Welcome to our quick review of the new cards revealed for the upcoming Altered TCG expansion Trial by Frost. This article focuses on the Lyra faction, the themes developed in this set and the overall synergies.
Rejoice, my ice-skating fans, there are miles of snow waiting for you to make your most beautiful snowmen !
Characters
37. The Snowman
Here is The Snowman ! This cute little guy was a must have in this set around winter and snow and he is clearly here to melt our heart indeed.
He has pretty good stats for 2 manas: you get a 0/3/3 which is pretty cool compared to any other common in the faction who are at best 3/0/2 for the same cost. However, he can’t keep up with the tireless Bravos Pathfinder with the same stats but no conditions at all! To prevent him from melting leave without going to reserve at the end of the day, you’ll have to play him in water to refresh this poor guy a bit.
The common version seems a really good pick for Auraq (and even other heroes) whereas the rare one with higher stats could be played anywhere… but do we really need those 2 stats in grass for a rare slot? He also have an exhausted ressuply as a support ability which could be also cool but as he’s one of the best regarding manas/stats ratio, I’m not sure that you want to get rid of him… and what an heartless decision it would be!
38. UNKNOWN…
39. Snowball Commando
Even in the cold frost, the Lyras have still fun together and break the rigour of the surrounding ice. So come play with the Snowball Commando but be careful to not finish exhausted !
Here is another card in mountain and water as the Snowman we saw before but with lower stat on mountain… on the other hand we have an interesting effect : we can exhaust a card in our opponent’s reserve but then, if they’re lucky, they can do the same with us (that’s fair). I like this card as it is a good control tool I think and if played wisely (with Nyala in hand or no cards in reserve), you may end up with no loss on your side!
40. Will-o’-the-wisp
Be careful, although this tiny spirit looks joyful, their aim is a mystery but if you don’t want to end up like the Old Mariner, you better keep your distance !
It’s hard to estimate how good this card is to compare it to the Lyra Chronicler : for 3 you have a 4/0/4 on one side and a 0/0/3 on the other. The stats are clearly in favour of the chronicler here. However, Will-o’-the-wisp has an interesting effect to prevent your opponent from moving outside of Water… the only non 0 biomes in his stats !
In the end, I think that Will-o’-the-wisp is more a control and defensive character whereas the chronicler is an offensive one. Another good point for Will-o’-the-wisp is it’s support effect even in common. I think that this card could be good in Fen or Auraq.
41. Nyala, Gifted Conjurer
This new character for Lyra is clearly impressive : both by her stunning look and by her really useful ability… So let’s take a closer look at her show and see how she does her magic!
The common version is already really good with the ability to exchange a card from hand with a card in reserve. There are obvious things to do with her in Fen as you’ll always have at least one card in reserve with her hero power. Moreover, as most Fen deck includes Off you Go! or Magical Training, it’ll be always useful to put them back in hand to play them one more time for cheap.
The rare version is also very useful as you now have an exhausted resupply which guarantees that you’ll always have a card in reserve. And the interesting point is that if you exchange the card you resupplied with one from your hand it’ll be as if the card was never exhausted!
42. Nisse
Here are the Nisse : a little houshold spirit associtaed with the Winter Solstice ! They are all eager to deliver their gift but be aware that they might’ve something you haven’t expected!
They’ll bring a card with them but you don’t know if it’ll be available right away or will be exhausted when entering your Reserve. I really like this card as it is as the Snowball Commando a perfect card for Lyra : 0 stats, dice roll and a nice effect ! It’ll be therefore a really nice add to your Auraq and Nevenka decks. The rare one is nice to still have a high-impact card from reserve.
43. Heimdall
Here comes the vibrant Heimdall, calling you from Asgard ! Master of the Bifröst, he’ll also make character switch expedition when played from hand.
This character has the same effect as Hooked which is a pretty good card I think but here on a 4 cost card it’s a little bit different… indeed, it’ll be harder to delay the surprise and your opponent could still counter your “removal”. On the other hand 4/4/4 for 4 mana is still correct especially for a common so you’ll still have a huge body in your expedition with this effect!
The rare version of the card may feel a little bit disappointing as you’ll only get one more stat in Forest and Water but way less in mountain… this (some would say “disadvantageous”) 0 is however an invitation to try him with Auraq… Yes, the card doesn’t seem that good but still, it’s a removal and we clearly want that on character with 0 as he’ll give a counter when a basic spell won’t give any!
