Advanced Lexi Draft Tips - Understanding Sequencing

Before you jump into a Tales of Aria draft, you need to understand how to sequence your turns to gain maximum value from Lexi’s attacks. With Shiver as your primary bow, you will most likely rely on your Lightning cards to gain go again and attack multiple times in one turn. This means that a Lightning heavy Lexi deck will primarily go wide - attack with multiple smaller attacks, while an Ice heavy deck will primarily go tall - attack with a few, bigger attacks. The Ice side will focus on disruption, while Lightning on stacking damage, so it is important to know how to leverage each side to get ahead.

Sequencing is Key

Knowing the sequences of plays in which Lexi operates will help you pick the right cards during a draft and find a good balance of Element cards when compared to your fusion cards. Lexi loves to keep an Element card in her arsenal, doing so gives you value from utilizing her hero ability. Having a Lightning card can enable multiple attacks - Lightning non-attack actions mean you can give go again to an arrow attack and a non-arrow attack, making them a highly versatile card type to have in arsenal. Lightning attack actions, more often than not, usually give the go again to themselves - you turn it face up with Lexi’s ability and then play it to open an arsenal for potential arrow attacks. This shows the power of Lightning non-attack actions in arsenal - you can play it out while giving an arrow go again, play the arrow, fuse it with an attack card, then play out the attack.

Let’s look at this example, your hand is:

How good is this hand with no arsenal?

How good is it with a red Shock Striker in arsenal?

How good is it with a yellow Electrify in arsenal?

How good is it with a yellow Frazzle in arsenal?

As you evaluate the potential damage output for each scenario, I hope that one thing becomes apparent - having a Lightning card in your arsenal can really enable an explosive turn. Also, pay attention how having an arrow without go again in the arsenal can completely shut down your turn. Also, try to avoid placing cards like Lightning Press in the arsenal if your attacks are primarily arrows - you could draw a full arrow hand and clog your turn!

Looking at Ice, using Lexi’s hero ability is a great way to create the main way of disruption for your opponent - creating a Frostbite token. Starting your turn off with making a Frostbite token can help you play around defense reactions, such as Oldhim’s hero ability, and add a layer of disruption to your opponent’s next turn. For Lexi, it is important to understand how Ice cards interact with the arsenal. If you arsenal a non-attack action, such as Winter’s Bite, you can create the Frostbite, play out the non-attack action and open up your arsenal for an arrow attack. If the Ice card in arsenal is an attack action card, it becomes very difficult to attack again, especially with an arrow, because you are forced to play out the arsenal card first. This is why you should be weary about arsenalling an Ice attack action card, unless you run many pumps, such as Ice Quake, you are confident you’ll draw into, or unless you have support with cards like Flash or Honing Hood to play your turn.

Let’s look at this example, your hand is:

How good is this hand with no arsenal?

How good is it with a red Icy Encounter in arsenal?

How good is it with a yellow Chill to the Bone in arsenal?

How good is it with a red Blizzard Bolt in arsenal?

As you evaluate each scenario, I hope it becomes clear how hard it is for Ice leaning Lexi builds to attack multiple times. Also, it is important to include disruption and non-attack action cards that pump your attacks in order to get big attacks in. Ice leaning decks tend to be more defensive than Lightning Lexi decks - you can generate value through small, incremental advantages rather than big 5 card hands.

How Does Understanding Sequencing Affect Draft?

Understanding the interactions between arsenal, Element cards, non-attack action cards and action cards can help you pick the cards you need to keep your deck consistent. As the examples above illustrate, Element non-attack action cards are a great tool to enable your turns and should therefore be considered highly in your draft pick order, especially since Ice is shared with Oldhim and Lightning is shared with Briar. Let’s run through some of the card combinations that help you have a great turn and you should be aware of while drafting.

Element Non-Attack Actions and Arrows

This card combination helps you to create those powerful 5 card turns. Element non-attack actions help you fuse your previous attacks and start off a strong turn. Whether it's Ice or Lightning, the Element non-attack action can easily give you a bonus with Lexi’s hero ability and lets you sequence the turn with an arrow to maximum effect. Revealing an Ice with Lexi disrupts your opponent, while Lightning can help you to shoot an arrow and attack again, potentially threatening multiple on-hit effects. Whether you go the Ice or Lightning path, it could be enough pressure or disruption to force a multi-card defence, or get a huge chunk of damage through.

Element Attack Actions and Arrows

Element attacks are trickier to maneuver. Lightning attack action cards can help you go wide, but you will be attacking with the Lightning cards first, meaning you could miss out on getting a strong on-hit trigger from your fused arrow, if it attacks afterwards. Ice attacks and arrows do not mix well on the offence, therefore you should be mindful that when playing with these two, you’ll gain more value from defending. All arrows defend for 3, which should be noted for a defensive strategy - something I recommend if you want to play lots of Ice attack action cards.

Lightning Cards and Ice Attack Action Cards

While, Ice attack action cards and arrows might not gel well together, Lightning cards with go again and Ice attack action cards do. You can use Lexi hero ability, flip a Ball Lightning and then play an Ice attack action card with go again from hand. Then, play out that Ball Lightning and you still have the arsenal and action points to keep going. The same is true for Lightning non-attack actions and non-arrow attacks. This combination means you get to make the most out of your Shiver - flip a Lightning card, play it, drop a non-arrow attack and then Shiver and arrow to finish off the turn.

Understanding these interactions and how Lexi sequences her turn can influence your draft. For example, if you find yourself with a lot of strong Ice attack action cards, it could be a good idea to start prioritising some of these go again Lightning attacks, or Lightning non-attack action cards to make the most of your turn. As you continue drafting the format, these interactions will become more apparent and as you familiarize yourself with sequencing, the more you’ll know what card picks to prioritize in the draft. These interactions really open up the direction of your draft and create an interesting tension for the Element card picks between Lexi players and the Briar and Oldhim players. This really keeps the draft format fresh and full of possibilities.