Hello fellow TCG enthusiasts!
Today, I wanted to update my suggested buyers guide for new players on a budget. This guide is designed for players that want to own their cards and are looking to play in Silver. Generally level 1 cards are sufficient for Silver though upgrading is always a nice thing to do if you can.
These cards are in no particular order as generally they will solve niche rulesets. I have only included cards that are $50 or less with Almo as the sole exception. Prices are as of 10/25/2021.
Neutral
Almo Cambio - $54 / 4841 DEC
Almo is one of the only cards that has 'Immunity' at level 1. That combined with his high health makes him win most poison rulesets assuming he isn't put in first position.
Furious Chicken - $37 / 3300 DEC
This card is the only 0 mana card and the game. It is primarily used to soak a hit for a more important card. Generally this card is playing in 1st, 2nd, or last position.
War Chang - $30.68 / 2747 DEC
This card is primarily used for sneak bait, ie last position, or as a secondary tank. Retaliate combined with a double attack makes this a generally good card to add to high mana comps.
Prismatic Energy - $33.56 / 3004 DEC
Prismatic is one of the best anti-magic cards available. It serves as a non-melee tank. As such, it is almost a guaranteed win on no-melee rulesets and is great at countering the annoying magic Alric meta.
Sand Worm - $2.11 / 189 DEC
Sand Worm should be owned by all players and is generally one of the first 3 cards that should be purchased. It is cheap and it is incredibly strong. You will use this in almost all 99 mana fights and it also sees a lot of use in reverse speed.
Creeping Ooze - $8.80 / 787 DEC
Ooze serves a similar purpose to chicken however comes with a global slow debuff and costs 1 mana. This card still sees significant play although is retiring and better options exist.
Battering Ram - $1.20 / 108 DEC
This card is a great filler option. Generally at lvl 1 it is sub par but at max lvl 5 for silver this will usually be the first card to attack and it will typically kill off your enemy's decoy targets or glass cannons.
Dragon
Dragon Spirit - $8.40 / 752 DEC
Dragon spirit is a low mana decoy tank. It has incredible speed + flying which gives it typically 2-3 rounds before being killed off. When upgraded to lvl 3 it also is granted immunity making it a better Almo imo.
Brighton Bloom - $16.50 / 1477 DEC
Bloom is a situational use card. I personally love playing high speed dodge based comps but they are absolutely not considered good by the general population. The true value of bloom is that flying negates the earthquake ruleset.
Djinn Chwala - $5.86 / 525 DEC
Chwala is one of the best S3 tanks in the sub $10 range. He is a current gen reward card, has thorns, and has great base stats. It is tough to beat him as a tank and in super sneak he can be put in last position to decimate any low health melee opponents.
Death
Undead Badger - $0.83 / 75 DEC
At level 1 this card is okay but at 5 this card gains extra damage health and speed making him easily one of the best Silver death cards.
Venari Bonesmith - $1.39 / 125 DEC
Bonesmith is effectively an affordable Ancient Lich. He excels in rulesets that ban healing as leech isn't classified as a heal.
Dark Ferryman - $1.60 / 144 DEC
Ferryman is not great at level 1 but gains Cripple at level 2 which is really great at countering heal comps such as the triple heal life meta and earth.
Grim Reaper - $4.15 / 372 DEC
Reaper is similar to Ferryman and is great at countering heal comps. I have found that he does not do well against fast sneak comps.
Contessa Lament - $9.85 / 883 DEC
Contessa is a situational summoner that does well at countering ranged base comps like yodin or water decks with axemaster. She is also quite affordable compared to most summoners and is a good option for leveling to use higher tier death cards.
Shadowy Presence - $13.58 / 1218 DEC
This card is similar to Dragon Spirit although at 1 mana it is significantly cheaper. It also gains Strengthen at lvl 3 which is a huge plus. Commonly used as a decoy tank or sneak bait.
Owster Rotwell - $20 / 1793 DEC
Another Death Summoner that is situational. That said, he is absolutely great when paired with a tank using void/shield. With the water meta he has earned his place as a great counter.
Harklaw - $24 / 2151 DEC
This new legendary is an absolutely underrated and more importantly underpriced card. He comes with shield and can be leveled to also have immunity making him another poison ruleset option. Combined with dmg debuffs to melee or range via Contessa or Zintar and he can become unkillable. His primary weakness is magic though if paired with an Owster becomes a negligible issue.
Life
Venari Crystalsmith - $1.60 / 144 DEC
Another Venari, Crystalsmith is almost a required card in life comps. Her heal can make Life comps incredibly annoying to deal with especially when paired with other heals.
