Hollow Knight, released in 2017, is one of the few modern Metroidvania games. The game was a success, and was universally appraised, and with good reasons. What is Hollow Knight? Is it worth it. Should you play a Metroidvania game? Find out below.
This review will be split into a Storyline, Gameplay, Visuals, and finally, Personal Thoughts sections. Without further ado:
Storyline
The story goes very deep. Now, I usually spoil the story in my reviews, but I really think this is a game where you should enjoy finding out about the lore through the game itself.
The main premise is that you control a nameless character (the Knight) as you explore the (tremendous) kingdom of Hallownest. As you explore, you find out that the kingdom is mostly in shambles.
I will also say that this game has multiple endings.
Finally, I’ll have to say that the story in this game, albeit complicated at start, is very deep and exciting, and something you should definitely spend time on, discovering the history of the kingdom and the role your character plays.
Gameplay
The game is pretty simplistic in its gameplay, and to be honest, that’s one of its merits. It shouldn’t take you long to figure out, and most controls are the classic controls for any action platformer.
Your main moves are right and left. You can also jump. Finally, you can strike with your weapon called “the Nail”. It functions as a sword though.
You can swing to your direction, but you can also try to swing upwards to catch flying enemies. You can also swing downwards when on the air and try to hit someone below, which causes you to bounce.
While you kill enemies, you will collect money, called “Geo”.
One unique thing is the Soul Meter. When you hit enemies, your Soul Meter fills. You can use Soul to heal yourself, or to cast some spells you will discover as you play.
Speaking of which, you will unlock quite a few moves as you play, which will significantly increase your ability to move and attack.
Another function you should know are the charms. Charms are pins that give you a permanent effect while equipped. Each charm costs an amount of notches to use and you start with 3. You can increase that number while playing.
Now about the game itself. Most of the game is exploring honestly.
You start with the Forgotten Crossroads, and from there, it pretty much snowballs. You will have a lot of trouble navigating at start.
The game has many areas, and each area has its own map. To get the map you have to find the Cartographer, and buy a map. Then, you can explore and fill the map. However, in order for new areas to be noted down on your map, you must rest on one of the many benches you will find.
Benches also serve as save points for when you die. They also heal you for full.
As you explore, you will find many things. Shops, transport… “vehicles”, items, etc.
If you die, your soul remains where you died, and you have to return to kill it to get back your Geo. If you die twice without getting your soul, you lose all your Geo.
Also, while you haven’t taken your soul back, your Soul Meter is broken, losing 1/3 of its capacity until you restore it.
While you explore, you will find bosses. Despite bosses being simple (only having 2-5 simple patterns of attacks), man can they be frustrating. Honestly, it might surprise you considering how simple this game is.
The game also adheres to the completionist types as there are many, many things to find and do, including lots of secrets.
Also, being a Metroidvania game, there will be quite a bit of backtracking. Your new abilities will surely come in handy to reach places you couldn’t before, even if you passed them while exploring.
A fun thing about this game is the progression. There really is no set path (most of the time) to follow, and you can do many things that others would have done towards the end.
That’s why I highly recommend you play and finish the game all on your own for the first time before you try to see any guide about anything.
Visuals
The visuals are stunning. Hollow Knight is one of those games you will enjoy spending hours on, and the Visuals help a lot! There is a dark, melancholic theme all around, but the enemies and especially the areas are quite beautiful to look at.
The theme will probably give you more of a “Souls-like” feeling, but the game is far from it. Besides, many areas are vibrant and full of life.
Even the animations are absolutely fluid while remaining beautiful.
Even if you don’t enjoy darker themes in your games, I still recommend this to anyone who likes platformers, action games, metroidvania games, or even anyone wanting to try them.
Personal Thoughts
It might seem like Hollow Knight doesn’t have any negatives, and it truly is one of these games where you can hardly find anything objectively negative. At least negative enough to ruin your experience.
As I mentioned, the “worst” thing it has is its difficulty which gets infuriating at times. But that’s part of the game, and I’m sure you’ll be overjoyed with each challenge you overcome.
Truth is, the game will most probably absorb you into its world, and keep you there with all the lore you will discover and all the exploration you will do.
Final Verdict:
Storyline: 8
Gameplay: 9
Visuals: 9
General Rating: 9
Have you played Hollow Knight? Have you enjoyed it? Are you excited for its sequel? Leave a comment below.
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While my Tier List does have the most successful strategies, I thought I’d give you the best decks out there for each character.
Before I begin, I want you to know something. By “best decks” I mean decks that are optimized in general for high-level play.
I also have some things to say about the nature of this guide.
Firstly, in Super Spell Heroes, after a point, you can build 3 decks for each character and choose which one to use when you see your opponent.
So, besides telling you the best decks, I will also tell you when you should use them.
Secondly, while I’ll be presenting the decks, I will list some good alternatives for various cards (if there are any), to build a more personalized deck.
Thirdly, if you have any questions about why I chose certain decks to face certain opponents (in the Matchups sections), please leave a comment and I will explain it in-depth. Do remember, however, they are recommendations.
Without further ado:
-Zenron, the Sorcerer
Preview
Zenron is all about nuking you, and all 3 decks rely on actually nuking your opponent, whether it’s fast or slow.
Zenron also relies quite a lot on his Advanced spells to win the game.
Deck #1: Annihilating Fire
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Nova Vision
Annihilating Fire
Magmabomb
Fire Meteor
Root Braid
Big Shield
Spider Web
Heal
Relief
This deck relies on finishing the job fast. For those who don’t know, Annihilating Fire happens to be stronger than a lot of Elite Spells, and easily the strongest Advanced Spell in Zenron’s arsenal.
Its drawback is huge; it reverts you back to basic spells.
Rather simple plan, mass-collect Fire Elements and do 1 HUGE early attack that no one who is on Advanced Tier should be able to defend.
That’s why we’re using Nova Vision as well, so you can get Annihilating Fire as soon as possible. Since Nova Vision brings you only Basic or Advanced Fire Spells from your deck, you have 50% of getting Annihilating Fire.
When you don’t attack, defend!
Your goal is to build that biggest attack possible, and you can’t do that if you’re not alive!
Anything on Elite level and above is purely cosmetic, if you’re reaching there, you’re doing something wrong. There is no case where you will need anything from Elite or Ultimate Spells.
Alternatives:
Shield instead of Root Braid. You should do that if you really hate multi-hit attacks.
Big Heal instead of Relief. Relief is in there to help you clear the board for more potential Fire Elements, but if you find yourself getting nuked all too often, then Big Heal will keep you alive longer.
FOR THE DARING ONES: Fire Rage (or Volcano) instead of Relief. Quite simply, if you can pull either of the 2 channels (preferably Fire Rage), you get a much stronger Annihilating Fire. Do note though that the chance of getting Annihilating Fire with Nova Vision drops to 33% due to the increased number of Fire Spells. But you now have a 33% of getting Fire Rage (or Volcano).
Deck #2: Fire Rage NUKE
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Nova Vision
Fire Rage
Spider Web
Fire Meteor
Root Braid
Big Shield
Healing Spring
Heal
Relief
When you want to NUKE, you use this deck.
Despite being a nuke deck, this deck is mostly Nature Spells. That’s because you will need to be defending before you nuke as you rely on your Ultimate Spell.
If you can get a Fire Rage for a rage Token, you’re probably gonna be able to fully nuke the opponent. If you get 2, I can’t think of anyone who could defend it (if everyone is on the same level of course).
I suggest saving up for Fire Elements for as long as you can to ensure victory.
Simple deck really, not much more to say.
Alternatives:
Shield instead of Root Braid. You should do that if you really hate multi-hit attacks.
Big Heal instead of Relief. Relief is in there to help you clear the board for more potential Fire Elements, but if you find yourself getting nuked all too often, then Big Heal will keep you alive longer.
Massive Shield instead of Spider Web. You should do that if you really, REALLY hate multi-hit attacks.
Healing Shield instead of Healing Spring. More blocking could always be nice, and if you prefer that instead of a channel, you can at least heal a bit (not to mention that you can block those dreaded multi-hit attacks).
Double Magmabomb instead of Fire Meteor. Many players like the increased total damage, but Double Magmabomb personally bugs me. The reason is that it throws 2 weaker than Fire Meteor attacks that do more total damage. However, they are easier to defend, as if an opponent can block 1 of the half of the Magmabomb, he can defend the other.
Deck #3: Volcano Rush
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Fire Bomb
Overheated Fire Lance
Spider Web
Fire Meteor
Root Braid
Overheated Double Fireball
Healing Shield
Shield
Volcano
This is by far the hardest deck Zenron uses. You will often have to make the choice of progressing your spell bar or harassing your opponent (Overheated spells don’t fill your spell charge bar).
The gist is that you spam your opponent with the Overheated spells, and if the circumstances allow it, use Volcano for a huge early Overheated spell, or a late-game finisher.
Nature Spells are mostly shields, as you need to survive without being on the verge of dying.
Healing Spring instead of Healing Shield. I generally recommend this change in conjunction with the above. Massive Shield will be covering all your shielding needs, so a pure Heal Spell would be better.
Matchups
The first deck will be used against opponents who must be killed early before they have tome to set up and/or disrupt you.
The second deck is the exact opposite. You will be using it against opponents who most certainly can’t kill you early.
The third is the middle-ground. You’ll be using it when neither of the above decks can do the job, and you just need to constantly attack your opponent.
In mirror matches, you will generally prefer the 1st or 2nd deck, as every Zenron deck has decent defenses.
To sum it up, I recommend:
vs Zenron: #1 or #2
vs Jane: #1
vs Thoben: #2
vs Tierra: #2
vs Asgard: #3
vs Myris: #3
vs Ra’ju: #3
vs Van Raven: #1
vs Pom: #1
vs Ray: #2
vs Lua: #3
-Jane, the Witch
Preview
Jane is fast and ruthless. Playing against her can be extremely frustrating as she has the tools to completely shut down almost any opponent. You have to be smart to play with her and against her.
She relies on spammy tactics in order to win, with a little bit of disruption.
Deck #1: Fire Arrow Flurry
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Fire Arrow
Fire Arrow x2
Fire Arrow x4
Poison Arrow
Shield
Fire Rush
Massive Shield
Paralyzing Dart
Big Heal
WARNING:
This deck is extremely hard to master and quite versatile and fast-paced.
The first thing you must master is the art of the Fire Arrow. You must learn how to time it in order for an arrow to pass when an opponent is shielding.
If your internet speed is decent, you should start casting when the opponent’s shield duration is halfway done.
However, you also have Fire Rush, which leaves you with a token that lets you instantly cast any Fire Spell.
The Poison Arrow is the big finisher.
Just spam tokens and Poison Arrow, and you should kill most opponents. Usually, 3-4 Bleed Tokens is the optimal number to have before you Poison Arrow.
Alternatives:
Pierce/Firebat instead of Shield. For a more offensive-oriented build.
Fire Chain instead of Fire Arrow x4. I suggest you do that if you think that you can keep enough Bleed Tokens on the opponent’s field without Fire Arrows x4. A great change once you’ve mastered the deck.
Fire Arrow x8 instead of Poison Arrow. This is purely a trolling option. If you wanna be really annoying, it’s very fun to play with it, but don’t expect to win more games with them.
