4th Trials - Phase 1 - Proving of Worthiness

[kev]

Phase 1 - Proving of Worthiness
Phase 1 has ended

See the tasks here (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,29093.0.html).

Post your screenshots, links, shard commentaries, etc here.

Please use "modify" on your first post here rather than adding new posts as you progress through the tasks.  This will help avoid clutter.  Thanks.

[PlayerOa]

  PART 1
  FINISHED!

DECK:

by PlayerOa

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

5ll 5t2 5t2 5t2 7k5 7k5 7k5 7k6 7k6 7k6 7k6 7n2 7n2 7n2 7q5 7q5 7q5 7q8 7q8 7q8 7q8 7qe 7qe 7qe 7qe 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 8pq

(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,29314.msg399794.html#new)
Note: switched deck, and will do the leagues a second time. Click image for topic.
Bah. Not all the ups.



  PART 2
  FINISHED!

Shard Comment #1 - Shard of Restraint (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg399918#msg399918)
This shard is a pretty good fire represant. Elements the Game still needs a max HP removal, and a shard would be the perfect card type.
Because max HP removal is extremely powerful, it affects both sides. And the overpowered part: you get unaffected if your mark is fire. The upgraded version of Shard of Restraint will be so powerful that it will be in need of a nerf. A possible solution is that if your opponent has a fire mark, he will also be unaffected. But that is a game of chance you play. And that is why Entropy exist. So another solution will be that if you have mark of fire, you lose HALF of your max HP. This way the shard will not be OP, and it will absolutely have many decks centered around it. Or you can combine the two ideas if you feel like it. If you do, I'll promise you that Shard of Restraint will place high in the voting. Good luck.Shard Comment #2 - Shard of Fury (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg399259#msg399259)
Shard of Fury is a good name for this shard. Though the clever name, this needs some balancing. Fire already have some über powerful creatures, and with 4 more attack would be totally powerful. I like the twist that every non fire critters get -0|-1. But I would make it so it is only your non fire creatures that takes damage, we don't wont this card to be a Fire Shield with 3 or 4 rounds, along with buffing your own fire creatures! So the question is: Do you want the shard to be creature control? Or do you want the shard to be a card that buff your creatures? I assume you would like the second idea, but the side effect of the shard is so small that both can be fit. My solution: Each fire creature on the field (both you and your opponents) get +3|+0 in 3 turns (4 upped). All of your non fire creatures get -0|-2. This way you can use this in a mono fire (if that wasn't strong enough...) to buff your Lava Golems, or use this in a Fire-heavy Immobow to risk your Frogs and Spiders, while increase the attack power of your Crimson Dragons. With these changes Shard of Fury would be much more balanced, and a fun card to play. I'd also make this a permanent.Shard Comment #3 - Shard of Freedom (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg399541#msg399541)
First of all, this is a good idea that fits Gravity in every way. But there is something that's odd - immortal status should and can not be removed in any way, and though it is a shard, a quint is a quint. Same with burrowing. Let's say you have 4 burrowed Shriekers in play. Then I use Shard of Freedom, and suddenly they are 4|3, unborrowed. Not good. So the first thing I would change - burrowed and immortal creatures should not be affected by Shard of Freedom. And the healing. Brilliant! Though I would make it 3 and 4 unupped - 4 and 5 upped, along with the cost decrease. Or another thing that would be cool, would be that for each creature affected, add 3 (4 with gravity mark) Max HP (and not changing your current HP). But that is your choice. Other than that it's not much to say. The cost fits well, and Gravity would recivie a buff. I see this one high in the polls. And a minor nitpick, you can start the card description with a capital letter ;)Shard Comment #4 - Shard of Generosity (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg398964#msg398964)
Generosity. Just what describes this shard. Maybe too generous, in my eyes it is. All oppositing creatures gain Momentum, you heal 3 HP for each 2 gravity critter that the player owns. And this is where I'm wondering. Why Gravity? Gravity cards are not centering about spamming. No gravity creatures are very compitable with Fractal (Charger can be in some situations). And 3 HP for each 2 creatures isn't that much, and ALL your oppositing creatures gain a free pass through your Gravity Shield! And because of the momentum, this belongs in gravity. So my advice is - remove the momentum. Maybe the shard would need a name change, but whatever. And maybe make it like this - For each Gravity creature you own, gain 1.5 HP (rounded up). All your creatures that has 3 or less attack gain Momentum (not +1|+1). Happy nomming, Oty! Though this card can make many variations, this is the one I like the best. But - its totally up to you, and the card is good nonetheless.Shard Comment #5 - Shard of Courteousness (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg398120#msg398120)
Heh, this is a great card concept. Many players thinks is a pretty weak element, and that a Fire Stall is way superior than a Water Stall. I assume this card does nothing if your opponent has more HP that you? This card would make a great new deck, the Water Stall. Problem is - it is very powerful. And with that I mean like almot game-breaking. Alone, this card would make a lot of great decks, and that is positive. But with the upgraded cost of a single random quanta, you could get 3 Toadfishes out, may have Water Mark, your opponent can use EQ, Black Hole and any denial, while you keep your mark and play this card for 1 quanta. That is cheap. I'd say 6|4 or something in cost, though I can't playtest it. Otherwise, a great card, and I'm sure that it will reack top #3 in the competition if not the first place. Well done, RR.Shard Comment #6 -Shard of Cunning (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg394877#msg394877)
You are a very creative card designer, BS, and this card is no exeption. I've always loved cards that is invinsible, as Sylph by Hyroen, while having a cool effect that works. Shard of Cunning is that kind of card. With high HP, it's almost impossible to kill (and why would you kill your own creature, that can steal another creature?). Just the minor nitpick I found is that the ability is a bit too low. But a low ability cost doesn't matter, because you can change it in another way. I would do something like this, that first time the card swap sides, it has 1 turn delay, then 2 turns, next time it swap sides it has 3 turns and keep going on. That would be a cool effect that both buff and nerf the card at the same time. Berf! Anyway, one of my favourites in the Shard Revolution contest.
  PART 3
  FINISHED!