44. Santa Claus
Another famous character of winter and he comes with a nice present for you ! A free 3 cost card to play right away… but to be sure no-one is jealous, your opponent will do the same (how disappointing, I didn’t ask for that in my letter!). But in the end, you played a 0/5/5 for 2 right ?
While I do think the effect is good, especially with Auraq to get faster your counter there are still some things to consider… First, are you sure that your card is better than your opponent? But that’s not the trickiest part… indeed as you play your card first, your opponent will be able to answer to your play with their free card. And that’s my biggest concern with this effect: even if you have a “better” option than your opponent, the simple fact that you’re playing first gives them to opportunity to simply counter you. And another bad point is that in Lyra you don’t have card costing higher from reserve than from hand (at least with 3 or less manas for now), so you won’t be able to cheat a little but your opponent could play a Sun Wukong, a Conjuring Seal or an Off you go! from reserve freely…
I do love this card but still, I think it’ll be hard to play him safely (but that’s the fun with Lyra right ?! ^^). The rare is just a cheaper version of the character so there isn’t really anything else to say about him, you’ll see what suits you the best between the 2 versions!
21. Haven Seiringar
Here is the Haven Seiringar, an impressive card who has clearly everything we want from a Lyra card: a small cost for a big spike, 0s and a draw ability!
From reserve, he is even better with the free boost which’ll guarantee at least 1 in every biome but still with base statistics of 0s! It’s one of the card I’m the most hyped about as I feel like he’s a must have in almost every Lyra deck (especially Fen and Auraq’s one).
23. Bravos Trailerblazer
Here is another interesting character somewhat similar to the well known Anansi… and you’ll probably play this card as another Anansi in your Fen deck to be honest ! (Especially if you play aggro, I’m not sure that you’ll have a rare slot otherwise.)
But if he’s like Anansi, why would you play the Trailblazer? Because most of the time Anansi is one of your first cards in the day (apart from spells…) and is therfore a quite obvious target for every removal. On the other hand, you’ll play your Trailblazer as one of your last card to have as much fleeting characters as possible… and therefore surprise your opponent with a huge amount of stats for 2 mana.
25. Gericht, Revered Duelist
When you see these kind of effects, you always think of infinite combos… and that’s probably the main use of this card: create loops and turning some downside effects into boosts!
Apart from that, I’m not sure that Gericht will be played a lot. Most of the time he’ll be a 3/3/3 for 3 from hand and a 4/4/4 for 4 from reserve, and last indefinitely. That’s not that bad, but given the low cost meta, we obviously want more from a card costing that much.
25. Persephone
There are some cards in this new expansion that’ll help mitigate 0s downsides and Persephone is clearly one of them! So let’s thank the goddess of spring for her generous gift.
She’ll indeed transform both your expedition and the one facing yours into forest… and she has 3 in forest. It’s quite like a 3/3/3 for 3 and for 2 from reserve but with 0 stats and some surprising interaction on top of that. I really like this card and I think that she’ll be played a lot in Auraq (the obvious choice for her)… and with the Seiringar, they could team up and do impressive things! I’m eager to see how good she’ll be in the upcoming meta.
25. Pamola
Another new card for Lyra but this time far less enticing than the previous one… I don’t see me using a rare slot for this card. I think that the best part is it’s support effect but the stats aren’t really awesome for the costs and playing a rare only for its support ability seems a bit overkill.
But I don’t know, maybe we can see it play in some Fen decks as she usually have a lot of resources to spare.
Spells
45. Sleight of Hand
For this new set, Lyra has three 1-cost spells which is really interesting as they are some kind of “after you” with an effect above that : perfect tricks for the Lyras!
And here is an old trick but always useful: the ability to exchange a card from hand with a card from reserve! This card remind obviously of Nyala we have seen before… and the effect is still good. As Nyala could be played in every deck, I imagine Sleight of Hand played mostly in Fen but maybe also in some Nevenka decks with a lot of anchor support effects (to benefit longer from her boost). Even if the card has no direct effect on board, it’s a good set-up especially when you can’t choose the card you draw and the one you ressuply.
46. Joyride
Here is the second 1-cost spell for Lyra and this one is also interacting with your reserve. However, this time it’s more about “creating a new support ability” than moving cards in and out.
As I was really convinced of the previous one usefulness, this one is a little harder to play: you pay 1 mana and create card disadvantageto get 2 boosts. It’s the card giving the most stats for 1 mana with the rare Fire Rabbit in Bravos but it still cost a lot and require to have some cards to spare… maybe the exhausted ones?
