This is my first guide so please be kind.
Best Attack: Look What I Found!
Best Team Support: Uh, Yeah, I’m That Guy!
Best Personal Support: Best Card Ever!
Primary Damage: Melee
Secondary Damage: Cold, Projectile
Worst Card: Gimmicky Character
Nemesis: Wager Master
Summary:
Guise is a fourth wall breaking shape shifter. He has these powerful forms that only last for a round and then you have to start over. A typical game will have Guise contributing a little for a turn or two and then having explosive turns once he has some of his combos.
I list Gimmicky Character as the worst card since the health gain is minimal and milling cards from your fellow heroes can be frowned upon. Depending on turn order it can be helpful to remove a villain card that was placed on top of that deck. The card play from it is probably more useful used with Selling Out to play an Ongoing.
Attack:
Guise’s constant source of damage is his base power which allows him to deal one melee damage. His damaging one shots are Best Card Ever!(Base of two damage), Look What I Found!( three melee damage that can increase next damage by one if the target is still around), and Say Cheese!(one cold damage that allows another card play if the target has 5 or less HP). For his Ongoings only Blatant Reference deals damage and it has the cost of discarding a card for one projectile damage at the end of each hero turn. Guise the Barbarian increases all damage dealt by Guise for a round which gives the most bang for a round with Blatant Reference or with Selling Out and Super Ultra Kawaii!! to play damaging one-shots. With I Can Do That, Too!, Uh, Yeah, I’m That Guy!, or Lemme See That! depending on the group it could give Guise a damaging power(like copying Ra), buff the teams damage(copying Legacy’s Ongoings which might include Inspiring Presence), or his own damage (taking Dual Crowbars from Mr. Fixer)
Defense:
The only direct defense in Guise’s deck is Total Beefcake which redirects the first damage Guise is dealt each turn but keep in mind it redirects to the non hero target with the lowest health. Also, it should be noted that if there are no valid targets for lowest HP Guise would still take the damage. Depending upon other heroes in the group Uh, Yeah, I’m That Guy! could also provide defense if playing with likes of Fanatic, Haka, The Naturalist, or Legacy. He could also take defensive equipment from Mr Fixer or Bunker with Lemme See That… they may not always appreciate it. I Can Do That, Too! could also provide defense by copying the Block power from Mainstay.
Utility:
In just his deck without depending upon what teammates have in play, Guise has lots of cards that help in certain situations. He has Ongoing/environment Destruction(Retcon), damage increase(Guise the Barbarian), ignore DR/damage redirection(X-treeeeeeeeme!!!), retrieve a card from trash(Where Did I Leave That…), cards that allow extra draws or card plays, regain small bits of health(Best Card Ever! and Gimmicky Character), and a way to mill a card from all decks which can be helpful for removing a villain card you don’t want played(Gimmicky Character). His base power gives him the option to draw or play a card in addition to still dealing a damage.
Guise has two different cards that let him play cards out of turn but do it in different ways between Super Ultra Kawaii! and Selling Out. Both are good for taking advantage of X-treeeeeeeeme!!! and/or Guise the Barbarian as you play those damaging one shots. Selling Out is the only card that let’s you react to the most recent card play by the environment turn since it came out before the most recent environment card you can play a Retcon to prevent a damaging effect. Super Ultra Kawaii!! allows Guise to play cards at the end of hero turns as long as he has H cards in hand and that includes his own turn.
His Utility cards that have their usefulness based on the hero team used is Uh, Yeah, I’m That Guy!, Lemme See That…, and I Can Do That, Too! For Uh, Yeah, I’m That Guy! depending upon what ongoings are in play by teammates it can be beneficial to just Guise or help out the entire team. Legacy with all of his Ongoings in play is one of the best to copy providing a damage buff, other powers to use, and DR. With Lemme See That… Guise is stealing an equipment card from another player for a turn. Depending upon who you’re working with this could give you a good power to use (Tactical Shotgun, Drake’s Pipe) or a temporary buff for Guise (Staff of Ra, Heavy Plating). Though please make sure to ask your fellow player if they’re ok with it before playing as they won’t have access to that card for a round(exceptions would be Ongoing Destruction that takes out Lemme See That… or Mr. Fixer putting a tool from his hand into play). I Can Do That, Too! gives Guise the choice to use any hero’s base power(i.e. the powers printed on character cards) and thus you can great choices like Galvanize or useless ones for Guise like Transform or Load. The post after this is a section called Shenanigans to list some combos that can be done with those three cards.
Weaknesses:
Turn order can be a possible weakness for Guise. Guise’s Ongoings only last until his next turn and to get best use of most of them you want them to last until his next turn. So if facing a villain with mass or regular ongoing destruction you may want to be first in turn order so that his Ongoings can just be fodder. A bigger weakness for him is environments and villains who force discards frequently. Guise like most heroes likes having cards to play but regular discards mean he can’t setup his combos as effectively. Villains with DR can be an issue if X-treeeeeeeeme!!! or Guise the Barbarian don’t come up as his base power, Blatant Reference, and Say Cheese! only deal one damage. The last piece to keep in mind with Guise is that all of his Ongoings only last a round so getting the best use out of them means you will need multiple different Ongoings to get the best effect. So that may mean on your following turn you may not have as much to do as you build your hand up again.
