Post by: furballdn on February 21, 2013, 04:57:12 am
From bronze to plat, from noob to vet, the fun way
There are obviously plenty of guides and "walkthroughs" and tutorials on how to best build an elements deck, how to speedrun your way to plat, how to be the pro to PvP2....this tutorial is NOT one of those. This tutorial will instead stress on creativity, uniqueness, and experimentation to get an idea of how the game works, and to fully immerse yourself in the cards instead of running straight to plat and getting hit with a feeling of ennui. To emphasize creativity, the deck examples I post here will all be created by me, while writing this article and testing it. The example decks are far from perfect, but instead of teaching mindless copy/pasting deck codes and grinding, they are supposed to give ideas and influence creativity. I mention a lot about creature control, permanent control, and sometimes use acronyms. If you're not familiar, don't worry about it. Either read up the definitions on the glossary (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php?action=glossary) or pick it up from playing many games. This is a comprehensive tutorial on all facets of the game without forcing you into using other peoples' decks. Remember, elements is a game based on creativity, so use that power as we learn how to go from a noob to a vet the fun way.
Also, there is no reason to follow this guide down as I wrote it. Maybe you want to play a bit with gold/plat league before arena, maybe you want to jump straight into PvP, maybe you want to get a head start on killing false gods and getting money. The table of contents is your friend. The order I wrote it in is my recommended order, and is loosely ordered by difficulty, but feel free to jump around. Know how to build a rainbow already? Skip it! Want to learn how to farm False Gods for money first? Go read that up! Want to get introduced to the forums? Skip to the bottom! Already familiar with the game? Head straight down to the gold/plat sections! Just joined? Read up a bit on the bronze/silver sections! I'm here to introduce you to the game and teach you how to play, not what to play.
General
Which element/rare do I pick?
Arena
How come I can't remove those 5 cards in the arena deckbuilding screen?
I just faced my own arena deck! Is this a glitch?
I just faced somebody's deck two times in a row! Is this a glitch?
PvP
Wtf? How come weird things are happening in PvP? Is my opponent hacking?
Which element/rare do I pick?
- It's not a big deal, since eventually, you should be able to get your hands on all of them. If you want to make your life a bit easier though, I'd suggest fire or entropy or darkness. I wouldn't really recommend light or gravity. For the rare weapons, either go with one that you'll find useful, or trident/eternity, those two being the rares that AI3 doesn't drop. If your goal is to farm FGs as soon as possible, I'd recommend a lobotomizer, as it's one of the most versatile weapons against FGs.
- There isn't one. Each element/card has its own purposes and uses. There really isn't a "best".
- Relax. Before screaming a card is OP, why don't you try it out for yourself? Actually build a deck revolving it and test it out. You'll see that it's most likely balanced. Just because a card counters your deck or strategy does not mean it's OP.
- There is quite a huge difficulty spike between AI3 and AI4. Relax, and wait until you get some upped cards before you can consistently defeat them. In the meantime, head over to the Arena, a place where the difficulty jump from AI3 isn't so large.
- No. This guide is a guide on creativity, so I will not give you a deck that you can just use to mindlessly grind and lose track of the game. This guide is based on creativity, so use your own wits to create such a deck and share it with the community, maybe you'll come up with the next FG farmer. Remember, take the game slowly. There's no rush. Stop to smell the flowers and learn some unheard of combos.
- AI3 has all the rares besides eternity and trident. If you want to get rares and shards, arena would probably be your best bet.
- If you have sanctuary on the field, it cancels out the effects of those two shields.
- A singularity occurs whenever you play three novas, or two supernovas in one turn. These creatures will make life very miserable for you, so either quickly remove them, or you'll almost definitely lose the match.
- There is no best deck. Each deck has its own purpose and counters.
Arena
How come I can't remove those 5 cards in the arena deckbuilding screen?
- Those are your copies of your oracle card. Your arena deck must include them and have 35 cards. If you can't think of a strategy to use, look at the wiki for your card. Maybe you'll discover a new synergy.
- The benefits only apply to your arena deck that other people will face.
- If your oracle card was the same as yesterday's, you cannot build a new arena deck.
- Arena decks decay with time. After a week, nearly every single deck will have 1hp if they are still in the top 500.
- You probably beat a deck in the top 10. Those decks have multipliers attached on them, so you earn more electrum if you beat a deck in the top 10.
I just faced my own arena deck! Is this a glitch?
- No, you have a 1/500 chance of meeting your own arena deck if you choose to fight the league it is in.
I just faced somebody's deck two times in a row! Is this a glitch?
- Nope. Also a 1/500 chance of happening.
PvP
Wtf? How come weird things are happening in PvP? Is my opponent hacking?
- It is certainly a possibility, but more likely, it is just a desynchronization error.
- The speed is due to the server. To them, it looks like you're taking a while.
- No, marks can be won by winning tournaments.
- The rules are here (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,6997.0.html).
Post by: furballdn on February 21, 2013, 04:57:24 am
- Finish the quests
- Get comfortable with AI0-3
- Learn about monos/duos/trios
- Learn about rush, stall, and control decks
Welcome to Elements! You've just opened up the game, picked an appropriate username you'd like to keep, and are now staring blankly at the screen with its catchy music and 12 elements. Which one should you pick? Don't think too hard about it, since eventually you'll be able to get all the cards. Just pick your favorite, although if you want a slightly easier time, fire/entropy/darkness are the three stronger elements. I'll make a table about the elements with their pros and cons.
Picked out your deck yet? Great! You can choose to make it a mono now, (remove all the other element cards besides the main element), but if you are new, go ahead and click AI0. The battle against the trainer should be over quickly, without you having too much trouble. Beat the trainer and collect your reward. You should have about 15 electrum now. The next two quests are also easily done. Simply remove a card from your deck, and then buy and sell a quantum pillar from the bazaar. You should have around 60 electrum now. Go ahead and tackle AI1. It's probably better to make your deck a mono now, since you'll notice it'll flow much smoother. After beating AI1 and above, remember to spin the reels. It could win you more cards! Finish the quest, and you should have around 100 electrum now. It's still not enough for you to comfortably mod your deck, so go ahead and fight AI2. AI2 actually have pre-built decks, so they might be a bit harder. After beating AI2 and the next quest, you should have about 150 coins, which is enough to start building your deck. I'll go over the main deck archetypes. While building decks, there is something called QI, or quanta index. Quanta index is the total amount of quanta of an element used divided by the numbers of quanta producing sources (pillars count as 5). The number should fall around 5, but it is not perfect. Stall decks can have slightly higher numbers while rush decks can have slightly lower numbers. The QI calculator is here (http://elements.alanbeam.net/qi.php). Now what is a stall or rush deck? Let me explain.
| Element | Icon | Pros | Cons |
| Aether | :aether | Quite defensive Immortal creatures Most powerful creature control | Expensive cards Weak attackers No permanent control |
| Air | :air | Decent creature control Decent creature abilities Good shields | No permanent control Not very offensive |
| Darkness | :darkness | Has creature control Has permanent control Has quanta control Has healing | Weak to Holy Light Takes a while to set up Offense isn't great |
| Death | :death | Great offense Access to Poison Great defense | No healing No permanent control Also weak to Holy LIght |
| Earth | :earth | Sturdy creatures Good defense Has Earthquake (Very powerful quanta control) | No permanent control Soft creature control Cards are pricey |
| Entropy | :entropy | Has Discord (Strong quanta control) Has Antimatter (Strong creature control) Is based on luck | Expensive cards Is based on luck |
| Fire | :fire | Strongest attackers Lots of creature control Has permanent control has Immolation (Instant fast quanta gain) | Very fragile creatures Not much defense |
| Gravity | :gravity | Very resilient creatures Can bypass shields with Momentum Has Black Hole (Powerful quanta control) | Very expensive cards Hardly any offense |
| Life | :life | Has healing Cheap and efficient creatures Fast | Very weak creature control No permanent control |
| Light | :light | Good creatures Has healing | No reliable creature control No permanent control Expensive cards |
| Time | :time | Can draw more cards Decent creatures | No permanent control |
| Water | :water | Okay creatures Good creature control Has Purify (counter to poison) | No permanent control Average speed |
Picked out your deck yet? Great! You can choose to make it a mono now, (remove all the other element cards besides the main element), but if you are new, go ahead and click AI0. The battle against the trainer should be over quickly, without you having too much trouble. Beat the trainer and collect your reward. You should have about 15 electrum now. The next two quests are also easily done. Simply remove a card from your deck, and then buy and sell a quantum pillar from the bazaar. You should have around 60 electrum now. Go ahead and tackle AI1. It's probably better to make your deck a mono now, since you'll notice it'll flow much smoother. After beating AI1 and above, remember to spin the reels. It could win you more cards! Finish the quest, and you should have around 100 electrum now. It's still not enough for you to comfortably mod your deck, so go ahead and fight AI2. AI2 actually have pre-built decks, so they might be a bit harder. After beating AI2 and the next quest, you should have about 150 coins, which is enough to start building your deck. I'll go over the main deck archetypes. While building decks, there is something called QI, or quanta index. Quanta index is the total amount of quanta of an element used divided by the numbers of quanta producing sources (pillars count as 5). The number should fall around 5, but it is not perfect. Stall decks can have slightly higher numbers while rush decks can have slightly lower numbers. The QI calculator is here (http://elements.alanbeam.net/qi.php). Now what is a stall or rush deck? Let me explain.
Rush
QI:5.25
QI:5.2
Notice anything about rush decks? They emphasize offense and speed. Rush decks often sacrifice defense and control for a full frontal attack, and often make use of very efficient attackers to kill the opponent before they can react. These decks are usually mono for smoother playing. These decks are often very simple, so if you want to build a first deck, I advise you to go for a rush deck. Try and pick efficient creatures with more attack than they cost. Notice how both the Crimson Dragon and Seraph have higher attack than their cost, as well as Toadfish. Those are the creatures you want for a pure offensive rush deck.
Control
QI:4.8
QI:5.73
Essentially, control decks are slightly more defensive decks, based on getting quanta and card advantage over your opponent. If they just played a 10 quanta dragon, and you just used 2 quanta to destroy it, you've come out ahead. Notice that the creatures used in the control decks are more defensive than the fragile dragons in the rush decks. The first deck here is a mono fire that makes use of the more defensive Phoenix, as well as using Fire Bolt and Rage Potion to kill off opposing enemies. The second deck uses sturdy earth creatures and Basilisk Blood to shut down opposing creatures while Earthquake if drawn, can halt the opponent's quanta supply.
Denial
QI:4.6 for Darkness, 3.61 for Earth
QI:4.21 for Entropy, 3.95 for Gravity
Whereas control decks focus on removing threats such as creatures, denial decks focus on preventing threats from coming out. These often involve cards such as Discord, Black Hole, Devourer, and Earthquake. The first deck uses Earthquake to destroy opposing pillars, and then to slowly siphon away quanta with Devourers. Notice how Gargoyle, the main offense in the first deck is a nice card that ties the Darkness and Earth synergies together. The second deck is an immensely powerful Discord+Black Hole deck. While it requires Discord, a rare, it is very powerful because discord scatters the opponent's quanta while Black Hole helps to drain it all away, completely shutting down their play. The creatures in the second deck are just there for some extra offense.
Stall
QI:5.1 for Fire, 6 for Light
This is a variation of the infamous Firestall. Stalls often focus on either decking your opponent out or slowly whittling them to death while keeping yourself well healed and ready for anything they throw at you. Notice that QI in non-mono decks needs to be accounted for each element used, as well as how a stall is much bigger than the control and rush decks above. This deck uses Sanctuary as healing to keep itself alive while using all the fire cards as control to kill off enemy creatures. Once the enemy has no more creatures left, Fahrenheit will finish off the job if the enemy hasn't run out of cards yet. Stalls are very similar to control decks.
OTK
OTK decks are a special type of combo that often are similar to stalls. They need to keep themselves alive and dig through their entire deck for a certain combo (in this case, 5 dragons+Sky Blitz+Chimera for instant 100 damage) that will win them the game in one turn. You'll often see Golden Hourglasses, Sundials, or Dimensional Shields in OTks as they try to stay alive. If you're interested in OTK decks, Chapuz has a neat OTK deck building guide here (http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/OTK_Deckbuilding_Guide) that you may want to check out if you have the time.
Break
QI:6 for Air, 5 for Light
A break is a specialized type of deck that is meant to counter stalls and controls. They will often use very defensive creatures so that control won't do much damage while slowly chipping away at the opponent. Immortal creatures are great for this task, such as a flying Morning Star or just a simple Immortal. These sacrifice the offense and speed of rushes, but they often add more reliability and defensiveness.
QI:5.25
QI:5.2
Notice anything about rush decks? They emphasize offense and speed. Rush decks often sacrifice defense and control for a full frontal attack, and often make use of very efficient attackers to kill the opponent before they can react. These decks are usually mono for smoother playing. These decks are often very simple, so if you want to build a first deck, I advise you to go for a rush deck. Try and pick efficient creatures with more attack than they cost. Notice how both the Crimson Dragon and Seraph have higher attack than their cost, as well as Toadfish. Those are the creatures you want for a pure offensive rush deck.
Control
QI:4.8
QI:5.73
Essentially, control decks are slightly more defensive decks, based on getting quanta and card advantage over your opponent. If they just played a 10 quanta dragon, and you just used 2 quanta to destroy it, you've come out ahead. Notice that the creatures used in the control decks are more defensive than the fragile dragons in the rush decks. The first deck here is a mono fire that makes use of the more defensive Phoenix, as well as using Fire Bolt and Rage Potion to kill off opposing enemies. The second deck uses sturdy earth creatures and Basilisk Blood to shut down opposing creatures while Earthquake if drawn, can halt the opponent's quanta supply.
