A few weeks ago I received a request to make a Complete Guide to OTT Witches from someone who was interested in them. Of course, I’m here to comply. However, the startling issue that I find with Witches is the obvious one: they’re incomplete. Woefully so. Let’s get started.

Background/History

Scarlet Witch, CoCo was the very first Witch unit to be released back in BT02. She was originally used as a one-of tech in Misaki’s Amaterasu/Tsukuyomi deck in Season 1. Back in the day, units like Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi focused on gaining soul, and units like Luck Bird could be used to get rid of soul. CoCo was definitely not the focus of Misaki’s deck, but she could still be used as long as the set-up was there. Then, during the Asia Circuit arc, Misaki became frustrated with her Tsukuyomi deck (for being inconsistent and losing her games), and so she switches up her deck to the newly released soulless build, which focused on gaining power and draw when there were no cards in the soul. This is where CoCo truly began to shine as an ace, instead of the back-up unit. The build was aggressive and focused on utilizing beaters and pressure units like Battle Sister, Glace, Silent Tom, and Oracle Guardian, Wiseman. Then, at the end of the Asia Circuit arc, Misaki receives Goddess of the Sun, Amaterasu, and never plays CoCo again. This is where the soulless build was left for a long time, as it never again received support.

Until Fighter’s Collection 2015 Winter when Floral Witch Master, MiMi and Rose Red Witch, CooCoo were released. This introduced the concept of Witches as an actual subclan, since subclans did not exist when the original soulless build was released. This means that many units that were originally used in the soulless build (Battle Sister, Glace, and Battle Sister, Omelet to name only a few) permanently lost relevancy. However, this created a new life for units with the “Witch” name as they could now be used as discard fodder for MiMi’s (powerful) skill. And that’s where Witches are now left. The soulless build is gone, and now we have a series of cards that supposedly make up a subclan, despite the fact that they were never intended to be a subclan, and they don’t have the existing support to back themselves up. The very fact that they are “the subclan that isn’t a subclan” is also supported through their lore. The witches have almost no relevancy to each other. Instead they are just “magically talented individuals”. That’s right, “individuals” meaning that they aren’t really meant to work together, at least not in the same way as Battle Sisters do. In fact, the only two Witches that are related at all by lore are CooCoo and MiMi, as they were released in the same set.

So how does this information form how we build a modern Witch deck? Well, it’s important first off that we recognize that Witches are not a subclan, so much as they are a series of units that share the name “Witch”. It’s this name that we are looking for, more so than effects that work together. You don’t need to maximize the number of Witches you use in a Witch deck. The only skills that require other Witch units are CooCoo and MiMi, so as long as your Grade 3 line-up is Witches, and you have a good number of Witch targets for MiMi’s skill, then you’ll be fine. The rest of the deck can be absolutely anything. Run whatever engine you want in this deck, as long as it has synergy. Run the most powerful generic units that you can. With that out-of-the-way, let’s take a look at the actual Witch units.

Grade 0s:

Little Witch, LuLu

Little Witch, LuLu is a classic OTT unit. She’s a fantastic starting Vanguard for any OTT deck. She was, and still is, the best generic SVG in the clan due to her low-cost, versatility, flexibility, and resistance to control. The best thing about her is that you aren’t limited to when you have to use her. Despite their being no Grade 4s in the game when she was created, she was still made to synergize with stride, meaning that you can activate her ability whenever you feel like it. Though, her best use in Witches is when she’s activated when you ride-up to Grade 3 to synergize with either CoCo or CooCoo’s on-ride skill. Overall, LuLu is the low-key star of this deck. Play 1.

Aqua Witch, NeNe/Nebula Witch, NoNo

NeNe and NoNo are the two Witch triggers that we have. NeNe’s shines best for just plain having the Witch name which makes her amazing discard fodder for MiMi… That is, is you wanted to play draws in that deck. NoNo on the other hand has a lot more synergy with her effect. Witches are known to hate their soul (hence “soulless”), and they want to get rid of it often. NoNo helps with this, while being a very solid trigger overall, as she increases the number of triggers in your deck without negging your hand. Play 0-4 NeNe, and 0-4 NoNo depending on your desired trigger line-up and play style.

Grade 1:

Emerald Witch, LaLa

This is where it starts to get a little funky. LaLa is… well… she’s a drop and draw. A RRR drop and draw that use to hover around $7 a piece. Though drop and draws aren’t the worst thing in the world (they used to be standard in mega blast/limit break era when the soulless build was released), they certainly aren’t the greatest thing in the world. There just really isn’t anything redeeming about LaLa apart from the Witch name. But the Witch name is really that important. And at least LaLa is better than GaGa. Play 2ish depending the number of other Witch units you have.

