How to build an honour deck

 
 
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NOTE: Please read the other "How to choose" articles before reading this one to better understand how to build a deck.

You know who to choose and what to choose now let`s put them all together to make a basic honour deck.

Let`s play with Kyuden Agasha using Tsudao send home for our wind.

Dynastsy Cards

Personalities: Cheap, good PH and abilities, this are the thing that matters most. Let`s choose 18.

  • 3x Shiba Tsukimi: Cheap and good PH, can`t go wrong with her.
  • 3x Agasha Seruma: Cheap and great ability!
  • 3x Isawa Toshiji: Cheap, good PH and a good ability! His HR of 8 is nothing to be afraid of if you don`t have too many of those.
  • 3x Shiba Danjuro: Very cheap, bad PH and good ability, designed to protect your Shugenja, buy him for 2 gold less!
  • 1x Shiba Ningen exp: Simply a must have.
  • 3x Isawa Ihara: Decent price with a good ability.
  • 1x Agasha Chieh exp: Good price, average PH but great Chi and good ability!
  • 1x Shiba Aikune exp2: All around good card, the champion* of the Phoenix should be in every decks!

    Gold: A good gold flow is key, let`s put 17 gold holdings.

  • 3x Silver Mines: Of course.
  • 1x A favor Returned: To be assured of a fair start even is you go second.
  • 1x Gifts and Favors: To make sure you don`t get no gold during your first turns.
  • 2x Barley Farm: A good basic 2 for 2 holding.
  • 3x Sanctified Temple: Good way to make honour and get money.
  • 1x Shrine to Daikoku: 2 gold for 3 gold production, try and get your hand on one.
  • 2x Personal Librarian: 2 for 2 holding with a decent ability.
  • 2x Talented Apprentice: An other 2 for 2 holding that grows really fast!
  • 1x Phoenix Library: Good money and card draw.
  • 1x Chrystal Mine: Combo`s well with 2 gold holgings and makes 7G with Barly farms.

    Others: Now we have exacly 35 cards, what about the last 5? Let`s add 2 regions and 3 events.

  • Shinsei Shrine: Good easy honour.
  • Sacred Grove: An easy 1 honour per turn.
  • Birth Of the Sword: More honour.
  • Chrysanthemum Festival: More provinces, gives you more time to build your honour and to bring more people out.
  • Commanding Favor: Early favour and able to use the favour twice later on.


    Simply get gold for the first two turns and then bring people for full buying about 1 holding per turn with extra money.

    Fate Cards

    Let`s take some of the cards from How to choose a Fate deck for Honour. What is important here is send home, protecting those provinces from being eaten before you get to 40 honour!

  • 3x Fall on your knees: People canceling your very important actions can cost you the game. Make sure you have a way to counter them.
  • 3x Kuro`s fire: Make them fear an attack on you with this card alone. Greatess spell next to Importune Kami.
  • 3x Overconfidence: Works against all those force boost and even against items(like the Celestial Swords)
  • 3x Overwelmed: Don`t worry, if you sacrifice only one personanlity to save a province and maybe even kill someone, it`s worth it.
  • 3x To Do What We Must: Another great card that works similar to Overwelmed.
  • 3x Refugees and 3x block supply lines: Pure and simple send home. Test how many of them you want in your deck.
  • 3x Walking the Way: Another very important spell. Kuro`s fire or the Celestial Sword(use that one with Kuro`s fire for best results).
  • 1x Celestial sword: Great all around card.
  • 3x Fire in Hidden City: Admitingly if you are playing an honour deck you will most likely lose 1 or 2 provinces, why not get a free personality out of it?
  • 3x Outer Wall: The most important defensive card in Hidden City in my option.
  • 3x Turn of Fortune: A great kiho to give you more control over your opponent.

    Now we have 31 basic but good cards, let`s add a few more spells ant tricks. By the way, I didn`t include Importune Kami here because it`s a really hard card to come by.

  • 1x Isawa House Guard: Great cards with so many Shugenja.
  • 1x The Imperial Standard: Good honour.
  • 1x Double Chi: It makes the Crane think twice about dueling you. Fetchable with Walking the Way when needed.
  • 2x Uncertainty: To stop early attacks.
  • 2x Slaughter the Scout: An other nice "trick" I like.
  • 2x Summon Earth Kami: good for overwelmed and to keep presence in a battle.

    OK, we now havea nice 40/40 deck. Test it out, and by all means do change and experiment new things! While this deck is not meant to win tournaments it will give you a good idea of how to start playing Phoenix. Have fun playing with it!

    *I know, I know, Aikune isn`t champion but he is for me;o)

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