Deck #2: Phoenix Destruction
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Firebat
Fire Phoenix
Scorpio Ring
Dragon’s Breath
Shield
Oxidation
Massive Shield
Paralyzing Dart
Big Heal
Fire Phoenix is the only thing that matters.
This deck is one of the fastest decks in the game. For those of you who don’t know: Fire Phoenix (on hit) creates an Elite Fire Phoenix. And the Elite one creates (on hit) an Ultimate Fire Phoenix.
The plan is simple. Rush an Ultimate Fire Phoenix (albeit patiently), and hit your opponents big-time before they have the chance to properly defend.
Just in case you can’t kill them early, this deck’s pretty balanced out anyway, so you could get some use off from your Elite and especially your Ultimate spells.
Alternatives:
Pierce instead of Firebat. More potential early damage. Firebat is more disruptive.
Regeneration instead of Oxidation. With Regeneration, you have more coverage against any enemy’s status conditions, and you still leave room for more Fire elements on the board.
Deck #3: Heat (it) Up
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Firebat
Heat Up
Fireflies
Dragon’s Breath
Shield
Big Shield
Massive Shield
Paralyzing Dart
Big Heal
A very balanced and risky deck and arguably the slowest one in Jane’s arsenal.
This deck relies on killing the opponent with Fireflies. Fireflies is a very weak multi-hit attack that hits a whopping 20 times.
If it’s so weak, how do we expect to deal damage?
Heat Up. When you (successfully) cast Heat Up, it leaves you with a Heat Token that increases a Fire Spell’s damage by a set amount!
So, we got the main combo. What’s the plan?
I’ve seen people play this 2 ways.
The first is the simple one. Heat Up when in advanced, and prepare to cast Fireflies ASAP using the Token.
However, the second strategy guarantees a win – if you can pull it off! –
It relies on patience and build-up. Your purpose is to reach the Ultimate tier and cast a successful Dragon’s Breath, thus clearing the opponent’s board.
You generally should judge on your own depending on how the fight goes, what your opponent has, etc.
Alternatives:
Nothing really! This deck is great as it is, and it doesn’t need, nor can it afford to change anything.
Matchups
The first deck will be mainly used on fast opponents to disrupt them. Not only that, but fast opponents will probably be able to defend #2 and #3.
The second deck is better suited against slow opponents who like to nuke, and it’s actually a nuke race.
The third deck is probably going to be used against opponents who are more defensive and slow because they like to set-up. You clear their set-up with Dragon’s Breath and kill them with Fireflies.
In mirror matches, it’s really hard to say, as all 3 decks offer completely different playstyles. All decks can work successfully against a mirror match, but if I had to, I’d say #2 has a slight advantage.
To sum it up, I recommend:
vs Zenron: #2
vs Jane: Whichever makes you feel more comfortable
vs Thoben: #3
vs Tierra: #1
vs Asgard: #2
vs Myris: #3
vs Ra’ju: #1
vs Van Raven: #1
vs Pom: #1
vs Ray: #2
vs Lua: #3
-Thoben, The Monk
Preview
Wait, a healer that can win? Thoben is one of the best guys to go around due to his flexibility. He can actually use several strategies successfully and also, can be a surprising opponent as he doesn’t have just 1 optimal deck to use against his opponents.
And all that while relying on pure defense tactics!
Deck #1: Zen Pulse
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Light Up
Nature Prism
Power Swipe
Zen Pulse
Shield
Regeneration
Angelic Guard
Heal
Big Shield
This deck is simple because it relies on 3 cards with a set rotation; Light Up (x3) -> Zen Pulse -> Power Swipe.
Zen Pulse reduces an opponent’s HP down to 1 (but no more than a set amount depending on level). Power Swipe finishes them off since its power is tremendous of you have more HP than your opponent.
Braindead deck really, the rest are supplementary.
Alternatives:
Instead of suggesting alternatives, I will just say you can replace every shield and heal spell with their Chi counterparts, but you have to be careful; you have less raw numbers in terms of defense (at the start at least), and when you get hit, you lose an element.
Deck #2: HP Power
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Chi Punch
Nature Prism
Power Swipe
Power Strike
Energizing Shield
Advanced Chi Block
Power Block
Life Cocoon
Absorption
You’ll be bored with this deck, but no more than your opponent.
The plan is simple; you just defend HARD, while using chi tokens and energize tokens to build huge Life Cocoons, heal any excess damage with Absorption (and Life Cocoon) and Power Sweep/Strike them once or twice until they die.
The deck is boring, but it’s stable and consistent. Not many opponents will be able to kill you, spam you with attacks, or disrupt you that much.
It’s also not great at anything either, frankly, it’s a jack-of-all-trades.
Alternatives:
Soul Link instead of Nature Prism. A more aggressive variant, this uses the HP you build up even more. Be careful though, you have to be careful with the plethora of Nature Spells in your deck. Doing this, you should also replace Absorption with:
Meditation (instead of Absorption). Obviously, since Absorption burns your Nature Elements, you will need to replace it.
Deck #3: Angelic Spam
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Noble Guard
Soul Guard
Sky Guard
Angelic Wrath
Basic Chi Block
Advanced Chi Block
Inner Focus
Relaxation
Meditation
Ok, I’ll be honest, no one uses a third deck for Thoben. Since there is space, I thought I’d present you with something.
This deck relies on defending (what a surprise…)
Your Nature shields produce Chi. Your Light shields (bar Noble Guard) generate an Angelic Wrath.
The general idea is to spam Angelic Wrath.
You won’t be using this deck I guess, but it can surprise opponents.
Alternatives:
Nothing. This deck is… perfect just how it is.
Matchups
Generally, you’ll be using Zen Pulse.
However, if the opponent doesn’t have any serious way to damage you, #2 is an excellent option, as it allows you to stack your health to extreme amounts.
#3 is a surprise deck. It can be used successfully against Jane and her constant attacking.
On mirror matches, prepare to go to sleep. You will use #1 because you definitely need to have more HP than him, or else he gets the advantage. Think of it like this: #1 beats #2 and #3 of this list and is equal to #1. Most Thobens will be using #1 and #2. Do the math.
To sum it up, I recommend:
vs Zenron: #1
vs Jane: #3
vs Thoben: #1
vs Tierra: #1
vs Asgard: #1
vs Myris: #2
vs Ra’ju: #1
vs Van Raven: #1
vs Pom: #1
vs Ray: #1
vs Lua: #2
-Tierra, the Huntress
Preview
Huntress definitely fits Tierra, as she is fast and merciless (not to mention annoying)… Joking aside, Tierra really is fast, and you’re gonna find yourself overwhelmed when playing against her.
She relies on quickly filling her spell charge bar to pull her deck’s gimmick.
Deck #1: Classic Burst
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Arcane Shot
Double Fireball
Godhammer
Double Magmabomb
Divine Glint
Heroic Guard
Sky Guard
Noble Guard
Dawn
This deck is really basic, and you’re gonna be using it most of the time since it’s really consistent.
The general strategy is spamming Arcane Shot to fill up your spell charge bar, use Godhammer on the first good chance you get and wait for a good finishing Double Magmabomb.
There are many changes you can make to make the deck feel more unique to you, and I will indicate some, but I must tell you, Arcane Shot, Godhammer, and Double Magmabomb are essential.
Alternatives:
Enlightenment instead of Divine Glint. A more defensive approach.
Nova Vision instead of Divine Glint. A more offensive approach.
Angelic Guard instead of Sky Guard. A bit more defensive.
Deck #2: Fire Mark(ed)
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Magma Flare
Double Fireball
Fiery Flare
Fire Mark Shot
Divine Glint
Heroic Guard
Sky Guard
Noble Guard
Dawn
Ok, before I start explaining how this deck works, I want to tell you that it has a variant that plays a bit different. I will talk about it in the alternatives section.
This deck relies on giving the opponent Fire Mark Tokens. They are the weirdest tokens around.
A Fire Mark Token gives you a 1/4 chance to deal extra damage to your opponent when you successfully land an attack. For multi-hit attacks, it gives you a 1/4 chance for each different instance of the attack.
When they do proc, they reset.
The plan here is to spam them with attacks and keep tokens on their playfield and finish them with your ultimate, which scales hard with the number of Fire Mark Tokens your opponent has.
Alternatives:
Advanced Glass Spears instead of Dawn. For way more pressure, but you lose any healing you have.
Elite Glass Spears instead of Sky Guard. Much more aggressive variant, but you lose a powerful block, so you’ll have to rely exclusively on Heroic Guard.
Angelic Guard instead of Sky Guard. If you’re afraid of nukers.
Besides the above changes, the variant of this deck relies on inflicting the most damage you can with the tokens and finish them with Double Magmabomb. To do the variant, you will need:
Moonfire instead of Noble Guard.
Pyroblast instead of Heroic Guard.
Advanced Glass Spears instead of Dawn.
Angelic Guard of Sky Guard.
Double Magmabomb instead of Fire Mark Shot.
This deck is much more aggressive, choose whichever you like though because against the matchups that these decks are good against they won’t do much difference.
Deck #3: Light’s Assault
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Arcane Shot
Light Prism
Light Rapier
Sun Flood
Spectral Ghost
Heroic Guard
Angelic Guard
Noble Guard
Dawn
This deck might look unviable, and it kinda is actually…
Tierra, like Thoben, really only need 2 decks to use. But this is an awesome deck to use against opponents with multi-hit attacks.
Your shields will be generating Light Mana so you can spam your Light attacks which return back upon a successful hit.
It is a fun deck to have and if you know that you’re gonna have a multi-hitter as an opponent, then it’s a great counter.
Alternatives:
Double Magmabomb instead of Sun Flood. If you can’t manage the sheer amount of Light, then this change is absolutely acceptable.
Matchups
The first deck will be used almost exclusively. Godhammer is really strong and messes up anyone who manages to get hit. That’s how meta works, some things are better than others.
That said, #2 could be used against Zenron and Myris who use Spider Webs and the like which get canceled after one block.
#3 is there for humorous reasons, but if you want, you can use it against Jane or Ra’ju.
Even in mirror matches, #1 all the way.
To sum it up, I recommend:
vs Zenron: #2
vs Jane: #1 (or #3)
vs Thoben: #1
vs Tierra: #1
vs Asgard: #1
vs Myris: #1 (or #2)
vs Ra’ju: #1 (or #3)
vs Van Raven: #1
vs Pom: #1
vs Ray: #1
vs Lua: #1
-Asgard, the Golem
Preview
Asgard is slow and (a) heavy (hitter). With Earth and Nature as his elements, you can only begin to imagine how disruptive he is.
He relies on leaving you behind and motionless to deliver several big hits.
Deck #1: Earth’s Force & Nature’s Disruption
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Stone Shield
Stoning
Crystal Striking
Earthbreaker
Paralyzing Dart
Earth Force
Scorpio Sting
Entangling Vines
Kinetic Shield
The one deck you’ll probably be using almost every time you play Asgard, as Asgard has to be the least versatile Hero (probably due to the elemental combination he has).
The deck is simple, make them want to give up the game with your Nature spells, and Earth Force (which gives you a Strength Token) -> Crystal Striking or Earthbreaker to win.
Alternatives:
Earthquake instead of Scorpio Sting. A simple change, since you have so little Nature Spells if you actually make this change. This is much more disruptive to anyone that doesn’t have Earth as an element, but you’re gonna need Scorpio Ring if they do. If you decide to play other decks against opponents with Earth, then definitely do this change.
