It’s been a while since I last wrote about content here. Metagame developments during the Verdant Conflict era made me not enjoy the game as much I wanted to, so I took a break from that set for the most part. But now I’m back, and within only a week after the release of Ultimate Colosseum, I managed to reach the new Grand Master 0 rank with my beloved deck Control Sword. It was quite a time investment, but I was committed to the very end and I knew it was possible from the beginning.

Here’s my proof of achievement, along with the highest win streak I hit along the way with the deck. My deck list comes right after as well, so feel free to stick around and read about how I piloted it for those glorious 10,000 ranked points.

Yeah, I main sword.

8th highest Swordcraft wincount in Unlimited this season as of today!

Streak died to bricking, very classic

Deck Profile – Card Choices

Click the image above for the SVPortal link!

Both Verdant Conflict and Ultimate Colosseum gave Swordcraft many much-needed buffs and tools that not only increase the overall card efficiency of the class, but also provide quick ways to react to explosive and sudden board states (Except for back-to-back Kuon boards, those can scar an innocent player). As such, the main objective of this list was to take advantage of these new tools as much as possible and form a deck that maximizes consistency and adaptability.

The playstyle of this particular list runs fairly counter to both how the Unlimited metagame and Swordcraft in general tends to play. Rather than going for a high-pressure and proactive gameplan, I opted for a slower grindy approach with high interactivity and reactive ability. Most of the cards in the list are still Rotation-legal, but the cards that are only playable in Unlimited play a vital and irreplaceable role in making the magic happen. Let’s talk about some especially key cards, then move to a little bit of turn-by-turn theory.

3x Lux, Solar Lancer

One of the elements that I highlighted in the overview of the deck list is consistency, and Lux provides exactly that in spades. The choice of Commanders in the deck were carefully chosen to minimize variance as much as possible while retaining the toolbox-esque utility of her selective search pool. Lux‘s non-Enhance targets are Aether of the Warrior Wing, Pecorine, Peckish Princess, and Lecia, Sky Saber. Her Enhance targets are just the two copies each of Roland the Incorruptible and Honored Frontguard General. A low number of unique cards in each half of her abilities ensure that no Commander gets left behind. Grabbing Pecorine is especially important in that it lets her see Union Burst triggers as early as possible. Lux is also a 1/2 follower, and that goes a long way in fending off Ambling Wraith, Disciple of Lust, Fairies, Quickblader, etc. She is an all-star pick for the deck and lets the deck flow as smoothly as it does.

3x White Ridge Swordsman

While he is an often overlooked card in the Unlimited card pool, White Ridge Swordsman is the cornerstone of many reactive and punishing plays the deck is capable of. He performs this role so well that I even like to call him an anti-meta king. This is most commonly illustrated in the Elana Haven matchup. If the Haven opponent is low on evolution points or has none at all, their every attempt at developing boards will be stopped cold just by having White Ridge Swordsman evolved on field with his oppressive Follower Strike ability at the ready. If the opponent tries to stall him out with Realm of Repose, that’s all the more opportunity for you to safely follow up with Roland or Enhanced Valse, Champion Deadeye. Other key followers he vanishes into dust unscathed include Steadfast Samurai (without protection from Captain Lecia), Amataz, Fairy Blader, and Ceres, Eternal Bride. Even without evolution points, his 3/4 Bane Ward parameters is more than enough for the opponent to have to think twice before responding. White Ridge Swordsman is what makes this list work in peak condition against the meta and I daresay he’s grown to become one of the best defensive 5pp followers in the entire game.

3x Mistolina, Forest Princess / Princess’s Strike





Likely one of the most versatile 6pp followers around, this warrior from Sköll pretty much does it all. She works the triple threat of being defense, pressure and a finisher, and her capabilities are just as valued here as they are in Rotation. Her tempo swing two-card combos with her play point recovery ability are in full display in this list in the forms of Ivory Sword Dance and Union Burst Pecorine. She can even look to steal the win from greedy Lust Blood players with her potential 6 storm damage as long as you don’t destroy their Flauros in the process. Her lacking a Commander or Officer trait rarely hurts either, as this is made up by all of her synergies that come from her play point recovery. Mistolina also bridges a full curve of Ward followers from 4-cost to 7-cost, which greatly fortifies the defensive nature of this deck. She is truly a great card to have around, as her flexibility and defensive abilities are pushed to their limits in this deck.

