We have officially entered spoiler season for the anticipated Grand Archive set, Mortal Ambition. The set will be released on October 11th, so make sure you check with your LGS and get your preorders in if it is not too late. I know I have mine ready to go. While we wait patiently for this exciting new set, Weebs of the Shore has given a few select content creators spoilers to reveal for the next few days. I’ll be collecting them here, and updating this post as we go.
You can always pick up Mortal Ambition on TCG Player, but I’d wait till after launch unless you don’t mind paying scalper prices. If you’re looking for unique sleeves or deck boxes to keep your cards safe, get them over at Gem Accessories. Use discount code churapereviews10 at checkout for 10% off your order.
The Mortal Ambition stream was extremely juicy, and I am so excited for this set. It has fantastic flavor, beautiful art, and some new mechanics. If you missed the stream, I’ve collected all the spoilers in one convenient spot. Make sure you check out the full video for lore and the full details. Mortal Ambitions releases on October 11th, so make sure you have your set preorder. I know I have mine ready at my LGS. You can pick up Mortal Ambition on TCG Player if that isn’t an option, but I’d wait till after launch unless you don’t mind paying scalper prices.
If you’re looking for unique sleeves or deck boxes to keep your cards safe, get them over at Gem Accessories. Use discount code churapereviews10 at checkout for 10% off your order.
I’ll leave a table of contents so you can skip to whatever is relevant to you
New Cards
Story Art Cards
Ignite Fate
Ignite Fate Action – Mage Spell Deal 2 Damage to Each Champion Floating Memory
Cure the Flesh Action – Cleric Skill (Fast) Remove all temporary damage from target ally Draw a card into your memory
Heated Vengeance
Heated Vengeance Attack – Warrior Polearm As long as your champion has taken damage this turn, Heated Vengeance gets +3 attack (Class Bonus) On Attack: You may have Heated Vengeance deal 3 damage to your champion
Reprints!
In an effort to make Mortal Ambition a better onboarding product, we are getting some valuable reprints in this set with brand new art.
Making Unique Allies Great Again
Equestrian
Empower!
Kongming
Kongming will feature the new shifting current mechanic where cards gain a boon depending on the direction the wind is shifting. This looks like a very fun mechanic, but one that will potentially be difficult to master. I need it!
Shifting Current Boons
Some boons will be simple and strait forward
Advanced Current Booms
Some boons require the current to shift between certain diractions
Direction Matters
Terra!
Jin
Jin is a little more straight forward and a lot more beginner friendly. Jin will be introducing a new advanced class, and it is a good one!
Pole Arms
New Element: Exia
Main Deck
Material Deck
Erupting Rhapsody Ban Announcement
Erupting Rhapsody will be banned starting AMB release because it will just break the new enhance mechanics.
Beautiful Collector Rares
Ascent Events
Ascent Santa Clara has been announced for people in North Call itching for those sweet promos. There will also be a couple of exclusive shirts only available at Ascent Singapore. Make sure you get your tickets.
Mortal Ambition Launch Kit
Mortal Ambition Regional Rewards
Entry to any regionals for the Mortal Ambition season gets you a sweet binder, and top participants get some beautiful playmats
Store Champ Rewards
Revelfest Announcement!
Revelfest will take place October 4th to the 11th. This is an event where players earn double veterancy on Omnidex and enter for a chance to win a beautiful Tariff Ring art card. You only need to play once during this period. Playing multiple times won’t increase your chances.
There have been some big changes to this month’s ban and restricted list, and we even got a new Proxia card! Most of it has been expected. It seems like they are trying to rebalance the format so that we don’t get the same three decks in the top spots, we’ll have to see if it works. If you’re playing in any official event, make sure you are up to date. Check out the official announcement. If you need to pick up any Grand Archive singles, get them over at TCG Player using my affiliate link.
Proxia Vault Update
Arisanna gets her first update this season with Polaris, Twinkling Cauldron. but will it be enough to break it into the competitive scene? With potentially decent board wipe and Cosmic Bolt generation, will it be enough to break Arisanna into the competitive scene? I sure hope so. As a reminder, printed proxia cards are legal in official events, so make sure you go to take advantage of the official PnP feature to get your copy of Polaris, Twinkling Cauldron.
