# Lions Rampant **URL:** \ **Category:** Official News\ **Created:** [July 31, 2016, 11:02pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542 "2016-07-31T23:02:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Naruto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6bbea6/32.png) [@Naruto](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Naruto)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 6:27am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/41 "2016-08-01T06:27:43Z")
It is not useless by any means, it still denys mana of any colour from the start, does decent true damage and can be used to set up for Jarl, Venoxia or any gem spammer. HOW is that useless? It isn’t OVERPOWERED, sure, but it never should have been such a high damage troop from the start. People will always find reason to complain. ---
**Author:** ![Lyya](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/lyya/32/3650_2.png) [@Lyya](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Lyya)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 7:02am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/42 "2016-08-01T07:02:47Z")
New troops: > **[Pride Guard - Troops - Gems of War Database](https://gowdb.com/troops/6228)** > > Break the Line (12 Green/Red): Deal \[Magic + 2\] damage to an enemy, boosted by all ally Armor. \[4:1\] > **[Sand Cobra - Troops - Gems of War Database](https://gowdb.com/troops/6229)** > > Cobra Spit (6 Brown): Poison, Disease, and Stun a random enemy. Changed troops: > **[The Great Maw - Troops - Gems of War Database](https://gowdb.com/troops/6160)** > > Sandstorm (24 Yellow/Brown): Devour an Enemy. Create 8 Yellow and 8 Brown Gems. One cast only. > **[Astral Spirit - Troops - Gems of War Database](https://gowdb.com/troops/6218)** > > Astral Burst (11 Blue/Yellow): Remove all Gems of a chosen color. Deal \[Magic + 2\] true damage to the first enemy, boosted by Gems removed. \[3:1\] > **[Hag - Troops - Gems of War Database](https://gowdb.com/troops/6147)** > > Toil and Trouble (8 Green/Purple): Inflict a random Status Effect on an Enemy. Give \[Magic + 1\] points of a random Skill to a random Ally. ---
**Author:** ![Darkness](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/darkness/32/2712_2.png) [@Darkness](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Darkness)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 7:03am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/43 "2016-08-01T07:03:53Z")
I really like the Great Maw nerf. 🙂 But another glory pack with Arcane Beast traitstones? I’ve already got 45 of those… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Molesto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Molesto](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Molesto)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 8:24am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/44 "2016-08-01T08:24:24Z")
Okay, so now that you’ve removed the counter to the “run Gorgotha top and just let the stupid AI take all the skulls!” strategy, are you going to improve the AI so that it doesn’t mindlessly match skulls even when doing so is a terrible idea? Are you counting on the defense AI being able to effectively use stuns to negate Stoneskin/Graniteskin? Even with the presence of Maw making the AI’s mindless skull obsession less of a liability, facerolling the AI was laughably easy and defense winrates were terrible. This is only going to make that worse. The easier it is to win on offense, the more of a grind pvp becomes. You need to be taking steps in the opposite direction from this - make defenders more effective so that pvp becomes more about employing strategy to improve winrate than about sinking time into claiming free wins from the ineffective AI. ---
**Author:** ![Shimrra](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/shimrra/32/87_2.png) [@Shimrra](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Shimrra)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 8:43am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/45 "2016-08-01T08:43:24Z")
> [@Darkness](#): > > But another glory pack with Arcane Beast traitstones? I’ve already got 45 of those… ☹ 75 here. Before getting Pride Guard. _Sigh_… And I bet he needs Minor Fire too. (OK he needs Nature, thankfully.) I like the Maw chan- OK call it what it is, the Maw _nerf_, but I do think this further highlights that Abhorath’s legendary trait is pretty garbage by comparison. +3 on enemy death or +2 on skulls. You tell me which is going to be more effective. I’m just happy the Cobra isn’t going live with that 16 cost and two traits just to mitigate that cost. * * * Now can we _pleeeease_ have some way to get the Commons to Mythic without spending one of 5.4 million gold, 19,000 glory, or $125 AUD? (No, I will NOT stop.) ---
**Author:** ![Drathas](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/drathas/32/7344_2.png) [@Drathas](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Drathas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 8:44am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/46 "2016-08-01T08:44:50Z")
Maw’s threat on defence meant you needed to employ a team to counter it. It was one of the things the AI could use effectively, albeit randomly. Now, it’s just another HP blimp… So sad. EDIT: Not, meant as direct reply to you Molesto. Some how I replied to you rather than the thread. ---
