Eredan's World

Ryken

stupid donkey

Lieu : A room with a moose.

Inscription : 03-09-2010

Messages : 504

The Standard

Characters: 03
[card]Prophet[/card]
[card]Erevent[/card]
[card]Pilkim[/card]

The Deck: 20
[3] [card]Than the Sword[/card]
[3] [card]The Last Word[/card]
[3] [card]Rain of Death[/card]
[3] [card]Burn in Hell[/card]
[3] [card]Implosion[/card]
[2] [card]Mental Prison[/card]
[1] [card]The Council's Banner[/card]
[1] [card]Lightning Bolts[/card] LV3
[1] [card]The Hungry Void[/card]

Strategy:
Some would think that using a mage deck is easy mode, and in some respects they're right. You nuke and watch them burn. But when you actually play them, you find it's a bit harder then you originally thought. For one. Noz Mages isn't a deck you can half ass. The cards you see listed? You need those, though some are more debatable then others. However, do you want to be effective? [card]Rain of Death[/card] and [card]The Last Word[/card] are two of the most important part of the deck, especially [card]Rain of Death[/card]. Anytime you see a mage deck or a warrior/mage variant in ELO, you're going to see [card]Rain of Death[/card], and it WILL hurt. [card]The Last Word[/card] maybe less so, but if you see it you know you're in for a world of hurt. Without at LEAST those two cards (with [card]Than the Sword[/card] coming in a VERY close third).

This variation of the deck relies on [card]The Last Word[/card]/[card]The Council's Banner[/card] to nuke from your hand, then [card]The Hungry Void[/card] after another [card]The Last Word[/card] to sweep up the game. It's harder then it sounds, actually, because as far as I'm concerned my deck works against me most of the time when it comes to getting the cards I need. Remember that 3 of the cards you need are limited to 1, though, and instead try to make that a secondary strategy. I know I said it's what this deck relies on, but trust me when I say that if you think of it as a secondary objective it will come to you faster.

Don't be afraid to discard your [card]Burn in Hell[/card]s. Getting 2 in a single hand sucks, as I almost always discard one as soon as I can to make the other two hit much harder, or get one in the discard pile and hit your opponent with 2 [card]Burn in Hell[/card] from [card]Erevent[/card] (8 damage each to someone with 0 spirit), as he stacks up the damage and whatever you hit will be barley breathing at the end of the turn.

The beginning turns of the game are probably the most vital, so let's go over that shall we?

Going first is an easy pick; you have [card]The Last Word[/card] or [card]Rain of Death[/card]? Both? [card]Than the Sword[/card]? Pick [card]Pilkim[/card]. Any combination of the aforementioned cards will spell pain for your opponent...except [card]Rain of Death[/card]/[card]Than the Sword[/card], as you can't attack after you cast a spell (most of you know this. I'm just clarifying). If you don't have anything that you can use for Pilkim (your main card would be [card]The Last Word[/card]), use [card]Erevent[/card]. He nukes better when he doesn't have his order bonus, and he turns any spell he casts into pure hurt on a stick. Hell, if you have double [card]Rain of Death[/card]/[card]Burn in Hell[/card], choose him if you go first. You can't go wrong with that.

Going second is trickier. Your opponent will almost never pick [card]Pilkim[/card], so he's out. That leaves [card]Prophet[/card] and [card]Erevent[/card], and you can bet your bottom dollar that they will almost always pick Prophet. 1 defense with no order bonus will turn 2? His static ability to boost up your other mage's spirit by also paint a huge bulls-eye on his face, so be prepared to take a huge hit. If you know you're going to die, go all out. Going second means one thing; it's a race for you to get that [card]The Last Word[/card]-ed [card]Lightning Bolts[/card] LV3 out. If you have it in your opening hand? Cast it and [card]The Hungry Void[/card] it later. Discard the cards you think you won't need, keep the valuable ones. I'd list off what I thought might be valuable, but I listed 3 of the cards you almost always use to kill your foe off, so that's unnecessary, so in the end it's all about how you build your deck. Burn In Hell should always be discarded at least one, [card]Implosion[/card] should be discarded if the team your facing has lower then 3 defense, and [card]Mental Prison[/card] should be discarded if you're not facing a mage of some sort.

