Rework Aether

[OldTrees]

so would suggesting removing immaterial from phase dragon go in the buff or nerf section?

It would go in the Buff section due to the intent but it is not needed nor beneficial to Aether as a whole.

[CCCombobreaker]

yeah, time to start brainstorming and hitting the create a card board.  was hoping for more ideas in that regard in this thread rather than "zomfg you think aether is weak but its not"

People round these parts are both very helpful and very opinionated.  the key is the wording of the title and OP.  If I walked up to you and said "You need to rework your style", you'd probably think I thought there was something wrong with your haircut or what you were wearing.  Especially if you don't know me well.  So you might (like these responses) get defensive of the things you like about your style.

If instead I walked up to you and said "You have some cool style going on, but if you added an accessory or two, perhaps a sweet hat or nice watch."  My intent is a lot clearer and came with positive suggestions and not intonations of shortcomings.

You like aether, you like what it does, you think it'd be better with a sweet hat or a watch.  People here will help you pick out a hat and a watch.   

[NikaZaslavsky]

Why would you say that Aether is antisynergetic and then say that the nymph only works with other elements?

[Higurashi]

The changes and "problems" you say you have with Aether pertain to what makes Aether a unique element. Removing invulnerability from Phase Dragon would remove a large part of what Aether has represented for a long time. It's not a constructive way to go, especially considering how it used to be normal and changed as an improvement (both thematically and game-wise).

Much of Aether's identity is in the very quirky cards. It may be a difficult element to learn at first, but many of its cards break conventional logic and makes the element stand out. If you want to change its flavour, I would rather add cards than introduce any radical changes.

Starting a thread with listing your problems with an element is not the way to gather new ideas. It's the way to get people to tell you that the problem is you. You specifically say Aether is mostly a "splash" element, which is plain wrong. People will continue to tell you this until you reword it into "I want more synergy within Aether as a mono".

Another comment that doesn't make any sense is this: "even monoaether is basically an aether splash"
You're only using Aether, and it's a splash? You need to define your terms better, or change them.

As for new cards, it's naturally not a new topic of discussion. In fact, it's been a question to the participants in the last two Trials of Aether. However, since I don't have the "problems" with the element that you do, I've suggested cards that add to the thematic flavour of the element, such as Rift Aeon (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,6435) to capitalise on the theme of the universe being a living being, adding to that ancient mystical feeling.

And thank you for the compliment, OldTrees :>

[OldTrees]

Why would you say that Aether is antisynergetic and then say that the nymph only works with other elements?

Because he was referring only to internal (Aether/Aether) synergy.




You earned it Higs 

[Jappert]

Instead of another wall of text, I only have 1 question:

Where were you during War #3?

[russianspy1234]

Instead of another wall of text, I only have 1 question:

Where were you during War #3?

i played elements for like a month after it came out on kongregate to get the badges, then quit, and only recently came back.

[Antagon]

i wonder, why so many ppl seriously replied here. the topic should be moved to the humor section.

[russianspy1234]

The changes and "problems" you say you have with Aether pertain to what makes Aether a unique element. Removing invulnerability from Phase Dragon would remove a large part of what Aether has represented for a long time. It's not a constructive way to go, especially considering how it used to be normal and changed as an improvement (both thematically and game-wise).

Much of Aether's identity is in the very quirky cards. It may be a difficult element to learn at first, but many of its cards break conventional logic and makes the element stand out. If you want to change its flavour, I would rather add cards than introduce any radical changes.

Starting a thread with listing your problems with an element is not the way to gather new ideas. It's the way to get people to tell you that the problem is you. You specifically say Aether is mostly a "splash" element, which is plain wrong. People will continue to tell you this until you reword it into "I want more synergy within Aether as a mono".

Another comment that doesn't make any sense is this: "even monoaether is basically an aether splash"
You're only using Aether, and it's a splash? You need to define your terms better, or change them.

As for new cards, it's naturally not a new topic of discussion. In fact, it's been a question to the participants in the last two Trials of Aether. However, since I don't have the "problems" with the element that you do, I've suggested cards that add to the thematic flavour of the element, such as Rift Aeon (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,6435) to capitalise on the theme of the universe being a living being, adding to that ancient mystical feeling.

And thank you for the compliment, OldTrees :>

well its hard to suggest changes without pointing out what i think needs to be changed.  im thinking i should just remove the majority of the post and change it to:
"its kind of annoying that aether has 2 immaterial creatures and two cards that give immaterial"

also, that card of yours is a pretty awesome idea.

[agentflare]

The problem with aether is that it is a "synergy" element. The only effective deck using mono-aether... is essentially the classic mono-aether.
Fractal and Quintessence barely even work in a mono-deck. Silence is barely effective too.

Aether is by no means a weak element though. It is extremely good,  perhaps gamebreakingly so. The problem at Aether's heart is Dim Shield. This card is a focus of many decks in Aether. It's a gamebreakingly good stall card. The problem is how to balance it. A two turn Dim Shield would be laughably weak. As it is now, any deck without lots of healing, momentum or a fair amount of PC will lose.

[russianspy1234]

The problem with aether is that it is a "splash" element. The only effective deck using mono-aether... is essentially the classic mono-aether.
Fractal and Quintessence barely even work in a mono-deck. Silence is barely effective too.

Aether is by no means a weak element though. It is extremely good,  perhaps gamebreakingly so. The problem at Aether's heart is Dim Shield. This card is a focus of many decks in Aether. It's a gamebreakingly good stall card. The problem is how to balance it. A two turn Dim Shield would be laughably weak. As it is now, any deck without lots of healing, momentum or a fair amount of PC will lose.

i agree aether is no a weak element.  the reason i call it a splash element is because its strong enough that you can splash it for dim shields in quite a few decks.  the comment i made about mono aether being an aether splash is because it basically just replaces the muscle of the element it could be splashed into (ie firestall) with phase dragons.  again, not a comment on the strength of the element, but just a comment on the synergy of the element within itself.  it has great synergy with other elements.

[Higurashi]

Ah yes, this is a very typical comment you'll find among many players inexperienced with Aether.
"The only effective deck using mono-aether... is essentially the classic mono-aether."

Also wrong. I've already listed examples of other Monoaether decks that kick ass. Its rush is mean and can turn any higher attacker than Phase Recluse against you thanks to TU, and Electrocutor will stop all useful skills unless they wanna spend PC on it. Lightning makes for a very effective CC-rush that I've kicked much ass with, and Fractal Recluses is usually way too much offense for any defending deck to handle.

Consider how the cards complement each other: Electro stops skills, which limits offensive capabilities and protects the low HP Phase Spider/Recluse from creatures with Devour. It's also a great damage dealer.
Lightning is, as mentioned, the best single target CC in the game, which severely limits offense. It can also catch the opponent off guard and kill them off earlier than they had planned.
Dim Shield is easy to insert in any Aether deck, even a rush. I won with exactly a deck like that in the recent Trials.
TU can turn your opponent's strong offense against him, and especially with Lightning, this can completely kill a rush. It also gives the Recluse rush a lot more speed.
Recluse is the base rusher, of course. With its low HP, people rarely expect Aether players to use it, much less rush you. I've used that to my advantage many times.
Fractal lets you beat almost any stall, period. Even in Monoaether.

And so on. There is plenty of mono-synergy, even if it's not immediately apparent. As I said, play some more with it and you might find a lot of tricks of the trade.