Welcome to spoiler season for the high anticipated upcoming release of Attack On Titan for MetaX. This set will begin to showcase some of the crossover nature of the different properties being brought into the MetaX engine, and really give players a feel of how they will be able to stand out on their own as well.

The latest reveal on the Panini Games blog focused on the Titan’s and some of their unique features, most notably their higher maximum rank then we have previously seen.

To keep the flow going, our first preview is Big Mouth Titan.

With all three stats, and a maximum rank of 7, this beast will be just as hard to take down as characters like Superman and Batman from previous sets. The draw back being that this Titan generates no MP for being played onto the board.

But it’s the effect that really sets this card apart. Titan’s fit into more aggressive, or at very least some tempo type decks that can hit hard when they need to. Keeping your Colossal Titan, or Armoured Titan on the field is especially key to big swing effects like the event Brutality featured on the blog.

Something that can pair nicely with most Titan’s is Wall Breach. Rank 5 decks are proving popular with some players, and they can give aggressive Titan decks a little bit to break through before getting down to business.

This event gives a nice low cost, while replacing itself in your hand, and punishes those max rank 5 strategies your opponent might be focusing on.

And last but not least, a handy little Multi-Stat battle card that you can not only consider for Titan focused decks, but could also make an appearance into mixed set decks relying on a few rank 7 characters.

MP is a precious commodity in Titan decks, with most well behind the curve in generating MP when played. This makes low cost battle cards that can help you conserve MP for other more cards that create more impact even more important.

You could look to pair this card with Armoured Titan to give it more chance of gaining you a VP. And by giving you another card back in hand you can either keep the pressure on your opponent, or dig for that next card to help in coming turns.

Look for more previews every couple of days until closer to release, and don’t forget to check back again tomorrow as we look at another card of the week. This week we’ll look to team a card from Green Lantern in with some of the effects you’re seeing in Attack On Titan.

Game On!
– Trent and Kyp

As we roll into March, we are getting closer to the release of the next set of MetaX, Attack on Titan. Previews will start rolling out via the Panini Games website from Friday (US time), and then across fan sites and our page shortly after.

But before then, there are still some great cards from previous sets to keep an eye on as you start thinking about what you want to play next. This week we focus on Black Canary from the Justice League expansion.

As character effects become more dynamic with the greater card pool each set, effects like Black Canary’s become even more important.

She can fit into a range of different deck types; from control decks that might want to keep greater board presence, to mid-range or aggro decks that might want to keep some control effects in check. We saw this week’s deck tech on the Panini Games blog showcase a villian’s deck that focused on General Zod and Mr Freeze in a heavy control deck. Black Canary might give you an option to help combat those types of decks.

You can also splash her into decks as a supplement to Power Players from Green Lantern. Her greatest strength when thinking of her in this fashion is that you can complement her with bounce effects like Right on Target. Or team her with characters like Blue Beetle for some nice Rank 5 plays.

Her stat’s lend her more to support for more aggressive or mid-range decks that focus on Strength battle cards, but with 3 Intelligence, there are still some great battle cards especially from Justice League that she can access if needed.

This is one character that you might just run into once large organised play events start.

Check back soon for more card of the week analysis, and soon – Attack on Titan previews!

Game On!
– Trent and Kyp

Preview season is here again and the excitement is reaching fever pitch. Over the last few days, the new Goku and Vegeta MP stacks, plus the Blue and Orange Masteries for Awakening have been analysed in great depth. Could Vegeta be the saviour we have been waiting for?

With that question yet to be fully answered, we hit the ground running with a new Red style card, one that may put your opponent “on tilt”.

Red Tilt offers up an Energy Block with an effect that further expands on some of the mechanics built into Red since the launch of Evolution. Having multiple actions, and potential card advantage over your opponent is a massive premium to have, so this card’s effect must be weighed up if you are looking to leverage some of the new Red style strategies.

While the card draw is conditional, in that your opponent has had to throw an energy at you so you can block, then have a matching card effect that can trigger the draw, the potential benefits could outweigh the risks.

You could team this card with Red Eye Beams from Evolution, which would net you a +2 action. Or if you want to help put a dent in the new freestyle focused Vegeta, team it with Red Chest Pierce to manipulate your own discard pile, and then banish all the non-styled cards in both discard piles.

