4th Trials - Phase 3 - Community Vote

[kev]

Phase 3 - Community Vote

Phase 3 has ended

 

It's time to vote for your favorite Master candidate.

 

Every community member has one vote. You can change your vote at any time as long as there is still time on the clock.

 

Vote based on who you think would make the best Master of that element. Do not vote based on who is the best player or who you know personally. Try to pick someone who you think would help the community the most.

 

Feel free to ask the candidates difficult questions to help you make your decision.

[Bhlewos]

I heard that previous Trials participants prepared speeches during the Community Vote phase, so here's a little something I wrote up just now.

[FADE IN TO STUDIO WITH TWO MEN SITTING ON EITHER SIDE OF A TABLE, WITH WHAT LOOK LIKE TWO POTTED PLANTS BESIDES THEIR CHAIRS.]

Imatool: Hello everyone and welcome back to Between Two Forest Spirits. My name is Imatool and my host today is author, business man, political activist and ElementsCommunity member, Bhle…Bluh…Bleh…

Bhlewos: Bhlewos.

Imatool: Berf –

Bhlewos: Bhlewos.

Imatool: Bork –

Bhlewos: You know what, you can call me Bob.

Imatool: Okay. Hello Bob.

Bhlewos: Hello Imatool.

Imatool: I’m sorry.

Bhlewos: Excuse me?

Imatool: What?

Bhlewos: *raises eyebrow, then shrugs* Forget it.

Imatool: Okay. *hides smirk by pretending to glance down at flash cards* So uh, tell me more about yourself, Barf – uh, Bob.

Bhlewos: Sure. I’m a –

Imatool: *interrupts with a loud bout of coughing*

Bhlewos: Uh – are you okay?

Imatool: Yeah, I’m uh – I’m fine.

Bhlewos: …right.

Imatool: Anyway, go on.

Bhlewos: Okay. Well –

Imatool: So I don’t want to beat around the bush here -- *motions for an assistant to step into view, beating the potted plant, while Bhlewos tries his best not to look annoyed at being interrupted again* -- you are participating in this term’s Trials, running for the position of Master of Gravity. A Master, according to the official definition, is “a decorated and respected veteran player who knows a lot about Elements and is skillful in PvP”. Many have brought up concerns about your lack of “decorations”.

Bhlewos: I’m glad you asked –

Imatool: Wait! *holds up his hand* Don’t interrupt me.

Bhlewos: *doesn’t even try to disguise his annoyed look this time*

Imatool: As I was saying – you don’t have any forum icons, you’ve never participated in a PvP tournament before, you’re not a staff member like fellow Trials member 927…9270…er, Numbers, nor have you participated in a War like both nilsieboy and numbers. The one League you joined, you failed to meet the 30 matches criteria. What makes you think you qualify to be a Master?

Bhlewos: Well, Imatool –

Imatool: I’m sorry.

Bhlewos: *shoots a death-glare at Imatool *…I’m glad you asked. While it’s not in the description, a Master also has to be involved in the community. In fact, that was one of the tasks we were to given, to comment on other members’ card or deck ideas and provide valuable feedback. My greatest strength in my opinion is what I’ve done for the Elements community. I’ve always been a regular to the cards and decks section, commenting on them and voting in polls. When I’m logged into chat, which is often, I always try to help newbies who have questions about gameplay. I’ve even signed up as a mentor, though I haven’t had the chance to do much work with that yet. There’s also the matter of the community service I’ve done –

Imatool: More like Elementscommunity service, amirite? *tries and fails to wink at the camera. There is a beat of annoyed silence from Bhlewos, then Imatool coughs awkwardly* Go ahead.

Bhlewos: Well like I said, my community service, of which my current project is improving the literacy rate among the Gravity forums.

Imatool: Right. I remember that book you wrote identifying the problem with all the illiterate Gravity players in today’s society.

Bhlewos: Oh, you read it?

Imatool: No it was too long.

Bhlewos: …Right. Well, uh, that’s the exact problem I identified. See, most Elements players have your usual level of Internet literacy. They mix up their “the”s with “teh”s, and oftentimes forget punctuation or basic rules of grammar. But as bad as some are, most still pay attention to card descriptions and read what they do. But it’s not the case with Gravity players. Because many of their cards ignore shields, they just don’t bother to read. At all. It’s what I call the “Chargers TL;DR subculture”.

