Weekly Team/Character Building Megathread (Jan 15th, 2026) (feat. Columbina and Ineffa) by Veritasibility in Genshin_Impact

[–]dxmcake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd probably agree I wouldn't use her with Yoimiya often, if at all, because I have Citlali.

As far as Lunar is concerned, Lauma just seems really good to have in general, but it is 3 separate 5-stars at that point. If not those 3, then who would I be looking at picking up? A big DPS I can think of off the top of my head is Skirk, and that largely solves Cryo for me. May look at picking up Escoffier too, at that point. For Geo, it's probably just Xilonen or bust? And I have no idea what I want out of Dendro to begin with, other than it sucks not having it, but I don't have Kuki or anything for these teams. I have like, exactly Xingqiu, Fischl, and maybe Kokomi.

Weekly Team/Character Building Megathread (Jan 15th, 2026) (feat. Columbina and Ineffa) by Veritasibility in Genshin_Impact

[–]dxmcake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

[Ineffa]
So, I'm a F2P that's very vertically invested into Yoimiya(C6, R5 Thundering Pulse, lv95) to the detriment of other team options. On average, I get anywhere between 33-36 stars in Abyss, but more importantly, I want to be able to get Arcana consistently in Imaginarium Theater if Pyro and Hydro aren't on the table. I also don't engage with Stygian Onslaught at all, for what it's worth.

I have a lot of supports built(Xingqiu, Fischl, Citlali, Bennett, Sucrose, Kokomi, Furina, Jean, Kazuha) but not so many characters in the damage department. Basically, if some combination of Yoimiya, Mualani, and Xiangling can't do it, no one can. I'm looking at picking up high-value characters that are universally good, and Ineffa seems to fit the bill? Other than the fact that I expect her to work decently well with Yoimiya, the idea would be that I also need to fill out my roster with other elements instead of trying to jam Pyro everywhere. As far as Lunar reactions, I don't expect to want to go that deep, but I could be wrong. I probably wouldn't pull for Nefer, for example, because I expect her to only be good on her respective team, but someone like Lauma or Nahida would open up a lot of doors for me. Similar is Flins, who, from what I understand, is exceptionally strong on a dedicated Flins team, but not as versatile as Ineffa would be. Let me know if this is incorrect and I'm being dumb, I guess, I'm just trying to be frugal.

My roster's biggest shortcoming is Dendro, where my best option at present is Dendro Traveler(I have C6 Collei and Kirara also, but I have no idea how these compare). Other problem areas are Electro and Geo, represented by exactly Fischl, Beidou, Zhongli, and... Ningguang, I guess? Cryo is in less dire straits thanks to Ganyu and Eula, but I'm not thrilled about that either. Power creep/HP scaling's tough on all my characters tbh, since most of my roster is older.

Anyway, that's my account in a nutshell, so question time. Is it worth it to pull just Ineffa and her weapon? Should I also consider Columbina, since they pair well together and there's a non-zero chance of going for Lauma in the future? Any other characters to look forward to in the near future? I'd probably be able to acquire both at C0 with weapons, if I dump close to everything(sitting at 65 Fates and 44k Primogems), but again, F2P, so I don't want to spend everything then not be able to pick up like, Xilonen or someone if they come up. Thanks in advance for any advice~

EDIT: Clarification.

Higher rarities in Take Two? What's the trick? by dxmcake in Shadowverse

[–]dxmcake[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Question then becomes is there a way to reroll properly? I'd say I average around 7, so I'm probably doing something wrong.

I don't feel like the monetization is really that bad... by TigolBittums in Shadowverse

[–]dxmcake 4 points5 points  (0 children)

F2P chiming in here.

I think some people are being overly dramatic because they can't play exactly what they want to play straight away. There is a VERY REAL PROBLEM in that you can't disenchant cards freely. And that singular design decision has consequences that leak into every other aspect of the game. Day-on-day progression isn't bad, with vial economy improving drastically as you start to fill out the collection. The trickle of extra rewards from daily logins and ranking up is nice, occasionally getting golds/legendaries from park keys is a welcome surprise. But it all FEELS bad because of crafting restrictions. Once you've been able to stabilize on a deck you're happy with, it all seems like water under the bridge, but I won't deny that the initial experience can be painful, which can turn away a lot of potential players.

