Ordis Rundown

So I've got everything in order now, all the damn beaurocrats red tape is done, so I can at last release my breakdown of the Ordis faction. As usual the ratings that I am going to use are the same as all the others, as in the table below.

The Ordis Trooper is the most vanilla character but actually I like it in all the heroes, and mainly at the common. A 1/1/1 for 1 is bang on par but will force something to be played against it wherever it is played. I call this the Ordis ‘After You’ because it uses a turn to put just enough pressure on with the fewest resources required. It does the same out of the reserve and can also be used to just add at the end to win a tied expedition. The rare upgrade is much better stats wise, and you could upgrade it, but there really isn’t the need to do that as there are other better places to put your rare cards.

Whereas I really am not a fan of Paper Herald. The common version doesn’t have any biome presence worth speaking of and it will get beaten by nearly anything. Just you can create a free 1/1/1 using the support ability, but that doesn’t pass the turn. So, it’s not that much use for that. The rare gives better stats but I still don’t see it being better than Ordis Trooper. Waru doesn’t even want it as it’s not a bureaucrat. I’m not a fan.

I’m not a fan of the Monolith Archivist, but that may just be my biasness against the defender keyword. I can’t see Sigismar wanting this as all. Gulrang could possibly use it as a big sponge to gum up one side that she already has tokens on, but its awkward then to play if you get past the threshold and your tokens get their superpower. The only place I can see it getting used a lot is in Waru who needs the bureaucrat body count, but then I think that you need to play the rare to offset the downside.

A lot of the Ordis characters are going to be very partisan between heroes, but this is a strange one. Although it’s a bureaucrat, I like it more in Gulrang than in Waru. Gulrang is going to naturally have expeditions that fail to move early on, and the legate can take advantage of that to get a free late day sabotage effect. It’s really good for taking out recurring characters and stopping something powerful being used against you next turn. It’s fine in Waru but may be less certain to get the effect. I just don’t see this getting used in Sigismar which wants other cards.

I’m not a big fan of the Monolith Rune scribe. The Common is bar stats, but it really doesn’t do much except add an average body. The rare is a bit more exciting, with a potential resupply effect that will happen more often than not in most Ordis decks (90-95% chance). It’s nice but nothing really needs it. He’s a scholar and not a bureaucrat, so Waru isn’t keen but there’s an outside chance of it getting used in Gulrang. It’s best chance for use is in Sigismar that wants as many things on the board as possible, but even then, it may be cut for numbers.

The Ordis cadets is a great character for Sigismar. Having two bodies for 2 mana is what Sig wants and the common is pretty much as good as the rare for that, so that rare upgrade is not essential. The rare upgrade I think is essential for Gulrang as the cadets go into a different expedition to the token, so you can progress on one side whilst clogging up the other side. Waru looks at the type, sees its not a bureaucrat and passes.

Its funny but with Ordis cards I worry less about the exact stats, but more about the ability and type line that they have. So, whilst the common has two fewer biome stats for Ozma, I don’t really think its much worse. If you are playing Ozma, you are playing her for the card draw.  This is most likely to be achieved in Sigismar, but Gulrang I think can also use her. I don’t think its out of the question in Waru either, but more than likely she will be cut for numbers there.

The Frog Prince does nothing well, but just ticks a lot of boxes to do enough things. The common has the same stats that Bravos Pathfinder has (just flipped around) and will often help sneak expeditions for 2 mana. Since our noble frog is a bureaucrat, Waru wants to use him. I think its most likely that they will just use the common. The rare is an alternative 1 mana casting cost that could see use instead of Ordis Trooper.

The Ordis Spy is Ordis’ sabotage character in the first set, and I think its quite a good one. On the way in you get a sabotage effect on top of a 2/2/2 and on the way back you just get the stats on the common for 2. The rare gets a free 1/1/1 recruit for the bargain out of the reserve, which makes it really good for Sigismar. Its not bad for Waru or Gulrang either, just better with Sigismar.

