Torrent Of Questions From A Newbie: On Meta + State of Game

[MonarcH]

Herro all,

This is going to be really long so I hope someone reliable is actually able to sit through all of this. Hopefully, this will also give other new players who want to be more dedicated to the game as well and save people some time.

I started this game just earlier this week. Monday probably. I am now sitting here, typing, as a level 15 Iczer. I have had tried this game on and off before but the low population, complicated gameplay (it's not that similar to other card games) and the Lawtia starter made me quit several times. This time, I actually did some research and started playing a bit more patiently. with only 15~ players in Crest at all times, finding games wasn't that hard so I felt more confident that I was ready to accept this game considering there are 50~ people in Falk. So, I started with Refess because I liked the theme (after making accounts in every sphere) and that brings me to where I am right now.

I am currently at 80% win rate simply because most people don't have the deck to beat mine at the moment. My losses are almost completely level 1 losses to people who bought the Lycan deck (who are generally very rude by the way). I've splurged all my gran already Q_Q, I didn't buy a box or a deck or an ex pack and what not. I've recycled a bunch of rares for more packs. So really, I have no inventory although I plan from this post forth, to save every rare until I get a playset before recycling. Now, normally, I would probably be in a terribly bad situation where I have no gran to build a real deck for falk but I've had some luck and the deck I have been winning all of my crest games with is a terribly budget, incomplete Big Refess/Starmander deck. My file is displayed below:



Aside from needing 1 more star dragon and 2 more veterans and some unwanted charities and 1 more refreshing powder, what else could I improve? I kinda really want the 3rd star dragon but I've gotten about 2 x of every 4 star and still no dragon. I was planning on spending my gran on some set 6 since that's where most of the good stuff for Big Refess seems to be after the guards/dragons.

Also, regarding the meta-game. I'm familiar with a few archetypes but only those in the example decks/deck breakdown threads. So I know about Big Refess/Solar Kingdom*(is that the same as Ex: Lap?)/SK /Eternal Morning - Crest Knights* / Dolls* / Lycan / Undead - WK / Sea Monsters/ Mermaids - Monsters(Tiger/Rhino) / Gunners* / Big Reff* / Pixy

I know how most of those are played but the ones with asterisks are ones where I'm not too sure how specifically the deck plays out (generally how it opens/the core cards and how it comboes). If anyone has time, explaining these would be nice. Most importantly, I wanted to know how competitive each of these decks were. In terms of deck strength or tiers for those who play other TCGs. Just like you can be competitive with a tier 2 deck, but it doesn't mean that it has a good chance of winning a good number of it's games. How does Big Refess hold up against pimped out high end decks with lots of Ex stuff. I've also been keeping a few shrine knights on the side in case I ever get enough from lotteries to actually make it. Is it worth making? Is it better than Big Refess and what not? I hear it's getting really popular but I don't know how good it is. It doesn't really seem... solid enough to be considered a well made file.



Also, after reading through a lot of the forums, apparently packs are incredibly disappointing. What exactly should I save up for then? I want to at least finish this current file (I guess I don't need to get the 3x Holy Emps and what not but at least the commons) before making a new deck so buying a prebuilt is not really in my interest. Should I keep buying set 3 packs until the 3rd dragon comes a long and then swap to set 6/7? How exactly would I keep up a collection if I don't buy packs .

That's really all I can think of at the moment, but more may come. Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions .

[azurewrath]

First, how does your file open vs Shade? What are you using the instant/ oversouls for? Only 1 Magic Bolt? Holy Shield? One Vet? Those could probably all use replacing.

[psylensse]

Whooo that was a long post! Great to see new people posting and hope you’re enjoying the game and the forum! I’ll answer some of your questions now and the rest maybe later.

Couple of suggestions off the bat: watch matches to learn how files are played. The two Big Refess players off the top of my head are Deng and Kornage. Look at how they counter various files, what their soul skill lineups are, what units they field, what grims, etc.

