The card reveal season for Shadowverse’s next set “Verdant Conflict” has just begun, and we already got ourselves the set’s main mechanic as well as a new keyword for us to talk about. Unlimited is always the format to look at when it comes to breaking new cards with old toys, so let’s see what this set has to offer.

Disclaimer: this series of articles will only discuss cards revealed by the official English Shadowverse Twitter and official website. This is to ensure card text accuracy, as community translations can be prone to error.

All card names are in bold and their card text can be viewed by clicking them, taking you over to the beloved Bagoum database.

Naterran Great Tree

We’ll start with looking at the main card this batch of reveals is centered around. This card here, as noted in the image, is not a direct part of Verdant Conflict, but is a token that is generated by a number of other cards. The card also introduces the newest Trait to enter the game: Natura. Just like how Machina developed, it’s safe enough to expect that different classes will use this Trait in different manners.

By itself, the Tree doesn’t do a whole lot. It’s a Summit Temple without the combat trick attached, so it does little more than take up board space without extra copies of itself. However, assessing this token like that pretty much misses the point of the card, so instead I’ll give a short list of the things to consider when playing a deck based on it:

Tree decks is required to commit to giving up one space on their board in order to enable their strategy. Do keep this in mind if your deck relies on swarming the board or card sequences that require a lot of board space to function.

decks is required to commit to giving up one space on their board in order to enable their strategy. Do keep this in mind if your deck relies on swarming the board or card sequences that require a lot of board space to function. Similar to the weaknesses of the infamous Elana Haven deck, it’s likely that if the Tree is unable to be found in your draws or were to be taken off the field by any means, the Tree deck will suffer a direct halt to their gameplan until they find a new Tree to plant. Hopefully, this won’t be nearly as difficult as finding replacement copies of Elana’s Prayer .

is unable to be found in your draws or were to be taken off the field by any means, the deck will suffer a direct halt to their gameplan until they find a new to plant. Hopefully, this won’t be nearly as difficult as finding replacement copies of . Because of the “do-nothing” nature of the Tree, the deck based on it will more than likely will either dedicate a large amount of deck space to reap the most benefits possible from it, or will only splash in a small portion of it as a resource engine. Efficiency is the name of the game here.

Only the rest of the set reveals can tell how strong strategies centered around Naterran Great Tree will be on debut. But in terms of Unlimited as a whole, there’s plenty to look forward to here, but due to it being a new theme, I wouldn’t expect it to maintain consistent support after one or two more expansions. That does not bode too well for a format where cards last forever.

Desert Pathfinder

Here we have the Robogoblin of the Natura family, except with a fancier rarity and more card text to read. That’s all well and good, as Robogoblin has proven to be a reliable asset to almost every Machina deck available or any other deck that can take advantage of the Repair Mode he gives you on Last Words. I don’t see that to be any different for Desert Pathfinder for the most part, but there are a couple things that concern me with him.

The first concern is that Naterran Great Tree is a deck enabler, while Repair Mode is only a deck supplement. In other words, the Tree starts up the deck’s strategy, while Repair Mode only keeps the already existing strategy going. This means that if Desert Pathfinder gets denied access to his Last Words ability, whether by banish or ability removal, it is going to set back the Tree player by quite a bit because now they have to find a different way to make their deck live. This isn’t really the fault of Desert Pathfinder himself (aside from the ability not being a Fanfare instead), but it’s more a downside the Tree deck has to accept. Watch out for Forbidden Ritual!

The next one is that Desert Pathfinder straight up “loses” his Last Words ability if he is played with a Tree already on your field. Thus, you’re missing out on a number of things if he gets destroyed under that circumstance. No replacement Tree prepared in advance, no card draw from trading in the extra copy, etc. In other words, you are actively losing value if you summon this guy with a Tree on your field. I guess it’s good flavor though, considering he’s a man of the desert and all that.

Overall though, Desert Pathfinder will likely find himself to still play the most important role the Tree deck needs to fill, but his inability to extend value without using his Evolve effect will prove to be quite annoying.

Ladica, the Stoneclaw // Send ‘Em Packing

With the reveal of this Forestcraft Legendary, one can see that Natura will serve as a direct supplement to the combo-focused playstyle Forestcraft has been known for. But honestly, there is way more to take in about Ladica than just that.

While she doesn’t have a place in the current dominant Whirlwind Rhinoceroach deck due to a lack of Fairy usage there, she offers an array of powerful assets to almost every other Forestcraft archetype. Let’s go down the list of the bigger ones:

Tempo Forest: Holding back Fairies isn’t usually something this deck wants to do, but Ladica being basically a beefier Elf Child May seems like a more than good enough reason to do so, especially since it means keeping those Fairies for other future plays.

isn’t usually something this deck wants to do, but being basically a beefier seems like a more than good enough reason to do so, especially since it means keeping those for other future plays. Old Roach Forest: Send ‘Em Packing by itself increases your combo counter by 3, making it incredibly easy to weave into the Roach combo while still keeping your damage output at a high level. Bonus points if it also clears a Ward follower.

