Aristeia! - Aristo Analysis - Gaia

"You’re trapped! No one can escape my tentacles!"

Gaia is an excellent robotic engineer trained by Moto.Tronica to become the PanOceanic alternative to the Nomadic Witch.

GAIA: Varuna’s titan

Zoe Foster was born in the city of Damak, located in Varuna’s Gurindam archipelago. Even the
smallest design detail of the holiday planet of PanOceania seems to be taken from an idyllic holiday brochure. Known as the ocean world because of its vast seas and small land masses, Varuna enjoys an incomparable climate that favors tourism and makes its inhabitants the most envied in the entire Human Sphere. However, its oceanic population never forgets the fury of the seas. Occasionally, Varuna suffers intense storms that stretch across the planet with a destructive force that is legendary due to the lack of large land formations that act as a natural barrier. Although both the population and the infrastructure are highly adapted to this terrible atmospheric phenomena, its dangerous power is responsible for the death of hundreds of inhabitants.

Zoe’s mother was an executive in one of the many tour agencies who do business with Varuna’s great demand for tourists. Her position allowed her to travel all year long, crossing from one end of the planet to the other. Her father was the head of an underwater extraction unit of Atlasium for a major company based in Damak. The exploitation of this neomaterial is so valued in the aerospace industry as a Teseum alloy that it is made in the open sea, where the storm hitches are stronger than anywhere else on the planet.

Zoe was familiar with the difficulties of extracting the Atlasium from the daily stories her father shared with her. When she began her studies in programming and cosmology at the institute, she decided to deepen the development of human-machine interface knowledge in order to build some kind of remote that improved the performance of the current extraction units. Last year culminated the development of her personal project during the final year of studies, which she got to develop T.E.S.S - an acronym for Tentacle Extraction Subaquatic Structure.

TESS consisted of a half-ring structure linked to the miners’ work team by a strong electromagnetic field. It obeyed simple mental commands through a device coupled to a comlog. Three five-meter
long and twenty-centimeters-diameter tentacles hung from three anchor points. Inspired by the rich marine fauna of the planet, Zoe designed these artificial limbs so that they were very flexible, able to endure the strong pressure and tension under the sea. Her proud father contributed to the project by giving her Atlasium and Teseum alloy to build the device. The strength of the tentacles was similar to enhanced military armor, and they could be separated from the structure and operate independently, or collectively in a coordinated manner. The mechanical wit had only one drawback: the interface only worked under Zoe’s orders, due to some kind of code injection that her flask geist unconsciously executed in the TESS system during its development.

Zoe’s passage to university had a bittersweet flavor until the last year of her career. On one end, she kept gaining skills as an engineer, applying her new knowledge to improve the design of the tentacles. However, she didn’t manage to solve the TESS problem, nor could she find a teacher or researcher that was able to help her. About to finish her scholarship, Moto.Tronica offered Zoe a new proposal: to compete in Aristeia! with TESS under their sponsorship to reinvest in the project. The idea was to obtain benefits, and therefore more resources and engineers to reach the key that unlocks the interface. Although she had practiced Scuball in her native Varuna for years, the newborn fighter underwent hard physical training to prepare her for the challenges of the arena. In addition to this, Moto.Tronica negotiated with VissioRama the exclusivity of the mechanical access to the scoring zones, creating a new future star of the HexaDome, born to be hEXx3r’s nemesis.

Gaia is an Aristo from the Masters of Puppets expansion, which are part of the third "wave" of sculpts for Aristeia. Like the other two-Aristo packs which came out in 2019 she was designed all at the same time after the end of the second "wave" in order to limit the impact of production and shipping on timelines for releases.

The model is only available in plastic, but shows the benefits of two generations of improvement to the Corvus Belli plastics. The crisp detail and depth of design on display is very impressive. That the only complaint about the model has been that her "cute image" from her art isn't fully portrayed in her face and hair is telling about how good the model is overall.

This is a very high quality plastic model which will reward the application of advanced painting techniques, but which also supports the basic skills of less advanced hobbyists. 

At a glance Gaia is nothing to write home about, from a basic attributes perspective anyway. With Initiative, Speed and Hit Points all sitting at 3 she's certainly far from strong. Having only a Blue and Yellow for Defense means that she isn't going to be the toughest target in most Teams, and likely needs some protection (and/or careful positioning) to keep her up.