 Help with Fractal Scarab deck? (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27455.msg400264#msg400264)
 nameless eternity stall + neurtoxin  (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,26417.msg400276#msg400276)
 FG unupped deck (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,3489.msg400290#msg400290)
 Just another Dune Scorpion deck - tips? (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,11300.msg400298#msg400298) AI3 tp pvp1 rainbow pharaoh deck (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,25196.msg400302#msg400302)
 First Dual Deck! Help! (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27081.msg400309#msg400309)
All tasks complete!

[10 men]

Task I - Battle Prowess - The Arena:

Deck used:

by 10 men

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q4 7q4 7q4 7q4 7q8 7q8 7qe 7qe 7qe 7qe 7qe 7qe 7th 7th 7th 7th 7th 7th 8pt

LINK (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,29175.msg398223#msg398223) to the thread

Screenshots of beating the Arena:








Task II - Card Design - Shards:

My submission: Shard of Intuition (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg398128#msg398128)

Comments:

Shard of Insight (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg397389#msg397389)


I like this card, both mechanically, as I like fiddling around with my draws, and thematically - I think it's seperated from  's mechanic of drawing cards quite well as I think Time is about accumulating knowledge while Aether is more about manipulating it. What I dislike is the missing incentive to play it in an Aether-heavy deck - as is it is best utilized in a rainbow that can simply pay for the 'other' cost cheaply with Quantum Pillars. In a mono Aether deck however the unupgraded version is almost as expensive as an Hourglass, which is the strictly better card. Maybe the user could get some positive effect whenever he looks at an Aether card? Another thing that comes to my mind for this card is that it is pretty difficult to use for the AI. There's a lot of decisions you have to make in just one effect, especially with the upgrade. You could probably help the game developer a lot if you gave some instructions on how to code it, like when should the AI start scrying away pillars or when should it scry the opponent.
Shard of Charity (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg394145#msg394145)


Entropy feeling charitable, a scary thought. The problem with this card is that the effect is way underpowered - the biggest discount you can theoretically get is 10/11 (from a drawn Purple/Amethyst Dragon). Your expected value will be much lower however as decks with dragons usually have lots of pillars as well. Add in that you have to pay for the Shard too and that you have to wait a turn before doing anything, and you will most of the time be playing a card that gives you absolutely nothing. Also I fear that the idea of having a singular random event that can have potentially large impact on the game would be quite unpopular with many players. If you want to improve your card you definitely have to add some value, like automatically drawing the next card (would probably need a cost increase then) or somehow working it into a permanent.
Shard of Prudence (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg398124#msg398124)
(http://imageplay.net/img/m7Gbd215530/SoPunupped.jpeg)(http://imageplay.net/img/m7Gbd215529/SoPupped.jpeg)

This effect will not be worth it most of the time as usually people aren't playing a lot more than one card per turn anyways, so it won't delay them a lot which is not really what you want to spend a card of yours on. The only exception is when you power it out on turn one on the play with Nova or Quantum Tower, and then it's pretty rediculous. Just imagine this turn one from a Grabbow... Probably no way an opponent could come back from a start with Novas, some creatures and this, with Graboids as follow up in the next turns. This is mainly the reason I don't really like this as a shard as cards that are too swingy on the one hand and make for uninteractive gameplay on the other hand do not really make for fun games. I do however like the ability in general as it seems fitting for Earth. I think it would be a nice ability for an Earth creature - that would prevent the effect from being active too early in the game while it could still disrupt the opponent a little.
Shard of Peacefulness (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg398933#msg398933)


