Howdy, all, My first thread in this subforum. I'm not usually one to talk about my builds, go figure, but I have said many times for many months that one day I'd post a thread for all my parties I've retired for one reason or another. Welp, this is it! You may or may not enjoy how my wonky brain works, but here's a little insight -- with each build, I'll also talk a little plus and minus, and of course the reason(s) I retired it. We'll start the first one off with a laugh. $¦^ ] (Gary's voice) Adventurers! Spoiler: partyanddecksbbcode [SRC] Will Level 20 Human Warrior Trogsbane E Tango Spear U Bejeweled Shortsword C Rusty Chainmail U Wedge Shield E Tough Leather Cap R Jackrabbit Boots U Apprentice Guidance C Advanced Gouging C 1 x Powerful Bludgeon 3 x Mail 1 x Able Stab 1 x Block 1 x Lunging Hack 1 x Solid Mail 3 x Powerful Hack 1 x Toughened Hide Strips 3 x Potent Stab 2 x Vicious Thrust 1 x Attack, Soldier! 1 x Walk, Team! 1 x Healing Dash 1 x All Out Attack 1 x Unreliable Block 2 x Surging Shield Block 3 x Puncturing Stab 1 x Dash, Team! 1 x Backbiting Strike 1 x Impaler 3 x Dancing Cut 2 x Penetrating Lunge 1 x Perforating Strike [SRC] Solstice Level 20 Human Priest Glinting Eye Hammer C Medic's Cudgel C Cintxotl Mail E Ricochet Buckler R Jackrabbit Boots U Auric Charm R Medallion Of St. Vigus U Soothing Relic C Advanced Guidance C Apprentice Healer U 1 x Mail 2 x Missile Block 2 x Attack, Soldier! 1 x Talented Healer 2 x Able Bash 2 x Healing Blessing 3 x Minor Heal 1 x Triple Heals 1 x Reliable Mail 1 x Healing Pulse 2 x Impenetrable Nimbus 1 x Healing Spirit 1 x Inspiring Presence 1 x Entangling Roots 2 x Limited Heal 1 x Block, Soldier! 1 x Lunging Hack 2 x Mighty Bludgeon 1 x Barbed Platemail 1 x Help The Weak 1 x Wounded Block 1 x Healing Dash 1 x Purge 2 x Powerful Bash 1 x Healing Rays 1 x Raging Strike [SRC] Quinn the Stout Level 20 Dwarf Wizard Stormstaff U Staff Of Billows R Glowing Ring C Fiery Shard R Pendant Of Artax E Hurricane Stone R Hutul's Robes E Prickly Boots R Beginner Toughness C Electroporter Initiate U 1 x Spiked Mail 1 x Mail 1 x Wall Of Fire 1 x Spark Generator 1 x Reliable Hide Armor 1 x Sprint 2 x Mighty Spark 1 x Ember Spray 2 x Powerful Spark 1 x Mystical Drakehide - still had 4+ roll at this time $F^ J 2 x Sizzling Bolt 1 x Whirlwind Enemies 1 x Devastating Spark 1 x Flanking Move 1 x Gusts Of War 1 x Force Cone 1 x Parry 2 x Smoke Bomb 2 x Deadly Spark 1 x Glob Of Flame 2 x Arcing Spark 1 x Little Zap 1 x Force Cannon 1 x Whirlwind 1 x Leather Harness 1 x Magma Spray 1 x Telekinesis 2 x Teleport Self 1 x Stone Spikes Ah, Will, Solstice, and Quinn the Stout, my adventuring party. $:^ ] D'awww, aren't they cute! $:^ b "Highlights" ha ha ha ha: absolutely no stacking traits! drawing the same trait that's already attached? that'd be a terrible waste! absolutely no handicap cards! drawing bad stuff is bad! didn't you know that? Will's being risky as it is equipping that one black quality card! Block Any is much better on Will than any stupid "Block Melee" exclusive card! Why, Parry misses Magic and Projectile, c'mon! (Solstice allowed Missile Block because tokenless and trying to avoid the battle anyway, plus she can heal herself easily.) Plus of course those Surging Shield Blocks will just let him come right up on the ranged enemies! Quinn the Stout seriously did make good use of those Teleport Selfs, though - these adventurers found Tournamentria during the first modding-map-month (Plarena I maps - Maztec Melee, Forgotten Temple, Arena Crescent (before Telekinesis nerf!), Summoning Race), and he often got out of scrapes nicely. $:^ ] note, Solstice would only use Holy cards because role-playing - which totally works in PvP $F^ } lol finally, due to being very careful about optimizing traits, Will and Quinn have 35-card decks, and Solstice has a 34-card deck (since she can fit two synergistic traits together) Overall, pretty terrible. A huge thank-you !!! to all my early coaches for helping me out of the hot mess I was making, to use @LieutenantCommanderData's phrase. (I only recall 1.5 of you now, thus I don't wanna name name(s) and leave everyone else out.) Frankly, my opinion is that campaign does an awful job of preparing a player for PvP. Gary doesn't talk about card advantage at all. There's a battle or two with a hint (if you lose) about letting the Trogs use up their Move cards before you use yours - but if you don't die to those battles, you never see such hints. Also, a real kicker, when you start, your deck is so much smaller, meaning you actually see the cards you equip. If you're not paying attention to statistics, (and certainly Gary doesn't point it out,) you'll keep equipping more and more versatile utility (and little-to-no card-drawing mechanisms, a.k.a. traits, Parry, etc.) without even realizing that you'll soon stop seeing your cards anymore. A level 1 warrior has 18 cards after all. A level 1-or-so wizard actually expects to see that Resistant Hide -- which explains why so many newbies are adamant about putting it in their PvP decks (without much cycling to even force it if they really want it that badly). Reasons for retirement: I had no idea what I was doing yet, lol! $X^ D I'm quite sure this was the last save before Expedition to the Sky Citadel released new mayhem across the land...
