Playing Gowen (Shin's Monsters)

[Rigel]

So tomorrow I'm going to buy the limited edition Shin's Monsters pre-built. I've never played any Gowen decks before (I've only used the Vosrot Sea Serpent pre-built), so I have a few questions. What kind of openings should I use, and against what files? What cards are essential to the strategy, and what can be taken out for extra grimoires or a third Bringer? How does this file compare to the example Monster file and the Row Monsters Variant file in the Example Decks topic? What files should I expect to give me trouble when I use this deck? Does anyone have any replays I could reference outside of the ones in the Example Decks topic? And is there anything else I should know about running this file?

[Savin877]

All of these suggestions are assuming you have the cards

Add 3 Kurinas
Rhinos and Gorilla stay
Add 1 more Forest of Hate to give you 3 copies
Make sure you have 2-3 Rapid Growth Grims to generate SP
2 salamanders should suffice. Some will say run 3.

The SS line needs tweaking as well. I am sure other players could help you more.

[Romdeau]

i disagree about 3 forest of hate and u only need 2 RG.

[Muklas]

All of these suggestions are assuming you have the cards

Add 3 Kurinas
Rhinos and Gorilla stay
Add 1 more Forest of Hate to give you 3 copies
Make sure you have 2-3 Rapid Growth Grims to generate SP
2 salamanders should suffice. Some will say run 3.

The SS line needs tweaking as well. I am sure other players could help you more.

For the SS lineup you could try Dryad soldier as 1st SS and then add 2 LP damage SS like Dub Rido, Lap/Zuga, Behemoth, Mizett in slots 2-3-4 and then a 3 LP anchor(preferably Lelein)

You could try adding a Sakura or two, along with a extra Fire arrow or BoF, oh and ditch a Shin for something( like the Bringer you got from the serial).

[Rigel]

That helps some. I don't have any Kurinas or a Lelein, but I can add pretty much everything other than those. The problem is that I can only fit 30 cards in a file. Also, I need to make sure my opening fits my soul skills. Right now, this is what I have:

3x Man-Eating Tiger
3x Forest Rhino
3x Giant Gorilla
2x The Forest of Hate
2x Salamander
1x EX: Girl Mercenary
2x Fire Arrow
2x Ball of Flame
1x Rapid Growth
1x Dragon Breath
2x Forest Hero / Athira Shin
3x Dragon Slayer / Bringer
SS1 Dryad Soldier
SS2 The Nullifier / Vol Agni
SS3 Saber Saint / Lapierre
SS4 Faerie Heroine / Mitzett
SS5 Guardian Sphinx

I'm currently following the basic opening set suggested in The Best Deck-Building Guide in the Universe, but I'm still not satisfied enough with my victories over the NPCs to move on to Folrart. Any advice on how I could adjust my openings or soul skills to improve their synergy? Any advice on what to take out and add to the deck? Any advice on the other questions I've asked that haven't been answered yet?

[GonFreeces31]

The one thing I'm a little worried about is that you might have too many damage grims. You got 3 Bringers and 2 Shins in there, both of which are really high level and expensive to bring out... and then on top of it 2 bofs and 2 arrows. I guess the file came like that but if I was playing it I would probably take out the second BoF maybe for another rapid growth or something.

Really beyond this point it's all nit picking though. Try it out and post some replays if you get stuck.

[Seizan]

I think I would go with Asuet/Distier as first ss, only your end-game units are higher than lvl 3, and if opponent triggers ss late you'll end up with sphere lvl 6. Vol Agni hits randomly, so not sure if it's good idea for second ss. Replace 1 BoF with Rapid Growth, maybe Sakura instead of 1 Salamander? Or single Will-o-wisp to save buffed Athira from opponents' Sakura?