Deck #2: David vs Asgard
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Stone Shield
Stoning
Dominating Storm
Oblivion Cloud
Paralyzing Dart
Cracking Ground
Scorpio Sting
Entangling Vines
Kinetic Shield
Pretty much the same as the previous, only you know rely on a few more extra steps to pull off a win. How so?
You don’t need the Strength Token this time, but you need a successful Oblivion Cloud. Once you’ve set them back to Basic Spells, Dominating Storm will be much more powerful and probably net you a win.
If you want to guarantee anything (an Oblivion Cloud or a successful Dominating Storm), all you need is to give them a Stun Token.
Alternatives:
Regeneration instead of Cracking Ground. You have plenty of opportunities to give them a Stun Token, so if you’re having trouble with enemy Tokens (or your own): Regeneration.
Matchups
As I said, you’ll probably want to be using #1 most of the time. If you use Earthquake, however, then against Earth Heroes, you’ll be using #2.
I tried really hard to find an (even semi-viable) 3rd deck for Asgard, but couldn’t.
In mirror matches, the same as the above go, if you’re using Earthquake, go for #2.
To sum it up, I recommend:
vs Zenron: #1
vs Jane: #1
vs Thoben: #1
vs Tierra: #1
vs Asgard: #1 (#2 if using Earthquake alternative)
vs Myris: #1
vs Ra’ju: #1 (#2 if using Earthquake alternative)
vs Van Raven: #1 (#2 if using Earthquake alternative)
vs Pom: #1
vs Ray: #1 (#2 if using Earthquake alternative)
vs Lua: #1
[adinserter block=”1″]
-Myris, the Mage
Preview
UGH!!!
I hate Myris. He is supposed to be your tutor and an all-powerful mage, yet he falls flat.
His decks are boring to play, both as and against him. I salute you if you like playing him.
Rant aside, Myris (like Asgard) only has 2 decks. Unlike Asgard however, the 2 decks actually differ a lot in playstyle. Myris is quite unique as a character, so let’s get to the decks.
Deck #1: The Snake Whisperer
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Firebat
Counter Blaze
Fire Chain
Snake Summon
Burning Boomerang
Immortality
Healing Shield
Organic Shield
Big Shield
Ok, so, 1 of the most unique mechanics in the game is Myris’ Immortality. This deck doesn’t rely on it at all. If you want to know about Immortality, go to the second deck.
This is a very basic deck, you just get by without doing anything special, until it’s time to Snake Summon. Snake Summon is an Over Time spell, which means it triggers its effect after the channel is complete (and not broken by the opponent).
This has 1 huge positive.
No matter how much Nature Mana you connect with it, it won’t change the final outcome (if it passes).
The more Nature Mana you connect it with, however, the better its Resistance and Break Power.
Resistance is the damage the opponent needs to deal to break the spell. Break Power is the number that the opponent needs to block the effect. If you pass that and break his shield, it won’t be subtracted from the final damage, the damage is always the same!
Alternatives:
Burning Needle instead of Burning Boomerang. If you want to become a tad more annoying, but do note, Burning Boomerang helps you better charge your spell charge bar.
Anything you prefer instead of Immortality. It’s a matter of personal preference, but Immortality is great as a default.
Fire Ram instead of Counter Blaze. If you think that the opponent can block your Snake Summon, this is a good alternative, and it’s a little stronger too. I just think that you’re not some great attacker to care about destroying just Shield Spells.
Deck #2: The Immortal Mage
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Firebat
Counter Blaze
Healing Shield
Explosion
Burning Boomerang
Immortality
Healing Spring
Organic Shield
Big Shield
You will probably notice that it’s quite similar to the previous deck. It plays quite different though.
This deck heavily relies on Immortality and its Token. Without it, you can’t win.
Before we get to the basics, let’s learn about the Immortality Token, shall we?
As I said, Immortality is very unique. It gives you a Token that activates once you die. And once you do, it starts timing out. When it does… you lose.
Obviously, prolonging your (potential) defeat is awesome on its own. But Immortality gives you the chance to actually avoid death!
If you heal yourself (even by the Healing Shield) your HP is once more above 0. You can even create another Immortality Token and start all over.
You can obviously kill your opponent if you want instead. Oh, and while you’re “immortal”, you don’t have to worry about getting hit, your HP’s already 0 after all.
Ok, back to the deck.
Explosion fills both fields with (Jane’s) Bleed Tokens. Should anyone have 5 of those, it should be enough to finish him.
The more Tokens, of course, the better. As you both bleed it out, at some point, your Immortality Token will proc, and you just have to wait for the opponent to die.
Alternatives:
Burning Needle instead of Burning Boomerang. If you want to become a tad more annoying, but do note, Burning Boomerang helps you better charge your spell charge bar.
Poisoned Rain instead of Explosion. Poisoned Rain’s only advantage is that the damage it deals is much more direct. Which means you will probably kill them faster. However, Poisoned Rain is an Over Time spell, which means that the opponent can easily break it before you can proc its effect. Furthermore, since they only have to worry about only 1 Token, it’s easier to find a solution. Many characters have Token removal. And finally, Explosion disrupts, as the opponent’s field is filled with useless Tokens.
Matchups
#1 is the perfect deck to use against those who don’t have a strong defense.
For this exact reason, #2 is the best against the heavy defenders, because a field full of Tokens only disrupts them.
Against mirror matches, prepare to sleep…
To sum it up, I recommend:
vs Zenron: #2
vs Jane: #1
vs Thoben: #2
vs Tierra: #1
vs Asgard: #1
vs Myris: #1
vs Ra’ju: #2
vs Van Raven: #1
vs Pom: #1
vs Ray: #1
vs Lua: #2
-Ra’ju, the Aquarian
Finally, another flexible Hero.
Ra’ju is the game’s introduction to the Water Element, and boy did he come with a bang.
Ra’ju has 3 different decks, all of which are very consistent and powerful. His flexibility and playstyle rank him among the best Heroes in the game.
He relies fully on his Water Tokens to do anything.
Deck #1: Flooded
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Drizzle
Double Splash
Riptide
Tsunami
Stone Shield
Iron Shield
Colossal Impact
Gaia Heal
Air Blast
The most basic deck, this utilizes Water Tokens in order to become annoying.
The strategy is simple; you get a good Tsunami and spam them with attacks until they lose (or just use Colossal Impact).
This deck provides perfect coverage with everything, you have the best Heal Spell in the game, lots of Shields, and Air Blast for opponents who use Tokens on you.
This deck, and variations of it, is what you’ll be using to learn Ra’ju.
Alternatives:
Iron Skin instead of Air Blast. A more instantaneous Heal option. Air Blast is much more annoying for opponents though.
Tidal Crush instead of Riptide. I generally do not recommend this change, but Tidal Crush tends to be more consistent with applying Tokens as it almost always hits. Though the whole point is to save for a big Tsunami, Tidal Crush is a good alternative for more damage all-around.
Deck #2: Frozen
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Drizzle
Double Splash
Riptide
Ice Storm
Stone Shield
Blizzard
Mountain Echo
Gaia Heal
Iron Shield
Ice Tokens are like an awesome evolution of Water Tokens!
The strategy here is to fill your opponent with Water Tokens. Then, Blizzard, Blizzard, Blizzard.
You will generally want as many Ice Tokens on your opponent’s field as possible, but a good amount would be 3-5.
Afterward, finish them off with Ice Storm, or sometimes, they will die due to the amount of Ice Tokens. When their board is cleared due to no valid moves, every Ice Token deals heavy damage.
Alternatives:
Frost Arrows instead of Riptide. If you think that Blizzard is not good enough to produce Ice Tokens, then Frost Arrows will certainly do the job. Just be careful as the number of Water Tokens is reduced.
Ice Lance instead of Riptide. This is a far more aggressive option to have, and needless if you pull off a successful Ice Storm. However, Ice Storm is a channeled spell, so if you’re worried about it, Ice Lance is your go-to.
Deck #3: Dried Out
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Drizzle
Rain
Riptide
Desert Bloom
Slipstream
Spray
Tesla Shield
Gaia Heal
Iron Shield
It’s nice to have a character that can pull so many different tactics so successfully.
This build gives you lots of Water Tokens as well as your opponent. Why, you ask?
This deck also gives you the tools to use your Water Tokens to your advantage (increase damage for Desert Bloom).
The deck is not very complicated, but I want to note one thing; don’t Slipstream early. Only do so if you think you don’t have enough Water Tokens on the field.
Alternatives:
Water Bomb instead of Slipstream. If you think that Rain RNG creates enough Water Tokens for you, enter Water Bomb. Water Bomb deals increased damage based on Water Tokens and gives your opponent one. An awesome alternative.
Matchups
You’ll be using the first deck against opponents who need to be disrupted. The overwhelming amount of Tokens will certainly make short work of them.
The second deck is for those who need to be bursted down because they have high defense.
The third is awesome to use against opponents who need both a bit of disruption and damage.
In mirror matches, I recommend the third deck because if he tries to give you Water Tokens, might as well put them to good use.
To sum it up, I recommend:
vs Zenron: #1
vs Jane: #1
vs Thoben: #2
vs Tierra: #1
vs Asgard: #3
vs Myris: #2
vs Ra’ju: #3
vs Van Raven: #1
vs Pom: #2
vs Ray: #3
vs Lua: #1
-Van Raven, the Witch Hunter
Van Raven is admittedly very fun for a guy who likes to play with traps.
As you’d guess, Van Raven likes to play with Tokens. Only he uses them quite uniquely (though the main purpose of dealing damage and/or being annoying remains).
Please note that due to the combination of elements, Vanny boy is not very good defensively, so we won’t be having lots of Shields and Heal Spells.
More on those on the deck sections.
Deck #1: Trapped
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Firebat
Fire Ram
Fire Chain
Mine Field
Fire Flash
Hunter’s Net
Tesla Shield
Hunter’s Trap
Kinetic Shield
This is the classic Van Raven deck, the one he’s known for.
The premise is simple; successfully hit your Ultimate Spell.
That does not mean just be successful, it also means that your opponent should have at least 1 empty column.
That’s because Trap Tokens break if they are on the bottom row, dealing heavy damage, and your Ultimate Spells fills them with these little devils.
That’s why we also have Counter Blaze.
Alternatives:
Burning Needle instead of Fire Flash. To be a tad more annoying.
Crystal Shield instead of Tesla Shield. If you’re scared they can break it, Crystal Shield is a valid alternative so you at least don’t get a Stunned Token.
Deck #2: Sniped
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Token Snipe
Fire Ram
Elite Snipe
Fire Meteor
Heal Snipe
Hunter’s Net
Tesla Shield
Hunter’s Trap
Kinetic Shield
This is a patience deck.
You need to wait and patiently throw small attacks (no large chains) and deal as much damage as possible. And then finish it with Fire Meteor.
The reason I put Fire Meteor and not Ultimate Snipe, and I won’t put it as a valid alternative is because it’s very hard to successfully “snipe” an Ultimate Spell.
The opponents only have one, and most probably, they will use it ASAP.
Alternatives:
Counter Blaze instead of Fire Ram. Matter of preference.
Crystal Shield instead of Tesla Shield. If you’re scared they can break it, Crystal Shield is a valid alternative so you at least don’t get a Stunned Token.
