9th Trials - Phase 3: Community Vote

[Zawadx]

Phase 3 - Community Vote

It's time to vote for your favorite Master candidate!  Every community member has one vote. You can change your vote 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 do not have any preference for who should be Master, or cannot decide between the candidates, 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 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.

[SpikeSpiegel]

Question for both:  is a complete element; it has CC, PC, healing, etc...

Assuming this element can even improve, what card you would add to  poll and why?

[MyNameIsJoey]

@ spike.
As you said, darkness is a pretty complete element already. In other trials, I tried to hit on the nail of rushing, but let me do something different.
An element I've always hated facing is Air. Air brings more to the table. It brings massive spell damage, and surprise double attack (UG and sky blitz).
How could darkness use of such a feature? How could we try to use one of those cards? Here's an idea.

Spell. Cards with the Vampire ability lose it, and instead double their attack.

What makes this a good card? the surprise factor. A bit like skyblitz, it can be used as a finisher, but I intend this to stay permanently, considering that the ''effective'' or ''net'' damage as some would say stays the same, since the healing part has been removed. What does this bring? the ability to be used again to double the attack  again if paired with LS, or even better, black nymph. Which finally gives a use to black nymph.

I think this card would give a whole new aspect to darkness, the surprise effect, the ability to try to OTK, or at least deal high amount of damage in a single turn.

---------------------------------------------------------

Now, I have questions for Physsion
1- Do you think you have enough experience to lead a team in war?
2- Are you interested in being a Brawl Boss?
3- Say you are in front of the most important game of your life. You can bring ANY deck, 0 restrictions. What do you bring?

[Physsion]

CHALLENGER APPROACHING

Physsion

Good evening, fellow Elementals! I'm Physsion, new participant in the 9th Trials of Darkness.

From the moment I joined the Elements community back in November last year, and discovered that each Element has its own Master, it has been an ultimate goal of mine to attain the title. I can't explain how excited I am to be entering the final battle for the Master of Darkness title, my favourite Element.

I believe I would make an excellent representative for Darkness. While my rival, ji412jo, is an experienced and talented Darkness player, I have already proven my worth against him in our Phase 2 battles, and believe I will make a very strong leader for the Element. As the new Trial Overseer, I have demonstrated my abilities as a competent and reliable staff member, and I'm sure my previous War and Brawl teammates can vouch for my dedication to such team events. I value sportsmanship above almost anything else, and while I'm not as skilled or experienced as a lot of the veterans here, I would hope that my event and tournament opponents can vouch for me as a positive and friendly player.

I'm happy to answer any question posted here. I'll update this post with my responses as Phase 3 goes on. Your support during the voting phase is greatly appreciated.

Spoiler for SpikeSpiegel:

Question for both:  is a complete element; it has CC, PC, healing, etc...

Assuming this element can even improve, what card you would add to  poll and why?

You're absolutely right - I personally consider Darkness the most complete and well-rounded of all the Elements. It has strong creature control, powerful permanent control, fast and effective quanta denial, soft creature/permanent control protection by way of Cloak, hard hitters with Eclipse to buff them even further, plenty of different ways to heal ourselves, a bolt spell for burst damage, strong damage evasion with Dusk Mantle, and unarguably one of the best weapons in the game. We also have a very unique combo card in Voodoo Doll, and if used correctly, even our own stall-breaker in Shard of Void.

So what do you give to an Element that already has everything?

While our fantastic synergies with almost every other Element help a lot, I personally think Darkness' weakness is the lack of a mass creature control spell. We have no Pandemonium, no Plague, no Rain of Fire, no Thunderstorm. As a mono, our only way of dealing with creatures is to target them individually. Because our primary creature control spell, Drain Life, starts at a base damage of 2, we need some setup time before we can take out popular 3HP+ rush creatures like Shriekers, Horned Frogs and Wyrms. This makes us susceptible to being out-rushed by Air, Life, Fire and Earth decks, as well as the ever-popular Grabbow.

Spoiler for Card Idea:

NAME: Mass Drain ELEMENT: Darkness COST: 6 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Drain 2 HP from every enemy creature. Removes invisibility.	NAME: Mass Siphon ELEMENT: Darkness COST: 4 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Drain 2 HP from every enemy creature. Removes invisibility.

