Shadowverse: Evo Sword Guide

This is a lengthy guide so you can skip to sections you’re interested in. Otherwise it’s like reading a textbook. This is also my first guide so bear with me. You can skip parts like about who I am, example games and the glossary. I plan on making a 10-minute video version of this guide which I will include later. Also I’m not a genius but I’m sure this guide will help some newer players climb the ranks.

My name is butter and I started playing Shadowverse on the 20th of March 2020 (about 3-4 weeks ago). Although I am relatively new to Shadowverse but I have about 15 years worth of experience playing card games like Yu-Gi-Oh and its variants, Magic the Gathering, Vanguard, and Hearthstone. I write this guide in hopes of helping new players who are interested in Swordcraft and want to look for their first deck. My current rank is AA0 at 255 ranked wins and 34000 score. Probably not bad for a newbie eh?

I took the first day to familiarise myself with the game mechanics and on my second day of playing Shadowverse I decided to be a Swordcraft main as I liked the play style it offered. I liquified any card I deemed bad or was not a Swordcraft card. As a general rule of thumb, a bad card had two or more of the following criteria:
a. Cost too much
b. Lacking in stats (attack/defence points)
c. Has no effect or an effect that doesn’t influence tempo (the board or play points)

For example, for a good card, I would expect to pay 1 play point for 1/1 worth of stats and a good effect. For 2 play points I expect at least 2/2 worth of stats and a good effect. And so on and so forth that’s what I roughly expect. I made exceptions here and there for cards with very good effects and lower stats. By the end of my collection purge I had roughly about 80000 vials to play with and craft my first deck.

I crafted a variant of the deck I’m about to present today and changed it over time to what it is today. I did play some meme decks to break up the monotony of grinding ladder but after 247 wins I got my first decent rank of AA0. My best win-streak during this time was 15 which was a part of 28-2 win-loss ratio at rank A3.

Evo sword or evolution sword to me is a mid-ranged deck. I always says to myself with this deck, if I win the board, I probably win the game. It is called Evo Sword because many of the cards can either evolve for free or have great synergy with evolve effects. Most notably is the union burst mechanic featured on some cards which starts with a turn 10 time and is lowered each time you evolve. For example, if you evolve your followers 3 times, whilst you have a union burst follower in your hand, its time is reduced to turn 7. If you play that union burst follower on turn 7 it gains a bonus powerful effect.

Evo sword is very flexible as it has aggressive options, healing potential and late game variants. You can build it however you like so long as you keep the core evolution synergies present which is what makes it powerful and what it is. In general, it has strong cards to create early game pressure and establish board dominance. Many of the cards provide high tempo so once you get the board you’re probably going to keep the board which means you can hit your opponent in the face repeatedly. It has the ability to establish multiple threats which forces your opponent to make tough decisions on which threat to clear. It is very easy to put your opponents in lose-lose situations with the proper set-up and by thinking a turn or two ahead.

One advantage this archetype offers compared to others is the ability to start evolution chains for extremely high tempo or damage output. If you see the opportunity to evolve every turn for the next 3-4 turns you can consider going for the throat of your opponent and out tempo/damage them with the extra stats provided by evolutions. These extra evolutions allow for you to get easy free trades or value trades further swinging tempo in your favour.

Above is the variant of Evo Sword I pilot. It is a little different from some other builds you may find online or come up against, but I like it due to its higher tempo playstyle to some builds whilst retaining strong late game potential. It also has less 2-drops compared to other variants but that’s because I want specific cards to be pulled when I need them. I will go through the reasoning of each card’s inclusion below but if you already understand Evo Sword you can skip this part. You may need to read what the cards do or what I say may not make sense.

3x Quickblader: Although this is a basic card it is extremely good for creating early game pressure. I believe it is a solid keep against combo decks on turn 1 as it can repeatedly chip them for a lot of damage if unanswered. You don’t have to play this follower on turn 1 as it can be used for trading into threatening minions on 1 defence point. It is also fantastic to play along Lecia, Sky Saber on turn 4 to evolve her for free. It has a roughly 50% chance of being pulled from a Courtly Dance to apply immediate pressure, close out games or trade when needed.

