This weekend, July 26 2019, marked the first Kantai set to include American boats. Weiss can now appreciate American freedom folks. Historically, the allied powers ships were vastly better built and managed than their Axis power brethren. Imperial Japanese Navy boats were notoriously flimsy compared to their American counterparts with inferior air support, everything Italy touched in WWII turned to shit for all Axis powers involved, and UNC Chapel Hill historian Gerhard Weinberg suggested Germany would have been better off without the Kriegsmarine.

So how do the American boats stack up in Weiss? From what limited showing they have in the set, pretty good. The boats are cheap, decent sized, and have good effects for little extra cost. A red Kantai player could do worse than slotting in Iowa or Saratoga.

American Vessels

Historical note: All of the American boats except Saratoga took part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, potentially the largest naval battle in history. Saratoga was one of the US Navy’s first aircraft carriers.



[A] When your Opponent’s Climax is placed in the Climax Zone, you may put this in your Stock.

[A] When this becomes Reversed, if the Level of the Battle Opponent is 0 or lower, you may Reverse that Character.

This is a good level zero support card. It either runs to stock on play of climax or reverses a zero. Given the large amount of good support available to Kantai at level zero, this isn’t surprising. It has relevance at both level zero and level one, and a red player should consider running a copy or two of this.

[C] For each of your other ::Fleet Girl:: Characters, this gains +500 Power.

[A] When this is placed from hand to the Stage, reveal the top card of your Library. If it’s a ::Fleet Girl:: Character, you may deal 1 damage to your Opponent. (Damage Cancel can occur. Put the revealed card back)

[A] CX COMBO When this attacks, if “Well, I’ll Show You My Firepower” is in your Climax Zone, put up to 1 card from the top of your Clock to the Waiting Room, and choose up to 1 card in your Opponent’s Waiting Room and put it on top of their Library.

The flag ship of the US 3rd Fleet has a lot of decent effects for no extra stock. On play, top check and burn one has been in Kantai since the first set, and extra damage is always a good thing. Although, Kemono Friends will block your burn ones. Iowa also has a fantastic climax combo for its lack of direct cost. On attack, heal one and add a buffer between damage and cancel. This is an awesome combination of effects: burn, heal, and damage padding. Iowa is a bit small compared to other cards that gain 500 for each other trait character, reaching only 11,000 instead of 11,500, but the back row Saratoga smooths this over to a pretty easily. Iowa looks to be a competent addition to a Red Kantai deck.

[C] ASSIST All your Level 3 or higher Characters in front of this gain +2000 Power.

[A] CX COMBO When “Sara’s Fellow Kids, You OK?” is placed to your Climax Zone, choose a ::Fleet Girl:: Character in your Waiting Room and place it to Stock.

Saratoga not only provides power to level threes, but has a climax combo that shares a climax with the level three Saratoga. Adding a character from waiting room to stock is a nice bonus, as you get more resources and you know that they are clean. Overall, a really nice card and anyone playing the level three Saratoga should definitely play this. Otherwise, a solid add for Red Kantai players.

[A] When this is placed from hand to the Stage, you may put the top card of your Clock in the Waiting Room.

[A] CX COMBO [(2)] When this attacks, if “Sara’s Fellow Kids, Are You OK?” is in your Climax Zone, you may pay cost. If so, deal 2 Damage to your Opponent. (Damage Cancel can occur)

Saratoga’s burn effect is simple, cheap, and effective. On attack, pay two and burn two. It’s not as powerful as Yuukina from Bang Dream but it costs less stock and requires no discard. Saratoga’s lack of internal power buff is a little concerning, but a properly set up field should be able to get this combo off multiple times, as the back row Saratoga buffs Saratoga to respectable levels and puts two cards into stock when you play the climax. Just another example of the well-oiled American War Machine folks. Easily scoring three attacks and two burns with two Saratogas on field is a formidable finish.

Personal taste wise, I like Saratoga better than Nelson in Blue. Saratoga’s timing is on attack while Nelson’s is on climax play; this allows the Saratoga player to use some of the previous attacks to fund the burn. Further, the Saratoga player can enter the attack phase with less stock than necessary for the combo while the Nelson player cannot. Saratoga will also get the stock for a burn from the back row Saratogas (same climax combo). Finally, Saratoga also gets to attack from all three slots while Nelson can only attack on the left and right slots of front row, guaranteeing your opponent gets to keep at least one potentially valuable card.

[A] When this is placed from hand to the Stage, choose 1 of your other ::Fleet Girl:: Characters, and that Character gains +1000 Power for the turn.

[A] [Return this to hand] When your Climax card is placed in the Climax Zone, you may pay cost. If so, choose 1 of your Characters, and that Character gains +1 Soul for the turn.

The most numerous class of air craft carrier ever built is kinda meh in this set. This may also be due to the fact that USS Gambier Bay was also the only American Carrier to be sunk by surface fire in WWII. The returning to hand might be nice at level zero if you want to press your opponent a bit, but otherwise you have a lot better options at level zero for Kancolle.

[C] If you have 2 or more other ::Fleet Girl:: Characters, this gains +1000 Power.

[C] The Character Opposite this gains “[C] This cannot Side Attack”.

[A] ENCORE [Discard a ::Fleet Girl:: Character card from your hand to the Waiting Room]

9500 power, two soul and hand encore for three stock is a bad deal. No side attack is interesting, but I’m not sure it’s worth playing this especially since 9500 isn’t hard to beat over with an early play. I feel that someone is mad that Intrepid sunk their waifu. This may be an interesting target for a switch trigger, but nothing more.

[A] When this attacks, if the Level of the Character Opposite this is 3 or higher, this gains +4000 Power and +1 Soul for the turn.

[A] [Put this in the Waiting Room] When your other ::Fleet Girl:: Character is Front Attacked, you may pay cost. If so, choose 1 of your Characters in battle, and that Character gains +3000 Power for the turn.

Several larger ships were named after war hero Samuel B. Roberts who distracted a larger Japanese contingent in a transport boat long enough for the US Navy to rescue a company of Marines from Guadalcanal before dying as the last Marines were rescued. This particular Samuel B. Roberts was a cruiser that participated in the battle of Leyte Gulf. The cruiser scored hits on much larger boats, including heavy cruiser Chokai and the Kongo, before being sunk. Thus, this card’s profile is very fitting. An anti-level three and it can sacrifice itself to save others, paying homage both to the boat and its namesake. This is a very good version of this profile and is a great include into a deck.

USS Intrepid Source US Navy Photography USS Samuel B. Roberts. Source: US Navy Photography

Overall assessment

The American boats form a formidable core of a deck, and should not be taken lightly. The only drawback to the US boats is that if you choose to run both Saratoga and Iowa, you forgo a level one combo. However, eight gates should help keep your hand up and Kantai has a ton of good support that doesn’t rely on climax combos. My early opinion is that the American boats will be able to sail to victory at a tournament near you.

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