Companion video talking about this deck and other Bang Dream decks here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fusPpIgiSPc

List Updated: June 2018

I currently have a deck I really enjoy playing and the franchise is one I hold close to my heart. It’s been a bit more than two years since my last (and only) article so I figured, let’s write another one.

This article will be based on a deck from the recently released Bang Dream – Real Life Gacha Girls Band Party set.

Bang Dream B/R/Y Yukina L1/L3



Let’s take a quick look at the deck before we go into individual card discussion. The colors of focus are blue and red, with enough yellow splash to comfortably accommodate Kokoro level 3. Ideally you’d want both blue and red in level/clock going into level 1, but if forced into 0.6 clocking into level 1, level blue to climax combo with Yukina or push damage with blue gate, or level red to engineer an anti-reverse board state. Yellow isn’t needed until Level 3, but it’s a good idea to send a yellow card into level when possible so that you don’t have to worry about color later.

Level 0 (19):



4x “Admired Onee-chan” Rimi Ushigome

A standard tap self salvage brainstorm, this card is the brainstorm of choice due to not only boasting the powerful tap self brainstorm effect, but also pumps up the red count to comfortably set up a dual-color level 1 game. You always want to see a copy of this card in your opening 2 turns without having to search for it, and sometimes you might even need 2 copies to deal with unfavorable deck states, so 4 copies is necessary for consistency. The few games I’ve played with this deck where things fell apart mostly came from not being able to find a copy of this card.

The assigned 500 power, while seemingly innocuous, comes in handy for allowing Yukina 1/0 combo to attack favorably, or to engineer power numbers to trade with opponent’s board when needed. One of the strongest points of this deck is board manipulation, and I’ll cover that when we get to the actual powerhouse card that is 1/0 Rimi.

3x “Unwavering Determination” Sayo Hikawa

If I had to assign a descriptive to this card, I’d call it “obnoxious.” One of two different level 0 bombs this list runs. When you don’t open turn one with a 3.5k Level 1, this Sayo is your go to opening attacker. The pay 1 pseudo-encore effect easily lets you tri-field early game without feeling like you’re being drained of resources. The 500 power attached to this card has good synergy with its bottom deck effect, denying several on-reverse or on-death effects that sets commonly have nowadays.

This is your ideal blue card to send to the Level Area, as the card loses most of its value after level 0. The base 500 power is still useful in setting up food for Yukina late game.

3x “Everyone Together!” Hagumi Kitazawa

The second type of level 0 bomb in this deck, though I’d argue that the stock bomb effect is the least relevant part of this card. This card is paramount in the deck for two other reasons:

1) Yellow Splash:

The deck only runs 7 yellow cards, and two of them are the 3/2 Kokoro you don’t want to level, so this card and Kokoro drop searcher are the preferred Level Area targets. There aren’t many other good yellow cards to run in this deck. I’ve found three copies to be exactly sufficient for the yellow ratio and how much I want to see this card throughout the game.

2) Denial of advantage:

The ability to send oneself to stock when the opponent plays a climax is normally a perfectly fine effect in any other set, but nothing to write home about. However, in Bang Dream this type of effect is leaps better due to the existence of 1/0 Rimi support — to be later discussed.

The self-removal effect also allows you to tri-field at level 0 and not face the consequences of a double or triple on-reverse swing back from the opponent. The extra stock you gain is of course a pleasant bonus. Ideally, you don’t want to have to use this card’s stock bomb effect, as she really shines when on the board during the opponent’s turn.

2x “Determination of the Songstress” Yukina Minato

A standard level 0 topcheck filter, with a bonus come-in-play Resonance effect to gain power and bottom deck the reversed character. Played as a two of as a costless way to filter hand and sometimes turn Rimi’s brainstorm into pseudo mill 5. Hits the power level just right in combination with Rimi brainstorm to reverse pesky level 1 3500 power characters at level 0.

0/0 Moca has the same topcheck filter and also has a nice alarm effect to boost one of your characters by 2000 power, but getting the right colors at the right times is crucial for this deck (especially at Level 1). The +2000 power from Moca’s alarm isn’t worth running over Yukina being blue.

2x “Invincible Hero” Kokoro Tsurumaki

Standard drop searcher, except Kokoro hilariously gains +1 soul when she’s in the front middle slot. Run at two copies to improve stock and hand management while adding in another yellow fix for 3/2 Kokoro. Originally ran only one in the list, and has since been bumped up to two copies both for better deck accessibility and for balancing the yellow count.

