Tag Archives: Skuld

GungHo Collab Review and Analysis – November 2020

Introduction

The GungHo Collab returns to North America with a large list of buffs and new evolutions for existing cards along with several debuting cards.

As a whole, this event does have respectable rolling rates as over 50% of the cards are Diamonds with the majority having value at this point in time. On the other hand, the bottom rarity may not be as appealing for players with more developed Boxes and will appear nearly half the time.

With this in mind, it is perfectly acceptable to treat this as a Trade-only event as there are several top rarity cards that are wonderfully powerful along with Monster Exchanges requiring five 6-star GFE.

Regardless of this, this article will outline the pros and cons for each card to give players a better understanding of what to expect in the GungHo Collab Rare Egg Machine.

One thing to keep in mind is that many of the cards at the 7 and 6-star rarity are cycled out with each event so cards like Zeta will not be available.

Video commentary

—video coming Monday—

Overview

GungHo Collab REM Pros & Cons – November 2020
Pros
Cons
  • GungHo owned
    • Will always return on a regular basis
    • Buffs on regular basis
    • No rush to roll
  • Big rolling pool
    • Harder to roll dupes
  • 25% chance for top rarity
    • Exceptionally high
  • 6 Magic Stones per roll
  • Bottom rarity has middling value for developed Boxes
    • Nearly 50% of rolls
  • Big rolling pool
    • Hard to get what you want
    • May be better Monster Exchanging
GungHo Collab REM Rarities
7-Star Base
(25% total)

6-Star Base
(27% total)
 
5-Star Base
(48% total)
GungHo Collab REM – November 2020
S
A
B  
C
D

Order within each tier is random and not reflective of ranking

Icons show Base form

Regardless of card’s ranking, you should always keep it if it is your very first time acquiring them

Continue reading GungHo Collab Review and Analysis – November 2020

GungHo Collab REM Review and Analysis – June 2020

Introduction

The GungHo Collab makes a return to North America and features 6 new cards to an already massive rolling pool. As a result, many cards will undergo a “rotation” in which several will be absent from any given GungHo Collab event.

This is probably to help alleviate the stress of having so many different characters and it is important to check the roster before rolling to ensure your key chase cards are present.

With that being said, this is a separate 6-stone that features a lacking bottom rarity which will comprise over 50% of the rolls which is saddening to say the least. As a result, it makes it much harder to justify rolling as duplicates are probably unwanted for the bottom rarity cards along with only one having modest value.

Regardless, this article will outline the pros and cons for each card within the GungHo Collab Egg Machine event to give players a better understanding of what each monster can do.

Video commentary

—video coming Monday—

Overview

GungHo Collab REM Pros & Cons – June 5, 2020
Pros
Cons
  • 20.7% chance for 7-star card
    • Higher compared to most Seasonal/Event REMs
  • Collab will return on a regular basis
    • Cards should periodically receive buffs
    • No urgency to roll right now if nothing is appealing
  • 51.3% for 5-star card
    • Only 1 is reasonable
    • Duplicates are unwanted
  • Middling value for most 6-star cards
  • Some powerful 7-star cards are absent
GungHo Collab REM
7 Star base
(20.7% total)
  
 
6 Star base
(28% total)
5 Star base
(51.3% total)
GungHo Collab REM Rankings – June 5, 2020
S
A
B
C
D

Order within each tier is random and not reflective of ranking

Regardless of card’s ranking, you should always keep it if it is your very first time acquiring them
Bottom rarity quick summary

The bottom rarity should be the main motivation to roll in an event and here is a brief summary showcasing their awakenings and/or Weapon Assists if applicable. Awakenings in (brackets) are Super Awakenings.

