Louise Marcus SITUATION: While Louise Marcus is in play, if a player does not play an attack in his turn, he must discard a defense. At first glance, Louise Marcus appears like a fairly powerful card. If you use an attack deck, then you think, "If they don't attack, they're going to lose defenses. I should be able to hit them eventually." This is indeed Louise's main strength. And to some degree it is true. But perhaps not as much as one might think. For one thing, Louise affects _both_ players. This might not seem like a problem if you have an attack-oriented deck. However, all but the most attack-heavy of such decks can't keep up a constant barrage of attacks. Against a non-attack deck, for instance, you have no way to get rid of most of your defenses. Eventually they pile up to a point where it is hard to come by attacks. You will also have occasions when you have to play a Holy Ground, or use a Back Away or Dodge and find yourself unable to attack that turn. In all of these cases, you will find yourself discarding defenses to your own Louise. This may or may not hurt you. In fact, it may benefit you. Against a non-attack deck, if you can't play those defenses, this gives you a chance to get rid of them. However, that point is another weakness of Louise Marcus. If you are playing against a non-attack deck, they probably have ways to keep you from attacking. These methods include Pedestrian/Delay-2, Safe Haven/Situation, and Verona Italy. If they've stopped you from attacking, then _they_ have defenses that are taking up space in their hand. So every turn they don't attack, they get to discard a useless card and draw a new one. Ironically, players who use non-attack decks may actually wish to add Louise Marcus to their decks. You take the risk of losing a defense you may need if your opponent manages to make an attack. However, Louise will let you cycle cards to get to the cheese-type stuff that you want more quickly. And you can still play another card cycling Event, such as Holy Ground/TV, the same turn you discard due to Louise Marcus. Okay. So Louise isn't as powerful as she first seems. So what _is_ she good for? First of all, we noted that Louise Marcus is of little use if your opponent is using a "cheese" deck that keeps you from attacking. But if they are using a cheese deck that _doesn't_ keep you from attacking, she is of much greater use. This may seem unlikely, but it could happen. And if you are faced with a "lock" deck, Louise allows you to discard a defense and draw a new card every turn . . . hopefully getting that card you need to break the lock. If you have an attack-heavy deck and are playing an combative opponent, Louise can be quite useful. If you are fighting an opponent that uses Dodge and Back Away, they typically must discard a defense to Louise Marcus every time they dodge. Why? Because generally after playing these two dodges, they can't counter-attack. Back Away only allows Ranged Attacks, while Dodge can only be followed with an attack if a card like Combination, Extra Shot, Hook, or Follow-Up is used. So who will be using strategies that make an opponent Dodge and Back Away a lot? Amanda, for starters. An opponent may play a single dodge rather than two blocks to avoid her two attacks. This becomes more likely if Amanda gets Hidden attacks through the use of Jump, Mountain Cave, or Acrobat. Since Amanda can also make two attacks per turn, it is unlikely that she will be hurt by Louise Marcus. If she is running low on attacks and wants to avoid losing defenses, Amanda can simply make one attack per turn and stretch out her attacks in this manner. Speculating on Yung Dol Kim based on his two Quickenings ("You may play attacks as blocks." and "If you have an Extra Weapon in play, you may make an Exertion to play an additional attack."), we see that anyone using these Quickenings, and hopefully Kim himself, may want to use Louise. Not only does he have the ability to make multiple attacks, just like Amanda, but even if he has to discard defenses, he will still have attacks to use as defenses. These two Quickenings are not considered the most powerful: however, combine them with Louise Marcus and they become more useful. Dont' want to risk even relatively less powerful Quickenings? Use Parrying Blade and the Prize/Extra Attack to do the same thing. Any Persona that makes Hidden attacks can expect an opponent to Dodge or Back Away a great deal. This makes Louise Marcus an ideal card for Connor/Mountain Cave decks. It's also nice in conjunction with Trip. Louise combined with Master's Advance in this circumstance can be _very_ painful. They must discard a dodge to play a dodge, and since they probably can't attack, they must discard _another_ defense. The common defense used against the standard Combination and Extra Shot cards, as well as Hook, is a single Dodge or Back Away. Louise Marcus makes this an expensive choice. Some Personas _want_ their opponents to attack them. Annie Devlin is the best example. Her power only kicks in if her opponent succeeds with an attack. Louise Marcus provides an incentive for them to do so. Beware, however: Annie often wishes to delay attacking so that she can accumulate three attacks for when she can use her Persona ability. She can easily fall afoul of her own Louise Marcus. Annie is the best example, but anyone who wants to use Riposte and make it Hidden will want an opponent to attack them. This includes anyone using Iman Fasil's Quickening ("If you successfully block an attack, your next attack that turn may be Hidden."). By the same reasoning, when Fasil is released in a future expansion, he will want to use Louise Marcus as well. If you are up against a combat deck, keeping your opponent from attacking while making them discard defenses is a valid strategy. Slan decks often use Intimidate, Distraction, and Pedestrian/Delay-2 to immobilize an opponent offensively. Luther can do this as well, then make them expend their accumulated attacks rapidly by using Taunt. And Fitzcairn can keep an opponent from attacking by using Charm and Fast Talk. So Louise Marcus works well with these Personas as well. And finally, Louise Marcus is a discard-type card. Which means Nefertiri is immune to her, both when she is using it and when her opponent is. Combine this with her new Watcher's Chronicle card, Cunning, and you can hit an opponent with a double penalty for not attacking. Louise Marcus is _not_ quite as effective as Master's Advance, since that card forces you to specifically discard a dodge. On the other hand, Louise doesn't take up a Master slot, either. And you can more easily play with multiples of her for the same reason. Louise Marcus is an Ally. However, she affects both players equally, so there is no real reason for an opponent to take her. She is a bit more vulnerable to cards that remove Allies, however. On the other hand, if you have a strategy that requires Allies, she is a good one to include. Unlike cards like Carl or Rachel Ellenstein, she is not a "discard to use" card. So, overall, we see that Louise can backfire on you. However, she is remarkably versatile. She can be used with almost any Persona. She can be used in attack decks and non-attack decks. Due to the backfire possibility she should be considered carefully, but she _should_ be considered for practically any deck you build. So Steve gives this card a _6_. She is not overwhelmingly powerful, but she can chip away at an opponent's defenses, and lends herself to many strategies. What Our Other Raters Say: Jeff - A card that might be a nice counter to cheese decks... if TCG hadn't printed Safe Haven and Verona -- and if they'd allow it to stack. Unfortunately, with the "metagame" scene as it is, there are plenty of other cards I'd rather use the slots for. Hank - Great card with attack decks (Slan, Kurgan, et al). A staple for many of my decks. Ratings Overall: Steve 6 Ben [Abstain] Jeff 4 Rick [Abstain] Hank 8 Alan [Abstain] Jim [Abstain] Chip [Abstain] Average: 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------