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Intermediate Guide to Culdcept Revolt

Note: If you're new to the game (or just want to brush up on the fundamentals), you'll want to start with the Beginner's Guide.

Have you been having problems efficiently invading or defending territories? Are creatures that are immune to spells and effects making life difficult? Do you wish you could just ban Kelpie and Old Willow from the game?

These are things every Revolt player asks themselves at one point or another when something new, interesting and/or challenging presents itself. The simple strategies of Revolt's AI can't hold a flame to your battle-worn books. So, you venture online and proceed to get thrown around like a rag doll. You feel like a canoe trying to cross the ocean in the middle of a hurricane. Your once invincible book is torn apart and the Gods of Culdcept laugh in your face.

Don't fret. This guide is here to help you improve your game and go toe to toe with the online community. We'll be discussing a handy methodology for invading territories, the importance of Paralysis, how to bluff and what Breed Cards are. Note: The Breed Card section will be available after the game arrives in the West.


Jump to: Invading ~ Paralysis ~ Problems ~ Bluffing ~ Alternatives

Death ScytheINVASION METHODOLOGY

Let's start with knowing when to invade. If you're having problems with unforeseen circumstances, ask these questions to help you determine whether it's worth invading or not.

WHAT ITEMS DO THEY HAVE?

A lot of times the fight is over before it's even begun. If your opponent is holding a significant health boosting item or something that neutralizes your attack in their hand, it can be very difficult to take the territory over. Some ways you can get around this are enchantment spells like Senility or Diselement can help bring these territories within reach. A creature enchanted with Senility will die at the end of combat regardless of the damage dealt, while Diselement eliminates the defender's Land Bonus bringing it to a more manageable HP level.

Attacks First creatures and items can also make an invasion difficult. If your invader dies before they even have a chance to strike, the defense wins. This falls into the category of the best defense is a good offense. You can overcome this by packing your own Attacks First items or creatures.

Note: An Attacks First invader will always attack first. Equipping an Attacks First defender with an Attacks First item will not change the point in which they attack in combat.

WHAT BOOST EFFECTS ARE IN PLAY?

Why is this important? Boost creatures provide their statistical boost at the beginning of each combat. This can throw curve ball at you when calculating if you can take down the territory or not.

There are several creatures that provide a boost effect in Revolt. Brontides (+10HP to Fire/Earth), Rahab (+10HP to Water/Air) and Lord of Bane (+10ST to Water/Air) are just a few examples of what type of boosts there are.

To show you how impactful Boost creatures are, let's look at the lowly Goblin card. This creature is a 20ST/30MHP Neutral creature you can summon for cheap. Left on its own, the Goblin doesn't defend territories very well. However, if there's a Borgess (+20HP to Neutral) and Red Cap (+20ST to Goblins) in play, that Goblin changes from a 20ST/30MHP creature to a 40ST/50HP. Add Dead Warlord (+10ST to invading creatures) and you have a 50ST/50HP monstrosity you can attack with for as little as 30G.

There are several things to remember about Boost creatures and how to deal with them. First, they do not stack with multiple copies. Therefore, if there are two Borgess on the board, you still only get +20HP to Neutral creatures.

Also, they affect ALL creatures that fall into the category they affect. If you summon a Boost creature, it benefits your opponent as much as it benefits you.

Third, the Paralysis enchantment will stop that creature from giving out its boost until it is no longer paralyzed.

Finally, Boost creatures do NOT benefit themselves. If there is one Borgess in play and it gets invaded, it does not receive its +20HP to Neutral creatures. It will, however, receive the benefit from another Borgess if it's in play.

Remember that any defending creature needs to only keep 1HP in order to survive a combat. Boost creatures can be the difference between severely hurting a defender and outright killing them.

One last note before moving on: Like boost creatures, you should also consider enchantments like Vitality or Liquid Form as these can also provide unexpected stat adjustments during the starting phase of combat.

WHAT ARE THE INNATE ABILITIES OF THE DEFENDING CREATURE?

While we won't tell you to ignore the quick analysis Revolt shows whenever you land on a territory, understand that it's very misleading. It will only take into consideration the base ST of the creatures in your hand and pit it against the HP and Land Bonus of the defending creature. It does not take in the combat abilities of the defending creature.

Take the time to read the card of the creature you're trying to invade. If you're sporting nothing but Water creatures and the defender has Neutralizes: Water as an ability, it will be tricky to win the fight.

Also, cards like Garuda and Cactus Wall have abilities that can sneak up on you if you're not paying attention to the number of Air creatures on the map or what type of creature you actually invade with. Knowing the abilities of the creature you're invading and how they work will not only prevent you from making a mistake, they can also present you with situations you can exploit.