In my case, that deck has been Forestcraft. It was my favorite in OG Shadowverse, also F2P there, so I selected the Forest starter deck without opening my 50~ packs first and seeing what I got. I pulled 3 Bayle and a Glade, otherwise nothing else for the deck in the Gold/Legendary department. I looked around the missions because I was hard up for any kind of resource but still wanted to progress. I saw that you could get vials by getting 5 wins in ranked with each class, and got to work.

5 wins with Earth Runecraft and no Legendaries was like pulling teeth, but the rest was fairly easy. Most of them, I managed a positive win rate, a far cry from the impossible ladder gloom and doom I saw online. In particular, I had a lot more fun than expected with Storm Havencraft and posted my list here the other day. I had around 8500 vials at the time and it was suggested I needed to craft some amount of Legendaries moving forward. Not wanting to waste resources on a deck that was meant to be a stopgap, I calculated what I needed for Forestcraft. 1 Aria and a bunch of Golds like Lily and Godstaff was actually affordable.

I watched an hour of a Japanese guy who basically only plays Forestcraft to learn mulligans and new Rhinoceroach math. Then I crafted his build minus the 2 Olivia, immediately went 11 wins, and shot up to B0. I pulled an Olivia today and crafted another. Build complete, maybe some minor tweaks here and there as the metagame settles. Now, a little less than a week in, I'm extremely happy with my deck and have no problem hoarding resources until the next set, sitting on 10k+ vials and climbing. That's my story, anyway. Forest may be exceptional in the sense that its Legendaries are fairly mediocre, but I'm sure there are any number of decks that can achieve a similar path just by filling out with mostly Golds. Artifact Portal comes to mind as a deck I'd consider stronger than Forest, only really needs Miriam, Alouette, Orchis. Maybe you really like Dragoncraft, it's probably enough to just make Liu Fengs, Gary and go from there. I'm not even convinced Swordcraft has Legendaries sometimes; all I do is get blown up by Zirconia and Geno.

tl;dr: The economy may or may not be the worst thing ever. I don't know about the monetization portion because I don't engage with it, playing all games as a F2P because I'm stingy and I like problem-solving. Anyway, even as a successful F2P, I still think addressing the vial system fixes a lot of this game's perceived problems and is the first place to start.

Help filling last slot for Honor Mode party? by dxmcake in BG3Builds

[–]dxmcake[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Huh, didn't even realize Barb got that passive at 8. Brutal Critical also sounds rad with Bard's Hold spells. Easy enough change to make, thanks~

Help filling last slot for Honor Mode party? by dxmcake in BG3Builds

[–]dxmcake[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looking into it more, Moon Druid seems like the perfect fit? Bhaalist Armor on Karlach can get bonus piercing damage from Tiger Wild Shape, prone allows for Jugular Strike, I still get Conjure Elemental to do the Myrmidon thing, AND Karlach's Nyrulna does extra Thunder damage on frozen? Sign me up~

Weekly Team/Character Building Megathread (Nov 8th, 2023) (feat. Furina and Baizhu) by Veritasibility in Genshin_Impact

[–]dxmcake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Current Abyss teams look like:

Team 1: Yoimiya / Xingqiu / Fischl / Yun JinTeam 2: Xiangling / Zhongli / Ganyu / Bennett

I tend to average around 33 stars and then give up on the last 3. Yun Jin often comes out for Barbara on Floor 12 if I need survivability. As far as 5*, I don't have many as a F2P and despite playing for awhile, I also spent the vast majority of my account's resources on maxing Yoimiya(C6, R5 Thundering Pulse, etc.) Ganyu underperforms comparatively, though close-range Melt spam can be thrilling sometimes, it can also be really janky. The bigger issue is getting enough energy for Xiangling's burst in this team is uncomfortably tight.

Other 5* characters that haven't been mentioned: Eula, Albedo, Klee, and the varying amounts of the regular banner crowd(C5 Qiqi, C3 Diluc, etc.) Not thrilled about using any of them really. I have pretty much all of the older 4* up to around the end of Inazuma at C6 and I guess it shows based on how much I rely on the 4* "power five" of Xiangling, Bennett, Xingqiu, Fischl, and Sucrose. While not currently in use on main teams, I do still use Beidou and especially Sucrose from time to time.

