After reading numerous tips from many higher level wizards, I keep seeing the tip; "Use a small streamlined deck".
How small?
My boys and I tried a deck that had just one card of each plus some reshuffles. We failed miserably.
I was helping another questing party in Azteca and the the duo Boss Battle drug on long enough that one of the Wizards actually ran out of cards because he was equipped with a streamlined deck.
So, how small do you recommend? How many of what to do you equip?
Mobs, I have no more than 7 or 8 cards. Bosses with a group, about the same. Solo bosses, sometimes more, but there are few fights in the game that take more than about 10-12 unless something goes very wrong.
If you are running a very small main deck, having the right treasure cards for backup is key. You bail out of trouble by having a reshuffle, a heal, and a pre-enchanted attack in your sideboard at the very least. Pierce or shatter, and cleanse can also be life savers.
With very select exceptions, don't bother with shields for normal questing. Buff as much as needed, then hit asap. The most common mistake i see players make is dragging fights out too long and taking more damage than they need to.
Certain cheat bosses may require more defense, more specific TC, and/or bigger decks overall, but trap, blade, blade, hit will take down most enemies if you have level appropriate gear and spells.
I personally have two main decks, my, Attack Deck and my,Boss Deck. Both decks are made differently based on the situation I will be fighting in.
My Attack Deck has less cards and basically only Attack all spells, empower cards, traps and blades, and a few extra fighting cards.
My Boss Deck has a lot of cards because you never know what you will need during a tough boss battle.
Personally, I would rather keep it safe and not go with streamlined decks... because it's better off to be safe. Sorry if I didn't give you the answer you were looking for, but I hope this somewhat helps!
Peace out wizards of the spiral Ethan Griffinthorn 77
My main decks are typically the Mummified spell deck, on all wizards. It's one of the smallest decks we can get with a triangle jewel slot. I usually pack 2 of each kind of blade, trap and 2-3 AoE spells plus 1-2 single hit spells. Then there's usually a couple of heals and/or shields. That gives me about 30 cards, total = to 30 rounds of battle. I have Reshuffle on most wizards and pretty much NEVER use it. I was dumping it so often that I finally took it out.
The exceptions to this rule are cheating bosses. In that case I will pack Reshuffle into a larger and more specific deck for that boss, and then refine as I engage that boss over and over, learning from my mistakes as I go.
Once I hit level 100 or so, with the spell decks that provide critical and block, then I swap out my Mummified for those superior decks but keep the same basic card set-up. So again, only 30 cards total even in Mirage and Empyrea. The last time I ran out of cards I was fighting Rattlebones (level 100 exalted dual boss) and that was because I forgot to pack a Reshuffle for him.
Some people go way smaller still, less than ten cards total. I like to have a little more flexibility (and also I'm famous for forgetting to swap spell decks). Even with my one-deck-for-all-occasions approach, the 30 card limit ensures battles go fast and yet there's just enough there that I can count on one hand the number of times I've actually run out of cards.
Here's my deck makeup for mobs, as an example for levels from 86 and above. Before that, the deck changes SLIGHTLY, but not much:
School taught spells 2 school taught blades 1 sharpened blade 1 Colossal (this will vary depending on your level) 1 7-pip attack all spell (varies depending on the school) 1 Satyr 1 Primordial (this will vary depending on your level) 1 Reshuffle
Item spells 2-3 wands hits 1 item card blade from my pet 1 item card blade from a jewel or a piece of gear like the Wintertusk crafted hat
Treasure Card Spells These depend on the wizard. My balance uses a full load of Cleanse Charm. All my other wizards use a full load of TC version of their school blade, though I dont always actually USE them. They're there for extra power should I need it.
That's all I use and it works REALLY well. With that setup, I have 5 blades available to me in every rotation of my deck. By rotation I mean the first set of spells, then the reshuffle for my 2nd rotation. This is great if you have Storm or Myth monsters where they remove your blades often. The extra blades are great for weakness spamming monsters (like in Loremaster's DS instance for example). If you arent L86 yet, obviously some of the spells wont be available to you. For boss fights, I add 2 more blades, 1 more sharpened blade, 1 more satyr and Primordial, 1 more reshuffle, and a high level single hit spell. So, for Fire, I would use things like Fire Dragon then Efreet before the shadow spells. After, I use Fire Bull and Fire From Above.
My normal questing set up has a few stacking buffs, a couple attack all and enchants, with a backup attack, a heal and a reshuffle treasure card just in case. I add more buffs and a single attack for big bosses.
If you are teaming with someone you know, divide labor. Someone set up to hit, someone set up to heal, everyone set up to boost the hitter. That way you can find the cards you need quickly, and know who is doing what.
89
77
Alia Misthaven
