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  1. #1
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    Zaladar - My very first

    Hello everyone!

    This is my very first post on this forum and with that comes a little introduction.
    I'm a new Shadow Era player and this is also my very first CCG game. Wasn't that hard to get into the game
    but there is allot to learn.
    And that's why I am posting this! I would like to present to you my deck and thoughts behind it.
    Hopefully some of you can guide me in making the deck stronger and explaining me how to play the deck 'right'.

    My Deck 43 Cards

    Hero
    [1] - Zaladar

    Allies - Total 10
    [4] - Keldor
    [4] - Infernal Gargoyle
    [2] - Death Mage Thaddeus

    Ability - Total 20
    [2] - Energy Discharge
    [4] - Mind Control
    [2] - Feedback
    [4] - Shriek of Vengeance
    [4] - Shadow Font
    [4] - Bad Santa

    Artifact - Total 10
    [4] - Bazaar
    [2] - Infinity Core
    [2] - Antimatter
    [2] - Contaminated Water

    Weapon - Total 2
    [2] - Sliver of Shadow

    My own thoughts:

    I believe I've got an decent deck here but there is still room for improvement.
    That being said my decisions and predictions aren't the best I believe.
    This is how I generally play a game.

    Turn 1:
    I don't have any 1 resource cards so I sack the card I don't think i'll be needing vs the opponent.
    For example I'll sack 'Energy Discharge' if I play vs a hero that uses allot of weapons.
    If I need every card vs a certain opponent I'll sack cards I don't need immediately or cards I've got multiply of in my hand.
    I don't need 3 shriek of vengeance in my hand for example.

    Turn 2:
    Here I go for Bazaar and if I don't have it i'll use a Bad Santa to try and get it in my hand.
    If I'm unlucky enough to not get a draw engine I'm usually in trouble around turn 5.

    Turn 3:
    This is when I put my ally on the board.
    Keldor or Gargoyle is what i'd pick. I prefer to put down Keldor but if they can kill him before Turn 4 then i'd rather put down
    Gargoyle because he can survive about any turn 3 ally I think.

    Turn 4:
    This is when Zaladar shines. His ability is ready to rumble and if you got an ally on the field you can take control of the board.
    This is also the moment when you decide the flow of the rest of the game. There are allot of options usually and it's sometimes hard to
    know which one is the best.
    1 - If I can clear the board with Zaladar and my ally I mainly like to summon another ally
    2 - If I can't clear the board with Zaladar and my ally I summon Contaminated Water or Sliver of Shadow or Death Mage Thaddeus to finish the job.
    3 - I use Shadow Font to get my Abiltity back next turn I found this is the easiest way to get in some early damage but it scales worse into late game then an extra ally on turn 4.
    4 - Shriek of Vengeance is my 4th option. If the opponent has a card that is benefiting him to much i'd like to get rid of it now.

    Turn 5:
    This is when I restock on cards and place down my artifacts.
    I'll use a Bad Santa and Feedback to get the most out of the turn I'd also like to put down my Anti-Matter or/and Infinity Core.
    If the enemy has put down a big ally card I'd also like to use Mind Control on this turn instead of my artifacts.

    Turn 6+:
    This when I go for the hero. I use my ally's to hurt him, use shriek to bring down any defense he puts up and use shadow font to use my
    ability to hurt him as much as I can.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    That's my build and strategy everyone. Hope you can guide me in the right direction.
    And thank you for taking the time to read all of this.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Elunatic's Avatar
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    First off, welcome to Shadow Era. Now then:

