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1. Is it better to have a pure deck or a mixed one?
2. Is it better to have fast cards or slow ones? What is the ideal mix?
3. Are core packs for 9000 the best use of gold?
4. Are packs for 50 gems the best use of gems?
5. Is it best to have a full capacity deck, or fewer cards for more focus?
6. Is it best to just immediately sell all non-upgradeable cards I don't need?
7. Should I always combine cards if I can use the combined one?
8. What's a good ratio of spells to have in a deck? Best/worst spells?
9. What are the most useful pieces of equipment? Least useful?
10. What's your best tip for building a strong deck?
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 2. Is it better to have fast cards or slow ones? What is the ideal mix?
If you use fast cards, you have an advantage at the start of each match, but a disadvantage later. If you use slow cards, it's the reverse. You start at a disadvantage, but build up to an advantage over time.
You can make a "rush deck," full of fast cards. If all goes well, you can win the match fast, maybe before your opponent gets even one card out. However, if you don't win fast, you probably won't win at all.
You can also build a "slow roll deck." Once you build up steam, you can crush pretty much anything. But you will take a bunch of damage before you really get going. If the early game goes bad enough, you might never be able to recover.
Personally, I've been working the fast side of things, as a matter of personal preference. With a rush deck, I either win fast, or I lose fast. I like to be be able to get through a bunch of matches quickly.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 3. Are core packs for 9000 the best use of gold?
That's my impression. But I've also been buying from the single-card shop on occasion.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 4. Are packs for 50 gems the best use of gems?
I really have no idea. I've been buying up epic equipment boxes, myself.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 8. What's a good ratio of spells to have in a deck? Best/worst spells?
I've mostly been avoiding spells. Most decks I see seem to use few, if any. On the other hand, I've seen decks with nothing but spells.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 9. What are the most useful pieces of equipment? Least useful?
The piece of equipment I covet most is pantheon banner (+1 attack to all your infantry units). Book of knowledge (draw an extra card every 3 turns) seems pretty neat too. I hear good things about spider eggs (summon a spiderling every 3 turns) and magic mirror (clone one of your units every 8 turns).
1. Pure as in only using, for example, Atlantean cards? Mixed decks will always be stronger. Creatures from the same category as their hero get a +1 health bonus, but that's not enough to justify a pure deck. But pure decks are great at getting a sense of each race's strengths and weaknesses.
2. Maat_Mons gave you a solid answer. I lean towards slower decks, so I need to use heros with lots of health. Losing 40 health at the beginning is ok when I have 70 in total.
3. For starting off, I'd recommended the 2000 packs. That way you'll have enough commons and uncommons to get your decks going. After you're situated, 9000 decks are the best use of gold.
4. I've stopped buying 50 gem packs. They're good when you don't have many epics and getting pretty much any epic is useful. These days I'm using my gems to unlock heros, buy equipment, buy specific epic cards, and convert 4 rares into epics and 4 epics into legandaries.
5. I always like to have at least 30-35 cards. That way I don't run out before the time the gods get angry. Certain decks (e.g. slow or stall decks) require more cards.
6. How do you know you won't need them in future decks?
7. Pretty much. The only times I wouldn't are a) not enough gems, b) the types of cards are different (e.g. Crusher of shields plays a different role than Hawk warrior), or I'd rather have 4 of the weaker ones in my deck than only 1 stronger one (but then I'll try to get another 1 or 2 copies to then upgrade 4 of them).
8. It all depends on deck type. Bloodbath (gives all creatures +1 attack and frenzy) is overpowered in my opinion.
9. Again, it all depends on deck type. Gravity stone is only ok, but it's great with Myrrine. Popular ones are Rune of Hasting, something quiver (it makes trackers every few turns), and the Rune of Rage
10. Learn the heros. Learn how to fully take advantage of their abilities. Learn how they fail against other heros. Build new decks that complement each other.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 1. Is it better to have a pure deck or a mixed one?
Mixed decks are generally stronger. However, there are some niche decks in niche situations that use cards from only one race - most notably Imp decks, most commonly used with Zuu.
Also, Wolf decks (also mostly used with Zuu, generally Uncommon only wolves), and even the Owlbear deck exists, which indeed only consists of Owlbears backed by some Rare spells. Imp, Wolf and Owlbear decks tend to be used to farm rarity challenges, too.
> 2. Is it better to have fast cards or slow ones? What is the ideal mix?
That highly depends on the deck you are building. You want to have some slower and some faster decks, but I'd say the current meta is very fast compared to what it used to be.
> 3. Are core packs for 9000 the best use of gold?