Deck #3: Rifled
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Firebat
Advanced Fire Rifle
Elite Fire Rifle
Ultimate Fire Rifle
Stone Dagger
Oxidation
Tesla Shield
Stone Shield
Kinetic Shield
The hardest deck of the bunch, this deck relies on excellent management of your Elements (especially your Fire Elements).
Generally, despite having a Fire Ultimate Spell, this deck doesn’t want to burst you down.
Not much more to say, this deck is better learned through experience.
Alternatives:
Fire Flash instead of Firebat. Matter of preference.
Crystal Shield instead of Tesla Shield. If you’re scared they can break it, Crystal Shield is a valid alternative so you at least don’t get a Stunned Token.
Matchups
#1 is really useful in cases that the other 2 decks aren’t.
Obviously, you’ll be using #2 on opponents that generate Tokens mostly.
Finally, #3 will be used against opponents without a proper defense.
Against mirror matches, I recommend the classic deck, though every deck can be used successfully.
To sum it up, I recommend:
vs Zenron: #1
vs Jane: #3
vs Thoben: #2
vs Tierra: #3
vs Asgard: #1
vs Myris: #1
vs Ra’ju: #1
vs Van Raven: #3
vs Pom: #2
vs Ray: #1
vs Lua: #2
Pom, the Summoness
If you thought you knew annoying… meet Pom.
Pom seemed really hard to manage at first, but after some time passed, it’s obvious, she just needs good management.
In fact, she has the, by far, most annoying Token in the game.
But more on that later.
Deck #1: Fishy Business
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Prospecting Heal
Prospection
Prospecting Beam
Summon Eagle
Soothing Spume
Floodbarrier
Seawall
Summon Fish Swarm
Soothing Sprinkle
Pom, in general, has 3 steps; create Water Tokens using Water defensive spells, create Resin Tokens using Light heals and shields, and finally, Resin Tokens will absorb Water Tokens to create Amber Tokens which increase your Spell power slightly.
Her Amber Tokens are used in conjunction with her Summon spells.
Each Summon spell creates either a helpful Token on your field, or a disruptive Token on your opponent’s.
This deck focuses on Fish Swarm.
It gives your opponent a Fish Swarm Token, that on timeout turns any adjacent Elements into Fish Swarm Tokens too… forever!
You must give your opponent just 1 (or maybe 2) and then fully defend until they are overwhelmed by fish and you can then do whatever you want.
You will want to create an Eagle Token (or 2) which will help with both defense and offense.
Please do note that this is the only deck I will recommend as every other deck is usually a variation of this one. In the Alternatives section, I will list the variations done by each player.
Alternatives:
The first variation switches Prospecting Beam and Summon Eagle with Summon Hawk and Prospecting Laser respectively. The reasoning behind this is that you can get a helpful Token (the Hawk one) earlier, and it balances out the Eagle one by replacing your Elite Attack with an Ultimate one.
The second variation changes Soothing Sprinkle with either Summon Dolphin or Summon Turtle. This way, you gain way more healing through the Dolphin, or way more defensive power through the Turtle.
Matchups
With only 1 deck, it should be clear what to choose. I will update this section if more decks become viable (and don’t rely on Fish Swarm).
-Ray, the Paladin
Ray is one of those guys that you’ll only need 1 deck really… (*cough* Asgard *cough*)
At least he has 2 different decks to use.
He relies on… actually, he doesn’t have any fun gimmick or anything, Ray just wants you dead.
Deck #1: First Strike + Lightlink = Win
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Linking Light
Linking Flash
Linking Angel
Ultimate First Strike
Basic First Strike
Advanced First Strike
Angelic Guard
Magnetic Shield
Stone Stike
The deck is really simple. Just Stike First…
Jokes aside, if you can get a good Ultimate First Strike, you’re probably the winner.
I’ll give a pro tip as well. If your opponent channels an attack before you can get the First Strike, you can still get the damage bonus if you cast it before you get hit.
Alternatives:
Iron Shield instead of Stone Stike. A more defensive option, to maybe protect you in case you don’t get an early Advanced First Strike. However, you don’t need to get a good Advanced First Strike, and Stone Stike is a good damage dealer until you get to your Ultimate Spell.
Deck #2: Eternal Flares + Light Aura = Win
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Linking Light
Linking Flash
Terra Ravage
Eternal Flares
Divine Guard
Advanced First Strike
Crystal Shield
Magnetic Aura
Scree Stike
Another simple build, unless you mess up Eternal Flares and hit a strong shield, you will probably win.
If you can hit 2 Light Aura Tokens, even better.
There is another way to win. Just prepare an Eternal Flares attack, and queue up a strong Terra Ravage to break most shields they put up.
Alternatives:
Stone Skin instead of Magnetic Aura. This change should be used in conjunction with the below change. More on that below.
Heroic Guard instead of Scree Strike. These changes are less aggressive. If you don’t wanna bother with the Earth Aura + Scree Strike mini combo, then use these 2 changes.
Matchups
You’ll be using most of the time #1 due to raw strength.
But #2 is much better against opponents without strong defense.
Against mirror matches, you don’t wanna risk getting second to the Ultimate Spells, so the #2 will be more consistent.
To sum it up, I recommend:
vs Zenron: #2
vs Jane: #1
vs Thoben: #1
vs Tierra: #1
vs Asgard: #2
vs Myris: #1
vs Ra’ju: #1
vs Van Raven: #2
vs Pom: #2
vs Ray: #2
vs Lua: #1
Lua, the Shaman
Lua is a weird case of a Hero.
He really can overwhelm you if things go his way. But if they don’t, he ends up overwhelming himself.
It’s no surprise that a Hero like this has only 2 viable decks. Let’s hope for more support though, because Lua is definitely the closest to a “control” archetype in the game.
(And by control I don’t mean “actively trying to rue his opponent’s day” control)
Deck #1: Ghosts!
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Ghost Whisper
Light Ghost
Elemental Ghost
Haunted Ghost
Preserving Protection
Big Shield
Healing Shield
Extinguish
Relief
Ok trust me, this deck is going to bust some balls.
If you can manage to gather 2 adjacent Ghost Tokens, you’re leading your opponent to his slow defeat.
That’s how they work; if you can get 2 (or more) adjacent Ghost Tokens, they never time-out!
You have all the defense in the world as well, to help you survive.
Not to mention all the Token removal. Seriously, someone needs to burst you down fast if they’re gonna win.
Alternatives:
Regeneration instead of Relief. If you’re really afraid of Ra’ju (no one else is going to generate that many negative Tokens), then I suggest this change. Then again, this deck will be used against opponents with Tokens, so it’s not a bad change to counter especially Ra’ju and Van Raven.
Scorpio Ring instead of Healing Shield. I don’t recommend this change, but if you think you have enough coverage in the deck, then this is an excellent form of (more) control.
Deck #2: Spirits!
BASIC
ADVANCED
ELITE
ULTIMATE
Spiritual Touch
Ancestral Strike
Scorpio Sting
Spiritual Unleash
Spiritual Circle
Big Shield
Massive Shield
Spiritual Heal
Absorption
WARNING: THIS IS ONE OF THE HARDEST DECKS TO PLAY.
The spells (their elements in particular) might seem weird, but the only way to generate Spirit Tokens is through Basic Spells. So, we’re not left with that many options.
Spirit Tokens are the opposite of the Ghosts.
Essentially, they don’t time-out, and when adjacent, they strengthen your other spells.
But there is a huge cost… your space.
The more you have, the less space you’ll be having.
I urge you to play it safe. Don’t produce lots of Tokens (especially in the early game). 4 should be enough for your Ultimate Spell to finish the job.
Alternatives:
Relief instead of Absorption. If you can’t manage your Nature Mana well, this is the change for you.
Matchups
As explained, #1 will be used against opponents with Tokens. You will also use it against opponents you want to disrupt with your Tokens.
#2 is used against opponents who will let you set up.
Against mirror matches, it’s all a mind game. If you think about it, #1 has more advantages against this matchup.
To sum it up, I recommend:
vs Zenron: #2
vs Jane: #1
vs Thoben: #2
vs Tierra: #1
vs Asgard: Either will do fine.
vs Myris: #1
vs Ra’ju: #1
vs Van Raven: #1
vs Pom: #1
vs Ray: #2
vs Lua: #1
That’s it for my decks. Do you have anything to add? Any disagreements? Feel free to say anything you want in the comments below.
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I’ve never seen a Tier List for Super Spell Heroes (other than just community opinions) so I thought I’d make one myself.
I have to note a few things first.
Firstly, it’s my opinion, so nothing is set in stone.
Secondly, you shouldn’t take this list too literally. In fact, the difference between the tiers is not all that high and everything should be taken as general guidelines.
Any hero from any tier can beat any other hero from any other list.
Especially since in higher elos, you can actually choose between 3 decks you built, for any situation.
Third, the order of the heroes on the list doesn’t mean anything.
The list will be split on the usual S, A, B, C, D, Tiers with S being the best and D the worst.
Every character will have a detailed explanation of their position.
Finally, this will not be a deck guide. If you want to build decks, you should check this out.
This tier list will be updated with every major update, so it will always be up to date. Without further ado:
S TIER
Thoben, the Monk
Elements:
Nature
Light
Thoben is one of the most powerful heroes due to his consistency. He is defensive by nature and relies a lot on having more HP than his opponent.
There are 2 reasons why Thoben is so strong. The first is his utilization of Chi. Many of his spells generate Chi Blocks, which increase a spell’s power when combined with it.
Using Chi Blocks with shield spells and attacks will give you an upper hand, but where he truly shines is with Life Cocoon, his unique healing spell.
What it does is, that if you heal for more than your Max HP, your Max HP is raised equal to that amount.
So it’s not that hard to stay above your opponent in HP if you play conservatively. You have many spells that deal x3 damage if you have more HP than your opponent.
The second is his ultimate spell, Zen Pulse. It’s a channeled spell, which means it can be broken by a more powerful attack than the spell’s resistance.
If you don’t break it, his opponent gets his HP reduced to 1 (but no more than a specific amount).
In other words, it’s easy to just reduce your opponent to 1 and kill him with any buffed up spell + Chi combo.
Being able to defend successfully until you reduce your opponent to 1 and kill him makes Thoben such a consistent hero. Not to mention his ability to instantly go up a spell rank should he complete a channel.
All in all, either strategy works marvels on Thoben and his amazing defenses and he has the tools to break you without overwhelming attacks.
Ray, the Paladin
Elements:
Light
Earth
Ray is a very peculiar hero in the sense that he is very flexible.
He can actually utilize healing, attacking and defending strategies. Where he truly shines is sweeping.
Ray has the ability to end a fight quickly more so than anyone else. How? With his First Strikes.
Ray has a First Strike earth spell for every tier. Every spell has the same effect; they deal tremendous damage if no player has been damaged by another spell with the same tier as the First Strike (you can even queue it after your enemy has queued an attack and it still counts).
Essentially, you want to rush tiers by using Lightlink Tokens, tokens that allow you to fill up your spell charge bar when your opponent does, and deal heavy damage with Elite or Ultimate First Strike.
Other than that, Ray generally utilizes various disruptive and set up strategies, but they’re not as optimal as the First Strikes.
Really, the only disadvantage Ray has is getting a head start on him.
He can either heavily burst you down, or just take you with many smaller hits until you die.
