Exploring Alliances Unravelled.

So I thought to myself "Boy, I really love Valban, but I've ranted about him enough."

Then I thought "But wait! I've only ranted about him once in my blog, in the AU review", so OFFICIALLY it's only been one rant. Which definitely allows me one more.

But this isn't just gonna be about valban. Because I want to slow down danian of the weeks, I'm just giving general strategy tips here. Anyway, here goes.



This is a great combo - Citadel Fragments are quite the versatile gear. Make your elementalists tanks and your tanks disciplineers. Now, back to Valban's stats:
75 40 65 40 55
That's the average valban. To show you where I'm coming from, mine has:
80 50 70 45 50

So as long as you have average or up on courage and wisdom, you'll do fine. So, with the full effect of citadel fragments, my Valban would be:
100 70 90 65 70
And he would have all four elements. That makes him a really well balanced fighter, great disciplines, all elements, and he can pull of almost any kind of attack. Now how do you get him all four elements? It's not such a strain as it might seem. In fact, it fits in well with the same cards that make up an ordinary infection/aggro danian deck.



Ambolx and Orchis Undin. Need I remind you that, if you flip up his gear with a gear glissando, for a measly one mugic counter you have double infection every turn for no cost. Infect once at the start, once when combat begins. That is an infection tank! Imagine that with a Fliandar! You have an invincible creature!In fact, imagine two of those with fliandar! Four free infection? Each turn? Sure, you may get thwarted with a gear grind or pulse beacons every now and then, but even so you might be able to re-flip, or just use their ability without the gear. With Valban, one is enough and you can get your elements in no time. Don't forget ambolx has two counters too, so you won't be wasting a muge spot.



Why these two? Ghundac and Nunk'worn are the perfect partners for Valban. Give Ghundac a shard of the staunch or Orchis Undin for water, and use Nunk'worn as a muge. Now you have muge, scout and warrior. But the main reason is because between these two guys, Valban can get all four elements. Fire and water off of nunk'worn, Aire and Earth off of Ghundac. Of course, you could also use something like Yondaf or Drazz with Tarbok, but these three blend together perfectly.

Also, picture a Yondaf SI with an Ambolx. Not necessarily with Valban, but with Nimmei in an infection deck. Say you've managed to infect the whole board - Use Yondaf to uninfect three creatures and deal 10 - The next turn, Ambolx can re-infect two, and Yondaf will re-infect himself. It's nice to have some quick burn ready at any time.

So these are just a few combos I got out of AU, and they are just scratching the surface. Remember, be creative with your decks, look for those cool combos and secret strategies that you can call your own!

~Mandible