If they pick someone other then [card]Prophet[/card] first turn, laugh and make sure [card]Pilkim[/card] goes third. Hopefully by the time it gets to his turn you'll have gotten what you need to make them all go bye-bye.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Original Post:
Pretty standard, I think. I don't have another [card]Rain of Fire[/card] but I do plan on getting one as soon as I have enough cash. [card]Static Charge[/card] can be replaced with [card]Implosion[/card]/[card]Mage's Grand Staff[/card], I guess, but it's still pretty useful. I'm training up all my characters and they're just about ready to get started in ELO or the Leveling Room for fun. I know I'm missing [card]The Hungry Void[/card], but there's not much I can do about that at the moment. I'd also like [card]Mastery[/card] in there as well, as pulling off double [card]Ice Barrier[/card] or double [card]Rain of Fire[/card] would be pretty sweet. I'll post a strategy guide to the deck later, and how the deck should be played according to me. If there was one thing I wish I had when I began playing this game, it was a guide to certain decks. So, I figured I might as well. It may not be in depth, but it'll be there for those that need/want it.

July 10th EDIT:
Took out 3 [card]Static Charge[/card] in favor of 3 [card]Mage's Grand Staff[/card] as I could afford a third one. After lunch, I found someone had bought my [card]A New Start[/card], so I bought [card]The Hungry Void[/card]. I had enough left over to buy a fully experienced [card]Fireball[/card] to combine with my last one to create a 3rd [card]Rain of Death[/card]. So now I have 2 [card]Mage's Grand Staff[/card] in there, and I think one will be taken out for a [card]Mastery[/card] if and when I ever get one, and maybe a [card]The Prestige[/card] to deal with annoying kill cards. Legendary heavy yeah, but worth it I think.

July 12th EDIT:
Testing out 3 [card]Implosion[/card] (took out 3 [card]Ice Barrier[/card]) and 2 [card]Mental Prison[/card] (took out 2 [card]Mage's Grand Staff[/card]). Actually seems to work out well. [card]Implosion[/card]'s a counter against those heavy Kobata's, and [card]Mental Prison[/card] helps against Saps and Mages. More testing is needed. I'm finding that I still lose quite a bit, but just barley. Most of the time my opponent is winning by the skin of their teeth. I'm thinking this deck needs [card]Mastery[/card] to be effective, as double [card]Rain of Death[/card] spells doom for just about everyone, especially if [card]Erevent[/card] is the one doing the casting.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Characters To Consider:
[card]Marlok the Repentant[/card]:
My boy. I love Marlok. He starts off strong and keeps the pain coming. Unfortunately, like Prophet and others before him, he suffers from that one thing that kills most mages that start or become as powerful as he is; low defense. If you go second in a match (which, for me, happens all the damn time), he's almost a guaranteed kill if you're facing anything names Zil or Kobata. However, because of his high spirit, he can also counter kill with double [card]Than the Sword[/card] or double [card]Rain of Death[/card]...if you get it in your opening hand. Don't worry!! It does happen. Just not often enough.

[card]Archmage Anryena[/card]:
Anryena has two things going for her; the ability to fetch a card from your deck, thereby thinning it one card to get others faster (it counts!) and the eternally useful ability to raise the defense of your other Mages by 1. Is it worth it? Not for me. [card]Pilkim[/card], at his max level, can play [card]The Last Word[/card], gain 2 defense, which then adds to his spirit, which you can then proceed to [card]Rain of Death[/card] or [card]Than the Sword[/card] your opponent's face into oblivion. [card]Erevent[/card] is arguably more vital because of his +2 to spell damage, making a [card]Burn in Hell[/card] deadly even if there aren't any in the discard pile. To be fair, she had higher defense then [card]Prophet[/card], but he at least raises the spirit of everyone else. In the end, Anryena is...meh. Use her and a single copy of [card]Draconic Scepter[/card]. If you can pick up [card]Prophet[/card], I's say replace her with him if and when you can.

[card]Councilor Ishaia[/card]:
Ah yes. My favorite card in the game. You can't talk about Mages (or any other deck she can go into) without talking about good ol' [card]Councilor Ishaia[/card]. She single highhandedly made Courtesans what they are, and the infamous combo with herself and [card]Ice Barrier[/card] made many a troll weep with frustration as the very next turn they suffered [card]Pilkim[/card]'s Last Worded [card]Rain of Death[/card] for 15+ damage or some ridiculous number. She's banned in ELO for a reason, and as much as I hate it it's true. You can't really say much about the character other then she's worth getting if you want to dominate the field with great defensive cards (couple this with Manipulation in a Courts deck and you will have many rage quits) and there's not really a whole lot your opponent will be able to do. Oh, and I did mention this before, but [card]The Last Word[/card] plus the Ishaia/Barrier combo is no doubt the reason she got banned. But if you play with her in the level room, do it. It's one of the most powerful combos in the game.