This is something I think would fit well into Darkness. It fits thematically, fills the "void" left by the lack of a mass control card, and would be hugely useful in PVP/War scenarios where rushes or Fractal decks are expected. Quanta cost is based on Thunderstorm for 3|2, with added cost as this can provide considerable healing power against a lot of enemy creatures. Much weaker than a high-powered Drain Life or Siphon Life, and cannot be targeted directly at the opponent's life pool. Also weaker than a single Rain of Fire - two of these would have to be held to take down the early stages of most rush decks.

Spoiler for ji412jo:

Now, I have questions for Physsion
1- Do you think you have enough experience to lead a team in war?
2- Are you interested in being a Brawl Boss?
3- Say you are in front of the most important game of your life. You can bring ANY deck, 0 restrictions. What do you bring?

1. Absolutely. When two of our most experienced Entropy comrades, willng3 and vagman13, went inactive, I stepped up with Calindu and RavingRabbid to carry my weight in deck idea suggestions, and deck testing. Even though it was my first War, I learned so much about the way it all works as a participant.
After we were eliminated, reaching an awesome result of 5th place, I began following team Darkness' progress very closely throughout their final rounds. I kept track of which decks were successful, and which didn't do as well against other matchups. While stepping up to the role of General will be a big jump, I strongly believe I can successfully lead team Darkness in War #9.

2. While Brawl doesn't appeal to me quite as much as a team PVP event like War, I will gladly step up and represent Darkness as a Brawl boss. Masters should do as much as they can to represent their Element as strongly as possible, and I would be very proud to take up the role of Boss in Brawl #5.

3. Regardless of my options, I would take something original, creative, and fun to play. Even with access to incredibly powerful decks like Firestall, Ghostmare and Brave Freedom, it's not in the spirit of the game to take a powerful deck and guarantee a win. Unless the "most important game of my life" was literally something my life depended on, it's just a game like any other. While I love doing well in competitive play, I would much rather make that important battle a fun experience for everyone involved, and use my own original creation. Besides, that victory would be so much sweeter if I won it my way!

I told you there would be more questions coming for you.
4- What do you think of your competition this trials? I dont mean only me but everybody you faced in phase 2.

5- Same question I asked iancu. Are you scared of the final battle?

4. The only other players I faced in Phase 2 were RootRanger, iancudorinmarian and Zawadx, as STANDIN.
Obviously, as a winning War General, with an 18-6 result in Phase 2, RootRanger is one of the absolute best players around. ian knows Entropy very well, and had a strong result in his Phase 2 battles as well. Despite the fact that Darkness isn't his top Elemental choice, Zawa is a good player too. I respect them as opponents, and I'm wishing all three of them the best of luck in their respective trials.

5. Scared? Not a chance.

Spoiler for Frozengaia:

To both:
Deathknyte's propaganda is one of the highlights of the last war. This isn't exactly a question as much as it is a request: Please have someone do that again. That was beautiful.

I would personally guarantee high quality propaganda for Darkness, as a Master and a General. DeathKnyte's work on his team's propaganda was one of the highlights for me too, and I'd love to make it a tradition for team Darkness.

Spoiler for Ginyu:

To both:

Shard of Void is considered to be the weakest shard in PvP. What change is needed (may it be a new card or a change of meta) to make it more useful without changing the Shard itself?

Excellent question! Shard of Void is an interesting one. With six of them on the field backed by a Darkness mark, these shards can single-handedly take a 100HP opponent down to 1 in six turns, then a single Drain Life or a swing from a Vampire Dagger can take the win. With their low cost, it's not unreasonable for several to come out in the first two turns.

The most interesting feature of Shard of Void is that, with the exception of Stone Skin and Shard of Divinity, it greatly reduces the impact of enemy healing. Sanctuaries and Miracles become useless when the user's maximum health pool is falling every turn. It isn't stopped by Sundial or Dimensional Shield, and can be an excellent choice in sharded play when stall decks are expected.

The trouble is, in shardless environments like War or most weekly tournaments, this card obviously gets no use at all. In sharded play, more effective options for both stall and rush/control/domin deck types almost always exist. Mono Darkness doesn't have the stalling support necessary to make SoV work in restricted Darkness play, and they are typically overlooked when building Light or Life duo stalls such as Siphonary or an SoG stall.

For Shard of Void to see more use in current PVP, it would need a more effective synergy with Darkness. Shard of Divinity is extremely effective when combined with Miracle, Shard of Freedom has excellent synergy with any airborne creature, and Shard of Sacrifice provides Death with huge stalling power without restricting its quanta generation. Shard of Void just feels... like it's been placed there. Even with six upgraded versions available, there typically isn't much incentive to take these shards - most users would rather just bring more Dragons or more control spells.

