Even in the face of heavy handicap, there are viable strategies that can be played so long as you have the right cards. Sometimes even a single copy of those cards is enough, even in Alteil. That's what this Quest proved. It's not easy, that's true. But it can still be done.

There were three main approaches our contestants took with their file building this time. One was to bank SP in a number of big, sturdy cards. Another was to field units that are very hard to remove from the field for whatever reason. And the last was to use various tricks of the trade to mess with the opponent's field and find chinks in his armor. Strategies involving Primclone and EX Phimilliar, in particular, showed up a significantly high number of times amongst the entries. Crest Spy was also a favorite tactic, though it was usually saved in reserve just in case it proved feasible.

Our winner went for the second main approach, building a field that's generally pretty hard to deconstruct. It also includes the concept of SP banking, but not in the sense that you expect a lot of cards to die beyond the early game. It's a matter of building up a desirable amount of SP, then falling back on those old undead standbys, Dragon Zombie and Zombie Lord / Zugateroza. Give it up and raise the dead for our winner:

WINNER
Iczer: CarnalForger
File Name: SP Bank

SOUL CARDS

1. Abyssal Strategist / Galdirea
   
2. Saber Saint / Lapierre
   
3. Solar Prince / Verlaat
   
4. Death Knight
   
5. Forest Sorceress / Anttila
   

PLAY CARDS

• 1 Shade
  
• 1 Exploding Spores
  
• 1 Animated Dead
  
• 1 Zombie Lord / Zugateroza
  
• 1 Ancient Zombie Lord
  
• 1 Crest Orderly
  
• 1 Crest Spy
  
• 1 Undead King / Zugateroza
  
• 1 Vile Swordsman / Afel
  
• 1 Revolver King / Shelby
  
• 1 Dragon Zombie
  
• 1 Sylph
  
• 1 Undine
  
• 1 EX: Girl Mercenary
  
• 1 Folrart Flying Cavalry
  
• 1 Like the Hand of God
  
• 1 Holy Shield
  
• 1 Counterattack
  
• 1 Return
  
• 1 Lost Tome
  
• 1 Aurora
  
• 1 Recovery Powder
  
• 1 Rapid Growth
  
• 1 Meaning of Failure
  
• 1 Soul Pact

RUNNERS-UP

1. TLHM
   
2. Lateralus923
   
3. Xovian
4. KaizerII
5. Keladry

The early game starts out with a Shade, followed by an Exploding Spores in the event the Shade was backlashed. Next EX: Girl Mercenary hits the field to buy time, and after the Galdirea soul skill goes off, Ancient Zombie Lord is played to begin banking SP. He's a good card to use for this, because he can take a couple hits and then give you an extra SP when he dies. Meanwhile, you're boosting your SP with grimoires.

Once you have enough SP, and that's typically an arbitrary call, Dragon Zombie is played. He immediately gets a Holy Shield played on him, and now that extra DF makes him much harder to kill quickly. Eventually Zombie Lord / Zugateroza makes his way onto the field, and now you have two die-hard hard-hitting cards that won't go away until your SP is depleted. CarnalForger suggests also playing Animated Dead, but that card's low HP makes me personally hesitate. He might work as a last-ditch effort in case you lose Dragon Zombie and/or Zugateroza, but by then the game is probably lost anyway.

The soul skills pack some extra punch and give you a few cards back thanks to Verlaat, and then Shelby and Afel are in the deck for crowd control. Shelby (who often will need Sylph assistance) is especially fun because he can basically wipe out the entire board, and you won't need those Gowen levels anymore anyway. Sure he hits your side of the field too, but given the cards you're using, that's not such a big deal provided you have sufficient SP. Crest Orderly is there for an additional SP boost, and Crest Spy just might get her chance to sneak in a 3LP Iczer Attack or two.

As with any deck that relies on keeping something like Dragon Zombie "alive", SP sapping is the biggest weakness here. One Wrath of the Constellations or a well-timed Succubus, and it's pretty much over. But if the opponent doesn't have a way to kill your SP, and especially if they have no ways to deal with high DF, it could very well mean an easy win. A Fierte soul skill can also ruin this game, but that goes without saying for such a file.

Congrats all around, and thanks to all who entered. I got 33 entries this time, which is a new record. Keep 'em coming, and watch for the start of the next Quest.

--Arakis