Now, lots of good things about your file. However, I think your soul skill lineup is the first thing to change. First soul skill should be the Refess level +3 unit; it’s one of the lycanthropes (either angel or seraph or something like that). Your subsequent soul skill is usually Cait Sith. Continues to boost your SP rapidly. After that are typically mass damage type soul skills of LP 2 or 3. A very typical combo for Big Refess is to play the Burning Sun grim (watch the level 4 requirement) and time it to go off with a soul skill that does damage to ALL units. Ideally, Max HP damage is good. Resource is most commonly used in this capacity (if you indeed have 2 of almost every 4* you should have one of him). Heierrat Flame Magician is also being used. When these damage SS’s (the flame magician, NOT the max hp damage SS’s like resource) hit your own star dragon you of course also get the bonus of being able to counter; very powerful.

As for your card file:
How are you opening matches? You might consider Refugee citizens, as they give you a means of getting rid of opponent grims.
Second recovery powder is important.
Do you have Cure instead of Cure light for full heal?
Don’t know if you need the veteran paladin AND guardian. Don’t know how useful one copy of vet paladin is either. I'd chuck the one copy for something else, not sure what though.
Unwanted charity is a must. Without it, you risk having your Star Dragon assassinated and you won’t be able to do anything about it.
I like the Shield personally; can give a lot of files problems, but you have to know which. Don't just go pouring defense onto a unit for the sake of it. Lots of opposing units don't care about defense.

Anyway, that’s a (relatively) quick answer; changing your soul skill lineup should help immensely. Good luck!

[Shirozaki]

To elaborate quickly on psylensse's post:
SS cards you should try to get (with lots of patience):
Seraph, as mentioned, gives you +3 to refess, can easily be obtained from seasonal lotto, if you're not being lucky with packs and all.
Cait sith, is in practically every refess prebuilt so far, it works wonders for both lower level rushes (SK, solar kingdom) and big yellows.
Kaldrao (Ex card), 3 LP SS that does 10 damage to every card on the field, usually to trigger your star dragon.
Resource (5*), 3 LP SS that reduces all units' max HP by 10, both can be used in conjunction with burning sun.
Anything with 3 LP, if you're lacking the two mentioned above, which you most likely do.
I can see why you've put the Healing priest as your first (Gowen +1 and Refess +2, wasn't it?), but that's really only a temporary solution.

As psy's mentioned, you WILL need another powder and unwanted charity (I've seen people replace the latter one with general's order, with mixed effects)
Having 3 vet paladins is a waste of space, he already has great survivability, so if you can get at least one more copy you should be fine. (For more info on 2 vs. 3 copies.)
Getting a third star dragon is obligatory, as you should know yourself.
Other cards you might want consider getting:
Bastandorra (3*) Lv8 unit, can be used as an end-game unit once your star dragon dies, works wonders IF you have the SP necessary to fuel him. Place the vet pally in front of him and you got yourself a pinpointing and/or mass-slaughtering endgame unit. (Only requires 2 copies as such)
Shadow spirit, low rarity, good damage, decent HP but might scrap itself.
Cards that deprive the opponent of the ability to kill you, like Key to the holy realm, good card for practically every file, Sunbeam Cage etc.
True retear and puppy retear (Both 5*, would not count on getting any until you hit level 100). Puppy can revive one of your units, while playing the role of a tank later on. True retear can mass-revive your field and returns units every turn (except himself) from your graveyard, so it's a must get if you plan on playing big refess in the long run. Again, 3 copies (since you just happened to mention it) is a waste of file space.
Aura of the holy empreror, (4*, grim). Revives a closed unit and if that units level is x or higher (can't remember what levle it was exactly) two cards of the same level will be returned to your file from the graveyard. (To use this on a star dragon you'd have to remove your holy dragon though).
Hand of god (3*) is a staple grim for Refess. Not much to say.
Emerald Carbuncle, low rarity, a pretty standard open (expect a lot of backlashing though) which can protect you from early shadeing.
Other big yellow options include Fistara, Coatl + sun worshiper + mammoth/holy dragon, or Marduk + Oseon + starmander.

