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dollydeez · 4 years ago

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Chapter One Sneak Peek

I’m currently rewriting the ending and haven’t done final edits yet, but I thought I’d go ahead and post the first chapter of Lesbian Robots From Space to give people an idea of what I’m going for with this project. So here it is, Chapter One: Get Lost!

I spent most of my free time wandering around the space station. There wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen, but I’m well known enough in this sector that I pick up just as much business wandering around as sitting in my office. It’s a rough part of the galaxy, so it’s not uncommon for your affairs to get FUBAR. There’s four levels to the thing, going from the hangar at the gravitational bottom to the flats at the top, with a shopping centre and office section respectively in between. I don’t know why old space movies liked spherical buildings, can you imagine how annoying that’d be? Use a cube like a thinking being and maximize your available space. If my flat had a curved ceiling I’d start a riot. And having the hangar in the middle, I mean I guess for military constructions but what the fat cats want for their civilian developments is for people to have to walk through as much commercial space as possible.

My favourite part was checking out the hangar, and not just because it was a hotspot for people on the run. So many ships, from all over, docked here. Swear to god, I saw one that looked exactly like a pickle. Funniest shit I’ve ever seen. I mean, until the crew started spilling out and medics had to be called. People don’t land here because they want to check it out, they land here because they are out of options. We are the Saint Jude of scum. The regular clientele had an effect on the shops offered. Shite specific for those living here were automated, usually owned by the station. Stuff like furniture stores, clothes shops and the grocer’s. There were a couple people trying to hack out a living with their cooking, but… let’s just say if they were good they’d be elsewhere. Hell do I know, I never went into any of those disease factories. Most of the other shops sold guns, parts and medical supplies. It wasn’t the worst place in the world to poke around, it was always entertaining to see some lost yokel argue with someone, who’s surrounded by guns mind you, seemingly unaware that this is absolutely the place your annoying corpse would be chucked into space. I was good friends with Doc, the lad who ran the station’s main medical bay. He was a good kid, just made some mistakes early on and had to move his practice off world. Well, he wasn’t bad. Every so often he’d get bored doing his work. You’d know when to keep your issues to yourself when you saw some poor bastard limping around the food court with the wrong number of limbs, or the right number but on the wrong side. He usually stayed up in his office, however, across from mine. We were friendly enough, and he told his staff to let me wander around the wards.

The limited number of staff made this an absolutely desperate place to seek medical attention. If you weren’t of the species represented in the OR, you might have to cling to life as some doofus flips through a book trying to figure out what the hell you are. So, why not have a little conversation? I’d swoop in, say something about how they seemed to be in some heap of trouble, and most of the time I’d get a job. Money up front of course, and if they argued this point I’d make sure they were clear on how friendly I was with the medic bay. This tactic meant that sometimes they’d take my card and never be heard from again. Which is fine, credits spend the same, but it doesn’t do much for word of mouth. I knew I’d hit the jackpot when someone, gushing blood, would look up with wide eyes and ask if I was Lisa Dean. Why yes, and your price just doubled. Hey, if they know my track record I can put it up front rather than racking up bullshit expenses. If they argue about the rate their buddy got, I’d tell them that if I wasn’t worth it I wouldn’t get recommended. Here I hand them my card, because if they’re bleeding there’s someone who caused that blood and they can get looked for somewhere else. But if they approach me as I’m wandering the rest of the station, I’d invite them up to my office.

I’m still proud of how well I fixed up the place; when I moved in it was little more than a ratty little hole in the wall, wallpaper peeling, lightbulb flickering, dark and damp, reeking of mold, somehow there was a leak from the flats upstairs despite the fact this is a space station and, well, that feels concerning. But I’d moved in with plenty of disposable income and plenty of time, so I made use of the automated stores down stairs. I thought it’d be neat to get some wood inside there, so there was a jarring feeling when you walk in from the outside. Most of the station is boring polished steel, blinking lights, then you enter my office and it’s wood. Getting books for the shelf was a pain, it’s the one thing the station doesn’t sell, so for a while I looked like a real cunt with plenty of shelf space and a handful of books. People would ask about it, which was annoying but, alright, it was a compounding factor on how shady it all seemed, and I’d tell them I’d lost most of my books in the move and was waiting for them to arrive. Which was true enough, at least enough to shut them up about it. But they’d sit across from my desk and tell me the details of their woes, then I’d tell them how I’d solve it for them. It was a pretty good system. Sometimes, I’d have to get them back into the office to go over some details or expenses. I started out my practice letting the expenses slide in exchange for a favour, which people are usually grateful enough to accept, so at this point it was generally understood that you should pay your expenses when I tell you to. When I wanted to get out of the flat but didn’t want to wander around the station, I’d hang out in my office. People coming in at these times were the most annoying, because usually if I don’t want to do a job I can get out of it easily. In the medbay, they’re dying so they’re not in the position to chase after me. Elsewhere, I can either pretend they’ve got the wrong person or give some extravagant price that they won’t concede to. Every so often, I got roped into a job I don’t want to do and I resent it. I even resent it when people come into my office uninvited and put me in the awkward position of turning them away. Usually if I’m upfront about how I find their case boring or trivial, they’ll get all offended and leave. Some require more pushing.

The day began normally. I got up, got ready, and headed out into the world. I didn’t have much going on, and was on the edge of liking it that way. The station was pretty dead for once, with the usually chaotic and filled hangar being nearly empty. I think the only ships there might have belonged to the few residents that owned one. I felt sorry, and still do, for the poor fuckers stuck on that hellhole. Usually what happened was that someone, not knowing better, would land from a nearby planet with little more than a dream and an idea of the cheap real estate. Then they’d chop their ship at one of the shops upstairs, grab a place and a store front, and slowly regret their decision. It was cheap real estate, almost offensively so, but that was because no one in their right mind would show up unless under duress. Sure, Doc might get a poor family that’d gained just enough capital to get up there for his skills, but with orderlies mostly running the OR they usually were disappointed. Then they’d have a “well, we’re here, sad and hungry” meal from one of the subpar restaurants before heading back to their planet. So those who sold their way off to settle here were more or less stuck in relative poverty. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be happy if a legitimately talented chef or whatever risked everything to set up shop here and succeeded their way back off, but I’ve never seen it happen. Even when someone has been somewhat of a draw, it was never enough to get a ship and enough money to set up somewhere nicer. The only one I’ve seen get close is Synthia Gray, who garnered good reviews and quite a few people going out of their way to try her food. But the area’s too dangerous for anyone who could have a real impact, or the masses that might do the same, to come by. I just remember them packing up all her stuff one day, saying it’d been auctioned off. Turns out she decided to try her luck leaving the station, only without a ship or a suit. Sweet girl, I was always sorry it happened to her, but it was inevitable as soon as she stepped foot here. People don’t leave, not when they’re attached to it financially.