P.S. Adventurers, Post-Citadel: I expect this to be my last "I had no idea what I was doing yet" party post. I'll make it quick. I believe this is the last time I actually still used my campaign party in PvP. Solstice still wouldn't use Unholy, but oh man, Radiation became available! $E^ D Also, those free EttSC chests + EttSC league chests when the expansion first released? Crazy how many Ewix's Evolving Ensembles I got out of that... Spoiler: partyanddecksbbcode [SRC] Will Level 20 Human Warrior The Lunginator L - whoo, I landed this only a couple months into play! Itotia Blade U Dull Shortsword U Ewix's Evolving Ensemble L - wreckin' face in 1100-1200s $:^ P Powered Tower Shield C Pilot's Cap U Skipping Boots R Inspired Command R Novice Crushing R 1 x Adaptable 1 x Puncturing Stab 1 x Mimetic Armor 1 x Dancing Cut 1 x Flight Aura 1 x Reliable Hide Armor 1 x Crusher 1 x Shield Block 2 x Unnerving Strike 2 x Feinting Strike 1 x Quick Reactions 1 x Healing Dash 1 x Reliable Mail 3 x Lunging Bash 3 x Lunging Hack 4 x Shifty Stab 1 x Simple Strike 1 x Flanking Move 1 x Auto Block 1 x Mighty Hack 1 x Mimetic Crown 1 x Subtle Parry 1 x Bludgeon 1 x Able Stab 1 x Inspirational Thinking 1 x Shuffle, Team! 1 x Lunging Strike [SRC] Solstice Level 20 Human Priest Glowing Laser Baton C Ripping Mace E Martyr's Shifting Plate U Cherry Shield E Jackrabbit Boots U Tome Of The Martyr U Oak Roots U - spending a major on it, hmmm $:^ } Feathered Idol R Untrained Command C Pious Cleansing U 1 x Mimetic Armor 1 x Inspiration 2 x Purge 1 x Unreliable Block 1 x Holy Presence 2 x Healing Rays 2 x Sundering Strike 3 x Martyr Blessing 1 x Flimsy Block 1 x Defender's Block 1 x Wounded Block 1 x Lunging Hack 2 x Surestrike Blessing 2 x Radiation Bolt 1 x Altruism 1 x Inspiring Presence 1 x Lunging Bash 1 x Wings Of Faith 2 x Laser Strike 1 x Armor Of Faith 1 x Mail 1 x Healing Dash 3 x Entangling Roots 1 x Barbed Platemail 1 x Attack, Soldier! 1 x Shuffle, Team! [SRC] Quinn the Stout Level 20 Dwarf Wizard Surging Staff C Chillwood Staff U Akon's Amulet C Pendant Of Artax E Citrine Amulet U Flicker's Earcuff E Reactive Spacecloak C Corian's Boots E Charging Battler C Novice Electromancy U - funny how this sometime later became a go-to item after the Electroporter Novice nerf, hm 2 x Mighty Spark 1 x Quick Step 1 x Mimetic Armor 1 x Frost Jolt 3 x Long Spark 2 x Officer's Harness 1 x Acid Spray 1 x Toughness 1 x Dissolve Armor 2 x Boiling Armor 1 x Bungled Bolt 1 x Spark Inductor 1 x Mystical Drakehide 1 x Reflexive Teleport 1 x Telekinesis 2 x Surging Blast 1 x Spark Generator 1 x Little Zap 1 x Cold Snap 2 x Surging Bolt 1 x Forgetfulness 2 x Counterspell 1 x Hardy Mail 2 x Big Zap 1 x Charge 1 x Chilling Rime 1 x Glob Of Flame Whooo, look at all those 2-4-damage attacks on Will! What a warrior. $:^ P No wonder I kept getting shocked when ppl consistently hit me for 3-5 times that much. $8^ , Looking back over it now, Solstice isn't actually too bad, all things considered. (People kept telling me I'd do better once I got better items. ~shrug~) As for "not too bad," though, I'm pretty sure I was even using Ripping Mace when I hit 1600 last year. It appears Quinn the Stout was equipped to deal with all the new EttSC armor hijinks people were bringing, including Adaptable. $:^ ] Anyway! Now I feel safe to delete. (Nice to finally clear out some of these archives without feeling like I'm missing out on my horde and memories, lol.) Next! P.P.S. Gary's Starter Party, Sorta Awww, just for my own sake, I'd like to post this, too. $:^ b It's my earliest saved party -- only a week after the P.S. above -- which used two characters whom Gary gave me, the human and the elf who became Anne Athema and Myx'd Mess'zh! $E^ D -- and it's actually not too awful. Obviously influenced by the Cult of the Bejeweled, although I clearly wanted to do my own thing already... Plus, this was probably the first vampire I ever ever tried (since I'd never even used Unholy cards up to this point, and even had to buy back my Hand Of Melvelous! heehee). Spoiler: partyanddecksbbcode [SRC] F'talitie Level 10 Elf Warrior Laser Rapier L Slice And Dice E Sharpened Pick U Ewix's Evolving Ensemble L Hexagon Shield R Monkey Skin Mask C Jackrabbit Boots U Cautious Mobility U - ah, the pre-nerf days, when this deck's 9 Moves would suffice Novice Impaling U 2 x Impaler 1 x Adaptable 1 x Scouting Run 2 x Stab 3 x Laser Cutdown 2 x Tricky Stab 2 x Elven Maneuvers 1 x Penetrating Stab 1 x Unnerving Strike 2 x Pushback Parry 1 x Lunging Hack 1 x Reliable Mail 1 x Surging Shield Block 2 x Vicious Thrust 1 x Laser Strike 1 x Disorienting Block 1 x Mail 1 x Penetrating Cut 1 x Healing Dash 1 x Mimetic Crown 1 x War Cry 1 x Strong Bludgeon 1 x Lunging Thrust 1 x Fiery Stab 1 x Hardy Mail 3 x Laser Thrust [SRC] Anne Athema Level 19 Human Priest Lifesuck Spear U St. Portia's Maul L Martyr's Shifting Plate U Aegis Of The Defender E - I'm pretty sure Melvin gave me this, my first one $F^ } Winged Track Shoes U Hand Of Melvelous L St. Hongjin's Soulstone U Wuuna's Vampiric Shroud