- Melanie Lynette
- Jan 27
- 8 min read
Join me as we take a look at a powerful Trial Deck + that can not only lead to a competitive deck build of the Girls Band Cry series, but can also be a great deck to get into Weiss Schwarz with! Let's delve into this trial deck that we, in English, get alongside the Premium Booster but Japan had to wait 2 months post Premium Booster release to get their hands on.
2 TD+ Combined Only:
Deck Code: 4ESS7
Cards that you may wish to fit in and swap with others:
Quick Pilot Guide:
This deck features some very strong combos, but the downside is that both Level 1 and 3 are on reverse to get their effects. The Level 1 combo can also fight with how modern day Weiss decks like to balance themselves. This deck features some very strong Level 0 utility cards, but your Level 1 combo is not only on reverse, but only gets to target Level 1 or higher cards for its effects. This inherently means running less Level 0s so that the Level 1 combo has a higher chance to hit. Downside is that most modern day Weiss decks run about 18 Level 0 cards, and these utility cards help set up everything else moving forward in the game. So this list seeks to keep that number down to older ratios (17 in this list) to help address that issue.
Use the Level 0 utility in the deck (0/0 Tomo, 0/0 Nina, 0/0 Rupa Brainstormer, etc.) to set up your Level 1 game. The runner 0/0 Momoka can actually help you not only possibly keep an attacking Level 0 when you cancel, but can also ensure that you go to Level 1 first to leave you easy Level 1 reverse targets for Momoka’s combo. At Level 1, Momoka can’t side attack, and her combo/power levels are pretty locked (she’ll only be 6500 on attack in most lanes). You may need to dual lane with her, and power her up with the 0/0 Momoka runner’s skill, try to boost a bit of extra power also with the 0/0 Tomo assist, or the on play salvage and grant 1000 power Nina 0/0 can also give her a power buff. Also, don’t forget to use Rupa’s hand filter skill on her brainstormer as you start to play climaxes throughout the game. On reverse, hopefully you’ll see at least 2 Level 1 or higher cards. The first one must go to your hand, but hopefully there’s a second option there to send to stock as well to help build deck resources.
Level 2 you can attempt to relight the 1/0 Momoka combo with the addition of the 2/1 Subara assist as she just grants power. The Level 2 Subara, for a bottom deck cost, can also move something to an empty slot your opponent crashed in to avoid your on reverse effects so you have reverse targets. There is also a 2/1 Tomo that can recuperate her stock cost when you play her with 4 or more other Music characters and who hits pretty decent power levels. Level 3 will require some evaluation of your opponent’s deck. If you think you can get more reverses and they don’t have a ton of tech to deny this, your main goal will be to light the 3/2 Nina and hopefully deny a top deck cancel on the next attack. It is nice that you don’t have to pay her stock cost unless she does reverse something. Again, remember the 2/1 Subaru may be able to help you get some more reverse targets if you need them. If you’re sure that getting reverses won’t be happening, then you can lean into the 3/2 Rupa who can dig for cards on play, and then mills your deck to check for burn damage. With Rupa, though, you’re milling out your own cancels and, if milling through, dealing yourself refresh point damage, so keep this in mind as you pilot her in the deck.
I’m a new player who has played this combined TD quite a bit. How can I update my deck without changing the climax combos on a budget?
Girls Band Cry Budget Upgrades options to consider:
Of these options, I’d mostly prioritize the Level 0 and 2 options to help even out the deck. The climax swapper with a bit of extra mill is a nice help with the 0/0 Rupa. The Level 1 Tomo is a good substitution for the 1/0 Subaru in the TD as she’s good in almost any board state combination. The other more complicated route to go is to splash a bit of blue for the Diamond Dust members so you can have access to some desirable Level 0 utility like a Riki effect (the 0/0 Hina’s pay 1, deal yourself a damage to search Level 1 or lower is often referred to by this slang amongst long time Weiss players) and a less expensive early play Level 3 healer. The Diamond Dust members, of course, still have Music trait and also operate with Experience requirements. This means when you level up, you want to actually level up higher level cards to meet the requirements for card effects. Given that the TD+ is mono-red, it’s not too hard to do this so long as you double check card effects.
