By David Taylor

 

Introducing the Sword Art Online Blue "Aincrad (Kirito & Asuna)" deck. I'llexplain the deck recipe and the reasons for using the cards.

Deck List

Today, I’ll introduce the new blue Aincrad deck, featured in the 15th edition of SAO.

This deck is primarily themed around Kirito and Asuna, offering a highly aggressive playstyle focused on overwhelming opponents with relentless BP4000 attacks that quickly chip away at their life points.

With its ability to execute [two attacks] and utilize switch (movement), this deck boasts one of the highest attack frequencies in the game. Its intricate attack patterns make it both powerful and enjoyable to master. As you practice and refine your understanding of its strategies, the deck becomes even more formidable. It's definitely worth giving a shot!

The strongest cards in this deck

Kirito features two types of raids capable of attacking twice per turn.

Raid 5 Kirito comes with the ability to swap places with Asuna on the energy line after completing an attack. This requires an active Asuna on the energy line but grants two attack opportunities per turn, allowing you to bypass blockers and chip away at your opponent's life. After activating its effect, Kirito moves to the energy line, making it immune to removal effects during the opponent's turn. As such, it can only be countered by trigger abilities when Kirito himself attacks, making it an exceptionally powerful card.

Raid 4 Kirito, on the other hand, swaps the positions of allies upon entering the field and gains two attacks during the turn it appears. While this also requires Asuna to be on the field, the deck provides enough Asuna cards to activate this effect consistently. Similar to Raid 5 Kirito, this card is a strong attacker that guarantees two attacks with 4000 BP, making it a highly effective tool for pressuring your opponent.

Kirito deck offers two types of raids capable of attacking twice per turn.

Raid 5 Kirito has a unique effect that allows him to swap places with Asuna on the energy line at the end of an attack. This requires an active Asuna on the energy line but grants the ability to attack twice in a single turn, enabling you to bypass blockers and chip away at your opponent's life. After activating this effect, Kirito moves to the energy line, making him immune to most removal effects during your opponent's turn. His only vulnerability comes from trigger abilities during his own attacks, making him a highly powerful and strategic card.

Raid 4 Kirito, on the other hand, swaps the positions of allies when he enters the field and gains the ability to attack twice during the turn he appears. This effect also requires Asuna to be on the field, but with the abundance of Asuna cards in the deck, activating this effect is rarely an issue. Like Raid 5 Kirito, this card delivers multiple attacks with 4000 BP, providing consistent and reliable offensive pressure.

Here’s an example of how to play these cards effectively:

Turn 3 of the first turn

 

Turn 4 of the first turn

Raid 4 Kirito in the front → use 4 Kirito's effect to swap 0 Asuna for energy Asuna → play 5 Kirito, the raid source and raid destination, to the front → use 5 Kirito's ability to swap energy Asuna for the not-moving 4 Asuna → use 5 Kirito's post-attack ability to swap 5 Kirito for 4 Asuna.

The synergy between Raid Kiritos is also high, and if two characters that can attack twice are set up, they will attack twice, and no matter what the opponent's board state is, they will be able to slip through at least two damage. For example, in the board state shown above, you can attack 4000 BP x 3 → 1500 BP x 1 → 5000 Impact 1 x 2 for six times, and if the opponent's trigger is not good, the opponent's board state or life will be destroyed on the 4th turn of the first turn.

Impact attacker and draw source raid "Asuna"

Raid Asuna is a powerful attacker that gains impact as long as Kirito is on the field. Given that Kirito is unlikely to leave the field, she effectively has impact active almost all the time. Additionally, if she moves during a turn outside of the movement phase, she can draw one card when attacking.

When Raid Asuna is played, she is raided from the energy line and moved, enabling her to draw a card upon attacking during the turn she appears. Afterward, if she remains on the field, her synergy with Raid 5 Kirito becomes invaluable. Using Kirito's activated main ability, you can move her to the energy line and then bring her back to the front with Kirito's after-attack effect, reactivating her draw ability for additional card advantage.

Raid Asuna’s primary role is to apply pressure as a reliable impact attacker, while also boosting the offensive potential of Raid 5 Kirito if she stays on the field. However, what makes her even more crucial is her name and her BP of 4000, making her a key card even when not raided. Since raid sources are limited, it’s important to carefully time her placement and strategize her use to maximize her potential.

