Let's kick things off with something I've been working on from the start. Since I first started to show interest in Weiss Schwarz, I had various plans and ideas involving how to fit as much Silica into one deck as I possibly could. So this is a deck that has been constantly changing since day 1, and will continue to change as time passes.In this Deck Tech, I'll be covering Silica and why she is best girl. (Along with each cards role in the deck and so on.)
Enough rambling, here's the deck list.
Level 0 - 17
4 Familiar, Pina (SAO/S20-E054)
2 <<Beast Tamer>> Silica (SAO/S20-E062)
2 Silica's Unyielding Trust (SAO/S20-E051)
3 Silica Looking Up At the Sky (SAO/S26-E043)
2 Gathering Materials, Silica (SAO/SE23-E07)
3 Silica - Like a Date (SAO/S20-E055)
1 Blade User, Klein (SAO/S20-E078)
Level 1 - 12
2 Silica Leaves the Party (SAO/S20-E064)
2 <<Pina's Heart>> (SAO/S20-E065)
3 Caution Towards Kindness, Silica (SAO/S26-E054)
2 <<Cait Sith>> Girl, Silica (SAO/S26-E041)
3 Silica - Start of the Adventure (SAO/S20-E057)
Level 2 - 5
3 Silica's Relieved Smile (SAO/S26-E042)
2 Confident Silica (SAO/SE23-TE05)
Level 3 - 8
4 Like a Younger Sister, Silica (SAO/S20-E047)
4 Silica's Bashful Troubled Look (SAO/S26-E045)
Climax - 8
3 Happening During Battle (SAO/S26-E059)
2 Pina's Resurrection (SAO/S20-E074)
3 First Adventure (SAO/S20-E073)
Enough rambling, here's the deck list.
Level 0 - 17
4 Familiar, Pina (SAO/S20-E054)
2 <<Beast Tamer>> Silica (SAO/S20-E062)
2 Silica's Unyielding Trust (SAO/S20-E051)
3 Silica Looking Up At the Sky (SAO/S26-E043)
2 Gathering Materials, Silica (SAO/SE23-E07)
3 Silica - Like a Date (SAO/S20-E055)
1 Blade User, Klein (SAO/S20-E078)
Level 1 - 12
2 Silica Leaves the Party (SAO/S20-E064)
2 <<Pina's Heart>> (SAO/S20-E065)
3 Caution Towards Kindness, Silica (SAO/S26-E054)
2 <<Cait Sith>> Girl, Silica (SAO/S26-E041)
3 Silica - Start of the Adventure (SAO/S20-E057)
Level 2 - 5
3 Silica's Relieved Smile (SAO/S26-E042)
2 Confident Silica (SAO/SE23-TE05)
Level 3 - 8
4 Like a Younger Sister, Silica (SAO/S20-E047)
4 Silica's Bashful Troubled Look (SAO/S26-E045)
Climax - 8
3 Happening During Battle (SAO/S26-E059)
2 Pina's Resurrection (SAO/S20-E074)
3 First Adventure (SAO/S20-E073)
Starting with level 0, we have a total of 17 characters, so let's dive straight into the deep end with one of the key cards in any Silica deck.
Familiar, Pina is the support of this deck, with +500 power to all characters with "Silica" in it's card name, having two of these fluffy blue dragons in the back stage will give a clean 1000 power boost to every Silica you have in play.Along with the power boost, Pina has a second effect. If one of your characters with "Silica" in it's card name is sent to the waiting room, you can send Pina to the waiting room to return the Silica back to it's previous stage position as Rest. Pina is essentially every Silica's Encore effect, which is a great help in saving you from paying the 3 stock otherwise.
<<Beast Tamer>> Silica. Lost a Pina to save a Silica last turn? Well this card has a Bond effect with "Familiar, Pina". When this card is placed to the stage, you can pay 1 stock to choose a "Familiar, Pina" from your waiting room, and put it into your hand.
While this card may not look like much at first, it plays hand in hand with the substitution Encore effect that Pina has. If you have one of these in your hand, and you don't have a backup, or your opponent is hitting with power high enough that you can't backup, you don't need to think twice about letting go of a Pina for the Encore effect, since you can get it back straight away with this card.
While this card may not look like much at first, it plays hand in hand with the substitution Encore effect that Pina has. If you have one of these in your hand, and you don't have a backup, or your opponent is hitting with power high enough that you can't backup, you don't need to think twice about letting go of a Pina for the Encore effect, since you can get it back straight away with this card.
