3rd Trials - Phase 1 - Proving of Worthiness

[xdude]

Phase 1 - Proving of Worthiness
Phase 1 has ended

Post your decks/screenshots/links/card ideas/articles here.

When you post more than one, please use "modify" and add them to your first post instead of posting on two different places. Thanks.

[TheonlyrealBeef]

OPTION I
Elements the Game
Fighting Half Bloods

I present to you Obsidian Power (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,19026)

OPTION III
Elements Article
Article Writing

WoE Feedback, counted as 731 words, this includes skill names which are not part of the feedback, but I assume total feedback is more than 600 words

Mark of Darkness

The most basic and starting skill of Darkness, Darkness is probably one of the luckier to start with this skill, since Darkness has no problems at all with it.

Backstabbing

While annoying for the opponent, this barely benefits you. With there being a lot of teams 6 cards from one of the opponents' players less is insignificant. Could be very useful if one player is constantly bothering you, but then you will need a 2-0 win against him/her as well.

Quanta Leech

I personally love and recommend this skill for beginners, it's an easy way to gain free xp against virtually any opponent. The fact that it's based upon your opponents pillars is even better, Darkness is good at denial, denial is good against big stalling decks, which tend to have lots of pillars. Might be less useful as xp requirements rise, since the amount of pillars will only lessen over time.

Bane of Light

While extra XP is always useful, I personally dislike and disrecommend this skill, since Darkness' worst nightmare is Light, no element counters Darkness the way Light does with spells like Holy Light to destroy any unbuffed creature from Darkness. It might be an idea to balance similar skills based on how difficult this matchup tends to be, so only + 1 xp for Light and + 3 xp for Darkness? It doesn't seem fair as is anyway. At least uncombined with other skills.

Disguise

Situational, at best. I wouldn't choose this skill untill it becomes clear what you can do in hostile cities. So feedback on this skill is lacking untill this becomes clear.

Summon Creatures

Might be useful in the beginning, when you lack proper creatures, but isn't a usefull addition if you already have a proper deck. Choose this skill if you lose a lot, and frequently have to discard

Shadow Leap

Brilliant potential if used properly, as long as your team scatters itself across the map as often as possible, you can simply jump to safety, or all jump to one player standing near a town they want to conquer. I love this skill, but it is limited in that you can only jump to allies with this skill, while sacrificing all you AP and a Relic. Make sure your team coördinates movement and skill distribution efficiently if you intend to use this skill.

Stealth

Another strategic skill usefull for retreating, or a tactical offense. Not being able to do most things without revealing yourself hurts, since you can go along and stroll around in enemy territory, but do practically nothing unless you want to get lynched. Great synergy with Shadow Leap, let one player infiltrate enemy territory, and let the rest of the team Shadow Leap towards him/her for a sneak attack.

Sacrifice

Situational, it's best if you either expect a close battle in which each upgrade counts, or if you have a lot of spare electrum and can easily waste it on upgrading even more of your cards. Could be deadly if it stacks (does it?).

Pickpocketing

Depending on what, if any at all, items they carry this could be usefull combined with Stealth, steal an item first, and then quickly vanish away before they want to beat you up for it Potentially great if the item stolen is extremely valuable.

Mage Hunter

Epic skill, although Darkness can easily be beaten without spells, Darkness is hurt more by spells than a lot of other elements. It gives use to Bane of Light, for what is Light without Fractal RoL Hope, Holy Light or Miracle? Fresh meat for Darkness, that's what. Immolation and Nova becomes useless, too, perfect denial counters. An extremely epic skill, worthy of tier 4.

Dark Prince

Another way of gaining more xp, your opponent losing something on a long term besis doesn't really benifit you much, and Quanta Leech can already gain you xp. Not really great for a tier 4 skill IMO. Might want to lower it's tier/increase amount of xp drained.

Champion of Darkness

If you manage to win 2-0, get this skill, have your opponent use a lot creatures (combined with Mage Hunter you can make this happen ) this would give you perfect Sacrifice fodder, while seriously hurting your opponent at the same time. A nice cream on top of the cake that synergizes with a lot of other skills at the same time.

[xdude]

It's 40 wins, TORB. Sorry for the confusion.

[TheonlyrealBeef]

It's 40 wins, TORB. Sorry for the confusion.

