Cloudchaser and Flitter Explain: Top 10 Friends Forever Cards
But you said—
Hi everypony! Are you ready for the next set to drop? Because Cici and I sure are!
When Cici isn’t freaking out about what deck to run for continentals, that is.
I’m not freaking out. I’m deliberately taking my time analyzing my choices so I can pick the deck that’ll let me win continentals this year.
Got it narrowed down yet?
...No.
That’s our Cici, always worrying until the last possible moment.
But anyway, as much as I’d love to tease Cici about her deck, we just don’t have the time! Leaders and Legends is right around the corner, and we’ve not given you all our top 10 lists for Friends Forever yet.
So let’s get right to it! Cici?
Oh, right!
What do you call a Pegasus wearing a—
I said we have no time for jokes, Cici! I mean what’s your first card?
Oh, okay.
So I wasn’t ever sure when we’d get to this, so I’d been kind of updating my list throughout the year. And, uh, there have definitely been a lot of changes… And not just because of the Banlist. My original #1, for example, is much lower…
But the actual ten cards haven’t changed much. They honestly weren’t that hard to figure out.
Well, top 11 if you count Old Money. But banned cards don’t really count anymore…
Anyway, my top 10 card is Lacking Lesson Plans
Huh. WIth how much you’d been ranting and raving about that card when the set first came out, I’d have thought it’d be much higher.
Well it was! Originally, anyway.
The fact that it let so many Manes flip through Tempest seemed great at first. I was looking forward to breaking in some new Manes and see what they could do!
But in practice, it’s not really enough. Tempest’s opening Grubber: Minion play can still slow them down enough to where they’re not flipping early, or still deny req, or what have you. So it’s really only helpful for the absolute most aggressive confront to flip Manes.
I just wanted more, you know?
If you don’t think it does enough, why’s it on your list, then?
Huh? No, it’s amazing.
I basically include it in all my decks nowadays!
But you said—
While, yeah, it doesn’t really enable many more confront to Flip Manes, it’s still incredibly valuable for decks that confront a lot, just because being able to ignore Troublemakers is really good.
It’s basically to the point where as long as strong Troublemaker control decks are in the meta, you basically have to run 2 of these!
It’s a problem the game’s needed for awhile now, and it’s great to see it in action. So yeah, not as high as I originally thought, but still an easy number 10.
So unlike silly old Cici, I had a lot more trouble narrowing down my top 10 cards! There’s so many fun arts and flavour texts and I love the set for that!
But on the other hoof, there weren’t actually a lot of silly fun build around cards in the set. So there’s not a lot of those my list.
But that’s okay, because the art is just so fun and I love it, hehe. And let’s start with Skipping Class!
Uhh, what’s fun about that?
Oh come on, Cici. It’s six best friends just hanging out together and having fun in the sun, relaxing without a care in the world.
So ditching school is something you endorse then?
Well, no…
But it’s still nice seeing them enjoying each other’s company. It’s very relaxing!
It was a tough call between this and another similar art, but I just had to go with this in the end. Paving the way for a new generation!
Which other card?
I can’t tell you that, Cici! These are top ten lists, not top eleven lists!
There’s no harm in mentioning your runner ups, though.
Top. Ten.
Okay, okay, sheesh.
Moving on, my number 9 will likely surprise no pony for being on this list: The Fire of Friendship.
Oooh, that’s a good one!
The Fire of Friendship lives in our hands! As long as it’s there, we foil Grubber’s plans!
Uhh, yeah, actually. Basically exactly that.
When Tempest fist hit the scene, she was infamous for locking ponies out of Entry thanks to Grubber frequently showing up turn 1. Now there’s a card that helps fight that, thanks to Fire of Friendship, being Entry that protects your entire hand.
It even works against other discard effects like Rarity: Soprano and can work with your own discard synergies like Tank: Burrower.
Not costs, though. If you want to exhaust Apple Bloom: Re-Markable to reduce the cost of a card, you can still discard Fire of Friendship to do it, but you can’t put it into play. Since costs can’t be replaced.
Sure, but that’s not the worst thing ever.
It’s still incredibly versatile while still being helpful Entry that does double duty for protecting your hand.