I feel like this card could be a good finisher in some decks but you’ll need to have enough draw and resupply to not exhaust yourself too much (so maybe it can be played with Fen).
47. Silent Night
That’s the second card with a dice roll (good news for Nevenka) in this set and this one is really interesting! For 1 mana you might be able to anchor one of your character… or just put him asleep if you’re unlucky!
I really enjoy this card as it is another high-risk/high-reward card for Lyra. It’ll fit perfectly in most of Nevenka’s deck I think as you’ll probably lose on roughly one side each turn so you’ll probably have some characters to keep for the next turn while also triggering some dice rolls effect on your cards.
48. Break the Ice
Here is the last spell of Lyra for this new set and a costly one it seems… until you read the card and discover a removal for any character for only 2 manas!
What’s the trick then? You’ll need to have 3 base statistics of 0 among the character you control. Depending on your deck, it might be easy or really hard to meet this condition. But as you play Lyra, I tend to think that it isn’t that hard especially in late game. It’ll be pretty cool to remove basically everything for 2 on your decisive turn with it!
14. Avalanche
Here is a really interesting spell as it is the first “mass removal” for Lyra and not a bad one for 3 manas! I really like this card as there is no cost limitations… it’s very intriguing and make the card really situation-dependant.
I personally see it more as a “meta-oriented” removal : if Bravos is strong you probably won’t play it are they often have strong cards in Mountain. On the other hand, if Muna or Yzmir are the top factions as they are stronger in Plant and Water (respectively), you might be able to remove almost everything they have for 3.
65. Lost in the Woods
And another good 3-cost removal for Lyra : between the previous card and the common Cloth Cocoon, I think that Lyra has probably some of the best removals of the whole game.
Here is a no-condition removal for 3 so strictly better than a Banishing Gate and equivalent to a Boom! in term of mana cost. However, it has a drawback : if you remove a character not in forest (only 3 out of 8 biomes), he’ll draw a card AND you send the card to reserve (if it’s a character) instead of discard it.
As the previous card, I’m not convinced to include it automatically in all my Lyra deck : it’ll mostly depend on the meta and my needs in term of removal. Even if the card seems really good, taking a rare slot for it when you have Break the Ice and Cloth Cocoon in common isn’t an easy choice.
80. Rallying Call
Another card coming from Ordis to convert an asleep character into a an Anchored one while also giving him a boost. Lyra has many way to put a character asleep with spells and characters. But do we really want to play a sleep card then pay 2 mor to give it anchor and a boost ? Isn’t it better to just target an opponent creature with the sleep and then just play another impacting card with the 2 manas spared from Rallying Call ?
As you can see, I’m not really convinced with this card. However, this new set brings also new cards like Hypothermia or Silent Night which could be good cards to synergize with Rallying Call. For now, I’m not sure is a strategy based on those cards could work but it’s probably the best idea I have for now… I think that it’ll be Nevenka who’ll benefit the most from this card.
81. Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a really flexible and interesting card… You can use it to put one of your character asleep (to play Festival for instance), or as a removal for your opponent… and as it’s not you targetting one of their card, you won’t have to pay the though over-cost if they only have (at random) an Hydracaena.
This card seems hard to play and optimize especially with Lyra having no small token to target and Sigismar being played everywhere (at least currently with the first set). I think it’ll be mostly used for a Festival deck as the Twinkle Twinkle is already a really good (or even better) removal.
99. Winter Nova
Here is the biggest spell of this new expansion and of course an Out Of Faction from Yzmir ! A spectacular card to play like 3 cards in once !
There are 4 effects available (all of the costing between 3 of 4 manas usually) and you get to choose 3 of them ! You can clean the opponent board while filling yours or exhaust all his or her resources. There is so much things to do… if you pay 8 manas. And that’s the problem here. If you play this card, you’ll have a huge impact but your opponent will the be able to answer to your play with all their manas.
Yes, Lyra has the Kadigir but still, I don’t know if I want to play this card in any deck… In my opinion, the faction lacks of too many tools to play a “big spell” deck like Akesha.
Permanents – Gear
49. Winter Outfit
As Persephone, here is another card to help with 0-stats in Lyra… and what a card ! This gear really seems essential to go outside with this new expansion. This cards allows to make all the stats of your character equal to the highest one… making the Lyra Navigator a 4/4/4 for 2 in common !