One last note before we move on. If the creature you want to invade has Regenerates and you want to take the territory, you have to make sure you either kill it completely or prevent its regeneration in some way. Paralysis and Vortex are handy for this. Any damage dealt that does not kill it will be nullified when it heals any damage dealt at the end of combat.

WHAT WORLD EFFECTS ARE IN PLAY?

There are three World Spells that affect combat dramatically. Only one World Spell can be in effect at one time and it's easy to forget they're active until they remind you when it's too late. These spells are Mirror World, Natural World and Waste World. Merciful World can make things interesting, though it doesn't directly impact combat.

Mirror World will destroy any creature with two or more versions of itself on the board. This is a great way to get out of a toll cheap if you know there are multiple copies of the defending creature on the board. It can also bite you if you try invading with a creature that's bound to be destroyed.

Note: Mirror World does not count the invading creature as being on the map. Therefore, you can invade a creature of the same type so long as it is the only one currently on the map.

Natural World will prevent Battle End or Upon Defeat abilities from triggering. This can hurt you when going into a combat with a certain result in mind. Creatures like Sulfurous Balloon don't deal their Upon Defeat damage, allowing you to topple the defender and prevent a toll being paid. Equipping Tombstone so you can at least fill your hand when your creature dies no longer happens. That Boomerang that you've been using to wreak havoc on opponents is discarded instead of returning to your hand.

Waste World can make things very interesting because it makes your cards more expensive. S cards now cost 1.5x their casting cost while R cards cost 2x their casting cost. Which brings us to our next point.

CAN YOU AFFORD TO INVADE?

This is one of the most important checks on your list. Every card in the game costs magic to use. You can only use the magic you have on hand to do so. So, if you have 300G in hand, you have a lot more options than if you have 100G. While the Gain Phase of your turn is a nice way of padding your pockets, it should not be depended on to answer all of your budgeting issues.

To illustrate this point, let's look at a Player A with 200G in hand. They decide to invade a territory with Brontides (60ST/60MHP Earth creature with Support). Brontides costs 80G, this brings his total down to 120G. He enters combat and decides to equip Brontides with a Hardrock Dragon (50ST/50HP creature that costs 80G to use). This brings their total down to 40G. They win the combat and he enters the remainder of the round with 40G in pocket.

Unfortunately for Player A, Player B decides to reclaim the territory they just lost to Player A. Player B moves one of their creatures over to the recently taken territory and because Player A only has items and creatures that cost more than 40G, they are unable to defend the invasion. Player A has now lost a key defender and Player B is largely unaffected having reclaimed their territory.

Waste World can cause this scenario to be even more aggravated. Because Brontides and Hardrock Dragon are both R cards they go from 80G a piece to 160G. This changes the invasion cost from 160G to 320G while at the same time increasing the cost of any S or R card that may be required to effectively defend your territories through the remainder of the round.

Of course, if you've done your math and you know your opponent can't afford to defend, take advantage! The main thing to remember is to budget wisely.

IS IT EVEN WORTH IT?

Finally, ask yourself if the territory is even worth invading. If the toll is only 16G and it's a creature that's not hurting anybody in the middle of nowhere... just pay the toll. You'll be spending more magic invading than you'd be gaining.

Now, if it's a creature that has been giving you problems or it's the one territory your opponent is needing to start summoning their prerequisite creatures, it may be worth invading even if it's a level 1 territory.


Jump to: Invading ~ Paralysis ~ Problems ~ Bluffing ~ Alternatives

Binding MistSHOCKING REVELATIONS (AKA IMPORTANCE OF PARALYSIS)

One of the most game affecting enchantments in Revolt is Paralysis. Think of this enchantment as an OFF switch for the creature being enchanted.

Boost effects? Not happening. Items? Nope. Secret Arts? Afraid not. Can't be targeted by spells and effects? Also stopped (wait... Shush... we'll get to that).

So, how do you paralyze a creature that can't be targeted by spells and effects? Tyranny. This spell will paralyze any creature with an MHP of 30 or less. Incidentally, all but two of the creatures with this ability have 30 or less MHP. The two that do not are Armed Princess and Gearion, both requiring special circumstances to enter the game.

Paralysis is a great way to manipulate the game to your advantage. It opens up options for ways to deal with the most troublesome creatures. Creatures that are paralyzed will no longer provide their boost effect, they cannot equip items in combat, and they cannot use combat abilities or Secret Arts. They can, however, use Territory Commands and they will benefit from the boost effect of other creatures in combat. So be aware of that when invading. If a creature is swapped out or moves to another location, the Paralysis enchant will go away until it is reapplied.

