- Since the servers are still down, nothing really interesting is going on.
| - Now that Brawl is over, 'lo and behold, we can get our section up and running again.
- For now, we are still on the Elements the Movie (Poster) competition. A timer should be added to the main page soon, so please participate even though the timer is not up yet! I know you're all tired due to brawl, though.
- While we're still holding that one up, we might toss a new one out to gather more people to the section, I guess. Until then, please do give us your ideas and your feedback.
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- Brawl is over and, surprisingly, the winner was not Whispers in the Dark, who had such a lead last newsletter, but rather Divine Light. Surprise! Shock! Inconsistency! The power of waging!
- On a more serious note, Brawl was actually extremely close; legend goes the Round 6 Voting was pretty decisive. Cuckoo's Nest, who finished second, were only one point behind from Divine Light.
- Check the stats for this last Brawl. Since it's over, it's also feedback time.
- While we're on the brawl topic, we are hiring! And we're hiring Brawl Masters. Go sign up and make the next Brawl fancier, harder, and... well, brawlier.
| Forums Games
- Elements Mafia 38 by Kuroaitou had quite a bit of drama, some civvy mess-up and the Mafia getting to learn most of the Civilian roles through some players that eventually quit halfway. We had some good laughs. But the Mafia won regardless.
- Now we're on Elements Mafia 39 by eljoemo. The lore is interesting and the roles are, too. Join? It's gotten pretty large. Legend goes even RootRanger is going to participate in that one.
- Fippe is probably happy that The Witch's Game 3 is getting some attention. There are some red truths to work with already; if you were too lazy to find some at the beginning of the game, they are fleshed out on the first page for you to work with them!
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Staff Changes
- This isn't a Staff Change yet, but we're hiring Brawlmasters. Council voting should start soon after application time's over, as long as the applications are enough, obviously.
- Chapuz was relieved of his Brawlmaster status. Give him a pat on the back for being a great Brawlmaster and for having done a wonderful job while he had the title.
Card Ideas & Art News
- Sadly, CIA does not have a spot on our newsletter (it would be hard to get to talk about something in the first place,) but it's worth noting that it is having some changes right now.
- One of the changes suggest people no longer will chose their own card to be added to lvl1; now, the star rating system will be the deciding factor instead. At this very moment a poll is ongoing. Go vote and give some feedback.
Tea Time with Giants: SpikeSpiegelBelow is a portion of the interview:
Q: All right, let's start off like most interviews, if not all. We know where your name comes from (And if the reader doesn't, please go watch Cowboy Bebop), but why did you choose it?
A: It's the same nick I've used long long time ago in another on-line game (Ogame). I just kept it here too.
Q: That question out of the way, let's get into the real stuff. What was your motivation to become a Competition Organizer?
A: Forum Competition section has always been quite active and funny, I was sorry to see it so..."abandoned"; also, after years, it was the time to thank staffers by giving them an hand. So i became CO.
Q: On to the topic of Competitions, what kind of Competition is your favorite - Art Competitions, Deck Competitions, Card Competitions, Story Competitions...? Why? Did you used to join Competitions often or not at all?
A: My favorites are probably Art Competitions just because i like to draw; Deck and Card Competitions would be amazing if it were possible to add the winners to the game, but I know that this is very difficult (almost impossible at the moment). And yes, i used to join Competition, i won a MS Paint Competition too!
Q: So, we finished Brawl. I don't believe you've joined Brawl since it's a fairly recent event; what did you think of this Brawl? Do you have any plans of joining another one, if you're around?
Article of the MonthLet's talk about openEtG. It's been around for a while and there's people who hate it with a passion, who love it, who have never touched the thread and have no idea what it is and people who work with it. So I asked the "leader" of the project, Fippe94, to write a bit about oEtG. You see the result below.
What is OpenEtG?
Basically, OpenEtG is a fanmade open-source variant of Elements. Originally created by serprex as a way to have an Elements which was not reliant on Zanz, I have since taken over the project as its 'lead developer'. The core gameplay is almost identical to Elements, but there are still lots of differences that makes it worth checking out.
Main Differences
More cards
OEtG has a lot more cards than Elements, most of which are taken from CIA. Just to mention some examples, OpenEtG has Fenghuang, Rejuvenation and Spider Cow.
There are also lots of changes in existing card, in an attempt to further balance the game.
Rarities and Booster Packs
While rarities exist in Elements, here it is a bit more fleshed out, with most cards divided into Commons and Uncommons, then there is Rares, which includes Elements' rares as well as a few others, Very Rare, which is the shards, and finally Ultra-Rare which includes the Nymphs and the Marks. But what is the point of Rarities you might ask. Can't I just buy any non-rare from the bazaar anyway? Not in OpenEtG, because there is no longer a Bazaar where you can buy any common card you want, but instead different kinds of booster packs where you can get almost any card (except ultra-rares). This change is mostly there to make it different than Elements, after all, there is no point in making an identical copy of an existing game. You simply choose type fo pack and an element, and each card will have a 40% chance of being that element. But now it will be superhard to get that specific common card I need for my deck, you may say. But fear not, because OEtG also has:
Trading
Unlike Elements, where trading can only be done with playing farming decks and letting the other player win, OEtG has an actual trading system. Just find a player that has the card you are looking for, and trade away to build that perfect deck you want! The only restriction is that Nymphs/Marks can only be traded with other Nymphs/Marks, and you can't trade away your starter deck either.
AI
As for the AI opponents you will face, here we have Commoner (Similar to AI2, with randomized unupgraded decks), Mage (Similar to AI3, premade decks, with 125 HP), Champion (Similar to AI4, randomized decks, 150 HP, Double draw/deck, 2x Mark) and the strongest: Demigod (Similar to False Gods, Premade decks, Double draw/deck, 3x Mark). Note that the decks are generally stronger than their Elements counterpart.
