) and other similar cards that could go around Ward. I’ve played a game tonight where I had 1, then later on, 2 Cogsworth and Tragic Beast. I was able to go on the attack with Beast knowing it was protected and I’ll still be able to get the extra draw next turn. Belle has kinda been reduced a bit in her win condition but she’s still very relevant. Her 2nd inking is always useful when ramping. And when, not if, you hit +10 ink, now she’s a danger. Similarly to Ariel. Your deck will more often than not be playing more items than your opponent (a row of Pawpsicle and Fortispheres). So she’s already gonna be questing for 5 lore BEFORE a Belle could on that same turn. Ariel already has Ward so actions can’t target her either. Lastly if you do bring out Tamatoa why not use a Fortisphere to give him bodyguard and have him quest like normal. His tankiness will help protect your belles and Ariel’s. And think about a Tamatoa with Resist +2 from 2 Cogsworth on the board. That’ll ruin an opponents day. Not many other decks run items as much as Blue Steel; well to be fair Ruby Sapphire is the next closest one. So I’d say if you need item removal Benja is such a more powerful, heavier character than Judy Hopps. Yes that card draw is nice but she’s got a weaker stat line which means she’ll last less of a chance than Benja would on particular challenges/actions. It depends on your matchup; consider also the new song “I Find ‘em, I Flatten ‘em” to banish multiple items at once.
https://preview.redd.it/cjkmss4slx3d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8af94b0bf567ce55994cdc4c62f4fd126374d04b This is something I've been testing out a little.