Silica's Unyielding Trust is the main Brainstorm of the deck. It's not as repeatable as some other Brainstorm effects due to it's cost of 1 stock and resting two characters. For each climax revealed, you can Salvage up to one <<Avatar>> <<Net>> or <<Familiar>> character. (Which includes every character in the deck)
Though you mainly want to use Brainstorm to get through your deck when you're low on or out of climaxes, if you do happen to reveal any, the Salvage effect is still useful to get a bigger hand size.
Though you mainly want to use Brainstorm to get through your deck when you're low on or out of climaxes, if you do happen to reveal any, the Salvage effect is still useful to get a bigger hand size.
Silica Looking Up At the Sky lets you search your deck for one <<Avatar>> character. This is a pretty standard search effect on a level 0, with the cost being pay 1 and discard a card from hand, which is pretty common on this type of card.
If you're not having any luck with your draws, this search effect can easily help you out, since every character in this deck has the <<Avatar>> trait. (With the exception of "Familiar, Pina" and "Pina's Heart".)
If you're not having any luck with your draws, this search effect can easily help you out, since every character in this deck has the <<Avatar>> trait. (With the exception of "Familiar, Pina" and "Pina's Heart".)
Gathering Materials, Silica has two Auto effects, the first being a nice top-deck check effect. When this card is placed to the stage from hand, reveal the top card of your deck, if that card is an <<Avatar>> or <<Net>> character, put it into your hand and discard a card to waiting room. This is a great effect to fix your hand if you've had bad draw luck, and just need that extra chance to get something you need.
The second effect if a standard level reverser effect. When this card is reversed in battle, if the battle opponent is level 0 or lower, you may reverse it. This effect is great for clearing any higher powered level 0 characters that you might struggle with early, or just force side attacks from your opponent.
I personally like level reversers, because you can just side attack with them and leave your opponent to decide if they want to trade, leaving an open stage position, or also side attack.
This is a card I was happy to see with the release of the SAO II extra booster, the free level 0 top-check/hand-fix effect is useful early game and shouldn't be overlooked. As for the second effect, if you wanted a level reverser before this release, you'd need to include Lisbeth in your deck, and nobody wants that.
The second effect if a standard level reverser effect. When this card is reversed in battle, if the battle opponent is level 0 or lower, you may reverse it. This effect is great for clearing any higher powered level 0 characters that you might struggle with early, or just force side attacks from your opponent.
I personally like level reversers, because you can just side attack with them and leave your opponent to decide if they want to trade, leaving an open stage position, or also side attack.
This is a card I was happy to see with the release of the SAO II extra booster, the free level 0 top-check/hand-fix effect is useful early game and shouldn't be overlooked. As for the second effect, if you wanted a level reverser before this release, you'd need to include Lisbeth in your deck, and nobody wants that.
Silica - Like a Date is a 4000 power beater, with a potential of 5000 with two Pina supports on the back stage. At the start of your climax phase, reveal the top card of your deck, if you reveal a climax you must rest this card. While this card has above average base power, it has this penalty that can prevent you from attacking some turns if you're unlucky.
A good card to burn through any level 0 reversers your opponent may be running if they struggle to break through otherwise.
A good card to burn through any level 0 reversers your opponent may be running if they struggle to break through otherwise.
Blade User, Klein is another Brainstorm in this deck. Unlike "Unyielding Trust, Silica", Klein has an easily repeatable Brainstorm effect, with a cost of only 1 stock. For each climax revealed with this Brainstorm, you may choose an <<Avatar>> or <<Net>> character and give it +1000 power until the end of your opponent's next turn. This not only helps you to break through any high power characters on your turn, but also makes it tougher for your opponent to get through you characters on their turn too.
Along with this great Brainstorm, Klein has another useful effect. When this card is placed on stage from hand, reveal the top card of your deck, if you reveal an <<Avatar>> or <<Net>> character, you can give 1000 power to one of your characters until the end of your turn.
Along with this great Brainstorm, Klein has another useful effect. When this card is placed on stage from hand, reveal the top card of your deck, if you reveal an <<Avatar>> or <<Net>> character, you can give 1000 power to one of your characters until the end of your turn.
At level 1 we have 12 characters.
Silica Leaves the Party is one of two Backups in this deck, it's a simple 0 cost 1500 power Backup.
This should be able to provide enough protection through level 1 if it's needed.
