Notes & Combos

Synopsis

R-Ace is now arguably the best individual deck, and even above either Snake-Eye brew, it's much more flexible with how it can be played. Here's my take for the June 2024 ladder.

Overview

R-Ace's flexibility lies in its non-engine options. Snake-Eye has the luxury of playing as much non-engine as it feasibly can, while in FKSE, those spaces are allocated for the Fire Kings. Likewise, R-Ace can be run rather compactly, and this month I've heavily leaned into both lockout and bomb-style handtraps that greatly simplify the boardstate.

Droll is a solid call for this month's meta given how it completely locks R-Ace out of searching. Even after this new wave, its boards will be greatly hampered if one doesn't open Emergency with a means to get to Turbulence safely. This also greatly nullifies both brews of Snake-Eye, as well as other annoyances like Horus brews provided they don't open KingSarc. You'll also see this work especially well vs. every other Tier 3 strategy.

Nibiru, as ever, is a great option to have for this meta. While Baronne is still present, and Horus can find a way to Photon Lord quickly, it's still an immense bomb to have provided you hide it well and use it in a timely manner. R-Ace thrives on simple boardstates, so Nibiru will always be a good pick.

Evenly Matched, while not a hand-trap, is an ideal call for the ladder this month with how prevalent backrow-heavy decks are. While Snake-Eye can still play after it, R-Ace hates to see it (most brews don't have an omni or S/T negate), as does Horus, stun, Labrynth, and Kashtira. It's a great bomb to have provided you don't open hand traps or if they get stifled.

Extra Deck

There isn't much to talk about here apart from my continued usage of Linguriboh as a means to negate Evenly Matched. It's still great to have.

I also sought to experiment with 1x Princess, and found that it was just fine. Earlie also returns, as I wanted more Link flexibility, and sought to use its synergy with Elf again.

Conclusion and Extra Thoughts

R-Ace is the best it's ever been, with comprehensive deckbuilding as a core tenet to both its potential and success. My most notable omissions would probably be CBTG and Gamma, as while they are very helpful, this brew focuses on lockout effects to greatly simplify boardstates, or as much gas as possible to break boards going 2nd. All the same, this brew was highly successful on ladder, and I wish everyone the best of luck should anyone test this build.