E Inspired Command R Manifold Healer R 1 x Mass Frenzy 2 x Talented Healer 3 x Enervating Touch 1 x Mimetic Armor 5 x Consuming Spear 1 x Inspirational Thinking 4 x Spear Of Darkness 1 x Devastating Blow 2 x Flight Aura 1 x Martyr Blessing 1 x Weak Chop 1 x Sprint 1 x Subtle Parry 1 x Unholy Frenzy 1 x Barbed Platemail 3 x Strong Bludgeon 1 x Impaling Stab 2 x Defender's Block 1 x Triple Heals 1 x Shuffle, Team! 2 x Lunging Strike [SRC] Myx'd Mess'zh Level 19 Elf Wizard Oak Staff C Whorl E Defensive Forcegun U Pendant Of Artax E Stone Of Shards R Mirror Of Melting R Overheated Force Suit R Skipping Boots R Cautious Mobility U Advanced Teleportation U 1 x Force Field 1 x Mighty Spark 1 x Scouting Run 1 x Force Cannon 2 x Stone Spikes 3 x Arcane Burst 1 x Laser Beacon 2 x Elven Maneuvers 1 x Reliable Hide Armor 2 x Dimensional Traveller 1 x Bungled Bolt 1 x Healing Dash 1 x Reflexive Teleport 1 x Telekinesis 3 x Surging Blast 2 x Little Zap 3 x Arcane Beam 1 x Flanking Move 1 x Dual Laser Beacon 1 x Impetuous Blast 1 x Arcane Feedback 1 x Lifesaving Block 1 x Lava Pool 2 x Boiling Armor 1 x Glob Of Flame With six nice Move cards in my wizard's deck, and a pre-nerf Elven Maneuvers, I recall one battle where a dwarf warrior kept Stepping to hit Myx'd Mess'zh (with little hits), and she just kept drawing Surging Blasts before Healing Dashing away -- during which my opp said something like, your wizard's doing quite the dance there, lol. Yeah, playing one for the first time, I started liking elf wizards right around then. $E^ b (This was of course before Dynamic Staff even existed, ha ha ha ha.) Reason for retirement: This actually fared pretty well -- in the 1100s-1200s where I was at the time, lol. Rising in rank lowered my win percentages. $:^ } A year or more ago, @Lucky Dice said I should post some kind of CH diary/journal somewhere. Odd how this is kind of sort of it, huh? Well anyway, like I said, I'll now generally be posting successful builds that I had to retire for some reason(s) or another. Until then, have fun, do well. $:^ }
Smoke Ninjas Ahhh yes, this one made me very happy. $:^ ] Rolled through Halloween maps and Gladius maps, Oct-Nov 2015. I know I didn't invent the concept -- Gorillas in the Mist existed before -- but someone in World chat sought build help, another person suggested Smoke + Warriors, and I chimed in to encourage the idea ... and then ... I just .. uh .. it sounded really fun the more I thought about it. Lol. $E^ b "How can I make this mine?" I wondered. $¦^ J Lemme dust off my old character sheets for you: Spoiler: partyanddecksbbcode Spoiler: F'talitie [SRC] F'talitie Level MP Elf Warrior Spoiler: items Nova Axe E Bejeweled Shortsword C Rageblood Dagger R Dependable Mail R Black Cat Buckler U Crusty Helm R Sticky Slippers R Cautious Mobility U Novice Impaling U Spoiler: cards 1 x Violent Spin 2 x Laser Thrust 5 x Vicious Thrust 1 x Dancing Cut 1 x Wild Run 1 x Obliterating Chop 1 x Powerful Bludgeon 3 x Powerful Hack 1 x Raging Strike 2 x Purging Strike 1 x Penetrating Cut 3 x Parry 2 x Elven Maneuvers 2 x Impaler 2 x Immovable 1 x Blind Rage 1 x Obvious Maneuver 1 x Scouting Run 2 x Reliable Mail 1 x Hardy Mail 2 x Mail Spoiler: Ag'nie [SRC] Ag'nie Level MP Elf Warrior Spoiler: items Blocking Mace C The Lunginator L Thick Club U Xander's Mail L Black Cat Buckler U Bellowing Helm U Zachary's Boots E Cautious Mobility U Focused Crushing L Spoiler: cards 1 x Mighty Hack 1 x Mighty Bludgeon 1 x Powerful Bludgeon 2 x Unnerving Strike 3 x Trained Bludgeon 2 x War Cry 2 x Violent Spin 1 x Strong Bash 3 x Lunging Bash 3 x Lunging Hack 1 x Scouting Run 5 x Parry 2 x Officer's Harness 1 x Reliable Mail 1 x Thick Hide Armor 1 x Weakened Armor 1 x Unreliable Block 3 x Crusher 2 x Elven Maneuvers Spoiler: Myx'd Mess'zh [SRC] Myx'd Mess'zh Level MP Elf Wizard Spoiler: items Flenserbone Staff C Mullik's Blisterstaff L Smoke Pin R Smoke Pin R Smoke Pin R Smoke Pin R <- overspent on purpose Smoke Robe C Greenguard Boots U Perfect Evasion C Electroporter Novice U <- nowadays Common Spoiler: cards 10 x Smoke Bomb 4 x Force Cone 4 x Telekinesis 2 x Pushback Parry 1 x Slippery 1 x Dimensional Traveller 1 x Spark Generator <- Electroporter Novice nowadays gives Powerful Spark 1 x Spark Inductor 1 x Squeamish 1 x Teleport Self 1 x Elvish Scamper 1 x Hard To Pin Down 1 x Smashing Spin 1 x Surging Blast 1 x Resistant Hide 2 x Firestorm 2 x Short Spark 1 x Spark (screenshot of present day Electroporter Novice, but partyanddecksbbcode is edited for historical accuracy) I ran through five versions of this build, the one above being the final. I was taking notes at the time because I seriously wanted to improve my play, especially my speed (a.k.a. stop losing to timer), thus I have some final counts: 73 games, 46 wins (28 blitzes!), 27 losses (only 3 blitzes and 5 time-outs!), for 63% win rate (61% of those being blitzes) and 11% blitz-loss rate (not counting time-outs). (Also, none of this counts a sixth version of the build, technically the last version, wherein I played one match and