Let's play: Spot the MC!

[341]

Hey guys,

It's been a while sins I last posted here. Just been busy. But now I have some more time for Cipher and would like to improve not only my deck but also myself. So I've come back to ask for help. My current situation is that I have a yellow deck with Shannan as my MC. With this deck I was able to get some wins in, however yellow hasn't gotten a lot of love lately so my deck is kinda under powered if I compare it to the decks of my friends (who play Red, Purple and Green). So on the verge of a new set release I would like to improve my deck, but I don't know how..

As it stands I choose my MC because his effect seemed good, however my friends are able to play around his effect. When up against him, they make sure to have at least 1 or 2 bonds left and dodge the attacks of my other units. Then they just let my Shannan hit. This causes me to have a hand full of Shannan cards, not being able to save my other units and eventually just run out of steam.

I would like to start to learn how to pick a MC and know what makes a good MC, for which I have prepared a few questions.

TLDR:

I'm having a hard time competing with the group I'm playing with. To the extend of being a push-over. So I would like to edit my deck, starting with a review of my MC (Shannan) and I would like to know how you guys pick / rate a MC.

Questions:

• How do you guys pick your MC?
• What makes a good MC?
• What works better (in your experience): Picking an MC and building your strategy around that or Picking a strategy and building your deck (MC included) around that?
• What do you think of Shannan as a MC?

As always, any and all help is appreciated. 

[Flamy]

For me? It usually starts with "who do I like", then ends with "but what do they do", and "how do they do it". Only consider the first question, and you'll probably have some degree of fun optimizing around them.

I've been out of this meta for a while, but unless your deck oozes with advantage generation, you should consider having a good high base Attack to consistently rely on, both to keep you alive during your opponent's turns, and to make it easier to hit face during your turns. 

Shannan sucks. While Divine Blade: Balmung is an amazing way to fill your hand with Evades, remember that you also reduce your hand to nothing BUT evades for Shanan, while also requiring a big hand to get the most out of his skill. Because of this, it's a "win more" thing. Promised Sword will rarely come into use, unless you're either buffing the shit out of the untapped unit, or only using it to clear rabble, in which case, it's on your opponent to keep things out of the Front Line.

[Notham]

I pick my MCs based on silly or entertaining they are. If the effects they have are good enough for competitive play, extra brownie points. 

A good MC imo is one that can generate card advantage or offer unique utility such as board control, unflipping, antidestruction, and etc. After that, its a matter of the MC having a reliable 60atk if 2 range or 70atk at 1 range. The turn you promote into the main MC and the turn after are the two most critical parts of the game that I look forward to. Having an MC or plays that dont make an impact during these two turns hurts a lot. 

Choosing a MC or strategy first doesnt really matter as long as you are happy with the deck and how it works in the end.

Shannan doesn't really do anything until the final turn where you go in the kill. Before then , the opponent can easily play around it by keeping their life high or retreating to the backline. 

[TheVinceKnight]

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How do you guys pick your MC?

Maybe if it's a particular character I like, or the skills / effects they have draw me to use them. One of those two.

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What makes a good MC?

Something that basically isn't considered vanilla (even a MC that reaches 80 attack and maybe untaps as part of his own skill I would consider not that special or vanilla nowadays). The MC itself should provide a form of advantage (in terms of draw power, destruction, bond acceleration... etc) in order to be really effective. Tiki is a MC that does this fairly well. 

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What works better (in your experience): Picking an MC and building your strategy around that or Picking a strategy and building your deck (MC included) around that?

Pick your MC and build around it. Much more efficient and easier to do than let's say 'look for cards that increase the attack of other units and then slap a MC on that afterwards'.

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What do you think of Shannan as a MC?

He's actually better off as splash in another sword based aggro deck like Ayra for example. Ayra and Shannan together secure a decent kill if you can get the set up right.

[341]

Thanks for the information guys, it's been really helpful. I'll look at my collection and see if I can find a good MC using the tips provided. 

[341]

So I've looked over my cards and sadly I don't have a viable MC. So now I'm looking at Leif (5/4 from set 10) or Eldigan (5/4 from set 12). And I would like to hear your opinions about them. 

[TheVinceKnight]

Leif's 5/4 isn't very good as MC. However his 4/3 is really nice for that situation.

Eldigan 5/4 from Set 12 probably is the best Yellow has for MC right now. Very good in both aggro and late-game playstyles.