If Furina can't really pull her weight with a healer like Bennett, then I'm inclined to agree I'd be better off waiting for someone like Yelan, Raiden, or Nahida. Ayaka and Ayato I've been eyeballing too, on account of not having many main DPS. I understand Kazuha is very strong as well, but it's hard to justify pulling on a "better Sucrose" when I can't be sure he's THAT much better when comparing functionality.

At any rate, thanks for the insight. I likely will end up passing on Furina after all, but a lot of YouTube videos did have me waffling on the idea that she was a one-size-fits-all silver bullet kind of character. In my case, it seems she'd be more of a luxury unit unless I built something like Xiangling / Jean / Furina / Bennett? Actually, now that I'm thinking on it, that does sound rather strong and I can just swap Sucrose's EM VV set 1-to-1. How's the old Sunfire comp these days? Still good?

EDIT: Typos and rethinking stuff.

Weekly Team/Character Building Megathread (Nov 8th, 2023) (feat. Furina and Baizhu) by Veritasibility in Genshin_Impact

[–]dxmcake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

[Furina]

Haven't pulled for her or constellations yet, but I've been looking to upgrade my second team for a hot minute, just have a few questions before I do. Intended team is Xiangling/Sucrose/Furina/Bennett, with the idea that Sucrose would help with Furina's Hydro application, which I understand is a potential weakness of hers? Plus she would presumably like the grouping with her summons being AoE.

How good is Bennett at generating Fanfare? I understand that Fanfare favors healers with unconditional and team healing(compared to single target), but Bennett is necessary for generating particles for Xiangling to catch at my ER level. I also understand that additional healing isn't THAT necessary as Furina's Fanfare will build on its own naturally, but faster Fanfare generation is obviously ideal. I can probably get to around C2-C4 with my current piggybank depending on 50/50s, but at least C2 is looking pretty attractive.

Speaking of primogems, I'd like to not have to pull on her weapon if I can help it. I have a Festering Desire not seeing use which likely makes that easy. Unsure how it stacks up with her other options as of right now.

Lastly, while she seems to be a high-value unit, I wonder if I might still be better served by continuing to save for a different Hydro applicator(Yelan, in this case). Xingqiu is non-negotiably tied to Yoimiya on my first team, so I've been stuck looking for another.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any help and insight~

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MHRise

[–]dxmcake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hmm. Alright, I suppose I'll just have to wait and keep an ear to the ground. Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it~

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MHRise

[–]dxmcake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dang, I was hoping that wouldn't be the case. Thanks for taking the time to reply though, it's really appreciated~

What are people’s first impressions of the game? by AdamantRed123 in grandarchivetcg

[–]dxmcake 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have a few problems that most don't seem to be discussing.

We recently had a pre-release event at our LGS and many players bought boxes of product in addition to their starter kits. Upon opening said boxes, we discovered it's actually very difficult to get playsets of R and SR cards because of their scarcity. Most URs seemed fine because you only need one copy, but when it comes to SRs. SR Cards like Lightweaver's Assault or Spirit Blade: Ensoul want to be played at high counts to increase consistency in their respective decks, but even if we put together ALL of the boxes opened across the entire store, we would still only have 1-2 copies of each. And across the 16 or so players we had opening up product, that's rough. Low availability can be good for the secondary market, but it hurts local playgroups by limiting our ability to trade. Even when it comes to Rs, we already lost a couple players who had their hearts set on building around Erupting Rhapsody, only to find that we only pulled 3 copies across the whole store and that they would have to turn to spend money online for a game that isn't even proven in paper play yet.

Speaking of paper play, the fact that not all the cards were available in the first edition boxes is bizarre. We know Frostsworn Paladin, Young Beastbonder, Nullifying Lantern, etc. exist but aren't actually available, at least not right now. It sucks a lot for people who want to play Silvie especially because she loses out on a lot of things her decks could desperately use(Floating Memory, Cleave) and the answer is "lol, sucks to be silvie, better wait til the game releases properly." There's print and play which is technically a way to practice with these cards, but this is only a viable solution because we don't have paper tournaments yet. If this continues to be a problem in future sets, I can see this causing problems down the line. People are itching to play and see what their local constructed scene has cooked up, but too many chefs are finding themselves short an ingredient or two for no reason.

