Our Top 5 Cards from Judgment of the Rogue Planet

The End of an Era & the Return of Old Friends

Judgment of the Rogue Planet is here! Massive new game mechanics, new CR changes, New Worlds, and so many more things have been added to the game we all know and love. As a conclusion to Hero Cluster, we are finally taking on the big boss of the Gears - Solaria and Ark - after freeing the Seven Stars from their imprisonment as Chronogears and some old, reincarnated friends held captive in the Solaristations at the heart of the theocratic, mechanized empire.

As usual, the Force of Will design team has outdone themselves with many cards that support the main mechanics of the set, like Solarisation. But they’ve also introduced so mechanics that reintroduce the power of Judgment to the world bringing Rulers from the past into alignment with Rulers of the present. There are too many good cards to say too many good things about in this set, but the Ruler School staff sat down and highlighted their favorites.

Solaria’s Wind (JRP-080) - Jeremy’s #5

In a world where people are constantly trying to take as many actions, to push themselves to make almost every win condition some kind of combo play-line, Solaria’s Wind is an incredibly accessible tool for some decks that creates a gamestate where both players must take their time and build up pressure over multiple turns. That or they have to adjust their deck building to respect and try to destroy the Solaria's Wind on “off” turns. This means their natural gameplay flow is interrupted and creates for more engaging back and forth/longer overall games. For me, this is something I love about playing Force of Will, so it entering the environment and creating those kinds of games is a high point for me.

Cascade of Water Solarisire (JRP-038) - Paul’s #5

The Water attribute is slowly but surely evening out in terms of its utility. For the majority of Force of Will’s history “Water” has been synonymous with “bad.” Every once in a while we’d get a blue card that impacted the metagame, but did so by being more multi-color in the end (looking at you “Ayu”). That’s begun to change in the Eye Spy era of the game. Alongside [Fiola, Spirit of Oblivion] from the Magic Stone War - Zero set in Saga Cluster, [Cascade of Water Solarisire] contributes to a growing cardpool in Water to that “cancels” in its own unique way apart from Wind’s hard cancel suite.

In decks that have a Water Ruler at their start, Cascade is a 1-cost bank that can be used at anytime to tuck a non-Resonator card of cost 2 or less on the Chase under the owner’s deck before removing itself from the game. It also has Solarisation, meaning future copies of the Addition can reuse already-played copies in the RFG to make themselves free. Several Water-based Rulers appreciate interaction for cards that may set them back in their game plans and contributes to Addition strategies as well. It also supports powerful cards like [Fiethsing, 100 Years of Wizardry] and is searchable by [Daily Research]. A Water staple in its own right, Cascade has me excited for what future Water cards will look like.

Replicant: Shiva (JRP-071) - Jeremy’s #4

Much like [Shiva, God of Destruction] from the Decisive Battle from Valhalla, [Replicant: Shiva] sits outside the game and serves as an ever present reminder to not overextend. Unlike her predecessor though, she has much more practical applications and versatility. I imagine this card will become a 1-of in almost every single deck that utilizes these Will attributes or can afford to include them in their deck building because it provides a tool that they can always use to just deal with a problematic situation, wide board, or create a nice blocker to force the opponent to answer. Her lack-luster stats will be remedied as she destroys more J/Resonators, and her Symbol Skill combination is probably my favorite i've ever seen, and is a great use of the new [Belligerence] keyword.

Replicant: Odin (JRP-069) - Paul’s #4

When talking with Mike Rance about the design of this card, there’s something about “old school” about this card that made him smile. The more I reflect on that observation, the more I feel the same way. Stone destruction is not something very common in Force of Will. But with [Captain Hook, the Pirate] being reintroduced to the meta game after several years on the ban list, Odin is a positioned as a kind of resurgence of this cautiously under-used mechanic. Recently, [The Explosion of Magog] was combined with Asuka to create a stone destruction loop in the late game. This method is recently amended with CR changes, but the precedent has been set - stone destruction is back in a unique way.

Odin destroying stones when brought out with Solarisation is a powerful, unique effect for the High God of Valhalla. If your opponent is playing special magic stones (they are), by turn three there’s a chance they can just lose them. Backed up with cards that stop that effect from fizzling (looking at you, [Setting the Stage for Providence]) then this can set the opponent back in their game plans and potentially just lose the game. Its activate ability is also not once per turn, boosting your field and benefitting future Solarisation reductions. Discarding three cards to recover is a seal on the deal, allowing you to attack again or even a third time with both Pierce and Flying to end the game. With all of the recursion available (e.g. [Reiya + Part of True Power]), Odin has a lot of potential applications across a wide variety of decks old and new.

Replicant: Loki (JRP-074) - Paul’s #3

This is “Perfect Loki+” in all regards, minus the ability to play the [Neo-Ragnarok] Rune, but that’s hardly a concern. All the benefits of [Perfect Loki] are present here: a -x00/-x00 effect that looks to the graveyard for its stats. With Solarisation cost reduction, [Replicant: Loki] becomes stronger with counters and draws you cards equal to those in the grave divided by 2. For graveyard mill decks, this card is frankly cracked. This is all before its recruitment Activate Ability that looks at the top of the deck for new cards to add to your hand. And that is before the effect that brings them back to your hand in the End Phase.

For some time, I’ve been experimenting with [Athenia] from Game of Gods: Revolution. It’s one of my favorite casual decks that almost no one sees at any level of play in Force of Will. And she just gained a very, very good new tool outside of Oborozuki. The card hits the boardd through Barrier, draws cards, mills, and buys itself back. What’s not to love!?