It does only provide 2 req unlike Singing Barrel and Motivational Speech, which is a notable downside. But if you build your deck accounting for that, it shouldn’t be a major issue.
So, yeah. Good card. Goes in a lot of decks. Highly recommend it.
It’s my number nine.
Or is it five or seven?
Kettle Corn’s so cute!
What was that all about.
Silly Cloudchaser!
Everypony else get it.
Check her cutie mark.
Okay...
Anyway, Kettle Corn is just absolutely precious! The haikus, the circles, the combinations of the two. She’s also one of Rumble’s new friends! What’s not to love?
I suppose she’s not bad entry either. Not amazing, but, you know. Respectable.
Whatever makes you recognize she’s amazing!
...That it?
That’s it! Kettle Corn’s just fun is all!
Uhh, guess I’ll move on, then?
So these next three are all pretty similar cards. Just a bit different in application each. But they’re all on the list for the same reason, more or less.
I was originally going to put them all as a tie, but Flitter said my list had to be exactly ten cards...
Top. Ten. It’s not that hard, Cici!
So here we are with Daring Do: Crafty Collector as my number 7.
Did you know A.K. Yearling was secretly Daring Do this whole time? I was so surprised!
Nah, it was definitely obvious. I knew all along.
Hehe, sure you did Cici.
I did!
Anyway, Daring Do is… kind of nuts. The amount of AT value she can provide you is just incredibly high. An AT every time you can confront with her, and saving an AT every time you need to move her to a problem.
Which, if you confront that turn, gets you the AT you spent on moving her right back.
The only reason she’s the lowest of these three is because if you can’t confront with her, due to eccentric or a TM or whatever, she’s not doing much for you. You can’t just exhaust her for AT like most other common AT gens. So she definitely has the worst floor...
But when she’s at full capacity, she’s just fantastic, and definitely worth a slot on the list.
So, to properly introduce the next card on my list, we’ll need an expert on fashion.
Gee, where could we find one of those in this town?
Well, Cici, you’re in luck! Since, as everypony knows, I happen to be a fashion expert!
You are?
Of course I am, Cici! That’s why you always see me in this bow! It’s the absolute pinnacle of fashionably cute.
...I genuinely have no idea if you’re making this up or not.
So, as a pony who knows all things fashionable, I am proud to present to you my next card, Rarity: Shine on the Inside.
...Another Eccentric 1 entry?
Yup! Quite the coincidence, don’t you think?
No. I’m pretty sure you’re doing this just to mess with me.
An added bonus!
But no, I just really like the art they got for these cards!
Plus, you’ve gotta admit Rarity looks fantastic with a three colour mane. And she just rocks that jacket!
If you say so…
I do say so! Your turn!
Hold on, let me just brace myself for the oncoming onslaught.
Onslaught?
You’ll see.
So, uh, my next card is, uh, us.
Eeeeeeeee!
Hug. Too. Tight.
Just look at how adorable we were back then! And that flavour text is so us! Right down to you being moody about not coming in first place, hehe.
I don’t get moody…
Yeah, just like that!
Anyway, uh, this card is pretty good.
Eh, who am I kidding. We’re amazing.
And you’re not just saying that cause it’s us, are you?
Nope. I looked at every card in the set and decided this legitimately deserved to be included. It’d have the same position even if it were Gyro on the art.
You shouldn’t joke about that, Cici. He’s been complaining again lately he still only has one card...
But yeah, this is basically everything I wanted in a Blue Yellow card! Saving AT, giving extra power to confront, 1 play reqriement so you can play it early with Trading Traditions. What more could a girl want?
It’s even an Immediate ability, allowing you to combo with Hasty Friends, or even just exhaust on the opponent’s turn to avoid a single problem faceoff. It’s just a great card!
That being said, unlike Daring Do and the next card, this doesn’t actually give you AT. If you don’t have Friends to play, you’re not getting as much value as you’d like.
But on the other hoof, you can get value out of us basically every turn so long as you can play Friends. Unlike Daring Do, who needs a free problem. And it’s in a colour combination that kind of needed it more. So despite not giving actual AT, I think overall we’re the better card.
So it gets your stamp of approval?
Absolutely!
Know what gets my stamp of approval?
Uhhh, cakes?
Uh, sure, but not what I was getting at?
Pancakes?
