Hi guys! It’s already been over a week since set 14 officially dropped and I got my hands on the new Regalias. So far I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by how well the deck is doing for me and in general. It’s a lot more popular than I thought it would be (what which some people being hostile due to the subclan restriction and whatnot). So far most of the complaints that I heard before the set dropped (Regalias are bad because they are subclan restricted, why did Bushiroad drop Fenrir and Amaruda for Regalias?, etc.) have been drowned out my people noting how strong the deck is. There have been plenty of talks about people topping their locals with the deck, and generally doing very well. As for myself, I’ve brought the deck to two locals and I only lost two games. The first loss in locals A was against Deletors. The second loss in locals B was against Domination. My wins were against Gavrail (easy win), Vanquisher (easy win, though Bulwark and Impede do cause some issues), and Domination (close game). I also played against Darkness (win), Brave (win), Overlord (win), and a Regalia mirror match (win). I have yet to test the deck against Luard, ZTB, Chaos, Victor, or Gyze, but generally speaking, I’ve had an easy time winning with the deck.

As for the decklist itself, I’ve seen a lot of variations. Mainly the variation I see is in the grade 1 and 0 line-up. I’ll give you my decklist below and explain my choices. However, I would like to note that my decklist (or anyone else’s decklist) is not necessarily the best decklist. Many variations seem to be doing well from what I’ve seen.

Grade 4: 16

Ultimate Regalia of Almighty, Minerva x4

This card is the heart and soul of the deck. If I can G-guard first to use her GB3 on first stride, I will. The winning image of this deck is to power up all my columns with Genil, Achlis, Expel Angel, and Minerva and beat my opponent down with high numbers. I typically always use both skills together, and my opponent is typically dead after on my second Minerva turn (if not earlier).

Ultimate Regalia of Crimson, Muspell x2

If I can’t use Minerva’s GB3, I use Muspell. Since my deck turbos through itself, I usually soul blast however 1 card for each rearguard I have over 3. The purpose of this turn for me is just to make as high numbers as I possibly can. Then, I typically always use the skill to draw and potentially add more cards to the field or hand.

Prehistoric Regalia, Urth x4

This card is great if your opponent has no PGs in hand. However, this rarely happens. You can also use this card to soul charge your drop zone if needed. I run her at 4, but I’ve never used her yet, as Minerva is almost always better.

Ultimate Regalia of Affection, Eir x2

Eir is a great g-guard for the high defense.

Goddess of Seven Colors, Iris x2

However, sometimes the drop zone isn’t set-up for Eir. Iris is also very useful for fishing out useful units from the drop, like Achlis and Genil.

Witch Queen of Accomplishment, Laurier x1

Laurier is here in case the drop zone isn’t set up for Eir, but I need a big shield. That’s it.

Air Element, Sebreeze x1

This deck doesn’t need much counterblasts to work, so Sebreeze is still great to punish grade stalling opponents.

Other strides you can run are:

2 copies of Vanargandr (generally speaking, this isn’t worth it. If you have the soul, just use Minerva)

1 copy of Athena (it’s an okay option, but the game is likely over by then anyway)

1 copy of Ultima (without triggers in deck, this isn’t worth it. Minerva is likely the better option anyway)

1 copy of Tyr (you shouldn’t need the soul charge that much. It’s not worth it)

1 copy of Demeter (vanilla, but a better option that Tyr if soul is what you need)

1 copy of Tagwoot or Hanasatsuki (Laurier, Eir, and Iris are generally enough)

1 copy of Fenrir (okay option if you need the draws, but not likely to be worth it anyway)

Grade 3: 7

Regalia of Wisdom, Angelica x4

Angelica helps with the deck/drop/soul turbo that this deck does very well. She’s always the ideal ride target.

Omniscience Regalia, Minerva x3

Minerva is here for her handy little skill: Lord. This skill alone can really screw up a Domination player’s Rinne turn, as she cannot attack if they have any units that aren’t Genesis. On top of that, if you ride her, Mukuro cannot force her to attack the board, and she can gain a handy +2k crossride bonus from Angelica.

Other grade 3s you can run are:

Iouun (a good option when Domination isn’t predominant)

CEO Yggdrasil (not worth it generally, but she is bae for sure)

Nega-keiopojisis (if you’re edgy and want a decent rearguard)

Verthandi (for early game shenanigans. Great in grade stall/rush metas)

Brynhildr (strictly worse than Minerva in every way)

Nyx (please don’t)

Cypris (ditto)

Breakride Angelica (hands down, the worst option because it prevents you from playing the stride bonus)

Grade 2: 12

Regalia of Poem, Bragi x4

Bragi is my go-to unit for Minerva turns. She’s great for filling up the soul with the units I need, and she helps make big numbers. Bragi + Bennu is a 21k column. Bragi + Flap Angel is a 22k column. Bragi + Expel Angel is a 25k column. And it just stacks from there. I always try to have at least 1 rearguard hitting 31k on my Minerva turn.