ST《Asuna》, an attacker who can be played without any switch or tempo loss

ST Asuna is also a 4000BP attacker, and if you move it outside of the movement phase, it becomes an impactful 5000BP. It's a card you want to play early on (2 turns after Final/3 turns), and it's a simple 4000BP effective attack point, and an ideal card to switch into for Raid Kirito.

The concept of the deck is to reduce the opponent's face and life by attacking five times or more with BP4000 , so the base 4000 BP is very important. Furthermore, since it is named "Asuna", it plays an essential role in the switch link with Kirito, so it is a powerful card that is undoubtedly worth using 4 copies of.

Color Kirito makes it easy to set up attack points in the early game

 

3 Kirito is a 2 Energy-generating character with a Color Trigger, making him a vital card for this deck, which relies on a maximum of 5 Energy. Upon his appearance, he allows you to move one of your characters, providing strategic flexibility. If you already have 3 Energy, you can immediately reposition one of your characters to the front and launch an attack, enabling swift and efficient offensive plays.

Turn 2 of the first turn

 

Turn 3 of the first turn

 

For example, using the above placement , if you leave 2 Kirito and move 2 to the front, you would typically be unable to play a 3-energy character unless you first play a 2-energy or lower character. However, with 3 Kirito, you can leave 1 character in the energy and play him, allowing you to bring an active character to the front one tempo earlier.

This timing advantage is especially critical during the third turn of the first cycle, where playing two characters with 4000 BP can significantly impact the pressure you apply and the amount of life points you can take from your opponent in the early game.

Reasons for including these cards

0~2 Energy Cards

In the 0-energy range, I’ve included 12 copies to maintain stability. However, because these cards are lower in power, you may want to consider reducing one Yui and replacing it with options like 2 Asuna or 3 Lisbeth for better utility.

The raid source cards, Kirito and Asuna, are crucial for this deck, so I recommend including 4 copies each. Yui is the only less essential card here (though she’s the daughter, after all…) and is primarily used to fill the 0-energy range. However, since the number of times you can play Kirito and Asuna directly affects your output, you should aim to avoid playing Yui whenever possible and discard her for various effects.

There are alternative 1-energy Kiritos with [Impunity] from [Characteristic: ALO], but the priority of the search-effect Kirito is far higher. Having the ability to reliably fetch 3 Kirito in the early game and raid destinations in the late game makes it incredibly powerful. The only drawback is that this search effect cannot target 2 Kirito, as it’s limited to [Characteristic: Aincrad].

In the 2-energy range, 2 Kirito from the active 2-ball cycle is exceptionally strong. Deploying it on turn 2 makes it much easier to establish 4-4000 BP attackers early, so this is a card I’d want to draw into my opening hand, prioritizing it during mulligans. It also functions as a raid base, making it several tiers above other cards of the same cycle. There’s no question that 4 copies should be included—do not reduce this number.

Finally, 2 Asuna serves as a sub-attacker capable of reaching 4000 BP when activated. Although this deck currently runs two copies, Asuna's strength as an attacker justifies including additional copies if possible.

3~5 Energy Cards

There's nothing particularly remarkable about the high-energy range, as it's already filled with four powerful cards. I believe that removing cards from this range will only weaken the deck overall. If you find yourself lacking raid sources, it might be worth considering whether you can opt to play raw cards instead of relying on raiding during the early to mid-game.

Cards that can be considered

Generally, the more cards you include outside of Kirito and Asuna, the weaker your deck becomes overall. However, relying solely on eight cards that generate 2 energy may feel insufficient. Both 3-1 (BT) and 3-2 (ST) Lisbeth are excellent options, so including one or two of them in a slot isn’t a bad idea. These cards not only generate 2 energy but also improve the quality of your hand.

3 Yui is a versatile card that offers the flexibility to choose between character deployment or hand replenishment when it appears. However, it only generates 1 energy, has a BP of 2000, and lacks a raid destination, which leaves it without a clear role in this deck. For this concept, it’s a card that is difficult to recommend.

Here is how you should play the deck

Assuming you have a hand capable of playing 0 cost energy, try to also prioritize searching for a 2/3 Kirito that generates 2 energy. If your hand looks something like '0-1 Energy 3-4, 4-5 Energy 2-3, and a Final,' you are likely setting yourself up for a weak game. In such cases, I strongly recommend mulliganing to improve your chances of a stronger start.