  • Skill Boost Skill Boost Time Extend Wood resist Wood resist Wood resist Wood resist (  ) – D
  • Bind Immune Bind Immune Bind Clear awakening Bind Clear awakening Skill Boost Skill Lock Resist (  45) – D
  • Time Extend Skill Lock Resist Skill Lock Resist Blind Resist 45 45 Time Extend ( ) – D
  • Skill Lock Resist Skill Lock Resist Skill Boost Time Extend 45 Balance killer(Balance killer ) – B
    Water Row Water Row Water Row blue + orb blue + orb Imp HP
  • Skill Boost TPA TPA TPA Multiplayer Bonus Multiplayer Bonus Skill Boost ( ) – C
    Time Extend Multiplayer Bonus Imp HP
  • Skill Boost Skill Boost Skill Lock Resist Time Extend Healer Killer Healer Killer Machine Killer (  ) – C
    Jammer Resist Jammer Resist Jammer Resist Imp HP

Continue reading GungHo Collab REM Review and Analysis – June 2020

New Split Evolutions Review/Era of Follow Up Attack – August 16, 2017

Introduction

The Norns comprise three older Godfest Exclusives: Urd , Skuld , and Verdandi  who all possess powerful board changers but have slowly fallen out of favour due to the inability to successfully use on current meta teams. However, with the release of their new split evolutions, they gain dramatic improvements to their capabilities as a sub due to the addition of 7 Combo 45 and Follow Up Attack  awakenings.

These two awakenings are some of the most powerful ones currently available as it can dramatically shift your playstyle and strategies when playing through challenging content. Furthermore, both 7 Combo and Follow Up Attack help comprise what I like to call the “Holy Trinity” of powerful awakenings with Guard Break  being the third.

In addition, all the Sonias  received their own split evolutions along with Denebola  and Zuoh .

This article will examine the Norns new found viability as well as providing advice on how to maximize their potential. In addition, I will touch upon the other new split evolutions to better aid you in your decision making of which one to pursue.

Video commentary

—video coming soon—

The Holy Trinity

The Holy Trinity of awakenings (45  ) are the three most powerful traits a monster can have. However, due to their relatively young age, they are not commonly seen across many cards. Thus, cards that do possess at least one will gain significant value while we wait for cards/evolutions to trickle in from JP. Continue reading New Split Evolutions Review/Era of Follow Up Attack – August 16, 2017

55 Million Downloads 5x GFE Review and Analysis

I will continue to update this page as I write the additional monster reviews and have been quite busy with all the newly released content and real life issues. I posted this well knowing I am missing some monsters as I want to give you some information now or at least the handy reference chart for what rolls out on each day. Your patience is appreciated!

Godfest basics

When making the decision to roll or save your magic stones, you need to determine if the featured pantheons can benefit or compliment your teams. Chasing for one specific monster is unwise as you will most likely be disappointed and should ideally have Godfests that overlap with many target cards. Remember all monsters that come out of the REM will qualify for Skill Inheritance so do not be too hasty when selling dupes. For a more detailed team building help, please refer to my full list Popular Leader’s and their Full Sub List Post. If you are wondering which Four Gentlemen 300k card you should purchase, please read my Comparison Post.  Lastly, to find more information about a specific pantheon or monster, refer to my Master List to better refine your search.


Introduction

The 55 Million Downloads Godfest makes a special occasion for both GungHo and players. There are not many games that can claim to have as widespread of a following as Puzzle and Dragons and the players are being wonderfully rewarded with a NA first of 5x Godfest Exclusives. A typical Godfest has these hard to obtain cards at a 3x rate and these increased values should help players secure some of their favourite cards. In the distant past, we were fortunate enough to have 4x GFE that was paired alongside various pantheons; however, during the 55 Million Godfest, there will be no accompanying pantheon alongside and we will only have the Gala of Tides. It is uncertain how this will influence the roll rates and GungHo will never disclose this information so we are still at the mercy of RNGesus.

