A Deep Dive into BP16:New World Genesis

With the New World Genesis upon us, we have the introduction of the Super-Evolution mechanic. A Super-Evolution Point can be used once per game, starting on turn 6 going second, and turn 7 going first. Notably, it applies during a manual evolution, providing +1/+1 alongside any On Super-Evolve effects.

As the game moves towards the future, let's take a look at our first Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond related cards introduced in BP16: New World Genesis!

Forestcraft

Forest's support in BP16 casts a wide net - Pixie support, Puppet support, and even a little bit of Beast support. A variety of playstyles all get strengthened, with Aria, Lady of the Woods and Orchis, Newfound Heart to lead them off.

Pixies

• Aria, Lady of the Woods: As Fairy Circle-esque cards are core to Pixie decks, Aria, Lady of the Woods comes with the upside of an On Evolve effect that also summons a Fairy. She also takes advantage of the new Super-Evolution mechanic, giving +1/+1 to all of your Pixie token followers.

• Good Fairy of the Pond: Good Fairy of the Pond is another source of two Fairy tokens, but on an aggressive 2/1 body.

• Fairy Tamer: Fairy Tamer is a valuable source of interaction once Aria, Miasma Fairy and Titania's Sanctuary are both active, as she summons a Fairy on Fanfare while buffing up to two other Pixie followers On Evolve.

• Glade, Fragrantwood Ward: Despite the Evolve deck space being highly contested in Pixie decks, Glade, Fragrantwood Ward often makes the cut. He requires an evolve to be useful, but his On Evolve effect provides card draw and two Fairy tokens, while his On Super-Evolve effect mimics Cassiopeia's Fanfare, offering powerful board-wide removal.

Puppets

• Orchis, Newfound Heart: Puppet Forest is at its best when it is able to consistently generate 0 cost Puppet tokens, and Orchis, Newfound Heart offers a copy of Lloyd by consuming two Puppets from the EX area. Additionally, she offers Storm to a puppet, including both Lloyd and Victoria.

• Liam, Crazed Creator: Consistency is key, and Liam, Crazed Creator offers an unprecedented amount. He digs for a 3 cost or less Puppetry follower while allowing you to play it for free, and summoning two Puppets is often an upside.

Beast

• Baby Carbuncle: Nature's Guidance is a solid card for any Combo heavy archetype, and Baby Carbuncle is a Beast focused version that also happens to be a 0/1. Notably, Baby Carbuncle also helps bounce Salvia Panther and replay her, allowing for larger bursts on Anastasia turns.

Generics

• Aerin, Crystalian Frostward: 'Locking' an opponent's follower is a unique way of dealing with a follower, and Aerin, Crystalian Frostward innately features Ward. Her On Evolve effect searches a 2 cost or less Crystalian follower and allows you to play it for free.

• Lily, Crystalian Innocence: As part of the Crystalian toolbox, Lily, Crystalian Innocence sets an opponent's attack and defense to 1, offering another way of 'soft' removing a follower. Additionally, a number of powerful Forest cards deal 1 damage, including Elf Child May, effectively clearing any threat regardless of its size.

• Godwood Staff: Godwood Staff has a very unique interaction with King Elephant's Fanfare. If you have multiple copies of it on board, returning them with King Elephant allows you to activate his On Evolve effect much earlier, and often allowing him to deal 20 plus damage on the same turn he is played.

Swordcraft

Token based decks are Sword's roots, and in BP16, we see a massive influx of Token focused support - Zirconia, Ironcrown Ward and Luminous Lancetrooper highlighting some of the more aggressive aspects of the deck. Levin also receives a new finisher in Albert, Levin Stormsaber, along with some general added consistency.

Token

• Amelia, Silver Captain: The focus of Token Sword is to assemble a number of different Token followers on the board, namely Steelclad Knight, Shield Guardian, and Knight. Amelia, Silver Captain adds an immense amount of consistency to the gameplan as she allows you to generate any one of the missing pieces. Additionally, while her On Evolve effect seems relatively inconsequential, her On Super-Evolve effect pushes a significant board advantage even further.

• Zirconia, Ironcrown Ward: Zirconia, Ironcrown Ward relies entirely on her On Evolve effect - she generates a Steelclad Knight and Shield Guardian on evolve, and her On Super-Evolve effect allows them to push for 5 damage. Notably, you can combine this with Ironcrown Majesty to push for even more damage.

