Welcome to the first in a series of faction guides! Each of these articles will take a dive into one of the six factions within Altered. We will begin with an overview of the central mechanics in each faction, analyze their biggest strengths and weaknesses, and then look at each of the three heroes currently available alongside some sample decklists.
Axiom is a faction of scientists who are known for their impressive inventing prowess. They utilize a special energy known as Kelon to power their machines and push their technology to its limits. Within the world of Altered they are a primary driving force for growth and change.
Mechanics
All of the factions in Altered have many overlapping mechanics, but each faction of course has a few specialties. For Axiom these are some of the most quintessential mechanics:
Reserve
Perhaps the most notable mechanical identity for the Axiom faction is its heavy use of the reserve zone. Naturally every faction can use the reserve, as all non-fleeting cards go there after their first use, but Axiom has multiple ways to take further advantage of this zone. Firstly, there are plenty of cards which have triggers when played from reserve, much more than in other factions. There are also cards such as Amelia Earhart or Athena which are noticeably cheaper when played from reserve. To facilitate these cards coming out cheaply, Axiom utilizes cards such as Kelon Elemental or Ada Lovelace to get good cards into the reserve as quickly as possible.
Permanents
Permanents are another mechanic that is not fully unique to Axiom but is expressed much more strongly within the faction. In addition to having the most permanent cards out of any faction, Axiom has many cards which directly synergize with having permanents in play. These cards are often among the more expensive to play, as the idea is to put your permanents down first and then follow up with large synergistic creatures as payoffs. The previously mentioned Athena as well as Ganesha are both amazing ways to generate consistent extra value from your previously played permanents.
Robots
Robots are the piece of mechanical identity which is most unique to Axiom. The faction has access to its own token, the humble and adorable Brassbug, which is only made by Axiom cards and a small number of faction shifted cards. Two of the three heroes even have ways to create Brassbugs! There aren’t a ton of direct payoffs to summoning these critters, but the few that exist such as Ogun and Brassbug Hive are powerful enough to build some decks around (especially in their rare versions).
Even in decks without boosts to robots, the ability to summon Brassbugs adds a lot of flexibility to Axiom decks. Foundry Armorer is a common that has excellent stats from reserve thanks to its Buggy buddy, and these stats can be split across two lanes if necessary, or stacked together for one big boost. Permanents which create Brassbugs every turn, which include Brassbug Hive and Brassbug Hub allow for long-term power with minimal mana commitment after the first turn you play them.
Strengths
One of the bigger strengths of Axiom as a faction is its impressive access to card draw. The reserve mechanic may only be equivalent to drawing half a card in many cases, but Axiom still has so many of these effects that they do a fantastic job of keeping your hand and reserve filled over the course of a game.
Axiom is also quite good at generating multiple bodies in a turn and flooding the board. While its token generation is not as powerful or cheap as it is in Ordis, the existence of Brassbug-creating cards alongside the many cheap creatures in the faction (and those which get cheaper from reserve) means that Axiom can present an effective board spam strategy matched by few other decks.
As a nice parallel to the aggressive board spamming Axiom offers, all of its permanents with repeatable effects give the faction a nice amount of longevity in grindier matches. Having the ability to generate value over multiple turns without further mana investment is an incredibly valuable asset, and there are tons of different effects Axiom can gain from its permanents depending on the exact needs of a deck.
Weaknesses
The most substantial weakness of Axiom is that its creatures are quite small compared to those of other factions. There are few creatures who have any stats which go above 3 in any region, and not as many ways to boost their characters as most factions get either. The hope is that this deficiency can be made up for either with extra card plays from reserve or with the continuous effects of permanents, but if an Axiom deck ever ends up behind on cards or board it can be especially challenging for it to ever get ahead again.
Heroes
Each of the three heroes in Axiom have quite distinct playstyles, and all of them utilize one or multiple of the core mechanics explored above. This section will give a brief overview of the main playstyle of each hero, along with a sample decklist.
Sierra & Oddball
Hero
Character
Spell
Permanent
Sierra’s hero ability allows you to create a Brassbug token once per day when playing a permanent with hand cost 3 or more. This can help to offset the general drawbacks of most permanents, which is that they have limited impact on the turn they are played. Sierra’s best friend is the rare version of Brassbug Hive, as it allows you to get two boosted Brassbugs the turn it is played – already quite strong for the cost – and afterwards a 3/3/3 every turn is nothing to scoff at!
If building a deck with Sierra it goes without saying that a lot of permanents should be played, as she is only gaining value on turns where you play an expensive permanent. Having permanents with on-play effects is especially valuable, as you may end up in situations where you are discarding permanents to reserve at the end of your turn. Otherwise, playing cards that benefit from having these permanents in play, such as Athena or Three Little Pigs, is a great way to gain further value from your initial low-tempo setup turns.
Treyst & Rossum
Hero
Character
Spell
Permanent
Probably the most hyped Axiom hero to date, Treyst is all about playing as many cards from your reserve as possible. His ability won’t do anything at all for the first few turns of the game, but once you have played five total cards from your reserve he will allow you to draw an extra card every turn, for free! A well-built Treyst deck will want lots of ways to speed up the process of playing cards from reserve, which can include resupply effects as well as effects to put cards from your hand straight into reserve. Coppelia is a highlight in this hero, as a zero mana play from reserve that is also excellent to play late-game for free with the actual hero ability. The out-of-faction rare Haven, Bravos Bastion is especially valuable in this deck as well, as you expect to be playing multiple creatures from your reserve every round.
Subhash & Marmo
Hero
Character
Spell
Permanent
Subhash’s effect lets you make a Brassbug every turn as long as you are willing to put a card into your reserve from your hand. Just as with Treyst this is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of cards such as Coppelia or Amelia Earhart which are cheaper from reserve, or some of the many creatures with play-from-reserve effects. Subhash is also the best home for the robot synergies housed within Axiom, as his effect provides the most consistent access to Brassbugs across all of the heroes. Subhash is sort of in between Sierra and Treyst in both the synergies he provides as well as his gameplay speed – less rigorous setup than Sierra, but not burning through resources as quickly as Treyst expects to.
Conclusion
I hope you have enjoyed the first of our six faction analyses! Axiom is a wonderful faction with plenty of synergies that highlight the unique design of Altered itself. Next up in this series will be Bravos!
You can also check this video (in French) to learn more about Axiom :
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