Imatool: Right. But what about weaknesses? To use some Elements slang, we like our Masters to be balanced, not OP or UP. What can you tell us about what you’re lacking in?

Bhlewos: Well, as you pointed out, there have been doubts about my experience. It’s true that I’m not very well known in the PvP scene, but I believe you only have to look at my matches with nilsie and numbers for proof that I’m an adequate PvP player.

Imatool: You lost.

Bhlewos: Well –

Imatool: Both matches.

Bhlewos: …They were close games. But anyway, I’m constantly improving my PvP skills. I spent hours on my Phase 2 decks, testing the quanta balance for each of them and using the Trainer to face common Gravity decks like Discord/BH. Which brings me to another point – I try to use new, creative decks rather than the tried and true. I avoided using Discord/BH or Fractal Chargers in Phase 2, and –

Imatool: That led to your losses.

Bhlewos: Well, no. But –

Imatool: Masters have to lead War too. And more importantly, Masters have to win War. You can’t win War by deliberately not using tried and true decks.

Bhlewos: That’s a discussion for another time. But winning in PvP also has to do with deck choice. You have to anticipate what your opponent will choose, and anticipate what your opponent anticipates what you’ll choose. That’s half the battle, and I’m pretty experienced in that as well.

Imatool: Whatever. That doesn’t mean you’re better at the other candidates at PvP.

Bhlewos: I never said –

Imatool: Anyway, another thing a Master has to be able to do is promote his element.

Bhlewos: Or hers.

Imatool: Excuse me, whose show is this?

Bhlewos: I’m sorry, I just thought it would be more correct to –

Imatool: Right, well, you were wrong.

Bhlewos: *nods slowly, an irritated look on his face*

Imatool: So as I was saying, a Master has to be able to promote his or her element (happy?). What can you do in this department that the other candidates can’t?

Bhlewos: Well, Numbers and Nilsie are both great guys and would be able to promote Gravity very well. But I’ve had more experience in this area than the PvP department. For example Gravity was my first element and my favorite, and I’ve always promoted it as one of the coolest, if not the best.

Imatool: I understand that you are one of the investors in the new “Armedilgo” franchise.

Bhlewos: Yes, the one that Legit started. It’s actually –

[A SWAT TEAM BURSTS INTO THE STUDIO, WAVING AROUND AK-47s AND POINTING LASER POINTERS AT BHLEWOS]

SWAT: HANDS UP! DON’T MOVE!

Imatool: I’M INNOCENT! I’M INNOCENT! I KNOW NOTHING! I WASN’T THERE THAT NIGHT AT THE HOTEL AND I DEFINITELY DIDN’T KILL MARIANNE –

SWAT: Shut up, we’re not here for you!

Imatool: …You’re not?

Bhlewos: Uh, officer, what’s all this about?

SWAT: We got an anonymous tip-off that you were using a Firestall in the Arena today?

Bhlewos: Uh…

Imatool: I thought you didn’t use the “tried-and-true”!

Bhlewos: This is different! Besides this is the only time I’ve ever used a Firestall in the Arena before! And what’s wrong with Firestalls?

SWAT: They’re annoying and people hate it when you pack 12 SoGs and Explosions in there.

Bhlewos: Well, what was I supposed to do when the Oracle gave me Fire Pillars? Wait, no, stop. The bigger question is, how is this illegal?

SWAT: Get over here. *One SWAT member puts handcuffs on Bhlewos*

Bhlewos: Wait, aren’t you supposed to read me my 5th amendment rights?

SWAT: People who use Firestalls in the Arena don’t have rights. They don’t deserve to be called human beings.