Are you hungry Cici?
A little.
Anyway, what I was trying to get at is that Sorry Stamp gets my stamp of approval!
Didn’t we just talk about that the other day?
Sure did! Aren’t you sorry I didn’t stamp your forehead back then?
This better not go where I think it’s going.
I wouldn’t dream of it!
Anyway, despite the sad nature of the stamp itself, this art just makes me smile! It’s just kind of ridiculous going around with a stamp like that on your head, you know?
Plus, just look at Princess Twilight’s face! It’s just wonderful!
Shouldn’t you, you know, be sad that she’s sad or something?
Well, I am! A little bit. Twilight is genuinely very sorry about the situation she found herself in...
But the whole thing is also pretty ridiculous, so it makes me smile a little too. And I think a card that can evoke both emotions at once is pretty amazing, don’t you?
Sure, I guess.
Well, I like it a lot, and that’s good enough for my list.
Yeah, for sure. Your list is your list.
As for my list, well, I’m sure everypony’s already guessed my number 6 card based on what I’ve said in my picks for the 7 and 8 spots. Starlight Glimmer Guidance Counselor.
Which is honestly kind of surprising. At first, ponies thought she was only going to be so-so since there were already a ton of good AT generator options out there, like Princess Twilight Sparkle: Cover to Cover. Plus she costs 3, which means it takes a long time for her to pay for herself.
But in practice, she’s definitely proven to be an absolute all star.
I think you mean an “All Starlight”, Cici!
Sure...
So, to explain why people weren’t that excited about her at first… In the Seaquestria and Beyond Meta, ponies had the mentality that 5-6 AT generators was usually enough. More than that and you were diluting your deck with too many AT gens and not enough other cards that do other things.
Turns out, uhhh, that was just plain wrong. And in the Friends Forever Meta, we’ve seen decks with 8, 12, and even 18 AT generators! And almost every one of those decks was running Starlight here.
So what changed? Well I’ll get to one of those reasons later in the list, but the other thing is just there are so many good AT gens now, that running as many as you can just means you can have a tremendous advantage over your opponent.
I mean, which pony’s more likely to win? The one getting 3 AT a turn or the one getting 9?
Probably the one getting 9, yeah… You can’t catch up if you’re doing only a third of what the opponent’s doing.
Basically, yeah. Once you’re generating at least 2 more AT than the opponent, chances are you’re a mile ahead. At 3, it’d take a miracle for the opponent to beat you.
Anything past that and you’ve basically already won the game, regardless of what the scores are.
Unless it’s 14-0! Then they might still have a chance! Hehe.
Okay, in the vast majority of circumstances.
Anyway, Glimmer is incredibly key in these strategies for two reasons. First is her 1 req, allowing her to be played early even without flipping your Mane. So you can get her out turn 2 and start getting an influx of AT ASAP.
Second, turns out that 3 power is really helpful. Like Filly Racers, you get the benefit of a lot of power to confront in addition to increasing your AT economy. This has actually sped up a lot of slower Purple strategies. Cover to Cover’s 0 power doesn’t help confront, but Glimmer absolute does.
Also, being mono-coloured means she’s a lot easier to play than Filly Racers or Daring Do, giving her that much more utility. And, well, that goes a long way towards making it on my list, really.
So would you say she guides people to victory?
Hey, yeah! I get that one.
Hehe. Way to go Cici! Rah rah!
“Rah rah?”
Cici, Cici, she’s our Mare! Her deck will take Continentals unawares.
Why thank you!
Though I’m not sure it will. I mean, Nothing I’m considering is really that out of the ordinary…
Wait… you’re doing something weird to set up the next card, aren’t you?
Is it that weird for me to be my besty’s cheer squad?
...No? But I can’t shake this feeling...
Maybe I should wear a mask of you at Continentals like Rainbow Dash’s Parents in Cheering Section?
Please don’t…
But look at them! They’re so happy! Giving their daughter their full support, 110%! 220% even!
That makes even less than 110%.
Don’t be silly, Cici. There’s two of them, so of course it’s 220%.
You might even say it’s 20%—
Don’t.
Spoilsport.
But no, seriously, I love seeing Rainbow’s parent so into supporting her. It’s all sorts of heartwarming, and just fun! Such an easy inclusion for my list, hehe.
