Deck Dissection: Shamsael Angels

Hey there guys, Homura here with a new post regarding one of the most-played clans out there - Angel Feather. AF gained a lot of popularity when they was first released, thanks to gorgeous artwork featuring females, and of course, angels. I noticed that even in my local community, new players (and some old ones) tend to start AF without much hesitation nowadays. I myself wanted to start, but their playstyle just doesn't appeal me at all. Plus, there's nothing much interesting to see from AF now, since most of their builds are the same (Kiriel + Ergodiel).

Remember I said that there were a few overlooked cards in AF that'll make some impact once proper support for them is out? For those that do not remember, here are those cards:

Guys, meet the flying horses. When they first came out, AF doesn't have much damage swapping skills to constantly make these guys a threat. But after BT-07 is out, they'll definitely be more viable to play as Shamsael will make them shine. Without further ado, let's have a look at a decklist, as usual.

Grade 0
Child of Hope, Turiel x1 (FV)
Critical Hit Angel x4 (Critical)
Rocket Dash Unicorn x4 (Critical)
Bouquet Toss Messenger x4 (Draw)
Sunny Smile Angel x4 (Heal)

Grade 1
Burst Shot, Bethnael x4
Pure Keeper, Requiel x3
Thousand Ray Pegasus x4
Battle Cupid, Nociel x3

Grade 2
Million Ray Pegasus x4
Doctoroid Megaross x2
Core Memory, Armaros x3
Gatling Shot, Barbiel x2

Grade 3
Chief Nurse, Shamsael x3
The Phoenix, Calamity Flame x3
Circular Saw, Kiriel x2

With the new cards available to AF players now, we can see that there are more deckbuilding options opened to them, since they will not need to rely solely on both of their ace G3s, namely Circular Saw, Kiriel, as well as Fate Healer, Ergodiel. And now, on to my analysis of the deck.

Grade 0

For this deck, we chose to use the new starter, Turiel. Turiel is our normal G0, where you can Superior Call it after you ride an AF unit on top of her. But the key point is her second skill. If you have an AF Vanguard (which you WILL have, unless you're mixing clans), she gains the ability to send herself into the Soul to swap a card from your hand with your Damage Zone by paying a Counterblast of 1. This skill is particularly useful to push up the damage count for your units with the power boost skills, an also to free up a slot for better boosters.

As for the triggers, I chose to use 8 Criticals, 4 Draws, and 4 Heals. This lineup has been quite standard for AF builds since their debut. For this particular build, you can also choose to use Stands in place of the Criticals, but I personally would not do so because even after you stand your units, their power is still weaker without a boost (which will be 17k for Calamity Flame, and 16k for Million Ray Pegasus under normal situations). Correct, this power value can still break through most Vanguards, but we're looking at 13k units all over the place for the Japanese metagame, hence there's still something lacking here. However, I'll recommend Stand Triggers to players that play AF in a more controlling way though, whereby you try to end your opponent towards the late game and controlling their Rear Guard count.

Grade 1
4x Bethnael and 3x Requiel is common in almost any AF decks, as 1 of them is a 8k booster, and the other one is a null guard. Nociel is also a staple in AF decks, as she provides double advantage for you. Firstly, she pumps up Calamity Flames and the Pegasuses during defense, as well as swapping a card that might be crucial for you out of turn.

The key card for G1 is Thousand Ray Pegasus. Being a 7k booster, there's nothing much to complain, as 17k is good enough to force guards when attacking anybody except for DOTE and PBO. But, when you have a potential G1 that can boost, or attack for more than 10k, now that's something to look out for! Whenever a card goes to your damage zone (whether you're doing a card swap, or taking damage), TRP gets a +2k power boost, and that's enough to break most magic lines already. Though lacking the ability to intercept, TRP can be a good attacker early game to harass your opponent. It is still useful even in late game as long as you can keep the damage swapping moving.

Grade 2
Similar to TRP, Million Ray Pegasus share the same skill with its G1 counterpart, topping up with a 2k increase in base power, and the ability to intercept. As what I said earlier, as long as your damage manipulation keeps on running, MRP is actually a good unit, sometimes even better that your standard 10k vanilla. We have Core Memory, Armaros here at 3x because since this deck doesn't use a lot of CB, you can freely use them for Armaros' skill to increase your hand size, since you'll get more unflipped damage through your swapping ability. Barbiel at 2x is to give you some extra punch against 10k Rear Guards of Vanguards if you're finding yourself lack of boosters.

An interesting addition here is actually Doctoroid Megaross. Upon entering play, Megaross allows you to pay CB1 to put the top card of your deck into the Damage Zone, and shuffle a card from there back into your deck at the end of your turn. This might sound weird: "Why I want to take damage?" You see, there are actually a few hidden advantages by taking this point of damage. I'll give some examples:

#1
The most simplest, and common situation. You're at 3 damage, and you want to gain access to Shamsael's LB, so by taking this damage and making it 4, you can utilize LB skills instantly.

#2
Your opponent has 4 damage, while you have only 3. You use Megaross' skill, making your damage same as your opponent. You attack, and Drive Checked a Heal Trigger, recovering one damage (3 damage). Then Megaross' skill allows you to shuffle another damage back to your deck (2 damage). See the math there? This mitigates some situations where if you Checked a Heal Trigger, you're not able to heal because your opponent has more damage than you. And not forget to mention you'll be gaining more unflipped damage for future CB as well.

Grade 3

Chief Nurse, Shamsael is our star of the deck. With a Limit Break that can abuse the Pegasuses and Calamity Flame without paying any cost, she's what AF needed to make the latter units shine. On top of that, she also shares those units' skill, hence when boosted by Thousand Ray Pegasus, she can 21k with one activation of damage swap, and more insane numbers if you swap more than once.

Calamity Flame is the G3 version of the Pegasuses, so I think further explanation is not necessary. Kiriel is our secondary Vanguard, at 2x. If you can't find Shamsael, Kiriel is good to bring back those Pegasuses or Calamity Flames back into play if they accidentally went into the Damage Zone. Being able to attack for 15k when you hit LB threshold is not bad too. Just make sure that never ever ride Calamity Flame unless you have no choice as she is better serving as a Rear Guard.

Here you go, a sample of a Shamsael build AF deck and a brief analysis on how the deck was built and played. Though I have yet to try it out as BT-07 is not out until the weekend (plus I don't have an AF deck myself), but this nonetheless provide you guys with a rough idea on how to utilize the Chief Nurse's Limit Break. Hopefully we'll be seeing more variety of AF decks now onwards. Once the deck is out, for those that planning to build this, try it out and do let me know how the deck is performing for you.

That's all for now, happy brainstorming!