Elise

## Overview

Written by: Colonel M

It’s hard to describe Elise in a few words. The flexibility of what you can grab with “My turn” is not something that is seen by any other card within Cipher. Being a card since Set 2, Elise offers consistency through what is first seen as unconventional means. By flipping 2 Bonds and destroying an orb, Elise can grab 2 non-”Elise” cards from the Retreat and add to the hand. This, combined with draw for turn, gives Elise 4 cards to work with for the turn. The other unique aspect of this card is that it is one of the few (if only) cards that can heal multiple copies of the same name. This allows Elise to grab powerful class change cards such as Delthea and Sigurd. Adding that she heals an Orb with Skill 2 when she’s at 0, Elise can be a very difficult deck to take down as well as pilot. Elise is usually a tri-color deck, with Elise making up the majority (or all) of her cards.

## Gameplan

Early on Elise is very prone. You will focus on clearing the board and not hitting your opponent’s face as much as possible. You don’t want to give your opponent resources, so swinging at face should only be done in very extreme circumstances. Prior to promoting on Turn 3, you can drop down to 0 Orbs. You should be very careful, however, if you face certain decks that can pop orbs effectively such as Zephiel, Tenku Ike, or Faye OC. Your goal is to protect the last orb after Turn 3 as best as possible. Afterwards, your next goal is to grab pieces that are missing in your hand with “My Turn”. Ideally you want this turn to be with your cards that will help you ramp. This way you can use Delthea’s OC skill to further disrupt your opponent. After some time has passed, you’ll either use Ogma or Henry as your finishers. Ogma’s perk is that it’s all in one go for taking orbs, and with a board it’s easier to take down the opponent. Henry plays differently where you slowly chip at the opponent and then use Henry’s skill to Discard 2 with Skill 2 or use Mire with a CC ally. These decks are rather difficult to pilot, so they are not recommended for beginners.

## Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths:

* Deck with a lot of technical options and play
* Potentially shuts out a lot of decks with its resiliency - provided that you don’t have to swing against the decks.
* Ogma makes for a fairly clean finisher. Even in instances where the swing fails, another opportunity is possible if they clear Ogma and the Retreat does not reshuffle.
* Alfonse is often a free deploy, which gives Elise protection against 1 and 2 cost enemies.
* Can use Plumeria to keep high costs such as Yune and Zephiel from entering the field.

Weaknesses:

* Extremely volatile early game. Elise usually needs to bridge to hope to clear an enemy on the field or Plumeria on 2.
* Pop effects can be problematic for Elise because destroying her orb can prevent her from using “My Turn”.
* Needs Retreat milled. Elise actually works better vs aggressive and more mid-range decks. Thankfully, most decks have to respond to her, so there are almost no decks that will forfeit swinging into Elise most of the time.
* Techs such as Rhea CP, ???, Plumeria, and Mirabilis can be problematic. While all of these can be solved, it does mean that Elise has to work harder against specific decks sometimes.

## Key Cards

Sigurd CC helps the deck use Delthea much quicker if necessary, and also allows Elise to deploy Julia 1 alongside Sigurd. This allows great bond cleanup while also ramping. God of Light’s Tyrfing can be used on Sigurd or Elise - either of these situations work and depend on who you face. Decks such as Fir have a lot of pull, so it may be wise to buff Elise instead to increase her chances of survival. If facing 1 range MCs without a method to pull or get 1-2 range, Sigurd may be your best bet. Keep in mind Sigurd CCs can technically be used as a heal combo piece with Julia 1. For example, after Sigurd CC, you can place Ogma into Bonds and then fetch it back with Julia 1.

Julia 1 is great because you can grab a bond back to hand by placing a card into your Bond zone from hand. This allows you to place Seliphs into the Bonds and either grab it back or grab back a piece needed for later. A good example is, if Elise misses promo, there is still a small chance to claw back to victory if the card was milled. If you have Sigurd CC and Julia 1 in hand, you CC Sigurd, place Elise 4(3) into the bond zone, then use Julia’s effect to place a card into Bonds and then grab it back to hand. It’s actually possible to CC Sigurd again if he survives and promote Elise on the followup turn as well, as CC from Sigurd 2 turns and bonding on Turn 5 gives 7 Bonds.

Julia 4(3) is an alternative to ramp if you don’t have Sigurd. It also can usually pitch a Seliph bond or a combo piece such as Leif 4(3) or Ogma 5(4) to the Retreat for +20 Attack. If she destroys an enemy, for Flip 1 Bond you can ramp. This can put Seliph into Bonds for a free ramp, or placing any non-Julia “Yellow” card can be placed for combo extenders. It’s a little limited to what you can place into Bonds; however, it’s a good alternative for the deck to ramp if necessary. Make sure to hit non-MC if possible, and preferably something weaker than Julia.

Later in the game Leif 4(3) can be useful for grabbing a bond back to hand, such as an Elise or a combo extender, and can also be used to deploy a Yellow card from hand such as Julia 1, Julia 4(3), or Seliph 5(4). Flip 1 for range is usually not used, though if you have the bonds for it, it can be useful. You usually don’t run a ton of these because of how late this card comes into effect. 1-2 is preferred.

