A deck in Weiss Schwarz requires exactly 50 cards with 42 playable cards and 8 climaxes. When it comes to building decks in Weiss, there are two main parameters to keep in mind: consistency and viability. These two factors work alongside each other, but I will go in further depth on what they mean.
Consistency measures how likely you are to reliably get out your game plan. The most simple way of being consistent with your deck is to play a full playset of cards (4 copies of each individual card) in your deck.
Viability measures how successful your deck is in practice. What this means is if your deck can proceed to accomplish its goals and most importantly, it seeks to win the game in some form or another.
Both aspects are required to make a successful deck. If your deck is consistent, but lacks viability, the game plan fizzles and the deck fails to accomplish much of anything. But if the deck is viable, but not consistent, then the likelihood of accomplishing your game plan is highly favored against you and more often than not, the deck will fail at accomplishing its goal. A deck should be both consistent and viable.
A note for consistency, when deciding how many of a specific card, try to think of the necessity of the card in question in your strategy. A general guide is as follows:
- 4 copies is for full consistency (you want to see this card every game)
- 3 copies is for decent consistency (you want to see this card often, but you want to open up another slot for another card)
- 2 copies is for utility (the card is nice, it would be good to have, but not too important)
- 1 copy is for tech (the card is niche, its pretty good, maybe in certain matchups, but not necessary all the time)
The general guideline when it comes to deck ratios (how many cards of each level) is as follows:
- 14-18 level 0s
- 8-10 level 3s
- Remainder divided between level 1 and 2 (level 2 is largely used for tech cards and level 1 usually contains the advantage plus combo, but other cards can be considered depending on the deck)
- 8 climaxes
Generally a player would want 14-18 level 0s to likely open their hand with at least one or two of them for early game plays. Most decks run one main finisher at level three at four copies along with a handful of tech or healer threes, making up the other 4-6 level 3s. Again, this is a generalist guide since ratios also change depending on the set and deck.
Weiss Schwarz is a game of variance in which consistency is a much desired concept. Ideally, you will be able to get out your game plan every game and there will be little disruptions or exceptions when comparing/reviewing multiple games. Another article will be written that better explains the whole relationship of consistency vs. luck.