Shadowverse Art Repository

Dark Jeanne by Soji Hisakata

I have been collecting high quality versions of the artwork used in Shadowverse for a while now, and my list has recently gotten too big. So what better place to archive everything than my own blog? This contains all of the high quality artwork I can find, along with links to the respective artist’s Twitter or pixiv page. If you do not have a pixiv account, you will need to register for one in order to see the full artwork. The vast majority of the art in Shadowverse consists of re-used assets from Rage of Bahamut, but in recent expansions there have been more originals.

There is also another good Reddit thread archiving the art and the numerous artists behind the game. However, it has not been maintained for almost a year now, and does not contain links to the actual artwork.

I will be keeping this post up to date as more expansions get released.

Note: High quality versions of the leader, backgrounds, and expansion logo artwork can be found on the official site under the Special->Fankit section right here.

Tachikawa Mushimaro
Arisa
Schoolgirl Arisa (Shadowverse Channel)
Arisa, Sylvan Archer (Event and Comptiq)
Arisa of the Forest Green (Event)
Arisa (Rage of Bahamut)
Dark Dragoon Forte (Original and Alt)
Forte, Ruler of the Skies
Cerberus
Cerberus (Alt)
Cerberus (Leader)
Cerberus, Hound of Hades
Albert, Levin Saber
Albert, Levin Saber (Alt)
Albert, Levin Saber (Leader)
Albert, Levin Champion
Aria, Guiding Fairy (Leader)
Wizardess of Oz
Wizardess of Oz(Leader)
Godsworn Alexiel
Lucifer
Darksaber Melissa
Darksaber Melissa(Leader)
Dark Angel Olivia
Olivia, Blackened Wing
Medea, Ritual Sorceress
Goblin King
Captain Walfrid
Arriet, Soothing Harpist
Elf Queen
Gawain of the Round Table
Oceanus
Wind God
Helblindi
Deus Ex Machina
Alice, Wonderland Explorer
Mastema

Nijihara
Erika
Star Reader Stella, Sibyl of the Waterwyrm, Belphegor

TEDDY
Isabelle
Nurse Isabelle (Shadowverse Channel)
Isabelle, Alchemist of the Taboo (Event and Comptiq)
Isabelle, Alchemist of the Taboo (Comptiq Scan)
Isabelle (Rage of Bahamut)
Selwyn, Grand Archer
Giving Gourmet
Magnolia, Battlefield Muse
Maisy, Red Riding Hood
Rimewind
Rayne, Elf Smith
Fashionista Nelcha

mayoko
Luna
Luna, Little Necromancer (Event and Rage of Bahamut)
Schoolgirl Luna (Shadowverse Channel)
Snow, Whitecat Sage
Europa
Fenrir
Vania, Vampire Princess and Vania, Jolly Vampire
Vania, Nightshade Vampire
Kind Queen Vania
Blood Queen Vania
Veight, Vampire Noble

Miyazaki Akira
Urias
Python, Prime Dragon Keeper, Pluto

Soji Hisakata
Eris
Delinquent Eris (Shadowverse Channel)
Eris(post-Worldreaver design)
Daria, Dimensional Witch
Daria, Dimensional Witch (Alt)
Dimension Shift
Medusa
Venomfang Medusa
Medusa’s Gaze
Venomfang Medusa (Alt)
Sweet-Tooth Medusa
Medusa, Evil-Eyed Serpent
XXI. Zelgenea, The World
Sarissa, Luxflash Spear
Athena, Divine Shield
Shiva
Shion, Mercurial Aegis
Nano, the Dawnblade
Zebet, Lady of the Flies
Jeanne D’Arc
Jeanne D’Arc (Alt)
Jeanne, Beacon of Salvation
Dark Jeanne
Moon and Sun
Jeanne of the Raiments
Tsukuyomi
Amaterasu
Dark Alice
Yggdrasil
Blessings of Creation and Wrath of Nature
Beowulf
Enstatued Seraph
Lapis, Glorious Seraph
Rose Queen
Crimson Rose Queen
Kaguya
Tsubaki
Siegfried
Athena
Andromeda
Perseus
Date Masamune and Masamune, Raging Dragon
Gabriel
Luxhorn Sarissa
Robin Hood
Princess Juliet
Sora, Martial Artist

Kazashino Miyabi
Yuwan
Nicola Adel, Nicola, Forbidden Strength and Forbidden Art
Aldos, Imperial Dragoon (Alt)
XI. Erntz, Justice
Vampire of Calamity
Crimson Dragon’s Sorrow
Rockback Ankylosaurus
Supreme Silver Dragon
Golden Eagle
Bayleon, Sovereign Light
Omnis, Prime Okami
Genesis Dragon of Disaster
Jeno, Levin Stalwart
Swordflash Panther
Robofalcon
Hastewing Dragonewt
Ironfist Beast Warrior
Andrealphus
Prime Artifact
Puppet
Lion of the Golden City
Wolf Fang Swordsman
Myconid
Gourmet Emperor Khaiza and Khaiza, Radical Gourmand
White Wolf of Eldwood
Jeno, Levin Vanguard
Oathplume Warrior
Lightning Behemoth
Centaur Vanguard
Imperial Mammoth
Forbidden Ritual
Woodkin Curse

ponzu
Dietrich
Orchis, Puppet Girl and Orchis, Vengeful Puppet
Orchis, Resolute Puppet
Orchis, Puppet Girl(Leader)
Orchis, Linked Heart
Orchis and Zwei, Summer Dreaming
Whitefrost Dragonewt Filene
Whitefrost Dragonewt Filene(Leader)
Filene, Absolute Zero
Lishenna, Omen of Destruction
Lishenna, Omen of Destruction(Leader)
Ladica, the Stoneclaw
Ladica, the Stoneclaw(Leader)
Nahtnaught, Cursed Queen
Amelia, the Silverflash
Ralmia, Sonic Racer
Yuzuki, Righteous Demon
Apex Elemental
Dragon Empress Otohime
Anne, Mysterian Prodigy and Anne’s Sorcery

