Featured Community Member

[mathman101]

Greetings, readers (faithful/occasional/new/etc.) of the Featured Community Member thread!

We have a poll for next month's Featured Community Member; voting commences at once, forthwith!

If your name is up there because you were nominated but you would rather decline to participate, please contact a Newsletter Writer and we will keep your name up for bragging rights statistical purposes only.

[Zyardran]

For this upcoming month, the newsletter would like to announce that our interviewee will be

TribalTrouble

and this is your chance to ask (him/her) a question for all the world to hear!

To do so you have no time remaining. Thanks in advance!

Please do not ask your questions here! All the questions will be made public and attributed at the time of release. To maintain secrecy until then, send me a personal message instead, titled "Question for TribalTrouble".

Please note that Newsletter writers have the right to slightly edit your question (in terms of grammar style etc., not the actual context), ignore it if they feel it is inappropriate or if they get too many questions (then they need to select the best ones).

Don't hesitate, but send me questions! (Please title your message "Question for TribalTrouble").

If you would prefer your question/s to remain anonymous, please specify this in your message. (However, it may be best to not ask questions you could be ashamed of in the first place. )

Well? Why haven't you started typing yet? Don't hesitate, ask today!

[mathman101]

Greetings, readers (faithful/occasional/new/etc.) of the Featured Community Member thread!

For the month of February, the newsletter would like to announce that our interviewee will be decided ahead of time.

In the interests of getting the community more involved in featuring a community member, the newsletter is requesting nominations from the community!

Please feel free to PM NLW team with the name of one member who is at least a Jr. Member and has been registered at least one year, with the PM title "Nomination for Featured Community Member".

Additionally, anyone who was last interviewed more than two years ago (see the quote in this post) is eligible while those interviewed more recently are not.

We will be accepting nominations for a few days (you have been late to this post), then having open polls for a few more, intending to leave approximately a week or so for questions and a week for the interviewee to respond.

Don't delay, nominate today!

[Zyardran]

 TribalTrouble

Council member
  trooper
Trouble in the tribe



In your opinion, what is an underrated element and an underrated card?
Well Life isn't an Element so it can't be that one...
...on a serious note, Gravity and Gravity Pull. Gravity can be really versatile and deadly. While it is one of the more understated Elements, without a popular mono Gravy deck for grinding, it packs some really powerful utility cards like Black Hole, Momentum, and, yes, Gravity Pull... that see use in many different decks. Gravity Pull's ability to be used both offensively and defensively to either take out a primary target, keep yourself alive, or Voodoo your enemies to death really makes it an invaluable card.

On a deeper level, Gravity Pull also has the Oracle prediction: "If you make another person the center of your world, you can avoid some significant troubles" which really rings true for me. I get really happy and proud of myself whenever I can help someone progress further in their life. And every time I do a good deed for others it then helps me have a more positive view of the rest of the world. It's kind of like shining a light in the darkness... once you do, the light grows and evolves in all sorts of ways you never could have predicted.

Traveled Trouble in a mungle
Stumbled on a tribe in jungle
Got in trouble TribalTrouble
TribalTrouble's tribal trouble

True story.

Do you have/have you ever had any artistic hobbies. Not just visual arty, but any.
Visually, I love making abstract art. I don't know what it is about it, but I just really enjoy making abstract art that looks good but doesn't seem to hold any clear meaning. You really would have to be the creator or heavily involved in what influenced that art to know for sure what they meant by it. Not many others appreciate it but for me that's the perfect piece of art because other's don't need to know. You can also see this in my poems in the literary section.
I love singing. Love music in general. I was in choir for many years(I'm either a baritone or a bass) and have a lot of great memories, connections, and friends from the experience. The way music unites people is truly amazing.
I enjoy writing as long as I'm passionate about what I'm writing about. Then I can just write on and on and on...

Are you a tree hugger? =D
The last time I hugged a tree was when I was in gradeschool. Does that count?

What's your favorite card in EtG and why?
My favorite card would have to be Voodoo Doll. I have so many fun memories of playing variations of It's a Trap! in PvP. It's such a fun card and it really screams 'tribal trouble'
Oracle prediction: "Misdirection and secrets rule the day today."

I noticed you weren't around the elements forums for a while and now you are. What was that about?
I tend to go on hiatuses from my online communities. Especially with Elements. I just try out other games, other communities. Try to find the best fit for me. I always return to Elements eventually, part nostalgia and part just due to the fact that it really had an impact on who I became at a young age. Even though I mostly interacted in Kong chat and fooled around, many of the same amazing people that were around when I was active are still here today. Dawn To Dusk, Iancudorinmarian, Jenkar, AntiAverage, Higurashi, etc.
As for why I decided to come back and stay now, I went from being the awkward little unconfident runt I was as a teenager to being someone that has experience, knowledge, and passion. I believe with my unique perspective I can make a difference and have an impact that brings this community back to life. And that's why the first thing I did when I got back was thorough research into the current state of the community followed by my Council application and acceptance. I have since been very active in Council, making lengthy posts to explain my views as thoroughly as I can. In addition, I have been maintaining the Current & Future Council Projects and communicating with a few members of the community every now and then to coordinate with other staff, collect feedback, answer questions, and ensure Council remains both transparent and accountable.