Grade 2:

Rock Witch, GaGa

GaGa is little more than a Faithful Angel clone with a soulless restriction. What kills it is the 7k base stat. The skill is definitely better than LaLa’s skill, however, LaLa’s standard stat is significantly better than GaGa’s garbage stat. Play 0.

Grade 3:

Scarlet Witch, CoCo

Despite being one of the oldest OTT bosses in the game, CoCo still is one of the best. Her on-ride skill allows you to gain the early plusses that you need to make a board, draw a Witch name, or even draw a stride fodder. Despite the 10k base, CoCo is still your ride of choice and combined with Little Witch, LuLu, allows you to draw 3 cards before you even stride. This strategy may be old, but it’s a classic for a reason. Those 3 cards can make all the different when you are trying to out-tempo your opponent. Play 4.

Rose Red Witch, CooCoo

CooCoo is the dream back-up for CoCo. She has a similar skill to CoCo, with an 11k, a lower cost, and an additional discard (READ: hand filter). Though you don’t plus as much with CooCoo as you do with CoCo, she’s still a solid Vanguard or Rearguard. You can feel free to call her to the board for easy plussing, or ride her when you need the 11k base. Run 4.

Sky Witch, NaNa

The original back-up to CoCo, NaNa is just a relic of its time. Run 0.

Grade 4:

Floral Witch Master, MiMi

MiMi has a skill that really makes me believe that Bushiroad designed themselves into a corner. At the discard of a single Witch unit, your opponent is forced to either drop 2 cards or take a damage (trigger check nullified). Though this skill is very tame when your opponent is a low damage, it can easily turn deadly when they’re at high damage. However, the issue with this card is that it limits the kind of support Bushi can give Witches. Every new Witch printed must be checked to make sure MiMi doesn’t break the game. The strategy with this card is to be play as aggressively as possible to try to push your opponent to high early damage. Then, you can stride into MiMi again and again until your opponent succumbs to the pressure or you die. Run 2-4 depending on how many times you actually want to stride into her.

How many Witch units do I need?

So you need the name, but LaLa, GaGa, NeNe, and NoNo aren’t really doing it for you. But how many Witch units do you actually need? The answer here depends on just how consistent you want MiMi’s skill to be. I’ll leave below a kind of chart/guide.

With 4 Witches (4 CoCo): You can stride into MiMi consistently once.

Witches (4 CoCo): You can stride into MiMi consistently once. With 8 Witches (4 CoCo, 4 CooCoo): You can stride into MiMi consistently two or three times, but you need to max out on stride fodder.

Witches (4 CoCo, 4 CooCoo): You can stride into MiMi consistently two or three times, but you need to max out on stride fodder. With 12 Witches (4 CoCo, 4 CooCoo, 4 NeNe/NoNo/LaLa): You can stride into MiMi consistently three or four times, but you still need to run some stride fodder.

Witches (4 CoCo, 4 CooCoo, 4 NeNe/NoNo/LaLa): You can stride into MiMi consistently three or four times, but you still need to run some stride fodder. With 16 Witches (4 CoCo, 4 CooCoo, 8 NeNe/NoNo/LaLa): You can stride into MiMi four times, and you should consistently have a Witch unit at hand.

Witches (4 CoCo, 4 CooCoo, 8 NeNe/NoNo/LaLa): You can stride into MiMi four times, and you should consistently have a Witch unit at hand. With 20 Witches (4 CoCo, 4 CooCoo, 4 NeNe, 4 NoNo, 4 LaLa): You can stride into MiMi four times, and you will consistently have a Witch unit in hand.

Witches (4 CoCo, 4 CooCoo, 4 NeNe, 4 NoNo, 4 LaLa): You can stride into MiMi four times, and you will consistently have a Witch unit in hand. With 24 Witches (4 CoCo, 4 CooCoo, 4 NeNe, 4 NoNo, 4 LaLa, 4 GaGa): This is overkill. Please do not run GaGa.

What should I run with my Witches?

So you need some powerful units to run with your Witch engine. You know that anything can work, but you need some recommendations. Generally, I suggest looking for the most powerful generic rearguard engine in the clan, and using that. Right now (pre-GBT12) the strongest engine in the clan is Battle Sisters, utilizing their stride Miroir. Here are some recommendations for Battle Sister units that you can use.

