Tech Cards

Tech cards are cards you include in a deck that are effective against certain decks you think you'll be facing. They can make or break certain matchups depending on if you include them and if you draw them. However, they can also be useless if you read the opponent wrong or they have some counter-tech. As such, they can be pretty polarizing, and should be reserved for when you are confident you know what your opponent is playing or they cover a bad matchup your deck has.

### ??? (Morgan F)

??? (usually just called Morgan) is a funny card in that she techs against the color that she is in. There is also the ability to stop overclass cards and Sigurd CC, which is often when she is really run for, but screwing over her home color is also an upside. There is no other reason to run this card, it is purely a tech card, the other skills are pretty much useless.

### Rainbow Robin

Anti-discard tech, but for slow decks. The most common reason this is run is for the purple matchup, since purple has darkness emblems it likes to spam, this turns the -1 into a +1. He can even be run without any other blue cards, since his effect doesn’t require you to play him. Only downside is this card is completely useless outside of the purple matchup and maybe the control mirror.

### Automaton

Auto is a great anti-aggro tech card that can also mess with decks that class change. You can just stick it in the backline, have it clear low costs, and your opponent will likely just have to accept one of their units is gonna be tapped next turn.

### Leo 5(4) (King Leo)

King Leo is sort of a tech card, it's just that 90% of the decks in the game are likely to have what he’s teching against. Tomes are very common in cipher since they have flexible range and strong skills to compensate for their lower stats. Leo not only wipes all of them off the board, he also prevents them from being redeployed, which can cripple decks that rely on them. His +30 buff is also nice for allowing him to hit after he uses his skill, or any other ally destroys something.

### Lilith (B20)

Lilith is potentially a devastating tech card, capable of halting certain decks in their tracks. Her skill 1 stops all forms of deployment outside of the deployment phase, which kills the opponent’s tempo if they are trying to get multiple units out in a turn. It's an activated skill, so the effect continues even after she is killed, but you have to remember to declare it. Her other skill is only useful for decks that care about the boundless area such as Vallui, though moving an enemy is quite useful when it happens.

### Edain

Edain is a solid tech card for slow yellow decks that don’t want to run Xfonse. Her skill 2 is technically better protection since it works on all allies instead of just your MC. Her skill 1 is also pretty useful for not dying, since you get a dodge and a small buff.

### Ethynn

Ethlyn is a bit of a niche tech for big yellow, she is basically run for her skill 2 to prevent their board from being destroyed. Usually only comes out after a big board dump like after Leif's "Unifier of Thracia" skill.

### Rhea CP

Rhea is exclusively run for her CP. Reshuffling the opponent’s retreat can be pointless, a minor inconvenience, or crippling depending on the deck.

### Alfonse X

Alfonse X, also called Xfonse, is your go-to anti-aggro tech card. His deployment cost is reduced for each orb you’ve taken, meaning if you’re facing a lot of pressure and getting hit a lot, you can get him out sooner to help you deal with it. His third skill can all but halt aggression for a turn, since it totally prevents low cost units from destroying your MC, even if he dies (just make sure to declare the skill during your turn!).

### Freyr

Freyr is a great tech card because he coves 2 different, meta-relevant cards: 80 base MCs, and decks that run manaketes to ramp. He also costs 0 to deploy and have a 30 support, meaning he won’t drag your deck down in terms of support and is easy to play since he costs no deployment.

His skill 1 locking the opponent’s MC can really throw off their gameplan, especially decks like Oboro who needs to be untapped to use her draw skill and Roy who wants to use his range to clear the enemy’s backline. His second skill, meanwhile, allows you to go even more positive off your opponent ramping than they do. Decks that run ketes, mostly Blue and Purple decks, will still likely ramp even if they know you have Freyr in your deck, which is great for you since you also get free ramp and draw off of it.

### Mirabilis

Though she may not seem as impactful as some of the other tech cards, Mirabilis is the premiere anti-discard tech for any deck. She already has the 0 deployment cost and 30 support, making her easy to run and deploy in decks, and also has a cycling skill so she can do something while on the board.

However, the main reason she is used as a tech is for her second skill. Darkness emblem triggers if you have more than 4 cards in hand, which is pretty common. Mirabilis increases that threshold by 1, which is a bit more manageable. She is also great for uncapped discard, usually seen in control decks like Henry and Elise. Henry himself does the discarding, and stopping him from emptying your hand will win you the game. Elise is less dependant on it since she uses Delthea to discard, but it will force her to clear your Mira and you will get to keep your cards for a bit longer against her.

Even her 3rd skill is quite useful and even lets her see play in other decks outside of being anti-discard tech. She basically ignores one swing a turn, redirecting it to your MC instead, which makes her annoying to clear. This lets her be run as 0 cost tap fodder that is hard to clear for decks that want to tap allies, such as B21 Eliwood and Sigrun.

### Plumeria

Plumeria is such a strong tech card, it's almost hard to call her a tech. So many decks run 5+ cost units that blocking them out entirely is very strong if you can play her on the right turn, and some decks like Sigrun live off of the ability to have her constantly on the field. Even top tier decks like Vallui, Deirdre, and Sanaki have to respect this card and make sure they have 4 cost units to deploy, or else they end up basically losing a turn.

Her first skill is nothing to sneeze at either- in the early game, guaranteed clearing a low cost that would hit your face can be critical for surviving aggro. Combined with her low deployment cost, 30 support, and 0 bond color needed, Plumeria is a very solid card that has good utility and can be run without issue in a large number of decks.

### Shade 1

Shade is the OG anti-manakete tech card. Though she has fallen out of favor due to Freyr being cheaper early and a 30 support, Shade has the distinct advantage of being a unit that can attack and also completely shutting out ramp from hand instead of allowing it but you also get some upside. Her magic emblem support skill is also a plus.