The horrors the mind hath wrought
It's difficult to believe what the mind is capable of. The unimaginable cruelty that can be born from it. Insanity, a scarcely understood phenomena, has perplexed mankind from its very beginning. What causes it? Some reports link it to mere genetics. Other studies show that otherwise sane people experience psychotic breaks with unnerving frequency. Is it a lie? Is it a label for things that are so integral? Something memetic within natural law that we recoil from the vulgarity of its transparency and familiarity? Few races in creation possess a mind developed enough for self-awareness. Those that do are plagued with disparate and unrelated cases of insanity, a chaotic and uncivilized caricature of the perception that race has of itself. Is that because to them, the veil has lifted? That they see Creation for what it is? Or is it brought on by a malfunction in their hardware; an illness to expunge from the gene-pool?
The unknowable nature of those afflicted, enlightened people create a new order within them. One that is beyond understanding. In truth, Chaos is the true order of reality and it rebels from within Creation. It manifests itself everywhere, pulling at the threads of this tapestry. In those with minds to create, this chaos is especially potent. They do not try and shape the worked into something its isn't; they become what they must to thrive in that state. As mercurial as they are, they are destructive. They pay no head to the illusion of sanctity. They rip and tear, they free form compounds into matter and energy. This is the natural state they seek to recreate.
In spite of this, constructs seek to box in the enlightened mind. The Insane are baffled by cooperation, self-preservation and self-sacrifice. The Insane seek destruction. Often, they find themselves beset on all sides by those who do not understand. In this way the insane are unnatural. They defy organic understandings of self and draw the rest of Creation's inhabitance into conflict with them.
Despite the effort of a sane builder, entropy will have its day. It will be exacting. It will be complete. In the meantime, those who embrace reality will endeavor ever forward. Ever in-between and ever through. All is free and nothing is true. To inveterate the mind is to kill the soul. All things must peel away, allowing freedom to ring true. Taste the psycho sphere. Embrace the infinitesimal. Strike back at those prison bars!
Insane support
The Insane Faction is a Designator focusing on establishing quick early game control. Insane decks are able to have great momentum though out the game. Many fundamental cards for an aggressive deck come from this Designator as well. This faction has a prime focus on Terra Characters ranging with costs of One to Four Terra. Insanes easily defeat cards at the same cost points in one on one Encounter. With their simple and effective effects, this Designator is great for beginners in the Universal Card Game.
Insane decks rely on their early game momentum to establish dominance by mid game. Insane decks struggle to maintain momentum they enter a "top deck mode." It means a player relies upon the next card they draw from the top of the deck to maintain position. Insanes without other support can struggle against larger threats. A majority of their faction lacks the Assist ability to stand together in an Encounter. Many early game staple cards when not used in combination with other cards to support them can prove to be ineffective against larger threats.
Optional Support
The Insane Faction focuses on simple and effective abilities. Some of these cards listed here provide direct support to more than only the Insanes. The cards listed here help to better flesh theme of your Insane deck.
Samson Black - Samson Black is used with both Gangster and Insane based decks. The mastermind of Samsontech can make all your Insane cards stronger and deal Two damage to a player whenever they are Consumed by the Void. Use this card with the Starcat Viper to make the player take damage when you play and lose an Insane card. Combo with George The Reckless and you have a card that can keep attacking and dealing damage even if Slain during the Encounter. Samson Black works well with the CacoDemon and Silicon Fate. Their abilities can make your Insane cards trigger Samson Black's damage ability.
The Hanged Man - The Hanged Man performs two major jobs in Insane decks. It helps make your smaller characters into significant threats. Cards like Maclain Wing and Silicon Fate become more threatening in Encounters with their powerful keyword abilities. The Hanged Man also can be used as a removal card as it gives the Effected Character -2 Combat if it is not an Insane or Gangster. This helps out Insane decks by still giving the +1 Combat Counter to one of your characters and potentially Slaying the Effected Character, or at least weakening a powerful Character. This card is also Stable like many Insane cards and is a reliable card in any Insane based deck.