Denial
QI:4.6 for Darkness, 3.61 for Earth
QI:4.21 for Entropy, 3.95 for Gravity
Whereas control decks focus on removing threats such as creatures, denial decks focus on preventing threats from coming out. These often involve cards such as Discord, Black Hole, Devourer, and Earthquake. The first deck uses Earthquake to destroy opposing pillars, and then to slowly siphon away quanta with Devourers. Notice how Gargoyle, the main offense in the first deck is a nice card that ties the Darkness and Earth synergies together. The second deck is an immensely powerful Discord+Black Hole deck. While it requires Discord, a rare, it is very powerful because discord scatters the opponent's quanta while Black Hole helps to drain it all away, completely shutting down their play. The creatures in the second deck are just there for some extra offense.
Stall
QI:5.1 for Fire, 6 for Light
This is a variation of the infamous Firestall. Stalls often focus on either decking your opponent out or slowly whittling them to death while keeping yourself well healed and ready for anything they throw at you. Notice that QI in non-mono decks needs to be accounted for each element used, as well as how a stall is much bigger than the control and rush decks above. This deck uses Sanctuary as healing to keep itself alive while using all the fire cards as control to kill off enemy creatures. Once the enemy has no more creatures left, Fahrenheit will finish off the job if the enemy hasn't run out of cards yet. Stalls are very similar to control decks.
OTK
OTK decks are a special type of combo that often are similar to stalls. They need to keep themselves alive and dig through their entire deck for a certain combo (in this case, 5 dragons+Sky Blitz+Chimera for instant 100 damage) that will win them the game in one turn. You'll often see Golden Hourglasses, Sundials, or Dimensional Shields in OTks as they try to stay alive. If you're interested in OTK decks, Chapuz has a neat OTK deck building guide here (http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/OTK_Deckbuilding_Guide) that you may want to check out if you have the time.
Break
QI:6 for Air, 5 for Light
A break is a specialized type of deck that is meant to counter stalls and controls. They will often use very defensive creatures so that control won't do much damage while slowly chipping away at the opponent. Immortal creatures are great for this task, such as a flying Morning Star or just a simple Immortal. These sacrifice the offense and speed of rushes, but they often add more reliability and defensiveness.
The next section will cover monos/duos/trios. See if you can identify whether the decks are rushes, controls, stalls, or a combination of archetypes.
Monos
QI:5.33
Mono decks are decks that only use one element. The good points about these types of decks is that you don't have to worry that much on different quanta balance and can have an overall smoother deck. The bad part is that you lose access to many synergies between elements, and not all elements have ways to deal with annoying shields or creatures. While most mono decks of an element are decent, not being complete or having access to other cards/strategies limits them. A strong mono is often one that either capitalizes on the true strengths of its own element, or is well rounded enough to hold off many different opponent types. Mono decks are very simple, so try and build one of these at first if you can. You will be surprised at how far a mono rush deck can get you.
Duos
QI:5.33 for Life, 4.83 for Water
QI:4.5 for Entropy, 5.22 for Death
QI:4.09 for Earth, 4.74 for Time
QI:5.12 for Air, 3.55 for Light
As you can see, duos can be balanced with either pillars or pendulums. The main benefit duos have over monos is that they are more flexible. With two elements to play with, you get more combos and synergies. The bad part is that duos are less stable than monos, since they require two different types of quanta to function. Remember, when making a duo, try and make sure the two elements have some kind of synergy with each other. Do not just put two elements together to include cards you like if they don't have anything in common
Note the synergy between each of the two elements in the decks above. The first uses Adrenaline that can be placed on Blue Crawlers, while Forest Spirits grow with Water quanta. The second focuses on using Schrodinger's Cat to build up both defense and offense. The third deck uses Graboid and Ghost of the Past for damage, but also uses Earthquake and Reverse Time for lots of creature control and denial. Finally, the last deck makes use of Blessing to boost the attack of Pegasus and Wyrm, both of which can then double their attacks with dive.
Splashes
QI:12 for Aether, 4.2 for Life
QI:12 for Darkness, 4.91 for Time
QI:12 for Darkness, 4.73 for Entropy (Technically this is a mono, but I'm including it here since it functions virtually the same)
QI:10 for Earth, 6.62 for Aether
Wait! You say! What's up with that huge QI? Splash decks are often fine even with that huge QI, since they use the mark to fuel that quanta. Often, splashed cards should cost between 0-2 quanta, so you can get out one every other turn. In the first deck, mono Life lacks creature control cards, so Lightning is there to help kill off opposing creatures, such as dragons. The second deck is a ghostmare, a very powerful combo of using Nightmare to fill up your opponent's hands with ghosts, using Reverse Time to lock their draws, and killing them with the ghosts. The third deck is a splash deck that uses the Darkness from the mark to power the Lycanthropes. The last splash deck is an Earth/Aether duo using Enchant Artifact to protect the fragile Dimensional Shields. You'll notice the last deck has noticeably higher QI for its main element, but that is because it is more of a stall, so its QI can be a bit higher.
Trios
QI:8 for Life, 4.67 for Air, n/a for Light
QI:3.23 for Water
QI:5.5 for Darkness, 4.5 for Earth, 10 for Gravity
Trios are the last type of deck I will get to in this section since they are very complex. Don't be fooled by the wonky QIs. the first two decks involve creating new creatures that will use and provide more quanta. As a whole, theoretically, trios should be better than duos, but forcing three elements into one deck makes it very cramped and unstable. Therefore, to simplify your job a bit, use a splash of one element, and pillars to balance out the others like the third deck. Trios often involve complex strategies that make use of all elements. When making a trio, make sure each element synergizes with each other or else you'll have a clunky deck.
The first deck focuses on using Firefly Queen to produce Firefly, which in turn synergizes with Rustlers for more quanta. Hope is there as a way of defense as well. The second deck makes use of Nymph's Tears to summon Entropy and Darkness nymphs to Antimatter and cast Liquid Shadow on the opponent's creatures, so they turn into negative vampires, healing you and damaging the opponent. The third deck is a voodoo deck that focuses on casting Gravity Pull on a Voodoo Doll, increasing its health with Basilisk Blood, then watching the opponent hit the dolls and damage themselves.
Monos
QI:5.33
Mono decks are decks that only use one element. The good points about these types of decks is that you don't have to worry that much on different quanta balance and can have an overall smoother deck. The bad part is that you lose access to many synergies between elements, and not all elements have ways to deal with annoying shields or creatures. While most mono decks of an element are decent, not being complete or having access to other cards/strategies limits them. A strong mono is often one that either capitalizes on the true strengths of its own element, or is well rounded enough to hold off many different opponent types. Mono decks are very simple, so try and build one of these at first if you can. You will be surprised at how far a mono rush deck can get you.
Duos
QI:5.33 for Life, 4.83 for Water
QI:4.5 for Entropy, 5.22 for Death
QI:4.09 for Earth, 4.74 for Time
QI:5.12 for Air, 3.55 for Light
As you can see, duos can be balanced with either pillars or pendulums. The main benefit duos have over monos is that they are more flexible. With two elements to play with, you get more combos and synergies. The bad part is that duos are less stable than monos, since they require two different types of quanta to function. Remember, when making a duo, try and make sure the two elements have some kind of synergy with each other. Do not just put two elements together to include cards you like if they don't have anything in common
Note the synergy between each of the two elements in the decks above. The first uses Adrenaline that can be placed on Blue Crawlers, while Forest Spirits grow with Water quanta. The second focuses on using Schrodinger's Cat to build up both defense and offense. The third deck uses Graboid and Ghost of the Past for damage, but also uses Earthquake and Reverse Time for lots of creature control and denial. Finally, the last deck makes use of Blessing to boost the attack of Pegasus and Wyrm, both of which can then double their attacks with dive.
Splashes
QI:12 for Aether, 4.2 for Life
QI:12 for Darkness, 4.91 for Time
QI:12 for Darkness, 4.73 for Entropy (Technically this is a mono, but I'm including it here since it functions virtually the same)
QI:10 for Earth, 6.62 for Aether
Wait! You say! What's up with that huge QI? Splash decks are often fine even with that huge QI, since they use the mark to fuel that quanta. Often, splashed cards should cost between 0-2 quanta, so you can get out one every other turn. In the first deck, mono Life lacks creature control cards, so Lightning is there to help kill off opposing creatures, such as dragons. The second deck is a ghostmare, a very powerful combo of using Nightmare to fill up your opponent's hands with ghosts, using Reverse Time to lock their draws, and killing them with the ghosts. The third deck is a splash deck that uses the Darkness from the mark to power the Lycanthropes. The last splash deck is an Earth/Aether duo using Enchant Artifact to protect the fragile Dimensional Shields. You'll notice the last deck has noticeably higher QI for its main element, but that is because it is more of a stall, so its QI can be a bit higher.
Trios
QI:8 for Life, 4.67 for Air, n/a for Light
QI:3.23 for Water
QI:5.5 for Darkness, 4.5 for Earth, 10 for Gravity
Trios are the last type of deck I will get to in this section since they are very complex. Don't be fooled by the wonky QIs. the first two decks involve creating new creatures that will use and provide more quanta. As a whole, theoretically, trios should be better than duos, but forcing three elements into one deck makes it very cramped and unstable. Therefore, to simplify your job a bit, use a splash of one element, and pillars to balance out the others like the third deck. Trios often involve complex strategies that make use of all elements. When making a trio, make sure each element synergizes with each other or else you'll have a clunky deck.
The first deck focuses on using Firefly Queen to produce Firefly, which in turn synergizes with Rustlers for more quanta. Hope is there as a way of defense as well. The second deck makes use of Nymph's Tears to summon Entropy and Darkness nymphs to Antimatter and cast Liquid Shadow on the opponent's creatures, so they turn into negative vampires, healing you and damaging the opponent. The third deck is a voodoo deck that focuses on casting Gravity Pull on a Voodoo Doll, increasing its health with Basilisk Blood, then watching the opponent hit the dolls and damage themselves.
- Unless you're using a stall or stallish deck, stick with 30 cards. It'll help you get better draws. Of course, you could argue 31 cards helps in a deadlock, but those rarely happens. If it makes you feel better, go with 31, but I still recommend 30.
- Use QI, although take it with a grain of salt. It'll help you balance your deck better, but not perfect.
- When using multiple elements, try and make it so there's a synergy between them.
- Use 1 copy of a card in your deck if it's not that important but you want it now and then. 2 if it's not that important, but you want it to come up. 3 if it's a card that you can either do or do without during the course of the game. 4 if it's a card you definitely want to see come up. 5 if it's a card that's pivotal to your deck and you want it in your opening hand. 6 if that's the card your entire deck is focused around.
- When building a deck, start with a combo or synergy you'd like to see. Don't just cram in your favorite cards.
- A deck should be focused on one synergy. Two max. Adding more just unstabalizes a deck.
- A regular deck should probably have around 8 creatures. Any less and it's vulnerable to control.
- I recommend at least 2-3 permanent control cards in a deck, as well as 1-4 creature control cards if you're going for a balanced deck.
- You don't have to have a weapon or shield in a deck. If you do but don't know what to add, don't overlook the simplicity of Shield or Short Sword.
- If using shields, try to make it so that it won't be a big hindrance if it gets stolen. The last thing you want is an opponent using your own cards to turn against you.
- When in doubt, start with a 6/6/18 or a 6/6/6/12 build and work from there.
- Test, test, test. You'll never improve if you never actually test out your deck and see what it needs.
For an example, let's try building a deck right now. Let's say I love the devouring aspect of Otyugh from Gravity. I want to buff them with Plate Armor to eat more things.
Immediately, you can see some things are lacking. The QI for gravity is 1.67, and there's not much offense or defense offered besides the Otys. Let's add some chargers for some offense.
The QI for gravity is now a perfect 5. You can go ahead and run with this, but let's say you want to mod it more. What about some extra defense for creatures that slip past your Otys?
Shields can be used for creatures too big to devour, as well as the fact that you can slap on armor onto your opponent's creatures to stop them from reaching you. Now let's polish up the deck.
6 Otys are probably overkill for control, so I made it 5. I swapped in another charger for more stable offense. Now you have a QI of 5 again for gravity, and a working deck. Be sure to test out your decks against the AI3s to see what your deck lacks or has too much of.
Immediately, you can see some things are lacking. The QI for gravity is 1.67, and there's not much offense or defense offered besides the Otys. Let's add some chargers for some offense.
The QI for gravity is now a perfect 5. You can go ahead and run with this, but let's say you want to mod it more. What about some extra defense for creatures that slip past your Otys?
Shields can be used for creatures too big to devour, as well as the fact that you can slap on armor onto your opponent's creatures to stop them from reaching you. Now let's polish up the deck.
6 Otys are probably overkill for control, so I made it 5. I swapped in another charger for more stable offense. Now you have a QI of 5 again for gravity, and a working deck. Be sure to test out your decks against the AI3s to see what your deck lacks or has too much of.
Now that you're familiar with the basics of deck building, build yourself a nice rush deck to take care of AI3. The examples above are only meant as inspiration for you to get ideas from, and copying them is not advised. The whole period of the game now is for you to learn. Learn the weaknesses, strengths, and counters of different cards and strategies.
AI2
AI2 decks are here (http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/Level_2) but in general, there are:
:entropy + :life + :aether
:gravity + :air
:water + :light + :darkness
:entropy + :death + :gravity
:earth + :water + :light + :aether
:entropy + :fire + :time
:fire + :water + :darkness
:gravity + :earth + :light
:gravity + :life + :air
:earth + :light + :aether
:death + :earth + :time
:life + :water + :time
AI3
All AI3 decks are here (http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/Level_3), but in general they are:
:aether mono Aether deck
:life + :light + :air Firefly Queen deck
:entropy + :darkness Vodoo Doll with Pandemonium deck
:entropy + :death deck based on death effects
:gravity + :earth stall deck
:fire + :darkness Voodoo Doll deck, but uses Rage Potion
:gravity + :aether Gravity deck with Spark splash
:entropy + :life deck with Mutations
:light + :air deck based on Crusader and Owl's Eye
:gravity + :life + :time Scarab based deck
:rainbow only rainbow deck
:light + :time Dune Scorpion deck
:fire + :water Steam Machine deck
Learn these decks and their strategies. There really isn't much advice I can give to you for getting 150 and 500 score. It may seem daunting at first, but if you use this time to experiment and learn and test vs AI3, you should get there in no time. After that, pick out the rare weapon of your choice, but don't spend too much time thinking. Just like your starting element, it doesn't really matter that much, so just pick the one that you think would be most useful to you right now.