Grade 1s

Stride fodder is especially important in this deck because you will often need to discard a Grade 3 Witch for MiMi’s skill. If you only have 1 Witch in hand, and it happens to be a Grade 3, you don’t want to need to discard it for stride cost. Once GBT12 hits, Battle Sister, Baumkuchen will be the stride fodder of choice due to its synergy with Miroir and Stollen.

Perfect Guard

Witches use up their counterblasts a lot, so Ame-no-Sagiri is the ideal perfect guard.

Utility units

Cocoa increases your trigger chances, Rusk gives you resist, and Precious Ophidian can be used to soul blast, draw, and pay the cost for stride without wasting a Witch in hand. All of these are good options.

Grade 2s

Battle Sister, Tarte Battle Sister, Crepe Battle Sister, Mocha

These three units are all generic beaters with the Battle Sister name, perfect for use in a Witch deck. They give the deck a back-up ace when you can’t/don’t want to use MiMi, as Miroir can be just as effective, if not more effective. Furthermore, once GBT12 hits, you can also have access to Excite Battle Sister, Stollen. With a Battle Sister engine, you have access to all of the most powerful strides in the clan including Miroir, Stollen, MiMi, Ichikishima, Kamususanoo, and Amaterasu. There’s nothing you can’t use! Except Excite Battle Sister, Gelato, Moon Deity who Governs Night, Tsukuyomi, and One Who Views the Planet, Globe Magus.

So then what does a good Witch deck look like?

Grade 0: 17

Little Witch, LuLu x1 (SVG)

Aqua Witch, NeNe x4

Ideal discard fodder.

Nebula Witch, NoNo x2

To help soul blast, and increasing the number of triggers in deck.

Psychic Bird x2

Battle Sister, Muffin x4

On a Miroir turn, you can actually use this card’s effect to counter charge and give a unit +3k.

Lozenge Magus Fine x4

Grade 1: 14

Divine Sword, Ame-no-Murakumo x4

Will become Battle Sister, Baumkuchen after GBT12.

Arbitrator, Ame-no-Sagiri x4

Emerald Witch, LaLa x2

Battle Sister, Rusk x4 (for control metas)

OR

Precious Ophidian x4 (for stride heavy metas)

OR

Battle Sister. Cocoa x4 (for early game metas)

Grade 2: 11

Battle Sister, Tarte x4

Battle Sister, Mocha x4

Battle Sister, Crepe x3

You can reverse the ratios of Mocha and Crepe depending on the meta. Crepe is best during the stride turns, Mocha is best pre-stride.

Grade 3: 8

Scarlet Witch, CoCo x4

Rose Red Witch, CooCoo x4

Grade 4: 16

Floral Witch Master, MiMi x4

Excite Battle Sister, Miroir x3

State Affair Subjugation Deity, Kamususanoo x2

Sometimes all you need is the crit.

Chief Deity of the Heavens, Amaterasu x2

Sunrise-on-high Godhawk, Ichibyoshi x2

Sun of Eternity, Amaterasu x2

Be careful when soul charging as it is mandatory.

Persevering One, Lozenge Magus Apex x1

Side Note on Gimmick Witches

My final note here is just to tell you about my most recent Witch build that I named “Gimmick Witches” or “12-draw Witches”. The deck build is essentially the same as the one above, except that it runs 12 draws, instead of crits or stands. The purpose of this build is to pressure the opponent as much as possible using MiMi to create free damage and Miroir to make big numbers (draw triggers = lots of cards in hand = big numbers). The deck did work, but the major issue I found with this deck was the difficulty to finishing up a game. With no crits in deck, every damage is just 1 damage, so you actually have to hit your opponent 6 times to win. MiMi works best when your opponent is at 5 damage, because it forces them to discard their hand, instead of just taking the damage. The deck therefore had poor offense, and poor defense as guarding with 5k sucks. Perhaps Gimmick Witches will get better once GBT12 hits, as they will have access to a real finisher (Ichikishima) and more ways to power-up rearguards based on the number of cards in hand. Though I cannot recommend Gimmick Witches for tournament play, I do recommend that if you have a Witch deck, or want to build one, you pick up some extra draw triggers and try it out. It’s definitely a fun and rewarding experience and it really shows a new way to play the game that most people do not get to try. As for me, I’m going to continue to try to make Gimmick Witches more consistent and fun come October and GBT12. Happy testing!