Eliwood (B21)

## Overview

Written by: Basil

Eliwood has an interesting niche in the “Aggressive Midrange Purple MC” crew. He is the only one with tempo, which is mostly used to summon ketes, but he also has a pretty solid toolbox that can help him lean further into aggro or midrange depending on the situation. Having pull is very good for controlling the board, double break is great for applying pressure, and the board rally can allow your ketes you tempo out to hit easier.

## Gameplan

Early on, you’re mostly looking to play whatever low costs you have and hit the opponent’s MC to apply pressure. Many builds include hero emblems that double as good 1 cost deploys like Eirika & Roy 1 for the occasional chance to totally wreck your opponent, as well as Fae & Myrrh. If you get the chance to ramp, it usually doesn’t hurt to accelerate your gameplan, but be wary of going too low on cards.

After you promote, what direction you go in somewhat depends on what your opponent does, but for the most part you ultimately are trying to apply pressure and end the game. So deploying a kete on promo turn (ideally Myrrh since she’ll be 60 by then) and then continuing to swing at the opponent’s MC is a solid choice. If you have some tap fodder out like Mirabilis you can also consider trying to double break the opponent with Eliwood.

One of the nice things about Eilwood is his turn 4 is going to be smooth since you have a plethora of good 4 cost options- a few of which are the other “Aggressive Midrange Purple MCs”. You can play Eirika and then tempo out a 1 cost to draw and replace it, or Marisa to get an untap and destroy an enemy, or just the classic Gerik. You also always have the option of using your deploy or some tap fodder for double break, a rally, or enemy movement if needed.

Turn 5/6 is when you should be looking to deploy Zephiel and start trying to close out the game. If you rip one of their dodges, that’s probably game right there, but even if not your opponent will still have to deal with at least 3 solid swings.

## Strengths and Weaknesses

**Strengths:**

* Has a variety of useful skills, including tempo and enemy movement
* Can apply good pressure with his double break & rally

**Weaknesses:**

* Can run out of cards if you tempo too much
* Gets outvalued pretty easily

## Key Cards

### Ketes (Myrrh & Fae)

It wouldn’t be a purple deck without the manaketes. In addition to their usual utility of occasionally letting you ramp and being cheap 60 base bodies later on, Eliwood has the ability to tempo them out with his skill 1 and use them as tap fodder for his other skills if needed. He can even use other tap fodder to buff them to hit for 70 or higher.

### Low Cost Beaters (Roy, Al, Eirika)

Since Eliwood leans on the aggressive side, you’ll want some other low costs to apply pressure in the early game in addition to the ketes. Roy is very common since he is both a hero emblem and swings for 50, while Al and Eirika usually only do one of each, so you can choose whether you want another 50 beater or another hero emblem. Or you could go a totally different route and run Canas and Raigh for their darkness emblems and range, sacrificing consistent pressure for some annoying discard potential.

### 4 Cost Plays (Eirika, Gerik, Marisa)

Having a solid curve is crucial to keeping pressure up, so you’ll want multiple solid turn 4 plays. Eirika is common since she pairs well with Eliwood, since he can enable her draw and then use tap fodder to get them both to swing for 80. Gerik is another common option that can save your hand size and deploy from retreat, as well as giving a field buff for free. There are plenty of other options though, such as Marisa to untap and destroy, or Knoll for draw and flipping the opponent’s bonds if you’re against a very slow opponent.

### Tap Fodder (Mirabilis, Peony, Astolfo)

Since Eliwood’s skills have a tap cost, you should run at least a few allies that you want to tap. Mirabilis is the most common since she is free to deploy, slightly tricky to remove, has 30 support, and extra utility as anti-discard tech and can cycle. Peony is another solid option for turn 5 on, who also replaces herself and can buff. Astolfo isn’t reliable and has a 10 support, but he can randomly deploy himself, and if he does he is perfect tap fodder that you get for free.

### Zephiel

Zeph is the classic purple finisher, and for good reason. His LIS skill, though a bit random, can potentially instantly destroy the opponent’s MC if you discard a dodge, netting 2 hits in addition to himself and whoever he buffs hitting. Even if you don’t get their MC, you could destroy one of their units or discard a key card for their next turn. He is also a huge threat that the opponent has to deal with immediately.

## Sample Decks

Eliwood (Hero Emblems)
4 Eliwood, Blazing Knight of Valor
4 Eliwood, Knightly Heritor of a Legend's Will
4 Eliwood, Brave Knight Facing the Final Battle
4 Mirabilis, Elf of Daydreams
4 Eirika, Younger Princess of Renais
3 Peony, Sweet Dream-Bringing Lass
4 Myrrh, Girl of the Dragonkin
4 Fae, Innocent Dragon Girl
4 Gerik, Almighty Mad Tiger
3 Zephiel, Liberator of the World
4 Roy, Heir to House Pherae (P2)
4 Eirika, Princess of Kindness and the Storm Blade
3 Astolfo, Ostian Shadow
MC:
1 Eliwood, Noble of Heroic Blood