Hey Everyone! Long time no see.
Welcome to my first Katana World set review. I will talk about the Katana World cards coming out in the newest set and predict and see if my predictions are true. In this case, it's the climax booster "Driven to Disorder". I figured this would be a good way for me analyze a whole set of Katana World cards at once. I think it'll help players figure out what cards are viable options for their Katana World deck building.
I've heard that starting from Driven to Disorder and on, Bushiroad will start releasing sets comprising of every world so you can expect these to come out on a pretty regular basis. Do keep in mind that I will be talking about cards in regards to being played ONLY with the Katana World flag. This means I won't talk much about a card in regards to an attribute flag (like The Chaos, Thunder Empire, Guardians, Executioners, etc.). Some cards may be good for those flags (and I'll even say so) but I won't go in too depth about it.
So without further ado, let's jump into it. I will go from high rarity to low rarity and in alphabetical order.
Triple Rares:
 |
| Seriously. Why is Giant Tanuki and his evolved form in Katana World? |
Starting off with an irrelevant card for Katana World. Giant Tanuki's "true" form is real solid for Guardians and Executioners a like since he procs his own effects but has no real place for any Katana World deck. Ninjas want to be aggressive as hell (see what I did there?) with size 1 rush , Skull Warriors are trying to figure out their purpose in this meta, Water has no place for this card and neither do Blade Beasts or Oni Assassins. Overall pretty passable for Katana World but don't get me wrong, it's a welcomed card for Guardians and Executioners.
 |
| *Om nom nom* |
Now this is a card I can work with in Oni Assassins. This set's Oni Assassin cards seem to be more on being aggressive with cards having Penetrate and Double Attack in this set. It feel like it falls short on that task compared to other aggro decks out right now and I still think the countering and out maneuvering ability of Onis is still the better play style.
Regardless, this is still a solid card for Onis. 3 critical penetrate at 10k can help break through walls but the on-enter ability and Overkill are amazing. It has move so it can work with the Oni weapons that can't attack through a closed center which is nice since we don't have Hairpin Blade, Hoozuki in English yet.
The on-enter ability lets you search your deck and take literally any card in your deck and put it face down into the soul. This really helps Oni decks be more consistent with getting the specific Oni/Spell sideboard card out of the deck that really needs to be played against their match up and get it prepped either offensively or defensively. I'm thinking this may replace the impact Dark Skill, Eerie Wailings but I'll have to play test that and see. I still like the impact.
Keep in mind that the on-enter ability is a named ability once per turn so you can't activate it multiple times with you keep calling Arabone Ibuki.
The overkill is a little expensive but I think it's better than the "Shuten Demonic Deity" Kid Ibuki overkill. At least "Arabone" Ibuki nullifies the ability of the card (not just monster) you want to destroy. So if you're struggling with an item or spell, you can kiss it goodbye. The one downside I have with it is you can only use the Overkill during your opponent's turn so you can't use it for a more aggro push.
Double Rares:
 |
| Tonight, we strike! |
This card is nice. Like, real nice. It replaces Watchful Eyes in my opinion. Not that I thought Watchful Eyes was a great card but I felt Bushiroad was twisting our arm to run it when Overturn! Thunder Empire was released. I'm not a huge fan of cards that give only life gain. It doesn't do anything for your the Oni's win condition. Gaining 2 life and a gauge also isn't great either.
Ibuki's Encouragement on the other hand helps keep your aggro push going for game by calling Oni Boss, Kid Ibuki, Body of Dark Arms, Kid Ibuki and the like with the first ability without losing hand advantage. The first ability isn't once per turn either so if you draw into another one, you can keep the aggro train going.
The second ability set up by replenishing gauge and hand which is always welcomed and does a lot more than just giving you 3 life...
 |
| Looks like Kureha has some competition. |
At first, I was hesitant on how good this card was but after a little bit of brain storming. It's a welcomed card in Onis. It helps prep attacks with the gauge gain and even though the call cost is from hand, it's optional (up to one) and honestly, sometimes, you do have a card in hand you really want face down on the field but you might not have House of Assassins, Oni Convoy available to accomplish this.
At least putting the card face down into her soul from hand lets you know what you'll get with you ambush (instead of from top of deck) and sets you up easily for Hiding Oni and Underhanded Means, Sneak Attack.
You can combine this card with Kureha to help absorb attacks. By putting Kureha in Bridge Princess' soul from the call cost, when Bridge Princess dies, call Kureha. Use Kureha's ability to regrab Bridge Princess and put her back in Kureha's soul. Then, when Kureha dies, call Bridge Princess back to gain 2 more gauge and prep her with a real card. It's a nice way to try to mitigate the multiple attacks many decks like Thunder Empire and Chaos can do in a turn.