My theory is that the owners rig the price just so in order to attract desperate people. Those people pay rent, usually two forms of rent, while buying all their goods from the company and paying “taxes” on all the money they make. It’s an absolute racket, designed to keep this sorry excuse of a space station staffed enough to keep it used and profitable. Most people end up going into debt after settling. If the company had a heart, they’d offer some sort of way off when people go broke, but instead they allow people to run up the score. It’s indentured servitude to make the station seem full and welcoming to anyone willing to put money into a bad investment.

In any case, I was one of the few fortunate enough to have a ship still in the hangar. Which was good news for both me and the station itself, as I needed it to work. Can’t quite look into things if I’m stuck on a hunk of metal orbiting aimlessly around some nothing gas giant. I like to keep it tuned up, making sure it’s ready to go at a moment’s notice and taking it for a short spin every so often to make sure it can, in fact, work. I love my ship, but I feel like other people feel that on an entirely different level. It’s a reliable and necessary tool, but I don’t see much need in worrying about it being clean or looking nice or whatever. I’ll get a Wash Me on the window if I haven’t taken it out in too long, but I’ll just scrub it off. As long as it gets me from point A to point B I’m happy with it. After I gave it a good look over, because what the fuck else was I going to do, I headed up to the shopping area to wander around for a little bit. It was boring. Even Doc’s was mostly empty, with the one person being looked after having cut himself deeply out of sheer clumsiness. I wasn’t quite ready to go back to the flat, I wanted to keep it a space I felt good in, so I headed back to my office. And there was someone waiting for me. I did not like this, and I’m still not super happy about it.

She was sat in my office chair, usually reserved for active clients, and dressed in all black. Even when I walked in, she continued boohooing into her snot rag, you know how these mucus gremlins are, with loud and halting cries. I could see flakes of red hair poking out of her garish black hat, complete with a little veil in front of her face. I cleared my throat and she finally turned around.

“Are you Lisa Dean?”

“That’s what it says on the door.”

I made my way to my desk, and she looked up at me from her hunched posture with wet eyes. I had to awkwardly shimmy between the close wall and my desk, an act I don’t like doing in front of people who might be deciding to pay me, before sitting down. She could hardly put words together and babbled incoherently.

“I’m guessing someone’s dead?”

Mistake. This set her off with a loud wail and I had to wait it out. I flipped through an old magazine on my desk and cursed myself for not picking up a newspaper. Apparently those skis were still available with an exclusive discount. Eventually her sobs started to stabilize and it seemed as though she were about to speak, so I tilted the magazine down.

“My wife… she’s gone!”

This had my attention. A lover, possibly murdered, possibly missing, but either way a mystery? Grand, sounds to be quite the adventure.

“So, in your words, what’s happened?”

She sniffled a bit, then took a few deep breaths to collect herself.

“I woke up one day and she was gone, with a note left saying she’d left and her ship was gone. But I know she would have never done something like that!”

“I’m not saying I won’t take the case, but given the evidence she just left don’t you think this getup is a bit much?”

“She would never! She would never do such a thing, the possibility wouldn’t even be in her programming it’s so antithetical-”

“Whoa, stop right there. Her programming?”

“She was a robot, but what we had was so real.”

“Buy another.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your bot babe was defective. Buy. Another.”

I brought the magazine back up to my face and let her spit and sputter. She seemed the type to have always gotten her way, daddy’s favourite, and I’ll be honest I took some joy in saying no. She composed herself and stood, placing a calling card on my desk.

“Regardless, I’ve heard you’re the best. If you change your mind, please give me a call.”

“Mkay.”

She kept standing there, looming over me, until I placed the square into my desk drawer. Who even does that? A square card? Where is that meant to go? A purse I suppose, so I’ll respect the specificity of use, but if she was married it was an oversight to not update it for easier storage. That said, I’m probably over analysing it and should concentrate on telling the story. That’s what’s important, the story, not any of these bullshit details. In all honesty, I might just be bored and pointing out shite like this for the drama. In any case, she took her leave and I went back to reading my magazine. Halfway into an article on exercise routines, for whatever reason, I put it down to go buy a paper because if I had to keep reading this sports magazine I’d punch a hole in the station wall.

I was sitting in the local saloon, watching Doc get absolutely hammered. From that and the blood drenching his coat, you’d assume he’d had a rough day and was having to work through some heavy shite. You would be wrong. Not to suggest he is drenched in blood on a daily basis, although it isn’t an unusual occurrence, but he did enjoy drinking until he had to be carried back upstairs. It was a bad idea to say it, or even imply it, but there was a common understanding that this habit most likely landed him on the station. It was generally accepted that you do not want to piss off the person who has a say in you getting patched up, and if you’re going to be doing something especially dangerous, do it early to be on the safe side. So he’s leaning on the bar, gripping his beer as if it was about to float away, and grimacing. The poor busboy was holding his mop by the tip of the handle to mop up the pool of blood slowly forming underneath Doc’s stool and holding his breath in an effort not to be noticed. I wouldn’t call Doc a mean drunk, as that would imply he was different the rest of the time. Bless him, he was a bastard but wholly honest about it. I leaned forward as he started mumbling, the reek of beer and whisky pouring from his mouth more freely than from the taps, just in case he was trying to talk to me. He bolted upright and grabbed me by the lapel, pulling me close and forcing eye contact.

“No one here today! Only the cunts showed! Cunts, all of them, screaming and bleeding and all but pissing themselves, whining for their mammies!”

He slumped back against the bar and placed his face into his arms, and Frankie, our bartender, looked over to me. I nodded, resenting the fact I’d need a wash after taking him to his place. He turned his head, ear now pressed firmly against the bar and seemed like he was looking for a response.

“Yeah, Doc, absolutely awful. Only job offer I got was to locate a missing bot, wasn’t about to take a salvage job.”

He pushed himself up, working his way into a maniacal laugh, and I had to put a hand on his back to keep him from going arse over teakettle.

“What’s her name?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I have her card upstairs, she wouldn’t leave until I took it.”

“She fit?”

“Not your type, I don’t think.”

“Certainly ways to change that. ‘Not my type’, feh! Insult my skills.”

Knocking my arm away, he took another swig of beer and lied back down on the counter. He should have been cut off hours ago, but Frankie was in the odd position of having to poison the man who might save her life, or he might not out of spite. Well, if you were lucky he’d leave it at that. Most of the time, the blood was from boredom more than altruism. If you made the mistake of causing a ruckus in his med bay, well let’s just say that being handed over to Doc to be handled personally usually was a bad sign. He did personally take care of station residents, at least the ones whose death would be inconvenient for him, but, again, that was only a good thing at the right time of day. Stubborn as a mule, if he wanted to be hands on begod no one would stop him. Which is unfortunate for everyone, including Doc. That’s how Frankie got her job, and it took him almost a year to adjust.

Luckily, Doc wouldn’t argue against the saloon closing and would allow himself to be walked home, usually with a takeaway cup in tow. As the clock struck three, I picked him up and half dragged him away from the bar. He woke up enough to start struggling, reaching toward where he had been with both arms extended.

“Drink!”

“Alright, give me a second.”