This should be able to provide enough protection through level 1 if it's needed.
<<Pina's Heart>> is another card in this deck with a support role, it gives your character in the middle position of the center stage with "Silica" in it's card name +1000 power.
Personally I have mixed feelings about this effect, since it only boosts the Silica in the middle, but 1000 extra power for free is great to have if you want to keep that Silica safe.
The second effect on this card is an Auto effect, when another one of your characters becomes reversed in battle, you can choose another character and give it +1000 power.
This second effect is my favourite part about this card, it let's you trade one character and potentially boost another enough to win another battle. The effect can sometimes be overlooked by your opponent, and they may attack another weaker character first, letting you add a defensive power boost to a stronger character.
Personally I have mixed feelings about this effect, since it only boosts the Silica in the middle, but 1000 extra power for free is great to have if you want to keep that Silica safe.
The second effect on this card is an Auto effect, when another one of your characters becomes reversed in battle, you can choose another character and give it +1000 power.
This second effect is my favourite part about this card, it let's you trade one character and potentially boost another enough to win another battle. The effect can sometimes be overlooked by your opponent, and they may attack another weaker character first, letting you add a defensive power boost to a stronger character.
Caution Towards Kindness, Silica. Not much to say here, a 0 cost 5500 power vanilla.
<<Cait Sith>> Girl, Silica is a 1 cost beater with an above average 7500 power.
When this card is placed on stage from hand, reveal the top card of your deck, if the revealed card is not an <<Avatar>> <<Net>> or <<Dragon>> character, put this card into your waiting room at the beginning of your encore step.
Since every character in this deck has this trait, and there are no event cards, this has the same chance of backfiring as "Silica - Like a Date", with the difference being that you don't have to reveal every turn, only when this card is placed.
When this card is placed on stage from hand, reveal the top card of your deck, if the revealed card is not an <<Avatar>> <<Net>> or <<Dragon>> character, put this card into your waiting room at the beginning of your encore step.
Since every character in this deck has this trait, and there are no event cards, this has the same chance of backfiring as "Silica - Like a Date", with the difference being that you don't have to reveal every turn, only when this card is placed.
Silica - Start of the Adventure is our level 1 climax combo. When this card attacks, if "First Adventure" is in your climax area, you may pay the cost of 1 stock to choose a card named "Familiar, Pina" in your waiting room, and place that card on any position of the stage as rest and give this card +3500 power until the end of turn.
I personally love this effect, not only does it bring power up to a 10k base, but you get to place a Pina from the waiting room straight to the stage, giving you an extra 500 power and an extra Encore to fall back on if you need to.
I personally love this effect, not only does it bring power up to a 10k base, but you get to place a Pina from the waiting room straight to the stage, giving you an extra 500 power and an extra Encore to fall back on if you need to.
At level 2 we have only 5 characters.
Silica's Relieved Smile the main level 2 of this deck and the level 2 climax combo. When she is placed on stage from hand, look at the top card of your deck, and place it on top of your deck or into your waiting room.
When this card attacks, if "Happening During Battle" is in your climax area, you may pay the cost of 2 stock to deal one damage to your opponent, then choose up to one card in your opponent's waiting room and place it on top of your opponent's deck.
This is a great end game effect in my opinion, and is as good of a finisher as the level 3 cards.
You deal one extra damage on attack declaration, and then you can guarantee one point of damage when the attack goes through, by placing a character on top of your opponents deck, decreasing the chance of cancelling slightly.
While this is a great effect, you should prioritize using it when your opponent is either in late level 2 or level 3, so it's an effect to wait to use. Due to the 2 stock cost, using it too early can really knock you back, especially if damage doesn't go as planned. Of course, if you reach level 2 and you have more than enough stock to spare, there's no harm in using this, as you're already likely ahead.
When this card attacks, if "Happening During Battle" is in your climax area, you may pay the cost of 2 stock to deal one damage to your opponent, then choose up to one card in your opponent's waiting room and place it on top of your opponent's deck.
This is a great end game effect in my opinion, and is as good of a finisher as the level 3 cards.
You deal one extra damage on attack declaration, and then you can guarantee one point of damage when the attack goes through, by placing a character on top of your opponents deck, decreasing the chance of cancelling slightly.
While this is a great effect, you should prioritize using it when your opponent is either in late level 2 or level 3, so it's an effect to wait to use. Due to the 2 stock cost, using it too early can really knock you back, especially if damage doesn't go as planned. Of course, if you reach level 2 and you have more than enough stock to spare, there's no harm in using this, as you're already likely ahead.
