Must take cards

Our group is pretty experienced, but I figured I would put out my thoughts on some of the must take cards, in case anyone is curious.  This is for the neutral cards, since they can be used by everyone. 

Must Have in Every Deck Cards

In my opinion, these three cards should be in every deck except if you are building some kind of really exotic specialty build (like all stealth or something) and even then I would probably make room for these 3. 

Phi-Alpha 52

To me this guys is the best overall card in the game.  He pops down, heals 3 to a unit (I use mostly on WL [Warlord], but sometimes on an important unit) and, bonus, removes stun which can be life saving.  All this for 3 energy.  Then you have a 2/2 unit which can do damage next turn to finish off a weakened unit or do 2 to the WL.  Also, it is great when he is ignored, then you drop Sweeping Advance on him and now he is 5/2 and can do some damage.  He has saved me many times. 

Goldstone Hunters

3 energy for a 3/2 unit with Unstoppable and Fast.  Fast is the best ability in the game so there is that.  Basically you drop him and do 3 damage to anything not stealth-ed, so he is like a tactic.  He was nerfed from 3/3 (that made him super good), but I think he is still a must take even at 3/2.  Where he really shines is decks with offensive buffs (like Sweeping Advance, or Mech Tendrils).  I have gotten him to 15/2 before with Mech Tendrils.  He has won many games as the last move for me.

Defensive Satellites

While this card is a bit RNG [Random Number Generator, basically short for requiring a bit of luck], it is a must for crowd control.  At energy 5, I have had it clear the board of enemy troops.  Every once in a while it will do crap damage, but most of the time it will reliably kill /1 and /2 units.  It can also be good in weakening mid-level units down to 1 or 2 HP [Hit points] left, then finish them off with a small unit, like Phi-Alpha 52 or Goldstone!  I have also played two of these at energy 10, and done some serious damage to enemy units, basically winning the game. 

So these are my must include in basically every deck cards. 

Runner-Ups

Mortar Strike

I do use this in a bunch of decks, but not every one.  Since it targets random it is very RNG.  It is best for doing 5 damage to the WL at energy 4 if he did not drop a unit yet.  Counters to Kharn very nice.  It will also hit stealth units which can be useful, but again it is pretty luck dependent.

Nisr's Scouts

So the caveat to these guys is they are only really good in decks where you can buff their attack reliably, like with Bile's WL ability or Mech Tendrils.  But when you do these guys get good.  Being stealth you can wait to the opportune time to strike (mostly barring Def Sat etc.) and then sneak attack lets them not take damage, which is great.  Any deck that has even moderate buffing should take these guys as they are only energy 2.

Fire Walkers

These guys are good as their bonus (+1 to adjacent units on turn they arrive) affects the warlord.  They are then stealthed, and ready to strike with 5/4 next turn.  At 5 energy they are bit pricey, but I do have them in some decks, and go really well with decks that the warlord attacks a lot Kharn or Garro.  

Helios Mortar Carrier

What makes this card good is that the damage is at the end of the turn, as opposed to relentless, so it goes off on the turn it arrives, and the fact you don't need to spend energy to do it as opposed to some shooting units who can target is also key.  It is a bit RNG with who gets hit for 3 damage, but 3 damage is enough that whomever it hits it is effective.  Also, 2/7 makes it hard to kill reliably quickly, so generally you can get a few turns of shots out of him.   Oh and if you have a way to stealth him, he is super annoying. 

Fhorste Ogryns

This is the only Front Line united I included.  Personally I play fast decks, so don't really use much Front Line, but these guys are good.  The 5/6 can be tough for some decks to deal with, and he counters Kharn and Garro well for that reason.  Not a must include but if you are playing the long game (going for energy 10 to start doing you mega damage) then he is really good at keeping you alive to get there.  

Merret's Mercenaries

This is the card that gets +1/1 every time you play a card.  It starts at 4/5 so that is pretty decent.  However it is energy 6.  I really like him in decks where the rest of the cards are low energy, or you get a bunch of Mech Tendrils.  He can get crazy fast. 

Ornatov's Barge

This card is very RNG, but can win games.  If you get one or more Fhorste Ogryns when you play this, it can be game deciding.  However, I usually find that this card just gives me another turn until I lose, as many times it summons units that are to small to really help you out of a hole offensively.  Again if you are playing long game this card has its place. 

Nurglings

These guys are so under-rated.  Once cast the always come back to your hand when killed.  They synergize well with Merret's Mercenaries and make Garro a beast.  The constant 1 damage attacks they make add up.  Also if you can buff them it is good.  While not necessary in every, or even most decks, there are builds that benefit greatly form these critters. 

Escape Vents

If you use a lot of high energy infantry this card can be game changing.  I use it to protect the unstoppable units in my Ehrlen deck, and it works really well.  Some factions don't need it, like raven guard or night lords, but this card can be very helpful.  

Seek and Destroy

2 energy to do 3 damage to a troop.  This card is in most of my decks, and is a way to eliminate early cards that can be damaging, like all of the Astrates  bikes.  Not mandatory, but good. 

Sagitarii Squad

Like the Helios Mortar Carrier it does damage at the end of the turn.  The 3/3 makes it much easier to kill (if it were 2/4 it would probably be close to a must include) than the mortar, but it is only energy 4. 

Delta-Omega 42

This card does 2 damage when he arrives, then is a 4/2 on the board.  He is good in decks where you focus on direct damage, and he is really good early when you don't have a lot of cards yet.  I seem him a lot in decks I face, so I include him even though I don't use him as much outside of some specialty direct damage decks.  

Alpha Theta II

His ability to generate Mech Tendrils is really good as Mech Tendrils are really good.  If his ability was at the end of turn, instead of relentless, so that you got at least one Mech Tendril guaranteed I would probably use him more.  I do like him for long game decks.   

Sigma-phi 19

a 5/4 unit at 5 energy who jams the opponent.  This can be a game changing card eliminating Front Line, or shooting abilities from a unit.  Not in every deck, but I use him a bunch.  

Eviscerator Engine

This is the only 7+ energy card I like, and really, I only put in very specialized decks.   But the ability to act again is very useful in this game and I have had him do 6 to 8 damage across the board if you play the damage to the enemy right. 


 Those are my thoughts on the neutral cards.  Comment and add any you think I missed. 
 

This is my Kelbor deck.  It is also very effective.  I just added the Defiler, not sure if I am going to keep him. 

Ehrlen Deck

This deck got me to Terra. The Skane Squad is just a place holder I use in the deck until I get Argus Bond. 

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