Post by Seraphiel on Sept 18, 2015 19:17:28 GMT
Disclaimer: This guide is for educational and entertainment purposes with a dash of sarcastic humor and noob-friendliness. Any offense taken by the reader from reading this is purely coincidental and unintentional. If there are any comments wishing to be addressed, please do post for a discussion with other members of the forum. Thanks!
"The comfort of death will come for men and demons alike... by the guidance of the Great Will." --Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne Game Over text
As many players know, losing all cards in one's deck means an instant loss of the match.
So how does one avoid losing all his cards?
Monster Reborn? Phoenix Down? Max Revive? Samarecarm?
Joking aside, the answer lies in the revival and recycle set of skills.
What is Recycle?
Recycle works by taking the card/s from the graveyard and placing them back to the deck.
Effective when starting out but speed of other cards in the deck becomes crucial in later stages in the game.
Where to find Recycle?
Recycle 1. The most basic form of the skill which only takes one card from the graveyard and puts it back into the deck.
This skill is exclusive to Thalassa which is unlocked from Seals.
Each time one unseals a copy of Thalassa, the next requires 12 of each required Creature which doubles after each succeeding Unseal.
Early on, players will find the option of evolving this wondrous easily-obtainable 5-star Mortii dragon to be very enticing as the extra Attack and HP sometimes comes a long way.
However, due to its stats being generally underwhelming as is its two other abilities, it is NOT worth evolving and even, dare anyone say it, melding skills onto Thalassa.
Recycle 2. The upgraded form brings two cards back into the deck, unsurprisingly enough.
This skill is only held by Hippolyta, a Faen card that lurks in the Mazes, and Dahlia, a Mortii card that swindles unsuspecting players of their gems in the Altar.
Of the two, Hippolyta is more easily accessible due to only a select few 5-stars being encountered in Mazes, further assisted by a supposed "increased drop rate" during Ultima Chest events; compared to starting a witch hunt for Dahlia, one will more likely run into cards not needed and waste a lot of gems in the process... and still not obtain her, thus leading to an aneurysm or a ragequit.
What is Revive?
Revive, on the other hand, takes a card from the graveyard and immediately places it back into play.
Generally more superior than Recycle in every aspect.
Where to find Revive?
Revive. The only multiple use of the skill is found on Great Mystic.
Great Mystic can only be obtained through Boosters and summoning fanciful cards from the Altar.
Again, new players who have just acquired her will notice a dramatic power spike when using her and will attempt to evolve her to increase her stats, thus increasing her field presence and longevity on the battlefield. Or so they would presume.
Kindly refer to her skills, common top-tier creatures, common melds and the talents of every Hero one could possibly face in the Arena. Then provide a 10,000-word essay on why Great Mystic is an awesome card to evolve.
Hopefully, the point has been made about her.
Healing Breath. A subtype of revival can be seen in the signature skill of Fae Firstborne which is triggered upon being destroyed.
Fae Firstborne is easily acquired through the accumulation of her shards from Guild Map 5.
With a so-so combination of skills, she is a pure free-to-play alternative to the Great Mystic for a revival card. Likewise, she is effective at the early stages of the game but not as hot in later on.
A one-time resurrection skill with a low Rebirth skill needs careful consideration before freely splashing her into a deck.
Resurrect. The other subtype of revival which is graciously sported by Oinari.
This skill immediately brings back a creature from the graveyard back into the fight upon being played; also worthy to note is the revived creature's ability to act during the turn it is salvaged from death. Useful and exciting, right?
Sadly, Oinari is locked away in Boosters and has only been released to all the players in the form of shards once.
Other Unlisted Sources
Thalassa has been given away in Shopper's Paradise for X amount of gems spent.
Hippolyta and Dahlia have both been released as possible prizes in Lucky Draws as well as rewards for being a top contender in Sky Arena.
Dahlia, Oinari and Fae Firstborne have all been made available in Lucky Spin for a month.
Oinari has been given as a possible reward in Scratch and Win, Lucky Draw and Smash N Grab events.
Great Mystic has been handed as a prize for performing well in Sky Arena and for buying Gems.
To Evolve or Not to Evolve?
It is generally a poor choice to evolve any of the Revival and Recycle creatures listed above save for Dahlia.
Most of them have 6-wait turns, subpar stats, unamusing skill combinations and a horrid cost which only increases when evolved.
Unless one desires Oceanus to clone the evolved Hippolyta or the evolved Oinari, it would be better to meld their skills off to better cards.
If I am God, Why Should I Fear Death?