Kind of a cynical interpretation of "peacefulness". I think you chose a fitting theme for an Entropy aligned CC card. The problem I see with this card is that there is no incentive to play it in an Entropy deck - while it works badly against an Entropy heavy deck, this is true regardless of whether you are playing mono Entropy or mono Life. To fix this you could scale the effect based on whether the player is using Entropy, for example faster heat death if your mark is (a little boring) or maybe faster heat death depending on how much quanta were spent to pay for it, symbolizing that all things can decay, but with more Entropy it goes faster. I especially like the latter as it would make the card quite effective for mono Entropy while in duos or rainbows you could still get there with clever quanta management (or luck).
Shard of Sharing (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg399866#msg399866)


What can I say, turn 1 Nova, this, play his pillars, gg? Oh god, 139 more words? Um, let's see, the idea is actually pretty awesome - I love "sharing" as a darkness virtue - if it wasn't for the abusability of shards with Quantum Towers or Novas. Maybe you could just fix it by excluding Pillars and Pends, though that still has the potential of screwing Nova or Cremation decks big time. On the other hand it's not like those decks couldn't use some mean counter to them. I also like the card mechanically, it's a nifty little card for darkness with Nightmare synergy and the upside for Darkness users was implemented elegantly. I don't see a big problem with the card promoting rainbows more, as you can expect that for any Shard since their cost is effectively quartered if you play a lot of Quantum Pillars. Of course I could also see the card very well as an in-element permanent for Darkness in which case it could be much cheaper possibly even doable without the no-pillar clause.
Shard of Passion (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg398548#msg398548)


Oh sure, Napalm "I dun like stalling" Grenade in with a healing shard for Fire. Well at least this one doesn't heal too much... It still seems kinda random on the card, as if you still had some space and thought "oh, why not some healing too?" The "Impassion" ability I like much better as it captures the rebirthing and cleansing part of Fire quite well while also covering up for the fragile nature of most Fire creatures. However if I interprete it correctly you would have to sacrifice the shard to use the ability? I think that is unnecessary as the effect is pretty narrow as is - there are plenty of decks without those status effect changers and those that have them of them often employ them en masse, e.g. with Ice Shield or something, so it should at least counter those properly. I also don't think you need that extra clause for fire creatures - it is already fire aligned with the activation cost and fire isn't known for buffing creatures anyway. Plus you don't want to carry over that Acceleration (arguably a positive effect) your opponent played on your Phoenix anyway do you?


Task III - Deckbuilding

"Hickorytock" Time-Death duo (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,26926.msg397544#msg397544)
Mono-Time anti-AI3 rush (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27912.msg397632#msg397632)
Pharaoh rainbow for PvP (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,25196.msg397732#msg397732)
Phat Time-Light stall (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28131.msg397776#msg397776)
Time-Water feat. Nymph's Tears (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27402.msg398257#msg398257)
Time-Air Stall (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,29028.msg398273#msg398273)

[SpikeSpiegel]

TASK I
Battle Prowess - The Arena


Deck I've used:  Scorpion's gratitude (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,29141.0.html)

Code: [Select]

6rn 6rn 6rn 6rn 6rn 6rn 74a 74a 74a 74a 74a 74a 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q8 7q8 7qd 7qd 7qd 7qd 7qd 7qd
Here my screenshots; immediately i did platinum, silver and bronze...then I thought: why not all? Paradoxically gold was the most...difficult (and long!)


Bronze



Silver



Gold


Platinum



My points at the end of the quest (as you can see in gold league picture)








TASK II
Card Design - Shards

- Shard Revolution Submission: Shard of Prudence (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.84.html)

(http://imageplay.net/img/m7Gbd215530/SoPunupped.jpeg)

(http://imageplay.net/img/m7Gbd215529/SoPupped.jpeg)

[/quote]

- Comment on Shard of Foresight (152 words) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.36.html)

This is a nice submission, the card seems to be pretty balanced and I like the idea to sacrifice it after activation (otherwise it would have been too OP).
This shard could really be deadly if played in a deck with mindgate: you can see what you are goin’ to duplicate and then you can destroy that card and take a big advantage on your opponent. Of course you need a stall deck to play this combo, I can already imagine a mono-aether deck with dimensional shields, mindgates and SoF.
SoF could work well even in a pestal deck, destroying pillars/pendulums even before they are played for a complete quanta lock down. Simply evil.
One thing this Shard could need is a cost: 0 quanta for a card like this is too little. Maybe 4 random quanta for the unupped version and 3 random quanta for the upped one should be fine.