At its core , it's a beat stick, preparation and resource gain card which is always welcomed in Onis.
 |
| Mikazukimaru grew up so fast. |
Shifting away from Oni Assassins and over to Ninjas for a moment. This card took me a little while to warm up to. Ninjas have been predominately fixed on cards related to Tsukikage, Byakuya and Gojinmaru variants so I'm usually skeptical and have to think about the interaction of said card when it's not a direct version of the ninja bothers.
This one gets my mark of approval and I think will be apart of the aggressive Ninja deck that's predominant right now with Overturn Ninja, Tsukikage. After you attack with 3 ninjas, use Overturn to call a couple more Tsukikage/Byakuya monsters, you can counter call this and put them all in this card's soul for a 3 crit swing.
I think Byakuya "Shiroyasha Mode" and Nanomachine Ninja, Tsukikage "SD" will be used to some degree with Mangetsumaru to give him shadow dive and boost up his attack/defense.
The only thing I don't like about him is the counterattack. The counterattack would've been much nicer before Batzz, Athora and GearGod became a thing but no card is perfect so I'll take what I can get. At least it helps clear weaker monsters. Plus, with Hades Flame Style, Art of Fire Manipulation coming out as a participation price at Bushiroad Spring Fest 2018, it'll help reactivate counterattack and keep him on the field or re-stand him and push for game.
Rares
 |
| I wonder if there's a Blade Beast for this sword. |
Moving on, we're looking at the new Blade Beast/Japanese Blade weapon. Sure it's a little expensive with 2 gauge but you can recoup that cost and get double attack by playing spells on your turn (like Clear Serenity) and your opponent's turn (like Sword Skill, Zanteisettetsu or Ninja Arts, Snake Gaze). Sure you can't do anything with the double attack on your opponent's turn but that's not the point.
Also, starting with this card, Batzz Stone, Thunder Emperor's Augite can legitimately be used in Katana World. With this sword being the only Thunder Empire/Katana World weapon though, I don't think I'll be using Batzz Stone in Blade Beasts.
I do think this card has some possible use in aggro Ninja decks though. After you attack with your full field using Overturn Ninja, Tsukikage, you can call Mangetsumaru off to the side, attack with this sword and still attack with Mangetsumaru. Then, Mangetsumaru has move to cover you during your opponent's turn.
 |
| I think someone needs to brush her teeth. |
Hopping right back over to Onis, we have another... err... lovely lady.
I think she'll be a nice 1 of tech for the main deck that you can always take out during the second game if the opponent doesn't have set spells or a lot of low level monsters. There's a lot of set spells coming out right now for various archetypes and most of them aren't safe from destruction.
Couple that with most size 1 and less aren't safe from destruction effects and I feel like she can destroy two cards on your opponent's field. She still has 2 crit as well which is nice for trying to push for game.
 |
| This card's flavor text speaks to me on a spiritual level. |
This card is pretty lackluster for Katana World. Especially since it's a Ninja but Ninjas just want to make a full field of size 1s and push damage. He doesn't accomplish anything related to that. I suppose in theory, he could work for Blade Beasts since they're an open center deck but I don't see it worth it. Maybe as a side board card.
For Thunder Empire though, I think this card will be really annoying since it keeps Batzz a live from attacks and just makes your attacks against Thunder Empire lose a critical. Man, screw this card for Thunder Empire lol. Ultimately, it may be more of a side board card for Thunder Empire since they just want to search for the ace cards (Batzz and Item) and push for game.
 |
| Mi casa es su casa. |
This was the card that made me realize that Bushiroad is releasing Oni Assassin cards to try to make Oni Assassins more aggressive. Unfortunately, it falls short in that part. The 2000 power is pretty much irrelevant and pointless and there's no resource regain from countering and removing a soul from your cards. I'd rather just run Ibuki's Encouragement with Oni Convoy.
I know not every Oni Assassin set spell can be amazing but I feel like Bushiroad missed their mark on making a legitimate aggro Oni Assassin deck in this set. Oh well. I still like the current play style that Onis excel at.
 |
| Teamwork makes the dream work! :D |
On one hand, I love new secret swords that are relevant to messing with Dragon World but on the other hand, why does Thunder Empire need a freaking Secret Sword? At least it's more effective in a control Ninja deck that uses Secret Sword, Lethal Formation. Before people start to wonder, yes, you do gain the 3 gauge if this is in the soul of Super Lethal Formation as well since it's regarded as "Secret Sword, Lethal Formation" on the field.
I hope this is obvious but the other thing to note about this card is it can be counter casted from hand in Katana World even if it's not in a Secret Sword, Lethal Formation. Sure, you won't gain the 3 gauge but at least it means this card isn't going to always be a dead card in hand.
Also, quick FYI, reducing damage to zero does not count as nullifying an attack. Wording people. It's important.
 |
| We each weave our own fate. |
Another Guardians/Executioners Katana World card and once again, I don't see much use for it in Katana World. The current meta has many items that can't be destroyed and some set spells that can't be destroyed or they can be recovered easily if destroyed (like Sunken Seabed Ruins). I feel that Chess Break does a better job at removing set spells and if worse comes to worse, you reduce critical during battle instead.