Please go through your stickers in Deck Heroes and search for a 5-star Human with the name "Paragon".
Scroll down and see her Level 10 skill.
If one has not encountered her yet, please refer to a Vitality/Protean/Violence rune, go to "Creatures" upon given the option, and scan through the 5-star Humans to look for Paragon.
Who Gets the Power to Return Life?
The reason why one is melding off a recycle or revive skill to another card is because:
a.) the card that originally has it has the durability of a wet tissue and the longevity of a french fry amidst a group of schoolchildren
b.) the card that originally has it has poor synergy with whatever deck it is in
c.) the card that originally has it has lost its relevance with whatever decks are currently floating around in the Arena and Tournament
d.) EVOLVING AND MELDING IS FUUUNNNNN, DUHHH
Most often than not though, one would vastly prefer a Revive or Recycle card that can be reliably played and last long enough on the field to consistently save card.
Because... who would want their Revive/Recycle card to be played this turn to salvage one card and then die the next turn?
Before melding, one must take into careful consideration the recipient of the skill.
Revive can only be passed to 5-star creatures but its subtype, Healing Breath and Resurrect, can go to 4-star and 5-star creatures.
Recycle 1 and 2 can be melded to both 4-star and 5-star cards.
So what makes for good reliability, consistency and durability?
1. Protection against card displacement such as Retreat, Instakill and Disposal (Immunity and Stoneskin - lesser extent, Ice Coffin)
2. Protection against creature crowd control (Unbound and Immunity)
3. Avoidance or mitigation of damage (Ice Coffin, Dodge, Frost Armor, Block, Maji Shield and Reflect - likely addition of Twin Defense)
4. Recovery or increments of HP (Immunity with rune, Mass Heal, Life Sap, Mythril, Soul Swap, Shatter Soul and faction HP boosts such as Earth Totem and Elven Salve)
5. Ability to be played multiple times if killed (Rebirth)
Obviously, it is rare for one card to have all three characteristics so the rest of the verdict should come from its utility.
How does one judge its utility?
The melded card should be able to do any of the following:
1. Apply a form of crowd control (Bolt/Cloudburst/Thor's Rage, Ice Arrow/Frostbite/Tempest, Delay and Seals - higher levels of the skill are more agreeable)
2. Card displacement (Disposal, Retreat and Instakill)
3. Offensive presence (Battleblow, Sweeping Blow, Soul Snatch)
4. Applying additional damage (Ambush with rune as applicable, Picking Off and Assassinate, Twin Terror)
5. Hero damage (Curse, Godswill and Stabthrough)
6. Hero healing (Bless especially with inclusion of rune)
7. Enemy skill disruption or counter (Spellbinder, Onslaught and Cleanse)
Real Examples
As one can observe from players in any Arena or Tournament rank, common 4-star melds for Recycle are Swordmaster, Horned Beast, Light Brave and Harbinger.
Horned Beast and Harbinger all meet three criteria for a good Recycler while Swordmaster and Light Brave only meet two but have a point each in utility.
Other notable mentions include Dullahan, The Twins and Graboid (although a 6-turn card, it manages to counter Paragon's presence due to Ravage... somehow).
These melds tend to do well despite their poor stats when compared to 5-star creatures (which is to be expected, really) due to the combination of their innate skill sets.
Good 5-star cards to be melded with Revive and Recycle 2 have included (in no particular order):
a. Fafnir
b. Dragonlord
c. Spirit Siren (most desirable with rune)
d. Mythril Drone (for players who are lucky and/or rich)
e. Snow Harlot (for people who are incredibly lucky and/or rich)
f. either or both of Kumiho and Kitsune (due to Kumiho's Rebirth 10 and the sisters' shared Gemini)
g. Mimir's Tree
h. Nidhogg
i. Revenant
j. Pontiff
k. Santa Baus (for big pimpin' on Deck Heroes)
Other once-popular choices that have fallen out of favor:
1. Titania
2. Bloodletter
What About the Hand of Our Savior?
Generally, high Rebirth and short-wait turn is essential when one has the luxury of melding off Resurrect and Healing Breath.
One must also consider that the melded card needs to die as soon as possible and return to the hand for a other revive.
Death Knight is the most coveted choice, followed by Quetzalcoatl and Spirit Siren as usable alternatives.
In Conclusion, Otherwise known as the TL;DR section
It is very important to make the right choices when melding off recycle and revival skills as resources and essential cards can be unnecessarily wasted on a card that will not do you any good.