1x Saaya, New Start

This Saaya is a drop salvage with ridiculous extra effects, and could easily be a Rare in other sets. The mandatory mill-2 effect is something you’d probably like to use every time you play her anyways, as it adds more cards into the waiting room for you to possibly salvage. The incidental 1500 power isn’t something you count on, but a nice bonus when it does happen to allow for trades that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible. The additional 1000 power to another character from the drop salvage effect is quite welcome as well. Run as a 2-of to salvage key cards from waiting room on demand, and as a way to dig through stock to pay out climaxes early game.

This card alone won’t directly win you games, but is a solid consistency crutch when things turn a bit sour, and can be the foundation of repairing your game state after unlucky draws and triggers. One of the strongest fair cards from the first Bang Dream set.

2x “Perfect Smile” Chisato Shirasagi / 2x Saaya, Good With Housework

Beaters of choice. Players at my locals are fairly greedy with their Level 0 lineup and are generally unequipped to deal with 3.5k level 1s without expending resources, hence my choice to run these beaters. These cards can easily be switched with Aya runner or Rimi runner, and is what I would choose going into a tournament against more unknown players. The power levels on these cards line up well to tie level 1s with a climax if needed.

Chisato and Saaya are coincidentally two of my favorite Bandori characters. Playing cards with characters you like never hurts.

Level 1 (8):

4x “Crystal Song” Yukina Minato

The Level 1 combo of choice. Maguro/Emilia effects have been strong ever since they were first printed, due to the high degree of deck control available as well as not needing to first reverse a character to plus. Yukina doesn’t gain 1000 power for having “conditions” fulfilled like Emilia, but is still extremely serviceable, especially with double Rimi backrow to boost power levels on these Yukinas. Do note that you need another blue character on the board to activate her climax combo effect. Someone somewhere out there has probably screwed up on this once.

2x “Poppin’Party” Rimi Ushigome

Vanilla Level 1 bomb. Fulfills what I consider to be a crucial role in this deck, which is leaving the board while trading favorably with the battling character. There are plenty of serviceable beaters in Bang Dream, such as this Lisa, this Arisa, or any of the large amounts of level 1 6500 beaters that would normally supplement the Yukina line quite nicely as an alternative level 1 play. The reason they are by far the weaker option compared to the Rimi bomb is because of the following card.

2x “Chocolate Cornet Time” Rimi Ushigome

If you’re trying to decide what series to bring to an important tournament, this card would be one of the reasons to bring Bang Dream; an extremely powerful card that almost no other set has access to.

The strengths of this card can be summarized as follows:

1) Denial of opponent’s advantage

2) Saving your own character

3) Engineering favorable board states

4) Damage manipulation

Rimi gives one of your characters the ability to move to another open slot in your front row that has a character opposite of it, which can and should be abused in matchups where opponents rely on reversing to gain advantage. Combined with cards that trade favorably while removing themselves from the board, you can easily set up irritating board scenarios at Level 1 where the opponent would get less successful reverses than they normally would. Often times, the opponent would need to tri-field the same L1 reverse combo to get any decent advantage, or just not go for combo and hold off playing their climax. Either scenario is a win for the Bang Dream player.

The card also provides a global 500 boost to your characters, which is particularly useful in allowing level 1 Yukina to reach the critical 6500-7000 range where your opponent must use a counter to save a beatstick, or is out of counter range for 4500s (a popular power line for level 1 reverse combos.)

The impact of this card varies from slightly annoying for the opponent, to game-winning depending on the matchup. On average, the card will allow the Bang Dream player to save a character from getting reversed by running to a lane opposite a weaker character. This in turn creates an open lane where Hagumi stock bomb can direct attack, and the next turn the opponent goes through the same predicament of not being able to efficiently deal with the Bang Dream player’s board. Over several turns, your opponent will find themselves in a situation where they cannot play around 3/2 Yukina the following turn.

It should be noted that Rimi can push herself or other characters up from the backrow as well, which can be useful for damage manipulation in dire situations.

Level 2 (3):

2x “Bride for a Day” Saaya Yamabuki

A slightly nerfed version of Machine of Ice, Sinon, in that you need to have an event in waiting room AND needs to tap herself and another character in order to activate anti-event/backup. However, the difference between this card and Machine of Ice is that Sinon targets an opponent’s character, and this Saaya gives the effect to one of your characters. This is particularly relevant in matchups such as To Love Ru and Attack on Titan where characters cannot be targeted and is necessary to guarantee at least one 3/2 Yukina going off.

1x “What Should I Do…” Rinko Shirokane OR

Tae & Arisa & Kasumi, Popping Summer~ OR

“Stage” Rimi Ushigome

These three cards serve the same primary role as an early play assassin, but have their own details that differentiate themselves from each other.

Rimi will guarantee a reverse against her early play opponent, and also gives a very nice power boost to another character on attack (1500x the number of events in your waiting room) which can be particularly useful endgame for pumping Yukina to titanic levels of power.