Without trying to make too much of an overpowered suggestion, if Darkness had a secondary way of benefiting from the maximum life reduction, such as a card like this...

Spoiler for Card Idea:

NAME: Disharmony ELEMENT: Darkness COST: 5 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: All positive or negative changes to the opponent's maximum health pool also heal you for that amount.	NAME: Acrimony ELEMENT: Darkness COST: 3 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: All positive or negative changes to the opponent's maximum health pool also heal you for that amount.

...I can guarantee Shard of Void would get more use in sharded play. This card would also be a deterrent to Shard of Divinity or Stone Skin decks. The wording might be a little iffy, but my idea is that if the opponent uses Stone Skin for +75 maximum health, or if he is hit by Shard of Void for -3 maximum health, the owner of this permanent is healed in both situations, for 75 or 3 respectively.

Without the introduction of a new card, a change in meta with less rush/control decks and more stalls would probably give SoV a more suitable environment to be used in. If it also healed the user for the amount of maximum health it drained, I imagine it would get a lot more usage, but at this stage there just isn't enough incentive to take it in most competitive matchups.

Spoiler for willng3:

What element do you hate the most and why?

While I don't "hate" any Element in particular, I'm sure my answer for the one I dislike the least will match that of a lot of Trialists. Aether is just too strong. Without Dimensional Shield or without Fractal I wouldn't feel so strongly about it, but in its current state, Aether as a whole just has too many power cards for me to consider it a balanced Element.

Spoiler for Higurashi:

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?

To me, Darkness is an Element of subtlety, patience and discipline. It's not an Element of deception and lies, as some people might think. I consider myself an honest and kind-hearted person, who values sportsmanship and fair play over competitive skill, but I associate with Darkness for what it means to me as a person. Darkness thinks ahead, calculates each move, and strikes at the opportune moment. Darkness doesn't reveal its secrets until it's already too late for the opponent to react.

More to come later, watch this space.

Spoiler for trashduke:

If you win Trials, will you lead your team into the upcoming war?

If not, please explain why.

If so, please describe your leadership style and how you will organize and motivate your team members.

Leading Team Darkness as a General is one of the things I'm most excited for.

Similarly to Odii Odsen's plan last year, I would prioritize choosing active and friendly players over skilled veterans. War should be a fun experience for everyone, and my leadership style involves getting a bunch of great people together and having an awesome time. I'd love to create a friendly environment for my team where we all have each others backs, where everyone pulls their weight and contributes to the team, and where there's no pressure and no shame in losing a match.

I'd love to make people feel proud to be a part of Team Darkness, and I hope I'm given the opportunity to do so as General in War #9.

Spoiler for dragonsdemesne:

If your element has never won a war, why do you think that is?  (underpowered elements, bad generals/team, bad rng, etc)

If your element has won a war, what makes you think YOU can do it again?

The closest Darkness has been to winning War was second place last year, in an astonishing performance by 7th and 8th consecutive Master, Odii Odsen. He proved that regardless of its performance in the past, Darkness is most definitely capable of placing in the top 3.

While I haven't been around to follow the performance of Team Darkness in any Wars prior to #8, my look through the War archives would suggest Darkness' previous war performances were not about the Element itself, but more about the team backing it. I'd strive to keep my team motivated, and encourage discussion about deck matchups and vault preparation. I'm confident that I can successfully take Darkness to the top 3 again - while team Fire will definitely make a tough opponent again in this War, with a bit of luck we'll be able to beat them and come out on top!

Spoiler for Corri:

To all: Who was the greatest master of darkness? Why? Whats the most useless darkness card in war? Whats your favorite darkness war deck? Why? How would your dream team look like? (ALL player are allowed; edit: max. 5 players) And why do you choose this guys?

Awesome questions, Corri!

1. I wasn't around to personally meet any of the previous Masters beyond Odii, but from what I've read in archived posts and heard through hearsay, he was still the best of all of them (demonstrating so in his excellent War performance.) Not only that, but Odii was an active, friendly, contributing member of the forums, and winning first equal for War #8's top sportsman tells a lot about him as a leader.

2. As much as it pains me, because I do like the card, I'm going to go ahead and say Liquid Shadow here. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's the one Darkness card that didn't see any use last War. Even Voodoo Dolls and Parasites have their place in Parawall, and upgraded Vampires fit very nicely into Devtal decks. LS is "overshadowed" by our primary creature control card, Drain Life, and typically isn't worth the card space in most War situations.