AI2
AI2 decks are here (http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/Level_2) but in general, there are:
:entropy + :life + :aether
:gravity + :air
:water + :light + :darkness
:entropy + :death + :gravity
:earth + :water + :light + :aether
:entropy + :fire + :time
:fire + :water + :darkness
:gravity + :earth + :light
:gravity + :life + :air
:earth + :light + :aether
:death + :earth + :time
:life + :water + :time
AI3
All AI3 decks are here (http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/Level_3), but in general they are:
:aether mono Aether deck
:life + :light + :air Firefly Queen deck
:entropy + :darkness Vodoo Doll with Pandemonium deck
:entropy + :death deck based on death effects
:gravity + :earth stall deck
:fire + :darkness Voodoo Doll deck, but uses Rage Potion
:gravity + :aether Gravity deck with Spark splash
:entropy + :life deck with Mutations
:light + :air deck based on Crusader and Owl's Eye
:gravity + :life + :time Scarab based deck
:rainbow only rainbow deck
:light + :time Dune Scorpion deck
:fire + :water Steam Machine deck
Learn these decks and their strategies. There really isn't much advice I can give to you for getting 150 and 500 score. It may seem daunting at first, but if you use this time to experiment and learn and test vs AI3, you should get there in no time. After that, pick out the rare weapon of your choice, but don't spend too much time thinking. Just like your starting element, it doesn't really matter that much, so just pick the one that you think would be most useful to you right now.
Better quality deck images of all the decks used above, in the order posted. Some might be outdated, but I have noted those.
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zI5f0z55f2z45fe8po.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/4t4zD5i4z55i6z25idz55ie8pp.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zD5f0z55f4z15f6z15fbz55fc8po.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zD58oz158qz558rz1593z55958pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z558oz4593z45ukz55umz15up5uqz45uv8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z14ve4vfz34vlzE50uz155lz555v8pl.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z55f4z25f5z15f7z25fbz15liz55lmzH5mq8po.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z64sa4vfz54vj52h5605bt5f25opz55rp5ulz361t8pu.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zA5l85lgz55lhz55lmz55oi8pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zA5ukz55ulz55umz25upz15uqz15us8pt.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z45bsz35c1z55c7z55i4z55i6z25i78pn.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z24vcz14viz14vkz34vqz852gz152nz252rz452t8pj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z3590z4593zC5aaz35rkz35ru8ps.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/4tbz15lbz55lf5lgzE5mqz45oe8pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z95bsz55buz15c2z55c7z561q8pu.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zA5rg5rjz55rkz55ruz55v18pt.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zE4vcz14vdz44vez14vfz54vh8pt.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z4592zC61oz361sz561tz161v8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z55bsz35bvz35c6z15lkz75ocz55oj8pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zD50uz55igz96068pp.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z455tz358oz5595z2596z35ukz15upz45v05v28pl.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zH55kz555rz558t8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zB55kz555lz555rz558t8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zB55kz355lz155pz555rz558t8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zB55kz455lz155pz455rz558t8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zI5f0z55f2z45fe8po.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/4t4zD5i4z55i6z25idz55ie8pp.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zD5f0z55f4z15f6z15fbz55fc8po.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zD58oz158qz558rz1593z55958pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z558oz4593z45ukz55umz15up5uqz45uv8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z14ve4vfz34vlzE50uz155lz555v8pl.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z55f4z25f5z15f7z25fbz15liz55lmzH5mq8po.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z64sa4vfz54vj52h5605bt5f25opz55rp5ulz361t8pu.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zA5l85lgz55lhz55lmz55oi8pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zA5ukz55ulz55umz25upz15uqz15us8pt.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z45bsz35c1z55c7z55i4z55i6z25i78pn.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z24vcz14viz14vkz34vqz852gz152nz252rz452t8pj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z3590z4593zC5aaz35rkz35ru8ps.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/4tbz15lbz55lf5lgzE5mqz45oe8pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z95bsz55buz15c2z55c7z561q8pu.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zA5rg5rjz55rkz55ruz55v18pt.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zE4vcz14vdz44vez14vfz54vh8pt.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z4592zC61oz361sz561tz161v8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z55bsz35bvz35c6z15lkz75ocz55oj8pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zD50uz55igz96068pp.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z455tz358oz5595z2596z35ukz15upz45v05v28pl.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zH55kz555rz558t8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zB55kz555lz555rz558t8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zB55kz355lz155pz555rz558t8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zB55kz455lz155pz455rz558t8pm.jpg)
Post by: furballdn on February 21, 2013, 04:57:31 am
- Start collecting rares and all kinds of cards
- Learn about rainbow decks and how to build them
- Learn about the oracle and arena
- Abuse the oracle daily for fun and profit
- Learn some deck strategies and PvP1 metagaming
Gotten a rare weapon? Got that score? Learned a bit about the cards? Good job! Remember to keep spinning the reels when you've won to get the chance to get cards. I'd advise you save the cards you get even if they don't fit into your deck, since you might want to build different decks later, or in the arena. What is the arena? Keep reading and I will get to that.
In the previous section, I only talked about monos, duos, and trios (Besides that OTK deck that was a rainbow). As you've seen, they got steadily harder and harder to balance, and grew more and more unstable as new elements were added. So what is a rainbow? A rainbow is a deck archetype that uses cards from elements of most if not all elements. Wait, you ask, how can you fit so many pillars into a deck and balance it? And that is where these come in:
Quantum Pillars are the backbone to most rainbow decks as it generates an average of 0.25 quanta per element per pillar per turn. This will allow you to access the powerful Lightning, fast Horned Frog, and sneaky Steal into one smooth deck.
Immolation is another card that some rainbows use, and that is where the distinction between rainbows comes from. One type of rainbow is the QPbow, which uses Quantum Pillars and Novas to provide quanta. The other, is an Immobow, which uses Immolations to provide quick bursts of quanta of all elements. Immobows are faster, but lack the stability of QPbows. Essentially, use Immobows if you're the more risky, speedy type, while use QPbows if you're more interested in reliability and stability. Additionally, Immolation stresses :fire way more, so balance a rainbow deck with Immolation around that. Immolation can also be used in mono Fire or duos (just 6 Photons for fodder) as quick quanta generation.
And of course, Nova, the true backbone to rainbows. Use at least 4 of these in your rainbow for consistent quanta.
So to recap. What is a rainbow? It's a deck that uses either Quantum Pillars, Immolation, or Nova to have quanta for ALL elements and get access to all types of cards. Rainbows are the most flexible decks out there, but their weakness is that they are extremely vulnerable to Black Hole, QPs can be luck based, and Immobows are fragile and aren't very stable to much control.
Let's build a rainbow together (both kinds). I'm trying not to impose too much rules to restrict creativity, so just use this as a base to build off of.
These are probably the bases that you should use for an Immobow or QPbow. (I didn't put a mark to show it's not that important).
Now what? Well, besides Fire in an Immobow, you want to use no more than 4 quanta of a certain element. That means, 2 Lightnings is fine, a Steal is fine, but try not to go over 4. If you're using Immolation, then obviously disregard this for Fire. Another thing to note is that you can use more of your mark's quanta since you'll be constantly generating that.
Here (http://tinyurl.com/6wjcdkr)is a list of all cards from all elements unupped and cost less than 5 quanta. Dig through there to see which you like, but I'll also advise you on which cards to take:
:aether Psion, Lightning, Silence
:air Shockwave, Fog Shield, Firefly, Wings
:darkness Steal, Parasite, Vampire Stiletto, Nightmare, Drain Life
:death Poison, Arsenic, Plague, Mummy, Skull Shield
:earth Graboid, Pulverizer, Basilisk Blood
:entropy Lycanthrope, Discord
:fire Deflagration, Rage Potion, Fire Bolt
:gravity Momentum, Black Hole, Gravity Pull
:life Adrenaline, Heal, Forest Spirit, Horned Frog
:light Blessing, Pegasus, Sanctuary
:time Precognition, Reverse Time
:water Blue Crawler, Chrysaora, Mind Flayer, Freeze, Ice Bolt
If you're using an Immobow, you obviously have much more :fire to use, so feel free to pack in Phoenixes or Lava Golems. Whatever your mark is, also pack in more of that element. A very popular method in unupped rainbows is to use an earth mark and Graboid for the main offense. Graboids are very efficient creatures, and the :earth that the mark provides can also be used to provide for Lava Golems in a pinch. Below, I am going to give an example of some rainbows.
The first deck is a simple Grabbow, using brute force to rush. There's 5 QPs there, allowing for slightly more quanta usage. Deck 2 is a powerful Immobow, following the same strategy of a brute rush. Notice that Immobows should use slightly less quanta of each element than a QPbow. Deck 3 is another example of an Immobow with different cards. Deck 4, is a Lifebow: a deck that uses lots of cheap hitters and adrenaline to boost their attacks.
Generally, when making a rainbow, you want some CC, PC, and rushing power all rolled into one. If you can, try and make it so that there's a synergy between the cards.
You'll sometimes notice that I did use rare weapons in the rainbows, but don't worry if you don't have any. A simple Short Sword, Hammer, or Short Bow can also do in a pinch.
Rainbow building example
Let's start off building a rainbow. Say I want to synergize my deck around
Wings by itself isn't going to do much, so we probably need some spiders to best make use of it.
Eek. Seems like we're going to need slightly more quanta for this. This also doesn't have enough offense. Let's change that.
We still have 5 cards left, so let's start filling those up.
Don't want our precious wings being stolen.
And slip in some control. There. A 30 card rainbow focusing on wings.
It's important when building to know what your deck's strengths and weaknesses are. For example, this deck is all about using wings as defense, and as such, it sacrifices some of its offense (You don't see any graboids here do you?) The other weakness that this deck has it that there's only 1 PC card in the whole deck, one explosion. This will make mono aether (especially ones using phase dragons) an extreme pain. Remember, no deck is perfect, but you want to be as well rounded as possible, and that's the main advantage of rainbows.
Quantum Pillars are the backbone to most rainbow decks as it generates an average of 0.25 quanta per element per pillar per turn. This will allow you to access the powerful Lightning, fast Horned Frog, and sneaky Steal into one smooth deck.
Immolation is another card that some rainbows use, and that is where the distinction between rainbows comes from. One type of rainbow is the QPbow, which uses Quantum Pillars and Novas to provide quanta. The other, is an Immobow, which uses Immolations to provide quick bursts of quanta of all elements. Immobows are faster, but lack the stability of QPbows. Essentially, use Immobows if you're the more risky, speedy type, while use QPbows if you're more interested in reliability and stability. Additionally, Immolation stresses :fire way more, so balance a rainbow deck with Immolation around that. Immolation can also be used in mono Fire or duos (just 6 Photons for fodder) as quick quanta generation.
And of course, Nova, the true backbone to rainbows. Use at least 4 of these in your rainbow for consistent quanta.
So to recap. What is a rainbow? It's a deck that uses either Quantum Pillars, Immolation, or Nova to have quanta for ALL elements and get access to all types of cards. Rainbows are the most flexible decks out there, but their weakness is that they are extremely vulnerable to Black Hole, QPs can be luck based, and Immobows are fragile and aren't very stable to much control.
| Element | Icon | Pros | Cons |
| Rainbow | :rainbow | Has access to cards of all elements More stable than some duos and trios | Can't use too much quanta of one element Very weak to Black Hole Can be unstable |
Let's build a rainbow together (both kinds). I'm trying not to impose too much rules to restrict creativity, so just use this as a base to build off of.
These are probably the bases that you should use for an Immobow or QPbow. (I didn't put a mark to show it's not that important).
Now what? Well, besides Fire in an Immobow, you want to use no more than 4 quanta of a certain element. That means, 2 Lightnings is fine, a Steal is fine, but try not to go over 4. If you're using Immolation, then obviously disregard this for Fire. Another thing to note is that you can use more of your mark's quanta since you'll be constantly generating that.
Here (http://tinyurl.com/6wjcdkr)is a list of all cards from all elements unupped and cost less than 5 quanta. Dig through there to see which you like, but I'll also advise you on which cards to take:
:aether Psion, Lightning, Silence
:air Shockwave, Fog Shield, Firefly, Wings
:darkness Steal, Parasite, Vampire Stiletto, Nightmare, Drain Life
:death Poison, Arsenic, Plague, Mummy, Skull Shield
:earth Graboid, Pulverizer, Basilisk Blood
:entropy Lycanthrope, Discord
:fire Deflagration, Rage Potion, Fire Bolt
:gravity Momentum, Black Hole, Gravity Pull
:life Adrenaline, Heal, Forest Spirit, Horned Frog
:light Blessing, Pegasus, Sanctuary
:time Precognition, Reverse Time
:water Blue Crawler, Chrysaora, Mind Flayer, Freeze, Ice Bolt
If you're using an Immobow, you obviously have much more :fire to use, so feel free to pack in Phoenixes or Lava Golems. Whatever your mark is, also pack in more of that element. A very popular method in unupped rainbows is to use an earth mark and Graboid for the main offense. Graboids are very efficient creatures, and the :earth that the mark provides can also be used to provide for Lava Golems in a pinch. Below, I am going to give an example of some rainbows.
The first deck is a simple Grabbow, using brute force to rush. There's 5 QPs there, allowing for slightly more quanta usage. Deck 2 is a powerful Immobow, following the same strategy of a brute rush. Notice that Immobows should use slightly less quanta of each element than a QPbow. Deck 3 is another example of an Immobow with different cards. Deck 4, is a Lifebow: a deck that uses lots of cheap hitters and adrenaline to boost their attacks.
Generally, when making a rainbow, you want some CC, PC, and rushing power all rolled into one. If you can, try and make it so that there's a synergy between the cards.
You'll sometimes notice that I did use rare weapons in the rainbows, but don't worry if you don't have any. A simple Short Sword, Hammer, or Short Bow can also do in a pinch.
Rainbow building example
Let's start off building a rainbow. Say I want to synergize my deck around
Wings by itself isn't going to do much, so we probably need some spiders to best make use of it.
