Cook Club deck aka Juggernauts deck

Akihito

Introduction

Hi I'm Aki (just Aki) and semi-experienced player here. Still i'm one of stronger if not strongest pvp player at 100 and 300 DP brackets known for bruteforce and gimmick decks. Today we gonna deal with pure bruteforce deck.

Range

Pure Cookers 80-450 DP
Cookers Mixed with strongest Vita followers 300 -700 DP

What do you eat cookers with?

Primarily Cook Club deck is subfactioned deck. This means you gonna play followers of 1 faction (in this case Vita) and moreover only those named with specific prefix. This of course leaves less variety of possible pick ups but don't worry Cook Club has all you need. The deck is build around size 1/2/3 followers and idea of placing them with double or even in some cases tripple spells. Yeah sure, but why particulary cook club than you may ask. Answer it that those creepy little things have possibilities which other subfaction doesn't. Mainly we are talking about 4 message combos, very strong cheap buffing spells and so-called minority attack (description in next paragraph). All together this makes Cook Club one of fastest buffing subfactions in game.
Deck aims to wreck opponent with brute force not worrying much about how strong opponent followers may become. This has however downside that Cook Club decks struggle against decks which are not oriented on playing followers battle. But when it comes to followers there aren't many decks which can stand up those creepy little beasts...

Minority Attack

It's a combo setup named after spell Minority Report. Even though itmay suggest you attack your opponent with lower number of followers actuall effect is opposite. Not many knows it but it's best buffing spell in the game if used wisely. Minority Report spell replaces skills and sizes of your Cook Club followers for skill of the second Cook Club follower on field. This means you want as many Cookers as possible to get bigger effect. Which skill you aim for than?

Well... mainly the Cook Club Member rare version. With 3 Cook Club followers on field it gives +2/+3/+3 buff for every follower on the field with 4 Cookers it's +2/+4/+4. But if you copy skill and have 4 followers on field effect is quadrupled: +8/+16/+16 buff for 4 followers!!
However this needs some prerequisites which makes Minority attack hard to trigger. First you need of course a spell, second you need Cook Club Member rare (and you may have only 2 in the deck) and thirdly you need at least 2 other Cookers. There is of course also downside of such pure power and this is size. Cook Club Member is size 3 and spell is also copying size of follower which means that after Minority Attack you gonna be locked (size 9 or 12 field). For PvE with weaker npces this doesn't matter as it's already game over - you won. Similar at 100 dp bracket as is very rare to recover after opponent is faced with Minority. But against strong opponents in 300 DP pvp sometimes it may backfire due to very, very high def of your followers.
Second skill you may aim for is Unlucky Member skill. It gives +2/0/+2 buff in defense and than jumps to another follower on your field if there is any. It also happens when follower dies which allows you to accumulate skill on the last standing cooker on the field (if things go wrong) with final effect of +6/0/+6 in defense. This is less preferable option of using Minority Attack but also very viable. As a promp it doesn't leave you self-locked.
There is also an option of using Minority as a defense resource. When met with sth having very nasty defense u can use Minority for copying Cook Club Ace or Cook Club Advisor (ex4) skill which will deal with very high def opponents as well as (in second case) some nastieses like Lukif for example.
Awful hand case. If you happen to be very unlucky with your hand and down on shuffles you may also try to cut down loses with Minority. You can lower size of your followers this way or give them a little bit of size-based buff if you play Poplar or Jaimie.

Char

There are few possible choices but undoubtly best is first one:

Mania Layna - Awesome +1/0/+4 prebuff for every follower in your deck. If you somehow manage to get into battle longer than 10 turns you will get additional +1/0/+4 buff on turn 11, 21 and so on. Your little beasties are initially weak having even 4 or 5 sta so this prebuff makes things a lot easier. Best.
Child Helena - Best prebuffing char in the game, having in addition only 1 DP cost (if you are PVP oriented). Same thing as with Mania altough is not Vita faction so has some downside with it. Still almost as good.
Santa Sita - antideckout option with counter to burns. 1 point char in addition and mediocore buff. Strong pick up but somewhat weaker unless you want to be safe against deckout and burn. Little bit more expensive.
Tea Time Sita - strong buffing option. Somewhat cheaper. Allows to use feast and heartless blow if you willing to (similar to Santa Sita).
Others: Santa Asmis, Novic, Crux Knight Rose, Child Asmis, Bunny Girl Canelle, Unhoused Canelle, Ginger

Followers

Here we are coming into fun part of guide. Our little beasties!