- Comment on Shard of Assertiveness (172 words) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.60.html)

First time I saw this submission I thought: “Ok, if firestalls were already strong, now they are stronger”
But this Shard could work fine with every weapons and above all with flying weapons deck.
5 Shards in play are equal to a bonus of 100% (150% with a fire mark) to the weapon damage; a morning glory or a titan would deal 16 (20 with a fire mark) damage, a discord 12 (15 with a fire mark) , etc…
But the great balance of this Shard is that you need at least 2-3 of them in play to appreciate  a good damage increase.
SoA would work very well in a flying morning glory deck with fire mark (and some explosion…let’s add it to Divine Glory deck?), and it could work even better in a flying titan deck with overdrive.
Maybe the creator (Essence) should increase a little the card cost (I don’t like free upped shard). 4 random quanta for the unupped version and 3 for the upped one would be fine.

-  Comment on Shard of Balance (194 words) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.0.html)

This is the Shard I’ve submitted before Trials begin.
I was thinking about not only an helpful Shard for Gravity, but a Shard usable as well by all elements. The idea is very simple: when SoB is in game, every card you play is paid even by your opponent (Fractals, Miracle and Sky blitz are paid only for the card cost) with random quanta.
I think it could be a nice card able to give quanta troubles to best-balanced deck too.
A good combo would be SoB in a fractal deck (fractal phoenix, devtal, etc), once you can play fractal and play all creatures, you can hardly drain opponent’s quanta.
Gravity has many cards with a medium-high cost, SoB can be very useful in a monogravity or in a duo-gravity deck, like for example BH/Discord + Gravity Nymph and Armagios, etc…
An obvious counter to SoB is Sanctuary, but even a rainbow deck could tolerate SoB skill.
In my opinion is pretty balanced in card cost, and to avoid an OP Shard, I’ve set its endurance in 2 turns, 3 if upped; if the owner has a mark, SoB lasts one more turn.

- Comment on Shard of Cooperativeness (181 words) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.48.html)

This is an interesting Shard, with a nice idea behind.
The most similar card is probably Drain/Siphon Life, but this shard would be an enhanced version.
The Shard of Cooperativeness is above all a defensive card, but it could be used both as a pure CC card, instant-killing an opponent’s creature, as a healing card.
Like the creator said, it was planned to be used with gravity creatures, I’m thinkin’ above all to a flying Titan with 50 Hps, Armagios or Colossal Dragons; this would allow gravity to have a nice stall power.
However it could be a terrible CC card able to counter rush decks (like a graboid rush, or a fire rush), without a significant healing of the opponent.
This Shard it’s pretty balanced, but I don’t like too much the upped version: for the reason written above, people would prefer the unupped one, because it’s a sort of better CC.
Last but no least, SoC could be the perfect counter for the brand new Shard of Sacrifice; in fact it’s able to kill immediately the owner of SoS.

- Comment on Shard of Obedience (167 words)
 (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.0.html)
This is one of my favorite Shard submission in the competition.
The idea is very simple and effective and if this Shard will ever been added in the game it could be really a little nice revolution.
The only thing coming close to SoO is the combo Antimatter + Vampire ability, but paradoxically this Shard is able to counter and it’s countered by antimatter.
SoO could be used in almost every deck but its consume quanta skill almost force players to use it in a gravity deck or at least a gravity enhanced deck (like Pharaoh gratitude, just to give an example.)
In my opinion SoO should be a “crucible ready” card, but I wonder how it’s possible to counter it without antimatter or without killking the creature hit by SoO; what I mean is: what’s gonna happens if a creature is targeted two times by SoO?
As two Antimatters cancel each other, it could be a nice idea to apply the same effect to this Shard.


- Comment on Shard of Detachment (176 words) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.12.html)

This is without doubt the most original idea I’ve seen so far in this competition, a spell that becomes a permanent and it’s able to gain any activated ability.
The upped version is really strong and maybe a little OP, in fact it would be able to “lobotomize” even a permanent.
There’s no a similar card in the game yet, the only one that come close to SoD could be Crusader with its Endow skill.
SoD would be usable in every darkness, rainbows, darkness-mark enhanced decks, making this shard a very strong weapon in many hands.
I really like the fact this Shard stacks, it’s a nice way to make it more balanced and it prevent an abuse of it (otherwise it would be really OP)
As I wrote before, the upped version needs in my opinion a nerf; the upped Shard could be modified giving it the same skill of the unupped one changing the cost of both, for example 6 random quanta for the unupped version and 5 random quanta for the upped one.





