Month: May 2026

*Grumbling* For Low-Aggro Sanjay, wrote myself into replacing
2x Concealed Flintlock with
2x Sturdy Shield
You’ll see below.

High Aggro Sanjay

So, I was building a new aggro Sanjay list after the most recent expansion was finalized and put onto Table Top Simulator. I was trying for maximum milking of Sanjay’s abilities, all of which focus around being in/initiating duels. Figured, okay, why not just maximize his fighting ability? 

Make his challenges as threatening as possible (Sabre, El Gato’s Mask, Raise the Stakes, Unsanctioned Duel) and ramp the non-dash riposte RPT up as high as possible (excluding great cards like Drinking Games in exchange for also great cards like Roll the Bones [yes I said great and compared these two cards *truthful, yet impish glare*]). Better throw in some defensive/hybrid offhands (Concealed Flintlock [which rewards you for gambling] and Main Gauche). No reason not to run Worldly (…although I probably will actually be claiming because Madre…) and Quick Reflexes, and I’ll absolutely include the Castillian staples that give me access to that sweet, sweet average 2/3 ripostable-boosting RPT (Night of Drinking, Improvising). 

Gotta run Panacea as the new-kid in the Castillian staples roster (even if the RPT is slightly below average), which means I’ll need to include Discovery/Alquimia (already have Worldy, but Cats in Every Corner and Solvente Universal come in), and Academics to wield it. Madre, I would appreciate your delicious 3-inf charisma and resolve mending ways. Iago, stand over there and look pretty, I’ll call you when I need you. Oh right! Giacinto! We’ve got space.

We do need to back up a second real quick though. Torvo, have I got the deck for you! Backed it with all the best Castillian RPT (quite threatening now actually) so your city action and stat-line are threatening in a, he might actually survive a duel way?! Maya, my champion, I humbly request your aid again. Got some nerds to hunt.

No way we aren’t running Castillian Caper for that super high initiative. Throw some +1 panache schemes in there (The Cat’s Embargo, Proper Study, Let the Sword Decide-ish), and we care about wounds, so why not try the new Explosive Ultimatum. 

Taunt, Curious, Adaptable, and Ambitious are just great. Gold or Steel, The Cat’s Glass are just RPT. Life in the Canals … … … emhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ehhh … sigh, I want to like you, and at 3/3 I think I can. But you’ve hurt me in the past… But I guess I don’t learn … Passionate. Bleed Out for villainous-finishing. (See how I ended on that one! Villainous-finishing indeed. *maniacal giggling* [You rolling your eyes means I win.])

If you know me, obviously there was a toooooon more hemming and hawing as I went, and we’ll touch on that, but first. After finishing this list, I went to look at my last saved Sanjay list used during play-testing, AND IT WAS ALMOST IDENTICAL!!! How did I not have greater insights into potential Sanjay shenanigans than past Tom!?!?!?! Is this the only way to build Sanjay!? All his abilities revolve around combat, so obviously I want the best combat possible right? If I want the best combat possible, don’t I have to run this list almost exactly as is? Maybe swap out some cards others insist I shouldn’t run, but I do because I’m stubborn? Where is the fun in this leader if my deck building is so necessarily proscribed? Where’s the spice?! … *existential brooding* … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . . . .. … .. . … .. . . . . .. .. . 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, maybe, Low-Aggro?

What if …? What if, instead of maximizing my fights … I just maximize my survival …? Instead of shunting away as many dash-riposte cards as possible … I reach out to all cards that offer 3+ defense… Sanjay can still get into fights …, but it is more about bodyguarding for his support staff. We can still issue inf challenges, and if we only get a wound or two out of it, still something. We still get the +riposte of gambled cards for cards that become 3 defense with it. We can still potentially draw cards out from our opponent’s hand (Mysta on challenge) and/or get them into Raise the Stakes trouble if they try to dodge our renown collection refusal punishment… Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Soline is an interesting Approach character who isn’t seeing much play/conversation. We’ll still run the Academic core of Madre (recruiter), Iago (back-up bodyguard + 2 influence), and Giacinto, but Giacinto is likely our day 3 recruit now instead of Iago. Damya can hang out on the bench for day 5 (with her Giacinto stats which work great for us and strong abilities, which we really did not build into).

