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 What is this game? Monster Rancher Battlecard Episode II is a spin-off of the Monster Rancher series, as well as a sequel to the Monster Rancher Battle Card game. When Digimon and Pokemon released their card games, Monster Rancher decided to follow suit with their own game, but it provides a unique and fresh outlook on the genre that is well worth playing. The LP This LP will be a screenshot-based LP. I will complete the main quest on Hard Mode, and show off as much of the post-game as I can. The catch to this LP is that the Monsters I use for the decks will not be decided by me. That’s right; you all will be able to vote upon which Monsters I use for each opponent. However, bear in mind that this might not be feasible against some opponents, upon which I’ll make a few swaps to get through that particular hurdle. Disclaimer I am going to skip the in-game move pictures and dialogue, and focus on the gameplay and the story itself. Most of them are pretty repetitive anyways. However, I might take some for the Monster Analysis that I’ll go through throughout the LP. My comments will be in Italics. Other Notable and related LPs Monster Rancher Battle Card Episode 1, by PoisonMushroom Monster Rancher 2, by Mr.Swoon Monster Rancher 2 Tournament, Ongoing, by Steak Eater Table of Contents Update 1 - Choose Your Monsters! Update 2 - Understanding the Game Monster Analyses Golem Eeepies fucked around with this message at 18:14 on Aug 7, 2016 |
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Aug 4, 2016 13:32
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| # ? May 10, 2024 01:39 |
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Update 1 – Choose Your Monsters! Let’s move on to the extremely long-winded and boring intro!  There was a game that gained immense popularity, as soon as it was introduced among the children who could not become monster breeders. It was called “Battle Card.” Battle Card quickly became popular not only to children but adults, as well. There was a rising demand for an arena in which real battles could take place. In order to satisfy that demand, the FIMBA and IMa created MCA, an organization designed to carry out official “Battle Card” tournaments. And it was on such a day that…  We open in the ranch. The old man is Master Pabs who in Monster Rancher 2 was basically an old man disparaging you until you became the best breeder. Which most people could not reach, so we can assume he’s just a grumpy old man. This game however treats you as the player in Monster Rancher 2 who managed to achieve the highest rank.  : How long has it been since Colt and I came to your farm? You were only a rookie Monster Breeder in those days. And Colt just started as Breeder Assistant. I was worried if you two were going to be alright together. Well, Colt is going to be fifteen tomorrow.Assuming that your first monster manages to reach the final rank, which normally takes about 4 years, it means that Colt started working on your ranch since she was 11-12. Most players however only manage to do so with their second monster, which means she started at 7-8 instead. : I can’t believe how fast time passes by. . . I heard you’re setting up a birthday party for Colt tomorrow. Yes, Colt is lucky that she can work with a Breeder like you. Now, what should I give her for her birthday present. . .? Ah! I bet Colt would really love THAT! Okay, so I know what I am gonna give her. Yes. What are you gonna give her? Well, let me guess what you’re going to give her on her birthday. . . : A good Monster Breeder should know what their assistant likes. . . Of course you’re already aware that Colt loves to play “Battle Cards.” Hmm, I think I got it! Yes, aren’t you thinking about giving her that “Phoenix” card? - In Monster Rancher 2, the Phoenix needed to be unlocked and was a generally strong Monster, quite capable of contending for being one of the top monsters.: You know, the card your father gave you? I think that’s nice, Yes! Very nice. Anyways, I can’t wait to see the happy smile on Colt’s face tomorrow. This is the main ranch of Monster Rancher 2, and the girl is Colt, the main assistant for said game.  : It’s nice to see you, Cue.  : Here's a present for you. : Wow!! What beautiful flowers! Thank you very much, Cue.: Oh, you are welcome. . . . You must be Colt’s partner at the farm. Nice to meet you, Yes. My name is Curie. Please call me Cue.: I’ve known Cue for a long time. Cue is a card breeder. I just play around with the cards but Cue actually players in the Battle Card tournaments. : Well Colt, speaking of Battle Cards, I heard you have collected quite a few Monster Cards.: Yes, and trust me, it was not easy.:Now here’s a present from me!  : Um, what is this?: That is a Monster Plate. See these square holes on the plate? That’s where you can keep your Monster Cards.: Thank you very much! Let me try putting my Monster Cards in here. : Hmph. It doesn’t even fill half the space. I guess I have to collect a whole lot more.: Oh! You should try my cards. We might be able to fill all the spaces. What do you think?: Okay. I’m gonna borrow your Monster Cards, Cue. : No, I still need a Phoenix card. : But, Phoenix cards are really rare, so I think it’s really difficult to find one. : Ahem. You know, um, I just remembered, Yes has a present for you, Colt. : Oh, you already gave me a great party. You shouldn’t have. . . Oh my! A Phoenix card! Isn’t this the card your father gave you? Are you sure I can keep it?: Thank you very much, Yes! : Now we can complete this plate.: Uh-huh. Let me put it on the plate Pabs gave me.  Longtime fans of the series can probably name each Monster shown here. And yes, since it’s spoiled so early, these are the only 20 basic Monsters of the game.  The completed plate shines suddenly, leaving an empty grid of cards, and no Colt.  : Master Pabs! Yes! Colt is gone! All the cards in the plate are gone, too. : What on earth is going on!? Oh no. This is not the. . .: Master Pabs. . . What is it, Master Pabs!? Tell us!: There is a story behind this plate. . . That the one who will place all Monster Cards on this plate shall be taken to the Paradise of Monsters. Until today, I was sure it was just some fairy tale.: Um, well, so is Colt now in that, er, Paradise of Monsters? : Yes. I’m afraid she is. I heard that there are strange monsters in the Paradise of Monsters. Who knows what kind of monsters they can be. I really hope Colt will be alright.: Then we better go after Colt right now.: Absolutely. First, the three of us must collect Monster Cards to put in the plate.: You know, I just lost all my Monster Cards. And the only way to collect those is…: Exactly. Apparently, we must start collecting Monster Cards from scratch. Cue, you help Yes out. First, take Yes to the Monster Card Association. The best way to collect Monster Cards is to register at MCA. And thus we get the main quest of the game: collect all 20 Monster Cards to rescue Colt. This will be our objective till the end of the game.  : I agree, Master Pabs. Okay, Yes, let’s go to the MCA. It is in the BC Center. Since your character in this game is a mute, Cue will be your assistant and the one talking for you. Thankfully, she’s not dislikeable, and thus will not annoy the player much with her presence.   : My name is Benelett. I am the receptionist. You can register at MCA to participate in our Monster Card Tournaments. Also for our first-time members, we are offering Monster cards, compliments of the Monster Card Association. Yes, to provide you a set of cards that match you, we would like you to fill out this questionnaire. And so, we’re almost done with the intro! But first, we would need to, in the tradition of Monster Rancher, answer a series of questions. However, these questions we answer will determine the Monsters we receive as our initial 3. Thus, I would like up to 19 people to answer this set of questions truthfully, which I would take the majority answer for each question to get our set of monsters. The questions are Yes/No, and are as follows: 1. On the bus, I’d gladly give up my seat to those in need. 2. Between school and sports, I am better at school. 3. I prefer talking about my successes rather than failure. 4. I would like to have X-ray glasses. 5. I am a good listener. 6. I tend to waste my money. 7. I consider myself to be a normal person. 8. I keep my room neat and clean. 9. I have special skills that I can be proud of. 10. In the future, I will be very successful. 11. I have hardly ever told a lie. 12. Between a dog and a cat, I would like to have a dog as a pet. 13. I think the human race will cease to exist in the near future. 14. I prefer simple things over fancy things. 15. If a cockroach appears, I will ask someone to get rid of it. 16. I have seen a ghost. 17. I am afraid of heights. 18. I would rather eat fish than meat. 19. I tend to throw away things I no longer need. 20. I think I have more friends than the average person. Finally, we would need a name. It’s up to 8 characters, so let’s get to it! I'll wait for 3 days to collect responses, or until 19 responses are given, whichever comes first. Eeepies fucked around with this message at 14:31 on Aug 7, 2016 |
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Aug 4, 2016 13:33
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Yes, Yes, No, No, Yes, No, No, No, No, No, No, Yes, Yes, Yes, No, No, No, No, No, No. I look forward to seeing the mode results.
