Ordis Common Analysis

Ordis Common Roundup

ONE MANA
 

Ordis Trooper (1/1)

A fairly straight forward card which is on par for its stats when played from both the hand and the reserve. In Ordis it is good played from either as it gets the number of characters up ready for a charge and to power up other ore expensive abilities. Since Ordis wants more characters on this board this is good both as an early turn play to sneak in winning a side for next to nothing as well as getting the number of cards up in play later.

TWO MANA

Ozma (2/2)

A 1/2/1 for two when played from both the hand and the reserve is over costed, but Ozma has an extra ability that lets her draw a card when played from hand if you control at least 3 other characters, which mid game is not that hard to do. Given that the deck wants to play as many characters as they can for a cheap cost, this card gives value in being able to replenish itself for slightly less than the par cost. Having said that, now that I’ve see Gift of Self as an Alt Rare in Ordis, I think Ozma is not as valuable, that is unless the rare Ozma is really good.

The Frog Prince (2/2)

The Frog Prince is another unbalanced stat character that at common is just on par for its biome stats. The unbalanced stats are good for getting an advance for cheap, provided of course your character is on the correct biome. In a Bravos deck this card would be reasonable, but it doesn’t do as much in the Sigismar Ordis deck which wants as many small 1/1/1’s as possible.

The rare version of The Frog Prince creates a 1/1/1 soldier when an opponent plays a card out of the reserve which is much more beneficial to the Ordis player, but it is less in their control. I don’t think that this card is great in the Sigismar deck and perhaps belongs in a different Ordis deck. After all he’s a bureaucrat and not a soldier.

Ordis Cadets (2/2)

The Ordis Cadets are a 1/1/0 creature for 2 mana that also creates another 1/1/1 in the same expedition both from hand and for the reserve. It is marginally over costed, but it does give the Sigismar two bodies for the price of one and this makes charge all the better. The Sigismar deck is very combo-rific, and it needs lots of creatures on the table so being able to bring two into play is a great ability that enables so much more in the deck.

Without the combo elements of the deck however, the Ordis Cadets will feel weak on their own.

Charge (2/3)

Charge is the best spell in the deck, and it really makes the Ordis deck work in mid to late game. Between all the ways of getting extra characters and tokens out into play, charge adds a 1/1/1 boost to each such creature. So, for 2 mana, if you have 6 creatures in play you are getting 6 1/1/1 boosts for the bargain price of 2 mana from the hand and a still reasonable 3 mana from the reserve. I can’t say enough about how this is one of the two key cards in the deck and I shudder to think what the rare version will bring.

THREE MANA

Ordis Spy (3/2)

The Ordis spy is only one of two ways that this deck has for interacting with your opponent, and I think that at times it is really needed. The spy is a 2/2/2 for 3 mana from hand that also has sabotage. From reserve it is only a 2/2/2 for 2, so the real deal part of the card is on the cost from hand.

Where your opponent has a card in reserve that you really don’t want to see coming back into play the spy is essential. I guess that it is tempting to put the spy in as a mana orb but my view is that unless you really have to, it is better to save it for later if you can, since the sabotage ability can’t be played out from the reserve.

Ordis Carrier (3/3)

The Ordis Carrier is an essential component of the deck. It’s a permanent that costs 3 mana and at dawn provides a 1/1/1 soldier in your companion expedition. Together with Sigismar who gives a 1/1/1 soldier in your companion expedition you are getting two free 1/1/1’s in your two expeditions which makes the task of getting 3 other characters in play much easier.

It does mean that you almost have to give up either the first or second turn to do this, but the help that it gives you is so worth it in this deck that you almost want to do it as soon as you can.

Kakoba, Legion Commander (3/3)

Kakoba is a 2/2/2 for 3 mana from both the hand and reserve which is obviously over costed for what you are getting. If you have 3 other characters in play however, you get 2 boosts on Kakoba which would make her a 4/4/4. It isn’t hard to get 3 other characters in the Ordis deck provided that things go well. However, it is more difficult early on, so this really isn’t an early play. Plus, it doesn’t add more characters to the board, so that in the right situations it can be good, its not essential in the deck. I usually find that Kakoba is a good early target to become a mana orb and that she’s only really great in the last few turns once you have the Ordis engine going.

The rare Kakoba is better in that she gives 3 boosts rather than 2, which makes her a 5/5/5 if you achieve the quest to get three other characters in play. This definitely makes her better, but she still doesn’t fit the goal of the deck. She’s not terrible in the deck as your opponent won’t expect a sudden large character and may ditch a lot of their removal against Ordis into mana orbs. This surprise ability to get a 5/5/5 for 3 mana might be just the thing to top off an end game if you don’t have a charge available, but often I’d much rather have charge in this deck.

Sticky Note Seals (3/3)

This spell sends to reserve a character with hand cost 4 or more mana for the price of 3 mana. So you will automatically be getting a better deal out of this than your opponent even if you are targeting a 4 cost character. Additionally, it can target permanents with a casting cost of 4 or more, so that annoying Brassbug Hive can be taken out if required.

The card itself has fleeting, which means that you will only be able to use it once, however you probably don’t need to use it that many times. Most decks don’t have too many high-cost cards in them though, so its use is more niche and needs to be saved in hand for the right moment.

FOUR MANA

Jeanne d’Arc (4/4)

The highest mana cost card in the deck is also another very good card. Jeanne provides a 3/3/3 body in the expedition for the price of 4 mana, which on the face of it seems underwhelming. However, she leaves a 1/1/1 soldier in each expedition when she leaves the expedition. That could be for any reason – Jeanne being bounced back to hand, removed to reserve by a removal spell or even sacrificed to your own gift of self. So, she is providing 5/5/5 worth of stats for 4 mana over one or two turns. It’s the number of bodies though that is important here and having the extra 2 bodies on the following turn can provide for a very big charge.

The rare version is even better, though its cost is increased to 5 from the hand as well as from the reserve. The rare version makes two 1/1/1’s in each expedition which is another 4/4/4 worth of stats on top of her base stats in four bodies. Guess which spell wants lots of bodies on the deck? Charge!