Taro Kagawa
Israfil
Sahaquiel
Princess Snow White
Elana’s Prayer
Spinaria, Keeper of Enigmas

Budi
Medusiana, Maelstrom Serpent, Insect Lord

Ryosuke Aiba
Chronos, Zeus
Bahamut
Hydra
Astaroth’s Reckoning
Hector

Shindou Kamichi
Shining Bellringer Angel

u-suke
Orthrus
Sukuna, Brave and Small

irua
Illganeau, Horror Astray
Nephthys, Goddess of Amenta
Riley, Hydroshaman
Lara, Soul Taker
Mono
Alpha Drive
Mono, Garnet Rebel
Mono, Garnet Rebel(Leader)
Teo, Prophetess of Creation(Leader)
Prophetess of Creation
Blossom Spirit
Cybercannoneer
Rapier Master
Unicorn Knight
Lococo, Little Puppeteer
Lococo’s Teddy Bear
Twilight Queen, Nephthys, Axe Destroyer
Nephthys (Alt)
Devil of the Gaps
Queen Magnus the Black
Sky Dragoon Ethica
Little Soulsquasher
Dire Bond
Mars, Silent Flame General
Roland the Incorruptible
Avant Blader
Dragonrearer Matilda

nejita
Whirlwind Rhinoceroach, Hulking Dragonewt
Elysian Saint-Hares
Roly-Poly Mk 1
Morra, Monika’s Familiar
Corpsewyrm Fafnir
Ceryneian Hind
Ceryneian Hind(evolved)
Ceryneian Lighthind and Ceryneian Darkhind
Heavenly Aegis and Rhinoceroach

ezusuke
Wish Wielder
Apollo
Shin, Lawful Light and Shin, Chaotic Darkness
Sister of Punishment
Belenus

Okada Manabi
Ceres, Eternal Bride and Eternal Vow
Tico, Mysterian Spellnerd
Day, Secret Agent
Tanya, Shadow Enforcer
Ceres of the Night
Luxwing Reno
Vist, Elf Butler
Luminous Standard

Kouta Nagamori
Belphomet(story mode)
Luna’s parents
Patrick, Rhiceros Knight
Curse Crafter
Demoncaller
Crimson Meteor Storm
Meus Knight
Levin Scholar
Regal Wildcat
Belphomet, Lord of Aiolon
Miracle of Love
Irate Forest Beast and Gentle Forest Beauty
Setus, the Beastblade
Setus, the Beastblade(evolved)
Righteous Evocation
Andras
Andras(evolved)
Maahes
Maahes(evolved)
Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast(evolved)
Draconic Fervor
Waltz, King of Wolves
Waltz, King of Wolves(evolved)
Flood Behemoth

harupy
Fairy Whisperer
Rabbit Healer
Deathscythe Nun

Lena
Nightmare, Snippy Gardener
Flame and Glass
Noble Fairy
Monika, Cloudhall Admiral

Yappen
Pompous Princess

Shishizaru
Malocchio
White Vanara
Unbodied Witch
King Elephant
King Elephant(evolved)
Electromagical Rhino

isukash
Necroimpulse
Peckish Owlcat
Ironknuckle Nun
Multipart Experiment
Necroassassin
Underbrush Beast Girl
Owlcat

Lee Hyeseung (Note: Many of his Granblue related artwork was removed from his Twitter and Pixiv, so I have to link the Danbooru mirrors instead)
Vice, Death Grip
Intertwined Resolve
Vergewalker Magician
Thoth
Yuna, Vampire Seeker
Ginger, Accursed Word
Cynthia, the Queen’s Blade
Liberté, Werewolf Pup
Beastcall Aria
Wordwielder Ginger
Shamu and Shana, Noblekin
Zeta, Crimson Lancer
Zeta, Crimson Lancer(evolved)
Beatrix, Undying Blue
Beatrix, Undying Blue(evolved)
Metera, Peerless Shot
Metera, Peerless Shot(evolved)
Clarisse, Unpolished Mage
Clarisse, Unpolished Mage(evolved)

Fujiki You
Foul Tempest
Deepwood Anomaly
Ouroboros
Bloodhungry Matriarch
Professor of Taboos

lack
Mercenary Drifter

N.A
XII. Wolfraud, Hanged Man and Alyaska, War Hawker
Fran, Monster Girl
Fairy Knight
Venomous Pucewyrm
Dance of Death
Rabbit Ear Attendant
Heart Guardian
Imp Lancer
Rise of the Dead

green
Ancient Artifact
Call of the Void
Skeleton Prince
Mushussu

Toshiaki Takayama
Phoenix Roost
Alucard
Front Lines
Leviathan
Jabberwock

mckeee
Mina, Vice Levin Leader
Feena, Dynamite Daredevil
Witchette Emmylou
Mona, Levin Mage and Demon Eater
Fita the Gentle Elf
Naval Guard Simone
Alchemist’s Workshop
Gunnlod

Tomoyo Asatani
Crafty Warlock
Star Bishop
Midnight Vampire
Guilty Courier
Assault Commander
Dracomancer’s Rites
Blitz Lancer

MEL
Limil’s Way
Dragonewt Charlotte
Endearing Succubus Lilith

JNAME
Scarlet Sabreur
Usher of Styx
Gemstaff Commander

Kometani
Hamsa, Snowman
Humpty Dumpty
Dream Rabbit
Penguin Wizard
Carnivorous Flower, Heavenly Hound
Woodland Refuge, Roc
Trinity Dragon, Sylvan Elder, White Tiger
Forest Bat, Owlbear
Ironscale Dragonfolk

