Alm

## Overview

Written by: Basil

Overclass cards have some of the most powerful skills in the game, and Alm is one of the best, most consistent ways to use them. Instead of ramping, his second skill allows him to use all overclass cards a turn early, giving him a powerful curve, and his first skill lets him cycle into more overclasses once he has one on the field, as well as buffing himself and other allies to hit 80. There are a number of ways he can be built, but usually the overclasses he runs are what define the deck more than he does.

## Gameplan

Alm starts pretty straightforward- you might play a low cost from one of your OCs early, but for the most part you’re holding on until you can actually class change them. So likely it's just Alm swinging at the opponent’s MC early, maybe bridging, but mostly you just hold out until you promote on turn 3.

The most common version of Alm runs 2 3(4) overclass options, which he can do on turn 4 due to his discount- Mae and Faye. Mae’s board lock is so powerful that it can just win games, as it allows you to just completely ignore the opponents units and swing at their main character. Faye is also quite strong, being effectively a -2 as she breaks and orb and sends it to the opponent’s retreat area, while also being 80 with range for the turn.

Which one you want to use on 4 will depend- if you went first, you likely won’t lock much of the opponent’s board with Mae, so Faye will likely be better. If you went second, the opponent may have started a board up, so you can just start the Mae train. In reality, you likely will just have to use whichever you happen to have at the time.

The win condition for the deck can vary depending on the overclass cards you run, but a common one is to just Mae OC over and over, then deploy a couple more units when you can’t anymore to finish them. Some versions are slower and want to stall the opponent out more with Delthea and Genny.

## Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths:

* Consistently gets overclass effects off early and can chain them
* One of the best users of Mae OC
* His buff is easy to use and lets him and allies hit the 80 benchmark easier

Weaknesses:

* Overclass cards need the actual OC card and a 1 cost to class change, leading to potential inconsistency
* Early game is pretty weak unless you throw away potential OC pieces
* Does nothing on promo turn

## Key Cards

### Mae OC

This card is just absurd. Her overclass skill is worth building a deck around in itself, it just is a win condition. Her 2nd skill lets her hit way harder than she has any right to. And her 3rd lets you get some more gas when you’re low, just because. There’s a reason this card is one of the few that is pretty much always run in any version of Alm.

### Faye OC

Faye’s OC is really solid, a -2 for the opponent and she gets to be 80 for the turn, likely resulting in another hit. She also gets range for specifically Alm MC, which is nice because clearing an 80 base in the backline is a real pain. Then, just as a bonus, she’s a flier, so you get 8 30 supports in your deck, which is always nice.

### Mercedes CP

It might seem strange to have a brown card as a staple in a red deck, but Mercedes CP is exactly what Alm is looking for. Mae and Faye OC are both 3 costs, so you can get them back if you mill them or they die, as well as the 1 costs, so she is excellent for boosting your consistency. Alm also doesn’t tend to flip many bonds, so the price is well worth it.

## Sample Decks

Alm (Delthea)
4 Alm, Savior of Valentia
4 Alm, Hero-King of the Land of the Gods
2 Mae, Energetic Mage Girl
4 Mae, I'll Do It For Lady Celica!
4 Mae, Sweet Sovereign of the Dark
3 Delthea, The Forest Village's Fireball
3 Delthea, Dark-Garbed Mage Girl+
3 Mercedes, Gentle-Auraed Holy Smile
3 Hapi, Karma-Burdened Valkyrie
4 Faye, Watchful Black Wings
4 Faye, Maiden of Ram Village
3 Peony, Sweet Dream-Bringing Lass
3 Plumeria, Desire-Gratifying Nightmare
2 Faye, Soaring Heart
2 Alm, Man Awoken to Conquest
1 Medeus, Resurrected Shadow Dragon
MC:
1 Alm, Prince of Rigel