Trail Mix: A Nutty Touken Ranbu Deck Analysis!
Quick lore dump before we get to the deck itself:
Kashuu’s sword and Yamatonokami’s sword are both owned by the same master, so the two are inseparable, despite the two being polar opposites. They have a close relationship with one another and despite their fights they are actually quite similar. The Touken Ranbu community lovingly refers to Yamatonokami as “peanut” for this reason
On to the deck profile:
Puns aside, Kashuu is a pretty basic rideline with not a lot of room for error. The super simplistic nuances of this deck make it a nice baseline for some more intricacies to be sprinkled in to this Trail Mix:
(Ride lines follow the upgrade system in the actual game: Base -> Sentou -> Toku -> Kiwame)
G0 Kashuu – Overdress Starter, not much to note.
G1 Kashuu Sentou – When rode upon by the grade 2 (Toku) look at the top card of the deck and either put it back or into your soul. Pretty nice being able to trigger stack on grade 2 or being able to set up a good amount of soul.
G2 Kashuu Toku – When rode upon by grade 3 (Kiwame), tutor a Peanut (Yamatonokami) from the deck and add to hand. A nice way to get your field loaded with good units, as Peanut gets a sweet boost from having Kashuu as the Vanguard
G3 Kashuu Kiwame – [CONT](VC):During your turn, if you have no face up cards in your damage zone, this unit gets [Power]+10000. [ACT](VC)1/Turn :COST [Counter Blast (1) & Soul Blast (1)], look at the top card of your deck, put it on the top or bottom of your deck, and draw a card.
Having a nice 10k boost just for using all your CB is nice, and being able to CB1 and SB1 to draw a card might be a bit underwhelming but at least you get to choose whether you want to send a trigger back to the deck or draw it for extra shield value in this sense.
But what is a Ride line without its support?
Yamatonokami Yasusada –[ACT](RC): [Counter Blast (1)], and this unit gets [Power]+5000 until end of turn. If your vanguard is “Kashuu Kiyomitsu Kiwame”, get [Power]+10000 instead of +5000.
Helpful to the overall strategy of the deck by closing up loose CB, but also getting a nice 10k boost off of it thanks to Kashuu Kiwame being the VG. Notice how there is a [1/TURN] missing? That is because it’s not there! You can use as much Counter Blast as you want for this skill and get 10k power each time!
The Ride Line searches out Peanut so no need to run more than 2!
Shizukugata Naginata – [AUTO](RC):When this unit attacks, if you have no face up cards in your damage zone, COST [discard a card from your hand], and this unit gets [Power]+15000 until end of battle. This card is a 28k swing by tossing a card when no face up cards are in your damage zone. An awesome addition to the roster considering our main VG also gains a pretty nice boost for the same reason!
Mikazuki Munechika – [RC] [1/TURN] When this unit attacks, perform all of the following according to the number of cards in your damage zone:
-3 or more: During this turn, this unit gets [POWER] +5000
-4 or more: Look at the top card of your deck, and put it on the top or on the bottom.
-5 or more: [Counter Blast (1) and Soul Blast (1)], and [STAND] this unit.’
Another great card to utilize! At 5 damage we are able to have a multi-attack, as well as being able to change the top card of your deck!
Shokudaikiri Mitsutada – When this unit is placed on [RC] from hand, if your opponent is grade 3 or greater, [Counter Blast (1)], and all of your front row units get [POWER] +5000. [RC] When this unit’s attack hits a vanguard, [Soul Blast(1)], choose an opponent’s front row rear-guards and retire it.
Being able to have a Pseudo-Front trigger on place and a retire option is super handy to have, plus it helps reach the goal of having no Counter Blast face up!
Fudou Yukimitsu-[ACT](RC)1/Turn:COST [Counter Blast (1)], look at the top card of your deck, and put it on the top or bottom of your deck. If you put it on the bottom of your deck, this unit gets [Power]+2000 until end of turn.
Another way to get to zero face-up counter blast, while being able to check the top card of the deck before swinging with the vanguard! Also makes a nice 10k booster!
Optional Cards to run: The M&M’s in the mix!
Hyuuga Masamune-[AUTO]:When this unit is placed on (RC), if your vanguard is grade 3 or greater, look at the top card of your deck, and put it on the top or the bottom of your deck.
This card is an alternative to run against Fudou. Their effects are nearly identical, while this one is a free version of it on place, its only the once and it requires your VG to be a grade 3. It’s kinda like a Sugar-Free Fudou!
Monoyoshi Sadamune-[CONT](Back Row RC):When this unit’s [Power] would be increased by your trigger effect, double the value of that increase. (If +10000, it becomes +20000)
As I have made note of in other Touken Ranbu articles, this card is a must in most if not all the 5 Ride lines. The ability to make a 2-to-pass into a 1-to-pass is really hard to pass up!
Ookurikara-[AUTO](RC):When this unit attacks while not boosted, if your opponent’s vanguard is grade 3 or greater, COST [Counter Blast (1)], and this unit gets [Power]+10000 until end of that battle. If your damage zone has no face up cards, it gets +15000 instead of +10000.
The main reason I mention this card is that It is a Sugar-Free version of Peanut. He has to not be boosted in order to get his boost, however it’s a nice “anti-prison” choice as you don’t have to commit to the board as much. Optional to run over more copies of Peanut.
Kuwanagou-AUTO:When this unit’s attack hits a vanguard, you may Counter Charge (1) or Soul Charge (2).
Another great choice from the Touken Ranbu roster is Kuwanagou. Basically a miniature Fosado without the target-proofing and you have to choose instead of doing both. Not a bad filler card for any of the decks!
Example Decklist:
I decided to opt for front triggers instead of draws for a couple of reasons, one reason being that the shield value is important for this deck, and with a built in draw for the vanguard skill I didn’t find it necessary. Another reason was that the deck puts out a nice amount of power, but it could always be stronger!
Winning Image:
This is the perfect example of what the win-condition looks like! There are 2 ways to play: Slow-burn where you slowly use the CB to keep up the +10k power on Kashuu, or you save stock of your CB until you get to 4-5 and use them all on Peanut and make a huge column!
Overall Thoughts:
Overall while this deck may not be super impressive at first glance, there are some key features of this deck that stand out! This deck works great under pressure of damage denial and can live on zero counterblast on any level! With Touken Ranbu’s diverse cast of cards your imagination is the limit of your success!
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