It is recommended that you try practicing these techniques with some of the featured decks after you finish reading.
The Practice and Chronicles modes found under Single in the main menu are ideal for this.
Once you think you’ve gotten the hang of it, mix in some new cards from packs to create your very own decks and try them out in Ranked Matches!
In the articles up until now, we’ve introduced the initial eight Heroes you can choose from.
In this fifth article, we will introduce the playstyles of the red elemental Hero Jill Valentine, who was added with the addition of the card pack DAY OF NIGHTMARES, and the green elemental Hero Nero, who was introduced with the card pack The Devils Awaken.
Summary
– Jill Valentine uses Explore to get strong cards to fight with!
– Nero utilizes <Growth> to power-up units and tricky Hero Arts to mount a surprise attack!
Article Index
- 1. Jill Valentine’s Basic Deck
- 2. Jill Valentine’s Basic Play Style
- 3. Choosing Your Starting Hand (Jill Valentine)
- 4. A Tidbit of Advice to Win With Jill Valentine
- 5. Nero’s Basic Deck
- 6. Nero’s Basic Play Style
- 7. Choosing Your Starting Hand (Nero)
- 8. A Tidbit of Advice to Win With Nero
1. Jill Valentine’s Basic Deck
The Jill Valentine deck we’ll be using in this article is shown above along with its Deck QR.
This deck exclusively uses Basic Cards, so all players can replicate it in-game simply by scanning the accompanying Deck QR.
It’s recommended that you take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the cards in the deck and the details of Jill Valentine’s Hero Art before proceeding.
2. Jill Valentine’s Basic Play Style
Jill Valentine utilizes the ability Explore to add special Action Cards into her EX Pocket, utilizing those effects to edge the battle in her favor towards victory.
Action Cards added with Explore generally have low MP costs and are easy to use with the AMP gained during Active Responses, saving you from wasting MP.
By using these Action Cards proactively in the early game, Jill will be able to gain an advantage that will allow her to take control of the mid-game and onward with powerful cards that get even stronger depending on her Explore Count. Using these cards properly will light her path to victory.
We’ll explain how to use Explore effectively and the traits of the cards found in the basic deck, so please use it to your advantage.
▼ Pay attention to the EX Pocket!
If the EX Pocket already has 2 cards in it, when a 3rd card is attempted to be added, it will go to your graveyard.
When using Explore to give yourself more cards, make sure the EX Pocket has open spaces.
[Traits of Unit Cards with Explore]
There are 2 types cards in Jill Valentine’s basic deck with Explore.
Explore’s trigger conditions are varied, so “Mikhail Victor (JILL 001)” will Explore for “Ammo (T007)” when played, and “Jill Valentine (JILL 008)” will Explore for “Handgun (T008)” whenever Jill’s Victory effect is activated.
There are also cards with Explore that Explore upon Death, so be sure to check when each will happen before the battle.
Cards added to the EX Pocket with Explore are similar to other cards, in that you’ll need to spend MP and play them to get use out of them.
Like in the below example, use the proper timing when playing cards added to the EX Pocket.
Progression of Using Cards Added to the EX Pocket With Explore
1. When you play “Mikhail Victor (JILL 001)”, “Ammo (T007)” is added to your EX Pocket.
2. Use “Ammo (T007)” on the unit you wish to strengthen.
3. That unit’s Attack is then increased by +2 through the effect of “Ammo (T007).”
To play “Mikhail Victor (JILL 001)”, you’ll need to spend 3 MP, and to play “Ammo (T007)”, you’ll need to spend 1 MP, so a total of 4 MP is needed. The end result is a unit with 3 Attack, and 5 HP.
Action cards in the EX Pocket also consume MP, but getting a strong unit after spending just 4 MP is quite effective.
Of course, you can use “Ammo (T007)” on cards other than “Mikhail Victor (JILL 001).”
Cards found with Explore are the same as cards in your hand, so they require the right timing and target as well.
▼ The Hero Art Ultimate Weapon Explores for a strong weapon!
This Action Card deals 10 Pierce Damage to any enemy unit on the field.
Since it deals Pierce Damage, it will deal any excess damage to the Hero, so if you use it to take out low HP enemies, it will deal a lot of damage to the enemy Hero.
It’s quite powerful, but “Rocket Launcher (T009)” requires 3 MP to play it, so try to avoid being in a spot where you don’t have enough MP to play it.
[Traits of Action Cards That Trigger Explore]
These kinds of Action Cards trigger Explore on the target unit.
This way, you can easily trigger Explore even on units with strict trigger conditions.
Also, units where Explore triggers on Death or When Played normally only trigger Explore once, but this way you can keep triggering it indefinitely.
Action Cards with similar effects are “Bushinryu Awakening (DON 023).” These Action Cards pair very well with Jill Valentine’s deck which has multiple Explore cards.
Checking The Cards Gained With Explore
When you want to look for cards with Explore, you can use the ability search function.
In the top part of the Edit Deck screen, or in the bottom part of the Check Cards screen, there is a Ability List function. If you select that and select Explore, you can view all the cards with Explore.
However, the cards gained when triggering Explore will not be displayed this way.