**Author:** ![CSZ](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/csz/32/4784_2.png) [@CSZ](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/CSZ)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 8:51am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/47 "2016-08-01T08:51:42Z")
I cannot express a clear opinion regarding Maw’s change, since I met fully traited Maws to rarely in order to fully experience his might and potential counters to him. I still do not possess Maw, but his third trait looks by no means useless. I’m certain that skull teams can rack up those stats pretty fast (@Sirrian also said this). Hunger before was just stupid no matter on which side Maw was. I don’t like teams who rely on gamble alone (Death Mark deserves a mention here). This may have been the only way the defense AI wins battles consistently, but let’s face it: 15% chance to pretty much win/lose the game? Doesn’t seem right to me. But this has been discussed more than enough, so I will stop here. Just a last sentence to those who are saddened by this change: You are just sad because you lost another speedrunner, aren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Drathas](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/drathas/32/7344_2.png) [@Drathas](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Drathas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 8:52am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/48 "2016-08-01T08:52:08Z")
Yep, agree the change to Hunger makes other Legendary traits pale in comparison. Take Behemoths Immemse for example, on a 4+ skull match Behemoth gets +4 health, whereas Maw gets +4 health and +2 to all other stats. I wish Abhorath’s trait was better, I really like that troop. 😊 Hydra’s too could get a change, I think to something like 12 damage ‘split’ between enemies when taking skull damage. Same damage as now just more focused the less enemies there are. Make sense to me, the heads wouldn’t attack fresh air… 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![Tard\_Carnival](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/tard_carnival/32/609_2.png) [@Tard\_Carnival](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Tard_Carnival)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 8:53am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/49 "2016-08-01T08:53:56Z")
Can we just move to a Magic:TG style system where cards are simply culled from ranked play, rather than nerfed into a useless caricature of their former self? Another legendary bites the dust. Why bother. ---
**Author:** ![LostInLust](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/lostinlust/32/19371_2.png) [@LostInLust](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/LostInLust)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 9:03am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/50 "2016-08-01T09:03:55Z")
I really wish, all this nerfing to the existing troops will end one day and instead, there will be only logic counters released. Its like buying a fridge which turns into an oven all of a sudden. Im getting tired and bored of the endless hocus pocus on troops and lack of consistency. ---
**Author:** ![Drathas](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/drathas/32/7344_2.png) [@Drathas](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Drathas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 9:10am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/51 "2016-08-01T09:10:56Z")
No I’m not saddened because I used it a lot. I didn’t, I mainly use Mab, Crimson Bat or Psion based teams because of synergy with Valkyrie. The change does nothing to change game times, they are still just as quick. As boards of skulls from IK and Sheggra cut though teams, regardless of a 15% devour. People’s issue with Hunger was on defence. People don’t like to lose, yet here the AI actually had a (random) chance. This is why it saddens me, it provided a challenge. Now it’s back to just clicking… That is until, I forget Plague has Impervious and this results… Ugh, now this mechanic that forces the player to quit needs addressing. 😜😜 ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/gemsofwar/original/2X/3/3f2506ba2ca7862f76d62f3c9132eaa7e741ed19.png) ---
**Author:** ![CSZ](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/csz/32/4784_2.png) [@CSZ](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/CSZ)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 9:14am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/52 "2016-08-01T09:14:28Z")
If you truly love a team/troop, then you go through all buffs (that’s easy) and nerfs. I just love some troops so much that I could not reject them from my teams. ---
**Author:** ![CSZ](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/csz/32/4784_2.png) [@CSZ](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/CSZ)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 9:30am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/53 "2016-08-01T09:30:13Z")
> [@Drathas](#): > > People’s issue with Hunger was on defence. People don’t like to lose, yet here the AI actually had a (random) chance. This is why it saddens me, it provided a challenge. Now it’s back to just clicking… I said it in my earlier reply: I don’t mind losing, but losing a game because those malicious 15% triggered is sometimes unbearable (especially within the very first turns) ---
**Author:** ![Robert](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/robert/32/12802_2.png) [@Robert](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Robert)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 10:48am UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/54 "2016-08-01T10:48:19Z")
That could have been remedied by Maw starting a match with a 1% chance to devour. Increasing each turn until a maximum of 15% ---
