Shard of Integrity
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Contents
Overview
Shard of Integrity is quite an odd card, just like Chimera. Instead of fusing all of the creatures on one's field into a single creature, Shard of Integrity fuses all of the Shards in the hand into a single hulking behemoth that the opponent now has to deal with.
General Use
Quick Facts:
- Combines all Shards in the hand into a single creature
- Upped shards give bigger stat boosts than unupped shards
- The ability of the Shard Golem is based on which shards were the majority
- The ability of the Shard Golem will always cost
quanta
As a card that focuses on Shards, one who uses these in their decks will often fill their deck up with shards. The purpose of a Shard Golem deck is to sacrifice card advantage and instead summon out a powerful creature the very first turn. The stats and ability of the Shard Golem are dependent on the number and kinds of shards that one uses. Shard of Integrity allows for a whole archetype of decks based on purely shards. Despite being all shards, different types of shards will allow for different strategies, ranging from a stalling healing rush, to a brutal rush focused only on speed. Either way, Shard of Integrity allows for a myriad of possibilities within it's own niche of shard decks.
Synergies
Shard of Bravery is perhaps one of the best shards to put into a Shard Golem deck. Not only does it allow the user to use it to rapidly draw out their important shards, but it also grants the largest boost to attack for a Shard Golem, at the expense of hp gain. In a deck focused purely on shards, the ability to add more cards into the hand equals an increase to the shards drawn and the stats of the golem. For any Shard Golem deck wanting offense, Shard of Bravery is the card to go to. Even in a Shard Golem deck not focusing purely on offense, Shards of Bravery would not hurt.
While exceedingly powerful, Shard Golems have their weaknesses. They are quite prone to control, and shields may hamper their usefulness. This is where Shard of Wisdom comes in handy. Having at least 2 Shards of Wisdom integrated into a golem grants the golem immortality. The only thing worse than facing a massive behemoth with amazing stats is facing that same behemoth while it's immortal. Additionally, after the Shard Golem is immortal, additional Shards of Wisdom can be added on to the golem for a very decent +4 boost to attack and a way to bypass annoying shields. The +4 boost to attack is much more than the attack boost a Shard of Wisdom would give by being integrated, so always remember to use these shards on immortal golems before activating another Shard of Integrity
The ability to instantly produce massive amounts of quanta in the very first turn is invaluable. Nova allows for such a huge burst of quanta and the ability to drop off a creature that is immortal, a vampire, airborne, and has higher stats than a dragon on the very first turn. Do not overlook Nova's simple status as a quick quanta generator while playing a Shard Golem deck.
Other Cards With Synergy
Quantum Pillar can be used as an alternative to Nova. Quantum Pillars would produce quanta slower, but more steady, and make the entire deck less susceptible to control. Shard of Focus can also be used if one prefers a more defensive stance, as Shards of Focus give the biggest boost to hp, and also endows the golem with momentum. Shard of Divinity and Shard of Gratitude are also defensive takes on the Shard Golem deck, allowing the user to use those shards while waiting for another Shard of Integrity. Shard of Void could also be potentially useful because it can grant the golem with vampire, voodoo, or the devourer ability. For a more offensive route, Shard of Freedom and Shard of Readiness are also good picks. Shard of Freedom would allow an airborne golem who can go past wings ans well as get critical hits with more Shards, and Shard of Readiness is potentially the most powerful shard, because it can give the golem the deja vu skill, effectively doubling it's lethality. Both Shard of Freedom and Shard of Readiness also may allow the golem to start producing creatures for extra damage or support. Since Shard Golem creates a copy of the last shard golem played, Fractal and Mitosis can also be considered, although quanta would need to be balanced accordingly.
Building Your Own
When you create a Shard Golem, it can have multiple passive skills, but only one active skill. Passive skills are simple to understand:
- 1 or more Shard of Freedom will give airborne.
- 1 Shard of Void will give devourer; 2 or more will give voodoo.
- 2 or more Shard of Focus will give momentum.
- 2 or more Shard of Gratitude will give adrenaline.
- 2 or more Shard of Wisdom will give immaterial.
Active skills are more complicated. The Shard Golem will gain one of many active skills based on which kind of shards have gone into the construction of the golem, and how many were used. A basic, lone Shard of Integrity with no other shards will at the least have burrow. For other golems, consult this table. Go across, then down to identify which skill has "priority".
| Shard | Skill (1+) | Skill (2+) | Skill (3+) | Skill (4+) | Skill (5+) | Skill (6+) |
| Integrity | 1: burrow | 1: stone form | 1: guard | 2: petrify | ||
| Serendipity | 1: dead/alive | 2: mutation | 2: paradox | 2: improve | scramble | 4: antimatter |
| Sacrifice | 1: infection | scavenger | venom | 2: aflatoxin | deadly venom | |
| Focus | 3: devour | 4: black hole | ||||
| Gratitude | 2: growth | 2: adrenaline | 4: mitosis | |||
| Bravery | 1: ablaze | fiery | 3: destroy | 2: rage | ||
| Patience | 2: steam | 3: freeze | 4: nymph | |||
| Divinity | 1: heal | 2: endow | 4: luciferin | |||
| Freedom | 2: queen | 2: sniper | 2: dive | 2: unstable gas | ||
| Readiness | 2: scarab | 4: deja vu | neurotoxin | 2: precognition | ||
| Void | vampire | 2: liquid shadow | 3: steal | |||
| Wisdom | 2: lobotomize | 2: immaterial |
For instance, if you had 1 Shard of Integrity, 3 Shards of Sacrifice, and 3 Shards of Freedom in your hand, your Shard Golem would be created with the Sniper skill and the Airborne passive.
Each shard also adds stats. The stats of the shard golem are the sum of the stats of the shards used:
| Shard | Unupped | Upped |
| Integrity | +1|+4 | +2|+5 |
| Focus | +0|+6 | +1|+7 |
| Bravery | +3|+0 | +4|+1 |
| All others | +2|+2 | +3|+3 |
You can also use the online Shard Golem Calculator to figure out what any given combination of shards will produce. Abilities of a Shard Golem can also be found here[1].
Conclusion
Shard of Integrity is a high-impact card, if costly. Despite it occupying a relatively narrow niche in deckbuilding, the sheer speed and power of Shard Golems should not be underestimated.
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