I am going to use this post to answer all the questions and concerns.
A little about me.
Game Experience
- 2 Wars under my belt ( :underworld and :earth)
- Won 2 tournaments(Placed highly in several others)
- Some Event PvP experience (Falling Empire, TCOBO, 3Man PVP)
- A little over 2 years of game experience (350k score)
Forum Experience
- 1750 posts of good feedback and hopefully useful suggestions.
- 1 year 2 months of forum time (lots of time to get a feel for the community)
Why run for Master of Earth?
I have really loved the aspect of leading a team during war. I had a chance to for the latter rounds of Team :underworld and had some say with the direction of Team :earth last war, but i have always wanted to take the reins and try my hand leading a team for war. As for the element of earth, Before kirch, Earth has always been the same old boring element, not the type of innovation that makes war and elements so special. With a rise in new earth decks coming to the surface, I wish to be part of that movement and enable the creativity.
Another Trials, another intense question...
Q: “Although Earth’s popularity (in both the forums and in decks) isn’t dwindling by any amount, Earth doesn’t appear to have that ‘WOW’ factor that some of the other elements have brought (specifically, in terms of their outgoing masters as well as what work they’ve done on the forum, in events, or in chat). If you were to become Master of Earth, what would you change to provide a better interest and respect for Earth players and the element itself?”
I guess i am not really sure what you are asking but I almost feel that Earth's popularity is actually growing. Maybe that is cause just about everyone from the War #4 earth team, really got into it and pretty much converted everyone that wasn't Mith and Kirch into Earth lovers. I would not change a lot but with more success and most importantly more fun, earth's progress can only improve.
Also earth carries that stigma that it relies upon graboid to really be a successful element, but I think that can be changed with more innovation. If I become master of Earth, expect to see some very new stuff.
And now, we're talking about rush decks. Elite Shrieker vs Steel Golem, what should you use?
You have Earthquake in element, but would you ever use Trident?
At this point, would you mind telling me a song that reminds you of :earth?
As for elite shrieker and Steel Golem, It entirely depends on the deck, if you are using a duo or a grabbow about 80% of the time i would use steel golem because it costs 1/2 as much. and you wont get that kind of quanta early enough for shrieker to be useful. However there are some cases where you need the damage, expect gravity shield, need the upgrades for other things, that Shrieker is the better choice.
Once again entirely depends on the deck, Trident is much slower and takes up the weapon spot used by weapons that have much better synergy with earth, (Discord, Pulvy to name a few). But things like a watergrabbow is not out of the question.
As for a song this one is tough, I dont think i can name a specific song, but possibly some attributes about them. When you first think of earth, sometimes i see it as sort of a serene calm element, but when in battle, the large creatures attacking and everything getting destroyed, pulvy and EQ, makes me think of metal. I came across this song a while ago, but i think it suffices Fear Of The Dark - Graveworm () Not my style of music at all, but still a great song.
Earth haves a lot of good strategies: One of the fastest rushes(graboid rush), best PC in game(in my opinion), healing, stalling, denial.
Q:"Can a 50% earth deck have more than 3 strategies at the same time(Denial must be EQ and PC must be Pulvy)?"
Of course. The first one that comes to mind is pulvybow, If EQ was not banned during trials, the pulvy bow i used would have EQ's replace the Antlions.
But another route is follow the stalling aspect of earth. something like this. Using SS, wardens, and pulvy to stop creatures and perms, while EQ slow the opposing deck for the earth quanta to build. As i made this on the fly, I cant say i have every used something like this, but as death has shown in the previous wars, EQ and SS are a pretty deadly combo.
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And possibly another route, follows one of draw denial, simply running nightmare's off the novas in a grabbow. My arena decks is currently undefeated with this strategy.
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it contains denial (EQ,BH) Pulvy, grabbow speed, hand/draw denial(nightmare).
Sevs
During last auction, I had bid on you. Were you hoping you'd get another bid so you wouldn't have to be on Team Light? Were you glad it was Earth?