**Author:** ![Spherix](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/spherix/32/2388_2.png) [@Spherix](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Spherix)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 12:12pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/55 "2016-08-01T12:12:08Z")
> [@Robert](#): > > That could have been remedied by Maw starting a match with a 1% chance to devour. Increasing each turn until a maximum of 15% That wouldn’t have made a bit of difference. Or really, it would, and not in a good way. In the player’s hands, it would have felt like it never went off, and when it activated for the AI it would have felt even more annoying at such a low percentage. The human mind simply does not handle probability well, and something that powerful shouldn’t be left up to chance, no matter what the chance was set to. Hunger is still an incredibly powerful legendary trait, and that’s good! As others have already said, however, now that it’s more directly comparable to other legendary traits, some of them probably need a buff. The amount of complaining about the Astral Spirit nerf is disappointing. It’s always the same though, far too many people seem to believe there’s only two possibilities: overpowered and utterly useless. It’s still a powerful troop, and targeted remove is quite useful for board control and mana denial. Paired with Empowered, you can often “fix” a bad starting board, further reducing the effect of randomness on the outcome of a battle. Frontloading that much damage isn’t good for the game, however, because it reduces the impact of designing a good defense team. I’m a little disappointed with the Pride Guard, because I expected him to provide some competition with Rowanne for armor-based damage, and he’s gone from worse to much worse. He’s an epic, but his spell’s damage is on the level with the Paladin, who’s just a rare. They’ll each fit better into different teams, sure, but Rowanne is still going to outshine the others in most cases. Sand Cobra looks really interesting! Disease hasn’t been very available in the past, so I think its potential hasn’t been recognized. Between 6 mana and Stone Link, it should fill up quickly, allowing for frequent casts to offset the random targeting. VIP levels would look a lot more enticing if the minimum troop level applied retroactively to troops you already own, rather than just new troops. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![Robert](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/robert/32/12802_2.png) [@Robert](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Robert)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 12:16pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/56 "2016-08-01T12:16:36Z")
> [@Spherix](#): > > VIP levels would look a lot more enticing if the minimum troop level applied retroactively to troops you already own, rather than just new troops. Just sayin’. I have seen this mentioned before. I would have thought most people with a high enough VIP to benefit from Level 5 troops would already have all their current troops to at least this level anyway ---
**Author:** ![thePJ](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/thepj/32/8764_2.png) [@thePJ](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/thePJ)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 12:21pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/57 "2016-08-01T12:21:48Z")
Pff what a waste on all the glory i spend to make Astral Spirit Legendary ☹ Guess we can’t get a (partial) glory refund? ---
**Author:** ![Spherix](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/spherix/32/2388_2.png) [@Spherix](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Spherix)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 12:22pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/58 "2016-08-01T12:22:57Z")
Since VIP level is only tied to amount of money invested in the game, and has no relation to the amount of progress the player has made, or how they’ve spent their in-game resources, it’s quite possible to reach the relevant VIP levels while having all the troops, but not having sufficient souls to level them all. The leveling interface also discourages putting 5-10 levels in every troop, when the only options are 1 and max. ---
**Author:** ![Robert](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/robert/32/12802_2.png) [@Robert](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Robert)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 12:27pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/59 "2016-08-01T12:27:08Z")
On console you can select the exact level you want a troop to be. Getting everyone to level 5 was the first thing I did once I had unlocked most of them; then 9. ---
**Author:** ![Spherix](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/community.gemsofwar.com/spherix/32/2388_2.png) [@Spherix](https://community.gemsofwar.com/u/Spherix)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2016, 12:28pm UTC](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542/60 "2016-08-01T12:28:59Z")
I think most of us here playing on PC/mobile are painfully aware of that particular version difference. [Previous page](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542.md?page=2) [Next page](https://community.gemsofwar.com/t/lions-rampant/10542.md?page=4)