Axiom Roundup

     Having done Bravos last week, I've gone back to go over the cards for Axiom this week. I will be using the same rating scale I used for Bravos which is given below. As usual these are my ratings for cards and my opinion might be different to others. I would be interested to hear things I might have missed in my roundup.

I think there’s a big difference between the rare version and the common version of this card. The common version loses to an Ordis Soldier, and the rare beats it. So, anyone playing a 1/1/1 to cheaply win a side will be sadly disappointed on T1 and you can steal an expedition cheaply early with this play. I think he’s best for Sierra as she really wants to get her 3+ cost permanents in play quickly, so the bonus mana from the support ability will be more vital for her to do that. Overall, the card is solid as a 1 drop and could go in any Axiom strategy.

Conversely, I think the Salvager wants to be more in the Treyst deck as he needs to get cards out of his reserve as quickly as possible, so getting extra ones in there early is good for him. A free resupply from reserve for a cheap body is never bad and he won’t be terrible in Sierra or Subhash, though he will likely get cut for numbers from many decks.

Whereas I like Ada Lovelace much better as a Treyst enabler than the Salvager. You can still play her on turn 1 but her mountain stat means that she will likely beat out a 1/1/1 soldier or a Ratatoskr. You ay have to time your replay if you use the common to ensure you have a permanent to go to the reserve, but the card draw here is a bonus and you are really getting something out of it. You’re unlikely to not be playing with permanents in Axiom, so all heroes can play her. The rare is slightly better though as it gives you the Coppelia combo that I’ll describe below on their card.

The combo described above is that Ada can discard Coppelia from hand to the reserve to pay for her draw effect and then Coppelia gets to be played for free, though gets to sleep until next turn. This means that the common gives you a free 2/2/0 next turn and the rare a free 3/3/0. Now Subhash gets to be S tier with Coppelia as he can access the free Coppelia anytime without needing the combo. Remember Coppelia is a robot. This is very important.

I’m not really a fan of the common version of the Foundry Engineer as you have to pay four mana before you get a discount of 1 on a permanent. Of course, you can cheat it into the reserve but to do that you mostly have to spend mana on another character to do that. Of course, Subhash gets around that and can get it into the reserve quicker. However, the Engineer only makes himself free and you still need the full mana orbs to be able to cast that big permanent, whereas Foundry Mechanic gives you a discount to bring it in ahead of the curve.

Jian is the ‘objectively’ worse Axiom card reviewed so far. His common does nothing and is under powered for the par. So, it’s an okay draft card to make up the numbers, but not something I’d be looking for in a constructed deck. The rare has an extra ability to activate the effects of a permanent again as a support ability. I feel its more likely to be included in a Subhash deck as he can avoid actually having to cast it to get to the needed support effect, but it’s likely that this card would get cut for numbers.

Kelon Elemental is my favourite setup card for Treyst in the set. Whilst the rare is slightly better as it gives you the choice, the common will more often than not set you up to dump something suitable into reserve to use on turn 1. Its useable in Sierra and Subhash, but I don’t think that Subhash needs this as he can actually do the job himself. The stats are over the par, so you are doing something you want to do anyway and getting the payoff in better biome stats.

Ogun is my first fully S tier rated card in Axiom. Both versions are good as they boost all the Brassbugs you’ve created already this turn which is worth at least two mana (for comparison see charge). Remember though I mentioned that Coppelia is a robot earlier, well she’s sitting there asleep and now also getting a boost for next turn. Not bad for a free card. Now the rare is S tier, as like the Bravos Pathfinder you have an option to pay an extra 2 mana to make another Brassbug. You won’t always want to do this, but with a boost from Ogun and perhaps one from the rare Brassbug Hive you may well end up with a 4/4/4 for your 2 mana.

Amelia is a fine card. Nothing wrong with her, but I just think she’ll never be stunningly good. If you can get her into the reserve (Subhash) then you’ll get a bargain 2/2/2 for 1. It’s fine, but nothing too exciting. The rare is actually much better, but I still (personally) don’t love it. A 1 mana 3/3/3 is great and a turn 1 play for Subhash is pretty good. I’m just not excited about it (Note it probably should be a B+ for Subhash).

I like the Foundry Armorer though. You’re getting two bodies for the price of one, though the common only gives you this from the reserve. The rare gives you the two for one from both the hand and the reserve. Now those brassbugs could then benefit from a Ogun and a rare Brassbug hive, so they can be even stronger. 