TASK III
Deckbuilding

- First comment (+ 200 words, thread opened in May, 18) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,26417.msg397930#msg397930)

- Second comment (+180 words, thread opened in June, 02) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27133.msg397954#msg397954)

- Third comment (+180 words, thread opened in April, 30) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,25406.msg397967#msg397967)

- Fourth comment (+180 words, thread opened in June, 21) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27794.0.html)

- Fifth comment (+ 230 words, thread opened in May, 29) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,26962.0.html)

- Sixth comment (+200 words, thread opened in June, 09) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27416.0.html)

[kev]

Just as a reminder, please create a thread in the Deck Ideas forum for your Task I submission and link that thread here.

Also as a reminder the Trials Overseer will award three bonus points to the player from each element who has the best overall submissions.  And you should expect your Phase 1 submissions to impact the way players vote in Phase 3.  Just make sure you're doing everything in your power to prove you'd be a better representative of your element than your opponents...

[Kuroaitou]

Proving of Worthiness Tasks:

TASK I
Battle Prowess - The Arena

Scarabs in 4th Gear (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,29207.0.html)

by Kuroaitou

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

6rn 6rn 6rn 6rn 6rn 6rn 6rs 6rs 74a 74a 74a 74f 74f 74i 74i 74i 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q4 7q4 7q5 7q5 7q8 7q8 7qc 7qc 7qc 7qc 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 8pl

Platinum



Silver



Bronze


NOTE: I accidentally berfed when I was doing the screenshotting after the Bronze Rings; I hit the False God button instead of PvP duel when I was going to take a picture of my score, so the picture you see there is my Bronze score - 30 (losing against Rainbow from the Oracle prediction T_T - fail on my part)

TASK II
Card Design - Shards

Shard Concept:

Time Trials Entry:
 (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg400183#msg400183)

(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg400183#msg400183)

Critiques:
Page 1 – Shard of Control by powdergame99 (239) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg394133#msg394133)

While this concept certainly embodies the theme of manipulation and control, the fact that it exclusively requires only Darkness quanta in order to use its manually activated ability is a liability. Add to the fact that the card costs a whopping 7 quanta in order to actually play it, and an additional turn for it to be used, and it comes as no surprise as to how limited the card’s scope is (when it comes to usage). Shard of Gratitude, Divinity, and Readiness can be used in a relatively wide variety of decks, but this shard would only see use in anything that has Darkness quanta involved, which is poor design.

Mechanically, I don’t know if targeting only one creature repeatedly is fair either. Nightmare is an okay counter against Fractal, but this Shard (if it has an endless amount of uses) would completely shut down any deck that focuses on rush or creature spam. A field entirely composed of immortal or even burrowed creatures may gain the advantage, but again, the balance of that seems poor.

My personal opinion is to drop the quanta cost of the Shard down to 4-5 for both cards and change the ability cost to a generic amount of quanta (see Virus/Retrovirus with their 0 cost ability). To retain the Darkness benefit, perhaps it could generate Darkness quanta when the ability is used, providing another means of quanta generation and soft ‘CC’.
Page 3 – Shard of Remembrance by Shantu (216) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg394485#msg394485)

Initially I thought this was a bad tradeoff – Aether doesn’t necessarily benefit off of creature death, and being silenced can be lethal for Aether (Fractal doesn’t take too kindly to that). On the other hand, being able to Silence your opponent via a single Thunderbolt does save some quanta.

One interesting thing I personally like about this shard isn’t just that it indirectly benefits Aether (because of Aether’s specialty with immaterial creatures, they’re less likely to get killed and trigger the effect), but that it actually ties in with the element in a subtle way. As Aether is an element that can be seen as something that extends beyond our plane of existence, so Remembrance acts the symbolism between the creature on the field to the empty space the occupies it afterwards upon its death. My only (small) gripe with this card is the wording.

Fixing the phrase so that it reads as, “Lasts for 2 (3 if you have AN Aether mark) turns” would help the fluidity of the last statement, and also fill in that extra space at the end. I have the odd feeling though that this shard could be switched to Death and be more appropriate than the current Shard of Sacrifice, but either way, I have no complaints.
Page 5 – Shard of Equality by patchx94 (184) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg397555#msg397555)

Having a mass AOE Twin Universe (even if it only applies to frozen creatures) raises a red flag in my head. This has amazing synergy with cards such as Ice Shield and Arctic Squid, but the problem is that the Shards should still be usable by all elements even if they’re not completely practical (Shard of Readiness used in Entropy might only be beneficial for the Purple Nymph, Fallen Druid, or even Butterfly-affected targets). This shard would do nothing for a majority of players who don’t have any form of freezing in their decks, and thus it becomes restricted by its own mechanic.

