Hrdina_Imperia

For anyone interested here are my best attempts I've had with this event.

Deck details : 
3:16.9 || Shadow -> Witchclaw + Motivate
2.50.8 || Nature -> Werebeasts + Amazon(Green) + Swiftclaw + Surge of Healing

I do think Amazons are a must for the 4 insect creatures on the map. I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts or speculations as well ^^.
CCC12_02_50.8_AAA.pmv CCC12_03_16.9_AAA.pmv

Well... that took far too long. Number of tries AND length of the win are both... problematic. Not my proudest work.
But it is what it is - a 'W'.
TD Mo.pmv

Let's go! Finally a difficulty worthy of Magma Hurlers 

Hello Skylords, Skyladies, and other Skybeings; Welcome to CCC #12 – the twelfth Crappy Community Contest!
 

THE CONTEST HAS ENDED.
If you want to check out the winners, CLICK HERE. If you are just here to grab the code, there you go: CCC1-2BYE-TOTH-EONE
 
 
What are “Crappy Community Contests”?
CCC's are meant to be small-scale contests with weird challenges, hopefully luring you away from well-trodden paths. They are small-scale on the organizers side too: usually there will be no stream, video, or event announcing the winners. What's special about these contests is a participation prize for the whole Skylords community.

What, when, where, how?
Say Goodbye To One

The famous difficulty rPvE 1 will leave us soon.

This challenge is to win the current
1-player rPvE difficulty 1 Map of the Month
in the fastest time without using Fire orbs.

As the very first Crappy Community Contest, we had a rPvE 1 challenge, which was a lot of fun... and many, many people asked when I will do this again - but usually repeating something isn't that appealing. Unless it's the last chance to do so! As you may have noticed, the July Community Update announced that some of the difficulties will be changed to create a smoother scale, and along those lines difficulty 1 will be removed. (see picture).
But this time, to mix things up, the use of Fire orbs is banned. (This is totally because It's hot outside, not because Fire dominated the CCC#1. 🔥)

 
How to enter:
Battleforge automatically saves a replay file of the last match you play, named autosave.pmv.  After playing the map, rename this file, so it doesn't get overwritten. You can find your replays here: Documents => Battleforge => replays.

The contest has started with the release of this post – submit your replay through Discord (DM to Kapo#0116) or the Skylords Forum (DM to @Kapo) until 31.08.2023 23:59 CET  (= 11 days time total). You can submit multiple times, but only your last entry will count. Please note that any submitted replays may be posted here in the forums.

To lessen my workload, please rename your replay to the following format: CCC12_<your-time>_<your-name>.pmv  (e.g. CCC12_02_11.23_Kapo.pmv)
 

