SAO – Valentine’s Queen of 2024 (G) [02/20/2024]

Do you ever dream of sitting by the side of an empty floor in your school eating lunch when suddenly a cute, pretty girl comes by to join you? Do you like the idea of a sweet kouhai chasing after you to bring you a boxed lunch? Well, wake up, this is reality, not some idealistic fantasy written in a light novel.

Note: Most of Suguha’s card pool only works with Avatar ( アバター) or Net (ネット) traits. There are some rare cards in the SAO 10th Anniversary LN set that can be used in conjunction with Suguha. However given that lack of synergy, this deck profile focuses mainly on the two traits provided.

From out of nowhere flies in the Kirigaya siblings. Kirito&Leafa, Leafa being the online avatar for Suguha, is the finisher for this deck profile. The siblings use a reverse combo with the climax shown where they can clock kick their opponents upon reverse while also dealing a single shot of damage after. After fulfilling the combo once, the pair lets you grant additional power to one of your other characters to help them with further reversals.

Suguha has two notable combos that compliments her spirit. The first of which is shown above which nets you hand advantage should your opponent level up during the turn that her climax is played. To help achieve this goal further, Suguha provides an additional soul to a character by revealing the top card of your deck and assigning a soul to a character if that card is a character with either Avatar ( アバター) or Net (ネット) trait.

Alternatively or additionally, depending on how you see it, Leafa above is another option for the deck. Leafa is a Yunyun combo that works with the bar climax shown on the right. You may want to adjust your ratios accordingly depending on your build choice.

What Suguha and her online Leafa lack in filter options, they make back with her huge assets (her raw field power). Many of Suguha’s cards benefit greatly from the use of ACT [起] abilities to empower her cards even further.

To help Leafa prop up her power, the Amagi profile on the left and the other backrow support on the right are highly recommended. The Amagi profile is a consistent way to generate hand and incredibly more so with the use of eight bar climaxes. The Sinon and Leafa card on the right grants a character the ability to clock swap a reversed opponent. More importantly, that ability is an ACT ability, activating the power requirements for both Bikini Suguha and stoic-looking Leafa. Additionally, both cards grant additional power upon the use of any ACT ability once per turn, effectively granting a free 2000 power boost upon the use of a single instance of Sinon and Leafa’s tap ability. Do note that Sinon and Suguha do not carry Avatar or Net trait.

Outside of the main brother-sister combo, Suguha has some side finishers of her own. The first on the left is a “free” restander on the turn that it’s played on stage. Upon reversing her opponent, you must mill the top card of your deck, and if that card has a soul trigger, Suguha can restand herself. Leafa on the right is a check x profile while also having her own clock kick ability upon reversing any opponent.

Two last members to note are that of the Riko profile Leafa on the left that also conveniently lets you turn excess hand into additional stock. The right Leafa is an early play should you have two or more copies of the Riko profile in your waiting room. She is another secondary finisher that also carries the same power benefit from ACT use as that of Bikini Suguha and the 1/0 Leafa.

As Suguha’s mechanics reward the use of ACT abilities, backups are a very welcome addition since character backups by default are always ACT abilities. Her signature Leafa backup profile is on the left that can act as a nice hand filter. The backup in the center is a mill backup which can help you out in a pinch. Lastly, Suguha has access to a rare level zero backup. The first ability of the backup on the field does let perform a Helmet ability for an Anniversary (Anniversary) character, but given the low amount of Anniversary cards available for Suguha, it will rarely be used.

Suguha holding great fortune in her hands is a nice way to potentially net extra hand if you play plenty of level zero characters. Additionally, when you use an ACT, she gains an extra soul for the turn. Leafa among her friends is a level zero clock reverser that also has a top two rearrange ability on play, working greatly in tandem with the level three restander profile. Suguha dreaming of her memories with her brother is an oversized drop search. 1/0 Leafa looking excited is a global assist that has an expensive ability to search out a character from your deck (an ACT ability). Swimsuit Leafa is an oversized beater with a mill condition. Lastly, Suguha with Keiko and Rika is a climax swapper profile with burst power. Keep in mind that both the level zero clock reverser and climax swapper contain Anniversary trait, meaning they can be salvaged by the Helmet ability on the level zero backup.

Congrats again to the Valentine’s queen of 2024. May she prosper and continue to cheer on her older brother.