Puzzle & Dragons: Colour VS Combo Spike Leaders

Colour matching and combo making are the 2 essential parts of the gameplay of PAD. You need to do those even if you are not using the colour or combo spike leaders. Those leaders just make your skilled play more rewarding. A lot of them are also essential for clearing the harder dungeons in the later part of the game. Yukine of PAD forum has come up with a nice writeup on the different leaders in the game. You can also use the other leaders but my favourite ones are those 2 and I gathered some notes on my experience using them:

Colour Spike Leaders

PAD and Rerolling

Please note that some of the information below is as of 2013! Refer to this 2 later posts for latest tier and evaluation list from GameWith website.

Update #2: I managed to try out an account with Great Valkyrie. Now is a great time to get light monsters like Kirin as they are hard to level up and with the current Carnival of Light, they come out at level 30. I find the Healer team to be a little weaker than the spike teams (maybe I'm spoilt by the multiplier damage!) and although her team members are mostly farmable, I think it is going to take a longer and tougher time with her.

Update #1: "Found another useful guide in the PAD wiki talking about starting rolls and other useful starting information. The monsters are displayed in pictures and categorised so it is very easy to read and see everything in one glance. I agree with it except:
- Isis being in the top tier as her multiplier is quite low compared to the other spike leaders and her active skill is not that useful.
- Kushinada not being in the Challenge tier as high combos is required to get the higher attack multipliers to put her on par with the x3.5 and x4+ leaders.
- Echidna being in any category at all because she is farmable!

There are also 2 new Godfest-only monsters like the Odins, Red and Green Sonia. Each give x2.5 attack and recovery (RCV) to devil and dragon respectively and changes the whole board to their colours as their active skill. They have a very high cost (over 30) so you cannot put them in your team early but the Red one seems very strong base on the PAD forum discussion. This is what Goody has to say. It looks like she will make a good starter whereas Green will probably be more of a sub for Balanced team."

*The US version is currently in the midst of a 24hr God Festival so now is a good time to start the game as well as to reroll. Egyptian and Indian Gods have 3 times chance to drop from the Rare Egg Machine (REM)*

One of the most important part of the game is the first monster you get from the tutorial. For starter dragon, going with red is the best as a mono-red team is farmable from dungeons. If you did not get a good monster (mainly the god types), it might be a good idea to redo the tutorial from scratch again until you get a good monster to start the game. Refer to this reddit forum on how to reroll. It is mainly talking about iOS. For Android, it requires the phone to be rooted.

As to what monsters to aim for, there are 2 good resources from 2 different forums:

Puzzle & Dragons (PAD) - A Short Review

This game has been around for over a year but I only recently started playing, mostly because the game was only available for the US market and I did not went for the Japanese version. A friend was actually looking for a game to play on Android and I suggested this game. I also went ahead and download the iOS version from the US iTunes App Store. It turns out that the game was very good and also addictive!

A lot of people are calling this a Bejewelled-meets-Pokemon. I think the game resembles Pokemon in the aspect of the monsters (called cards in-game but this is not a card game) but the match-3 gameplay is actually more like solving a 2D Rubik Cube. I think the challenge of solving the puzzles (as you will deal more damage when you match many combos) is one of the things that attracts players to the game, as well as frequent events where you can get more magic stones, the in-game currency, and limited chances to get more monsters.

The game is free and supported by in-app purchases but there are many people who played without spending anything. This game is the only one other than Clash of Clans that is making millions per day and interestingly, it was reported that both game companies are "combining" (GungHo of PAD acquiring Supercell of Clash of Clans) A 3DS version of PAD is also coming soon, launching in Japan in December.

I like this game a lot and am still playing it. I've also done a lot of research on the game and will be posting them on upcoming posts.

iTunes App Store link (English): Puzzle & Dragons

iTunes App Store link (JP App Store): Puzzle & Dragons (Japanese)

Android Google Play Store (For US region only): Puzzle & Dragons
(You can get the installer apk file directly from this forum thread)

Note: If you the above iTunes link takes you to GungHo's page with a Korean-named PAD, that is not the full game but instead allows you to try out the game in a short time attack version. The game is in Korean though but there are not much options so you will not get lost!

Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Clash! Duel Carnival! 3DS game

Finally! The last handheld console version for Yugioh was the Tag Force 6 for the PSP and that did not had an English version to my knowledge. That was 2011 and 2 years later, we finally have another one. I'm looking forward to this although I have not touch Yugioh in a long time, especially how the game will make use of the 3DS system's spotpass feature.

Wiki Info

Ben 10 Slammers

Guardian Cross has finally launch for Android. The sequel to it was also announced for the end of the year release: Deadman's Cross, which seems to have some form of first-person shooting within the game. I might give it a try when it is out.

