This game should be called "Spikes"

[Kwic]

HI,
I am at corruption 9. The only times I could beat the 3 circles is when I had the luck to pick "Spikes" cards.
If I dont I usually can't even pass the first one.
Did anyone ever beat the 3 cricles without using spikes ?

[Kwic]

Ok I reached corruption 10 beaten, and it was again with spikes !

Did anyone beat this game without using psikes ?

[Miruman]

Hi Kwic.
Currently I'm at corruption 17 and yea, its not easy passing through some debuffs there. There is no denying that spikes is a strong build, but you could try to focus on single directions in each run, like going for shield + taunt + Shield Bashes, or try to find synergies with Might as a general.
Its hard to suggest a single build that is 100% effective, cause it depends a lot on how you advance the stages. Mostly I suggest trying to avoid paths with lots of fights, like focusing on making gold cards, high lvl units, and betting a little bit on luck from ? spots.
Of course that these also come with experience and luck, but also not having a big deck tends to help focusing better on a single comp.
Oh, and I try to focus on having lots of meat shield units (aka, grab the party increase relic)
Since I've been playing more with the archer these days, I can't help much more, but hope I could be of some help to you.
Good luck buddy o/

[jmotivator]

Originally posted by Kwic:

HI,
I am at corruption 9. The only times I could beat the 3 circles is when I had the luck to pick "Spikes" cards.
If I dont I usually can't even pass the first one.
Did anyone ever beat the 3 cricles without using spikes ?

With Ducalean the Might Bomb build works well. It has a three card combo that, if you are lucky enough to draw it on turn 1, can hit all enemy units for 12,000+ damage before you even start turn 1.

[Unspecified]

My best runs are with the Gargoyle that clones itself upgraded to create maximum clones and get shield and might for every 2 cards drawn (clones get this). The have Wargs, Minos, the Inquisitor, and/or the other Gargoyle with when people get shields they get might and when a unit gets might it does 15 damage to a random enemy. If you have multiples they each trigger. So giving a shield can trigger multiple instances of might and each instance of might does 15 damage.

Once the Gargoyle creates clones and you get a turn everything explodes.

Some fun cards are the one that makes getting might do damage equal to the might to enemies (twice when upgraded). Get a few 3 (5 upgraded) instances of shield application to a random unit. Might or shields to everyone or in an area (everyone is generally better especially once clones kick in)

If you get this setup going all the enemies just explode and it's hilarious.

[Smaimn]

This game honestly is hilarious rng heavy. I feel like every run I stomp or get stomped, 80% of the cards and units offered are total garbage and if that's all you get, you lose. Why is there a 1 cost card that draws 2 cards? We start with 3 energy, why would I take a card that costs an energy to gain a 1 card advantage. Why would I take a melee unit with an ability that does nothing until it casts it three times? Why would I want to charm my enemies when they don't do any actual damage until they get to their ability which takes more than 3 seconds? It just means the enemy is protected from my damage until they get to nuke me. This game can be fun, but it's a horrible rng mess. So few strategies work and they are harder and harder to pull off as you move up in difficulty. Maybe I'm missing something but I honestly think the best strategy is to just restart over and over until you get a good first 6 or so rooms.

[Unspecified]

Originally posted by Smaimn:

Why is there a 1 cost card that draws 2 cards? We start with 3 energy

Sentinel Alliance units get 10 shield and 10 might for every 2 cards drawn. If you have 2 of them that happens twice.
Relentless alliance gives 10 might every time a unit gets shield.
Draconic alliance does 15 damage to a random enemy every time a unit gets might.

Inquisitor can cover both Relentless and Draconic and then 2 Sentinel alliance units and you get:
20 shield and 40 might on each of the Sentinels and you do 8 packets of 15 damage to random enemies so 120 damage.

A total of 40 shields, 80 might, and 120 damage for 1 cost plus drawing 2 cards seems like a really useful card to me.

Originally posted by Smaimn:

Why would I take a melee unit with an ability that does nothing until it casts it three times?

I have no idea who you are talking about here. I can't find any unit that fits that description at all.

Originally posted by Smaimn:

Why would I want to charm my enemies when they don't do any actual damage until they get to their ability which takes more than 3 seconds?

You can cast cards like Life Drain (75 damage to ally and gain an energy), Blood Card (zero cost 75 damage and draw 2) or most importantly you can cast Dark Sacrifice (zero cost deal the units HP in damage and gain half that in might on ALL your units, or all in might when upgraded).
I just had a run where I started each round with a charmed unit because of Dancer Alliance, and I then used Dark Sacrifice to kill it and all my units had 900+ might at the start of turn 1.

Not every card/unit is useful in every deck, but every card can be useful in the right deck.

[Smaimn]

Originally posted by Unspecified:

Originally posted by Smaimn:

Why is there a 1 cost card that draws 2 cards? We start with 3 energy

Sentinel Alliance units get 10 shield and 10 might for every 2 cards drawn. If you have 2 of them that happens twice.
Relentless alliance gives 10 might every time a unit gets shield.
Draconic alliance does 15 damage to a random enemy every time a unit gets might.

Inquisitor can cover both Relentless and Draconic and then 2 Sentinel alliance units and you get:
20 shield and 40 might on each of the Sentinels and you do 8 packets of 15 damage to random enemies so 120 damage.

A total of 40 shields, 80 might, and 120 damage for 1 cost plus drawing 2 cards seems like a really useful card to me.

