Cloaks and Jungle Elves - Previews

[Sera Eldwyn's boyfriend]

I believe it's Vargath Marroking1, but to the point, I would also like to see the Benders. They are a faction that I'm really interested in and I find the most anticipation waiting for them. This is still being posted on the wrong thread though .

[Dredd Stev]

Are we even sure we are getting previews today? I know there's a bunch of stuff coming out AND that it's preview Monday (the ONLY good thing about Mondays really) But I'm not holding my breath today...

[Hogg]

My experience with the Cloaks was instant success. I played some test games with the Cloaks and they managed to beat every other faction except VG. They're incredible and easy to use from my perspective.

JE on the other hand... I lost against every other faction with them, and they continue to perplex me.

You must have a very different playing style. Most players report, and my personal experience, is that the JE are pretty intuative and easy to use but the Cloaks take some adjusting to get used to. How are you using the Cloaks? I'd be interested in getting some pointers from you.

[KCU Master 2007]

I'm in the same boat as esper88. The cloaks just seemed to come naturally to me but the JE are taking me a bit longer to get used to. I'm not exactly sure why I can't adjust to the JE, I love the concept and the units but they just don't fit quite right with me yet.

I use the Cloaks, as others have said, as a surgical strike team. I don't wait to make one big push against the opposing summoner, rather there is always at least one unit, usually a gunner, that goes and causes havoc behind the enemy lines. Vlox is almost always taking part as a Scrapper and Scam is my go to Champion.

I'll use Violet or Dagger when the right opportunity presents itself. I always keep one Thief on the board but typically only use them in conjunction with Raid but Vlox copying a Thief is always an option.

The biggest thing is, especially against very tough summoners, is to always get that one die attack from a gunner in against them throughout the game. They don't have a really heavy hitter, so the Cloaks have to chip away at the opponents summoner rather than one conclusive attack late in the game like many other factions.

[killercactus]

I'm the opposite of you guys - I thought the Cloaks were going to be right up my alley, but in my solo-test games so far, I suck with them. And I can tell I suck with them even though I'm playing against myself.... I can feel that I'm not adjusting my style of play to do what they need to do.

The Jungle Elves though ARE right up my alley. They're perfect for how I want to play, and I'm obsessed with their event cards (especially Chant of Haste - that card is super awesome).

I'm pretty sure I suck at using my summoner proactively. This would be why I suck with Goblins and Cloaks, and I suck to a lesser extent with Tundra Orcs. It also makes sense that I'm strong with PE, GD and JE. I'm decent with Vanguards too because they just don't do anything.

[Barliman]

Are we even sure we are getting previews today? I know there's a bunch of stuff coming out AND that it's preview Monday (the ONLY good thing about Mondays really) But I'm not holding my breath today...

I think you're right. It looks like the Dungeon Run announcement is the revelation for today.

[Elcor13]

I'm in the same boat as esper88. The cloaks just seemed to come naturally to me but the JE are taking me a bit longer to get used to. I'm not exactly sure why I can't adjust to the JE, I love the concept and the units but they just don't fit quite right with me yet.

I've found that the best defense for the Jungle Elves is a good offense. I can't stress enough getting pressure on your opponents side of the board, because the JE don't really have any good defense and Abua is very fragile.

Placing walls so that they have to worry about rushing lioneers, even if you don't summon any, is a really good way to keep him from pushing against you. Other commons should generally be played sparingly, both because they die so easily and because that's magic that should be going towards your champions. Try getting out a champ and then using Chant of Haste, Chant of Life, and Chant of Growth on them to give them boosts.

Basically make them too afraid to try to push, lest Elien or Oldin or whoever gets smacked in the face. If they have someone defending, use Chant of Negation to stop that defender from working. Make them sweat. Don't use lionesses or archers unless you have to. The deck is expensive, so if you want to get out 2 champs and use them effectively, you're going to have to drop stuff.

They're not necessarily intuitive, and they do take some work. Try playing them versus factions that aren't the Cloaks to get used to the JE. Good JE play uses their event cards well, like with the Cave Goblins, but don't be too afraid to drop some if you aren't going to get a good chance to use them.

[Phoenixio]

Other commons should generally be played sparingly, both because they die so easily and because that's magic that should be going towards your champions.

Make them sweat. Don't use lionesses or archers unless you have to. The deck is expensive, so if you want to get out 2 champs and use them effectively, you're going to have to drop stuff.

I've come to experiment some more on the JE recently, and spamming Lioneers and Lionesses is also a very viable way to do it. Attack walls while advancing, advance a lot, and the opponent is sure to sweat some too. You might not get much chance to summon champs though, or not all of them at least.

This idea works better for non-standard, when adding more Lioneers and Lionesses. Archers are nice, but only with Chant of Growth and to attack something hard to reach. They are thus much more situationnal. Elcor's way is much more efficient in Standard build, and he's quite the pro with the JE too

[gamjuven]

I know this is a bit of a necro but I didn't know where else to put it. I noticed in the shop that under the Jungle Elves pack where it lists the contents it says you get 2 Chant of Salvation when I beleive you are only supposed to get 1. I noticed it because there are 10 events listed when there should only be 9. Feel free to correct me I just thought it should be correct.

[thenightsshadow]

Yeah, that was mentioned a while back. Funnily enough, when I saw what Chant of Negation did, I thought IT was the x1 in the pack, not Chant of Salvation.