Despite that, the cost and feel of the shard can still remain in order to retain the unique effect. Rather than limiting the shard’s mechanic to frozen creatures, setting a quantity (say up to 3 creatures) and then granting a debuff to the other side (to salvage the Water theme) could be one option: “Both players receive up to three creatures from the other side. Freeze all creatures on the opponent’s side if you have a Water mark.”
Page 7 – Shard of Fortitude by DrunkDestroyer (231) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg397871#msg397871)

Fortitude doesn’t seem to embody anything relating to Air, but the name aside, quanta generation based on the number of airborne creatures on the field is intriguing. One thing that should be immediately noted is whether or not the spell applies to both players; if the enemy has a field full of Ray of Lights, does that mean that Shard of Fortitude will trigger? Or will it only work with creatures on your field? I believe that it’s the former, and it’s more beneficial for two reasons.

The first is that in a Death-Air or Aether-Air duo with Wings, Phase and Flesh Recluse can use their Web abilities without fear of quanta conservation as this shard will readily grant them what they need against an army of flying beasts. Secondly, if Air obtains new cards that can disable or hinder airborne cards, using this shard will basically fuel the counter against an army of Phoenixes (sorry Eternal Phoenix) or Vampires or even Scarabs. If anything, the card should specifically note whether the spell can target both fields or only the player’s own field, as there’s plenty of space for it on the card to include that information. The name may also need a slight change, but with the list of current virtues, I can see why the Shard had a tough time finding the perfect label.
Page 9 – Shard of Passion by ~Napalm (227) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg398548#msg398548)

A one-time pseudo-Rewind on a stick (or better for Fire creatures) seems tricky to balance, but I think that this shard has done fairly well in comparison to its older counterpart. However, the healing part of the shard is too similar to Shard of Gratitude; assuming that SoG will stack and gain extra benefit for Life users, having another shard also provide healing (even if it’s a significantly smaller amount) seems inappropriate. Several players have already complained about the various Arena decks that have exploited the excessive use of SoG coupled with Sanctuary (having 12 copies of each amounts to 108 healing per turn). This would only compound that excessive healing problem, unless other cards were immediately introduced to suppress healing.

The Impassion ability, on the other hand, is much more intriguing. Quickly refreshing a creature to its normal state is nice for removing debuffs, but even more effective against non-fire enemy creatures. Sacrificing the card for the refresh is also a smart move – I admit that without the healing passive, the active ability’s self-destruct approach would be overkill. Again though, I still think that the ability cost should be altered to accept generic quanta (rather than fire), but I do realize the power of poison/antimatter/freeze/delay/gravity pull/etc. removal, so all in all, this card seems to be going in the right direction.
Page 11 – Shard of Leadership by thenewguy (189)  (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg400067#msg400067)

While I still think that the unupped version should also provide a benefit to Gravity creatures (granting them (+2|+0) for example, while the upped provided (+3|+0)), the concept of dragons leading the figurative army sounds pretty nifty. Since most dragons are hardly used nowadays (save for the occasional Life Dragon with Mitosis or the Crimson Dragon in a Fire-rush), this helps boost their popularity while also making them the king that you protect (think chess).

I still don’t know if this would benefit Massive Dragon as much unless one pulls off a Mono-Gravity deck, but I suppose (as the author said) that helping out some of the less favorable cards (Graviton Guard, Otyugh, Sapphire Charger, etc.) in their non-upgraded forms is a definite plus. Aside from the stat rearrangement that I noted above, I can’t imagine anything that would really make the shard more fluid or accurate to the element. There were a lot of Gravity cards that were submitted to the competition, but when it comes down to practical use, this one was one of the few that stood out once I read it for one thing: simplicity.
All critiques have been personally messaged to the authors of the cards.

TASK III
Deckbuilding

First comment (Pharaoh-Mitosis) (171 words) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,25029.msg400539#msg400539)
Second comment (Pharaoh for FG's) (342 words) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27423.msg400554#msg400554)
Third Comment (Light-Time FG duo) (185 words) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28131.msg400566#msg400566)
Fourth Comment (Light-Time Anubis w/SoR combo) (320 words) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,25406.msg400575#msg400575)
Fifth Comment (Earth-Time Devonian+Basilisk CC "Stall") (249 words) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,26157.msg400582#msg400582)
Sixth Comment (Time-Rainbow Pharaoh deck w/Sky Blitz + Chimera) (375 words) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27219.msg400603#msg400603)



Done, with 30 minutes to spare. Time to add some color.