The Three Little Pigs are one of these cards that is sometimes going be fantastic in your deck and sometimes be just fine depending on whether you find your two permanents in time. The common is fine and equivalent to Haven Warrior if you make the quest, but the rare steps it up to potentially be better. However, because of RNG you are not always going to achieve the dream and thus it gets marked back a little bit.

Tinkerbell is the first of two in faction sabotage cards. Interestingly enough, it is one of only two cards in the game that can sabotage out of the reserve. Unlike rare Lyra Tanuki though it can guarantee to do this when played. The stats on the common are a little under par but that’s to be expected. Subhash can cheat it into your reserve though making it slightly stronger there.

The Axiom Scrambler is the second sabotage card in Axiom and probably a little stronger on the rare. The rate on the common is not great (having to pay 4 mana for the effect) but the rare is pretty good. Whilst the effect on Tinkerbell is unique, the other player knows you have it. Here you can surprise them. It’s roughly equivalent to Haven Bouncer.

The ability to active the -> cost of a permanent is dependent on what permanent you have in play. Your choices in Axiom are resupply (on Haven, Bravos Bastion and Axiom Re-processor), getting 3 kelon counters (Brassbug Hub), sabotaging (Axiom Jammer), getting a boost (rare Kelon Cylinder) and getting a Brassbug (Brassbug Hive). Most of these are worth about 1 mana except the Brassbug which is worth 2 mana. So, the effect will depend on what you have out. It’s decent, but not earth shattering. 

Athena at rare is a very good card. Like Sun Wukong she can keep coming back from reserve. Here though you need to have two permanents out though which makes it not completely reliable. Having said that you are likely to have this in an Axiom deck. The rare gives you decent biome stats on the way in as well and this is where it really shines as Axiom lacks too many impact plays.

Ganesh is expensive. He’s the most expensive character from the in-faction Axiom character and he’s just fine. He acts as a kind of super Dr Frankenstein. Since you are normally restricted to 2 landmarks but could play a third on this turn you are only likely to get 2-3 bonuses. It’s fine and probably a bit above par, but I can’t really see Subhash or Treyst wanting it. Sierra (who wants to play lots of landmarks) may find a use for him.

I’m quite excited about this spell for Axiom as it will often let you win an expedition for a cheap cost. If you are just losing on both sides, then switching a character will often let you win a side. Plus, the ability to draw you an extra card on each use is definitely a big bonus, since you are essentially drawing that card for 1 mana. It’s a great final surprise card and the only reason that it’s not S tier is that often you may want to draw that extra card early, but that the ability on the spell you want to play late in the day.

Mechanical Training I’m not as keen on. As noted previously there is currently a ceiling on the effects that you can achieve by activating permanent effects. Plus, you need to have the permanent in play before you can play this one which kind of restricts it. Now since you are playing Axiom you will likely have a permanent, but will you have the one you want at the right time. Similarly, though the rare is objectively better, now you have to have two in play to get the value from this one. It’s fine and my get better as we get more sets, but for now I think its just fine.

This is my first S tier spell for the Axiom. The common is good, even more so with a Moonlight Jellyfish in play, but it doesn’t have quite the shenanigans that the rare can bring. The common can get rid of a permanent or character from an opponent no matter the mana cost (which makes it more flexible than Kelon Burst) though as with most spells will be subject to the Tough tax. The rare however can target a useless permanent that has already used its effect. A great example is the rare Armored Jammer, which when it leaves the expedition it Sabotages. This allows you to sacrifice the Jammer to kill a character and then sabotage a character from their reserve. 

Kelon Burst is one of the spells I like more in the common form than the rare one. The rare gets the bonus of being able to create a 2/2/2 Brassbug if you control 2 permanents. This sounds great but a) you need to actually have the permanents and b) it costs 1 mana more. No also this spell only is able to target something that costs 4 or less, so the rare isn’t even going to gain you any mana for casting it.

I like the Kelon Cylinder in Bravos as they gain so much from the extra little boosts. Whilst it is fine in Axiom, they gain much more from making brassbugs than they do for boosting characters. So, whilst it’s a fine landmark that will do a solid job, it will compete for your two permanent slots and isn’t fast enough to gain you the boosts regularly. The rare gets you the value straight away, so it’s a little better.

The Armored Jammer is another way for the Axiom to sabotage the opponent’s reserve and interestingly because it is an artifact, it can be done from the reserve itself if one of your effects have moved it into the reserve. There’s a combo with the rare and the rare boom, so its not completely useless after its been used, though it is a lower value landmark for Axiom. 