To be honest, Before war #4 came around i started preparing decks for various teams( gravity, Light, earth, and darkness). Teams I knew could do much better in war than shown in previous years. And then when your bid came up i was happy because i knew if the right people put the effort into light, it would do well. When earth came it was a huge surprise because i didn't think i was worth that much. And through team earth developed a real liking towards earth. I liked the way things turned out, and wouldn't change it.
I feel Earth has underperformed a little bit in Wars. Am i wrong? Our am i overestimating the strength of :earth comparatively to other elements.
I wrote this in the Team Earth Pad, but Earth has a major downside in that it cannot make simple duos that others can with a mid range attacker. Without upgrades, graboid is out only cheap attacker. hematite golem is way to weak and slow unless upped. Thus later in wars it is much harder to stray from the decks you first bring and designed because you can't just throw in cards from your salvage. We were able to do that to an extent last war with our grabbows so we lasted much longer than the previous wars.
:aether has some of the strongest spells in the game. to make up for not having a strong attacker
:air has wyrm, buy also alternative ways of winning like UG
:darkness has gargoyle
:death has mummy, recluse
:entropy has abom
:fire has phoenix golem
:gravity doesnt have one hence their trouble in war
:life cockatrice and frog but both weak to CC/shields
:light pegasus, and archangel
:time gotp and has some of the best perms in the game (sundial eternity HG)
:water Toadfish abyss
:earth has steel golem
The point is we need to use our upps more efficiently if we are going to have a better late war success. This was something i/we didnt realize till it was too late. Using this knowledge, I think if Team :earth is under my leadership will do well this coming war.
[Sorry if this had been answered before by you]Sevs: What made you choose earth over your options you had been considering in chat?
All others: Create a limerick about antlion.
It was down to :fire and :earth but at one point you need to make a decision and I thought about it for a long time and came to the conclusion that I would enjoy Earth more. I feel like I can do my part on improving an element that isn't looked upon in the greatest of lights and I have a bunch more experience with earth than any other element.
Limerick :P
The tiniest of critters, the Antlion
but all the creatures are dyin'
For CC is around
and golems are downed.
The spirit and courage of a lion
Close enough to limerick?
@sevs,CCC, and mrpaper.
what else do you think a good master should do besides do his best in war what are your other goals/reasons for becoming a master.
One of the biggest thing about being a master is just being there to promote you elements as well as give back to the community. Those who joined will always remember that kind master of Earth that helped them build their first legit deck and answered all their questions.
@CCC and Sevs: Last war, our main late-war problem was NoTP. With the advantage of hindsight, design a deck, not involving Sanctuary, that would be both an effective deck against NoTP and simultaneously nicely fit into a vault.
The problem we had with Notp was that the first 2 times we tried to just throw a bunch of CC at it because it only has 6 creatures. The mini firestall was sort of forced out of necesity, and SS would have been nice instead of EQ. We had a few decks that would do decently against NotP but we lost them all around that round. Once the denial is in place there is not a lot stopping it so the best way to counter that is the deny them faster, so Disc EQ should do alright. but the easiest way to counter NotP is to deny it that 6 time quanta to get started.
- What is the most important quality for a Master to have?
- Aside from War General and Brawl Leader, what roles would you like Masters to have?
- As a War General what qualities would you look for in players during the auction?
- Using the past as a backdrop, talk about whether Wardens have a place in War.
Sorry for all the questions. I've made decisions on 10 elements and this isn't one of them. :-X I’ll be voting pretty much 100% based on responses in this thread.
Questions are good, either you get an answer to what you didn't know or you are back to where you started, never worse. lol
The most important qualities for a master to have is leadership, outgoingness?, and fun.
Maybe not the appropriate word choice there but the point is portrayed. How well you do in war isnt a factor for the most important qualities, look at torb or Raving, not exactly the highest place war finishes but great masters. They made an impression on others in chat, war, other events, and now look at the following of each of those elements.
Roles of a master.
Besides those 2 titles (2nd one is iffy because of SG's inactivity), They should just give back to the community, I remember when i first started with the forums to get advice from a master was pretty exciting.