Sample TD+ with Budget Set Upgrades Mono-Red V.1:
Deck Code: 5Y53V
Quick Pilot Guide:
The Level 1 and 3 goals remain the same with this build, but some cards have been swapped out at all levels to help with Deck consistency. At Level 0 some more cards have been added to help with climax fixing or swapping, and hand filtering/sculpting. At Level 1, I’ve added one copy of the 1/1 Tomo Assist to help with power on the Level 1 Momoka combo in extreme games where on reverse is more difficult to achieve as well as the hand filter/mill Tomo 1/0 as a bit of extra mill to guarantee going through the deck in instances where the on reverse combo is denied or isn’t enough. Level 2 gives us some ways to maintain hand and deal with more of our opponent’s possible board states, and the Level 3 Subaru tech is there for matches when you go to Level 3 first and a stock swap may help you end the game with regular attack swings.
Sample TD+ with Budget Set Upgrades Splash Blue V.2:
Deck Code: 5RPN3
Quick Pilot Guide:
This build splashes blue for a different set of Level 0 utility and a chance at a Level 3 early play healer option. It does lose some of the extra copies of Level 2 tech cards to make room for the Level 3 Ai, but in exchange we can drop down to 16 Level 0’s (probably the smallest amount most decks will run in most cases) due to the Hina 0/0’s effect that can pinpoint and pull out of deck exactly what we need or are missing. Because Ai’s early play effect is tied to 2 or fewer climaxes in the waiting room, you need to be careful in your main phase to play her first before doing mill effects or you may need to prioritize a turn at Level 2 on relighting the Momoka combo before you’re able to get to a second refresh and play her. In some cases, it won’t be optimal to spend the resources on her, but having the option is nice!
Upgrades for when there’s some extra change in the wallet after payday:
This series may be very affordable for some players to upgrade due to its premium booster format so long as you aren’t chasing foil versions of cards. You will likely be able to find even popular cards at a lower price nearer to the release period due to this. Here are some of the pricier upgrades you may consider incorporating when it makes financial sense.
Note: I’m also avoiding any PR cards in his section for now, even though there are some very powerful ones that have seen a lot of play in competitive lists. As of the publication date of this article around release week in January of 2026 we don’t know when or how they’ll be released. Depending on how the PRs are released for this set, they could be easy or difficult to obtain for players.
Sample TD+ with Full Set Upgrades (keeping both TD+ combos):
Deck Code: 4AW8T
Quick Pilot Guide:
This version of the deck keeps the two TD+ combos and focuses on just upgrading its consistency with a swap in the Level 0 game with the 0/0 Nina, 0/0 Subaru Brainstormer, and the 0/0 Tomo. At Level 2 we get the added option of the 3/2 Rupa early play healer. I’ve left a single off-finisher copy of the Rupa in this build to help dig for a final climax combo or in the scenarios when getting a reverse for the Nina finisher off is impossible. You may want to increase the 2/1 Subaru assist’s count back up to 3 if you’re having trouble setting these up too. Overall, you’ll see a lot more consistency in the game play with some of the deck’s upgrades.
I’m ready to make this into a competitive deck. What are my options?
While many competitive decks for this series from Japan have settled on the Level 3 Nina climax combo from the booster set as the finisher option of choice, there is a lot of variance in what works to build up the hand and stock resources to light her end game combo best. One deck variant does use the Level 1 TD+ combo, with some splitting the Level 3 climax spread between the Level 2 Subaru combo or another combo. Here is one possible list variant that you might see or upgrade to.
Sample TD+ to Competitive Deck Upgrade:
Deck Code: 41F7R
Quick Pilot Guide:
Note: There is a lot of variance and personal preference that has been seen in the topping lists of this series. This is just one of very many variants that exists. Some players prefer the 1/0 Momoka set combo, the 2/1 Nina combo, or the 1/0 Nana Combo. I strongly encourage you to experiment and find what feels best for your playstyle and/or local meta.
This deck preserves the main Level 1 game, but now you are on a mission to build as much stock and hand as possible to try to light multiple repeats of the 3/2 Nina Level 3 combo’s ability at the beginning of your encore step. Level 0 adds in the 0/0 Nina who can either be a salvage for a stock and a damage on reverse or a on reverse rest something and move it to the back row (this allows back row cards such as your brainstormer or other utility cards to generate extra stock if you’re not using their effects while preserving them for future turns). Also included is the 0/0 brainstorm Subara with her excellent payout/filter ability for triggered Comeback (Door) climaxes, a powerful Rupa 3/2 early play healer, and a 3/2 Momoka that can help guarantee and even change the timing of your Level 3 Nina’s climax combo.
Be sure to check out this and other Trial Deck Remix Series possibilities at: https://level4weissschwarz.wixsite.com/lvl4ws