When deciding to roll for either day 1 or 2, you have to take a look at the featured GFE as there is some overlap and the decision ultimately lies in your unique box and situation. North America may never receive the 10-stone GFE REM and if you are like me, and have been hoarding stones for months, it may be time to shake the Golden Dragon’s arm as this will probably be the best opportunity to acquire Godfest Exclusives and Monster Points. Sitting on hundreds of Magic Stones can put a damper on your progression and there is a certain degree of opportunity cost and benefiting from cards before powercreep reduces their value. I will be rolling and recording my conquest with as few tears as possible in a subsequent posting.

Stones

Another thing to consider is every roll will come out with a +50 to a single stat. This is a wonderful collateral benefit and if you are having troubles deciding to sell or fuse, I encourage you to read my post HERE discussing the matter.

Water Gala of Tides Carat
Day 1 Red Sonia Blue Sonia Green Sonia rodin Blodin Green Odin
Kali Dark Kali Metatron dtron
Day 2 Urd Skuld ult evo Verd Ult Zuoh Ilm Baby Satsuki
Kanna Eschamali Scheat Australis Fenrir Viz Fenrir
Overlap Gadius Typhon Ryune Saria Sylvie Ult Tsubaki
Ult Sumire Ult Kaede Sherias Baldin Sherias Roots Balboa

Day 1:

Day 1 has the lovely Sonias who despite their best efforts, are starting to fall behind due to powercreep as leads. As subs, they are wonderful on their respective mono-colour teams or assistants for Skill Inheritance. The Odins are more luxury based or niche in comparison. Dark Kali Dark Kali is the big prize of the day and is a vital sub on Ra Dragon Ra Dragon. Finally, the Metatrons are falling behind due to powercreep.

Continue reading 55 Million Downloads 5x GFE Review and Analysis

No You Yu? No Problem, Kind Of…

Introduction

So I have been tirelessly trying to reach my second crown on Mantastic and first on Fantastic through the Satan Ranking Tournament. In my previous POST, I go over all the possible top tier team compositions as well as my tentative strategies for the dungeon as a whole. I was even able to post a 125k+ score with the water-based DQXQ Awoken DQXQ and a helpful video as reference. However, this proved to be insufficient due to the surge of You Yu You Yu who are better able to hit the damage cap and go faster.

Ups and downs with a touch of heartbreak

I continued to throw stamina and stones at Satan to improve upon my water DQXQ team’s score and I was successful on both my accounts:

126.9k
Was 0.6 on Wednesday night

Fantastic High Score

And these are pretty Fantastic scores and I feel that I hit the relative cap for DQXQ with Mantastic as I it will be incredibly challenging to improve upon that score. Unfortunately, neither of these scores are sitting in the top 1% due to the You Yu nation pushing the cut off above 127,500.

A change of plan

Continue reading No You Yu? No Problem, Kind Of…

Sherias, Baldin, Urd, Skuld, & Verdandi Monster Analysis

Please refer to the Master List for directory to the other pantheons and their analysis.

Take a look at my Popular Leaders and their Full Sub List post for inspiration on team building ideas. If contemplating on purchasing a MP Dragon, please check out my Monster Point Dragon Purchasing Check-list Guide.

Keep in mind all of the following monsters qualify for Skill Inheritance so do not be too hasty in selling dupes.


Sherias and Baldin are two new Godfest Exclusives and provide more diversification and utility for their respective teams. They are also capable of forming unique teams provided you have the correct subs with Sherias being one of the best starting rolls available. On the other hand, the Norns (Urd, Skuld, and Verdandi) make Fantastic subs on their respective mono colour teams due to their tri-colour board changer that also produces heart orbs. This can be used in conjunction with another orb changer or grant the opportunity to heal and deal damage on the same turn.

