Weekly Featured Cards poll - Other

[nilsieboy]

voted for vampire, can work as small adrealined attackers or heavy healers.

[geekz_always_win]

Voodoo Doll FTW. Or FTL for that matter.

All of its bugs and mishaps during war are definitely praiseworthy and makes a semi-interesting article.

[Kuroaitou]

Voodoo Doll FTW. Or FTL for that matter.

All of its bugs and mishaps during war are definitely praiseworthy and makes a semi-interesting article.

Heh, not gonna mention bugs here, as Zanz fixed them in the last update.

Here's the article!

Voodoo Doll is a tricky Darkness card with an odd passive skill. If Voodoo Doll survives any damaging or otherwise negative effect (from spells, permanents, or creatures), the damage/debuffs are immediately transferred to the opponent or the opponent’s weapon depending on what type of effect was inflicted upon the Voodoo Doll.

Voodoo Doll’s passive skill, ‘Voodoo’, is an unusual passive skill that can’t be lobotomized off. Whenever Voodoo Doll survives the damage or debuff effect of any mechanic, the effect is also delivered to the opponent simultaneously (if it’s damage) and their weapon (if it’s a non-damage effect). A special thing to note is that none of the damage done via Voodoo Doll can be reflected, so spells (like Fire Lance or Drain Life) can bypass reflective shields when used on the doll. Since it only costs 2 , Voodoo Doll is cheap to play, but has no attack power aside from cards that can increase its stats. Its HP on the other hand (16 non-upped, 20 upgraded), is high enough so that damage and stuns can be delivered to the doll repeatedly to whittle down your opponent.

It’s important to note that killing effects (such as Immolation on a Voodoo Doll) will not cause any damage to your opponent whatsoever. This means that any ability that doesn’t cause damage (Paradox, Devour, etc.) won’t affect the doll. Also, while damage passes, the opposite doesn’t – healing the doll will not heal the opposing player, so increasing or recovering its HP will not help the enemy.

Many people have developed numerous tricks to make Voodoo Doll one of the most devious creatures to fight against. One particular spell, Gravity Pull, is a notorious card to use with Voodoo Doll – as Gravity Pull redirects damage away from the player and onto the target instead, the creatures will then attack the doll, triggering the Voodoo. This will then redirect damage to the enemy player (assuming that the doll survives the attacks). In a sense, Gravity Pull then acts as a way to reflect creature damage back to your opponent, countering adrenaline-affected creatures or creature-spam decks.

Rage Potions also have fantastic synergy with Voodoo Doll – unlike most buffing spells, such as Blessing or Chaos Power, which improves both stats to help the creature survive and output more damage, Rage Potion effectively has a double-dipping effect with Voodoo Doll. When used, the Rage Potion will deal 5 (6 upgraded) damage to the doll, hurting the opponent – and because of the positive attack, the Voodoo’s attack will then deal up to 5-6 damage again as the turn ends. In this case, Rage Potions help improve the combination of and cards with high offensive potential, rather than defensive potential (via Gravity Pull).

Voodoo Doll can also transfer poison counters to the opponent with the right cards. Aflatoxin for example can be applied to the Voodoo Doll (inflicting the opponent with two poison counters), and upon ending the turn, the doll will receive 2 damage (thus, the opponent takes 4 damage total from their own poison and the doll’s poison damage). Because of this, Parasites (or Bloodsuckers) are extremely useful as poison-applicators. Their ability for 1 quanta, ‘Infect’, can be used repeatedly on a Doll to accumulate poison quickly on an opponent; combined with other Death cards (Arsenic, Deadly Poison, Deathstalkers with Eclipse), and the opponent will then have to deal with various poison afflictions on your field and within your deck.

Finally, stun effects can hinder your opponent in another, unique way. If your opponent has a weapon, freezing a Voodoo Doll will also cause the weapon to be frozen for the corresponding amount of turns. Freeze as well as Basilisk Blood are both effective stun cards that can help disable (not destroy) the opponent’s weapon, meaning that the weapons cannot damage you nor can they be used for their unique abilities (like Eternity or Trident). Basilisk Blood is used more often than Freeze though, due to the fact that it increases the HP pool (by 20) of Voodoo Doll, allowing it to absorb more damaging effects. Applying multiple Basilisk Blood alchemy cards on the same Voodoo Doll can be both very risky and also rewarding depending on the combination of cards you use alongside the more durable doll. Conversely, using Adrenaline will not make the opposing weapon attack multiple times (again, similar to the healing factor mention above).

Voodoo Doll isn’t completely unstoppable though. An early Quintessence on a non-buffed Voodoo Doll can actually render it completely useless, as there are no ways to effectively damage it via spells or other effects (shields included, as the Voodoo Doll has no attack unless you have Nightfall or Eclipse on the field). Rewinds often remove the buffs and damage accumulated from a doll, which can make strategies revolving around high-HP Voodoo Dolls futile, as the doll would be reset to its original stats. Various other cards (Mutation, Flooding, etc.) can also cause the doll to be nothing more than a waste of quanta, so it’s important to notice that effects that do not damage or delay Voodoo Doll will actually counter it effectively.