 
What's the prize pool?
Since this is not just a crappy contest, but a Crappy Community Contest, you may help with your participation to earn a prize for the whole community. If we reach more than 25 participants (unique players, not entries), we will unlock a Mini-Booster code for the entire Skylords community. If more than 40 participants enter, the code will be upgraded to a Booster instead of a Mini-Booster. So tell your fellow Skylords to try this challenge – it's an occasion to try something completely new, and it raises our chances to hand out a code for everybody. 
Of course, the top ranking Skylords will get prizes too, sponsored by myself, the Community and the Skylords Reborn Team:
1st place               5 General Boosters + Promo Swamp Drake + Lost Warlord (B) + Mana Wing
2nd place             4 General Boosters  + Harvester + Lost Warlord (B) 
3rd place              3 General Boosters + Spitfire + Lost Warlord (B)
4th place              2 General Boosters + Shadow Worm + Lost Warlord (B)
5th place              1 General Booster + Wrathgazer + Lost Warlord (R)
6th place              Shadow Worm + Gravity Surge (P) + Mana Wing
7th place              Wrathgazer + Evocators Woe (P) + Worldbreaker Gun
8th place              Tortugun (B) + Giant Slayer + Brannoc
9th place              Tortugun (R) + Shadow Mage + Juggernaut
10th place            Nox Carrier (P) + Fallen Skyelf +Shrine of Martyrs
11th place            Fire Worm + Corsair (G) + Ravenheart
12th place            Cultist Master + Lost Grigori (P) + Ice Tornado
13th place            Soul Splicer (G) + Crystal Fiend (G) + Mortar Tower
14th place            Ward of the North + Mark of the Keeper
15th place            Mind Control + Lost Banestone (B)
Newcomer Challenge:  The fastest player of Bronze or Silver Rank will receive a Promo Snapjaw.
Secret Achievements:  You have a chance for bonus-prizes - the achievement name may or may not give a hint on what to do:
"Overload" - 1x Nox Trooper "Better safe than sorry" - 1x Defenders "Cheater" - 1x Easter Egg For participation, there is a random chance to win one of the following prizes out of a large pool:
Random Draws          5x1 General Booster, Enlightenment, Infect, Cluster Explosion (R), Avatar of Frost, Shadow Worm (x2), Harvester, Wrathgazer (x2), Lost Warlord (B) (x2), Lord Warlord (R), Nox Carrier (P), Nox Carrier (R) (x3), Evocators Woe (P), Gravity Surge (P), Tortugun (B), Tortugun (R), Raven Archwalker, Mana Wing, Colossus, Bloodhorn (P), Matter Mastery (G), Motivate, War Eagle, Lifestream, Sanctuary (B), Giant Slayer, Shrine of Martyrs, Revenge, Nightshade Plant (P), Mark of the Keeper, Mountain Rowdy (B), Mind Control (x2), Aura of Corruption, Rocket Tower, Ashbone Pyro, Shadow Mage (x2), Shrine of Greed, Soul Splicer (G), Twilight Pestilence (R)

Sponsors
If one or more mighty Skylord(s) decides to sponsor this event, please contact me - community contest prizes are meant to be from the community, for the community. I would be more than happy to beef up or even expand the prize pool to more ranks, add additional random draws, add cards for newcomers, set special bounties or any other upgrades to the prize pool you can think of. 
The following prizes have been sponsored so far:
Skylords Team          General Boosters (x20), Community Booster Code
@Kapo                  Promo Swamp Drake, Enlightenment, Infect, Cluster Explosion (R), Avatar of Frost, Lost Banestone (B)
@Ultralord            Spitfire
@ElementG           Shadow Worm (x4), Wrathgazer (x3), Harvester (x2), Shadow Mage
@Trando               Lost Warlord (B) (x6), Lost Warlord (R) (x2), Nox Carrier (P) (x2), Nox Carrier (R) (x2), Evocators Woe (P) (x2), Gravity Surge (P) (x2), Tortugun (B) (x2), Tortugun (R) (x2)
@RadicalX            Shadow Mage, Mortar Tower, Motivate, Cultist Master, Giant Slayer, Soul Splicer (G), Fire Worm, Rocket Tower, Ward of the North, Mountain Rowdy (B), War Eagle, Colossus, Shrine of Martyrs, Mind Control, Lifestream, Sanctuary (B), Nightshade Plant (P), Twilight Pestilence (R), Corsair (G), Lost Grigori (P), Bloodhorn (P), Matter Mastery (G), Crystal Fiend (G)
@Bonobobobo      Soul Splicer (G), Nox Carrier (R), Shrine of Greed, Fallen Skyelf, Shadow Mage, Ashbone Pyro, Juggernaut, Aura of Corruption, Mind Control (x2), Mana Wing, Ice Tornado, Mark of the Keeper (x2), Worldbreaker Gun, Revenge, Shrine of Martyrs, Ravenheart, Brannoc, Raven Archwalker
@Dragonclaw       Nox Trooper(s), Easter Egg(s), Defenders
@Majora              Mana Wing (x2)
Thanks to the sponsors that support the contest! ❤️
 
Conclusion
I think the removal of some rPvE difficulty is well-warranted, but before it goes, let's have some fun with it. Good luck to all of you, and look forward to the strategies that appear!
Kapo
     
Future Events – get involved!
If you are interested in helping with these (or better) kinds of events for the community, or want to host one yourself, don't be afraid and simply reach out! Contact our Event Manager @Metagross31 or @Minashigo Hiko on the forums or discord. They are happy to assist you with upcoming events and with sponsoring your prize pool!
If you especially like this small-scale-format, and you have an idea for it, you may also contact me directly to discuss your idea and host your own Crappy Community Contest.

