| January 2015 | | Happy New Year! |
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- Despite some forfeits in the Fourth Round of the event, which led to some disqualifications, Round 5 is already up, with players now needing 20 points to survive this round! Although several players are already well above the 20 point threshold, there are several still in risk of being eliminated this round.
- RootRanger makes a return after his successful Sacrifice event with a new idea, TRENZALORE. Give it a read, because who knows, it might be just as big as Sacrifice was.
This section was written by Dm1321
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- This month the COs prepared a little Christmas Present for Zanz, and the community joined in! A whopping 14 submissions were entered, and voting has already finished. The winner of this competition was Frozengaia with his card idea Festivity, gaining his first award ever. Runner-ups Aknelo and ddevans96 weren't too far off, both with only one vote less than the winner. Of course, we'll have to locate Zanz before we can send our present to him.
- Early into January, but the Competition Section starts out with a popular theme with the Rock-Paper-Scissor-Lizard-Spock competition, to which many players have expressed their desire to join. A new take on a competition that happened long ago, the twist given and the fact that it references a popular TV show made it so that many applications were sent even during the first 24 hours after it was posted.
- COs are always on the lookout for competition ideas! If you have any amazing ideas for new competitions, be sure to post them here!
This section was written by Zawadx and Dm1321
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- Announcement: As said in the Rules, from January 2015, our Tournament Rules have underwent a minor change. To the joy of all new members, the post requirement has been diminished to just 1; sadly, the rewards are also halved unless the amount of players in a tournament surpasses 32. The halved rewards are really just how the rewards were before they were doubled, though.
- Weekly Tournament - December 6th - Limited resources #2 showed that one does not need expensive decks to win. One person who proved this was mathman101
 , the winner of that Weekly Tournament. This was his first WT trophy win and he said: "It felt awesome! After I got within the last few turns of the last game vs worldwideweb3, a huge smile came upon my face with the realization of what I had just accomplished." He admitted that the final match was the scariest one, as he feared that his opponent would have a purify, and this would likely spell defeat for him. But fortune was on his side as his adversary could not get rid of the poison that mathman101 viciously inflicted on him. Congratulations to the winner and good luck in the future tourneys!
- December 13th's Speedtwisting - Unupgraded was a surprise to all who attended, as they had expected to attend a speedbuiding tournament. Instead of needing to make quick decks, with the possibility of having formidable rules, it was difficult to make illegal decks.
 This is because Speedbuilding became unrestricted, except for upgraded cards. But not everyone preferred so much freedom. This includes the winner of that tournament, iancudorinmarian . He said that on the one hand it was disappointing to not to have a set of random cards to choose, but on the other hand he liked the opportunity to use a deck he wants. It is laudable that he managed to win that unrestricted tournament without using any overrated shards. I, Krzysiekxd, can partly confirm that, as he beat my pathetic shard golem deck with his shardless rainbow. Congratulations!
- Since a speedbuilding tournament was originally planned for the prior week, but it was suddenly changed to a speedtwisting tournament, Speedbuilding: Potluck Rules, finally took place on the 20th of December. The victor was RootRanger, a repeat PvP tournament winner. Even though he had some luck regarding winning, as there were only twelve players and he received a "bye," which means that he was automatically forwarded to round two, he proved himself a PvP veteran, as this was his 11th WT win. When asked what his secret is to winning so many tournaments, he declared, "The key is to use balanced decks, filled with imbalanced cards." Congratulations RootRanger, and I wish you many more WT wins.
- This Christmas was merry for deuce22, the Master of Aether, as he won December 27th's Xmas Time! - Unupgraded. According to him, that tourney was very exciting as "it wasn't the usual rock-paper-scissors, or one deck to rule them all type of ruleset." When asked if he had any special tactics for that tournament, he declared that his strategy "was to use the strongest elements first to ensure moving on. Then pick and choose elements based on what my opponent used in later rounds." It seems deuce22 is a real tactician, so beware anyone who happens to meet him in any PvP event. Congratulations to the winner!