Arisanna Bonus: You may activate this card from your material deck. If you do, Polaris enters the field rested.
Whenever you sacrifice an Herb, put an age counter on Polaris.
Class Bonus, Banish Polaris: Deal X damage to all allies. Then generate up to X Cosmic Bolt cards and shuffle them into your deck. X is the amount of age counters that were on Polaris.
Ruling Notes:
To generate means to add cards from outside of the game. Those cards must be legitimate Grand Archive TCG cards, and cannot be represented by anything else. A player will fail to generate if they cannot find the cards to add to the game in a reasonable amount of time.
Generated cards are removed from each game zone (including the main deck) after each game, before side-boarding.
Tip: Using an altered card can help you differentiate between generated copies and copies that are in your decklist! Generated card alterations must still follow our guidelines that apply to any other Grand Archive TCG card if they would be used in a competitive event.
Thoughts: The biggest problem with Arisanna is that getting to her win condition is too slow to be competitive. By the time you get cooking, it is often too late. Being able to cast Polaris outside of the materialize step is a nice boost, but can she generate herbs fast enough to make a dent? MRC has some cool new herb generation like Cultivate and Nurture Crops, so there might be a chance. We’re going to have to wait and see.
Ban List
Corhazi Outlook has been banned, which is a huge hit to Wind Assasin decks where she is essentially an auto-include. Hopefully, this ban means we see less Tristan in the meta. If you’re planning to play in an official event, make sure you don’t have any of the following cards in your deck:
Catagory 2 Watch List
These cards are on the cusp of being banded. You can still use them in your decks, but there are plans of taking them out of the format at some point.
Category 1 Watch List
These cards are safe to use, but Weebs of the Shore is keeping an eye on these for potential bans sometime down the line. It looks like the Silvie decks are on the block, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play Silivie.
The new Grand Archive ban list has been posted, and it is not the huge meta shifting announcement it was made to seem. They got me. The biggest change this time around is the Stonecale Band nerf, and Corhazi outlook being moved categories. I’m okay with the changes, and the explanation makes sense to me. Make sure you check out the official ban announcement if you want to know more.
Stonescale Band Errata
Stonescale Band has new text and made slower. This was done in hopes to re-balance the, and hopefully refresh the Silvie deck list. I think most people are getting tired of seeing her in the format. The new text reads:
The next ally card you activate this turn can be activated as though it had fast activation.
Limiting the amount of allies it can summon one ally per activation and increasing the cost is sure the slow the deck down, but will it be enough to change the format? We will have to wait and see.
There are new new banned cards, but make sure you keep these out of your deck if you’re heading to an official event.
Watch List (Most Likely to be Banned)
Cohazi outlook has been moved to the watch list. While this list isn’t an outright ban, it is a card that is being considered for a future ban. You can still enjoy the playing your wind decks, just don’t be surprised when she gets added to the ban list.
Watch List (Safe to Use)
Creative Shock has been removed from the watch list, and is longer considered for a ban. Although cards on this list are never in any real danger, it is nice to see cards being removed. Stonescale Band is the only new addition to the list. It is still safe to use, but Weebs of the Shore are keeping an eye on how it performs in the meta moving forward. This is an understandable move, especially since the meta seems to be dominated by the same three decks at the moment.
Chicago Ascent just ended and unfortunately, there were no major updates to the format. The Re:collection decks showed up in full force with Tristan taking top spot. Hopefully today’s bans will create enough ripples in the format that we’ll get to see a different grouping at Ascent Singapore. The nerf to Stoneband Scale should help cull some of the Silvie decks. Either way, here are the top three performing decks in the meta right now. I’ll leave affiliate links to singles for those who need them. Check out the official event page for the full lists.
Material Deck 1 Spirit of Fire 1 Lorraine, Wandering Warrior 1 Tristan, Underhanded 1 Tariff Ring 1 Channeling Stone 1 Discordia, Harp of Malice 1 Flash Grenade 1 Grand Crusader’s Ring 1 Safeguard Amulet 1 Smoke Bombs 1 Sword of Seeking 1 Wind Resonance Bauble
Ascent Chicago just ended, and while there weren’t too many drastic changes to the meta, there were a few exciting announcements that we will need to go over. We got an update on the judge program and some very cool spoilers. If you’re looking for Grand Archive cards, get them over at TCG Player through my affiliate link. It really helps me out.
