9th Trials - Challenger's Entrance

[Zawadx]

TIME TO ENTER THE TRIALS
HAS RUN OUT



Please make sure you've read the Rules very carefully. Also, here are the Phase 1 Rules.
To join these Trials, post in this thread a single post containing the following information:

Spoiler for Requirements:

-Evidence of Score Requirement
-Evidence of Established Account Requirement

Spoiler for Phase 1:

Spoiler for Task 1:

-Name of Task
-Evidence of completion

Spoiler for Task 2:

-Name of Task
-Evidence of completion

Spoiler for Task 3:

-Name of Task
-Evidence of completion

Spoiler for War/Brawl Bonus:

-Evidence of participation in the last war/brawl with the element you were a member of.
-If you were a General/Boss, evidence of your General-ship/Boss-ship

Spoiler for Loyalty Bonus:

-Tell us how many times you have participated in Trials for this element before
-Give us evidence of your participation in each of those trials

Remember, the Requirements to Challenge are:

• 50,000+ score in Elements
• 200+ forum posts
• Joined the forums no less than 3 months ago (at the time of signing up)
• Participation in at least three separate PVP Events (Leagues, War, Weekly Tournaments, etc.)

A player may participate in Trials without meeting the 200 post and 50,000 score requirements if they are able to provide evidence of a significant PVP achievement. Examples of sufficient achievements include:

• Winning a Weekly Tournament
• Finishing in the Top 3 in Leagues or other forum PVP Events
• Finishing on the winning War team

Note: In the event more there are more than four applicants (including the defending master) for one element, priority will be given first to players with the higher Phase 1 scores and second to a combination of score/post count.

Challengers:

• treebeard_xiii
• jonathancrazyj

Master ddevans96 of is defending.

[ddevans96]

Requirements
Score and Account: 153000+, on New Forums since April 2012

Phase 1
Defending Master:

Master ddevans96 of is defending.

Bonuses
War Bonus: General of Water + 7th-12th Place, 2 points
Brawl Bonus: Frostbite Borealis + 2nd Place, 1 point
Loyalty Bonus: 4th Trials Signup, 6th Trials Community Vote, 7th Trials Community Vote, 8th Trials Community Vote, 4 points

Spoiler for Archived Content:

I may or may not defend. If my participation influences anyone's decision to join or not join in any way, PM me and I'll explain the situation.
EDIT: I will be defending.

[JonathanCrazyJ]

Jonathancrazyj Challenges For Water
It may not count for loyalty, but Brawl #4 was my first Element-Affiliated forum event, and I intend to stick to Water. DD was my Master in Frostbite Borealis.
Time to change things.

Phase 1 Complete
Unlocked:
Upgrades: 5 Pillars / Pendulums; 5 Creatures; 1 Permanent; 1 Spell; 1 Any

Spoiler for Requirements:

-Evidence of 422000+ Score Requirement:

Spoiler for Screenie:

-Evidence of 2012 Established Account Requirement:

Spoiler for Screenie:

-Participation in recent PvP:
1. Beginner League 2015/1 including 2nd Place finish.
2. Weekly Tournament - March 7th 2015 - Sudden Splash. 3rd Place.
3. Weekly Tournament - December 3rd 2011 - Speedbuilding

Spoiler for Phase 1:

Spoiler for Taking Up Arms:

Taking Up Arms: So you want to wield Water?

Congratulations. You are a Water Elemental of obscene power. Or you will be after a quick trip to the bazaar!
At the moment, your deck looks like this:

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

4sa 4sa 4sa 4t3 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i5 5i5 5i6 5i6 5i7 5i7 5i7 5i7 5i8 5i8 5i8 5i8 5i9 5ia 5id 5l8 5l8 5l8 5l8 5l9 5l9 5lb 5lc 5lf 8pp

Now, ideally, we don't want to worry about quantum pillars. Lose them. Now we should have a look at our win condition - where does the damage come from? Unupgraded, Blue Crawlers don't represent a good damage source. The other Water creatures present are Chrysaora - so let's go with them.
In order to power the Chrysaoras, we'll need a death mark. Who needs light anyway, we are WATER, we should look at drowning our enemies in murky poisonous seas - let's drop all of that Light, and replace those cards with Poison, to complement the Chrysaoras.

-3 Quantum Pilars (4 )
-1 Dagger (16 )
-6 Water Pillar (4 )
-2 Blue Crawler (19 )
-4 Freeze (17 )
-1 Ice Bolt (38 )
-4 Light Pillar (4 )
-2 Photon (16 )
-1 Pegasus (40 )
-1 Holy Light (17 )
-1 Blessing (39 )
Total Electrum From Sales: 340 + 100 Extra for Task = 440

+5 Poison (25 )
+4 Chrysaora (25 )
+1 Ice Shield (60 )
+6 Water Pendulum (24 )
Total Electrum Cost: 429

The Deck

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

52o 52o 52o 52o 52o 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i5 5i5 5i5 5i5 5i5 5i5 5i8 5i8 5i8 5i9 5i9 5ia 5id 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 8pk

This deck will stand you in good stead against most Elder Opponents, and is effective against many PvP strategies.
The strategy is simple, apply poison quickly, control enemy field with Ice bolts and Shield, late game boost damage with Ice Bolts and Ice Dragon for the win.