Teamups:
Surprise! Just like any hero Guise is fond of heroes who can supply him with more cards. He really likes heroes on his team with more useful base powers(like Legacy, Team Leader Tachyon), lots of ongoings(like Legacy, Tempest) or equipment(like Wraith, Bunker, or Expat) so he can make full use of Uh, Yeah, I’m That Guy!, I Can Do That Too!, and Lemme See That…
Ideas for what he can do with some Teamups are in the following post of Guise Shenanigans.
Out of turn card plays:
On to the one of the bigger items with Guise. Guise has two cards which allow him to play cards out of turn and each have their own advantages/disadvantages. The cards are Super Ultra Kawaii! and Selling Out. First, I’ll list out pros and cons of each
Super Ultra Kawaii!
Pro
- Allows a card play at the end of hero turn
- No restriction on which cards that can be played and allows for a more mixed hand.
- Doesn’t require a discard
- With just four heroes on the team this allows for more card plays then Selling Out and even with three heroes it has equal card play to Selling Out.
Con
- To make full use you would need six, eight, or ten cards in hand for hero teams of three, four, and five members respectively as you have to H cards in hand to use the card play. Keep in mind that you could get more cards in hand by playing Where Did I Leave That…, Best Card Ever!, or I Can Do That Too! copying Guise’s power or copying a base power that draws cards.
- Usually playing this card means you will empty a lot of your hand so your following turn may not be as exciting while you build up your hand again.
Selling Out
Pro
- No hand size restriction
- Allows reaction to card play from the environment that round and prevent its end of turn effect with Retcon. You could also get a Gritty Reboot or Total Beefcake into play to get a benefit from incoming damage from the environment and into the villain turn.
- A lot of Guise’s one shots allow for additional card play so if you discard a one shot then play Gimmicky Character, Best Card Ever!, Retcon, Say Cheese! (if a target is low enough on health), or I Can Do That, Too! (if a hero base power allows playing a cards which Guise’s base power does) you could get ongoings like Total Beefcake or Gritty Reboot into play. Also, depending on what is out for other heroes playing Uh, Yeah, I’m That Guy! can also be useful for copying a Heroic Interception and Lead From the Front allowing you to prevent damage to all heroes.
- Depending on turn order this could let you steal equipment with Lemme See That… without having another hero lose that card for a round but you have something in hand to take advantage of it. An easy example would be a component from Omnitron X if Guise goes before him as you’ll get to use the component and Omnitron X will get to use it again on his own turn since it got returned to him.
Con
- To get full use you need either four one shots or ongoings in hand.
- Requires a discard of one of those four cards
- Because it’s at the end of the environment turn it means cards like Blatant Reference lose a turn or more of play since it triggers only at the end of hero turns and won’t trigger the first time until the next hero turn which means the villain might destroy it.
- Along with that it shortens possible team benefits from Uh, Yeah, I’m That Guy! if Guise is first in turn order.
The main item to keep in mind with these two cards is when they allow card plays.
You may come across times where you might play both. However, at the least I would not recommend putting Super Ultra Kawaii!! into play through Selling Out as you would lose one or more turns of the extra cards that come from it. If Guise is last in turn order this play may work out but if he is first in turn order this provides no benefit. Playing Selling Out and Super Ultra Kawaii!! on Guise’s turn or playing Selling Out with a card play from Super Ultra Kawaii!! is better as you can possibly get full effect from both using Super Ultra Kawaii!! card plays to get Ongoings in play that make cards plays from Selling Out even better. Playing both should only be done if you have a huge hand (12 cards or more) otherwise it may not be worth playing Super Ultra Kawaii!!! and Selling Out in the same round.
How you use Selling Out and Super Ultra Kawaii!!! depend upon what you have in hand and what others have in play. Keep in mind you can still end up playing even more cards from these as a lot of Guise’s one shots allow for another card play. My suggestion with a Super Ultra Kawaii! (Especially if Guise is first in turn order)would be to build up Ongoings like X-treeeeeeeeme!!! and/or Guise the Barbarian on your turn and then play your one shots like Best Card Ever!, Look What I Found!, Say Cheese! , or I Can Do That, Too! so you take the most advantage from them. With Selling Out if you get three one shot card plays you might use one-shots like Gimmicky Character first to get X-treeeeeeeeme!!! or Guise the Barbarian before playing Best Card Ever!, Look What I Found!, Say Cheese! , or I Can Do That, Too! if you couldn’t get that out during your turn.
Nuking for Max Glory:
I made a post of what damage Guise could do with just his cards in a single round to give ideas on his own his abilities here:
https://greaterthangames.com/comment/113482#comment-113482
Note:
What I’ve listed for this guide is not fully taking into consideration what team you are playing with. So I would recommend looking at the Guise Shenanigans in the following post to see what you can setup or possibly give you some more ideas.