This section was written with the great help of J617 and a little help of Dm1321
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- Nothing really to say here, except for that Season 1/2015 has just started! What are you waiting for? JOIN!
This time we use the space to talk a little about:
WAR #8This report was brought to you by Dm1321
Still on the battlefield:
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After Round 8, 9, and 10, many-a-duels were had, and many-a-teams were eliminated.
Shortly after the Eight Round, Team Water bid War a fond farewell; nonetheless with a good run for team water - the 2nd best it's ever had, according to RavingRabbid. ddevans96 didn't let himself feeling down from the run, posting in Voices of the Fallen a small excerpt of a Song's Lyrics, confirming he has no regrets over this war. treebeard xiii also made his own post, claiming he could ask for no better general than ddevans was; rob77dp also left his own thoughts, thanking the team and the warmasters.
After Round 9, it was time for Team Entropy to go. New Member Physsion wrote a lenghty and enjoyable post about his first war experience, as well as first-timer rogerluc did. RavingRabbid also left us with a bit of insight, even though his post may be laced in ways some may not like.
And after Round 10, a surprise that many welcome with open arms, no doubt, with the fall of Team Aether, going out of War with a 0-3 record in its' last round. Many players have already voiced their mind about Aether's performance, with Warmaster deuce22 claiming that Aether would have "a very good shot at winning it's 4th war if not for the giant penalty." From Team Aether itself, first-time War Player Ginyu wrote a bit, thanking General hainkarga for bidding on him early on, and explaining a bit of the team's thought regarding the final rounds. Dm1321 also tried to write a bit, but it didn't offer much content.
Not only that, but from Chat Commentary many players have repeatedly thanked our Warmasters serprex, CuCN, and deuce22, commenting on how this War was well ran and that they'd join "any war that these three are hosting".
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- Elements Mafia 43 has ended with a victory for the civilians! It all came down to a Lynch-or-Lose where the civvies managed a close win.
- Elements Mafia 44 is underway! With a setup akin to classical mafia, this is the first actual Mafia in a long time where iconic player RootRanger was chosen as Mafia. Even with such an advantage the civilians have already lynched 2 out of 5 mafia. Will the remaining mafia pull together or will it be an easy civvie victory?
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- Not many new people have been appointed Staff... yet! It is time for the 8th Elements Council to back away and give space to 9th Elements Council. Click on that hyperlink to apply - No application will be left unsubmitted or unread! Some people from the 8th Council may return, but undoubtedly, many new players will be applying. It is good to rotate the Council.
- The last thing that our 8th Council will do for us, is the End of Year Forum Awards Nominations. There are a few more categories than the one that was
badly hosted last year, so make sure to check out and submit! Later on the voting will also be placed. If you have any doubts, you can contact any of the Council Members one way or the other.
This section was written by Dm1321
Tea Time with Giants:Odii OdsenBelow is the portion of an interview:
Q: You are the Master of Darkness for the second time. Owing to the fact that I am a Light loyalist and am thus on the opposite side, I am really interested in why Darkness is your favorite Element (or at least why you have chosen it for Trials). Do you like this element just because it is powerful in the game or are you also "dark" in RL? Do you like the theme itself?
A: When I started this game in August 2009 my first element was Darkness. I played for almost two years different types of Mono Darkness decks. I was farming electrum to upgrade all the Darkness cards I need. What I want to say is that my first steps in this game were with Darkness and it was really a nice time. Darkness is indeed powerful in the game, but I didn’t know that when I was starting this game. I picked that element because I like the theme and because it fits best to my personality. Darkness and I share many common characteristics. It is quiet and patient. I am a guy who actually never go to bed before 2 AM. I like the Darkness 
Q: Speaking of your second Mastership, you are also participating in War as General for the second time. How did you like Trials #8 and now War #8, and how were they different from Trials #7 and War #7? Which did you find more interesting and difficult?