The common Brassbug hub is way better in Sierra than the rare one, despite the fact that it costs one more. This is because Sierra will get another brassbug due to its cost, whereas she won’t get that bonus on the rare. Treyst and Subhash really doesn’t mind the discount and will benefit more from the rare version if they can stretch the rare slots for it. Paying 1 for a 2/2/2 over three turns is a good deal, though after three turns you’ll run out of kelon counters. Some of the characters that refresh artifact activations could be used to refresh this, though generally by that time you may have a replacement artifact anyway.

The Axiom Bastion I don’t think is as nuts in Axiom as it possibly could be for Kojo in Bravos, but I might be wrong. It activates Sierra’s brassbug power, so gets a bonus boost to power from her. In general its fine and will help the deck but I don’t see it as an essential include in the Axiom deck and the Axiom decks might want Haven more.

I am quite down on the reprocessor mainly because the common does nothing on the turn it is played and the rare only gives you a resupply (worth about 1 mana) for your 4-mana investment. I like it more in Sierra’s deck as Sierra gets a free brassbug from playing this. Subhash already has a way of resupplying, so I’m not convinced that he wants this at all. If you are going to go for some kind of resupply effect, you are much better using The Ouroboros instead. 

The Brassbug Hive is an S tier card in my view. It is essential to the Axiom strategy to keep making more robot brassbugs. The Rare is way better, and you want to seriously consider including the rare in any Axiom deck because of the sheer number of extra boosts on your robots. 

The Bravos Tracer is objectively a strong card, and any deck could make use of it. It’s a 3/3/3 for the low cost of 2 and Subhash really doesn’t care if it goes into the reserve first as it already has fleeting. I have a feeling that though I have rated it B tier that the tracer will more often get cut from Axiom builds as it doesn’t do enough for the core Axiom strategy, and it takes up a rare slot, so the rating may slip down a bit.

Conversely, I could see the Bravos Vanguard getting played a lot more in Axiom as it gives the faction something that it doesn’t normally have. The ability to lose fleeting. Being as Subhash wants to put things into the reserve, the Bravos Vanguard can rescue the character for a second play from the reserve and get it a boost to the bargain. Overall, its useful everywhere even if it’s not a key part of the landmark strategy.

The Haven Bouncer conversely has a lot of competition for Sabotage effects and Axiom is better off using its own effects that spending a rare slot on this OOF card. It’s playable, but not a card the faction needs to spend a rare slot on.

Martengale is very similar to the first card reviewed here (Foundry Mechanic). The difference is that there’s a 1/0/1 extra in stats on that rare version. However the Martengale has more flexibility with the support ability. Whereas the Foundry Mechanic can only support to help get a permanent into play, the Martengale is good for any type of card. It has a lot more flexibility, so unless you really need those better stats or are only wanting to cheat a permanent in play early, then this is a valid choice for Axiom decks.

Anansi is a fine card that I could see going into a focussed deck that wants to get lots of things into the reserve. Now technically Subhash wants to do that on the face of it, but often you may be playing Anansi from reserve which will lesson the boosts by 1. It’s very efficient if the stars align for you, but otherwise you are getting a par creature or just a little better statted creature for your mana that doesn’t advance you gameplan. So it’s okay, but probably not worth a rare slot.

I think that the Lyra Chronicler belongs in Treyst’s deck. She can give a strong set of stats on one side on turn 1 and on turn 2 can give Treyst two counters (depending on what you resupply into your reserve). I’m not sure that Axiom wants Lyra’s wonky stats other than than but could be a roleplayer in other decks.

This is one I’m going to take a punt on being better than it seems in Axiom. This is a combo card and it helps you bring back your combo piece for an additional time, mean you get three bites at the bullet, or three uses out of that key spell. I’m not just sure of how good it is at present as most of the good Axiom effects come from the reserve, but it’s a card that will see more use as more sets get publised I think.

Ahmale is a large creature with built in card advantage (for Axiom at least). I actually quite like him as Axiom doesn’t have a lot of either (card draw or big creatures). He will likely get cut in the rare cull down and he may not quite do enough for his cost, but he’s definitely a roleplayer.

Mowgli is very lucky that I already rated Lyra Navigator OOF in Bravos or else he’d scraping the bottom of the barrell. He is saved from that fate as he is 1 cost from reserve so he has some targetted use in an Axiom deck, but I’d only use him as a draft card and he’d get mana orbed pretty often. Having said that I did enjoy him in the Jungle Book.

I’m also not a big fan on the Muna Merchant for Axiom. He does nothing much that Axiom doesn’t already do in faction and his stats aren’t great. Pretty much a draft card, but useable. I wouldn’t waste a rare slot in a constructed deck on this on.