Forest: by itself increases your combo counter by 3, making it incredibly easy to weave into the Roach combo while still keeping your damage output at a high level. Bonus points if it also clears a Ward follower. Greenglen Axeman Forest: Send ‘Em Packing again makes great friends with this deck, instantly triggering all stacks of Greenglen ‘s leader effect on its own while also clearing the highest attack follower threatening board.

Forest: again makes great friends with this deck, instantly triggering all stacks of ‘s leader effect on its own while also clearing the highest attack follower threatening board. White Wolf Forest: One of the bigger shortcomings of this deck aside from its snail-like speed and overall unsafe playstyle is the lack of efficient board control options midgame. Ladica gets her 4-damage Fanfare live easily with all the Fairies the deck holds back to maintain their hand size for Silver Bolt , and her Evolve effect further adds to that hand at bare minimum.

Forest: One of the bigger shortcomings of this deck aside from its snail-like speed and overall unsafe playstyle is the lack of efficient board control options midgame. gets her 4-damage Fanfare live easily with all the the deck holds back to maintain their hand size for , and her Evolve effect further adds to that hand at bare minimum. Evolve Forest: Spending board space on Tree is no problem here, as this deck doesn’t commit to board nearly as much as other Forest archetypes do. The deck also doesn’t mind more ways to get free evolves than Carbuncle, Immortal Jewel and Cynthia, the Queen’s Blade, so Ladica can find herself right at home here.

It’s clear at this point that Ladica is the big winner in this batch of reveals, promising Forestcraft more viable ways to play the class than just throwing screeching bugs at the opposition. I may not be a Forestcraft main, but this is a very exciting card to behold all the same.

Fertile Aether

This card pretty much solidifies the direction Natura is going for Forestcraft. While it on its own is already a perfect enabler for Tree decks, the underlying mechanics behind playing this card opens the door to a number of synergies and routes that Unlimited Forestcraft decks can delight in.

The alternate way to read this card actually has nothing to do with Tree at all. On turn 5 and beyond, this card increases your combo counter by 1 for free, as it instantly refunds the play point spent to play Fertile Aether. Play the Tree it gives you right after, and now you have satisfied the universal combo condition of two cards played for one whole play point. Rejoice, Glimmering Wings and Tia, Crystalian Noble users.

The turn 5 ability alone is also pretty huge for decks like Old Roach and Greenglen, as mentioned before in Ladica‘s assessment. And then on turn 10 and beyond, you get literally Yu-Gi-Oh’s Pot of Greed with a bonus Tree. That alone sounds pretty absurd, but Unlimited matches rarely go that length, so this is more of a “good job, you made it” than anything else.

Old Roach Forest in particular is something I want to focus on regarding Fertile Aether. I think it’s very much worth testing as a potential replacement for Flower of Fairies, as it has no upfront cost and still provides a card draw with multiple copies of itself. And with Aria, Guiding Fairy being back to the full three copies per deck, Flower of Fairies doesn’t serve nearly as pivotal of a role as it did before.

Fertile Aether is an example of a kind of card I enjoy most, where its true functions and potential lie well beyond what its card text says on the surface. Tweedle Dum, Tweedle Dee, eat your hearts out.

Wily Puck

Crystallize is the new keyword introduced in Verdant Conflict. With it, you are able to play the card with the keyword as an amulet for the Crystallize cost. In Wily Puck‘s case, you can play it as a 1-cost amulet with the effect text that comes after it before the divider in hyphens. It’s pretty much Accelerate, but for making things amulets instead of spells.

Wily Puck will more than likely be treated as pack space filler for the most part by the Unlimited playerbase, but I do want to highlight one interesting thing about it: on Crystallize, Wily Puck is the only 1-cost card in Forestcraft that generates 3 Fairies in total. Compare this to Fairy Refuge, Firesprite Grove, Fairy Circle, and Water Fairy. I have doubts on whether that is enough for this card to be used over all those options, but that is still a niche that Wily Puck is able to carve out for itself, and that is something I can definitely appreciate.

Bayleon, Sovereign Light // King’s Might

Every passing day, Swordcraft drifts farther away from the traditions of Commanders and Officers it once upheld. But after the advent of Machina and Levin cards, I guess us Swordcraft mains have to get used to it by now.

Bayleon is kind of a strange card for me to think about. The 4/4 Ward statline means he can tank a shot from Airbound Barrage and still stick around to shield you from Whirlwind Rhinoceroach. He’s even safe from Predatory Might if evolving him without attacking. Him being a 4-cost follower means he directly competes with Lecia, Sky Saber for being the turn 3 search target of choice for Aether of the Warrior Wing, but it’s pretty likely that Bayleon and Lecia won’t be used in the same deck anyway. So instead I’ll look at his potential as the core enabler for Swordcraft Tree decks here. Keep in mind everything I talk about here will be under the assumption that Naterran Great Tree is an easy card to access and will be on the Bayleon player’s field at all times.