Kakoba is a strange character. He’s a go tall character than needs to you to go wide to get his bonus for his to be tall. I think that Sigismar can absolutely do this, with Gulrang a little behind in being able to achieve the decent return. I can’t see Waru reliably getting the numbers of characters in play to be able to make use of him effectively, but with lots of sleepy bureaucrats I guess its possible, but its less likely and needed.

The Ordis Attorney is a bit of a meh character to me. Its stats are fine. As a common it’s a bit expensive considering it doesn’t really do anything. I don’t expect the rare to be seen anywhere except Waru either and that’s only because it’s a lower cost bureaucrat that can be played with a higher-powered bureaucrat. I’m not excited for it, but Waru will play it.

I’m much keener on the Gatekeeper than the Attorney, though its unlikely to see much play with Waru. Creating three bodies for three mana is pretty good though and Sigismar will lap the rare version up for that reason. Gulrang however doesn’t particularly want the token in the same expedition as the character body.

Thoth is another bureaucrat. Guess where I think he fits into? That’s right into Waru, with the rare being progressively better than the common. Getting a couple of free 1/1/1’s after you fail to move (because Thoth is asleep) is a nice bonus and you can then charge the turn after. Since you can create them in any expedition its nice and flexible and also helps Gulrang out since you can use Thoth’s stats to win one side and then populate the other side next day with your boosted up tokens. I don’t really expect to see Thoth much in Sigismar, but it’s not a terrible card there even then.

Jeanne is just a damn good card. The rare in Sigismar is an S tier card, because even if you get rid of it, you are facing 4 tokens. Its not as strong in Gulrang, but still pretty darn good and playable. Waru alas looks at her type line and says not a bureaucrat, but the rare is still pretty strong and I could see come being included just on the strength of the card, though it’s a bit expensive for the Waru deck.

Quetzalcoatl is yet another bureaucrat. This time he taxes card draws and resupplying, creating a 1/1/1 each time. The rare is way better as it costs less mana, but even the common is playable if you are tight for rare slots. Sigismar and Gulrang could probably play it, but I doubt they will.

Robin Hood is perhaps the outlaw with the biggest target on his head at present. He doesn’t just rob mana from the rich, he robs it from any opponent. Although his stats are slightly weaker compared to his cost, his ability is just straight up bonkers and will cause many a deck to not be able to play the cards they want to because of the tax. I rate the common ability to be worth 2 mana penalty against the opponent and the rare 3 mana. The rare has the benefit that any attempt to do away with the Robbing little bureaucrat will be subject to the tax. The rare is straight up bonkers in Waru, and just really good in the other two decks. Expect to see a lot of this outlaw until Equinox prints a one cost card called ‘Wakey, Wakey’ with a text that says ‘This card costs 1 less if you can spot a character with Asleep’ that removes all Asleep tokens.

The Council is …. You guessed it another bureaucrat. It’s good at stopping shenanigans on one expedition side, but I don’t think you’ll see a lot of it in Sigismar or Gulrang. Guess which politician and his marmoset wants to use it? Waru of course.

Anubis is not a bureaucrat and I think the rare is a really strong card. I may be alone in thinking this as I don’t see it getting played a lot in Ordis lists, but I really like it. The rare is only just off stat parity and lets you sacrifice a 1/1/1 Ordis token that you happen to have hanging around to get rid of something better that your opponent has. Also, in Gulrang they may think that a token on one expedition side may be stopping you advance on that side, so they don’t play to it. Your last play there being Anubis, killing the token and winning the side is strong.

The last in faction character, Issitoq, is yet another bureaucrat. This time he blocks one side for both you and your opponent on one side. So even if they have Hydracaena on that side, they can’t advance the turn Waru plays it sleepily. Then they can’t advance the following turn when it wakes up. The turn after they can’t advance as you play it sleepily from the reserve, and a fourth time when it loses the asleep status. I don’t expect Sig or Gulrang to run this, but its another very annoying card.

