4th Trials - Phase 3 - Community Vote

[Higurashi]

Woo, working two jobs while being in Trials. Well, 'tis I: the head of council and the oldest TO still in service. I was very happy showing everyone Aether can dominate War with a perfect team, of course, but I'ma be honest: I'm not sure I will have time for the next War. I might and I might not; it will depend on how busy I get with the preparation program for Police Academy this fall.

I'm still developing as an Aether player by exploring duos and trios, but my vision remains the same since last Trials. I've loved being a Master, especially creating friends as one and building a tight and strong team :>

Anywho, here be answers. I'll be updating this post continuously.

Rav: Positive balance changes would mainly be two; its monorush would be more durable and especially a -lot- better unupped, and Aether would have less trouble doing reliable un-invulnerable (and thus faster) damage in restricted duos.

For instance, during Master's Tourney some duos are bad for me when I can only use 6 off-element cards because I might want defense/spells from a different element than Aether. That forces me to either use too few creatures from that other element with few copies of Fractal, or choose between Phase Recluse/Phase Dragon. It limits both offensive and defensive options.

It would also increase the uses for Immortal, as it would become the go-to card for invulnerable instant card advantage and damage.

Negative balance changes would be making Aether more vulnerable to CC. The classic Monoaether deck would change by becoming a bit faster, but also possess less stamina. Phase Dragon would be used in different decks and ultimately speed the element up a bit while also theoretically reducing reliability of damage when building monodecks and some duo decks in events such as War.

Thematically, it would reduce the card advantage Aether currently prides itself on being best at. It's the concept I've always loved the most in card games: to get two cards or more in one puts you at a -direct-, unconditional advantage. I personally wouldn't like it at first because Phase Dragon has always, thematically, seemed like the mightiest standalone creature in the game to me, but in time I would likely enjoy the difference it would bring back.
Kuro:

Tough choices... time to bust out my Trials #4 questions.

Q: “Suppose that the Phase Spider never existed (or better yet, that the spider belonged to another element, like Life). If you had to add a creature to the Aether element to replace the spider, and the replacement was based off a real-life animal, what would it be? No need to add a mechanic to the creature, I just want to know what would embody Aether.”

The human embodies Aether. There's one huge reason I chose this animal: I know for a fact that we are capable of realising that we are capable of anything. We have endless potential, just as Aether stretches back to the beginning of the universe and has no end in the future.
Now, you might say Aether already has Immortal, which is very humanoid and possibly even was human once upon a time. To me, that's just the ultimate proof.

If you want an answer that focuses less on what it embodies and more on the technical aspect of choosing a creature that isn't already there, I would choose the brown bear. It's usually calm, aloof, doesn't care all that much for what happens around it, but mess with the stuff it cares for and you're in for a trashing. Mainly, its cubs. A mother bear is truly motherly and will do anything to defend its offspring, just as a connoisseur of Aether must love the universe, listen to it and care for it.
ji412jo:

Aether, another element that i love a lot.

This is an element in which i have a hard time finding questions to ask, though, but here goes, i guess.

Apart from fractal uses, which element do you think synergises (idk how to write that?) the best with aether and why?

For PvP purposes, Death. The main reason for this is that the current metagame is almost dominated by rushes, and Bone Wall+Lightning is an awesome rush-stopper. Another reason is that Poison loves the ways of stalling these two elements have when working together, and they can both add reliable physical damage on top of this.
Fire is a close second though, simply due to Deflag and the many ways to do damage.
Bhlewos:

Q: If Pokemon switched to using the 12 elements from Elements, instead of the 17 type system, which Pokemon would be from the element of Aether? Original 151 only.

Primarly Psychic and secondarily Electric. Especially Mewtwo fits perfectly with Aether due to its extreme intelligence and genetic superiority. It embodies the strife for a perfect creature and a perfect mind and has always been the one Pokémon I really like.
PlayerOa:

Aether is one of the most popular elements, why do you think so?
Explain.

The main reason I started loving Aether was because it embodied a strife for perfection. Keep in mind that doesn't mean an Aether elemental wants to be a perfect being, but rather constantly live to improve itself. The first road to this is through understanding the world: Wisdom. Being immortal would give you endless time to understand the universe, and give you limitless potential to improve and develop.

I believe this theme is a large reason many gamer-personalities like Aether. It represents something much greater than ourselves; a fantastic, currently unreachable goal that makes life worth living. As we play games to escape reality a bit, great goals makes reality more worthwhile.