2x Roland the Incorruptible / Durandal the Incorruptible





Every format that I decide to main Swordcraft for, Roland almost always finds way to excel in even the most volatile metagames. For good reason, too. She provides a much-appreciated safety net against the biggest numbers the game has to offer and lets your larger followers tank hits that are larger than they are. The protection of her Durandal alone staves off Whirlwind Rhinoceroach, Darkfeast Bat, Dagon, Lord of the Seas, giant Haven followers who prayed far too much, the list goes on and on. Roland is notably weaker against the tier 1 demons Aggro Forest and Storm Rune, but the number of gimmick matchups she stuffs that you can find in matchmaking is well worth the deck slot investment.

Deck Profile – The Turn-by-Turn

The titans of Unlimited tier 1 all focus on one single flowchart to their winning strategy, and only go for backup plans when setbacks happen or important cards aren’t seen. And those backups are only there because those top decks totally rely on seeing at least one of those key 3-6 cards to even play the game properly. Consistency is the hallmark of a strong deck in any card game, and Shadowverse is no different. However, tier 1 makes up for this lower consistency by having utterly incredible play sequences on a good draw that completely overwhelm their competition with little resistance. This Control Sword list doesn’t quite command the same level of immediate power, but in exchange it holds a level of consistency that other archetypes would die for. I’ll go over how it all ties together here.

Early game

There’s two different types of curves that this deck possesses, and depending on the opener, the deck may have access to at least one of these. Here’s what to look for:

Curve 1: T2 Lux > T3 Aether of the Warrior Wing . Look to have this curve in most games, as it gives you the most card advantage and helps prepare your midgame and lategame defensive measures. You’ll see this curve most often as well, as Lux can grab Aether on the Fanfare. Aether also secures your turn 4 play, so it makes a nice chain of “plus ones” early on.

T2 > T3 . Look to have this curve in most games, as it gives you the most card advantage and helps prepare your midgame and lategame defensive measures. You’ll see this curve most often as well, as can grab on the Fanfare. also secures your turn 4 play, so it makes a nice chain of “plus ones” early on. Curve 2: T1 Accelerate Mistolina > T2 2/2 follower > T3 Pecorine/Princess’s Strike. Use this curve if you anticipate immediate threats to arrive early game. This includes opposing turn 2 2/2s to trade with yours, innocent 1/3s to trade up with Pecorine, and the obnoxious turn 3 Flauros. No extra card advantage is found here compared to Curve 1, but early game stability is a must, and you can always rely on an enhanced Lux or Elegance in Action to restock when the board state stabilizes.

Midgame

There’s no variations of curves to think about here, but it’s worth emphasizing that the deck’s plays truly open up at turn 6, and a sturdy bridge to late game may be built depending what action is taken. Here’s a couple of my go-to 6 play point plays:

Lecia, Sky Saber + Twinsword Master . This is a very commanding play that not only lets you evolve twice for free, but also triggers all Union Burst cards in hand twice. Twinsword Master ‘s 3/3 evolved statline may not offer the same level of coverage that Valse does, but this combo is especially important when going first as you have only two evolution points there. The saved evolution point goes a much longer way than one would think with all the free evolves that Swordcraft gets to throw around nowadays.

+ . This is a very commanding play that not only lets you evolve twice for free, but also triggers all Union Burst cards in hand twice. ‘s 3/3 evolved statline may not offer the same level of coverage that does, but this combo is especially important when going first as you have only two evolution points there. The saved evolution point goes a much longer way than one would think with all the free evolves that Swordcraft gets to throw around nowadays. Mistolina, Forest Princess (evolve) + Ivory Sword Dance. This play only works if Mistolina‘s play point recovery ability triggers. With an evolve, this play allows a total of 12 damage to be thrown at your opponent’s board, half of which is random. This play was already mentioned in Mistolina‘s section, but it’s worth saying it here again to better illustrate the potency of this defensive combo.

Lategame

The curve is finished here at this point, so the plan to victory now is to play conservatively when possible, work the resource management game, and gradually increase the board pressure as the opponent’s options get exhausted. There’s no big Storm or big instant face damage win condition here unless you count Mistolina or Union Burst Shizuru, Sisterly Sabreur, so the goal is to win with pure and honest board presence and advantage. Contrary to what the tier 1 decks want people to believe, board vs board gameplay is still alive and well, and this GM post is a testament to that.