Onineko
Buller, Dark Maiden and Buller, Saintly Maiden
Astrologist of the Mist

Maeya Susumu
Magical Fairy, Lilac

hoshieve
Mugnier, Purifying Light
Ethereal Form
Black Iron Soldier
Eyfa, Wyvern Rider

xuiton
Magna Giant
Artifact Duplicator
Gullias, Silverbeast Lord
Scion of Desire
Demon of Purgatory
New Order
Pure-Voiced Dragoon
Marwynn, Omen of Repose and Apostle of Repose
Jabberwock, Nightmare Spawn
Tzekibaba, Forsaken God and Sky Gladiator
Thunder Behemoth
Despondent Chimera
Elder Mage of Dragonlore
Master of Draconic Arts
Junk
Lurching Corpse
Ancient Lion Spirit

AOGIRI
Hoverboard Mercenary
Hoverboard Mercenary(evolved)
Alecto, the Dissonant
Alecto, the Dissonant(evolved)
Assembly Droid
Repair Mode
Stampeding Fortress
Ivory Sword Dance
Manifestation of Repose
Realm of Repose
Marian the Mummy
Deadmoon Disciple
Orator of the Bones

Matsuda
Soul Conversion
Labyrinth Devil

Nimoshi
Spiderweb Imp

mikeboshi
VI. Milteo, The Lovers
Major Prayers, Gizmo Courier, Graywing Featherfolk, Bearminator
Wilbert, Grand Knight
Celestial Shikigami
Winged Staff Priestess
Meowskers, Ruff-Tuff Major and Snnneak Attack!
Zell, Wind Whisperer
Harvest Season
Wind Reader Zell
Knower of History

liiko
Dionne, Dancing Blade(leader)
Justine, Holy Al-mi’raj
Sora, Arcane Fist
Vier, Doll Slayer
Aenea(Story CG)
Dionne, Dancing Blade
Marcotte, Heretical Sister
Colette, Holy Gunner
Bergent, Onion Patchmaster
Young Ogrehunter Momo

rabbiteyes
Lancer of the Tempest
Lancer of the Tempest(evolved)

Chiaki Negishi
Chipper Skipper
Rite of the Ignorant, Scourge of the Omniscient
Cat Tuner
Sweetwing Seraph
Creeping Madness
Aquascale Stalwart
Nightprowl Vampire
Djeana and Aiolon citizens
Voice of the Abyss
Urd, Goddess of Restoration
Steelwing
Mechablade Soldier
Presto Chango
Aria’s Whirlwind
Otohime’s Vanguard
Zealot of Disdain
Joy of Destruction
Prism Swing, Sacred Teachings, Forbidden Teachings
Lorena’s Holy Water, Lorena’s Iron Fist
Shamu’s Antics, Shama’s Gaze
Servant of Unkilling
Servant of Repose
Unicorn Spear
Apostle of Destruction
Destructive Refrain
Demon Song

Tsune-kun
Nerea, Beast Empress
Magisa, Ruinfist Witch

Hagios
Vincent, the Peacekeeper
Words of Judgment
Reverend Adjudicator
Imperator of Magic
Belphomet, Worldreaver
Rebel Against Fate, Yuwan’s Fury, Belphomet’s Crackdown
Ironclad Armadillo
Boar Pelt Warrior
Bone Crane
Mechabook Sorceror
Mechaforge Devil
Helix Mushussu
Mechastaff Sorceror, Dualblade Flurry
Ward of Unkilling, Edict of Truth
Apostle of Usurpation and Servant of Disdain
Nourishing Fare, Flaming-Hot Fare
Golden Casket, Profane Resurrection, Fabled Treasure

Nijihayashi
Arcus, Ghostly Manager and Arcus Soulful Manager
Underworld Watchman Khawy

Yuuhi
Ines, Maiden of Clouds
Jeweled Priestess
Starchaser Sprite

ALOMA
Steadfast Samurai
Saintly Leader
Barrage Brawler
Featherfolk Punisher
Artifact Call
Twinblade Mage
Nightmare, Dreameater
Irongear Corpsman
The Mysterian Project
Slayn, Steelwrought Vampire
Salvation Ex Limonia
Apostle of Unkilling
Apostle of Truth
Disciple of Usurpation
Servant of Lust
Snarling Chains
Summon Bloodkin(Dawnbreak Nightedge)
Themis’s Purge
Captivating Conductor

77gl
Pyne, Holy Police
Mino, Crafty Reaper
Destructive Succubus
Galmieux, Omen of Disdain
Galmieux, Omen of Disdain(evolved)
Korwa, Ravishing Designer

ell
Loxis, Homestead Pioneer
Showdown Demon
He Who Once Rocked
Viridia Magna
Viridia Magna(Story 1)
Viridia Magna(Story 2)
Viridia Magna(Story 3)
Mechasaw Deathbringer
Steelclaw Wyrm Bruiser
Puppet Troupemaster
Mechagun Wielder
Viper Lash
Zealot of Lust
Servant of Silence
Servant of Destruction
Disciple of Repose
Flarewing Spear and Frostwing Spear

alchemaniac
Valkyrie Spear
Bear Puppeteer

Nambo Attall
Valdain, Cursed Shadow and Shadow’s Corrosion
Valdain, Cursed Shadow(Leader)
Iceschillendrig, Gilded Autocrat
Dead to Rights
Cursed Furor, Rowen’s Roar, Valdain’s Claw
Ginsetsu, March of the Damned
Ginsetsu, Great Fox
Wildwood Matriarch
Prison of Pain
Heretic Priest
Honored Frontguard General
Soaring Dragonewt
Father Refinement
Aiolon rebels
Holylord Eachtar
Zealot of Usurpation
Apostle of Silence
Apostle of Lust
Mimi, Right Paw Hellhound
Coco, Left Paw Hellhound
Dragonlife Blade, Dragonstrife Blade
Metaproduction and Substitution
Mysterian Circle and Mysterian Rite

