False God Competition: The Outcasts

[Kuroaitou]

Well, here it goes...

Painweaver

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Thematic Explanation:
What made Painweaver the Outcast, you ask?

Unlike the other False Gods that erect monumental towers to fuel them with energy, Painweaver instead feeds off of 'pain'; the Soul Catchers symbolize its masochistic nature by obtaining power from sacrificing pieces of himself (whether via Cremation on Skeletons, inflicting plagues via frail Retroviruses, or generating small bursts of electrical energy from Ball Lightnings). As he gains more power, it's able to summon more powerful creatures, namely Ivory Dragons, Condors (which also grow with the pain), and Flesh Recluses. Firestorm can be used if Painweaver decides to kill one of his own creations from Cremation - the amount of untold destruction (while rare) can be devastating to its opponent if they do not have protected creatures.

His shields (one for basic protection at first - Skull Shield, and the other for advanced reaping of death - Bone Wall) allows him to defend himself against various types of attacks. To round it all off, he holds a Farhenheit (a smoldering weapon, inflicting more agony onto others) and Death Nymphs to plague and contaminate the opponent's field.

Game Explanation:
Painweaver is the other 'counterpart' to Morte's hard poison and stall tactics - instead of focusing poison with Arsenic and Deadly Poison (with Miracle to help stall alongside Bone Wall just in case), Painweaver instead just throws out creatures and hopes that they actually die in order to reap their benefits. He doesn't have much permanent control or protection, so a little PC can actually ruin his main source of quanta generation (which in turn, makes it impossible for him to play his tougher or more dangerous creatures/cards, like the dragons, Bone Walls, or Death Nymphs. On the other hand, using CC against him can be beneficial or detrimental - if you deny him of using Cremation, he can't bring out his toughest CC spells and weapon (Firestorm/Farenheit), but you also fuel him more quanta to play his more significant cards...


"His energy had waned, and slowly gave into pain; but as he fell down triumphantly, his strength had gained."

[Falcon4415]

Wow, my theme got elected!
So, now I feel like I actually have to design an awesome FG, and turn this into a streak

Here we go:

Typhoon

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Card-by-card breakdown:

Most cards here aren't used by any other FG: Steam Machine, Damselfly, Sky Dragon, Elite Firefly (as a standalone), Sky Blitz and Pendulums have never before been seen in FG-environment.

I decided to use what I believe are some of EtG's true outcasts (there are more, and even more “outcasted”, but they didn't blend in so well): few people (if anybody at all) use Damselflies, Ice Bolts , Steam Machine, Lightning Storm or standalone Elite Fireflies. Some very specific decks use them though, but they aren't the most popular. Dragons are played a little more, but not much.

• Pillars and pendulums: they are what they seem to be, quanta generators.
• Damselflies: arguably among the most “outcasted” cards in these game, they are fragile, but they add some initial rush damage, generate and help with Air Blitz burst damage.
• Fireflies: normally left out in favor of FFQs, they generate to power the Steam Machines and the occasional UGs.
• Sky Dragons: with 13 attack power, they are pretty powerful, and when they double their attack power, they are a force to take into consideration.
• Sky Blitz: a bit of 1.26 taste in this FG, along with the flying creatures it represents win condition #1. With the right setup and a little luck, it can take away a big pile of health
• Air Nymphs: taking advantage of the excessive , they produce UGs, and when paired with Fireflies to both power UGs and soften the enemy, they can be deadly (to balance this, there's only two of them, and as AI will most likely ignite UGs the turn after they are produced, there's only so much this FG can do with them). Thus, they represent win condition #2 when paired with a couple damage dealers.
• Lightning Storm, Shockwave and Ice Bolt: along with the occasional UGs, they make for a fair amount of PC to deal with enemy creatures. Lightning Storms were added theme-wise, but they help to soften big creatures to easen Shockwave's work. Ice Bolts help to direct excess into something useful, but I avoided Congeal (which might look like a better option) because of AI failing to play rationally when the frozen creature + Shockwave combo is available.
• Explosions: they're there to destroy some permanents and ramp difficulty up a little (but not to a point where you'd need a lot of PAs / spare Hourglasses to survive, there's only 2 of them). They also profit from the generated from the Fireflies, so their impact on quanta usage is low.
• Eagle's Eyes: a good all-rounder weapon, also adds some CC.
• Steam Machines: they are usually left out in favor of any other growing creature (even though they grow twice as fast as their competence and they are far more resilient) because of their double ability activation cost, but they can be incredibly powerful with the right build, and I strongly believe that this deck can take the most out of them. Backed by some Fireflies, they represent win condition #3.
• Permafrost Shield: it's here to delay the opponent as hell so that the creatures can carry out the dirty work. Any creature used against it that can bypass the shield and thus get congealed is worth wasting a Shockwave on it, so the AI won't fail much with the instakill combo.

