the silent: slice & deflect

[mjkitsch]

i am interested to hear, if more experienced players are willing to indulge: how highly do you value these two cards early on?

i get that you can corner yourself into a build where they are great, but i mean what are they worth in the long run? can you viably pick them up before you are headed toward a specific strategy?

[mjkitsch]

oh, and what is the play to make when you get offered both at the same time early game but you can only pick one? is it just a skip or is there a linear design to play?

[Zu]

It depends.

Slice I rarely pick because it doesn't really fit into anything. Meanwhile, you can drop deflect into a poison turtle, discard, or even shiv deck and it'll do some work along the way without weighing you down too hard later on.

Naturally, if I find a kunai or shuriken, slice becomes more appealing, but then I would just try to upgrade cloak n dagger etc. Unceasing top is an argument, but statuses can really f♡ck you over.


As for whether to pick either of them early on, that's up to you.

I've personally stopped going out of my way to maximize elite encounters, so picking up deflect means it's less likely for gremlin nob to rek you.

Meanwhile, if you're hunting down all the elites, a slice in act 1 can help mitigate the overall damage significantly, especially against the cancer trio, because a dead enemy can't attack if you know what I'm saying.

[mjkitsch]

well, you point out some uses, but does either card warrant a pick-up outside of some linear strategy?

i find it hard to turn down either most of the time. 0 cost effects.

you've said slice: not so much. but how soon would you be willing to pick up a deflect? and how highly would you prioritize it early?

i think these both end up being cards that i see early and pass, but sometimes build into something where i wish i would have snagged them, haha.

[Zu]

Ultimately I don't think it makes a massive difference either way because there's usually a better card to pick anyway. Like "Oh, there's a deflect, but I'd rather pick this backflip instead." or "Oh, there's a slice, but I'd rather pick infinite blades here."

It's more like they're filler cards you consider taking if you're kinda lacking in either the block or damage department in a deck with decent cycling, i.e. backflips or acrobatics. Like "You know, I'm cycling to my upgraded neutralize a lot, but I keep being short on block anyway." or "Group fights give me trouble, I need more tempo asap."

Basically, I would pick either as early as I have to ask myself the question "Do I need the tempo against trash mobs?" and nothing better is on offer. Like, obviously you would always pick edgy mc die die die (Overwatch references in 2098) over slice because the tempo is much better when it does matter, or you would always pick piercing wail over deflect because that card can actually save your ♡ss.

[Scathe]

I agree with Zu. I almost never take slice, and alot of my decks wind up with a deflect. I go for a defensive poison strategy more than half the time.

[mjkitsch]

yeah ok, i ask because i did a silent run and my first pick was slice / deflect / some trash, lol. so it made me think, these 0 cost cards are really good in a lot of silent builds, but how good are they really? like can you pass on them before you know you need them or will they be good enough to work their way into any build?

i passed on all 3 and died that run not that it had anything to do with the slice / deflect, i think i must have made my mistake elsewhere...

[Targuil]

I really like playing Silent builds that focus on draw+spam which obviously benefits from freebies, and early on when you usually can't spend your full hand anyway, they seem to bring more bang for the turn.

I usually pick couple of them on the first floor and see if I get an energy relic or not (More energy, less need for zero cost cards.) There is also very good synergy with strength and dexterity with them.

[MHC]

I lean toward deflect over slice for the reasons Zu said, though I'll generally only ever take one deflect and even then I pass on it fairly often.

[mjkitsch]

Targuil, i feel ya. when i have an infinite draw deck setup i love having either of these cards in multiples, you can't go wrong at 0 cost. but i dont think i've really figured out how to play silent consistently yet, so i don't quite know where these cards fit in despite being really attractive in a build that is probably going to win anyway without them.

[Romain672]

Originally posted by Zu:

Slice I rarely pick because it doesn't really fit into anything. Meanwhile, you can drop deflect into a poison turtle, discard, or even shiv deck and it'll do some work along the way without weighing you down too hard later on.

I disagree here.
I choose Slice most of the time early on (except if there is better other cards).

It fit with every card based on 'play one card' (choke, finisher, after image, a thousand cut), some relic (kunai, unceasing top, etc)...
But it's an excellent card early on, who stay usefull later on (birds, or with many draw).
And it increase value of draw card (backflip, acrobatics).


Deflect I don't really like it, it's bad for act 1 elite, so you can took it only for mid/late game... So it reduce a lot the game where I could take one.



@Zu : Backflip over Slice at first choice mmm... I guess I choose Slice anyway.
Draw is really few impactfull early on. Even if Backflip>>>Slice later on.

[mjkitsch]

but what we are saying is you are better off building into shiv over either card, or taking a backflip for sure? i'd imagine then also acrobatics or maybe even preparation?

[mjkitsch]

Romain672, what do you put above slice specifically when it is an early decision? how many cards deep into poison/turtle do you have to be before you agree with Zu on the deflect option?

i guess the other question is what trumps deflect early on?

i'm only on one win with silent so far, but it was a blur/draw build and deflect was doing work for me there. but if it is good late game isn't it then worth picking up early game since the early game is relatively easy?

[Romain672]

It depend of difficulty you play.
I guess I would go for Slice at ascension 15 (or if I plan some elites), and Backflip on normal.

[mjkitsch]

haha, tell me about ascension 15 later, i'm still working on unlocking it

[mjkitsch]

i love me some backflip in normal though, why not pick the flip in ascension?