Out of the card games I've tried, Ben 10 Slammers really caught my eye. It is a simple and fun card game in my opinion and don't let the fact that it is based on a children's show make you think that it is childish and only for children. I actually enjoyed it a lot and played for quite a while. The app is not free (US$1.99) but this is one of the few games where the in-app purchases were really optional and not to hook you into spending more. I was able to earn the in-game currency to unlock more Alien characters easily just by playing the campaign. (I first unlocked the most expensive ones as they supposedly will be the strongest)

The artwork is nice and looks like the cartoon. The game is basically King of Fighter arcade fighting game meets Marvel TCG Card games. You get 3 characters, call Slammers, and 1 is always active. There are no character specific cards but each Slammers have a set of cards tied to them. You'll unlock more cards using the in-game currency to level up the Slammer. Levelling will also unlock more abilities for the Slammers. You cannot swap Slammers to the backrow unless you use a card that allows it. There is no deck building required which simplifies things and the overall game and interface seem to be designed to work well for a tablet and smartphone screen.

I think there is a high replay value for this game and you don't have to be a fan of Ben 10 to enjoy it. Overall, the game has a pretty high quality production and content. Recently, some annoying bugs were fixed. (Card abilities could not be displayed) New Slammers were also periodically released so the developers are keeping the game updated with content and improvements. This game is definitely worth a try! One tip: I find Crabdozer broken due to its ability to attack twice.

iTunes App Store link: Ben 10 Slammers

Games after I stopped playing Guardian Cross Part 1

Guardian Cross(GC) has been updated to 2.0 and brings with it many new features. I did not update but was please to know that I logged in once recently and found all my cards intact and my account not banned(for stop using?). On Yugioh video game news, there were surprisingly no more portable console games so far. The latest game was Decade Duels Plus for the PS3 and xbox360 which I read had bad reviews. There is a demo but I have yet to try. I think I have now forgotten most of the Yugioh rules!

The games I'm playing now is mostly League of Legends and the occasional Clash of Clan on iOS devices. Those are not digital card games which is the focus of this blog but I did try a few after GC.

Order & Chaos Duels(iOS Devices)
The game has some aspects of Yugioh in the use of the playing field. I played for maybe 1 hour before I stopped as it was quite boring to me.

iTunes App Store link: Order & Chaos Duels - Trading Card Game - Gameloft

Might & Magic Duel of Champions(iPad)
This game looks promising. I like that there are decks and boosters to buy in the store and thought this was going to be the next Magic: The Gathering Digital equivalent. However, I soon found out that the gameplay was similar to Order & Chaos Duels except it had a little bit more variation in that there is a minor real-time strategy in positioning of cards. The straw that broke the camel's back was that the version that I played at that time had a bug where you will get logged out after a period of time. It ended matches in a loss and make for a very unsatisfying gameplay experience. I stopped after a few hours of gameplay and subsequent updates didn't mention that this problem was solved and I slowly moved on anyway. The game is also available on PC.

iTunes App Store link: Might & Magic: Duel of Champions - Ubisoft  Game has been removed

Tekken Card Tournament (iOS Devices)
This was a game I was looking forward to after hearing it reported on gaming sites. It didn't disappoint. The gameplay was simple enough like GC to pick up and yet has some deck building strategy as well.  It is much deeper than just rock-scissor-paper mechanics on the surface.

Most of the cards are attainable other than the Super Rare cards which depended on availability in the Market with money, unlike in GC. Namco Bandai, the company of the game, also responded fast to players' feedbacks and respond. For example, hackers with instant win cheat was stopped in about 1-2 weeks.

I had quite a lot of fun and played for around 2 or so weeks. I managed to make 2 gold decks by spending 1/3 to 1/4 of what I pay for GC. You can also slowly grind and upgrade your cards from bronze to silver to gold. However, the tournament is somewhat like GC in which you have to keep on grinding matches to earn more tournament points, something I got tired of.

I thought of making posts about the game but didn't settle down to start it. The game has constant updates to the cards to balance things and the most recent update added a new character, Heihachi. I will provide some tips I gather from my short playing time:

1. Not really a tip but I found the instructions and rules to be unclear about this. They are now in the FAQ(I think it was added later because I never saw them mentioned before) but really should be in the rules: 
• U with a circle on the card stands for Unique which means 1-per-deck. I was thinking of some broken endless chain combo before I found out...
• Super Rare(SR) cards are 1-per-deck too! Don't buy more than 1! You can have 1 more SR Power Card in your deck though.
2. I personally only buy Ultra Pack and use the gold to combine or buy cards. 3 Rare cards can be "exchanged" for 1 Rare card of your choice through selling and buying for gold.
3. Best cards are normally the Unique ones and the one that grants an ability on appearance. Next are those that can force an ability based on opponent's action. Most of the tips on other card games can be applied here: 
• Get the max number of a good card (1 or 3) in your deck to increase your chance of drawing it
• Know and memorise your deck. There are only 15 cards and you can easily predict your next draw
4. This game requires quick mathematics calculation but don't forget to take into account the card abilities.
5. The fighters all have a certain theme and strategy to build around. It is best to focus on 1 deck, building it to gold.
6. Check this blog for more tips and guides. I think the fighter analysis (2 so far) are great and informative.