Art
Since OpenEtG is a seperate game from Elements, we can't just steal all the card art that game has. However some art from Elements are in OpenEtG, thanks to the artists willingness to share. And not only that but Thanks to the effort of several artists there are also lots of new card art in OpenEtG, both for old and new cards. For a full list of ingame art, please check out http://etg.dek.im/artcredit.htm
Future Plans
The main 'expansion' ideas for this game is in the quest system. Basically a place where you can face predeterminated AI decks, all while following a story and getting some rewards along the way. Currently tere is a single quests with no rewards, merely intended as a test. In the future there will hopefully be a lot of quests to try out, both for beginners and veterans.
For more info about the game, as well as a full list of balance changes, lots of discussion and a chance of helping with actual game, check out the OpenEtG topic!
If you can't wait any longer and just want to try OpenEtG right now, check out the game right here!
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Comic of the Month
Comic of the Month is a courtesy of Krzysiekxd and SpikeSpiegel (Draw and Idea respectively.) Krzy has told me that he'd be happy to receive ideas for further comics, including ready stories and/or scripts. Regardless, read it below.
Before changed into a purely  card, this was a Light-Darkness hybrid (White Flag representing its  part and Black Flag representing its  part). However, after a few wise comments about White Flag not fitting the element of and vice versa, seemed a much more fair element for a card like this (delay & SoR-like effects unupped, deja-vu like lobotomization for more attack power upped). Strategies:Almost every mono or duo could benefit from one of the two versions of this card. The White Flag would cause an extra Deja Vu to be spawned, an extra creature to be Hatched, one more creature to be Reversed by your Flying Eternity etc. However, unlike Shard of Readiness, you have to indeed pay the quantum cost of the ability to activate it. This, in combination with the fact your creatures can't attack as long as White Flag is on your field, balances the unupped version quite well. The Black Flag fits easily into any deck, though you have to build your deck around in order to use it at its full potential. Pharaoh decks and Deja Vu decks can both benefit by having their armies losing their skill but gaining +3 attack as long as a Black Flag is on their field. Pretty awesome for final blows where you don't need any skills anymore. Finally, the fact both of the versions of this card can self-destruct by clicking on them (SoPa-wise) make them even more versatile and even less risky to use. Advantages:"Click to remove" adds to versatility and lowers the risk of using it. They are permanents, so they are usually difficult to get rid of. Their positive effects affect all of your creatures and not just a single one of them. They can be devastating and extremely helpful within the right decks. Disadvantages:High cost to play. Because of this, it is difficult to be used out of monos or duos. You must build your deck around it to benefit the most. The unupped Flag prevents your creatures from attacking while the upped one lobotomizes them massively. Flag is probably going to backfire a LOT if Stolen by a human opponent. Metagame if this card is included:Time monos are going to be quite benefited. Fate Egg is going to be used much more often because it will Hatch into one extra creature while White Flag is used (no need for the ineffective Fate Egg & SoR combo anymore). Deja Vu is going to create an extra copy, Golden Nymph can draw an extra card every turn, pharaoh can spam an extra scarab.  must be the duo that benefits the most. Pharaoh/Scarab decks can become really, REALLY powerful because they can greatly abuse BOTH versions of the card (more Scarab spamming, more Devouring, +3 attack per creature and there can easily be 23 creatures for +69 extra damage per turn!). Same goes with  duos; Mitosis & Empathic Bond can expand much faster with White Flag and, since it is a stall, not attacking won't hurt much. Morevoer, the Mitosised swarm can instantly grow in power after established with Black Flag.  duos will gain extra synnergies; Black Flag can really help any Skeleton/Cell swarm and it can even prevent Cells from growing all over your field (which is usually something positive) because it lobotomizes them. duos can also benefit from Black Flag; GotP has no active skills to be lobotomized and Devourers won't miss their Burrow skill, making Eclipse & Black Flag a difficult yet insanely powerful combo (more pseudo-Ghostmare decks). Growers would greatly benefit from White Flag if it a trio wasn't needed and if they could attack each turn. However, since Fire Spirit is the only grower in the game with an in-element growing ability, it could open new possibilities of  duos. If divers could Dive 2 times per turn, White Flag could create insane  duos, but I suspect that's not the case.  can use Anubis to establish a Quinted army much faster with White Flag, though I am not sure if Black Flag would be able to buff immortal creatures.  ,  and doesn't seem to have any great benefits.
I thank Opsinis as usual for letting me write stuff. I thank SpikeSpiegel for doing the interview and compiling such a long New Members list, which is not based off the introduction posts but rather who actually registered in May. ARTHANASIOS, for covering something that I'm sure would grow to give me some headaches (No offence, Card Curators). Krzysiekxd, for doing the newsletter comic out of freewill (I did not ask for it), and also delivering it pretty early on the deadline, although I'm working late. Also, Fippe94, for writing the article and taking his time to talk with me as to see what could be fun to add in the article for people to know about and for actually getting me interested in oEtG. If you've noticed the lack of Deck Idea of the Month, do not blame our Deck Helpers - I specifically said that I'd try to get someone else to attempt to write something and decided to give CrocketRockett a chance, but I guess receiving the article never happened in the end. Once more, I thank myself for writing this. Trying to format the huge New Members list along with the comic and all the new stuff, and all while making it fit and not scroll sideways, borked my mind for a while. I'd also like to tell the [./list] command things that shouldn't be said in a PG-13 forum for showing up in the most uncomfortable places and not going away for around 20 minutes until I discover where I'm derping.
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