I wanted to take some time to write up a beginner’s guide to playing Aqua Force.The clan overall is pretty near and dear to my heart as Thavas was the second deck I tried to build, and overall it’s one of the two clans I find myself going back to often (the other being Bermuda Triangle). A lot of this guide will be written with the assumption that you, the reader, are unfamiliar with the clan. I intend to cover the basics:what the clan does, the keyword, some key units generic to the clan , and basic strategy to consider when playing.

Basics

To begin with what kind of deck is Aqua Force? What kind of playstyle defines the deck?

Aqua Force is primarily a combo/rush oriented deck. The idea with the deck overall is to chain together attacks in a pattern to unlock skills, build power, and put pressure onto your opponent. This is accomplished through a variety of methods such as:swapping positions, rear guards that restand, or units that attack from the back row. The deck also has access to some tempo plays through retire skills, like Thavas’ stride skill.

Keyword

The clan’s keyword is “Wave”. What Wave does is assign a number value to skills corresponding the number of battles in a turn. So Wave 1 would be the first battle Wave 2 the second and so on and so forth.

For example Battle Siren Melania: Her skill is “Wave 3rd time or more” which means it can be activated if it is the third battle of that turn or higher.

To an extent this mechanic has always been present in Aqua Force. Maelstrom for example reads “When this unit attacks a vanguard, if it is the fourth battle of that turn or more” which is a longer way of saying Wave 4th or higher.

Key Cards (General):

Now that we’ve explained the basics I’m gonna list what I feel are staple units in the clan. I’m only listing Generic units for the moment as this is meant to be more of a general beginner’s guide.

Tidal Assault: This card is easily one of the most important rear guards in the clan. It is a staple in nearly every single Aqua Force build and for good reason. The wave mechanic, while overall not the worst keyword, does have gaps in it. Overlapping Wave requirements or having several high wave requirements can make pulling off combos difficult sometimes. Tidal Assault is extremely valuable to the clan for being a FREE restander. -5k is almost entirely negligable now since you will either poke in service to higher power later, or have ways to mitigate the power loss. In addition to being the freest safety net for Wave numbers he also provides a strong early game. -5k is much more negliable against a G1 or 2 vanguard when a simple boost will make up the difference, assuming no triggers.

Battle Siren, Stacia: Another unit that I find to be staple in many decks. Like Tidal assault she exists to be a safety net being a backrow attacker. If you’re missing that one extra attack to reach your wave numbers a poke from Stacia can help make up the Wave you were missing. She attacks for 9k if it’s from the back so she can swing at a rear guard if you choose. With Lambros being 4th Wave and Wailing gaining benefits for more attacks, Stacia is a very powerful card for building momentum. She can even hit VG numbers with a quick buff.

Marine General of Heavenly Silk, Lambros: Lambros is an incredibly powerful stride that should be a staple in most if not all Aqua Force decks. When you have 2 face up G-units in the G-zone, Lambros can restand and give +10k to 2 of your rear guards. This can be used to either make 2 medium sized attacks, or one massive column to put a ton of pressure on your opponent. Overall the clan attacks quite a lot, but with the drawback of many of them being small. Lambros increases the number of attacks you can make as well as make larger columns to make defending more difficult. He can easily be used to either end a game or pressure out a lot of cards from your opponent’s hand. And while I don’t personally recommend it you can use his skill even if you can’t get 2 face up g-units just to restand 2 rear guards without the power.

Storm Dominator, Commander Thavas: Commander Thavas is a strong first stride options, and is usually my first choice when using Blue Waves or Thavas/skyros. His GB3 is a copy of Thavas’ stride skill, while his generic skill gives a rear guard +5k and the ability to attack from the back row. Thavas sets up GB2 his first stride as well as extending your offense by creating a back row attacker. Against clans that don’t easily retire this can also be used to protect important cards like, Tidal Assault, by putting them in the back row where they cannot be easily touched.

Storm of Lament, Wailing Thavas: Wailing Thavas is an alternative finisher to Lambros. His GB3 allows him to retire a unit for each time your rear guard attacked. His GB2 gives him a G1 restrict and +5k for each rear guard attack at Wave 3+. Compared to Lambros at 4 Thavas’ wave skill is much easier to accomplish. As long as you can make 2 rear guard attacks you can easily hit for 36k with 2 retires and a guard restrict. This makes it easy to pull out a decently strong turn even if you can’t do the full rush down Aqua Force is known for. In addition because of his guard restrict Kagero players will be more wary of throwing out a Denial Griffin because they’ll want to save it for Thavas’ attack.