Sherias, Baldin, Urd, Skuld, & Verdandi

jjjjjjjjMonsterjjjjjjjjj  Notes
Sherias
Sherias
Dragon / God
Skill Boost Skill Lock Resist Time Extend
Healer Killer Devil killer
—-
All  Arrow Fire Water Green Light Dark + 1 turn haste
9 turn CD
Putting the Dragons back into Puzzle and Dragons is the newest Godfest Exclusive, Sherias! Featuring some incredible art work, this 5-star GFE comes equipped with double killer awakenings along with the staple utility of skill boost, skill bind resist, and time extend. Healer Healer Killer and Devil Devil killer Killer are quite powerful as it allows you to deal 3x damage against bosses with those typings and an incredible 9x if they have both. Sherias features another Light Kali Kali style active, but grants a single turn of haste for an additional 2 turns of cooldown. Whether the haste component is worthwhile will depend on how much haste you have on your other cards. The more haste you have at your disposal, the faster you can chain skills and cycle your actives.

Sherias is regarded as one of the strongest starting rolls for a new account due to their scaling leader skill. Dual Sherias leaders produce 4x damage for a 2 colour match and scales up to 5x for 5 colours. However, they also grant 2.5x ATK  for up to 7 connected water orbs. Thus, you are able to achieve 56.25x ATK with the ability to capitalise on water row Water Row subs. This will not make Sherias a top tier leader, but you have to potential to clear a reasonable amount of content. One thing you have to keep in mind is the only orb changers you can bring are heart breakers. Otherwise, you will not be able to fully proc your leader skill.

Outside of a leadership role, Sherias is valued for their board refresh active. Granted the only water-based rainbow leader is Umisachi & Yamasachi U&Y, Sherias can still make appearances on Sakuya Sakuya, Awoken Ra Ra, and Light Kali teams. However, with the introduction of Skill Inheritance, you can utilise Sherias’s active anyway you please.

I doubt GungHo is Sherias about creating more dragons over pretty girls, but Sherias is a fantastic monster to own for their leadership potential, sub utility, and skill inheritance flexibility. Just don’t call them Shirley.

Baldin
Baldin
Dragon / Machine
Skill Boost Skill Boost Skill Lock Resist
Skill Lock Resist physical killer God Killer
—-
50% damage reduction for 2 turns. 2x ATK for Dragon & Machine types for 2 turns
15  turn CD
At first there was Grodin, then the introduction of Blodin, and Rodin. Now we have come full circle with Baldin. Baldin may not have sculpted abs, but there is definitely something funky going on in their abdomen region. Regardless, Baldin is a new 6-star Godfest Exclusive that appears to have less relevancy with the current cards available today. Baldin’s awakenings are powerful as he features the rarely seen two Skill Bind Resistance Skill Lock Resist and if used as a leader, you only need to bring a single sub to achieve 100% immunity. Furthermore, the Physical physical killer and God God Killer killer awakenings allow him to deal 3x damage to those respective bosses.

Looking at the bald dragon’s active skill, he reduces damage taken by 50% for two turns along with 2 turns of 2x enhancement for Dragon and Machine types. This feels somewhat unusual as they are polar opposite style actives. When using a shield, you are trying to survive/stall through a difficult phase. Conversely, damage enhancement is used to sweep a stage.  As such, I am trying to think of any specific scenario where you need the two together. Thus, you will have to pay for an increased cooldown as you are able given the flexibility to use either component as needed.

Baldin forms a 2.25x HP / 14.06x ATK / 2.25x RCV team for fire attribute cards when you match both fire and dark orbs. This results in a very durable team that has some flexibility as all fire types benefit from the leader skill. You still wish to prioritise Dragons and Machines to capitalise on the 2x active burst. Thankfully, there are some options for viable fire cards with both Dragon and Machine types. Some examples include, but not limited to: Red Sonia Red Sonia, Gadius Gadius, Yamato Bankai Yamato, Tsukabki Tsubaki, Denebola Denebola, Antares Antares, Uriel Uriel, and Pure Red Puppeteer, Just be aware of actives that remove dark orbs. A sample team and clear using Baldin on the JP server can be found HERE.  In essence, the teams plays like a tank team and can stall through even the most challenging of floors.

As a sub, Baldin will most likely be used as a fire-type shielding option, but his enhancement component will largely go to waste.

