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[Hogtrail]

Superstar Strategy Session: Asuka

My goal is to spotlight and break down a different superstar every week by going in depth on their cards, referenced cards, and different types of builds for them.

I posted a poll on the TCO discord channel and this week's session is dedicated to the Empress of Tomorrow Asuka!

PART ONE
Let's take a look at her specifics:

Asuka
Starting Hand Size: 6     Superstar Value: 3
NXT Superstar Ability: When your maneuver is unsuccessful, your opponent puts 1 random card from his hand on the bottom of his Arsenal and draws 1 card.
You can pack Unique Multi maneuvers, but you cannot pack maneuvers that are Heat, Chain, or Volley, or that have 'dynamic', 'girly', 'precision,' 'shoot', or 'technical' in the title.
V9

First thing to take note of is Asuka is a Female superstar, as well as being an NXT superstar. This gives her access to many good cards that I'll cover in Part 2. As for her actual ability, it's relatively minimally disruptive to her opponent. There are some cards that can interact pretty well with it. However, the next line is the kicker:

"You can pack Unique Multi maneuvers, but you cannot pack maneuvers that are Heat, Chain, or Volley, or that have 'dynamic', 'girly', 'precision,' 'shoot', or 'technical' in the title."

This REALLY limits any potential builds (Part 3 might be short this week). Allowing her to pack unique Multi's is nice, but at a huge cost. More on this as we go on.

Asuka's Aggression
Backstage Card
Your Ankle Lock, Arm Breaker, Arm Wrench, Chicken Wing, Dragon Sleeper, Forearm Uppercut, Haymaker, Rapid-Fire Punches, Spinning Back Fist, and Whirling Backhand cards are F: 0, they are not Active, and when successfully played you may Promo: 2.
Ignore the 'non-unique' text on your Knee Lift and Takedown cards.
Unique     RMS logo     NXT logo
V9

I'm not going to post the text of all these maneuvers, just know that they're all decent maneuvers – none of them great – but at F:0, they're all playable. My favorite thing about this card is the Knee Lift and Takedown text. Takedown becomes a No Chance In Hell in steroids.

Asuka's Furisode & Mask
Pre-match Object
Cannot be blanked.
Your opponent does not search for Osaka, Japan.
At the end of the Pre-match phase, search your Arsenal for up to 2 non-Unique non-reversal maneuvers with different titles, reveal them, put them in your hand, and shuffle.
ACE: You may skip your Draw Segment, and then search your Arsenal for 1 non-hybrid card with a title listed on Asuka's Aggression, reveal it, put it in your hand, and shuffle; when you have lower Fortitude, this effect cannot be reversed.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     NXT logo
V9

There's a lot to unpack here. Firstly, lets looks at Osaka, Japan:

Osaka, Japan
Pre-match Venue
At the end of Pre-match phase, you may discard a Reversal card and then search your Arsenal for a non-unique Reversal card, reveal it to your opponent, put it into your hand, and shuffle your Arsenal.
He may then discard a Maneuver card and search his Arsenal for a non-unique Maneuver card, reveal it to you, put it into his hand, and shuffle his Arsenal.
Universally Active
Permanent
F: 0      D: 0

So basically, you get to ditch a reversal (Boobie Trap, perhaps?) and go find a better reversal. Solid.

The second effect of Furisode & Mask is very good. Allowing you to freely grab any two non-reversal maneuvers and put them into your hand. This cards fits every build. The first thing that comes to my mind is Clutch/Apply. Another idea is to grab a Pump Kick, Boot Lace, German Suplex, Atomic Lariat, or other maneuvers that are hard to reverse. Or another direction to go is Whirlwind Kick. It's a unique Multi manevuer, so Asuka can pack it, AND you can search for it as if it's non-unique.