While her Agility, at a single Yellow, is weak ('though check out her universal Switch) she has very strong Brawn. Throwing a Green means that she has a chance of stopping even the mighty Maximus, and the extra Yellow helps too, 'though mostly with that Switch.

The universal Switch in Question is one of the key features of Gaia as an Aristo. It allows her to Displace an Obstacle in Line of Sight and within 4 hexes. This can be an enormously transformative ability and means that Gaia plays very well with any Aristo able to give her Focus, or otherwise provide additional Yellow dice.

Having no attacks, apart from the default "Contender", Gaia is a pure support choice with three Actions, 'though the last one is closer to an Automatic Action in function.

At three Action Points, "Siren" is expensive for an Action, and acting only on Adjacent targets is certainly restrictive. On the up side with an Orange and Blue die it's likely to fire and hit a Switch even without enhancement. If you do get your Success it instantly sweeps both Gaia and the Target away to a Deployment Zone (not the Scoring Zone). This can be a huge play both offensively or defensively, either pulling an enemy Aristo out of position (either cleanly away or to your waiting companions) OR it can jump one of your Aristos up into contact with the opposition, or into a perfect sniping position. It's hard to overstate how powerful this can be as a positioning tool.

Gaia also has a cheaper option, "Anaphero", clocking in at 2 Action Points. This is the Action which allows her to deploy her "Gorgoneion" Minions. It is likely to fire and place a Gorgoneion, thanks to rolling an Orange and Yellow die, and moderately likely to Switch (requiring two Special results) to drop a second Minion. These have to go down within Line of Sight, but can be up to 4 hexes away. Obviously these can be used to pin down Aristos, especially with a pair of them or one of your Team mates, but they can also help improve the mobility of Aristos who can use Obstacles for extra movement or as a simple wall (especially in combination with moving existing Obstacles around). Note that the Controller rules prevent you from deploying them adjacent to any Allied Minions (so you can't drop them next to one another), but you can always move them with a switch after they go down. Also remember that you can pull one up at any time during your Actions Step (to re-place it, or open the way for your Aristos).

Last, but certainly not least, with the "Horme" Action Gaia can spend a Movement Point to Place herself within any Deployment Zone which is not a Scoring Zone. This allows her to reposition herself trivially easily, especially in Scenarios where the Scoring Zone moves, allowing her to jump into where it was previously to move other Aristos around with "Siren" and/or drop "Gorgoneion" Minions with "Anaphero". Remember that you don't have to use all your Movement Points at once, so she will often be able to jump in, take her Action(s) and then jump right back out again by simply spending another Movement Point. But this also means that she is VERY vulnerable to the "Immobilized" State, as this totally shuts down her movement.

In terms of her Tactics Gaia is a VERY powerful Aristo. Virtually all of her choices are potential game winners, and it was consideration of the options which she brought to the Tactics deck which led to the discussion around what would be the maximum number of "NO!" cards you could play in a single game. (it's 8, for the record, if you run the right Team).

Most of her Tactics are "selfish" in terms of their timing, at least. This is mostly an issue because if a canny opponent keeps Gaia in the Infirmary (and with her low Initiative there's usually going to be at least one chance to get a shot on her) you won't be able to get them off. So take care of her properly.

First up we have "Earth's Fury", it's a "selfish" option and plays only during Gaia's Action Step. This is a ranged area affect attack, hitting all Enemy Aristos within one Deployment Zone, other than the Scoring Zone. It's a solid opening play and deals them all a Hit Point of damage while also Displacing them. In some Scenarios this can hit the entire opposition Team before they have even moved!

The second option which Gaia offers managers who pick her for their team is the amazing "Tectonic Shake". Although it isn't useful in every Scenario (Ziggurats aren't Scoring Zones, there isn't much point in the likes of Carnage and it's banned in the Scenarios Conquest, Capture the Flag and Human Target) it is literally game shaping in those where it has the intended Effect.

What is that Effect? It swaps a Scoring Zone with any Deployment Zone which currently has none of your Allies inside of it.

THIS is the Tactic which immediately led to a discussion of how you can make it the most likely that you will have a "NO!" in hand to respond to it. Changing the Scoring Zone, even for a single Turn, is an amazing ability. And for Scenarios where it doesn't shift, it's even stronger.

Now, note the timing, it's dropping at the END of the Planning Phase, so your opponent can't respond by putting their Aristos down in a new Initiative Order either.

Third in the menu of Tactic options which Gaia offers for our consideration is "Obliteration". This, again, has "selfish" timing and requires Gaia to be up and Activating in order to fire.