Ra’Ju, the Aquarian
Elements:
Earth
Water
Ra’ju is extremely powerful with well-rounded offense and defense and is one of the more annoying matchups out there.
As the first character to use the water element, Ra’Ju heavily utilizes it to the max. Most of his spells are multi-hit and afflict their opponent with Water Tokens.
Water Tokens are nothing special at all, they actually start to timeout when they reach the bottom, but Ra’Ju can give them continuously. The opponent is bound to get flooded by them and lose their possible moves.
Now, you can use Water Tokens in 2 ways.
The first is to flood them and annoy them until your barrage of attacks kills them.
The second is to turn them into Ice Tokens and nuke them. Many of Ra’ju’s spells turn Water Tokens into Ice Tokens, and by using his ultimate Ice Storm he can deal damage for every token.
But, Ice Tokens also have effects of their own. Firstly, they don’t timeout. Secondly, when they force a board clear, each token explodes to deal damage.
His defense is also very solid and comes solely from the earth element. His Gaia Heal is a channeled heal that, if completed, and its break power was greater than your current health, it fully heals him.
Ra’ju is certainly a fun addition to the game, and one of the few characters that force you to plan ahead, lest you be flooded with tokens.
Plus, you never know what to expect of him, other than a board filled with Water Tokens.
Pom, the Summoness
Elements:
Light
Water
Water OP, whaaa…?
Jokes aside, Pom did seem kinda hard to manage at the start due to her playstyle.
Her playstyle revolves around her Resin Tokens, which turn the (otherwise annoying) Water Tokens she creates into Amber Tokens, which increase the power of her spells.
And that’s not all!
Using her Summon spells, she can turn her Amber Tokens into either useful Tokens for herself, or really, really annoying Tokens for the opponents.
Fish Swarm in particular is more cancerous that Ra’ju’s Ice Tokens and Lua’s Ghost Tokens combined!
Offensively, she just uses one (or more if she’s feeling it) of her Bird Tokens to increase her damage of an over-time Spell or a multi-hit one.
Not that it matters, as if you have Fish Swarm on your field, you probably won’t be able to defend at all…
Defensively, she either has the tools to defend forever or is just playing with half her deck being Heal Spells.
All in all, Pom is very annoying to face, and the only success against her is either quick Token removal, or an aggressive start. Removing her Tokens is also acceptable, as she has to cast 3 spells in order to create an Animal Token (The Resin Token, the Water Token, and the Animal Spell).
A TIER
Asgard, the Golem
Elements:
Earth
Nature
Asgard is very exciting when you first unlock him, but as you get to know him you will find out he is just very annoying to face.
In fact, that is his strategy; disruption. Asgard’s purpose is to not let you play.
His nature spells are the main disruptive source, but many of his earth spells help at this cause.
So, how does he win? His earth spells (that don’t disrupt) hit hard. He has the best base damage on his spells.
Why is in Tier A then? Downtime.
Every earth spell gives Asgard a Weakness Token. These tokens make every other spell for a short amount of time have x0.5 (half) the power on his spells.
If you can make the most out of his downtime, Asgard is very susceptible to setups and nukes.
However, in the right hands, Asgard’s downtime is while the opponent is disrupted.
Maybe he’d be a tier higher if he was more flexible but with Asgard, you know pretty much what you’re gonna face.
Tierra, the Huntress
Elements:
Fire
Light
A unique combination of elements, Tierra is unfathomably fast. She relies on 2 main strategies.
The first is just spamming your spells to get to your ultimate spells and nuke him.
The second is her Fire Mark Tokens. Essentially, using her Flare spells, you give your opponents Fire Mark Tokens on successful hits.
A Fire Mark Token starts timing out. On every successful attack from Tiera, each Token has a 50% chance of dealing damage and resetting their timer.
Using an ultimate spell, you can nuke them if you gather enough Tokens.
The reason they work like this is that Tierra has a lot of weak multi-hit attacks, and if you can time them correctly, you can get lots of procs and damage until the finishing shot.
The problem with this strategy is that even if you give your opponent enough tokens to set up, he can just defend the rest of your otherwise weak attacks until they time out.
So, you must either be clever with mind games and timing or just hurry up and nuke them while they still have the tokens.
The first, more spammy build, however, is very strong. Tierra is able to finish the game without you ever set up, and the only reason she isn’t S Tier is that she is very susceptible to disruption and strong defense.
Either way, Tierra is extremely fast and can reach higher tiers and overwhelm you almost every time.
Jane, the Witch
Elements:
Fire
Nature
Jane is the second character you unlock, and she teaches you that you can have the same elemental combination with another and be completely different.
Jane has 2 main strategies. Quick multishot of Fire Arrows and spamming the Fire Phoenix.
Fire Arrows deal little damage, but if they successfully hit, the give the opponent a Bleed Token.
Besides disrupting your opponent (as tokens are useless) they damage your opponent over time for big amounts of damage, that only get more overwhelming the more they have.
Jane is also quite disruptive. Her nature spells (and some fire spells) mess with the opponent’s board.
She also has an ultimate spell that clears the enemy’s board if it hits, but you can also use one the damages him more the more Bleed Tokens he has on his field.
Fire Phoenix is an Advanced spell that can sweep your opponent. Essentially, every successful hit returns the Fire Phoenix a tier upgraded (so it goes from Advanced to Elite, and then to Ultimate).
This allows you for a very quick ultimate ability which can prove valuable.
Jane can be quite hard to master, but certainly very fun. However, the more your opponents know the game, the more you have to master your timings.
All in all, Jane requires skill, but once mastered, will get you lots of satisfying victories.
Her biggest strength is her unpredictability, as she is the only one that has such different win conditions that are just as viable.
[adinserter block=”1″]
B TIER
Lua, the Shaman
Elements:
Nature
Light
Lua is the last one you unlock, and he is decent at what he does. Actually, that’s the best word to describe him; decent.
Like most, Lua can utilize 2 strategies, although only 1 is really worth it.
Generally speaking, Lua likes Tokens, either on his side or the opponent’s.
The best strategy to use is the Ghost Token strategy. These Ghost Tokens are regular tokens until they find themselves adjacent to each other; then, they never time out.
It’s hard to predict where they will go, and an experienced player can manipulate their positions or just wait them out, but if 2 get set up, then there’s bound to be more.
Afterward, you nuke them for each ghost token they have, while giving them another.
The second strategy utilizes Spirit Tokens. They buff your spells similarly to Thoben’s Chi, but instead, they are tokens.
You also have an ultimate spell that removes tokens from your board (positive or negative) then deals damage for each, the damage doubling for every token.
As far as defense goes, he’s very average, with the only noteworthy thing he has is the ability to remove tokens, which may come in handy against certain matchups.
Lua requires lots of setup for nothing too amazing, but he is very solid at least, and in the middle, he belongs.
C TIER
Zenron, the Sorcerer
Elements:
Fire
Nature
Zenron is the first hero you get and actually completes his purpose. He is barely in the middle of tiers.
Zenron heavily relies on the Fire element to win, as his strategy is to nuke people into oblivion.
There are 2 ways to do this.
You can play super defensively and set up 1 super nuke that’s nigh impossible to defend.
Or, you can just spam powerful spells at the cost of spell progression.
Generally, either way, you must be fast as someone can use this time to set up on you and fill your playfield with tokens, or whatever the opponent wants to set up.
Zenron does well against slower characters, or characters with lots of downtime or not much defending. He’s decent against the good matchups and just as decent on his bad.
B Tier fits him well, and there’s no reason a nuker should go any other tier, you either nuke him and win or you don’t.
Too strong and he’ll be one-shotting everyone every time, too weak and he’ll never get those one-shots off.
Van Raven, the Witch Hunter
Elements:
Fire
Earth
Funny how the Witch Hunter goes in a lower tier than the Witch. Just like his prey, Van Raven requires skill to master but can be rewarding.
Having 2 inherently aggressive elements, Van Raven shines in offense. His strategies revolve around the use of Hunter’s Tokens or his signature Fire Rifle.
Hunter’s Tokens are traps, that, when applied, disrupt the opponent by existing. However, they also deal heavy damage when they reach the bottom row.
If your opponent plays it smart and leaves them be, then you can either fill him and force a board clear due to no possible moves (which procs all the tokens), or just harass him with attacks.
You can also use Snipe Token, which destroys a token on the opponent’s board and deals damage.
The Fire Rifle is different. It is very weak, but it has a chance of dealing heavy damage. The chance is 10% per connected fire element.
With enough set-up and continuous attacks, you are sure to kill him.
Van Raven lacks defensively though. He defends and heals with the earth element, and that is already bad as each earth spell gives you a weakness token and therefore, lots of downtime.
However, you can use the earth element to disrupt and force the Traps, but that leaves more susceptible.
Van Raven is truly a kill or be killed character and you must master the art of quick thinking to use him effectively.
D TIER
Myris, the Mage
Elements:
Fire
Nature
Myris, the game’s tutor and Master Magician. On the battlefield, however… he is quite underwhelming.
Myris is very, very defensive by nature. He relies on giving himself an Immortality Token and then fill both boards with Poison Tokens that deal huge damage to both players.
Immortality tokens let you live for a short amount after getting your HP to 0, so your strategy is to kill both of you, only you will survive for a few more seconds.
Alternatively, you can fully defend and nuke your opponent with a weird channel spell.
Myris is underwhelming because simply, everyone can stop him from doing what he wants. Having a channel spell as your ultimate means that it can be stopped by another powerful attack contrariwise to a regular attack.
Furthermore, if you are to have a channel as your ultimate, the effect should be worthy of being ultimate, not just (admittedly huge) damage.
In the end, the game’s Master is only a Master on very capable hands, as you have to be flawless to win. If you are flawless, however, no one will out-survive you.
Every one of his viable choices requires a lot of patience to execute right, and if they disrupt you, the game is as good as over.
(Not to add how boring battles can get against him…)
That’s it for my tier list. I hoped you liked it, and that it helped you understand a bit better each hero and his flaws. If you have anything to add or disagree with my rankings leave a comment so we can discuss it.
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Crusader Kings III is the newest installment for the CK franchise by Paradox Interactive. One of the biggest and probably most complicated grand strategy game around Crusader Kings III justifies the success of its predecessors.
What is Crusader Kings III about though? Is it just a sequel that expands on previous formulas? Does it have anything new? Read on to find out.
This review will be split into a Storyline, Gameplay, Visuals, and finally, Personal Thoughts sections. Without further ado:
Storyline
The game takes place in the medieval era where empires like the Byzantine still reigned (mostly) supreme. But the game has no dedicated lore or story.
Instead, due to the Dynasty system, you actually build your own story through your actions and characters (more on the Dynasty system further below).
Gameplay
The game starts when you pick a ruler. Your ruler can be anyone with a title, beginning from the lowest (Count) to the highest (Emperor). You can also be independent as a King or Count, or you can be a vassal of someone.
You can also set your culture and religion, as well as Dynasty name. You also set your character’s stats and traits, age, and (optional) spouse and children. Unlike the previous games, your traits are not just stat-sticks.
Instead, your stats play an important role in the dynamic events you encounter as they interact with the new Stress mechanic. Let’s say for example that you want your character to be ambitious so you can get +2 in everything. Some events may have options that an ambitious character would not do, and if you take that decision, you gain stress.
Stress has 3 levels and starting from Level 1, every few months, your character will have mental breaks and you will either have to get a (usually) undesirable trait to lower it or further increase it and risk the higher consequences which include murder or even abdication.