The game is available for Android and playable on Internet Browsers too.

iTunes App Store link: Tekken Card Tournament - NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe S.A.S.

Magic Duels of the Planeswalker 2014 (iPad)

It is the same game as the previous years but the most notable inclusion is the drafting mode. You get to build a deck from opening packs and use it to complete the campaign or go multiplayer with it. It is free to try and you unlock 2 slots after purchasing the game. Additional slots can be bought and you can unlock up to 20. Each slot is fixed to the packs you opened and there were some complains about the way the mode is but I think the drafting feature is a very neat addition to the game. The game is available on the PC, PS3 and xbox 360.

iTunes App Store link: Magic 2014 - Wizards of the Coast

With Hearthstone still some time away from launch, I'm not sure if I will play it too. Back to the Field of Justice in the League of Legends...

Hearthstone Heroes of Warcraft Card Game: the next game I'll be playing?

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/

A new card game by Blizzard, the company behind Diablo, Warcraft and Starcraft. This is based on Warcraft with its graphic style. It definitely looks cool. The game is not out yet but you can catch some videos on their homepage.

I've watched the "What is Hearthstone?" video and it sounds like it will be easy to pick up which is always a good thing to have. The game is close to Magic: The Gathering than Guardian Cross in my opinion and will be released on Windows, Mac initially with iPad coming a bit later. I'm looking forward to its release!

Guardian Cross: My Hunting ends

I've recently stopped logging on to the JP and Int. Guardian Cross app and probably stopped playing. I want to devote my time to other stuff in life. I was also getting tired of the "cycle" of the game; it's just endless weeks of coliseum and I cannot usually keep up to get a "Great" card and when I do, there's not much use to it. (I understand there is the new Coliseum in the next update but it will be back to the endless cycle of Coliseums week after week!)

For all future information on Guardian Cross, please check the Guardian Cross Forum. There are many contributors and valuable information there.

It's interesting how my trading card game history went from cardboard cards to digital cards. I'm not sure if I'll continue with a new card game. I hope my posts have been useful. Thank you all for reading!

JP GC 1.4: New Coliseum Tiers

Update 10/03/2013: Next week's coliseum, courtesy of Tarothin from the guardiancross-forum, his post will be a weekly update of the Coliseum restrictions so it will be useful!

From the look of things, the Elite Coliseums are going to continue with the theme coliseum while Special is going to get the "extreme" themes. Next week is Fire only guardians!
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Update 04/03/2013: I was wrong about the 3* and below Coliseum rule continuing! It's no restriction Coliseum for special this week which means you can use any card and any number of repeated copies.
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Information in JP: http://cache.apja.guardiancross.net/info/30214008/record_20130225_2.html

Translation by Tarothin over at the guardiancross-forum: http://guardiancross-forum.com/Thread-1-4-version-notes?pid=683086#pid683086

Head over to the links above for more information. Lastly, I'll cover my thoughts on the new coliseum tiers.

New coliseums added

There are now 5 coliseums.

1. Elite coliseum - extreme

Coliseum for the most elite

2. Elite coliseum - master

Can use mighty and great guardians. Can win almighties. A coliseum for the upper ranks of the previous master coliseum and middle ranks of expert coliseum.

3. Master coliseum

Coliseum for the middle ranked master coliseum players.

4. Novice coliseum

Coliseum for beginners. In order to prevent multi account users, the rewards have been eliminated.

5. Special coliseum

Special conditions such as "Rare or lower". However the number of almighty slots are very small.

Comments:

Elite - extreme is the same as current Elite from what I can see; rewards and stat/skill stones and such.

Elite - master is the same as current Master except, S+ is Almighty card reward, A+ gets Mighty card reward, no skill stones here and slightly more stat stones than Master.

Master should be the same as current Master, I didn't compare.

Novice should be the same. Again, I did not compare.

Special is what I'm guessing to be the new home for special rules like "male/female/flying/Hunting Ground specific/etc" coliseum. It started with 3* and below only and below and I think it is continuing again next week. I'm guessing these 3* rule will be the usual rule whereas the other special rules will come by as and when. I think it is good as 3* finally get its own spotlight. The prize slots are really small though: 10 S+ slots getting Almighty, 40 S slots getting Mighty, 150 A+ getting Great. All ranks get 2 SHT, stat stones but no skill stones. This 3* coliseum seem to be more suitable for beginner than Novice.

iTunes App Store link: Guardian Cross - SQUARE ENIX

JP GC 1.4: "Improved" 5* drop-rate system

Information in JP: http://cache.apja.guardiancross.net/info/30214008/record_20130225_2.html

Translation by Tarothin over at the guardiancross-forum: http://guardiancross-forum.com/Thread-1-4-version-notes?pid=683086#pid683086

Head over to the links above for more information. I'll cover my thoughts on the new 5* drop-rate system next.

