Blitz Deck Tech: Data Doll MKII - Mechanologist

Personally, I need to admit: I never thought I'd be writing this article. I always try to explore relevant heroes in the meta, or heroes from the new sets, or the most popular heroes, and this didn't include today's hero for a long time. However, in the history of Flesh and Blood, we've seen terrible heroes turn into the best heroes in the game after getting the proper support. Today, we'll discuss a hero that recently went through a drastic change: Data Doll MKII!

I love this hero. Ever since I started building Dash decks, that is, two years ago, Data Doll MKII's ability, which "cheats out" items and puts them in play, always stood out to me. However, at the time (we're talking about 2022, or early 2023), she was a terrible hero. Boost cards were quite expensive, and we couldn't protect her or finish the game. However, all of this changed, particularly after Dash I/O's Armory Deck was released.

So, let's go explore the most beloved (or hated) AI in Flesh Blood.

There are many ways a dev team can use to balance a certain hero and make up for something "unfair" that they do. This could be less life (like Kano or Iyslander), a deckbuilding restriction (like Kayo) or even both (like Emperor, Dracai of Aesir). However, Data Doll MKII is the only hero in the game that was balanced by her Intelligence: instead of 4 Intelligence, she only has 3 Intelligence, which means, at the end of your turn, you'll only draw 3 cards. This means you'll have less cards to block, pitch, or play.

As a result, you'll need to play her with several items to make the most out of her ability. However, if Dash, Database struggles with only two to three items, what happens to a hero that is vulnerable to the same problem and draws less cards?

For a long time, Data Doll was quite bad: items, in general, weren't exactly good enough to make you want to put them in play, there weren't many cards with cheap boost effects, and very few items were actually defensive. This left her in Blitz limbo for a while, and, until now, Dash was the only mechanologist truly playable in this format.

However, Bright Lights brought us a new arsenal of items and attacks with boost. This set transformed Data Doll MKII and fixed most of her flaws: it gave her attacks with cheaper boost effects (0 or 1 cost, specifically), items that are more aggressive and defensive, and new equipment that made her more defensive overall.

This deck, then, skyrocketed, but soon it fell off a bit. As Dash hit Living Legend status, Data Doll MKII lost Teklo Plasma Pistol and the entire Induction Chamber (1) and Plasma Purifier (1) kit. Thus, she lost all of her potential and her main win condition against fatigue.

However, the most recent Armory deck put this hero back in the competitive scene (and we might even need bans for her soon).

This list is nearly identical to the list that got Thomas Preyer to top 4 at the Battle Hardened: Florence. I only changed one card, and that was mostly a preference.

Before we explain any card, please note that our hero's ability checks if an item was banished from your deck, no matter how - so we won't only use boost to put items in play.

An easy way to explain what this deck does is by dividing it into two parts: attacks and items.

Items

Each item in this deck needs to create value while it is in play. Like Illusionist auras, each of them will not only prevent damage, but also threaten more damage, or make your attacks more threatening.

Our Shield kit lets us mitigate damage without necessarily wasting the cards or equipment in our hand. Dissolving Shield (1) is excellent against small amounts of damage, like Prism's or Aether Ashwing's Auras. Dissipation Shield (2), in turn, deals with larger amounts of damage, and can prevent Arcane damage, which is more annoying.

These attacks are not that powerful, so we need items that threaten more damage and help us finish the game.

While Teklo Pounder (3) and Penetration Script (2) will buff your attacks, Boom Grenade (1) grants even the less powerful attacks in this list an on-hit effect. This will force your opponent to block inefficiently or even take a lot of damage. Thanks to this item, any of your attacks will threaten at least 7 damage.

But several of these items have something in common that is really helpful for this deck's entire dynamic: crank.

When Items with crank enter the board, you can remove a Steam Counter from them, and, if you do, you'll get an Action Point. Please note that when you put these items in play through your hero's ability, you won't consume the standard Action Point you got that turn. This means you'll be able to get many Action Points in a single turn. We'll discuss how useful this will be later on.

As we'll activate Teklo Foundry Heart's ability nearly every turn (we'll discuss this card later on as well), we might have too many resources at the end of our turn. That's why we'll use Backup Protocol: RED (1); it will literally turn these resources into an attack. This item is also great when we have a hand full of items, as, in this case, it will save a turn that would be quite mediocre.

Optekal Monocle (3) is not that special, but its opt lets us fix the top of our deck and banish whatever we want.

Micro-processor (3) is the best item in this deck and makes this hero's entire engine work. Its modes are exactly what you want to do in your turn: fix your hand, fix your top deck, or banish it. We won't be able to get our Action Point back after we use a mode for the second time, but don't worry. After all, the amount of Action Points we'll create might let us activate all of this card's modes in a single turn.

This item is so powerful that, the earlier we put it in play, the easier the game will be for us.