Overall, Baldin has some uses, but will be challenging to construct an ideal team. Does he feel worthy of a 6-star GFE title? Maybe? We may need more options or possibly some more clears showcasing their potential. However, with tank teams such as Lucifer Awoken Archdemon Lucifer or I&I I&I / Ryune Ryune who have a much wider sub pool, Baldin may be overlooked for easier options.

 Urd
Urd
God / Attacker
TPA Skill Boost Enhnaced Fire Orb
Skill Lock Resist Enhnaced Fire Orb Skill Boost
+heart Enhnaced Fire Orb Time Extend
—-
All Arrow Fire Water Heart
9 turn CD
A sexy Librarian? Perhaps a seductive secretary. Regardless, Urd is enticing with her glasses and only her power/viability can rival her charm and good looks. Urd brings a lot of enhancement to the party through her triple fire and heart orb awakenings. This helps add additional damage and increases your healing potential. Row teams (including Raoh Raoh) can benefit from the enhanced awakenings as you start to see increased damage returns after achieving 10 row enhances. Due to the fact that many cards bring 2+ fire rows, you should be able to hit that magic number 10 and begin prioritising enhanced orbs. As such, Urd can find a place on all high end fire teams including Awoken Shiva Shiva, Shiva Dragon Shiva D, Gadius Gadius, and Raoh. This flexibility makes her an ideal target for plus egg investment as she can be used between so many different teams.

Looking at Urd’s active, she has one of the most desirable board changers as she generates both fire and heart orbs. This allows you to heal and deal damage or be combo-ed with another orb changer to create a 2/3 fire board. Furthermore, you are able to use her active as an assistant for skill inheritance on both fire and water teams. Most notable combo with water is with Andromeda Bankai Andro to create a 2/3 water. 1/3 heart board.

As a leader, Urd is okay as she grants 3.3x ATK for fire types and boosting HP and RCV by 1.35x if they have the water sub type. This can be problematic as most cards will not benefit from the additional bonuses. Many players will thus pair up with Awoken Shiva as his playstyle is quite similar to Urd’s.

Overall, Urd is a highly desired card for both a sub and as an assistant for skill inheritance.

 Skuld
Skuld ult evo
God / Physical
TPA Skill Boost blue + orb
Skill Lock Resist Enhanced Wood Orb blue + orb
+heart TPA Time Extend
—-
All Arrow Water Green Heart
9 turn CD
Skuld has received a resurgence in popularity the past few months due to her leader skill receiving a buff and new monsters coming into power. With both her Physical typing, she can find a home on Blue Sonia Blue Sonia teams if you lack a heart maker. Furthermore, her heart generating active allows her to be utilised by Lakshmi Awoken Lakshimi while her TPA and orb enhance awakenings give her a position as a Rukia Rukai Kuchiki. Finally, her overall utility grants Skuld a spot on I&I I&I / Ryune Ryune and future Sumire Ult Sumire teams. The God typing does allow her to be used on Neptune Dragon Neptune Dragon teams; however, it may be challenging to have sufficient water orbs and there are better options. In short, her versatility is unrivaled and makes a great addition to any water box. Looking forward, Skuld will be very desired for You Yu You Yu teams.

Even without any row enhance awakenings, her dual orb blue + orb enhance and utility based awakenings provide damage diversity and her active can be used in conjunction with any heart breaker to form a 2/3 water board.

As a leader, Skuld forms a modest 27.56x team as a 5o1e playstyle and should be able to clear modest content due to your enhanced RCV for water/wood types.

The main dr

Overall, Skuld is a versatile water card who should be a splashing success to your monster box. Lastly, her tri-colour board changer is powerful for skill inheritance as it allows you to heal and deal damage at the same time for water and wood teams.