Charge is just a really, really efficient spell for the mana. The more characters that you have in play, the more value that you are going to get from it. So Sigismar loves it and Waru will also get a load of tokens from Quetzacoatl that they can then use into a big charge the following turn. Gulrang (who will probably use Open the Gates) will also love it late on, but its less important for her to use. The common has fleeting and sometimes you can win by casting charge twice so I see the rare as much better because of that.

Teamwork training is a good spell for getting rid of smaller characters based on the number of your characters. Now I think Waru will use this as Robin’s power will keep the characters played against him down and it should still remain useful. I’m not sure that Sigismar or Gulrang wants this, but it can be used by those decks.

This is Ordis’ prime removal spell in faction, but alas it will only get rid of characters or permanents costing four or more. This is not that problematic for Ordis since most of their characters are small and they should be able to match small characters played against them.

The ability to stop an expedition or all expeditions (rare) from moving forward is powerful, but it costs 5 or 8 mana which is very expensive. I don’t really see this getting played at all though as its just too much mana. There’s an outside chance that the common will be played in Gulrang but I wouldn’t count on it.

This is a big spell that requires a fair bit of mana, but I think that Gulrang wants to use this, especially the rare version. Gulrang can use it to stall the game earlier on and then later on to help her win the game. I just don’t see Waru wanting this and though Sigismar could use the spell, I think if we see it then it will only be in small numbers in Sig.

The Ordis Carrier I can see played at both common and rare. The rare is really good in Sigismar but I think that Gulrang and Waru won’t want to pay 5 mana on a turn for the rarer version. Having 2 extra recruits on top of Sigismar’s recruit in the hero expedition is really strong.

The Monolith is another really strong permanent, but I can’t see the rare getting much play in Ordis as it is so token based. Its best chance of play is in Waru, which relies much less on tokens. The common is really good for Sigismar and Gulrang and I expect to see that used there and virtually not at all in Waru.

Grand Endeavor is indeed a grand looking card, but its not one I’m especially keen on. At six mana its just too expensive to see a lot of realistic play outside draft. Its possible that Gulrang decks might use one or two to be able to advance outside of their tokens with defender stopping them advancing. It is really expensive though and you almost have to waste an entire turn to get it out, so I feel it is not a great inclusion.

This is probably not going to get the nod in most people’s builds, but Sigismar can use him as a better than Ordis Trooper one drop with the ability to make a turn 2 Ordis Carrier cheaper and also put a two drop on the table. If any other hero wants to get a landmark in play early then they could use it too, but I don’t see Waru or Gulrang needing it.

The Foundry Engineer is in a similar position to the mechanic above, but it has to go into the reserve before you get the discount. It’s a two-cost card which is a little overcosted for the stats, and you have to pay 2 before you get the 2-cost discount. So, its about the same, but it has more risk reward as being played from the reserve means it could be sabotaged. Again, I don’t think Gulrang or Waru needs this card.

Jian is not what Ordis wants. Its overcosted for the biome stats and the triggering a permanent’s triggers is not really what any Ordis deck needs unless you are playing a wacky deck with Grand Endeavor that you want to retrigger multiple times. I doubt that deck will be a competitive one though.

Amelia Earheart is good when you can get an undercosted 1 mana cost by putting it into your reserve (as a good Axiom player should). Alas Ordis isn’t made that way, and I just don’t see them needing to waste a rare slot for this.

Athena is an odd one. Its actually a really powerful card being able to replay it (with above the curve stats) endlessly as long as you have 2 or more other characters in play. Ordis should be able to easily get two other characters in play so it can be a really strong character play. The problem is that Sigismar and Waru don’t really play that way so I don’t see them playing it but its strong enough for Gulrang as she can use a repeatable strong character to firm up the side that her tokens aren’t spamming with defender.

I’m not sure that Gulrang or Waru want Ratatoskr. He’s not a bureaucrat and he creates tokens in his own expedition, so he is not really what Gulrang wants either. Since he’s a useful 1/1/1 and he can make three 1/1/1s from reserve I think he’ll be a role player in the Sigismar deck.