To view these cards’ effects, go into the card details of these cards.
1. In Check Cards, select a unit with Explore.
2. In the card details screen, the name of the card that you will receive from Explore will be highlighted in blue. Select that card.
3. The card details of the card received from Explore will be displayed.
It’s best to check the details of the cards you will get from units and Action Cards with Explore beforehand.
▼ Cards gained with Explore can be used again with the Hero Art Genesis!
When they are added to the EX Pocket, the cards will also received MP -1 (the lowest MP cost a card can have is 1.)
This Hero Art will be most effective after you’ve used your most useful cards gained from Explore.
[Traits of Cards That Change Effects Depending On The Amount of Times Explore Was Triggered]
There are cards in which their abilities get stronger depending on the amount of times Explore was triggered in the battle.
In the basic deck, “Claire Redfield (JILL 005)” will deal 6 damage when played to the enemy unit in front if Explore was trigger 3 or more times.
To make the most out of card effects like this, you should use cards such as “Brought to Light (JILL 013)” to increase the amount of times Explored.
3. Choosing Your Starting Hand (Jill Valentine)
You should prioritize having “Mikhail Victor (JILL 001)” as he has the minimum Attack and HP needed to get through early game, as well as getting the easy to use card “Ammo (T007).”
It also might help to aim for a “Carlos Oliveira (JILL 007)” with <Combo> or “Teostra (JILL 006)” with <Flight>.
Having “Brought to Light (JILL 013)” as well would be perfect, but since there’s only one copy in the deck, you should be fine if you just have the aforementioned units.
Generally, you should play “Mikhail Victor (JILL 001)” at the start and receive “Ammo (T007)” and with it, strengthen units with <Combo> or <Flight>.
Since “Guile (JILL 003)” also has <Combo>, if you don’t have “Carlos Oliveira (JILL 007)”, you can use it as a replacement.
4. A Tidbit of Advice to Win With Jill Valentine
Jill Valentine’s Hero Arts all have something to do with Explore, so you should focus on keeping you deck built around that.
In the basic deck, you should try removing two copies of “Demitri Maximoff (JILL 004)” and adding two more copies of “Brought to Light (JILL 013).”
Units focused on attacking have <Combo> or <Flight>, so the deck’s balance can still be kept while increasing the amount of opportunities of Explore.
Also, by increasing the amount of times you Explore, the third Hero Art Antibody Activation becomes more effective.
Aside from the basic deck, there are many units with Explore and units that get stronger depending on the amount of times Explored, so try opening up some card packs to get more cards to strengthen your deck.
▼ The Hero Art Antibody Activation strengthens units!
It’s quite the powerful Hero Art, but you cannot use it unless you’ve Explored at least 3 times in the battle.
When selecting this Hero Art, try making your deck a more specialized Explore deck.
5. Nero’s Basic Deck
The Nero deck we’ll be using in this article is shown above along with its Deck QR.
Just like Jill Valentine’s, this deck exclusively uses Basic Cards, so all players can replicate it in-game simply by scanning the accompanying Deck QR.
It’s recommended that you take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the cards in the deck and the details of Nero’s Hero Art before proceeding.
6. Nero’s Basic Play Style
Nero is a Hero that goes well with the <Growth> ability.
Units with <Growth> gain growth points, and when they have enough, they level up. The effects for each level up differ depending on each unit.
The effects range from increasing Attack and HP, to gaining new abilities, and even triggering special effects.
It’s an easy to understand ability that gets better the more units you put onto the field, so it’s recommended for beginners.
Also, Nero possesses powerful Hero Arts that can instantly change the tide of battle. Combining that with units that have <Growth> will allow him to take control in an instant and advance to victory.
▼ Checking Level Up Effects
In the top part of the Edit Deck screen, or in the bottom part of the Check Cards screen, there is a Ability List function. If you select that and select <Growth>, you can view the card details for all the cards with <Growth>.
For example, “Nero (NERO 008)” has the following information listed on his card.
<Growth>: 3 displays the required points for leveling up. If gain 3 growth points, you will go up one level.
Lv.2: Gains ＜Shield＞. displays what additional effect you’ll get upon reaching that level.
“Nero (NERO 008)” goes up to level 4, so in total it can gain 3 levels.
[Traits of Unit Cards with <Growth>]
In order to level up units with <Growth>, you will need to earn growth points.
Gaining growth points is simple; when a unit with <Growth> is on the field, playing another unit from your hand will cause that unit to gain growth points equal to the amount of MP used to play it.
The growth points required to level up for each card is different, and multiple different effects may be gained.
Please check below for a more detailed explanation of the level up progression.
Progression of Leveling Up a Unit With <Growth>
1. Put “Nero (NERO 008)”, a unit with <Growth>, onto the field.
2. By playing the MP cost 3 card “Pallette (NERO 004)”, “Nero (NERO 008)” will gain 3 growth points and level up.
3. Additionally, if you play the MP 3 costing card “Nico (NERO 007)”, both “Pallette (NERO 004)” and “Nero (NERO 008)” will level up.
Playing like this will allow all the units on the field with <Growth> to all gain growth points.