Errata to Silvie
There is a promise of some meta-shifting bans coming tomorrow. Meanwhile, there was an errata that is already creating ripples in the format. Effective August 4th, Stonescale Band has been slowed in the hopes of removing a bit of Silvie from the format. The cost to cast has been changed from 0 to 1, and the activation cost has been changed from 1 to 2. The effect now reads:
The next ally card you active this turn can be activated as though it had fast activation
This slows the card as you are no longer allowed to activate as many slimes as you can. It is unclear how much this change will break the deck, but a slower Silvie can’t be good for popularity. We will have to see if any of the other bans affect archetype, but hopefully this shifts the deck list a bit.
Mortal Ambition Spoilers
In the most exciting news, we got spoilers for the upcoming Mortal Ambition set. The set releases on October 11th, so make sure you put in your preorders. The flavor for this set is fantastic, and the art for these spoilers is so pretty. I hope the screenshots do them justice. I’ll post more high-definition images when they become available.
The Collector Rare
We also got a look at a collector rare and this card is so pretty! If this card doesn’t move boxes, I don’t know what will. As a collector, I am all in!
Developer Live Stream Announcement
There will be a developer livestream on September 14. While this news may not be exciting for everyone, this means more spoilers and some cool gameplay insight if you’re into that kind of thing. I’m hoping they run the online store so that I can finally get my hands on some supporter packs!
Reprints in Bound!
One of the biggest frustrations for new players of Grand Archive is the price of singles. Stock is limited, and prices for important staples make the game unfeasible for some. I still kick myself for not buying into the game sooner. In a bit of expected news, Alchemical Revolution Altered Edition has been announced. The set is expected in January 2025, and it is the perfect time to buy into the set if you missed out on it the first time. I need some Arisanna cards for I deck I’m building that I know won’t win me any prizes. The set is coming with some very important changes, so make sure you get those wallets ready!
Academy Teacher Promo
The Academy Teacher promo has been revealed, and it is such a pretty card. The Academy program is a special promotion to help promote the game to new stores. Experienced players who help stores teach new players how to play the game will receive a special copy of Vaporjet Shieldbearer and it has me reaching for my teacher’s hat. The program starts in September, stay tuned for more news.
The Judge Program
With the growing popularity of the game comes the increased demand for judges. The judge program for the MRC season awards judges with an exclusive and beautiful Careful Study card based on their level. The test to become a judge goes live on August 9th, so make sure you sign up when you can. There doesn’t seem to be a limit on how many times you can try the test, but there is a week cooldown for failed tests. Study hard and good luck!
MRC is looking to be a fantastic season for wind. Wind allies continue to make their sweep with Tristan and Lorraine clinging to their spot as the big bad decks of the format. With Ascent Chicago around the corner, it might be a good idea to start teching against wind. Make sure you get your tickets if you haven’t done so.
Here are the top three decks for the IanTCG regionals. I’ll leave TCG Player affiliate links for those who need them.
I came into Grand Archive with the intention of being a collector because the art for the game is beautiful. After watching a few competitive streams, I decided to build a deck and head to locals. After my first bout, I was hooked. Over the weekend, I went to my second event with a better understanding and a better deck. While I didn’t perform as well as I could have, I am getting better and can’t wait to go back for more.
The Deck
After a bit of research, I decided to go with an Agro Fire Zander deck because I had most of the cards and I thought the added card draw was nice. You can find all the lists to Ascent Taipei on the official Omnidex event page. The list is as follows (I’ll leave affiliate links to the singles for those who need them):
While I did like the original list, most people run Quicksliver Grail as their divine relic. You want your turn one to be Quicksilver Grail to hide Poison Dagger so you can have it ready for your big wombo combo. The idea is to pop the grail at your opponent’s end phase so you can use the dagger on your turn. Instead of the GCR, I opted for Backup Charger. Poping the charger before recollection means you get a GCR and get to scoop up the cost.