Armorsmith - $13.86 / 1245 DEC
Armorsmith is by far my favorite affordable Life card. His ability lets him repair armor which against anything but magic is insanely powerful. Plus he is a promo card meaning you win extra dec with him. That said, he is currently more expensive than I would expect for him likely due to his synergy in the new triple heal life meta. He will also be retiring ie not playable in the modern format.
Silvershield Sheriff - $4.25 / 382 DEC
This guy has serious damage, health, AND snipe. He is a perfect anchor to high mana life comps. I forsee this card going up in price given the market is currently flooded with copies from users running multiple accounts. Once those are bought up this card will likely look like axemaster.
Earth
Nectar Queen - $1.62 / 146 DEC
High health, high damage, and flying. Not much else you could ask for from a tank. Her cheap cost is just there screaming, include me as an option. She can be upgraded to further increase her health and speed.
Wood Nymph - $9.50 / 855 DEC
If you are only going to buy 1 or 2 cards to improve your green deck, this is one to buy. Healing is a top tier trait and hers will often win you matches. She is going to be Wild format only however with CL release.
Mylor Crowling - $50 / 4495 DEC
Mylor is the low league darling of Earth. His thorns ability decimates in low mana cap fights and he is easily the best 3 mana earth summoner. If it were not for his high cost, he would be a must buy.
Water
Demented Shark - $0.70 / 63 DEC
Demented Shark is a cheap speculative purchase. As it stands, he does not get much use. However, he is affordable right now and Water Melee decks are highly speculated to be meta for the new gen.
Sea Monster - $8.88 / 799 DEC
Sea Monster is the best cheap water tank in my opinion. He has a self heal and at level 3 is tough for most comps outside of magic to deal with. Although he is retiring I'd largely consider him a must buy if you have any interest in playing Wild in the future.
Venari Wavesmith - $7.50 / 675 DEC
Starting to see a trend with these Venari cards... Anyways, I doubt I even need to put anything here. Wavesmith is one of the top tier cards right now and has changed the meta to an extent where comps are specifically designed to counter him.
Axemaster - $14.50 / 1304 DEC
Axemaster is amazing. His doublestrike ability just does well in so many different rulesets and his base stats are high enough he is worth a play even in rulesets which remove abilities.
Torhilo the Frozen - $29.95 / 2694 DEC
Torhilo is easily a favored water tank by most. He is quite expensive however in both $ and mana cost. His level 1 void ability makes him a great counter to Alric comps and when paired with an axemaster will make short work of others.
Fire
Flamesmith - $1.11 / 100 DEC
Flamesmith is primarily on this list for his shatter ability. If you know your opponent favors armor, this card will shut it down. A single hit from him typically will allow you to break the Life shieldbearer triple heal.
Efreet Elder - $3.50 / 315 DEC
This card is a great anchor. If he manages to survive until last card, his last stand ability will allow him to overcome most of whatever remains of an enemy.
Fineas Rage - $6.15 / 553 DEC
The fire splinter is relatively weak when it comes to having affordable cards. Simply put I don't really recommend fire to most new players. If there is one fire card to buy however it is Fineas. He alone is typically sufficient to carry you through any fire daily quests.
Summary
*Indicates card will only be usable in Wild format.
| Card | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Almo | Neutral | $54 |
| *Furious Chicken | Neutral | $37 |
| War Change | Neutral | $31 |
| *Prismatic Energy | Neutral | $34 |
| Sand Worm | Neutral | $2 |
| *Creeping Ooze | Neutral | $9 |
| Battering Ram | Neutral | $1 |
| Dragon Spirit | Dragon | $9 |
| Brighton Bloom | Dragon | $17 |
| Djinn Chwala | Dragon | $6 |
| Undead Badger | Death | $1 |
| Venari Bonesmith | Death | $1 |
| Dark Ferryman | Death | $2 |
| Grim Reaper | Death | $4 |
| Contessa Lament | Death | $10 |
| Shadowy Presence | Death | $14 |
| Owster Rotwell | Death | $20 |
| Harklaw | Death | $24 |
| Venari Cystalsmith | Life | $2 |
| Armorsmith | Life | $14 |
| Silvershield Sheriff | Life | $4 |
| Nectar Queen | Earth | $2 |
| Wood Nymph | Earth | $10 |
| Mylor Crowling | Earth | $50 |
| Demented Shark | Water | $1 |
| Sea Monster | Water | $9 |
| Venari Wavesmith | Water | $8 |
| Axemaster | Water | $15 |
| Torhilo the Frozen | Water | $30 |
| Flamesmith | Fire | $1 |
| Efreet Elder | Fire | $4 |
| Fineas Rage | Fire | $6 |
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