[SnoWeb]

TASK I
Battle Prowess - The Arena
It was not a very pleasant exercise IMO. The deck I chose is not very good against Platinum. So it took me quite some time. I still managed it. Enfin.

here is the deck: Sand Butterfly (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,29203.0.html)

by SnoWeb

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

500 5rt 5rt 6u2 6u2 6u2 6u2 6u2 6u2 6u7 6u7 6u8 6u8 7q3 7q8 7q8 7qd 7qd 7qd 7qd 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 8pj

TASK II
Card Design - Shards

Enter the Shard Revolution (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28847.0.html) competition: Shard of Fairness (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg398011#msg398011) (in air)

Provide constructive criticism for six entries to the Shard Revolution competition. I stick with air then:

• Shard of Awareness (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg394235#msg394235): (195 words)
  Outside my own submission, this is my favourite shard in the the air category. The ability of the card fits well with its name (awareness). The benefit of playing air with it is undeniable. The upped version obviously takes a bit to precognition as it reveals the hand of your opponent. The effect is however different enough and no draw acceleration has been added so it is fine, IMO. Concerning the cost and comparing it to the closest card in game (precognition), I would say it is fair. Precognition (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,1870.0.html) cost 2|1 but does not last and doesn't suffer the drawback of being exploitable by the opponent.
  My only concern is that the card effect is far from winning you the game. Its use would probably be restricted to pvp and probably to monoair or air duo. Having more than one in play is useless and I wonder if it worth using precious PC spell on it. All in all (and compared to the existing shards) it seem less powerful. If it was to be improved, I would try to give it an additional effect (still linked with awareness). Revealing the invisible might be interesting (see cloak).
  
• Shard of Freedom (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg394235#msg394236): (164 words)
  The theme here fits perfectly with air. Also the effect fits with the name. Considering that the most powerful creature are airborne (dragons) and spread in all elements, I wonder if air really takes an advantage to it. I suppose it is as the effect becomes scary if you had both dive or sky-blitz. Here it might be the weakest point of this card: its strength. The snowball effect between (a) the stack-ability of the shards, (b) dive, (c)sky-blitz and (d) the huge quantity of powerful airborne creature might make it too strong. Obviously, the proximity parameter limits some part of the abus-ability but I keep in mind that (a) the top and bottom row fill alternatively (see here ) and (b) lots of fractalable creatures are airborne (see here (http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/ability/airborne/)). I wonder how to solve this problem. I think that maybe, the effect could apply after the dive/sky-blitz multiplication (in a eclipse/burrow manner). This means that both dive and sky-blitz would not multiply the bonus.
  
  
• Shard of Benevolence (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg394267#msg394267): (235 words)
  My English might be in cause here but I don't see how the effect links with the name (benevolence (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/benevolence)). The Merriam-Webster points to "self-effacing as well as selfless" as example of a benevolent person, so why not? I'm not completely convinced.
  Also playing air isn't really promoted by this shard. "Damage from air source is halved" will just nerf shock-wave, eagle eye and Toadfish maybe (if the opponent plays it). To drive the shard player to play more air cards, I would try to have a positive effect for air cards. For example, it could be "Damage done to air creatures is halved". Moreover, I would try to have this air improvement on both upped and unupped cards. This would require a cost adjustment obviously but it would spur the beginners toward air too.
  Also I think that this brings a very good defence to rushes. The best creatures for this purpose have high damage and lower HP. With this card you can protect them all with almost no drawback. The element players play a very high amount of rush found in the arena. A big part is either rainbows or run with immolation. These deck will almost not feel the cost of the shard and have a huge benefit from it. to solve this I would probably change the costing system to something similar to the shard of sacrifice: all but air quanta are consumed.
  
• Shard of Order (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg394441#msg394441): (196 words)
  First of all, order is not really an air virtue. Also I find pretty funny that the text of a shard which should be of order starts with "shuffle" and contains "random". In other words it does not quite fit thematically. Order fits in gravity way better. If you want to stay in air I would try liberty instead. The problem here is also that your shards has two totally different effects. The first being to rearrange the airborne ability and the second to destroy a random permanent. TO make it a viable and fun card you should choose one of these effects and focus on it. As the first effect doesn't seem very exploitable in game I would focus on the second. It has the interest to give PC to air. However, be careful here. To destroy a permanent is powerful even randomly. Destroy 1 per turn is very powerful. Particularly in your case as it is for free. But each of your shards destroys more than one permanent per turn. With the average number of 2 shards and 6 pillar it would destroy 6 permanent per turn. This is clearly way too strong.
  
  
• Shard of Grace (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg394567#msg394567): (220 words)
  Grace is an air virtue - it fits. Being airborne could bring some grace (if you disregard my mother in law paragliding). However, I don't see the link between grace and a +1|+1 buff. Also, this shard doesn't not really push its owner to play air (mark or cards). All it does is giving its creature an ability that all air creatures already have.
  This put aside I see a bigger problem with this card. It is a buff card accessible to all. It is more expensive and and a bit less good than momentum but it is paid with random quanta. This would allow you to play dune scorpion, deathstalker and warden efficiently in a mono. If Zanz wanted that he would not have made these creatures with 0 atk.
  You probably could solve all these problem at once if you take your idea backwards. Make a bonus which works only with airborne creatures. Doing so you would avoid the 3 creatures I mentioned earlier and promote air as it is the element with the highest number of airborne creatures (see here (http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/ability/airborne/)). Remember that air creatures also have dive for some of them so it would multiply the bonus. An idea could be, "target airborne creature gets dive if it does not already have it and +2|+1 if it does".
  
