11th Trials - Phase 3: Community Vote

[Zawadx]

Phase 3 - Community Vote

It's time to vote for your favorite Master candidate!  Every community member may vote on as many of the candidates as he wishes. You can change your vote(s) at any time as long as there is still time on the clock.

Vote based on who you think would make the best Master of that element. Do not vote based on who is the best player or who you know personally. Try to pick someone who you think would help the community the most as THE representative for their element.  If you believe none of the Trialists should be Master, please select the "None Worthy" option. 

To help you make the best decision possible, feel free to ask the candidates questions.  Both challengers and defending Masters ought to answer the questions in this thread (and in the General questions thread) to help the voters make the best possible choice.  Please put all your answers in a single post (employing spoiler tags is recommended).  Also, challengers should include in that post a link to your Phase 1 submission post.


Questions and answers may begin now that this topic is posted.
Voting will begin when the polls are up at the official start of Phase 3.
Phase 3 ends when poll expires.

[MyNameIsJoey]

you gyys didnt answer what i wrote in phase 1.

you guys didnt answer on all hail darkness

so why should i answer your questions, screw you all

Spoiler for serious answers:

Spoiler for @Zyardran:

Depends what you mean, if you mean add a CIA creature to elements, I would have to go with this one http://elementscommunity.org/forum/anvil-archive/enchantress-siren/
If you mean add a IRL creature to elements, I'd have to go with an Owl
If you mean create a new creature to add to elements, I'd probably go towards an off-element creature, even though you asked for a creature that represents Darkness. I do not think darkness is the element that is in the most need for a new card right now.

Rhesus Macaque. Life creature, cost 4 : 3/3. When cloak is played Rhesus macaque steals a random permanent from your opponent.
When upgraded, reduce cost to 3.

Reasoning behind the idea :

Rhesus macaques, also called rhesus monkeys, are well-adapted to coexisting with humans and thrive in urban areas. This puts them into close contact with people, so when the going gets tough, the tough start swiping stuff. It’s not a good idea to leave a purse or bag of groceries unattended in the presence of these animals. In some areas, a substantial portion of the rhesus monkey’s daily sustenance comes from thievery, along with handouts, crop raiding and scavenging through trash. In India, rhesus macaques are worshiped by local people who feed them in temples throughout the region.

Spoiler for kaempfer:

yes

Spoiler for basman:

For everyone that Trials for their favourite element:

• What is your second favourite element?
• If you end up not becoming a Master for your favourite element, will you consider an approach from WMs to General your second-fave/third-fave/what-have-you element? (Quite unlikely, but hey )
  For the sake of argument, assume that you are not a WM yourself, just in case you're thinking 'I'm a WM, there's no way the WMs will approach me to Gen'.

I I do not end up being master of , and a WM approached me to be general of an element, whether it be my 2nd,
 3rd or least favorite element, I'd probably say yes. It's a challenge I'd be ready to take anyday, and who knows, I might even win with it, then trial it, then become grandmaster, and then disappear. Oh wait, my name is not RootRanger.

Spoiler for Aves:

Your main problem was in the auction. Pick the right players in your team and you'll do fine. #jijoforteamdarkness2017

For those who want to know more, here is a link to last trial's vote, which also includes links to all previous ones.
http://elementscommunity.org/forum/trial-of-darkness/10th-trials-phase-3-community-vote-62071/msg1234436/#msg1234436[/list]

[Zyardran]

@all
If you could choose one new creature to represent darkness, what would it be?

[Aves]

A feather flutters in the air, barely visible through the sheets of of rain striking the broken monument. The courtyard is strewn with rubble, as if a mighty antlion had reared through the bedrock and trampled across the ancient resting place, its sheer momentum pulverizing countless tombstones and relics. Wary of traps, you carefully approach the water-worn plaque. The writing is faint, but still legible. As you make to read it, the air shifts, as if the storm has abated to allow your access, and a bird descends onto the rocks... CAW!

All answers will be spoilered here. Good luck, my fellow trials undertakers! May the darkest elemental challenge the Master for his throne.

