Thorn Carapace
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Contents
Overview
In comparison to Emerald Shield | Jade Shield, Thorn Carapace is a shield based on indirect creature control rather than pure damage mitigation. For 7 
quanta, attacking creatures have a high chance of being infected by poison.
General Use
Quick Facts:
While not as direct as Fire Shield, Thorn Carapace is a hard-indirect form of creature control in the figure of a shield. Unlike Life’s creatures, the shield is fairly expensive for its cost, but can be one of the most destructive defense cards within the game. Poison can be healed through, but not removed, which makes its stacking potential fatal unless the enemy can somehow rewind their creatures to refresh them.
The following table below provides a general perspective of how much average poison damage the enemy army would take upon attacking:
| Number of attacks | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | N |
| Damage dealt | 0 | 0.75 | 2.25 | 4.5 | 7.5 | 11.25 | 15.75 | 21 | N*(N-1)*3/8 |
Although poison damage isn’t guaranteed on every attack, 75% is a high probability for being infected, and thus, players who are facing one should switch their playing style (either being more cautious or more aggressive) when fighting against the shield, due to its cumulative effect. The upped version, Spine Carapace, also reduces damage by one. However, creatures with only 1 ATK cannot be infected as they become blocked instead.
Synergies
To improve the effectiveness of Spine Carapace’s damage reduction, Aflatoxin | Aflatoxin can serve as a field lockdown. If a player manages to use a spell on a creature that’s about to die, the enemy player will be forced to kill the offspring Malignant Cell that’s produced afterwards, or succumb to the infestation that will follow. The upped shield blocks Malignant Cells, making them unable to be killed by poison. Thus, it becomes apparent that Aflatoxin serves as a special form of CC and board control if played on the right creature.
Maxwell's Demon | Maxwell's Demon also works wonders with the Carapace. For 2 
, players can use its Paradox ability to kill creatures that have their ATK stat higher than their HP. Unless they are Immaterial or momentum-affected, the poison from the shield will generally wear the enemy creatures down into the Maxwell’s range. If the Demon is killed, the poison will still continue to tick on the creatures instead.
To counteract permanent control, Enchant Artifact | Protect Artifact can be the most aggravating spell (for the enemy) to use alongside Carapace. While various other shields can be annoying while protected, Thorn Carapace is one of the few that will eventually set an enemy’s offense to 0. Because shields cannot be currently targeted by any other means (compared to weapons and Voodoo Doll), PA is the cheapest and most simple synergy players can operate between the Earth and Life elements.
Other Cards With Synergy
Other nasty AOE CC cards, such as Flooding, Rain of Fire, or Pandemonium can also work well to killing infected creatures. Lobotomizer can solve the problem when dealing with momentum. In a few cases, using Adrenaline on enemy creatures can actually kill them faster (as they’ll attack more times against the Carapace, racking up more poison), but players should be extremely careful not to use it on hard-hitting targets or ones with on-hit special abilities like venom.
Conclusion
Although infecting creatures seems more of a skill associated with the Death element, Spine Carapace flips that concept on its head. While not so effective at reducing damage initially, this shield can suppress many decks that rely on fast but weak creatures, and even hinder growth creatures better in the long run.
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