Being able to Place every Obstacle, no matter where it is in the Hexadome at the time (remembering that this includes ALL Minions currently in play) onto any Free Space outside a Deployment Zone (and that includes Scoring Zones, but not Ziggurats) can also turn matches.

Despite being prevented from Placing Obstacles adjacent to one another you can use Blocked Spaces and your fellow Aristos, or Minions you summon after playing this Tactic, to totally cut off entire avenues of approach.

It can also allow you to set up some truly spectacular runs from Bxie, Gata or Hammerhead, offering perfectly placed targets for them to use their movement based abilities on.

And the fourth and final option which Gata gives us for consideration is "Epirogenesis". This also only fires during the Actions Step of Gaia's Activation.

In theory this could allow you to move up to 6 Targets, although tactically it's probably going to be more likely that you want to move either as many of your own Aristos as you can OR as many of the opposition as you can rather than taking the whole shitstorm and planting it somewhere else in the Hexadome (which isn't to say that wouldn't be hilarious to pull off).

Don't forget how easily Gaia can simply jump away from opponents who she uplifts in this fashion, no matter their number!

This Tactic pairs particularly well with "Earth's Fury" to make for an amazing hyper-aggressive opening play, dropping into a Deployment Zone of already wounded Aristos with an aggressive Close Combat Team. Just remember to leave someone out to score!

From a Scenario perspective Gaia is going to be most powerful whenever positioning play is key. This means that she is weaker in Scenarios like Carnage, where she is both too easily killed and simply won't contribute enough, or Conquest, which has too many Scoring Zones for her to use her abilities effectively.

This focus makes Gaia a "sometimes choice" similar to dedicated Scorers like Gata. She might not suit every match and I doubt I would ever select her as one of the 4 Aristos for a Carano Mod Team. Keep in mind also that the Tactic "Tectonic Shake" is banned in the Scenarios Conquest, Capture the Flag and Human Target (and it's useless in all the Ziggurat Scenarios).

In terms of team mates Gaia makes the biggest difference to those with limited mobility of their own. Maximus is certainly grateful for a lift across the Hexadome from time to time. But at the same time she can also be very effective with Aristos who need to move, like Valkyrie, or who want some distance, like Dart or Koorie Queen. Gaia will love having solid defense from a good Tank, and some State management available, but probably doesn't benefit from healing as much as others.

Given the strength of her Tactics Gaia is likely to reward, more than average, Team selection based on supporting that aspect of her play. It's hard to see how you'll regret using Oberon to pull "Tectonic Shake" for play while you are holding your own "NO!", for example (assuming the Scenario allows you to play it at all).

Here's a match where I used Gaia in my Deepwater Dragons team to huge effect, for the key moment watch from 10:30 to the end of Gaia's activation... those two opposing Aristos stay there (locked down by Gaia and her Gorgoneions) for the whole match:

So, that's the Varunan sweetheart who has unleashed the tentacular terror of TESS on the Hexadome. The PanOceanian answer to to the shenanigans of hEXx3r. The glorious: Gaia, mistress of puppets!

As always, we'd appreciate your thoughts. Not just on this article but on the series as a whole as well. Are these articles suiting what you want from Aristeia! content?  Is there something more you'd like to see from them?

But, also, do you use Gaia?
What kind of Team do you like to run her in?
Have there been any Scenarios where you felt she was really strong?
Has she been effective for you?
What limitations have you run into?

Let us know your thoughts.

Aristeia! - Aristo Analysis - Koorie Queen

"I'm over being a pop star. I want to be iconic. Koorie Queen is back."

Koorie Queen is a shining music star that has the honor of being the first Bahadur in the history of Aristeia!

KOORIE QUEEN: The first Bahadur

Kylie Cosmen was born in PanOceania, on planet Earth, with the gift of the song inherited from her maternal grandmother. Since her childhood, her parents invested in the future of her extraordinary voice, so when she turned seventeen the young Cosmen appeared at one of many talent shows in Maya, winning the competition and thus making an awesome entry to the professional world of stardom.

The hand that guided her to stardom belonged to a family friend, only a few years older than her: Sophia Kreuziger. She was an efficient, thoughtful, and very intelligent agent who devised a plan to put Kylie at the center of the entire Human Sphere. The first step of the plan was to hire a personal combat trainer in various disciplines. For four years, he had Kylie getting in shape, and improving her marksmanship by throwing light weapons.