ShuLa
Maiser, Neighborhood Hero and Rapid Fire
Uhlein, Grand Magus
Karula, Arts Master
Traditional Sorcerer, Shikigami Summons
Phoenix Howl
Dryad of the Grove
Meliai, Wing Shredder
Zealot of Truth
Disciple of Lust

Yoshiku
Icarus, Sunbound Wing
Wellspring Elf Princess

hikaru
Ian, Dragon Buster
White Ridge Swordsman
Tart Man
Truthseeker Faust
Barbarossa

Nadare
Mistolina, Forest Princess

IGARASHI
Sweet-Tooth Sleuth
Strategic Assembly
Father Punishment

gaou
Dazzling Archer
Deadly Widow

Sanbasou
Dark General

Rwael
Golden Bell
Tender Rabbit Healer

Tatsuyaki
One-Tailed Fox
Supreme Golden Dragon
Wildfire Tyrannosaur
Hellfire Hound

Akefumi
Moonrise Werewolf
Aeroelementalist
Demonic Procession
Zashiki-Warashi

Shosuke
Kasha

Ishibashi Yosuke
Blood Pact
Ivory Dragon
Skull Rider

shukei
Barrier Artifact
Quickdraw Maven
Wicked Pact, Blind Justice
Titanic Showdown
Shield Phalanx
Slaughtering Dragonewt

Wadanaka
Anvelt, Judgment’s Cannon

Cards I’m glad are leaving in HS 2018

It is a bit early, but the Year of the Mammoth Rotation format in Hearthstone is about to end in two months and I was thinking about what cards we were losing. In the upcoming Year of the Raven, all the sets that came out in 2016(Old Gods, Karazhan, Gadgetzan) are leaving. 2016 is in my opinion, the worst year that Hearthstone has ever had. It started off decently with Old Gods, but the next two sets introduced some terrible RNG cards that the game is constantly getting criticized for. As well as some other horrendously designed cards. Most of my friends who played Hearthstone dropped the game around this time. In fact the Karazhan meta being so bad is one of the reasons I even considered looking to other card games, and is how I discovered Shadowverse. So I cannot complain too much I guess.

But anyway, I wanted to talk about which cards I am glad to see rotating out in the Year of the Raven.

Whispers of the Old Gods
A great expansion with a ton of flavor, this is a fan favorite. The main issue with Old Gods is in how much filler there was, but the cards that were impactful had a very long lasting effect on the game. I don’t think anyone expected all 4 Old Gods to eventually see competitive play.

• Cabalist’s Tome – This card is actually not a problem anymore, but it started a nasty trend of Mage getting random spell generation. I remember when the Year of the Kraken was first announced, I was really happy to see that Unstable Portal would be leaving. But Mage would just shift from getting random minions to random spells.
• Evolve – A key card in one of my least favorite HS decks of all time, Token Evolve Shaman. Shaman in general is one of the worst designed classes because almost everything they do is RNG based. Even its hero power, one of the most fundamental parts of Hearthstone, is random. The Evolve Shaman deck’s playstyle is to go wide on board with small garbage minions and then try to highroll evolves. Gross.
• N’Zoth’s First Mate and Bloodsail Cultist – Put these two together because they are key parts of another one of my most hated HS decks of all time, Pirate Warrior. This has more to do with the class they were given to rather than their power level, though. The reason is that for most of Hearthstone’s history, pirates have never been a Warrior thing. Every pirate released before Old Gods was either Neutral, or Rogue class cards. And all of the Rogue pirates were complete garbage. Then Old Gods comes out, and Warrior gets pirates out of nowhere. And the pirates it receives are far better than anything Rogue has ever gotten. So yes, I am salty. It also got released in the same timeframe that Blade Flurry got nerfed, which still upsets me to this day. Bloodsail Cultist would have been so amazing for weapon based Rogue decks, which basically disappeared after the BF nerf and have only recently started to come back because of Kingsbane.

One Night in Karazhan
Quite possibly the worst adventure of all time. The first wing was good, but the others had a bunch of uninspired boss battles with very few new mechanics. Not to mention the difficulty of this adventure was way too low: I remember purposefully handicapping myself in deckbuilding just to make the battles interesting.

In terms of power level, most of the cards in Karazhan were awful. And the ones that were good were playable for all the wrong reasons. Way too much game swinging RNG.

• Barnes – garbage RNG card, everyone knew it was a problem when it was first spoiled. It did take a while, but he is definitely a problem now since there are competitive decks that just auto-win the game if he gets played on 4, like Big Priest and Spell Hunter. Just the worst type of game swinging RNG that the game needs less of.
• Malchezaar’s Imp and Silverware Golem – Put these together because they basically killed the original Zoo. The original Zoo Warlock(with Nerubian Eggs) was pretty much the shining definition of a good budget deck in card games: was very cheap to build, no legendaries, perfectly taught the basics and fundamentals of the game, and had a high skillcap. Imp and Silverware Golem turned Zoo into a retarded highroll deck where you play around nothing and just try to get lucky with discards. Gross.
• All the portals – Another example of bad game swinging RNG. Firelands Portal is probably the biggest offender here, since it was also completely broken in Arena due to it being common rarity. Admittedly I kind of like Moonglade Portal, but the entire summon random minions mechanic is dumb and needs to go. Unfortunately, this would not be the last we would see of it…

Mean Streets of Gadgetzan
A big crash and burn expansion for me. I remember being hyped for the card designs during spoiler seasons, and even some of the Shadowverse streamers were excited and talking about the new cards. I also remember one of the bigtime HS professional players even claiming that this expansion was going to be the next League of Explorers.