Verdandi
Verd
God / Balance
TPA Skill Boost Enhanced Wood Orb
Skill Lock Resist Enhanced Wood Orb +heart
Skill Boost Enhanced Wood Orb Time Extend
—-
All Arrow Fire Green Heart
9 turn CD
Verdandi is the last of the Norns and is one of the strongest board changers available for mono wood teams. Generally speaking, any tri-colour board changer than can generate hearts is superior to those who  cannot. This is because you are creating 2 valuable orbs and heart breakers are the most common orb changer to wombo combo for a 2/3 primary colour board. As such, Verdandi is a Fantastic option for your Awoken Bastet Bastet and future Kaede Ult Kaede teams when you wish to focus on TPA. Even though Verdandi does not possess any rows Wood Row, she can still be effectively used on their teams as you wish to prioritise orb enhances after achieving 10 row awakenings and can be used on Sylvie Sylvie Freyja Awoken Freyja.

Looking at Verdandi’s awakenings, the three wood orb enhances ensure 60% of all wood orbs appear with a plus while the enhanced heart provide a modest increase to your healing output. They may not be as flashy as rows or multiple Two Prong Attacks, but they contribute to your overall output.

As a leader, Verdandi forms a 10.89x ATK team for wood monsters while providing 2.25x HP for fire cards. However, you may be hard pressed to find numerous wood cards with the fire sub attribute and a 10.89x TPA team is lackluster in today’s meta. Wood (would, couldn’t resist) mostly be used as an early game lead.

Overall, Verdandi is a solid mono wood sub who provides a healthy mix of enhancement and utility to your team. She will become even more valuable on the future Ultimate Kaede teams.

Happy Puzzling!

Player’s Choice Godfest June 2016: Review and Analysis

Introduction

Player’s Choice Godfest is one of the most anticipated times of the year for all Puzzle and Dragoners. It is a time where the community collectively votes for the most popular gods and is a great way to help populate your monster box with numerous strong cards. In my previous post, I compared PCGF and 4x Godfest Exclusive (GFE) events and came to the conclusion that it is better to roll PCGF for newer accounts/players missing numerous key cards.

Which Godfest to roll?
PCGF 4x GFE
Frequency 2 times per year  Random
Benefits
who?
  • New accounts/less developed boxes
  • Great way to fill in the numerous gaps in your monster box
  • Those who are not chasing MP or 6* GFE
  • Veteran players
  • Focus is MP and 6* GFE
  • Those with very developed monster boxes

However, with the promise of 4x rates for all the featured monsters, my approach needs some tweaking. Due to not knowing the true rates of any godfest, we cannot do any mathematical comparisons; however, the 4x rates should imply the featured GFE (and most importantly 6* GFE) are at a similar hit rate. You may still get less MP per stone spent as numerous non-GFE are also featured, but if you are chasing the featured 6-stars AND the other featured gods, this may be the best time to roll. Furthermore, each monster comes out with a +50 to a random stat and this will help you achieve +297 faster. However, take these predictions with a grain of salt as I do not know the rates and can only guess.

In addition, all of these monsters qualify for Skill Inheritance so please do not hastily sell or feed them off without taking a moment to think if they can benefit your various teams. I also strongly encourage you to read my Advanced Strategies post on Skill Inheritance to gain a better understanding on how to make the most of your active skills.

Lastly, if you wish to read about virtually any other REM monster not listed below, please refer to my Master List which will direct you to the appropriate page.

Overview of featured Gods

The voting for North America was done rather well as we managed to include nearly all the top tier cards while having some forethought into voting in cards that will become relevant with the release of the 4 Gentlemen 300k MP cards and new Awoken evolutions.

Top Voted Monsters in Descending Order 
Eschamali
Dark Kali
Scheat Awoken Yomi Isis
rodin Awoken Pandora Awoken Archdemon Lucifer Gadius Ilm
Skuld ult evo Uriel Indra row Shiva Sakuya
Susano Awoken Oorochi Ryune Kali Blue Sonia
Akechi Awoken DQXQ Haku I&I Raphael

Some things that jump out: Continue reading Player’s Choice Godfest June 2016: Review and Analysis