Bhlewos: That’s kind of harsh…wait, what are you doing? Where are you taking me? *struggles against the SWAT team who is dragging him off the set. The door slams shut, leaving Imatool the only one in the studio apart from the camera crew*

Imatool: So, uh. Tune in next time for our interview with Zach Galifi…Galfulker…Galifanny…Galif –

[SCENE]

[TheCrazyMango]

ok, well here is my "speech" if you can call it that, ill be updating it with answers to questions, my speech, etc
First off, the a master "is usually a decorated and respected veteran player who knows a lot about Elements and is skillful in PvP."
I am semi-decorated, being the creator of the mentoring program and the mentor manager. I am a veteran player, having been here since War 2(which i participated in as a rookie{also, im one of the few rookies who is still here})
I would say i know a decent amount about elements, but i really have no solid concrete way to prove that.
And i would call myself at least somewhat skillful in PVP, having a winning record in War 2, having a decent standing in metamorphosis, and having won the battle phase of trials.
I strive to help the community, as i am a mentor, and one of two mentor managers, and the creator of the mentor manager program(i know this is the second time ive said this, get over it lol)
I am also a big fan or gravity(or gravy as i like to call it) I participated in the last trials, however RL didnt want me to become master, so it dragged me away.
I also know for a fact that some community members think im a fail at trails, having had to leave last trials and gaining a whopping zero points this trials in phase 1. However, i do have a mediocre excuse for getting 0 points. First off, im not a fountain of upped cards to farm arena, and im not a genius deckbuilder, but i get along.
For task 2, i did submit a shard idea, but i wasnt able to post critiques because i did not have access to the thread. the last day of the phase we found out that i could access the thread as a  guest, but my family made me go on a random trip to the land of no interwebz.
And you also might critique me for using Discord/BH heavily during the battle phase. My philosophy of overpowered things in games is, if its in the game, why not use it.
Answers to questions will go here in spoilers
Good question. Imo, I think overdrive is great card in the pvp world, also, Gravity pull is a great card in decks like grabbybow and other non momentumed decks. i also made a really good stall with fire-eaters. Gravity also has some great stalling synergy with gravity pull and cards like antimatter or sanctuary. As a master during war, i would hopefully use(possible Abuse) these tactics for some wins.While i do run cookie cutter decks sometimes, i also did hard counter some decks in the pvp phase. i always try to anticipate what my opponent will use, then run a deck that counters it well.If i make it to the final battle, beat nils and become master, i will do my best to bring victory and honor the team Gravity in war. I will also bring a gravity loving veteran, with me being the only one in this trials to have gone for gravity master in the past. I will do my best in war, which is all you can ever promise right?Question 1, barring the end part and when we had our disagreement, i think you did a very good job as master, you handled war better than i originally thought gravity was capable of. You taught me alot about gravity, and i have grown to love it. All in all, I would say you did a good job.
Part 2. Gravity, by definition, Gravity

is a natural phenomenon by which physical bodies attract with a force proportional to their mass.

But i really dont think that is what you were looking for, i think you are looking for what it means to me. To me it means order, as some of you may know, im a stickler for rules. It also means raw power, that coming in the form of either offense, like sapphire charger, or defence, like armagio.Gravity for me is in its purest form in outer space, pulling the planets together in an endless dance we call orbit. It is also pure when you start coming close to large planets, and get pulled in by their force.I think the fact that im participating in Gravity trials for the second time should show that i want it. If i had just entered trials for the heck of it, why would i be doing it again? Im doing this because i love gravity, and the order and power it stands for. I spend countless hours and wasted about 10K electrum upping and selling cards to try and find a suitable deck for arena, before phase 1 i had ccyb and tadabow, know i have a half upped rol/hope and some gravity cards. I love elements too much to mess up my account for no good reason.I hear Disco/BH does well against RT/lobo, also, momentumed dune scorps would do good with an eternity+gravy shield.I have made and posted mono gravs that can pull off 5 turn wins consistantly, so when upped, gravity can have some pretty awesome monos. Also, i find it interesting how gravity is its own best counter. Thats pretty much all i have to say on that topic.Gravity imo, last war just had plain bad luck, with so much leaving going on screwed them over, but i think gravity has tried to much to build tried and true decks and hasnt tried enough new things. If i make master, i will try out new decks before war, so by the time war comes, they are tried and true.First off, i have been the most involved with gravity in the past, going for it last trials, but i think a Master should promote and defend their element whenever necessary, use their element in tourneys when possible to prove it can do good in pvp, and lead war as best that they can. BONUS 1, i honestly am a poor player in game, and i think a master should up gravity card whenever he/she has extra electrum. Im currently at 6 chargers, 8 pillars and 4 pends upped, but i have 6 upped cards that arent necesarry to be upped in my FG grinder to sell, and i have about 10K electrum. I know im poor in game, but please dont hold that against me.My favorite deck is either Disco/BH or pestal. Probably disco/bh because it is more frustrating and harder to counter. I just love to lock my opponent down so they cant play anything, it was what originally drew me to darkness, and has also drawn me to gravity, but thats not the only reason i love gravity.IMO, its really UP, with almost the cost of a dragon just for giving a creature momentum. i would make it cost around 4 unupped and 3 upped. Its a really cool concept though, and great job making it as a planet, the mechanic fits a planet well. I would make a deck like this