Swordcraft currently does not have many cards that restore play points in its card pool. This makes sense, as that mechanic is not a part of its identity like it is for Portalcraft. But fortunately, two of those cards see regular use in most Midrange Sword decks: Meet the Levin Sisters! and Octrice, Omen of Usurpation. What this means is that Swordcraft’s direction for Natura is to explore new lines of play in stat buffs and play point manipulation instead of building on top of what the class already has. I’m always an advocate for branching out, so knowing that this is coming for my favorite class is a pretty nice feeling.

Now let’s look at what synergies King’s Might enables for Swordcraft. I’ll be focusing on individual cards here instead of deck archetypes. This is because Swordcraft decks overall have a ton of overlap in what cards they use, so I think it’s more productive to look at him in this fashion rather than in the way I did it for Ladica. Anyway, let’s have a look:

Meet the Levin Sisters! : There’s no immediate synergy here unlike the other cards listed, but this card lets you access King’s Might twice. Once through playing Meet the Levin Sisters! on Enhance, then another through Mona, Levin Mage ‘s Fanfare. Just keep in mind Bayleon only triggers once per turn.

: There’s no immediate synergy here unlike the other cards listed, but this card lets you access twice. Once through playing on Enhance, then another through ‘s Fanfare. Just keep in mind only triggers once per turn. Octrice, Omen of Usurpation : With her restoring 2 play points on Enhance, this lets Octrice rock a potential 9/9 statline on turn 8 by giving her both King’s Might and the Gilded Necklace she can get you with her Evolve effect. Sounds pretty fun, and this will let her beat over well-buffed followers when facing Elana Haven.

: With her restoring 2 play points on Enhance, this lets Octrice rock a potential 9/9 statline on turn 8 by giving her both and the she can get you with her Evolve effect. Sounds pretty fun, and this will let her beat over well-buffed followers when facing Elana Haven. Albert, Levin Saber : Poor OG Albert has been phased out of Midrange Sword for a while now, but with a King’s Might ready, he can finally reach his original damage output at 10 play points without an Evolve on Enhance. With an Evolve, Albert reaches a total of 14 storm damage. I don’t know if this power spike is enough to bring him back into relevance, but I think this alone makes him worth considering as the main finisher for Bayleon decks.

: Poor OG has been phased out of Midrange Sword for a while now, but with a ready, he can finally reach his original damage output at 10 play points without an Evolve on Enhance. With an Evolve, Albert reaches a total of 14 storm damage. I don’t know if this power spike is enough to bring him back into relevance, but I think this alone makes him worth considering as the main finisher for decks. Swordflash Panther : Sword kitty’s shortcomings still aren’t fully resolved with King’s Might , but now he can use his full potential on demand instead of relying on draw RNG or Gilded Necklace to pop up from an Octrice Evolve or Alwida Accelerate.

: Sword kitty’s shortcomings still aren’t fully resolved with , but now he can use his full potential on demand instead of relying on draw RNG or to pop up from an Evolve or Accelerate. Beatrix, Undying Blue: This girl can be seen in a similar vein to Albert, Levin Saber, but while he needs a King’s Might prepped beforehand, Beatrix generates one on her own while ignoring Ward as a bonus. You just have to commit to running Zeta, Crimson Lancer in your deck first.

With all that said, I can see Bayleon-based Midrange Sword to pop up as a brand-new variant to enter the mix. Swordcraft isn’t known to be a class to go tall with their followers, but this may be that playstyle’s time to shine.

Valdain, Cursed Shadow // Shadow’s Corrosion

If it weren’t for utter essay that Shadow’s Corrosion is, Valdain could have joined the ranks with Skullfane and Odin as having the shortest card texts for a Legendary card in the game. But as far as functionality goes, Valdain presents the most focused and specific Natura direction out of the three shown here.

And true to the flavor of Valdain from the current story arc, it runs completely counter to how Naterran Great Tree functions for Swordcraft and Forestcraft. While those two crafts want to preserve and protect the natural environment, Dragoncraft’s goal is to kill all the Trees with fire and prove that industrialization is the only way forward for the planet Earth. Or something along those lines.

Because of how specific Shadow’s Corrosion‘s leader effect is, how good of a card Valdain is will be entirely based on how many Trees the strategy can access. Another problem too is how consistently you can see Valdain across multiple games, as Dragoncraft lacks a searcher on the same focus level as Aether of the Warrior Wing. At least destroying Tree won’t be a problem, as that comes with Naterran Great Tree‘s Fanfare. But as things look now, there’s not really a whole lot to say about Valdain overall until more support is revealed for him. For now though, I do think it’s fair to say that if this support is adequate enough, Dragonplate Warrior is going to have an even worse time than it already is. Power creep, woohoo!

Closing Thoughts

Overall, this set’s reveals has definitely started off with a bang, promising a lot of things with not too much pack space to deliver on all of it. But that’s ok, as the Machina trait needed two sets of support to establish themselves, and I don’t see that to be any different for this batch of cards.

I’ll be doing my best to do these spoiler review articles about twice a week, so do check back often if you’re interested in what I have to say about Verdant Conflict and its potential impact on Unlimited. See you next time.