3x Kagemitsu, Matchless Blade: This card is fantastic for getting 2 for 1 trades. You play it on turn 3 to get trade into a 2-drop and It comes back on turn 4 to potentially trade into another 2 or 3-drop. How good is that? It’s does more than getting value trades because it presents a huge threat if left uncontested because each time it attacks it just grows larger which applies great pressure to the opponent. It can essentially die twice which gives it good synergy with cards which require 10 friendly followers to die. It combos well with Regal Wildcat to hit your opponent with very high damage. It has a 50-ish% change of being pulled by courtly dance which can make the early-mid game awkward for your opponent to decide what they need to trade in to. If pulled in the late game by courtly dance this card trades with basically anything as it can usually be a 9/9 or higher with rush. With every evolve this card only gets stronger.

2x Leod, the Crescent Blade: This card trades well into 1/1 tokens or any weak follower. It is good to play in the Evo Sword mirror as it develops your board whilst not playing into Kagemitsu, Matchless Blade. When evolved Leod can get in a free trade, ping off a low health enemy follower with veiled reckoning and give you an assassin. This assassin can hide Leod again if required or any other Swordcraft follower, most notably Lecia, Sky Saber. He combos well with an evolve and ivory sword can on turn 5 to help you swing the board in your favour if behind. Leod is one reason you can play courtly dance on 8 proactively and not trade because it has ambush allowing you to set up 2 turn lethal if required.

3x Twinsword Master: This card gives you free evolves and 2 for 1 trades. If unanswered it is extremely threatening as it can attack twice. Buff an evolved Twinsword Master with Ivory Sword dance or Regal Wildcat and that’s basically 10 damage to your opponent’s dome. Free evolutions speed up union burst.

3x Steadfast Samurai: This card gets free trades against aggro. When enhanced on 5 it allows you to get better free trades against bigger followers. It can be played early for board presence, mid-game for free-trades or late game building towards lethal damage. It has use against spell damage when evolved and gives you an out to decks like Natura Dragoncraft. It being pulled from Courtly Dance to be evolved against decks like those can be a life saver.

2x Ivory Sword Dance: This card allows you to push further board control without overextending into board clears, helps you to recover board control when behind and allows you to push extra damage. When played for 5 play points you can see it as 2/2 storm deal x amount of damage to enemy followers where x is your strongest follower’s attack. It can buff your followers to achieve certain breakpoints against board clears or evolved minions. For example if you play this card on turn 5 on a 5/7 Shizuru, Sisterly Saberer, it becomes a 7/9 and basically any follower your opponent plays without bane or some removal effect is not going to kill it while it heals itself for 3 each turn if you have that effect active. This card allows for many value trades for 2 or 5 play points as is an answer to ambush minions and cards like Steadfast Samurai. It allows you to build tall, can act as spot removal or a board clear.

3x Princess Knight: This card offers search power and when evolved, good trading power and massive tempo potential. When evolved it allows you to play your union burst followers 3 turns earlier and gives you an extra play point to fill out your curve and play more cards. When unevolved it represents that potential threat to your opponent. Although not as predictable as a tutor compared to Aether of the Warrior Wing, it may pull out a specific card when you need it. This is one of my favourite cards to evolve. I really don’t like Elegance in action and Princess Knight is one reason that makes me comfortable not including it in my deck. This card is a decent 3-drop to play against a combo or control deck but is poor against midrange and aggro due to its low health reducing its value trade potential in general.

3x Aether of the Warrior Wing: When played this card gives you the ability to play on curve by giving you a playable option for next turn. When evolved early game it can buff your followers past the damage break point of some board clears and allow for value trades against your opponent’s followers. When played in late game it can draw your Regal Wildcat to close out the game. Compared to Princess Knight this card is better played against aggro and midrange decks as its 3 health allows it to get better trades in general

2x Tsubaki of the Demon Blade: Usually Evo Sword runs 1 copy of Tsubaki at most due to the requirement for its removal effect being hard to achieve sometimes. I have two copies because my deck has 3 courtly dances which makes it easier to satisfy that requirement. I see this card as a 3 play point 4/3 destroy your opponent’s biggest threat for free with ambush. It is an answer to archetypes like ambush sword and can remove threats behind ward. It is so darn good for pushing tempo with its effect and when pulled from a Courtly Dance on turn 8 puts a 5/4 ambush in play which can be very threatening if you are close to lethal. It combos well on turn 10 with Regal Wildcat to clear a big ward follower and hit face. I used to play Valse, Champion Deadeye instead of Tsubaki but Valse is a very slow card and doesn’t combo well with Regal Wildcat on turn 10. I also don’t like pulling Valse from Courtly Dance.

