Secret HQ
art (c) Mike Trap
Determining the best Feng Shui Sites to put in a deck can often be a challenge. Putting the wrong Feng Shui can be disastrous (say 5 Festival Circles in a heavy Gas and Imprisoned deck). Here are a few guidelines I use when making a deck.
Comeback
There are several solid comeback Feng Shui sites -- Fortress of Shadow and Nine Dragon Temple. I like to play at least two of these sites, and often play as many as five. Choosing between the two can be difficult, but when I look at a deck, I try to guess whether it's going to have a large power structure with lots of non-FS, in which case I go with Nine Dragon, or is it going to be a small structure with lots burned for victory, making Fortress the better choice. Also in the category are Garden of Bronze and the always amazing City Park. Garden is tough to use, but works ok in conjunction with smaller sites like Market Square or Lily Pond. City Park is probably the second best Feng Shui Site in the game, and it's a site that makes into most of my decks. Not only does it have great defensive value, but it lets you keep up with the power generation when your sites are burned. Don't overlook maybe one Ancestral Sanctuary in a larger deck, especially if you have filled up on City Parks.
Power Generating Sites
There are a ton of Feng Shui that, if they do their trick, can generate two power a turn. These are the sites I love, and they often are the difference between winning and losing. I usually go for a healthy component (at least a 1/3) of my sites being power generators. The choice depends on what size game I am building the deck for. For example, Moebius Gardens is much stronger in 4 player than in dueling, because there are more opportunities to trigger. Proving Ground is the opposite -- in multiplayer, there is a much higher chance you will be shut down by a Whirlpool of Blood. Monkey House and Family Home are ones I keep turning to, but there are plenty others that can do their tricks and get you a power boost. Grove of Willows and Phlogiston Mine are more sites that I find I use a lot, and Market Square from Shaolin Showdown looks to have potential.
Denial Sites
These are the biggies -- the sites that foil attacks and bring opponents to a screeching halt. I try not to overload on these -- I would rather focus on winning a game than focus on stopping other people from winning. Still, a Fox Pass, Kinoshita House or City Square in a deck can come in quite useful -- I like to find room for at least one denial site.
Utility Sites
These are sites that make up for vulnerabilities in your deck. The two big ones are Ring of Gates and Festival Circle. I always try to find room for these guys unless I am playing card return or a lot of targeted events -- these sites are the Dragons best friend. Also in this category I put Petroglyphs, Field of Tentacles, Wall of a Thousand Eyes and the all-important Whirlpool of Blood. Expect to see at least 2 of these in every deck, unless I am doing something incredibly crazy.
Defensive Sites
This is the category I use to fill out the remainder of the Feng Shui in a deck. These are sites that are either hard to take, or just plain discourage attacking them. Temple of Angry Spirits is the no- brainer (with Shaolin Showdown's Hartwell Iron Works as a close runner-up), but sometimes I like to also go with big sites like Ominous Swamp, Tangram Alley and Inner Sanctum, or with sites with that can reduce damage like Dragon Mountain, Puzzle Garden and Curio Shop. Blessed Orchard is a favorite of mine because it's defensive (people with power are discouraged from attacking it) and it falls into the power generating sites category. Pinball Hall and Rust Garden are two other often overlooked sites that can punish just enough to make a potential attacker look elsewhere.