There are also a couple of secrets and tricks regarding Voodoo Doll. For example – because of it has no attack, Butterfly Effect can be applied to it, making it an incredibly dangerous creature to handle; reusable permanent control on a creature with fairly high HP that will deal damage back to the enemy if damaging creature control is used. Another surprise is Twin Universe. Using Twin Universe on a damaged Voodoo Doll will also reapply that same amount of damage (HP missing) from the second doll to the opponent again – with enough damage done to a Voodoo Doll (with multiple applications of Basilisk Blood), one could deal a massive hit by using Twin Universe on a doll, which can often score a victory for the player. However, these secrets are very specific and require precise timing to use properly, as it can backfire if you don’t manage to pull off the right card combinations in time.

No matter how a Voodoo Doll is used, the creature is a true symbol of indirect affliction – pain done to it, shall be done unto the foe.

Quick Facts:
All damage dealt to a Voodoo Doll from spells, permanents, or other creatures will be afflicted to the opposing player, as long as the Voodoo Doll survives the damage

Poison applied to a Voodoo Doll will also be applied to the opponent

If the Voodoo Doll is stunned, the opponent’s weapon will also be stunned (or frozen), making the weapon incapable of dealing damage or using its ability

Healing and buffing spells have no effect on the opposing player

Use This Card Together With:
Gravity Pull | Gravity Force
Rage Potion | Rage Elixir
Basilisk Blood | Basilisk Blood

Decks Using This Card:
Karma - Quit hitting yourself (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,11228.0.html)
My Voodoo Doll Is On Fire! (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,9870.0.html)
Shak’ars Revenge (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,14435.0.html)

Aether polls are now up!

[smuglapse]

Not that this article isn't long enough already, , but a mention of un-upped Pandemonium might be necessary since one of the new AI3s uses that combo.

Good work, as always.

Edit: Oh, and vote PU | TU.

[Kuroaitou]

Not that this article isn't long enough already, , but a mention of un-upped Pandemonium might be necessary since one of the new AI3s uses that combo.

Hm. True, but I'm not sure where I can squeeze it in... perhaps I could fit it in the second-to last paragraph regarding a 'nifty' trick, but Pandemonium is somewhat situational. It could also just apply the Rewind effect (nullifies the Voodoo Doll), Lobotomize (no effect), or a basic damage spell (Ice Bolt, Siphon Life, Fire Lance, etc.) that doesn't do much since most people don't have high amounts of that quanta type.

That said, I agree with Twin Universe being a good article to write about.

[PlayerOa]

One more vote for Twin Universe | One more vote for Twin Universe

[chum3]

Hm. True, but I'm not sure where I can squeeze it in... perhaps I could fit it in the second-to last paragraph regarding a 'nifty' trick, but Pandemonium is somewhat situational. It could also just apply the Rewind effect (nullifies the Voodoo Doll), Lobotomize (no effect), or a basic damage spell (Ice Bolt, Siphon Life, Fire Lance, etc.) that doesn't do much since most people don't have high amounts of that quanta type.

I like the idea of adding Pandemonium. Putting it in the second-to-last paragraph is also a good idea; perhaps a sentence after Butterfly Effect. Maybe something like:

There are also a couple of*  secrets and tricks regarding Voodoo Doll. For example – because it starts with no attack, Butterfly Effect can be applied to it, making it an incredibly dangerous creature to handle; reusable permanent control on a creature with fairly high HP that will deal damage back to the enemy if damaging creature control is used. Voodoo Dolls can also be used in conjunction with unupgraded Pandemonium; while providing mass creature control against your opponent, it is possible to damage the opponent's HP with whatever damage afflicts your Voodoo Dolls. Another surprise is Twin Universe.

* "couple of" would be changed to "few," as there are now more than two examples in this paragraph.
** You don't have to use that sentence exactly, but it's a starting point if you want to add that Pandemonium bit.

[nilsieboy]

voted for the mindgate (shouldn't silence be in this now 1.26 is out?)

[Ant-n-ero]

voted for the mindgate (shouldn't silence be in this now 1.26 is out?)

and how much would you have to write about it? not very much, you don't know what it's good (synergies) with or anything MUCH atm...

so new cards are usually left out till the next time....

[Ele124]

Ah, dimensional shield. Perhaps not the most creative card in my deck, but you can have (almost) complete peace of mind for 3 turns. Easily deserving of its own article.

[Ant-n-ero]

Looks like it's between PU/TU and Mind Gate...
and seeing as I think MG is a piece of rubbish I voted for TU

(sorry lobo, but you weren't going ta make it )

[EvaRia]

Not that this article isn't long enough already, , but a mention of un-upped Pandemonium might be necessary since one of the new AI3s uses that combo.

Hm. True, but I'm not sure where I can squeeze it in... perhaps I could fit it in the second-to last paragraph regarding a 'nifty' trick, but Pandemonium is somewhat situational. It could also just apply the Rewind effect (nullifies the Voodoo Doll), Lobotomize (no effect), or a basic damage spell (Ice Bolt, Siphon Life, Fire Lance, etc.) that doesn't do much since most people don't have high amounts of that quanta type.

That said, I agree with Twin Universe being a good article to write about.

http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,13420.0.html

Anyways, I voted Spark | Ball lightning, they are just so cool to use in soooooo many decks.