And the third effect, allowing you to skip your draw segment in order to go get a maneuver listed on her backstage card. Obviously, if your build is based around that card then this effect is great. You'll never not have a maneuver to throw. Making this card a good combo with Old School Wrestling Match (TB). The worst part is that this card is prone to DTTAH if you're ahead in fortitude.

Nobody Is Ready For Asuka!
Pre-match Event
Cannot be blanked.
After all Pre-match have been resolved, you may discard 1 random card; if you do, you start the game.
When your first maneuver played on a turn is unsuccessful, your opponent puts 1 random card from his hand on the bottom of his Arsenal.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     NXT logo
V9

This is another solid card. Allowing you to determine if you go first or not, AND it makes your opponent have to lose another card in his hand if your move is unsuccessful. It kind of seems like these effects could have been on other cards instead of getting it's own card, but I won't complain about it. Your opponent randomly losing cards in his hand is ALWAYS a good thing.

Asuka's Cross-Arm Breaker
Mid-match Submission + Submission / Reversal: Special
As a maneuver, this card is -10F and +5D, and when successfully played, your opponent puts 1 random card from hand on the bottom of his Arsenal.
As a reversal, ignore any reversal restrictions from your opponent and reverse a card with 'clothesline,' 'fist', 'punch', or 'slap' in the title.
During your turn when this card is in your Ringside, you may discard 3 cards, put this card into your Backlash, and end your turn.
F: 25     D: 10     SV: 2     Unique     Multi     NXT logo
V9

This is a good mid-match maneuver. A 15F multi submission for 15D, and opponent will be randomly losing a card regardless of its successful or unsuccessful. As a reversal, it hits a few random cards. This is one of those rare situations where you would rather play a specific hybrid as a maneuver and NOT a reversal. I only wish that this card ignored "Completely" on your opponent's reversasls, but that's just me being fickle.

Now on to the arsenal Specifics:

Billiken
High Risk + High Risk
Can only be played after a successfully played maneuver or as a Counter.
Your opponent discards 4 random cards and then draws 2 cards.
F: 6     D: 10     SV: 1     Unique     Multi     NXT logo
V9

This is a very good maneuver. High Risk is the most difficult non-TMF maneuver type to reverse, and this one is low F, high D, and very easy to play. It also makes your opponent discard 4 random cards. That's an amazing effect – even if they then get to draw 2 cards.

Asuka's Ankle Lock
Submission / Action / Reversal: Special
When played as a Counter, this card is Multi.
As a maneuver, this card is +2D for every card with 'Asuka' in the title in your Ring.
As a reversal, when you have lower Fortitude or fewer cards in hand, reverse any Strike.
As an action, you may shuffle this card and up to 3 other cards from your Ringside into your Arsenal.
F: 10     D: 5     SV: 1     Unique     NXT logo
V9

This card is good no matter how you play it. As a maneuver, you're going to only play it as a counter. This makes it multi, and it's going to be at least +4D (probably more). As a reversal, it easily reverses any strike, which is the most popular maneuver type. And as an Action, you get to shuffle it in and recover and 3 cards. That's a very good effect, but perhaps a bit too pricey at 10F.

Asuka's Flurry of Strikes
Strike
When played, choose up to 1 Strike with a title listed on Asuka's Aggression in your Ringside; that maneuver is considered played from your hand and played after this card, resolve each card's effects and damage before the next card is considered played. After the card chosen is played, your turn ends.
F: 15     D: 8     SV: 1     Unique     RMS logo     NXT logo
V9

The best part about this card is that your opponent has to randomly lose cards in his hand after he reverses either maneuver, this really helps this card become successful.

Asuka's Spin Kick
Trademark Finisher + Trademark Finisher
F: 20     D: 20     SV: 3     Unique     Multi     RMS logo     NXT logo
V9

Not much to say about this card other than it's quite good. Multi TMF at a low F cost is nothing to complain about.