[card]Alishk[/card]:
This was one of the first cards I ever saw that I was like “must have nao!” and did everything I could to get it. Unfortunately, I couldn't and never did before I realized that, in the end, he was pretty sub par compared to his fellow Noz Mages. When you think of someone that benefits from Draconic spells, you don't think of [card]Alishk[/card]; you remember the time [card]Pilkim[/card] smashed your face with a [card]The Last Word[/card]/[card]Than the Sword[/card] with 7 defense, or the same combo only [card]Rain of Death[/card] instead of [card]Than the Sword[/card]. Because of this, [card]Alishk[/card] has been benched for the more favorable Mages, but I think with just a bit more support he could be a bombshell, especially in the same deck with [card]Pilkim[/card] using only Draconic spell cards.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Cards To Consider:
[card]Scepter of the Border[/card]:
The ability to heal and get back cards to your deck with one card. It's not bad, but it does provide little else. I think this card would be suited more for something like defensive deck, with [card]Councilor Ishaia[/card] or something. Sadly, she's banned in ELO and that's what I'm going for.

[card]Mage's Grand Staff[/card]:
I think it would be either this, or [card]Static Charge[/card] in my deck. In my personal opinion, however, this card would have to appear in the first three turns against an Beats Deck because anything afterward and you're going to be going for the kill and not worrying about [card]Mage's Grand Staff[/card].

[card]Mental Prison[/card]:
Facing a lot of Mages and such? Yeah. This card can grind any Mage/Priest Deck to a screeching halt while you nail their more powerful character into dust. Thing is, the card is very situational and the deck is already full to the brim of the things you need to make your opponent's life a living hell. But when it works, it works.

[card]Magic Attack[/card]:
I love this card, but I can't seem to find room for it. Currently, the focus of the deck I built would be [card]The Last Word[/card]/[card]The Council's Banner[/card]/[card]Lightning Bolts[/card] LV3. That combo leaves little room for [card]Magic Attack[/card]. There's no denying it's power, though, so that's not to say it isn't useful. I just can't find room.

[card]Implosion[/card]:
High defensive decks HATE this card, which means, of course, I love it. I tried this card before [card]Static Charge[/card], with mixed results. On one hand, your standard Kobata Decks can go down late game to this easy. Anything with [card]Councilor Ishaia[/card]/[card]Ice Barrier[/card] will hate you. But, barring that, there's little else it can be used for. Another situational card.

[card]Arcanium[/card]:
Can't afford it, but 16 or so damage ain't nothing to scoff at. But it's my thinking that [card]Burn in Hell[/card] is the superior card, simply because discarding one from your opening hand (if you didn't use it) will grant your second one +3 damage. And then one after that +6. [card]Arcanium[/card] takes a bit to set up, but when it does it IS a beautiful thing.

[card]Illusory Reflection[/card]:
I do like this card, as it was one of the first shiny cards I ever pulled. I've never used it, but have thought about the applications. In truth, it's a one shot save, kinda like [card]Vanish[/card] is for Crow decks. However, the added bonus is that you can cast a spell right after that, so a nice [card]Dragon Fangs[/card] can do plenty of damage, or maybe equip a [card]Mage's Grand Staff[/card] and not fear the damage you'll take, or fear it less anyways. The only problem is that, at most, you'll gain maybe 2-3 defense unless your character's spirit is already buffed somehow. [card]Marlok the Repentant[/card], I believe, can get upwards to 5 if [card]Prophet[/card] is on the team, and that's the highest it can get initially. It may not seem like much, but it can help from being one shotted, but you won't be doing much either. To me, not worth it. If you can't afford better defensive cards, like [card]Ice Barrier[/card], pick it up. If you can, then don't bother.

[card]Devouring Swarm[/card]:
Chain-able item removal is a great thing. Honestly, it's a great card and probably should be added into the deck...if I could find room. There's not much else to say about this, but I'd put in 1-2 in my deck if I could for one reason alone; [card]Dark Stone Heart[/card]. I've lost to many a Zil because of this card, even one to [card]Wild[/card] where she had just ONE life left, but I couldn't damage her, and all my [card]Than the Sword[/card] were used up. So having one or two in your deck is worth it, if you can find the room.

[card]Dragon Fangs[/card]:
I'd love to use this card, but truthfully without [card]Councilor Ishaia[/card] and [card]Ice Barrier[/card] it's simply not worth it. You can get ultra high defense every now and again with [card]Pilkim[/card], but nothing like it was with a double [card]Ice Barrier[/card] when you had Ishaia on the team. I'd pass this up until Ishaia comes off the banlist. Till then, let it collect dust in your collection unless you don't have anything better to use.