Yes. However, when you start out, you may want to buy some Dire Rabbits from the Singles Shop. If you don't have enough of the Uncommon Wolves to fill up Zuu when you buy her (while having also two Wolf Cloaks (Rare Equipment)), you should probably buy those from the Singles Shop too whenever you see them.
> 4. Are packs for 50 gems the best use of gems?
No. Just no. If you start out, you want to first buy a Dragon Pack and a Frontier Pack (guaranteed Epics), and then go for some Chest Slots and Army slots. After that, and you have finished the campaign, you want to go Dragon Set (until first L) and after that it's basically mostly Crew cards and Reliquary you want. 50 gem packs are especially bad because you can get those cards for gold just as easily and you want to spend your gems on things you cannot get for gold.
> 5. Is it best to have a full capacity deck, or fewer cards for more focus?
Depends on the deck.
> 6. Is it best to just immediately sell all non-upgradeable cards I don't need?
How do you know you don't need them? Better keep a few of every card, though some cards *are* pretty useless.
> 7. Should I always combine cards if I can use the combined one?
Only from Epic to Legendary, and only if you aren't using the Epics to begin with.
Rare to Epic is not worth to combine in general. However, there is a rather specific exception, which involves the cards from the Expansion packs. If you have 3 Epics, and 4 Rares that lead to that very same Epic, while also wanting to combine that Legendary ASAP *and* you are not planning to buy those packs again anytime soon, you can combine the Rares into the Epic, so you have 4 Epics for the L Combine and move on.
> 8. What's a good ratio of spells to have in a deck? Best/worst spells?
Depends heavily on deck type.
> 9. What are the most useful pieces of equipment? Least useful?
Depends heavily on deck type, but Equipment that summons units generally does well.
A few examples of other possibilities: Standard Myr decks use often only Uncommon equipment; Rune of Gravity paired with either Rune of Shielding or Rune of Evasion.
Like I ssaid, Zuu wolves use double Wolf Cloak. Zuu Imps uses a combination of Demonbait, Imp Lord Pendant and Pantheon's Banner.
There are Mill decks and other specific decks that use specific equipment as well, tailored towards that deck, as well as one of the Mill deck counters (the Owlbear deck I mentioned before) uses Mindguard Helm and Spellproof Stone.
> 10. What's your best tip for building a strong deck?
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” - Sun Tzu
"Dragon Pack and a Frontier Pack (guaranteed Epics)"
That's not true. Those packs are guaranteed rares, not epics.
But good point bringing up chest and army slots. I have 5 unlocked chest slots, which is enough for me. I also have 5 army slots, but I really want more to be able to experiment with more decks.
> *Originally posted by **[Gaccm](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12148882)**:*
> "Dragon Pack and a Frontier Pack (guaranteed Epics)"
> That's not true. Those packs are guaranteed rares, not epics.
>
> But good point bringing up chest and army slots. I have 5 unlocked chest slots, which is enough for me. I also have 5 army slots, but I really want more to be able to experiment with more decks.
Indeed, guaranteed Rares, but the very first pack you buy of each class does guarantee an Epic alongside that Rare because their Epic timers are "winded up".
As this implies, this indeed goes only for the very first pack - the second Dragon Pack and the second Frontier Pack are very likely to only contain a Rare (though there has been a lucky bastard who got his first L straight into his 2nd DPack).
Also, like the above (very rare) example implies, there has been meddled with the very first L you get from Dragon Packs - you seem to get it quite soon so it's worth hunting it down. It took me 8-10 packs after the current pack construction was introduced, which is much cheaper than any other Legendary.
I think some of the veteran players here have answered your questions really well :) and if I do say so, our great community is one of the best features of the game!
I will just add as the "dev" a bit more information on what Stratocumulus mentioned about early-high-rarity droprates:
Here at Storm Wars we use "pity counters" to prevent our players from falling victim to really bad luck when buying packs. The way this works is that when you buy a pack for Gems, it rolls to see whether you get lucky and find an Epic or a Legendary card. If you don't, the "pity counter" for that specific expansion (Core, Dragons or Frontier), gets a little bit added to it. Each time you open a pack, the higher the pity counter, the more likely you will find an Epic or Legendary. Because of this system, if you have a long string of bad luck (packs with no good drops), the pity counter will eventually add up so high that it will guarantee you a lucky drop sooner rather than later.
What Stratocumulus was talking about was a quirk of this system. The pity counters start at maximum for all expansion sets (you're welcome). :) What this means is that the very first Dragons pack that you buy on your account, and also the very first Frontiers pack that you buy on your account, will each contain an Epic card from that set. So, it's recommended for relatively new players to spend their first Gems there, to get the Epics and help boost their decks quickly.
Cheers,
-- Sir V
> *Originally posted by **[Sir_Valimont](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12218240)**:*
> I think some of the veteran players here have answered your questions really well :) and if I do say so, our great community is one of the best features of the game!