Santa Guise:
New Base Power:
Santa Guise goes away from trying steal the spotlight for himself on his base version to allowing others to have their own moment. A few notes about it. First, any revealed limited card that is already in play goes to the trash immediately without activating any come into play abilities. Second, the face down cards can only be destroyed by a villain through Apocalypse from Apostate, Miss Information’s Threat to the President and Explosion in the Lab, and GloomWeaver’s Sable Pin. Lastly, cards preventing a hero from playing cards does not prevent the revealed cards from being played much like Don’t Dismiss Anything or Timeshift can Omnitron-X can ignore that. For this version I Can Do That Too! can be used to trigger both powers in a single turn or out of turn through Selling Out and Super Ultra Kawaii!!. However, it is not as helpful the first or second turn but once you’ve got three or more card face down in play face down it becomes a very good play. Much like our own gift exchanges the second power can be rather great, meh, or sometimes bad. A lot of that depends upon the hero and the order in which cards are revealed for that hero. Heroes that have multiple Limited cards where there are three or four of them in their deck are the least likely to get much out of the reveal. Heroes like Chrono Ranger, Unity, and the Sentinels should reveal multiple cards that they can use. It is still good to use on those heroes as really the only heroes I would be hesitant to reveal cards for are Absolute Zero, Nightmist, and Setback. If they have cards in play already to negate their harming effects then it should be fine.
Strategy for Guise:
This promo changes the strategy for Guise quite a bit as you don’t have an innate drawing power anymore and by himself he can’t reliably setup combos. At least to me this makes me think even more so to use Uh, Yeah, I’m That Guy! or Lemme See That… to get alternate powers to use to more actively contribute on a given turn. Retcon is more likely used to draw a card unless you already have a follow up card to play like Where Did I Leave That… or Gritty Reboot for more cards. Using his second power on himself to reveal cards may not always be great since all of his Ongoing Cards are limited and so you could end up revealing the same Limited card for no effect. Along with that if you don’t have Selling Out or Super Ultra Kawaii! Out you may not even get much benefit from Guise the Barbarian or X-treeeeeeeeme!!! depending upon the order cards are revealed. If Guise is teamed up with a hero who can stack the top of his deck before using the first power it will help ensure the revealed cards are possibly more helpful for Guise and other heroes.
New Incap powers:
What happens to those face down cards if someone decides to declare war on Christmas and incaps Santa Guise? Well, for Santa Guise and any other hero that was incapped they leave play but those heroes fighting on have them remain in their play area. Santa Guise while incapped can allow a hero to reveal one of their face down cards and still use them it’s just not all of them like his base power allows. Santa Guise can also allow a hero to use a power and then they have to flip any one non character hero card in play cards face down. If Guise chooses to flip that card with other non incap power you get benefit from any come into play abilities again. His last incap power just allows each player to discard a card and to draw another which is a good fallback power to use each round if you aren’t sure of what else to do especially if you have Tachyon on the team
Completionist Guise
New Base Power:
If you liked the card I Can Do That Too! the power Impressive Collection takes that one-shot to 11 as you can copy hero powers every turn and alternatively deal 2 psychic damage instead of copying the power of the character card you chose. This action also replaces the character card in play and you choose a variant either out of the game or One already under Guise. If the variant has a lower max health than the current character card their health will be lower to that value and if it has a higher health amount it will maintain the hero’s current health. Also note that that you can’t use the same power twice though. If I play I Can Do That Too! on Captain Cosmic and then use Impressive Collection on Captain Cosmic again your only option will be to do the damage. Lastly, you can switch out the version of Guise you are as using as well but it means the other heroes are set for their variant being used. The character cards remain under Guise but can’t be interacted with now that you don’t have the Impressive Collection power.
Strategy of a Completionist:
Base Guise is setup to do combos based off his card copying more consistently. Santa Guise turns into more of a support hero giving extra card plays and lots of them depending upon how long you let it go. Completionist Guise falls in the middle. He can setup combos for heroes by putting a variant that is more useful for their own setup and switch to other powers as they become more potent at a particular point of the game. For your own turns Completionist Guise is able to combo uses of Uh, Yeah, I’m That Guy! , Lemme See That…, Total Beefcake, or X-treeeeeeeeme!!! regularly with a power on a character card. Though Uh, Yeah, I’m That Guy! and Lemme See That… are more likely to have a better combo off of them. You have less innate card draw compared to the base version and don’t have presents so are more dependent on other heroes helping you with card draw to setup combos. In the unfortunate case you are Incapped you want at least one character card of each player so you take the most advantage of those.
New Incap Power:
Should this happen you want to have as many different character cards under Guise as possible. The three abilities all focus on having a corresponding hero character card to use them. The first power just switches out one variant under Guise for another which can be useful if that other base power is better in the current situation. The second power gives a power use after removing one of the variants under Guise. This one is only worth if it if you have more than one variant of the same character under Guise and the game will last for a bit longer. If you only have one variant of a character card under Guise then the third power should be used since it gives the hero you removed a variant for a full turn. Once you’ve gotten rid of your collection though you can only cry as Guise remembers what he gave up to help the other heroes.