Yeah, funny that way back when as a commercial product the paid people dished out cheap content for profit - and now, the volunteer project has an almost too high standard when releasing a card  😃
Thinking about this, there will come a time, where the need will arise to add some filler cards for Amii to make the faction more complete.

To me it depends. For some cards, the affinities feel like a cheap way to just create more cards without providing a lot of diversity. In these cases, the two cards feel more or less the same to me.
In other cases, one affinity is clearly superior to the other, creating essentially a useless card.
In rare cases however, both affinities provide completely different playstyles which both have their unique nieche. In these cases, affinities are awesome!
 
In general, I think the best way to go is what Windhunter wrote in the card design document - make affinities where they make sense, don't make them, when they feel unnecessary.

When I used to play Battle Forge in the (not that) good ol' days, I was really not liking cards with affinities. It felt to me as if they were 'tainted' (pun intended) with the little colorful orbs, that mostly didn't match the card colours. Also, this is also some weird past conjecture, but it felt to my old self, that 'pure' cards were better and more expensive in general.  
This is far past, but still, some remnant of affinity bias lingers for me. Obviously, the system has its uses, pros as well as cons. For example, in SR it has the additive benefit of basically providing two cards for the price (work load) of one. In terms of a new content, that is almost always welcome. 
Yet, I am wondering, if I am the only weirdo who felt this way? 
 
Some stats:
According to SR wiki, there are 404 unique cards.
246 have no affinity, 158 have affinity (thus being in essence 316 cards).
All in all, there are 562 cards (including Promos). 

When I used to play Battle Forge in the (not that) good ol' days, I was really not liking cards with affinities. It felt to me as if they were 'tainted' (pun intended) with the little colorful orbs, that mostly didn't match the card colours. Also, this is also some weird past conjecture, but it felt to my old self, that 'pure' cards were better and more expensive in general.  
This is far past, but still, some remnant of affinity bias lingers for me. Obviously, the system has its uses, pros as well as cons. For example, in SR it has the additive benefit of basically providing two cards for the price (work load) of one. In terms of a new content, that is almost always welcome. 
Yet, I am wondering, if I am the only weirdo who felt this way? 
 
Some stats:
According to SR wiki, there are 404 unique cards.
246 have no affinity, 158 have affinity (thus being in essence 316 cards).
All in all, there are 562 cards (including Promos). 

Wish I knew how to PvP 😅 Also will be probably away on 20th, so anyways, will here supporting on the sidelines.

Personally I didn't had any problems, but I am glad the others will experience more stable game 🥳
Always a good work!

Wish I knew how to PvP 😅 Also will be probably away on 20th, so anyways, will here supporting on the sidelines.

Hello fellow Skyladies and Skylords!
It has been a very long time, but we are finally back with a new PvP tournament!

Tournament Date
On Sunday 20.08.23 starting at 2:00 p.m. CEST (Berlin time).


Format
The tournament will be played as a 1on1, Best of 3, double elimination tournament, meaning if you lose a set, you move to the lower bracket and can still make the finals! Grand finals will have a bracket reset, meaning the player coming from the lower bracket has to win two sets against the finalist to win the tournament.


Prize Pool
Participation Reward
Playing at least two rounds in the tournaments will earn you 1 General Booster, even if you lost both rounds!
Ranking Rewards
• 1st place                          8 General Booster packs + 1500 BFP
• 2nd place                         7 General Booster packs
• 3rd place                          6 General Booster packs
• 4th place                          5 General Booster packs
• 5th place                          4 General Booster packs
• 6th-8th place                   3 General Booster packs
Winning Rewards
For each set you win, you will get 1 additional General Booster (limited to up to 3 per person).
Random rewards    
Additionally, there will be a pool consisting of all PvP cards from the Rebirth edition, which will be randomly distributed between all participants!