Cook Club Member rare - Minority Queen. As the flavor text goes "make sure you definitely stop by the Cook Club!" Well idk how i feel stoping at her but she definitely may stop a lot of things! Whenever you see her in your hand consider going for the Minority attack with shuffles. Must be follower.
Ritafarit - another prime jewel. As any ep.9 rare it's very strong with her effect and being a cooker makes things even better. Her second skill is refreshing one which means if you put Ritafarit, Cook Club Member and some 1 size Cooker with skill you will not only get on Rita +6/+6/+9 buff but also she will have her antibuff skill and moreover will recover +1/+2 skill in next turn. Beast.
Poplar - if you haven't seen her in action you never would believe how creepy she can be. She is 5-1-4 which is average even for 1 sizers but none experienced player will underestimate her. Her skill reverse the size effect making it advantage rather than downside. And if still not convienced imagine situation (which actually quite often happens) 2x poplar, 4 message spell and cooking failure spell with Mania Layna char. 5-1-4, +6/3/6 from 4 message (no size increase, +3/0/+3 additional buff), +3/1/4 from failure (again) and +1/0/4 from prebuff which leaves us at 13-5-18 1-sizer at cost of 1 point and 3 point spells. Ouch! And in addition she is delicious Minority filler as antistall follower. What more do you want?

Jamie ep 11 - somehwat weaker sister of Poplar. Has extra +1/0/+1 buff from her skills but doesn't get as much from 4 messages. At Minority Combo she will get 4 size instead of 3 which depending on circumstances may be advantage or disadvantage. Still must be.
Advisor ep.0 - definitely not the hotest follower but she has that sturdy +2 sta, is 2 sizer only, posses a skill (again Minority) and has very slightly better stats than similar followers. Decent, simple pickup with low DP cost.

Unlucky - second minority target. She would be awesome if only her Sta would be bigger. Mania and Helena helps here a lot. Otherwise she might be get killed by spells before your buffing spells will act. Her skill is very strong one but somewhat unpredictable. Even if not top tier pick up still very strong contender.

Ace - kinda safety button against high def followers. She might be used in Minority but downside is that most of Cook Club buffs has defense buff involved. With minority will kill any def you may encounter. Still viable option though may be best to have only 1 or 2 of her.

Member ep.0 - another starting follower! She has skill, is 1 sizer, cheap and her skill is decent against npc. For PvE deck great choice, for PvP somewhat questionable but playable (i'm running 1 myself in Mania setup).

Svia - well, tell me in which other top tier deck you can met 3 various starter followers? To makes things funnier until you haven't seen her in Glacier Recycle deck you probably won't expect much from her but she can be deadly. As most of your buffs has def ingredient you can easily expect to get +2 or even +3 at. from her skill. Moreover if you decide to put Member without Minority Report spell she will get additional +2 (maybe +3) def making her skill creepy. However she has downside of being large. Yeah, 4 sizer for cook club is already little too big (Ritafarit is the only exception). If you pick her better be ready for some deck synergy issues though she is indeed tempting...

Advisor ex4 - she has somewhat weak stats, is pretty expensive and has controversial skill. It may be as bad as -1 sta damage or as good as -6 if used with Minority. It's rather backup option. May be used.

Elsfi - bad stats for starters but has handy skill, is 3 sizer and very cheap. Mainly filler for 100 dp, highly unadviced in higher dp (both PvE PvP).
Gluttony - nice antideckout buffing skill but it's all good about her. She can't be used as Minority target at any case and is big. Stats are average. An option but i don't recommend her.

Cook Club Iri - it's rare follower but she somewhat lacks of power for this tier. May be used for decks with 300+ DP but i would be very careful with picking her for PVP.

Critic - similar to Elsfi, mainly filler. She has better stats in comparison, has nice synergy with uniform modification but it's bigger. An option for lower dp.