A: Trials #8 were fun but much easier than Trials #7. Actually I had just to win the final game against jijo. I knew I will face him in the final battle and I prepared my decks for his playstyle. Every War is hard for all 12 elements. But it’s harder for some elements like Life, Water, Gravity, Light and Darkness as you know. So I can’t really say which War was more difficult. Probably War #7 was harder, because I had no General experience and my team (including me ofc) wasn’t as much experienced as my current team is in War #8.
Q: War is almost over. What do you think you could have done better in War #8?
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New Members
Spoiler for Introduction posts: Here are the members who posted in the Introduce Yourself board. Just click a certain name to be redirected to corresponding introduction post. Don't be rude, say hello to new comers |
Happy New Year comic. Enjoy!
Below is only an excerpt of a comic, don't miss a link a the full comic.
LINK TO A FULL COMIC
Fast-Draw FG Killer by DJ Hopper :)This deck review was written by the Deck Helper, willng3.Hover over cards for details, click for permalink 5rg 5rg 5rg 5rg 5rg 5rg 5rg 5rg 5rg 5rg 5rg 5rg 5rl 5rl 5rl 5rl 5rl 5rl 5ro 5ro 5ru 5ru 5t2 5t2 5t2 5t2 5t2 5t2 5t2 5t2 61t 61t 61t 61t 61t 61t 622 622 8pu
The deck featured this month is a classic variant of the deck archetype commonly referred to as "Ghostal", whose power is demonstrated both in PvP and against False Gods.
Card by card:
Golden Hourglass: Increases draw power, leading to faster Dimensional Shield retrieval, faster quanta production, and a faster deck in general.
Eternity: In the event that the opponent puts up more of a fight than expected, Eternity can be used to counteract excessive drawing by preventing the player from decking out. It also doubles as creature control by dismissing certain threatening cards from the board for another turn, if needed.
Ghost of the Past: Damage dealer. With quanta being restricted to 75 for any Element, Ghost of the Past makes a more efficient choice here than the Devonian Dragon. However, the latter can also be used in some cases to counter Wings.
Dimensional Shield: Arguably the strongest shield in the game. With this deck's ability to burn through its cards quickly, 18 turns is more than enough turns of stalling to finish off the opponent in most cases.
Fractal: The ultimate stall-breaker. Two copies of this card in this deck ensures that a single Ghost of the Past receives as much as a ×8 damage multiplier for each copy.
Strategy:
The beauty of this deck is, as its name implies, its incredible drawing speed. Excessive amounts of quanta producers help to make sure that the Golden Hourglasses can both be played and activated quickly. The additional drawing power in the early game reduces the drawbacks of having a deck size over 30 by reducing the risk of not being able to draw a Dimensional Shield in time to stop the opponent's damage dealers. Once the player has neutralized most of the opponent's opposition they may then begin to accumulate quanta in preparation for a spam of Ghosts of the Past later in the game. Some variants of this deck also include a few copies of Silence to ensure that the spam of Ghosts cannot be prevented or countered.
Strengths:
Fast drawing speed, powerful shields, and burst damage. Ghost of the Past having 4 HP in addition to Fractal lead to the player having to worry very little about the opponent's creature control as long as they hold off on playing Ghosts until a Fractal can be played during the same turn. Stalls will have a very hard time dealing with this deck's speed and decks that can't deal with Dimensional Shields will be forced to look on hopelessly as the player sets up for a mid to late game spam of Ghosts of the Past. Multiple copies of important permanents reduces the power of decks that use one or two copies of permanent control, aside from those that aim to win in a single turn. The use of Aether in this deck also means that it can be customized for multiple uses in PvP.