One of the first things you have to do in the game is to manage your territory. You have to set councilors and marry someone if you are not already married. It’s very important to have some kids as early as possible as you can lose if no viable heirs remain.
Speaking of which; each ruler has a lifespan (which is random but is influenced by health, your choices, and various other things.
One of the newer things to note is your Lifestyle. You can choose 1 of 5 Lifestyles that all correspond to the game’s major stats; Diplomacy, Martial, Intrigue, Stewardship, and Learning. Each Lifestyle has 3 trees that focus on 1 specific mechanic of that specific stat.
To add to the roleplaying, your strongest stat gives bonus points to its corresponding Lifestyle. Of course, you can choose a whole different Lifestyle, but where’s the fun in that?
Each stat influences gameplay, and when your character dies, you play as a descendant, you have to learn to adapt to each new character’s strengths and weaknesses.
I already listed the stats, but I will list their playstyle, albeit loosely;
Diplomacy: Pretty straightforward, Diplomacy is all about good relations and prestige. Diplomacy also helps with many things regarding titles.
Martial: Again, straightforward. Martial is all about war. You have better command of your armies, more of them, plus a little better control of your counties.
Intrigue: With Intrigue, you are a master schemer. You can become an expert in killing people and creating Hooks which are secrets you know and can use. You can also play as a tyrant or become irresistibly seductive to other people.
Stewardship: Money and more money. Stewardship is all about money and domain management. You also gain much better control with your counties.
Learning: Learning is about piety, religion, and health. Learning can also help you with different cultures, either if you began as a different cultured leader that the majority of his territory, or y conquering new territories.
There are also some secondary stats and resources. Those include:
Renown: Renown helps with giving your Dynasty powerful permanent bonuses.
Dread: Dread simply dictates how tyrannic you are.
Prowess: Prowess is your personal strength, useful in duels and war.
Now about managing your kingdom. You have 5 councilors, each for 1 major stat. Every councilor can do 1 of 3 tasks, so choose wisely, as each task has its pros and cons. Also, make sure to balance your council between pleasing powerful vassals and having high stat councilors.
After that, you have a world of choices. You can start fabricating claims on titles you want to conquer, build infrastructure in your cities, improve relations, and create alliances.
Now conquering in this game doesn’t work the usual way where you just conquer and rule everything. Based on your Stewardship stat, you have a maximum domain limit, and when you cross that you lose taxes and levies (money and armies).
To avoid that, you have to give an unlanded character some titles therefore making him your vassal. However, if you are a count, you cannot give any titles because they would have an equal title to yours thus making you lose your title. So one of the goals you should have as a Count is to take all the de Jure titles of a Duchy (that means all the original titles of that duchy). Then you will be able to become a Duke.
If your liege is a Duke, you won’t be able to become a Duke for the aforementioned reason. However, you could conquer a de Jure Kingdom in which case your Liege becomes King and may give some Duchies (or you can create one on your own).
You do have to be careful of one thing though. Most of the empires in the game have a pretty terrible succession law that actually splits your land between the children. If there is more than one boy, the major titles go the first-born and the rest are split equally among the other. If there is only one boy, everything goes to him. If there are no boys, everything is split equally between the girls.
So you have to be careful, or your empire will be split into pieces like Alexander’s the Great. Your (new) brothers don’t even become vassals, they just rule independently.
Things like succession laws cannot be simply changed by any ruler anymore. They can only be changed if you are in the correct era and you are the cultural head. You are your culture’s cultural head if you are the person that controls the most titles compared to other people in your culture.
Your cultural focus choices depend on the era, but generally have to do with units, building and laws.
Of course, without the sheer amount of expansions (yet) the game doesn’t have all that much variance (at least compared to Crusader Kings 2). But there sure are many more expansions to come.
All in all though, between managing a kingdom, war and public and personal relations, the game won’t get stale any time soon.
Visuals
The visuals have considerably upgraded from the previous installment. In fact, you probably won’t be able to run it on older PCs.
The character editing has also improved and is something like an MMORPG, you can edit pretty much everything.
Personal Thoughts
Generally, the game is very good for any strategy game lover. It’s the perfect amount of complexity and fun, all while keeping replayability through the roof.
And all that without any major expansions mind you!
The game definitely has huge potential, with its one minus being (as usual) the steep price. Even if you can afford the base game, every expansion will add to both the excitement and the price. So it’s best to decide beforehand if you’re willing to make that investment. It sure is worth it though.
Final Verdict:
Storyline: –
Gameplay: 9
Visuals: 9
General Rating: 9
That’s it for my review. Have you tried it yet? Do you like the changes aimed at more roleplaying? Leave your comments below.
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Now that it’s out for the world to see, a proper review for Legends of Runeterra (LoR) can be done.
Riot’s take on the card game genre is at first glance a combination of Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone (which so happen to be the 2 most popular card games online).
Is there more to this game, or is it just a combination of the 2 with fancy Riot graphics and lore? This review will be split into a Storyline, Gameplay, Visuals and finally, Personal Thoughts sections. Without further ado:
Storyline
The game does not have any storyline.
There are however various interactions between cards and champion, and some flavor text for every card in the game.
Riot verified that everything mentioned in the game is canon and in line with the main lore.
That said, that doesn’t mean that all interactions have happened and are facts that happened in history. Canon means that their interactions are what they would be if they happened to be in the position you put them (for example, 2 champions saying aggressive things to each other even though they are friends canonically, just because they are in opposing decks).
Gameplay
Ok, so instead of mentioning everything this game has that’s similar to other card games and then listing the differences, I’ll just explain its whole gameplay.
Like any card game, you must build a deck. Your deck can have only 40 cards, no more, no less. Another requirement is that you can only have cards from at most 2 regions, with regions being the card’s “faction”, “color” whatever you wanna call it. Finally, the deck can have up to 3 copies of any card, and up to 6 champions (including duplicates).
Some cards have 2 regions. That essentially means that they can be part of any deck that contains any of their 2 regions.
At the start of the game, after the one who plays first is chosen randomly.
The first player will take the attack token (1). This means that they are the ones who can attack that turn. The attack token alternates between players every turn. Essentially, every player gets a turn of attack, followed by a turn of defending, back to attacking, etc.
(2) shows the cards in play for both players. The attacking player can use any of his to attack the enemy, while the enemy must choose which of his cards will block which attacker.
The attacking player has priority, meaning that if he initiates an attack, neither player can play monsters until the battle takes place.
A battle in LoR is practically players alternating between moves. After the attacking player makes a move, the defending player makes a move, and then the attacking and so on and so forth.
(3) show the mana available to each player. As you can see, one player has 3 empty mana and the other has 2 empty and 1 usable. The first player, however, has 2 spell mana.
Spell mana is used exclusively for spells. When a turn ends, up to 3 unused mana will become spell mana. While your spells will prioritize spell mana, should it not be enough (or should you not have any), spells will take up regular mana like every other card.
Speaking of ending turns, a turn ends when both players pass. The game automatically makes you pass if you have no eligible moves.
Finally, (4) is the Nexus health for both players. Obviously, the target is to make the enemy’s Nexus drop to 0.
Speaking of which:
This is a card. (It’s actually a regional variant Poro, you can actually make a deck with these little rascals!)
When a battle is initiated, both the attacker and the blocker deal damage to each other equal to their strength. Their strength is the yellow number. If a unit drops to 0 or lower health (the red number), they die.
In order to damage the opponent’s Nexus, you must have a unit attack unblocked. Excess damage from your strong units will not go to the Nexus. You have to be very tactical.
Another thing to note is its keyword. Almost every card has keywords and/or skills. Depending on the skill, you can use it during combat or on summon, or even after a requirement is met.
Of course, that’s just a follower. There are 2 more types of cards, champion cards, and spell cards.
The above is satan… er, I mean a champion card.
As you can see, he has everything a regular unit has, including a keyword and a skill. However, this unit has a Level Up requirement. Once completed, the unit levels up, gaining better stats and/or abilities.
The requirement usually requires you having played the champion, but many champions can evolve by having their requirements met while in the hand or deck.
Onward, to spell cards.
Spells are pretty straightforward. What needs to be said is the type of spell.
This one is Burst for example. Burst spells are instantaneous and take place immediately without leaving any chance for the opponent to react.
There are also the Quick spells, which can be played whenever, but allow the opponent to respond, plus after resolving, they spend your move, giving your opponent time to summon, or cast spells of their own.
Finally, Slow spells can be played only when no combat takes place. It also leaves room for the opponent to answer as well.
The final type is field cards, err… Landmarks.
Landmarks are permanent (though not always…) structures that can’t be interacted with (except for specific cards that directly state that interact with them). Their point is to sacrifice tempo in order to give you long term effects. Generally, Landmarks have a variety of effects, with some Landmarks providing an alternate win condition as well.
Now if you’re observant, you might have noticed that this Landmark has an effect that benefits both players. So why should someone spend resources in order for them and the opponent to get the same benefit? I have to note that this Landmark has caused lots of arguments due to its nature.
Anyway, the reason why you would play something like this is simply because you are building around it. For example, you could have a deck that is filled to the brim with high cost cards. Then, almost every turn, you would get more value than your opponent, and would probably be able to finish the game in a few turns after.
Now that we’re done with card types, I should note that every card has a view button so you can see their whole artwork (which is pretty awesome for some cards, just check the Sinister Poro). The view option also offers some flavor text as I mentioned in the Storyline section.
LoR relies on regions in order to create a base playstyle for each deck. Different regions are good at doing specific stats.
At the time of this article, the game has all 10 regions:
Demacia: Demacia relies on many different small units that can be buffed, or by larger meaner ones. Demacia definitely wants lots of units down. Demacia has a small number of spells, most of which don’t affect the enemy, rather, they buff your units. Its champions are upfront and rely on assaulting the enemy.
Noxus: Noxus is the brute force of the bunch. It relies on strong units that (literally and figuratively) overwhelm their opponent. They can do that in 2 ways mainly, but the end result is the same. The first is pure Noxian strength, just super strong units further buffed by their spells. Noxian spells also directly deal with the enemy. The second way is by passively building your units’ attacks through their abilities (which usually involve hurting themselves to buff their attack). Their spells are mostly damage, whether by buffing attack or directly dealing damage. Noxian champions are mostly damage oriented, except Vladimir who just relies on damaging allies to hurt the opponent’s Nexus.
Ionia: Ionia relies on lots and lots of spells and tricky unit in order to win. Most of its units are either very good supports, or elusive, which means they can only be defended by other elusive units. Their spells have a number of effects including buffing, disrupting, or generating advantage. Their champions focus on being good at one aspect. Pure Ionian decks aren’t very good, but their cards can be (and are best) used in conjunction with other decks. Ionia is usually not used as the main region to build around, instead, you use it as a secondary region for the powerful disruption and effects it provides.
Piltover & Zaun: After their combination into one city-state in the lore, Piltover and Zaun now come as 1 region. Piltover & Zaun have a variety of units at their disposal, but their main thing is generating an advantage, usually helping with discarding as well. Piltover & Zaun mostly rely on their spells, which like Ionia, they do pretty much everything, only here, they actually can play more aggressively. Their champions rely mostly on spellcasting, or Jinx, which really likes discarding.