Asuka Lock
Trademark Finisher / Reversal: Special
As a maneuver, this card can only be reversed by hybrid cards; when your next card played this turn is Maintain Hold, ignore the 'Can only be played after...' text, and it cannot be reversed.
As a reversal, completely reverse any Chain maneuver or Volley maneuver.
F: 40     D: 20    SV: 3     Unique    NXT logo
V9

This card is also very good. Only reversible by hybrid cards is huge. There really aren't many hybrid TMF reversals that aren't superstar-specific. And as a reversal, it his 2 very popular maneuver types.

Tomorrow Brings Danger
Reversal: Special
Completely reverse any maneuver.
When this card reverses from Arsenal, put it in your Ring instead.
When this card is in your Ring, your turn does not end when you Activate Asuka's Furisode & Mask and your opponent reverses the effect.
F: 5     D: 1     Unique     NXT logo
V9

Simply amazing. A 5F reversal that completely hit's any move, AND it makes your pre-match card better. There's nothing bad about this card.

Empress of Tomorrow
Action + Action
When played as a Counter, cannot be reversed by D: 2+ cards.
Search your Arsenal for up to 1 card, put it in your hand, and shuffle.
When this card is in your Ring and you successfully play a card with a title listed on Asuka's Aggression, you may shuffle this card into your Arsenal.
F: 5     D: 0     Unique     Multi     NXT logo
V9

Another good card. Allows you to go find a key card in your arsenal, and allows you to easily recylce it. And your opponent cannot reverse it with Volley This or Ax Kick when played as a counter.

PART TWO
Non-Specific cards that could be helpful for Asuka.

As I said above, Asuka is a Female NXT superstar, which gives her access to a bunch of good cards. Such as:

The Era of the Superstar
Backstage Card
Can only be packed by a Female Superstar. Cannot be packed by a GM. When packing this card, you are not a Diva and cannot pack cards as if you were a Diva.
You may ignore card effects from your opponent's non-Superstar-specific cards with 'female' or 'diva' in the text that would move cards from your hand, reveal your hand, or allow him to search your Arsenal.
When played as a Counter, your maneuvers without 'reversed' in the text are -2F.
Unique     RMS logo

The NXT Breakout Star
Backstage Card
Can only be packed by an NXT Superstar.
This card is considered Superstar-specific.
Do not discard for Armageddon Is Upon Us.
Once during each of your turns, you may overturn 4 cards and then draw 1 card; when you have lower Fortitude, overturn 2 less cards.
Unique     RMS logo

NXT Arrival
Pre-match Pay-Per-View Event
Can only be packed by an NXT Superstar.  Cannot be packed when packing a Pro or Nexus Armband.
When your opponent successfully plays a maneuver and damage is applied, you may put any number of cards in your Ringside overturned for damage under this card.
When you play a maneuver as a Counter, it is -1F for each card under this card, and when it is successful, put up to 3 random cards under this card on the bottom of your Arsenal and the remaining cards under this card into your Ringside.
ACE:  During your turn you may remove this card from the game, and then shuffle up to 5 cards from your Ringside into your Arsenal.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     NXT logo

Corey Graves: Savior of Misbehavior
Pre-match Event
Cannot be blanked. 
This card and your NXT Arrival do not take up a Pre-match slot in your Ring, and your The NXT Generation cannot be reversed from hand.
When you would move cards from under NXT Arrival, you may put 1 card from under that card on the bottom of your Arsenal.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     NXT logo

NXT Women's Championship Title Belt
Pre-match Object
Can only be packed by a Female Superstar.
When you are an NXT Superstar, your Starting Hand Size is +1.
When you are Paige, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Bayley, or Asuka, this card is considered Superstar-specific and your opponent's Starting Hand Size is -1.
Superstar Value +1     Universally Unique

NXT Championship Title Belt
Pre-match Object
Your Starting Hand Size is +1.
When you are Seth Rollins, Big E, or an NXT Superstar, and your opponent is not one of those, your Superstar Value is considered to be 0 for your card effects.
Superstar Value +1     Universally Unique