Yeah… I guess that would be nice.
Oh no, Cici. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.
No, no. It’s fine. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just miss them sometimes, you know?
Of course.
But now’s no time to worry about that. We’ve got our top 10 lists to complete, and I’m finally done with the AT gens.
And next up’s an absolute juggernaut! Daybreaker: Blinding Light!
Oooh, she’s a fun one, yeah.
I’m not sure I like the idea of Princess Celestia going evil at all...
But it’s just pretend, so it’s okay, right?
I’m sure no matter what happens, Celestia’d never turn her back on us.
But anyway, this card is just fantastic.
While you don’t get as many points from a single faceoff as you would from a Night Glider: Overpowering, you also don’t need to win by any threshold. Plus she works in any faceoff, meaning she can score you points off of Troublemakers, or any other faceoff she finds herself in.
And of course, she brings a lot more power to those faceoffs, due to her extra base power and extra point of Competitive. 6 is a lot of power for a 3 cost Friend.
She does cost more, though, and, again, gives fewer points. So there are definitely reasons to use Night Glider over her.
But all in all, she’s different enough to be a great option for different kinds of decks. And a very solid number 5 pick for me.
My number 5 pick also also very competitive.
Huh, really? You tend to pick build arounds or just flavourful stuff.
I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s the most competitive card in the set?
Heh, we’ll see about that.
I mean, just look at the fierce competition going on in Smolder & Sandbar: Pillow FIght!
I… should have seen this coming.
Probably.
But just look at how much fun they’re having! Whap! Pow! Hehehehe.
Hey Cici! Think fast!
Gah!
You almost hit me.
Well, yeah! That is the point of a pillow fight, silly.
Great reflexes, though.
Thanks! We’ve been training a lot lately, and—
Ow.
You shouldn’t close your eyes in a pillow fight, silly!
Oh it’s on now, Flitter! Come here!
Don’t you have a list to finish?
Oh, right. I guess I’ll have to get you later.
I look forward to it.
So this next one, when she was spoiled, I could have sworn was going to be the top of my list. She seemed insane, and exactly what the game needed. And, well, she is. Mage Meadowbrook: Pillar of Healing is the answer a lot of decks were looking for.
Which is why it’s a shame she’s only number 4.
Which isn’t to say she’s not as good as I thought. It’s just, well, other cards wound up being a bit better than I expected. Cause Meadowbrook is absolutely insane.
There are a ton of great Resources out there right now. And Troublemakers have basically always been a problem for aggro decks. It’s kind of what they’re for. And while there have been a few cards that can deal with one or the other before, there’s never been one that deals with both.
And definitely not one that just deals with them all. Unless the opponent has a Desert Road, Meadowbrook just answers everything, no questions asked. And she even comes with a 3 power body to help you confront that turn. She’s amazing.
Plus, just look at that action pose!
Resources and Troublemakers beware, Mage Meadowbrook is coming for you!
Now she is a bit expensive, and she’s not all that great against decks that don’t rely on resources or TMs, so not every deck’s going to want her. But if you’re in Yellow, you should definitely consider her. Nopony does what she does nearly as effectively.
She may not be an all star, but what she does do, she excels at.
Well your number 4 may be a specialist, but mine’s a generalist: Ocellus: Master of Disguise.
She does a little bit of everything!
Sure, but why’s that fun?
Cause mix and matching abilities is just super fun! And you get a different combo of abilities every time, or at least in a different order, hehe.
Agile and Swift and Showy and Dilligent and Eccentric. There’s a lot of fun possibilities!
Kind of disappointed Purple’s is just Meticulous cause it doesn’t really synergize with the other 5 as well, but it’s not bad, I guess.
Plus they brought Transform back just for her and Silverstream! That’s one of my favourite mechanics!
Yeah, it’s not bad.
and for maximum fun, just stick an Alicorn Costume on her. Then she’s automatically fully enabled!
So long as you don’t put any resources on anypony else, of course.
Since when do you suggest not putting resources on Friends?
Not every silly strategy works with every other silly Strategy, Cici.
Alternatively, you could just put all the hats on Ocellus. That way you won’t have a problem!
Uh huh. No way that could go wrong.