• Amalia, Luxsteel Paladin: While Token Sword often generates Token followers in the EX area, Amalia, Luxsteel Paladin allows you to summon one from the EX area while also interacting with your opponent's board. Most importantly, she offers much needed reach from her effect.

• Lyrala, Luminous Potionwright: As Token Sword's strongest 1-cost follower, Lyrala, Luminous Potionwright kicks off the engine by generating two of the necessary tokens in the EX area. Her added healing is a nice bonus, as the deck typically lacks any other source of healing.

• Luminous Lancetrooper: Luminous Lancetrooper is the first of our 2-cost Luminous followers. She summons a Steelclad Knight on her Fanfare, but importantly she is another source of damage from her ability, once you satisfy her condition of needing three different Officer token followers on the field.

• Luminous Magus: Luminous Magus, on the other hand, summons either a Shield Guardian or Knight on her Fanfare, but her ability deals 5 to an enemy follower and draws a card.

• Luminous Commander: As the only Luminous follower that needs to evolve, Luminous Commander offers a hybrid of both Luminous Lancetrooper and Luminous Magus. Her evolved form summons a Knight while placing either of the other two tokens into your EX area, and her both deals damage to an enemy follower and to the enemy leader.

• Ironcrown Majesty: Ironcrown Majesty allows you to either start a wide and diverse board or press a board advantage. If you have an allied follower that evolved this turn, you can do both, all for the low cost of 3 play points.

Levin

• Albert, Levin Stormsaber: Levin Sword has long relied on Albert as a finisher, and BP16 introduces a new version of him. Albert, Levin Stormsaber offers a noticeable amount of damage at base, and only scales further with his ability.

• Jeno, Levin Axeraider: A number of the Levin cards require discarding a card in order to do their effect, including Lounes, Levin Apprentice and Mona, Levin Mage. Jeno, Levin Axeraider allows you to maintain hand size while doing so, as long as you are playing an almost full Levin deck. He also has the added upside of having Storm while you have at least 5 Levin cards in your cemetery.

• Ravening Tentacles: While Ravening Tentacles is an efficient removal spell, needing to a follower is a cost you must be minfdul of.

Festive

• Ginne, Bewitching Courtesan: While the Festive Sword package is already extremely consistent, Ginne, Bewitching Courtesan offers an additional amount of everything the deck wants - offering soft removal by locking an enemy follower, cycling a card, and generating additional Glittering Gold tokens, all while not taking up valuable evolve deck space.

Generics

• Flashstep Quickblader: Flashstep Quickblader is one of the strongest 1-cost followers in Swordcraft. He is at least a 1/1 with Storm for 1, and his On Evolve effect can deal 1 damage to either the opponent directly or an opposing follower, all for an evolve cost of 1.

Runecraft

While the new Runecraft support is heavily Earth Rite focused, Lilanthim, Anathema of Edacity stands out as the most impactful addition. Alongside her, a small but potent suite of Academic cards provides the class with a significant boost in consistency.

Academic

• Anne & Grea, Mysterian Duo: Academic thrives on its ability to consistently cycle rapidly while dealing with the board. Anne & Grea, Mysterian Duo helps by allowing you to discard two Academic cards in order to deal 5 to an enemy follower and draw two cards. Additionally, they gain Storm while you have 10 Academic cards in your cemetery, and at the end phase they summon an Anne's Summoning.

• Ms. Miranda, Adored Academic: Craig, Wizard of Mysteria has been a staple of Academic decks since the beginning, and Ms. Miranda, Adored Academic is a similar card that helps meeting the required number of Academic cards in your cemetery, while not taxing your evolve deck.

• Homework Time!: Homework Time! is at worst 1 play point to draw a card. Once you have 5 Academic cards in your cemetery, it generates a Looking Smart! token that allows you to deal 2 damage to an enemy follower and cycle a card.

Earth Rite

• Lilanthim, Anathema of Edacity: As the newest addition to Earth Rite, Lilanthim is an exceptionally resilient threat. As long as you can maintain your Stacks, she can re-summon herself if she is evolved. She also leverages the Super-Evolution mechanic in order to add two to a Stack on your field and destroy two enemy followers, making her a massive tempo swing in the mid-to-late game.