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Aug 4, 2016 14:10
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So this game starts with Colt being teleported away, and instead of doing the logical thing of, you know, telling people poo poo has gone badly and they absolutely need all the cards now, our protagonist and his friends are going to get them in the slowest, old-fashioned way? It feels like Colt's disappearance is just an excuse to play children card games. Then again those are literally for children and adults are meant to train actual monsters, which our main man here has done so...maybe it really is just an excuse to play card games and not have to bother with annoying breeding mechanics anymore. Eeepies posted:Thus, I would like up to 19 people to answer this set of questions truthfully, which I would take the majority answer for each question to get our set of monsters. The questions are Yes/No, and are as follows: Being as how I have shown that our main character is a jerkass, no, yes, yes, yes, no, yes, no, no, no, yes, no, no, yes, no, yes, yes, yes, no, yes, no. And since this is a card game with a bad protagonist, Yuma.
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Aug 4, 2016 16:04
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Yes, Yes, Yes, No, Yes, Yes, No, No, No, No, No, Yes, Yes, Yes, No, No, Yes, Yes, Yes, No Hahahahah holy gently caress question number 13. Why yes I do support giant flaming meteor 2016
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Aug 4, 2016 16:49
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1. On the bus, I’d gladly give up my seat to those in need. Yes 2. Between school and sports, I am better at school. No 3. I prefer talking about my successes rather than failure. No 4. I would like to have X-ray glasses. No 5. I am a good listener. yes 6. I tend to waste my money. yes 7. I consider myself to be a normal person. no 8. I keep my room neat and clean. no 9. I have special skills that I can be proud of. no 10. In the future, I will be very successful. yea 11. I have hardly ever told a lie. yea 12. Between a dog and a cat, I would like to have a dog as a pet. no 13. I think the human race will cease to exist in the near future. yes 14. I prefer simple things over fancy things. no 15. If a cockroach appears, I will ask someone to get rid of it. no 16. I have seen a ghost. yes 17. I am afraid of heights. no 18. I would rather eat fish than meat. yes 19. I tend to throw away things I no longer need. yes 20. I think I have more friends than the average person. no [/b] Zac [/quote]
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Aug 4, 2016 17:12
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Yes to everything. Even the name, Yes.
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Aug 4, 2016 17:33
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1. On the bus, I’d gladly give up my seat to those in need. Yes 2. Between school and sports, I am better at school. Yes 3. I prefer talking about my successes rather than failure. No 4. I would like to have X-ray glasses. Yes 5. I am a good listener. Yes 6. I tend to waste my money. Yes 7. I consider myself to be a normal person. No 8. I keep my room neat and clean. No 9. I have special skills that I can be proud of. No 10. In the future, I will be very successful. No 11. I have hardly ever told a lie. No 12. Between a dog and a cat, I would like to have a dog as a pet. No 13. I think the human race will cease to exist in the near future. Yes 14. I prefer simple things over fancy things. yes 15. If a cockroach appears, I will ask someone to get rid of it. No 16. I have seen a ghost. Yes 17. I am afraid of heights. Yes 18. I would rather eat fish than meat. No 19. I tend to throw away things I no longer need. Yes 20. I think I have more friends than the average person. No Also, name the MC Giver Because I think he's going crazy from his Yugioh Forbidden Memories playthrough.