As a new player, many will also love the ability to be completely untouchable through Dim Shield and Phase Dragon. I think it was a powerful feeling for everyone the first time we played Monoaether. This draws many players to investigate the element further.
Zblader:

As a Master, how do you think the concept of could be expanded on in Elements the Game?

(Note - This does not necessarily have to be about new cards.)

Ah, we've answered this in the previous trials. We haven't seen any change yet, so I still feel like we could use a card that shows off the ancient power of Aether. Back in the last trials, I linked Rift Aeon as an example of this; something eternal and massive from space. Something monstrous, old and uncontrollably powerful. Something primordial and wrathful from the universe itself. Having endured billions of years of destruction, it would want to release this energy and take revenge. Ah, scary stuff.
majofa:

This ability only works with damage reduction shields.

If this card was introduced into the game: What impact would it have? How would you utilize it? What decks would you build? How would it change ? (You don't have to answer each question individually)

Oh man, I wish I could Nightmare shields if that got into the game.
It's cheap, so it would see immediate use with Fractal. I imagine people would pack more Dims than they do in most Fractal Spider decks, though.
It's situational, so amount of usage would depend entirely on the setting. For instance, it wouldn't be practical in War since other shields than DR shields are more common (Fog, Dim, Diss, Dusk), but it could be amazing in some settings where DR shields are more common and strong.
It would give Aether even more ramp damage potential, but it's also unique because the opponent is the one who has to stop the ramping by destroying his own shield. Would that be worth it? Against a deck of only these, sure. Otherwise, probably not. It would depend on the length of the duel.
I would pack other sources of damage in a deck to increase reliability (Phase Dragon is perfect for this), and I would also use low-attack creatures against an opponent over time to get him to use DR shields against me. Mm.. mindgames..
EvaRia:

As fellow team members most of you, I believe you should be able to answer this correctly.
It's something very crucial to understand to have success in War.

Simply:

Aether is a particularly unique element, for one main reason.
What is it that makes Aether so unique inside the War metagame?

The ability to go from rush-stopper to stall-breaker by just changing a few cards. Most of the time, this is a simple question of having a Fractal target in a duo of a rush-stopper, and boom; it can handle any deck. Oh Fractal, you so OP.
The dictator:

What is your favourite deck, and why?

Oi.. that's a difficult one. I love inescapable damage, so Fractal Chargers is great fun.. but I also love Minor Phoenixes for their mythological theme, toughness and speed, and it's no secret I -love- Fractix. I love Devtal for its versatility and the hopelessness it can induce in your opponents, and I love BoneBolt for its customisability and how it's impossible to escape.
Last, but not least, I love Monoaether for its reliability and extreme power when you're not prepared for it. You want me to pick just one? Fine, it's still Fractix.

I can wax poetic about why I love the Phoenix one more time. It is eternal, graceful and one with nature. It embodies a nurturing mindset and a constant strife for perfection, just like Aether. I love Fractix because it can use anything from my two favourite elements, I love it for being able to play a bazillion of my favourite creature on the field, and I love it for its power and inevitability. (example shown here is one I've used in Master's Tourney)

by Higurashi

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Deck import code : [Select]

7dm 7dm 7ds 7ds 7ds 7ds 80a 80d 80d 80d 80d 80i 80i 80i 80i 81q 81q 81q 81q 81q 81q 81q 81q 81q 81q 81q 81q 81q 81q 81q 8po

jippy99:

Question Time!

After current master Higurashi almost lead aether to its first war victory, what would you do to prepare for next war to ensure that this does not happen again and that aether does win its first war?

This question seems posed toward the challengers, but I can gear it to work for me.
If I'm in War for Aether next time, I will try to repeat the scenario I managed to create. I had the best team I could possibly get (cheap, motivated, fun and with the right mentality), and our predictions were as good as they could possibly get with humans doing the thinking. We didn't suicide once and I'm proud of that. We gave it our all at all times, even when it felt unfair and sucky. The rules that changed things this War around won't be repeated (afaik), and thus a repeat of the perfect scenario I managed to create would lead to certain victory.

The odds of this happening are low, and so I consider myself lucky to have worked in that situation. Nonetheless, I now know even better how to set the stage for it to happen, and I also have an even better idea on what to improve in deckbuilding, and especially what to salvage and build the vault with. Tiny improvements here and there could smoothen things out a bit, but then again RNG could change all of that. A card you might think is generally useful in a matchup could just not be drawn, whereas a "worse" card can decide a matchup.