3x Pecorine, Peckish Princess: This is probably one of the best cards in this deck. Against control or combo decks you can play it on turn 3 to build pressure. However, if you can activate its union burst effect (it’s pretty easy as Evo Sword), it’s basically a 3 play point 6/5 rush kill one of your opponent’s followers for free. This can happen as early as turn 6 or 7 due to synergy with Princess Knight and other free evolve effects. Due to its high attack points it combos extremely well with ivory sword dance for massive board clear potential. It combos very well with Regal Wildcat on turn 10 for very high storm damage potential.

Continued in next section

3x Courtly Dance: This card is the main reason I don’t play Elegance in action and I will explain why. For 3 play points it draws 2 cards from your deck and puts them into play. The cards put into play are what you want in play, otherwise you wouldn’t put them into your deck. This card for 3 play points builds threats on your board or can pull out answers to threats a reasonable amount of the time. Elegance in Action does something similar but it puts up to three 1/2 tokens into play. It seems good if you see it as a 5 play point 3/6 draw 3 or 2/4 draw 2 deal 3 and such but the stat distribution is poor and the tokens aren’t really threats. If you have to play Elegance in action on turns 2-5 you’re in trouble. Why wouldn’t you put good cards in play instead of searching for good cards? On turn 8 Courtly Dance gives you fuel for the late game by putting 3 threats into play while Elegance in action hopefully draws you finishers. I think Courtly Dance is too good not to play. It is similar to hearthstone’s call to arms for paladin (basically swordcraft) and every paladin played that card even after it got nerfed until it rotated out. To this day in hearthstone’s eternal format it is a staple for board centric paladins besides one specific archetype. That being said if I were to replace Courtly Dance I’d put in 3 Elegance in action instead.

3x Lecia, Sky Saber: This card can give free evolves, is a 5/5 threat that produces more threats in the form of Nanoblade (1/1 bane token) and sometimes Twilightblade (5 play point deal 5 damage to all enemies). This card combos well with any swordcraft officer, courtly dance and the assassin produced by Leod, the Crescent Blade’s veiled reckoning upon evolution. As this card can produce 2 bodies for 1 you opponent has to choose between destroying Lecia or the Nanoblade it produces. Nanoblade allows for trade into cards like Steadfast Samurai or high health followers.

3x Shizuru, Sisterly Saberer: This card is the bane of aggro decks and midrange decks because it basically kills any unevolved 4 drop or below for free and can potentially heal itself. It also heals you which can be relevant if you’re about to die but it healing itself is so damn powerful because it allows itself to trade into more thing for free providing insane value. It has fantastic synergy with all the evolve effects allowing Shizuru to evolve for free when its union burst requirements are met. It is very good at protecting a Kagemitsu which traded on the previous turn as it has ward, high health and defence restoration allowing Kagemitsu to grow very threatening. Against control or combo decks or in the late game her union burst fanfare gives you a little extra reach to achieve lethal.

3x Regal Wildcat: This card supports aggressive starts and with storm can close out the game on turn 7. This is basically a finisher card that can be combed with a 1-drop on turn 8, a two-drop on turn 9 or a 3-drop on turn 10. However, with its accelerate effect it can put out a bunch of stats on turn 4 if you wish to apply early pressure and swing wide on the board. As it can produce 3 bodies for 1 card on turn 4 it helps bring your Tsubaki and other Wildcats online faster.

Other cards to consider are:

Jafnhar, Warring Flame: Free evolves and good for tempo.
Hnikar, Warring Thunder: Free evolves and good trading potential.
Grimnir, Warring Tempest: Board clear if you want to play a more control style.
Elegance in Action: To draw extra steam if you’re afraid of running out of plays.
Luxblade Arriet: For extra ward, healing and higher tempo plays.
Zeus, the Supreme: If you want a strong finisher and more late game.
Cybercannoneer: Another 2-drop option or solid 4-drop to fuel Tsubaki and Regal.

