![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ennuispace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/B09-051SR_SAMPLE.png\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nFirst, once per-turn after Al finishes an attack, he reveals the top card of his deck. If the card is named \u201cAl,\u201d he refreshes himself. The most important thing about the effect is that it triggers regardless of whether Al actually destroys and enemy or not. It\u2019s a cheeky way for him to get around dodges if pulled off right, and setting up a guaranteed refresh is pretty easy for purple to do thanks to support skills like \u201cFate Emblem,\u201d allowing the player to draw and then put a card on top of their deck when they attack.<\/p>\n
His second ability is a passive that triggers after he has 6 or more bonds placed. Al gains an additional +10 power on both players\u2019 turns, he loses his dragon typing\u2026 yeah, he\u2019s part dragon, btw, and he loses the once per-turn restriction on his first ability.<\/p>\n
Al is one of the first characters to hit base 80 on the opponent\u2019s turn. This ability turns him into a game-ending monster that can also sustain against a lot of other decks that can\u2019t match his base strength. Losing the once-per turn limit also allows Al to decimate an unsuspecting opponent, as it\u2019s not too difficult to set up a guaranteed 2 or 3 refreshes with the proper field and hand. A well-constructed Al deck will want to maximize on keeping copies of Al in hand while also having ways to setup \u201cFate Emblem\u201d effects for him to easily fix. Good luck can also give lots of recoveries, but it\u2019s better to set Al up to get the most out of his potential than just play the lottery every round. Al has no real way to generate advantage, so you really want to pace yourself properly when playing him. If you commit too early to trying to end a match, you\u2019ll lose all your copies of Al when you might need them to dodge, and if you wait too long, you\u2019ll probably run out of field support to help fix the deck for Al to kill with.<\/p>\n
Al\u2019s \u201cother\u201d final promotion is a 4-cost base 70 with 3 different effects. First, he gains +30 on deploy or class change. Second, he loses the +30 ability after his opponent\u2019s next end phase, and cannot regain it until he leaves the field (or class changes again, because technically it\u2019s a \u201cnew\u201d Al).<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ennuispace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/B22-107R_SAMPLE.png\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nWhy the weird wording for these two abilities instead of just making the +30 last until the end of the opponent\u2019s turn? I don\u2019t know, maybe the designer was on break, Al is one of the last cards in the set, but it\u2019s more likely to trigger his final effect, which can only be activated while he lacks the first. For the cost of 2 bonds, Al can deploy the top card of his deck. That\u2019s it, that\u2019s the joke.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a really solid ender with how easy it is for purple to fix their top card, but kind of lacks the pizzazz and flare of his set 9. Depending on the situation though, this might actually be a better option to go into if you don\u2019t happen to have a lot of copies of Al in your hand, since the base 100 can deter destruction for about a turn and the ability to just deploy anything can lead into some wonky combos or setups when used properly.<\/p>\n
Al\u2019s 2-cost bridge promotion is a base 60 with one effect. When this card is class changed into, it gains +20 until the end of the turn. Short, sweet, and to the point. There\u2019s not much to say here, it\u2019s just a dumb beater that you\u2019re supposed to sit on for one round before upgrading to the 3-cost on the following turn. It does come with an attack emblem skill that works only for purple units though, so there\u2019s that, I guess.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ennuispace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/B09-052N_SAMPLE.png\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nAl\u2019s 1-cost is also pretty simple, but effective for what it does. He\u2019s a base 40 that gains +10 on attack when he\u2019s supported by a purple card. Going second on Al is kind of the preferred way to open, since you\u2019ll probably want to be climbing ranks as fast as possible. The +10 doesn\u2019t happen when Al is attacked though, so you\u2019ll lose every defensive trade while winning every offensive one. He does come with \u201cFate Emblem\u201d though, so running extra copies of the 1 cost can serve multiple purposes for the deck in both being a target for Al to refresh himself, and also allowing other units to help Al set up his gimmick.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ennuispace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/B09-053HN_SAMPLE.png\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nAs I said before, Al benefits a lot from \u201cFate Emblem\u201d support skills like those on Roy, Eliwood, or Zephiel, but he also gets a lot out of deck fixing units that can make the combo easier to setup. Nino is an excellent inclusion for Al since she\u2019s a once per-turn guarantee for Al\u2019s effect. Simply put a fate emblem card on top of your deck, grab a copy of Al back from the retreat, and then reap the reward.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ennuispace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/B09-055N_SAMPLE.png\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ennuispace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/B09-074N_SAMPLE.png\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ennuispace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/B07-003HN_SAMPLE.png\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nThe newest set 22 Roy is another excellent choice for a costless support fix, and even gives you a draw at the end of the turn.<\/p>\n
Sophia and Sue are both excellent choices to fix from the retreat, albeit, Sue\u2019s effect is a tad more expensive.<\/p>\n
Outside of these options, the deck is really straight forward. Al doesn\u2019t really need to splash into other colors to fix up his weak points since he\u2019s so reliant on his gimmick, and because purple is such a dominate color in the first place. If anything, colorless cards are probably his best options since most of the strongest ones have 30-support values and can help him stall out while setting up his hand and deck.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve seen some variants that mix in red for cards like Mae and Genny, who are just generic splash choices, but you don\u2019t really need to experiment too hard to make Al work.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ennuispace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/B16-044SR_SAMPLE.png\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ennuispace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/B11-066R_SAMPLE.png\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ennuispace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Al-Primer-List.png\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"