Unorthodox Cookers - Both Amanda and Linfield may be used in lower dp where Minority will get rid of their nasty skills (and getting a handy skill) leaving high initiall stats and low (1 or 2) size at cost of none buffs for turn. It's a sensible option and i used it with some succeses however it has downside: it's slow. Both has 3 def which makes them great uniform mod. targets. Great Zero Serve targets as well. Uninvented Guest may be used for some hillarious combo where you put 2x 1 sizers with her and Minority spell and receive 3x 6sizer field where when dieing each followers takes -3 life from opponent though it's extreme. May be used also with poplar or jaimie combo with 4 messages spell where she gets -2 size while second follower is buffed.

Non-Cookers - it is possible also to include other Vita followers, mainly in higher DP Cook Club decks but they have be choosen wisely as every non Club follower breaks quite seriously deck synergy. Possible followers are: Animal Suit Layna, Girl Detective Asmis, Head Researcher, Detective Linus and Asmis, Sanctuary Investigator Asmis. Library Spirit. If you gonna pick up 2-3 sizers you do same thing but you have to get rid off cooking failure and possibly zero serve in exchange for higher DP buffs. If you go for Library Researcher, Library Spirit and Uberchipper (Detective - if you used it you know what i mean ;) ) i advice to grab supplies transfer spell and include that low sizer - high sizer - supplies combo. If you gonna use Novic than you mas want to put as well Observer and Clothes Thieves (maybe Casey).

Upcoming - next episode Cook Club follower. Jack of all trades and if you feel lucky with gambling this is your paradise. As a Minority target (supposed skill won't be bugged :p ) she will copy her skill to all followers giving a one time +1/0/+1 buff before attack AND allow all followers on field to copy skill of first follower in your deck and than spread it to all followers. So imagine we have Aras and 2 other cookers and you are able to hit Cook Club Member skill... 3x +1/0/1 +9x +2/+3/+3 which gives us +21/27/30 if all followers will survive. Well I hope you are looking forward into next episode as much as I ^^

Spells

Here is where things get complicated. As the rule of thumb you should have followers size of at least 125-130% of your character possible life. This extra % over your char life is because of possible graving, last hand followers and so on. This means you should run followers with all together 38-39 size where almost all of your followers is 1/2/3 sizers. Moreover as the main plan involves playing at least half-half f/s besides minority you should have around equal number of spells and followers. Things get even more complicated when you include size opperations and possible deskills from opponent. And you need some followers to get Minority combo as well! Alltogether this makes question how many spells you need very tricky to answer. My advice is to forget about this basic rule and concentrate on followers/spell ratio which should be either 13/17 or 14/16. Alltogether size should aim for 25-35 bracket for pure cookers and 30-40 for slightly mixed decks with Vita big sizers.
This was one issue with spells, second is which one you should include and how many counters you should have. And for Cook Club you always have great number of spells you want and not enough space.

Non-DR.

Minority Report - one of trump cards. Have seen Cookers without it (mainly because lack of spells slots and being hard to trigger) but they weren't especially succesful. Possible to run without but highly unadviced. You need all 3 of them.
4 messages - a must be. Incredible 6/3/6 buff for Poplar and 4/2/4 for Jaimie without downside. May be used also on others 1-2 sizers if needed, works very well with Uniform Modification.

Cooking Failure - very cheap and effective. 3/1/4 buff for Poplar and Jaimie without downside. 2/1/3 for other cookers with +1 size. Size 3 is usually not an issue. Highly recommended especially for lower DP. Fully playable at 300 DP.

Uniform Modification - creepy but tricky. It gives at buff at double value of def. with price of half def. sta debuff. Best is to use on odd def. values so 3 def and 5 def will give you 6 at - 1 sta and 10 at - 2 sta respectively. Very strong spell for it's cost. Using on leftovers of Minority Attack gives mayhem followers. Great to use 2 turn after ordinary buffs. Possible life-saver. Highly adviced.

!!!! - good, cheap all-around buff. 3/1/1 or 1/1/3 is decent and it gives def which is welcomed at Cook Club. Always worth considering.

Zero Serve - very tricky spell. It's 1 pointer, it's size 1 and effect varies from mediocore to superstrong. It copies stats from 2 follower on your field (it even doesn't have to be Vita!) to next 2 Cook Clubbers in your deck. Often how effective it gets decides pure luck with spell triggering and attack sequences. It's main downside is taking space for other spells, otherwise there are no disadvantages. May be used after tripple Minority. Gambling option but potentially ultrastrong. Recommended.