Hunt increased chance system

A system where when a certain number of special hunts have occured without catching any UR's, the chance of catching UR's raises. Once you've caught a UR, it is reset.

10-19 times => UR x1.5

20-29 times => UR x2.0

30~ times => UR x3.0

For 9 or less times, the chance is the same as version 1.3.

UR = 5* by the way.

Comments: 

Basically, SE is telling us that the drop-rate is probability-based and individual system-based, not what some of us are thinking: 5* dropping when a certain quota is reached, etc. My experience using SHT do tell otherwise as I remember getting my 5* after a number of tickets used and then shortly another 5* will drop but there are also people claiming to catch multiple 5* in a hunt so... Oh well... 

Once your drop-rate increases, there will be an indicator on the bottom left of the Hunting "entrance" screen. It should stay until you catch a 5* so you do not have to use many SHT at a go. I can't comment on that as I have not been using any of my saved SHT because I kinda given up on them.

Interestingly for the last line, I imply that a 5* should drop normally after 10 hunts. I used to get that in the early parts of the game but not since Stormreach original Guardians/Glaverow New Guardians.

For International version, the anticipated double drop rate event did not materialize. I'll continue saving my SHT there for this update or if there is any special/limited edition guardian hunting event.

iTunes App Store link: Guardian Cross - SQUARE ENIX

JP GC 1.4: New 5* and skills

Information in JP: http://cache.apja.guardiancross.net/info/30214008/record_20130225_2.html

Translation by Tarothin over at the guardiancross-forum: http://guardiancross-forum.com/Thread-1-4-version-notes?pid=683086#pid683086

Head over to the links above for more information. I'll cover my thoughts on the new skills next but first, MetalStitch has summarised the new 5* at the guardiancross-forums. I won't be going through them.

Ability Lock

Chance of reducing enemy mp to 0

Comment: This is what Energy Drain was suppose to do! Energy Drain 2.0 Unsure if it takes place even before Quick Strike to prevent that.

High speed turn

Consume MP to dodge physical attacks

Comment: People are debating whether this is probability based. I think it might be a little broken if it is not!

Gigant slash

All or nothing one shot attack. When it hits it deals large amounts of damage regardless of defense.

Comment: Sounds like the physical version of Death skill. Nothing interesting except maybe the new attack animation.

Heaven's pulse

Dispels enemy buff abilities.

Comment: I think it only works on the first guardian. If it is the case, I don't think it is good. You are most probably only going to get a guarantee use if you are the first guardian.

iTunes App Store link: Guardian Cross - SQUARE ENIX

JP GC 1.4: New Hunting Ground Impressions

Updated 03/03/2013: More impressions

Information in JP: http://cache.apja.guardiancross.net/info/30214008/record_20130225_2.html

Translation by Tarothin over at the guardiancross-forum: http://guardiancross-forum.com/Thread-1-4-version-notes?pid=683086#pid683086

Overall, I'm quite happy with the changes made in 1.4. Head over to the links above for more information. I'll cover my thoughts on the new hunting ground first.

- These new underwater shadows (mermaids and fishes) seems to change direction frequently (like fishes do in real life?)

- The giant guardians are killable in the same hunt. My tip is to go for the head and also when it is exiting into a hole. Its body wiggles a lot while moving so you might miss. I've gotten anything from 1-4 or 5 guardians from it. I haven't test out if they appear in SHT as there are also changes made to SHT drop-rate in 1.4 and I'm trying to figure out a strategy. More on that later.

Updated 03/03/2013: They take more than 5 shots to hunt, I counted about 8. They move from one of the 4 holes at the corner of the maps, exiting to the opposite side's hole. They do not turn red critical and do not appear in every hunt from my experience. However, if one appears and you did not manage to hunt it, it will appear again in the same hunt but full health. According to Mutoking, there are gold and silver ones, I've encountered the silver one and it seems to move a lot faster or might be shorter but I can't tell.

- There are Fire and normal slimes there too. I guess Silver and Gold slimes are also available.

- There are bubbles containing instant reload and time increase that you can shoot. I think there will be no yellow time increase shadows.

Updated 03/03/2013: The bubbles do disappear after some time, unless my eyes were playing tricks on me. The bubbles I have seen so far are +5 secs, +10 secs and instant reload.

- There are still red critical for 1-shot kills of the shadows you hunt, except the giant shadows.

- The shadow move at speed that is somewhat faster than Berneside Plains but slower than Glaverow Volcano.