 

Organization and sign-up
The tournament brackets will be on Challonge, so register and join the tournament there using the button below. Please sign up in advance!

Please use your in game account name to make communication and finding your enemy easier.
In case of problems, contact @4esan4o95 (ingame name: BoxIngJester) or one of the mods via Discord or ingame.


Stream
A live stream covering the tournament will take place on Eirias' channel on YouTube. Streaming will start around 13:45 p.m. CEST (Berlin time). We will use the stream to communicate with the players, so be sure to join the stream to be notified of last minute updates. Everyone is welcome to hang out and watch the action as well!


Rules (read this!)
• Disconnection during a game results in a default loss. If both sides agree, it is possible to have a remake.
• Not showing up to your match after 15 minutes results in a default loss. The plan is to play a round of matches every ~30 mins.
• After your match, go to Challonge and insert the result. That is done by clicking on your match and selecting the winner/stats. The brackets will be updated automatically.
• The Map Pool is: Haladur, Simai, Elyon, Lajesh, Uro and Yrmia (same pool as in ranked duel).
• The first map to play on will be decided by the players banning maps. The first player to ban is decided at random.
• After that it is loser's choice, but you can't pick a map you have already won a game on in the same set.
• The winning player (who won the previous match in the bo3) also has to lock in his deck first.
• The brackets for the tournament will be shuffled before the tournament starts!
• Use your BattleForge name for the tournament. If your Challonge account differs from your BattleForge account name, use the "Sign up with an alternate name" feature or change your name for the tournament in the settings. Finding your opponent will be a LOT easier this way.
• Playing at least two rounds in the tournaments will earn you 1 General Booster, even if you lost both rounds. This is meant to encourage players to give PvP a try, immediately surrendering or not showing up for a match will disqualify you for this reward.
Special Thanks
Special thanks to @4esan4o95 who will be in charge of organizing the tournament on the event day and hyping this tournament already in advance.
Also, big thanks to @Eirias for agreeing to stream the tournament.
Thanks also to everyone, who sponsored something to the prize pool:
@eltorro: 3 General Boosters @triggz: 8 General Boosters  @4esan4o95: 7 General Boosters  @Yuah: 7 General Boosters @Metagross31: Set of Rebirth Edition PvP cards The Skylords Reborn Team: The remaining General Boosters and 1500 BFP
Questions
Reply in this thread if you have questions, we will answer them as soon as possible.
Best regards,
The Skylords Reborn Team and 4esan4o95

Enjoy^^
2023-08-07_15-52-08_Yrmia_diff2_s46492_Hollwie_Dorukking2_time_0_07_16.0_v262.pmv

Greetings Skylords!
A new month; a new Community Update! It's time to bring you up to speed with everything going on in Skylords Reborn!

• QoL Patch

Last week, we released the long-awaited quality of life patch, resolving various minor bugs and improving the Forge's performance to ensure smoother gameplay. Additionally, this update now allows you to watch outdated replays, although replays impacted by patches will still experience desync issues. Check out the full patch notes here.
We are also still hard at work on our next content patch. We apologize for announcing the Lost Souls changes too early. Our bottleneck in card descriptions has been underestimated, as all cards in Skylords Reborn require translation into English, German, French, and Russian. This translation process, especially for the changes made to cards, can significantly impact our progress when translators are occupied or inactive. If you would like to assist with this effort, please check the contributor roles available for translators.
 
• Cinematic Trailer

A few months ago, we released a video showcasing the significant changes and improvements made to Skylords Reborn compared to the original BattleForge over the past 2 years. As part of our ongoing effort to attract more new Skylords, we have now created a cinematic trailer designed for RTS players unfamiliar with the original game.
Please support the game by sharing it with your friends who might be interested in the game!
 