The metagame changes a little bit every time we wage War, and small changes to adapt to that will be one of the most entertaining things to consider.
Whew, lotsa questions. I like them even better this time around though. Less arduous :>
I'll continue answering tomorrow. Oh look, no new questions.

Jenkar:

Please link a song which you think represents / feel like Aether.

It'd be kinda cheap of me to use For The Craftworld here since I used it for the propaganda page (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,22615) of Aether in War 3, but the Eldar/Protoss songs do fit very well. Another genre I've hinted at before is Touhou music, particularly ones pertaining to Yukari Yakumo. I linked one such song as a victory tune after the final battle (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,20986.msg289416#msg289416) last Trials when I gained my mastership, and you'll find the explanation there as to why she has quite the strong affinity with Aether.

There are two circles in particular that make me think of Aether due to their flipped out electronic pieces, and those two are Cytokine and Rolling Contact. Here's another Touhou piece to contrast the classical tune I shared after the final battle with more conventional techno (picks up around 1:08):

Since most of their work makes me think of Aether, you can find dozens of songs by them that work thematically. If there's one troublesome thing about Aether, it's that it encompasses so much.

(Two more examples of great songs by Cytokine, the first one being about Yukari as well:

The second one being about the heroine of the series, a shrine maiden who can control barriers extremely well, which is pretty Aetherific too. Most of all though, it's a real masterpiece:

)

In fact, I also have to add that most songs about Satori Komeiji remind me of Aether due to the character itself (extremely powerful psychic). Yes, even Power Metal like this:

x)

Mmm... explosive urge to share Touhou music...
xn0ize:

Q:
If you had to chose , what card would you remove from your element , and why?

Ideally, I'd remove Fractal and add several more cards to compensate for the balance change in the game. Removing Fractal would also mean we'd have to remove Nova and Immolation, however, as those are the three cards I find overpowered. The main problem with Fractal is that it prevents many card designs due to balance issues, making it an unbalanced card in more aspects than just gameplay-wise.

If we are to remove only one card, I would remove Immortal. It has little place in the current metagame and thus affects balance the least. Flavourful cards like Mindgate might have just as little of an impact, but it's an important card thematically speaking. Even more so than Immortal, that is.

Turquoise Nymph would be an option if it wasn't for the fact that all elements have Nymphs. If we could replace it, that would be my choice since the least amount of people will have copies of it, and it would thus affect balance the least.

[mrpaper]

To RR, what would change with a material phase dragon... 1st, there would be much more people using quint and people will also stop to say aether nymph is next to useless.

Also, I believe there would be much less mon aether deck since many of em revolves on slowly killing the opponent with phase shields while dragons do the dirty job while they are untouchable (Immortals can do the tric also but it's usually not as good).

Lastly, aether is slow but efficient with those dragons, without em, we are vulnerable so we will be facing tons of cc like every element from that point.

[deuce22]

Each of you challengers has a very difficult (arguably impossible) task this round, which is essentially explaining why you would be a better master/general of than Higs. Unfortunately, MrBlonde has already asked this question. So instead, I pose 2 other questions:

First, what was Higs' most successful quality during war 3 (not including drafting me or anything else auction related)? Whomever writes the same answer that I am thinking of automatically gets my vote.

Secondly, as general of team , what strategy do you plan on using for the auction in War 4?

[mrpaper]

deuce, pretty unfair question since I was in aether in war 2 but not war 3.   I'ma go take a guess and say her biggest quality was her implication since she always is.  Secondly, there is NO WAY a general should tell his strategy for a future auction, but I already have in mind what I plan to do!

[pikachufan2164]

Aether has been my favourite element when I started the game, when Phase Dragon was not immaterial.

The question is: if Phase Dragon was de-immaterialed (with consequent stat adjustment to 9|6 and 10 , 12|6 and 11 ), what would change in Aether?

The combo of Phase Dragon + Parallel Universe would open up again. Before Phase Dragon was made immaterial by Zanz (with a cost increase to 13 | 14 ), that combo was commonly played in a rushier style of mono-Aether -- think DragonPowa (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,17091.0.html), but with more durable PU bait, and greater stability.

