A week or two before Rebellion was officially released, I wrote a post about my choices for the best cards in the set. Now that the set has been out for a month or so, I want to revisit that post and see how I did. What was I right about? What was I wrong about? And importantly, why was I right or wrong and how can I use that to learn for the future?
A recap of my picks
My top five picks were the above: the summoners (all 11), chaos jailer, anasth soothsayer, bera dallin, and wailing wraith. Importantly (and this will come up throughout), all of my picks had a mechanic that was new to Rebellion.
What did I forget/leave out?
One thing many people might question seeing this list is Grimbardum Smith and Mantaroth. In the initial post, I ignored them, as I didn't feel they were part of the set proper, and I stand by that decision. But, they came out at the same time, and I don't want to ignore them a second time.
And hoo boy are they good. Mantaroth has been a beastly front-row card that I've used somewhat regularly in high-mana matches. And grimbardun smith is soooo good. Half damage from everything. Target for weapons training. Repairs his own shields. I am really glad I snagged this card day 1 of the release, as it's probably the single best card in the set.
What was I right about?
Of my top 5, I'd say I'm pretty happy with two of them: Anasth soothsayer and wailing wraith.
Wailing Wraith is pretty simple as an off tank in low mana matches which can effectively hit 5 damage for 4 mana and has rust and affliction on top of that. It's been great in matches I've used it, and its price reflects its power.
Anasth soothsayer just has ALL the abilities. Lookout has been great, not for reducing ambush damage, but for placing it near the back (or a tank) and reducing all snipe/sneak/opportunity damage, which can really increase the lifespan of some cards. And it can heal your tank. And cleanse your tank. And dispel the opponent. And at respectable speed, And it can also deal a small amount of damage (I'd almost wish it had no attack so it could be weapons trained).
I was also pretty correct on a lot of the cards I didn't think were powerful; the set has a lot of cards that are expensive mana-wise and don't offer enough damage or utility to combat that. I listed some of these cards in another post.
The one other thing I was right about from a value perspective (insofar as prices are a guide) is the value of GF cards. GFs provide, on average, significantly more CP/$ than RF cards, and CP is what will power conflicts and airdrops. Early on, people were treating GFs as if they were any other GFs from other sets despite having additional utility. The community has largely picked up on this and GF cards are more expensive than comparable GF cards in other sets as a result.
What was I wrong about?
Which means I was wrong about 3/5 of my top 5 picks: the summoners, chaos jailer, and bera dallin.
The summoners, both dual summoners and tactics summoners, are good, but not nearly the powerhouses I thought they might be. The dual summoners, in particular, are well-suited for low mana restrictive rulesets where having 2x the cards to choose from gives you a much stronger lineup. But outside of that, they haven't been as useful as I'd have guessed.
Chaos Jailer is too expensive for what he does.
Bera Dallin, I thought would be the next Shieldbearer. And she's good, but I just haven't figured out how to maximize her potential.
Then there are the cards that are good that I slept on, and two really stick out: Captain fellblade and Moxian Rebel.
Moxian Revel is a 2-attack weapons trainer for 4 mana (who also has camoflage). So max 6 attack for 4 mana if you pair it with some no-attack cards. This is GREAT in low-mana matches and really lets you hit above your weight in those. I'm still figuring out where it's best, but it's a good card.
Captain fellblade is a solid sneak double-attacker like the Silvershield Assassin before her. But now in water, a really powerful splinter. And doing magic damage, which is always nice. I haven't used her much, but I see the strength that I previously missed.
Generalizations of my picks
Overall, I feel I was too focused on the new hotness of the set: shield bash, ambush, and lookout. While I was good at picking out the cards that had those skills that were good, I did have a bit of tunnel vision and missed some cards without flashy skills that were nonetheless powerhouses. This is somewhat fair, as most niches are filled in most splinters already so there isn't a lot of new ground to cover without bringing in new abilities. But that doesn't mean none, and that's what I let myself think.
So for the next set that comes out, I'll be more open to seeing powerful cards that don't have new abilities and seeing what niches need to be filled in different splinters (or in neutral which is always a strong type if the card is even remotely good).
Referral
Like this post? Want to be a new player looking at Rebellion and getting in on the action? Use my referral link below and I'll get you started with some cards!
I snagged Mantaroth and Grimbardum Smith on first day too, for a pretty decent price. And I'm so happy I did that. They are worth every penny.
For the rest of the set, I'm building it up slowly, as I'm all dried out from the Land FOMO and whatnot 😆
Yeah, buying those two and buying a fair few GFs the first week or so really turned out to be a good financial decision.
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