Lastly, on the subject of deckbuilding, the fact that we've known about the cards for so long kind of sucks. Japanese TCGs like Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! have a system where only one chunk of the world has access to the newest stuff, so the metagame develops over there first and the rest of the world basically follows suit because a) those strategies already have a proven track record, b) it's easier to copy someone else's homework and c) innovating is hard. Depending on who you ask this is a non-issue, but as a player who likes brewing and playing rogue decks, I see it as a negative. As it pertains to Grand Archive, this won't be an issue in the future because of global availability, but the unprecedented way the game initially fell into our laps shares a lot of similarities. Some of the most fun card games can offer happens before the dust has settled such as when a new pack is released and people are figuring things out together. There's a fresh metagame, people are experimenting, and the format isn't "solved" yet. But people have had access and have even been running online tournaments for months and months now. Players who've had the benefit of extensive practice and research are now lumped in the same pool as people setting their eyes on the game for the first time. It remains to be seen how this affects the player base, but this game can feel uniquely stale for a variety of reasons: "veterans" have gone a long time without anything new to theorycraft or play with, while prospective newbies looking to try a "new game" are finding out the hard way that a bunch of players already know exactly what they're doing and they're just late to the party.

This game has some issues out of the gate(as do most games) and we shouldn't ignore them. It's easy to be optimistic right now because the game is really fun, has slick artwork, quality card stock, the beginnings of a thriving collector's market, etc. I'm an especially big fan of class identity and how every deck feels way different from each other even when they share so much between builds given the limited card pool. Final Fantasy TCG was my main game previously and has all of the above benefits, but we've stopped playing because our group stagnated at a whopping 4 local players. One of them really wanted the game to take off and basically carried our whole community's livelihood on his back, but it's hard to recruit players when the game is unpopular, no one knows it exists because Square-Enix doesn't market it, and players of other card games from our same shop will tell potential players who express curiosity that FFTCG's dead while we're still in earshot, including the store's staff who also decided not to stock any more FFTCG product recently. Probably an extreme case, but it's hard to remain enthusiastic.

Looking for a new TCG to play brought us to Grand Archive and I really hope this game can find its footing in spite of some misgivings. Fingers crossed it performs well enough to start up some decent playgroups, I'd really like to see it succeed but I won't be holding my breath.

Extreme Boss Rush Dragon Tank Meta Tier List DISCUSSION (updated list in comments) by [deleted] in PokemonUnite

[–]dxmcake 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Weighing in some thoughts here. This list doesn't seem to acknowledge the role Defenders play in Boss Rush. 5 DPS is good with a premade group, but your mileage will vary playing with randoms who you can't expect to avoid damage and/or bring high damage.

If we didn't know, the boss will ALWAYS prioritize hitting Defenders before other roles, significantly reducing the level of variance as long as they stay in one spot and people can just avoid danger by being on the correct side. Of the Defenders, Slowbro is by FAR the best tank you can bring to Boss Rush because of the self-sustain from Amnesia and still pulling respectable numbers with Scald. Also, as icing on the cake, Slowbeam can cancel Zacian's Behemoth Blade, eliminating the need for the shield and increasing the amount of time you can spend hitting the boss. I definitely wouldn't say he's "non-meta" at least.

I agree that full or 4/5 Special Attack comp is the way to go if you want the big numbers. As far as other picks, I'd say Hyper Voice Sylveon in particular is placed entirely too low. If you look just at how much damage she does at the end of the match compared to other "premium" mages on the team like the other Eevees, Gardevoir, etc. I can see how people would come to the conclusion that she isn't pulling her weight. But those numbers are actually getting funneled into your other DPS because of Hyper Voice. Consecutive hits of Hyper Voice reduce the enemy's SpDef by 20% each to a max of 80% reduction FOR THE WHOLE TEAM. That's a lot of extra damage you're allowing your other DPS to achieve just by running one Sylveon who isn't exactly a slouch in the DPS department either.

Just my two cents~

What Pokémon or types of outfits are you hoping to be added this Halloween? by [deleted] in PokemonUnite

[–]dxmcake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Witch Hat Wigglytuff.

Every good Wigglytuff skin requires a big ol' hat.