The traditional defensive mono-Aether (with Phase Shields and Phase Dragons) would be slightly less effective due to the need for either Quintessence or Immortal to provide immaterial creatures. Elite Immortal might actually see play now that it's the only naturally immaterial creature. Turquoise Nymph will be slightly less useless in mono-Aether, and there might actually be a need to use Quintessence in mono-Aether.

Each of you challengers has a very difficult (arguably impossible) task this round, which is essentially explaining why you would be a better master/general of than Higs. Unfortunately, MrBlonde has already asked this question. So instead, I pose 2 other questions:

First, what was Higs' most successful quality during war 3 (not including drafting me or anything else auction related)? Whomever writes the same answer that I am thinking of automatically gets my vote.

Secondly, as general of team , what strategy do you plan on using for the auction in War 4?

Higs was always confident with the skills of her team members in all areas of War -- from playing to deckbuilding and vault management, and she put a lot of trust in the choices that we made.

If I were to have enough time to devote to War (for the entire duration of the event -- I will only play if I can finish what I start) and act as the General of Aether, then I would follow a methodology similar to Higs' in War III. I would look for a small number of War veterans who are skilled in at least one portion of the War preparations (deckbuilding, S/D/C, Vault management), will be able to stay and devote time to War for the entire event, and would like to play for Aether (bonus points if they did play for Aether before). The rest of the slots would be filled in by less-known players who have a strong desire to play for Aether, the motivation to stay active for the entire duration of War, some PvP skill (previous participation in Tournaments or PvP Events, especially team-based ones, is an asset) and a fair number of the commonly used unupped rares.

[UTAlan]

First Page of Questions

Q: “Suppose that the Phase Spider never existed (or better yet, that the spider belonged to another element, like Life). If you had to add a creature to the Aether element to replace the spider, and the replacement was based off a real-life animal, what would it be? No need to add a mechanic to the creature, I just want to know what would embody Aether.”

Spent way too much time thinking about this question, but I'd have to go with a Glasswinged Butterfly (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_oto). Its translucent wings help it to fit well within the theme of .

"Aether has performed miserably the previous 2 wars and with Higurashi leading the way showed how dominant Aether can be. What makes you a better candidate then Higurashi?"

Question of the hour, eh? This is a tough one, as Higs is an outstanding Master. First of all, she has already expressed that she may or may not be available to lead in the next War, whereas I fully plan on being involved in it, Master or not. Also, being in America puts me in the same general timezone as most (though certainly not all) players. We had a great team for War #3 with everyone getting involved in the preparation for each round, but there were many times when it was not feasible for Higs to be online the night before the deadline while the rest of us did the planning. This never really hurt us because our team was so capable, but it definitely could help to have the Master available during those sessions.

Apart from fractal uses, which element do you think synergises (idk how to write that?) the best with aether and why?

I would have to go with , mainly because of the synergies shown with Bonebolt decks and Poison stalls.

Q: If Pokemon switched to using the 12 elements from Elements, instead of the 17 type system, which Pokemon would be from the element of Aether? Original 151 only.

I've never been a big fan of Pokemon (sorry!), but the types of Electric (lightning), Ghost (phasing out), and Psychic (mindgate) all stand out to me as being -like.

Aether is one of the most popular elements, why do you think so?
Explain.

I think this is a result of 's biggest strength - its flexibility. Whether using Dim Shields to stall or give you one more round of life, or splashing in some Lightning for reliable CC, or adding to the effectiveness of your rainbow with Mindgate, there's a little bit of for everybody. Plus, MA is one of the strongest mono-element decks in the game, imo.

[deuce22]

deuce, pretty unfair question since I was in aether in war 2 but not war 3.   I'ma go take a guess and say her biggest quality was her implication since she always is.  Secondly, there is NO WAY a general should tell his strategy for a future auction, but I already have in mind what I plan to do!

my first question is not unfair because anyone who participated in war 3 and was in chat and/or spectate could observe her "most successful quality."

And, imo, there is no right or wrong answer to question 2, especially since the rules of war and auction vary from war to war. So, I anticipate that whatever strategy is proposed will likely be modified or completely changed come the auction phase of War 4.

[mrpaper]

Well I did spectate Higs from the outside... just like I did with anyone in war, trying to find weaknesses in deck and patterns to beat em (which I did twice! ), but I am not looking for a particular quality in an opponent unless it is to try and counter it! 
As for part two, of course my strategy could change, being able to adapt is really important in war (people I intend to bet on will quit or be much less into elements, newcomers will make a name for themselves, rules will probably be tweaked a bit, etc.).. but I still believe I shouldn't go on and deliver my intention no matter what.  If I say I want to pay as litlle as possible for exemple, people will know that overbidding me will me a win for em almost for sure, jsut liek if I said I'm going for experienced players, they can make me overbid!  Of course here would be the place to bluff.. but then, what do you know of me having a good strategy or not if I say anything just to bluff! 

