Trasd is in the house!

[Trasd]

Hey folks!

I've finally decided to try my hand at a TCG (I do love a good strategy game). I've only played one TCG and this was once back in 1981 or so when they weren't even around "en masse" yet. In fact, I didn't even see or hear about another until Pokémon came out many years later. That first game I played was an arena melee-type fight where every move was managed. I loved it, though it probably barely resembled the TCGs of today. Years ago I tried to contact my friend who owned it so I could get the name and look for it myself, but his family had moved and I never heard from him again.

So, needless to say, I am completely new to TCGs. I plan to play on my tablet, for now anyway. I loaded and love a game called Hero Mages (check it out, it is wonderful), but I wanted something with no randomness (as far as rolling die) involved, though there is still some randomness in Shadow Era with card draws, from what I understand.

Besides saying hello and introducing myself to the community, I am looking for advice. Remember, I am completely new to the genre of game. The first thing I am looking for is advice on my deck. I found this:

If you compare the starter decks for Eladwen Frostmire (Human Mage) and Majiya (Shadow Mage), you will see that the Mage-specific cards are common to both.

This makes sense to me, so I think I will try it, but would still like as much information and as many tips as possible.

But, please keep it simple for now.

Here are some specific questions I have (I have looked around, but haven't found current or simple answers):

1. What is a good deck size (I read 40 somewhere)?
2. Is the booster pack the only place to get uncommon, rare, or epic cards?
3. What are some benefits of joining a guild (I am in guilds for DDO and LotRO, but don't understand how these can work with Shadow Era)?
4. How does Shadow Era compare to other TCGs out there?
5. For now I have no money for this game (long story) and until I do, am I handicapped in any way?

Thanks folks, and I look forward to seeing some of you online (when I feel I am good enough to compete)!

[Seth]

Hello there and welcome to the game and the community here! I'm curious...what TCG was this that you played in '81?

I'm sure there are about to be plenty of answers piling up here for you in a few minutes, but to get you started off in the right direction, 40-43 cards is optimal for a deck and mages are probably the easiest class to start out with, as basic mage strategies are the most straightforward (just avoid Nishaven, he's pretty weak). You can find all kinds of decklist ideas and so on in the Strategy forum.

[Speed Freak]

Welcome to shadow era mate..!
I'm sure you'll love this game..
as for your questions..
1. 40 is the minimum deck size allowed in multiplayer and it is the best size..because you get maximum consistency from it. Don't let it hinder your gameplay though..its not uncommon to see 50-55 deck sizes in tourneys. In the end, its all about your playstyle and strategy.
2. No..you can buy individual cards from the merchant.
3. Benefits of guild are too many and i encourage you join one after you've had 1-2 weeks of experience. Look around in the guilds forum for your questions answered.
4. from my experience ,SE tops every online TCG out there. I play from my android mostly and all other mobile TCGs like Bad Blood, Rage of Bahamut stand no chance against the awesomenesd of SE.
5. No..you can always grind the ai to get your desired although it'll take a lot of time. Paying will make it faster. Players who buy SCs and players who grind ai for SCs stand at equal footings in this game.

[Keith☆Star]

1. 40 is the minimum deck size allowed in multiplayer and it is the best size..because you get maximum consistency from it. Don't let it hinder your gameplay though..its not uncommon to see 50-55 deck sizes in tourneys. In the end, its all about your playstyle and strategy.

It is rare to see peeps with 100+ card too...

3. Benefits of guild are too many and i encourage you join one after you've had 1-2 weeks of experience. Look around in the guilds forum for your questions answered.

You can create your own guild if you want, like I'm planning to do...

Ps: Welcome to "The Amazing World Of Shadow Era" (maybe i have to stop watching gumball...)

[gunslinger]

http://game.shadowera.com/bonus.php
check this out for a few free crystals welcome on board.

[Trasd]

Wow, now that was quick responses! Very active community, apparently.

I'm curious...what TCG was this that you played in '81?

That's just it, I don't remember! Also, I can't promise they were collectable/tradeable, they may have been only intended to play as an all inclusive complete game.

2. No..you can buy individual cards from the merchant.

So, how do I identify uncommon, rare, and epic cards?

http://game.shadowera.com/bonus.php check this out for a few free crystals welcome on board.

This is very useful! Thanks.



One more question; What is the "Custom UI" screen used for? This is the only screen I don't understand.

[Keith☆Star]

Wow, now that was quick responses! Very active community, apparently.

Yeah you got it, this is a very active community.

So, how do I identify uncommon, rare, and epic cards?

If you look on the bottom of the card you can see the "Crystal ??/200 ?", when the "??/200" is the number of the card, and the "?" is the rarity of that card divided into Common, Uncommon, Rare and Epic.

One more question; What is the "Custom UI" screen used for? This is the only screen I don't understand.

The Custom Ai screen is for setting a match with the computer.
This is commonly used to get some Shadow Crystal through levelling, without buying them with real money, and for avoiding the "Shuffle Bug".

[Trasd]

The Custom Ai screen is for setting a match with the computer.
This is commonly used to get some Shadow Crystal through levelling, without buying them with real money, and for avoiding the "Shuffle Bug".

Thanks (I didn't pay attention, now I see it says AI, not UI)! So, I setup the AI to have a "bad" deck and then kick it's butt?

What is the Shuffle Bug?


I keep playing the AI (random shuffle), but I am getting no gold. The games I'm doing, though, are "offline." Do I need to play the AI online instead to earn gold? I can also earn crystals this way, right?

I'm discovering one of the nice things about SE, it's easy to understand. This probably means it is easy to learn and tough to master....


EDITED
Sometimes it's easier to ask than to find out for yourself!

I found out why I was getting no gold, and it is because I am playing offline.

I think I'm going to like this game!

[Speed Freak]

You'll like it i'm sure. And you need to be online even if you play against the ai if you want xp and gold.

[Seth]

Don't pay attention to the "Shuffle Bug" lol. There's a bunch of superstitious players who believe if you don't play against an AI for a few turns before going online, you'll get a bad draw.

I believe you do need to be in online mode to get gold from AI matches. I'm also not 100% sure you get gold from Custom AI matches.

And yes, Shadow Era is refreshingly easy to pick up compared to a lot of strategy games like it. Even still, I've been playing for almost a year and a half and still picking up on things to improve my game.

One more tip: if you're into this sort of thing, you can find an active community on Freenode IRC in the #shadowera channel. People are always on and we have a ton of fun there