Overall, it is something new and fresh for a change and I enjoy it more than the previous Desert Hunting ground.

iTunes App Store link: Guardian Cross - SQUARE ENIX

To Self-Destruct Or Not to Self-Destruct Part 3

Valentine Spector

This recent Coliseum reward is probably the one of the best Self-destruct user. She is the souped-up version of Crocell.

Almighty Sexy Full Stoned MP: 8710

Almighty Brave Full Stoned MP: 7370

Almighty Others Full Stoned MP: 8040

Mighty Sexy Full Stoned MP: 6500

Mighty Brave Full Stoned MP: 5500

Mighty Others Full Stoned MP: 6000

Great Sexy Full Stoned MP: 4940

Great Brave Full Stoned MP: 4180

Great Others Full Stoned MP: 4560

Assuming wisdom +20% and 2 cast of +4, 200 + 1200 + 1200 = 2600MP used, great versions deal around 2000 damage. I got a Brave but I will be sticking with Self-destruct as I prefer it over the wisdom debuff. For all types, she has enough to cast a third +4 if she survives. Mighty version's self-destruct deals close to 3000 while Almighty ones should be able to kill even tankers.

Upcoming cards

Nuada (Great version)

At this point of reading, if you still think self-destruct is very good and better than maybe, Last Stand, Square Enix shows you why it's not. The Mighty and Almighty versions all get Last Stand. Nuada's Last Stand with normal attack after killing 2 guardians, does more damage than Self-destruct in the same scenario.

Like Gigantua, you can except a higher MP with other stats unchanged from the normal version.

Pandora

She is a new Desert 5* with Self-destruct. I think her stats are very similar to Pandora with a +4. We'll take a look again when she arrives in International GC.

Note: Agni gets self-destruct after reborn and all the above MP calculation will probably have to be redone. Self-destruct might become better after reborn due to the higher possible MP stats. Spector also gets self-destruct and reborn 4* are roughly equivalent to 5* level of power so she's worth a look.

iTunes App Store link: Guardian Cross - SQUARE ENIX

To Self-Destruct Or Not to Self-Destruct Part 2

Another perspective:

Here's another way to look at things. Assume that Mict does it's job and kills off 2 guardians with +4 and just greater cunning, how much MP is left? (maxed stoned MP)

All types other than Ace/Sexy: 3726 - 200 - 1200 - 1200 = 1126

Ace/Sexy: 4036 - 200 - 1200 - 1200 = 1436

Both sets of types do not deal much self-destruct damage, at least not enough to outright kill. You will have to pair it with a good Quick Strike Guardian.

Crocell

Crocell is just out at this time of writing and her stats are out in the Guardian Cross Stat Info site. She also has self-destruct and wisdom buff and debuff. If you want to keep the Self-destruct, you'll most probably choose the wisdom buff over debuff. Her offensive skill is Death+3 which will make her very luck-based and an excellent defender for your deck in coliseum but also every attacking player's nightmare.

All types other than Ace/Sexy: 4320 - 200 - 600 - 600 = 2920

Ace/Sexy: 4680 - 200 - 600 - 600 = 3280

The self-destruct is definitely more potent but that is because of the +3 skill and only Death will work for a +3 skill level of attack. I'm also assuming she gets 2 kills before exploding but Death is totally probability based. If we give her a +4 skill over +3:

All types other than Ace/Sexy: 4320 - 200 - 1200 - 1200 = 1720

Ace/Sexy: 4680 - 200 - 1200 - 1200 = 2080

She has better potential of killing rate with the +4 but the self-destruct is more powerful but still cannot one-shot kill. You can switch around and try wisdom debuff instead of buff but they will only add 50MP to the blast.

Color-borded Cards

Juggernaut

I'm not going to write much about it except that it was built to self-destruct.

Gigantua (Great version)

The usual case with the great versions of an existing 5* is a more or less same card with slight variation but I think Gigantua makes an interesting case with Self-destruct. The reason is that it does not have any buffs and it's attack is high enough that physical+3 can sometimes kill.

Best Case Scenario:

All types other than Sexy: 3060 - 600 - 600 = 1860

Sexy: 3315 - 600 - 600 = 2115

Equivalent to Crocell's (skilled with +4) level of self-destruct damage. It can be considered quite good. Generally, lower HP guardians may be found in the front of the deck.

iTunes App Store link: Guardian Cross - SQUARE ENIX

Guardian Cross: Reborn 5*/4* New Abilities

Update 25/02/2013: Rebirth is here! Updated all 5* with comments.

Copied from GuardianCross-Forum.com. Rebirth system is coming this month here and I want to add some of my comments to the new abilities. I bold the new skill additions that I think will make a difference. I might come back to comment on the rest.

5*

Apsara: AGI/WIS +10%

Personally, I prefer a self-buff to a debuff of the opponent. I'll replace Mind Blast wisdom debuff with this.