Common Matchups

Analysis here will try to be brief, and will be presented in the standard 10-game win:loss ratio commonly used in fighting game matchups. There’s a lot of decks in Unlimited, so I’d probably be still writing this post if I were to in depth in every single one. Time to go deck by deck, class by class.

Forestcraft

Aggro Forest: 5:5 even. Extremely delicate matchup and missteps usually get punished with a total loss for either player. An example of a common misstep for us would be setting up a large Ward follower the turn before Amataz gets summoned and evolves start being available for them. This maneuver also plays into how crucial White Ridge Swordsman has become for this deck. Instead of Warding too early, try utilizing Last Words effects from Kagemitsu, Matchless Blade , as they are amazing at both fighting off Fairies and pressuring the opponent into actually respecting your board. Keeping track of your opponent’s Fairies in hand goes a long way in surviving as well. There’s a lot of dynamics to this matchup and we would be here all day to list all of them out, but sadly they would really only matter if the Aggro Forest player doesn’t highroll you with the turn 4 Amataz + Divine Smithing combo anyway.

Extremely delicate matchup and missteps usually get punished with a total loss for either player. An example of a common misstep for us would be setting up a large follower the turn before gets summoned and evolves start being available for them. This maneuver also plays into how crucial has become for this deck. Instead of too early, try utilizing effects from , as they are amazing at both fighting off and pressuring the opponent into actually respecting your board. Keeping track of your opponent’s in hand goes a long way in surviving as well. There’s a lot of dynamics to this matchup and we would be here all day to list all of them out, but sadly they would really only matter if the player doesn’t highroll you with the turn 4 + combo anyway. Whirlwind Rhinoceroach: 6:4 favored. The deck has Unlimited Ward Works and can utilize enhanced Ivory Sword Dance to instantly increase offense and force the opponent off bug bouncing. It’s worth going for setups that can discourage your opponent from evolving their Whirlwind Rhinoceroach and run over a 2 attack follower on your board. Also, Roland is a card. Just watch out for the Angelic Smite and Pixie Mischief.

Swordcraft

Steadfast Sword: 9:1 near free win. Assert your dominance through an Accelerated Mistolina and T-pose on non- Captain Lecia buffed Steadfast Samurai with your evolved White Ridge Swordsman . Seriously, the amount of free points I won from this matchup alone is honestly staggering. No reason to lose this matchup unless the deck bricks beyond belief.

Assert your dominance through an Accelerated and T-pose on non- buffed with your evolved . Seriously, the amount of free points I won from this matchup alone is honestly staggering. No reason to lose this matchup unless the deck bricks beyond belief. Spartacus Sword: 5:5 even. Big repeated chunks of instant face damage or wide boards eats this matchup right up. Unfortunately, this Control Sword deck lacks the ability to do either of those things, but it does do a very good job at making the Spartacus summon extremely uncomfortable to do, as all your evolved Wards are either higher defense than his evolved attack stat of 6 or just kills him upon engagement. The game can still go either way, but such is the nature of RNG alternate win conditions like this one.

Big repeated chunks of instant face damage or wide boards eats this matchup right up. Unfortunately, this Control Sword deck lacks the ability to do either of those things, but it does do a very good job at making the summon extremely uncomfortable to do, as all your evolved are either higher defense than his evolved attack stat of 6 or just kills him upon engagement. The game can still go either way, but such is the nature of RNG alternate win conditions like this one. Midrange Sword: 7:3 very favored. The current popular iteration of this deck uses many of the same cards as the deck featured here, but opts for more fragile and aggressive cards to accompany them instead, such as Regal Wildcat and Splendid Fencer . The only things to be wary of here is the opponent potentially outpacing you early on and thier ability to give Kagemitsu Storm. The matchup is easy otherwise, as your cards will always outlast theirs.

The current popular iteration of this deck uses many of the same cards as the deck featured here, but opts for more fragile and aggressive cards to accompany them instead, such as and . The only things to be wary of here is the opponent potentially outpacing you early on and thier ability to give Storm. The matchup is easy otherwise, as your cards will always outlast theirs. Aggro Sword: 8:2 mostly free win. The opponent gets to have up to 4 turns of face damage, but after that they get Warded out of the game entirely. If you’re going second, an evolved Shizuru, Sisterly Sabreur on turn 4 is usually responded with a surrender on the spot. Some Aggro Sword decks still use Dance of Death though, so account for that when possible.