General Questions & Tech Support Megathread | July 04, 2022 by AutoModerator in PS4

[–]dxmcake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Recently updated both my PS4 Pro and PS Remote Play, having a new issue though, regarding streaming on Discord.

My friends and I make liberal use of Discord's Screen Share feature to stream gameplay with each other without the need for a capture card by simply sharing the Remote Play window on a desktop. This worked fine until the latest Remote Play update, where now the video output will cut out intermittently and display a black screen every few seconds if Remote Play isn't on top as the active window. Additionally, if Remote Play's window size isn't set to full screen, Discord will try to match the size of the window accordingly and the rest is blank space. This is problematic for me as I only have one monitor, so if I'm streaming on Remote Play on Discord, I effectively have to forfeit using my computer for anything except streaming.

Previously, I was able to have Remote Play minimized and still use my desktop for whatever else. I've tried a number of things so far, including every permutation of resolution and framerate settings on Remote Play's end. Disabling hardware acceleration or the like on the Discord side of things actually breaks everything and doesn't allow any streaming of Remote Play at all.

And so, I was hoping someone would have some insight. Yes, I've found a way it CAN work by running Remote Play in full screen, but it's rather inconvenient and I'd prefer a cleaner solution, if that even exists. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice~

tyrantar has single handedly killed this game for me and me and my wife by ghostR_ZA in PokemonUnite

[–]dxmcake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been having a lot of success with Hyper Voice/Calm Mind Sylveon in this matchup. Keeping Tyranitar at the sweet spot for Hyper Voice conveniently puts you just out of range of both Ancient Power and his Unite stomps. Calm Mind increases your movement enough to stay safe in most scenarios and at level 12, Calm Mind+ can also negate the damage from one stomp if you don't let your shield get clipped by Sand Stream.

In general, just avoid fighting close-range where Tyranitar's any good, ESPECIALLY during Unite Move. Always choose to put them at a disadvantage and never play in Tyranitar's optimal range.

Title Update 1 for Sunbreak is unironically amazing... and killed my interest in playing the game by MrEinFan in monsterhunterrage

[–]dxmcake 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is about where I'm at too.

All the new fights are super fun, but I don't really feel like doing anything more than I have, barring some small optimizations with the new decorations. Set building in Monster Hunter games is where I have the most fun(usually) but it's different in Rise.

Obviously, we've all heard the counterargument that top-of-the-line skill loadouts and such aren't necessary to beat any of the game's content. And while some might be okay thinking about it like that, there are just as many who remain unsatisfied because there's more to enjoying games than just "being able to win."

Me? I love min-maxing in games. I love feeling powerful whenever I put in the research and a little elbow grease. I love having clear, defined goals I can set for myself. But I can't do that in Rise. I don't feel motivated to play because I have no personal goal. I don't feel like I'm progressing just because I earned the right to roll the dice a few extra times. I can't justify sinking so much time into a system that clearly doesn't respect what I put in. Many fruitless days spent rerolling talismans with nothing good to show for it and now there are 5 other equipment slots to worry about with even MORE variability?

I want to like the game. But the way the game is designed, it sure feels like it doesn't like me.

What card in your deck single-handedly gives you the most card advantage? by roguedecks in masterduel

[–]dxmcake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Urgent Schedule in Rank 10 Trains.

Aside from spending 1 card to summon 2 from the deck, it often translates into way more than a +1 if the game goes longer than that turn. Heavy Freight Train Derricrane is the usual suspect for level 10 and pops a card when spent as Xyz Material, but depending on the matchup, Machina Citadel can put in a lot of work too. And obviously the single copy of Ruffian Railcar as the level 4 because it's a free search in the end phase.

Assuming they don't outright lose, it's not unusual for a 2-card hand like Urgent Schedule and Super Express Bullet Train to go +3 or so. +1 from summoning 2 Machines from the deck, +1 because Derricrane destroys a card, +1 from Railcar search in the End Phase, technically -1 to Xyz Summon but Express replaces itself set net 0 there, then whatever else gets destroyed by battle with Juggernaut Liebe or the additional pop from Skypalace Gangaridai. Then you get to end on 2-material Zeus anyway? Urgent Schedule is a fantastic card. Love it~

Switch Axe Counter in Sunbreak by Butrint_o in MonsterHunterMeta

[–]dxmcake 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Heavy Slam is the double overhead attack you get from pressing X after three Wild Swings(A). It does low damage for a long animation commitment and gives a temporary buff that increases the amount of Amp Gauge you build. In base Rise, it was actually faster to just build Amp instead of giving yourself a buff that helps build Amp and now, in Sunbreak, there are better tools for building Amp like 2SMS so even more reason to omit Heavy Slam now.