And, lastly, we have Cerebellum Processor, which is the main character in Dash I/O's Armory Deck and revolutionized the way we play with her in Classic Constructed. She is not the only hero that is great with this card. Thanks to Cerebellum Processor, you can mitigate Data Doll's reduced Intelligence by drawing a card and making your turn even more aggressive. Furthermore, the fact it has crank means you'll be able to draw this card and not end your turn immediately because you ran out of Action Points.

Attacks

Because of Data Doll's reduced Intelligence, we can't use heavy cards with her: no Throttle (1) or Maximum Velocity (1), for instance. We selected attacks that cost zero or one, but we also needed to add attacks that best balance aggression and this deck's game plan.

So, we added the most efficient 0-cost attacks that this class can offer: Zero to Sixty (1), which has 4 power, Sprocket Rocket (1), which, depending on the circumstances can have 4 power (and meeting its conditions isn't hard), and Data Link (1). Despite not threatening 4, this card's on-hit effect is great with our hero.

Another excellent addition from Dash's Armory Deck was Fast and Furious. Besides the fact it is also a zero-cost attack with 4 power, its other effect, which activates when it is banished from boosting, is great. Some items that we want to keep on the board for a long time, like Penetration Script (2) and Boom Grenade (1) are great with it.

These 1-cost attacks will make this deck deal damage more consistently. Most of them have the same effects as the zero-cost attacks (like getting 1 power or opt 1). However, Fender Bender (1) and Out Pace (1) can be great to disrupt matches where equipment may get in the way of our plans, like against Guardians and Warriors.

We also a play a few items in our inventory to deal with specific matches. Convection Amplifier (1), Fuel Injector (3), Stasis Cell (3), and Polarity Reversal Script (1) are great when your opponent tries to use fatigue against you, and Dissolution Sphere (2) is great against heroes that "ping" one damage, like Prism, Dromai, and Aurora.

Equipment

Previously, Data Doll used equipment that was less than ideal. Once again, thanks to Dash's Armory Deck, she now uses a much more interesting set.

Teklo Foundry Heart is a must for her, and you probably won't find any replacement at its level. As we banish cards to create resources, banished items immediately enter play and get a lot out of this equipment. Besides, of course, it has Battleworn 2. It is a great piece for nearly all mechanologists.

Though we won't use Adaptive Plating's Action Point and we'll always equip it as an Arms piece, in a deck full of items (many of them with crank), you'll almost certainly block 3 with it. If you already have a Cerebellum/Grenade/Penetration with no counters, this equipment will shine as a defensive option, and, considering you don't want to block with the cards in your hand while playing this deck, this is essential.

The Heavy Industry set is really powerful. As both cards need you to banish cards from your deck, we can accelerate our game plan even more, find items, and put them in play.

Whereas Heavy Industry Surveillance lets you banish cards on your opponent's turn, Heavy Industry Gear Shift works just like Achilles Accelerator, but doesn't force you to boost, and can also put items in play. Getting more Action Points will let you both play items from your hand without losing your turn and use more Micro-processor (3) modes.

This deck includes Talishar more because there is no better weapon than anything else. Without Teklo Plasma Pistol and weapons that interact with your hero's strategy, this generic weapon is the best choice because it is aggressive. Its flaw, that is, the fact it breaks after you use it three times, isn't bad, as your matches will hardly get to that point.

Still concerning the inventory, we'll use an AB 3 set with Viziertronic Model i and Adaptive Dissolver (using it as an Arms equipment). They were included specifically for AB 3, and we won't use their abilities.

Despite being aggressive, this deck is a bit peculiar and some of its strategies are not that intuitive.

- A common turn includes using an attack with boost, activating Teklo Foundry Heart, and using another attack with boost or putting an item from your hand in play;

- If you only have items in hand, try to defend yourself with your equipment and put all of them in play;

- Micro-processor (3) is fundamental. Prioritize putting it in play as fast as possible;

- Use Heavy Industry Gear Shift to put items in play faster if you feel you need to find them as soon as possible;

- You don't need to use crank whenever one of your items enters play. Use it only when you want to activate all Micro-processor (3) abilities or draw a card with Cerebellum Processor;

- Don't use crank with items you need to deal damage, such as Penetration Script (2) and Boom Grenade (1).

After spending a long time as a joke, Data Doll MKII is finally showing us what she can do in Blitz. She might have clear weaknesses (a smaller Intelligence and a hand that doesn't block at times), but she has pushed through all of that to become the deck to beat in Blitz - after so long being one of the worst decks in the game.

Even though one of her items is banned (Hadron Collider (1)), she is still one of the best aggressive decks in the format, and is an excellent option for this Skirmish season. If you enjoy fast decks that have a lot of synergy, and solving small puzzles, Data Doll might be perfect for you.

What did you think of this deck? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!