Confident Silica is the second Backup in this deck. Again, this is just a standard power Backup with no other effects, a 1 cost 3000 power Backup, this is plenty enough for emergencies.
At level 3 we have 8 characters.
Like a Younger Sister, Silica has an on play Heal, which lets you place the top card of your clock into your waiting room. This card is also the level 3 climax combo, when this card attacks, if "Pina's Resurrection" is in your climax area you can choose up to one character in your waiting room and return it to hand, then choose one card in your opponent's waiting room and place it on top of your opponent's deck.
My least favourite climax combo in the deck, but that doesn't mean it's bad in any way.
This effect gives you a free Salvage, and lets you place a character on the top of your opponent's deck, decreasing the chance of your opponent cancelling damage. Great for helping you finish off the game.
My least favourite climax combo in the deck, but that doesn't mean it's bad in any way.
This effect gives you a free Salvage, and lets you place a character on the top of your opponent's deck, decreasing the chance of your opponent cancelling damage. Great for helping you finish off the game.
Silica's Bashful Troubled Look is the second level 3 of the deck.
While this card is in play, it gets +500 power for every other <<Avatar>> <<Net>> or <<Dragon>> characters. Since every character in the deck has at least one of those traits, if you have a full stage, that's an extra 2000 power, bringing your power up to 11.5k, not including supports and other buffs.
The second effect is when this card is placed on stage from hand, pay 1 stock to deal one damage to your opponent.This is a great effect that let's you deal extra damage to your opponent at the cost of only 1 stock. Even if this damage happens to get cancelled, that's a climax that you won't be seeing on your next attack, decreasing the chance of cancelling. Another great but simple level 3 card.
While this card is in play, it gets +500 power for every other <<Avatar>> <<Net>> or <<Dragon>> characters. Since every character in the deck has at least one of those traits, if you have a full stage, that's an extra 2000 power, bringing your power up to 11.5k, not including supports and other buffs.
The second effect is when this card is placed on stage from hand, pay 1 stock to deal one damage to your opponent.This is a great effect that let's you deal extra damage to your opponent at the cost of only 1 stock. Even if this damage happens to get cancelled, that's a climax that you won't be seeing on your next attack, decreasing the chance of cancelling. Another great but simple level 3 card.
Next up we have a climax spread of 3/2/3.
Happening During Battle is the climax that combos with "Silica's Relieved Smile"
The trigger is a Door trigger, which lets you Salvage a card when triggered.
The climax area effect is +1000 power and +1 soul to all characters.
The trigger is a Door trigger, which lets you Salvage a card when triggered.
The climax area effect is +1000 power and +1 soul to all characters.
Pina's Resurrection is the climax that combos with "Like a Younger Sister, Silica"
The trigger is +2 soul.
The climax area effect is when this card is placed to the climax area, draw a card and choose a character and give it +2000 power and +1 soul.
The trigger is +2 soul.
The climax area effect is when this card is placed to the climax area, draw a card and choose a character and give it +2000 power and +1 soul.
First Adventure is the climax that combos with "Silica - Start of the Adventure"
The trigger is +2 soul.
The climax area effect is +2 soul to all characters.
The trigger is +2 soul.
The climax area effect is +2 soul to all characters.
How to love your waifu
Mulligan
In your opening hand, you want to have as many level 0s as possible, with at least one Pina being a personal preference. Any higher levels or climaxes, feel free to drop in favour of getting more level 0.
If you draw plenty of level 0s first time, and you have a +2 soul or a 1k1 climax, consider keeping it.
If you're seeing cards such as "Silica - Like a Date", "Gathering Materials, Silica" and "Familiar, Pina" those are ones to consider keeping.
If you draw plenty of level 0s first time, and you have a +2 soul or a 1k1 climax, consider keeping it.
If you're seeing cards such as "Silica - Like a Date", "Gathering Materials, Silica" and "Familiar, Pina" those are ones to consider keeping.
Level 0
Clock whenever you need cards, you'll want to see some level 1 card hopefully. The goal of level 0 is to play as aggressive as you possibly can. Your priority is to level up your opponent before they can get the stock they need for level 1 play. If you succeed in this, you should have no trouble in gaining the level 1 stock advantage that you'll need later.
You'll want to play your "Familiar, Pinas" to keep your power up so your opponent has trouble clearing field.