As for Shrine Knights (SK), they play very differently. They basically overrun the opponent before they can hit you. SK can beat stuff that Big Yellow can't, and vice versa. Sk return (SK paired with return cards, field control) can beat stuff both other files can't and vice versa again. You can't really compare them, it all depends on the cards you got. (You probably already know about the SK prebuilt) Generally speaking, SK can be a very deadly force, if played right, but require much more strategizing than Big Yellow does. I consider SK to be the more-fun file to play.
I agree with Psy, you should just spend some time watching others, and some time in the chat, it helps wonders (at times).

Packs can **** you over ever so often as they actually help you. A friend of mine just got a BKR in one pack after wasting good money on packs getting absolutely nothing. My best bet would be prebuilts (even though you said you have no interest), hyper rarity and sphere lotto, if they ever appear again. If
you're lucky you can get a bunch of cards in the current treasure battles (set to 100), or at least a decent amount of miku collectors for the point cards.

Tiers are a hard thing to do in the current meta, Teru tried to open a threadhere. (What happened to Teru anyway?)

[CainHyde]

He got eaten by Korean Sword Girl probably.
At least I don't see him anymore in this forum.

[MonarcH]

Hello guys =d

Thanks for the input. In combination with the advice here and stuff I got from the chats, I've managed to fix the deck up a little.



I got a little bit of luck with 2 set 6 packs and met GonFreeces in an arena match who helped me out a lot :3 and ended up letting me get a lot of level up rewards.

Notable changes are:

2 star lords Bastandorra
1 Judgement Hammer
2 Unwanted Charity
1 Emerald Carbuncle


So, now I've been opening the 4 levels in Refess -> carb -> recovery powder -> guardian to stall generally. I assume this plays the same vs shade. I also still have that 1 vet pallie and 1 shadow spirit and am waiting for a second copy before putting those in.

And, when I meant 4*, I meant only from set 4 @_@ and none of them are refess so I don't have any playable 4* in big yellow. I'm also still trying to obtain recovery powders/ cures / magic bolts. Are the folrart mages useful? Since I've started Folrart arena, I haven't really had the chance to use them anymore since if I don't salamander somthing or rush star dragon, I'm generally dead. When are folrart mages best utilized?

I've managed to catch some games with Deng777 and Kornage and they were helpful although without the cards to use for SS and whatnot, I can only apply what I've seen in a limited way.

I don't really have any better SS cards but I'll definitely put in the suggestions when I manage to find some.

Out of curiosity, how is Seraph more useful than Healing priest. You're going to need the 1 level of Gowen anyways and with a carb opening, you generally sac it for the 1st SS relatively early anyways.

[LoneKnight]

Well, you only need the gowen level when you play salamander, while you need the refess levels to play Stardragon to begin with, so in some tight SP situations, it would be better. It really is only marginally worse though.

[psylensse]

bastandora! sometimes you hit him deliberately with a salamander too to trigger his counter, but that's pretty situational. Agree with LoneKnight - this is a Stardragon file, so rushing him (or bastandora depending on the situation) is your priority. The gowen level is for later.
I thought Kornage uses the mage? I don't remember, it's been awhile since I've played him. if so, just see what situations he brings her out. Judgement hammer is a solid add. Shadow spirit is great against stuff like serpents/frogs.
Anyway aside from the soul skill lineup which still needs to do more in the 2 and 3 slot (but I understand what you're saying about not having the cards for that yet) and adding Burning Sun grim, I don't have much else to add other than, do you have point cards? You might consider just point-carding the stuff you need. Make a priority list of cards you want, let us know how many point cards you have, pass it around the forum to see what folks think and then point card what you need. you're really close to having a complete file here; as is, it'll probably do okay.

[Otonashi]

Early salamander is fun to peg owl sages, but that's so early that you probably wouldn't have triggered the first SS yet; meaning a Gowen level might get wasted somewhere.

[Shirozaki]

Also, having Seraph means you won't get hit as hard by things like stronghold of chaos and Nue (Of which there are many right now) early on. FIerte SS on the other hand outright kills your chances either way.