In the true darkness spirit, I'm going to steal Joey's thing. Previous (better written and more entertaining, if you're into thematic stuff) Trials Answers Post here!

Spoiler for Activity Concerns:

I'm aware that I've had a pretty unusual spike of inactivity for the past month or so-- my showing here in the past few weeks, both in Trials and elsewhere in the community (Draft, you will be a thing! Hopefully. ) is definitely not something I'd expect out of the Trials contender I'd vote for. Things are what they are, and I hope that you'll take into account my previous record when considering my candidacy. And if you're reading this, vote for Aves! I'm the only one who didn't 0-3 to Physsion  :-sillyspin-:

Spoiler for Zyardran:

@all
If you could choose one new creature to represent darkness, what would it be?

Gravity has its iconic Otyughs.
Vampires already fulfill the same role, but if I had to pick something else, I'd go with Shades.

Several card ideas already exist with the name/concept, but here would be my take on it:

Name: Shade Element: Darkness Cost: 4  Type: Creature ATK|HP: N | N Text: N is the number of creatures in play. Absorb per turn. +2 | +2 when cloaked.

Notes:

Yes, it counts with things on your opponent's field and itself. If you run out of  , shade will die. Hopefully this will mitigate Fractal abuse, but numbers may need adjusting to fit balance. The main synergy is of course with devourer/pest; if you play them in the right order, you can keep your shades even with 0 quanta left! No upped version, as this is a preliminary idea, and the theme/mechanic are the key points here; it would probably be something small, like a HP boost(unupped N, upped N+1) or cost reduction (unupped 5, upped 4).

Spoiler for kaempfer13:

@ all, but especially the ones who will face STANDIN: Can you build a team that you can lead to victory? I believe this will have the following aspects: Can you yourselves build good decks to beat your opponents? Can you predict and counter them with your element? Can you draft a Team that is a capable of doing that whenever you cant? Will you be able to inspire your teammates to do all in their power to fight for the win in every game? Can you infect others with your enthusiasm for your element (if you have any in the first place)? And most importantly: Will you put the necessary time investment in all those things?

I got fifth place in my first run as General. It wasn't what we were hoping for. A decent showing, but we had the potential to do better. I'm confident that given the chance, we would; I know I learned a lot from the experience. I could ramble on about each individual point, but a long and convoluted answer isn't convincing. Actions speak louder than words, and I hope to be given the opportunity to show that.

Spoiler for ValerianFlame:

To all Darkness trialists: If all of you were in a medium-sized room, as dark as possible, and given 90 minutes to converse with each other, what would you talk about?

Spoiler for Basman-1453:

For everyone that Trials for their favourite element:
What is your second favourite element?
You will want to indicate somewhere whether you're Trialling for your favourite Element. Ways to indicate that include quoting only the relevant question for your situation, saying whether you're Trialling for your favourite Element after the full quote ... anything goes, really, as long as ppl can know, at the very least implicitly, whether you're Trialling for your favourite Element without checking your Forum profile )

But my profile shows it off so well!

For a second element, well, look up "Aves." I'm not sure which of the two implied I'd go with, but one of those. Given the chance to General, that would depend on availability, but yes if possible.

Spoiler for Linkcat:

Same question to you, Aves. Also, explain why you agree or disagree with the other trialists' answers.

Short on time, so I'll be keeping this brief. Our biggest problem was not being able to predict and counter. Alternatively, you could say that we were easy to predict. W3 and gravity are the most memorable, but there were lots of instances where it felt like our predictions and analyses were coming up short, and the same for avoiding other team's attempts to do the same against us. I don't think ji412jo's right in blaming our auction; I was satisfied with the team's activity and contribution, though we could've been a tad bit more active. Understandably, he's miffed that I didn't bid on him. 

I'm definitely most proud of that pretty thread that Physsion linked! We had plenty of data. Analysis... needed work. W10 was definitely a learning experience, and I know I'm a stronger strategist for it.

Spoiler for iancudorinmarian:

Out of time, but I think I've already answered most of what you're looking for above.

[Absol]

IAMA article writer, ex-wiki contributor, casual player, returning "veteran". AMA! Or don't, that works too.
This is my Phase 1 submission.

