Any variety in Top 50?

[Stomper]

Are there any Top 50 decks that do not use otyughs, sun dials and bone walls to hold you off while building up a large number of creatures (via fireflies and boneyards) to feed empathy and grind you down?  This is all I see, no matter whose deck it is.  I have yet to see a Top 50 deck in which the color of the player's mark was relevant -- it is all quantum towers, all the time.

I realize that some decks will be better than others, but there is a basic problem with game balance if we must all play variations on the same deck in order to succeed.  What am I missing?

Okay, there's a certain amount of whining here, because I built a speed deck that does very well at lvl 3 (win/loss ratio is 8/1 after more than 2000 games) and appears to be somewhat unique, but this same deck is useless against any Top 50 that gets a decent start (much less pseudo-deities).  I'd be more inclined to take responsibility for my deck's limitations if it turned out there are other successful speed decks and I just missed some key issue -- but I haven't seen any such decks.  Did I overlook them?  Or is this a basic flaw in the game itself?

Edit:  A simpler way to say it -- are there any decks other than rainbow that can win consistently against Top 50 and pseudo deities?  I'm not seeing them, and I would expect to see them in the Top 50, right?

[Evil Hamster]

Speed poison works best against the top-50 FG grinding decks.

Also- mono-fire, mono darkness and earth/time using graboids do fairly well.

The reason you see so many of those rainbow decks is because right now they are the only deck that reliably defeat level 6.

Their biggest weakness is the small number of creatures- typically 2 otyughs, a firefly queen, a druid and a graveyard (technically not a creatutre, but creates them). Some variants have a slightly different mix (I'm using Anubis!), but that is the basic build. Take out the otys and the queen and you win- you just have to wait out the defenses.

Hope that helps.

[Stomper]

"typically 2 otyughs, a firefly queen, a druid and a graveyard"

Hmm.  Seems like I've seen many more than that (3-4 otyughs and 2 druids), but some may have come from parallel universes.  But yes, seems like I have to slow my deck by loading it up with more creature removal.

I can see that poison would not be stopped by those Top 50 defensive strategies, but I'm not sure what qualifies as a "speed poison."  With a good start, my deck wins in 5-6 turns vs. lvl 3.  Without a good start, I usually win lvl 3 in no more than 9 turns.  Can any poison deck do the same?

[Uncle Jellyfish]

I can see that poison would not be stopped by those Top 50 defensive strategies, but I'm not sure what qualifies as a "speed poison."  With a good start, my deck wins in 5-6 turns vs. lvl 3.  Without a good start, I usually win lvl 3 in no more than 9 turns.  Can any poison deck do the same?

Speed Poison reliably beats God Farming Rainbow decks in about six to eight turns, though I have gotten five turns twice. It wins most matches in about that time. My average is usually seven turns, in PvP, Top 50, or against the AI's. I usually have ten to thirteen poison counters on my opponent by turn three.

[Stomper]

Wow.  Okay, that's news to me.  I've never seen poison work that fast.

[Uncle Jellyfish]

http://elementstheforum.smfforfree3.com/index.php/topic,386.0.html

This is the deck I use, usually. It's my normal PvP deck, but now that it's becoming more popular, I'm having to find a new deck...>.<"

[Evil Hamster]

I said typically because those are the core cards that almost all rainbow decks use.

Some use more, or a different one or two. Some use PU, some add Annubis, some a 3rd otyugh or second druid. Some use pulverizer, some eagle eye. That's what i meant by variants.

And "speed poison" is not as fast as speed fire or speed darkness, instead of 5-6 it might take 7-9 turns. That's still fairly quick. I also find it far more reliable than the others against the rainbows out there, and congealing the dragons it even has decent odds against speed fire. It's nemesis is darkness with devourers/pests. Very difficult to win against those decks, if they also drop 2 vampires, I just quit...

[turin]

We must mention even the classic fire/light:


mark of light

It's not as fast as poison, but has a 100% win against rainbow in top50 (AI will never target your upped sundials).
I must say that earth/time isnt good against top50: too few permanent control.
Mono fire can have very good results in built like this (even if not all upgraded, but towers instead of pillars are a great help):

http://elementstheforum.smfforfree3.com/index.php/topic,501.0.html (http://elementstheforum.smfforfree3.com/index.php/topic,501.0.html)

[Stomper]

Very helpful.  Thanks.  Still trying to come up with something on my own, rather than just copy an existing deck/strategy.  I may be too late to the game for any pioneering, but I gotta try.

[Essence]

It's never too late for pioneering.  It's just hard, you've got to really look closely at the cards that no one uses.

I farmed AI3 for weeks with a Life/Time deck: Mark of Time for Hourglasses, and a Life Rush of Frogs, Cockatrice, and Feral Bond.  It was really different, and it worked pretty well. 

Come to learn the '12th false god' uses a deck a lot like it.  lol


Essence

[Stomper]

Whoo-hoo!  Thanks for all the help guys.  I was actually IN the Top 50 (for something less than 20 mins, but still ...).  Couldn't have done it without your input.

[dingo]

Seriously, why even have a top 50 section if 95%+ of them are the same boring raindow deck?  If it wasn't for those few people that are kind enough to put up farm decks for the newbs, I'd never play top 50 because it is SO boring.  If people aren't going to put a farm deck up, at least put up something that shows an ounce of originality.