From NXT to WWE
Pre-match Event
Can only be packed by an NXT Superstar.  Cannot be blanked.
This card and Underrated Superstar do not take up a Pre-match slot in your Ring.
When you draw for your Ability, draw up to 1 additional card, and when you move cards into your Arsenal for your Ability, move up to 1 additional card.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent

The NXT Arena, Full Sail University
Pre-match Venue
Can only be packed by an NXT Superstar. Cannot be packed when packing a Pro, The Nexus Armband, or From NXT to WWE.
Cannot be blanked and can be played when your opponent has a Venue in his Ring.
You can play The NXT Generation regardless of your Fortitude Rating, and when it is in your Ring, you may shuffle it into your Arsenal when you successfully play a Superstar-specific NXT card.
Your NXT cards are -1F for every card in your Ring with 'fans' or 'crowd' in the title, and during any turn when you successfully play a Face, Heel, Cheater, or Fan Favorite card you may Promo: 2.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     NXT logo

The NXT Generation
Action + Action
Shuffle up to 4 non-reversal cards from your Ringside into your Arsenal, draw up to 1 card, and when your opponent is a Legend or Classic WWF Superstar, he puts 1 card from hand on the bottom of his Arsenal.
When you are an NXT Superstar, double those numbers.
F: 12     D: 0     Unique     Multi     NXT logo

Youthful Agility
Action / Reversal: Special
Can only be packed by an NXT Superstar.
When you are Justin Gabriel or Michael Tarver, this card is F: 0.
As an action, shuffle up to 3 cards from your Ringside into your Arsenal.
As a reversal, reverse any Strike, Grapple, or Submission and draw up to 1 card.
F: 8     D: 0     Unique

All of these cards are excellent, and most of them are must packs for Asuka. Unfortunately if you're playing Osaka you won't get to play Full Sail. Alternatively you could play the NXT title belt, From NXT to WWE, and Underrated Superstar to increase your hand by 4.

Moving on from NXT cards, I think this card could be pretty good for Asuka.

Handcuffed
Strike: Foreign Object: Heel
Your opponent cannot play the card titled Over Sell Maneuver immediately after you play this card.
When reversed from your opponent's hand, he discards 2 cards.
When successfully played, draw up to 3 cards.
When this card is in your Ring area, your opponent discards 1 card when he plays a Face card.
F: 0      D: 0

Here's your opponent's choices when you play this card. Either it's successful and you draw 3 cards, or he reverses it and randomly put 2 cards in his hand on the bottom and draws a card AND THEN he discards 2. That's a net loss of 3 cards for him.

Now, looking at the section of her ability that lets her pack unique Multi maneuvers, how about these two:

Spraypainted by the nWo
Submission + Action: Run-in
Can be packed by Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
Can only be played when there is an nWo card in your Ring or Backstage Area, and after a successfully played maneuver. When Ref Takes a Bump is in any Ring, this card is -4F and +4D.
Your opponent discards 2 cards.
When this card is in your Ring, he cannot play nWo cards.
F: 8     D: 4     Unique     Multi     nWo logo

nWo Beatdown
Strike + Action: Run-in
Can only be played if there is an nWo card in your Ring or Backstage Area.
Can only be played after a successfully played card, unless Ref Takes a Bump is in any Ring.
Can only be reversed by 2 reversal cards.
F: 12     D: 8     SV: 2     Unique     Multi     nWo logo

Of course this means that you'll have to use nWo T-Shirt as your allegiance. But an nWo build brings a lot of good cards with it. And how about this card listed in those two cards above:

Ref Takes A Bump
Action
When this card is in your hand and your opponent plays a non-unique printed D: 0 reversal to reverse your maneuver, you may put this card from your hand into your Ring and put the reversed maneuver in your Ring instead of your Ringside.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent

Asuka loves this card because not only doesn she get her fortitude, but her manevuer was unsuccessful, so opponent still is affected by her ability. Win/Win.