As dicussed previously the ability to reactivate your -> effects of a permanent is fine but dependent on what you have out. Since Axiom can already do this, this one will likely get cut for numbers, but there might be a Sierra deck that wants lots of these effects to sabotage or create brassbugs at will so I rate this higher for Sierra.

Another card that I’m not sure why the faction needs it. Its an effect that Axiom doesn’t naturally have, so I should rate it higher, but I can’t see the bebefit of anchoring a small creature in Axiom, whereas Muna wants this all day long. There may be a use I’m missing though but I currently don’t rate this being worth a rare slot for Axiom.

The daughter however does give Axiom something that it doesn’t have that it actually wants. A low cost card that provides good stats. I expect to see some of these in a number of lists and Subhash even gets around the disadvantage of giving the opponent a card very easily, so he gets a better rating. 

Monolith Rune scribe is another card that provides resupply for Axiom decks, however it doesn’t do it every time and probably is less likely to do it early (Subhash schenanighans excepted). It’s fine and I can see the odd one getting included but probably not that often as Axiom has more of this at a reliable rate in faction.

The Fog Prince falls into the same category as above, but it can provide pressure in the right biomes at times that might get it the occaisional nod of an inclusion, but I can see the in faction stuff getting used ahead of our law obsessed Frog.

This card is high A tier and low S tier for Axiom as it makes two 2/2/2 brassbugs which with the rare Hive out will be 3/3/3 tokens each. Given it provides 7/7/7 for your 5 mana and these can then be further boosted, I feel that Jeanne is a strong include for all Axiom decks.

The Moonlight Jellyfish (Troy’s favourite) is much better in its native faction, but not terrible here. The capability to boost up one of your brassbugs by 2 boosts for 1 mana is pretty good and it makes a nice 1 cost play that will often be a pseudo ‘After You’ effect. It’s not an auto include (as I’m guessing it will get cut for numbers) but I can definitely see it has its uses.

The Stargazer in Ymzir has a really good use. I struggle to find one in Axiom other than it being a fairly good T1 play. I’m not sure that I deserves a slot though just based on this and I think that Axiom has much better options to get its gameplan going. A draft card at best.

I’m not sure what build wants this card, but it’s a card that does something very unique and can’t be discounted because of that. If your opponent is running short on cards and only has one in hand, then this spirit will likely get something good. Whereas this is relatively weak against a Ymzir deck that wants to draw lots of cards. It’s not something that Axiom particuarly wants but is a great tool. So I can’t rate this lowly, but I’m guessing it won’t get used that often as it doesn’t mesh with the core Axiom strategy.

This muna spell has a simple effect that all Axiom decks want, but I think Treyst needs this the most and is the only deck I’d be happy recommending it for. A turn 1 resupply followed by a T2 resupply could really set Treyst up to getting his 5 counters. The other two heroes don’t have a particular use for this and will probably pass on it.

I’m less keen on this spell as it relies on you having lots of characters in play. Whilst you can potentially get a few later on in the game, its not a relaiable spell even if it is low cost. I think that Axiom has better options even if this one is playable.

I like ths spell a lot more for Axiom. Whereas the Axiom version on gets cards with 4 or less, getting the cards that are 4 or more I think is more important. I like Boom and this one as removal in Axiom and whilst maybe not a full three will get played, the cards that matter in most matchups will be the ones at 4 or above I suspect. It won’t get everything, but I think its better than Kelon Burst as you are spending less mana to destroy things that cost a lot more mana.

Another good spell from the Ordis gives us more of what the Axiom want in Brassbugs. Now it needs a build that is designed to pump up lots of Brassbugs to make it effective and you are not getting more than par with this spell so its not super top tier, but worth a thought as an option.

Kraken’s Wrath is just a good spell. It can clear 4 tokens from an Ordis board, take out Booda and a couple of his mates or just take out a couple of good / annoying bureaucrats characters. The flexibility is great and the only reason not to run it is down to the numbers of rares and needing to cut something, I suspect and also the fact that it doesn’t actually take out the opponent’s permanents.

Haven is nearly as good in Axiom as it is in Basira but overall, it’s a low S tier card for Axiom. There are builds that will want this, builds that want the Axiom Bastion and builds that want both. This card will be heavily be used by Axiom that’s for sure.

The Ouroboros Bastion gives the Axiom deck more options when you resupply, but I’m not sure that this card is ever going to make the cut on numbers. Some odd builds might have it in, but Subhash’s effect is not a resupply in itself and Sierra is more of a permanent deck. It’s better than the Axiom Reprocessor though, so I could see it sometimes getting run in its place.