Shadow Isles: What would you expect from Shadow Isles? Death and only death. Every unit relies on dying or at least is expendable to die. Spells kill you or the opponent’s units. Champions rely on death or have some synergy with it. If you like these tactics of sacrificing to gain power, be my guest.
Freljord: Freljord is the classic control deck. It relies on having decent units, that are buffed through their spells. Their spells are also extremely disruptive to the opponent. Freljord champions are actually pretty competent but usually work better in combination with other regions in their own decks. However, a Freljord only deck is extremely powerful.
Bilgewater: The region of RNG and high-risk high reward. Bilgewater is the region that is most associated with random effects, albeit controlled ones (for example, summon 2 random allies but only 1 cost). They also make the most use of the “Plunder” keyword that is practically effects that activate if you damaged your enemy’s Nexus this turn.
Targon: Targon is quite a defensive region, much like Ionia, but in another way. Targon is the de facto healing region, more so than Ionia, which focuses on disruption. They also have (so far) exclusive access to the “Invoke” mechanic, which lets you choose 1 card out of 3 randomly generated ones (from a preexisting pool of cards, to keep things less RNG). Targon can also be very powerful as a supporting region, providing (besides healing) lots of buffs. Thematically, Targon is the region of space, constellations and the solar system and stars.
Shurima:: An awesome region to try if you just like the Arabian and Mesopotamian cultures. Shurima is the region of landmarks having lots of ways of generating them. Their landmarks are mostly based on self-destruction, either with countdown effects (x number of turns before it destroys itself and grants an effect) or through their own effects (like destroy me when the enemy summons a unit, again to grant an effect). Shurima also has another unique mechanic: Ascension. The region’s Ascended Champions can, through Shurima’s signature landmark, the Sun Disk, evolve a second time for a total of 3 levels!! Generally, you could say Shurima is overloaded but it does not have any direct damage-based removal worth playing. Generally Shurima just likes going wide with units and controlling the game like that.
Bandle City: Everyone asked for Void or Ixtal. Now comes Bandle City to ruin those dreams. Bandle City came to introduce dual regions in the game. Mechanically, the yordles are excellent at filling the board with small creatures and amping them up for big swings. They are also pretty good at generating value out of their cards. It’s definitely fast paced and quite fun to play admittedly. Also, since it introduced it, it supports the dual region mechanic better than anyone.
All in all, the deck options are not that limited as it might seem. You can have 2 decks using the same 1 or 2 regions, with completely different playstyles.
The game also has ranked mode, and Riot doesn’t allow the system to drop you, divisions, after you climbed (except for season resets) to promote different deckbuilding.
Finally, something about the game’s SFX. The cards have voiceovers and various interactions. This holds true mostly for champions. It’s a fun thing to have.
Details about the availability of cards and the p2w and p2p arguments will be discussed in the Personal Thoughts section.
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Visuals
Not much to say, the visuals are akin to League of Legends, refer there if you want.
Personal Thoughts
On to the main argument.
As a card game, many will think it’s either p2w or p2p.
Let’s get the p2p out of the way. You can play the game for free, never pay a single dime, and still get all the cards.
About the p2w. Well, practically, yes, you can pay to get all the cards, but that’s all you get you still have to be skilled to win.
And it’s not that hard to grind to get the cards for free. The positive is that the cards don’t utilize a leveling system that makes them stronger and can make the game feel unfair. 3 copies of every card is all you need.
Besides, Riot gives you 3 starting decks with lots of cards from every region. You can build a meta deck and use that while you grind for all the cards.
Other than that, LoR is a pretty fun card game, and I recommend it if you are a fan of the genre. However, I don’t know if it has what it takes to straight-up antagonize its best competitors. But it can easily draw new blood by utilizing their name.
Final Verdict
Storyline: –
Gameplay: 9
Visuals: 7
General Rating: 8
That’s it for my review. Have you played it yet? What is your favorite deck? Leave a comment below.
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When talking about card games, Yu-Gi-Oh is among the legends of the genre. In fact, sales-wise, it’s probably number 1.
Originally started in the early 2000s, Konami decided about a decade and a half later that they would create a valid online game where you can play, albeit with some differences. And so, Duel Links was created. But is Duel Links as good as the physical game? Is it worth it? Let’s find out in this review.
As per usual, this review will have a Storyline, Gameplay, Visuals, and finally, a Final Thoughts section. Without further ado:
Storyline
There is a whole movie that predates the game and I recommend watching it if you are a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh and haven’t. It’s called Dark Side of Dimensions.
Anyway, Seto Kaiba, the world’s leading genius in all things gaming, has created a virtual world called Duel Links, where duelists from various timelines can go and compete. Naturally, this attracts various legendary duelists from all the shows.
Duel Links is separated in different worlds depending on the era, so duelists from the original Duel Monsters era won’t ever meet up with any from other eras. Each world has its own little story going on.
Gameplay
Let’s start with the basics. Even if you are a long-time fan and player of the physical card game, it may take you a while to get used to the limitations of the game.
And by limitations I mean the zones. While every Yu-Gi-Oh player and their mother know that Yu-Gi-Oh has 5 monster zones and 5 Spell/Trap card zones (plus Field Spells, Extra Deck, Graveyard and Deck slots), Duel Links has 3 instead.
The difference might not seem so big, but it kinda is. Especially if you think that an equip or continuous Spell, or any continuous Trap Card stay there until removed. If you’re not careful, you’re gonna run out of space!
There is also the limitation of cards. What I mean is, that a deck is half the size of the normal game (20-30 cards). The extra deck is less than half, with just 6 cards.
The banlist is also different in format.
In the physical game, there are Banned cards which are not allowed to be used in any official match, Limited cards, with every copy allowed once, and Semi-Limited, with every copy allowed up to twice.
In Duel Links, there still are Banned cards. But instead of Limited and Semi-Limited there are the “Limited 1” cards, “Limited 2” and “Limited 3” cards. that means that you can have only 1 card from the entire “Limited 1” list, not 1 of each card you choose. Similarly, you can have any 2 or 3 cards from the “Limited 2” or “Limited 3” lists respectively.
Other than that the rules are exactly the same as the physical game .
I’d explain them to players who don’t know about Yu-Gi-Oh, but I think playing the (free) tutorial does much better than reading about it.
Now there is also a brand new addition. The legendary Duelists I mentioned are not all show. They each have their own abilities (some of them unique) that are geared toward building specific decks. This means that instead of just refining your deck, you also have to find the best ability to use alongside.
To get skills and unlock new characters you just have to play the game and do various missions against the AI.
A main concern you might have is that like Yu-Gi-Oh, there is a certain amount of money you will need to spend, and it might not matter due to powercreep.
Fortunately, it seems Konami has this covered. The limited zones, and the banlist format certainly keep things fairly balanced, with nothing too oppressive existing, at least no more than a period between banlist changes.
The game also has many events, with at least 1 running at all times. They can give you new cards, rewards like Gold, Gems and most importantly, new characters.
If you miss a new character though it can be problematic, as the event will cycle back many months after.
In terms of P2P or P2W, while it does make your life easier to spend money (it’s a card game after all), you don’t have to. Just know that as a F2P player, you’re gonna spend some time collecting key cards and leveling up key characters. But once you’ve created a good initial collection, you’ll be ready to go to the competitive side and play against other players. It IS a collecting card game after all…
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Visuals
The visuals are actually pretty nice, great enough to keep you entertained, but not too heavy. Each character’s Signature Monster(s) will have its unique animation.
SFX wise, every character has his own plethora of lines for practically every move they make, as well as some taunts, and some exclusive lines to each character. It really adds to the flavor of the game. You can have their voices be Japananese or English, and that doesn’t affect text language.
You can also get various playmats and card sleeves, and surprisingly, you can get them for free for the most part.
Final Thoughts
The game is quite good. As a matter of fact, I’m gonna stick my neck out and say that it can be much more enjoyable than the physical game.
I mean let’s face it, the physical game requires a continuous investment due to powercreep and sometimes the banlist hammer.
This game is much more balanced as you can see from its many top decks, and new releases don’t automatically shaft older cards 9/10 times.
Plus, you can play from the comfort of your own home with people from all over the world.
And the added bonus of being able to play with characters that you like.
To be honest with you, it seems to me that Duel Links is Konami’s attempt to rebalance the game from the ground up.
That said, the game is not without its negatives.
For example, it can be quite punishing to take a break and not play, as you may miss many important events and by extension characters that could define the next meta-game.
Of course, the F2P progression can be slow at times, and most importantly tedious.
In fact, most of the game gets tedious if you’re not building decks or playing against players.
Final Verdict
Storyline: 7.0
Gameplay: 8.5
Visuals: 8.0
General Rating: 8.5
That’s it for my review. Do you like Duel Links. And the million dollar question; do you think that Duel Links is more balanced/fun and overall better than the physical game? Leave a comment below.
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Yet another game that became popular within the 2020 pandemic, Among Us was actually released 2 years prior than that.
It became so popular, that the creators were actually considering making a sequel, but decided on focusing on the original game instead.
Among Us is what’s called a social deduction game. There are many tabletop and digital games of the small genre. A prominent one is called Town of Salem.
It’s praised as being fun albeit exhausting.
Is it worth all the praise though?
As usual, this review will have a Storyline, Gameplay, Visuals and finally, a Personal Thoughts sections. Without further ado:
Storyline
There is no storyline. I mean, there is a spaceship and there is an impostor trying to kill the crew that’s maintaining it, but that’s not a storyline, that’s more of a setting.
Gameplay
The gameplay is heavily socially dependent. Meaning it’s a game where you have to communicate with your fellow players.
The gist is that there is a number of players between 4-10. Depending on the amount there is 1 or 2 impostors. The rest are Crewmates.
The Crewmates have some tasks to finish while the Impostors must kill and outnumber the Crewmates.
The main mechanic is the meeting. When conditions are met, a meeting is called, and players discuss who to out by voting. Crewmates must decide who is an Impostor, and Impostors must trick Crewmates to out each other. You can also not vote, something wise when earlier in the game as to not risk outing a Crewmate (if you’re one of course).
When you throw someone out, his role is revealed.
You can call an Emergency Meeting by pressing the button in the main room, whether you’re a Crewmate or Impostor.
A meeting may be held if someone reports a dead body. Again, both Crewmates and Impostors can do that.
Impostors may want to start a meeting for mind games or to take blame off them, or any reason that may pass from someone’s devious brain.
Now for more in-depth analysis of the roles.
Let’s start with the Impostors. You can kill simply by approaching someone and pressing the kill button. But there is a cooldown to this.
If you kill someone with a witness watching, you will lose, because when the meeting is called, they’ll probably talk.
They’ll blame you with what they saw, and you can blame them back, but here’s the deal. Due to the number of Crewmates, even if you convince them to throw him, when they see his role, they are gonna target you next.
Every level also has a different form of surveillance, so you have to be careful where you kill and when.
Impostors can also pass through shortcuts in each level, but again, should they be noticed, they will be called out.
I mentioned before that Crewmates have tasks to do. Impostors have “fake” tasks just for existing as an alibi or something. You can go to the task rooms and sabotage the ship. You can sabotage lights to create confusion, disable the surveillance or even close the oxygen tanks.
The last option must be dealt with or else the Crewmates die automatically.
Impostors also have increased vision even in darkness.
Finally, Impostors know each other.
Now for the Crewmates.
