MapleStory iTCG card preview - Ivan

Ivan, the Rogue
When you play trading card games, do you like building interesting deck engines? Do you enjoy being the jack-of-all-trades? If so, the Thief class is for you. In MapleStory iTCG, Thieves can do almost anything pretty well, but no one thing as well as the other classes. It is this flexibility that makes Thieves the choice for players who want to have an answer to almost anything their opponent can do.

Ivan is one of the two Thief characters in set one. His simple design sets the stage for you to build around him in a few different ways.

Damage from abilities is a minor theme for Thieves in set one. Ivan’s first ability is Stab at 10T. You can use this damage each turn in a way similar to Maya; 10 damage to clean up the small creatures while your Tactics take aim at the larger ones. Unlike Mages, you have a deckbuilding option to reinforce this theme. If you use the level-up ability of either Krappy or Krip, you can deal damage each turn with their Stabs and Slashes. (Yes, there really is a monster called Krappy. He might be better than his name suggests.) This would turn your Thief into something of a Bowman who has free access to Thief cards.

Like Maya, Ivan’s has Quest at level 10. The turn one draw is essential if you want to press a card advantage strategy. While Magicians draw cards with Quest level-ups, you do the opposite. Thief’s trigger level-up is Loot, which reads “If your opponent has 3 or more cards in hand, he or she chooses one and discards it.” If you level-up with a Loot ability in the first few turns while also using Quest, you can quickly pile up the early card advantage.

Thieves excel at getting items into play. Items are unique in that they are something you put into play like monsters, but they rarely have a direct effect on the game when you play it. They wait around to trigger based on things that happen later. Equip X at 20T is Ivan’s third ability. It ensures that you can play an item nearly whenever you want.

Seven of the 17 items in the first set are Thief cards. Here are a few of my favorites.

Red Night, level 10. “Whenever one of your monsters is destroyed, flip a coin. If you win, your opponent chooses and discards a card from his or her hand.” Most discard effects in the game require your opponent to have at least three cards in their hand to work. Red Night doesn’t have that restriction. Almost no one will let you keep a monster in play, so this is another way to suppress your opponent’s options by denying him or her cards. Fewer cards for your opponent will lead to greater chances for you to win the game.
Kumbi Throwing-Star, level 30. “Whenever one of your opponent's character actions damages you, do 20 damage to that character.” I like to include one of these in a Thief deck, in case my opponent is a Bowman. He or she will think twice about chipping away at my HP 10 or 20 damage at a time when they also take 20 damage!
Blood Slain, level 50. “Whenever one of your character actions, monster attacks, or tactics does damage, it gets +10 damage.” This card usually ends the game quickly. It makes everything else in your deck better. Two of these in play almost certainly leads to victory. And if for some reason you can’t make use of it as an item, level up with it! At level 70TTT, you get Sneak X which lets you play any card of your level or less. Sneak X is the perfect level-up for the utility class.
Expanding past Thief cards, you can create the basis of a two-color deck through items from other classes. Bowman’s damage-enhancing cards such as Battle Bow and Golden Crow work well with the damage abilities both Thieves and Bowmen have. If you go the monster route, consider The Nine Dragons or Battle Shield from the Warrior class. Magicians only have two items in set one, so making a similar connection with them is difficult. Red Apprentice Hat seems like a good way to pick up some spare Hit Points while drawing an extra card.

Ivan’s big drawback is his lack of focus. Warrior has more powerful monsters, Magicians have better tactics, and Bowmen have cheaper ability damage. Thieves need to overcome this card quality gap by being tricky. Sneak-y, even. With access to quality cards in every card type, your opponent can’t be sure of your plan of attack until it is too late.

MapleStory iTCG is your first trading card game, I would skip the Thief class in the beginning. Once you have an understanding of the game and how to outplay your opponents, you may find that Thieves give you the best tools to carry out your plans. If you come from Magic or other trading card games, Thieves may be the best option for you.

Article by: Andrea Jennifer Shubert
http://ww2.wizards.com/maplestory/news.aspx?doc=news_Ivan