Did some more games and edited thread with tests on 58 games (40 wins).

[TheIdioticIdiot]

I read TORB's article... didn't understand most of it.... can it be explained?

[Korugar]

It will make more sense if you're looking at the Darkness skill tree as you read it...

[MyNameIsJoey]

OPTION I
Elements the Game
Fighting Half Bloods

Finally did it with http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,19283.new.html#new (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,19283.new.html#new)

OPTION III
Elements Article
Article Writing
TIER 1

Mark of darkness:
Well, the ability to use the darkness mark is obviously a plus that everybody should be wanting And for the darkness upgrade, well it's pretty helpful too.

TIER 2

Backstabbing :
 In any card game, discarding cards can be very frustrating, and put us at a real disadvantage. It might not benefit you directly, but disadvantaging your opponent to keep him from becoming stronger than you are is always a good idea.

Quanta leech :
 This name automatically makes me think of pests, which are awesome But seriously, this gives you an advantage depending on your opponents deck. While I do not like the fact that it makes it situational, your opponent is still most likely to use pillars, and it gives you free exp. This skill really is worth a check, one of my favorites.

Bane of Light :
 Oh, opposing elements concept here. I do like the idea of gaining more experience from defeating an opponent from an opposing element, but as I said earlier in quanta leech, I do not like it when theres a situational factor that comes into play. It can be a good skill to use, but I personnally wouldn't use it.

Disguise :
 Ah! Darkness at it's fullest! Hiding in the shadows! Getting into enemy cities without being seen! Though, as of now, apart from sounding cool, I don't really understand what utility it has.

Bloodthirsty :
 Ok, now here comes my favorite of the tier 2 skills of the darkness element. Giving you the possibility to use 2 additional upgraded cards is a great advantage in a deck. So, if you inw a game, in the next 6 rounds you give yourself more possibilities to win other games, and so on! Defenitely worth checking.

TIER 3

Shadow Leap :
 So here, this skill serves you only if an ally takes the same skill as you. It sure is worth it to teleport, but make sure an ally of yours also has it.

Stealth :
 ah! some other hiding! ( wait, is this skill tree calling us darkness cowards? ) In all honesty, this makes me think of the cloak card. Very benefic if you use it at the right time. Got to know how to use it though.

Pickpocketing :
 Stealing others items. Sure looks cool. In many games items can be the key, so use them carefully ... Unless your planning on stealing some more from your enemies.

Sacrifice :
 Oh, this is a good skill, but to be used with caution. While having 2 additional upgraded cards to use, discarding cards can also hurt you a lot. This skill is defenitely worth taking, thats not what i am saying, but dont use it recklessly.

TIER 4

Mage Hunter :
 Ohh, very, very interesting. No spells for your opponent is a huge advantage for you. Worry your opponent might PC your permanents? worry no more. Worried they could kill your creatures with bolts? worry no more either. Worried your opponent could antimatter a vampire, dealing you damage? WORRY NO MORE. You can now take it easy and attack full charge without worrying that your opponent controls you heavily. How isnt that awesome?

Dark Prince :
 Wow, tough choice between this one and the Mage hunter. Not only does this make you gain EXP faster, but also makes your opponent lose exp. I dont think i need to tell you how much EXP is important in a game, do I?
 
TIER 5

Champion of darkness:
 wow wow wow and wow again. If you win 2-0, your opponent must give you half his creature cards. This is one really huge advantage to have after a win. Also, your opponent will become very weak after losing half his creature, so you could consider him as 1 less worthy opponent to your immense power.

[Wizardcat]

OPTION I
Elements the Game
Fighting Half Bloods

Meet Dusk, Death, and Dolls (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,19335.0.html).

OPTION III
Elements Article
Article Writing

Mark of Darkness:
Darkness does very well in a mono so it has no qualms about using a skill point for this ability. Additional upped cards are never unwelcome, either.

Backstabbing:
At first, Backstabbing seems less than useful in that it doesn't give the player any direct advantage over their opponents. It does, however, have a subtle effect in that players will be less likely to attack you for fear of your ability to do away with their vault of cards.