I sat him back down on his stool and leaned him on his arm so he’d stay upright. Frankie, who always waited and watched to make sure Doc left without a fuss, already had his cup ready and mouthed a thank you. When I handed him the paper cup, he took a few sips from his straw, readied himself and nodded. He could almost stand, so I had to prop him up by the armpit and lead him to the elevator.

“Real sorry situation.”

“Mhm.”

It was hard to make out the words, but regardless of what he was talking about I was not about to treat it as anything but gospel. He was slumped in the corner of the elevator, barely supporting himself on the banister. The one advantage of helping Doc home is that, despite how busy it is at this time of night, we’d get an elevator to ourselves for a quick trip home. It was a quieter trip than most nights, as he was just staring down at his cup. The ones where he was overly rowdy were definitely worse, but I enjoyed hearing him drunkenly ramble about some random topic. I don’t know if him being a doctor made it more or less weird, but he was well read on the most obscure topics. He once described, in detail, the history of the human homeworld, but with a topic like that it was equally plausible he was making up most of it. Either way was entertaining. But this, this was just sad. The elevator dinged, the doors opened, and I helped him out into the hallway.

“Right, so how far do you need?”

“Bed.”

His flat was fairly close to the elevator, either by planning on his part or coincidence, so it wasn’t too much trouble. I tried to prop him up against the wall to search him for his keys, but he just slid down it. He slapped my hand away when I tried to get to his pockets anyway.

“Leave here.”

“You know you’ll be furious tomorrow if I do.”

“Fair.”

Pawing at his pants, he managed to drop the keys onto the floor. I unlocked the door, then got him up and into the apartment. Ratty is the best way to describe it. I am fully aware we are off-planet, but you could easily convince me there’s any number of vermin among the wreckage. Due to his importance to the maintenance of the place, I’m pretty sure he’s paid more than anyone here, especially since most people don’t get paid at all, but you couldn’t tell from the state of his flat. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the brokest of all of us, but I don’t think that even matters to him. This wasn’t the first time I had to take him inside, but I always had to adjust to the absolute squalor. It never fully sunk in, the way he lived, if you want to call it that.

There was a relatively clean recliner in the telly area, so I left him there while I got his bed ready. I set up a glass of water and some paracetamol for him in the morning, then brought him over to tuck him in. He kicked off his shoes and curled up in the middle of the mattress, so I put the duvet over him. We were close, but it was well established that he’d rather sleep fully clothed than go through the further indignity of being stripped. The one time I tried, he fought back with tears in his eyes. I didn’t see much, but I remember a large scar across his middle. I’m happy not knowing.

After I got upstairs and cleaned myself up, I sat down on my couch. Any other day, a rejected case would be the last thing on my mind, but I couldn’t help thinking about the one I found in my office. If she wants to waste her money having someone turn up a lost appliance, I have no issue with it, but the gall of seeking me out and expecting me to waste my time with that nonsense was infuriating. But it was none of my business, I made that quite clear. I lied down on the couch and flipped on the telly, not ready to power down for the night. Nothing good was on, so I shuffled through the channels and watched the shadows dance on the wall. It would be a safety nightmare, but times like these I desperately wished we could have windows. There were a couple planets close enough to watch, sitting in a ship outside, and plenty of stars of course. I always loved the look of it, the majesty of the universe, but there was hardly an opportunity to enjoy it anymore. Well, if I wanted it I could have it, but there didn’t seem to be a point to it. I find work by being in the station, and that pays the bills. Plus, the stars just looked duller nowadays. Better off to stay at home and watch whatever brain drain they’re pumping out to the screens of the galaxy.

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comicteaparty · 4 years ago

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July 22nd-July 28th, 2020 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from July 22nd, 2020 to July 28th, 2020. The chat focused on the following question:

How have your reading tastes for webcomics changed over the years?

carcarchu

i think i used to read exclusively romance webcomics but now i'm really into the historical stuff. also i'm not so into the strictly straightforward stuff anymore, i need a really strong hook or something that makes it different enough to be enjoyable because i'm really tired of reading something that is indistinguishable from other similar webcomics. also i think i've gotten pickier when it comes to the quality of art and writing. there's just so much stuff to pick from now that i want to dedicate my time only to stuff that i really enjoy. i just don't have enough time to read every single webcomic i come across anymore

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

in the past I used to read a bunch of comedic absurdist humor comics (I still do) but it's been buffed out by romance . Same vein like Cara said, I'm just picking and choosing which comics I spend my time on but I do want to try to read as much as I can tho!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I feel like I used to read LEGO comics a lot lol... I'm not sure how many of them still hold up. In terms of genre, the only comics I struggle to read are ones that are more realistic, or darker. Historical comics often fall into this, as do most horror comics.(edited)

RebelVampire

For me, my tastes haven't necessarily changed in terms of the what I like. What has changed is what I dislike. As the years have gone by, I've really been more open to at least giving comics a try before deciding they aren't for me, especially in the genres I consistently don't like like comedy. So I've gradually disliked less comics. Not to say I like them either or they're for me, but it's a step up from dislike since now I can appreciate what the comics are trying to do more. I think the bigger change for me was art styles though. While I still do have a specific sort of art preference, I've also been more open to giving certain art styles I don't normally like more of a try as well and I've found the styles I dislike (personally, not objectively in terms of talent) to be a much smaller pool than it was before.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Oh man, I'm the opposite. I feel like I've gotten pickier

varethane

I can't tell if I've gotten pickier or if the bar has just gotten high enough now that if I only have the bandwidth to read X number of webcomics (let's say 20 as a random example), and I'll be picking from among those which stand out to me, those 20 comics will be on a totally different level than the 20 I might have found 10 years ago

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I think I've also gotten pickier

The biggest change, I think, is that I've gotten way pickier about storytelling

While I used to be able to read a comic with subpar storytelling. I drop comics in an instant these days if the story doesn't speak to me pretty quickly(edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I think it's because when I started reading comics, everything was new and novel. Now there're more tropes I recognize? And more problematic things that bother me, when before I would not have noticed

Deo101 [Millennium]

I dont think I've gotten pickier, per se, I think I just have very specific tastes and many things dont fit them which feels picky? but i can enjoy all kinds of genres, I kind of go into something 1: not wanting to think 2: not wanting to be offended and 3: wanting to laugh a bit? which isnt exactly a high bar to pass, but not many things will do that for me, which isnt because I'm a picky person, its jsut cause a lot of things arent made for peope like me?

varethane

I'm not consciously looking for 'only the best quality' by any means-- if there's anything I'm really looking for, it's a sense of passion and uniqueness, that feeling that the author is having a blast with the thing they're doing. But I feel like it's gotten harder to draw my attention (and readers' attention in general) without having a certain level of skill involved

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Oh, same. As my art gets better so does my eye for it

varethane

....and, yeah, I guess I've also gotten tired of certain tropes. Once I read 2 or 3 webcomics that do kinda the same thing, I'm less likely to pick up a fourth with the same general premise, even if it looks like it's well-made.

(sorry isekai....)