lost, not to timer, not a blitz. Just some one-off with a couple tweaks for some reason.) Spoiler: some raw data, just recording for myself here 18.11-E.1.3 4.2-3.1.0 B.5-7.1.2 2.1-1.0.0 5.3-2.0.0 0.0-1.0.0 2E.1C-1B.3.5 post-EttSC, pre-AI For anyone still wondering, Smoke not only can disrupt enemy range, but can give your own party open vs. difficult terrain advantage. It's almost never a bad card. "But you can't damage with too much Smoke!" Then don't let the warriors die. $;^ D lol Meanwhile, use all your other elven tricks to stay alive. You can Dash! Dash, I say! Weird Bits: the warriors did pretty different stuff, one concentrating more on heavy damage, the other more on fishing and control F'talitie has 10 Moves to draw from: 1 Wild Run, 3 gold quality, 6 silver quality, very nice Ag'nie has 9 Moves to draw from, mostly defensive/control (including the Lunging Hacks being escapes into Smoke when needed, or tests out of Smoke before a much harder hit the wizard was glad to overspend that on that fourth Smoke Pin: Smoke Bomb x10 felt like just the right amount, along with the other items chosen Smashing Spin finds its place in a build, whoadathunk. (It even shows up in a CT5 video, lol... On that note, see the highlights below...) Someone in World Chat suggested Staff Of Chask might be better than Flenserbone Staff -- but you know what? she's just not built to damage -- sure, those three little Sparks and even that one Surging Blast can pop off a little damage if need be, but she's built to not be attacked, and Punishing Bolt + Slowed + no Step Attack is simply a different idea. Also, when I only had two Infected items for that Halloween, this party inspired me to make my third character a Smoke elf to support the human zombies. $E^ b Highlights: I remember several times on Dungeon of Decay where Myx'd had Smoked out the place, hidden in a corner, let the round play out, then popped out of nowhere onto the VSs to Force Cone ppl into just the right places for next round (damaging terrain, blocking, warriors on offense, etc.), take the star, then Slippery herself right back on outta there, ha ha ha ha. $E^ D ~siiiigh~ Okay, I said I'd open up about my mind a little. See those Pushback Parries? See that Smoke? It's not an accident I'd let someone get up in my face to get Forced away, back in my face, TK'd away, and then still get into range 1 in my Smoke. $;^ b Yes yes, I know what you're up to. And now you're down one attack card and two steps away instead of one! lol (One particular incident I fondly remember, she was holding a VS on Gladius Wall, and an opp really did empty a char's whole hand trying to "safely" attack her in the Smoke. Sure, her hand got (mostly?) emptied, too, but I still had the round's VP, full wiz HP, and even priority for next round. Opp gave me a "wp." $E^ D Yes! Ty. $:^ D heheh) I'm pretty sure this is the party that finally raised me out of that hard-to-leave 1300s meta-mix-up for the first time. $:^ ] CT5 and I duked it out in ranked while I was in 1200s and he in 1500s, oouuch. Either my first or second party version. Warning, CT5's live video commentary gets profane at times (for which he did apologize, but I'm just disclaiming the link). Warning, you think CT5's a slow player? his much higher Elo and experience and whatnot paranoided me into triple checking everything before playing a card. Still, despite all that, other people have said it's a really fun match to watch -- weird, tactical, funny, etc. $:^ D Final note, you can also read my perspective on the forum, written mostly from memory at the time. Reasons for retirement: summer balance, 2016 -- between F'talitie drawing almost no attacks with Elven Maneuvers and Myx'd Mess'zh no longer being able to lure stubby-legged dwarves to TK them through walls (not to mention the Electroporter Novice change), a lot of the necessities got lost in the nerfs Castle Mitternacht, 2016 -- I took a couple month hiatus, missing both the rebalance and expansion testing/release, and returned only to find human priests more mobile than my elves $8^ | $8^ | $8^ | ... ~sigh~ Just no. Between their Vengeance laughing at my Lunging Hacks + Force Cones, and their Vanguard dancing all around me in my own Smoke, ~sigh again~ (not to mention Howling Pain dwarves who, again, couldn't be TK'd through walls anymore,) my Ninjas had to hang up their hoods. $:^ [ They were really fun while they lasted, though. Maybe another day, another way. We'll see. $:^ J
Don't feel bad, all the new move spam made me give up on my Acid Mage build I used since full map Firestorm ruled the world. At first I was glad that the summer balance had new acid cards and items but the other changes made being an acid mage 50 times harder. The move spam also made me kill off my Stone Spikes mage, Radiation Spray Cleric, Smoke and Cones mages, Lunging Bash Warrior. There was a few other character builds I had to put out to the pasture too. Watching a bunch of Vengenced Werewolves with Monster Hide armor, heal and bounce around the map isn't really my idea of fun.