Versus Aggro

Against aggro or aggressive decks win by overwhelming you on the board to get in early damage and follow up with high burst damage from storm minions. Your goal is to stabilise the board in your favour so dealing damage to their face is not so relevant. If your opponent can’t get on the board, they can’t hit you in the face. If they can’t hit you in the face they can’t win the game. To do this you should mulligan for early game by looking for 2-drops first and then follow up 3-drops excluding Princess Knight because it doesn’t trade favourably. Any 2-drop will do but you may have preference for different stat-lines dependent on if your opponent will likely play 1/1s, 1/2s, 3/1s, 3/2s, 1/3s or whatever. Kagemitsu is very good because it will most likely trade for 2 and if It sticks around it may very well net you too much tempo. If you can develop Kagemitsu behind a Shizuru that’s almost a guaranteed win.

In the mid-game you will hopefully have taken the board which means aggro decks will try to shift their game plan to bursting you down with direct damage spells and storm followers. You want to have your Shizurus on board and as healthy as possible to tank as many storm followers as possible. Having an evolved Steadfast Samurai on board also helps as it trades very favourably and can prevent direct damage spells. The game is pretty much over if you can do that as this point as they are likely to not have much steam left to produce threats.

If the match up makes it to late game, generally you’ve already won but may have done something to prolong the match. Aggro decks cannot beat you in a value war and it you’re making it to turn 8 to drop cards like Courtly Dance the game will definitely be over. Be careful not to become complacent and throw the game. Try to have ward followers in play, get in some healing and respect what little of a board they have (but don’t respect it too much).

Key cards you want are Kagemitsu for the early game trades and Shizuru for the big ward body and healing.

Versus Midrange

Midrange decks are quite flexible in their game plans. In this match up you basically want to fight for board getting as many value trades in as possible and get in chip damage. You mulligan the same way as you would for aggro but can consider keeping higher cost cards in your hand. Specifically, for the Evo Sword mirror match you want to keep Leod and maybe Ivory Sword Dance because you don’t want to play into Kagemitsu developed behind a Shizuru as that is a game winning play. If your minions can get in a trade without dying you should generally take it if you reckon your opponent doesn’t play board clears. Card like Pecorine should be kept in hand to play with its union burst active for huge swing turns with or without ivory sword dance.

For the mid-game If you win the board that’s when you can go all in and go for the throat. You don’t have to fight for the board as hard and if you can present multiple threats at once you will probably win the game. Try and spread out your stats wide to play around spot removal or have your stats tall to play round board clears better. You’re now in the driving seat and can play your Steadfast Samurais and Regal Wildcats with storm to close out the game. Percorine can be dropped as a 6/5 without its effect targeting anything to apply even more pressure. The other option is to starve your opponent out of resources by value trading even more. Since you have the board you have initiative and given the same amount of resources you should always win if you both still fight for the board. You cannot respect your opponent too much as they might have a gimmick to win the game up their sleeve like a Zeus the supreme.

For the mid-game if you lose the board your new game plan is to close out the game as fast as possible. Stop or minimalize the amount of fighting for board and try to race your opponent instead by playing your minions with storm to hit face. You will be less concerned about getting in value trades and focusing purely on tempo. Tempo and value trades can somewhat be synonymous but the goal in this situation is to develop minions in hopes of them hitting your opponent in the face rather than having the ability to trade. Basically, trade less and face more in general. Ambush minions such as Leod and Tsubaki can be developed and can represent lethal damage if your opponent cannot deal with them immediately.

If your match makes it to late game, there are two options. If you both have high amounts of resources in your hands you can continue like as if it were the mid-game but be wary your opponent may run finishers like Zeus the Supreme. This is where Kagemitsu becomes an important keep in your hand to combo with Regal Wildcat for huge burst damage potential. Kagemitsu can be set up the turn before you Regal Wildcat or be played on turn to together with an evolve for lethal. The other option if resources for both players are low is to begin playing for pure value. Make sure everything you do trades 1 for 1 at worst. Cards like Quickblader need to kill something because if you’re at this point and you’ve chosen this line of play 1 damage to face is probably irrelevant. It’s more impactful for it to trade into something to enable cards like Lecia to generate and play Twilightblades on the same turn. Cards like Pecorine or Tsubaki need to get their effects off to kill something. Steadfast Samurais should be played enhanced. In this situation the player with the last follower on the board gets to hit the other one. So if your card can answer their card and survive you will probably win. You should consider Lecia being played on turn 10 to guarantee giving you Twilightblade after attacking.