I’m less keen on the Haven Trainee as it costs 1 more than Ratatoskr. I think that Ordis decks want to keep as low in mana as possible and the 2 and 4 mana costs here are awkward. Gulrang doesn’t want a token in the same expedition and Waru really doesn’t need him. His best chance of play is in Sigismar, but I don’t really think the Trainee will see play.

The Haven Warrior is just strong on base biome stats. There is no extra ability to add but I don’t think either Sig or Waru need this. I can see Gulrang possibly using the Haven Warrior, but she might get cut for numbers.

I just don’t see any Ordis deck wanting Achilles. He costs five mana after all, and he doesn’t specifically help any of the Ordis decks’ strategies. Gulrang is the closest to actually wanting Achilles, but I can’t see it personally.

I am not the biggest fan of Atlas in Bravos or indeed in Ordis, but I can see that he would be strong if you have a bunch of tokens out. However, five costs quite a bit and you need to have at least two more tokens out just to get your mana’s worth out of him. Then you get to be sad when you opponent kills him. I see people trying him out with Sigismar, but I am not the biggest fan.

The Sandman is a character that Waru players will definitely use to get extended use out of their best bureaucrats. The ability to sleep them an extra turn and gain an extra two boosts if you want them is pretty good. Plus, if you want you can sleep an opponent’s good character if you really need to win that side.

The defensive giant tortoise is not really an Ordis character no matter how many bureaucrats you stack on top of each other. Obviously just mentioning the word bureaucrat means that it will get Waru player attention, but I don’t see even Waru players wanting him.

The Alchemist is strong out the gate from the hand, giving four points of all three biome stats for just three mana. As such he’s a strong first turn play for any hero and then a nice cheap play from the reserve later, though I can’t see Waru wanting him.

Baba Yaga is probably the most reliable card draw in Ordis. She’s useable anywhere but she’s not a must have in any deck. I expect to see her pop up in a lot of decks but not every deck.

I’m going to be the dissenter here and say that this may see some play in Gulrang. Like Anubis Kuwat allows you to play a powerful character at the end of the turn to remove a token that is causing your expedition to have defender and then win it. I don’t see him having a place in Sig or Waru at all.

I don’t see Ordis making much use of the Kraken to be honest. The best chance for it is in Gulrang I suspect and probably only on a good unique.

I think Kelon burst has largely been replaced in Ordis by teamwork training for cards costing 1 to 3 mana. As a result, you may see a few here and there, but I think that Teamwork Training will replace this more often than not in all decks.

Nurture is an odd spell. It is perfect for an Ordis deck that wants to go wide, but I don’t see that it will get a lot of use. It is most likely to be used for a Unique I think that want multiple boosted characters and then it may see a bit more use, though charge will probably get the nod ahead of it even then.

Gift of Self is a powerful card draw; however, you are spending one card to draw two and having to give up a character to do that. I only really see this working well in Gulrang, though potentially it could be used in any expedition to get rid of a character in a losing expedition

Ordis is getting some good options to draw out of faction, but I don’t see that any hero particularly wants this. A spell to draw cards for 3 out of hand is expensive when not putting anything on the board. In Yzmir it works, but Ordis wants bodies on the deck.

A double removal spell that costs 7 and draws you a card. It’s efficient, but its pretty much all you’ll be doing in the turn and Ordis really wants action on the board. I don’t see this being played outside draft.

A landmark with double sabotage is seemingly entertaining, but since you can’t control when you get the second one, I’m not seeing it being that useful. I don’t think any Ordis deck will want to play this.

I see the Brassbug hub potentially getting used in the two token decks, Sig and Gulrang. I think its not a given in either and likely only a singleton if so due to the cost of having it as a rare, but it will see some play in Ordis. Waru likely will not want this at all.

I don’t see it getting played at all in Ordis. I like the idea of the effect, but taking a turn off to be able to get the payoff is not going to happen when you need to keep your tokens and bodies going to the board.

This basically is only going to be played in Waru. It will be played there a lot though. Sig and Gulrang do not want to be discounting bureaucrats.

I’m not sure how much play this will get. I have a feeling that it might get the odd spot for one in some decks, but it won’t see lots of play. The best chance it has is in Waru I think.