Ashnard (B20)

## Overview

Written by: Basil

Ashnard is one of the most swingy high risk, high reward MCs. On a good curve and with some luck, he can duke it out with some of the strongest decks in the game. However, a bit of bad luck will have everything blow up in his face, literally. If you’re looking for a deck with explosive potential and some spicy RNG, this deck is one to try.

## Gameplan

There are 2 main problems Ashnard MC has to overcome in order to draw out his full potential- Promoting at a reasonable time, and using Medallion safely.

In the early game, you are preoccupied with the first problem. Waiting until turn 5 to promote is far too slow- though he has a 4(3) bridge, you would much rather get to your 6(5) main promotion ASAP. The typical way this is cheated out is with B05 Elincia 5(3), who can level up (class change) Ashnard from your deck for just 2 bond flips. This can happen as early as turn 3, since Ashnard will typically run Elincia 1 costs, which can sit in the back line on turn 1 or 2 and then be class changed on turn 3, allowing you to promote your 6(5) main character on turn 3. If your opponent has range, however, it is safer to wait another turn and just play the 1 cost Elincia on turn 4 and then class change her- it is still a turn early and you don’t risk having to wait until turn 5.

Because you are looking to promote Ashnard through Elincia and not from hand, you will want to mulligan for Elincia 5(3) and not Ashnard 6(5). In fact, if you draw, mill, or have too many Ashnard 6(5)’s in your orbs, then there may not be a promotion in your deck and you’ll be stuck waiting until turn 5. Though this is unlikely, it is another inconsistency of the deck that you need to keep in mind.

Once you have promoted, you are on to the second problem: Medallion. This is the main pain point for Ashnard MC- you want to deploy and spend all your bonds with Medallion (so Ashnard can use his skill to untap for free), ideally as soon as you promote. However, if you reveal an Ashnard on the bottom of your deck with Medallion, you lose your entire board AND your main character is blown up, losing you an orb or the game.

Thankfully, you aren’t just at the mercy of RNG. There are a few cards like Ashunera 0 and Lehran 2 that can stack the bottom of your deck, which is by far the safest way to play the deck. They even let you pick good deploys to put on the bottom of your deck, which is great for applying pressure. There are also a few ways to make sure you get Medallion in your hand- namely Mist 1 and Kurthnaga, both of which can get it from your retreat area.

However, there are some things to keep in mind. You can’t use Lehran without Medallion on board, and you don’t want to use either before you promote with Elincia since she will shuffle your deck. Sometimes it is better to wait to use Medallion and instead spend your bonds with Kurthnaga or someone else- as long as you get the free untap on Ashnard.

Assuming you haven’t blown up, Ashnard is a powerhouse. Medallion can tempo out some strong and scary deploys, Ashnard himself can attack twice per turn and swing for huge numbers, and he is hard to finish off being 80 base and having a skill that prevents low costs from killing him with crits. Your goal is to just own the board with your efficient tempo from Medallion and free swing from Ashnard and beat down the opponent.

## Strengths and Weaknesses

**Strengths:**

* Can swing for huge number with range thanks to s1
* Medallion is extremely good tempo
* Good pressure on board with free untap
* Safe-ish against aggro since low costs can’t crit him

**Weaknesses:**

* Needs Elincia to promote at a reasonable time
* Reliant on Medallion for tempo / card advantage
* Medallion RNG can lose you the game without consistency boosters
* 0 support on a lot of MC copies

## Key Cards

### **Medallion**

The card that makes the deck, whether you have Medallion and what you reveal off of it will determine the game. Flipping 1 bond to deploy a card from deck is very strong tempo, and even if you can’t deploy what is revealed you can add it to your hand for a flip 1 draw 1. The downside, of course, is that you have the potential to just blow everything up, lose the board, and you get nothing.

### Elincia 5(3) & 1

You’ll need a way to promote early, and Elincia is the best. She can fetch your promo from deck so all you need to do is mulligan for her, and with the 1 cost Elincia’s you can do it on turn 3 or 4. They fall off in the late game since they are either 1 costs or the 5(3) which is 60 base, but they are pivotal for the early game as well as flier supports, which is always nice.

### Ashunera & Lehran

To help mitigate some of the RNG in the deck, Ashunera & Lehran are must-haves. Lehran is tricky since he cannot do any stacking if Medallion isn’t on board, but he also has a secondary use to pull low cost enemies on the back line. Ashunera is great because she is cheap, stacks the deck, and then replaces herself, so she is very easy to include.

### Kurthnaga

Kurth is solid in the deck for a number of reasons, even without his usual partner Jill. He is already going to be at least 70 since Ashnard is a high cost, but he will usually be higher since you have a number of other high cost cards you can cheat out with Medallion. He can also be used to fetch Medallion from the retreat area so Ashnard can do his thing, or just grab any high cost, including dodges for Ashnard.

## Sample Decks

Basil's Ashnard
4 Ashnard, King of Daein
4 Ashnard, Mad King Exploiting the Dark God's Power
4 Ashunera, Goddess of Dawn
4 Elincia, Princess Descended from a Sky Knight
4 Elincia, Devoted Queen+
2 Elincia, Head of the Crimean Liberation Army
4 Medallion, Radiant Fire Emblem
4 Kurthnaga, The Coming Era's King of Dragons
3 Lehran, Fallen Light
2 Ashnard, Prince of Daein
3 Mist, Inheritor of Radiance
4 Rajaion, Prince-Turned-Mad Wyrm
3 Ike, Hero of Radiance and the Sacred Blade
2 Tiki, Towards a Farflung Future
2 Lianna, Beautiful Sunflower Princess
MC:
1 Ashnard, Prince of Daein