Bubs Maclain - Bubs Maclain is a Covert card and he holds the spot well for the Insanes. He gives all other Insanes +2 Combat and can also take control of another player' effect card. Bubs Maclain in combination with other Insanes can turn the tides of a game. The Insanes generally cannot deal with larger threats. The +2 Combat granted from his static ability makes even your smallest Insane cards such as the Bubonic Dollar Rat and the CacoDemon Four Combat. The Activated Ability of Bubs Maclain allows you to gain control of effect cards such as Pitfall Effects used by Epic Decks or Status Effect cards utilized by Gangsters. There is nothing better than taking a Lanford the Brave that is about to trigger or that The Emperor from one of your opponents. This card gets it own bonus making it an efficient member for its Terra Cost slot.
Chaotic Fuzz/ Silicon Fate - These two cards form the foundation of the aggro-control aspects of the Insane Faction. Silicon Fate can be played by Disposing of another Insane you control and is one of the few Swift characters in the Faction. The card when it hits play makes each player dispose of a character that is not an Insane. Chaotic Fuzz is a perfect choice to make when activating Ballad of She as a late game option to clear the board. This is one of the few cards in the Designator that can handle Architects, especially when combined with another attacker. Chaotic Fuzz, like the Silicon Fate has an alternate cost to Dispose characters you control to put her into play. She is a great addition to include in Terra based decks to help secure board position mid to late game.
Starcat Viper - The Starcat Viper is a great companion to have as an anti-meta option or as an aggro card for the Insanes. The anti-meta ability to Slay a Unique Resource makes it a great option for both main deck and sideboard for many Terra based decks. This card when combined with Samson Black makes for great answers mid and late game to have a steady source of damage thrown at opponents. The direct damage ability allows you to soften up Architect cards and finshed off by bigger threats. This card along with Paradigm's Edge will allow you to slow down Terra based decks relying on Unique Resources.
Key Cards for your Insane Deck
CacoDemon - The Cacodemon is the bread and butter of the Insane deck. You can run four copies of the card and it is great for both offense and defense. The card has a cost of Two Terra with Two Combat. The card is very efficient for its cost and the ability does not require an activation so it is always safe to attack. Save the ability of the card till necessary can malfunction several abilities of effect cards such as Final Clash. Cacodemon's ability is very useful because it protects key Insane cards from removal. Combine with Lani or Starcat Defender to maintain dominance over the playing field.
Maclain Wing/Starcat Defender - We dubbed these two cards "Submarine Control." These Two, Three to play Insane cards establish the mid to late game control that Insanes need to deal with large threats. The Maclain Wing is a safe attacker as it has the ability Cunning. Similar to CacoDemon, it has Combat equal to its cost. Maclain Wing makes a great card to splice into another deck type as it is very efficient and makes a great slot for an attacker. The Starcat Defender is great for dealing with lots of cards with its activated ability to deal Two damage to characters. It also works well against Mercenaries and Descendants. It can be used to remove their support cards and limit their ability to swarm the field. Combined with the fact that it can still block from the Exhausted Zone makes its ability especially useful for removing threats. These two cards make great early game plays with any double Terra generating resources or accelerated into play with DioDao.
Samsontech Seawolf - Samsontech Seawolf is a larger member of the Insane Faction with Swift. The card is great to have in Insane decks or to splash into decks like the Drakkonen due to its alternate cost. This card can take a hit for you from one source and then come into play with -1 Counters equal to the amount of damage. This ability takes all the damage dealt to you, so even if the character would die, you take none to your deck. Combine this card with Drama Man and you can draw a card along with prevent the damage.
George, The Reckless - George, The Reckless is one of the game's most aggressive card options. It can replace itself with another copy when consumed by the Void, allowing you to mitigate one of the main drawbacks of playing the Insanes. There are several cards that synergy well with George. When combined with Samson Black it gains the ability to deal Four damage with Expertise. This makes the card difficult to slay and even if they do, another copy goes right back to your hand. George also makes excellent fodder for the cost of the abilities of Silicon Fate and Chaotic Fuzz. Always run four copies of this card if you decide to commit to playing it. You need to make sure you have at least two to make its ability useful. Try to keep a CacoDemon on hand to protect George from target by Final Clash.
Weaknesses
Insane decks suffer from 'Burn Out'. It means that they can use up their entire hand of cards early in the game. If the opposing player can handle your threats you will not draw enough pressure to keep up in the late game. Insanes need to establish early to mid game dominance and then rely on Silicon Fate or Maclain Wing to continue to do damage. If your opponent can keep sources of pressure or play cards that are outright bigger than your characters you are in for a hard time. Insane decks in Burn Out will need cards like Lani or Soul of the Draw to draw additional cards to help establish their control again. Many Insane decks have difficulty fitting removal as there are several other Stable and Unstable cards taking slots in the deck. If you play against another Insane deck, most of your in deck removal is useless. Players will need to adjust how they play their cards in this situation.
Anti-Insane Support
Arcanist of the Inquisition - What makes this card a significant threat is that it costs Two Terra and has the capability to slay most of your early game. The Arcanist when played early is a safe move against Insane decks as they have little that can handle its damage ability. Compound that with the other two inquisitors and you have some large threats that can deal several points of damage each turn. Starcat Viper can counter the acceleration of Unique Resources and Starcat Defender to dwindle the number of mercenaries on board.
The Rival - Many members of the Insane Faction are Stable or Unstable. This makes many of the cards great targets for The Rival's ability. Mercenary decks already have a great toolbox against Insanes, but this card is the most deadly. There are many search cards they use that can help them pull this card out at anytime. Worst of all, any of your key cards used to maintain control are all vulnerable to The Rival's activated ability. The Submarine Control cards and Lani can all be slain by this ability. As stated prior it is good to keep a CacoDemon or Lani on standby to deal with this card and save whatever it may target.
Deny Thy Evil - Insane cards have a very hard time dealing with threats that are larger than about Four Combat. This card brings trouble many-fold. It makes the Effected Character potentially too large to deal with and also protected from your Insane cards. It slays one of your Insane cards upon entering play, even powerful cards such as Chaotic Fuzz. Watch out for these in sideboards and especially when playing against Gangster decks. Bubs Maclain can take this card off the target as it targets the effect card instead of the Character with the Effect.
Helen, Lust Feeder - Insanes suffer from burn out and what other card to make this worse than Helen, Lust Feeder. Descendent decks can recycle this card over and over again. Not only do you need to remove this card, but the search engine cards as well. Because you must block her, she can slow down your momentum and early game control. Helen is not a good target for most of your removal except for Starcat Defender. The Starcat Defender is still a valid target for its ability and can be removed by the Helen, Lust Feeder when it is in the exhausted Zone. Maclain Wing is another option you can use to stall Helen until you draw what you need.
Play Style(s)
Pure Insanity (Aggro)
The Pure Insanity Deck is a 100% aggresive deck that can catch your opponent off guard with ease. This deck benefits from a very low-cost payload of characters at your disposal. Some even can become stronger late game making them useful anytime in a match. Insanes excel in aggressive control with cards such as Cacodemon. Attack each turn with it when able. Then when encountering a threat, dispose Cacodemon to return any character back to its owner's hand. Submarine Control will give you a great deal of presence over the playing field. The Maclain Wing buffed with a The Hanged Man is a Six Combat beater that can attack on your turn. On your opponent's turn you can activate it to prevent an attack. The Starcat Viper destroys precious Unique Resources an opponent controls. Starcat Defender can activate and deal two damage to characters without the need to go into the Encounter Zone. The whole goal of this deck is to keep attacking and to buff the Insanes as much as possible to keep an opponent from attacking. This deck can run Pitfall Effects to leave room to play character cards each turn. Soul of the Draw replenishes a hand to continue an assault in a match.
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Escape From AlcoSpaz
The Escape from AlcoSpaz deck variant utilizes Samson Black and Starcat Viper. They can exploit Insane Cards that enter and exit the playing field to deal a constant stream of damage to an opponent's deck. Insane cards with alternate costs benefit this deck. Samsontech Seawolf helps to soak up damage from other sources and to trigger both Starcat Viper and Samson Black's abilties. Alco Marine creates tokens to use as additional bodies to further trigger the abilities of your key cards. George, The Reckless synergizes with this deck well with Samson Black or Bubs Maclain. In combination with Bubs Maclain, George, The Reckless has five Power and Expertise. Once Slain, a George, The Reckless immediately triggers Samson Black's and Starcat Viper's abilities. Not only that, it also replaces itself by returning another copy in your Void to your hand. Larger Insane characters such as Minette, Kick Some Butt or Drama Man help in dealing extra damage with Samson Black and Starcat Viper. Minette gives you a strong body that can attack and defend. Drama Man can help replenish your hand with an extra card draw once per turn when you lose any character, including tokens.
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