PART THREE
Specific Build Types

As I said above, Asuka is very limited in what kind of build she can be. Of course, the most obvious build is to use the manevuers listed in Asuka's aggression. But I'm going to focus on a few that you may not think about at first glance.

First Idea: Drawing a Blank/There Is No Escape combo

There Is No Escape
Pre-match Feud
All players' maneuvers cannot be reversed by non-Superstar-specific hybrid Reversal cards. Your maneuvers also cannot be reversed from your opponent's Backlash deck.
Your maneuvers are +2 Stun Value.
You cannot play non-unique maneuvers not titled Arm Bar, Arm Bar Takedown, Arm Drag, Atomic Drop, Belly to Back Suplex, Belly to Belly Suplex, Body Slam, Chop, Clothesline, Collar & Elbow Lockup, Drop Kick, Haymaker, Head Butt, Hip Toss, Press Slam, Punch, Roundhouse Punch, Russian Leg Sweep, Snap Mare, Vertical Suplex, Wrist Lock, Backhand Slap, Drop Toe Hold, Elbow Drop, Foot Stomp, or Hammerlock. 
Permanent
F: 0      D: 0

Drawing a Blank
Pre-match Event
Cannot be packed by Cryme Tyme, JBL, MVP, or Stevie Richards.  Cannot be blanked, and no other card can gain this text.
Your cards with 'psychology' in the title are blank.
During your turn, when you have equal or lower Fortitude and your first card played from hand is a non-BASH non-multi non-Revolution maneuver with blank text, it cannot be reversed by non-Unique reversals from hand or Ringside.
Before your Draw Segment when your Ability is blank, choose one: draw 1 card if you have less than 10 cards in hand, or put up to 1 card from your Ringside on the bottom of your Arsenal.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent

The reason I bring this up is that it adds reversal restrictions to your maneuvers. So not only are your maneuvers harder to reverse, but if they ARE reversed, opponent has to ditch cards in his hand for your ability. And when you combine this with Era of the Superstar, you can start the game with 12 0F blank maneuvers (Punch, Hip Toss, Roundhouse Punch, and Russian Leg Sweep). And it's also good to note that you can play unique maneuvers with No Escape, so all of her unique multi maneuvers are also protected.

I like to combine Drawing a Blank with this card:

I Know Who Pays My Salary!
Pre-match Allegiance: WWE
When packing this card, you cannot pack nWo, ECW, or WCW cards.
When your opponent is an nWo, WCW or ECW Superstar, your Starting Hand Size and Superstar Value are +2.
ACE: When he is not Vince McMahon, once during each of your turns you may discard 2 cards and then you are considered to have lower Fortitiude when you play your next non-Antic card this turn.
F: 0     D: 0     Unique     Permanent     RMS logo

This guarantees that you will have less fortitude when you play your blank maneuver.

Second Idea: Punch

Notice that two of the maneuvers listed on Asuka's Aggression interact with this card:

Brass "Nuks" Shot
Strike: Foreign Object / Reversal: High Risk / Heel
When played by William Regal, this card is -3F.
As a reversal, reverse any High Risk maneuver and end your opponent's turn.
When this card is in your Ring area, your cards with the word "punch" in the title, and your cards titled Haymaker and European Uppercut, cannot be reversed from your opponent's Arsenal and are +2D.
Active
F: 3      D: 5

This isn't a totally solid plan, more for a fun build than a competitive one. But if you can land Brass Nuks, then you have instant access to 6 punch or Haymaker cards. You could use Chicago street fight to keep throwing the nuks until it sticks.