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I just absorb a lot of storytelling in many forms, so if the story doesn't grab me right away, I feel like I'm wasting time reading something, where I could be fulfilling my desire for more worthwhile storytelling elsewhere

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Oh true, there are so so many comics out there now

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Art quality plays into it a bit for me, but it's honestly primarily the storytelling

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Everything I read I could be reading 100 others of similar quality Really, why does anyone read my comic at all?

varethane

"good art will get readers to take a first look, good writing is what makes them stay"

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Art quality is very important to me but I've still read and loved a few stories will amateurish art

varethane

for me personally, the art's just gotta be good enough for me to not be distracted by it while I read

Deo101 [Millennium]

idk I think a lot of people stay through bad writing even if something looks good

also yeah i feel the same, about not wanting to be distracted

"does the art serve the story?" is all I really care about

varethane

art serving the story is the most important part. Art can LOOK amazing, but if the body language or expressions don't fit the story being told, it can make the writing seem worse lol

a friend of mine once referred to it as, like watching a well-written screenplay but with terrible miscast actors

Deo101 [Millennium]

mhm, cause the only words we get are dialogue, the art has to be all the descriptive language. so if theyre not describing well, a lot is missing.

varethane

yeah

Deo101 [Millennium]

or I guess some comics have narration, too

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Narration can't do ALL of the work

varethane

yeah haha

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah, one of my professors said that a rule of thumb of his about comics is "if you can read me the words and I know whats going on, it's not good comics."

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

The art definitely serves the story (or is supposed to), but if the story is bad from the beginning, I don't care how good the art is.

varethane

I have complicated feelings on that one, because I feel like it's actually pretty rare for me to consider a 'story' bad (at least insofar as we're talking about the core ideas of the plot). Most premises (if they're not actively offensive/poorly thought through), if written out as just a skeletal outline, could work just fine. IMO bad writing is a problem of execution, most of the time, rather than concept. (hedging my language here because there's always exceptions lol)

Deo101 [Millennium]

I would say I agree with you. I think writing and story are different concepts. There is also sort of a macro/micro element to writing, as well, and either one can be messed up

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yeah, I misspoke, what I mean by "bad story" is more "bad storytelling/writing"

but yes

carcarchu

a friend of mine once referred to it as, like watching a well-written screenplay but with terrible miscast actors

@varethane oh i have read stuff like this. like the art was INCREDIBLE really detailed renders, very consistent and technically fantastic art but so often it just devolved into shot / reverse shot talking heads and the characters didn't really emote beyond changing the position of their eyebrows so it kinda felt like watching dolls interact with each other

RebelVampire

I mulled over the fact I took the opposite route as everyone else. XD For me I think it's three factors. First, I was actually ungodly picky in my youth across the board with everything, not just comics. As such, I've missed out on a lot of things other people love. Second, with each passing year, I've come to appreciate more the work people put into their indie projects. And for me its like a show of respect in a way to acknowledge that hey, you worked on this thing I may not like, but I'll try it because you clearly love what you created (or I hope you love it). Third, and probably the bigger factor, I stuck myself in a positive feedback loop. The more I opened myself up to things and learned to not initially dislike things or be as harsh, the more I ended up finding a gem I really loved. In fact, while this is across diff industries, I'd say this has been the biggest influence for me with webcomics because so many webcomics I was like "Well I'll try it gotta be open and not just dislike it," and then I came away going "Wow this is a diamond in the rough!"

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #comic tea party #ctp #reader favorites

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kisaragizan · 7 years ago

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“Endless Blue Waves” [Aqua Force]

So today, I’m going to talk about the infamous Blue Waves and their support from G-BT13′s Ultimate Stride along with my overall thoughts of the archetype. However, instead of my usual one deck list featured in the discussion; I’m going to show off two deck lists with reasons I’ll explain towards the end of each one. Also spoilers, this will be probably the lengthiest deck discussion on this blog so be prepared for a lot. I will try to keep the profiles first with minor chatter about the cards like normal but the bulk of it is really just the differences between the two decks. It’s also for this reason, I won’t have an “Alternative Cards” section, but they will be listed in the cards themselves. So without further delay, let’s get started.

For the sake of simplicity, both decks will have two names. The first deck I’m going to cover will be focused on Blue Wave Marshal, Valeos as the main grade three. So I’ll be calling this one the “Valeos Variant”. I’ve seen others call this “Pure Blue Waves" or even “New (Style) Blue Wave" but semantics.

x4 Blue Wave Marshal, Valeos: The newest Grade 3 of the deck, who also happens to be the Admiral and the creator of Aqua Force is here. I was honestly surprised that he was even in Blue Wave’s considering I would think the creator would be a universal unit or at least have some synergy with Maelstrom considering Glory drew power from him, but nonetheless. As a unit himself, he’s pretty good, with his heartbeat skill being one of a kind: restricting the opposing vanguard’s power from increasing/decreasing from 11000 if you stride a Blue Wave G Unit. This skill is very revolutionary to Aqua Force because it eliminates one of the pesky counters to the clan’s aggression: damage triggers. Especially good in match ups whose clans/cards allow the vanguard to gain power on the opposing turn like Angel Feathers. His other skill, available at the start of ride phase: calling a blue wave card (said card gains +2000) to draw another, is really good to dig into your deck for pieces or key cards. Especially handy when looking for Brutal Troopers, which I’ll touch on more later. Overall a really solid boss card: focusing on aggression by restricting the opponent’s power.

x3 Blue Wave Dragon, Anger-boil Dragon: The original heartbeat of Blue Waves, Anger-boil is a good alternative to ride if you cannot find Valeos since he does come equipped with his Generation Break 2 in addition to his heartbeat skill to re-stand two rear-guards when Tetra-boil Dragon attacks second. Both of these grade 3s help reinforce the aggressive nature of the deck but in two separate paths. Valeos restricting the opponent down to let everything hit, while Anger-boil power’s up everything to make solid numbers. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses but combined together you virtually have a pretty solid ride regardless of whom you favor more.

x1 Blue Wave Dragon, Arsenal-fleet Dragon: This is the newest grade 3 for Blue Wave’s. While he isn’t a good ride target (the worst of all of them in fact), and a subpar rear-guard skill, his Drop Zone skill is what makes him a great utility card to warrant at least 1 as a staple. His rear-guard conflicts with Anger-boil’s 2nd attack (including Tetra-boil) but does allow him to re-stand and becoming a 15000 attacker. However, when he’s in the drop zone: when your vanguard has re-stood: you can soul blast one to add Arsenal-fleet back in hand. He’s the perfect discard fodder whether it’s to stride, perfect guard, or to pay for costs, because as long as your vanguard re-stands, you’ll be able to add him back to hand. My biggest gripe about Blue Wave was that it had no ability to secure stride fodder compared to the other decks outside of digging through the deck via bubble edge, draw triggers, brutal trooper, or through Bright shooter (via a boost on Wave-4+). Arsenal does fix this in a gimmicky cliche manner which is gladly appreciated.