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Aug 4, 2016 19:32
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no for everything but 12 and 13, which are both resounding yesses we are named DOG (in all caps)
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Aug 5, 2016 05:26
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Oh man, this is gonna be good.  I actually quite enjoyed playing this as a kid. Although I have no idea what Hard Mode will actually do...Eeepies posted:1. On the bus, I’d gladly give up my seat to those in need. Yes, Yes, Yes, No, Yes, Yes, No, No, Yes, No, No, No, Yes, Yes, No, No, Yes, No, Yes, No. I'll support Giver.
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Aug 5, 2016 05:49
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Blaze Dragon posted:So this game starts with Colt being teleported away, and instead of doing the logical thing of, you know, telling people poo poo has gone badly and they absolutely need all the cards now, our protagonist and his friends are going to get them in the slowest, old-fashioned way? It feels like Colt's disappearance is just an excuse to play children card games. The reason for this is actually adequately explained later, surprising as it sounds. Yapping Eevee posted:Oh man, this is gonna be good. I'll explain Hard Mode in the third update hopefully, as it won't appear in the second update.
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Aug 5, 2016 09:35
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Yes to all, name Sterling
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Aug 5, 2016 13:04
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I'm still procrastinating on my next update for the GB version, so I gotta give props to this... which will probably finish well before I do?  Orange Fluffy Sheep posted:Yes to everything.
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Aug 5, 2016 14:49
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Orange Fluffy Sheep posted:Yes to everything. Yes.
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Aug 5, 2016 23:45
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In 20 hours time, if I don't get enough votes and answers, I'll just go with the majority answers provided, since it does look like there's a bandwagon already.
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Aug 6, 2016 17:07
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Update 2 – Understanding the Game The thread has decided that our name would be Yes. Those who played this game before has probably noticed that I answered yes to everything, so in the spirit of the name, I’ll continue doing so as long as it has no effect for the game.  : Thank you very much. Yes, the monsters most suitable for you are. . . I can work with this. The Golem is one of the best monsters, while the Tiger is decent. I utterly and completely dislike the Naga, but as a starter monster it’s all right. : Good luck, Yes, and have a great day. : Yes, I guess we are done. Let’s go home.  : Hi, Master Pabs! : So, now Yes is a card breeder. Let me see. . . What Monsters did you get for your starter kit? Well, well. : Tiger, Naga, and Golem. Looks like you got yourself a well-balanced team.This is a complete lie. This team relies on killing the enemy as fast as possible before they die, and is nowhere near the term ‘well-balanced’.  : Master Pabs. I told Benelett why I lost my cards, then she made an exception and gave me three monster cards.: Well, well. Good for you. However, Cue, remember. For the time being, you are to help Yes, okay? I think that will be the best for all of us in the future.: . . . I agree, Master Pabs. I will do my best.: Very good, Cue. Yes, you should try to learn Battle Cards as quickly as you can. I will be on my own, collecting Monster Cards. You never actually get any Monster Cards he collects, meaning that you have to collect all 20 by yourself, which is sound mechanically but dumb horribly since combining the cards would have gotten Colt back much faster. : Next time I see you, I want you to be as strong like me. By that time, we should have all the Monster Cards we need. Cue will help you if you have any questions. Cue. Yes has to learn a lot from you.: Yes, Master Pabs.: Very well, then. She is actually pretty unhappy that she has to saddle the Rookie, based on her expression. And we have the return of the normally-inappropriate blink expressions!  : Yes. First of all, do you know Battle Card Rules? (Yes). That’s good. Let’s check the rules while playing a practice game.You do get to skip the tutorial, but you still have to play a game with Cue in order to continue at this part.  This is the menu screen before a battle starts. BattleStart takes you to the battle itself, while Options brings you to the configs and the save/load screen, so let’s go further into Cards instead.  This is the first screen of the Card Management screen. Teams allows you to build your team (or deck), Recipes is where you can save your decks (or record your opponent’s to see their complete decks), while Your Cards allows you to go through all your cards.  Reformation lets you edit your team, New makes a new team, and Disassemble deletes your team. All 3 generally leads to the same screen, so let’s check it out through Reformation.  This is the main team screen. Our 3 monsters are the Tiger, Naga and Golem, with a few additional cards in the Any Monster and Breeder section. Each Monster now has 12 Atk cards, and 3 Def cards in the team. Generally, it is wise to have a balance of cards for each monster, with a few exceptions. Any Monster are cards that can be used by any monsters in the battle, while Breeder cards are only used by the Breeder. We’ll further explore this in a battle itself. As for the Monsters themselves, I’ll be giving a detailed analysis of the Monsters in a separate post later, with each Monster getting a separate look. For now, let’s look at the different type of cards though.  This is an attack card, Tiger’s Right Claw. The POW on the left is the type of attack (there is POW, INT, SPE, DGE and BLK). The 1 underneath it shows the amount of damage it deals, while the 0 on the bottom left is its Guts cost (generally known as Mana in other card games). At the bottom is the special text, if any, for the card.  This is another attack card, Tiger’s Bolt. In this case, it is an INT card that uses 2 guts to do 3 damage. It also has no special effect, which is why the text bar is blank.  Yet another Tiger attack card, Roar. However, the tag SPE means that this card is not a damage-dealing card, but does some other effect instead. In this case, monsters tagged with Roar are unable to attack the next turn.  And finally, a defensive card, Tiger’s Back Roll. It’s a DGE that cost 1 guts to dodge any POW or INT moves (which means that it can still be affected by SPE moves). DGE generally dodges the whole effect, while BLK only removes a certain amount of damage, and there are also moves that cannot be dodged, or cannot be blocked, thus forcing you to have the other type of defense available to handle it. So, with that done, let’s continue onto the battle explanation with a match with Cue.  The battle always starts with this screen. In order to see who goes first, the one who flips the card showing the Saucer Stone goes first.  As so. Seeing as I flipped it, I get to start first.  Which is then followed up by a picture of the contestants and the decks.  This is the general battle screen when it’s your turn. It shows your opponent monsters, her guts remaining (0), the cards in her deck (50), and the cards in her hand (none so far, since she hasn’t moved). Cue is using a Hare / Mocchi / Tiger team, which generally hit fast (and sometimes hard). This is still the game going easy on you. On your side, you have your 3 Monsters (in this case, Tiger, Naga, and Golem), your guts remaining, cards in your deck, and the 5 cards in your hand. At the start of the turn, each player draws so that the hand reaches 5 cards, even if you had 0. In order to get guts to use your attacks, you have to discard your cards, with each card discarded = 1 guts, and you have no limit to the number of cards you can discard. However, the starting player is unable to attack, and can only discard 2 cards in your hand.  The next turn. Cue has discarded 3 guts, which means she has 2 cards in her hand only. I decided to use Bolt to damage her Hare, which is why the card is flipped over and there’s a 3 hovering above her Hare.  She doesn’t dodge it, so her Hare takes 3 damage. All I need is 3 more damage before the Hare falls. Generally, without Defensive cards, Monsters die quickly in this game. I also decide to change 3 cards into guts, leaving a defense card for my Tiger. Notice that my Tiger has a blue E sign on it, showing that it has already attacked for this turn. Unless a card says otherwise, Monsters are limited to 1 attack per turn.  