Azi Dahaka: DEF/WIS +10%

I think the slow agility debuff should get replaced with this.

Frankenstein: DEF +25%
Attack>Defence in this game but since Frankie's skill-set has no buffs, this skill is definitely a keeper.

Gargantua: ATK +25%

One of its best stat just got better. Similar to Frankie, it has no buffs in its skill-set so why not.

Leviathan: Revive

Revive on any 5* is worth looking out for.

Phoenix: ATK/WIS +10%
The attack boost does help after it revives with no MP remaining. However, it is possible that Elemental Casters require 2 +4 elemental skills so you got to calculate the max wisdom stats to see how viable is this buff.

Titan: ATK +25%

I'm looking at double attack buff to create an Atlas/Anubis clone.

Valkyrie: WIS +25%

One of its best stat just got better.

Vampire Matron: AGI/WIS +10%

Similar to Phoenix.

Agni: Self-Destruct

Requires further investigation on how much MP is left after casting +4 twice.

Bahamut: ATK/WIS +10%

There are people skilling it with triple buffs; all the buffs available to it. Its attack does get very high. I think Bahamut is effectively a physical attacker if it isn't already is. Double attack buffs unless your Bahamut is Intelligent/Wise.

Chariot: Quick Strike

I think a no attack skill skill-set might be viable with Ace(?) versions but requires testing. On paper, a normal attack should kill whatever's left from Quick Strike. The agility boost might result in double strikes after the first attack. Not sure how this will fare in high level coliseum though.

Dominion: ATK/WIS +10%

Similar to Bahamut but he/she has lower HP.

Ettin: AGI/WIS +10%

Again, I prefer self-buff over debuffing opponent. If you've kept the Mind Blast wisdom debuff, here's your chance to change. I'll consider this new skill an upgrade over single Wisdom 10% buff but do check your MP available.

Gilgamesh: AGI +25%

I  personally prefer Last Stand to this.

Ifrit: ATK +25%

One of its best stat just got better.

Juggernaut: Quick Strike

His agility is still too low but his attack is Bahamut/Dominion level. The Quick Strike will pack quite a punch!

Lightning Lord: WIS -20%

This better guarantees the first kill.

Mephistopheles: AGI/WIS +10%

It is a elemental attacker so you decide between 2 +4 skills or double wisdom buff. It's wisdom gets very high after the buffs.

Sucellus: ATK/WIS +10%

He has no other buffs so why not.

Atlas: Last Stand

Sky-high Attack + Last Stand = win

Fujin: Revive

I'm sure there is an unwritten rule somewhere by Square Enix when creating Cards with Revive that they should not be too powerful for balance purposes. This reborn card now breaks the rule.

Morrighan: Last Stand

Sky-high Attack + Last Stand = win. Personally, I will choose this over Quick Strike.

Hoarfrost Phoenix: AGI/WIS +10%

Don't bother going down the no attack skill route because it doesn't get an attack buff. Quick Strike and Revive are both good and you'll need a +3/+4 elemental skill so...

Crocell: AGI/WIS +10%
She gets a chance to become like Mict with double Wisdom buff. Read my posts on Self-destruct for my analysis on that.

Raijin: Revive

See Fujin.

Shiva: AGI/WIS +10%

Most likely you'll remove the greater protect defence buff for this.

Stymphalian Bird: Quick Strike

See Chariot. Chariot is better with the attack buff over Bird's Defence buff which only ensures the first kill.

Thor: ATK/DEF +10%

Original skill-set is still better like Nuada's.

Banshee Serenade: DEF/AGI +10%

Unfortunately, no new wisdom buff so she should stick with 2 +4 and the original wisdom buff. Original skill-set is better.

Behemoth: ATK/DEF +10%

No attack skills (all buffs and Last Stand) may not be viable because it is too slow? It does get sky high defence so may be worth a try if you do not have difficulty getting physical attack stones to re-skill later.

Mictlantecuhtli: DEF/AGI +10%

Similar to Serenade. Original skill-set is better.

Nuada: ATK/DEF +10%

Original skill-set is still better like Thor's.

Sphinx Empress: WIS +20%

This replaces Mind Blast if it is a elemental attacker type.

Lord of the Inferno: ATK/DEF +10%

This is interesting as JP Wiki actually recommends a physical attack stoning as its attack gets pretty high. I think that will be the best build for it.

Iron Maiden: ATK/AGI +10%

No attack skill build? It's speed is not as high as Chariot and Bird so I think it's not viable. The agility buff definitely needs to be replaced with this new skill though.

Banshee Requiem: Darkness +4

Not much use if you can get +4 stones easily but I think a +4 is better than the double 10% buffs.

Barbariccia: AGI +25%
Original skill-set is better.

Cagnazzo: WIS +25%
Last Stand and wisdom +25% are both essential IMO.