Musical Chairs This was the first party I consciously retired for the sake of in-game changes despite really enjoying the hijinks. Check this out. $;^ } lol Thought process: "I don't have burfft items, but I like the burfft concept of attacking with card advantage. I like the Radiation effects, but again, I don't have burfft items (a.k.a. lots of Rad Bomb). What can I do instead? Hmmmm." Spoiler: partyanddecksbbcode Spoiler: Quinn the Stout Level MP Dwarf Wizard Spoiler: items Forval's Teak Staff L Forval's Teak Staff L Reality Warper L Vogel's Confusotron E Boiling Warper R Boiling Warper R Robe Of Lightness U Mouse Boots E Untrained Toughness R Electroporter Novice U at the time (C now) Spoiler: cards 4 x Accelerate Time 4 x Stone Spikes 2 x Burning Fingers 1 x Magma Spray 2 x Freeze 2 x Potent Spark 2 x Flash Of Agony 2 x Boiling Armor 2 x Short Perplexing Ray 3 x Telekinesis 2 x Flanking Move 1 x Cautious Sneak 1 x Dimensional Traveller 2 x Hover 1 x Spark Generator (nowadays Powerful Spark) 1 x Spark Inductor 1 x Parry 1 x Reliable Hide Armor 1 x Cloth Armor 1 x Shrug It Off Spoiler: Marroo Level MP Dwarf Wizard Spoiler: items Tempered Flamestaff E Furnace Staff U Flame Warper L Boiling Warper R Boiling Warper R Klonox's Warper L Robe Of Lightness U Hawkwind's Moccasins L Untrained Toughness R Focused Pyromancy R Spoiler: cards 4 x Accelerate Time 5 x Burning Fingers 4 x Sizzling Bolt 4 x Flame Spit 1 x Glob Of Flame 1 x Instant Burn 1 x Firestorm 2 x Boiling Armor 1 x Illusory Barrier 1 x Shrug It Off 3 x Firestarter 2 x Hover 1 x Defensiveness 1 x Parry 1 x Escaping Run 2 x Dangerous Maneuver 1 x Reliable Hide Armor 1 x Cloth Armor Spoiler: Incense Level MP Dwarf Priest Spoiler: items Nanahut's Morningstar E Nanahut's Morningstar E Cleansing Hide Armor E Underdog's Shield E Skipping Boots R Glowing Gland E Glowing Gland E Glowing Gland E Untrained Toughness R Focused Healer R Spoiler: cards 3 x Radioactive Spray 3 x Radiation Bomb 3 x Radioactive Goo 3 x Talented Healer 4 x Spear Of Darkness 6 x Cleansing Ray 1 x Healing Dash 1 x Shrug It Off 1 x Flanking Move 4 x Punishing Strike 3 x Reliable Hide Armor 2 x Wounded Block 1 x Desperate Block 1 x Parry 830-A21 I know, it looks like a weird, mish-mash, hodge-podge mess. And, well, yeah, it kind of is that. I actually won a bit less than I lost (44%), but my blitz win ratio was more than double my blitz loss ratio, thus there's that. $:^ J ~shrug~ Also, frankly, Musical Chairs is a hard, weird league for me. This party rocked the house compared to other stuff I tried. But okay! Lemme talk a little about what's going on here... Obviously, terrain + handicaps + fire + AT all over the place. These dwarves fight hard -- there's almost zero defense on them! Lots of little synergies in odd places... Freeze hits hard, sure, but also makes it a lot harder for opponents to get out of my Rad Spray minefields, lol. With two wizards and one priest, Incense has a big ol' bullseye painted on her head, hence blocks that protect better when it's more dangerous for her, letting her heal when need be for the smaller hits. On the note of her specific defenses, she can annoy from afar with a Rad Bomb now and then, but she has to get a bit closer for all that Irradiated Terrain. Those vamp attacks are actually more defensive. "Focused Healer? Discarding Spears of Darkness? Uh-oh, I'd better keep my distance from her unless I can take her out hard." (lol) Lots of Cantrip, including on my wizards. Because you know what? Sometimes, after you've hit AT 2-3 times in a round, and then the real start-of-round effects get to take place, you just wanna make sure you can hit AT again first thing next round, too. LOL! Like the priest, the wizards are set up for different ranges of attacks. Come in close, try to run away, etc., they attempt to be vicious. (E.g., range 10 is painful when you think you're retreating far enough.) Et cetera. There's more. $E^ } I believe what made this build work for me more often than not was just the knowledge of the nuances. I'd been doing some stuff kind of like this in ranked a few times, and the conditional handicap purging still confused a lot of people. I didn't mind helping to explain -- but after my matches usually. $;^ } lol Nevertheless, purging changed as soon as the AI expansion hit, thus there were some folks still having to adapt to Purge again. The Irradiated Terrain + AT duration interaction took many by surprise. Have you ever been Tripped at the beginning of a round, and it has Duration 2 for you to keep getting hit through this round and the next? Seriously some vicious stuff there. Playing around Radiation takes some intense adaptability, and I was cranking out the random attacks like crazy. (On a slightly related note, I had a co-op partner, you know who you are, heehee, who caught the Fairy with me in a Citadel level, during which, one of us played Hear Them Out. My higher Elo teammate advised my low-HP elf wiz to get far away. I explained the rationale and Dashed right up into a bunch of mutants' faces. "Bob, what are you doing?" (lol) I hit them all with some nice damage, and then escaped far, far away. They couldn't attack! I was safe! lol) Nevertheless, of course sometimes I missed a new attachment, or my opp merely straight-up out-adapted and/or otherwise out-played me, heheh. Radiation is crazy. It was like, pre-Walpurgis insanity. Some of us half-joke that we got really good at "aiming" Rad Spray. Only half-joking. Really, you can find the best spots to put it, and/or the most desperate, to great effect. No real "highlights" list since I don't remember particulars. This concept stretched here and there for a few months, including that long, long run of the burfft haven before it got nerfft -- AI ranked maps, "Plarena II" ranked maps, etc. One thing I do remember, though, was a super nice person who messaged me out of the blue one day giving appreciation for my Rad style, that where this person saw other players trying to use Rad in and of itself to do the work for them, this person believed I found ways to tear apart with its damage, with the random effects being "just a bonus" lol. $E^ b But sincerely, that was really nice to just pop up and encourage like that. Thanks again. $:^ ) May we all find ways to uplift our fellow players. $:^ ] Okay, fine, I'll call this a highlight, lol. AT + Blind Rage was always a treat. Perhaps even more of one if I gave the opp the Blind Rage. $E^ b 'Cause, y'know, that's usually about the worst Handicap to give the opp, heheheh. And pre-Rad-nerf, normally the opp would be like, yay, Bob gave me Rage, except when the ATs started, it became more like, noooooo, and I can't Purge it! lol!! ~ Come to think of it, I do recall a Chairs match where an opp got loaded up with cards (you know all the draw spam tricks) along with Rage. I waited for that hand to get nice and juicy for me. $;^ D Lol!! If I recall correctly, AT twice for the hand-reveal, the first kill of the match, and the resignation Victory screen, lol. Reasons for retirement: Acquisitions, Inc. expansion, 2016, when this league got published actually. Purge got simplified, which nerfed Rad Handicaps like crazy. (For those not in the know, when Citadel was released, my Purge would only remove my Handicaps, whether I equipped and played them or I attacked you and attached them to you. This latter unintended side effect meant that you couldn't Purge the Handicaps I put on you. So really, although I'd used Rad+AT before Musical Chairs, I really intensified it for this league -- right when it'd been nerfed, mm. $:^ , Yeah, played it for that one month, but people were getting used to their new Purge power by the end. ~nodnod~ Summer balance, 2016. Accelerate Time, a couple months later, got its own nerf, reducing its range to 5. No more could my priest tank the brunt of everything while my wizards tried to avoid. (After all, the idea was for the enemy to cluster up too much in my Rad Terrain. My own chars needed to stay out of it, heheh.) Castle Mitternacht, 2016. Just in case I still had any inkling to try this build, ~sigh.~ Like cycosurgeon and I said above, movement became even more readily available to everyone, plus now it's even easier to get solid Armor effects that can 100% remove Rad Terrain damage. $:^ [ (Not counting Vulnerable or Squishy showing up heheheh.) Plus, CM gave some new items with cheaper token costs to Irradiate and/or up the Rad damage without relying on terrain, let alone AT. ~shrug~ Again, though, crazy fun while it lasted. Kept my opponents and myself on our toes, lol. $¦^ D I expect my next post will include some version of my anti-burfft elven tanks. I had a lot of versions of them, though -- still saved -- thus I keep putting them off. $:^ ] Maybe I'll even post a couple different versions next time, hm. We'll see, we'll see.
