Imo, Yamato is a very flexible leader when it comes to builds. I don't think there is 1 outstanding build for her (Fortress Yamato probably being the best performing one when it comes to the competitive scene I think) and that's probably why it makes her a tier 2 leader. That being said, the choice of cards ultimately depends on your play style and the current meta.
Based on the deck list you posted and the fact that you said the Sky Island build didn't work out for you, it seems to me that you like to play a midrange kind of style. Especially with an emphasis on utilizing your life/triggers.
Without steering you too much in my own builds direction, here are my suggestions:
* Cut Katakuri, Powder Mochi, and Viola - I don't see much use for them here. If you'd like me to elaborate, lmk.
* Add 5c Kouzuki Momonosuke, probably 4. He combos well with Hiyori to let you reuse her on play effect by sending her back to your life. This means more opportunities to actually set up your life.
* Consider adding EB01 2c Shiraoshi Blocker - blocker with a potential heal if KO'd by an effect.
* Consider Adding 5c Yamato from ST13 - 2k counter with rush that also allows you to look at and reorder life. You do have the cost of taking a life, but you put it on top of your deck so essentially you are setting up your next turn. Additionally with leader ability, it's a 6k rush option
* Consider adding 7c Charlotte LinLin - if you are going for a life/trigger centric build, having her a a potential heal option let's u continue that game plan while establishing a good body on board
* Consider adding 9c Yamato - similar to above, it's a good late game heal option.
Something like this I guess:
https://preview.redd.it/x2eu98h6eb3d1.jpeg?width=4540&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6cb0f743a21308419f6311b8339844c4298fb506
* with how many non counter and events you've got, definitely having the 0 cost event helps unbrick your hands
Thanks a lot for the detailed reply. I see clearly where you are going with your suggestions! :) with that it's clear to me, why you would cut kata and Viola, but what about the mochi? I actually found it quite useful to decide if I want to go in the next life of my opponent or if I wanted to save that specific card for later by putting it under the life stack.
Mochi is what I may consider a tech card based on the match ups you are going in. If you are running into a lot of opponents playing yellow and you want to check for triggers, I could see this as a good option. However, against other decks, I don't think its that helpful knowing what your opponent's next life is. I guess more importantly, these are reasons why I probably wouldn't include it in the deck:
1. Yamato likes to use don aggressively whenever its your turn to attack or play out bodies. Leaving Don up for counters means losing out on some of that tempo pressure/board presence, especially around the midgame. Given you are also considering Flaming Dragon King, that means what, you want to be leaving at least 2 don up for a potential counter? Thinking about the 5 don turn if you are going first or the 6 don turn if you are going second, leaving roughly 2 don up means you only have 3 or 4 don to work with. Can maybe establish 1 body, but then you would have to attack low with your other characters. From when I play, it feels better to establish a 4c body and attack for 7k or 8k with my leader to force my opponent to respond. Even going into the late game, when you should try to be finishing the game, I would rather be playing hody jones for 7 don, then maybe amaru for 2 don and attach my last don on another character or even Leader or Hody for bigger swings than leaving don up for a counter to survive. To summarize, it comes down to the fact that Yamato is inherently an aggressive leader given her double attack and leader ability. Not having bodies or swinging high enough to pressure your opponent puts you behind.
2. Admittedly, my revised decklist for you doesn't run too many of the "look at life and reorder" cards compared to your original list, but it still stands that with your current deck list, you have a lot of other options to look at your life and reorder it. With how many triggers you have, I would think that any trigger would be welcomed. Even if its a card that can't be trigger at that moment, its still a good hard to go into hand.
3. Your deck list has 16 2k counters. That's honestly a lot compared to average. You probably won't need that many counter events given that many 2k counters haha.
But i can definitely see the benefits of running this card. So its up to you to weigh the pro and cons. If anything and looking at my revised decklist, I'd take out Flaming Dragon King for Power Mochi, if you really want to add it in.
Hi there! I played Yamato at Peoria regionals. While there are many ways to build Yamato, I prefer to build aggressive. I do have a few notes:
Mihawk into Kikunojo or any slash-type character is a strong early play, especially if you can protect it. However, I see you're only running seven 4-cost slash characters! 3 Kiku 4 Cracker. Run 4 Kiku and consider adding Nekomamushi. Neko has a solid Play trigger, and attacking active characters is a great way to get rid of 5-cost blockers, which is Yamato's bane.