Eek. Seems like we're going to need slightly more quanta for this. This also doesn't have enough offense. Let's change that.
We still have 5 cards left, so let's start filling those up.
Don't want our precious wings being stolen.
And slip in some control. There. A 30 card rainbow focusing on wings.
It's important when building to know what your deck's strengths and weaknesses are. For example, this deck is all about using wings as defense, and as such, it sacrifices some of its offense (You don't see any graboids here do you?) The other weakness that this deck has it that there's only 1 PC card in the whole deck, one explosion. This will make mono aether (especially ones using phase dragons) an extreme pain. Remember, no deck is perfect, but you want to be as well rounded as possible, and that's the main advantage of rainbows.
Every day, you will be given the option of going to the oracle and spin a card. What is the oracle? Allow me to explain.
(http://sadpanda.us/images/1078384-N2Z0OA3.jpg)
A. Fortune. Each card has its own little fortune. Not too important to the gameplay, but adds a feeling of depth and lore to the game.
B. Electrum. Each day, the oracle gives you some electrum. Free electrum is never bad!
C. False god prediction. Each day, the oracle also predicts your next false god. False god decks can be found here (http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/Category:False_Gods), but look carefully. Unless you properly prepared a counter to the false god, you might find yourself crushed quickly! Alternatively, here (http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/Oracle:_False_God_Counters) is a link of all the False God counter decks.
D. Pet. Each time you spin the oracle, the oracle may bless you with a pet. The pet is often the cheapest creature of the element of the card that you spun (besides gravity and other, those don't get any pets), but occasionally, the pet will be ??? This means that it is a random creature. Pets will accompany you for your next 3 non-PvP battles as creatures on the last available creature slot.
E. Card. Since the 1.31 patch, the oracle ALWAYS gives you the card that you spun. The oracle is the only way to get nymphs besides tournaments, and it also gives you different restrictions on building an arena deck.
(http://sadpanda.us/images/1078384-N2Z0OA3.jpg)
A. Fortune. Each card has its own little fortune. Not too important to the gameplay, but adds a feeling of depth and lore to the game.
B. Electrum. Each day, the oracle gives you some electrum. Free electrum is never bad!
C. False god prediction. Each day, the oracle also predicts your next false god. False god decks can be found here (http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/Category:False_Gods), but look carefully. Unless you properly prepared a counter to the false god, you might find yourself crushed quickly! Alternatively, here (http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/Oracle:_False_God_Counters) is a link of all the False God counter decks.
D. Pet. Each time you spin the oracle, the oracle may bless you with a pet. The pet is often the cheapest creature of the element of the card that you spun (besides gravity and other, those don't get any pets), but occasionally, the pet will be ??? This means that it is a random creature. Pets will accompany you for your next 3 non-PvP battles as creatures on the last available creature slot.
E. Card. Since the 1.31 patch, the oracle ALWAYS gives you the card that you spun. The oracle is the only way to get nymphs besides tournaments, and it also gives you different restrictions on building an arena deck.
The arena is where the bulk of creativity and fun is. The arena is a place where you can submit your own deck, and battle other people's submitted decks. If you manage to get a win streak, you can get a special spin filled with all rares, and letting you respin the reels. Gold and Platinum special spins have all UPGRADED rares. You need 5 wins in a row for a bronze rarespin, 4 for silver, 3 for gold, and 2 for platinum. Be careful though! Bronze alone is probably harder than AI3 and platinum is on the level, if not higher than the difficulty of false gods.
Getting started
(http://sadpanda.us/images/1078403-V61TQ5Q.jpg)
This is the main hub of the arena.
A. Click here to fight bronze league decks.
B. Click here to fight silver league decks.
C. Click here to fight gold league decks.
D. Click here to fight platinum league decks.
E. Click here to fight against your own arena deck to test it.
F. Click here to modify your arena deck.
G. Click here to collect all the electrum your arena deck has earned.
H. Click here to build a new arena deck using the oracle card you spun today.
Be warned though! When you fight arena decks, they often have benefits you don't, such as more health, double and triple marks, and even double draw. Your arena deck loses hp for each day it stays up. This is to inspire creativity and force players to keep making new decks.
How to build good arena decks
(http://sadpanda.us/images/1078406-FBH11OM.jpg)
Before I go over how to build a good arena deck, I will first go over what the arena deck building means.
A. Stamina. You can increase your arena deck's hp up to 200. Costs 1 skill point for each 5 hp.
B. Wisdom. Limits how many upgraded cards you can use. 4 skill points to go from 5 to 10 to 20 to 30 to 60.
C. Intellect. Your mark multiplier. Your arena deck can have a single, double, or triple multiplier. Costs 10 skill points to increase.
D. Dexterity. Doubles your entire deck size as well as drawing speed. Costs 20 skill points.
E. Oracle card. You must use at least 5 copies of this card in your arena card. They are not removable. You do not have to actually own 5 copies of it though.
F. Level and skill points. Your level corresponds to your score. The higher your level, the more skill points you have to spend on building a good deck.
So how do I advise you to build an arena deck?
Use the advantages that you have over real players. Stamina is a big one. It's cheap and a good place to dump your unused skill points if you don't know what to do with it. Having more health lets you have more time to kill whoever is facing your arena deck. Wisdom isn't that important early on, but you'll definitely want to start investing in it once you've reached higher leagues and got more upped cards. Intellect is a slightly more tricky one. It costs an extremely expensive 10 skill points, but can work wonders if done right. Don't put skill points into this if you don't know how to use it or don't plan on using it a lot. Having a double or triple mark can help tremendously if done right. Dexterity is probably the skill that's the most important. For a hefty 20 points, it doubles your entire deck size and draw speed. The downside for it is that your arena deck will get slightly worse opening draws, but that is mitigated by having twice the amount of pillars and twice the amount of cards. To get a general idea for this, 6 dimensional shields allow for 18 turns of stalling. With dexterity, those 6 dimensional shields become 12 dimensional shields, allowing for 36 turns of stalling. If you only had 6 frogs previously, you now have 12 frogs to swarm your opponent. If you had 5 rage potions earlier, you now have 10. Dexterity is very deadly, and one of the best places to use your skill points. I'd advise you to nearly always invest in it if you can.
In general, my suggested priority would probably be dexterity first, mark or wisdom depending on whether you need more ups or quanta, and then put the rest of your points into hp. I'd generally suggest to try and keep your hp above 150 at least.
When building an arena deck, it needs to have from 35 to 60 (70 to 120 if dexterity) cards. 5 of those must be the oracle card and cannot be changed, forcing you to make use of them, or have at the very least, 1/7th of your deck be dead cards.
So how do you build a good arena deck? Let's go over some examples.
Examples
If you are truly out of ideas, a regular old rush will do fine. This would be a good time to use more marks or hp.
Remember splashes? Splashes are now way more powerful since you can have double or triple marks. With a double mark, you can splash in cards that cost from 4-6 quanta. With a triple mark, you can even easily splash expensive cards such as Parallel Universe into the deck of your choice. Notice that splash cards don't necessarily have to synergize with the deck, it can be just for utility, but in this example, Cloak is a natural and good choice to protect the easily killed Fire creatures.
Have fun! Even though weapons and shields are harder to build decks around, don't forget your creativity and build fun decks. A fun deck that wins can earn twice the electrum that a boring shrieker rush could.
If you're still out of ideas, you can go to the wiki here and look at the card you were given, learn its strengths, weaknesses, and synergies, then see where you go from there. Remember, there's two ways to really abuse your advantage in the Arena. Either go for a quick and speedy win with the advantage you have, or drag it out and let your advantage really show off in the long run. Build your deck around one of these two ideas, and remember, be creative and innovative!
Bronze and Silver
So how do you tackle the arena if they have so much more benefits than you? Let me tell you.
Stamina. They may have more health than you, but that doesn't mean their deck quality or the AI's thinking is better than yours. With enough speed or control, you can quickly win the game or seize control.
Wisdom. Lower tiers of the arena don't usually spend too much on this, so it's not really relevant. The big point here is, arena decks are restricted by how much upped cards they use, while you're not bound by anything. This is the only section where you can match them.
Intellect. Their mark is twice or thrice yours, so the quanta output will be way higher than yours in a while. Finish the game quickly, and try not to let the game drag out and for their advantage to be more apparent.
Dexterity. Their double draw is certainly an advantage, but upgrading dexterity means they have slightly worse opening hands on average. Use the first few turns to build your advantage before their double cards overwhelm you.
Common bronze and silver decks:
Monos, Aether, Darkness, Death, Water, Fire, Life
Immobows, Grabbows, rainbows
Arena is the best place to get rares/score/money if done right.
(http://sadpanda.us/images/1078447-UFU5ODX.jpg)
^ A rarespin that happens when consecutive wins are achieved in the arena. 5 consecutive wins are needed for Bronze, and 4 for Silver. A rarespin is a reel that spins, but it only contains rare cards, letting players get rarer cards easier. Each reel can be respun up to three times, increasing the chances of getting a card.
Sadly, I really can't recommend any specific decks for arena since it always changes, but a fast rainbow could do pretty well in the Bronze and Silver leagues. A good arena beating deck should have enough flexibility or enough of an edge in speed or control that it truly shines and can counter a variety of different deck archetypes.
Getting started
(http://sadpanda.us/images/1078403-V61TQ5Q.jpg)
This is the main hub of the arena.
A. Click here to fight bronze league decks.
B. Click here to fight silver league decks.
C. Click here to fight gold league decks.
D. Click here to fight platinum league decks.
E. Click here to fight against your own arena deck to test it.
F. Click here to modify your arena deck.
G. Click here to collect all the electrum your arena deck has earned.
H. Click here to build a new arena deck using the oracle card you spun today.
Be warned though! When you fight arena decks, they often have benefits you don't, such as more health, double and triple marks, and even double draw. Your arena deck loses hp for each day it stays up. This is to inspire creativity and force players to keep making new decks.
How to build good arena decks
(http://sadpanda.us/images/1078406-FBH11OM.jpg)
Before I go over how to build a good arena deck, I will first go over what the arena deck building means.
A. Stamina. You can increase your arena deck's hp up to 200. Costs 1 skill point for each 5 hp.
B. Wisdom. Limits how many upgraded cards you can use. 4 skill points to go from 5 to 10 to 20 to 30 to 60.
C. Intellect. Your mark multiplier. Your arena deck can have a single, double, or triple multiplier. Costs 10 skill points to increase.
D. Dexterity. Doubles your entire deck size as well as drawing speed. Costs 20 skill points.
E. Oracle card. You must use at least 5 copies of this card in your arena card. They are not removable. You do not have to actually own 5 copies of it though.
F. Level and skill points. Your level corresponds to your score. The higher your level, the more skill points you have to spend on building a good deck.
So how do I advise you to build an arena deck?
Use the advantages that you have over real players. Stamina is a big one. It's cheap and a good place to dump your unused skill points if you don't know what to do with it. Having more health lets you have more time to kill whoever is facing your arena deck. Wisdom isn't that important early on, but you'll definitely want to start investing in it once you've reached higher leagues and got more upped cards. Intellect is a slightly more tricky one. It costs an extremely expensive 10 skill points, but can work wonders if done right. Don't put skill points into this if you don't know how to use it or don't plan on using it a lot. Having a double or triple mark can help tremendously if done right. Dexterity is probably the skill that's the most important. For a hefty 20 points, it doubles your entire deck size and draw speed. The downside for it is that your arena deck will get slightly worse opening draws, but that is mitigated by having twice the amount of pillars and twice the amount of cards. To get a general idea for this, 6 dimensional shields allow for 18 turns of stalling. With dexterity, those 6 dimensional shields become 12 dimensional shields, allowing for 36 turns of stalling. If you only had 6 frogs previously, you now have 12 frogs to swarm your opponent. If you had 5 rage potions earlier, you now have 10. Dexterity is very deadly, and one of the best places to use your skill points. I'd advise you to nearly always invest in it if you can.
In general, my suggested priority would probably be dexterity first, mark or wisdom depending on whether you need more ups or quanta, and then put the rest of your points into hp. I'd generally suggest to try and keep your hp above 150 at least.
When building an arena deck, it needs to have from 35 to 60 (70 to 120 if dexterity) cards. 5 of those must be the oracle card and cannot be changed, forcing you to make use of them, or have at the very least, 1/7th of your deck be dead cards.
So how do you build a good arena deck? Let's go over some examples.
Examples
If you are truly out of ideas, a regular old rush will do fine. This would be a good time to use more marks or hp.
Remember splashes? Splashes are now way more powerful since you can have double or triple marks. With a double mark, you can splash in cards that cost from 4-6 quanta. With a triple mark, you can even easily splash expensive cards such as Parallel Universe into the deck of your choice. Notice that splash cards don't necessarily have to synergize with the deck, it can be just for utility, but in this example, Cloak is a natural and good choice to protect the easily killed Fire creatures.
Have fun! Even though weapons and shields are harder to build decks around, don't forget your creativity and build fun decks. A fun deck that wins can earn twice the electrum that a boring shrieker rush could.
If you're still out of ideas, you can go to the wiki here and look at the card you were given, learn its strengths, weaknesses, and synergies, then see where you go from there. Remember, there's two ways to really abuse your advantage in the Arena. Either go for a quick and speedy win with the advantage you have, or drag it out and let your advantage really show off in the long run. Build your deck around one of these two ideas, and remember, be creative and innovative!
Bronze and Silver
So how do you tackle the arena if they have so much more benefits than you? Let me tell you.
Stamina. They may have more health than you, but that doesn't mean their deck quality or the AI's thinking is better than yours. With enough speed or control, you can quickly win the game or seize control.
Wisdom. Lower tiers of the arena don't usually spend too much on this, so it's not really relevant. The big point here is, arena decks are restricted by how much upped cards they use, while you're not bound by anything. This is the only section where you can match them.
Intellect. Their mark is twice or thrice yours, so the quanta output will be way higher than yours in a while. Finish the game quickly, and try not to let the game drag out and for their advantage to be more apparent.