Weaknesses:
The player must be wary of how much they draw from their own deck, as the player's greed may set themselves up for the opponent destroying an Eternity towards the end of the game, forcing the player to lose via deck out. While one or two copies of permanent control generally is not enough to break this deck, continuous permanent control such as Pulverizer or even Psion and Momentum can present problems. The deck in this form has no means to bypass Dimensional Shields, meaning that it will be forced to hope that its own supply of Dimensional Shields outlasts those of the opponent. Quanta control in the form of Discord and Earthquake has the potential to disrupt the deck enough in the early game to allow rushes to win before the deck can stabilize its output of quanta.
Working well in its element, this would offer Life a way to use the mass of creatures it may generate to great advantage. Buffing any mass of scorpions, or simply trying to get that extra edge over that DR shield, this should do the trick. Toss this in a Frogtal deck for that kick you might need for that extra lethality.
The upgraded also serves as the Life's Cremation, as you can kill a rebirthing target or one that when destroyed itself aids you significantly.
While it offers offensive, it also buffs the creature's HP to help with their fragility. Getting an extra round of attacks after a Fire Shield, or preparedness for weaker CC, especially Thunder Storm may prove to be a great advantage.
Puzzle of the Month
Elements Snaking Word Find
This is a snaking style word find puzzle with an extra word to be determined after all of the listed words have been found.
The first object is to find all the words listed below in the puzzle. Once that is done, the second object is to find all the letters that are not used, then rearrange them to make another word related to Elements. So, once you have found all the words in the word find, write out all the letters that were not used. Then rearrange them into a commonly known Elements word.
Because letters may overlap in multiple words, do not cross out found words. The letters go either horizontally or vertically, from one letter to the next (in other words, bending at 90 degrees at any letter). To clarify, the words curve, but will not go diagonally.
(When looking for double words, keep in mind that there are no spaces in the puzzle.)
Spoiler for help in solving: Example of how words may snake: (I made the first letter the darkest, then lightened, for ease of seeing.) 
Spoiler for help in getting an answer to me: Spoiler for if you have no idea how send an answer to me, here are instructions on how to pm a picture to me: After scanning a hard copy or using paint to save the picture in your computer, upload your picture to the internet. Different sites can be used, but here are a few options: imgur.com, photobucket.com, and tinypic.com. Once it is uploaded, on another page, click to open a pm to me. Then copy the link where you uploaded your picture, to that pm. At the end of the link, make sure that it has a “.png” at the end of it (you can type it in). If you prefer, you can use “.jpg” or “.gif” instead; but do not forget to add the period before the three letters. Now highlight that line and click “insert image.” (This is the [Mona Lisa] picture, which is located above the smilies.) When clicked, it will insert two sets of brackets with img on either side of the link you highlighted. Now preview your pm to see if the picture shows. If it does not, then recheck. When ready, click send. Spoiler for an example of how to send those typed answers: Here I use the previous example puzzle, except that the rows have letters representing them, and the columns have numbers representing them. Accordingly, the top left square is A1 while the bottom right square is D4. To the right of the words are the example answers of that puzzle, and what you would type in your pm.  Spoiler for thanks for an idea of how to present an option not requiring uploading puzzle answers: Thank you UTAlan  for giving me a way to make sure that there is a way to send in many types of puzzle answers without requiring the answers be uploaded (especially puzzles such as this where I could see no other option). If you would like to send in an answer and are still confused or have difficulties doing so, you are welcome to pm me, and I will try to help. I would much prefer a pm to someone's disappointment that they can not accomplish such a task. This goes for all my puzzles.
If you solve this puzzle and send the answers via pm to J617 by the deadline, your name will be listed in next month's Newsletter.
The countdown has concluded.
Last month's Elements Nonogram solution:
Many thanks to:
-J617 for helping with Weekly Tournaments and for Puzzle of the Month
-Zawadx for Competitions and Forum Games
-willng3 for Deck Idea of the Month
-Captain Scribra for Card Idea of the Month
-Dm1321 for the overall great help with NL this month
-all readers for reading
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