Key cards in this match up are Aether of the Warrior Wing and Princess Knight to keep up pressure and generate more resources. Shizuru gets free evolves, trades and heals itself. Pecorine and Ivory sword can provide huge swing turns.

Versus Comb/Control

You’re not going to win the late game against decks like these because they either have too much value for you to handle or will kill you in one turn with a combo of sorts. Therefore, your game plan is very simple. Play as fast as you can and hit them in the face. I generally don’t like evolving to trade but if it protects key threats which can deal more damage later on then it may be worth it. For the early game aggressively mulligan for Quickblader and Twinsword master. You can consider keeping Leod too but he’s not as good for damage output. Princess Knight, Pecorine and Courtly Dance are great on turn 3 as they are more threatening than Aether of the Warrior Wing. Aether does give the option to buff your board with its evolve, anthem effect to help your board survive against board clears. Regal Wildcat can be played on turn 4 if you have nothing else to do but it’s a good idea to keep him for burst damage later on to close out the game.

During the mid-game you want to be ending the game by playing your storm followers or developing your ambush minions to hit your opponent the next turn or having Shizuru’s union burst effect go off. You generally want to stop trading at this point as every damage to your opponent’s face matters. Remember, you’re not going to win a long-drawn out game most of the time. Forget about value trades, tempo plays, and face damage matter the most. Try to squeeze out as much damage as possible. Only have followers with rush trade because if it can hit face, that’s probably the right thing to do. Remember to have your storm minions played first before Shizuru because damage from its union burst surpasses followers with ward.

If your duel makes it to late game, you are highly unfavoured to win. If you play 3 Courtly Dances, you may have enough steam to close out the game or contest what control decks throw at you. As for combo, you can pray they haven’t assembled their combo yet and continue as usual. An evolved Steadfast Samurai can prevent direct effect damage to your face.

Key cards in this match up are Quickblader and in other minions with storm to apply early pressure and close out the game. Twinsword master is also very good at applying pressure and can deal lots of damage when evolved, especially with Ivory Sword Dance buffs.

Mulligan phase: I see my opponent is Dragoncraft so they’re probably playing Natura Dragon which has strong ramp but somewhat weak early game. This will be similar to a midrange matchup. I want to punish them for ramping by applying early pressure, so I look for Quickblader, Twinsword Master, Princess Knight, Aether of The Warrior Wing and Kagemitsu.

Turn 1: Since I’m going first it’s an easy Quickblader play because Dragoncraft usually doesn’t keep a 1 play point 1/2 against me. I’m not keeping Quickblader to combo with Lecia because I think that’s too slow. I draw Steadfast Samurai which will most likely be played to finish the game later on or prevent me from taking lethal effect damage. I expect the opponent to play a Naterran tree generator next turn.

Turn 2: I draw Lecia which will be played on turn 5 or later. I play twinsword master to apply pressure. I expect the opponent to play ramp or a 2/2 follower next turn.

Turn 3: I draw Pecorine and that’s the play. It fills my curve and applies pressure. The opponent ramped from 2 play points into 4 so I can expect two 2/2s or a 4/4 next turn or more ramp next turn.

Turn 4: I draw steadfast samurai. There are two lines of play. Either play both 2 drops or Shizuru. I opt to play Shizuru because the board is definitely in my favour and it’s time to go all in. Steadfast samurai is better played for its storm effect. Shizuru being played right now protects my board good enough as it will be able to tank a hit from a 4 or 5 drop being evolved. If my opponent doesn’t have one to play Shizuru becomes very difficult to overcome. I expect to win this game in a turn or two. If they play healing it is irrelevant because without the board they will take repeat damage from my followers.

Turn 5: Lethal damage achieved.

Take away message is if your opponent plays too slowly you be the aggressor to punish them and healing is mostly irrelevant if you have no board presence or board clears.