The 3 classic Castillain schemes stay. A Shared Interest is excellent day 2+ (and gives 3-parry Leverage some additional gas). Smuggling Run can be interesting with Soline (but likely hangs out with Damya until day 5).

Okay, the major differences we haven’t touched on yet. Ciphered Tome, so so good. Do you know how frustrating it is to play against a Dave-equipped Ciphered Tome? Very, respectfully, very. (Love you Dave!) I didn’t feel we had space for it in the violence list, especially as our main Violencers aren’t academics themselves. Greed and Siesta give us more high defense RPT in addition to excellent effects. Hop on Board and Heroic Intervention give Sanjay more tools to be an absolute pest. Amour, 1-of Drinking Games, and 1-of Rapsodia give us more incredibly powerful effects at the cost of our brutal aggro RPT. We even get to run 2x Passionate!

Dang it Tom! Convincing yourself to replace 2x Concealed Flintlock with 2x Sturdy Shield still farther below.

Gen Con List (Medium Aggro)

As you can see in the list breakdown image at the top of the article, I am amused that my Gen Con-winning list basically happened to be a mashup of these two later lists. It didn’t have access to the academics package yet (which now solidifies my desire to muster 3-inf Madre day 1 for recruiting), so I was able to bring the soul-skewering “Prima” Rosa. (If the opponent discards a card, it is effectively the same thing as recruiting at 3, right? Right?!?!?!? *sobs* [A tear legitimately came to my left eye just then.]) Looks like I can honestly say my body has a physical reaction to not getting maximum recruiting value, but she is sooooooooo goooooood and fun (*grumbling as I realize my brain is going to make me build another updated Sanjay list featuring Rosa back in the lead*). 

Unfortunate and Gallegos Blade were included in attempt to glean even more value from Sanjay’s gambling. You Cheated! was a way for my scoundrels to potentially come to Sanjay’s aid against Eisen/Ussura big thrust challenges. Torres Cloak was there to help Inigo get to 2-Fin (I have better uses for Inigo now).  Uppman’s Jacket was another way to boost Sanjay to 3-inf challenges. Oh yeah, and Makepeace is great. Go Home, you’re drunk (after trouncing them in some Drinking Games).

Additional Considerations

All of the cards in the decks were included for pretty much the reasons I express for including them in my overarching deck building article: https://www.tomsepicgaming.com/the-everything-you-need-to-know-to-beat-the-current-two-time-7th-sea-city-of-five-sails-champion-series/
(I hadn’t gotten around to writing those yet, so adding after the conclusion of this article too. Ughhhhhhhhhh, haven’t had the time/energy to complete for all cards, posting anyways.)

Other cards I considered:
Research: another way to pay for Panacea, but dash-riposte
Silver Tongue: another 4/2 for low-aggro Sanjay, but I don’t like the effect that much
Carnival: another 3/2 for low-aggro Sanjay, strong anti-merc effect if you get out-initiatived, and can even remove events your opponent was forced to play around. Nothing I’d particularly want to take out for it, but it could swap with Greed (or Passionate)
Honorable: another 3/4 for high-aggro Sanjay, that can issue a 3-threat fin challenge, but only if behind on characters. Good chance this is actually worth including because thugs, Rep Meritee, Kaspar, and theoretically not recruiting more mercs?! Also, only 5 crew cap. (I’d probably put it in but don’t feel like it this moment.)
I Know That Trick: 3/3 for Sanjay that could easily become a 4/4 against fighting decks and/or get access to interesting techniques like Leader Angeline
Relentless: 2/5 for highest-aggro Sanjay, didn’t want Sanjay taking a wound especially when Bleed Out is 0-cost, even though Bleed Out gives a window to heal
Lodestone: always a consideration, but RPT doesn’t work particularly for high-aggro, and low-aggro has a bunch of movement already
Leather Spaulders: 2/4 for either version, but that isn’t a super attractive RPT for either, especially since only 1/3 for everyone else. +1 resolve and a once-a-day wound cancel could be worth it though, especially against leaders Angeline and Cesca
Sturdy Shield: At 0/2/2 instead of -/2/2, there is a very real consideration for running this instead of or in addition to Concealed Flintlock, especially in low-aggro Sanjay (11-dash parry cards in High aggro vs 6-dash parry in low aggro). My hemming and hawing has returned. I don’t think I want 4 copies of both together, because I do want more interesting effects available to me, but it likely should replace Concealed Flintlock in low-aggro, but it is only 3/3 combat card instead of a … 3/4? Yeeeaaahh? Probably replace Concealed Flintlock in low-aggro, especially for the -/3/X cards and Amour… *annoyed* in that I am making more work for myself. Also, removing the option for my opponent to wound Sanjay in exchange for a wound to themself seems worthwhile against someone trying to assassinate him, but maybe that means they can play an extra combat card …. uahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Screw it.