    -You should try n' get your deck size as close to 40 as possible. If you try it out and it works worse, you can always go back to 43.
    -10 allies seems a bit low to me. Not sure exactly what you'd want to add, but I'd suggest some Ironhide Karashes. They work fairly well in tandem with Zaladar's ability. Another option would be Furrion Terrors, although they might be overkill alongside Energy Discharge.
    -Regarding Shadow Font, maybe consider going with a 2:2 split of Shadow Fonts and Interferences. Interference does almost the same thing (or more), and if you time it right it can really mess with your opponent.
    -With four Bazaars, I'm not sure if four Bad Santas are necessary. Sure, Santa-Bombing is kinda fun if you pull it off, but the times when everything aligns for you to do so are few n' far between. I'd reduce 'em to two copies, maybe three if they're just that helpful. Alternatively, you could get rid of 'em and replace them with a few Sacrifical Lambs, for when your allies are disabled or dying.
    -Antimatter has the same problem as Bad Santa, you don't usually need more draw if you're already drawing two cards a turn, and Bad Santa is there for when you really do need that extra draw. I'd drop these.
    -If you've got the cash, virtual or otherwise, adding some copies of Shadowvein might be helpful. Twice the cost of the Slivers in exchange for twice the durability and being able to gain more SE, as opposed to losing it. 'Course, it gives some to your opponent too, so be careful with it.

    Then there's miscellaneous suggestions depending on any decks you might have problems with, like Acid Jet and/or Rust Weevil against weapon-based heroes, Morbid Acolyte if you have problems with Protector or damage resistance, etc. The best advice I can give you is to just play around a bit; see what works, see what doesn't, don't be afraid to experiment. Hope this helps.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elunatic View Post
    First off, welcome to Shadow Era. Now then:

    -You should try n' get your deck size as close to 40 as possible. If you try it out and it works worse, you can always go back to 43.
    -10 allies seems a bit low to me. Not sure exactly what you'd want to add, but I'd suggest some Ironhide Karashes. They work fairly well in tandem with Zaladar's ability. Another option would be Furrion Terrors, although they might be overkill alongside Energy Discharge.
    -Regarding Shadow Font, maybe consider going with a 2:2 split of Shadow Fonts and Interferences. Interference does almost the same thing (or more), and if you time it right it can really mess with your opponent.
    -With four Bazaars, I'm not sure if four Bad Santas are necessary. Sure, Santa-Bombing is kinda fun if you pull it off, but the times when everything aligns for you to do so are few n' far between. I'd reduce 'em to two copies, maybe three if they're just that helpful. Alternatively, you could get rid of 'em and replace them with a few Sacrifical Lambs, for when your allies are disabled or dying.
    -Antimatter has the same problem as Bad Santa, you don't usually need more draw if you're already drawing two cards a turn, and Bad Santa is there for when you really do need that extra draw. I'd drop these.
    -If you've got the cash, virtual or otherwise, adding some copies of Shadowvein might be helpful. Twice the cost of the Slivers in exchange for twice the durability and being able to gain more SE, as opposed to losing it. 'Course, it gives some to your opponent too, so be careful with it.

    Then there's miscellaneous suggestions depending on any decks you might have problems with, like Acid Jet and/or Rust Weevil against weapon-based heroes, Morbid Acolyte if you have problems with Protector or damage resistance, etc. The best advice I can give you is to just play around a bit; see what works, see what doesn't, don't be afraid to experiment. Hope this helps.
    I like the idea of Furion Terror. I´ll exchange 2x Energy Discharge with 2x Furion Terror.
    This will give me 2 more ally´s better scaling into late game in exchange for a weaker board wipe.
    Would Darkwood Wraith also be a good option instead of Furion Terror? What are the pro and cons?

    I'll try out the 2:2 ratio with Shadow Font and Interference and see how that works. At the least it will give me more versatility I believe.

    The last idea i'll integrate into my deck is ditching the Anti-Matter. This will Bring my Deck total to 41 and thus giving me more chance to get a bazaar/bad santa in my starting hand. With bazaar and bad santa I already have more then enough drawing power.

    Thanks for your response it has been very insightful.
    If anyone have more feedback on the subject please let me know.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Crixus's Avatar
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    Two questions: Why did you pick Sliver of Shadow instead of Shadowvein? And have you thought about adding a couple of Morphic Armors?

