UFS By Numbers, Pt 2: The Resources of UFS
UFS By Numbers Pt 2: Resources of UFS
By Scott Wilding
Editors Note: Click here to read part 1
UFS, just like any other game, has resources that allow you to play cards or abilities. In Magic: the Gathering, those are lands, Energy in Pokemon, Chakra in Naruto, and the list goes on and on. However, few games have quite as many resources as UFS. Twelve different resource symbols to choose from, control checks, momentum, and cards in hand, all serve as resources for abilities or cards.
The first resource we will discuss, since it is usually the first one taken into account during deck building, is symbol. Each symbol tends to excel in certain areas, while lacking in others. Order keeps the board locked down, but isn’t well known for explosive play, Fire is known for explosive play, but offers few traditional control factors. The big thing to look into when choosing a symbol, or combination thereof, is what the aim of the deck is.
Aggro decks usually don’t care much about the virtual card advantage or the opponent’s board position as a whole, but instead focuses on doing as much damage as possible, in as short of a time as possible. Control decks, however, seek to shut an opponent out of resources. Whether it be cards in hand, available cards on the field, cards in deck, the one similarity is always that they control opponent resources. Combo decks, though far more rare, tend to have a combo that pops off in one turn to achieve victory in some way. These decks, just by general nature, play like control decks, but they do it for a different purpose. Instead of controlling an opponent’s victory, while putting together one’s own, the combo player controls the opponent’s influence on the combo player’s victory condition. In short, to play combo is to protect the combo from control decks. Lastly, the most prevalent variant of decks is the Hybrid. This oddity usually runs as an aggro deck with heavy control, for staying power.
Now, what does this all translate to? Basically, there will be better symbols suited for the different decks. Fire, Earth, Life, Air, Water and Good have predominantly been the aggro symbols, though in recent times, I believe that Good has moved into the control realm with many of it’s cards, but that’s a different topic for a different time. The traditional control symbols tend to be Void, Death, and Order. Evil, the three time World Championship winner, is the king of the hybrid deck, though All is always a tough contender for the spot. The only symbol not accounted for here is Chaos, and for good reason. Until recently, Chaos was a redheaded step child. However, recently, this symbol seems to fit perfectly into the title of Combo. 
Thanks to cards such as Billiards Player and Visions of Destiny to set up pieces of a combo, and others like Oral Dead and The Red Lotus of the Sun to protect them, I look for Chaos to really shake things up in the format in the coming season.
Now, even though the resource symbols are the first and most relevant resource to deck building and playing, considering the game’s rule of chaining, it is not near the only one. Foundations, as the name implies, are very big. They make up the basis of many decks, and serve as the way to propel your deck to victory. As they stay in play, and serve not only in providing you with the printed ability of the card, but also as a way to improve the control checks to play your cards. This resource will be important in creating the presence you will have during the game, and as such, is one of the most essential of resources.
An important resource to think about in any game is that which allows you to play your cards. In the case of UFS, this is the control check. Each card has a control value printed in the bottom right corner, and this determines success or failure when playing cards. The higher the value, the higher the chance of success. However, the game does try to balance this by making many low control cards, such as attacks, necessary for victory. Thus, many players tend to strive to maximize the high control checks in their builds, and for good reason. Higher control checks means more cards being successfully played. Cards such as ::Ibuki::, Soul of Ling-Sheng Su, and Sting Like A Bee can help increase the control checks to play cards. It should be no surprise, considering that failing a control check can end one’s turn, that lowering an opponent’s control check (otherwise known as CC Hax) is one of the most used variants of control. So popular, in fact, that Destiny is nearly an auto include for the symbols that can run it. Even if the CC Hax states that it will not end the opponent’s turn, it can still stop a key card from being played. This resource is something that should never be overlooked in any deck.
Now, one of the things that I thought was rather unique in this game was the use of attacks that did damage becoming a resource. Namely, momentum. This resource is rather unique, in that it is not required to play cards (unless stated otherwise). However, this resource is at the heart of the victory condition of many decks. Cards that provide accelerated momentum, such as White Magic, or the much coveted Lord of the Makai, are essential for decks using Multiple or Powerful attacks as their kill conditions. With the reign of Feline Spike in swing currently, this is a highly important resource to keep an eye on. It should be noted, however, that the importance of momentum has come and gone over time, and it is likely to do so again, as new sets come out and give us new options.
The final resource I’m going to discuss is something that was at the heart of a recent article on TCO, by Shajir Islamuddin, which is an essential resource to not only our game, but all collectible card games. It is a resource that is often so plain and simple, it is overlooked. Simply put: Cards. This is often one of the most important resources to watch during a game, since pulling the right one at the right time will likely lead to victory. This isn’t to say that cards in deck, cards in hand, or cards in the card pool are all the same. However, getting rid of cards from any of these “zones” will lead to the same result. Cards in the discard pile are not necessarily gone, either. However, they are only accessible through card abilities. Since this game, due to it’s innate cost of control checks, sends cards to the discard pile as part of simply playing the game, a way to best utilize your resources may be to use card abilities that gain access to the discard pile, such as Starter Sakura or Gorgeous Team. The removed from the game pile is the hardest zone to access, so when a card winds up here, it’s almost a lost resource. Currently, Divination is really the only card that accesses this area for Block 3.
While UFS is all about the battle of wits between the players, it is these resources that effect the outcome of the game. As with any card game that has resources, which is any card game, the Golden Rule to remember is this: The more resources you have over the course of the game, the better chance you have of winning. The more resources you can deny an opponent, the better your chances of hindering their victory. In short, manage your resources well, and don’t spend them up needlessly.
This wraps up Part 2 of the series. Next time, in the third and last of the series, we will look at one of the largest concerns in the competitive UFS world: The Meta. I will look into and discuss the changing flow of the Meta game, the idea of the Anti-Meta, the occurrences of “dark horse” decks, and a look into the future of the UFS metagame. Until next time, game on.