Tae/Arisa/Kasumi serves the unique role of removing an early play off the board, something which is extremely important against specifically Vivid Strike, among other decks.

Rinko gets an extra soul against Level 3 and higher characters, and also gets to respectable power levels which should comfortably reverse most popular early plays after a climax and/or power boosts from your double Rimi backrow. Useful to push for soul damage at Level 2 while still beating common early plays.

To summarize:



Use Rimi if you expect to face:

> Persona 5 Fox EP, Saekano Megumi EP, both Arisa EPs, and similar cards which become 14k+ on defense pre-counter.

> You expect matchups where the 2nd 3/2 Yukina not supported by Saaya anticounter needs to get anywhere from 15-18.5k. The downside with this line of play is that your third attacker is Rimi instead of Kokoro Musashi.

Use Tae/Arisa/Kasumi against:

> Vivid Strike Fuuka EP

> Mirai Ticket You backed up by Pseudo-Encore Kanan in the English format where Sunshine is unrestricted

> other builds which require you to permanently remove an early play from the board.

Use Rinko when:

> You don’t expect to face anything particularly threatening at Level 2, just the standard EPs that get to ~11k power pre-counter.

> You expect matchups where the 2nd 3/2 Yukina not supported by Saaya anticounter gets big enough at 14-14.5k.

All three have their uses and it ultimately comes down to player preference and what is expected in the deck’s play environment.

Level 3 (8):

1x “Tanabata Between the Two of Them” Sayo Hikawa

A serviceable level 3 with a laughable early play condition, Sayo’s primary function is to dig for Yukina’s climax at level 2/3. More often than not however, I find myself only playing her down to pay out a climax when I trigger on first attack the previous turn; the deck gets more explosive the more stock you have going in to level 3, so ideally I don’t spend any more stock than is necessary. That isn’t to say this card doesn’t do anything significant; she cantrips and can pay out stock on demand at Level 2 without messing too much with your deck state.

This card’s power level is mediocre even with the Resonance effect from 3/2 Yukina, but the adjustable power level from using/not using Resonance means you can occasionally set up ties in power against other early plays to leave an empty slot the following turn.

1x “Poppin’Party” Kasumi Toyama

The newest addition to the deck, in its third “major” update. Originally considered to be a suitable alternative to the Kokoro Musashi finisher, this card has managed to find its way in the deck over a 3rd copy of the Kokoro. There are three main reasons why this happened:

1) There are situations where the on-play burn with an attack would have higher damage output than an attack from Kokoro.

2) The effortless anti-event/backup this card gifts you for no additional stock/hand commitment is extremely useful. Paired alongside the 2/1 Saaya support, your opponent will be unable to interact with your board for two attacks. This shuts down a lot of your opponent’s options in using utility/antidamage/rest counters.

3) The fact that it’s 15000 power by itself should also not be overlooked. This card can and will reliably reverse almost anything it faces.

Also of note that is on the off-chance you want Kasumi to crash during your turn for an empty slot the next turn, Kasumi only gains the +5000 power and anti-event/backup effect if you have four or more other music characters (essentially a full board). You can always simply play over one of your backrow to negate her power boost on purpose. A fringe scenario, but made possible due to how she obtains her extra power.

2x “Detective on the Ship” Kokoro Tsurumaki

The primary companion end-game card for Yukina. If Hagumi stock bomb wasn’t a card I would not even bother with trying to splash yellow, as there is the previous Kasumi burner available as a decent enough alternative As it stands though, there are barely enough good cards in yellow to make Kokoro Musashi consistent in the deck.

4x “Songstress Inside the Bird Cage” Yukina Minato

The finisher of choice for this deck, and by far the best finisher in Bang Dream (some may consider this to be one of the best finishers currently in the game). Two bursts of two is about as good as it gets in terms of finishing power, as long as she has a target to reverse. Conveniently dodges Kaban antiburn to sell Bushiroad franchise product.

She has two downsides which prevent her from being absolutely broken, neither of which are particularly problematic.

1) She does not dig for her own climax on play.

She combos with a blue gate, which means you have a fairly high chance to have one in hand by the time you reach level 3, either through draws or triggers. If you don’t have it, clock draw and 3/2 Sayo should get the job done. In my dozens of games with this deck, I can count in one hand the number of times I got to level 3 without the climax when I needed to pop off with Yukina. In my experience, getting the climax is just not an issue.

2) She needs to reverse to activate her effect.

The deck is built specifically to support getting Yukina reverses by having a degree of control over which characters battle. I would not be exaggerating to say that it’s extremely easy to set up reverses when Rimi 1/0 is on the board to dictate battles in the mid-game.