Regalia of Abundance, Freya x4

Freya is great for early draw power and hitting numbers on the Minerva turn. Ideally I like to have 1 Bragi and 1 Freya as my rearguards on that turn. Though Bragi hits numbers faster, Freya can also hit some god numbers.

Regalia of Ideas, Genil x4

Genil is essential to power up Bragi and Freya. She is the most important card in the deck for making numbers.

Other grade 2s you can run:

Hemera (trust me, you don’t need the soul. There are other ways.)

Venus (only run if you need to counter rush decks)

Hesperis (not generally worth it, so just don’t)

Norn (Genil is better, don’t do this to yourself)

Grade 1: 14

Regalia of Frost, Jotun x4

Jotun is fantastic because she is easy to recycle from drop.

Regalia of Benevolent Wind, Flap Angel x3

Flap Angel is great for fixing up the ride target if I draw the wrong Grade 3. However, she’s not useful on the field.

Regalia of Amulets, Expel Angel x4

Expel Angel is by far the best Grade 1 for making big numbers and drawing cards. I always like to have 2-3 of her in my backrow whenever possible. Though she will not live long against control.

Regalia of Brewing, Bennu x3

I’ve never seen anyone else play Bennu (except Misaki in the anime). At first I though this card wasn’t great and had no place in the deck. However, it tested so much better and really helped turbo the drop and soul in the early game. The 6k base doesn’t even hurt on Minerva turns because I will typically place a Bragi in front of Bennu to make that easy 21k column.

Other Grade 1s you can play:

Shiny Angel (same as Hemera, you don’t need this)

Skuld (a decent option, especially against Link Joker. Great for slow/control formats)

Grade 0: 17

Regalia of Dawn, Daylight Angel x1

Without a doubt, the best forerunner for this deck. I’ve seen someone play Leyding, but that is a mistake. This card is really good against control because it can be used early and it nets an extra draw.

Regalia of Hypocenter, Kukurihime x4

This card is great for stacking numbers and adding soul.

Regalia of Service, Eir x4

This card is great for counter charging.

Regalia of Foredoom, Lot Angel x4

Most people don’t play draws in this deck. However, I’ve found him to be incredibly useful. You lose a little bit of crit pressure in return for powering up your engine and hand. Lot Angel really helps build up that soul in the early game and the 5k shield is always nice to help protect from the smaller swings. It’s also a nice card that I can throw on board against Domination without feeling the sting. It also really helps maintain card advantage.

Mirror Regalia, Achlis x4

Most people I’ve seen don’t play Achlis either. They say that stands are useless in Regalias because Minerva will restand the board anyways. I thought this was true at first too. However, when I started playtesting the deck I realized that in most games (if my engine was working properly) I would run through the whole deck by the time I got to Minerva. In other words, more often than not, the Minerva swing will not reveal any triggers at all. On top of that, if you end up hitting the stand on the 5th drive check, you can get an extra attack in (low chance, but it’s still possible). The issue of Minerva’s swing being devoid of triggers has been dealt with by players in two ways:

Running non-Regalias to recycle triggers to the deck. Focusing on hitting high numbers so that the drive check doesn’t matter.

Players who choose option 1 will often run suboptimal cards like Dreaming Dragon or Claimer Harry which can interfere with the Regalia engine (this can hurt you a lot if you don’t have enough Regalias in soul to pull off your skills).

I’ve chosen option 2, which means that I’ve picked triggers that will help me out in the early stages and later stages of the game. The stand effect of Achlis isn’t useful on the Minerva swing, but the +20k to Minerva Achlis gives can be the difference between your opponent guarding successfully and a no guard. On top of that, the stand trigger is really useful for early game pressure and the Muspell turn. Even when you drive check the stand during the Minerva swing, it’s not the end of the world. The benefits outweigh the downsides.

Also, just a quick note on the difference between OTT and Genesis. OTT always focuses on deck manipulation to hit triggers. Hitting triggers in OTT is the goal. Genesis doesn’t do this. Genesis’ power comes from the soul, not the deck. Genesis should be able to win the game using their soul alone. You do not need to hit triggers on a Minerva turn to win the game.

Other triggers you can run:

Clear Angel (a good option if you want more crit pressure)

Battle Maiden, Kukurihime (not a Regalia. Helps with numbers, but doesn’t help with soul. Can cause conflicts)

Dreaming Dragon (not a Regalia. Helps recycle triggers, but empties the drop zone and conflicts with the Regalia engine. Can net a draw, but can also screw you over if you need to g-guard or soul charge from drop. A good option if you want to run Ultima, but not needed. You do not need to run Dreaming Dragon to prevent deckout)

Witch’s Familiar, Shiroma (not a Regalia. A decent option if you want more crit pressure as it can recycle itself to the deck. However, that is a -1 from hand and may not actually help you win)

I’m going to keep testing out this deck against the meta (and at regionals) and I’ll let you know if I choose to change anything in this list. Regardless, this deck is strong and a lot of fun to play 🙂