Orange Hat Guy	Self-Sacrifice is the first card I reach for when building any deck.  It is a one card toolbox that can disrupt almost any aspect of your opponent's field at any time. The benefits of this card are obvious, but lets break it down and talk about each of it's effects individually. As with all events, you choose the target of Self-Sacrifice when you play the card.  In this case, you have the additional step of choosing one of 3 effects before choosing the target of said effect.  Your choices are: [i]"Remove an item or battleground in play from the game"[/i] Many items or battlegrounds have activated effects that discard or remove themselves, and if you use Self-Sacrifice on such an item or battleground, your opponent can use the effect in response.  This is not to say that such cards are immune to destruction, but you have to be aware of the situation to get rid of these cards before they can be used to their maximum potential.  Other items such as dolls and Battlegrounds with floating effects can be dispatched at any time with Self-Sacrifice, and should be removed ASAP anytime they are helping your opponent or hurting you. [i]"shuffle a character with an energy cost of 4 or less in play into its owner's deck"[/i] Your opponent pays energy for a character, and getting him off the field is always a good thing, but when is it worth 5 power?  For a first turn character, quite often.  Even if it only attacks for 2 of any given stat, getting it out of play earlier than later will be worth it by turn 3.  Then characters I won't use it on are those like Store Manager and Repentance Cell Guards who can search for something in response.  Keep in mind though, that it can hit a 4 cost character next turn as well, and many times you will want to save a SS for that instead of using it on the little guy.  It really just depends on the deck, and the more knowledge you have about how your opponent's deck works the better.  Also worth mentioning is that Self-Sacrifice shuffles the character into your opponent's deck, meaning that it can be used as a double whammy. If your opponent has set up the top cards of his deck to draw them or to make the most of a Five, you can randomize his deck and hopefully make him miss what he wants to grab. [i]choose a player to shuffle 8 cards from their discard pile into their deck.[/i] Save yourself against mill.  Make Nanao whiff against 8/13.  Make Sawatari shuffle all those items in his discard pile back in before they become souls.  Not to mention once again you have a chance to throw a wrench in all the best laid plans your opponent has for the top of his deck.  This is the effect of Self-Sacrifice I have used the least, but when used properly it can win games you would lose otherwise. [i] Lose 5 power[/i] Nothing amazing in life is free.  Self-Sacrifice is no exception.  But as long as the card is used only when it can be especially helpful, you can be sure to never regret the loss of power in exchange for the control this card offers.  An added fun trick is to kill yourself with Self-Sacrifice on the queue of a battle or effect that would kill you anyways.  It won't change the outcome, but it tends to leave a smile on your face anyways :) Self-Sacrifice is the absolute embodiment of everything a staple should be.  Use 4 in every deck you build. Competitive Play 5/5  Useful against every deck you have to worry about Casual Play      5/5  Also useful against any gadget deck. Art              4/5  The SS is from one of the very few scenes in this arc that I truly enjoyed.
Fled	Perhaps the most versatile card in the game.  It won't win you as many games as a timely Dark Ritual or that devastating Utter Destruction, but having 4 in your deck puts a kink in your opponents armor just long enough to come out on top.  And you can do it for a resources much more expendable than energy; your health. Sweating over that Byakuya staring you down, knowing Renji is on his way?  Not anymore you aren't!  Jin just put that man-beast in the discard pile with his Bount Cave, and he's got Go on the queue?  Make him whiff!! And trust me, Sawatari is laughing at your pathetic attempt to stall him with that Empty Clearing...   Competitive Play: 4.5/5 - You better have someone that can swing on Agility if you want this card out of your hand against swarm.  It can wreck ANYTHING else. Casual Play: 5/5 - When things like mill, Go, 8 and 13, and whatever crazy Bounts Forever deck you can conjure come knocking, Self Sacrifice becomes an even bigger monster. Art: 4/5 - Anything with Baura is a plus, but it's hard to truly love a card with that much of the same color on it.
NavyCherub	This card is a masterpiece. Being the only card I truly consider a staple, of course I would think that. It has so many things going for it, because there are so many different things you can do with it. Remove a battleground from the game – Annoying techy battlegrounds can ruin any deck's day, and this card lets you fix that easily. Path up the Hill stopping your Mom's effect? Self-Sac it. Looming Flower Crane Cannon threatening your chances of playing that doll in your hand? Self-Sac it. And those are just a couple examples of what you can do with this great card. Remove an item from the game – There are many items that could be annoying you and killed off with this effect, but the most obvious and useful one is taking away your opponent's doll. Use this when your opponent activates Bounts Forever and you'll have one more (energy free!) chance at preventing a loss. Shuffle a character with an energy cost of 4 or less into your opponent's deck – Soooo many targets for this one. Little Renjis threatening to help bring out Renji – Unleashed, Yoshino – Servings quickly culminating souls, Noba – Servers preparing to kill you with huge overlays, and more, all for the low low cost of 5 power. Choose a player to shuffle 8 cards into their deck – More anti-Bounts tech, specifically against Go (get that Bount off the top), Mabashi/Yoshino (take away the quick characters they can amass), and Sawatari (get those cards out before they become souls), though it really applies to any Bount. It also helps against Squad 13, in response to their turn two discard pile filling with Kiyone and Sentaro. Heck, if you're desperate, you could put your discard pile back into your deck against a mill deck. So, as you can see, Self-Sacrifice is an overall AMAZING card, and a must-have for any deck. Competitive Play 5/5 Casual Play      5/5 Art              3/5
Lovefist	Lovefist Great Card. Minimal drawback. Losing 5 power can hardly be considered a drawback when you're going to be in all likelihood saving yourself more damage down the road. You spend 5 power to stop a deck like animals by shuffling in their Noba - Server and there's no doubt that the payoff is worth the loss. This card has many functions.  It serves as a utility card nicely against a variety of decks such as: Ban and Ho, Mayuri, Animals, Squad 8/13 and Renji just to name a few. No deck should be without this IMO. There's one last thing that makes this card so good, but certainly not least. IT'S FREE. Used to be when your energy was depleted your opponent knew that they could get away with practically anything they wanted because they knew you weren't going to stop them with anything other then Utter Destruction, and if your hand was minimal that "bluff" was out the window as well leaving it free reign for your opponent. With no cost your opponent has to be extra careful because they don't know what your holding. (Unless of course they play Surveillance Device). 5/5 competitive play 5/5 casual play 4/5 art