• Card Rework Spotlight - Stronghold

While new cards usually get the spotlight, reworking existing cards can be just as exciting and impactful. Skylords Reborn has a lot of unused and underpowered cards, which, if reworked, would functionally constitute an entirely new tool for players to use. Stronghold is one such card. The T3 Frost tower is beautiful and imposing, promising an unconquerable fortress, a powerful and immovable bastion able to hold off hordes of enemies by itself. Unfortunately, anyone who has used the card knows this description is fantasy. We have been working on Stronghold for a while now, and are happy to showcase our new design, which we think will make the card worthy of its name and image.
To help Stronghold become a fearsome fortress, we intend three major changes to its existing design. First, we are increasing Stronghold's single-target damage from 2420 dp20 to 4000 dp20. Second, we are giving Stronghold two new abilities. The active ability will allow the player to defend against 50m siege units like Lost Dancers without needing an additional unit or building, and “To the Last!” will make Stronghold more deadly as it loses life points. This will synergize well with Frost building supports like Glacier Shell and Shield Building, allowing the player to keep Stronghold at a lower health threshold without endangering their defenses. The idea of "To the Last!" is to tap into the image of Frost as a faction which does not easily give up. Instead of losing hope in difficult situations, the Lyrish defenders manning the Stronghold dig in their heels and fight even more tenaciously in the face of danger. 
 
Cannon Turrets
Every 3 seconds, turrets deal 164 damage each to enemies in 10m radius, up to 246 in total.
 
 
Bombardment - Active Ability 
Cost: 40p
Activate to shoot a mortar shell that deals 800 damage to enemies in a 15m radius around its target, up to 3200 in total. Knocks back small, medium, and large units.
 
To the Last! - Passive ability
If the fortress has equal to or less than 3000 life points left it will deal 25% more damage and take 25% less damage. 
 
 
To the Last! - Passive ability
If the fortress has equal to or less than 1500 life points left it will deal 50% more damage and take 50% less damage.
 
 
Slowed Construction - Passive ability
Construction time is increased by 50%.
 
 

We also added a new visual indicator to show the various states of "To the Last". Below, you can see the Bombardment ability in action:
 
 
We hope you are looking forward to these changes coming to Stronghold! They are planned for release alongside our new content patch. We are not able to share a release date yet, so stay tuned!

• Survey - Update

A big thank you to the 1500 Skylords who have already submitted their feedback in our yearly survey! The survey will close at the end of the week, so if you haven't shared your thoughts yet, please take a moment to do so. Your feedback will be anonymous.
As Skylords Reborn is a community project, we value knowing what our players like and what could be improved. Your feedback is crucial for our continuous game improvement and player base growth! As a token of appreciation, everyone who fills in the survey will receive two boosters.

• Voice Acting – Update

A quick update on our search for new voice actors: We're thrilled to announce that we've received 24 trial takes, offering a diverse selection of voices to choose from.
Now, our Audio Editor will carefully assess the sound quality of each file, followed by selecting the voices that best match the characters. We're excited to bring these unannounced characters to life and can't wait to share what we have in store for you!
 
• Fire-themed Forge

As we progress with the development of upcoming campaign maps, we have also been working on a new Fire-themed Forge skin as a side project. Although it is not officially a Summer Forge, players will soon have the option to select from the default Forge, the Winter Forge, the Spring Forge, and the upcoming Fire-themed Forge. Check out the teaser below:

Players automatically have access to the Winter and default Forge, while the Spring Forge is initially locked behind the "Outsourced Content" achievement, which requires completing 8 different community maps on Expert.
The Fire-themed Forge will also be associated with an achievement called "Never Thought of Him," which tasks the player with completing the Mo campaign using only Fire cards on the maps Convoy, Mo, Oracle, Ocean, Raven's End, and Slave Master. We have received feedback that the current reward for this achievement feels insufficient, and we plan to enhance it to provide a more appealing incentive for completion.
Players who have already completed this achievement will receive the additional reward once the Forge is released. Please note that the Forge is not yet available, but you are able to start working on the achievement in advance.