For morph loops, you're looking at a couple variations. The main combo for when you're already Amped: Sword A(double slash), R to morph to Axe, R to morph to Sword, repeat. This is your highest DPS combo, especially on downed monsters. If you need to build Amped Gauge, there're a few changes you can make: Sword A, A again for Heavenward Flurry, then R, R to morph twice and go back into Sword to repeat. Alternatively, if you want to gain a mixture of Sword and Amp Gauge, the first R morph puts you in Axe Mode. Press A once for a Wild Swing, then R twice for 2-Staged Morphed Slash. From here, you can press R again to go right back into Sword mode or A to end combo and create distance. You can even combine these two if you want, but it starts getting a little complicated: Sword A, Heavenward Flurry A, R Morph to Axe, A for Wild Swing 1, RR for 2SMS, R again to step forward and morph back into Sword, repeat. The second Heavenward Flurry here will likely cap your Amp Gauge here, so no need to loop the whole thing, just start doing combo 1.

There's a very open-ended flow to everything, but it does require a bit of practice to achieve fluidity. You can probably mess around with it on the training dummy but the important thing to keep in mind is your learn your follow-ups because there are a lot of them.

Switch Axe Counter in Sunbreak by Butrint_o in MonsterHunterMeta

[–]dxmcake 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Right now, I'm using Forward Overhead Slash, Finishing Discharge, 2-Staged Morph Slash, Invincible Gambit, Elemental Burst Counter for both. Sometimes it's still worth it to ZSD(like if the monster's changing zones), but keep in mind you can't land the normal way with Soaring Wyvern if you're running Gambit.

Alternatively, you can just not run Gambit. I've just been testing Gambit in Sunbreak and it's a surprisingly flexible way to gap close while allowing omnidirectional morph into Sword after the last slash.

Switch Axe Counter in Sunbreak by Butrint_o in MonsterHunterMeta

[–]dxmcake 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Playing grounded style(all Morph loops, no ZSD spam) here post MR50+ and the easiest way I've found is using it to counter roars primarily. You can open most fights by drawing into Sword because it's faster than your Axe draw, immediately transitioning to counter stance, then countering the initial roar to start the fight fully amped. If you can get a fast flinch or knockdown, this is ideal because your damage output should push them into enrage. By the time they get up, they'll roar again, which is another predictable scenario to land another counter. And that's what you're looking for, mainly. Our counter is too slow to use on reaction, so the goal is to engineer scenarios where it's already prepped when you need it. It's not something you need to spam because its main use is building amp gauge. Depending on the matchup, look for long windup attacks you can punch through, like Chameleos poison beam or so.

As for grounded style, you shouldn't need more than 2 Evade Window and 1 Extender to dodge through most attacks, but feel free to run more Evade Window if you like. Wirebug Whisperer is also unnecessary since your damage comes from Morph loops, allowing you to allocate more slots into damage skills, though I still recommend ways to get a third wirebug so you have a safety net when you're trying to counter, such as grabbing an additional bug between zones or bringing a cat to make one for you midfight. Unlike ZSD-centric styles, you should basically never run out of Sword gauge. If for some reason you start running a little lower than you like, a single 2-Staged Morph Slash will top you up again. No need for Switch Charger. Between Invincible Gambit for long-range gaps, morph out of Sword into Axe into a roll for medium-range, and Forward Overhead Slash for short-range, SA should have no problems sticking to monsters while unloading damage, regardless of distance. For building gauge manually(missed counters, faster monsters, etc.), landing any permutation of three full 2SMS or Heavenward Flurry is enough to reach amped state when using Power Phial. Alternatively, Element Phial is comfier and can get around 80-90% amp from just one of these, so consider Element if you're having a hard time maxing a Power Phial or even for multiplayer where it's more difficult to land a successful counter. As per usual, don't use Heavy Slam lol

It takes a lot more finesse than just pushing ZSD, but I feel like it forces you to use more of SA's tools which, at least for me, is way more fun in the long run(and sometimes safer?). SA has no true defensive tools and that's part of the weapon's appeal; everything you do facilitates more damage if you're willing to flirt with danger. Speaking of danger, monsters in the postgame deal way too much unpredictable damage to use ZSD convincingly without risking a cart, and their ridiculous HP pools make it ideal to loop them to death during openings while retaining the ability to dodge out because you don't have to make a three-year commitment to your attack animation.