[card]Pacification[/card]:
Like [card]Devouring Swarm[/card] but less cool because you can't chain it. You can chain into it, but not the other way around. For me, that makes all the difference. But if you're in ELO and that's all you wanna do, pack 2 of these or 2 [card]Mental Prison[/card]. I haven't tested it enough to see which one would be better, but I'm loving [card]Mental Prison[/card] so far. Nothing else really needs to be said about this, except that if you really want to screw Kobata, use this card and love it. Anticipate their moves and use it second after a spell. Then discard whatever comes out. Good times.

[card]Freeze![/card]:
Again, like [card]Pacification[/card] and [card]Devouring Swarm[/card], but all items are shunted back into the deck. To me, it doesn't seem worth it. I remember a lot of Mages back in the day playing this to avoid being crushed by [card]Foam Giant[/card], but he's such a sissy it's laughable. To date I've think I've been beaten by one [card]Foam Giant[/card] Deck, and that was to my deck's number one weakness; bad draws. Can't do much about that. But any time you see [card]Foam Giant[/card] paired up with a team, it's usually with Craftsmen, [card]Ramen[/card] and [card]Jorus[/card], using [card]Hot Noodles[/card] and [card]Good Jourusien[/card] respectively. His team goes down just as quickly as he does even if you get a halfway decent hand. In the end, I'd sat [card]Freeze![/card] Is a temporary solution, while the other two are superior simply because they get rid of the problem, but sweep it under the carpet.

[card]Power[/card]:
I like this card. Rather, I wanted to. And in the end, I think it would be a  great deck if used in something like a Draconic Only [card]Pilkim[/card], [card]Alishk[/card] and [card]Erevent[/card] deck. With [card]Pilkim [/card]getting +2 defense and [card]Alishk[/card] adding +2 to it, you'd have quite a team. Plus, with [card]Magic Attack[/card],[card] The pen is mightier...[/card]/[card]Than the Sword[/card] combo, you're in for quite an experience. It's not useless, I just don't feel it has a place in your average Mage decks, and it more suitable for something like the deck I mentioned and Witchblades and the like.

Dernière modification par Ryken (12-07-2011 12:04:57)

ZeroClass

Habitant de Guem

Lieu : Philippines

Inscription : 29-06-2011

Messages : 214

Re : The Standard

awts .. i think you use this one on me last time

Ryken

stupid donkey

Lieu : A room with a moose.

Inscription : 03-09-2010

Messages : 504

Re : The Standard

AWTS? What's that?

ZeroClass

Habitant de Guem

Lieu : Philippines

Inscription : 29-06-2011

Messages : 214

Re : The Standard

a sound of pain

jackal19

Gardien

Lieu : SDM

Inscription : 10-12-2010

Messages : 1 191

Re : The Standard

well i dont find the mages staff much of a use here but i prefer you use the scepter of the border for mil

---

New englishchat: http://xat.com/EnglisheredanNeo---Online

"Tea is best enjoyed with your fellow monsters"
-Frederica Bernkastel

Ryken

stupid donkey

Lieu : A room with a moose.

Inscription : 03-09-2010

Messages : 504

Re : The Standard

well i dont find the mages staff much of a use here but i prefer you use the scepter of the border for mil

I'd use it but you don't see Mill in ELO, since just about every card they use is banned.

jackal19

Gardien

Lieu : SDM

Inscription : 10-12-2010

Messages : 1 191

Re : The Standard

well i dont find the mages staff much of a use here but i prefer you use the scepter of the border for mil

I'd use it but you don't see Mill in ELO, since just about every card they use is banned.

lol not that annoying mill i mean to mill your spells

---

New englishchat: http://xat.com/EnglisheredanNeo---Online

"Tea is best enjoyed with your fellow monsters"
-Frederica Bernkastel

Ryken

stupid donkey

Lieu : A room with a moose.

Inscription : 03-09-2010

Messages : 504

Re : The Standard

Ah, mill them back in you say? I would, but it just seems too slow for this version. The card's more suited for a character like [card]Councilor Ishaia[/card], who can turtle behind her [card]Ice Barrier[/card]/[card]Manipulation[/card]/[card]Overwhelming Victory[/card]/Turn Order Healing and never deck out. This deck is based around the face melting.

jackal19

Gardien

Lieu : SDM

Inscription : 10-12-2010

Messages : 1 191

Re : The Standard

i kinda forgot my mage deck but mine is full of offense too but i didnt put d fangs and implosion

---

New englishchat: http://xat.com/EnglisheredanNeo---Online

"Tea is best enjoyed with your fellow monsters"
-Frederica Bernkastel