Poison+Chrysaora = Solid Damage
Dragon = There for a nice damage boost mid-late game.
Ice Shield = Excellent damage reduction and stalling power to allow you time to build poison.
Ice Bolt = Early game CC, Usable as weapon PC, late game boost to damage and Quanta usage.
Purify = Guards against opponents using poison, alternatively mild healing.

Spoiler for Action Screenshots:

Spoiler for Elder:

Spoiler for Elder:

Spoiler for Half-Blood:

Spoiler for PvP1:

***Ice Bolts for the Win***

Spoiler for Developing War Tactics:

Developing War Tactics: Risk versus Reward

Event Card

Use of this event card is optional.
Relics gained through use of this Event Card will not be accessible until the following Round.
Losing with an unupgraded deck has no effect on salvaging.

Tactics

General Use
This Event Card would require a good deal of thought for any team regardless of position. Essentially, if I felt our predictions regarding our opponents decks were good enough that we could be fairly confident of a hard counter, then use of this card could be beneficial. I would be more concerned about using this card against a very unpredictable element or opponent, where a closer battle could be decided by the side with more upgrades.

If We Were Winning
Presumably, given our place at the top, we would have a larger range / number of potential upgrades to use. Using this card would, therefore, have a larger impact on the relative effectiveness of decks we could field. It would have to be an extremely good match-up, where we could be VERY confident of a hard-counter for me to advocate use of this Event Card. Let the other teams try to throw an un-upgraded deck at us, and try to punish their recklessness for easier games.

If We Were In Danger Of Elimination
At the other end of the spectrum, every win is vital. With a smaller pool of cards and upgrades, using this event card with the right deck could have minimal impact on effectiveness. However, I would still take care when deliberating over its use, feeling that any disadvantage in individual games could prove costly. Once again, it would depend on the opponent.

So When Would I Use It?
If we were a team in 4th-8th place (assuming 12 teams remained), a single, well timed game using this card in each match played could give a substantial boost to our Relic stores, potentially with minimal impact to our overall match wins. If we felt we needed to use a deck requiring upgrades against specific opponents, obviously we would pass. In general, regardless of our team's position, I would keep the potential use of this card in the back of my mind throughout Deck-Building and Strategy Planning stages, looking for moments when it's impact would be felt the least, for a potentially massive relic haul.

Spoiler for Being a War Reporter:

Being a War Reporter: Dimensional Fractal Dragons

Introduction
Deckbuilding for War requires a slightly different school of thought to general PvP. Each element has certain capabilities which come more easily than others, and certain weaknesses it finds harder to address. One deck that resurfaces (often several times) in most Wars for Team Water in one form or another is that of Fractal Arctic Dragons, supported and protected by Dimensional Shields.

The Deck
This example was used in War 6, Round 1, in a 3 - 1 victory for Water against Time (Spielkind 3 - (sub) (Time SB) PlayerOa / BunKeR 1). I have chosen this particular example because it demonstrates all the archetypal elements of this deck.

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

4sp 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 61r 61r 61t 61t 61t 61t 61t 61t 622 622 624 7gt 7gt 7gt 7i6 7i6 7i6 8pu

Spoiler for Other Uses / Versions:

War #8 Round #7 (Air Lt) PlayerOa 3 - 0 treebeard_xiii (Water Lt)
War #7 Round #2 (Water Sld)Scaramanga 3-1 (Light Sld)MegroN
War #7 Round #3 (Water Sld) treebeard xiii 3 - (Air Sld) (Sub BeefSupreme) Acsabi 2

Strategy
Depending on what your opponent's deck uses, this can either be a solid, protective beat-down deck (if they lack CC), or a OHKO deck against CC heavy opponents. Upgraded Arctic Dragons deal 13 damage, meaning 8 are required for a OHKO. With 66 Quanta and 24 Quanta , one Dragon, 2 Parallel Universes and a Fractal, this is achievable. In some cases, a 2 Hit Knock Out is more achievable, in which case Silence can be used to either protect against CC for a turn, create a gap in Dim Shield or Sundial chains, or otherwise delay your opponent at a crucial time. Dimensional Shields, despite being vulnerable to Permanent Control, represent a solid defense behind which you can either set up the OHKO, or out-damage your opponent.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths
: It is the most reliable OHKO deck available to Water.
: Its use of Dimensional Shields makes it very powerful against Teams with limited access to Permanent Control.
: Many water decks are vulnerable to Rushes and Creature Control heavy decks. This can perform well against both of these archetypes.

Weaknesses
: The need for large amounts of quanta leaves the deck very vulnerable to Quanta Controlling decks.
: With enough Permanent Control or Momentum to get through Dim Shields, it will be out-rushed by almost anything.
: Nightmare can wreck Fractal. (though if anticipated can be dealt with by conserving cards in hand)
: Some shields such as Fog, Dusk Mantle and Dissipation Field can hamper the deck's OHKO abilities, leaving Dragons vulnerable to CC.