x4 Blue Wave Marine General, Foivos: Foivos is personally the best grade 2 Blue Waves have ever received. His ability alone rivals even that of Tidal Assault, being early and can make the Tetra-boil (Anger Heart) re-stand with just him alone. That being said, Foivos still remains in the deck because his role in the deck is very crucial especially given that the entire deck is now Blue Wave, he’s able be active as early as grade 2.

x4 Blue Wave Marine General, Galleas: So this is one of the newest Grade 2s for Blue Wave, featured in the anime too. When Galleas attacks while you have Generation Break 1, you can discard one Blue Wave and counterblast one and until the end of the turn he gets the ability to stand back up with +2000 when your vanguard attacks. In addition, if Galleas attacked on the first battle when you pay the cost, he immediately stands back up. Galleas by himself is able to attack three times and fulfill the conditions for a Blue Wave vanguard to re-stand, which is amazing by right. My issue with this card is the heavy restrictions: discarding a blue wave, needing a vanguard whose original name has “Blue Wave”. His ability also clashes with many of the other Blue Wave re-standing rear-guards like Foivos and not to mention it has no synergy with Tetra-boil (Anger’s heart) since the skills will overlap. In other words, this card specifically exists for the moments where you aren’t on Tetra-boil+Anger-boil and with little to no back up rears. The cost and restrictions of the card does turn people away however the pay off is good so it’s up to preference. (Alternative: Blue Wave Marine General, Lucianos)

x3 Blue Wave Marine General, Medla: Medla (originally Medora so please forgive any mistypes) is the second newest grade 2 for Blue Wave. While she is an 8000 base, which gives me some paranoia, the pay off is again, extremely good. She has constant Resist but on Generation Break 1, if you have a Blue Wave Vanguard, she can attack from back row and becomes an 11000 for the battle she attacks. Again, a grade 2 that can hit from the back row on their own and with an added resist bonus, thus making waves flexible and durable even in the face of it’s counters: a good step to improve Aqua Force as I’ve talked about this before. While she is a Blue Wave, she’s probably not the best Vanguard to sit on but if you’re able to go for the aggressive approach with Foivos, it’d probably be best to ride her. I’ve played her at 2 and didn’t seem to make an impact, four is a tad clunky for me since there are some grade 1s you’d want in the back row, so three is generally a safe number to go with.

x4 Blue Wave Soldier Senior, Beragios: Beragios serves as Valeos’ Abyssal Owl clone: checking the top 7 for a Valeos Grade 3 and dropping cards whose grades equal 3 or more. Again: another Grade 3 search which, while nice, using this does more harm than good unless you have a stride fodder or another grade 3 in hand (preferably and ideally Arsenal fleet), you’re going to end up dropping some cards that suit better on the field. If you have no grade 3, I do not recommend using this card as a means of getting one for this reason. The reason why Abyssal Owl works is because you can ditch cards to fuel your drop zone for Ritual, not to mention Luard can free stride and recycle those cards back. Valeos - nor Blue Waves - depend on the drop zone, Valeos can’t free stride, nor can recycle from the drop zone to the deck. Beragios’ other skill is that he can re-stand if the vanguard stands. I feel this works better as a front unit in most cases or have a column of him, otherwise: without Anger-heart beat, there’s almost no front row unit that’ll be standing for Beragios to boost (save for the Vanguard), in most cases for this deck in particular. Other than that he’s a good ride target, something to call but his skills although handy do not shine a lot.

x4 Kelpie Rider, Nikki: Probably shouldn’t have to talk to much about this. The stride fodder getting reprinted in this set is extremely helpful since the only reprint it had was an SP pack edition which is already difficult to obtain.

x4 Blue Wave Shield General, Yorgos: Yorgos is the Blue Wave exclusive perfect guard that was surprising yet saw coming given the set advertised Blue Waves could be built from this set alone. It was surprising considering the amount of counterblast this deck does, I thought perhaps this would’ve been a reprint of the currently out of stock/out of print sentinel Ocean Keeper Plato. However, this card is not bad, as you would expect: it can protect any Blue Wave unit. His secondary skill turns any Blue Wave rear-guard into a back row attacker at Generation break 1, by binding himself from drop zone. Which makes Blue Wave’s endless assaults even stronger by having your grade 2s (save Melda) be able to attack repeatedly from the back row, especially good against locks. (Alternative: Ocean Keeper, Plato)

x2 Blue Wave Soldier, Bright Shooter: Lastly, I recommend Bright shooter because it keeps the decks theme consistent with Blue Wave names, it still ensures your ability to stride without Arsenal-fleet. Not to mention, Arsenal’s cost is a soul blast: the same cost as Valeos’ heartbeat. Granted you won’t always use Valeos, but there is a limit to how many times you can get back Arsenal-fleet.

Blue Wave Dragon, Dagger Master Dracokid: Dagger returns here as the best starter for this build (and I do say best sparingly). Originally, you’d play Bubble Edge here but Bubble Edge can’t exactly trigger in this deck in a traditional sense. Dagger is basically Bubble but with a counter blast one and a generation break 1 restriction but more consistent, especially taking into account this deck’s first stride. Dagger let’s you draw per Vanguard attack on Waves 2 or more but on the fifth Wave, the vanguard will get +1 critical. Blue Wave’s also have two other starters but one is a worse Andrey and the other one is not really ideal. in addition since Blue Wave rears can consistently re-stand over and over, Andrey doesn’t really fit here either. So it goes without saying: Dagger Master is the better choice here with some obvious flaws being his restrictions and is a good lock target/retire target.

x4 Blue Wave Soldier, Brutal Trooper: The staple critical of the deck and of course the deck’s main draw engine. Originally Brutal Trooper existed as a sort of luxury for the deck where, it wasn’t a must have in order to profit. However, the deck has changed to where the deck’s ability to get about anything and to maintain your defenses and resources is dependent of Brutal Trooper. A comparison can be drawn to Luard’s Belial Owl, where without it, it was subpar but with these critical triggers, the deck flows much better.

x4 Supersonic Sailor: This deck also has an counter-charging issue where Supersonic is also important here to fuel the soul and get back counter blast. This is especially true if you do not have Plato.

x4 Blue Wave Soldier, Bluegill Trooper: A blue wave draw trigger that acts like Marika, though the Blue Wave is important since there is a lot of costs that rely on the name either for discards, soul blasts, and especially counter blasting. Beyond here, I will say you can even go 6 critical / 6 draw trigger to draw a bit more to get anything you need considering how aggressive Blue Waves are and maintaining that aggression and getting those resource cards rival the offensive critical trigger. Additionally, the new Blue Wave Stand Trigger (or any Stand Trigger) is good too since you have many ways of attacking from both front row and back row that hitting a stand trigger won’t go to waste.

x4 Blue Wave Engineer, Refit Sailor: Set 13′s Ultimate Stride introduce a new series of heal triggers for specific archetypes that activate by discarding one for the cost of a G-Guardian: by binding another heal and herself from the drop zone: you’re allowed to either counter charge or soul charge. These are really good heal triggers especially given that this is by far a better heal trigger than Ihoannes whom only works with a specific G-Guardian and discards a grade one or lower to draw. As an added bonus, if it wasn’t obvious enough: she’s a Blue Wave.