While I do think the card is really helpful with the biome management, I expect it to be less played at higher level. Most of the biomes only have 1 or 2 types therefore spiked cards are already playable and this card could become useless… we’ll see with time how much it is played but the rare one in 1 exemplary is also really appealing !
50. The Magic Sleigh
What a card, and probably one of the most controversial one in the current set. With Small Step, Giant Leap and the Festival, Lyra has now another tool to close the game quicker than expected ! All player will now have this card in mind probably in every game against Lyra.
This card clearly linked thematically to Santa Claus is also linked mechanically to him… indeed with 5 manas you can play Santa and then for free the rare Sleigh in his expedition… and then it’s up to your opponent to prevent you from moving forward twice !
While the common one is already really cool, it’s more a set-up card whereas the rare one seems like a finisher move where the Sleigh is your last card of the turn. I’m curious to see if they’ll be played as the Small Step or left aside like Grand Endeavour because too hard to set up.
33. Eat Me Energy Bar
Do you want a free gigantic Shenlong with Auraq ? Say no more, you can now have it with the wonderful Eat Me Energy Bars !
This card fits perfectly with Lyra : a rare Martengale, an All-In from hand and again from reserve and with the energy bar played the previous turn you have a 10/10/10 gigantic for 7 manas ^^ (my dream in Nevenka)
66. Magic Beans
And the third card to play with 0-stats cards ! And as Persephone, you’ll be rewarded to play in Forest… time to play Seiringar or Mighty Jinn it seems !
I find this card really useful but not only to mitigate the 0 stats but also as some kind of removal. Indeed, if your opponent play on one side as they were in mono-water and then suddenly you play this as your last card, you only compete against each other in the biome you choose and therefore are much more able to overcome them ! I think it’ll be played mostly with Auraq as you might have less spiked cards in your other decks…
Permanent – Landmarks
51. Icebound Tundra
The Tundra is the Icebound landmark of the Lyra for this expansion. Like the other one, it’ll reward you for “playing your faction identity” with a 5/5/5 Dragon Shade.
5/5/5 for 3 (or even 2 in rare) seems really cool and the other effect to return a card from Reserve to your hand is also very nice… but the major drawback is that you’ll have nothing the turn you’ll play it. This card is an investment for the future… without knowing if it’ll be enough to catch up the delay you might have for playing it.
Given the condition to gain counters, I tend to think that this card could be played in Auraq but as it is a “slow” card with no 0s on it, it isn’t that good. The other heroes in Lyra also often play with 0s and in Fen, it’s always useful to return a card from your Reserve to your hand… This card isn’t bad even if I don’t think it’ll be a must have.
51. Icebound Taiga
The Out Of Faction Icebound Landmark is coming from Muna. With Persephone and the Haven Seiringar, the Forest seems to be a major biome for Lyra and not only for Muna.
The interesting fact about this card is that it’s the first Landmark without the same Hand and Reserve cost… and in Lyra we have cards in this next expansion to exchange a card from hand and from reserve like Sleight of Hand or Nyala ! (And I’m not even talking about Fen who put automatically cards in Reserve…)
My main concern is as the previous one the delay taken by playing this card and especially here for a rare slot. However; the condition doesn’t seem that hard to meet and we have all the tools in Lyra to benefit as much as possible from this card.
Conclusion
I really like this second set for Lyra as it strengthens the faction in what she was already good at.
It’s especially the case for Fen with a lot of effects to interact with your Reserve, low cost spells and support effects. I think that we have enough tools to build multiple decks with her and we might have to make some real choice between good cards.
I think that Trial by Frost doesn’t offer that many new cards for Nevenka. However, I really like Snowball Commando, the Energy Bar and Silent Night even though I don’t think they’ll be played in competitive decks. Those cards are really fun and offer a good “risk and reward” estimation moment in the game ! (that’s the best part for me in Nevenka : taking risks and turning upside down every situations ^^)
I had great expectations for Auraq but in the end, it seems that this new expansion doesn’t bring any game-breaking cards for her. There are some nice new additions like the Seiringar or the Snowman. The deck will surely be better for sure but not enough to be played at the highest level in my opinion.
To conclude, I think that Fen will stay (as the previous set) the only reliable competitive heroine of Lyra. With this new expansion, I expect her to be even better than she was previously ! Let’s hope Nevenka and Auraq will keep up with the others ^^
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