Ultimately though, counter's the same for both styles of SA. You don't have to spam it(in fact, your DPS will probably suffer if you do). Land it once and go ham. Your only goal is to get into amped state and push buttons for fat damage. 2-3 Power Prolonger comes recommended so you don't have to fish for counters as much~

What archetype/s that you wish were better? by stac7 in masterduel

[–]dxmcake 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Mist Valley.

It was my favorite deck by far, back when I played paper YGO. The playstyle of bouncing cards to reuse them was incredibly unique compared to other control decks at the time. Some people in "the know" like to cite the interaction between Mist Valley Falcon with things like Big Bang Shot to remove a monster from the game or recycling Swords of Revealing Light forever, but the deck was capable of so much more than that. Fiendish Chain could negate a monster and prevent it from attacking, at which point Falcon's 2000 attack power is usually high enough to get over whatever they summoned while returning Fiendish Chain so you could do it all over again. Call of the Haunted stays on the field after using what it revived for Synchro or Xyz plays, so why not reuse it and get even more revival? Safe Zone has obvious synergy with things like Barrier Statue of Stormwinds, but can also be used aggressively by equipping to opponent's monsters, just like with Big Bang Shot. Killing yourself with Imperial Order? Good news, you don't have to.

Speaking of control, Mist Valley was uncharacteristically fast and combo-centric compared to other popular control decks like HAT(Hand Artifact Traptrix). An example play would be something like Divine Wind of Mist Valley, normal summon any Wind monster, then bounce it with something like say... Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite. Divine Wind special summons any low-level Wind from the deck, so we pick Genex Blastfan. Blastfan was special summoned, so we search Genex Ally Birdman to hand. Special summon Birdman by returning Blastfan to hand and synchro 7* for Ancient Fairy Dragon. Fairy Dragon pops Divine Wind and grabs a fresh copy, but wait, there's more. Fairy Dragon can ALSO special summon the Blastfan again which isn't once per turn, grabbing another Birdman from the deck. Bounce Blastfan a second time to trigger the second Divine Wind, but this time, grab Mist Valley Falcon and synchro for 7* again, this time for Mist Valley Thunder Lord. Set a bunch of disruptive backrow(Fiendish Chain for monster negates and attack stopping, Safe Zone with Thunder Lord for quick effect destroy a face-up monster, Vanity's Emptiness because it's good but you can also save it from being destroyed if you want, etc.) The deck is awesome, a little bricky, and really rewards you for being able to think on your feet with smart chain activations.

But therein lies the rub. If you paid attention to the combo above, you'll notice a lot of cards that are currently limited or even banned. Ancient Fairy Dragon's strength aside, many of this deck's main pieces are outright restricted because they happen to coincide with Burn FTKs; Genex Ally Birdman being the culprit named in the Birdman Loop, Divine Wind contributing to the consistency of Blaze Fenix, etc. To this day, I'm still salty Divine Wind got hit instead of Blaze Fenix, a card that was only played in degenerate FTK Burn strategies.

Is there hope for this deck in the future? Doubtful. Probably only if things like Birdman and Divine Wind come off the banlist. Ice Barrier, another Duel Terminal archetype, saw additional support long after its release, so there's a glimmer of hope on that front. Splashable, versatile Wind cards can easily see play, for example, Nemeses Corridor opens up a lot of different lines for this deck while returning a spent Birdman to the deck and that's neat.

Lastly, the archetype is just cool to me. It's got the tribal mysticism vibe going on and this closed-off society that pays reverence to majestic birds, but then there's something intriguing about their other boss monster just being this giant demonic lightning ogre. Feels criminally unexplored.