It's 2015. You own multiple copies of Searing Pain and Skull Of Savage Iljin. You can full party wipe triple dwarf teams round 2 -- round 1 with really good draws and Altruism rolls. Some of your opponents have been dabbling in Cursed Radcannon -- or perhaps you've newly collected the necessary components yourself. Ahh, it's league time again. No questions about ranked maps -- no need to determine tactical strongholds on Victory Squares nor concern yourself with being rushed by blitzkrieg warriors. You buff. You burst. You scatter your 8-11 damage upon 25 squares at a time, launching your ranged deathblows behind corners 2 squares in. There's only one Victory Square in the center of your mayhem. All of Cardhuntria and Tournamentria knows. Leagues are burfft or bust. And then, you meet a team of spindly, spindly elves. Ohhhh yes, your victory will come quickly. $}^ } Anti-Burfft Elves! Of my many, many versions, I'll just post three for you. The idea first came to fruition during Golden Shrine. Two warriors and a priest: Spoiler: partyanddecksbbcode F'talitie Level MP Elf Warrior Spoiler: items Dancer's Dagger E Keen Baselard E Keen Baselard E Golden Splint Mail U Automatic Shield R Shimmering Helm E Mazarine Boots C Superb Evasion R Focused Impaling R Spoiler: cards 3 x Auto Block 2 x Disorienting Block 2 x Flimsy Block 2 x Shimmering Aura 1 x Hardy Mail 1 x Thickened Mail 1 x Dynamic Armor 2 x Elvish Scamper 2 x Dodge 1 x Flight Aura 1 x Rushing Aura 1 x Scamper 1 x Flanking Move 2 x Penetrating Lunge 1 x Vicious Thrust 1 x Lunging Strike 2 x Sundering Strike 2 x Perforating Strike 2 x Penetrating Cut 2 x Backbiting Strike 3 x Impaler 1 x Quick Reactions Ag'nie Level MP Elf Warrior Spoiler: items Carved Club C Carved Club C Infused Greatclub R Golden Splint Mail U Shield Of The Tumbler E Space Captain's Coif R Mazarine Boots C Perfect Evasion C Trained Crushing R – this was clearly before I owned Advanced Crushing Spoiler: cards 2 x Disorienting Block 2 x Unreliable Block 1 x Mimetic Armor 1 x Hardy Mail 1 x Thickened Mail 1 x Chain Harness 1 x Dynamic Armor 1 x Elvish Scamper 1 x Scamper 1 x Smashing Spin 1 x Flight Aura 1 x Rushing Aura 2 x Pulverizing Bludgeon 4 x Pressing Bash 1 x Powerful Bludgeon 1 x Trained Bludgeon 8 x Bludgeon 3 x Simple Strike 1 x Crusher 1 x Slippery 1 x Scamper, Team! Beltoll'r Level MP Elf Priest Spoiler: items Purging Mace U Purging Mace U Cleansing Mail U Hawlic's Surging Shield L – silly me, thinking this would be generally more useful than Slippery Shield $:^ P Greenguard Boots U Medallion Of St. Vigus U Shielding Token R Medallion Of St. Vigus U Cautious Mobility U – what? on a priest? Pious Cleansing U Spoiler: cards 3 x Surging Shield Block 1 x Hard To Pin Down 1 x Dynamic Armor 1 x Teleport Self 6 x Impenetrable Nimbus 1 x Armor Of Faith 2 x Healing Blessing 6 x Purging Burst 4 x Purging Strike 1 x Cleansing Burst 1 x Cleansing Presence 2 x Elven Maneuvers 1 x Altruism 1 x Holy Presence – at the time, this didn’t remove the party’s buffs – much stronger 1 x Squeamish 2 x Predictable Stab 1 x Consuming Spear 1 x Scouting Run Yep, left out a token. $:^ J Step 1: Get onto Victory Square round 1; this happened a lot. Step 2: Survive; this happened a lot. Step 3: In the event of an elf's death, replace with another elf. Step 4: Repeat from Step 2. re: Step 2, the great thing about Shrine was that burffters would waddle their dwarves to just barely being able to see around the temple's corner -- meaning Disorienting would wreck 'em! ha ha ha ha ha .. Usually, my priest could stay back a little and wait for the warriors' defenses to fail, and *then* lob a Nimbus. Of course, if the priest had to step onto the VS, watch out! Purging Burst was awesome for turning the opponents into mere bursters $;^ J plus removing Fireball / Ember Burst attachments plus at that time did not remove your own buffs! How did the team do? Despite four issues (1. my needing to get used to the party concept, 2. my being a slow player anyway, 3. the insanely, terribly, why-in-the-world-is-it-half? short league timers (10 mins each person!), and 4. the primary prey being the burfftstravaganza at the time (thus often being weaker against other party make-ups, although I tried to make the team versatile)), my final results with this setup (thirteen games on this very first version of this party concept) was seven wins -- five of those blitzes! -- and six losses -- four of those to timer and one blitz-loss. Once I got past the new-party-plus-league-timer growing pain, those timer losses started disappearing, and those blitz wins began. $}^ D ~ Let's skip ahead a few months... Roll Out the Barrels hit Tournamentria again, and y'know what, I just never was good at it. No real burfft items, no Vibrant Pain, no St. Ulrich's Bones to augment any real Volcano attempts, etc. .. No, I didn't find some magic formula where I suddenly won everything. For me, the fact that I was winning even a third was a stark improvement, seriously. ~sigh~ $:^ \ To fight against the requisite burfft plus the extremely common Nimble Strikers and Volcano, my poor hodge-podge party looked like this... You'll notice one of my warriors had to step down to better combat all the mix-ups... Spoiler: partyanddecksbbcode F'talitie Level MP Elf Warrior Spoiler: items Blocking