At the age of twenty-two, Kylie entered the contest Exposed Celebrities as the second step of Sophia’s ambitious plan. The program aimed to test the survival skills of a group of celebrities in the wild jungles of planet Paradiso, which was actually a set-up located in Varuna - the idyllic PanOceanian planet. During the filming, a fan spontaneous jumped from the thicket, and began attacking the singer Liliana Vitsin. Kylie responded immediately, pouncing and reducing him to a crumpled heap with only two jujitsu strikes. This is how Kylie earned herself first place on the show.

With the martial prowess of the young Cosmen being without question, it wasn’t much of a problem for Sophia to introduce her to Aristeia! She dressed her with trappings inspired by the Australian aboriginal culture, armed her with a holographic boomerang, covered her with Maori tattoos, and named her Koorie Queen - in reference to the indigenous people of the southeastern region of Australia, an ancient country that ended up making up most of the current region of PanOceania. Kylie added to her costume a piece from the front of her father’s Croc-men armor - a veteran of the Polynesian Division during the Neocolonial Wars.

Koorie Queen was the first aristo to receive the recently released title of Bahadur, and defended it for the entirety of the following season. Her ancient native image showing her PanOceanian roots and her precious voice made the public fall for her. After her second season, she retired to pursue her musical career on an interplanetary scale.

Twelve years later, Koorie Queen has returned from the hand of her successor in the title, Final Boss, to commemorate her deeds on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the show, as well as to promote her latest work on Maya: Boomerang Queen.

Koorie Queen is part of the Legendary Bahadurs expansion for Aristeia! and, as such, is one of the second generation of Corvus Belli plastics. These models are all more detailed, and in many cases better designed with the medium in mind, than the original "Core 8" Aristo sculpts.

In the case of Koorie Queen in particular there are elements which have been drawn in from Infinity, the Corvus Belli wargame, which comprise parts of her costume. This makes for a piece which is instantly attractive to players who collect PanOceania in that context.

The only truly disappointing element of the sculpt is the overly large boomerang, however that is likely easily fixed with a smaller metal piece (for greater strength) instead of what was surely a compromise for structural reasons.

It is obvious from the first glance at her card that Koorie Queen is an interesting and engaging addition to any Team. She has such a wealth of different abilities and options, which begin almost immediately in her most basic attributes.

The top line of Initiative, Speed, Energy and Hit Points are all very standard, with only Initiative being on the high end of average. Before considering any of the rest of her basic attributes however we need to check out her universal Switch.

Koorie Queen can trade two Special results in any roll she makes in return for the Hidden State AND a one-hex Displacement. Best of all the Displacement is NOT contingent on the Hidden (which is optional) meaning that you can certainly fire it multiple times, or keep Displacing after you are already Hidden.

With that ability firmly in mind Koorie Queen's Defense, which is weak at first glance, is suddenly much stronger as she will seldom be exposed to attacks for more than one swing.

She has weak Brawn, with the Orange unlikely to prevent other Aristos from moving away from her or firing her Switch. But her Agility is strong, with an auto-Success which needs to be cancelled and two Yellow dice which are very likely to fire her Switch at least once.

Keeping that universal Switch in mind, we should next consider her Automatic Ability "Feral Spirit". This allows Koorie Queen to go into the Hidden State if she has no opponents in Line of Sight and within three hexes of her at the beginning of her Activation. Keep in mind you can always block her with another earlier activating Aristo too if she gets in closer than she should, but this should seldom fail to fire.

Although two separate Actions, "Boomerang" and "Bounce" need to be read together because the former has a Switch which fires the latter without Line of Sight within 3 of the initial target, and a dice setup nearly certain to fire it (and quite likely to fire her generic Switch as well at the same time).

"Boomerang" doesn't have amazing damage, but it can quickly become deadly when buffed, and (note the miss-print) it will regularly fire the Stunned State
on other opponents thanks to the Switch into "Bounce".

"Bounce" it'self, as an Action, is very unlikely to do damage, but has a high chance of firing its core Effect and putting out that delicious Stun, making it a great response if an opponent has gotten too close. Don't forget that an opponent with the Stunned State next to any Team mate with decent Brawn is VERY unlikely to get away. It also makes most Actions tough to succeed in, offering a solid debuff to many Support Aristos.