by 9270984

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5cg 747 747 747 747 747 75m 75m 75m 75m 75m 75m 75m 75m 75m 75m 75m 7an 7an 7an 7an 7an 7an 7ap 7ap 7ap 8pn

with 4 Graviton planets. It would be a cool deck, i only put in the green nymph because i have one, if you dont have one, just use a pend.First off, i think a master must be loyal to his element. Ive been a hardcore gravity fan for a while now, and love it to death. Another trait a good master must possess is creativeness. While i didnt use the most creative decks in phase 2, i tried all kinds of decks during phase 1. Among them being plate armor+acceleration, Acceleration+angel, accel+charger+TU. A good master must also possess. A good master must also be able to promote their element whenever necessary, something which i do in chat whenever a newer player comes on and asks what element to choose. Those are the main traits a master should possess in my mind

[Kuroaitou]

Speeches are already out eh? D:

Q: “Despite the mishaps of what happened in War #3, do you still think that Gravity has the arsenal (cards) to do well in the next war? If yes, explain what you would do better as master for the next war – if not, explain what you think needs to be added, changed, or outright removed in the Gravity element to make it fair better.”

[Bhlewos]

Speeches are already out eh? D:

Q: “Despite the mishaps of what happened in War #3, do you still think that Gravity has the arsenal (cards) to do well in the next war? If yes, explain what you would do better as master for the next war – if not, explain what you think needs to be added, changed, or outright removed in the Gravity element to make it fair better.”

A: Good question Kuro. More cards in Gravity would of course only be a good thing -- there are several Gravity ideas in the CIA forum right now that provide new and interesting mechanics. But for new Gravity cards to be implemented in time for the new War would be unlikely, and buffing or nerfing certain cards to let Gravity compete more evenly with other elements goes against my personal opinion: that is, that it would be more "fair" to make do with what we have, rather than change the game to suit our goals.

That said, most of Gravity's cards do share weaknesses that can be easily exploited by certain elements. For example, Acceleration, flown Titans, Momentum'd creatures, grown Otyughs and Fire-eaters, and Chimeras can all be negated with a Reverse Time or Eternity. This, coupled with Gravity's lack of unupped mid-range attackers, forces most Gravity players to make a choice between using decks that might be able to lock down the other player (Black Hole) or stall (Gravity Pull), but are low in damage output -- or use a buff-heavy tactic for damage but risk being wrecked by a single card.

However, there are several other options besides the two most obvious ones. The matches between nilsie and I proved that careful deckbuilding could circumvent the tactics usually used against -heavy decks. We both chose to forgo decks centered around buffs (on my part, due to fear of aforementioned Reverse Time), and ended up with different builds that were less vulnerable to these counters. Likewise, the matches between numbers and I showed the importance of match-ups. Some decks completely wrecked others, and it was the anticipation of what our opponent would use that decided how the individual games went. Both of these skills, if used properly together, can overcome any disadvantage that Gravity has against other elements. It's a challenge, but it can be done.