Technical Considerations, but not really for me
Tending the Wounded: another 3/2 for low-aggro Sanjay, but expensive heal
Breastplate: another 3/1 for low-aggro Sanjay
A New Strategy: another 3/4 for high-aggro Sanjay, but MY RENOWN!!!!!!
Harpoon: another 3/4 for high-aggro Sanjay, but it engages so is once per day and competes with Sabre
Confusion: another 3/4 for high-aggro Sanjay, but it costs a card making it harder for us to use his city action, even if it does force someone out to use it on
Sea Legs, Opulence: strong effects, but I’d rather have the other bad-RPT cards of Taunt (terrible), Passionate, Life in the Canals, Ambitious, Main Gauche, Rapsodia, Ciphered Tome, Drinking Games, and/or Amour so I don’t have room for terrible-RPT

Conclusion

Cool. I don’t have much more to say. Feel free to ask any questions, provide comments as usual. (My own blog with no ad-revenue so purely if you want to, which is encouraged. Doing things you want to do instead of just what you should do is something I have had to actually strive for. [Which also partially informs my even more unhinged writing style recently, not that I particularly held it back before.])

My god, I am rereading this a few days after writing it, and boy was I in an interesting mood when I wrote this. Had a lot of fun doing so, so let me know how you feel about that style. Positive reinforcement and I will likely unleash it more often, … negative reinforcement might sap some of my energy to write more … (no promises though).

Castille Card by Card Breakdowns

Looking at what I had already written for Castille, I don’t like how I broke them down, so I’m just going to talk about each card individually and not outright tier them, even if my tiers where a bit out of the ordinary. (What this means in practice is that, similar to how I build decks, instead of working off of what I already wrote, I am going to rewrite all of them. I dislike that this is how my brain works, but I’ve learned not to fight it.) [Since I haven’t gotten around to actually finish these, I’m just going to add everything I’ve already written into the main article now.]