Your objective is either to kick out all the Impostors, or all the Crewmates finish all their tasks.
The tasks are minigame-esque and take some time to fully complete. If you die from an Impostor, you can carry on with the tasks as a ghost, but you can’t talk or vote during meetings. You can still win even if you die.
You can also check surveillance. That’s about it actually.
As I said, the game is based on the ability of the Impostor to trick others and be sneaky in general.
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Visuals
The visuals are nothing special. It’s not the selling point anyway.
That said, there is some customization for your characters, but that costs money for the most part.
Personal Thoughts
Among Us is definitely fun. The only problem (if you can call it that) is that it’s most fun when you play with people you know, as games with strangers tend to be chaotic.
It’s surely fun to play with your group of friends or at a party, and a great time killer as well.
All in all, I don’t know if it’s worth buying on Steam, but it’s a must on every gamer’s mobile.
Final Verdict
Storyline: –
Gameplay: 9.0
Visuals: 7.0
Personal Score: 8.0/10
Have you played Among Us yet? Do you like being an Impostor or do you prefer to be a Crewmate. Have you played dozens of games like me where literally none of them you were an Impostor? Leave a comment below.
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Developed by Mediatonic, this platforming battle-royale game is the one that has taken 2020’s early Q3 by storm.
Chaotic, challenging and (frustratingly) fun, it’s no wonder it became a massive success on release.
But what is Fall Guys? Is it competitive? Is it here to stay? Is it worth it? All will be covered with this review.
As usual, this review will have a Storyline, Gameplay, Visuals and finally, a Personal Thoughts sections. Without further ado:
Storyline
The game has no storyline. I guess the 60 Fall Guys competing are part of a game show (that’s why all the cameras exist, and why you earn kudos as you play), but that’s just flavoring, it doesn’t count as storyline, just as a setting.
Gameplay
I mentioned Fall Guys being a battle-royale. That means that a bunch of (human) players compete with each other until 1 remains.
However, Fall Guys uses a round format and a bunch of different minigames. This means that out of the 60 starting players, on the first round, about 16-20% will be eliminated, and that carries on every round, until the final round which can be round 4, 5, or 6, the reason being is that some games don’t have a limit on players advancing, but instead, everyone who survives may pass (very rarely, these games may appear on the first round, netting a lucky player a first-round win).
As you advance, you may find some absolutely infuriating team games. To pass you must work with your team for the minigame’s goal.
When the final round comes, one of the final stages will be chosen at random. These final stages are exclusive to the final round.
Every player receives kudos (the in-game currency) based on their performance, but the winner gains a crown, which is the premium currency. Through microtransactions, you can gain more kudos, but never any crowns. You just gotta git gud.
That’s about the battle-royale aspect. The minigames are all platformers. That means you must race, dodge, and altogether jump through a lot of hazards. Sometimes, correct timing and balance are required.
Not only can you jump, you can also dive and grab.
Diving is something you have to master. Especially jump into diving into jumping to gain some distance is invaluable.
Grabbing is… mostly for trolling and annoying other players. You can use it to try and eliminate someone, but be a decent human being and don’t do that.
In some minigames, grabbing is a game mechanic. You have to grab other players to “tag” them, depending on the minigame.
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Visuals
The game has bright colors and is generally praised for it’s visuals. I can for sure say that the bright visuals match the chaotic gameplay perfectly.
A great addition (to any game really) is the ability to customize your Fall Guy. Through color patterns, body patterns and clothes, you can never get bored when mixing it up.
You can buy cosmetic through the shop using both currencies you earn. The rarest items cost crowns, which means that by being better than others in this game, you can also show it too! And no one can buy these, as crowns are limited to victories and the (free) season pass.
Personal Thoughts
The game is relatively new and still has some issues.
Hackers and cheaters plague every other game. Playing for hours will get repetitive. And the worst? There seems to be an unfixable bug that (almost) never allows your team to win in team games. That last one is truly absurd.
The game does have potential however. And lots too.
The devs want to mix it up and add new content for quite some time. And frankly, it’s a great game to play for a few hours, between other games, studying, or anything. It’s a great game to kill some time pleasantly.
The only negative I can think about is the price, but for this game, I think it’s worth it.
Final Verdict
Storyline: –
Gameplay: 9.0
Visuals: 7.0
Personal Score: 8.0/10
Have you tried out Fall Guys yet? Would you like too? What do you think of all the chaos in the game? Leave a comment below.
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Good free games seem to be a rarity on Steam, so you’ll be glad to hear of this short puzzle game.
Helltaker is a puzzle indie game, with quite a short duration, but definitely worth your hour.
It was released in 2020, and is described as “a short game about sharply dressed demon girls.” It is not very suggestive though, so if you want a game to satisfy your urges, you’re better off trying Huniepop or something. I’m gonna say it a lot during this review, but the game IS NOT SUGGESTIVE.
As usual, this review will have a Storyline, Gameplay, Visuals and finally, a Personal Thoughts sections. Without further ado:
Storyline
For a short game you should expect a short and simple story.
A man named Helltaker had a dream about having a harem of demon girls. Waking up, he decides to make it a reality so he goes to hell and tries to convince the “sharply dressed” demon girls to join him.
Gameplay
the gameplay is pretty simple. Being a puzzle game, your purpose is to reach the end of the level (which is the demon girl) in a set amount of moves.
There are various hazards in a level. For example, some levels have spikes, which take away 2 moves when you step over them.
There are also the skeletons. Skeletons don’t move, and can be pushed back a space. if they are against a wall, pushing them will kill them. Pushing or killing a skeleton costs a movement point.
Finally, there are rocks. As with skeletons, you can push them around (losing movement points for each push), but unlike the skelies, you cannot destroy them.
When you reach the end, a cutscene will play, and the demon girl will ask you a question. Answering correctly will move you ti the next level. A wrong answer will either kill you, or give you a bad ending. Either way, you start over that level again.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
There are 8 levels in total and in the end a ninth level that is a boss battle. The boss battle is not a puzzle exactly, it’s more like bullet hell kinda thing where you dodge a bunch of things.
In the ending, you take all the girls to your home and make the chocolate chip pancakes.
There is an additional bit to the ending if you manage to collect all the secrets, but I’ll leave that up to you.
END SPOILERS
There’s not much honestly, but as I said, the game shouldn’t take you more than 2 hours to finish.
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Visuals
The visuals are what you’d expect from an indie game. The “sharply dressed” demon girls have kind of become a thing however, and if you’re in the know-how in the hentai business you’ve probably heard or seen them somewhere.
Personal Thoughts
Helltaker is pretty fun and short. I highly suggest anyone try this if they want to do something random for 1-2 hours. (PG-13 I guess… though it’s really not suggestive at all).
And I’m serious about one thing; you shouldn’t use this game as an outlet to your urges. It’s really not that suggestive, and honestly, why would you wanna take gaming and make it about the hormones. I believe they ruin enough stuff already.
Final Verdict
Storyline: 5.5
Gameplay: 7.0
Visuals: 6.0
Personal Score: 6.2/10
Have you played Helltaker? Did you enjoy it or did you go there for the demon girls? Leave a comment below.
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A Hat in Time, released in 2017 for PCs, is an Action-Adventure 3D Open World game. Essentially, it is a platformer, a genre lost in decades bygone.
That does not make it any less good however.
There’s not much to say to introduce these kind of games so I’ll just go to the Sections. Without further ado:
Storyline
Hat Kid is the protagonist of the game, and the player character. Her name is no actually Hat Kid, but we don’t know her real name.
Anyway, Hat Kid is an anthropomorphic (as in no different at all than humans) alien child traveling with her spaceship. As she passes above a planet, a baddie from the planet’s Mafia demands a toll to be paid.
Breaking the window, Hat Kid loses the source of her spaceship’s power, Hourglass looking things called Time Pieces. Time Pieces have the ability to manipulate time.
Her purpose is to traverse the weird planet and collect all the Time Pieces and return home.
That is the premise, everything that follows is HEAVY SPOILERS!
(Skip to the Gameplay Section)
On the first levels, you will meet and befriend a hooded girl blond girl with a mustache aptly named Mustache Girl. She really hates the Mafia and is obsessed with taking them down. So you go together, she helping you collect Time Pieces, and you help her by taking out the Mafia.
As you do that, she finds out the true power of the Time Pieces and declares herself your enemy when you refuse to use them to make Mafia never exist.
As you struggle to collect the rest of the Time Pieces, she makes her way to your Spaceship and steals the ones you collected, creating an apocalyptic alternate world where she alone is justice.
After the fight, the game finishes and the credits roll.
There are expansions to the game with more story and Time Pieces to collect, but these are supplementary to the main story.
Gameplay
The game is a platformer as I mentioned. This means that most of your gameplay will involve platforms, jumps and hazards, as well as some quests.
As with most platformers, the moves you can do are pretty limited. You can move around, jump and double jump, and you can crouch. Crouching while running or jumping will make you dive fast forward. You can cancel the dive by jumping again. This move is usually used to get you to far off platforms.
Besides the typical action list, you have access to (a total of 6) hats, each with a unique ability. For example, your default hat shows your points of interest. You can also equip various badges (eventually, up to 3) that must be bought, which can also give more actions to do.
All these combined make for quite an array of actions.
While the game is a platformer, and its levels free roam, that’s not always the case.
There are quite different than usual levels that make this game even more fun.
For example (spoilers), there are levels that have the feel of “stealth mission”, a race level, a horror level where have to stay low and various boss fights as well. And certainly, not every level is free roam.
In the more technical stuff, you have 4 lives, and you can find health pickups practically everywhere. Dying will result in you having to start over, which trust me, isn’t that much, to begin with.
With the Seal the Deal DLC you also unlock Death Wish. Death Wish is missions on levels you already did but come with a new twist, making them much harder. Some of them also have bonus quests making them even harder. Fortunately, you don’t have to do the bonus quest along with the main.
If you die a number of times, Peace and Tranquility is unlocked, which (for a price) makes the challenge easier. However, the general consensus is that it’s much to easy with Peace and Tranquility.
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Visuals
I’ll start this off with a quote from the game’s description: <<A Hat in Time is a cute-as-heck 3D platformer featuring a little girl who stitches hats for wicked powers.>>
I’m usually not a fan of these characterizations (i..e a cute game, a pretty game, and edgy game, etc), but boy did they hit the jackpot with this. I really was skeptical, but there’s no better way to describe it; Hat Kid is absolutely adorable.
Other than that, the graphics are what you can expect from Unreal Engine, though they can run on a decent PC so it’s certainly not AAA.
The game has TONS of cosmetics for you to unlock as well, making customizability an option in this game. The main character remains the same, however (and I wouldn’t have it any other way!)
Personal Thoughts
If you are a fan of platformers then this game is definitely for you. It is a tad expensive, but no matter, on a sale, it definitely is worth the money.
If you are a parent thinking of taking this game for your kid(s), certainly go ahead; in fact, you might find yourself enjoying the game too!
Good platformers (especially for the PC) are hard to come by these days, so we should appreciate the ones that come.
Final Verdict
Storyline: 7.0
Gameplay: 8.5
Visuals: 7.0
Personal Score: 7.5
That’s it for my review. Irregardless of the score, I certainly recommend this game to anyone who’s in to these kind of games.
Have you played the game? Are you thinking of buying it? Do you agree that it’s SUPER CUTE? Leave a comment below.
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