Battle Siren, Mallika: Yes this draw trigger is actually important enough for me to highlight her. If you noticed with Tidal and Stacia the deck sometimes has problems hitting numbers. If your deck runs draw triggers, which I do recommend for all builds, definitely run Mallika. She helps Tidal and Stacia hit 12k to reach VG numbers. This mitigates the lack of power inherent in the cards and allows you to put more pressure on your opponent.

These next couple cards I don’t think are key staples per se, but useful generic cards that can be used if you’re not sure of or can’t acquire a specific archetype’s staples.

Magnum Assault: Magnum assault is another generic restander like Tidal Assault. Unlike Tidal though he does have a couple conditions attached to him. First off he’s GB1 so his early game application is a little weak. Second since he is what we call an “Amber Clone” he needs to be boosted in order to pay cost for his skill. This means he hogs his entire column which can hurt if you want to devote that space to other plays. However despite that he is still a generic restander. For the cost of CB 1 you can get an extra attack off and he’ll be at 11k to hit VG, assuming no triggers. This helps you to make Waves and since he’s only restricted to GB he can be splashed into anything that strides. Most archetypes have their own Archetype version of Magnum though so I don’t think he’s a staple anymore. However he’s still a strong option if you’re new to the deck and are unsure of what to run.

Couple Dagger Sailor: Unlike Magnum and Tidal, Couple Dagger is a position swapper. So instead of directly restanding herself she swaps positions with something in the same column. She works pre-GB which means she has applications for early rush. However like with Magnum she’s been power creeped out by most Archetypes having a card that can fill her same niche. Position Swapping can become awkward if you don’t have the resources to space. Not using her skills means columns can become clogged and you lose out on utility if you don’t revive her partner using Commander Thavas. But overall still a fairly solid card.

High Tide Sniper: Last but not least we have High Tide Sniper. When this card attacks at the third battle or higher (he was before Wave was introduced) you can SB1 to gain +10k until the end of battle. This card is typically used as Couple Dagger’s dance partner. You would swing Dagger, your other column, then Sniper. This can also bounce off Lambros to make him a 29k attack on restand. Overall still a strong card, especially in conjunction with Couple Dagger, but if he doesn’t have someone else to get to 3rd battle he becomes vanilla.

Basic Tips

Be mindful of your attack order: This is a pretty basic, but common mistake to make. Keep a close eye on how your board is set up and what kind of Wave numbers you have to meet. If you have a skill you really want to go off at Wave 3, be sure you can reach Waves 1 and 2. Likewise make sure you’re not using overlapping Wave units, or are otherwise comfortable with having to lose out on a skill. In addition to keeping track of Wave counts take time to assess your power as well. I personally like to get as many tiny attacks (below 16k) as I can out of the way before a VG swing and put triggers on larger columns.

Don’t be afraid of pokes: While Aqua Force generally makes a high volume of attacks they are, for the most part, for rather small numbers (I define this as under 21k). In fact it’s almost inevitable you will have to swing for a not-hit number just to make waves. While it certainly doesn’t feel good having to intentionally whiff an attack keep in mind it’s usually in service to more power later. A poke every now and then may just be what closes the gap between you and your opponent.

Manage your pokes wisely: Branching off from the tip above, while poking is likely inevitable you should still manage how often you do it. It may certainly be tempting to, for example, throw a bunch of pokes at your opponent to make a large Wailing Thavas. However, this may not always be wise. If your opponent has a large number of cards in hand dropping off your rear guard pressure in favor of going all in on Vanguard could very well be a mistake that causes you to lose. Take time to assess the situation going in and weigh the pros and cons of making a poke heavy turn.

Be mindful of Overextension/Greedy Play: Before you decide to drop all your Tidals at G2 to rush your opponent take some time to consider a possible counterattack. If you’re playing a match against an equally rear-guard dependent deck, jumping the gun and trying to rush first could put you behind if they choose to attack your rears. You could end up losing all your momentum if you couldn’t recover. While the clan does have some draw power, overall it is rather susceptible to weak hands. Assess the recovery strength of both your own hand, and your opponent’s deck overall, before you decide to rush. Use tactics like putting your important cards in the back and keeping them relevant using Commander Thavas. Holding onto your rush until the proper time can be what makes or breaks your game.

That’s all I have for my Aqua Force primer. As always I hope you enjoyed. Comments and criticism is always welcome. Feel free to comment if you agree/disagree or have other tips you want to share.