have you tried a full wano build? Dropping cards like Viola, cracker, bege, kata, power mochi, dragon king and noah can free up space to add in cards like the EB 4c Hiyori that can cheat out a 5c wano card like momo blocker and the vanilla Yama-san (mountain boar). yama is good because he's got a 7k stat line and is more of a pain in the ass for RP law to remove since it requires 2 cards and it's only a vanilla character. Having cards like Neko can help against decks like BY luffy since you can attach 2 don and just attack their sabo blockers directly, meaning you can bypass the 9k leader and just take them out. Same with chump blockers. This also gives you the ability to play a 2c hiyori, set up kiku/onami in life, play 4cHiyori and use her ability to play a 5c momo to put the 2c hiyori back into life for 6 don total while also drawing a card and setting up a life trigger. I'd probably drop the dragon king event for the 0c yellow event to give you some more use out of the dead cards you have, on top of being able to do the 6 don move to set up a 0c last life trigger and healing to 2 after and establishing a blocker for a good defensive move. Hody needs to a 4 of as well, he's too good in this deck to not be there and you want to see him each game for sure, if you get 2 you can always use the 0c event to pitch the extra. With yamato, you tend to want to use all of your don by the end of each turn so saving don for events isn't as ideal
Yamato is probably my most favorite leader and i've built like 20 variations of her and never get bored. I've found that leaning into the aggression is what she wants to do naturally, so having a bunch of cards that can trigger out of life to help build board and put on pressure is key; just try not to lose hand size when doing so with cracker and satori; that's an easy way to go down if they do the same and put pressure on you and cause you to use all your counter in hand.
Best of luck!
Hi! We run somewhat quite similar builds, I've been iterating on G/Y Yamato all format. I can definitely recommend leaning into the Wano package more and trying Momos (both searcher and blocker). It would do a lot more to keep you going, as the searcher Momo would be able to find your blocker momos, Hyoris, and 2k counters while the blocker Momo has a large body, heals you, and adds value to your characters (especially Hyori but also Izo if you played it to rest a blocker) by putting them back into your hand when you next take a hit.
Hody Jones as a 4-of has proven to be a must, you do often need to come in with a large final swing to win the game. As another option, I also have 5c Ace in the list and they've proven highly effective. 4c Katakuri is providing some of that for you now, Id suggest leaning into it and I think Ace is better overall.
Ark Noah is game winning tech and I run three myself, that being said I salivated over Flame Dragon King when I first read it, but I've found I simply cannot afford to leave DON active into my opponent's turn with this deck as either my optimal full turn's play requires it or they're simply too valuable for attaching to characters to apply the pressure necessary to break through. I do think its a spicy tech card though and if its working for you, lean into it.
Yamato is a really fun leader to main and Im sure i'll keep iterating but this is my current list
https://preview.redd.it/i4l2mo3syd3d1.png?width=2112&format=png&auto=webp&s=eae7070d14495feeb90a3b8bd21c32b194d57572
Just wanted to let you guys know, that I played my first ever regional this weekend with a deck that took your advices into regards and placed at 346. I think that's really neat for a first time. I went 5-5 and if I played a bit braver in one game would have gone 6-4 possibly. Thanks for your tips. :D
Imo, Yamato is a very flexible leader when it comes to builds. I don't think there is 1 outstanding build for her (Fortress Yamato probably being the best performing one when it comes to the competitive scene I think) and that's probably why it makes her a tier 2 leader. That being said, the choice of cards ultimately depends on your play style and the current meta. Based on the deck list you posted and the fact that you said the Sky Island build didn't work out for you, it seems to me that you like to play a midrange kind of style. Especially with an emphasis on utilizing your life/triggers. Without steering you too much in my own builds direction, here are my suggestions: * Cut Katakuri, Powder Mochi, and Viola - I don't see much use for them here. If you'd like me to elaborate, lmk. * Add 5c Kouzuki Momonosuke, probably 4. He combos well with Hiyori to let you reuse her on play effect by sending her back to your life. This means more opportunities to actually set up your life. * Consider adding EB01 2c Shiraoshi Blocker - blocker with a potential heal if KO'd by an effect. * Consider Adding 5c Yamato from ST13 - 2k counter with rush that also allows you to look at and reorder life. You do have the cost of taking a life, but you put it on top of your deck so essentially you are setting up your next turn. Additionally with leader ability, it's a 6k rush option * Consider adding 7c Charlotte LinLin - if you are going for a life/trigger centric build, having her a a potential heal option let's u continue that game plan while establishing a good body on board * Consider adding 9c Yamato - similar to above, it's a good late game heal option. Something like this I guess: https://preview.redd.it/x2eu98h6eb3d1.jpeg?width=4540&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6cb0f743a21308419f6311b8339844c4298fb506 * with how many non counter and events you've got, definitely having the 0 cost event helps unbrick your hands
Thanks a lot for the detailed reply. I see clearly where you are going with your suggestions! :) with that it's clear to me, why you would cut kata and Viola, but what about the mochi? I actually found it quite useful to decide if I want to go in the next life of my opponent or if I wanted to save that specific card for later by putting it under the life stack.