Dragoncraft

In BP16, 7-Cost Dragon shifts into a high-impact midrange deck built around Burnite, Anathema of Flame, breathing new life into a historic playstyle. Additionally, two aggressive decks in Wasteland and Marine both receive a plethora of support, setting up for a strong variety of deck types strengthened in BP16.

7-Cost

• Burnite, Anathema of Flame: As the new primary win condition of Ramp Dragon, colloquially referred to as 7-Cost, Burnite, Anathema of Flame completely shapes the deck's identity, rewarding players for cycling aggressively toward her. She can come down for 5 play points, and removes a follower on both her Fanfare and On Evolve. Additionally, she deals 7 damage to your opponent, while offering stabilization through her On Super-Evolve effect to help you close out the game.

• Zahar, Stormwave Dragoon: Since 7-Cost is constantly discarding cards in order to cycle, maintaining hand size while doing so is important - Zahar, Stormwave Dragoon allows you to look at the top 2 cards of your deck and grab a card that costs 7 or more when he is discarded.

• Genesis Dragon Reborn: While there already exists a version of Genesis Dragon, Genesis Dragon Reborn provides a massive 7/9 Storm for just 7 play points, offering a much more efficient top-end than its predecessor.

• Marion, Ravishing Dragonewt: Marion, Ravishing Dragonewt provides 7-Cost with essential mid-game interaction. His deals 4 damage to an enemy follower once your cemetery is sufficiently fueled with high-cost cards.

Wasteland

• Nirle, Draconic Prodigy: One of Wasteland Dragon's weaknesses is that it often needs to stay ahead of the opponent's curve. Nirle, Draconic Prodigy facilitates this by allowing you to ramp if you have a Mount token on your field. Additionally, if Overflow is active for you, her On Evolve effect evolves a different Wasteland follower on your field, primarily synergizing with Reggie, Peerless Artisan and her On Evolve effect.

Marine

• Swordsnout Trencher: While Marine support has been historically scattered, Swordsnout Trencher is the first of the deck's finishers, gaining Storm while Overflow is active for you.

• Fan of Otohime: Marine Dragon has steadily been receiving support, and Fan of Otohime offers versatile utility - it can either generate a Megalorca, or for an additional play point, deal 4 damage to an enemy follower if you have a Marine follower on your field.

Generics

• Forte, Blackwing Dragoon: Forte, Blackwing Dragoon is slightly different from her first iteration, as she innately features Storm and Intimidate, only gaining Aura if you have 10 max play points - she is still difficult to interact with for a number of decks, and that makes her a mainstay for any aggressive Dragon deck.

• Little Dragon Nanny: Little Dragon Nanny adds consistency to aggressive Dragon decks, as she tutors out a Dragon's Nest through her On Evolve effect, and if you the Dragon's Nest, she summons a Fire Drake Whelp, which is hard to interact with simply because of Intimidate.

Abysscraft

Necrocharge is the primary focus of BP16's Abyss support, but the introduction of Yuna, Occult Hunter provides a much-needed boost to Vampire Abyss's early game.

Necrocharge

• Cerberus, Hellfire Unleashed: Cerberus, Hellfire Unleashed is a returning fan-favorite, and she brings her iconic companions, Coco, Left Paw Hellhound and Mimi, Right Paw Hellhound, along for the ride. Coco and Mimi provide essential healing and board interaction, fueling the deck's Necrocharge requirements.

• Mukan, Shadowcrypt Ward: Healing is essential to surviving aggressive decks, and Mukan, Shadowcrypt Ward provides a staggering amount. His On Evolve effect allows you to summon a Departed follower that costs 3 or less from your cemetery, with Gold Rush Ghost, Greatpick Corpse, and Wretch being some of the most potent. His Super-Evolution grants even more pressure by summoning a second Departed follower and giving it Assail, allowing for an immediate mid-game tempo swing. Crucially, both Ghost tokens and many of the Wasteland followers are Departed, meaning Mukan's healing can spiral very quickly.

• Gold Rush Ghost: While burying itself seems like a downside, Gold Rush Ghost makes up for that by allowing you to either accelerate your Necrocharge or provide +1 and an Arcane Personnel Carrier token. If summoned from the cemetery, it can provide both, allowing Departed Abyss to have a persistent recursive Ward.