When considering Koorie Queen for your Tactics deck on thing to keep in mind is that she is entirely "Selfish". Although a couple of her Tactics do support other Team members indirectly, even those have restricted timing and are primarily built around Koorie Queen first and foremost.

First up is "Special Spin", which is done at the end of a Resolution Step when the Attack "Boomerang" is about to be resolved. It hits every enemy Team member within 3 of the target of "Boomerang" (ignoring Line of sight) with a Stunned State and a single Hit Point of damage.

This is similar to firing a series of "Bounce" Actions, all with good success and thus makes for a solid Tactic overall. Especially if one of the Aristos you can hit is whoever manages States on the opponents Team, as they will struggle to shift States off anyone while wearing their own Stunned.

Next up is "Hidden in the Sand", which fires in the Actions Step of Koorie Queen, when you are applying the Hidden State to yourself (by Automatic Action or Switch from the Queen, or a Tactic from another Aristo). This is particularly restrictive timing, but it is worth it for the power of the Tactic.

Note that the effective range is farther than it appears. You need to have Line of Sight to a Blocked Space, which can be up to 4 hexes away. But you get to Place yourself on a Free Space Adjacent to that Blocked Space. That's up to 6 hexes away from your starting position, and can allow you to jump to a hex which is out of your Line of Sight.

Coming back on the timing, given how likely Koorie Queen is to fire her Switch, even if she misses out on the activation of her Automatic Skill at the beginning of her Activation, she is not going to have a lot of turns where she won't get this off, and it's a significant distance to move.

"Huntress Queen" is another Tactic with very restricted timing. Not just during Koorie Queen's Activation, but specifically during the Declaration of her "Boomerang" Attack. This limits the options for dropping it in a Turn where you are getting Koorie Queen to simply move a significant distance rather than going for a target herself.

At the same time, while this is technically "Selfish" as a Tactic, it certainly does play very well with others! By adding an extra Hit Point of damage to every Effect from Actions or Tactics which causes at least one Hit Point you can turn even very minor damaging Tactics into deadly options.

If you drop this in the first Activation in a Turn then it nearly doesn't matter who your target is, or even if you have a lot of damage output in the rest of your Team, your target is nearly certain to be in the Infirmary by the time that Turn is done. Heck you can probably plink an Aristo down with Contender shots while this is running.

The last option which Koorie Queen affords a Manager who selects her for their team is "Whispers From the Desert". This takes an Aristo who is already part Controller and pushes that aspect up to 11 for a Round.

You don't even need Line of Sight, every time an opponent within 3 hexes attacks an Ally you get a free Bounce on them after resolution. This offers some very cheap control, especially against any Aristo who is using multiple Attack Actions.

With careful positioning you can get shots off on an entire Team. Just keep in mind that the Stun effects you get off will be flipped at the end of the Activation. This point, unfortunately, limits the overall Effect of the Tactic and holds it back from really offering truly game shaping impact.

Koorie Queen likely can't hold down the entire damage output for a Team, so she's not who you want to look to if you need a solo Striker. You likely want to back her up with another, likely melee Striker with a different range of capabilities. On the other hand she offers a lot of Control so you may be able to run her Support light, but a Team mate who gives her extra damage is going to help her put targets down a lot more easily.

In terms of suitability to different Scenarios, her stealth, mobility and Control make her an excellent option for zone control focused mobile matches. On the other hand she doesn't have the speed for the likes of Capture the Flag, nor the stickability for King of the Hill. Oddly she might not be the best pick for Carnage, 'though her ability to limit damage output from the opposition may pull her up into contention.

So, that's the Aboriginal girl with the deadly swing, the iconic Queen of the Hexadome, back from her foray into music to bring the pain once again: "Koorie Queen is BACK!"

If you are looking for more on Koorie Queen then you should check out the official writeup here:

https://aristeiathegame.com/blog/item/588-in-depth-koorie-queen

As always, we'd appreciate your thoughts. Not just on this article but on the series as a whole as well. Are these articles suiting what you want from Aristeia! content?  Is there something more you'd like to see from them?

But, also, do you use Koorie Queen?
What kind of Team do you like to run her in?
Have there been any Scenarios where you felt she was really strong?
Has she been effective for you?
What limitations have you run into?

Let us know your thoughts.

Aristeia! - Team Analysis - Deepwater Dragons for AAL

Team Analysis: Deepwater Dragons

Auckland Aristeia League - Main Season

With the pre-season campaign over and the Otono Cup on the mantle, it's time for the Deepwater Dragons to gear up for the main season down here in the very Heart of the Hyperpower. The New Zealand Aristeia scene has been alive with action, as teams finish their preparations and train their new formations for the challenges ahead.