Rubincante: ATK +25%
One of the first few guardian which people tried triple buffs. You can always re-skill him again later and a +3 physical might be enough.

Scarmiglione: Revive
Revive on any 5* is worth looking out for.

Golbez: Last Stand
It is still just not as good as the color bordered counterpart IMO.

4*

Lightning

Hecatoncheir : ATK/WIS +10%

Ramiel: DEF/WIS +10%

Seiryuu: DEF/AGI +10%

Narasimha: AGI +20%

Death

Vamp : Revive

One of the best 4* just reached 5* level and gained Revive.

Specter : Self-destruct

Bune : AGI +20%

Not useful as Wisdom plays a huge role in Death Skills; if death caster's wisdom stat is lower than opponent, death does not get casted.

Dullahan: Quick Strike

Revenant: ATK +20%

It was a physical attacker anyway and that aspect got a good boost.

Mecha

Byakko: ATK/DEF +10%

Talos: Unknown

Dwarf Gear: Def-20%

Fire

Suzaku: WIS +20%

Cerebus: Unknown

Peri: DEF/WIS +10%

Fafnir: ATK/DEF +10%

Caim: WIS/AGI +10%

Brigid: DEF/WIS +10%

Aym: ATK/WIS +10%

Atar: WIS +20%

Water

Kraken: ATK/DEF +10%

Genbu: Water+3

Anahita: WIS +20%

Jotunn: ATK/WIS +10%

Skadi: AGI +20%

Forneus: Unknown

Earth

Golem: Last Stand

Same as Vampire, one of the best 4* got promoted to 5* level along with a good new skill.

Jormungandr: ATK/DEF +10%

Giant: ATK/AGI +10%

Bugbear: Revive

Wind

Qiong Ji: Wind+3

Need to look at its final stats to see if Wisdom stat got boosted to Attack stat level.

Pazuzu: ATK +25%

I think SE recognised that it was underpowered.

Garuda: Wind+3

Wyvern: Unknown

Rudra: WIS/AGI +10%

Poison

Medusa: Wis+25%

Much more useful over the other double 10% buffs.

Pablisag: Poison+4

A 4* gets a +4! E'nuff said.

Taowu: ATK +20%

Helps its Last Stand move.

Light

Angel: WIS +20%

Best stat got boosted

Virtue: WIS-20%

Power: ATK/WIS +10%

Barong: ATK +20%

Best stat gets the correct buff.

Horus: DEF/WIS +10%

Darkness

Fenrir: ATK/AGI +10%

Balou: WIS +20% 

One of the rare 4* with double Wisdom buffs.

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To Self-Destruct Or Not to Self-Destruct Part 1

*Updated 25/2/2013: Splitting up this post into parts as it was too long

Mictlantecuhtli(Mict) is an interesting Deadmoon Desert 5* with cool artwork and has one of the hardest skill decision-making out of all the other Guardians. (For those deciding whether to give Gilgamesh Last Stand or Slow, I go with Last Stand as the opponent should probably be dead in the first turn) Mict learns Self-Destruct, double Wisdom Buffs and Poison+3 and +4 skills. Poison+4 and Wisdom+20% are definitely compulsory which leaves Self-Destruct and Wisdom+10%.

Self-Destruct deals damage according to the number of MP left. If Mict cast +4 twice, there will not be much damage left of Self-Destruct if it triggers but if that happens, the guardian has already done its job. Self-destruct can also combo with Quick Strike but Last Stand potentially deals more damage as the users normally have high attack.

Double Wisdom kills more guardians and is a better guarantee for 2 kills while Self-destruct is probability-based but useful if Mict dies "prematurely". I think both builds have its merit but the type of Mict you get might play a part in the decision. I think the key is how many +4 Mict can cast. This is how I will decide:

Powerful: Agility takes a hit which makes Mict slower and fragile and Self-destruct may likely trigger when Mict has not cast +4 twice and therefore has more MP. Self-destruct

Chaotic: Tankier version and Intelligent/killing power slightly decreased. I will go double Wisdom Buff as Mict can probably survive a hit and cast +4 twice. Double Wisdom Buff

Intelligent: This can go both ways but as Mict can tank and deal Elemental damage well, double wisdom might better ensure 2 kills. This depends on Mict coming up with an Elemental damage dealer which are usually found in the middle of the deck. Another way to look at it is that Intelligent gets the 10% wisdom by default of its type so you can go with Self-Destruct instead. Either

Fast: Mict is not very fast to begin with so I think this is another tough choice and can go both ways. My logic is that even with fast Mict might go first but will only survive to use +4 once. Self-destruct will deal substantial damage on the 2nd guardian for a quick strike followup kill. Self-destruct

Sexy: Self-Destruct definitely. The high MP helps make the move more potent. Self-destruct

Brave: Double Wisdom buff. MP takes a hit and so does the damage self-destruct deals. Double Wisdom Buff

Ace: Best of "all worlds". I'll go with Self-destruct as the MP is high like Sexy. Ace already gets the 10% Wisdom buff by default of its type. Self-destruct


Mict is not the best 5* from Deadmoon but Self-destruct does add an uncertainty opponents facing your deck. Like Revive/Last Stand/Death skills, it makes a good defence for when you are not playing as countless people will challenge your deck and cannot prepare well against those skills. For those trading away their Mict, you can leave the double buffs and self-destruct for the other party to decide. On a side note, Mict can cast +4 thrice but I doubt it can survive that long.