• Taunt: Love this card (and hate it). 1-cost move effect is fair. The fact that this can move an enemy from their home is quite relevant, primarily for murder. The maneuver is basically never worth it, since at best you are trading 1 card for 1 card, terrible if played from hand, especially since the RPT is absolute trash. This is a card I frequently include in Castille, but due to its terrible RPT, it means I have less space for other terrible RPT cards.
• Roll the Bones: I like this card much more than most people it seems. People compare it unfavorably to Broken Time in Montaigne, but this card can be played by any Castillian regardless of traits. Hitting cards that rely on maneuvers for RPT like Adaptable is rough, but +1 riposte is a big deal. The Scoundrel bonus is just that, a bonus, not a requirement. Good.
• Robbery: I like this card less than other people. Not a huge fan of the Pirate City Action to equip your trash from your discard pile. Pirate Maneuver is interesting, especially since it can even steal uniques like Grandfather’s Hammer or Crystal Eye, but, it’s a 2/3, meh? It is dash-riposte so neither Sanjay nor Main Gauche can buff it. You could buff the defense with Sturdy Shield or Concealed Flintlock, but still meh. You even need to get into a situation where you could play a combat card to even trigger this, so pure pacifist is probably off the table, although you do have access to both Raise the Stakes and Unsanctioned Duel. Maybe this is worth it against a non-Yevgeni, non-thrust-buffed challenge? Assuming it is a 3-threat challenge coming in, then you would only take 1 wound to steal their attachment. But, if they have a combat based attachment, with a technique that can be used on challenge, they likely already used that technique, so you can’t deny them the use of the technique, and you won’t be able to use that technique that round. It is really hard for me to justify including this card. Torvo though…
• Carnaval: Very solid. 3/2 RPT is great (especially for Inigo). If your opponent out-initiatives you, you can use this to deny them a merc recruit that they bee-line for. It can even remove an event from play to allow for some unexpected shenanigans. The City Action that requires an en garde performer to engage to make a city location uncontrolled has never seemed particularly worth it.
• Research: Solid card, best justification for including it now is for Panacea discount. In general though, Castille has plenty of really obnoxious cards that being able to replay one of 3 of your choice will probably be quite annoying for your opponent
• Nothing Personal: *Wince* Not great. 2/1 RPT, although Torvo and Sanjay can buff it to a 3/2. Spend 1 to wound adversary and potentially make them lose control or take another wound (assuming 3 com which is not Sanjay). Really hard to justify including
• Night of Drinking: Run these. One of the strongest cards in the game and one of the best reasons to play Castille. I can’t reasonably think of a situation why you wouldn’t want this card. This can even counter maneuvers on combat cards like Broken Time (although you have to announce you are using it before they choose to resolve/pay for said maneuver). Super, super good.
• Life in the Canals: Hmmmm. Not worth playing from hand. It is just a 2/2 that effectively replaces itself in that scenario. If you can gamble into it though, then it gives +1 card advantage (assuming your combatant can make use of one of the maneuvers). Not having any dashes is quite nice. I want to like it, and I do run it, but I don’t know.
• It’s Personal: 1/2 RPT is sooooo bad. If you can get the kill with the maneuver’s wound granting you the free claim, that is really, really good especially as it means they can’t chuck another combat card at you, but it is not easy to set up, and with its terrible RPT, your character might die to do it. Tooo situational, and that is coming from someone who loves situational cards. Torvo and Sanjay can buff it, but still
• Improvising: Odds are, your opponent will have some worthwhile risks to play. The flexibility this card gives can be quite nice, and it can force your opponent into choosing combat cards and or not making plays that could put strong risks into their discard pile for you. Against certain decks, Strega Vodacce for instance, you might be keyword locked out of your opponent’s strongest Risks, and you might not get what you need, so it is a … risk. I have cut this card on multiple occasions, but it also won me a Gen Con. (Stratege is a pretty good card too.)
• Drinking Games: Engage effects are strong. Leaders will almost always out resolve non-leaders. Soline being able to react move in front of a character after your opponent’s move, then immediately use this, pretty nice. I frequently run this card.

