Hey guys, sorry for the lack of posts lately, I have been studying essentially every day, all day for the last week or so thanks to final exams. In fact, I should be studying for one right now, but decided to get a quick post up instead. I will be done this upcoming Wednesday, so after that I will be able to post higher quality articles more often, but for now bear with me.
Within the young English meta, the two most expensive decks by far are Royal Paladin and Oracle Think Tank. With Royal Paladins decks falling within the $200-$300 range, they have proved over and over again to be a Tier 0 deck, with Barcgal, King of Knights Alfred and Soul Savior Dragon leading the charge. Alternatively we have Oracle Think Tank, a deck that also can run your wallet into the hundreds of dollars (mine personally costing me a grand total of $260). What I find the most interesting about it though, is the fact that few people, if any, consider Oracle Think Tank to be a Tier 0 deck. Moreover, the only other Tier 0 deck in the English format is Kagero, which is one of the cheapest decks to make, costing a player ~$100-$150 for the highest tier of Kagero. In this article, I will discuss and analyze the current state of Oracle Think Tank, including looking at future sets in hopes to justify it's high price tag.
Flaws
In the current meta, Oracle Think Tank has some deep flaws that restrict it from becoming one of the highest tier competitive decks. The biggest one is it's lack of good boosters. Within the first two sets, there has been exactly zero 7k boosters released for Oracle Think Tank. NONE. This leaves the clan with only a possible 4 copies of an 8k booster and the rest of the Grade 1's have to be 5k-6k. The issue with the Grade 1 Oracle Think Tank cards released in the first two sets is that they have powerful effects. Cards such as Luck Bird, Weather Girl Milk and Battle Sister Cocoa have low power due to their good effects. Luck Bird gives you a +1, Weather Girl Milk provides a good, albeit situational boost, and Battle Sister Coca is a mini Amaterasu in the form of allowing you to manipulate your deck. Due to these effects, Bushiroad designers had to decrease their power a little, down to 5k in the case of Luck Bird or 6k in the form of Milk and Cocoa from the regular 7k of a non-vanilla Grade 1. This creates a flaw. With only 5k-6k boosters to work with, any attacking unit must have a power of 9k-10k to be able to hit magic numbers after a boost (15k for 10k Vanguards and 16k for 11k Vanguards). And that's the problem.
Silent Tom
Let's look at one of the most expensive cards available for Oracle Think Tank - Silent Tom. Silent Tom is an extremely good card on it's own, able to restrict what your opponent can guard with, forcing them to either take the hit or guard with boosters or attacking units. Unfortunately, this card's 8k power coupled with a lack of 7k boosters does not allow it to hit for magic numbers unless in front of an 8k booster. So the card is good yes, and its worth the money but at the moment the clan cannot support its full potential. Silent Tom shares similar scenarios with other cards, such as Battle Sister, Mocha and Security Guardian that are not able to hit magic numbers without an 8k booster. It is the combination of bountiful 8k attackers and no 7k boosters that do not allow Oracle Think Tank to be as successful as they should be.
Future Sets
But don't fret, all is not lost. With the release of Set 3 and the Oracle Think Tank trial deck, 7k boosters and solid Rearguard attackers come aplenty. With the trial deck we get access to Meteorbreak Wizard, a Knight of Conviction Bors that allows us to hit the next level of magic numbers (20k and 21k) by simply Counter-blasting 1. In set 3, we are given the Tsukuyomi superior ride chain, whose Grade 1 is not only 7k but it's Grade 2 9k and Grade 3 11k. Her Grade 3 effect is also amazing, allowing you to Counter-blast 2 to to draw 2 and soulcharge 1 from your hand. The superior ride chain itself also boosts consistency and allows us to stack triggers at the bottom of our deck, to be able to hit a timing and double trigger our opponent by drawing cards or putting them at the bottom of the deck to get to our stack. Set 3 and the trial deck essentially erase all the flaws the deck currently has which allows it to increase in consistency and competitiveness.
Conclusion
As it stands, Oracle Think Tank has many flaws that restrict it from being a top deck in the English meta. However, what makes it such a popular and expensive deck is it's attractive playstyle and future releases that will boost it to a higher tier. So to all you Oracle Think Tank players that just can't seem to beat Royal Paladins or Kagero, don't fret. It'll be our turn soon enough.
-HerO
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