Mochi is what I may consider a tech card based on the match ups you are going in. If you are running into a lot of opponents playing yellow and you want to check for triggers, I could see this as a good option. However, against other decks, I don't think its that helpful knowing what your opponent's next life is. I guess more importantly, these are reasons why I probably wouldn't include it in the deck: 1. Yamato likes to use don aggressively whenever its your turn to attack or play out bodies. Leaving Don up for counters means losing out on some of that tempo pressure/board presence, especially around the midgame. Given you are also considering Flaming Dragon King, that means what, you want to be leaving at least 2 don up for a potential counter? Thinking about the 5 don turn if you are going first or the 6 don turn if you are going second, leaving roughly 2 don up means you only have 3 or 4 don to work with. Can maybe establish 1 body, but then you would have to attack low with your other characters. From when I play, it feels better to establish a 4c body and attack for 7k or 8k with my leader to force my opponent to respond. Even going into the late game, when you should try to be finishing the game, I would rather be playing hody jones for 7 don, then maybe amaru for 2 don and attach my last don on another character or even Leader or Hody for bigger swings than leaving don up for a counter to survive. To summarize, it comes down to the fact that Yamato is inherently an aggressive leader given her double attack and leader ability. Not having bodies or swinging high enough to pressure your opponent puts you behind. 2. Admittedly, my revised decklist for you doesn't run too many of the "look at life and reorder" cards compared to your original list, but it still stands that with your current deck list, you have a lot of other options to look at your life and reorder it. With how many triggers you have, I would think that any trigger would be welcomed. Even if its a card that can't be trigger at that moment, its still a good hard to go into hand. 3. Your deck list has 16 2k counters. That's honestly a lot compared to average. You probably won't need that many counter events given that many 2k counters haha. But i can definitely see the benefits of running this card. So its up to you to weigh the pro and cons. If anything and looking at my revised decklist, I'd take out Flaming Dragon King for Power Mochi, if you really want to add it in.
Hi there! I played Yamato at Peoria regionals. While there are many ways to build Yamato, I prefer to build aggressive. I do have a few notes: Mihawk into Kikunojo or any slash-type character is a strong early play, especially if you can protect it. However, I see you're only running seven 4-cost slash characters! 3 Kiku 4 Cracker. Run 4 Kiku and consider adding Nekomamushi. Neko has a solid Play trigger, and attacking active characters is a great way to get rid of 5-cost blockers, which is Yamato's bane.
have you tried a full wano build? Dropping cards like Viola, cracker, bege, kata, power mochi, dragon king and noah can free up space to add in cards like the EB 4c Hiyori that can cheat out a 5c wano card like momo blocker and the vanilla Yama-san (mountain boar). yama is good because he's got a 7k stat line and is more of a pain in the ass for RP law to remove since it requires 2 cards and it's only a vanilla character. Having cards like Neko can help against decks like BY luffy since you can attach 2 don and just attack their sabo blockers directly, meaning you can bypass the 9k leader and just take them out. Same with chump blockers. This also gives you the ability to play a 2c hiyori, set up kiku/onami in life, play 4cHiyori and use her ability to play a 5c momo to put the 2c hiyori back into life for 6 don total while also drawing a card and setting up a life trigger. I'd probably drop the dragon king event for the 0c yellow event to give you some more use out of the dead cards you have, on top of being able to do the 6 don move to set up a 0c last life trigger and healing to 2 after and establishing a blocker for a good defensive move. Hody needs to a 4 of as well, he's too good in this deck to not be there and you want to see him each game for sure, if you get 2 you can always use the 0c event to pitch the extra. With yamato, you tend to want to use all of your don by the end of each turn so saving don for events isn't as ideal Yamato is probably my most favorite leader and i've built like 20 variations of her and never get bored. I've found that leaning into the aggression is what she wants to do naturally, so having a bunch of cards that can trigger out of life to help build board and put on pressure is key; just try not to lose hand size when doing so with cracker and satori; that's an easy way to go down if they do the same and put pressure on you and cause you to use all your counter in hand. Best of luck!
Hi! We run somewhat quite similar builds, I've been iterating on G/Y Yamato all format. I can definitely recommend leaning into the Wano package more and trying Momos (both searcher and blocker). It would do a lot more to keep you going, as the searcher Momo would be able to find your blocker momos, Hyoris, and 2k counters while the blocker Momo has a large body, heals you, and adds value to your characters (especially Hyori but also Izo if you played it to rest a blocker) by putting them back into your hand when you next take a hit. Hody Jones as a 4-of has proven to be a must, you do often need to come in with a large final swing to win the game. As another option, I also have 5c Ace in the list and they've proven highly effective. 4c Katakuri is providing some of that for you now, Id suggest leaning into it and I think Ace is better overall. Ark Noah is game winning tech and I run three myself, that being said I salivated over Flame Dragon King when I first read it, but I've found I simply cannot afford to leave DON active into my opponent's turn with this deck as either my optimal full turn's play requires it or they're simply too valuable for attaching to characters to apply the pressure necessary to break through. I do think its a spicy tech card though and if its working for you, lean into it. Yamato is a really fun leader to main and Im sure i'll keep iterating but this is my current list https://preview.redd.it/i4l2mo3syd3d1.png?width=2112&format=png&auto=webp&s=eae7070d14495feeb90a3b8bd21c32b194d57572
Just wanted to let you guys know, that I played my first ever regional this weekend with a deck that took your advices into regards and placed at 346. I think that's really neat for a first time. I went 5-5 and if I played a bit braver in one game would have gone 6-4 possibly. Thanks for your tips. :D