@ all, but especially the ones who will face STANDIN: Can you build a team that you can lead to victory? I believe this will have the following aspects: Can you yourselves build good decks to beat your opponents? Can you predict and counter them with your element? Can you draft a Team that is a capable of doing that whenever you cant? Will you be able to inspire your teammates to do all in their power to fight for the win in every game? Can you infect others with your enthusiasm for your element (if you have any in the first place)? And most importantly: Will you put the necessary time investment in all those things?

Spoiler for Hidden:

Despite my unsatisfactory Phase 2 results, i'm actually quite experienced in War. At least, to my own standard. I've fought 2 Wars before, and from these 2 Wars i've learned quite a lot about its meta.
To answer in details:
I cannot build good decks, only decent decks. Only with my teammates' help can i do it.
I can predict and counter decks.
I can draft a well-rounded team and inspire my team to victory, but i don't think that'll do much since War isn't won by inspiration but by might. Si vis pacem, para bellum. If you want peace, prepare for War. Coincidentally, in this context the saying has two meanings.
I can infect (this is such a word) others with enthusiasm, i did so in my second War by suggesting everyone to change avatar to Cloak for the lulz.
But unfortunately, i don't have the luxury of time. I'm on my fifth year in university, and this particular university has a 7-year limit. If i still don't graduate in 2 years, then i'm dropped out. Considering this, and considering that i have to prepare for my thesis soon, i can't commit to being a General, at least not for now.

@all
If you could choose one new creature to represent darkness, what would it be?

Spoiler for Hidden:

Wendigo.

In Algonquian folklore, the wendigo or windigo is a cannibal monster or evil spirit native to the northern forests of the Atlantic Coast and Great Lakes Region of both the United States and Canada. The wendigo may appear as a monster with some characteristics of a human, or as a spirit who has possessed a human being and made them become monstrous. It is historically associated with cannibalism, murder, insatiable greed, and the cultural taboos against such behaviours.

@All: What does being a Master mean? What kind of traits will you exemplify as a Master?

@All: Pick a character, real or fictional, to personify yourself. Justify your answer.

Spoiler for Hidden:

A Master is judged by two aspects:
PvP Skill: this one is obvious. Being a General in War is the highest position any aspiring player can hope for. But aside from War, in regular PvP events or even weekly tournaments, it's a prestigious title, and also useful for intimidation, whether intentionally or not.
Forum Activity: a Master is an elite member of the community, so their posts will most of the time have more weight compared to other members. Aside from that, a Master also represents their element outside the game, and (for me personally at least) Masters can even influence player preference towards a specific element in-game. A few Masters made me like or dislike certain elements from their posts, deck analysis, and other contents.

As for character:

Roy Greenhilt from Order of the Stick. He's a brainy, snarky fighter who can think and solve problems diplomatically, subverting the dumb muscle trope, but he also doesn't hesitate to use violence if it's appropriate. He's level-headed and often frustrated by his teammates' antics but ultimately consider them true companions.
I consider myself an intelligent person and capable of solving problems peacefully, but isn't afraid to get involved physically if there's no other way. I'm often frustrated by people around me, but i'm loyal to them. However, i'm not black or brown, so that's a minus i guess.

@all Please take a photo of something you dislike.

Spoiler for Hidden:

Spoiler for But seriously:

Note that i don't actually dislike diving gear, or even the diving activity itself. I dislike (more like having phobia of) deep sea, so much that i can't even bring myself to google a picture of underwater sea. Sorry. Also screw you for making me panic a little.

Some great questions from before:

What does your element represent and mean to you outside of the gameplay? What has it done for you, and what would you do for it as a Master?

@All : Analyse your performance in trials so far (both phases) in a critical manner. Where did you go right? Where did you go wrong? What would you change if you could? You have 4 hours. (if someone wants me to answer this, pm)

Also, if you were made a Trials Overseer this trials, what would you have done differently?

On that note, do you wish to ever become Trials Overseer?

Spoiler for Hidden:

Outside of gameplay, Darkness is the element of subterfuge. It deals with things in its own way, mostly sabotaging its opponents. In real life, i'd say it's closely linked to the Dark Triad, and not just because it has a "Dark" in its name.

