This is actually going to be my second post about Nociel, since the first one was on my first blog that I lost, but that only means this blog will be more useful as I have had the chance to test the deck.
So the support in the Winter Fighter's Collection for Angel Feather was based around units that were released in BT06- Breaker of Limits, units with the name Nociel! While arguably not the best support that was released I thought I would try to make a deck that utilizes the two new units!
So lets take a look at the units released.
NEW NOCIEL UNITS!
First up the stride unit, Holy Seraph, Nociel (pictured above) -
(AUTO) (VC) (Choose two of your rearguards and put them into your damage zone face-up) At the end of the battle that this unit attacked a Vanguard, if you have a heart card with "Nociel" in it's card name, you may pay the cost. If you do, choose two cards from your damage zone, and call them to separate (RC). Then, if the units called with effect have "Nociel" in it's card name, that unit gets (Power) +5000 until end of turn.
The skill in itself is powerful for a number of reasons. That extra attack by swapping out cards from the damage zone is very reminiscent of Metatron from way back in BT09, but now we have even more units with skills that benefit from that switch between the Rearguard circle and the damage zone. The second part of the skill, the part about "Nociel" units getting a power boost when called, I have come to see as almost a potential plus but not a reason to use the skill, or not, depending on whether or not you can call out "Nociel" units. But more on that later..
The other unit we got in the Fighter's Collection is a grade 3, Love Sniper, Nociel -
(AUTO) (VC) (Counterblast 1) When a card with "Nociel" in it's card name is put into your damage zone, you may pay the cost, if you do, and that unit is face-up, put that card into your hand, and put the top card of your deck into the damage zone face-up.
(AUTO) (Choose a card from your hand and put it into the damage zone) When this unit is placed on (VC), you may pay the cost. If you do choose a card from your damage zone and put it into your hand.
Again this unit has a lot to it. First off that on-ride skill. It's one of those skill that is almost like a key-word for the Angel Feather clan before key-words were even a thing (although a skill that has a lot of potential to be the Angel Feather clan key-word). It is just a simple on-ride swap, one in, one out. It just builds on the idea of the clan being able to use the damage zone as a second hand.
But that first typed skill is what makes this card worth running. Depending on how you look at things it is a plus. For the cost of a counter-blast you add a card to your hand (depending on how you look at it as in whether or not you include the top card of your deck as being a resource and the inclusion of the cost of a counter blast, but however you look at it is at least a plus 0.5).
In my mind there are two ways to play this card it's support; you either play a deck that is completely centralized around her, i.e. Maxing out on all Nociel units, or combine the Nociel cards with an existing Angel Feather G Deck. As strong as skill as Love Sniper has she alone does not have the pushing power to end games. So the way I see it is you either have something else that can, or maximise your chances of plussing off of her skill.
Before I get on to the deck list I just want to have a look at previously released units that still make up the back-bone of any Angel Feather G deck-
AN ANGEL'S ARSENAL
So first up lets take a look at the original "Nociel" units, that some Angel Feather cardfighters were playing long before the release of the new support-
These two share the same effect of swapping cards between your hand and damage zone, with the Grade 2 being an on call skill and the Grade 1's going off when it is placed in the guardian circle. These units have, since their release, been key parts of an Angel Feather tool-box, their skills being so intrinsic to the overall strategy of the clan that even now few lists don't feature at least the Grade 1, so much so that for me personally not having these units was the only reason I didn't play Angel Feather as a whole. Of course you can play an Angel Feather deck without them, but they are very strong. Having the diversity of working to bolster your defences through the passive skills of Gavrail and Nurse of Broken Heart has made the grade 1 unit a far more common sight in top competitive lists, but the Grade 2 has a lot of strength in her in terms of making switches on your turn for offensive advantage.
These units are your big attackers that take advantage of using the damage zone as a second hand. Both units gain 2000 power when a card is put into your damage zone. While Million Ray is not restricted by Generation Break like Nurse, he doesn't give the plus 2000 to your vanguard also. Only Celestial decks don't use at least some copies of at least one of these units. The Angel Feather clan is known for using the damage zone as a resource and these units can create huge numbers for doing just that. The offensive numbers you can make with these cards is insane, like hitting columns of 40k plus isn't particularly uncommon.
There is some debate on which unit is stronger or "better". Both have advantages and disadvantages. The obvious one is that Million Ray can still pump up if you haven't performed a Stride. This means that even if you can't stride, either by your opponent purposely staying at grade 2 or simply not having the cards to be able to, you can still do something. His skill works on the Vanguard circle as well as the rearguard, meaning his skill can make it difficult for your opponent to push through and potentially force them to ride or at least not allow them to make the very most of you being unable to stride by rushing you to hard. Of course in that situation Nurse essentially becomes a vanilla unit.
However Nurse may not be able to do anything outside of generation break, but when she can do something she does a lot. With her skill you can easily make two columns that your opponent simply can't guard outside of throwing down two sentinels. And should you hit a stand trigger that attack can be coming in for numbers well into 30k, perhaps even pushing 40k. If set up right and executed with care Nurse can create attackers that your opponent simply cannot guard. And lets not overlook the fact that this skill triggers when damage check not just when you swap cards. And then lets not forget Gavrail's GB2. If you damage check a trigger with Nurse on the field and Gavrail at GB2 then your vanguard will be sitting on 20k and your rearguard at 17k, numbers that will make guarding a lot easier. Overall, given the recent restriction on two of the strongest rush decks in the game, I prefer Nurse, but I do like the unrestricted skill on Million Ray. My lists are based on testing, and may be different from yours from your testing. Try both. Try different combinations of the two and see what you think.