How did you decide on your name?  What's the story behind it?
A lot of thought went into it. I was so original and creative with it that it's impossible that any other user or game has this name...
...I stole it from the old video game TribalTrouble which was the game I played just before I started playing Elements. It really fits my personality well though as I can be very troublesome at times. Especially the tribal kind of trouble, if you catch my drift...

Thanks for the interview, that was fun. Hopefully I didn't write too much.

[Zyardran]

 Greetings, readers (faithful/occasional/new/etc.) of the Featured Community Member thread!

We have a poll for next month's Featured Community Member; voting commences at once, forthwith!

If your name is up there because you were nominated but you would rather decline to participate, please contact a Newsletter Writer and we will keep your name up for bragging rights statistical purposes only.

[mathman101]

For this upcoming month, the newsletter would like to announce that our interviewee will be

Mr Muffin

and this is your chance to ask (him/her) a question for all the world to hear!

To do so you have no time remaining. Thanks in advance!

Please do not ask your questions here! All the questions will be made public and attributed at the time of release. To maintain secrecy until then, send the NLW a personal message instead, titled "Question for Mr Muffin".

Please note that Newsletter writers have the right to slightly edit your question (in terms of grammar style etc., not the actual context), ignore it if they feel it is inappropriate or if they get too many questions (then they need to select the best ones).

Don't hesitate, but send me questions! (Please title your message "Question for Mr Muffin").

If you would prefer your question/s to remain anonymous, please specify this in your message. (However, it may be best to not ask questions you could be ashamed of in the first place. )

Well? Why haven't you started typing yet? Don't hesitate, ask today!

[DoctorC]

...Right after he left xD

[TribalTrouble]

Well that's a first.

[Ryli]

Muffin is tearing this family apart.

[mathman101]

Greetings, readers (faithful/occasional/new/etc.) of the Featured Community Member thread!

For the month of March, the newsletter would like to announce that our interviewee will be decided ahead of time.

In the interests of getting the community more involved in featuring a community member, the newsletter is requesting nominations from the community!

Please feel free to PM the NLW team with the name of one member who is at least a Jr. Member and has been registered at least one year, with the PM title "Nomination for Featured Community Member".

Additionally, anyone who was last interviewed more than two years ago (see the quote in this post) is eligible while those interviewed more recently are not.

We will be accepting nominations for a few days (you have been late to this post), then having open polls for a few more, intending to leave approximately a week or so for questions and a week for the interviewee to respond.

Don't delay, nominate today!

[Zyardran]

Mr Muffin

Savior of life
  master
Delicious



How did you find the EtG community?

My brother was trying out various online strategy card games and when he stumbled upon elements the game he liked it and started playing it. I would often watch him play EtG because I thought it was a really interesting and good game. Soon after, I made my own account. After about 10 months (including about a 3 month period where I stopped playing EtG. Why I stopped and came back is a different story anyone can ask me about if the want.) of playing EtG I decided to see what this chat room thing was about. Up until then I had only clicked the button that opens chat a couple times and left almost immediately afterward. Back then I was shy about clicking on unfamiliar online stuff.

Before I discovered the chat room, I guess something like 3 months after I started playing EtG, I found the forums be google searching best decks in elements the game which took me to forum topics about SPlat and Pdials. From then until I joined the forums I was a lurker reading anything and everything in the forums. After I became a member I would still read lots of forum stuff but I was no longer a lurker because I would sometimes post something.

There's a bit of text concerning my origin story here (Link).

Fun fact, the first forum member to say something to me was RootRanger. The second member was Zyardran I'm pretty sure.


Describe your most distinct personality traits.  Are these traits revealed in your style of play or style of leadership? (Kalinuial)

I'm quiet. I talk a lot more here than in real life. The reason why I'm quiet is because I don't talk just to talk I only talk what it's about something I care about and I don't care about a lot. Although when I get going about something I care about (When I care about something I usually care about it a lot.) it can take some time for me to say all I want to say. Which is why I talk a lot more here than in real life because this community is built around something I care about a lot. That and I find it much easier to talk to people online than in real life because of how online talking works. Often times something that I would ask in the chat room I wouldn't ask in real life because I'm not comfortable with real life human interaction. I never like small talk and only do it when I have to to be polite.

I'm introverted. I think this one explains itself taking into account what I've said already.

People think I'm weird. This is because I do my own, sometimes unusual, things and don't care what other people do or think. I'll keep doing my things because I think they are more optimal for me. Note, I'm rarely rebellious in definitely bad way. I don't do things that would be mean (maybe cold but not mean) or wrong, just strange.

I've been told I'm suspicious whatever that means.