[UTAlan]

Second Page of Questions

As a Master, how do you think the concept of could be expanded on in Elements the Game?

(Note - This does not necessarily have to be about new cards.)

I would love to see the theme of to be expanded to include the stars. Since Aether is supposed to be the material that fills the universe, "Star Dust" or "Red Giant" or something along those lines would be a cool way to round out the element.

This ability only works with damage reduction shields.

If this card was introduced into the game: What impact would it have? How would you utilize it? What decks would you build? How would it change ? (You don't have to answer each question individually)

Splashing this card in rainbows (grabbows?) would be fun, since it's a pretty cheap card (can be powered by Nova/Supernova) and if it survives CC, eventually hits through DR shields. It would have a pretty big effect on the metagame, as a deck with a DR shield and no CC would have to be wary before dropping their shield down early.

Aether is a particularly unique element, for one main reason.
What is it that makes Aether so unique inside the War metagame?

The flexibility of to be a powerful mono deck with Dim Shields and Phase Dragons, duo with almost any element with Fractal, or steal damage from an opponent with Mindgate and Parallel Universe. Not to mention throwing Lightning into almost any deck as splash CC.

What is your favourite deck, and why?

Devtal, hands down. I've always loved it and was disappointed when Sanctuary was introduced, though ultimately it just adds more strategy in playing it.

Question Time!

After current master Higurashi almost lead aether to its first war victory, what would you do to prepare for next war to ensure that this does not happen again and that aether does win its first war?

Higs did a LOT of things right in the last War, and as Master of I would take what I learned from her example in War 3 and put it into practice in War 4. The biggest thing I would change would be finishing strong. It was tiring to continue to do the busy-work required as War dragged on, but I think if we had worked harder to stick with our original amount of dedication and teamwork, we might have been able to pull out as victors.

Please link a song which you think represents / feel like Aether.

Delerium (ft. Sarah McLachlan) - Silence (DJ Tiesto Remix) (

) - The overall sound of it, plus, you know, Silence.

The question is: if Phase Dragon was de-immaterialed (with consequent stat adjustment to 9|6 and 10 , 12|6 and 11 ), what would change in Aether?

This would have a pretty big impact, as MA would lose its effectiveness, requiring either Quints or Immortals to maintain CC immunity. It would also allow them to be Fractalled, so it could become more dangerous, as well.

[xn0ize]

Q:
If you had to chose , what card would you remove from your element , and why?

[mrpaper]

to xn0ize: probably the Immortal, phase dragon is basicly a total upgrade minus the quanta cost for this card.

[UTAlan]

First, what was Higs' most successful quality during war 3 (not including drafting me or anything else auction related)? Whomever writes the same answer that I am thinking of automatically gets my vote.

Secondly, as general of team , what strategy do you plan on using for the auction in War 4?

First, I would have to say her most successful quality was trust and faith in her team. She believed that we were capable of working together to succeed in War, and she was right. There were many nights right before a deadline when a handful of us would be up late brainstorming and testing decks and updating the vault. We always knew Higs would be online before the deadline to double check our work, but she didn't have to be present for the work to get done, and she knew that - and we knew that she knew. One of the biggest motivators is knowing that your leader believes in your abilities.

Secondly, by the rules of War 3's auction, I would bid high on 2-3 players I knew I could rely on to give a good foundation to our team. Then, I'd round things out with low to mid range bids on active players who seemed motivated and seemed unlikely to abandon us if War began to drag on longer than expected. I think Higs probably took this to a bit of an extreme in the last War (to my advantage!) and while it did work out well for her, I'd probably be willing to start with a lower starting vault and have a team of more experienced players. (Obviously no offense to those that were taken with 1 card...)

Q:
If you had to chose , what card would you remove from your element , and why?

From a gameplay standpoint, I'd go with Mindgate. Its uses are pretty narrow and generally relies on Quantum Towers to be included in the deck. From a thematic standpoint, I'd get rid of Phase Spider. In my opinion, it has the loosest tie in with , not being immaterial and having an ability that doesn't completely mesh with the idea of Aether.