Third Idea: Mono-Submission/Sleeper

Asuka's Aggression has a lot of submissions you can go search for. And submissions are the middle child of maneuver types, often forgotten. So, one idea I had that's a little silly is a Sleeper deck:

The Sleeper Match of the Year!
Mid-match Action
Cannot be reversed when played by Rowdy Roddy Piper or when played after a card with 'sleeper' in the title.
Whenever you successfully play a maneuver with 'sleeper' in the title, your opponent discards 1 card and you draw up to 1 card.
When you have 7 or more cards with 'sleeper' in the title in your Ring, you have at least 10 greater Fortitude, and you have more cards in hand, you win the game via Pinfall Victory.
F: 9     D: 0     Unique

Asuka can search for Dragon Sleeper, and play it at F:0. And she CAN pack Blindside maneuvers, such as Blindside Sleeper. But even if you don't go with a pure sleeper theme, mono-submission with Maintain Hold can still be a good combination with her.

PART FOUR
In conclusion:

Asuka doesn't jump out at me as a top tier superstar, mainly because her ability is just so limiting. She may have an easier time getting going with all of the F:0's she can throw with Asuka's Aggression, but I feel like she may have a hard time finishing games. I think the best build for her is to play all of the cheese maneuvers (German Suplex, Boot Lace, Atomic Lariat, etc.)

Having said that, ALL of her cards are good. And she gets NXT support. Those are nothing to scoff at.

Please comment anything I may have forgotten or overlooked, or if you've built an Asuka deck before!

I hope you enjoyed this, and hopefully learned a few things. Check back next week when I cover UMAGA!

[CreedP]

These are awesome!  Just a quick designer's note on Nobody Is Ready For Asuka!, we had the discard as part of the ability but it felt too good with Back to Basics.  Splitting it up onto a non-B2B compatible Pre-match (and adding the obvious 'go first' thematic effect) seemed like a good balance.

Also, we intentionally wanted a Superstar that didn't fall into the 'normal' builds, and the unusual offense of Asuka played into it well.

CREED

[necrobaron75]

These are awesome!  Just a quick designer's note on Nobody Is Ready For Asuka!, we had the discard as part of the ability but it felt too good with Back to Basics.  Splitting it up onto a non-B2B compatible Pre-match (and adding the obvious 'go first' thematic effect) seemed like a good balance.

Also, we intentionally wanted a Superstar that didn't fall into the 'normal' builds, and the unusual offense of Asuka played into it well.

CREED

I feel like she should get
Educated Feet
Kick of Death
Japanese Flag

[MightyBP]

These are awesome!  Just a quick designer's note on Nobody Is Ready For Asuka!, we had the discard as part of the ability but it felt too good with Back to Basics.  Splitting it up onto a non-B2B compatible Pre-match (and adding the obvious 'go first' thematic effect) seemed like a good balance.

Also, we intentionally wanted a Superstar that didn't fall into the 'normal' builds, and the unusual offense of Asuka played into it well.

CREED

I feel like she should get
Educated Feet
Kick of Death
Japanese Flag

Public school is free - anyone can Educate their Feet by packing it.  :) 

On the other two:
1) We try to not have people chase URs from a game no longer in print, so we wouldn't outright give her Tajiri's Kick of Death.  However, Asuka will get some support so long as she maintains her status on the roster, so adding more Asuka moves isn't out of the realm of possibility.  Not a spoiler, nor a promise - just an observation.
2) I know she's Japanese - but did she really wave the Flag all that much?  The people who got the Japanese flag card were generally people for whom someone waved the flag all the way down the aisle consistently.  Taka and Funaki did it for Kaientai, someone did it for Yoko - for those guys it was a part of their everyday gimmick.  For Asuka - I don't recall it being part of her normal.  Did I miss something? 

[CRASHER]

They barely even mention she's from Japan, so you'd be right (and the ACE on the Flag isn't that good....ok I pop it and you get the F out me anyway...wooo), Asuka does need a little love in support down the road (especially for her referenced moves) and Asuka did get her own 20/20 TMF kick ....not to mention I'm sure there's a kick or two in her Flurry of Strikes  :laugh: :laugh:

[faribo]

Makes me want to try out some virtual superstars