Gadgetzan ended up creating one of the most unfun metas in HS history. The power level of the cards was off the charts, and the meta became warped around two types of decks: hyper aggro(pirates) and Reno decks. Nothing else could compete anymore. It is very clear from the recent nerfs that this expansion was a disaster, because the cards continued to cause problems years after their release.

• Dirty Rat – Fuck this card, seriously. I get that it is a way to disrupt combo decks or decks that revolve around minions with strong battlecries. But game swinging RNG is not the way to do it.
• Patches the Pirate – People knew he was broken when first spoiled, he was immediately broken on release, and continued to be a huge problem until he finally got nerfed last month. Patches is obviously a bad card now, but he distorted the meta in a way that is impossible to forget. The pre nerf Kobolds & Catacombs meta really showed how dumb he was, where you had multiple classes who had zero pirate synergy run Patches + Southsea Captain just because of how strong it was.
• Doppelgangster – A card that was clearly meant to be used for the Grimy Goons handbuff classes, but ended up much stronger in Token Evolve Shaman. You can probably guess from my earlier writings that I hate decks that cheat out minions for way lower than their intended cost. Especially if it is trivial to set up. Getting three 6 drops for 6 mana with a 2 card combo is gross.
• Devolve – Another key card in Token Evolve Shaman. The entire deck is based around RNG. Not only do they build their board through randomness, their “board clear” is RNG based. Disgusting.
• Drakonid Operative – A ridiculously overtuned card with no drawback whatsoever. Operative is a fully statted 5 drop with huge upside. Blizzard has even gone on record stating that they printed this card to allow Dragon Priest to go out with a bang(since Blackrock Mountain was rotating out soon).
• The Jade mechanic – The biggest offender here is obviously Druid with Jade Idol, but honestly the entire mechanic is just boring. Will not miss it.

I was also considering writing another post on which cards I was sad to see leaving. But honestly outside of N’Zoth and Fandral, there aren’t many. I play Rogue, and it was a terrible year for the class. You could make a serious argument that the best card Rogue got was a coin, which says a lot about the quality of cards printed in 2016.

2017 in review

Super late to write about this, but I felt it was necessary. 2017 was a rollercoaster of a year for me. It had a lot of lows and highs, and the lows were probably some of the worst in my life.

This year I pretty much hit rock bottom in terms of productivity. Procrastination always happens, but the amount of slacking off I did was unbelievable. It got to the point where I had to consider the possibility of me having some kind of attention deficit disorder, or something that results in me having trouble focusing. I fell behind in every aspect of my life. I am still not sure what caused this, but it might be related to some of the bad habits that I picked up from my previous two (terrible) jobs. I basically found all sorts of ways to waste time while looking busy.

2017 was also the death of fighting games for me. Most of it has to do with Guilty Gear, and how terrible the Xrd Rev 2 update was. But honestly, it was already brewing last year. I was unhappy with the direction of the game with Rev 1, and Rev 2 this year was just the nail in the coffin. So I just stopped playing fighting games and uploading GG vids on my Youtube channel. There are a lot of reasons for this and it would be too long to include here, but I do have something written on Norematch. A new update has already been announced for GG, but I am not expecting much. Even if they make Millia not complete garbage, they are not changing the YRC and Blitz mechanic. I don’t think I can ever enjoy the game with YRC in its current degenerate state.

On the other hand, 2017 Summer was amazing. I picked up two part time tutoring jobs, which is not amazing in itself but it really developed my teaching skills. Especially in Chemistry, I felt like my knowledge in general chemistry had been lacking for a while. So having to tutor it brought me back up to speed.

This summer I also went to Evolution, after a 10 year absence! Yep, the last time I went was 2007, and the tournament was completely different back then. I remember that year it was in the Red Rock Hotel, which was not even on the Strip. The event has grown exponentially, and nowadays you cannot really call it a fighting game tournament anymore. It is closer to a trade show or convention that happens to have a fighting game tournament. Going to Evo again after all this time was a great experience. However, I also learned that I have gotten too old for fighting games. Or at least the part where you can play people endlessly for hours on end. That kind of lifestyle is not for me anymore.

Anime Expo this year was also amazing. The last few Anime Expos have been awful for me, with 2015 probably being the absolute worst one. The funny thing is that for people who are serious about going to conventions, 2017 AX is probably the worst one. It had a ton of problems, like bad organization causing the badge pickup line to extend into the ghetto with wait times exceeding 5 hours. But for me, everything went right for me. I can say that I finally got to do everything I wanted at an Anime Expo. I got to hang out with friends, met with some people who I have not seen in several years, had some good meals, and picked up a bunch of exclusive goods. It also helped that there was a Shadowverse booth this year, so I got a bunch of free promo cards.

Swag from Anime Expo 2017, including the first Millia illustration book from Ashiomi Masato, Isabelle card sleeves, and 3 Shadowverse promo cards. Wizardess of Oz is one of my all time favorite cards in game

This was also a pretty good year for games. A ton of amazing games came out in 2017, and some were the best that I have ever played, like Doki Doki Literature Club and Persona 5. I never would have expected that a free-to-play visual novel would be so memorable.

Finally, even though this year was my absolute worst for productivity, it was bad enough that it caused me to identify it as a problem. So now I have made it a habit to set small goals every day to be more organized. I might even start using an organizer!