  5. #5
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    Most people dont run keldor, because you spend 2 resources per turn just to get 1 more damage than the usual 3 cc ally. Then again, hitting for 4 means he can one shot most of the 3 cc drops, and this could throw off your opposition. You definitely have a low amount of allies when compared to the standard zaladar deck, but that doesnt automatically mean what you have cant work. From what I see, you probably do the bulk of your damage with your ability, using allies and abilities to prevent your opponent from getting alot of allies. That being the case, darkwood wraiths might work very well. Also, the stalling armors available to you (armor of ages being one of them) might work in tandem with your other stuff.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Crixus View Post
    Two questions: Why did you pick Sliver of Shadow instead of Shadowvein? And have you thought about adding a couple of Morphic Armors?
    I pick Sliver of Shadow above Shadowvein because of it's cost efficiency. Sliver is a great turn 4 card. At turn 4 you can use your ability and cast Sliver without its negative side effect. It gives me and extra two damage in the same turn. I can deal 3+3+2 dmg on turn 4 with only my champion used. This gives me allot of early board control.
    Shadowvein is a good weapon for Zaladar though, the extra shadow energy is awesome. But it also gives the other hero shadow energy.
    Zaladar is one of the best heroes for the use of shadow energy though but I don't like the idea of a double edged sword. I could be giving my enemy the means to destroy me.
    Last reason I don't like shadowvein is because of it's 6 resource use. By the time I'm at turn 6 I properly have Shadowfont or Interference in my hand and this gives me more shadow energy for les resources.

    Morphic Armor is something I have thought about and I'm still not sure if it fits my play style. I like everything about Morphic Armor and I know it would have won me a few games if I had it. But this is what I don't like about it. It uses Shadow Energy. I could use that energy to damage a hero or ally.
    I havn't figured out what weighes more.. getting rid of an attachment or dishing out more damage.

    If you could shed some light about Zaladar ability vs Morphic Armor, that would be great.

    Quote Originally Posted by Drekall View Post
    Most people dont run keldor, because you spend 2 resources per turn just to get 1 more damage than the usual 3 cc ally. Then again, hitting for 4 means he can one shot most of the 3 cc drops, and this could throw off your opposition. You definitely have a low amount of allies when compared to the standard zaladar deck, but that doesnt automatically mean what you have cant work. From what I see, you probably do the bulk of your damage with your ability, using allies and abilities to prevent your opponent from getting alot of allies. That being the case, darkwood wraiths might work very well. Also, the stalling armors available to you (armor of ages being one of them) might work in tandem with your other stuff.
    You hit the nail right on the head. The bulk the damage is deal is from Zaladar's ability. It a reliable source of damage which often can't be stopped.
    And you're right about Keldor. I use him to get rid of the annoying 4 hp ally's which I can't one-shot with Zaladar.
    Keldor in combination with Contaminated water gets rids of 5 hp ally's which is awesome for a 3cc drop I think.

    I do like the idea of Armor of Ages. It might give me enough time to build up Shadow Energy and blast down the enemy in clutch moments.
    Going to try that out for sure, thanks.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Jo3yb0i's Avatar
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    Awwwwwww. did it hurt the first time? Lol JK

    I suggest you read this but don't copy his deck. It sucks.

    http://www.shadowera.com/showthread....wn-%96-Zaladar
    "Try and try until you die...or succeed...whichever comes first"

    Jo3yb0i - Knight of Dark and Light
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    My PM | <(^.^)> | Helpful Links | <(^.^)> | IRC | <(^.^)> | IRC + Game | <(^.^)> | SE DeckBuilder

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jo3yb0i View Post
    Awwwwwww. did it hurt the first time? Lol JK

    I suggest you read this but don't copy his deck. It sucks.

    http://www.shadowera.com/showthread....wn-%96-Zaladar
    Thanks, it was an interesting read.
    Learned a few things there.

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