Spoiler for War/Brawl Bonus:

-I have not yet participated in War: +0 Points
-I was a member of 2nd place Frostbite Borealis in Brawl #4: +1 Point

Spoiler for Loyalty Bonus:

-While I have not participated in Trials, Phase 3 Voters could take note that I have stuck with after Brawl, despite knowing easier trials are out there: +0 Points

[treebeard xiii]

I need to redeem my honour so here goes

Spoiler for score and account info:

Spoiler for war/brawl bonus:

team water 7th place soldier last war heres the link:
one of my matches last war

Spoiler for loyalty bonus:

water trials 8 heres the link:
8th trials challenger sign up
extra evidence i participated in 8th trials

Spoiler for phase 1(complete):

Spoiler for task 6 taking up arms (complete):

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4sa 4vj 4vj 4vj 590 5c1 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i5 5i5 5ia 5ie 5ie 5ie 5ie 5ii 5lb 5rk 5up 61q 61q 8pp

general strategy: It's a basic water bow the strategy is simple load up on quanta rush as fast as you can with toads as the main atk force with backup from other handy cards. You have to be choosey about what you are going to use the steal on this is decided based on the deck you are facing for example against the mono aether elder you either want to save it for a shield preventing you finishing it off or potentially a lobotomiser if you need to protect your key ability monsters like chrys and forest spirit. if you want you could potentially add in a mind flayer which beyond the normal loboing your oppos monster you can use it to lobo a decent atk steam machine locking his atk at that value.

Spoiler for task 1 developing war tactics (complete):

Clarifications due to text space restriction: The event is optional. The upgrades changes are applied across all your matches this round for example the general coul use one less upgrade and a lieutentent 2 less upgrades and a soldier 2 less upgrades totalling the maximum of 5. For every extra upgrade you use you discard 1 card from the deck at the end of the round, if you use less upgrades you get an additional salvage for each upgrade reduction.

Spoiler for my interactions with the card:

As my decision concerning this card would be less the position of my team and more the matchups we have I'll answer in that form as otherwise i'd be repeating myself twice. I would use the reduced upgrades if we had a very comfortable matchup or if we are using a deck that works the same with or without the upgrades. I would use the increased upgrades if it was a match we had to win to survive (this is obviously slightly affected by salvage figures) or if we could win with an extra upgrade or two. I would never blow all the upgrade changes on 1 deck unless it really mattered even if we had only 1 game that round.

Spoiler for task 5 beginning war training (complete):

Spoiler for speed challenge:

Spoiler for strength training:

Spoiler for endurance training:

[Zawadx]

jonathancrazyj, Brawl does not count as a pvp event for fulfilling requirements. Could you please link another event you've participated in? Sorry for not catching this earlier.

[JonathanCrazyJ]

True, sorry - but I came 2nd in BL so isn't that enough on it's own? I also played in a tourney several years ago:

December 3rd 2011 - Speedbuilding - Unupgraded

EDIT: To clarify, I have 2 tournaments and a League entry = 3 PvP things. In addition, i came 2nd in the League, which is stated as enough on its own

EDIT 2: Modified application to reflect fulfillment of requirements

[Vangelios]

I don't see problems to include Jonathan here,
only if the DD or Tree not accept, but one exception in this case is acceptable,
 after all one 2 place in leagues was one auto qualify to WC last edition.

[treebeard xiii]

True, sorry - but I came 2nd in BL so isn't that enough on it's own? I also played in a tourney several years ago:

December 3rd 2011 - Speedbuilding - Unupgraded

EDIT: To clarify, I have 2 tournaments and a League entry = 3 PvP things. In addition, i came 2nd in the League, which is stated as enough on its own

I have no problem with this. 2nd in a league is better than i have ever done it competitive pvp. Just link evidence of your participation in that bl theres an archive around he somewhere for that type of thing oh and you get a pretty icon but the overseers have to be vigilant.

[JonathanCrazyJ]

it's linked in my application, thanks

[ddevans96]

jcj meets the requirements, score/post/time and three events, there's no issue or exception here.

[Zawadx]

jcj meets the requirements, score/post/time and three events, there's no issue or exception here.

Exactly. I was simply asking for a link to a third. Bear in mind that your PVP achievement only waives the score and post requirements.

[Blacksmith]

Okay I'm in

Spoiler for score and account info:

Spoiler for war/brawl bonus:

I guess that you have to be a general of water for this to count?

Spoiler for loyalty bonus:

water trials 8 heres the link:
Sigun up thingy
and some more evidence

Spoiler for phase 1:

None of my phase 1 points will count since I joined late*

Spoiler for Waging War (Against the False Gods):

This deck is quite simple to use. Use the squids to delay damage and sofos( preferingly on overdrivven creatures ), use the purple nymphs to convert damage to healing and use the water nymph for damage. The only thing you should watch out for is running out of cards, always make a new water nymph if you can in order to beat Akebono!

Akebono

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

4vc 4vc 4vc 4vc 4vc 4vc 4vc 5ib 5ib 5ib 5ib 5ib 5ib 5ig 5ig 5ig 5ig 5ig 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 5jm 8pp

Spoiler for Hidden: