www.alteil.com

by **darklogos** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 1:11 pm

Hello you fresh level 15 person. I see that nice pretty star by the side of your name. You got some good help from those trainers and you schooled a lot of people with your fresh starter. You got your last level up card and you think the ownage is going to continue. I'm sorry I'm here to prepeare you for your new home Folrart where you go back down to the bottom of the totem pole. But by the time you finish reading this guide it should help your transition be a little less rough. If you are super new and are still in crest and having problems check out this link (http://www.alteil.com/forum/index.php?f ... pic#p15631) and this link (http://www.alteil.com/forum/index.php?f ... =viewtopic) This will help you with some more basic questions. When you get more advanced this link (http://www.alteil.com/forum/index.php?f ... =viewtopic) will help you with more complex elements of the game.

Table of contents

Chap 1 General info

Chap 2 Making Friends

Chap 3 Mindset change

Track 1: I'm not going to spend money

Track 2: I'm willing to spend a little

Track 3: Money is no object
____________________________________________________________________________
updated track 1-3 due to point card changes.
updated changes due to 10 gran lotto
updated and add some more links
_____________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 1

The first thing you need to know is that you are at a great knowledge level disadvantage. Second is that everyone has seen some version of your modified starter. This leaves you with very few aces up your sleeve. If you have been playing your Mirage Master you should have some gran saved up to get a pack or 2. Everything seems up hill from this point. Truthfully it is. But you're not alone in this feeling. I had problems in Crest. I probably had the worst record in Crest of any iczer. But I learned not to take loss too personal. This is what you will have to learn as well. Starting off your wins will be way below your win loss average in crest.

So how do we turn this all around? Well you're going to need some tools. Your first tool is pen/paper or Word Processor. The second thing you will need is the in game chat. The last tool you will need is a fresh perspective. Now with these tools the next 2 chapters will be a lot easier.

Chapter 2

Hello Mr. Anti-Social and Ms. Anti-Social. You don't have much to say and you think all other Iczers are below you. That's fine. But your new position requires you to be a bit more humble. Open up the chat program and take a peek in. Do you see anyone in there that is level 20 or higher? If so ask some questions about what is popular to run, what is the current top tactic, and how do I beat Gowen rush. Amazingly people will usually respond and be quite helpful. Heck they might actually want to help you in the future. Wow that wasn't that hard. The biggest resource to Iczers is chat. All the top Iczers pop into chat at one time or another. Not only that, but several good tactics just might get dropped in your lap without any work. Many times the decks that are bothering you are bothering other players as well.

Now I want you to go to another part of these forums. I want you to go to Annarose's Sanctum. I want you to read through the top 5 threads. When you go through all of those threads and actually read them you will be better then the average Iczer. Why is that? The top tactics and cards will always be talked about and how they can or can not be nerfed. That little card you didn't think was worth anything might actually be a mvp. Not only that if you face X broke deck you know all its weaknesses. Annarose's Sanctum usually has other loose thoughts that you may be able to tie together into the new big deck.

Chapter 3

If you got this far then I got you for the rest of the guide so sit back, get an iced coffee and chill. One of the big things that has to change is your mindset. This involves your knowledge base and how you see cards. The best thing to do is to read through every card in the game. Yes I SAID IT. The main reason you want to do this is know what cards can do in general so you're not surprised when you see the card. Many times certain cards beg other cards to be played in tandem. If you see lycan cards you're going to see Succubus and Eskatia. It's just a matter of when. Also going through the cards allows you to mark out cards you want to use in the future. This is when your pen and paper/word processor comes in. Start writing down cards and combos you start to think of. This way you can come back to them when formulating decks.

Take part in the Challenge of Fortnight. You need to stretch your mind. Think about underrated cards. For example. At one point in time I hated to use Ignition. Either the unit was too slow or didn't have enough HP for the card to be useful. After the Fortnight challenge I saw all sort of uses for Ignition. The best combo was Ignition with the Refess angel soul skill with Swordsman Bazgar or Larut or even Fire Dragon. Playing new ideas that aren't seen that often gives you the edge over the cookie cutter Iczer. There will always be a top deck that everyone either builds or builds to beat. It is your job to find the oddity to play that people will be caught off guard and unable to respond how they want. I will not sugar coat that copying top decks will get you wins. Because like in any games top decks will dominate. Creativity will prove you are not a one trick pony.

DO NOT RECYCLE CARDS UNTIL YOU GET 4 OR MORE OF THAT CARD! I REPEAT DO NOT RECYCLE CARDS UNTIL YOU GET 4 OR MORE OF THAT CARD! It doesn't matter if you're Refess only or whatever. You will kick yourself in the head when you realize what you lost. I know I did. Don't recycle rares kids that one card you want isn't worth it.

Now at this stage in the guide you can pick the track that most likely fits how you are going to operate in the game.

Track 1: I’m not paying for a free game.

