UNION ARENA: Byakuya Kuchiki Deck
Byakuya was one of the most eagerly anticipated attackers in the game when UNION ARENA first came out. However, since then the Ichigo build has become the preferred way to build BLEACH Purple. That being said, Byakuya has a lot going for it as a deck, although it is harder to pilot which could help explain why it is a little less popular.
Byakuya has so much going on with it that it can be a little tricky to get used to how to actually play him competitively and win. However, if you can master some of this deck’s mechanics, you can come out firing fast out the gate and dismantle your opponent’s strategy before they can build up the resources to stop you.
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Uryu Ishida (BLC-1-034): 4
Byakuya Kuchiki (BLC-1-048): 4
Renji Abarai (BLC-1-045): 4
Orihime Inoue (BLC-1-035): 4
Akon (BLC-1-044): 3
Rukia Kuchiki (BLC-1-052): 3
Mayuri Kurotsuchi (BLC-1-054): 4
Soi Fon (BLC-1-055): 4
Renji Abarai (BLC-1-047): 4
Byakuya Kuchiki (BLC-1-049): 4
Rukia Kuchiki (BLC-1-053): 3
Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (BLC-1-065): 3
Bankai (BLC-1-066): 4
Byakuya deck primary strategy – BP reduction
Unlike the Ichigo BLEACH Purple deck that focuses on outright card removal, the approach you take with Byakuya is a bit more subtle. It’s more of a “death by a thousand cuts” sort of strategy very similar to Byakuya’s Bankai in the show rather than the burst of power you get from Getsugatensho.
From a gameplay standpoint, this means strategically lowering your opponent’s BP in order to achieve your own aims. This deck offers many, many ways to do that, but we’ll start with the best way first: Byakuya Kuchiki himself.
Breaking down Raid Byakuya Kuchiki
Using Byakuya Kuchiki to strategically lower the BP of opposing characters it the main path to victory here. For starters, by just removing two cards from your sideline when Byakuya is played, your opponent’s board loses 1000 BP. This is enough to bring any character within Striking distance of Byakuya.
What’s more, you can drop a characters BP by another 1000 when he attacks. This makes it easy to eliminate any 2000 or less BP characters on the field before you even declare your attack, helping soften up the defenses to take more Life in a turn.
Lastly, and perhaps most substantially, Byakuya has Impact, making him lethal at any stage of the game but especially later on if your opponent has allowed you to take too much life.
Byakuya is a deadly threat with powerful abilities that can be used turn after turn, making him even more deadly on the frontline. However, thanks to the host of supporting cards this deck has to offer, he becomes quickly more powerful.
Pair Byakuya with Senbonzakura Kageyoshi
While you will already be dishing out some incredible BP lowering via Byakuya at base, this special trigger card enhances the reach of your BP reduction, letting you adapt its use to suit whatever it is you are facing on the field. For example, you can use this card to straight up remove a 4000 BP character in one shot, or pair it with Byakuya two remove several characters on the field at once.
It’s an incredibly handy card that can even be used to remove 5000 BP characters if need be as long as you combine it with one of Byakuya’s other BP reducing effects.
Peripheral cards that support this strategy
The final pieces supporting this strategy are Soi Fon and three-cost Byakuya. Soi Fon is a very handy card to have around as you can use her to automatically sideline anything with 3500 BP or less. She pairs well with your Raided Byakuya as well as your three-cost Byakuya who lowers any character’s BP by 500, essentially putting almost all characters in reach of her effect.
Because she is bumped to the energy line after being used, she tends to stick around so you can use her ability multiple times.
I currently run two copies of Soi Fon simply because I find the fact that it takes an AP to use her a little demanding, so I don’t expect to use her every game. However, you could run more of her if this particular combo is one you find very useful.
Renji enhances your BP reduction’s reach
Raid Renji has proven himself to be a powerhouse in the meta for BLEACH Purple, and he’s your best bet for a secondary attacker in this deck just as he is in the Ichigo build. In some ways, however, Renji works even better in this deck, as he also can benefit from Byakuya’s BP lowering prowess. From just playing Byakuya you can put most characters in reach of being sidelined with Renji’s When Played ability, one that allows him to reduce a character’s BP by 3000.
While it might be a challenge to get both these Raids off in a turn, Renji is always a solid attacker whenever he hits the field, making him your best bet in this deck apart from Byakuya himself.
BLEACH Purple staples
Otherwise this deck runs the gamut of BLEACH Purple staples including:
Uryu and Orihime for the bounce/draw effect.
Rukia Kuchiki for her powerful draw effect and general handiness as a 4000 BP Raid character.
Bankai.
Byakuya decks leave plenty of room for interesting techs
Byakuya is straightforward to play and doesn’t require a ton of energy, meaning you can make room for plenty of tech cards to help you better standout in the playing field. In this deck, I’ve chosen two different cards with a total of six copies between them: Kurotsuchi and Akon.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi
Kurotsuchi in general is an undervalued card in UNION ARENA as he lets you dismantle your opponent’s hand. Running four copies of him in your deck ensures that while you are strategically disrupting your opponent’s field, you are also making sure they have less resources in their hand to come up with a response to your strategies.
This can be especially helpful towards the end of the game when resources tend to run low anyway, and can even seal-the-deal for you if you’ve managed to get enough of a lead early on (something which Byakuya is particularly good at).
Akon
In order to play Byakuya, you need a little more energy on the field than just the typical four you need for other Raid characters. This means having an added character besides three-cost Byakuya and Orihme who has two energy can be handy. I like Akon as he’s highly meta-relavent as the best UNION ARENA decks run Purple and Green colors, making it likely you’ll be able to use his effect that lowers his energy cost by one.
This can be very handy to set up an early Byakuya play to help you get ahead before your opponent builds up enough resources and removal to resist you.
Byakuya deck build – strengths and weaknesses
Strategy aside, this Byakuya build has its strengths and weaknesses just like any deck. Byakuya’s biggest strength is its ability to move quickly. In many ways, it’s actually a better aggro deck than the typical BLEACH Purple build or even the Raidless Rush deck that was very popular in the meta at one point. Those decks require significantly more cards in the sideline to access removal than this deck does, and also (depending on the deck build) doesn’t have as reliable access to the powerful Impact keyword.
Byakuya, on the other-hand, is deadly in the early game where he can clear the opponent’s field and multiple characters in a turn.
That being said, later game he’s got some challenges. He won’t be nearly as effective if he’s facing down multiple 5000 BP characters like against a Kurapika deck, and he simply doesn’t have the removal to outlast the Ichigo build if you haven’t managed to move quickly.
Your best bet with this deck is to strike early and often and get your opponent’s Life within reach of a few Impact swings in the later game. Manage to play this right and Byakuya can be one of the most deadly decks in the current meta.
