Guest posts by Tharios

13

Trio & Quartet / Re: Hyper Daggers! Hyper EM!

« on: September 27, 2010, 12:11:52 am »

Thats only 8-12 damage for each vampire AND they're more expensive than daggers upped or unupped.  This idea fails hard unless its upped.

It certainly doesn't perform up to the standards of the upped version, nor should it.

Here's the thing...it's still fun to play and it DOES work, albeit not as well.  But it works well enough, it wins fast enough and often enough to suit me.  That said, I don't really grind.  It's unusual for me to play for more than half an hour a day, at most.  My most important consideration is..."Does this strategy and associated configuration entertain me?"

The answer is yes...along with the Fractal Vampire/Devourer deck, and the Parasitic Voodoo deck. I made...all unupped because I don't have the coin to up any cards, nor am I really in a hurry to do so.

So I fail to see how the deck "fails hard" when it does what it's supposed to within its own limitations, still fulfilling its concept, and more importantly is enjoyable to play.

Edit:  On another note, if I get my hands on more Stilettos, I might well buy Flying Weapon cards and up them as I can.  They're the only card that MUST be in its upped form, since then it's still merely a duo deck instead of a trio.

14

Trio & Quartet / Re: Hyper Daggers! Hyper EM!

« on: September 26, 2010, 11:31:27 pm »

So, in my unending quest to find decks that are not only reliable to "grind" with, but also enjoyable and FUN to play, and to build such decks out of unupped cards...I have decided to make an unupped variation on this concept.

Obviously, an unupped version has to be significantly different in composition, because otherwise it becomes a tri-color deck and also an unsustainable concept.  So, I swapped out the Vamp Dags (which I don't even have that many Stilettos) for Minor Vamps, and removed the Animate Weapons (which aren't needed because of the Minor Vamps), and used the extra room for pillars.  I'm still working through it, and it has exactly the same weakness as it's source...creature control and shields (especially the prickly ones).

Here is its current composition.

Code: [Select]

5bs 5bs 5bs 5bs 5bs 5c7 5c7 5c7 5c7 5c7 5c7 5uk 5uk 5uk 5uk 5uk 5uq 5uq 5ur 5ut 5ut 5ut 5ut 5ut 5ut 606 606 606 606 606
Thoughts, suggestions?

15

Life / Re: The Ultimate Speed EM Deck

« on: September 17, 2010, 10:21:43 pm »

@ ICB:  Thanks for the input, but so far it's working for me, and after some adjustments it's sped up noticeably, I think.  So, I'll stick with it anyway.

@ Kurohami:  Interesting idea, I wonder if there's a way to exploit that for a deck.  Too bad there's no Nightfall equivalent for Light creatures.

For the sake of argument, I can't provide statistics or claims on the performance or potential of this deck.  I can only offer my opinion based on casual observation through casual gameplay.  I don't grind, and I certainly don't take notes on how many turns it takes to win, how many times out of so many games it wins, and so on.  Not that I have a problem with those that do, it's just not my schtick.

If someone wants to find out just how my version stacks up, feel free.  I'm certainly curious, just not curious enough to play in a scientific way at the expense of my fun.

Speaking of which, it's been modified...

x12 Emerald Pillar
x3 Emerald Dragon
x4 Horned Frog
x6 Heal
x1 Druidic Staff
x4 Forest Scorpion

My only problem seems to be a consistent shortage of pillars, though I haven't noticed a drastic effect on performance.  I may very well take ICB's advice and ditch the dragons just to free up more space for extra pillars.  I usually don't bring out the dragons til the kill-turn anyway, so I always have enough for them, but I always seem to be short on pillars early on.  Ah well, something to consider.

16

Life / Re: The Ultimate Speed EM Deck

« on: September 17, 2010, 05:51:54 am »

I've just made a variation of this deck, though perhaps it's unique now.

It's completely unupped, and has no rares yet.  I haven't tested it thoroughly, but after a couple dozen battles, it seems promising.

x2 Short Sword
x12 Emerald Pillar
x4 Emerald Dragon
x4 Horned Frog
x4 Heal
x4 Forest Scorpion

I noted one major problem I had when using an unupped version of the deck in the OP, was that there was no way to hit hard enough.  So I knocked out the Cockatrices and a couple of Horned Frogs to make room for the Emerald Dragons to bring some much-needed firepower to the field.  After that, I knocked out a couple of the Heals since only 2 or 3 at most are ever needed (unless things go so squirrely that you were doomed to begin with...no deck is perfect after all), and added the Short Swords (until I can get my hands on a Druidic Staff or two).  In place of the remaining Cockatrices, I used Forest Scorpions instead.  Granted, they don't pack the punch of a Cockatrice or even a Horned Frog, but having even one out on your first full turn can make an incredible difference as those poison counters start to build.  By the time you're ready to whip out a couple of dragons for the finishing blow, you have all your heals ready to fill your health and you probably only need one dragon to kill your opponent anyway.

Again...it's still a work-in-progress, and it's probably not similar enough to the OP deck to be located here, but I thought I'd offer up the variation and see what happens.