Sure if you open up with this on an opening turn to bounce back items/spells, it may be useful but that's the thing. They go back to the opponent's hand... where he can reequip or recast on his turn.
At best, I think this may be a side board card for Guardians/Executioners. Not much for Katana World let alone ninjas. At least you could always cast it from the soul of Shinobi Scrolls.
 |
| Don't worry. Your death will come soon enough. |
A new under-the-soul spell card huh? I gotta say, I still find this concept pretty cool for Onis even after all this time. I don't see this card being a main board card. Onis already have extremely low defense and I feel this won't stop anything. Sure, it may be useful against Prism Dragons but that's about it. I think it's more of a side board card if anything and probably as a 1 of tech in the side board. Ibuki's various forms have good attack stats to deal with walls which doesn't really justify using this.
The unfortunate thing about this card is that it doesn't affect items so it can't be used against transform/ride/station cards in Hero World.
 |
| I hate spiders |
This card is pretty lackluster. Compared to other options Onis have, he doesn't bring anything special to the table. Double attack penetrate with 1 crit is pretty weak and his ambush critical gain doesn't really add anything special. I guess technically it lets penetrate go through if your facing The Chaos and they have Sunken Seabed Ruins on the field. This is the card that makes me think Bushiroad is trying to make Oni Assassins more aggressive but failing miserably at it.
As a side comment, what is with the on-enter, gain double attack ability? Why not just give straight double attack and say if it enters the field via ambush, give it a critical?
Commons:
 |
| No! Not Kimensai. What has the Chaos done to you my friend?! |
This card makes me question why Bushiroad makes certain kinds of cards. It's literally useless in Skull Warriors as a size 3 and there's much, much better options for The Chaos that they won't even consider using this card. I know not every card can be amazing but come on Bushiroad. This was clearly a filler card for the set.
Sure you may get that one fringe game where you can kill someone with the one swing of 4 critical penetrate but that doesn't justify anything about this card.
In summary, a pretty useless card for any deck... and yet I will want a play set of foils because the art is cool.
 |
| That's an... interesting card name Bushiroad |
Many people may skip this card for preference of using Dusk Fiend, Yagyo which is understandable.
However, I see this card having utility uses in Katana World (and possibly The Chaos) against Plague and Black Dragon Requiem decks that makes me see it as a sideboard card. Since this removes souls from any card on the field, you can prolong the win condition of those decks by removing souls from Scholarly Tome of Death, Aneotomy or Death Count ~Requiem~.
To a lesser extent, you could use this remove souls out of your own cards to proc ambush but I think there's better options than this card for that.
 |
| No. It's not that kind of hot box |
A new item for Onis that is... pretty lack luster to be honest. The 1000 attack is pretty pointless. It's ultimately a resource/sustain weapon that's once per turn which doesn't help. I feel that there's better options for Oni Assassin weapons than this though. Out of all the Oni Assassin Weapons we've seen in both English and Japanese, I think this is the worst one.
 |
| Who is this queen the flavor text speaks of? |
I'm not really digging this card. It's a weak 1000/1/1000 that takes a card from your hand if you want. Sure it has soulguard so it can take 2 hits before dying but so what at 1000 defense?
I don't find the 1 damage once per turn via ambushes to be special or impactful. It doesn't work if they have Athora on the field. It doesn't help you control the state of the board with a measly 1000 attack and you can't push for game with 1 critical.
The only counter argument I see is that the Cube and set spell I talk about above helps boost his attack to compensate and make him a beat stick but like I said, both of those cards are pretty bad and combining all 3 of these said cards doesn't achieve anything more than other combination of better, standalone cards.
 |
| Goemon is on the hunt for a better form of himself. |
Last but not least is the search card I never thought Ninjas would receive. This card has a couple nice uses and it doesn't require and gauge in its cast cost!
If you're looking for your core size 1 ninjas, you can use this to grab Yumi Ninja, Suiha and then use Suiha to grab what you need.
The other option is to grab a form of Gojinmaru, the Tsukikage/Byakuya impact monster or the new Top-Rank Ninja, Mangetsumaru.
Keep in mind that you can always use Secret Scroll to search for this card and Shinobi Scrolls to draw before casting this. It's a nice searcher. A+ material.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
And just like that, I'm done! Keep in mind I purposefully didn't review Fuuton, Sweeping Whirlwind because it's not official if it's a promo in the set as of me writing this review. If you want a quick summary of what I think of the card, it's a definitely a necessary 3-4 of in any Ninja build.
So what do you think? Are you hyped for the new support? Do you like this idea of me reviewing sets before they come out? Let me know in the comments!
So what do you think? Are you hyped for the new support? Do you like this idea of me reviewing sets before they come out? Let me know in the comments!
