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The best domain to react to your opponent and support your units, Spiritforged will likely keep the Calm domain in that ballpark looking at the new cards. Indeed, most of the additions I am excited about aren't win conditions or build-around cards. Instead, these cards will be fantastic to add to a solid synergy looking for flexible tools to improve its resilience, ability to win showdowns, or just snowball out of control.
During the Origins metagame, we already had plenty of calm cards to use for those same purposes. OGN-043, OGN-045, OGN-046 or OGN-058 all became staples the opponent had to keep in mind, and respect that one rune we kept ready at the end of our turn.
SFD-045 will be another one to keep in mind going forward, complementing OGN-045 perfectly against more expensive spells such as OGN-029. Yet, I feel like the main upside to the calm domain in Spiritforged will be more diversity in the strategies it can employ.
Overall, I believe Calm didn't get that many high-impact cards, in part due to the four new legends sporting very different synergies. However, the few cards I foresee as impactful make the Calm domain able to play from many positions, rather than just holding a battlefield and derailing the opponent's plan.
Sure, that direction will remain the signature play-style of most Calm legends. Yet, the domain should now also be able to play more aggressively if it wishes to follow that route.
These articles are focused on the cards I feel will have the most impact in the Spiritforged set within their domain. However, this doesn't necessarily mean I believe they are all powerhouses we will play in every deck.
A card can also leave its mark as a fantastic side deck option, a solid support, or be a strong fit in a precise environment. Then, I rated each card out of five stars for more clarity on their expected role :
Niche synergy contributor — Great side deck inclusion.
Great fit for the Spiritforged metagame — Playable in multiple decks
Future staple for the domain — Able to shape the Spiritforged metagame
Lonely Poro
First, let's discuss the best turn one play of this new set when it comes to holding a battlefield. We play SFD-036, move it to a battlefield, and ask our opponent whether they want to send their 2-cost and give us a card, or should we get a point and ask that same question next turn.
Bonus points if your legend is OGS-019, as your Poro will now be able to take on a 4-cost unit.
This card will be much stronger when going first, as it allows us to pick our battlefield, typically the one our opponent is most interested in. When going second, we can still send SFD-036 to battle our opponent's 2-cost on their preferred battlefield, but that means not conquering that battlefield unless we spend some support cards for it.
Overall, this card just looks like a fantastic early play for any hold oriented deck, aimed at slowing down the opponent first and foremost. Typically, we had to wait for champion units on turn two to get a draw ability, and those would risk being targeted by removal spells as we had to tap out of runes to play them.
SFD-036 has enough might to contest most other turn one units, and is completely fine tying, as we would get a card from both cards taking each other out. Plus, if the opponent was to elaborate some plan to have SFD-036 die while not alone, they had to spend resources for it.
Either we get a card, or they have to spend resources to deny it. We gain something in both scenarios.
I expect SFD-036 to replace OGN-044 in hold oriented Calm decks, and possibly enable OGN-061 now that we have enough Poros early on.
Janna, Savior
Moving to another hold oriented card, and possibly the most impactful card for this domain in the Spiritforged set : Miss "I win this showdown and hold that battlefield."
It's been discussed plenty already, units playable as reaction add a layer of interaction the opponent has to respect. In the origins metagame, we have seen OGN-241 slowly become a very popular side card in most Order decks except for OGN-269.
Not only I expect SFD-053 to follow the same route, I wouldn't be surprised if she was a main deck option in every hold oriented build.
After all, the card does much more than add her might to your battlefield. She also ruins any damage spell the opponent committed before the showdown and every buff card invested on the unit we are sending back to its base.
This considerably limits the ways opponents can safely attack into a battlefield when a Calm deck has three runes open. Except for clearing the battlefield first, sending multiple units with relatively similar might or using Mind cards to lower the might of the defending units, SFD-053 will be a threat.
The thing is, it might be necessary to attack those battlefields. Indeed, Calm decks are done waiting to win through holds in Spiritforged.
Emperor's Divide
The picture clearly tells us which legend this card was designed for. The intent was probably to support a conquest based play-style, allowing to withdraw all our units from a lost showdown to use them later. OGS-011 proved to be a great card in the Chaos domain, so why not give it to the new Calm legend as well.
However, I believe many more legends could be interested in SFD-043, as we could also read : "Grant ganking to all your units at a battlefield this turn."
Let's consider an usual situation from the Origins metagame : OGS-019 has a few big cards stacked up on a battlefield he has been holding for multiple turns. SFD-043 would allow all those cards to move back to base without losing their action, and then move to the other battlefield for a showdown.
When two hold decks battle, one has to eventually cave and attempt to conquer their opponent's battlefield, or they will lose 7 to 8 as they each score one per turn.
Even against opponents scoring from conquests, we really can't let them score from holds, while we also use showdowns to take out their units.
In both instances, the problem is often that turn we move a unit back to base so we can send it to the other battlefield next turn. It is too slow in many scenarios, while it weakens our hold position as well.
With SFD-043, we gain the ability to move our army from a battlefield to another for just two energies. It looks like a great deal, especially with other cards to keep our most important units alive through most of the match.
Guardian Angel
OGN-077 became a staple in most calm decks in the origins metagame. Naturally, an equipment with a similar ability, except we can pick our target, will be a good card.
There is a clear downside as we can't hide SFD-051 to get it in play for no energy, or surprise our opponent with it.