We are really excited for all the previews we have to bring you over the coming weeks. All of them have great all round effects, and we can’t wait to see what else comes out.

Game on!
– Trent (@TAKGames_Trent) and Kyp (@JustKyp).

Like everyone else, we can’t wait for the Dragon Ball Z TCG’s next expansion Perfection to hit. Preview season is well underway with some amazing cards popping up all over – the hype on the much-awaited Cell reveal was all too real, and there have been other gems from other sites, including reveals from our friends at Next Level Z, Dragon Ball Z TCG Wiki, Retro DBZ, DBZ Top Tier, Fanatics Gaming Network and more.

Our first preview for Perfection is a great addition to Black Style that has the potential to help it in a few tricky match ups.

Including Black Sidestep in your deck will very much be a choice based on your local meta. Black as a whole doesn’t have a lot of effects that can deal with an opponent’s Dragon Balls, and Black Sidestep thus helps in some way to bridge a gap for the style. Currently, Black Style’s best bet to deal with Dragon Balls is to generate a critical damage effect. When you’re coming up against a triple threat Namekian with MPPV to keep an eye on, or another dedicated Dragon Ball victory deck with mass endurance, this can be hard to rely on consistently.

If your opponent is getting a little too greedy with their Dragon Balls in play, this is a great answer. With energy attacks like Optic Blast, Crushing Beam and other styled attacks like Namekian Double Strike that help make up a large part of the included attacks in opposition decks, it’s safe to say having this card as a bluff to draw upon and keep your opponent guessing can be a great way to force your opponent to potentially make a crucial misplay.

When compared to Black Style’s existing set of amazing energy blocks including Black Corruption, Black Swipe and Black Resistance, it’s not an auto-include, but it may fit in a meta where you need to tech around Namekian or pesky Dragon Ball victory players.

To stay up to date with the latest TAK Games Perfection reveals and analysis, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @TAKGames_au.

Game on!

– Trent (@TAKGames_Trent) and Kyp (@JustKyp).

We were finally introduced to Android 18 and the new Black Style Mastery today and the time seemed right to examine what else Android players might have at their disposal once Evolution launches. We welcome back Tobye with analysis on two new Android-themed cards.

Android 17 – Beckoning

Another Android ally to play with!  When I first read his power, my mind ran wild thinking of all the ways to abuse it and deliver game changing damage each turn, with a huge setup count.  Then I remembered the new Black Perceptive Mastery.  Hmmm. He will be somewhat more challenging to use and abuse.

Android 17 – Ally will be great in some extremely board-heavy blue builds, where you block like a brick wall while playing allies and setups, protecting them with Blue Belly Smash.  Then once established throw out a Blue Draining Blast, and unload with a one-turn-kill.

The less logical side of my brain wants to use his bracketed effect to rejuvenate an Android card, in a mad Lord Slug Namekian ally deck.  Running all the Android cards he can with Android Presence, and the old Namekian mastery, you will be levelling up in ludicrous ways.  Not sure what it will achieve after getting to level 4, but hey…

Android Presence

Known for their brazenness, Android Presence sets out to make sure everyone knows and fears the Androids. It is not only powerful, like all cards that allow you to level up, but adds a mental element to a lot of match-ups.

For example, if you are playing a physical beatdown deck, you really want to keep an opponent’s Android 18 on level 1. So if you see 4 Android cards in their discard pile, and have discard pile removal in your hand (say, a Devastating Blow), you will feel compelled to enter combat to banish those cards. Even if the rest of your hand is rather lackluster. This fear can play into the hands of Android players, who may not even be running Android Presence in their deck.

What is also interesting is you do not need to be an Android MP to use this card. While there are not many non-named Android cards for non-Android MPs to run, it’s still possible to get a free level with this card, and there may be some builds that find a way to take advantage of this.

I am very fond of cards like this which are potentially very powerful, versatile, add skill and fear to plays even when not in a hand or even in the game, and are thematically accurate to boot!

As we get closer to Evolution’s release, I am seeing a whole lot of fun and interesting interactions to do with the Androids, and expect Android ally decks to be varied and legitimate contenders.

– Tobye.

To stay up to date with the latest TAK Games Evolution reveals and analysis, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @TAKGames_au.

Game on!

– Trent (@TAKGames_Trent) and Kyp (@JustKyp).