How this deck wins:
There is a variety of situations that can lead to this winning, mainly the three listed above. After testing against the most common FG grinders, I find that most often the early Fly rush is not able to overcome the healing FG decks pack, and then Steam Machines/Sky Blitz kick in and deliver the finishing blow.

How it works against the most common FG grinders:

RoL/Hope: it has a small chance due to the power of Lobotomizer, but the Lightning Storms can damage the strategy enough to allow a Dragons + Sky Blitz win. The player has to know when to risk the Rols and when to fractal his Dragons, otherwise he's dead.

CCWB: this FG has no healing, so what matters in this match is who is able to rush better while delaying the opponent the most. No one has a clear advantage here, as the FG is faster, while lacking healing, but CCYB has a good stall with Permafrost + SoG (Permafrost de-grows Steam Machines, but as they can double-grow, it's not a major advantage).

Ruled for eons by the iron fist of their Queens, Fireflies had always lived horrible, oppressed lives. They had to work hard, day after day after day, producing light quanta for their rulers, empowering them even more, because that was the only thing they could do. It was the only thing they knew how to, the only thing they had been taught since they were little baby larvae.

Then, one day, a couple of mysterious sisters arrived, who called themselves “The Nymphs”. They were among the most powerful beings the Empire of Air had seen, for they held the power to manipulate air and turn it into an explosive weapon of inmense destructive power. But most important, they were nomads who travelled the lands in their search for power and knowledge, so they had never felt the fist of the Queens over their heads, and thus they brought words of freedom and rebellion to the oppressed people of the Empire.

The effect the appearance of the Nymphs had within the local population was huge: in just a few days the word that a rebellion was being prepared spread like wildfire, especially among the poorest and weakest beings, Damselflies, always ignored by the Queens.

Soon, many creatures joined them. The League Of Liberation, as they called themselves, was leaded by the Nymphs and composed by creatures of very diverse provenance: there were many nimble Damselflies, some tough Fireflies and a few powerful Wyrms, who traditionally had worked for the Queens as their main military force. Even a couple of Dragons, the wisest and most ancient beings in the realm, which hadn't taken sides in a battle before, joined the ranks of the League. They all fought for the promise of a better life, to overthrow the system that had taken joy and happiness away from their lives, and their parents', and their grand-parents', and many generations before them.

However, when the day of the final battle came, the few Wyrms that had joined the League Of Liberation, turned their sides on them and betrayed their partners. Vastly outnumbered by the forces of the Empire, even with the Nymphs and Dragons on their side, the League Of Liberation had to withdraw after taking many casualties, but some members who were lucky enough to escape elimination managed to flee from the Empire and went on exile, but they didn't stop plotting new ways of recovering what was rightfully theirs.


To be continued... tomorrow.


Link to feedback thread (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,19045.0.html)

[BC]

Paranoia is a FG-ification of paranoia, and as such is distrustful of everything, making him an outcast among false gods. The problem for you (the elemental) is that Paranoia wants to make you paranoid too, and he does his best to do just that: his steals and quantum towers make you think twice about playing permanents that can be used against you, and maxwells/pandemoniums discourage you from playing any important creatures unprotected, to say the least. What's more, cloaks keep the suspense up, because not paying attention could cost you the game. All this while his damage keeps building up. Exciting FG to fight against. 

Paranoia

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technical stuff:
quite a bit of work went into balancing this FG. my design theory for FGs: fun and thrilling to play against, challenging but not impossible, good chance with most decks if you make good decisions.
this FG has a very capable, control heavy deck, packing 12 creature controls (2 mutations, 2 druids, 8 pandemoniums) and 14 permanent controls (2 butterfly effects, 12 steals) total. however, this is also a very large deck, without any means to speed up the draw by itself, which means unless you let him steal your hourglasses he will not be able to reach his full potential. unlike against most other FGs, you really have to watch what you play here, as permanents can be stolen and big creatures can be TU'ed by pandemonium. if you are willing to use them, quint and PA still give you solid protection against this FG's control, and he has no shields with negative effects that threaten your quinted creatures, unless you give him one.
this FG's rush potential is medium, main damage here is werewolf, lobo (quinted mind flayer or PA'ed lobotomizer would do nicely) or just getting rid of them before they use their lycanthropy will significatly hamper his damage. 4 dragons are also good targets for antimatter. damage will come slower than other FGs, but that's fair considering that you need to be conservative with your defense against a FG with a lot of permanent controls.

[TheonlyrealBeef]

Basilisk

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This deck fits the outcasts theme because Colossal Dragons, Gnomish Gemfinders and Graviton Guards are never used in normal gameplay.