Runecraft (pls send help)

Storm Rune: 3:7 very unfavored. The opponent can make scary boards faster than you can, and can Storm and burn damage you out before any of your late game even matters. Early Kagemitsu gets bullied by Angelic Snipe , Magic Missile , and Kaleidoscopic Glow . Also, Fiery Embrace is your mortal enemy. The main saving grace of this matchup is Storm Rune ‘s inherent inconsistency. You’ll lose to the Storm Rune highroll every game, but an average roll is very beatable albeit very stressful. Keep your Union Burst Pecorine s and Valse s close.

The opponent can make scary boards faster than you can, and can Storm and burn damage you out before any of your late game even matters. Early gets bullied by , , and . Also, is your mortal enemy. The main saving grace of this matchup is ‘s inherent inconsistency. You’ll lose to the highroll every game, but an average roll is very beatable albeit very stressful. Keep your Union Burst s and s close. Kuon Dimension Shift Rune: 2:8 yer done son. Mostly the same reasoning as Storm Rune, but with even higher highrolls and bigger bricks. The main thing that ruins you this matchup though is that clearing the first Kuon, Founder of Onmyodo board only makes the next Kuon boards easier to summon. The devil of Spellboost only taketh and taketh more away.

Dragoncraft

Ramp Dragon: 4:6 unfavored. Both you and this deck want to be in the game for the long run, except that their late game is notably stronger than yours. There’s a couple ways to approach this matchup. First way is to out-pressure them before their big threats come and reset tempo. The second way is to exhaust them of their win conditions and eventually out-resource them. Both are easier said than done, as a board clear with Masamune, Raging Dragon involved at 10pp will ruin it all for you. However, with Roland and multiple methods of removal in hand, the victory is but a long grind away.

Both you and this deck want to be in the game for the long run, except that their late game is notably stronger than yours. There’s a couple ways to approach this matchup. First way is to out-pressure them before their big threats come and reset tempo. The second way is to exhaust them of their win conditions and eventually out-resource them. Both are easier said than done, as a board clear with involved at 10pp will ruin it all for you. However, with and multiple methods of removal in hand, the victory is but a long grind away. Aggro Dragon: 7:3 very favored. Similar to the flow of facing Aggro Sword , but this deck more wants to go wide and resilient than fast and fleeting. Again, Shizuru will be your best onee-chan here, and make sure not to hesitate on using Ivory Sword Dance and Mistolina ‘s Accelerate when board states start to get hairy. Enhanced Kagemitsu is a potent board control option as well. After that, just be wary of Whitefrost Dragonewt Filene when building your defenses and the matchup should be a done deal.

Similar to the flow of facing , but this deck more wants to go wide and resilient than fast and fleeting. Again, will be your best onee-chan here, and make sure not to hesitate on using and ‘s Accelerate when board states start to get hairy. Enhanced is a potent board control option as well. After that, just be wary of when building your defenses and the matchup should be a done deal. Roost Dragon: 6:4 favored. This is less an actual matchup than it is actually just a race to find Roland the Incorruptible as fast as you can. Your opponent won’t bother doing anything too aggressive during the search, so take advantage of that with an enhanced Lux or Elegance in Action when available. Once Roland sticks, your opponent may follow up with constant barrages of other big Storm followers like Zooey, Arbiter of the Skies and Genesis Dragon of Disaster after giving up on the Wind Reader Zell + Dagon, Lord of the Seas combo, so keep on Warding and you should be fine.

Shadowcraft

Midrange Shadow: 6:4 favored. This matchup used to be near-unwinnable for Swordcraft for ages. But now the tables have turned and our Control Sword deck here can easily out-resource this iconic deck. The matchup is still worth respecting, however, and it is worth reminding yourself of the rule of thumb versus any Shadowcraft deck: always clear their board as best as you can each turn. The rule hasn’t changed, but Swordcraft’s methods on following it have gotten ever more effective and efficient. Go out there and get your revenge, veteran Swordcraft player!

This matchup used to be near-unwinnable for Swordcraft for ages. But now the tables have turned and our deck here can easily out-resource this iconic deck. The matchup is still worth respecting, however, and it is worth reminding yourself of the rule of thumb versus any Shadowcraft deck: always clear their board as best as you can each turn. The rule hasn’t changed, but Swordcraft’s methods on following it have gotten ever more effective and efficient. Go out there and get your revenge, veteran Swordcraft player! Atomy Shadow: 6:4 favored. Ignoring the fantastical possibilities of turn 2 Lord Atomy, this matchup is mostly about letting your White Ridge Swordsman and Nano, the Dawnblade carry you as far away from this mess of a deck as possible. The easiest way to beat Lord Atomy is to just kill him before he kills you, and that’s just a fact of the game we play. Be sure to Ward up for the rogue Deathly Tyrant!