>
> I will just add as the "dev" a bit more information on what Stratocumulus mentioned about early-high-rarity droprates:
>
> Here at Storm Wars we use "pity counters" to prevent our players from falling victim to really bad luck when buying packs. The way this works is that when you buy a pack for Gems, it rolls to see whether you get lucky and find an Epic or a Legendary card. If you don't, the "pity counter" for that specific expansion (Core, Dragons or Frontier), gets a little bit added to it. Each time you open a pack, the higher the pity counter, the more likely you will find an Epic or Legendary. Because of this system, if you have a long string of bad luck (packs with no good drops), the pity counter will eventually add up so high that it will guarantee you a lucky drop sooner rather than later.
>
> What Stratocumulus was talking about was a quirk of this system. The pity counters start at maximum for all expansion sets (you're welcome). :) What this means is that the very first Dragons pack that you buy on your account, and also the very first Frontiers pack that you buy on your account, will each contain an Epic card from that set. So, it's recommended for relatively new players to spend their first Gems there, to get the Epics and help boost their decks quickly.
>
> Cheers,
>
> -- Sir V
What I wonder is... how do pity counters work with Legendaries when you start out?
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 1. Is it better to have a pure deck or a mixed one?
Pure is good when you are leveling Heroes. You can get gem awards for using only one suit. These rewards can be reset once as well. When you are trying to be more competitive, one less toughness isn't that big a deal most of the time. Get the most out of your best cards.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 2. Is it better to have fast cards or slow ones? What is the ideal mix?
Ask "What is this deck trying to do?" That should help you decide to use a fast deck, or a mixed deck. You really don't want an all slow deck.
Slow cards are some of the most attractive looking, but any time you see yourself not drawing a card because your hand is full, you are throwing away power. I was, maybe am, still bad at this because they are cool looking cards, but after a while I decided my elder dragons do not belong in every deck, in fact, most of them don't really belong in any of my decks. I really like Construtor Alara (Legend preferred but Epic is nice too) to help me stay on the higher costed cards a little more than would be normally prudent.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 3. Are core packs for 9000 the best use of gold?
The high cost gold pack seems the only use of gold.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 4. Are packs for 50 gems the best use of gems?
I use gems for three things now, equipment and Relic Tokens, and Heroes.
Relic tokens can get you nice cards and you can always see your odds. I like to save enough that I know I can buy out a relic pack if I need to, but then only buy until I hit the legends. There are other good cards that get picked up, but they are just a biproduct for me, if I have the legends and still want more cards, I save until I can repeat the process.
Equipment seems like a really bad investment because you can get so much garbage, however, they can be really important to all your decks, so I have a love/hate relationship with buying them. About 600 gems SEEMS to net a Legend, but many of those are bad. If your cards are still weak, I probably wouldn't dump a lot into this. Hope for the rare H. Quiver, it is better than most epic and legends.
Heroes have a decent return on investment. You get gems back for leveling them and if you make them "pure" while leveling as I mentioned in Q1, they earn even more. Also, they do a pretty good rock-paper thing if you have enough deck slots to support many of them.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 5. Is it best to have a full capacity deck, or fewer cards for more focus?
It depends on your pool. For each hero you should try to play to their strengths, but in most it is still worthwhile to drop your evergreen cards. About the only deck that I don't have several "universally good" cards is Clom. I have a ton of null power creatures that drain power and magic and not much of anything else. For that deck, supporting the hero is more important than moving towards a traditional win.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 6. Is it best to just immediately sell all non-upgradeable cards I don't need?
It shouldn't hurt unless you later find a niche use you previously were unaware of. That being said, I wouldn't upgrade cards just because they can. Lock at what they can upgrade to and make sure you want that for a deck.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 7. Should I always combine cards if I can use the combined one?
It is a little cheaper than buying them from the single store. If you would buy it from the single store, have the pieces, and won't be too hurt by losing the peices, yep looks solid.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 8. What's a good ratio of spells to have in a deck? Best/worst spells?
For Heroes that protect their creatures, Blood Bath can be fantastic, but more than 2 and they seem to stop running smoothly. Genicide, expecially the Legend is great in my oppinion. Implosion is pretty nice too. If you have a hero that messes with the pace of the game or Kutyr, unsummon works well.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 9. What are the most useful pieces of equipment? Least useful?
The most useful I have is Treant Root. The Mirror looks awesome though. For lower level stuff, the H. Quiver is fantastic.
> *Originally posted by **[OldFern](/forums/32949/topics/1295448?page=1#12143124)**:*
> 10. What's your best tip for building a strong deck?
Observe matches and refine.....
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