• Amour: This card. Harumph. Castille’s 2-parry parry-out, so, hard to justify not running in all but the absolute most aggressive decks (and even then). Add that to the fact that this is a 1-cost engage and move home effect, which is really powerful. What’s that you say, but you’re sending your own dude home engaged, and I hear that is really powerful for your opponent, so … how is this good? Well, not all characters are created equal at all times *cough* mercenary Penya. Your one wound from death character (or Soline with reaction into this … *targeted glaring* …) sending an en garde Grandfather’s Hammer equipped Yevgeni home is quite the coup for you. Further, it is a good way to get your at-risk Leader out of the city while providing you value. More directly, this can hit leaders, fighters equipped with multiple attachments and potentially extra challenges in hand, your opponent’s last en garde character who was going to go for the claim, etc.
• Adaptable: This is the reason you always need to be paying attention when your Castillian-opponent has the initiative. A no-contest claim, that can be used by either leader or any other pirate on a Castillian crew (including mercs), that doesn’t need your performer to be en garde. Disgusting. This card is what makes the Castillian-Domination game so threatening. Even just swinging your opponent’s 2-influence location to your favor is devastating. Run this. The not-first player city action could also be used as a claim, but more fair. It could also be used to throw another challenge. A 1-cost 4/2 RPT combat card is also pretty solid (even if it makes Roll the Bones sad).
• Unfortunate: This is only equipable when played as your combat card in a duel; which means you are only negating one threat coming in at you while sending 4 threat back. If your adversary dies to that 4-threat, this has no-effect, and if your character dies to do so, that is unfortunate. 
  This can kick your adversary off of various breakpoints though, knocking off Leather Spaulders, downgrading Main Gauche’s technique, preventing Quick Reflexes’ maneuver, knocking an opponent’s restricted hostilities down by 1 in a Fin-duel (for the next round), etc. It can be particularly nasty when trying to assassinate a leader or in response to a defensive deck trying to gain value by gambling into 3/1s. I’m still undecided on this card. I hated it at first, for the first paragraph above, but it intrigues me for the second.
• Gallegos Blade: questionable
• The Cat’s Glass: only RPT
• Solvente Universal: solid
• Rapsodia: interesting
• Panacea: fantastic
• Cats in Every Corner: Panacea fodder, but also potentially a surprise recruit or event
• Ciphered Tome: amazing
• Wily: I don’t like it because I don’t run heavy scoundrels often, but 5/5 is good
• Proper Drama: seems reasonable in a scoundrel deck
• Passionate: very situational, below average rpt, but can be an on-cost en garde effect, when it hits
• Curious: 0-cost movement effects are great
• Torres Cloak: not sure
• El Gato’s Mask: Sanjay auto-include, reasonable for any fight deck probably
• You Cheated!: *Sigh* anti-me (Eisen Overwhelming Threat) card is effective
• Siesta: I like it a lot
• Raise the Stakes: absolute top-tier card
• Gold or Steel: for when you want all-aggro
• Mysta: hmmmm
• Damya Kahina: seems reasonable
• Torvo Espada: solid if all-fight
• “Prima” Rosa: super good
• Lucas Martinez: unsure
• Raton: probably not
• Patricia Moustakas: I still like her, although I haven’t been playing her
• Lorenzo De Zepeda: intervening with You Cheated + his technique is nasty
• “Madre” Dolores: excellent
• Maya De La Rioja: excellent
• “Padre” Anibal: muuuuuuch better than you think
• Sanjay (Approach): *Shakes head* and people complain about Rosine
• Makepeace Botwighte: solid, “you sure you want to engage to claim” *smug*
• Inigo Rocoso: yeah, crazy strong, possibly problematic, we’ll theoretically get to his deck at some point
• Soline El Gato (Approach): I like them and want to experiment more
• Andare De Castillo: seems solid
• Giacinto: Strong academic, good passive, good ability
• Iago Carlos De Soldano: Strong academic all-arounder
• The Cat’s Embargo: hard to justify not running a +1 panache scheme with pretty high init and an upside
• Shifting Blame: solid
• Castillian Caper: Montaigne is faster now, get rekt. Still run this in all Castille decks
• Rumors of the Crimson Roger: Puts 2 renown onto a single location, then gives some Pirate actions, “there you go Patricia…oh no, LESHIYE!!!!!!!!”
• Proper Study: Another reasonably fast +1 init scheme that can filter to your more important cards, as you see, I’ll run it with no academics. Also Padre
• When Least Expected: People love them their Lorenzo
• Explosive Ultimatum: Interesting for a combat capabable deck
• Meeting of the Minds: Solid

*Sigh* I’d like to get to the rest of these fleshed out at some point, but I threw some fast and dirty thoughts at them.

Oh right:

• Soline El Gato (Leader): Fantastic. That reaction move speed being able to be used before either your opponent’s action or your action is great. -1 Fin is really nasty, particularly against low-Fin fighters. You Cheated! is just mean with them. 
• Sanjay (Leader): Hmmmmmm. Super cool idea. Hardest leader to kill. A bit too straight-forward for my taste for longevity of wanting to play. That being said, low-aggro Sanjay enabling the use of interesting Castillian approach characters is interesting. Approach Soline, baby!

(yeah, I can end on a medium ironic use of baby!)