x4 Blue Wave Marshal Dragon, Flood Hazard Dragon: Flood Hazard is the newest G Unit for Blue Wave. At the end of the fourth battle and a Blue Wave rear-guard attacked; you may counterblast one, flip up one Flood Hazard in your G-zone, and discard two cards from hand to the drop zone to re-stand Flood Hazard with drive minus three. In addition, Flood Hazard’s Generation Break 3 gives all Blue Wave front row rear-guards +2000 and Flood Hazard gains Drive+1. In short, this is another Blue Wave re-stander but can become a Quad-Driving vanguard, but the most important note to take away from this is that Flood Hazard can re-stand as a first stride. Overall I love the card and it is a truly solid card but it does have it’s flaws. Let’s start with the fact that while he can be re-stand first stride: Flood Hazard is heavily dependent on outside elements to make up for his cost i.e. Brutal Trooper. The straight up discard 2 and the lack of drive checks on the second attack is not worth. Flood Hazard is a little bit better when he goes from GB2 --> GB3 on his re-stand because he does drive check one at least but at that point: I believe Tetra-boil is the better re-stander. Finally, when Flood is at GB3+ is where he truly shines and matches pace with counterpart due to the 2000 power buff on the front row and the ability to drive check four from the start and safely go into a drive check one. Ultimately, Flood Hazard is better in the situations where you have a lot of Brutal Troopers, if Valeos is the vanguard, or when you’re at Generation break 3+. Additionally, Flood Hazard is the reason why Dagger exists here now because even though the second attack has no drive check (if first strode), he will be given +1 critical which more often than not will be something to guard. Also a trivial note: Flood Hazard’s +1 Drive isn’t Blue Wave restricted.

x4 Blue Wave Marshal General, Tetra-boil Dragon: The original boss of Blue Waves. Because you play Anger-boil, Anger-boil + Tetra-boil is by far the strongest re-stand combination because of Anger-boil’s heart beat. Standing a column for free is super good and makes Blue Wave’s easy on costs. However, Tetra-boil and even Anger-boil specify Wave 2 so it will clash with some of the other unit’s. In addition, it isn’t restricted to Blue Wave rear-guards so you’re forgiven for playing essential non-Blue Waves but other than that: if you just want to constantly re-stand or if you have nothing else to play: Tetra-boil is the go to G-Unit especially considering he got a reprint in this set. Although, truth be told, with this deck: you can get away with playing just 2 Tetra-boil or even none if you value other G-Unit’s either as finishers (Lambros) or for utility (Commander Thavas/Sebreeze), since spacing is important and being able to have an answer to situations (whether it’s field management or cost management to use skills) is extremely important. However, if you do end up removing Tetra-boil completely, I’d recommend removing Anger-boil and adding more Arsenal-fleet since Anger would lose purpose without this card. (Alternatives: Marine General of Heavenly Silk, Lambros | Storm Dominator, Commander Thavas)

x1 Marshal General of Wave Honor, Alexandros: Alexandros is the newest G-Unit for all of Aqua Force. On Wave’s 2nd and 3rd only, at the end of the battle that he attacked, generic flip one card in the g zone face up: stand two units and give 5000 to both units per each face up card in the g zone. I’m just going to break the silence if the effect didn’t already do so: this G-Unit alone is amazingly good in Aqua Force in any variant. He’s a good first stride (especially if you don’t wish to use Flood Hazard without the necessary cards), he’s an unstoppable finisher (more on that in Thavas), he makes the G-zone flexible by being a generic flip: something I’ve always wanted. The effect itself is crazy because Aqua Force’s whole game plan was for the rears to get up to a specific wave and the vanguard takes care of the rest. Alexandros now in a sense generates more wave’s by making the rear-guards stronger and reusing their abilities such as re-standing, drawing, retiring. Lambros does do the same but you need to have a specific set up to reserve those abilities when they re-stood. In addition, this is a pretty safe stride to go into almost any time during the game, the later the better. On his own he does double of what Commander did first stride, later on he’s stronger than Lambros. For such an amazing card, why do I only have one here? Well, the other two G slots are taken up by Tetra-boil but I feel you only need one either as a first stride or a finisher ,if you first strode Flood Hazard. That and Alexandros being a GR might be difficult to obtain: so while two Alexandros is ideal, you’ll be fine with one.

x1 Storm of Lament, Wailing Thavas: With the introduction of many solid mid-range strides, Wailing’s original role as a “safe finisher” (especially in non-Blue Wave decks) can be re-purposed as just a niche alternative units as GRs should be. You still play one because well removes the opponents board and blocks their sentinel though you will find that at times, you probably won’t need to go into this unit as much as you needed to before.

x1 Zeroth Dragon of Distant Seas, Megiddo: Meggido is the newest “ZR” G-Unit that can be used by every card in the specified nation, along with it’s new mechanic “Ultimate Stride”. Dropping a unit of the same name as your vanguard to stride while having three face up cards in the G zone but at the end of the turn: the G zone is excluded from the game. Meggido’s effect is pay 2 counterblast on placement, choose up to five rear-guards from your hand or drop zone and call them to your field and they all gain 5000 and after an attack they can swap places with another unit on it’s board. An ability that represents the finer attributes of all three Magallanican clans. I’m not exactly a big fan of this card or any Zeroth Dragon in general because the punishment of not being able to finish your opponent is too steep especially with most decks being reliant on their generation breaks. Not to mention, Aqua Force has a plethora of finishers to choose from and all of which can succeed in even the most harsh conditions: lock, control. If Megiddo could call over locked cards: maybe. It also doesn’t help that counterblast two is almost a myth in this deck in the late stages of the game. Finally it also doesn’t help that Megiddo himself cannot protect rears from hazards like Lacus Carina, Impede Dragon and Defeat Flare who will almost guarantee the opponent’s survival due to the removal of rear-guards. So why is Megiddo in this deck? Well the nature of Valeos’ Blue Wave deck is an “all in, one shot” or so to speak. Everything from the heart beat, to Flood Hazard’s first stride, to the perfect guard’s the costs of other rear-guards: all of it is just speaks to me that this deck is entirely a one-shot especially since this deck has no plays outside of Foivos in the early stages of the game. If it’s able to profit then you live but if not and you aren’t able to kill: you will more than likely lose or be left with next to nothing. At the very least, Megiddo can give you a free field back and at minimum 6 attacks. (Alternatives: Marshal General of Wave Honor, Alexandros | Air Element, Sebreeze. Additionally, you can add these alternatives by removing two Tetra-boil’s.)

x2 Guard Leader of Sky and Water, Ihoannes: Ihoannes is still a pretty solid G-Guard because it protects your board and can be a huge shield buffer in any wave. Flipping a face down G-Guardian also helps contribute to Alexandros’ power especially one that you probably won’t use.

x2 Blue Wave Armor General, Galfilia: A new G-Guardian for Aqua Force whom which current stands as being the best G-Guardian for the clan. For starters she gains 5000 shield on 2nd and 3rd Waves: so finally we have a Wave 3 G-Guardian. In addition, when she’s face up in the G-zone, by paying a soul blast and flipping her face down: she can choose a card in either your damage or your circle and turn it face up. So in addition to being a strong shield, she can recycle herself and the amazing part is that not only can she flip up damage but she can unlock and un-delete your units. Simply amazing.

x1 Blue Storm Deterrence Dragon, Ice Barrier Dragon: Standard 25000 shield on 1st Wave and any Wave on 4th or more. I generally found myself playing one in other decks because Galfilia and Ihoannes cover the Waves where the vanguard usually will attack in but these G-Guardians are pretty versatile so the numbers is up to you but I feel two Ihoannes is good for the G-zone acceleration and protecting board.