For example, if you have two units with <Growth> and one unit without it, you should play the units with <Growth> first so that all units can earn growth points efficiently.
Of course, this is a play style with leveling up quickly being the focus, so it’s important to plan what you want to do depending on the card effects or the situation.
Furthermore, there are other rules concerning growth points and level up, so please keep that in mine.
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– All units on the field with <Growth> gain growth points when a unit card is played. The growth points gained are equal to the MP spent to play the unit.
– The amount of Growth Points required for units to level up depends on the unit, some require three points while others require five points.
– Cards that level up multiple times will gain effects every level.
– Growth points do not need to be gained all at once, so it’s fine to play two units with an MP cost of 3 to level up a unit that requires five growth points.
– A unit that levels up with three growth points will level up twice instantly when a unit with an MP cost of 6 is played. (This is only in cases where the card can level up twice).
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[Traits of Action Cards That Give Growth Points]
There are Action Cards that can give growth points.
Using “Honed Battle Senses (NERO 012),” a target unit gains three growth points.
It only affects one unit, but you only need 1 MP to play it, so it’s useful when you want to quickly level up a unit.
▼ The Hero Art True Power levels up a unit!
Since it levels up a unit without any regard to growth points, its a powerful way to strengthen a unit.
When focusing on making your deck centered around <Growth>, it’s a good Hero Art to have,
[Traits of Action Cards That Give <Anti-Air>]
When you play this card, all friendly units will gain <Anti-Air>.
<Anti-Air> allows the unit to block units with <Flight>, so it’s a very powerful, defensive ability.
If your opponent has leveled up a unit and made them avoid normal combat through <Flight>, you can fight back against their attempts to damage your Hero directly with this.
[Traits of Action Cards That Move Units to Another Slot]
Normally, a unit placed on the field in a slot cannot be moved, but if you use this card, you can move a unit already on the field to a different slot.
You can move a friendly unit to an slot with an empty space in front of them, or you can use it to get your unit out of trouble. Please look at the examples below.
Example of Buying Time To Level Up A Friendly Unit
1. Before you’re able to fully level up a unit with <Growth>, your opponent puts a strong unit in front of it.
2. “Wire Snatch (NERO 013)” moves a friendly unit to a different slot.
3. Combat between those units has been prevented, and time has been bought to allow you to level your unit up.
Units with <Growth> show their real strength after leveling up.
So if they look like they’ll get destroyed before that happens, move them with Action Cards, or grant them ＜Shield＞ to buy yourself some time.
Furthermore, the attack gauge is reset once the unit moves, so you cannot use it to escape an opponent’s attack and attack the enemy Hero directly.
7. Choosing Your Starting Hand (Nero)
“Nero (NERO 008)” is a powerful unit once leveled up. It’s recommended to aim for him in your starting hand.
When this unit levels up once, it gains <Shield>, so it’s very likely that it will survive the early game. Its second and third level ups increase Attack and HP, making it a balanced, but very strong unit.
If “Nero (NERO 008)” is not in your hand, consider redrawing.
Another card to look out for is “Diablos (NERO 006)”, a powerful unit with 5 Attack and 10 HP once it has leveled up twice.
If you have two copies of this card, even without “Nero (NERO 008)”, you’re good to start the battle.
If you do start the battle off this way, you should save up 10 MP to play two cards so that you can instantly level up “Diablos (NERO 006)”.
8. A Tidbit of Advice to Win With Nero
To master <Growth>, you’ll need to understand the required growth points to level up, as well as the MP of the units in your hand.
For example, “Nero (NERO 008)” requires 3 growth points to level up, so playing a unit with 3 MP allows it to level up once, and playing a unit with 6 MP will cause it to level up twice.
In the basic deck, “Pallette (NERO 004)”, “Morrison (NERO 005)”, and “Nico (NERO 007)” each costing 3 MP, and “G (NERO 003)” has a cost of 6 MP, so by playing these units, no growth points will be wasted.
You should learn which cards work well with each other before the battle starts in order to efficiently level them up.
Also, units with <Growth> are not powerful when they are first put onto the field.
Because of that, you should save up MP before you play them to immediately power it up.
▼ Use Devil Breaker to defeat your enemy in one blow!
A unit with <Spillover> will deal half damage to the adjacent enemies after attacking the enemy in front. By using this Hero Art on the unit in the middle slot, you can defeat multiple enemies in one go.
Also, these effects won’t disappear with counters, so right before the enemy’s attack gauge fills completely, you can use this Hero Art to destroy your enemy with the counter damage and then move onto attacking their Hero.
▼ Learn the effects of the cards added by the Hero Art Hey, Nico!
Specifically, “Gerbera (T031)” deals heavy damage divided amongst your opponent’s units, “Ragtime (T032)” inflicts Halt onto all enemy units, and “Tomboy (T033)” greatly strengthens friendly units.
Since your playstyle will have to change depending on the card you’re given, it’s not recommended for beginners, but it’s very powerful once you’ve mastered it.
Related Articles
– What Element and Hero Best Fits You
– Tips and Tricks (Basic Knowledge)
Return to Beginner’s Guide
*Details describe game features at the time of their implementation.