• Ceres, Blue Rose Maiden: As a rare tech in Departed decks, Ceres, Blue Rose Maiden offers either removal or disruption by forcing your opponent to discard a card. Notably, if you grant her Assail with Mukan's On Super-Evolve effect, she can remove any follower without Intimidate

Vampire

• Yuna, Occult Hunter: As Summon Bloodkin is core to the Vampire archetype, Yuna, Occult Hunter offers a consistent and valuable way to generate early Forest Bat tokens, keeping the pressure high while setting up your mid-game power plays.

Havencraft

BP16's Haven support leans heavily into the Amulet archetype, perfect for players who enjoy the 'time bomb' playstyle, while Rana, Dual Cannon Abbess provides a massive boost to the already formidable Wasteland Haven.

Amulet

• Rodeo, Anathema of Judgment: Rodeo, Anathema of Judgment serves as a unifying engine for Amulet Haven - his On Evolve effect cheats out a 3-cost (or less) Amulet directly from your deck - with Lapis, Shining Seraph being the premier target to jumpstart the Prayer Counter engine. His Super-Evolvution is a massive power spike, pulling a 5-cost (or less) Amulet to provide hard removal, while his passive healing helps keep you stabilized against aggressive boards.

• Lapis, Shining Seraph: Lapis, Shining Seraph is the core of the Prayer Counter mechanic, serving as the engine that enables your biggest payoffs. She accelerates Whitefang Temple to summon a follower earlier, Enstatued Seraph to tutor out two cards from your deck and give your leader +10, and boosting the value of Lapis, Glorious Seraph.

• Angelic Prism Priestess: While Amulet Haven runs a number of draw focused Amulets, Angelic Prism Priestess offers vital Follower-based cycle that, On Evolve, allows you to cheat out a 2 cost or less Amulet from your hand to maintain tempo.

• Salefa, Guardian of Water: 'Locking' enemy followers is a powerful way of delaying threats until you have the setup to take care of them, and Salefa, Guardian of Water allows you to lock two enemy followers, potentially allowing you to deal with them using powerful hard removal such as Themis's Decree.

• Serene Sanctuary: Since setting up Lapis, Shining Seraph is core to the Prayer Counter engine, Serene Sanctuary allows you to tutor her (and Darkhaven Grace if you already have her).

• Darkhaven Grace: Darkhaven Grace offers both hard removal that can be tutored out by Rodeo, Anathema of Judgment and a Luminary amulet that can be tutored out by Serene Sanctuary. The additional damage from its is helpful, but not quite necessary to shore up the deck's powerful lategame.

Wasteland

• Rana, Dual Cannon Abbess: Wasteland Haven is a very powerful aggressive archetype, with its only issue being potentially running out of steam. Rana, Dual Cannon Abbess offers a consistent way to tutor out any potential combination of Wasteland cards in order to help end the game - Anvelt, Judgment's Cannon alone if you're able to get full value from him, Selena, Sugarkiss Assassin and Revolver Eagle if you need to push for more damage, or countless other possibilities depending on what the situation demands.

Neutral

The Neutral support in BP16 offers three very distinct tools - Apollo, Heaven's Envoy as an anti-aggro card, Leah, Bellringer Angel as a simple Ward that cycles, and Ruler of Cocytus as a powerful control win condition.

Generics

• Apollo, Heaven's Envoy: Apollo, Heaven's Envoy offers a flexible solution to wide boards - his Fanfare and On Evolve both deal 1 damage to all enemies, giving decks without native board clears a fighting chance against aggressive strategies.

• Leah, Bellringer Angel: Leah is the spiritual successor to Bellringer Angel, sporting an extra point of , while also giving your leader +1 on her Last Words.

• Ruler of Cocytus: Ruler of Cocytus, at the cost of 6 damage to your leader, provides you with four very powerful tokens: Silent Rider, Servant of Cocytus, Demon of Purgatory, and Astaroth's Reckoning. While the cost may seem steep, in decks like Control Haven and Idol Rune, you typically have the to spare. Crucially, because these tokens go to the EX area, careful hand and zone management is required to ensure you don't 'burn' your finishers.

Conclusion

BP16: New World Genesis significantly expands the competitive landscape. Between the raw power of the Cocytus tokens and the tactical depth of the Super-Evolution mechanic, players have more agency than ever in how they navigate the late game.

May the New World Genesis be upon us!