Deck Conclusion

As I started in Meggido’s section: this deck is really a hyper aggressive glass cannon one shot style deck because it heavily depends on it’s first stride being able to generate resources from individual cards such as Brutal Trooper, Dagger Master, Arsenal-fleet, Brightshooter, Draw triggers. While in doing so, restricting the opponent’s power to 11000 to lock them out of damage triggers and power bonuses. The less key cards: namely Brutal and Dagger, that you’re able to use during your first stride the less you’ll be able to profit meaning the more vulnerable you are because of the costs you had to pay. I severely am not a fan of this style of play because while aggression is the name of the game, the heavy commitments need to pay off and those commitments involve hoarding Brutal Troopers. Me personally, I prefer having some flexibility in all stages of the game in case of match ups or if things start to go south very early. In addition to needing to have the correct grades, rear guards, the ability to stride, the ability to guard, you also need to hold onto these critical triggers: which ideally is not possible without you hitting draw triggers. I’ve even seen some Blue Wave builds playing 8 draw triggers which: I can understand why. This deck very much reminds me of Sanctuary Guard in which you drop everything on the first Regalie turn and if you failed, you had very little resources to work with in terms of defense, except the aggression is cranked up higher in Valeos being able to attack endlessly from all fronts without fear of damage triggers. However, that being said: if you are able to get everything you need, sure enough you will definitely have a significant advantage over the opponent and if you are a fan of this style of play of hyper aggression supported by eliminating power ups during the battle phase: I truly do recommend it. While I do prefer flexibility, I cannot lie that this deck does shine with everything comes together and has the tools to alternate their battle strategy and is a pretty overall fun deck.

Following the simplistic naming scheme, I’m going to call this next deck the “Anger Varient” because it does revolve around Blue Wave Dragon, Anger-boil Dragon as the main grade three. It does have another name such as “Original Blue Wave” since long story short, is the Blue Wave deck that has been played before Set 13 with just newer support. There is another name but I’m going to save that for later. That being said, I’m not going to cover too much of units I’ve already talked about: I’m just going to rush through and only talk about the units not present in the Valeos deck. Also special shout outs to two of my friends and teammates: Cherry and Anjaro for giving me the idea to try this out. Because of them, this deck is probably one that I’m dedicating myself to in real life until I’m able to complete Thavas.

[Grade 3s: 7 Units]

x4 Blue Wave Dragon, Anger-boil Dragon: While I say Anger-boil can used here, truth be told you can use Valeos here as well but I prefer Anger-boil more since Tetra-boil is the “go-to” re-stander of this build.

x2 Supreme Ruler of the Storm, Thavas: Supreme Thavas, originally known as “Champion Thavas”, is the greatest card to come out of Set 13 save for Alexandros. The obvious thing to note is that if you should ride him, your Blue Wave engine falls however his presence in the deck is pretty impacting. Supreme Thavas has a rear-guard ability on Generation Break 2, 1st and 4th Wave only, when he attacks at the end of the battle, counterblast one, and he stands. In my older deck profiles, I always kept one Thavas in Blue Wave’s to search him out while placing Nikki on the board just to maintain the ability to stride and never to ride. With Supreme Thavas, you actually have a benefit to having him since he can be called as an additional rear-guard. So good that I even encourage to at least run two. Should you have to ride him: he gives any unit resist and if that unit has “Wave” ability, it can attack from the back row. The deck is also built to accommodate the situation should he be the vanguard, since better this than Arsenal-fleet if you can’t get Anger-boil. You can put Thavas in the Valeos build but since Flood Hazard takes priority, it could clash with the other units or even with Flood Hazard himself.

x1 Blue Wave Dragon, Arsenal-fleet Dragon: I feel two Arsenal-fleet is good because again, having at least once is super good but this deck has means to get Arsenal in the drop zone faster for a more preferred ride. Although if you prefer seven grade 3s, you can minus one Arsenal-fleet.

[Grade 2s: 12 Units]

x4 Tidal Assault: Man of the hour, the staple of Aqua Force. Again, shaving off a lot of counterblast usage from the deck by having this guy here. I will mention that there were times when it felt like Tidal Assault would get kicked out of the deck but I feel that rather than completely invalidating a really solid card, the support across the entire clan made it so that you don’t need to have Tidal but more so as a want.

x4 Blue Wave Marine General, Foivos: Foivos again, being on par with Tidal for best grade 2. For added trivia, Foivos is the only Grade 2 in the deck with “Wave” ability. So calling him with Supreme Thavas will give him back row and resist. His re-stand ability will come from striding Flood Hazard since Flood Hazard being a Blue Wave will fulfill the conditions to activate Foivos and Flood Hazard’s GB3 is not restricted to a Blue Wave heart so he will be a Quad Driver which is better than nothing I suppose. I give credits to the Flood Hazard+Thavas+Foivos to both Cherry and Anjaro. (Alternative: Blue Wave Marine General, Medla)

x4 Magnum Assault: Magnum Assault a blast from the past. Originally I disliked Magnum Assault because of how sluggish he was and how awkward he’d be fighting against Link Joker since he’s not a standalone. But, Magnum actually has some really cool synergy with Beragios should your Vanguard re-stand giving you another column to work with. Shame Magnum is once per turn too. Although, the purpose of Magnum is to allow non-conflicting waves across any of the boss units, especially if you have to ride Thavas. (Alternative: Blue Wave Marine General, Medla)

[Grade 1s: 14 Units]

x4 Kelpie Rider Nikki: As mentioned above in Thavas, you can just call him, search your grade 3 Thavas for either stride or to call as a rear-guard later. Other than that, usual stride fodder.

x4 Ocean Keeper, Plato: Since this is deck has a lot of non-blue waves, having Yorgos would not be ideal at all. Plato is still the best perfect guard for simply counter charging.

x3 Blue Wave Senior Soldier, Beragios: Beragios I have three here because I feel that without Valeos in the deck at a maximum, Beragios loses a lot of importance outside of being a re-standing booster. (Alternatives: Blue Wave Soldier, Bright Shooter | Battle Siren, Orthia | Battle Siren, Stacia)

x3 Dispatch Mission Seagull Soldier: The Seagull is back in business. On call, you soul blast one to add 3000 to a unit and on generation break one; if he boosts on wave four or higher, you can add him back to hand. This helps Tidal reach those numbers, or can make Supreme Thavas a 21k column. The alternatives for this card are the same as Beragios.

