401 Games hosted a Kaguya cup the other day. Gracious Lord Shoyu has tasked me with providing a reflection of my experience during the tournament. With the English side finally getting access to the second set of Kaguya, players have gained new cards to empower their decks and build new decks using the new combos. I was excited to see what decks people decided to bring.
My Deck: Power of Friendship
The deck I brought primarily utilized cards from the second set. The whole gimmick of my deck was built around setting up Kaguya’s finisher. The setup needed for the deck revolves around getting four specific events into memory. While it can be a bit tough to pilot, I think it’s still a fun challenge to gather all the needed events for Kaguya’s free damage combo ability.
For more information about the deck, please check out this post:
Kaguya-sama Typical School Year
Game 1: Set 1 Kaguya with Hayasaka Resonance
This deck’s engine uses the Kaguya’s reverse salvage combo. Being on a standby climax. the deck incentivizes a slow game. Like many standby decks, this deck incentivizes a defensive play style as you can freely spawn expensive cards that possess high cross turn power. This can a bit tricky to contend with, especially when paired with backups that have good utility like a free refresh.
KGL/S79-088U スミシー・A・ハーサカ (center)
KGL/S79-078S-SR 悩殺ポーズ♪ かぐや (right)
To finish out the game, Kaguya makes another appearance with her level 3 door combo. This combo inflicts small burns that can help push with a little bit of extra damage or safely secure the last bits of damage to end the game. Hayasaka’s drop search easily fulfills Kaguya’s conditions as it can bounce back to hand to fulfill the RESONATE condition and pump power to help with Kaguya’s reverse condition.
KGL/S79-050RR 天才たちの真剣勝負 かぐや (center)
KGL/S79-070SECb-SEC 交流会の後で (right)
It was a bit of a blast from the past to see this deck again, especially since my opponent only used cards from the first set. Also thanks again to Weiss Schwarz for gracing me with an amazing opening hand of three climaxes. Always a classic funny Weiss Schwarz moment to be out half of your climaxes before three turns have passed.
Game 2: Chika Top-End with Kaguya Stock Charge
The engine in this deck revolved around Kaguya’s brainstorm combo from set two, the combo that allows you to send a character from your waiting room to stock. This simple effect provides clean extra stock that can either be saved for the end game or used to pay for helpful effects. Kei’s J.C. can help keep certain characters alive through a bounce effect, and Shirogane’s early play can eliminate high powered threats while providing some extra damage.
KGL/S95-026SP-SP マーチングバンド 圭 (center)
KGL/S79-026SP-SP 貫く信条 御行 (right)
The finisher of choice is Chika’s set two finisher which has a model burn that varies based on what type of attack is performed. If she performs a frontal or side attack, she deals an additional two damage while getting a power boost. If she decides to go for a direct attack, she deals a massive three damage.
Personally, I don’t really use level 0 combos so it was neat to see a level 0 combo whose effect was able to consistently help gather resources throughout the entire match. For this match, I’d like to thank my Rize for surviving three turns but unfortunately was murdered during its fourth turn. Never forget the brave Rize that tried to brave the storm that is the center stage.
Game 3: Best Boy Ishigami
In the last match, I played against a deck that was themed around the omega chad himself, Ishigami. The deck ran two options for the early game engine. The first was Ishigami’s Oboro combo from set two. This effect essentially recycles Ishigami back to hand, ensuring you have a swinger during your next turn. The second combo was his early play which allowed you to search for two characters. This can help with setting up for the end game by allowing you to grab specific characters needed for the endgame combo.
With Tsubame’s assistance, Ishigami’s Musashi can make an early appearance to pressure your opponent. If her conditions are met, Tsubame allows you to early play Ishagami from hand. Ishagami’s combo focuses on utility rather than pushing for damage as he gains the ability to bounce back to your hand while sending two characters or events from your waiting room to stock. Conveniently, the stock from the combo covers the cost to either play Ishigami from hand or to reuse Tsubame’s effect.
KGL/S95-007S-SP ブリーフ愛好家 優 (center)
KGL/S95-024CC ブリーフ党の主張 (right)
It was really fun to see someone use a character themed deck within the cup. While my opponent also had a Hayasaka themed deck which would have also been fun to see, I think it was still fun to see our boy get some representation. I think Ishigami’s combo is a fun take on a finisher that focuses more on looping and sustaining resources rather than an all out assault.
I’d like to thank my opponent for blessing me with this match. I stood no chance when faced with divinity itself. Truthfully, when I first saw his handsome figure be placed upon the field, I trembled for I saw myself as unworthy of his presence. Graciously, my opponent motioned me to lift my head and continue the match. I had been given a graceful second chance by god himself. Ishigami is my boy.
I think the Kaguya sets have some fun combos and a good selection of effects and profiles to work with. If you are feeling a bit lukewarm about building this set, I would recommend giving it a try, and with the set’s variety, deck building can be quite flexible.