Bloodcraft

Lust Aggro Blood: 4:6 unfavored.

Darkfeast Bat Blood: 4:6 unfavored.

These two matchups play nearly identical to each other, so we’ll tackle them both in one go. And just like most Lust Blood matchups, the best way to sum it up for Control Sword would be calling it “volatile”. A instant source of 3 damage needs to be kept in hand at all times in order to deal with Invocation Flauros, but after that, the difficulty of the matchup scales with how many Valnareik, Omen of Lusts they can find during the match. Not only do hits from them hurt more than they should due to all the residual burn the deck does, but each point of damage they deal to you makes Roland less impactful against Darkfeast Bat. Some decks even opt for Aragavy the Berserker to further enhance their board control options. Lust overall is a very troublesome matchup.

Non-Lust Aggro Blood: 6:4 favored. This matchup, on the other hand, isn’t so bad. This deck is likely the most dangerous aggro deck to face, thanks to it having multiple win conditions to supplement the usual rushdown and swarm play. However, without the Lust package, the deck struggles significantly more against tall Wards . So keep those shields up when possible and continue to be liberal with your Ivory Sword Dance and Princess’s Strike usage.

This matchup, on the other hand, isn’t so bad. This deck is likely the most dangerous aggro deck to face, thanks to it having multiple win conditions to supplement the usual rushdown and swarm play. However, without the Lust package, the deck struggles significantly more against tall . So keep those shields up when possible and continue to be liberal with your and usage. Vengeance Blood: 5:5 even. Dark General and Emeralda, Demonic Officer are terrifying threats to face, but neither of them can exert pressure or deal significant damage with a tall and confident Honored Frontguard General standing in the way. Him being untargetable by card effects makes him immune to every form of direct removal Vengeance Blood has access to, forcing the opponent to burn evolves or other cards to brute force past him. Shizuru also becomes an effective finisher due to the reduced max health and damage shield Azazel, the Depraved grants his user.

Havencraft

Elana Haven: 7:3 very favored. Elana Haven by far and away the one matchup I am most passionate about in this current metagame. Not only does the 7:3 ratio make a huge milestone for how far Swordcraft has come as a class, but it also serves as a great way to test the Control Sword pilot’s resource management skills while putting the full potential of the deck on display. All the pieces to crack this matchup wide open are right in your hands. Enhanced Valse to remove the largest Haven followers and Whitefang Temple. Roland the Incorruptible to stall and tank repeated hits from the opponent’s giant beatsticks while searching for answers. Union Burst Pecorine to clear two modestly grown threats or completely delete one threat with 11 defense or lower. Produce well-fed Kagemitsu who can only grow larger if the opponent has no Kel, Holy Marksman. White Ridge Swordsman to completely prevent the unprepared Haven player from playing the game altogether. The best thing Elana Haven can do to fight back against this is to stall for the Holy Bowman Kel burn combo, but even that is difficult to assemble under pressure. This matchup has some of the honest attrition-based gameplay to it and Control Sword is on the winning side of it.

Portalcraft

Artifact Portal: 3:7 very unfavored. Acceleratium and Augmentation Bestowal make fun of all board-based decks as they allow the Portal player to do exactly what their opponents did, but also cleaning their board for free and drawing to full hand size in the process. Rinse repeat, and it really just feels like a parody of the Midrange archetype to some degree. However, all is not lost here. With Artifact Portal’s new additions Shion, Mercurial Aegis and Absolute Modesty, the deck has been slowly transitioning to a more aggro-esque playstyle as a reaction to aggro’s and Runecraft’s antics. This means that the deck is not only running more potential bricks, but is also making their Artifact engine much more watered down. If an opponent is using these new cards as a metagame adaptation, be sure to exploit that to the fullest extent and treat them like any other regular midrange deck.

Final Thoughts

This deck has been some of the most fun with this game I’ve ever had, and it feels amazing to reach Grand Master not only with a deck of my own creation, but also in my favorite class of choice. Glad to be back, Unlimited is great fun, and see you next time.