Players for war
I would probably bid on a few people i know wont give up on me halfway through. a couple people with some ingeniuty. and of course you've got to take the risk and 1-3 new members, that go for cheap and have the possibility of becoming great. and welcome them into the community.
Wardens
They are the most unique form of cheap CC. besides squid, they are the only CC that can switch targets. so early game you can delay those golems, late game you can stop those dragons. Over the long run they can be costly, but they are also great for drawing out CC. Last war we were able to incorporate them into several of our decks, grabbows, whoel world(can fractal them), monos, duos, everything. But they are ineffective against certain elements, and should be used with caution.
Agh, so many good candidates here. I have to go for Terroking though, with mrpaper being a reallyreallyreally close second.
Why thank you. :P
Ah... Questions, questions.
This post will answer all of them, though it is currently a work-in-progress.
Kuroaitou
Q: “Although Earth’s popularity (in both the forums and in decks) isn’t dwindling by any amount, Earth doesn’t appear to have that ‘WOW’ factor that some of the other elements have brought (specifically, in terms of their outgoing masters as well as what work they’ve done on the forum, in events, or in chat). If you were to become Master of Earth, what would you change to provide a better interest and respect for Earth players and the element itself?”
I believe that, card-wise, most people just don't see Earth as interesting enough. All it's got is hitters and mostly just other generic effects, which can all be seen on other cards in other elements as well. It lacks, to the untrained eye, pizzaz.
While this is certainly true at first glance, people who take the time to play with all of it's cards often find that it has surprising depth and complexity as well as a variety of options. Due to the nature of how society works on these forums I feel the best way to represent an element is to do well with it in PvP events or similar, War being the big one. Earth has always done well, all we need is a little luck we've been denied to go over the top.
RavingRabbid
And now, we're talking about rush decks. Elite Shrieker vs Steel Golem, what should you use?
You have Earthquake in element, but would you ever use Trident?
At this point, would you mind telling me a song that reminds you of :earth?
Q1: Hmm... It's actually a much more complex question than yes or no, I have used both to great success. It really depends on the rest of the deck and how much quanta you are using. I'm a huge fan of Steel Golem for it's resilience and cheaper cost, allowing you to build the rest of your deck much more freely. Shrieker does certainly provide a much better card:damage ratio, though it is more fragile. Burrow is also not irrelevant either. I think the real answet o this question without being given any specifics is that you should use both, it's typically what I do when available. Shriekers give you inevitability and dragon-sized guys for cheap, and Golems get out fast and are hard to get rid of.
Q2: In fact, I used Trident to a fair amount of success in the PvP section of this Trials. It's much more powerful than EQ once online, the only hindrance is that it's much slower and requires you to commit to an otherwise awkward element. It is a wrecking force when pulled off, though, as it's much, much harder to play around than EQ. If you draw too many of a single quanta source you're pretty much dead. EQ is generally more useful, though, being faster, less commitment, and the first one is harder to deal with. (3 :water, a turn, and then 3 :earth is quite a lot compared to an instant 3 :earth, even more so when upped)
Q3: After a long and laborous process during which I had to cut out a bunch of stuff that, while the word "Earth" was present in the title or lyrics, really had no merit outside of that. I got a bunch of very good suggestions too but for my own reasons decided to go with The Battle of Five Armies, which I believe was part of LotR?
calindu221
Q:"Can a 50% earth deck have more than 3 strategies at the same time(Denial must be EQ and PC must be Pulvy)?"
Hmm... I guess you're asking for a decklist here?
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If so, I think that satisfies the criteria. You can go out blisteringly fast with one or more Golem+ODs out quickly, and if your draw isn't fast you can typically draw one of the Quicksands early and hit their quanta hard. You also have pulvy to remove any game-breaking permanents, and it also makes your QS more effective as it prevents your opponent from playing their pillars one at a time (You can just blow them up) and also takes out small one-stack quanta sources very efficiently.
majofa
It's been two terms since you were Earth Master, what have you learned from watching Kakerlake and kirchj33 as Masters?
