Buqs [LL 3.16] Wolfpack [Outside of Wulven Class – Wulven Alignment]

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VERSION: 3.160

Lore: TO BE ADDED

Wulven, though not “wolves”, behave very similar to them in that they do have a pack mentality, and this is represented through various card designs requiring only Wulven or effects happen with another Wulven ally. Generally in a wolf pack, many of the members are young (2-3 years old) represented by the lower cost of all the existing allies, with 2 Alphas (Male/Female) which are currently absent from the alignment (outside of Wulven Class). The Wulven alignment has been my favorite to investigate because of its uniqueness of existing within and outside of the Class. For this articles purposes, currently I will not be discussing the Wulven Class, though I may decide to include this at a later time.

This guide is an evolving article which will change periodically, depending on balancing card changes or a change in my though process after playing more with the cards. Special thanks, as always, to Gondorian and TJ Starval for input!

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Buqs [LL 3.160] Frankenstein’s Castle (Shadow/Human/Neutral Homunculus Alignment Guide)

FROM SHADOWERA WIKI:

Homunculus is a tribe of allies in Shadow Era. They were introduced in Dark Prophecies, with further support in Shattered Fates. This type of ally are made up of creatures which have been artificially created by their specific faction (they have members on both the Human and Shadow sides). They seem to have a wide range of effects, some involving the graveyard, attachments, and attack/health increasing.

1VERSION: 3.160

Lore: The Homunculus alignment is tied together by the idea of created allies, usually with some elemental (fire, ice, electrical) theme or being created from other allies. Then growing and augmenting them.

As I look over the tribe in general and read the wiki about what the alignment is, I can’t help but think of the Frankenstein monster. Essentially the tribe is using “pieces” from your hand and “parts” from graveyards to grow your allies. So far the shadow side of the tribe revolves around discarding from the hand and exiling from any graveyards to manipulate the board and receives one or more bonuses from doing so. The human side appears to be a wisp (no real synergy), electric theme and a combination of temporary and actual growth. The neutral side appear to be all over the place but provide some additional choices for both the human/shadow builds. Homunculus decks are generally ally heavy and very reliant on items and attachments specifically, with a splash of other abilities here and there. Homunculus having access to all the different types of combat damage really makes me appreciate the Frankenstein approach of the tribe much more.

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Buqs [LL 3.160] Engineering an Empire (Aldmor Alignment Guide)

1VERSION: 3.160

Lore: TO BE ADDED

The Aldmor Alignment reminds me a lot of a show I watched on the History Channel, Engineering an Empire, which follows how various Civilizations used Engineering to help win battles. The Aldmor have a great number of Artifacts (Engineering) which help to create various bonuses to benefit the tribe. In addition, the Aldmor are also very Shadow Energy based and benefit greatly from SE activated abilities and/or having equal to/more than your opponents.

This guide is an evolving article which will change periodically, depending on balancing card changes or a change in my thought process after playing more with the cards. Special thanks, as always, to Gondorian, Starval, Veles, Preybird and Bob Ross for input!

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Buqs [LL 3.16] Book of Ellos’ (Templar Alignment Guide)

knight_s_prayer_by_matthieumaVERSION: 3.16

Lore: Templar – Tribes in Focus

The Templar Alignment resemble priest-like or crusading warrior figures. They have varying effects revolving around arcane damage, abilities, and buffing/debuffing various things.

This guide is an evolving article which will change periodically, depending on balancing card changes or a change in my thought process after playing more with the cards. Special thanks, as always, to Gondorian, Starval, Veles, Preybird and Bob Ross for input!

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Buqs [LL 3.160] Suicide Squad (Twilight Alignment Guide)

Suicide SquadVERSION: 3.160

Lore: TO BE ADDED

Twilight Alignment is very much an interesting alignment to me. They have an interesting playstyle which includes a variety of characteristics of various Shadow Alignments. They have a likeness to the Undead in that they are death oriented having things trigger along with dying or having things happen based on their graveyards. Similarities exist to the Ravager in that they both are combo oriented and generally remove 1 combo piece in order to execute the combo. Like the Shadow Homunculus they have various growth options and can play Tower Ally builds. Finally they are very much dependent on other Twilight allies giving them a pack mentality similar to the Wulven/Yari Alignments.

