Troop Composition Ideas Overview
I may post a few of these guides. I try out many different Gems of War troop combinations to find synergy that interests me during battle. I posted this a long time ago on the Darkfall guild forum, but thought I would update it and post it here.
“Soul Train” - A Team Composition Guide
Before Ascension: No Legendaries (1 Epic, 3 Rare Troops)
“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” –Jim Watkins
“Soul Train” was a popular dance show from the early 1970s. The purpose of this team is to garner a good number of gold and souls–hence the name…
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I am posting this guide because I have been asked more than once how to use this team effectively. Perhaps a few lines here might be of benefit to those wanting to try this method.
There are other configurations and adaptations of this basic approach. For example, some players use the Eternal Flame weapon or even Treant instead of Finley. There are a variety of similar farming teams and they can be a powerful method of progression.
Like a classic chess opening, this is a proven strategy that has, to date, stood the test of time and updates. Today I prevailed against a mythic level player with a heavily traited mythic team—a team that would have given some of my other builds serious difficulties. This is not a tribute to my playing ability, but rather the strength of the strategy; if, that is, you have patience and a willingness to think carefully about your moves. With some basic tips and an understanding of the card dynamics you can bet your bell-bottom dollar that this guide will take you straight through Funky Town on the way to Electric Avenue.
Quite frankly, you will need a lot of tools in your toolbelt if you want to be competitive against some of the tools that have been hoarding resources–I mean players that have been hoarding resources–for the recent updates. With the level increases and the new trait system, the stakes have never been higher.
Frankly, had I knows this patch was going to take place, I would have been storing cards and resources like a top 5 contestant on Hoarders: Buried Alive.
Overall Strategy
This is a slow, deliberate, contemplative method of game play. It requires concentration and even some strategic thinking. If you like quick matches which require little thought, this is not your team. However, if you do not mind being attentive and puzzling out good moves then this method can yield an impressive amount of souls from Valhalla and gold from Alchemy and Fair Trade. You should be able to bank keys and maps on a not infrequent basis due to some impressive cascades.
Your goal with this team is to set up four-matches (or more) that yield extra turns by analyzing the board for beneficial mana transformations. You want to avoid the AI taking a turn and making matches as much as possible. Please note that if you make too many mistakes, you will lose. This is not a forgiving strategy considering the traited terrors traversing the world of Krystara since the update. When the AI takes a turn with the higher levels and new abilities from the latest patch, you are going to seriously feel the burn. Always try to make cautious, meritorious moves. Because if you don’t… stop, drop, and roll my friend…
Another important aspect to this strategy: make a concerted effort to keep as much red and blue mana on the board as possible; always try to match other colors when transforming gems. This will allow you to make better use of Valkyrie and give you a higher probability of getting blue and red in a match configuration for Banshee’s power.
Fair Trade gives you transformational versatility and adds a bit of gold to your farm. It also helps you to cut down on skull matches when your opponent has inflated their attack numbers. Fair Trade can also feed any other member of the team lacking mana. Other times you can just match colors that feed Finley himself and keep the extra turns going. In spite of the fact that I have a kind of a salesperson phobia, Finley is quite useful.
Alchemy generates gold and feeds Valkyrie and Banshee. Important: hold off on using Valhalla until Scream is ready to cast; in other words, wait to use Valkyrie until Banshee is full mana. Then you can flood the board with blue and set up an extra turn for Banshee’s power. Focus on making a four-match so that when blue turns to red, you get that extra turn. You can also use Fair Trade to increase the available blue mana for Scream. And remember that Scream generates red which will feed Alchemist and Valkyrie.
One other observation–this team is not a great choice for Kingdom defense. The AI is just not capable of making the tactical choices that a player can make with this composition. Not that it matters, the AI is plenty strong enough to harsh your mellow with other teams. Do keep in mind Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov.
Soul Train is always a staple in my lineup of favorite teams; however, its languid pace and considered move reqisite is not for everyone. Do remember Aesop’s The Tortoise and the Hare, brush up on your pattern matching, make no mistakes and …
Team Mana Colors
Blue is omitted, all other colors are represented in this team.
Recommended Banner
Proud Banner (+2 Red Mana when matching gems)
Alternatively:
Banner of Progress (+1 Red and +1 Yellow Mana when matching gems)
Available Team Magical Powers
Fair Trade: Transform all skulls to the selected Mana color. Gain gold.
Alchemy: Transform a selected Mana color to Yellow. Gain gold.
Valhalla: Transform a selected Mana color to Blue. Gain Soul(s).
Scream: Deal damage, and transform all Blue Gems to Red to Boost the effect (Boost Ratio 3:1).
Suggested Marching Order
Finley (1st), Alchemist (2nd)
Valkyrie (3rd), Banshee (4th)
*no Goblins were harmed in the making of this episode
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