Events (4):

4x Annoying Being

The event of choice to support 2/1 Saaya’s anti-counter ability. Having initially undervalued the card, I’ve grown to quite like its place in the deck. Has good synergy with level 1 Yukina combo because you should know how many miss targets are left in the deck, and can mill through your deck to change the odds if needed. At worst the card is -1 hand for +1 stock, which is rough but not the end of the world because the deck squeezes out advantage fairly easily with Rimi support and 8 plussing climaxes.

The original list in this article ran 2 copies of this card and 1 copy of the Yukina level 1 counter. In an update in March I bumped up the count to three copies. On the most recent June update, the 2/1 Arisa freefresh counter was cut for the 4th copy of this event.

Climaxes:

4x Zeit (L1 Yukina Combo)

The art for this is fantastic. No complaints here.

4x Fervent Shout (L3 Yukina Combo)

I find this art to be less fantastic. Imagine if this were in its place:

That does it for the deck itself! Next, I’ll go into several cards that weren’t previously mentioned as alternatives, and explain my thoughts on why they aren’t included in the deck.

Cards that didn’t make the cu t:

“Clive” Arisa

This freefresh counter was in the first two major iterations of the list, and has finally been cut in favor of a 4th copy of the Arisa event. I had this card included as a failsafe against unfortunate game states, but realized that the 1 slot this occupied in the deck was not pulling its weight.

Yukina endgame requires a lot of stock, hand and board management, and Arisa counter does not gear well towards that gameplan. The climax triggers in the deck (book/blue gate) are also not as friendly to this card, unlike red gate where you would be able to salvage this from the waiting room when red gate is triggered on an attack. Holding this card in hand for the off-chance that it might come into use later in the game is not worth it.

“Four of Them at the Cafeteria” Yukina Minato

Standard 2k power counter. I have tried this card in ranges from 1 to 3, none of which have been particularly influential; the deck does not do well defensively with its low power levels, and would prefer to dodge important reverses outright.

The card does have synergy with Rimi support and 1/0 Yukina CC where Yukina can run to another slot and then counter to 7500, which is just higher than the common 7000 on attack range reached by a number of decks. However, I do not believe this situation comes up often enough to warrant any slots in the deck. Not particularly useful in the late game either due to Rimi support giving your characters free run, and also competes with 2/1 Arisa Freefresh for use during the counter step. This card was eventually replaced for more copies of the Arisa event.

“Stage” Kaori Seta

Although Kaoru digs deeper for climaxes than Sayo early play, I value the early play condition on Sayo enough to run her instead of this card. I don’t like the idea of holding onto this card during the midgame, only to trigger a blue gate and basically losing all value.

“Confession of Love” Misaki Okusawa

This Misaki is a very solid card on paper but doesn’t fit any particular role in what the deck tries to accomplish. There is already enough yellow to accommodate Kokoro Musashi, so extra yellow isn’t needed just to have color fix. In this deck, it’s one of those cards that is marginally amazing but doesn’t realistically do anything most of the time.

“Stacking Sounds” Sayo Hikawa and “STAR BEAT! ~Hoshi no Kodou~” Tae Hanazono

I initially held a high opinion of these cards, but quickly realized that they were only sometimes useful at level 0 and absolutely worthless past that. There are enough ways to grab things you need and your level 0s are already sticky enough to generate advantage consistently. They are also susceptible to stock/clock/bottom deck bombs which populate many decks, including this one.

The deck doesn’t fear getting trapped at level 0 as much as other decks due to the plethora of strong level 0s that populate the early game, supported by tap self brainstorms. In summary, there is no real need to clock yourself further for advantage when the deck already generates enough advantage through other means.

“Connecting the Two” Lisa Imai

A perfectly fine card, with two desirable effects. Both the mill three and CIP bond to 3/2 Yukina are good, but aren’t good enough to warrant a slot when the deck doesn’t really have trouble with milling nor getting 3/2 Yukina in hand. Would be the 51st card in the deck.

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This entire post was an excuse to spam pictures of Lisa. Lisa SSP is 90k yen and I don’t have a 4* Lisa in-game why even live PULLED LIMITED LISA 4* A DAY AFTER WRITING THIS ARTICLE THERE IS A HIGHER BEING

Final Thoughts

I want to express that there are a lot of other card choices the archetype can utilize. There aren’t that many cards that I believe are necessary to the deck’s function and have no replacement. Bang Dream has an abundance of cards that fulfill similar roles, so I’m certain this archetype can look very different card-to-card yet still aim for the same general gameplan.

That wraps up the deck overview for what I consider one of the strongest Bang Dream archetypes currently available. I believe the deck can be very flexible in card choices (especially at level 0), and the list presented was one that was specialized for my playstyle and my local meta.

Do feel free to leave opinions, suggestions, criticism, etc. See you guys in my next article!