Are you doubting the power of my hats, Cici?
Anyway, moving on to the top 3. And, considering how good my top 4 card was, you know the rest have got to be pretty amazing. Pony of Shadows: Pure Darkness is no exception.
The sheer raw value you get out of this card is insane. That’s 1 AT for a Friend. 1! By passing all colour req and everything. And it doesn’t even matter who beats the Pony of Shadows.
Sure, it does need to be beaten, but if you build your deck right, that’s not too hard. And if the opponent beats it, they only get 1 point while you get what’s likely to be an incredibly powerful Friend.
Now I’ve seen some ponies try and use this to put some of the 5 cost tri-colour alicorns into play…
Like me! I’ve done that!
...but it’s honestly not really worth it. They tend to be difficult to play if ever drawn, and usually you don’t have a guarantee you’ll even hit one.
The better way to use it, honestly, is to just include a bunch of medium-cost friends that you’re okay with drawing or with playing for free. This way you’re happy if you draw them or if you get them off of Pony of Shadows.
Farming decks particularly get a lot of usage from this as they can defeat it, then put a large friend into play at another problem with an epic and have a good chance at beating that too. Plus farm decks don’t tend to run all that many friends, so you increase the odds of getting what you want.
I’ve even seen some farm decks run exactly one kind of friend to guarantee hitting it. The results can be a bit scary.
I like using Purple effects like Scope Things Out to stack my deck so I know what Friend I’m getting!
Yeah, that’s not a bad plan either. Though usually you don’t have to. It’s just handy.
Anyway, give it a try. It seriously does a lot more than you might think at first glance. And you probably think it does a lot. I’ve seriously been incredibly impressed with how good it is.
My number three pick is also great value at 1 AT! Rockhoof: Pillar of Strength
Want to guess how many coutners I’ve put on him, Cici?
Nah. I’m going to guess some big number and you’re just going to top it with some ludicrously large number like eighty trillion or something.
Oh, Cici. You always think so small.
Eighty trillion is a lot!
Sure, but we got him to eighty trillion and one
...You’re kidding me.
Of course, that’s when we were just doing silly things to see how big we could get him, hehe. And we kinda just started rounding once it got too big, hehe.
In a normal match, I think it was maybe 100 or so?
That’s still way bigger than you need…
Well, yeah, Cici! That’s what makes him so fun! Rockhoof just refuses to not be the biggest pony around, it’s great!
But what’s even better than just growing Rockhoof yourself is dueling Rockhoofs! You have one at 2 power and have your opponent have one at 3 power and they’ll never stop trying to best each other. It’s great!
“I’m the biggest pony around!” “No, I’m the biggest pony!” hehehe.
Are you quite done?
Yup! I have more power than you, so I’m not growing anymore this turn.
Wah?
Just go, Cici!
So I think a lot of ponies underestimated this next card at first. A couple other cards did a pretty similar thing, and so it was a lot easier to dismiss.
But then ponies started using it and found out, wow, it was absolutely the real deal. And now School Shut Down is a staple in basically any Purple control deck.
So the cards it was being compared too, obviously, were Party of One and Applejack: Captain of the Seven Seas, being the previous board wipes. Each of which was, and still is, very good, but left you with something, while School Shut Down does not.
But the thing is, it gets rid of everything. Nothing stays behind, short of Persistent Friends. Not even discard piles! And that can matter a lot too. It’s definitely not as great as Party of One if your only goal is to get rid of Friends. But that’s not its only purpose.
It’s almost like different cards can have different strengths and weaknesses!
Heh, yeah, exactly.
Being in the colour that gains lots of AT certainly helps as well. Especially in the current meta with basically all the AT Gens. It may be more Expensive than Party of One, but that’s not always a factor when you’re getting extra AT.
And I guess that’s it. It’s a board wipe. It gets rid of everything. That’s all you need to be a super strong card, really.
Well, we’re at the third and last card on my list because it’s just pure fun: Silverstream: Fish out of Water!
Nopony else in the game does what she does, hehe.
Huh. I wouldn’t have even begun to assume that Silverstream would have made your list, let alone as your number 2. She seems kind of… tame.
Are you kidding? Silverstream is insane!
With the right deck, she’s an invitation to put whatever problem you want into play! Or even all of them!