This is the most common perspective that people have in Alteil. There are many players who do well that don’t pay at all. With that being said your level of dedication and shrewd you are with your gran. If you play for free the only way you can keep up with the top decks is to play a lot and win a lot. Your success is going to depend on your weekly allowance from the game. This means you are going to be playing Gowen rush for a long while to build up wins. Why Gowen rush? Well it’s the cheapest effective deck a person can play even with the new starters. Gowen rush uses a lot of low rarity cards that are effective. This is why people hate on Gowen so much and call them the “Newb” sphere to play. Many of the promotions or special lottos you really aren’t going to be participating in. When it comes to EX packs buy only after the next set comes out. The effectiveness of EX packs seem to grow when next expansion is taken into consideration. You will be saving and saving and saving so that you can buy maybe a box or 2 from the next expansion and pray you get the cards you need. You will also be dependent on winning treasure battles so you can get new cards and also recycle multiples to get more gran. Playing without paying is doable just realize you will have a rough time if you don’t have the right cards. Point cards are going to help you either fill out low rarities you need or get you a really good card once and at best twice a month. Before point cards you could have a flashy avatar but now you will be on the basic stool for a long while. Another option you have is to play your Mirage master for 10 gran a day so you can play the lotto every day. This way you can get a new card everyday and build up your card files. If you pull a 3 star or above count yourself lucky. The lotto odds are better for beginners then for older players. So play the lotto and give some cats in folrart a run for their gran.

Track 2: I’m willing to spend a little money.

Let me define what a little money is. A little money is 20-30 dollars ever so often when you get it. Thirty dollars and up gives you the most gran for your buck. But people have budgets. This puts you in a better position then the person that won’t pay any money at all. The first is that if you follow the same habits as the person above you should have a good amount of gran saved up by your 20’s and early 30’s. Not only that, but you will be able to employ more tactics and play more then one type of deck. You might get lucky in the lotto and pull a 4 or 5 star rarity card that has an awesome soul skill. You are going to be more likely to take part in most events and maybe even drop enough money for 3-4 boxes of a new expansion but then you're not going to spend for a long while. Pay attention to the forums on what to buy, and how much and when to stop buying. You will most likely have the same success rate as the person who doesn’t pay but you will play less and run about even. If you play more then a non-spender you will eventually out pace them and have more cards and options then they do. With the point cards you will find your existence a bit more comfortable. The more you play the more you have over the non-buyer. You are saving your point cards for 4 and 5 stars. Your mainly looking for soul skills or fill out some cards so you can have a play set. Point cards made your existence a lot more comfortable. The lotto should only be played early on or when you have recycled and recycled after you bought a box and you have less gran then a pack. You will get to the point after 3-8 months where the lotto can not get you cards you are missing.

Track 3: Money is no object

If you are reading this then you are either super competitive or a collector. If you're going to spend money there is no need to splurge or spend blindly. You're most likely going to buy 5+ boxes of a set and then some over time. Don’t rush and drop a ton of money on a set when it comes out. Distribution will come back and bite you in the butt like it did me this last set. (NO PROXIES AND 5 EXTRA RIGHT HAND SHIELDS) Knowing what is better to buy, packs or boxes, will max out your spending. Only in large, spending 80+ dollars per set, can one truly be hardcore competitive early on. All this does is shorten the gap between you and vets. Experience will still be on their side, but if you followed this guide you should give them a good fight. If you want to complete a set you are looking to spend 300+ dollars plus on each set 1 and 2 in boxes. Then on set 3 your looking about 200-250 dollars on packs for set 3 to get a decent number of Proxies. Spending big puts the odds in your favor each time when it comes to buying. Point cards now let you target the third copy of the 5 star rare you need to complete your set. Your not spending your fight money on anything other then point cards. If possible spend your gran on avatar elements when they go on sale. Why. Your gran gives you a "chance" for getting the card you want. Point cards guarantee you the card you want. You will be playing at a casual rate, but don't forsake mirage master fight money. Playing for an extra 30 or 40 fight money a day from mirage master will get you your wanted rares faster. It may take a while to get it though. One thing to consider is the fight money potions from the item store. Read this link.
http://www.alteil.com/forum/index.php?f=15&t=1407&rb_v=viewtopic

After you decide what you want to do and how much you want to invest gran wise pull out your best deck and go for that silver star you wanted. This way you move closer to leveling and get the fight money for the rare you want. Unlike the other 2 tracks you should have an extra 150-300 gran you can spare. The lotto is not your friend! I REPEAT! The lotto is not your friend. You will have a majority of the 1 and 2 stars. The lotto is weighted toward those teir cards. So play the lotto at your own risk.

by **Romdeau** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:20 pm

This was a nice read. I'd recommend it to anyone that fits in the relevant category.

by **DanTheTimid** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 12:08 pm

I think asking players to memorize EVERY card and write down combos after going through every card is a bit much, but I will grant that it IS a tactic that could help out players, just a very extreme one. In any case overall I found this to be a great read, I give it my seal of approval to those struggling in Folrart.

by **darklogos** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 12:47 pm

DanTheTimid wrote:I think asking players to memorize EVERY card and write down combos after going through every card is a bit much, but I will grant that it IS a tactic that could help out players, just a very extreme one. .

In all honesty it is a bit at first. I found that is what most of the top players end up doing in some form or fashion anyway. When I started playing I ate up to much clock reading over cards and wondering what they did. Rush decisions usually lead to a loss research helps one use less clock. Also there are some tactics we overlook because they are not the big meta but can work on a smaller scale. Fairy Dance + Wasps(that new card with the bugs on it) is a very good devastating combo. It is invis druid for those who can't afford invis druid. Also mimicking a top deck without all the cards will many times lead to a loss. Creative solutions keep an experienced player guessing or playing more conservatively many times. Also trial and error will cause the player to change up their deck quite often leading uncertainity in the opponents mind on the contents of the deck.