SV Sword players

Something that I have noticed in all the time that I’ve spent playing Shadowverse is that the Swordcraft playerbase is the most whiny and entitled out of all. I have played SV since Standard(back in July of 2016), and this was readily apparent from occasionally reading the game’s subreddit even back then. You see these incredibly dumb posts, and then notice that they are all written by a select few individuals. Then you see that the majority of these individuals are Sword mains. Case in point: cypherhalo, Thesilentrider, ImperialDane, Destrukthor, Piruluk, hechov, Owlbearcat, UltVictory, immortald0g.

Back when I started, there used to be a running joke among Twitch chat about how people who main Swordcraft play the class because they are bad at math. Ignideus even makes a reference to this in his playthrough of Erika’s story mode. I used to think it was people exaggerating due to how simple the class was, but now I see that this stereotype is true. The high amount of obvious missed lethals and terrible sequenced plays that I have seen from Sword players is ridiculous.

The class does have some interesting cards, but the vast majority of its competitive decks just involve mindlessly playing stats every turn. Or trying to prevent interaction as much as possible with two of the most degenerate mechanics in the game, Storm and Ambush. Basically a zoo class, but without the complexity of old Zoolock since there is no lifetap or minion positioning in Shadowverse. People who main Sword remind me of people who main Hunter in Hearthstone, or people who legitimately enjoy using Spiteful Summoner decks. No reactive plays or planning ahead whatsoever; all proactive plays, mostly playing the highest costing card in your hand every turn.

In all my time playing this game, I have also observed that Sword players tend to BM the most. It used to be tied between Blood and Sword, but the amount of emote mashing I have seen has went down significantly since the Rotation format started.

SV decks I am playing in CG meta

Alt Daria by Hisakata Soji

Been a long time since I have posted here about Shadowverse, so I wanted to write a post about the decks that I am playing in the current Chronogenesis meta. I have been enjoying the Rotation format quite a bit as the pace has slowed down considerably. Some cards that saw little play in previous metas are now viable due to this change, like Purehearted Singer and Jungle Warden. The main gripe I have with the current Rotation format is the lack of combo decks. Forest and Rune are the two main combo classes, and their two primary combo cards(Roach and Dimension Shift) got rotated out and did not get any kind of replacements. Not that I expect a direct replacement or re-print, but one of the main appeals of Shadowverse is in how much it used to enable combo styles. Maybe there will be support next expansion.

Fast Earth Rune
A fairly straightforward and fun Midrange deck with a ton of burn damage and card draw. Compared to the pre-rotation version of Burn Earth Rite Runecraft, the deck loses some key reactive tools like 2 cost removal in the form of Red-Hot Ritual. As well as one of the best cards to swing the game during evolution turns, Timeworn Mage Levi. The loss of Dance of Death is also huge as the deck now struggles to get rid of big followers in the late game if Muta Bolt is not drawn.

Chain Lightning was a card that I severely underestimated during the Chronogenesis spoilers. I seriously thought it was just draft filler. Demonic Strike was already a bad card, and a very questionable inclusion in old Burn Earth Rune lists. “So why would anyone play a more expensive Demonic Strike”, is what I thought. Well it turns out that with the meta slowing down, spending 5pp to deal 3 damage is not a suicidal play. The ability of this card to recycle itself when your hand is low on cards is also super relevant, and of course there is the potential to deal 6 damage out of hand with it once Turn 10 arrives.

Magic Illusionist got nerfed in the first CG patch, with his health going down from 2 to 1. This is a huge nerf because it makes the deck’s early game significantly worse against Forest and Shadow. However this was a very smart nerf because one of the biggest complaints about Earth Rune was how oppressive it was against board based decks. And board based classes like Shadow, Forest, and Sword now have a much easier time dealing with Illusionist, as they are the ones most likely to play early game 1 attack followers. As a result, Magic Illusionist is no longer a 3 of, but he is still a decent card. He is just no longer an instant keep in the mulligan for every matchup. And against Forest and Shadow, it can sometimes be worth not playing him at all.

Mysteria Earth Rune
This is a very different take on Burn Earth Rite Runecraft. The deck slows down a lot and now has the combination of Mysteria Magic Founder and Silver Blade Golem as an end game win condition. Compared to Fast Earth Rune, this deck has a lot more draw and does not run Wizardess of Oz, so it operates on a nearly full hand most of the time. The mulligan decisions are also very different. Unlike Fast Earth Rune, this deck does not have that many Earth Rite activators, and the ones that are important are all 4pp or higher. Silent Laboratory and Karl are cards that both take up 2 board spaces right away, since they summon Earth Essences. So running out of board space is actually a huge deal with this deck. Because of this, you never keep 1pp sigils in the mulligan with Mysteria Earth Rune.

I have tried other variations of the deck that go all-in on the Mysteria + Silver Blade Golem combo, like KODAI’s list. But I have found them too inconsistent. So this is the version that has worked best for me. You can win against fast and midrange decks by just playing the standard board control game, and then the Silver Blade Golem can be used as an alternate win condition if the game drags on too long.

Illusionist(the 5 drop, not the 2 drop magician guy) is an underused card that has some great combo potential in this deck. She almost always guarantees a 2 for 1 when played on curve, and she gets some insane value if she ends up resurrecting a Professor of Taboos. I am going to be really sad when that card rotates out.