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Future Scope: Deadmoon Desert New Guardians

The JP Wiki page is taking a while to input the information but MetalStitch of Guardiancross-forum.com has covered all the new 5* here. (I'm getting real lazy) Not much info on the 4*, I think they are both earth types. The art of all of them look pretty good, even the 2* and 3*.

Here are my comments on the new 5*:

Pandora, Light-type

She(?) is versatile for most type as she can learn all 3 different debuffs. Weakness (Attack debuff) seems the most unhelpful but I think it has a use against those high attack Last Stand Guardians. Those guardians come back to do a normal attack and weakness might ensure survival.

She also has self-destruct and looks like she will have another tough to decide skill moveset like Mict. (Read "To Self-destruct or not to self-destruct")

Anubis, Death-type

MetalStitch is comparing him to Frankenstein, which is true, but I also think he is the Death version of Atlas. He learns double attack buff. (20% and 25% mind you, no 10%) JP Wiki is recommending that along with a physical+3 skill. His artwork rocks!

Kali, Darkness-type

Fully agree with MetalStitch on this one, she is the darkness version of Shiva. She is versatile enough with proper natural skills (no +4 stones required) to be a physical or elemental attacker.

Marchosias, Mecha-type

It has cool-looking art but I think his skills are a little boring. I think there is an unwritten rule that all Mecha-types will have Quick Strike. (Pre-Desert 5* guardians all get them after reborn, except Gigantua) Mecha-types are also either high attack and agility or high attack and defence.

Update: I just checked the GC Quicksand, this metal dragon now has the highest attack, higher than Nuada... and it has Quick Strike! The other big surprise from the Quicksand Site is that one of the earth 4* has very high defence. Anubis also has higher HP than Rubicante.

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Golbez/Limited Edition Promotional Cards Event in JP GC

Info of the JP GC Banner announcement here

Japan GC is getting the normal version of Golbez in a limited event till 20 Jan 2013. You'll have to hunt it from Deadmoon Desert during this period or join in a Twitter contest whereby you tweet your JP GC Invitational code through Twitter from in-game invite options.

During this same period, you also be able to catch all promotional cards including the 1st Invitational Guardians in the Desert Hunting Ground. Golbez and Lord of Inferno should be both Giants and the only shaped ones in Desert.

Golbez is essentially a Darkness type version of Gilgamesh and the reborn type gains Last Stand to "fully-copy" Gilgamesh. He has Massive Cunning over Gilgamesh's Massive Haste. If Golbez arrives at our English shores, his massive cunning will most probably be replaced.

I also discovered something interesting will going through the catalogs:

In English Catalog but not available yet
Lich (4* Male Humanoid Page 11/28 last slot on the rightmost, next to the 4 Glaverow huge guardians, Byakko, etc)
Goblin & Hydra (SQEX Members 3* cards, Male Humanoid and Serpent, Page 12/28 with 1st Invitational guardians.)
Golbez (5* Giant Page 27/28, Next to the FF IV guardians)

Missing from our English Catalog
Behemoth (4* wolf, supposed to be on the 2nd Invitational guardians page along Bahamut)
Rainin Dongo (4* Male Humanoid, same as above)

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2 great tips to become competitive in Guardian Cross

http://guardiancross-forum.com/Thread-Day-1-to-100-Guide-to-Becoming-competitive

http://guardiancross-forum.com/Thread-Trading-Guide-FROM-0-to-Hero

By Galucien

They both involve heavy trading. With the bad drop rate of 5* in special hunting tickets, it is going to be necessary to get competitive fast.

Warning: Trading may also get you banned if you end up with"illegitimate"cards. A lot of players were banned this way. Ironic and one of the biggest problems to the game.

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Guardian Speed demystified

Why can your guardians sometimes attack twice? This will help explain a little on how you can arrange your deck.

Credits to Whaz over here: http://guardiancross-forum.com/Thread-AGI-Formula-Explained

In summary, the system should be based on the Active Time Bar (ATB) from Final Fantasy games. The bar is 10, 000 agility points so your guardian's agility is added to it till the bar is full. Once a bar is filled up, the guardian attacks. If the guardian dies, the bar is carried over for the next guardian to continue filling up.

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