Quanta Leech:
This is, without question, the skill I would recommend any Darkness player to choose as their Tier 2 starting skill. The sheer EXP advantage it offers will allow very quick level progression at low levels and that means the ability to take more skills more quickly. More skills mean more in-game abilities and more upped cards; Darkness players should make the most of this skill.

Bane of Light:
Incredibly situational. Of the thirteen teams in WoE, this skill provides a benefit for fighting only a single one of them. In addition, Light definitely has the advantage in this match-up. Steal is less than useless against immaterial permanents such as Hope or Morning Star. Darkness fears Light's Holy Light, which can one-shot any unbuffed Darkness creature save Voodoo Doll. If it weren't for the need to possess this ability to learn certain higher tier skills, I probably wouldn't even learn this one.

Disguise:
The ability to enter enemy cities even at times of war is very useful when it comes to learning another element's skills. Outside of that, however, this ability seems fairly situational.

Bloodthirsty:
A useful ability that allows you to use additional upgraded cards just for winning a battle. This ability gets even better if the number of upgraded cards stack with a series of consecutive wins. Even if it doesn't, however, it's still a potent ability that can see use in many areas. Any of the Arenas would make an excellent place to give this ability some use.

Shadow Leap:
With some coordination between teammates, this skill can be very useful. Leap across the entirety of the map for whatever purpose, whether it's to attack an enemy's capital city, or defend yours. This is the most unique of all the Element's Fast Travel, as it has no range limit and you know exactly where you will end up. Combine this with Stealth, and you can keep all the other teams on their toes.

Stealth:
If you're not (or, conversely, are) planning to do something, one can just move across the map while invisible so as to proceed without interruption. This can be useful on certain quests where other players will be doing their best to stop you. This skill works well with Disguise, where a player can actually reach a hostile city by traveling by Stealth.

Pickpocketing:
Yoink! Why bother earning your rare and valuable items when you can just take them? This could be very potent in combination with Stealth, allowing you to get within Pickpocketing range and to escape with your loot.

Sacrifice:
You should have plenty of leftover creatures from your numerous salvages - instead of selling them, why not put them to some use? The ability to sacrifice some small or useless creatures from your personal vault to grant yourself additional upgraded cards can always be useful, especially if you're anticipating a difficult battle.

Mage Hunter:
Hands-down, the best skill that Darkness can claim. When taking this skill, you've limited all your future opponents to using just creatures and permanents. Enemies become more predictable and you shouldn't have a problem taking advantage. In addition, Mage Hunter's negation of Nova and Immolation has a synergy with Quanta Leech, as players are forced to use Pillars and Pendula for their quanta needs.

Dark Prince:
This skill actually steals the EXP of a player when they are defeated. No one ever said no to extra EXP and Darkness has yet another skill that discourages other players from messing with Darkness players. Can't hold a candle to the other Tier 4 skill, Mage Hunter, though.

Champion of Darkness:
By the time you are a Champion of Darkness, you will have Backstabbing and Dark Prince. The three abilities all together can devastate the losing player's fighting capacity. The corrupted creatures you gain guarantee you will never run out of creatures to Sacrifice and that you will never be taken lightly. All hail the Champion of Darkness!

[Kael Hate]

OPTION I
Elements the Game
Fighting Half Bloods

Punk Girls (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,19424.0.html)

OPTION II
Elements Forums
Card Ideas

• Shame | Shame (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,19255.msg263485#msg263485)
• Incubus | Incubus (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,12247.msg263518#msg263518)
• Marionette | Marionette (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,17521.msg263533#msg263533)
• Conspiracy | Conspiracy (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,17498.msg263547#msg263547)
• Ghost | Phantom (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,18575.msg263563#msg263563)
• Madness | Insanity (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,19055.msg263595#msg263595)

[kobisjeruk]

OPTION I - Fighting Half Bloods
Darkened Sky (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,19460.0.html)

OPTION II - Card Ideas
Haunted House | Haunted Mansion (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,18742.new.html#new)
Cursed Exile | Hexed Exile (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,17739.new.html#new)
Moon Stone | Moon Gem (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,16812.msg264143#msg264143)
Forget | Brainwash (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php?topic=11618.msg264149#msg264149)
Hidden Weapon | Hidden Weapon (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,15741.msg264155#msg264155)
False Pretense | False Pretense (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,13566.0.html)