Dexterity. Their double draw is certainly an advantage, but upgrading dexterity means they have slightly worse opening hands on average. Use the first few turns to build your advantage before their double cards overwhelm you.
Common bronze and silver decks:
Monos, Aether, Darkness, Death, Water, Fire, Life
Immobows, Grabbows, rainbows
Arena is the best place to get rares/score/money if done right.
(http://sadpanda.us/images/1078447-UFU5ODX.jpg)
^ A rarespin that happens when consecutive wins are achieved in the arena. 5 consecutive wins are needed for Bronze, and 4 for Silver. A rarespin is a reel that spins, but it only contains rare cards, letting players get rarer cards easier. Each reel can be respun up to three times, increasing the chances of getting a card.
Sadly, I really can't recommend any specific decks for arena since it always changes, but a fast rainbow could do pretty well in the Bronze and Silver leagues. A good arena beating deck should have enough flexibility or enough of an edge in speed or control that it truly shines and can counter a variety of different deck archetypes.
Ahh. PvP. The main meat of the game. Here, where you get to test your deck against other players and duel with worthy opponents. This section covers PvP1, so you might be slightly disappointed. In PvP1, the metagame is small enough that you can easily learn all about it. Many newbies also like to head into PvP1 without any modifications to their decks. This means that they can be easy prey. So how to succeed in PvP1? Don't worry about it too much, since nearly any deck can do pretty well in PvP1, but generally, fast rushes, rainbows, and decks with permanent control (to deal with Dimensional Shields) will get you pretty far.
Unupped metagame
Of course, it'd be impossible to list out every single deck and strategy in PvP1, but Chapuz has a pretty neat guide on strategies and synergies available here (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,38249.msg455003.html#msg455003).
After enough experience playing, you should be able to recognize (or at least make an educated guess about) your opponent's deck by turn 1, or even by the mark.
Here are some common decks that might pop up in PvP1.
:aether mark = mono Aether
:darkness mark = mono Darkness
:life mark = mono Life
:death mark = mono Death
:fire mark = mono Fire, Fire Immorush
:earth mark = Grabbow, Immorush
:time mark = Graboid rush
:life + :air = Firefly Queens
:entropy + :death = Cats and Bonewall/Boneyard or Vultures
:fire + :light = Firestall
:darkness + :time = Ghostmare
:water + :fire = Steam Machines
:life + :darkness = Adrenaline/Mitosis + Minor Vampires/Devourers
Unupped metagame
Of course, it'd be impossible to list out every single deck and strategy in PvP1, but Chapuz has a pretty neat guide on strategies and synergies available here (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,38249.msg455003.html#msg455003).
After enough experience playing, you should be able to recognize (or at least make an educated guess about) your opponent's deck by turn 1, or even by the mark.
Here are some common decks that might pop up in PvP1.
:aether mark = mono Aether
:darkness mark = mono Darkness
:life mark = mono Life
:death mark = mono Death
:fire mark = mono Fire, Fire Immorush
:earth mark = Grabbow, Immorush
:time mark = Graboid rush
:life + :air = Firefly Queens
:entropy + :death = Cats and Bonewall/Boneyard or Vultures
:fire + :light = Firestall
:darkness + :time = Ghostmare
:water + :fire = Steam Machines
:life + :darkness = Adrenaline/Mitosis + Minor Vampires/Devourers
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z34saz54vj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z34vjz55f9z55l9.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z44saz54vj4vl52tz155qz55905bu5fb5i65lmz15on5rr5up6258pm.jpg) (??? is a Psion.
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z14vhz152o55qz15905c1z55f9z55faz55l9z15ogz161q8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/4vhz34vj55q5buz15f6z55f9z45fc5i5z55l95ok5rr6208po.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z34saz54vj52j55v58vz45buz45c75f65i65lb5ok5rh5ut61q8pn.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z34saz54vjz35oo8pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z34saz54vjz152jz35ooz16208pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z44sa4tbz14vhz54vjz152jz15c15lbz35ooz16208pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z44sa4tbz14vhz54vjz152jz1592z15c15lbz35ooz16208pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z44sa4tbz14vhz54vjz152jz1592z15c15f65i75lbz35oo5rkz16208pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zG5bsz55btz55buz55c08pn.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zG5f0z45f2z15f4z15f6z35fcz45v28pt.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z54tbz54vjz75bsz55c7z15ogz55oi5rr8pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z34vjz55f9z55l9.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z44saz54vj4vl52tz155qz55905bu5fb5i65lmz15on5rr5up6258pm.jpg) (??? is a Psion.
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z14vhz152o55qz15905c1z55f9z55faz55l9z15ogz161q8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/4vhz34vj55q5buz15f6z55f9z45fc5i5z55l95ok5rr6208po.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z34saz54vj52j55v58vz45buz45c75f65i65lb5ok5rh5ut61q8pn.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z34saz54vjz35oo8pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z34saz54vjz152jz35ooz16208pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z44sa4tbz14vhz54vjz152jz15c15lbz35ooz16208pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z44sa4tbz14vhz54vjz152jz1592z15c15lbz35ooz16208pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z44sa4tbz14vhz54vjz152jz1592z15c15f65i75lbz35oo5rkz16208pr.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zG5bsz55btz55buz55c08pn.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zG5f0z45f2z15f4z15f6z35fcz45v28pt.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z54tbz54vjz75bsz55c7z15ogz55oi5rr8pr.jpg)
Post by: furballdn on February 21, 2013, 04:57:43 am
- Learn about upped cards
- Upgrade your first deck
- Play a bit with Half-Bloods
- Learn how to build a SNbow
(http://elementscommunity.org/images/Cards/Upgrade.png)
Ever since the last quest, you've had the option of upgrading cards. What are upgraded cards? Upgraded cards are cards that are "better" than unupped cards. For the most part, they tend to have higher stats, lower casting cost, and lower ability costs. There are some cards that deserve special mention for what happens when they get upgraded though.
Nova
- While Supernova costs 2 :entropy, it gives twice the amount of quanta nova does. Very powerful, and the basis for Supernovabows that I will get to later.
Horned Frog, Flesh Spider, Phase Spider, Sapphire Charger, Hematite Golem
- These cards, unupped were average creatures, upped, they become tremendously powerful, efficient attackers. It is these five cards that I think deserve special mention for their changes when upgraded.
Toadfish
- Toadfish turns from a fierce attacker into a poisoner. Debatable which is better, although upped has great synergy with Adrenaline.
Phoenix
- Phoenix was a powerful midrange hitter. Minor Phoenix is a cheap lower end hitter, but more efficient than its unupped counterpart.
Abomination
- Like Phoenix above. Goes from 5|5 for 5 :entropy to 2|4 for 1 :entropy. Much more spammable, and synergizes with Butterfly Effect
Chaos Seed
- Chaos Seed is a random CC card. Chaos Power becomes the best (average) buff card with an average of +3/+3.
Dissipation Shield
- Uses all your quanta to absorb damage instead of just Entropy quanta. Fitted more for rainbows than for mono Entropy.
Rage Potion, Red Nymph
- Changes from +5/-5 to +6/-6. This is the most amount of consistent damage in the game.
Gnome Rider, Dragonfly, Ash Eater, Photon
- These cards all change when upped. Gnome rider and Dragonfly become free, while Ash Eater starts generating :fire and Photon generates :light. Cheap creatures that can be used for offense as well as quanta generation.
Pegasus, Wyrm, Deja Vu
- More attack, more doubling, much more power. Great when paired up with cards like Chaos Power[/wiki]
Steam Machine
- Some cards gain stats as well as cost when upped. Steam Machine is a special one because it gains +1 cost, but also an astounding +9hp, making it virtually invincible.
Fallen Elf, Mutation
- Costs a bit more, but guarantees mutants.
Pandemonium
- Hits only the opponent's creatures, but gains +2 :entropy casting cost.
Firefly Queen, Firefly
- Upped FFQs produce upped Fireflies, which have more attack and generate :fire instead of :light. This ruins synergy with Rustler, but opens up synergy with Unstable Gas.
Pharaoh
- Creates upgraded Scarabs.
Guardian Angel
- Now doubles in cost, but goes from 1|6 stats to a fantastic 7|7.
Plate Armor, Otyugh
- Plate Armor gives more health. Upped Oty starts with more health. Much more devouring.
Short Sword
- Goes from 3 damage for 1 :rainbow to 6 damage for 1 :rainbow. Insane efficiency, even for a weapon.
Flying Weapon
- No longer requires :air to use. Can now be splashed into any deck that makes use of flying weapons.
Chrysaora
- +2 attack is quite a big deal. Nearly triples the damage output of this creature, though it is now affected by shields.
Sundial, Holy Light
- Free now. No need for a splash to use these. Sundial in particular is very useful since it allows any deck to stall up to 6 turns.
Pillars
- Makes the game go by much faster if you can get quanta instantly. This is usually why upped decks are a turn faster than unupped decks.
There's not much I can really recommend for a very first deck. Perhaps you'd want a fast AI3 grinder? Perhaps a Supernovabow? Perhaps a really awesome deck nobody has ever seen before? Before you actually decide, you can go to the trainerhere (http://elementsthegame.com/trainer) to play around a bit with different decks. The reason I didn't post this link earlier was that before, I wanted you to experiment and learn different types of decks. Now, for a fully upped deck, you've got to spend at least 45k electrum. You can easily buy all the unupped decks with a few thousand electrum, but upped decks are harder to come by, so think carefully before upping cards. Slowly work towards it, one card at a time to keep yourself motivated. To get electrum fast, either grind AI3, or go into the arena. Gold/Plat have one of the best places to make money. Don't forget to keep fighting the daily False God predicted by the Oracle.
The main reason that I didn't mention half-bloods up until now is that they were probably too hard for you to face. Even with a fully upgraded deck, the chances of consistently, easily winning against half-bloods isn't that likely. Why is this the case?
Now that we've seen the bad parts of them, what are the good parts?
Predicting Half-Bloods
Each Half-blood deck is either a mono or duo. They also like to use quantum pillars, so black hole could be a help. Each half-blood name is made up of a suffix and prefix relating to a certain element.
Lumcord would be a light/entropy duo. Vitra would be a life/earth duo. Shadow would be a darkness mono. A half blood will always have a triple mark of the suffix, and use more cards of the prefix element.
Unlike the arena, there really is no way of successfully countering half-bloods since they're random. Due to the fact that they use monos/duos, though, discord and black hole could be a viable option.
- Half bloods have 150 hp. That means, they only need to do 2/3 of the work you have to do. If both of you use a rush, it's easy to see who comes out on top.
- They have a triple mark. That means they can pump out quanta way faster than you can, and get out expensive cards like dragons out earlier.
- They have double draw when they have less than 3 cards. This means they can pull off spectacular last minute saves if you're not prepared.
- Around 30% of their cards are upped. This may not mean much later, but it will be quite a challenge for the newbie who jumps straight to AI4 after AI3.
- Even by consistently winning, or EMing the half-bloods, the rewards (lowly electrum, small chance of winning cards) makes it so that fighting them is not efficient.
Now that we've seen the bad parts of them, what are the good parts?
- Their decks are random. This can be either good or bad, but mainly it means they don't have a definite strategy, so this often leads to them having slower starts.
- You can win upgraded cards from them. It's always nice winning a card worth 1000 electrum.
- You can predict what elements they will use
Predicting Half-Bloods
Each Half-blood deck is either a mono or duo. They also like to use quantum pillars, so black hole could be a help. Each half-blood name is made up of a suffix and prefix relating to a certain element.
| Element | Prefix | Suffix |
| :air | Ari | es |
| :aether | Aeth | eric |
| :darkness | shad | ow |
| :death | Mor | tis |
| :earth | Ter | ra |
| :entropy | Dis | cord |
| :fire | Pyr | ofuze |
| :gravity | Mas | sa |
| :life | Vit | al |
| :light | Lum | iel |
| :time | Chr | onos |
| :water | Aqua | rius |
Lumcord would be a light/entropy duo. Vitra would be a life/earth duo. Shadow would be a darkness mono. A half blood will always have a triple mark of the suffix, and use more cards of the prefix element.
Unlike the arena, there really is no way of successfully countering half-bloods since they're random. Due to the fact that they use monos/duos, though, discord and black hole could be a viable option.
A Supernovabow is probably the defining feature of upgraded cards. Think about your unupped rainbow, and now increase its speed, quanta production, offense, defense, and everything else about it. That's right, everything is better, and I'm here to teach you how to build one.
Remember how I mentioned unupped rainbows should use no more than 5 quanta of an element? In a SNbow, that number jumps up to 7. While it may not look like a lot, this adds way more possibilities. A list of upgraded cards that cost less than 7 is here (http://tinyurl.com/cqd4cwu).
In addition to unupped cards mentioned above, I'll show which cards of which element are good in an SNbow. Any card mentioned above should still be good in an upped rainbow, and some cards, like Graboid or frog become even more better.
:aether Twin universe, Phase Shield, Quintessence, Phase Recluse, Mindgate
:air Eagle's Eye, Elite Wyrm, Unstable Gas, Elite Queen
:darkness Gargoyle, Improved Dusk, Vampire
:death Bone Wall, Flesh Recluse, Aflatoxin
:earth Diamond Shield, Steel Golem
:entropy Chaos Power, Pandemonium, Maxwell's Demon. Dissipation Field, Fallen Druid
:fire Fire Buckler, Lava Destroyer, Fire Storm, Minor Phoenix
:gravity Elite Charger, Elite Otyugh, Graviton Guard
:life Feral Bond
:light Crusader, Morning Glory, Archangel
:time Turtle Shield, Electrum Hourglass, Eternity
:water Arctic Octopus, Steam machine, Puffer Fish
You don't have to, but it's probably nice to have some synergy between the cards that you pack. Here are some examples.
Eagle Eye + Crusader + Otyugh + Bonewall for a CC and Bonewall build
Discord + Black Hole for a denial with healing build
Wings + Recluses for damage and protection
Pulverizer + Crusader for extra Permanent control
Elite Firefly Queen + Fallen Druid for mutation fodder, although this eats up a lot of :life.