One of the biggest things I learned has been the strength of Earth QP bows and the raw power of BB, I had known each was powerful before but never truly realized just how good they were. Not speaking in terms of the cards, though, I definitely learned a few things about activity and it's role in mastership. I also got to see two different Earth masters lead Wars, one was my general, the other was my opponent, and having those two perspectives gave me a lot more insight than the hectic role of general.
MrBlonde
I feel Earth has underperformed a little bit in Wars. Am i wrong? Our am i overestimating the strength of :earth comparatively to other elements.
I think that Earth has almost always done well in War, being powerhouses sometimes and just chugging along in the middle of the pack the rest. More than once we were the dominant force during the early stages, but were consumed by having to play more matches and losing our good decks to RNG. Some may choose to see this as an excuse, which of course it is, but it is also very true. I also believe that often Wars can be decided simply by whether or not a certain team decides to send a certain deck instead of sending a different one, and while you can try to predict your opponents usually it really does come down to guessing.
Onizuka
The questioner is trolling
I can't tell if he's rolling
With laughter at Antlions
For they are Steel Golem's scions
This may win me votes in the polling!
DevilLoss
having been a master already for earth what has made you want to become the master again and what will you do differently if anything at all.
Earth is, very simply, my favorite element, and I don't think it would be unreasonable to say I have equal or better knowledge of it's workings than most others. I think I definitely have some new plans for War, and all other plans I have are still malleable or probably never going to be finished.
kevkev60614
What is the most important quality for a Master to have?
Aside from War General and Brawl Leader, what roles would you like Masters to have?
As a War General what qualities would you look for in players during the auction?
Using the past as a backdrop, talk about whether Wardens have a place in War.
Q1: This has been answered many times, many ways, but I think that PvP and deckbuilding prowess, very closely followed by activity, are the things I most want in a Master, and the things I try hard to display myself.
Q2: I am actually quite fine with only General and Brawl Leader being the required actions for a Master, I know that I myself have found it hard to keep up with just the Generalship those during pressing times, although I can definitely say that should another similar event arise, Masters should play a part. What I cannot advocate, however, is the way in which Masters were restricted during other PvP events, back in the days when PvP events were almost brand-new, it had very few upsides and substantian downsides for Masters who participated, leading to less fun.
Q3: I try to look for the same qualities that I would in a Master, generally, as these are what I feel make one a good player, and in my opinion any good player who can get the RNG to go his or her way is qualified for mastership. To put it explicitly, I need to know that I have at least a solid core team that can between themselves build, test, and play properly and actively, and try to cover up the weaknesses of the rest of the team, if there are any at all.
Q4: Wardens are a very good card, and in my opinion quite underutilized. In a full-on stall they're typically better than BBs, as they can lock down the best creature every turn, beginning on turn 1, whereas some other CC options would require you to take damage from that Abyssal Crawler to save your CC for the Dragons you know will come afterward. Their ability to kill creatures is not irrelevant, but it is had to utilize properly, and it is simply a worthless strategy against certain elements due to an abundance of Airborne creatures. There are certainly one or two Earth decks that could be improved with the addition of Wardens, I realized this during War 3 but did not get any chance to ac on it, I suggested their worth in War 4 but not as adamantly as I should have, I think.
Kakerlake
I won't vote for you. Whom should I vote for and why?
Uurg... I don't really want to make anyone feel bad :/ Kakerlake, y u post unique and difficult question?
I think... I'd have to go with Sevs here. I know both CCCombobreaker and mrpaper are incredible players as well, and mrpaper probably has the most PvP experience, but Sevs I feel outclasses both other contenders in non-PvP areas, and has shown willng to donate his time to the community. I by no means intend to say that mrpaper or CCC do not, but feel I am forced to make a decision that I should hope to never have to make.
Jenkar
I feel like asking the same question as in death : You become master of earth irl, and are granted one power. What do you choose?
Pretty sure Earthbending is he clear answer here, no contest.
Aaaand I think that's it. I know some of my answers will lead to less votes, but in my opinion, if someone alters their vote due to an answer, they probably shouldn't or wouldn't have been voting for me anyway.