Lifezapper Chronogear (JRP-058) - Jeremy’s #2

While the resonator itself isn't the most amazing, the discard [Inheritance] effect is why this card is so high up on my list. 1 darkness will for 2 bodies that each represent 400 damage and 200 life loss is an insanely good defensive and offensive tool for almost every deck. Not to mention they are of the Gears race, so they become even bigger when utilized with [Eins] despite his recent nerfs. In a world where a 3rd color is so easy to splash, and having to answer decks like [Yggdrasil, the World Tree] and [Yggdrasil, Malefic Verdant Tree] is such a consideration, having such a generic splashable tool will be VERY influential/beneficial in this format.

T2 and Falchion (JRP-027) - Paul’s #2

Of all of the Super Rare team ups we have in this set, the team up card of [T2 and Falchion] is by far my favorite. The reason is because it offer something truly unique to both of the rulers in its card art by providing strong utility in its Wind activate ability and its abilities that proc when the resonator leaves the field. A solid 900/900 body on a 3-cost resonator is pretty common nowadays, but in T2 or Falchion decks it becomes a 2-cost with its discount. This brings a lot of appeal to it as a body that hits for just over 20% of your opponent’s life points.

For Falchion decks, this gives access to a large body that has a powerful cancel effect attached to an Activate Ability - something very hard to stop in the game as it avoids the restrictions of the prominent [Child of the White Moon’s] God’s Art. When it leaves the field, Falchion also revived T2 as a partner with a Will coin for extra will that isn’t stopped by Solaristation restrictions. Otherwise, it is able to search a [Metal Lifeform: Dragon] for finishing off the opponent with burn damage if the game goes long.

T2 benefits greatly from the cancel effect of its resonator, but also has a way to add Metal Lifeforms that have made their way to the graveyard and not the RFG. However, in combination with [Nümetal, Sea of Life], dead Metal Lifeforms in the graveyard become more accessible. At that point T2 and Falchion becomes a win condition in its own right, resulting in one of the most beneficial tag team resonators in JRP by far.

Rusty Ningus (JRP- XXX) - Paul’s #1 ; Jeremy’s #3

Of all the Rulers in The Underworld of Secrets that I most excited for, I was most excited for [Hyde, Solitary Assassin]. In fact, I’ve compared her to some of my favorite play styles from other card games that emphasize strategic, well-timed effects utilizing a suite a cards that bend the rules of the game ever so slightly for a strong control-oriented style of game play. However, [Iga, Village of Assassins] was combo-banned with Hyde after several prominent tops in GPs across the world, sending the deck into a limbo. Now comes [Rusty Ningus].

I have no idea if this card is going to revive a deck relegated to the mid-tier rogue category, but in combination with cards like [Hyde and Aristella], it may offer something for me. As a replacement for Iga, it hardly eclipses the hidden village. However, it does enable the control-heavy style of game play that I like in my Hyde variants. The discount when you’re on the back-foot is nice, especially since it leads into a will sink that trades out Ninjas in the Shinobi EX Area with the field, reseting their effects. It also works to set your cards in the Shinobi EX Area facedown again. Tossing a Ninjutsu cars when flipping or placing a card in the Shinobi EX Area also buys back Ninjas. [Rusty’s Fox] (Kōn <3) or Rusty himself are all great targets, not to mention [Glowing Spider] for draw power and [Stealthy Black Widow] for spot removal. Truly my favorite card from this set and it’s only a Normal rarity!

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[Hyde, Solitary Assassin] was already on the cusp of being this amazing tempo value engine kind of deck, even with the combination ban of the Contract [Rocket Dive] and [Iga, Village of Assassins]. The inclusion of [Rusty Ningus] essentially lets Hyde abandon casting spells and go purely in favor of activate abilities, giving her an ability to rely less on Wind for cancel wars or protection and lean heavier into her kit of response and disruption. Being able to turn a copy of [Rusty's Fox] INTO a copy [Rusty, Phantom Ninja Genius] set in the Shinobi EX Area for just 1 Light Will at “instant speed” is a powerful play. It sets up [Rusty's Fox] for another draw upon entry and potentially stealing somethign from the opponent with its free reveal effect. On top of this play line, [Rusty Ningus] also buys back other Ninjas from the Graveyard. In decks that stray away from use of [Rocket Dive], it being a Ninjutsu means it can also be cast from the Shinobi EX Area off Will produced by a copy of [Iga, Village of Assassins]. [Rusty Ningus] opens up brand new lines for Hyde that will constantly keep the opponent guessing and allow her to grind longer games probably better than any other ruler.

Asuka and Reinhardt (JRP -053)

- Jeremy’s #1

[Reinhardt] has always been right on the edge of competitive viability, held back by the fact that his main mechanic - the Possession EX Area - takes a little too much setup and is hard to manipulate on the opponents turn. This card singlehandedly solves this and is probably the most powerful tool he could ever hope for. Not only does he play cost get cheaper VERY easily, he serves as a nice body (that can get pumped or more skills thanks to the EX area). He also provides an “instant speed” reanimation effect and allows for manipulation of Ethereal-race Resonators that will absolutely allow him to pressure the opponent without having to rely on his contract.  Even if you aren't putting them into the EX area, reanimating and then immediately banishing an [Ethereal Vampire], or an [Ethereal Princess] means your opponent is taking the hits or discarding almost every turn, and couple that with a copy of [Dexia, Ethereal Twin Prince] in the EX Area to double those triggers and you have a recipe for a solid late game board and hand control win condition.

What is your favorite card from Judgment of the Rogue Planet!? Let us know on our socials or in our official Discord. Until next time, Rulers, class is dismissed!