This is the basic bone build of a SNbow before patch 1.31, where it was fine to chain Supernova:
This is often the basic bone build of a SNbow after the patch:
Here are some examples of SNbows:
The first deck is like an upped version of the regular rainbow made above. It focuses on using wings and recluses for defense, as well as having a discord+black hole combo inside. The second uses slightly cheaper creatures, focusing more on "spamming" cheap creatures. The third deck has a slightly more control and defensive feel to it. Note how deck 3 has more towers though, that's why it can afford slightly more expensive cards.
PSNbows
A PSNbow is a pendulum supernova bow. It is a type of SNbow that uses pendulums to generate quanta instead of quantum towers. This makes the quanta generation less, but it keeps the speed of SNbows, as well as having specializing in the elements of :entropy and the mark element.
The 1.31 patch hasn't seemed to upset the balance of many PSNbows, so here is the basic bone build of a PSNbow (mark not there because it's up to you):
The advantages of using pendulums means that a guaranteed supernova can be played second turn as long as a pendulum is drawn. When using a PSNbow, try to keep the quanta of other elements around 4 or 5, with entropy usage around 5 or 6, and your mark usage around 8 or 9. It also depends on how many pendulums you use.
Here are some examples:
Deck 1 is a graboid PSNbow, focusing on the speed and power of graboids. Deck 2 is another discord+black hole combo, with extra denial like Rewind and Nightmare and Quicksand. Deck 3 is a fire PSNbow, focusing on fire's completeness of having both PC, CC, and speed.
Conclusion to SNbows
No matter how you slice them, the supernovabow is the most flexible deck archetype there is. The very iconic entropy mark or entropy pendulums signify a powerful deck that has many surprises. Use these decks for their speed and adaptability. I'd advise getting a SNbow quickly, since their wide range of abilities allows for them to have counters against many different deck archetypes. There's nearly infinite variations of an SNbow, so experiment with them until you find one that makes you feel most comfortable. I didn't go over a step by step example of building an example this time, to let you actually try your hand at it without any real guidance. Use the link above to find your favorite cards, and slowly piece together your SNbow. It'd be nice if it had some synergy between your cards, but having a bit of PC and CC is nearly a must. If you're still looking for ideas on how to build a good SNbow, take a look at Willng3's compilation of SNbows here (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27792.0.html). Again, don't completely copy the decks, see the strengths and weaknesses of each, analyze them, then figure out how to use that knowledge to make your SNbow, better.
Remember how I mentioned unupped rainbows should use no more than 5 quanta of an element? In a SNbow, that number jumps up to 7. While it may not look like a lot, this adds way more possibilities. A list of upgraded cards that cost less than 7 is here (http://tinyurl.com/cqd4cwu).
In addition to unupped cards mentioned above, I'll show which cards of which element are good in an SNbow. Any card mentioned above should still be good in an upped rainbow, and some cards, like Graboid or frog become even more better.
:aether Twin universe, Phase Shield, Quintessence, Phase Recluse, Mindgate
:air Eagle's Eye, Elite Wyrm, Unstable Gas, Elite Queen
:darkness Gargoyle, Improved Dusk, Vampire
:death Bone Wall, Flesh Recluse, Aflatoxin
:earth Diamond Shield, Steel Golem
:entropy Chaos Power, Pandemonium, Maxwell's Demon. Dissipation Field, Fallen Druid
:fire Fire Buckler, Lava Destroyer, Fire Storm, Minor Phoenix
:gravity Elite Charger, Elite Otyugh, Graviton Guard
:life Feral Bond
:light Crusader, Morning Glory, Archangel
:time Turtle Shield, Electrum Hourglass, Eternity
:water Arctic Octopus, Steam machine, Puffer Fish
You don't have to, but it's probably nice to have some synergy between the cards that you pack. Here are some examples.
Eagle Eye + Crusader + Otyugh + Bonewall for a CC and Bonewall build
Discord + Black Hole for a denial with healing build
Wings + Recluses for damage and protection
Pulverizer + Crusader for extra Permanent control
Elite Firefly Queen + Fallen Druid for mutation fodder, although this eats up a lot of :life.
This is the basic bone build of a SNbow before patch 1.31, where it was fine to chain Supernova:
This is often the basic bone build of a SNbow after the patch:
Here are some examples of SNbows:
The first deck is like an upped version of the regular rainbow made above. It focuses on using wings and recluses for defense, as well as having a discord+black hole combo inside. The second uses slightly cheaper creatures, focusing more on "spamming" cheap creatures. The third deck has a slightly more control and defensive feel to it. Note how deck 3 has more towers though, that's why it can afford slightly more expensive cards.
PSNbows
A PSNbow is a pendulum supernova bow. It is a type of SNbow that uses pendulums to generate quanta instead of quantum towers. This makes the quanta generation less, but it keeps the speed of SNbows, as well as having specializing in the elements of :entropy and the mark element.
The 1.31 patch hasn't seemed to upset the balance of many PSNbows, so here is the basic bone build of a PSNbow (mark not there because it's up to you):
The advantages of using pendulums means that a guaranteed supernova can be played second turn as long as a pendulum is drawn. When using a PSNbow, try to keep the quanta of other elements around 4 or 5, with entropy usage around 5 or 6, and your mark usage around 8 or 9. It also depends on how many pendulums you use.
Here are some examples:
Deck 1 is a graboid PSNbow, focusing on the speed and power of graboids. Deck 2 is another discord+black hole combo, with extra denial like Rewind and Nightmare and Quicksand. Deck 3 is a fire PSNbow, focusing on fire's completeness of having both PC, CC, and speed.
Conclusion to SNbows
No matter how you slice them, the supernovabow is the most flexible deck archetype there is. The very iconic entropy mark or entropy pendulums signify a powerful deck that has many surprises. Use these decks for their speed and adaptability. I'd advise getting a SNbow quickly, since their wide range of abilities allows for them to have counters against many different deck archetypes. There's nearly infinite variations of an SNbow, so experiment with them until you find one that makes you feel most comfortable. I didn't go over a step by step example of building an example this time, to let you actually try your hand at it without any real guidance. Use the link above to find your favorite cards, and slowly piece together your SNbow. It'd be nice if it had some synergy between your cards, but having a bit of PC and CC is nearly a must. If you're still looking for ideas on how to build a good SNbow, take a look at Willng3's compilation of SNbows here (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27792.0.html). Again, don't completely copy the decks, see the strengths and weaknesses of each, analyze them, then figure out how to use that knowledge to make your SNbow, better.
When farming False Gods without a fully upped deck, remember, your win rate will be very low. You will lose electrum. You will lose score. So why do it? Even if your win rate is low and you keep losing electrum, if you happen to win and get a card from a spin, that's 1000 electrum right there. Enough to let you fight 30 more False Gods. The whole profit from this is to get upgraded cards, and sell them.
No ups at all
Trying to farm False Gods with no upgrades at all is not really recommended, but if you do insist, there are two ways to do it.
Mono Aether: Some False Gods have no permanent control whatsoever. This means that you can chain Dimensional Shields to save yourself, while slowly dealing damage with your immortal creatures.
Liquid Antimatter: Using the combination of Antimatter and Liquid Shadow to turn the FG's creatures against it. The win rate of this is pretty low though.
In fact, both of these win rates are extremely low. It is almost unfathomable to have a completely unupgraded deck go up against a made deck with 200HP, triple mark, dexterity, and all upgraded cards. False Gods are like level 80's in the Arena, having everything maxed out.
6 ups
This post (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,38674.msg481351.html#msg481351) on the forums has a list of community recommended decks for fighting False Gods with only 6 upgrades. 6 upgrades isn't too hard to achieve since it only requires 9000 :electrum. Many people often would recommend upgrading 6 Photons into Rays of Light to build rol/hope, but the best deck to kill False Gods with only 6 upgrades is probably Limitless Speed OTK by Chapuz.
Limitless Speed OTK
Limitless Speed OTK (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,31572.html) is a deck meant to stall and kill a False God in one hit. The combo goes like this:
"Light dragon + momentum + 2x Rage Elixir + 3 Parallel Universe + Sky Blitz: [(12 + 1 + 2x6) x 2] x 4 = 25 x 2 x 4 = 50x4 = 200 UNSTOPPABLE ONE TURN DAMAGE."
This deck requires no rares at all, so it's quite newb friendly, but it does require those 6 upgrades, making it cost at least 9000 electrum. The good thing is, hourglasses are pretty common cards in other decks, so it really isn't a big deal to up 3 of them. Don't worry if you feel the win rate is too low or you're losing too much electrum and score. This deck has about a 30% win rate vs False Gods, so you should still be earning a profit by selling the upgraded cards that you win.
No ups at all
Trying to farm False Gods with no upgrades at all is not really recommended, but if you do insist, there are two ways to do it.
Mono Aether: Some False Gods have no permanent control whatsoever. This means that you can chain Dimensional Shields to save yourself, while slowly dealing damage with your immortal creatures.
Liquid Antimatter: Using the combination of Antimatter and Liquid Shadow to turn the FG's creatures against it. The win rate of this is pretty low though.
In fact, both of these win rates are extremely low. It is almost unfathomable to have a completely unupgraded deck go up against a made deck with 200HP, triple mark, dexterity, and all upgraded cards. False Gods are like level 80's in the Arena, having everything maxed out.
6 ups
This post (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,38674.msg481351.html#msg481351) on the forums has a list of community recommended decks for fighting False Gods with only 6 upgrades. 6 upgrades isn't too hard to achieve since it only requires 9000 :electrum. Many people often would recommend upgrading 6 Photons into Rays of Light to build rol/hope, but the best deck to kill False Gods with only 6 upgrades is probably Limitless Speed OTK by Chapuz.
Limitless Speed OTK
Limitless Speed OTK (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,31572.html) is a deck meant to stall and kill a False God in one hit. The combo goes like this:
"Light dragon + momentum + 2x Rage Elixir + 3 Parallel Universe + Sky Blitz: [(12 + 1 + 2x6) x 2] x 4 = 25 x 2 x 4 = 50x4 = 200 UNSTOPPABLE ONE TURN DAMAGE."
This deck requires no rares at all, so it's quite newb friendly, but it does require those 6 upgrades, making it cost at least 9000 electrum. The good thing is, hourglasses are pretty common cards in other decks, so it really isn't a big deal to up 3 of them. Don't worry if you feel the win rate is too low or you're losing too much electrum and score. This deck has about a 30% win rate vs False Gods, so you should still be earning a profit by selling the upgraded cards that you win.
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z46qqz56u38pj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z66qqz46u38pj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z56qqz56u3z16u5z1713z174fz177i7ae7dm7gv7juz27n87q5z180g8pj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z56qq6ttz46u3z1713747z177gz17aez17ds7gm7k17muz17qbz17t9z180a8pj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z66qqz16u2z46u371b74az177fz17ah7do7ds7gu7k57n37q57qb7tfz180k8pj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z56u3z46ve.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z16u2z56u3z46vez1718z377gz17aez17ds7gm7jr7n07q17tbz180a8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z56u3z26u5z56vez474fz177jz17ae7dm7jrz17q47th80a8pl.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z16u1z56u3z46ve71az174a77az17aez17dm7drz27dsz17gl7jv7n47q18po.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zA4sa55qz25mq5opz35t2z261rz561tz17dr7jqz27q58pu.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z66qqz46u38pj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z56qqz56u3z16u5z1713z174fz177i7ae7dm7gv7juz27n87q5z180g8pj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z56qq6ttz46u3z1713747z177gz17aez17ds7gm7k17muz17qbz17t9z180a8pj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z66qqz16u2z46u371b74az177fz17ah7do7ds7gu7k57n37q57qb7tfz180k8pj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z56u3z46ve.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z16u2z56u3z46vez1718z377gz17aez17ds7gm7jr7n07q17tbz180a8pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z56u3z26u5z56vez474fz177jz17ae7dm7jrz17q47th80a8pl.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z16u1z56u3z46ve71az174a77az17aez17dm7drz27dsz17gl7jv7n47q18po.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zA4sa55qz25mq5opz35t2z261rz561tz17dr7jqz27q58pu.jpg)
Post by: furballdn on February 21, 2013, 04:57:56 am
- Learn about Shards
- Learn about the Upped metagame and PvP2
- Learn about the higher leagues in teh arena
- Learn to farm False Gods
- Be creative
No doubt that while playing the game, you've seen shards somewhere. It could've been another player, the arena, or in a special spin, but either way, the impact that the shards make on the game is huge.Especially in the upped metagame. A brief tangent of history: before the 1.32 patch, shards were Other, and not officially affiliated with any element at all, meaning any deck could use them. This was changed for balance issues.
I'm going to give a general overview over each Shard and the element they're aligned with.Acronyms also included.
:aether Shard of Wisdom SoW gives 4 attack to a creature and spell damage to immortal creatures. This can be used as a buff for attack (+4 atk for 2 :aether isn't too bad), and it can also be combined with Quint and a reflective shield to make opposing enemy creatures attack themselves.
:air Shard of Freedom SoFre gives airborne creatures a 25% (stacks) of doing critical hits (1.5* damage and bypasses shields) and also allows Air creatures to dodge. This brings some nice anti-CC, shield bypass, and extra punch for fliers.
:darkness Shard of Void SoV slowly lowers opponent's maximum HP. Not very useful without a Darkness mark, and even then, it's lacking unless a whole deck is dedicated to it.
:death Shard of Sacrifice SoSa is a very powerful card that drains the user of 40hp and all the quanta besides Death, but it turns damage over the next two turns into healing. If one was to take more than 24 (20 if upped) damage, there will be a net gain in HP. If one is taking 12 (10 if upped) damage or more, it would still be beneficial to activate this. Purify removes this status, and the HP is not returned, so be warned.
:earth Shard of Integrity SoI is a card that makes its own genre of decks: Shard Golem decks. Use these only if your deck is dedicated around Shard Golems.
:entropy Shard of Serendipity SoSe is a fun card that generates three random cards, one that is guaranteed in the Entropy element. Its cost and ability relegate it to be used only in SNbows, but this can be a fun card that could act as a lifesaver.
