Hello there.
This week's Community Engagement Challenge wants us to share card strategies. For my post I want to highlight some Weapons Training setups that I usually use in my battles. These are some ideas that I came up with, as well as encountered from different opponents. If I see any way to improve my team or an opponent's team, I mix and match different monsters. I don't have a complete collection, so you can definitely improve upon these lineups. These are just the ones that work for me in my Silver-Gold battles. The monsters with no attacks and their Weapons Training partners are the focus, while the tanks and supporting monsters change depending on the rulesets and mana availability.
Fire Team
For my Fire team, this is something I go for when Magic is not allowed. If Dragon is available, I will go with Helios Summoner and have Megalodon as my front tank. Behind it is Iidri Fyre, with Ferexian Hero next to it to provide the Weapons Training. Megalodon's Flank enables Iidri to attack from the second position. Iidri has taunt which helps split the opponent's damage. If Megalodon or Iidri dies first, Ferexian that has Reach can attack afterwards.
Next to Ferexian is Krash. It has Swiftness that together with Helios makes the team really fast. There are times when Iidri becomes hard to kill because of the added speed. Next to Krash is Berix which has the Range Weapons Training, thus granting Krash with two attack types. It will usually be attacking with only the range from the back, but depending on the ruleset it can take advantage of these two attack types even more. Finishing the lineup is Scavo Hireling. The Repair can help keep the team last longer, and it can work well with Berix in a pinch. If you want to prioritize speed, you can replace Helios with Jacek, Krash with Clockwork Aide, and Berix with Dalthin.
Water Team
For my Water team, I usually prefer Possibilus as my summoner. Commander Slade is a very good tank because it has good speed and stats, and its Dodge lets it evade a lot of physical attacks. If I see my opponent use a lot of magic, or the rulesets favors it I can replace Slade with Lemmel Refugee. Noa is usually in the second position. Its high speed makes it attack early, and its Rust works well with the overall strategy of the team. Kulu gives the Weapon Training to Noa, with Merdaali next to it. Merdaali's healing works well with the additional HP from Possibilus, and can keep the team healthy longer.
Deeplurker with Opportunity works well with Kulu in killing the backline, and its poison can deal with monsters that have high armor. Swamp Spitter with the Repair is mostly just for filler and tries to keep the tank and noa alive longer, but its Giant Slayer can be very helpful in killing very tanky opponents. Noa, Kulu, Merdaali, and Deeplurker are pretty much constant in my teams, I just switch different monsters for my Tank and Filler slot.
Earth
I honestly don't like my Earth Weapons Training team. I don't like using range monsters if I can help it, and the Fire team above only works for me because of Krash and having two attack types. I use this weapons training team in niche rulesets where melee is not available. I use Immortalis as my summoner, and have Ulundin as my front line tank. I have Spirit Hoarder for the Triage because I use Slipspawn at the back to split the opponent's damage. Lurking Puffer and Clockwork Aide are beside Ava to get the weapons training buff.
The idea behind this team is to expect the opponent to use magic attacks and counter it with Immortalis' Void, then use range attacks to outdamage them. It also counters the enemy if they decide to use Immortalis as well. One can also use Goblin Psychic instead of Spirit Hoarder and rearrange the team to take advantage of Goblin's Affliction.
Life Team
For my Life Team, I usually go for the Weapons Training team in a low mana ruleset. I also go for this in Earthquake rulesets from time to time. I use Franz as my summoner, and Halfling as my frontline tank. Pelacor Conjurer is in second position, next to Aves. I use Kharafax next to Aves to get the magic attack, and its Void and Scavenger helps make it hard to kill as the battle goes longer.
Crystalsmith is there to heal the team. If the opponent doesn't have an Affliction, then killing Kharafax late game is almost impossible with Crystalsmith's healing. To round out the team I have Celestial Harpy at the back. Not only does it protect against Sneaks, but it can also kill any low HP monsters in the opponent's backline. During Noxious Fumes ruleset, I can replace the Conjurer with Evelyn which has Immunity.
Death Team
I usually only go for my Death Weapons Training team during the Earthquake ruleset. I sometimes use it during Noxious Fumes, but I will replace a few monsters. I use Thaddius Brood as my summoner. Not only does it lower the magic damage, but it also lowers the HP which can be a big deal in damaging rulesets. My front tank is Gargoya Lion. Its Flying and Void make it a good tank against all attack types. Will-o-Wisp's Weaken helps further lower the opponent's HP, and can make it faster to kill them early on.
Duskblight gives the Weapons training buff. Riftwing is a bit in the middle instead of the second position to try and serve as a win condition of outlasting the opponent. Venari Marksrat with its Snare can take opponents by surprise, while also providing a buff to my monsters once it dies. At the back is the filler card Gargoya Devil. I don't have Usut, but that can be a better option.
Final Thoughts
These are the Weapons Training teams I usually use. The Water and Life ones are my go to's in a lot of times. Death has its own niche, especially in damaging rulesets. The Fire one is pretty fun, but I haven't been consistent with it. Earth is the least used, but that's because I prefer using Quora/Katrelba most of the time. This post is mostly geared towards weaker/newer players to give them an idea on possible strategies. I hope it can help you win more games.
That is it for my Weapons Training Strategies. Do you have your own Weapons Training setups? Don't hesitate to let me know what you think, and if you have suggestions for improvement.
And as always, these are Not Financial Advice, and Do Your Own Research.
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