Typhoon
7dm 7go 7go 7gp 7h2 7h2 7h2 7h2 7h2 7h2 7ms 7ms 7ms 7ms 7ms 7ms 7ms 7mt 7mt 7mt 7mt 7mv 7mv 7n1 7n1 7n4 7n4 7n4 7n4 7n4 7n4 7n5 7n7 7n7 7n9 7ng 7oe 7oe 7oe 7oe
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.[/list]
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.