:fire Shard of Bravery SoBe is a card that fits great in decks that need more drawing power. It forces the opponent to draw, and then the user to match the number of drawn cards. It is risky, but can really speed up a deck if used right.
:gravity Shard of Focus SoFo is the only shard that is a creature. It gains health by destroying permanents, and after destroying 3, it drops a Black Hole in the user's hand. Very powerful PC, but its high cost means that only :gravity decks can make use of this, as opposed to the time where it was rampant because of its 6 :rainbow cost.
:life Shard of Gratitude SoG is an alternative passive healing card. It is better than Sanctuary and Empathic Bond in some cases.
:light Shard of Divinity SoD increases the user's HP and maximum HP, meaning that it has great synergy with Miracle.
:time Shard of Readiness SoR lets creatures have free skill costs. A bit weaker now that it requires Time quanta to use, but it still can help balance quanta usage. Use on time creatures or creatures with expensive skills to make the most out of it.
:water Shard of Patience SoP is mainly used as a stall breaker, slowly building up one's creatures until they get large and powerful enough to knock down the opponent.
I'm going to give a general overview over each Shard and the element they're aligned with.Acronyms also included.
:aether Shard of Wisdom SoW gives 4 attack to a creature and spell damage to immortal creatures. This can be used as a buff for attack (+4 atk for 2 :aether isn't too bad), and it can also be combined with Quint and a reflective shield to make opposing enemy creatures attack themselves.
:air Shard of Freedom SoFre gives airborne creatures a 25% (stacks) of doing critical hits (1.5* damage and bypasses shields) and also allows Air creatures to dodge. This brings some nice anti-CC, shield bypass, and extra punch for fliers.
:darkness Shard of Void SoV slowly lowers opponent's maximum HP. Not very useful without a Darkness mark, and even then, it's lacking unless a whole deck is dedicated to it.
:death Shard of Sacrifice SoSa is a very powerful card that drains the user of 40hp and all the quanta besides Death, but it turns damage over the next two turns into healing. If one was to take more than 24 (20 if upped) damage, there will be a net gain in HP. If one is taking 12 (10 if upped) damage or more, it would still be beneficial to activate this. Purify removes this status, and the HP is not returned, so be warned.
:earth Shard of Integrity SoI is a card that makes its own genre of decks: Shard Golem decks. Use these only if your deck is dedicated around Shard Golems.
:entropy Shard of Serendipity SoSe is a fun card that generates three random cards, one that is guaranteed in the Entropy element. Its cost and ability relegate it to be used only in SNbows, but this can be a fun card that could act as a lifesaver.
:fire Shard of Bravery SoBe is a card that fits great in decks that need more drawing power. It forces the opponent to draw, and then the user to match the number of drawn cards. It is risky, but can really speed up a deck if used right.
:gravity Shard of Focus SoFo is the only shard that is a creature. It gains health by destroying permanents, and after destroying 3, it drops a Black Hole in the user's hand. Very powerful PC, but its high cost means that only :gravity decks can make use of this, as opposed to the time where it was rampant because of its 6 :rainbow cost.
:life Shard of Gratitude SoG is an alternative passive healing card. It is better than Sanctuary and Empathic Bond in some cases.
:light Shard of Divinity SoD increases the user's HP and maximum HP, meaning that it has great synergy with Miracle.
:time Shard of Readiness SoR lets creatures have free skill costs. A bit weaker now that it requires Time quanta to use, but it still can help balance quanta usage. Use on time creatures or creatures with expensive skills to make the most out of it.
:water Shard of Patience SoP is mainly used as a stall breaker, slowly building up one's creatures until they get large and powerful enough to knock down the opponent.
Ah. PvP2, the unrestricted metagame. PvP2 is actually quite decent for getting money and score, but don't expect it to be too profitable. Generally, if you want to have a good time here, be packing at least half upped cards in your deck. Expect to see lots of upgraded decks and shards.
Upped metagame
What is in the upped metagame? Again, there are way too many strategies to list them all, but here are a few that I've seen that appear quite often.
Unupped decks
Maybe he's just a noob who clicked the wrong button, or someone who wants to see if they can take on a vet. They shouldn't be too hard without upgrades, but they can come packing annoying cards like dimensional shields.
Rainbows
Expect fast SNbows with rushing capabilities as well as control.
Shard based decks
These include Instosis and SoSac dial, but also relate to others like mono aether with SoW or SoR being used on steam machines.
Monos
Yup. Monos are still around, even in this high level of play. Don't underestimate the speed and versatility of them. Especially be wary of fire, darkness, and death. Aether and entropy may also be a pain.
Denial decks
Expect lots of pests, discord+black hole, EQ, and other annoying decks in PvP2 as well. There is a certain something about frustrating another human being that just isn't the same with frustrating a computer.
Others
Finally, remember, other people playing the game also want to experiment and have fun with the game. Don't be surprised if you see a new and interesting deck making use of a synergy you've never seen before.
In conclusion, be prepared to see a lot of different decks, but don't expect PvP2 to be easy. If you still don't have any idea about the PvP metagame, there's a small compilation of PvP recommended decks here (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,38677.0.html). Take a look at them for ideas if you need to.
Upped metagame
What is in the upped metagame? Again, there are way too many strategies to list them all, but here are a few that I've seen that appear quite often.
Unupped decks
Maybe he's just a noob who clicked the wrong button, or someone who wants to see if they can take on a vet. They shouldn't be too hard without upgrades, but they can come packing annoying cards like dimensional shields.
Rainbows
Expect fast SNbows with rushing capabilities as well as control.
Shard based decks
These include Instosis and SoSac dial, but also relate to others like mono aether with SoW or SoR being used on steam machines.
Monos
Yup. Monos are still around, even in this high level of play. Don't underestimate the speed and versatility of them. Especially be wary of fire, darkness, and death. Aether and entropy may also be a pain.
Denial decks
Expect lots of pests, discord+black hole, EQ, and other annoying decks in PvP2 as well. There is a certain something about frustrating another human being that just isn't the same with frustrating a computer.
Others
Finally, remember, other people playing the game also want to experiment and have fun with the game. Don't be surprised if you see a new and interesting deck making use of a synergy you've never seen before.
In conclusion, be prepared to see a lot of different decks, but don't expect PvP2 to be easy. If you still don't have any idea about the PvP metagame, there's a small compilation of PvP recommended decks here (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,38677.0.html). Take a look at them for ideas if you need to.
Higher leagues of the arena seem to be filled with decks using upgraded cards. Your advantage of having more upgrades than them might be moot at this point, so it comes down to luck and deckbuilding. Higher leagues of the arena have much more benefits than lower leagues, but there's still two ways you can take them. One is a slow "defend yourself until you can set up your strategy" that is seen in False God killers, and the other is just a straight up rush. If I were to recommend a deck for these higher up arenas, it'd probably be a SNbow for their flexibility and speed. If you plan on using a rush, be sure that it is a fast rush, because getting outrushed by a turn from Platinum is just annoying. The thing is about higher leagues is though, you don't need to have a spectacular win rate. The electrum rewards that you get easily outstrip the electrum you lose. Even if a deck had only a 50% chance of winning, the difference in reward and loss means that you'll rake in plenty of electrum by the end of the day. Gold and Platinum league is one of the best places to get electrum and score in the game. Rarespins also happen at 3 (2 for Platinum) consecutive wins, and all rares come fully upgraded already.
Some common high league decks
Monos. Mono decks, especially fire, death, entropy, aether, and darkness are extremely powerful with multiple marks, twice your health, and double draw.
SNbows. Expect to see a lot of entropy marks and SNbows. This alone means that black hole can get you pretty far.
Immobows. Still here, still powerful.
"Regular" decks. Just with much more benefits.
Interesting splashes. Nightmare in a water deck? Phase shield used in a death deck? Be on the look out for interesting splashes.
Creative decks. Higher league often have more creative decks finding new ways around their oracle card. They may not be that difficult, but their advantages may balance the battle.
Some common high league decks
Monos. Mono decks, especially fire, death, entropy, aether, and darkness are extremely powerful with multiple marks, twice your health, and double draw.
SNbows. Expect to see a lot of entropy marks and SNbows. This alone means that black hole can get you pretty far.
Immobows. Still here, still powerful.
"Regular" decks. Just with much more benefits.
Interesting splashes. Nightmare in a water deck? Phase shield used in a death deck? Be on the look out for interesting splashes.
Creative decks. Higher league often have more creative decks finding new ways around their oracle card. They may not be that difficult, but their advantages may balance the battle.
You should still be going to the oracle each day to find which False God comes next and counter them, but by this point, you should have plenty of money and rares to build yourself a nice FG killer. A FG killer is a deck that can reliably kill FGs most of the time, and with a high winrate, you should be able to win plenty of upped cards that you can sell for over 1000 electrum each. A list of good FG killers, (upped) can be found here (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,38674.msg483604.html#msg483604).
By this point in the game, you have plenty of rares, shards, money, and score. Use this time to go develop some interesting new deck ideas! Retain the creativity you had back when you first started out to experiment and have fun! The possibilities are endless.
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zD61oz561sz561tz361v8pu.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z66qqz26s16u1z56u371b74bz177g7ag7do7gv7k57n57q57tf80a80g8pj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z54vjz56ruz56s2z56s3z56s48pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zA7t4z57t67t8z17t9z17ta7tbz57td7ti8pt.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z56rtz9710z5713z5718z171a8pk.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z17t5z57t6z17taz580izD81q8pt.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z36rq6rrz27dmzC7msz57n3z27n68pr.jpg) (:time mark instead)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z66qqz26s16u1z56u371b74bz177g7ag7do7gv7k57n57q57tf80a80g8pj.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z54vjz56ruz56s2z56s3z56s48pm.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/zA7t4z57t67t8z17t9z17ta7tbz57td7ti8pt.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z56rtz9710z5713z5718z171a8pk.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z17t5z57t6z17taz580izD81q8pt.jpg)
(http://elementscommunity.org/forum/decks/cache/z36rq6rrz27dmzC7msz57n3z27n68pr.jpg) (:time mark instead)
Post by: furballdn on February 21, 2013, 04:58:05 am
- Get started with the forum
- Start posting
- Join PvP events
- Getting well known
- Becoming a veteran
Getting started
Before actually getting started, take a look at a very helpful guide on how to be a productive member of the forum by Absol here (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,41791.msg518434.html#msg518434). After reading the rules (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php?action=rules), introduce yourself to the forum here (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/board,367.0.html).
Posting
The forum is comprised of two parts, the main forum, and the chat (http://elementscommunity.org/chat/blab.php)]. Don't be afraid to stop by the chat to say hello and meet some new friends. For posting, generally you want to speak your mind, but do so in a courteous way. If you've followed the tutorial up to now, you should have quite enough experience and gameplay knowledge to post informative posts. Stop by the deck help (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/board,56.0.html) section and advise that new player how to tweak his deck. Maybe you have your own idea you want to post in the deck ideas (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/board,436.0.html) section. Maybe you have an idea on how to improve the game? Which cards to be nerfed or buffed? Post! As a general guideline though, bumping long dead threads and spamming is looked down upon, so try to keep your posts informative, courteous, and knowledgeable.
PvP
Sooner or later, the PvE such as arena, half-bloods, and False Gods will get boring. Fighting random players just isn't fun enough. Wouldn't it be a great idea to spice up the game a bit? Each week, the forum hosts a tournament with special deckbuilding restrictions. Winners can win marks, nymphs, and electrum. Additionally, there are PvP leagues for you to find other forum members and challenge them to matches. Finally, there are PvP competitions every now and then, with the largest being War, a full scale battle between all the elements vying for which is the best. Well, what are you waiting for? Go there and start PvPing with people!
Getting well known
There's really no secret to this. Either post a lot, post high quality posts, stay in chat a lot, or be a PvP monster. Regardless, just by spending time on the forums, your reputation will get bigger.
Becoming a veteran
If you've actually read this tutorial, gone from bronze to plat, and joined the forums, congratulations! You're already a veteran! You've learned the game inside-out, you've created a few unique decks, and you have plenty of experience under your belt. Continue to use that creativity you have inside to keep up the experimentation and deckbuilding! The possibilities from here on out are endless.
Before actually getting started, take a look at a very helpful guide on how to be a productive member of the forum by Absol here (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,41791.msg518434.html#msg518434). After reading the rules (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php?action=rules), introduce yourself to the forum here (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/board,367.0.html).
Posting
The forum is comprised of two parts, the main forum, and the chat (http://elementscommunity.org/chat/blab.php)]. Don't be afraid to stop by the chat to say hello and meet some new friends. For posting, generally you want to speak your mind, but do so in a courteous way. If you've followed the tutorial up to now, you should have quite enough experience and gameplay knowledge to post informative posts. Stop by the deck help (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/board,56.0.html) section and advise that new player how to tweak his deck. Maybe you have your own idea you want to post in the deck ideas (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/board,436.0.html) section. Maybe you have an idea on how to improve the game? Which cards to be nerfed or buffed? Post! As a general guideline though, bumping long dead threads and spamming is looked down upon, so try to keep your posts informative, courteous, and knowledgeable.
PvP
Sooner or later, the PvE such as arena, half-bloods, and False Gods will get boring. Fighting random players just isn't fun enough. Wouldn't it be a great idea to spice up the game a bit? Each week, the forum hosts a tournament with special deckbuilding restrictions. Winners can win marks, nymphs, and electrum. Additionally, there are PvP leagues for you to find other forum members and challenge them to matches. Finally, there are PvP competitions every now and then, with the largest being War, a full scale battle between all the elements vying for which is the best. Well, what are you waiting for? Go there and start PvPing with people!
Getting well known
There's really no secret to this. Either post a lot, post high quality posts, stay in chat a lot, or be a PvP monster. Regardless, just by spending time on the forums, your reputation will get bigger.
Becoming a veteran
If you've actually read this tutorial, gone from bronze to plat, and joined the forums, congratulations! You're already a veteran! You've learned the game inside-out, you've created a few unique decks, and you have plenty of experience under your belt. Continue to use that creativity you have inside to keep up the experimentation and deckbuilding! The possibilities from here on out are endless.
