My RoL/Hope (mostly) unupped

[Higurashi]

During all the months I played with RoL/Hope, I quickly noticed speed was the key factor to raising FGei. That's why I posted an Archangel version and advocated its use. However, you have to play the deck a bit differently with AA's. You turn the deck much more into a rush in that you pump the Angels out as fast and early as possible. This results in faster wins, which in itself is an edge against all FG's.

The problematic ones are, of course, Ferox and Chaos Lord. Out of these, only CL matters because you almost never win against Ferox with any traditional version. SoP's will let you do that, however. You also have to calculate damage more carefully against Miracle-using FG's.

So if you can adjust your playing style and take advantage of the AI targeting, my experience is you'll have a slightly better FGei with Archangels. There's been much discussion about this, and testing showed Dragons were better, but I don't think the playstyle was adjusted enough. When it comes to it, what works best for you is best for you :>

[Nite93]

It should be noted that against Lionheart, he can quint a Crusader early (almost immediately) and use your own lobo/Electrocutor against you. It should also be noted that if you do have your Lobo/Electrocutor, you need to prioritize Lobotomizing his Anubises over anything else. Otherwise he'll just quint everything hes got letting him build up a full field of creatures that mostly CC (Scarebs and Crusaders with your Lobotomizer) and sometimes reverse timing. You may have a chance to deck him out, but all your RoL's will most likely be useless and your shield then doesn't offer any more protection. 

[Rainbowninja]

I think it should be added into the god by god breakdown that for Osiris, as long as you get your Lobo out and get lobotomize his SoF, you're fine. I've also noticed that you can fractal his shards to destroy his permanents and overall win a lot faster.

[thispersonisagenius]

I think it should be added into the god by god breakdown that for Osiris, as long as you get your Lobo out and get lobotomize his SoF and his Pharaohs, you're fine. I've also noticed that you can fractal his shards to destroy his permanents and overall win a lot faster.

Fixed your post a little bit
Also, Fractalling his Shards is a bad idea as it fills both your field with non-Rays/Dragons, and clogs your hand with Black Holes that you can't use. In addition, Osiris is often smart enough to hold on to a few Towers in his hand to play once your SoFo are exhausted. Lobotomizing Pharaohs is key, though.

[Rainbowninja]

Well once you have the whole thing set up (with all pharaohs lobo'd), all you really need to destroy is the eternity and the shield. And then wait.

[Kanashimi]

So. I didn't have upped dragons, but I did have angels that I used for a while instead... Until I won a couple of crusaders. Anyone else tried using them? I'm not seeing a noticable difference, but:

Pros: Crusaders are cheaper to fractal, can imitate your lobo in case of PC, can imitate stiletto/arse/jade staff/titan if needed, deals more damage than angels if endowing 5+ damage weapons.
Cons: Slower inititial damage and lower initial health. 1 extra cost compared to angels. No healing ability (never actually had to heal an angel in a rol/hope deck).

So... Anyone tried this out? I'm not experienced enough in this game to actually judge it's effectiveness all that well.

[eaglgenes101]

So. I didn't have upped dragons, but I did have angels that I used for a while instead... Until I won a couple of crusaders. Anyone else tried using them? I'm not seeing a noticable difference, but:

Pros: Crusaders are cheaper to fractal, can imitate your lobo in case of PC, can imitate stiletto/arse/jade staff/titan if needed, deals more damage than angels if endowing 5+ damage weapons.
Cons: Slower inititial damage and lower initial health. 1 extra cost compared to angels. No healing ability (never actually had to heal an angel in a rol/hope deck).

So... Anyone tried this out? I'm not experienced enough in this game to actually judge it's effectiveness all that well.

I think Higs has. Ask him.

[Higurashi]

Saders are good for a giggle, but the huge weakness they have is that they're slower. RoL/Hope's high FGei comes from speed, so it's counter-productive to use them, much like Miracles. The other big weakness is that it's much harder for you to burst past Miracles with them. They do, however, help against the new Osiris and Akebono, if you manage to get some of them to Endow your Lobo before it's destroyed or they are devoured. Lobosaders are also useful against Dream Catcher, Jezebel and to a lesser extent Scorpio, Neptune and Elidnis. Only one that matters here is Scorpio, because Neptune is usually a fat loss and Elidnis an easy win.

Napalm is known for using the Ray of Lulz variant: http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,17357
It's greatly strengthened by having a Vamp Dagger (Arsenic being the other odd addition), which means you'll want QT's. Because of the QT's, SoG's are a natural addition, and this turns the deck into a much slower grinder focused on winrate. The problem is that it's slower at getting out Rays, so its winrate isn't actually better. In other words, it's the novelty deck of novelty decks.

[eaglgenes101]

Saders are good for a giggle, but the huge weakness they have is that they're slower. RoL/Hope's high FGei comes from speed, so it's counter-productive to use them, much like Miracles. The other big weakness is that it's much harder for you to burst past Miracles with them. They do, however, help against the new Osiris and Akebono, if you manage to get some of them to Endow your Lobo before it's destroyed or they are devoured. Lobosaders are also useful against Dream Catcher, Jezebel and to a lesser extent Scorpio, Neptune and Elidnis. Only one that matters here is Scorpio, because Neptune is usually a fat loss and Elidnis an easy win.

Napalm is known for using the Ray of Lulz variant: http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,17357
It's greatly strengthened by having a Vamp Dagger (Arsenic being the other odd addition), which means you'll want QT's. Because of the QT's, SoG's are a natural addition, and this turns the deck into a much slower grinder focused on winrate. The problem is that it's slower at getting out Rays, so its winrate isn't actually better. In other words, it's the novelty deck of novelty decks.

Why not just a darkness mark for vamp daggers?

[Higurashi]

Gigantic waste of quanta, will lose you games due to slower Fractal and getting pwnd by Quicksands and Decay. You don't need Dagger until late. Plus, y'know.. like I said, it's a stalling RoL/Hope, so SoG's are natural, which promotes QT's.

[mesaprotector]

If it's the healing you want, why not just use Light Nymphs instead of Angels or Dragons? I realize many players don't have two nymphs, but I'm curious what the stats are for that version of the deck.

[Higurashi]

Light Nymphs are indeed viable again thanks to the buff after a silly nerf. No one's taken stats though.

But you asking why is pretty silly considering we're talking about a novelty deck here. I can talk a bit more about it, actually: it was kinda born when Nap was playing Lobosaders and fought Incarnate. Endowing its Daggers showed her the potential. Since you have QT's, you can Endow any weapon and turn it against the FG. Poseidon, for instance, is often very good.