But the grade 1 pegasus is a staple. No questions asked. Exact same skill as it's Grade 2 counterpart. Except it of course can boost. There isn't very much more to say about it. This combine with Nurse or Million make for some ridiculously high numbers, and at only 2k power less than the base of the Grade 2s she can make a perfectly good attacker if you don't have the grade 2 to hand.
Soulblast cost. Unflip up to five damage. Put up to five cards into the damage zone. Can we just take a moment to appreciate that this results in any Pegasus or Nurse you might have gaining 10k power. And the vanguard itself if you have Nurse. There isn't really all that much more to say than that. It is an exceptionally strong unit. But only run a maximum of two, Angel Feather doesn't have very many ways to fill that soul. But really. If the timing is right. Once is more than enough.
Now. I'm not saying this is the best stand trigger in the game...
But honestly I would put it close to being just that. Just bare in mind those huge columns you can make in this deck. So it's a stand trigger. You pull one of these on a Nurse of Broken Heart that has seen a Raziel skill and your opponent is going to be salty. And I'd just like to point out that the later in the game you use this skill, the more chance you have of drawing it back from the last part of the skill. If Bushiroad want people to use stands more than this is how they do it. All of your units that get pumped up from damage changes also get an additional 4k power. So by striding Raziel and using Refros just once, all of those units will gain 14k power. Each. And if it is Nurse your vanguard is going to be swinging for a minimum of 40k without a boost. And that isn;t even to mention that you can put two cards back into your deck, which you will want to be triggers. All together I genuinely believe that, in terms of what it can do for the clan, this is a contender for one of the best triggers in the entire game.
Decklists!
So first up is going to be the build I have been testing online that utilizes Nociel units in a still very stride orientated deck:
Gavrail/ Nociel Deck
Grade 3
4x Black Shiver, Gavrail
2x Love, Sniper Nociel
2x The Phoenix, Calamity Flame
Grade 2
4x Nurse of Broken Heart
2x Million Ray Pegasus
2x Love Machine Gun Nociel
3x Black Slice, Harut
Grade 1
4x Adamantine Celestial Aniel
4x Black Call Nakir
4x Thousand Ray Pegasus
2x Battle Cupid Nociel
Grade 0
4x Sunny Smile Angel (HEAL)
4x Doctroid Refros (STAND)
8x CRIT (any)
1x Black Candle Azrail
Grade 4
2x Holy Seraph, Nociel
2x Holy Seraph, Raphael
2x Holy Seraph, Raziel
1x Holy Seraph, Uriel
1x Snow Element, Blizza
I have done a lot of testing of this build meticulously trying to make it work, because in my opinion Gavrail with something is going to be the best build of Angel Feather G. I found that too much Nociel took too much away from the core deck. This build is almost forcing Nociel's engine in. But I have found it to work. If you can't get the set up you want for a big Raziel play, the Nociel stride can be very strong and works to swap your damage zone and field around a bit. Arguably not playing the Nociel engine at all, particularly since the restrictions being implemented into the English game, but nonetheless Nociel is fun, and this build tries to utilize her power without sacrificing being competitive.
This second build is focussed more around getting the most frequent use of Love Sniper's skill-
Pure Nociel Deck!
Grade 3
4x Love Sniper, Nociel
4x Prophecy Celestial, Ramiel
Grade 2
4x Love Machine, Gun Nociel
3x Nurse of Broken Heart
2x Medical Bomber Nurse
2x Million Ray Pegasus
Grade 1
4x Black Record Israfil
2x Doctroid Primas
2x Battle Cupid Nociel
3x Confidence Celestial Lumiel
3x Black Call Nakir
Grade 0
4x Sunny Smile Angel (HEAL)
4x Happy Bell, Nociel (STAND)
4x Fever Therapy Nurse (DRAW)
4x Invert Celestial, Asbeel (CRIT)
1x Thermometer Angel
Grade 4
3x Holy Seraph Nociel
1x Holy Seraph Raziel
2x Holy Seraph Raphael
1x Holy Celestial Mikhael
1x Snow Element, Blizza
This build is much more focussed around Nociel and is almost built assuming you will be able to get the additional cards and includes cards like Medical Bomber Nurse and Doctroid Primas that take advantage of swaps in and out of the damage zone to compliment the skill of the Nociel stride unit. Other differences are the triggers. No one trigger really fully hands itself to the deck so I like the idea of just playing 4 of each, with the Nociel stand really being there for the fact that her name is Nociel and you can get cards for damage checking her. The difference in sentinels i.e. G Era or not is down to the fact that in a Gavrail/Nociel deck the rear guards are very important, specific rearguards such as Nurse of Broken Heart. A pure Nociel build doesn't have as much need on specific rear-guards on the rearguard circles, but does counter-blast more heavily.
The essential difference between the two builds is that a pure Nociel deck is built more defensively than Gavrail based one.
But that is my thoughts on Angel Feather G and what the Winter Fighter's Collection has done for the clan! I will try to get a video of my Gavrail/Nociel deck in action when I can!
Thank you for reading, and I hope you found this even a little helpful when you come to build your own Angel Feather Deck!
- Flogal FTK