The dark triad is a subject in psychology that focuses on three personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Use of the term "dark" implies that people possessing these traits have malevolent qualities.

All three dark triad traits are conceptually distinct although empirical evidence shows them to be overlapping. They are associated with a callous-manipulative interpersonal style.

• Narcissism is characterized by grandiosity, pride, egotism, and a lack of empathy.
• Machiavellianism is characterized by manipulation and exploitation of others, a cynical disregard for morality, and a focus on self-interest and deception.
• Psychopathy is characterized by continuing antisocial behavior, impulsivity, selfishness, callousness, and remorselessness.

What has Darkness done to me? It's a game aspect, dude. It lets me play with its cards. If you're talking about Darklurkers, i'd say they received me well and provided me with a sense of camaraderie. What'd i do for them? I'd return the favor. What'd i do to Darkness as an element? Iunno, it's not like i can add cards into the game.

Phase 1: i shouldn't have picked Warrior. I probably could write some decent Elements story, but right now i'm in a block on my own project, so i don't think the result will be good enough.
Phase 2: i should've checked the Trials archive for some deck ideas. As for my lacking PvP skill, there's nothing i can do about it in the short time.
But overall, i tried my best, even though my best is very clearly not enough. So on that note, i'd change nothing.

I'm never experienced with staff position in this forum, so i'm not sure if there's anything i could've done differently as a TrO.
And if it means working with you Zawadx, i probably won't consider it.
But seriously, i don't think i can commit enough time and power for any staff position.

For everyone that Trials for their favourite element:

• What is your second favourite element?
• If you end up not becoming a Master for your favourite element, will you consider an approach from WMs to General your second-fave/third-fave/what-have-you element? (Quite unlikely, but hey )

For the sake of argument, assume that you are not a WM yourself, just in case you're thinking 'I'm a WM, there's no way the WMs will approach me to Gen'.

Spoiler for Hidden:

Second favorite is Fire. I can respect Fire's straightforwardness as opposed to Darkness' subtlety, and it's also a strong element on its own. I also really like one of the Fire Masters, so there's that.
General my next favorite elements? Even if i want, i'd probably refuse, because isn't there a better candidate for them? Namely, the Trialists for the respective elements. I'm not stealing anyone's spotlight, i still have my honor even as a Darklurker.

What's your reason for joining the element you're trilling for?
If you become master, what are your plans in war and brawl?

Spoiler for Hidden:

Because it's my favorite. I think it's enough reason.
I have no plan for this specific War as a General because i have to focus on my study. Same with Brawl. As a regular player i might participate.

To all Darkness trialists: If all of you were in a medium-sized room, as dark as possible, and given 90 minutes to converse with each other, what would you talk about?

Spoiler for Hidden:

IRL i'm the quiet type so idk, just join what they're talking about i think.

@Non-Aves:

What do you think was the biggest mistake(s) that Team made in the last war? What would you do to prevent it? What do you think they did well in the last war, and how would you attempt to replicate that?

Spoiler for Hidden:

I'm inactive at that moment, so idk.

Physsion has proved to be an excellent Master of Darkness. These trials also ended up being the most crowded trials. Then let me ask this:

@All (except Physsion), why did you choose Darkness, when there were plenty of empty spaces in other trials? Is Darkness your favourite element? If not, then what reasons do you have for joining these trials? Did you consider it a good challenge? Did you want to prove yourself against a very strong opponent?

@All, will you be general of Team Darkness next war? Do you think you could bring Team Darkness to the top of the war standings again? If so, then why do you think so?

Spoiler for Hidden:

Dark is my favorite element, and i thought it'd be a good event for me to jump in and contribute.

Probably not, because i'll be too busy to be General.

[Physsion]

To all of those wondering - if I successfully defend my title, I plan on leading Darkness in War #11.

I chose not to lead in #10 because of the timing - the majority of the event overlapped with a very busy semester at university for me, and the final rounds happened to clash with my exam dates. This year, I'll still be at university during the course of War, but I'll have enough time to commit to leading my team for this one.

