I havent diluted the deck with 3 x QT for mirror shield. Thats the supernovas job.
The QTs help add extra quanta, occasionally giving you that deperately needed 1 quant for a quint (poetic!) while you scream at the pc for a supernova...
![Cheesy :D](https://elementscommunity.org/forum/Smileys/solosmileys/cheesy.gif)
The QTs also help keep up the flow of quants later on AND if placed first will draw the target fire, earthquakes & steals, sparing your essential entrop/obs towers.
The mirror shield reduces damage, so if theres 5 un-anti-ed critters out there, you reduce the damage by 5... much the same as having a shard. Its also unstealable.
Mirror shield & pulv are both 'possibly' inessential BUT they give you a chance against some of the FGs you cant beat without em.
So you can beat ferox, seism, and octane... with luck!