This guide is an evolving article which will change periodically, depending on balancing card changes or a change in my thought process after playing more with the cards. Special thanks, as always, to Gondorian, Starval, Veles, Preybird and Bob Ross for input!

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Buqs [LL 3.160] Necronomicon (Undead Alignment Guide)

Necronomicon

VERSION: 3.16

Lore: TO BE ADDED

The Undead Alignment is one of the most synergistic alignments in Shadow Era, and also the most versatile. This is most likely due to having available Undead alignment cards as early as Call of the Crystals and having been constantly added with each of the subsequent expansions up to our current Lost Lands Expansion. The tribe in general has an overall feeling of aggression and being hard to get rid of …. completely.

This guide is an evolving article which will change periodically, depending on balancing card changes or a change in my though process after playing more with the cards. Special thanks, as always, to Gondorian, Starval, and BobRoss for input!

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Buqs [LL 3.160] Demolition Derby (Ravager Alignment Guide)

VERSION: 3.160

Lore: TO BE ADDED

The Ravager are possibly one of the most complete Alignments in Shadow Era. They have a great blend of aggressive and defensive allies, ability damage, attack boosters, a variety of item/ability destruction and even negative effects removal. The only thing the alignment specifically lacks is a dedicated draw engine having to rely on Class/Faction cards to fill these needs. The Ravagers are also a combo oriented tribe, however they do not necessarily need to rely on combos in order to maintain their strategies. In addition the Alignment also represents a lot of the cost mechanic Sustain (read more here) to help offset some of the tremendous strengths of the tribe. I personally enjoy the tribe and have come to appreciate them through studying them.

This guide is an evolving article which will change periodically, depending on balancing card changes or a change in my thought process after playing more with the cards. Special thanks, as always, to Gondorian, Starval, Veles, Preybird and Bob Ross for input!

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Buqs [SF 2.920] Art of War (Yari Alignment Guide)

VERSION: 2.920

SpartanLore: The Yari are made up of mercenaries from all over Balor. They are gifted warriors that function like an army for hire. They have no defined “home”, so the Yari do not fight for pride of country, but for some material reward.

The Yari Alignment very much reminds me of the Spartan Warriors of Ancient Greece in how they function together as a unit. Specializing in attack, as well as protection of their fellow brother in arms. They are unique in that they are a Class Alignment which is available to Human and Shadow Factions allowing for some very diverse builds due to faction card pools.

This guide is an evolving article which will change periodically, depending on balancing card changes or a change in my thought process after playing more with the cards. Special thanks, as always, to Gondorian and TJ Starval for input!

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Starval’s [SF] Hero Profile: Zhanna 

Zhanna has been my favorite hero since I started playing in the early days of Call Of The Crystals (COTC). In Dark Prophecies (DP) and especially in COTC, Zhanna had no autoloss conditions using a standard deck – featuring The King’s Pride (TKP), Retreat, Healing Touch (HT), and Focused Prayer (FP) while mixing in Tainted Oracle (TO), Elizabeth Winterborn (EW), and Wizent’s Staff (WS) for draw. She had no consistent way of dealing high damage (like a Mage’s Fireball) or instant death (like a Rogue’s Assassinate) to an opposing ally but the constant knowledge of Tidal Wave kept opponents at bay. The opponent had two routes – play into Tidal Wave or play single allies that get bounced by a Retreat/Banish or get locked by Jasmine Rosecult. It was a golden age for Zhanna.

Shattered Fates (SF) introduced new heroes and new cards across the board for all classes. Already difficult matches for Zhanna became even more difficult. Discard Zaladar, Wulven Moonstalker, Serena, and Homunculus Aramia are all vastly difficult for a standard Zhanna deck to compete with. The slow and steady pace of the old style of Zhanna became no longer good enough.
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Hidden Potential In Cards: Spirit Warden

A little while ago, Veles wrote an article about the Shadow Era card Antimatter and how it has gone from mediocre in Dark Prophecies to excellent in Shattered Fates.  The same can be said about the card Spirit Warden, except it was mediocre and is now excellent for very different reasons.  Antimatter got better because of other cards that became available to elementals, while Spirit Warden became better because of cards available to everyone else. Continue reading