In answering these so far, I've noticed quite a lot of overlap between the questions asked for all trialists. I hope you don't mind me directing you towards similar questions that I've answered previously.


Questions for Darkness

Spoiler for Zyardran:

@all
If you could choose one new creature to represent darkness, what would it be?

As Aves mentioned in his answer, Darkness already has Vampires - the vampirism mechanic is inherent in so many of Darkness' cards, and Vampire already acts as a representative creature to the element. Even if it's not among our strongest cards, by any means, I don't think there could be a creature that better represents the central themes of Darkness than Vampire.

If you're instead looking for another creature to represent the element, rather than a replacement, I'd love to see another creature showing the spiritual aspects of Darkness. We already have traditional icons in Black Dragon and Gargoyle, and parasitic, scavenging creatures in Devourer and Parasite, but the only spiritual representative we have, in my opinion, is Voodoo Doll.

I love the imagery associated with witch doctor elementals performing dark magic with a Voodoo Doll, and I think expanding upon this world further with sorcerers communicating with malevolent spirits would be a really cool thematic addition. Some kind of sinister, ethereal creature, such as a phantom or poltergeist, would be awesome.

Something like this comes to mind - a haunting apparition, only capable of existing under the cover of darkness (under a Cloak, or Nightfall.) I'd love for Darkness to have a card like this - a strong, mid-range attacker without the shortcomings our 3HP Gargoyle suffers from, which also gives a nice usability boost to one of our weakest cards. Nice interaction with SoW without adding a game-breaking Fractal/PU target. Requires the rest of the deck to be built around it to be effective.

Spoiler for ValerianFlame:

To all Darkness trialists: If all of you were in a medium-sized room, as dark as possible, and given 90 minutes to converse with each other, what would you talk about?

Given that none of us have ever met in person before, and that we probably wouldn't be able to see each other, I think the first part would be trying to figure out who (and where) everybody was! I'd likely just try to initiate conversation, and find some common interests - whether we discussed Elements strategies or something outside of the game, it'd be great just to get to know some other Darkness fans a little better.

Spoiler for Aves:

@Non-Aves:

What do you think was the biggest mistake(s) that Team made in the last war? What would you do to prevent it? What do you think they did well in the last war, and how would you attempt to replicate that?

I was not part of this team, so cannot comment on any of the private discussion, planning or predictions made, but upon observation of the All Decks Used thread, I can say that a lot of decisions (both in deckbuilding, and in counters to specific elements) were made that I do not agree with. I don't think they were mistakes, just decisions I don't consider optimal.

I don't want to reveal any more of my thoughts about this, as I do plan on leading again if I defend my title.

Questions for Everyone

Spoiler for kaempfer13:

@ all, but especially the ones who will face STANDIN: Can you build a team that you can lead to victory? I believe this will have the following aspects: Can you yourselves build good decks to beat your opponents? Can you predict and counter them with your element? Can you draft a Team that is a capable of doing that whenever you cant? Will you be able to inspire your teammates to do all in their power to fight for the win in every game? Can you infect others with your enthusiasm for your element (if you have any in the first place)? And most importantly: Will you put the necessary time investment in all those things?

To all of the above; absolutely! I've done it before, and I plan on doing it again. I'm looking forward to leading Darkness to its second win - perhaps with an even higher winrate than our record-breaking victory in War #9.

Spoiler for DoubleCapitals:

@All: What does being a Master mean? What kind of traits will you exemplify as a Master?

@All: Pick a character, real or fictional, to personify yourself. Justify your answer.

To me, becoming Master of an element is far more than just a demonstration of skill. It's not just deckbuilding proficiency, and it's not just in-game decision-making. It's not just picking a favourite element, and becoming the best of the best with it. It's not just achieving a personal goal - the way I see it, it goes further than all that. To me, at its core, mastership is, put simply, about being a representative for something you're truly passionate about.

Darkness is my favourite element, there's absolutely no doubt about that. It took a little while to find my footing after joining the community, but once I discovered Darkness, I've never considered changing my allegiance - not for an instant. This is an element I can personally claim, with complete confidence, is the best there is. I can only hope that my leadership, innovation, and competitive success with Darkness has proven me a worthy master.