[nilsieboy]

nilsieboy

hello everyone, i'm nilsieboy!
i'd love to become master, i'm with this community for more then a year now (end trials #1/begin war #1).
i've got lots of pvp experience from tourneys, leagues and multiple pvp events. i'm a well known member at both the forums and chat.
i have good war experience, being lieutenant in 2 wars and even been general.
i'm active, did all tasks until now and i think gravity needs a strong and active master.

so we know who nilsieboy is, but why should we vote for him?
i think gravity's a great but very underrated element. i love gravity, it's a good element with strong creatures wich are hard to kill.
gravity has very high damage potential due catapult and overdrive, good defense with high hp and light/medium creature control and defense.
and don't forget gravity is one of the best elements for quanta denial (black hole).
so you see, gravity is a great element. that's why i think it'd show it potential in war.
we gotta be fair, gravity didn't do good last wars. i have war experience and lots of gravity experience.
i hope i can show gravity's potential in war against the other elements. and lots of players call gravity one of the weaker/weakest elements around here, i'd love to show gravity CAN beat and do well in war against other elements.
i hope that i can be that master to lead gravity in war, and show the power of this beautiful element to the community.

it's time for gravity to get a new master, and i hope i can be the master gravity needs .
nilsieboy

questions:

good question, i think it does. gravity has a good arsenal of cards wich can be used good in war. gravity has good damage potential, can break a stall with it and has some defensive options to. this war? i think gravity was to predictable. the element is important, good decks are important but i missed some creativity. in war you sure can do some mindgames, but your opponent can do it to and if he predicts your deck right the match is over most of the time. i think the element of suprise is very strong in war, using this to your advantage can bring you very high and i think i can bring that to team gravity.i know i was known for loving water due to trials/war. this doesn't mean i didn't like gravity. i've been playing with gravity more and more and when i signed up for my first trials, i couldn't choose between water, light and gravity. i've always liked gravity and girls was a great master. right now it needs a master, it needs a good general to show gravity can do well so i thaught it'd be time to sign up for gravity .ask the RNG lost 2 times in the finals, let's hope i do better at this one (if i lose 3 times in the finals, do i get a present?). all i can do is prepare myself, and do my best in the final battle to get a new master.Q1: i think you've been a really good master, you've always promoted it very good, showed that it's a dangerous element (especialy upped). i'd be honoured to take your place .
Q2: who says i really 'moved'? i always loved gravity, i just played more with water in events and stuff like that . but i think because water's done a good job at war (showing it can be deadly), has a great master and candidates and gravity had no master/did bad at wars. i wanna show that gravity can do good at war and unupped pvp and do well against the other elements. synergies? catapults and congeals of course, throwing things at your opponent is fun, especialy frozen . i also like crawlers/pufferfish with momentum cause it are solid creatures with good stats and hard to kill, or just a semi-rush with mark of water for adding control while gravity'll do some good unstoppable damage (chargers) with lances/congeals of mark. space, pulling the planets together. and when i see a gravity mark it's obvious i think of space .gravity's a great but maybe the most underrated element out here. i love gravity and i'd love to represent it to the community, and gravity deserves better after 3 wars like this. i hope i can be the right master wich gravity needs right now. it's not that hard as it might look if you do some thinking. catapult= just fire when you play the creature, RT useles . quints will protect your creatures and fractal will get you lots of creatures and damage at once, that RT won't help much.mono gravity has some deadly tools wich you shouldn't forget. overdrive's great damage potential, it can rush upped due to chargers with very good stats and the extreme cheap mercs wich are hard to kill. and yes mono gravity can counter other mono gravity very good. having the same weakness and strenght it's obvious gravity can counter itself. oty+momentum and gravity shields are good anti gravity cards (the irony). being careful with building your deck'd still give you the ability to win .i already said this before, gravity's been very predictable, last war lots of people left wich hurt the team a lot. being more creative and introducing new decks'd do good in war, i think i can bring it to gravity. Q1: i think a master'd promote his element whenever he can, being helpful and respectful but also representing his element in events and tourneys. being a good leader in war, getting his team effective as possible.
Bonus Q1: at least 50%, having a basic and being able to use gravity upped whenever it's needed . i have around 60% right now, don't need some cards like 6x upped chimeras right now cause i'm saving money for the final battle. but i'm going to complete my set when the trials are over .i think frozen armagios, i still love water just like gravity and this is my favorite deck with them . (i have more but this one's my favorite ).first of all, i love the card. could be used with many decks, most likely duos. it's nice to get this with heavy creature decks, most likely swarming them. like PU dragons, fractal decks or mitosis. you'd swarm creatures while getting them all momentumed. it'd also fit very well with buff decks like adrealine, blessing or CP.first of all, loving your element (being addicted to elements). being a loyal and good leader. be calm when needed and being able to think out of the box.i think gravity can, aether uses cards like fractal or PU to get multiple hitters while having cheap strong cc due to lightning. gravity can slow opponents by slowing him down with black holes, gravity shield and the oty, it's maybe not fast but you'll slow and dominate your opponent. then you can always use the charger or acceleration to get the high damage potential.very nice question, i think gravity is. look at armagio art look at the catapult, it's prolby the most advanced card in game . but i'd say no to more machine based cards for gravity as this is a fantasy based card game.it's a very interesting card but i like it, the theme fits gravity. it has a good cost/damage ratio wich is pretty rare in gravity so that's already a nice point, the ability is also really nice and i think i'd replace titans with it in most decks wich aren't based around the titan. you'd also make some very nice counter decks with the card. if i were general i'd pack at least 10 i think.dragon cause it's fatty fatty! i think i'd go for the catapult. fitting gravity, being unique in the game and having some great synergies with gravity. if not the catapult i'd say the massive dragon (unexpected? ). it's maybe not the best card but i think it presents gravity the most while having some nice scary art.
why gravity? i love it's playstyle being different from other elements, having some awesome mechanics like catapult, momentum and gravity pull wich can make you good all round with nice unstoppable attackers due to catapult or momentum or having fun with the defensive power of gravity with otyugh, gravity pull or gravity shield combos.