Warning - good pick up. Having low size followers allows for more empty slots in hand. Also kind of pseudoshuffle and Cookers like them.

Sage's - good all-around buff. Nothing special but good filler. Obtainable from Detective Agency dungeon. You may have only 1.

Vanishment - Very good pick up for low DP decks. It's very strong buff/debuff for common card and 4 size with Cookers doesn't hurt as much. Not recommended in higher DP.

String of Emotion - great buff for Coookers if it only would be 2 targets spell. It gives +4/2/4 for both Poplar and Jaimie without downside. Possibility for lower DP.

Jackpot - decent low DP buff spell. Nothing special but most often gives def.

New Student Orientation ex4 - good all-around 100 DP spell. Anti-Lukif and anti-passcode in terms of pvp. Decent at strike to strike in PvE. Only low DP.
Ward Rupture - often underestimated spell. May be very decent though when put on low sizer or high sizer depending of opponents deck. Worth considering on lower DP and probably a must when going with low DP unorthodox cookers deck.

Complete Control - works very nice with low size vita followers. Recommended with Mania or Child Helena setups for non-pvp decks.

Party Time - similar advantage as warning. Once again - Cookers like def. Somewhat offbeat but possible.

Exiled witch - decent pvp option. You may consider putting as first card some spell and count on lucky trigger sequence. Has the issue though it cuts down your deck by 1. Still better than mass recall.
Crackdown - definitely unorthodox choice. PvP possibility but usually you need Cook Club Katie for it as well as slightly higher number of followers. Very Risky pick up but has some point.
Feast - Tea time Sita and Santa Sita option. One of best life gain spells in the game. It serves a role of counter against burns and passcode decks. Solid choice. You probably want only 1 or 2 of them.
Heartless Blow - another Sita proposition. Handy filler at 100 DP.
Advent - good Child Helena option. Risky but not as much as bolt out of blue.
Misfit - another Child Helena possibility for PvP. Usually awesome, with cookers even slightly better due to low sizers.

DR

Cook Club deck use a lot of 1 point and 3 point spells and little rare followers. This means you are guaranteed to use DR spells in any CC deck above 200 DP. In 300 DP is possible to have as much of those as three in the deck. It is wise to have at least one field clearer in DR spells.

Memory - simply best choice. Great prebuff with additional possibility of stronger Minority Attack. +1 shuffle also helps to achieve it.

Forced Return - best field clearer in the game. Highly recommended however it's hard to obtain. It requires clearing Kana's Altar Dungeon which is known of being a nightmare for beginners.

Secret Art: Nameless Flash - epic name, epic falvor text, epic effect with low sizers. Issue is that it's even harder to obtain than Forced as costs of crafting are hillarious. Altough If you can afford it...

The Truth... - another great field clearer. And this one is much easier to obtain. Very strong contender.

Encounter with the Spirit - last possible field clearer. From easier to obtain d.rares i prefer The Truth but still viable option. Up to you.

Secret Exploration - another great brute force spell. With many 1 and 2 sizers you may put this with single follower so you have buffor in front of you. However it's risky because you may get it late in the battle. In CC you can't afford for Backup from another detective.

Relieve Post - laziest DR possible xdd Still worth putting in and recommended. Very easy to craft.

Devastation - great spell especially when you use one of Sita's char. Worth considering as well with other Vita characters.

Homing Instinct - very nice DR if only your char is Mania or Helena. Just as Nameless extremely expensive.

Child Helena additional DR possibilities: Hindered Scheme, Miracle, Vernika's World.
Cheap playable DR: Balance, Evil Eye (Helena), Advancement, Encounter, Luthica's Ward, Once you Enter (Novic)

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages:

Mayhem followers
Great deck synergy
Very enjoyable grinding
Very cheap core deck (ep 0 cards, a lot of 1 and 3 pointers, only two 13 pointers)
May be used with free characters
Simple to use after you get familiar with Minority
Hard to stall followers and possibility to oversize field
Big DP range

The disadvantages:

Vulnerable to decks which doesn't base on followers
Not many counterspells
Altough core deck is cheap one improvment quickly needs multiple DR spells
Outcome can be highly influenced by bad luck
Best characters for it are mediocore expensive

Example Decks

Well... I'm not a Shana. No decks on silverplate from me :D

Good luck with our little juggernauts! Let force be with you :)