This is where I will post all of my options. Thank you to the people who decided I could participate.
OPTION II
Elements Forums
Card IdeasMy 6 Critiques (
Completely Independent from Phase 1 of the trials, Just a crazy fanboy being crazy unless someone decides otherwise)
http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,19274.msg263812#msg263812http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,18414.msg263843#msg263843http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,19434.msg263852#msg263852http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,19403.msg263875#msg263875http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,18162.msg263885#msg263885http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,18972.msg263916#msg263916OPTION III
Elements Article
Article WritingDeath’s Skill Tree in World of ElementsTo start off this article, I would like to point out that all of this information is coming from someone not very experienced or involved in World of Elements. I am also reviewing them, less in terms of balance in comparison to other elements (which I am more likely to mess up in comparison to someone more familiar with the rules), but in the way in which I think they fit with their element’s theme. Mark of Death is the first skill, and it gives, unsurprisingly, the ability to use a Mark of Death, and one additional upgraded Death card. I suppose most death elementals will find this quite useful. Death has one of the better mono decks, and doesn’t have many creatures that need off elements to use their skills.
Animate Mummy I find quite an interesting skill. It rewards battling, and the discovery of new deaths. I find this in some ways parallel’s the Boneyard/Graveyard effect in-game. This skill has the added bonus of making the death elementals more aggressive, yet also fits with their slow/inevitability theme which comes from cards like Vulture/Condor with their constant accumulation of power.
Death March is a moving skill, paralleling all other elements same tier skills. In my eyes, this seems perhaps more useful, despite appearing more slow and costly. This is because it can be used anywhere, meaning Death can travel everywhere at its maximum strength. Thematically I think this works very well, and it rewards exploration for Death elementals.
Bane of Life is the regular skill here, equal to all the others. While I consider Death less of an opposite and more of an extension, there would be no way to change this without ruining balance, and it somewhat fits.
Curse of the Undead forces any losing player to use a death mark for the following 6 rounds. Now, this may not hinder the opponent as much as one would first assume, since a mark of death can mean just adding 6x Deadly poisons to a deck that stalls quite well. The real problem would be if it was known to the opponents that they had to bear a mark of death. (Meaning when preparing to play earth, you could rule out the generic shrieker rush build). I would very much like the lingering curse, where it is not so much Death that hurts you, but the other elements who find this knowledge.
Rotting Disease makes the player who falls to your blade discard one card per round, lasting 3 rounds total. While I can see the similarity to plague (1 poison damage per round) or perhaps someone hit by an Arsenic, I’m not 100% convinced by this idea. Seems like too many death effects, and in comparison to the other two in this tier, this comes across as slightly unimaginative.
Animate Bone Dragons has the same exact concept as Animate Mummy. I find it interesting that this one is plural, while the other is not. However, there isn’t much to say here, the reward for winning seems roughly quadrupled (From 1x5 to 2x10) while the “reward” for losing has only been doubled (1x1 to 2x1).
Harvest a Soul is gaining 3XP for beating an elemental in battle. While I like the theme of this, I dislike the idea of an extra 3XP if the opponent uses a life mark. In this instance, it isn’t equal to all other elemental skills of this tier, and to me seems unnecessary, and I would rather it was removed and the XP gained was always 4. (Personal Life vs Death preference here, not to be taken too seriously)
Blood of the Undead makes you immune to all positive and negative Tier 1 and 2 affects. I like the idea, since the ‘undead’ shouldn’t be affected by the weaker affects on land, continuing unstoppably on their death march. I also like this name a lot, seems to have just the right amount of seriousness to it.
Poisonous Cloud is very similar to Rotting Disease, but it has a 1 relic cost, and effects all players in the targeted nearby hex. Lacks the arsenic link, but I suppose it keeps the plague one. The name seems a bit forced to me.
Unholy Necromancer seems like it would build teamwork between members of death. I very much like that, since Death should act as one, powerful unit. I’m not 100% sure about Death elementals cheating death, but the advantages far outweigh my personal problem.
Lich enables you to win a duel if your opponent’s health drops below 10hp. I dislike this concept. It discourages decks that take a while to set up (such as Hope, which thematically should be awesome against Death). I death shouldn’t be permanent until your health is 0. 10 is a fighting chance in my opinion, and nothing should prevent that. (And this is probably my ignorance, but I wouldn’t mind a more common or understandable word than Lich, it even confuses Microsoft Word)
In a battle with a Champion of Death, you must use 18 less upgraded cards. To me, this seems weaker than Lich, although I am biased since I am used to having less upgraded cards than my opponent anyway, and managing to pull off wins when my deck is better. It can be seen as weakening, and easing you into Death’s arms though, which is pretty cool.
And that’s it. If you don’t like it, then that kind of sucks for me. I did what I could in limited time, and I thought I did a pretty good job considering my lack of knowledge. If it didn’t follow the guidelines enough, or just wasn’t what you were looking for, I accept whatever outcome.In total 963 words, but some of them are restating the abilities so someone can read this without needing to have the skills open. Others are intorduction/conclusion which should not count, but I am sure that in total I have 600+ words of content in there.