Cue responds with Help, a Breeder Card that does 1 damage for 1 Gut, to my Golem. Since I have no defensive card (or even want to play any to block this 1 damage), I pass and my Golem takes 1 damage. However, her deck now has an E sign, which shows that she has already played a Breeder card for this turn. Players are only allowed 1 Breeder card per turn, same with Monsters playing 1 card per turn.  I respond with Thwack, which is a 3 for 4, on the Hare. Although it is 1 damage overkill, killing off her Hare means that she won’t be able to play any Hare cards since the Monster won’t be alive after this.  Cue doesn’t dodge again, which means that her Hare is KO’ed. It’s now grey in color. With only one exception, Monsters which are dead won’t be able to revive anymore.  Cue tries to Critical (+2 damage to any move) Slap (0 guts 1 damage) to our Tiger. He does a Dodge Roll to get out of danger.  I try to use Naga’s Thwack against Cue’s Tiger, who dodge rolls away as well. Of note is my cards, I’m keeping a “Right Claw” which is one of Tiger’s signature moves, he can combo it with his other attacks to do a 0 guts 3 damage, or 0 guts 7 damage move. Cue responds with a Mocchi Roll Attack (1 guts 2 damage) on Naga, and another Help on my Tiger. I eat both.  I use Golem’s Clutch (3 guts for 3 damage, opponents hit with this move cannot attack), and a Tiger combo (Right Claw + Left Claw = 0 guts for 3 damage) on Cue’s Tiger, which falls as well.  With only Mocchi left against our 3 monsters, it doesn’t stand a chance and falls shortly after, giving us the victory.  However, knocking all 3 monsters out isn’t the only way to win. You also win if the opponent tries to draw a card, but cannot, even if you only have 1 monster left. Cue is supposed to be the tutorial fight, so her deck doesn’t change from the difficulty mode selection. We’re going to have one more easy fight before the real Hard Mode begins afterwards.   : That is “Critical”, a limited card. You can make your team stronger with that card.Critical is Cue’s signature card, and she’s one of the few people using it. It uses 2 guts to add 2 damage. We’ll cover a Monster Update next, and then move forward to our next battle. Unfortunately, we’ll be stuck with this team a little while more.
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Aug 7, 2016 17:52
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| # ? May 10, 2024 01:39 |
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Monster Analysis – Golem Core Stats: 9 Life, Ground POW Moves Clutch – 3 Guts, 3 Damage, Monsters hit by this attack may not attack next turn. Brow Hit – 3 Guts, 5 Damage Kick – 4 Guts, 7 Damage Throw Away – 5 Guys, 5 Damage, Monsters hit by this attack may not attack next turn. Chop – 5 Guts, 8 Damage W Chop – 6 Guts, 10 Damage Roller – 7 Guts, 12 Damage Cyclone – 8 Guts, 4 Damage, hits all enemy monsters. INT Moves Quake – 6 Guts, 3 Damage, hits all ground monsters except Golem itself. SPE Moves Recharge – 2 Guts, Next attack does double damage, ends if damaged. DEF Moves Defense – 2 Guts, BLK, Prevents 5 damage from a POW Move. Protect – 1 Gut, BLK, Takes the damage from another Monster and puts it on Golem instead. The Golem is the most brute-force Monster in the game. His high HP allows him to tank through moves without caring about keeping defensive cards, which suck anyways. Protect might seem useful, but generally you want Golem alive, not the other monster he tanked for. His core attacks have no special effects, but they’re all solid efficient moves. Of note is Kick, which is a 4 for 7 which only he and Durahan possess. (The Hare and Henger has something stronger for 4, but those come with drawbacks). He has a move for almost every hp total in the game, except 6 (which he Kicks) and 9 (which are generally too tanky to One Hit). A solid moveset of Clutch, Brow Hit, Kick and Chop is all he needs to function on the battlefield, with W-Chop if you know you’re fighting the Golem, Plant or Zilla. However, he is weak towards any strategy that deals with guts removal, such as the Suezo or Plant, while the Pixie and Ghost have the raw power to immediately take him down through INT moves. A lucky hit from him though (lucky as in your opponent doesn’t have the dodge card) is almost always a One Hit Kill, so you always have to beware of the Golem on the field.
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Aug 7, 2016 18:14
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