So, Paralysis is always the answer, right? Wrong. Just because a creature can't hit back doesn't mean it can't defend a territory. Like we pointed out earlier, paralyzed creatures gain the benefit of boost creatures on the board. Let's look at that Goblin with Red Cap and Borgess in play. It is still a 40ST/50HP defender without lifting a finger. So, plan your invasions accordingly and pack enough firepower to overcome your opponent's defenders whether they're paralyzed or not. You may also want to consider other enchantments like Senility and Disease. You can also use direct damage spells and Secret Arts to bring them to a more manageable level.


Jump to: Invading ~ Paralysis ~ Problems ~ Bluffing ~ Alternatives

Sea BonzeMAKE NO BONZE ABOUT IT (AKA DEALING WITH PROBLEM TERRITORIES)

Sea Bonze and the Vortex enchantment oftentimes perplex players. What use could you possibly have for a creature that makes it so nothing happens in combat? Think on this for a minute. If nothing can happen in combat, your opponent can't equip any weapons to fight you. There will be no Instant Death, Penetrates, Critical Hit or boost effects. It all boils down to ST vs. HP.

So, if a Sea Bonze has a few Fat Body spells cast on it, increasing its MHP to 100, then you have to have a creature with a natural attack of 100ST to actually kill it. Death Scythe (70ST/10HP) comes close, but not quite. Add on Land Bonus and it will take a couple of hard-hitting invasions to take down The Bonze.

So, what do you do when presented with a Sea Bonze or a Kelpie or an Old Willow occupying a high level territory tile that keeps charging you and your opponents over and over? Any number of things!

Pack a couple Asteroids to keep your opponent from getting greedy. If they level that territory to 5, make them regret it by dropping it back down to level 1 with a Synthesized Asteroid. Pack a Quintessence and change the territory to Multi-Element. Kelpie and Old Willow won't stop you automatically anymore and the territory won't be chained with the other lands which will drop the toll value significantly.

Peace can drop the toll value to 0, making it a non-issue for everybody on the board. Senility can make your opponent sweat as they search for a way to replace the enchantment on their big territory before you can invade (Note: Senility will not activate against Sea Bonze).

Speaking of Sea Bonze again, use Thrust Blow or Outrage to force Defensive creatures onto adjacent territories. They can't use the Territory Command to move back onto the spot they just vacated. This can give you some time to take the territory yourself or at least avoid the land safely for a few more turns while they scramble to reclaim it.

The point is, if a strategy is giving you problems, there is an answer in this game for that strategy. Go find that answer.


Jump to: Invading ~ Paralysis ~ Problems ~ Bluffing ~ Alternatives

ChariotGOTTA KNOW WHEN TO HOLD THEM (AKA BLUFF!)

Like many card games where two or more players are at odds, Culdcept is an intricate dance of power plays. Through the course of a match, each player gets to know the behavior of their opponent and what actions they will likely take. This is where the bluff game comes into play.

If you have your eye on a specific territory, but your opponent has the one item that will prevent you from taking it from them, find a way to get it out of their hand. If they're somebody who has defended every attack large and small, you can probably draw that card out by attacking a low level territory. They waste the item defending and now you're free to attack what you want. If they're willing to let you claim a few insignificant territories, force their hand by invading with a creature and item they know can take them out. Don't equip what you'd normally need and watch them waste their defensive item while you keep yours.

Cards like Chariot and Sleipnir can help you invade multiple times in a turn giving you more opportunities to bluff your opponent. If at first you don't succeed... try, try again.

Finally, if your opponent has you figured out and defends all of your invasions perfectly, you can always remove their items outside of combat. Spells like Shatter and Squeeze can hit items carried in hand, while cards like Erosion and Metamorphosis can go even further in their removal effects.


Jump to: Invading ~ Paralysis ~ Problems ~ Bluffing ~ Alternatives

Magic BoltTAKING MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS (AKA WHO NEEDS TO INVADE?)

We've talked at length about what factors you should consider when invading. The final thing we'll discuss are alternatives to invading. Direct and Mass damage spells can be very effective in removing defenders.

Magic Bolt, Elemental Wrath, Lightning and Hardrock Dragon etc. They can whittle down weaker enemies and completely remove them from high level territories leaving them open for you to take yourself. Combine this with creatures that movement abilities and you can quickly nab any vacant lands. Spells like Exile and Holy Banishment can quickly remove a threat, especially when dealing with Neutral books.

If all you want to do is avoid the tolls entirely, cards like Blackout or Peace make it so you don't have to pay, while cards like Holy Word 6 and Magic Leap allow you to move past the problem territories entirely.


We hope this guide helps you develop your game to a higher level. This isn't meant to dictate how you SHOULD be playing. These are practices we've found useful in our own gameplay. Embrace your own style and know that there is no flawless strategy. Win or lose, there is usually something you can learn in every match and always remember to have fun and treat each other with respect. We'll see you online!

Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 May 2021 14:04

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Sleipnir Revolt
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