Please tell me you didn’t put all 20 problems at once.
Oh, Cloudchaser. Still thinking so, so small.
We worked together to put all 116 problems in play at once!
116?
Yup! 3 copies each of all sixteen dilemmas for each player. Plus both players 10 problems, of course. That makes 116!
It was the biggest multi problem faceoff ever!
Whatever makes you happy, I guess.
Of course, that’s not the best thing you can do with Silverstream. But I’ll tell you about dismissing problems and uniqueness later, hehe. It’s a whole lot of nonsense.
Wha?
Basically, Sivlerstream lets you do a lot of fun and silly things that couldn’t be done before. And, well, Cici, you may not know this… but I just love fun and silly things!
I think I may have heard that once or twice.
Cici, you made a joke! I’m so proud of you!
Gah! No hugs while we’re doing top 10 lists!
All the hugs while we’re doing top 10 lists!
So we’re finally at my last card and, uh... yeah. All of you probably guessed it’s Mistmane: Pillar of Beauty.
Now, I wasn’t sure she was all that great at first, but the fact she does four different things across two abilities is what makes her absolutely insane. Four. That’s a lot of things for one card to do, and they’re all notable.
Sure, she’s primarily used for her ability to get you a card back while also getting you a point, but that’s only half of what she can do. She also can get herself out from the discard pile while filling it with stuff you might want to get back. Not to mention also filling the opponent’s discard pile.
This makes it incredibly difficult to get rid of her short of banishing her.
Most of you are also probably aware of the fact that being Unique lets you use two of them to just score a point for every 3 AT you spend. Having 2 in play means one is dsimissed immediately due to Uniqueness, and then can be gotten back thanks to her Trigger.
Then, since you’re back where you started just with 3 less AT and 1 more point, you can do it again. And again. And again.
Put simply, she is a finisher, and very effective at it in this meta of a million AT gens. 3 AT per point is kind of expensive, but if you can stall the game long enough to be able to do it 8 or 10 times in one turn, the cost begins to not matter much anymore.
How often does that happen? Seems unlikely.
More often than you’d think or I’d like…
Now she does come with the drawback of letting the opponent get a card back as well, but…
It usually doesn’t matter. Ponies tend not to play Mistmane if the opponent can get something important back, unless they don’t care. It’s mostly meaningless. Kind of disappointing, really.
Long story short, she is incredibly versatile while also being exceptionally good at a single thing, which isn’t a combination you see very frequently. She’s trivially the best card in the set, even more so than Old Money, who got banned.
Which isn’t to say I think she should necessarily be banned…
But I wouldn’t mind it.
Cici!
I just don’t find her very fun to play against.
But that’s just me. I’ve actually heard a lot of ponies talking about wanting to ban her... But I don’t think it’s necessary. At least not yet since rotation is right around the corner. Which isn’t something we need to get into today.
We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess. And it’s not like every powerful card needs to be something I like specifically or anything.
Different cards appeal to different ponies.
Exactly! Part of what makes a card game great.
I do hope she’s being watched for the possibility of banning, if only because a lot of ponies think it might be necessary. But I doubt it’ll need to happen any time soon.
And that’s my whole list. Lots of powerful stuff this time around. Mostly good stuff too.
Well, my last card’s one we don’t even need to talk about…
Wah?
...Since Cici already did that for me!
Look! it’s us again!
Heh, yeah, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
It’s always nice seeing us on a card, and this one’s particularly nice.
Plus we’re just so gosh darn cute! Filly us is the best!
Shame I was wearing the bow that day and not you. That was back when we were taking turns, remember?
Flitterrrrrrr.
But yeah, I don’t really have much more to say that I didn’t already say when Cici talked about us! We’re adorable, we work great together, and we’re the perfect team. Always!
Always and always.
So, that’s our lists! Now if you’ll excuse us, Cloudchaser’s got a lot of freaking out to do now that there’s nothing else to do between now and Contientals.
I do not freak ou—
Gah, Continentals is like 2 days away and I have so much playtesting I need to do! Why did I let you waste so much time trying to teach me how to tell dumb jokes? I’ve got to go now! Later Flits.
That’s our Cloudchaser, hehe.
Bye everypony! See you all at Continetals!