You might find "Gathering Materials, Silica" to be very valuable at level 0. If your draws have been poor, the top-check effect can help to get rid of any unwanted high level or climax cards for whatever you pick up.
Along with the level reverse effect, you can side attack to keep this card on field, forcing your opponent to choose to get rid of it, or let it stay.
If you have a +2 soul or 1k1 climax in your hand, you should use it when your center stage is full, to deal as much damage possible
You'll want to play your "Familiar, Pinas" to keep your power up so your opponent has trouble clearing field.
You might find "Gathering Materials, Silica" to be very valuable at level 0. If your draws have been poor, the top-check effect can help to get rid of any unwanted high level or climax cards for whatever you pick up.
Along with the level reverse effect, you can side attack to keep this card on field, forcing your opponent to choose to get rid of it, or let it stay.
If you have a +2 soul or 1k1 climax in your hand, you should use it when your center stage is full, to deal as much damage possible
Level 1
At level 1 you'll simply want to keep behind your opponent in terms of level, if you can get your opponent to level 2 while you're still on level 1, that's a sign that things are going your way.
With cards like "<<Cait Sith>> Girl, Silica" and "<<Pina's Heart>>" you should have little trouble in keeping field presence.
Any time you may struggle to take down an opponent's character is when "Silica - Start of the Adventure" will come in handy. The climax combo on this card is great whether or not things are going your way. With this card reaching 10k+ and a free Pina to the stage, you can clear most characters you need to.
Also, considering the climax that is required for this combo, the +2 soul it gives is another great benefit that can help either force climaxes out of your opponent's deck, or level them up quickly.
With cards like "<<Cait Sith>> Girl, Silica" and "<<Pina's Heart>>" you should have little trouble in keeping field presence.
Any time you may struggle to take down an opponent's character is when "Silica - Start of the Adventure" will come in handy. The climax combo on this card is great whether or not things are going your way. With this card reaching 10k+ and a free Pina to the stage, you can clear most characters you need to.
Also, considering the climax that is required for this combo, the +2 soul it gives is another great benefit that can help either force climaxes out of your opponent's deck, or level them up quickly.
Level 2
This deck doesn't have much at level 2, so you want to make as much use of your level 1 characters as possible to push your opponent into higher damage and closer to level 3.
As your opponent nears or reaches level 3, you can then make full use of "Silica's Relieved Smile" and her climax combo. This should deal enough damage to your opponent to make it hard for them to recover.
As your opponent nears or reaches level 3, you can then make full use of "Silica's Relieved Smile" and her climax combo. This should deal enough damage to your opponent to make it hard for them to recover.
Level 3
Through level 3, you can still make good use of "Silica's Relieved Smile" just as you would in late level 2.
If this isn't enough, you have your level 3 characters to fall back on for effects such as Heal and Burn.
Assuming the game isn't totally going your way, "Like a Younger Sister, Silica" can be essential for keeping you in the game, with a valuable Heal along with the climax combo Salvage and an extra character on the top of your opponent's deck. That along with "Silica's Bashful Troubled Look" with the Burn and high base power, level 3 is a great last resort to bring the game back.
If this isn't enough, you have your level 3 characters to fall back on for effects such as Heal and Burn.
Assuming the game isn't totally going your way, "Like a Younger Sister, Silica" can be essential for keeping you in the game, with a valuable Heal along with the climax combo Salvage and an extra character on the top of your opponent's deck. That along with "Silica's Bashful Troubled Look" with the Burn and high base power, level 3 is a great last resort to bring the game back.
Flaws
While Silica is the best girl, this deck has it's flaws that hold it back.
- With the limited selection of 0 cost cards at level 1, we're forced into running a vanilla, which can lead to a disadvantage against other decks with strong card effects and a cheap level 1 game.
- Without any card with an Encore effect, Silica is heavily reliant on Pina. If your opponent is running Wind triggers, or any form of effect that bounces cards back to hand, they can easily remove Pina from the stage, essentially removing one of the strongest pieces of the deck, the Encore.
- The level 2 game can be completely non-existent in this deck if you can't get hold of your climax combo, or just can't pull it off. With the high cost of the combo, if you're rushed to level 2 before you can build up enough stock, you'll struggle to pull off your level 2 successfully.
- In comparison to many recently released sets, the level 3 cards are pretty plain, and have very little in terms of outstanding finisher effects.
Q & A
I will try to answer as many questions as possible, so feel free to ask!