Please see my Phase 1 tasks as a demonstration of exactly how committed I am to my element. http://elementscommunity.org/forum/trial-of-darkness/11th-trials-challenger's-entrance-64317/msg1261663/#msg1261663

I've mentioned it previously, but I like to personify my presence here with Kuro, the giant owl of darkness from Ori and the Blind Forest. I'm not female, and I'm clearly not a mother, but Kuro doing whatever it takes to protect the ones she loves is something I very strongly relate to... plus, owls are my favourite animals, and I think having one as a creature of pure darkness is pretty damn cool.

Spoiler for CleanOnion:

@all Please take a photo of something you dislike.

Here's something I'm most definitely not a fan of. 5 due at the same time. Not cool.

Spoiler for Zawadx:

Some great questions from before:

What does your element represent and mean to you outside of the gameplay? What has it done for you, and what would you do for it as a Master?

@All : Analyse your performance in trials so far (both phases) in a critical manner. Where did you go right? Where did you go wrong? What would you change if you could? You have 4 hours. (if someone wants me to answer this, pm)

Also, if you were made a Trials Overseer this trials, what would you have done differently?

On that note, do you wish to ever become Trials Overseer?

Soon!

Spoiler for Basman-1453:

For everyone that Trials for their favourite element:

• What is your second favourite element?
• If you end up not becoming a Master for your favourite element, will you consider an approach from WMs to General your second-fave/third-fave/what-have-you element?

Air and Death are my next favourite elements, with Water and Entropy behind those, but I wouldn't want to lead any team in War other than Darkness.

Spoiler for Zyardran:

What's your reason for joining the element you're trilling for?
If you become master, what are your plans in war and brawl?

Please check out my answer to DoubleCapitals' question - everything I've mentioned there is the reason I'm wanting to defend my title as Master of Darkness. I will lead in War if I succeed, and I'm currently undecided about Brawl.

[CactusKing]

@CleanOnion

Spoiler for Hidden:

@Basman

Spoiler for Hidden:

My second favourite element is a tie between and a .
I would not consider asking the WMs to let me general either of them, partially because of my loyalty to darkness, but mostly because there are so many people who want to lead both of those elements that I think it would be unfair me to take that opportunity away from them.

@Aves

Spoiler for Hidden:

Biggest mistake Darkness made in war? Recruiting you

@iancudorinmarian

Spoiler for Hidden:

I would love the opportunity to lead  into war. Do I think I could bring us to the top of the standings? Well, I'm not very experienced at pvp myself, but with the right players I think we could pull it off.

@Valflame

Spoiler for Hidden:

After figuring out how we all got in this one room, I would probably not talk much, but instead initiate a game of hide and seek. It would be interesting to play when everyone has a 1|1 stat boost.

No, I'm not (necessarily) calling the other trialists "creatures". It's just that there's no sunlight.

Congrats to ji412jo and Physsion.

[ValerianFlame]

To all Darkness trialists: If all of you were in a medium-sized room, as dark as possible, and given 90 minutes to converse with each other, what would you talk about?

[Aves]

@Non-Aves:

What do you think was the biggest mistake(s) that Team made in the last war? What would you do to prevent it? What do you think they did well in the last war, and how would you attempt to replicate that?

[Linkcat]

Same question to you, Aves. Also, explain why you agree or disagree with the other trialists' answers.

[iancudorinmarian]

Physsion has proved to be an excellent Master of Darkness. These trials also ended up being the most crowded trials. Then let me ask this:

@All (except Physsion), why did you choose Darkness, when there were plenty of empty spaces in other trials? Is Darkness your favourite element? If not, then what reasons do you have for joining these trials? Did you consider it a good challenge? Did you want to prove yourself against a very strong opponent?

@All, will you be general of Team Darkness next war? Do you think you could bring Team Darkness to the top of the war standings again? If so, then why do you think so?

[Aves]

This wasn't unexpected, I knew that activity slump right as the past few weeks came would hurt a bit. Congratulations to ji412jo! Good luck, you'll need it against Physs.

GO !