Leif

## Overview

Leif is a solid control/battle cruiser deck that strives to utilize all of the strengths of yellow’s higher cost cards.

## Gameplan

Similar to Deirdre, the end goal of Leif’s gameplan is to constantly deploy units from the retreat to create an overwhelming offensive force while generating value from Seliph’s Final Holy War. Where Leif differs from Deirdre is the steps he takes to get to this threshold and how his engine functions.

Leif will want to spend the first few turns trying to ramp to approximately 6-8 bonds before promoting into either his B22 4(3) or his B10 5(4). This can be accomplished by using either of his bridges in tandem with Deirdre 4(3), Nanna 5(4), or class changing a Sigurd. An example of an ideal curve will look like the following:

* Promote into Leif 3(2), play Sigurd 0, use Sigurd to ramp
* Play Deirdre 4(3), ramp twice using both Deirdre and Leif’s skills
* Promote into either B22 Leif 4(3) or B10 5(4)

The steps to accomplish your ramping plans have many different variations that depend on how you like to play the deck.

Following the ramping plan, I personally like to promote into Leif 4(3) to help stabilize by taking advantage of his skill 3’s bond grab. Because Leif will be running low on cards after ramping from his hand early game, Leif 4(3) can help replenish some hand value before going into the 5(4). There are two signs that you should promote into the 5(4):

* If it means you can get a Seliph out of your retreat to Final Holy War some bonds back
* After you have refilled your hand the first time with Final Holy War.

From here, you will want to close out the game with Leif 5(4)’s double orb break and unstoppable deployment force.

Some key things to note:

* When you are managing your bonds (especially when using Final Holy War), NEVER go under 6 bonds
* Try to leave 2 bonds face up at the end of every turn, as the deck is very bond intensive and using up your resources in one go sets you up for failure
* Be mindful of how you can get copies of Leif into your hand
* Take advantage of bonding copies of Leif 5(4) for other BS effects, such as Lachesis or Nanna, especially when using Leif 4(3)

## Strengths and Weaknesses

**Strengths:**

* Powerful tempo options via literally every card in the deck
* Potential to highroll into a very fast curve that can get your engine going super early
* Can easily pick up bonds
* Slightly better statlines than his counterpart
* Strong field control options through B15 Leif 4(3)’s movement abilities and B22 Leif 4(3)’s skill 1

**Weaknesses:**

* Has to ramp from hand
* Has to discard copies of himself to tempo when using Leif 5(4)
* Potential to lowroll into a very slow curve that can lead to very dangerous turns 1-5
* Suffers from deckout issues
* Bond intensive and expensive main promo (flip 2, discard a Leif for tempo every turn)

## Key Cards

### Nanna 5(4)

Nanna provides a very accessible way to pick up your bonds via her BS and is quite abusable when utilizing a number of different skills (Leif BS/Julia 5 Skill 1). Being able to recover some of your bonds is quite crucial to Leif’s gameplan, as this helps him stabilize after depleting most of his hand for early game ramp. Nanna is also an amazing way to set up for Final Holy War, as well as abusing other bond skills through Leif’s BS in tandem with picking up your face-down bond cards. Nanna is also an amazing deploy if you need help ramping early as well, as she is able to ramp two cards from the top of your deck face-down and also gains range at 6 bonds.

### Julia 5(4)

Julia is another valuable asset to your deck as she is able to refresh your bonds by replacing 3 face-down bonds for the price of flipping 2 bonds face-down. This means that Julia might be able to activate a few different bond skills resulting from what is revealed off the top of your deck (i.e Nanna/Seliph/Lachesis). On top of this, Julia is also able to consistently hit for high numbers, usually checking for 90 minimum.

### Seliph 5(4)

Seliph is your glue in yellow as well as your win condition. Most known for his skills 2 and 3, Seliph is a tool that allows you to unflip your bonds to keep chaining expensive yellow effects as well as a resource gatherer that picks up as many bonds as you choose. Once you have started to amass a large number of bonds, you should be aiming to use Seliph’s skill 2 in order to establish a greater pool of resources that can pull you ahead to victory.

### Deirdre 4(3) (B17)

Deirdre is a ramping tool that pretty much generates 1 for 1 ramping. Leif tends to run out of cards fast as a result of him ramping from hand, but Deirdre can help bond accel without burning out too many resources at once. This can help with your transition from your ramping phase to your tempo phases where you start setting up for Final Holy War. Outside of this, Deirdre also has a nice anti-stone niche that also unflips a bond.

### Sigurd 5(4)

Last but not least, Sigurd is another card that generates bond accel but with a greater impact as you get to choose which card you bond if you class change into him. Usually this will be in tandem with his 0 cost copy in order to reduce his total deployment by 1. Sigurd also makes your board a little bit stickier with his skill 2, which creates a multi turn buff that can be used for both offensive and defensive purposes.

## Sample Decks

Leif (Olwen + Tine)
4 Leif, Victory Dedicated to His Father
4 Leif, The Future Sage-Lord
3 Leif, Prince of Two Sacred Bloodlines
4 Nanna, Brave Princess
4 Seliph, Savior of Light
4 Deirdre, Vessel of Divine Blood+
3 Deirdre, Maiden of the Spirit Forest
4 Sigurd, A Soul Who Lived for Love
3 Sigurd, Holy Honor-Imparting Knight
1 Julius, Shadow-Bearing Imperial Prince
1 Saias, Bishop of Flame
4 Leif, Brave Realm-Saving, Woe-Allaying Prince
3 Julia, Shining Maiden of Saintly Lineage+
4 Tine, Maiden of Purifying Lightning
3 Olwen, Thunder of Conviction
MC:
1 Leif, Heir to Leonster