I will cede that there is a use for the draw two card, however if you manage to get far enough into the game to make that work a draw two is not going to make a difference. 120 damage randomly dealt among 15 enemies with 800-7000 life doesn't matter.

Originally posted by Unspecified:

Originally posted by Smaimn:

Why would I take a melee unit with an ability that does nothing until it casts it three times?

I have no idea who you are talking about here. I can't find any unit that fits that description at all.

I will admit I got that one wrong, it's a ranged unit, the egg harpy. It's slow and weak.

Originally posted by Unspecified:

Originally posted by Smaimn:

Why would I want to charm my enemies when they don't do any actual damage until they get to their ability which takes more than 3 seconds?

You can cast cards like Life Drain (75 damage to ally and gain an energy), Blood Card (zero cost 75 damage and draw 2) or most importantly you can cast Dark Sacrifice (zero cost deal the units HP in damage and gain half that in might on ALL your units, or all in might when upgraded).
I just had a run where I started each round with a charmed unit because of Dancer Alliance, and I then used Dark Sacrifice to kill it and all my units had 900+ might at the start of turn 1.

Not every card/unit is useful in every deck, but every card can be useful in the right deck.

None of the self damaging cards are available for the nightshade, making all of those strategies impossible in half of the possible runs.

[Shawnster P]

Well, I beat the game for both heroes on corruption 20, and I can honestly say I almost never used spikes. I did not have one single strategy that I used, and based my builds around whatever free thing that I got. I tried to get the free lvl 1 unit, and then build around that. If not that, then get the thing that transforms and upgrades two cards. Especially since it often gets rid of one of the purple 99 cards (whatever those are called).

I will say that for the inquisitor, I found my best runs tended to be with him being a meat shield, and all the others doing magic damage. Usually with a healer type keeping others alive. So, he didn't really do damage.

BUT, the nightshade was WAY easier. Particularly with the glassy build. You get a couple other glassy units, and that card that increases haste once every second, and you are good to go. Probably should be nerfed IMHO.

[DrEmile]

There's lots of broken combos...just beat the game with inquisitor + dark sacrifice + loads of card draw + 2 allies giving charmed + allies giving protect. Basically with some luck, I could one shot 2 enemies for free at the start of combat, then give their health as might bonuses to of my guys who could alpha-strike the remaining enemies. With less luck, i waited a turn, then used the protect on one or two allies to give might bonuses to my allies and then mop up the enemies.

In other games I had overflow with might spam to kill stuff, other times I used marble gargoyles or mccaw harpies to spam units. Using different effects to amplify this unit spam or give lots of mana to allies.

With Nightshade, I've won games using traps (up to corruption 11 or so now) in different combinations to get loads of shield for cheap or loads of damage / decay. I've used doctors to good effect, spamming artifacts. In one game, due to some combos that synergized with protect and life-steal, White mouseketeer became a surprisingly great tank.

[Smaimn]

After playing for a few more hours at corruption 20 on nightshade I feel this game is far too random, it's stomp or be stomped. I can tell by the first banner if I have a chance to get past the first circle. Too many units that are just draugr+, similar health, minor skill, useless alliance early game.

Some of the elite fights feel like I just don't have the health early game to take them and I can't avoid them. I fight the spikes golem and I can't kill it, I just don't have the health, even if it didn't attack me the spikes would kill me, add in the spiders that may as well have a 3 second stun with hour brutal that slow is and I just reset when I see this elite.

I honestly feel like the only way I can succeed is by getting glassy start with two glassy mice in the first circle or a melancholic doctor along with the red coatl both with mystic in order to abuse the fear effect, sometimes I can get away with a weaker mystic unit if I get lucky cards (safe grip and adrenaline) and at that point I will usually roll over the entire game unless I get an unlucky draw and my important cards are all at the bottom of my deck.

It feels like I don't actually have any decisions to make because every run is dead on arrival or a total stomping going down the same routes over and over again. If I'm wrong I would love to hear about some other legitimate (not just a one off lucky win) strategies at corruption 20 that I could try.

[Shawnster P]

For the spikes golem (and other things), always get the purge card.

[Macdallan]

I'd call it meh, not spikes. What a dull game. Definitely not for me.

[Axer]

Mmm I actually never went for a spike build until corruption 15. Even now at it, yea it got a lot more challenging, and the "convert all cards to spike" card definetely gives a low-card count win option,, but I still prefer might builds.

Spikes are powerful, but might builds can utterly destroy everything in round 1. Combo is fairly easy: Get a high health unit like mino, give him a shield, use the card that drains all health and converts to might for all units, than either add a splash or the card that smacks everything for the combined might of your units. Or even without the last 2 cards its often enough to win fast.

(Sorry never remember the exact card names, just what they do)

[Kwic]

Originally posted by Axer128:

Mmm I actually never went for a spike build until corruption 15. Even now at it, yea it got a lot more challenging, and the "convert all cards to spike" card definetely gives a low-card count win option,, but I still prefer might builds.

Spikes are powerful, but might builds can utterly destroy everything in round 1. Combo is fairly easy: Get a high health unit like mino, give him a shield, use the card that drains all health and converts to might for all units, than either add a splash or the card that smacks everything for the combined might of your units. Or even without the last 2 cards its often enough to win fast.

(Sorry never remember the exact card names, just what they do)

With spikes and good starting cards (need to be lucky) you can solo the all 3 stages to the end..