I've included a list of links and resources here that you might find helpful. I certainly found these helpful when I was writing this, and even today I occasionally use them. I hope these will be just as helpful, if not more so, to you as they were for me.
EtG wiki: www.elementscommunity.org/wiki [Incomplete, might not be totally updated]
Original tutorial: http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/Furball%27s_tutorial [Outdated]
Glossary of acronyms: http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php?action=glossary
Quanta index tool: http://elements.alanbeam.net/qi.php
Card database: http://elements.alanbeam.net/cards.php
Bolt calculator: http://jumpoffduck.tk/elements/bolt.htm
Chapuz's guide to building OTKs: http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/OTK_Deckbuilding_Guide
Decks used by AI3: elementscommunity.org/wiki/Level_3
Chapuz's excellent collection of deck synergies: http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,38249.msg455003.html#msg455003
Willng3's collection of SNbows: elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27792.0.html
A good starting guide to the forums by Absol: http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,41791.msg518434.html#msg518434
The trainer for EtG, used for testing strategies: www.elementsthegame.com/trainer
EtG wiki: www.elementscommunity.org/wiki [Incomplete, might not be totally updated]
Original tutorial: http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/Furball%27s_tutorial [Outdated]
Glossary of acronyms: http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php?action=glossary
Quanta index tool: http://elements.alanbeam.net/qi.php
Card database: http://elements.alanbeam.net/cards.php
Bolt calculator: http://jumpoffduck.tk/elements/bolt.htm
Chapuz's guide to building OTKs: http://elementscommunity.org/wiki/OTK_Deckbuilding_Guide
Decks used by AI3: elementscommunity.org/wiki/Level_3
Chapuz's excellent collection of deck synergies: http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,38249.msg455003.html#msg455003
Willng3's collection of SNbows: elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,27792.0.html
A good starting guide to the forums by Absol: http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,41791.msg518434.html#msg518434
The trainer for EtG, used for testing strategies: www.elementsthegame.com/trainer
Post by: whatifidogetcaught? on February 21, 2013, 05:12:52 am
Post by: Absol on February 21, 2013, 05:15:15 am
Pre-emptive +rep for you, but only one.
Post by: Marsu on February 21, 2013, 01:02:45 pm
/e: Why no Grav mono? That can be strong easily (Without SoFo :p)
Post by: whatifidogetcaught? on February 21, 2013, 01:45:11 pm
Post by: Marsu on February 21, 2013, 01:46:04 pm
The very first thing that crossed my mind when you said it's hard. There are tons of alternatives. Went 10-0 AI3 in the first test.
Post by: furballdn on February 23, 2013, 03:20:31 am
Oh and as for above, I took out the "don't pick gravity" part. Graviton merc buff is enough that it makes me feel gravy can hold its own unupped ;)
Post by: Chapuz on February 23, 2013, 03:35:10 am
2) Starts reading and find the "Images" spoilers. I would remove them all or just put the images instead of the deck images you have in first place.
3) small stuff: For :water rush, nymph tears one is strictly better imho.
"A regular deck should probably have around 8 creatures. Any less and it's vulnerable to control." That's just not true, even in simple rushes and everything varies in the deck's style and archetype.The FFQ AI2 explanation has a broken link.
May continue later
Post by: Absol on February 23, 2013, 12:38:32 pm
Though, to be honest, yours is better as a guide. Mine is better as a walkthrough.
Post by: furballdn on February 24, 2013, 05:33:37 am
1) Opens furball's tutorial and find a text wall. Please, format it to a less wally thingy.1. I broke it into two paragraphs? I wanted to keep the intro at least.
2) Starts reading and find the "Images" spoilers. I would remove them all or just put the images instead of the deck images you have in first place.
3) small stuff: For :water rush, nymph tears one is strictly better imho.
"A regular deck should probably have around 8 creatures. Any less and it's vulnerable to control." That's just not true, even in simple rushes and everything varies in the deck's style and archetype.The FFQ AI2 explanation has a broken link.
May continue later
2. I really want to hear more people's opinions on this. I put them there because I felt the wiki images had pictures, so they were easier to see.
3. True, but that would be my look ma no rares deck, and I wanted to refrain from using any well known decks as examples. Also, a pure creature rush is much more simpler than a deck that requires some thinking and creating, even if a nymph rush is better.
I said 8 because that's the average I found. As most decks rely on creatures for offense, for a balanced deck I'd advise 8. 6 and it's a bit too vulnerable to control. Of course, more creatures for rushier decks, and a poison deck could be made without any creatures at all, but 8 is a good ballpark estimate for most regular decks.
This structure really highlights the similarities between my tutorial and yours.Well this was written before yours so there's that.
Though, to be honest, yours is better as a guide. Mine is better as a walkthrough.
Post by: TribalTrouble on April 14, 2013, 11:22:20 am
Post by: furballdn on April 29, 2013, 04:09:38 am
Furballdn some decks need updating to the new shard codes, for example, the very last decks (plat) that have shards.fixed.
Post by: Chapuz on May 30, 2013, 11:19:03 pm
Post by: TribalTrouble on May 31, 2013, 12:36:25 am
Post by: Chapuz on May 31, 2013, 01:10:58 am
Early on... it was there when there was 0 replies tbh.I remember it in general discussion...
Post by: TribalTrouble on May 31, 2013, 01:41:06 am
It got moved very early on...Early on... it was there when there was 0 replies tbh.I remember it in general discussion...
Post by: furballdn on June 01, 2013, 12:51:19 am
Post by: Higurashi on June 01, 2013, 05:23:11 pm
so, I was looking for this thread and just realized it has been moved to the tuts section? When did it happen? :oMay 26, 2013, a bit before 05:48:58 PM. furbs PM'd me, I reviewed it and moved it here after approving it.
Post by: TribalTrouble on June 04, 2013, 02:34:02 am
Post by: Dopha on June 04, 2013, 02:05:31 pm
Post by: CriticalError13 on July 11, 2013, 11:16:29 pm
Post by: tommygunner on July 17, 2013, 12:26:30 pm
A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU A VERY BIG THANK YOU
cant express my gratitude for you posting this
+ rep for you
Post by: Sterile on August 11, 2013, 10:26:56 pm
-I'm not sure exactly what each section title is in reference to: does it refer to your arena level? If so, I feel that some of the later stuff is more relevant to silver/gold than plat (upped cards, FG farming, shards are all relevant topics to a mid-level player). If not, it seems to just be an arbitrary scaling of player experience, which seems unwieldy.
-Farming ai3 - you have farming decks listed, but seem to lack any place that says "farming ai3 is decent for getting electrum/cards with an unupped deck"
-A graboid rush is really good imo for the "bronze" section. You introduce rarespins in silver, but don't mention upped cards/shards (which are directly relevant and can be used to improve decks)
-A section on the strengths of rare weapons would be nice, since you seem to have skipped over that.
-Grinding FG's should be introduced earlier (Limitless Speed would fit in Silver/Gold level). You skipped over the last quest (killing an FG)
-OTK's for ai3 is overkill. You shouldn't really be worried about stuff like miracles or mass healing in ai3 (it's a good topic to introduce, but more as a vocab term imo
Post by: Leodip on August 12, 2013, 08:44:08 am
Good guide overall, but I've got a few gripes.1.Nope, the titles are not references to your level;
-I'm not sure exactly what each section title is in reference to: does it refer to your arena level? If so, I feel that some of the later stuff is more relevant to silver/gold than plat (upped cards, FG farming, shards are all relevant topics to a mid-level player). If not, it seems to just be an arbitrary scaling of player experience, which seems unwieldy.
-Farming ai3 - you have farming decks listed, but seem to lack any place that says "farming ai3 is decent for getting electrum/cards with an unupped deck"
-A graboid rush is really good imo for the "bronze" section. You introduce rarespins in silver, but don't mention upped cards/shards (which are directly relevant and can be used to improve decks)
-A section on the strengths of rare weapons would be nice, since you seem to have skipped over that.
-Grinding FG's should be introduced earlier (Limitless Speed would fit in Silver/Gold level). You skipped over the last quest (killing an FG)
-OTK's for ai3 is overkill. You shouldn't really be worried about stuff like miracles or mass healing in ai3 (it's a good topic to introduce, but more as a vocab term imo
2.I don't really get this point...Furball said that the most efficient AI to play against while unupped is AI3;
3.He said it in the FAQs, after that he said "pick the one you like the most";
4.Yeah, I believe this is right, but if you keep on following the tutorial with the oracle part, you'll probably do that quest, too;
5.He didn't suggest an OTK for AI3, he was explaining the different kind of decks, not the ones usable against AI3.
Post by: shinyarceus4 on December 05, 2013, 08:17:20 pm
Post by: antiaverage on December 06, 2013, 01:53:15 am
As a relative newbie who's only upgraded card is a Jade Staff, this is very helpful. Might even try experimenting with deck archetypes now!
Don't forget to push the little "Rep++" button under his name ;) That's how we show support on the forums. furballdn is awesome, glad his guide helped you out.
Post by: CuCN on December 06, 2013, 01:56:52 am
Post by: antiaverage on December 06, 2013, 02:07:06 am
Isn't the rep button only available for Jr. Members and up? (30 posts)
10+ posts
Post by: furballdn on December 24, 2013, 04:48:30 am
Good guide overall, but I've got a few gripes.I used the 4 stages of bronze, silver, gold, plat as a way to scale beginners, amateurs, skilled players, and veterans. It doesn't correlate to the player's level, but I felt it was a logical progression since those are the 4 terms that Zanz had used in game.
-I'm not sure exactly what each section title is in reference to: does it refer to your arena level? If so, I feel that some of the later stuff is more relevant to silver/gold than plat (upped cards, FG farming, shards are all relevant topics to a mid-level player). If not, it seems to just be an arbitrary scaling of player experience, which seems unwieldy.
Quote
-Farming ai3 - you have farming decks listed, but seem to lack any place that says "farming ai3 is decent for getting electrum/cards with an unupped deck"The closest I could find was "Now that you're familiar with the basics of deck building, build yourself a nice rush deck to take care of AI3." I'm not sure if I did mention AI3 was the most efficient, but I'm pretty sure I did. It's been a while since I wrote it, but I'm pretty sure that I've said AI3 is one of the best nonupgraded places to grind.
Quote
-A graboid rush is really good imo for the "bronze" section. You introduce rarespins in silver, but don't mention upped cards/shards (which are directly relevant and can be used to improve decks)I think I have "Sadly, I really can't recommend any specific decks for arena since it always changes, but a fast rainbow could do pretty well in the Bronze and Silver leagues. A good arena beating deck should have enough flexibility or enough of an edge in speed or control that it truly shines and can counter a variety of different deck archetypes." I'm pretty sure any decent rush deck is good in bronze/silver even without rares or upgrades.
Quote
-A section on the strengths of rare weapons would be nice, since you seem to have skipped over that.The actual weapons that is chosen doesn't really matter, just like the beginning element. Even if I were to say that Arsenic or Vampire Stiletto is the best, I don't want someone with a mono fire deck going for one of those and changing their entire playstyles and decks to make use of it.
Quote
-Grinding FG's should be introduced earlier (Limitless Speed would fit in Silver/Gold level). You skipped over the last quest (killing an FG)When I wrote this, I didn't really write it in a chronological sense. I wrote it in a sense of sliding difficulty. It's also not that bad, as I introduce it in the section right after I teach how to build decks.
Quote
-OTK's for ai3 is overkill. You shouldn't really be worried about stuff like miracles or mass healing in ai3 (it's a good topic to introduce, but more as a vocab term imoI put the OTK in the deck archetypes as a vocab term as they are a legitimate type of decks to build. 100hp ones aren't that practical, but I included it for fun. (The game is supposed to make the player have fun)
Well I'm glad to see that it's aged quite nicely in half a month, even if 1.4 is coming out soon. I think the majority of its tips (such as deckbuilding) can stay as the actual game mechanics of battles haven't changed. Some images are a bit bork, but overall, this is just as good as when I first wrote it. If I've even helped one newbie by writing this article, then my goal is complete: a comprehensive guide involving originality and creativity about the game.
Post by: iancudorinmarian on December 24, 2013, 03:17:33 pm
Mono Gravity unupped? Not as strong as you think =p Have ever tried to farm level 3s with it??You didn't see Dm's 60 card mono gravity :P
Post by: Darkblades1 on December 27, 2013, 10:38:03 pm
Post by: clamantox on January 16, 2014, 04:41:03 pm
(can't wait to give you rep)
Post by: Jacker77 on March 11, 2014, 02:42:58 pm
Post by: periconene on March 25, 2014, 09:35:48 am
Post by: H R Pufnstuf on August 26, 2014, 02:05:47 am
Post by: iDaire on August 26, 2014, 02:11:59 am
None had a different result apart from doing the same thing over and over.
Post by: Chapuz on August 26, 2014, 02:19:22 pm
Over my course of nine months, I tried all of these threads.What do you mean with 'the same thing'?
None had a different result apart from doing the same thing over and over.
Post by: Drake_XIV on August 26, 2014, 08:18:17 pm
Over my course of nine months, I tried all of these threads.What do you mean with 'the same thing'?
None had a different result apart from doing the same thing over and over.
The Grind
Post by: eaglgenes101 on August 30, 2014, 06:24:24 am
Exactly. Because there's no easy way to manage one's way up (unless you're talking about spending a fortune on piles of donations for nymphs to sell for upgraded cards).Over my course of nine months, I tried all of these threads.What do you mean with 'the same thing'?
None had a different result apart from doing the same thing over and over.
The Grind
Post by: iDaire on August 30, 2014, 04:52:08 pm
But I can't do this for more than five minutes without severe boredom.
I'll just eagerly wait until the next update to dish out damage.
Post by: Aknelo on November 05, 2014, 06:51:05 am
Can''t believe I've been on the forums for over a year, and been playing Elements for 2.5 years and have never come across this guide before!
I know we're all waiting for 1.4, but this still has lots of relevance right now. I think you've done well with this guide and all the spoilers and links. Definitely the way to encourage experimentation and creativity, and work out what is best for you in terms of playing style.
Good job!