In reviewing this deck, I am assuming that the reader is familiar with the basics of how Blue Moon is played. I will attempt to give an idea of what it is like to play with this deck, its strengths and weaknesses, and what makes it different than other decks.

Artwork:

The Pillar wear unusual, brownish armor, against a bluish, green background. The artwork is precise, yet adds to the mystery of exactly what this race is about. There names, however, shatter the mystery with faux-Latin gag names like Smartia Pantia and Bigus Musselus. The names are out of place, but I like everything else about the artwork of this deck.

Play:

The Pillar are described as a mysterious people, and getting into playing their deck is a little mysterious as well. On the surface they would seem to be able to trounce most decks with their powerful boosters and special power text. That is not always the case though, and you have to play them with care, or you can find yourself being trounced. Having said that does not mean that I have found a foolproof method of playing them--they are still a bit of a mystery--but a very interesting one.

The Pillar have 9 boosters and fifteen character cards, so boosters play a huge role in augmenting character cards, but some of them also have special power text, unique to the Pillar, including forcing your opponent to disclose his hand; and Caterpillar cards, which force your opponent to discard a specific value of an element. There are a lot of decisions to make in this deck about when it is best to use some of these special texts and how to combine cards to your advantage, and that is what places this deck much closer to the Khind and the Flit, than say the Mimix or Terrah.

What follows is a description of the cards found in this deck:

Character Cards Without Special Power Text: There are eleven cards with no special power text, although one of them has an icon. Their highest value in either element is six (6/2, 2/6), and some unbalanced cards (4/0, 4/1, 1/4, 1/5, 0/5); however, the boosters in this deck can improve these values considerably. It is mainly a matter of having the character card to go with the booster.

The Mimix traitor (3/3) in this deck is especially good as it has a shield in both earth and fire.

Character Cards With Special Power Text: There are four character cards with special power text, with values of 1/2, 2/2, 2/2, 2/1. The text is very powerful: one allows you to double the effects of a caterpillar (forcing your opponent to make a very siginificant discard to continue fighting); another allows you to play an additional booster; another allows you to retrieve a card from your combat area; and the other prevents your opponent from taking further cards into their hand for their turn.

Boosters: Three of the booster cards are Caterpillar cards which force your opponent to discard either: 2 earth and 2 fire on separate cards; 5 fire or five earth; 3 fire. Your opponent must discard the required amount by the end of their booster/support phase or retreat. The Caterpillar cards also have the free icon, so they can be played when you initiate a fight, or in conjunction with other boosters as a death blow.

Five of the boosters affect your earth and fire values: increasing fire or earth values of a character card to six; doubling the values of a character card; allowing you to use the higher of your card's two values for the contested element; allowing you to add the two values of your cards.

The other booster forces your opponent to disclose her hand, and this is a very powerful tactic.

Support: Two of the support cards have values of 2/2, and one has the free icon, while the other is retrievable. The other support card prohibits your opponent from playing character or booster cards that have special power text.

Leadership: The Pillar's two leadership cards are excellent. One forces your opponent to disclose his hand; the other allows your active card to attack again. This card has the stop icon, so you cannot add to your combat or support areas in their second attack.

Mutant: The mutant has powerful values, 6/6, and can be played if your opponent has six cards in his combat and support areas.

Strategy/Tactics:

What makes this deck interesting is also what can sometimes make it difficult to play, and might turn people off this deck. Playing this deck you can easily find yourself saying "If only I had such and such a card, or if only I hadn't already played such and such a card." There are some ideal combinations in this deck, but you are not going to get them all.

Forcing your opponent to disclose her hand is extremely useful, and if you can space out the booster and leadership card that allow you to do this, you can have at least partial disclosure for a significant portion of a game. The initial disclosure gives you total information for the subsequent turn (the leadership card can sometimes guarantee you a dragon), but whatever remains out there on subsequent turns at least keeps fresh in your mind what still has not been played. Suffice it to say that this mechanic gives you a good advantage.

There are a number of lethal combinations in this deck, as well as some just solid cards and combinations. For example the character card that doubles the effect of a caterpillar, when you can actually combine it with a caterpillar, can force a retreat. The leadership card that allows you to attack again, used to attack again with a high score, or a caterpillar, can bleed your opponent white. The booster card that allows you to add your values, or the one that allows you to double your values, is excellent if you have a character card with values worth adding or worth doubling. The fact that caterpillars are free means that you can add firepower to your war of attrition and really hit your opponent hard. You can also get up to six cards fairly easily with this deck.

However, waiting around for a first rate booster/character combination can be disappointing. Often you don't have as good a selection of character cards as you do of boosters/support cards, so you don't get the best combinations. But if you rely on the careful use of what is always good: disclosure, relatively high character cards, and intelligent, if not ideal, use of booster cards you should do fairly well. You will also get some killer combinations from time to time.

The Pillar can have a pretty good endgame. If you're ahead, Caterpillars can make short work of your opponent's comback attempts. You may not have as many cards as your opponent, depending on what race he is playing, but you may be more likely to pull off a higher score, or a decisive play near the end of the game.

Conclusion:

What makes this deck different makes it interesting to play; however, if there is a deck that has an equal frustration factor for both the person playing it and the person playing against it, this is the deck.

The Pillar can pull some dirty tricks akin to the Khind or the Hoax, but they don't seem as well assimilated into this race; hence when playing this deck you sometimes win big, but you can also lose big. It is a deck well designed enough that I always feel that better tactics are just around the corner, but I also feel that this deck, more than the others, also involves a little more luck of the draw to play well.

I don't have a big problem with that, but some may find that more frustrating. I alway look forward to playing this deck and give it an 8.