Daria Oz Rune
Daria Rune was an archetype that had a very unexpected resurgence in the Rotation meta. It was the top deck during RoB, and then fell out of the meta for the next 2 expansions. What happened? The deck has 2 big weaknesses against two types of decks: low to the ground aggro, especially decks who run tons of 1 drops and can go wide on board quickly. And secondly control decks with tons of board sweeping cards. Both of these archetypes got major support in TotG which kicked Daria off the meta. However in rotation, both of these archetypes got gutted. There is basically no aggro at all in Rotation, as most of the relevant early game cards either got nerfed or rotated out. The current fastest deck is Neutral Blood, and that deck has consistency issues. For the control side of things, big board clears like Themis Decree and Revelation got rotated out, so most classes do not have good answers to a highroll Daria curve.

So Daria Rune is a deck that needs a very specific meta to do well in. And that meta is the one observed in Rotation right now, where aggro is weak and big board clears are absent from many classes. The deck also got a huge boost with Mysterian Knowledge. The card does not seem very impressive, but it is a 1pp spell that generates another spell. And anyone who has played a Spellboost deck knows how insane that is. The spells that it can generate are pretty good too.

The current popular Daria list is one popularized by Nukoota, who was able to climb to 100k Grand Master points in the first season. It cuts the RoB era earlygame spellboost dudes(Craig and Clarke) for more spells and cycle, and also runs a ton of expensive cards like Enchanted Sword and Flame Destroyer. I am personally not a fan of this deck, because it feels super highrolly. I am a much bigger fan of Daria Oz, which is not capable of getting the same kind of insta-win highroll draws, but is much more consistent in the early game. And it does not low roll as hard.

Daria Oz Rune was a deck that I played a lot during Month 3 of Wonderland Dreams, and to this day I still think it was a hidden Tier 1 deck in that meta. It was one of the few decks that actually had good answers to Neutral Haven, the top deck during that time. Since Daria is a deck that can quickly run out of steam if it never draws its namesake, Oz is a great addition because she acts as an additional source of refuel. She also makes it less awkward to run those clunky expensive spells like Chain Lightning and Mutagenic Bolt.

Slow Midrange Shadow
Pretty standard Midrange Shadow core that was popular for the past few metas, adjusted for Chronogenesis. The deck’s gameplan is fairly straightforward: create a sticky board using cards like Prince Catacomb and Skeleton Prince, or awkward to trade into cards like Lurching Corpse. Get some chip damage in with your board of small dudes, and once your opponent’s health is low enough, turn your small dudes into threats with Demonlord Eachtar and finish the game. Aisha is a new card from CG that acts as an alternate win condition for Mid Shadow, as she turns into an instant 10 damage out of hand on Enhance in the late game if you have 10 Shadows available. And getting 10 shadows is fairly trivial with this deck.

Immortal Thane was a card that was recently nerfed from 7pp to 8pp. While he is still a good card, he is a bit too slow for this deck since he does not have an immediate impact on the board. So I have cut him completely, and added more early game cards to compensate. This slower list of Mid Shadow runs a decent amount of 4 drops, including Ceres who nowadays is a controversial inclusion. She used to be a 3x during the SFL meta, but that was because there was so much aggro. With much less aggro present in rotation, she is a lot weaker. However she is still awkward for some classes to deal with(like Sword), and I like her so I put 2 in this deck.

One of the biggest benefits that Mid Shadow got from Chronogenesis is the card Skull Ring. It is very similar to the recently rotated out Bone Chimera. The main difference is that it spawns 2 skeletons immediately, and has a Reanimate effect on death. This makes it so that curving out into Prince Catacomb on 4 is very strong. Getting a 2-3-Catacomb curve going 1st is often game winning.

Fast Midrange Shadow
Very similar to the previous deck, but running a much lower curve including 1 drops. Goblin is an extremely low value card, but it has amazing utility in Mid Shadow because of Catacomb and Skull Ring. Going 1st into a Goblin->2drop->3drop/Skull Ring->Catacomb curve is game winning. If you miss this curve, you have another opportunity to guarantee Catacomb value: right after the Skull Ring expires. Say you play Skull Ring on 3, but your opponent is able to clear your board immediately. On Turn 5, the amulet expires, and re-animates a random 2 drop. You can then play Goblin into Catacomb for instant value.

White Wolf Elephant Forest
In my opinion, one of the most fun decks in the current meta. It also uses the highest amount of cards that are legitimately good, but were not played much in previous metas because of the game being too fast. This includes cards like Purehearted Singer, Starry Elf, Jungle Warden, Venus, Loki, and of course King Elephant himself.

While Forest is the game’s main combo class, this is not really a combo deck. It is a control deck that has a huge source of out-of-hand burst damage for a late game win condition. Between Venus and Purehearted Singer, the deck has a decent amount of draw. It has great ways to control the board without Evo points using Cassiopeia and Insect Lord. It even has ways to remove giant threats with Crystalia Lily. The deck has two ways of generating huge burst damage: King Elephant and Jungle Warden. And Loki makes these even stronger. However it is sometimes very hard to find a good time to play Loki, since he is an 8 drop with no immediate impact on the board. So he is just a 1 of.

Aegis Control Haven
Havencraft was probably the most underestimated class of Chronogenesis. Out of all the classes, it was definitely the biggest loser going into Rotation, as most of its key cards were in Darkness Evolved. That expansion itself spawned 3 Haven archetypes: Seraph, Storm, and Elana. And none of these were getting replacements. It was also losing key cards like Themis, one of the strongest board clears in the entire game.

So a lot of people(me included) thought the class would be completely unplayable in Rotation. However much to my pleasant surprise, the class is quite strong. While it lost the most in Rotation, it also gained a lot from the new cards. The slowing down of the meta also made Heavenly Aegis a reliable endgame win condition again. A card that I greatly underestimated from CG spoilers was Gemstone Carapace. At first glance, it seems awful because it is worse than Beastcall Aria in almost every way. However, it has amazing synergy with Snow White, and can lead to some big powerspikes during the Evolution midgame turns.