  
• Shard of Wisdom (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg394567#msg394575): (181 words)
  As for the shard of order (see above), your idea contains 2 effects. This is generally to be avoided. However, they are two exception: (a) the 2 effects are related and work together for a greater mechanic or (b) the second effect has been added to make the card less situational (e.g. sanctuary). Each of the 2 present effect is good (if not too good), none is situational and they are not particularly related (healing the player and buffing the creatures). I would try to focus only on one of the 2. The regeneration shards already exists, it is the shard of gratitude. It is already controversial and might be too strong as is. I would drop this effect and concentrate on the other (and probably lower the cost). Contrary to the above shard of grace, your buffing mechanic doesn't allow the buff in mono-time, mono-death or mono-earth as it requires for its activation. On that side it is fine. However, now naming it shard of wisdom looks kind of out of place. Shard of confidence or encouragement might be a better fit.
  
• Shard of Cooperativeness (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg397756#msg397756): (maybe later)
  
  
• Shard of Fortitude (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28846.msg397871#msg397871): (maybe later)
  
  

TASK III
Deckbuilding

• 300 words on a fractal scarab deck of June 2011 (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27455.msg398512#msg398512)
• 190 words on a Time/aether spammer deck of July 2011 (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28542.msg398542#msg398542)
• 220 words on a convertion from mono-time to night-ghost of June 2011 (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27133.msg398560#msg398560)
• 220 words on a Time/earth deck of May 2011 (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,26157.msg398960#msg398960)
• 300 words on a Rainbow Pharaoh deck of June 2011 (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27219.msg398977#msg398977)
• 190 words on a Time/death Mummaoh deck of July 2011 (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27961.msg399028#msg399028)

TASK IV
Bonus
Prove you'd be a better representative of your element than your opponents...

• Battle Prowess: For the record, I'd like to point out that together with Jen-I (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,29106.msg397598#msg397598) and DevilLoss (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,29099.msg397639#msg397639), we brought team Time to the 7th position last war. This can look quite bad but you have to consider the desertion of a big part of our team. I consider the fact that we never throw the sponger in a victory in itself. I think that being a master is exactly that. I consider it a major sin not as a master to disappear in the middle of the war (as some did) without warning and to let the team decapitated (which is particularly painful believe me).
  
  
• Card Design: I did not wait for the trial to try myself at this interesting discipline. I tried to find the weak spots in time and to strengthen them. Below you'll find some of my ideas. I think it is also one of the master duties to lead or to help the discussion on this matter. If you are interested in card creation you might have notice my presence in the board.
  

  Snap | Snap Khopesh (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,25302.0.html) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,25302.0.html)	Forester Blowgun | Amazonian Blowgun (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,26761.0.html) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,26761.0.html)
  Time Paradox | Time Paradox (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,23541.0.html) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,23541.0.html)	Meditation | Zen (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27393.0.html) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27393.0.html)
  Sheut | Ib (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,26362.0.html) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,26362.0.html)	Sand Ant | Desert Ant (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,23362.0.html) (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,23362.0.html)

  Please do not comment here on these cards but directly in the appropriate thread.
  
• Deckbuilding: Here I know some of the present contestant for the tittle are more skilled that I. For example, the deck presented by 10men for task I is way better than mine. However, if you look carefully you might notice that here also I didn't wait for the trial to propose (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,22588.msg305750#msg305750) or advertise (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,20173.0.html) new strategies or to try to help the newcomers with their decks.
  
  
• Side Note: For those who care or have been offended, I don't really hate Italians. It is a game I play with my Italian friends in RL. Out of habits I transferred it to the forum (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,22743.msg311061#msg311061). I find it funny as generally Italian are witty and biting opponents. It's never funny to make fun of someone who cannot answer. However if he has some teeth in can be entertaining. I mention it here as two of the present masters happen to be Italian and that I might be tempted to make some jokes about it. Please don't be offended and tell me if I am using it to much or if you're hurt. I'll try to make it less present.

Now it's Snow Time !!

P.S.: don't eat yellow snow.

[kev]

220 words on a Time/earth deck of May 2011 (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28542.msg398542#msg398542)

Broken link

[SnoWeb]

220 words on a Time/earth deck of May 2011 (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,28542.msg398542#msg398542)

Broken link

Too much copy paste!! Sorry.

220 words on a Time/earth deck of May 2011 (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,26157.msg398960#msg398960)

Solved.