The idea is to:

• Basilisk Blood + Gravity Shield to block damage
• Basilisk Blood + Trebuchet to launch those worthless creatures

I thought about adding more Pulverizers, but we don't need everyone to rage-quit this one
Anyway, here's a nice story to describe the strategy:

The coldblooded Basilisk causes every opponent to petrify at it's sight. Opponents crumble as they face an endless barrage, for Basilisk knows no mercy, not even for it's own minions. They too are petrified, for stone hits harder than flesh when put onto a catapult. Even the few opponents that remain are smitten down and Pulverized by the Basilisk's vicious tail.

[Dragoon]

PARIAH

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They were overlooked and oft neglected, bypassed for their ability-wielding brethren.  These outcasts were the rejects of their elements.  But one day they found the light and redemption, but most importantly—Hope.  Out of their dark corners they came out, wielding the light of Lucifer himself.  Under the leadership of Light Nymphs, this ragtag army became a near invincible force.  They will not be ignored anymore.  They will make themselves known.

103-word description:
This deck uses cheap, ability-less creatures as Luciferase fodder to feed the monster known as Hope.  With so many creatures, this deck is resistant to Antimatter.  Many of the creatures also have pretty decent health so they are resistant to mass creature control like Firestorm.  And if a deck has no creature control, they better hope their creatures can outgrow the Hope or do alternate damage like Poison, Bolt, UG, or Voodoo.  But all the healing through Luciferase and Light Nymphs makes even these options difficult.  It also has PC, CC, and QC cards to even things out.

[Glitch]

Thunderbird

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What?  A stalling FG?  But stalling FGs either suck like neptune, or dominate like hermes.  They're incredibly hard to balance.  And to top it off, it uses thunderstorm?  And damselfly?!?!  Clearly an outcast.

Pretty well balanced.  It'll lose to Voodoo doll if the dolls drop their combo, but it'll dominate Rol/Hope.  It's an even(ish) fight versus CCYB, it really depends how fast CCYB gets its pulvie out.

I think it's well done.

Alternative name:  Zapdos.

[Tiko]

Ogun

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"Long ago, our people were children. Feared all that surrounded, they were victims of Creation. We taught them the learn, to hunt, to survive and to shape. We gave them knowledge of the elements and the cycle of seasons. Prepared them with tools and perception to live and prosper, and tools to defend and fight, if must. Once they asked for our guidance and offered us their prayings and veneration.
Once they thanked us..

Now, our people see themselves grown. They believe they mastered the arts and shape. They forgotten the spirits who taught them, and the rituals that provided balance. They worship the tools created by hand - the very reflection of their own weakness. They forgot the rituals of battle. They have forgotten us. They have forgotten Creation.."

I am the spirit of Iron, Fire and War. I am Ogun. I am the Will to survive.

Art from orishanet.org

[nilsieboy]

Ogun

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"Long ago, our people were children. Feared all that surrounded, they were victims of Creation. We thought them the learn, to hunt, to survive and to shape. We gave them knowledge of the elements and the cycle of seasons. Prepared them with tools and perception to live and prosper, and tools to defend and fight, if must. Once they asked for our guidance and offered us their prayings and veneration.
Once they thanked us..

Now, our people see themselves grown. They believe they mastered the arts and shape. They forgotten the spirits who thought them, and the rituals that provided balance. They worship the tools created by hand - the very reflection of their own weakness. They forgot the rituals of battle. They have forgotten us. They have forgotten Creation.."

I am the spirit of Iron, Fire and War. I am Ogun. I am the Will to survive.



Art from orishanet.org

i welcome the new hermes to the fg club

[Dragoon1140]

What exactly is "The Outcasts" theme? Can someone explain this to me?

"The Outcasts" is one of four themes that the Council has decided to use, and you can interpret from it what you will.  Some submissions so far have thought of it as the False God being previously isolated from a higher prestige, while others have the False God using non-used cards.

It's really all up to you as to what it means. 

[PlayerOa]

White Warrior

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One day, the White Warrior, the nicest of the nicest, though the most brutal living in this universe came to the Land of Myths. He took the weapons from all fighters, and crafted them all to a giant sword. He used the sword to divide the land in two parts, and from that moment the Land of Myths became peaceful.

The White Warrior wants new fights. And THIS is his chance.

[Dragoon1140]

Edit: Somehow, I missed the rule about only 12 different non-pillar cards.  I adjusted the deck to meet this requirement.  I kept Werewolf so I can use some Darkness quanta and Mummy to use any Time quanta on the off-chance they get Rewinded.

You must have miss-read the rule. 

What we mean by that is that we don't want people submitting more Paradox's (ie, having 14 Werewolves in the deck).

[xn0ize]

Disappear 

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When imagination and destruction are combined the results are terrifying , but when  control and destruction are together its a perfect force that came only to abuse its perfection to destruct every thing in its way... it is amazing