Mace C Blocking Mace C Manhunter E Copycat Spacesuit U Bullseye Shield E Pilot's Cap U Possessed Shoes C Insight C Novice Crushing R Spoiler: cards 4 x Parry 2 x Catch Arrow 2 x Subtle Parry 2 x Unreliable Block 1 x Missile Block 4 x Mimetic Armor 2 x Elvish Insight 1 x Quick Reactions 1 x Cautious Sneak 1 x Skip 1 x Lunging Thrust 1 x Shuffle 2 x Mighty Bludgeon 2 x Powerful Bludgeon 2 x Strong Bash 2 x Startling Strike 1 x Unnerving Strike 1 x Bludgeon 1 x Simple Strike 1 x Flight Aura 1 x Immovable 1 x Crusher Beltoll'r Level MP Elf Priest Spoiler: items Chalchu's Hammer L St. Alipp's Hammer L Cleansing Mail U Slippery Shield R Greenguard Boots U Lenora's Prayer Beads L Noral's Cleansing Relic E Noral's Cleansing Relic E – overspending a here Cautious Mobility U Focused Healer R Spoiler: cards 4 x Hard To Pin Down 1 x Dynamic Armor 1 x Teleport Self 1 x Cause Fumble 1 x Mass Frenzy 4 x Able Bludgeon 2 x Unnerving Strike 2 x Spear Of Darkness 2 x Sapping Spear 7 x Cleansing Ray 3 x Cleansing Burst 1 x Cleansing Presence 1 x Scouting Run 3 x Talented Healer 2 x Elven Maneuvers 1 x Squeamish Myx'd Mess'zh Level MP Elf Wizard Spoiler: items Illusion L Mullik's Blisterstaff L Smoke Pin R Smoke Pin R Smoke Pin R Ixtli Amulet E Smoke Robe C Goat Boots R Insight C – overspending a here Electroporter Novice U – pre-nerf of course (and nowadays it's C) Spoiler: cards 8 x Smoke Bomb 7 x Illusory Barrier 2 x Elvish Insight 4 x Force Cone 3 x Telekinesis – even Barrels had slightly better pre-nerf use 1 x Dangerous Maneuver 1 x Skip 1 x Resistant Hide 1 x Weakened Armor 2 x Firestorm 1 x Flash Of Agony – pre-nerf of course 1 x Acid Blast 1 x Spark Generator – the modern picture says Powerful Spark, but this was pre-nerf 1 x Spark Inductor 1 x Dimensional Traveller 1 x Immovable Man, they look like a mess, don't they? (This version relied on frequently spying out enemy cards to know what in the world hodge-podge utilities/attacks/etc. I should hoard/use/discard. That helped remove some of the mess.) So weird to remove all Purging from the build, too, since the stacked purging had so much to do with beating burfft in the first place. But you know what else is weird? These frail things defeated @billiska's infamous self-sustaining burfft (triple priest Rad Bombers)!! I barely even remember how it played out, it was just so intense throughout. I'm pretty sure the last big thing that happened, though, was Bill made Myx'd the wizard his second kill after I was some 4-5 Victory Points in, and then Beltoll'r the priest who'd been hiding from the bursts (and trying to keep each VS-camper alive in his own weird way) popped in with a hidden Teleport Self he'd been saving for awhile and proceeded to tank the rest of the way. What a trooper! ~ Bill and I gave a hearty, congratulatory "good game" to each other after all that craziness! lol I never was 100% satisfied on elf-tanking this league, but Barrels just had too much for me to consistently account for, and again, it was the best I had: elven tanks brought me more chests than any of my other sad ventures, ha ha ha ha. Final stats for this particular build: 21 matches 7 wins (4 blitzes, 2 games where **I** won by timer!) vs 14 losses (3 blitzes, 6 timers - ugh that timer even when about to win otherwise, ugh ugh ugh) 33%-67% win-loss rate 57% blitz-win rate vs. 21% blitz-loss rate! 29% timer-win rate vs. 43% timer-loss rate $:^ , If I recall correctly, I also gradually had a harder time because people were catching onto what my elves were doing, thus would know better how to thwart them -- and I even began seeing an adapted copycat or two. $:^ D ~ The next post will feature only one more iteration, concluding the anti-burfft elven tanks. $:^ J
(concluding the previous post) A few months later, here's pretty much the end of the line. Golden Shrine had an early return where I went back to two warriors for a bit, and I carried this into Central Processing, but I found I was getting too unfocused by trying to stop burfft and beat down anyone who got near. Therefore, this final party I have saved (designed for Central Processing) I'd simply labeled "Pure Tank" and once again swapped in an elf wizard. Similar to what I hear would be an annoying Blue deck in Magic: The Gathering, this party's goal was to utterly shut you down -- especially burfft, but meleers, too. Spoiler: partyanddecksbbcode F'talitie Level MP Elf Warrior Spoiler: items Spear Of Dancing R Manhunter E Blocking Axe U - $:^ } Ewix's Evolving Ensemble L Automatic Shield R Shimmering Helm E Sky Traveler's Boots R – yes, I found these more consistently useful than Boots Of Safety, seriously $;^ b Trained Evasion L Focused Impaling R Spoiler: cards 3 x Auto Block 3 x Flimsy Block 2 x Disorienting Block 2 x Subtle Parry 1 x Adaptable 1 x Reliable Mail 1 x Mimetic Crown 1 x Cloth Armor 2 x Shimmering Aura 3 x Impaler 1 x Quick Reactions 1 x Rocket Charge 1 x Telepod Jaunt 1 x Violent Spin 2 x Flanking Move 3 x Lunging Thrust 3 x Clumsy Chop 2 x Startling Strike 1 x Penetrating Stab 1 x Penetrating Cut 1 x Unnerving Strike Beltoll'r Level MP Elf Priest Spoiler: items Purging Mace U Purging Mace U Cleansing Mail U Slippery Shield R Greenguard Boots U Medallion Of St. Vigus U Shielding Token R Medallion Of St. Vigus U Cautious Mobility U Novice Piety U Spoiler: cards 2 x Altruism 6 x Impenetrable Nimbus 6 x Purging Burst 2 x Healing Blessing 1 x Cleansing Burst 1 x Cleansing Presence 1 x Minor Heal 4 x Purging Strike 1 x Consuming Spear 2 x Elven Maneuvers 4 x Hard To Pin Down 1 x Dynamic Armor 1 x Teleport Self 1 x Squeamish 1 x Scouting Run 2 x Predictable Stab Myx'd Mess'zh Level MP Elf Wizard Spoiler: items Illusion L Yoloxl's Staff E Twizel's Water Talisman L Rod Of Palver Pree E Rod Of Palver Pree E Ring Of Appropriation E Robes Of Illusion U Boots Of Safety U Perilous Agility L Electroporter Novice U – pre-nerf of course (and nowadays it’s C) Spoiler: cards 6 x Illusory Barrier 3 x Flash Flood 2 x Wall Of Illusion 4 x Telekinesis 3 x Gusts Of War 1 x Teleport Self 1 x Telepod Jaunt 1 x Healing Dash 1 x Dangerous Maneuver 2 x Flanking Move 3 x Jumpspark 2 x Hot Spot 2 x Stone Spikes 1 x Flash Of Agony (pre-nerf of course, this did not do self-damage) 1 x Spark Generator (pre-nerf – nowadays, this is a Powerful Spark) 1 x Spark Inductor 1 x Dimensional Traveller 1 x Reliable Hide Armor I believe this was my most satisfactory and streamlined version. (If I'd owned any Asmod's Telekinetic Chains along with a second Illusion, Myx'd the wizard might have looked a little different, but here we are.) This was the pinnacle of this build methinks. $:^ J About the biggest problem they had was if someone else got to the VS first. Look, I'm not one to gloat over someone "ragequitting." I don't like anyone to "rage." However, I did take immense satisfaction in the efficiency of one match. My burffting opponent loaded up. Savage Curse. Unholy Wellspring. He/She was gonna go all-out for my elven formation. I don't recall how much we preliminarily fought over line-of-sight and applying vs. purging vs. reapplying of buffed attachments, but the opponent was finally ready to start lobbing those 11-damage Fireballs and Flashes. Auto-Block! The pyromancing opponent began shifting into closer positions. Telekinesis, intended more to take out my Auto-Block than to move me, clearly... Flimsy Block! Resigned. Victory, elves. $}^ D Pretty much no matter which defenses I drew from any character, it was a welcome sight (at least vs burfft!). I just had to adapt to my cards was all. Adaptable could handle Searing Pain nearly by itself, as could Auto-Block, a friendly card which also defeated foes' Purging Bursts, a foe's card which also got defeated by friendly Flimsy Blocks. Adaptable could even handle a couple Rad Bombs in a row. Disorienting Block could shove burffters out of range (and meleers away and/or off the VS), requiring next round for them to move again. Burning my priest when old Elven Maneuvers was attached was perfectly fine by him: he could draw yet more defenses while playing other cards on himself, his allies, or even his enemies -- think about that, round ends, new round begins, and opp's attachments draw me 1-2 more blocks first thing; opponents had to waste so many cards to get through his ever-ready supply of blocks, which once they got through, merely drew him more anyway, taking less damage due to the armor their attacks also drew for him. That was the defense it seems no one saw coming, which thus thrilled me the most. And of course, if one managed to knock out all the party's other defenses? Nimbus and Cantrip pass-stealing, ready to go. $:^ ) ~ Reasons for Retirement: Acquisitions, Inc. expansion, 2016, right around the time of the final iteration posted above. Simplifying Purge didn't hurt the party too much since it was chiefly used offensively to turn burfft into mere burst, but I did nonetheless have to be careful about purging self since I was also relying on Nimbus, Healing, Adaptable, Elven Maneuvers, etc. However, the Purge change effectively nerfed Radiation Attacks, meaning Cursed Radcannon burfft still existed, but lost its potency, lessening the amount you saw it on the battlefield. Summer Balance, 2016, was of course the real kicker. Because elf warriors had made Elven Maneuvers too overpowered, drawing Vicious Thrust after Vicious Thrust, any offbeat usage by the other classes (or even defensive/controlling warriors) had to get nerfed, too. $:^ [ This past year, I did try to elf-tank some, but EM just cannot draw (6 in deck of 36 -- fewer the more are already in-hand) serious defenses like it used to. Summer Balance, 2016, ironically also stripped away the party's primary purpose, which makes everyone glad. Nerfing Flash Of Agony and Savage Curse was the end of burfft as we knew it -- and the beginning?return? to burfft as a quality tactic with appropriate counters. The 17-25 HP tanks served their purpose. Gladly. $}^ J ~ It takes so long to create these documentary posts. No telling when the next one will come, which I think I only have one or two more retired parties I currently want to add. Until then, though, have fun, do well -- and be creative with your card synergies. $;^ J
You know the map, you can see your opponents. 10 minutes is insanely short? Okay. I can accept that, even if I can't understand it. Of course, I used to love bughouse chess (5 minutes per player for the match). One of the reasons I quit PvP is because I'm old, and a 90 second delay tends to put me into nap mode. Thanks for posting the builds! Valid principles are always valid, even if the cards change.