The deck that I have here was very successful to me in the 1st month of CG. One of its main strengths was in having a great matchup against Earth Rune, one of the top decks at that time. This is because of the copious amounts of healing and banish effects in the deck. However Burn Earth Rune has been nerfed, and is now a rare sight on ladder. So this deck is a lot weaker now, and I think most Haven players are starting to shift to the more Midrangey Summit Temple/Heavenly Knight builds. I have not played with those enough to settle upon a decklist, but I will post that here when that happens.

Artifact Combo Portal
Portalcraft is the new class introduced with Chronogenesis. It has one of the most unique playstyles I have ever seen in any cardgame. It is also the most Johnny class of the game. Especially with Artifact Portal, once Deus Ex Machina and Acceleratium are set up, almost every big play the class makes is a highlight reel or epic sax moment. The class has two main archetypes: puppets, which are 0 cost 1/1s with Rush that die at the beginning of your next turn. These are great for board control, so Portal has many cards that create puppets, or can buff them with extra stats or effects while they are in hand. The other archetype is Artifact, which needs a separate explanation. The class also has a mechanic called Resonance, which is active whenever you have an even amount of cards remaining in your deck. Some cards have extra effects when you are in Resonance, and there are even cards that give your leader an effect in this state.

Currently there are 4 artifacts in the card pool. They include a 1 cost 2/1 who draws a card upon death, a 1 cost 3/1 Rush, a 3 cost 2/3 Ward who draws a card, and a 5 cost 4/3 Storm who draws a card upon death. Every single one of these cards is completely broken and undercosted for its effect. However Portal cannot actually put these cards into its starting deck. Instead, Portal has many cards that generate these artifacts upon play. However after generating them, the cards do not immediately go into your hand. They first get shuffled into your deck, and then you have to actually draw the artifacts to play them. Because Portal is constantly increasing the amount of cards in its deck, the class has way more draw and cycle power than other classes.

Artifact Portal to me is fascinating because it illustrates a very important lesson about card games. Anyone who has ever tried to get better at TCGs and CCGs knows about the importance of value and card advantage. However, no matter how good your deck is, you still lose if your life total reaches 0 before the opponent. There is no class in the game that can out-value Portal. Artifact Portal literally has more cards to play with. It’s not like these extra cards are bad too, we’s established that these artifacts are completely broken. While Artifact Portal is the king of value, it is actually really bad at killing the opponent. It also has very little in the way of good defensive cards, so it struggles against aggressive decks or decks with lots of burn.

One of the most important ways that Artifact Portal cycles through its deck is the legendary Deus Ex Machina. She is a 6 drop with a truly ridiculous fanfare: she gives your leader a permanent effect for the rest of the game. Everytime you play an artifact, you recover 1pp. Not only that, but if you end your turn on Resonance, you discard your hand and then draw 6 cards. Since Artifact Portal is constantly diluting its deck with artifacts, it is very important to get Deus Ex Machina out fast so that you can start drawing through your huge deck quickly. It is also important for the deck to have a lot of cards that can manipulate Resonance at will, since sometimes you will draw hands that you do not want to discard. Or maybe you will draw a garbage hand that you want to discard right away. Resonance can be manipulated with cards that change your deck size by an odd number, either by drawing 1 card or adding 1 or 3 cards to it.

The general gameplan of Artifact Portal is multi-faceted. The deck first wants to play the early game with standard followers who shuffle Artifacts into its deck. The deck then wants to draw the artifacts with the multitude of cycle available. It then wants to play the Acceleratium amulet, which gives all Artifacts rush and refunds 1pp everytime an artifact is played. Acceleratium allows the Portal player to control the board without Evo points by using artifacts. At some point in the game, the Portal player should play Deus Ex Machina to start cycling through the deck quickly. It should continue playing the board control game with artifacts, and if that is not enough to finish the game, then the Portal can play Safira with her Enhance effect. She is a 6 drop with Rush, who has an Enhance 10 effect of gaining storm and an attack value equal to the number of Artifacts destroyed during the match. Since Artifacts are the main way that this deck fights for board, the amount destroyed should be very high by the time Safira is played in the late game.

Deus Ex Machina is so important that some people say that the entire deck is built around her, and that Portal literally cannot win if she is never drawn. While she is definitely important, I do not think that games without her are unwinnable. They are just more difficult. The other key part of Artifact Portal’s playstyle is Acceleratium, so you can still win without Deus if you draw a ton of Artifacts + Acceleratium.

The deck I have listed is one based on LusciousXD’s list, after he went on a big winstreak with it recently. One of the most notable inclusions is Ironforged Fighter, the 4pp 4/3 who adds two Radiant Artifacts(the 4/3 Storm) to your deck. Originally most people either ran no 4 drops, or instead ran Gravikinetic Warrior. Gravikinetic Warrior at first glance is a far superior card, as it has stronger stats and an actual evolve effect. However Gravi Warrior shuffles random artifacts into your deck, while Ironforged Fighter only shuffles Radiant Artifacts. And the importance of Radiant Artifacts cannot be understated.

The reason is that Safira is used as this deck’s alternate win condition in the late game. Against faster decks, you try to win by outlasting them and fighting for board using Artifacts. Against decks like Dragon, you can never expect anything to stick on board after the mid game, so you need to rely on burst damage to win the game. Safira is the main source of burst damage, but due to the way Deus Ex Machina works, you might sometimes get unlucky and draw all Safiras early. So you will be forced to discard them to cycle through your deck. If this happens, then you need another way of winning the game. This is where Ironforged Fighter comes in. You shuffle the Radiant Artifacts in your deck, and then use Biofabrication to create more of them, and that becomes your alternate win condition.