I'm very very laid back. I rarely get very upset or very happy and hardly ever excited. I'm emotionally neutral most of the time. Little things can annoy me but it's very rare that I show any anger. So yeah, I'm one of those unhealthy people that don't let anger out and are walking presser cookers.

Some people who know me well in real life think I'm funny.

Most if not all of my traits build off of and tie into each other.

Are these traits revealed in my style of play? Not that I'm aware of.

Are these traits revealed in my style of leadership? Oh yes for quiet and laid back. The non social part of the internet is built for introverts so that didn't effect anything.
As far as I know the weird things I do aren't apparent to anyone who doesn't see me in real life. Only some people who know me well in real life see the funny side of me I'm pretty sure. Being general of life in war 11 was the first time I've really been a leader because I'm not leader material. I didn't interact with my team outside of war stuff so that hints at my quiet trait probably. I sort of went along with what my team wanted for the most part and didn't really have a voice of my own because of my lack of war skills and laid back nature. I don't think I motivated my team at all. Being motivational isn't at all part of my personality. If I became a leader of some sort in real life I suspect my traits would be much more apparent including introverted, weird, and maybe funny.


How did you get your forum name?

I copied it off my in game name. I suppose now you want to know where I got my in game name. When I was about 7 yeards old I dicovered the internet and it wasn't long after that that I needed a username for something. When I made my first username my thought process was I wanted it to be Mr (I don't know why I wanted it to be Mr something.) something starting with a M and the something should be a food for some reason. The something starting with a M is important so I could shorten my username to MM (double letters are good) if I wanted to. Muffin was the first food starting with M I thought of. I don't like change so from then on my prime username is Mr Muffin. At some time I forgot whether or not I used the dot in Mr. so I decided to never use it for the sake of simplicity.


What do you do in your free time when you are not on elements?

I'm very interested in Super Smash Bros (though I have no console video game thing) so I watch SSB videos, play the online fan game Super Smash Flash 2, etc. If not that then online game surfing, and minesweeper. When I'm not internetting (Meaning when I can't internet. If I have a choice in my free time I'm going to do something online unless I'm really tired or hungry.) I'll do puzzles, play cards eat and sleep. Maybe watch TV sometimes.


How does it feel to bring an underdog element (life) to a stunning war victory?

Really great. Now those memes people did about life never winning war before life won war are extra amusing.


What advice do you have to new players who want to participate in the next War? (Kalinuial)

Be active. Even when you don't know what to do hang around the forums and where your team discusses things as much as you can. Read all current war related text you can find. Text from previous wars can be good too but only if there's no unread current war text and there's no other way you can help your team.


what in your opinion makes a strong PvP player? (Anonymous)

The ability to deckbuild well without testing is a great trait to have to be a strong pvp players but usually you can make up for lack of deckbuilding without testing skill with deck testing fairly easily. Willingness to put time into preparation, skill in "seeing" the meta, and creativity are what strong pvp players are made of. Pvp experience helps a lot with skill in "seeing" the meta, makes preparation easier and more effective, and can help with creativity. Time spent preparing for an event can be converted into seeing the meta and creativity but if you don't have creativity and aren't good at seeing the meta you will need to put a lot of time into preparation to make up for it so it's an inefficient conversion. Preparation is that thing that if you do enough of it it's all you need. If you can't see the meta without lots of preparation and have no creativity you will need to do a TON of preparing to be a strong pvper. Skill in "seeing" the meta is a very good skill that most people have to learn with experience unless they are truly gifted at pvp. Creativity is part of seeing what is good in the meta. If you have enough skill in seeing the meta, you can make good decks without testing them, and you have the creativity the pvp event requires you may not need to prepare at all. Speedbuilding tournament are rare cases where it's all about creativity and seeing the meta. Creativity is an interesting trait because it doesn't help much on it's own but being creative can greatly boost your other skills. In my opinion strong pvp players have as much as possible of these three attributes.

As for trying to read people, other than thinking what would be good options for them and stuff like that and taking that into account I don't know anything about how people read other people rock paper scissors style so I'll say nothing about that.


What were the main factors for Life's success this current war? (Kalinuial)

I don't think most people here are Christians but I am so I must say that I prayed a lot for team life leading up to and during war. As for worldly factors in Life's success in war 11 I can answer those too.

Great team for it's cost and great market for life. Since war 11 was my first war I don't know how good my team was relative to other teams in the history of war but it seemed pretty good to me even for not cheap teams.
Spielkind
Life had some great new weapons in it's vault meaning mercstall and disco frogs. Plus lots of diverse decks for dealing with most other elements.
We have RNG on our side and pvp skills.
Great predictions.

If you could have any staff title on the forum, which one would you want?

I quite like being Master of Life.

Any last words for the interview?

No.

Thanks for answering!

[Zyardran]

 Greetings, readers (faithful/occasional/new/etc.) of the Featured Community Member thread!

We have a poll for next month's Featured Community Member; voting commences at once, forthwith!

If your name is up there because you were nominated but you would rather decline to participate, please contact a Newsletter Writer and we will keep your name up for bragging rights statistical purposes only.