It is one thing to dream about the overpowered but unrealistic Immunity 10 Hippolyta and Frost Armor 10 Great Mystic you see on Maps 13/14; it is also another to waste multiple Great Mystics or Hippolytas to attain that when another card could be doing a better job.
"The comfort of death will come for men and demons alike... by the guidance of the Great Will." --Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne Game Over text
As many players know, losing all cards in one's deck means an instant loss of the match.
So how does one avoid losing all his cards?
Monster Reborn? Phoenix Down? Max Revive? Samarecarm?
Joking aside, the answer lies in the revival and recycle set of skills.
What is Recycle?
Recycle works by taking the card/s from the graveyard and placing them back to the deck.
Effective when starting out but speed of other cards in the deck becomes crucial in later stages in the game.
Where to find Recycle?
Recycle 1. The most basic form of the skill which only takes one card from the graveyard and puts it back into the deck.
This skill is exclusive to Thalassa which is unlocked from Seals.
Each time one unseals a copy of Thalassa, the next requires 12 of each required Creature which doubles after each succeeding Unseal.
Early on, players will find the option of evolving this wondrous easily-obtainable 5-star Mortii dragon to be very enticing as the extra Attack and HP sometimes comes a long way.
However, due to its stats being generally underwhelming as is its two other abilities, it is NOT worth evolving and even, dare anyone say it, melding skills onto Thalassa.
Recycle 2. The upgraded form brings two cards back into the deck, unsurprisingly enough.
This skill is only held by Hippolyta, a Faen card that lurks in the Mazes, and Dahlia, a Mortii card that swindles unsuspecting players of their gems in the Altar.
Of the two, Hippolyta is more easily accessible due to only a select few 5-stars being encountered in Mazes, further assisted by a supposed "increased drop rate" during Ultima Chest events; compared to starting a witch hunt for Dahlia, one will more likely run into cards not needed and waste a lot of gems in the process... and still not obtain her, thus leading to an aneurysm or a ragequit.
What is Revive?
Revive, on the other hand, takes a card from the graveyard and immediately places it back into play.
Generally more superior than Recycle in every aspect.
Where to find Revive?
Revive. The only multiple use of the skill is found on Great Mystic.
Great Mystic can only be obtained through Boosters and summoning fanciful cards from the Altar.
Again, new players who have just acquired her will notice a dramatic power spike when using her and will attempt to evolve her to increase her stats, thus increasing her field presence and longevity on the battlefield. Or so they would presume.
Kindly refer to her skills, common top-tier creatures, common melds and the talents of every Hero one could possibly face in the Arena. Then provide a 10,000-word essay on why Great Mystic is an awesome card to evolve.
Hopefully, the point has been made about her.
Healing Breath. A subtype of revival can be seen in the signature skill of Fae Firstborne which is triggered upon being destroyed.
Fae Firstborne is easily acquired through the accumulation of her shards from Guild Map 5.
With a so-so combination of skills, she is a pure free-to-play alternative to the Great Mystic for a revival card. Likewise, she is effective at the early stages of the game but not as hot in later on.
A one-time resurrection skill with a low Rebirth skill needs careful consideration before freely splashing her into a deck.
Resurrect. The other subtype of revival which is graciously sported by Oinari.
This skill immediately brings back a creature from the graveyard back into the fight upon being played; also worthy to note is the revived creature's ability to act during the turn it is salvaged from death. Useful and exciting, right?
Sadly, Oinari is locked away in Boosters and has only been released to all the players in the form of shards once.
Other Unlisted Sources
Thalassa has been given away in Shopper's Paradise for X amount of gems spent.
Hippolyta and Dahlia have both been released as possible prizes in Lucky Draws as well as rewards for being a top contender in Sky Arena.
Dahlia, Oinari and Fae Firstborne have all been made available in Lucky Spin for a month.
Oinari has been given as a possible reward in Scratch and Win, Lucky Draw and Smash N Grab events.
Great Mystic has been handed as a prize for performing well in Sky Arena and for buying Gems.
To Evolve or Not to Evolve?
It is generally a poor choice to evolve any of the Revival and Recycle creatures listed above save for Dahlia.
Most of them have 6-wait turns, subpar stats, unamusing skill combinations and a horrid cost which only increases when evolved.
Unless one desires Oceanus to clone the evolved Hippolyta or the evolved Oinari, it would be better to meld their skills off to better cards.
If I am God, Why Should I Fear Death?
Please go through your stickers in Deck Heroes and search for a 5-star Human with the name "Paragon".
Scroll down and see her Level 10 skill.