In the main season of the AAL the teams can finally expand beyond the set 4 imposed by the Carano Mod of the pre-season and the Otono Cup, with this part of the competition instead marked by the Koorie Queen Mod. This means our teams will be able to draw from a bench of 8 Aristos, but one will be banned by our opponent at the beginning of each match.

I've already discussed the Carano Mod Team which I used for the Preseason and Otono Cup comprising of Maximus, Valkyrie, Padre Mendoza and Dart. This team proved highly effective in a wide range of scenarios, although it never had to face something for which it would have been truly miss-,matched, such as Conquest, Capture the Flag or Human Target. With Maximus to soak damage, playing most turns with a double move and seldom attacking and positioned next to Mendoza, who would put out healing for the team, and Valkyrie who would hit and run or hold fast in the Zone to score while Dart sniped from the fringes.

When considering who to add for the extra four Aristos to make up the rest of the bench there were two considerations which I kept in mind. The first was the idea that we would now have bans as a factor in Team building. This would mean that every team combination would risk coming apart if I didn't have alternates to put into the team if a key member got banned. Running with this logic I should be looking at a second Tank (probably Prysm), a second Healing Support (probably Parvati), a second Melee Striker (probably Shona), and a second Ranged Striker (probably Koorie Queen). This would give me redundancy in all four of the key roles which my existing team was build around and allow me to play effectively no matter what ban an opponent chose to drop.

The other approach which I considered was bringing a totally new set of Aristos with abilities which would expand the capabilities of the Team in new and interesting ways. It was this alternative model of how the team might look in the new season which really captured my imagination. If we were going to play a wider range of Scenarios (as is the plan for the Season) then sticking with the same core wasn't going to be suitable for every situation. To enable the Dragons to succeed they needed to have new options, new capabilities and the potential for new and exciting combinations.

One obviously missing component of the original team is speed and scoring capability. The obvious answer to this lack was to look to the princess of pace, Gata herself. Even if the team were not otherwise changed (and it seems likely that Mendoza would be swapped out of the Support slot as well) just switching Max for Gata transforms the scoring ability of the team. However Gata also brings a strong counter for opponents who lean heavily into strong ranged Strikers in the form of her easy Dazzle. This will be a great boon in a Lunah heavy meta.

Next up was a swap which I seriously considered during the pre-season (when we allowed one change to teams part way through) and again in preparation for the Otono Cup. This was the substitution of Dart for Koorie Queen. Much of my early play of Dart was with her as an effective scoring piece but seldom an effective Striker. However as I became more experienced with her that started to turn around. Koorie Queen always seemed like a more versatile ranged Striker and I wanted to add her into the team both to keep building on the Striker/Scorer archetype and to add a different angle on ranged offensive potential, or to double down on a winning strategy.

Eclypse was a tough choice, and was the addition which I have considered and re-considered the most times. I am still very tempted to run Parvati or Hannibal in her place, but now that I've made my choice I'll stick with it through 'till the end of the AGL Season 2. Eclypse makes for an excellent option to enhance the effect of either (or both of) Dart and Koorie Queen while also offering effective State Management (offensive and defensive). She also pairs well with Gata to shut down other ranged focused teams and offers all 'round (albeit fragile) utility.

Last, but certainly not least, is the newest addition to the PanOceanian Aristos, Gaia. This mistress of movement and tentacular terror is not only the best answer to Hexxer (well, other than the Dazzled State or regular trips to the Infirmary), but also an interesting addition to the core team as a substitute for Dart (dropping an entirely close ranged team in behind an opposing team? - HILARIOUS) but also as a supplement to Gata (thanks to placing new Obstacles and moving existing ones) and to Koorie Queen or Dart (pulling ranged Skirmishers out of the fire).

I'll be following up with Aristo Analysis articles on Koorie Queen and Gaia in the very near future. You can also expect to see Scenario analysis articles where I look at how the Deepwater Dragons will tackle the challenge presented, what ban I would expect, how I would build the team, what Tactics I would select and then how we would play.

We should have some more game reports for you soon as well, with regular play in the Season kicking off.

So, what do YOU think about this Dragons team?

Are there any surprises?

Is there anyone you would have picked instead?

Do you think I was right to go with supplementing the team rather than running backups?

Let me know in the comments.