3. I'll have to say Siphonary here too - I chose to review it for my Phase 1 War Reporter task. It's powerful, it's versatile, has a lot of flexibility for customization, and it's very tough to beat in a War environment. Definitely one of my favourite decks fielded by Darkness last War.

4. Staying true to what I said about choosing friendly and active players over veterans just for the sake of their skill, my dream team for War #9 would, in no particular order, look something like:
Odii Odsen
theelkspeaks
Regyptic
Avenger
DeathKnyte

While I'm aware that not all of these users are strongly affiliated with Darkness, they are players who, from what I have heard, made a very large positive impact on their War teams. I'd happily bid on these guys if they were after a place on Team Darkness. (sorry if this is weird for any of you that happen to be reading this, I'm a big fan of talented players who contribute to their team and carry their weight )

Spoiler for CCCombobreaker:

Does the vault feel emptier with no parasite or no minor vampire?

Coming soon. Watch this space.

[MyNameIsJoey]

Hi, ji412jo here. In this post I'll be short and clear.
This being my fifth time, I'm the person who has trialed for darkness the most often. My loyalty to darkness has been proven.
I've done my fair share of wars, I've done my fair share of brawls, I've been in this community for a while, now.
Physsion would make a great master, I'm sure. But not now. Inexperience is a big factor, but its not the reason why. Its because it's time for I
It's my turn to prove my worth, my turn to win and be
The Master of Darkness

[Espithel]

To Jijo:
You've stated before that you really want to quit elements. Why the return and can we trust you to not elope in war?

To both:
Deathknyte's propaganda is one of the highlights of the last war. This isn't exactly a question as much as it is a request: Please have someone do that again. That was beautiful.

[Ginyu]

To both:

Shard of Void is considered to be the weakest shard in PvP. What change is needed (may it be a new card or a change of meta) to make it more useful without changing the Shard itself?

[MyNameIsJoey]

To Jijo:
You've stated before that you really want to quit elements. Why the return and can we trust you to not elope in war?

Yup. And I've also stated that I was unable to quit and was addicted to this place. Once I start something, I finish it, unless good reasons. If I'm even in trials, it's because I intend to stay for the next term, or I wouldn't be here.

To both:

Shard of Void is considered to be the weakest shard in PvP. What change is needed (may it be a new card or a change of meta) to make it more useful without changing the Shard itself?

I'll pvp you any day with shard of void as it currently is. I use it. If others can't see it's potential, it's not my problem.


@willng3 in questions for all
Air. For some reason, air is the element I got the most difficulties to mindgate. I can never seem to know what to use against air. Air.

[Corri]

To all: Who was the greatest master of darkness? Why? Whats the most useless darkness card in war? Whats your favorite darkness war deck? Why? How would your dream team look like? (ALL player are allowed; edit: max. 5 players) And why do you choose this guys?

[CCCombobreaker]

Does the vault feel emptier with no parasite or no minor vampire?

[MyNameIsJoey]

To all: Who was the greatest master of darkness? Why? Whats the most useless darkness card in war? Whats your favorite darkness war deck? Why? How would your dream team look like? (ALL player are allowed; edit: max. 5 players) And why do you choose this guys?

All masters of darkness were great. They all brought different aspects of darkness. If you mean greatest as who did best in war, Odii got 2nd place.

Most useless card in war? shard, obviously . Ok, let's stop cheating, other than the shard? I do not know. As CCC hit on earlier ( actually, later ) minor vampire is not the greatest creature. Upgraded, it is wonderful, but you dont always have upgrades, and not always as manya s you would want to. While other cards like cloak don't see as many plays, they are key to certain decks, and we just need to include them in vault.

Favorite darkness war deck? I would have to name siphonary here.

Dream team, 5 players ALL players allowed? Torb, Odii, MrBlonde, xDude, Kev.
You said all players were allowed, no need for them to still be here.

Does the vault feel emptier with no parasite or no minor vampire?

Parasite, definitely. How do I build parasite walls without parasites? Minor vampire? How can a vault feel emptier without a card that already isnt in?

[Physsion]

Just as a quick update from my end, to make sure my answers aren't going unnoticed - I've been writing them up in my original post in this thread, up above.

It's exam week at the moment, so I'm not as active as I usually am, but I'm doing my best to answer all questions fairly quickly and in full detail. My last two exams are on Tuesday, so I'll be able to commit much more attention to Trials once they're over.

Thanks all,

Physs