Friday Funpost: Tsuchinoko’s Level 0 Soul Pump

Given that my luck is bad, I tried making a deck with only characters that are level 0. Since I’m not going to have any access to restand abilities, burns, or any other effects like that, this is a soul rush deck that plays a climax every turn. Since there isn’t a card with a base power above 6,000, I’m going to have to be constantly drawing to replace my field. It turns out Kemono Friends has all the tools you need to get that job done!

A Climax Every Turn?

The deck aims to play a climax card every turn. Ideally, you get a full board up and smack away. If your opponent gets set up, things can get dicey, especially if you miss damage for a turn or two. Luckily, Kemono has several cards that help you fish for climaxes. The first, and most important, is the promo Tsuchinoko, Full of Mystery.  Tsuchinoko allows you to look at the top four cards of your deck, and select a yellow climax from there and add it to your hand. If you do, discard. This makes getting a climax a turn much, much easier.

The next, another Tsuchinoko, is Tsuchinoko Knowing the Smell of Outside Air. Whenever a climax is played, you may return Tsuchinoko to hand. If you do, you may look at the top two cards of your deck, take one and discard the other along with another card from your hand. This is better played in the early game as you want as many attacks as possible and you need your back row set up ASAP.

Kemono also has lots of cards that allow you to thin the deck to get at those climaxes easier. Kemono has access to level 0 check and wreck and characters that get more powerful when you mill climaxes from the top of your deck. Snub-Nosed Monkey fills both the soul rush and compression role perfectly. When she hits field, you may mill two cards, if one is a climax, she gains two soul for the turn. Awesome. Kemono also has access to Serval, Rawr~! And Kaban at the Congratulation Party who can run to memory when reversed, further thinning that stack.

Cards in every hand?

So, we’ve spoken about getting a climax every turn, now we have to talk about keeping the number of cards in your hand high. It turns out, playing a climax every turn is intimately linked to this. Your draw engine is Serval, Helping. Whenever you play a climax, you may pay one stock to look at your top four cards of your deck, select one and discard the rest. These are available at level zero, and you aren’t paying stock otherwise, so you’ll be able to do this consistently every turn Serval, I’m going to eat you~! Has a climax combo with the two soul that gives you another of those effects if you level your opponent. This also has the added bonus of thinning out your deck, which in turn helps you hit climaxes easier. A virtuous cycle.

Kemono Friends also has access to cards that get specific cards into hand. The set has not one, but two cards that plus hand at cost of one stock and one damage. Kaban at the Celebration Party searches for Friends characters while Porcupine can salvage characters level one or lower character. Since all of your characters are both Friends and less than level one, they can get everything. Kemono also has access to a clock swapper and drop search. You will generally have a way to get the cards that you want.

You can also preserve your hand by not losing field. This deck can build a surprising wall that’s effective at levels one and two by cheating the specification a bit. Serval, Sudden Tears is a level one, but counts as a level 0 on field. She also gets power from other level zeros and receives +1000 from your draw engine. It helps maintain hand at level one and allows you to not always be swinging for the fences.

Soul Output

If all is going right, or about 45 per cent of the time from test games played, you’re center slot of center stage character will be attacking for four to seven damage every turn. Serval Driving gets an extra soul when in center slot of center stage. Serval, I’m going to eat you~! Gives your other character in center slot of center stage an extra soul. You are playing a one soul or a two soul every turn. That’s a lot of damage. It also allows for side for game at against level threes.

Despite relying on two soul climaxes, this deck allows for surprisingly granular control of your damage. The only cards without a blank trigger will be your climaxes. On top of that, you have lots of cards that allow for fine addition of one or two soul. You generally know how your attacks will pan out as you make them, allowing for surprisingly surgical play out of this sledgehammer of a deck.

List

I’ll provide a list for the level 0 purist, as well as some suggestions for non-level 0 event techs.

Card Level Count
Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, Cerulean Hunter 0 3
Kaban-chan at the Congratulation Party 0 4
Serval, RAWR! 0 3
Serval, Helping 0 4
Serval, I’m Gonna Eat You-! 0 4
Serval, Driving 0 4
Tsuchinoko, Knowing the Smell of the Outside Air 0 3
Serval, Sudden Tears 1 4
Day of Departure Climax 4
Jaguar, Watching Over 0 2
North African Crested Porcupine, Boom 0 3
Arabian Oryx, Start of the Battle 0 2
Tsuchinoko, Full of Mystery 0 4
On the Day They Met Climax 4
Jaguar, Seen This Before 0 2
TOTAL 50

If you want to live on the wild side and play some cards that aren’t level zeros, here are a few tech choices that I would recommend:

  • All Together, Pull!: This event gives the deck the ability to heal. Never a bad thing, and it heals to hand to boot.
  • Paper Airplane: Even with using two draw effects every turn, you’ll probably have enough stock left over to play a tap counter. Prevents the enemy from getting their level three combos off, and if you guard information well, it’ll be completely out of left field.
  • Japari Buns or Marking: Both allow you to get a Friends character. Marking is a counter time back up event, while Japari Buns is a free look at top four select one. Both are interesting to play, and up to player preference of salvage versus thinning on which to play.
  • Kaban-chan, helping out: Just because your deck is going to get rushed doesn’t mean anti-change griefing isn’t a bad or fun idea. It’s worth an inclusion.

Conclusion

Armed with Tsuchinoko’s ability to find climaxes and Serval’s ability to draw, you too can play Weiss as if you’re a monster that never goes outside! Amaze your friends with your ability to turn cards sideways, and laugh at the turn they eat ten damage. Or cry when they cancel everything. Either way, Tsuchinoko’s soul pump is a fun take on soul rush.

2 thoughts on “Friday Funpost: Tsuchinoko’s Level 0 Soul Pump

Leave a comment