However, SFD-189 and SFD-193 can play around the power cost to equip it, while we also get an extra might from the equipment. Combined with SFD-049 in equipments heavy decks, the 2-cost weapon would lead to a [4/5] the opponent needs to remove twice or let us get bonuses for each future equipment we will play.
On top of the new legends, I expect OGN-261 to be interested in this card, mainly to equip OGN-232, making it both Mighty and a pain to remove. I wouldn't mind equipping OGN-238 as well.
Doran's Shield
Another equipment I am excited about is this simple shield, which synergizes with every of the new Calm legends, potentially making it a future staple in the Spiritforged metagame :
- SFD-197 needs us to play equipments to summon Sand Soldiers. SFD-033 is the cheapest one available, synergize with our signature spell SFD-198, and allows protecting our Soldier with the tank keyword.
- SFD-189 won't have to pay the equip cost, while SFD-085's might grows based on the number of gears we have. Plus, if we grow the 6-cost high enough, he'll make a fantastic tank.
- SFD-189 specializes in equipments, and could use the tank keyword to protect its champion units, both designed to generate value.
- SFD-195 wants to target friendly units, which equipping a gear does. Then, although we would have to be careful with our power-cost, SFD-033 is a cheap way to target one of our units.
The card is far from shiny, but cheap equipments should be remarkable utility cards in the upcoming expansion. These cards will be even more relevant in domains with multiple legends requiring your deck to run a minimum of them, or alongside a card like SFD-049.
Irelia, Fervent
Going second in Riftbound has been quite punishing during the Origins metagame, mainly because decks were built around 2-cost cards early on, while most of the stronger champion units cost 4 energies.
Spiritforged should reduce that gap between the first and second player, mainly because it is introducing several strong 3 and 5-cost cards. Among them, SFD-225 is one of my favourites.
First, the card does not have a power cost, meaning we can play it on turn two without jeopardizing our curve. Plus, the deflect keyword will limit how much the opponent can interact with it while she is in the base. Typically, spells able to take out a 4-might unit have a power cost associated, meaning our opponent would have to recycle a minimum of two runes to punish us for playing SFD-225 without runes available to protect it.
If they don't, we can use SFD-195's ability to both move and scale our unit's power, ideally scoring points plus returning it to base, where she can safely wait for the next turn.
Jax - Unmatched
A similar profile to SFD-225, SFD-054 will be very difficult to take out when it comes out on turn two, and has the ability to snowball the game from there.
I'm not a big fan of the legend SFD-193, as I foresee its gameplay to be too rigid, and potentially easy to side against. However, I can't deny how many runes SFD-054 will save us through making all our equipments Quick-Draw. Plus, must-remove units like this one are great in Calm decks, as it forces the opponent to take action, and possible play right into our cheap counter cards.
Last, we don't have to equip everything to SFD-054 and risk a removal to ruin our entire game. SFD-049 is available as a second fantastic target in the Calm domain, while there are a few units with Ganking in the Body domain that would also make worthy equipment carriers.
I am afraid the balance of the deck will be difficult to find, while certain side decks could make our life miserable in game two and three. Yet, if an equipment heavy deck becomes a competitive pick, you can be certain SFD-054 will have something to do with it.
Thwonk
In a set designed to buff our units with equipment past the point damage-based spells can remove them, we will need alternative ways to control them. Among these alternate ways is the stun mechanic, which OGN-255 or OGN-261 already employed during the first set.
Currently, the only stun card without a power cost attached was OGN-220, which could quickly eat through our runes when we looked to stun multiple turns in a row. With SFD-040 in the mix, we now have an energy only stun to use once we managed to get a battlefield under control.
The card is situational, but offer Calm decks a great side deck option against equipment heavy strategies, or just a new option for hold oriented builds.
Aphelios - Exalted
I like the card, but I wasn't sure if It deserved to be included on the list of high-impact new releases. Yet, as time passed, and I realized SFD-049 at worst restores the rune you recycled to equip it, this card grew on me.
Every domain got a cheap, flexible equipment to use, and the ones I like most are in domains typically associated with Calm. For real, the worst 1-cost equipment in my opinion is SFD-009 in Fury, the domain we can't build alongside Calm.
With that in mind, SFD-049 could very well become a new staple turn two play in Calm decks designed to use equipments : SFD-193, SFD-189 and SFD-197.
Early on, we will likely pick to channel 1 rune exhausted, just to keep our curve intact. However, once in the later stages of a match, getting two runes ready could open explosive patterns of play or the ability to keep runes open for our opponent's turn.
The card will suffer if the metagame features a lot of gear removal. Otherwise, a 1 or 2-cost equipment on turn one, followed by SFD-049 on turn two might become a routine way to start a match in Spiritforged.
Closing Words
If I had to make some predictions, I'd expect OGS-019 to remain a strong legend in the upcoming metagame, while SFD-189 has a lot of potential and SFD-197 should become the new token go-to pick.
Moreover, expect OGN-261 to improve a ton, maybe to the point it will become a competitive pick. The metagame will probably have to be equipment heavy for that to happen, but there is a real chance it happens.
During the Origins set, Calm was already a strong domain in Riftbound, competing with Mind as the best support to Fury or Body domains, the more proactive ones. Spiritforged brought even more cheap cards Calm decks can use to protect a unit or battlefield. However, I am more interested in the proactive synergies brought by this new set, as it should allow the Calm domain to feel more diverse in how it plays, and more aggressive in how it scores.