[MyNameIsJoey]

@nilsie : I've always known you as a water lover. Why gravity now? What makes us think you like gravity enough to represent it well?

@9270984 : Sure using known good decks can make you win games, but they are also predictable. Think you can work against the metagame enough to be a good war leader?

@bhlewos : epic speech, btw, and also, I know you have told us already, but your lack of experience and losing in the pvp section gives you fewer chances to get to the master position. Do you still think that it is viable? If so, how?

[kirchj33]

*claps for epic speech*

I am thoroughly entertained!

[Bhlewos]

(thanks nilsie!)

@bhlewos : epic speech, btw, and also, I know you have told us already, but your lack of experience and losing in the pvp section gives you fewer chances to get to the master position. Do you still think that it is viable? If so, how?

Yes, I think so. From what I've learned by observing War #3 and listening to what veterans have said, there's more to being a Master than being good at PvP games. They also have to be good at PR, at being an active member of the community, and being a good leader overall. The latter has played a large role in the last War -- with the different roles that each member in the Team plays, the Master has become less of a strongman of sorts, and more of a manager able to delegate roles and liaise between them, as well as see the big picture. Although my biggest weakness (IMO) is PvP, I believe that's more than compensated by my strengths in other areas -- and during War, deckbuilding and researching is a team effort as much as anything, so my team members and I would be able to work together to do better than I could ever do by myself -- which is what a good team is: a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

[RavingRabbid]

@Nils: You obviously have the most war experience, (and even general, you have been). But you failed the final battle twice. Is third time the charm?

@Bhlewos: I can't even spell your username right without reading it, and don't know anything about you. What's your experience, and why Gravity?

@9999999: What could you bring to Team Gravity when you'll become Master?

[GG]

A message from the fallen Master...

Gravity is a one hard Element to master and also an element with relatively low popularity. I praise all of you just for being passionate towards Gravity and enduring the Trials up to now. I have served as the Master of Gravity for two terms, first beating the veteran Jumbalumba and then grabbing a close win against majofa, one of the best Elements player. I've tried hard to show people of the majestic qualities of Gravity, but apparently it didn't end well due to my real-life issues.

I hope whoever becomes the new Master will bring Gravity to its rightful glory and achieve whatever I failed to achieve.



Now for questions:

@all : Ignoring what I've said above, how would you evaluate me as the Master of Gravity during my reign?


@nilsieboy : Care to explain why you moved from to ? Also, gimme some examples of good(k; maybe 'possible') synergies between and !

@Bhlewos : You're a new player competing against relatively experienced players with decent respect from the community. How are you going to stand against them?

@9270984 : What does your name mean? What is Gravity?

[PlayerOa]

Is Gravity in it's purest form in outer space or at the Earth?
Explain.