After playing my matches, the deck felt very slow with too much drawing power. Oftentimes, I was left with a hand that was too big to use up my Rococos, or it took too long to set up my combo. This deck needs to win by turn 5 or else it becomes a very steep uphill battle. Some of the changes I’ll be making for the future of this deck:
Removing Gawain. She did nothing. My opponent rarely had cards they needed in their memory and often I was sacrificing for no reason. She felt like a waste of resources.
Removing Kingdom Informant. I love the permanent stealth and floating memory, but it didn’t have enough of an impact. I would have like something like a Lurking Assasin instead for my stealth.
Removing Stalward Shieldmate. I like Shieldmate in slower decks, but she slowed the deck down a little too much for my liking. The floating memory is nice and I guess she could attack with Arthur in later turns, but it doesn’t fit the playstyle I am looking for.
Creative Shock/Cremation Ritual. Unfortunately, this deck ended up having too much draw power. I did prefer Creative Shock to Cremation Ritual because it let me discard fire cards for Veruckan Soulknife,
but the deck already has better options. I definitely don’t want Cremation Ritual in this deck. It was never useful because there was never a moment I wanted to sacrifice an ally.
This isn’t a bad deck, it made it to top 32, but it didn’t vibe with my play style. While I definitely lack the experience to effectively pilot this deck, it wasn’t aggressive enough for my tastes. I like the deck and will continue to make my tweaks. I have a few ideas I want to try. Unfortunately, everyone at my locals seems to know how to counter this deck. While I don’t think I’ll be taking top spots at any events, everyone was nice enough to give me tips and pointers on how to make it better.
Conclusion
If you want to get into Grand Archive, you should do it. You should note that this is an awkward time in the game’s history because the cost of singles is expensive. There will be reprints and the market will cool, but entering the scene now means you’re buying expensive singles. I would argue that you don’t need a meta deck to have fun, but you will need a meta deck if you want to do well. My local scene is very competitive and anything that isn’t meta isn’t placing. That said, the player base is full of passionate fans who want to see the game grow and will help you out when you need it.
I didn’t do as well as I would have liked, but I was getting better as the day progressed. I liked that my opponents and players around me would stop to give me tips and pointers, even during a match. I appreciate that my opponents would give me the chance to undo a move when I made a mistake, even if I never took them on it. They were more than happy to help me out because they want to see their hobby grow. The community is the reason I’ve gotten so invested in the hobby, and it should be the reason you start it as well. Till next time, thanks for reading!
If you’re getting into Grand Archive or have been following for a moment, you’ve probably the outrageous pricing for singles. We’re in the moment of Grand Archive history where the demand for cards is higher than the supply. This is frustrating for those trying to onboard into the competitive scene but is priced out of important staples. On one hand, I understand the frustration, but I also understand the need for appropriate scaling. No one wants to be left with a wear house full of merch they can’t move.
Fortunately, there are plans for reprints of staples in future sets and possibly reprints of sets already on the market, possibly in an altered edition. A Statement Regarding Game Accessibility was posted today on the game’s official X account. The statement reads:
Thus begins the waiting game. The key takeaway is that future sets will reprint key staples like Dungeon Guide, which hopefully means the market will stabilize. While Grand Archive is nowhere near as expensive as some of the other big TCGs, it is expensive for new folks trying to enjoy some games at their LGS. I hate that I can’t support my LGS because they don’t have any stock.
I hope this announcement means more reprints, a bigger community, and a more accessible price point for entry. We will have to wait and see, but I have faith in a company that has been doing everything right so far.
If you’re mad about singles pricing, I would save up for future sets and reprints. You can enjoy games on TTS on the official Discord in the meantime. If you don’t want to wait to get into the competitive scene, I’m sure you can justify the premium with all the fun you’re about to have. Whatever you decide, welcome to Grand Archive!
The full card list for the Supporter Pack 2 has been revealed, and you’re going to want to add these to your collection. Supporter packs will only be available for purchase at official or partnered events, like the upcoming Anime Expo or Ascent tournaments. While I am sad that it makes these beautiful cards unattainable for some of us, it is cool to see that they aren’t trying to take money away from the hard-working LGSs. You can check out the full announcement on the official website.