If one has not encountered her yet, please refer to a Vitality/Protean/Violence rune, go to "Creatures" upon given the option, and scan through the 5-star Humans to look for Paragon.
Who Gets the Power to Return Life?
The reason why one is melding off a recycle or revive skill to another card is because:
a.) the card that originally has it has the durability of a wet tissue and the longevity of a french fry amidst a group of schoolchildren
b.) the card that originally has it has poor synergy with whatever deck it is in
c.) the card that originally has it has lost its relevance with whatever decks are currently floating around in the Arena and Tournament
d.) EVOLVING AND MELDING IS FUUUNNNNN, DUHHH
Most often than not though, one would vastly prefer a Revive or Recycle card that can be reliably played and last long enough on the field to consistently save card.
Because... who would want their Revive/Recycle card to be played this turn to salvage one card and then die the next turn?
Before melding, one must take into careful consideration the recipient of the skill.
Revive can only be passed to 5-star creatures but its subtype, Healing Breath and Resurrect, can go to 4-star and 5-star creatures.
Recycle 1 and 2 can be melded to both 4-star and 5-star cards.
So what makes for good reliability, consistency and durability?
1. Protection against card displacement such as Retreat, Instakill and Disposal (Immunity and Stoneskin - lesser extent, Ice Coffin)
2. Protection against creature crowd control (Unbound and Immunity)
3. Avoidance or mitigation of damage (Ice Coffin, Dodge, Frost Armor, Block, Maji Shield and Reflect - likely addition of Twin Defense)
4. Recovery or increments of HP (Immunity with rune, Mass Heal, Life Sap, Mythril, Soul Swap, Shatter Soul and faction HP boosts such as Earth Totem and Elven Salve)
5. Ability to be played multiple times if killed (Rebirth)
Obviously, it is rare for one card to have all three characteristics so the rest of the verdict should come from its utility.
How does one judge its utility?
The melded card should be able to do any of the following:
1. Apply a form of crowd control (Bolt/Cloudburst/Thor's Rage, Ice Arrow/Frostbite/Tempest, Delay and Seals - higher levels of the skill are more agreeable)
2. Card displacement (Disposal, Retreat and Instakill)
3. Offensive presence (Battleblow, Sweeping Blow, Soul Snatch)
4. Applying additional damage (Ambush with rune as applicable, Picking Off and Assassinate, Twin Terror)
5. Hero damage (Curse, Godswill and Stabthrough)
6. Hero healing (Bless especially with inclusion of rune)
7. Enemy skill disruption or counter (Spellbinder, Onslaught and Cleanse)
Real Examples
As one can observe from players in any Arena or Tournament rank, common 4-star melds for Recycle are Swordmaster, Horned Beast, Light Brave and Harbinger.
Horned Beast and Harbinger all meet three criteria for a good Recycler while Swordmaster and Light Brave only meet two but have a point each in utility.
Other notable mentions include Dullahan, The Twins and Graboid (although a 6-turn card, it manages to counter Paragon's presence due to Ravage... somehow).
These melds tend to do well despite their poor stats when compared to 5-star creatures (which is to be expected, really) due to the combination of their innate skill sets.
Good 5-star cards to be melded with Revive and Recycle 2 have included (in no particular order):
a. Fafnir
b. Dragonlord
c. Spirit Siren (most desirable with rune)
d. Mythril Drone (for players who are lucky and/or rich)
e. Snow Harlot (for people who are incredibly lucky and/or rich)
f. either or both of Kumiho and Kitsune (due to Kumiho's Rebirth 10 and the sisters' shared Gemini)
g. Mimir's Tree
h. Nidhogg
i. Revenant
j. Pontiff
k. Santa Baus (for big pimpin' on Deck Heroes)
Other once-popular choices that have fallen out of favor:
1. Titania
2. Bloodletter
What About the Hand of Our Savior?
Generally, high Rebirth and short-wait turn is essential when one has the luxury of melding off Resurrect and Healing Breath.
One must also consider that the melded card needs to die as soon as possible and return to the hand for a other revive.
Death Knight is the most coveted choice, followed by Quetzalcoatl and Spirit Siren as usable alternatives.
In Conclusion, Otherwise known as the TL;DR section
It is very important to make the right choices when melding off recycle and revival skills as resources and essential cards can be unnecessarily wasted on a card that will not do you any good.
It is one thing to dream about the overpowered but unrealistic Immunity 10 Hippolyta and Frost Armor 10 Great Mystic you see on Maps 13/14; it is also another to waste multiple Great Mystics or Hippolytas to attain that when another card could be doing a better job.