'The Other Maes'
Asukarulez, FMA-TCG Forums
"Maes Hughes, Because There’s More Then One Way to Play Him"
Leaders:
Maes, Smitten Husband
Maes, Lieutenant Colonel
Maes, Senior Investigator
Maes, Risk Taker
Locations:
Red Water Caverns
Library Ruins
Police Station
Youswell Inn
High Command
Empty Fountain
Riverside
Altar to Leto
Country Station
Allies:
Hakuro, General x1
Elysia Hughes, Beloved Newborn x1
Liza Hawkeye, Full of Advice x3
Edward Elric, Researcher x3
Yoki, Corrupt Lieutenant x3
King Bradley, Always on Duty x2
Maria Ross, Maternal Instinct x3
Alex Louis Armstrong, Strong and Beautiful x3
Shou Tucker, Proctor x2
Vato Falman, Warrant Officer x2
Inspector, Citizen of Aquroya x2
Roy Mustang, Benefactor x2
Prison Guards, Civil Servants x1
Veteran Alchemists, Military Elite x1
Events:
By The Order of the Fuhrer x2
Exhaustion x3
Reinforcements x3
A Job Well Done x2
A Clue for the Search x1
Aflame x2
Intimidation x3
Pressure x3
Suppressing Fire x3
Taunt x2
Frenzy x3
Test of Might x2
Daring Gambit x3
Exposed x2
So how does this deck radically differ from McMasters' deck?
Mine isn’t built for Speed. Mine works WITH the curve, so I have a tad more ally drops and more copies of the same allies to make sure I can draw and save them more consistently.
The notable ally choices are the King Bradley and Prison Guards. I had correctly guessed that I wouldn’t see any Administrators or Pensioners at the Trials, so I ran more copies of larger allies to accommodate my 8 command leader. That also allowed me to escape cards such as Persuation, Lust’s Ringbearer + Stray Kitten and Mugear with my high costs/high wits character drops. I ran a single copy of Prison Guards vs. possible RWF decks and Attachement Heavy Basque Grand or Alphonse Elric. I also used Roy Mustang, Benefactor over Sarcastic for 2 reasons: 1) He allowed me to discard one less card when using Researcher and 2) he allowed my State Alchemists to be on par with an alchemy deck. Plus, I couldn’t deal with the loss of experience as well as a speed deck. I also ran only a single copy of Hakuro because I didn’t expect any Challenge the Sun in the tournament, considering my players didn’t play with it much at the time.
As for my events, they are pretty straight forward. A lot of battle boosts, a bit of location control, 3 Reinforcements to make sure I had a 2nd turn drop, 2 battle changers Vs. Alchemist Showdown, Daring Gambit specifically for Change in Plans, and Pressures against Homunculus or Clue. I also ran Exposed instead of Peek for 2 reasons: 1) Peek can be cancelled with Lyra and 2) I’d rather remove one potent card in my opponent’s hand then possibly drawing one of my own. I ran BtooF vs. Researcher and Inspector, and Exhaustion is probably the 2nd best battle boost in AH after Suppresive Fire, since it can be played as effectively offensively or defensively.
Matchups:
#1 Elrics:
This was my bane. So many locations I could not fight on, let alone have a chance at. This is why I packed 3 copies of Daring Gambit, because Change in Plans could lead into an Auto-Win situation. Keep your battle changers handy and only use the BtootF when you’re actually going into a fight.
#2 Homunculus
Compared to a lot of people, I could easily deal with Homunculus. Certainly, the deck could have used 2-3 Copies of Plan B, but considering I didn’t run CtS either, I didn’t feel it would be too useful. Turns out, there was more Homunculus then Elric decks, but my higher attributes won the day. Stall the game as much as possible, because once you hit level 3, Senior Investigator negates a lot of his abilities.
#3 Rebels:
Hard match-up considering you’ll be fighting on strength as well, and they can dish out more dirt then you thanks to Out the Window. Oh, and Psiren is your worst enemy. Fight in Wits as much as possible, use your location control to make that happen. Aflame and Prison Guards also help a lot. Yoki is your best friend. Pensioneer isn’t too much of a problem, you have enough early drops to keep your 8 drops for when you’re level 3.
#4 Military:
It depends who you’re playing against.
Vs. Grand, let him attach-up and win a couple of locations, then drop the Prison Guards bomb when you can take back the game. BtootF is crucial against this deck as most players run Homunculus as a side strategy for the Mark of the Ourobouros.
Vs. Roy, it’s the same strategy as Elrics if he’s playing Duelist/Master Manipulator, use Inspector for good use.
Vs. Administrator, one word: Cry. If you fear Administrator, then don’t play this deck. Change your ally drops to lower costing allies and add trusted advisor. Now we are talking a whole new ball game that becomes very weak against Rebels and Homunculus, but that’s the price one must pay.
Vs. Maes, I actually played 2 of them during the trials, and all I can say is: don’t mess up. It all comes down to the least amount of mistakes made by either player, and I consistently made fewer mistakes for the win. If you’re ever going into a fight, make SURE you can out battle pump your opponent, and that’s with using ALA, Researcher and Exposed. Exposed just wins you the game here.
Julien Vazquez a.k.a. Asukarulez
Montreal, Canada
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