Seliph is your main Bond unflipper. This card combos with Sigurd CC, Julia 1, and Julia 4(3). Seliph can also be used for Skill 2, though it takes a little bit of extra setup to get that going and sometimes the de-ramp can hurt your deploys later on. The rally buff will not come into play very often, but when it does the +10 is great for hitting over decks such as Roy.

Delthea is used for her Overclass effect. Discarding 2 random cards from your opponent is a potent effect, and considering Elise is likely not giving the opponent cards means Delthea prevents an opponent from hoarding cards and trying to deploy more units as their Bonds are further up. Opponents clearing this card is dangerous because Elise can loop Delthea OC thanks to “My Turn”. You can realistically use any Delthea 1, though the N Delthea works with Elise 1 as Delthea can move back after attacking thanks to Magic Flame Talent. N+X variant is dependent on if they have a tome ally, but you do also get +10 Attack after movement. These effects are pretty minor since they’re mostly used to OC Delthea.

Ogma is Elise’s finisher. When your opponent is low on hand, Ogma can Flip 2 and destroy multiple orbs at once. Combining with Skill 2, it makes Elise more capable of finishing the opponent so long as Elise has a board (and potentially has crits). Since this card is not needed until the end, you only run this at 1.

Gateway is a powerful effect because Elise will often be at 0 Orbs when deploying this card. Furthermore, “Golden Shield WIth the Family Sigil” protects Elise from 2 cost or lower enemies from trying to destroy her as well. An extremely effective loop card because it’s a free deploy that can also be +10 Attack if you have 3 or more face-up bond cards.

Plumeria’s “Utterly shameless!” is a very powerful effect that can block devastating cards such as Yune, Zephiel, Julius, and other powerful 5 costs or higher. Flower of Plenty can also be very useful as it guarantees a 1 cost is destroyed instead of risking a miss with an Elise swing. While the timing of this card varies significantly, you should run at least 2-3 of this card.

## Optional Cards

This section is mostly to discuss other cards to put alongside Elise. Some of these cards should be considered heavily when constructing the deck, though some of these are likely 1-2 off techs at best for either pushing Elise’s advantage versus other decks or helping her overcome some problematic cards and matchups.

B21 Freyr 0- One of the few cards you could bump up to 3 as well. Elise can make use of the lock effect and also the effect where Freyr can be placed in bonds if the opponent ketes with Dragonkete Emblem. Arguably the best optional card here, and even debatable if it is an optional card.

B19 Rhea 5(4) - Elise doesn’t usually mind the -1 effect of discarding this card. Retreat reshuffle can be potent versus decks that rely heavily on this such as Roy and Micaiah. The card does have some dead matchups though, such as Al where sending Als back to the deck can be a negative more than a positive.

B06 Nyx 1 - You mainly run this card to destroy a card. WHile Sigurd CC may be the most appealing, another option is to use Nyx’s effect on Julia 1. By removing Julia 1, another Julia 1 could be deployed from hand and use Julia’s effect again. This also can help in situations where ??? is on the field, as Nyx 1 or Delthea 1 on the field cannot be CCed until ??? is cleared. This card is only if you understand some of the reasons to run it, and even then it’s often not worth the 1 off. Remember that Nyx 1 herself is not protected by this effect, meaning you need another ally with Nyx 1.

B04 Robin (Male) 1 - Mostly useful against Darkness Emblem decks such as Roy and sometimes Zephiel. The issue is justifying the space as, when Elise does not face these decks, the card is often a dead card and the color surrounding it is rather difficult to use as well for a Bond sometimes. There are also moments, after the game goes on, where Elise’s hand can get relatively small to where B04 Robin (Male) 1’s effect won’t go off.

B13 Marth 4(3) - If, for some reason, you feel you need another Red card for ratios, you could consider Marth. Marth combos with Ogma 5(4) and if you have a board alongside it. Wouldn’t really recommend this card most of the time.

## Sample Decks

Yellow-Red Elise
4 Elise, Shining Star in the Black Skies+
4 Elise, Pure Princess of Vivid Flowers+
4 Elise, Innocent Loving Sister
4 Elise, Adorable Strategist+
3 Delthea, The Forest Village's Fireball+X
3 Delthea, Dark-Garbed Mage Girl+
1 Ogma, In the Wilds of the Endless Battle+
3 Alfonse, Hero-Commanding Prince+
3 Plumeria, Desire-Gratifying Nightmare
4 Sigurd, Holy Honor-Imparting Knight
4 Seliph, Savior of Light+
2 Leif, Brave Realm-Saving, Woe-Allaying Prince
3 Julia, Imperial Princess of Grannvale
4 Sigurd, A Soul Who Lived for Love
2 Julia, The God of Light's Descendant+
1 Rhea, Archbishop of the Church of Seiros
MC:
1 Elise, Budding Ninja