[Triggers & Starter]

Bubble Edge Dracokid: The bubble shines best here because there are a majority of rear-guards that can attack twice in succession meaning being able to trigger the draw back to back on Wave 4th & 5th is easy. from Tidal, Magnum, and Thavas, you have numerous ways. You can alternatively put Dagger Master but is useless if you ride Thavas (until you stride Flood Hazard). (Alternative: Officer Cadet, Andrey)

x4 Blue Wave Soldier, Brutal Trooper: Again, best critical in the deck. However, in this build it returns to it’s role as being a luxury since Bubble Edge takes off some of the strain by drawing cards as early as grade 2.

x4 Supersonic Sailor: Another staple critical for the clan being a counter charger that I feel should’ve gotten a reprint.

x4 Blue Wave Soldier, Bluegill Trooper: Either Bluegill or Marika will do fine. You don’t need the Blue Wave name since there’s only one unit that especial counterblasts but their skill will most likely not see standard play. Originally, in older profiles, I used to play 12 critical Aqua Force for the maximum aggression because Brutal Trooper and Kelpie Rider, Petros allowed me to draw more and maintain a higher shield value. I will possibly look to try playing them again but I feel with how aggressive and fast paced this game is: you need to see as much of anything as quickly as possible from defensive cards, rear-guards, stride costs, everything. Drawing into heals or even Brutal Trooper & Supersonic isn’t bad since one is your defensive card and the other can shuffle itself back into the deck, while the other can replenish your damage.

x4 Blue Wave Engineer, Refit Sailor: Again, best heal in the clan so far.

[Generation Zone: 12 G Units & 4 G-Guardians]

x4 Blue Wave Marshal Dragon, Tetra-boil Dragon: Tetra-boil is this deck’s go to re-stander because you run a lot of non-Blue Wave’s that makes Flood Hazard somewhat situational. Not to mention of course, you have the heartbeat of Anger-boil which turns Tetra-boil into the strongest re-stander of the two. Lastly, there aren’t any units that would clash with the skills of either Anger or Tetra-boil. Truth be told, you can actually get away with playing 2 Tetra-boil since you have other finishers to go into.

x2 Blue Wave Marshal Dragon, Flood Hazard Dragon: Of course, if you are able to go into Flood Hazard Dragon especially on Generation Break 3 or higher, I’d advise going into it since the fourth drive check is pretty worth. Same with Tetra-boil, you get away with playing no Flood Hazard because you’ll go into Tetra more than Flood in addition to other powerful finishers, but the quad drive makes this pretty solid to have. However, I feel I should mention that, going into Flood Hazard vs Tetra-boil depends entirely on your situation: if your Generation Break is lower than 3 or if you’re lacking a Blue Wave rear-guard: Tetra-boil is better.

x2 Marshal General of Wave Honor, Alexandros: Alexandros is your first stride, ideally. He can enable bubble edge to go off twice by standing up the other rears. Having two is important because if nothing else, going into the second one will be death for your opponent in most cases.

x2 Storm Dominator, Commander Thavas: Commander exists as an out to Link Joker but if your deck is built with enough back row attackers or with resists, you can side this out for Lambros who can serve as another finisher. If you don’t end up fighting against Link Joker, you can flip Commander for Alexandros. (Alternative: Marine General of Heavenly Silk, Lambros)

x1 Storm of Lament, Wailing Thavas: Like before, having the option to stop grade 1s from guarding and removing the opponents board is always a reason to keep Wailing Thavas but there aren’t really much times you’ll stride into him.

x1 Air Element, Sebreeze: Sebreeze was a card that you either ran or didn’t because having a space reserved for the situation that comes up very rarely can make him a wasted slot. But, because you have Alexandros, having Sebreeze for those situations are good because then if you don’t need it, you can flip him up. Otherwise, I prefer using the CB2 to overwhelm the opponent than to go for a very situational finisher that punishes me for not winning on that turn. (Alternatives: Blue Swirl Marshal Dragon, Last Twister Dragon | Zeroth Dragon of Distant Seas, Megiddo)

x2 Blue Wave Armor General, Galfilia: See below.

x1 Guard Leader of Sky and Water, Ihoannes: See below.

x1 Blue Storm Deterrence Dragon, Ice Barrier Dragon: So I only have four G-Guardians because of the space and that I would need to cut a persona card for another non-persona stride (preferably Alexandros) and a G-Guardian. However, Galfilia can recycle so if you do use all four and have another heal left, you can just flip her face down and refund your G-Guardian.

Deck Conclusion

This build exists as a more “all purpose” deck, being able to make plays early, mid, and late game with very little to no restrictions whatsoever. I feel this is rather the better variant of playing Blue Wave, because it’s aggressiveness while not hyper like Valeos, is still stable and strong and is very similar to the top contending deck, Thavas, in every way except with the lack of resist. This is also adjustable across different formats/meta a lot easier than Valeos because it can pick up cards from the entire clan as opposed to being restricted to Blue Wave only, making it very techy. This deck is also very reminiscent to my original deck creation the “Divine Storm” since it can utilize the Thavas engine while still having the Blue Wave bosses, however, I feel it won’t be effective because Alexandros essentially gave Thavas a mid-range play that Tetra-boil gave the deck, so it’ll just default to using Thavas engine with Blue Wave bosses which although good is not really good if you ride Anger-boil (because you’d have to force yourself to a Thavas stride to benefit from the Thavas rears). This deck does however still has it’s flaws since it’s sort of a “jack of all trades, master of none” while Valeos and the other AQ decks each have a specialty that it excels in better than than build: Valeos being the more aggressive while Thavas is more resourceful and flexible, field and attacking pattern wise. This build is “average” and flexible building wise and can appeal to those who aren’t able to build their ideal decks and still trying to make something with what they currently have.

Conclusion

Thank you all for reading this profile~ It took a lot of time for me to organize this because I wanted to talk about the differences of both decks and bring awareness that there are two separate decks for this archetype. These decks may not be built exactly like either of the listed builds but each one carries a different style and game play which differs across. For anyone curious: I have an original “rant” that I wrote to my team about each deck before I began working on this for more of my immediate thoughts of the archetype. I don’t think the archetype is bad, I still love it and I find it interesting that they went this route. However, this set actually resolved an internal crisis of sorts that I’ve been having to decide between Thavas or Blue Waves, and I finally decided on Thavas for reasons that’ll be explained in the next and final deck profile featuring both the standard build and the Wave keyword build. So stay tuned and look forward to that.

(See Here For Original Blue Wave Rant: https://pastebin.com/CwtdKJRp , Just copy the link rather than clicking the link.)

#blue wave #tetra-boil #flood-hazard #valeos #anger-boil #cf-vanguard #aqua force #zane-kisaragi #zanjoyner614

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