• Mapmaking fundamentals

We always strive to keep the playerbase informed about upcoming changes and the rationale behind them, whether it's through Community Updates, balance discord discussions, or Deep Dive documents detailing our design decisions. Originally intended as an internal guide for our current developers of new campaign maps, we decided to share the following guide with interested players, hoping it will also serve as a useful tool for aspiring community mapmakers. Don't forget, every Skylords Reborn download includes the Map Editor!
BattleForge campaign maps have a particular feel to them, and this feel is a fundamental component of the unique experience which is playing BattleForge. The goal of this design guide is to use existing campaign maps, particularly the best campaign maps, to understand and to categorize the distinct features of the camps in BattleForge’s campaign, such that we can better design future campaign maps. This guide is therefore intended to categorize the design choices of the original devs and to act as a reference for future development for both community and official map development.
Click here to check out the mapmaking fundamentals guide.
 
• Team Changes

Nukie has decided to step down from his role as Event Manager to allocate more time to his new job and personal life. Despite this change, he will continue to support the project with Moderation duties. We are grateful for his dedicated work during his time as Event Manager! 
Want to host a tournament or event? Please reach out to our other Event Organizers, @Metagross31 or @Minashigo Hiko. We can help you out with various topics and are glad to discuss potential ideas. We can also sponsor the prize pool for your event. If you have a cool idea for a PvE event, or want to host a PvP tournament, please don't hesitate to reach out to us, we will gladly assist you.
 
• Contribute

Skylords Reborn is a community-driven project fueled by the passion and dedication of over 40 volunteers. We are always on the lookout for like-minded individuals. If you have a passion for gaming, programming, design, or marketing, we invite you to take a look at our open positions!
 

 
• In Conclusion

That's all for this Community Update! We appreciate you taking the time to read through it.
As is tradition, we're including a scratch code as a small token of our appreciation for your support.
The code will reward you with a General booster: THAN-KYOU-SKYL-ORDS

The code is valid until September 1st, when we will bring you another Community Update. 
We're always looking for ways to improve and value your feedback. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please don't hesitate to share them with us. We'll be back next month with more updates on our ongoing projects and upcoming features. You can also sign up to our e-mail newsletter here. 

Archive
• Skylords Reborn Documents (Deep Dives, Behind the Scenes, PvP Guide)  
• Overview Community Updates
• Community Update July 2023

Also a special shout out to Ultralord who celebrated his 1 Year of Streaming on Twitch! 🥳 

He spend the last 12 months with over 160 hours on 100 streams, showcasing 22 events, 120 replays and was joined by over 40 co-hosts. So go show him some love 🙂 
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHSaZQdyxlU
There is a full nature run for Oracle expert. Random video I found on YouTube, but could be helpful.

Patch #400043 - 25 July 2023
Welcome to the long-awaited quality of life patch. After this update, the Forge will finally be running smoothly again. Amongst other minor bug fixes and improvements, this patch will also allow you to watch outdated replays. Keep in mind that replays with gameplay affected by patches will still desync.
 

General Changes
Enabled playback for outdated replays. However, replays may not accurately reflect the original gameplay if the replay contains actions that have since been affected by balancing patches.
General Fixes
Improved overall performance in the Forge and while within game creation lobbies.  Improved the remaining days display of auctions in German. Improved the RPvE Cosmetic Portrait Names to be more consistent. Improved the descriptions of various achievements to be more consistent: Codebreaker Lone Ranger The Nightmare's Nightmare Urban Planner
Card Fixes
Player Cards:
 Abyssal Warder (Fire) / Abyssal Warder (Frost):
1. Active ability Crystal Spikes: Improved description to be more accurate in German.
 Burning Spears:
1. Toggle ability Weapon Change: Ability display on the card visualization has been reordered.
 Fleshbender (Shadow):
1. Fixed tooltip to show correct English name in non-English languages on upgrade 3.
 Hammerfall (Frost):
1. Passive ability Breeze of Strength:
   A. Fixed ability tooltip to display 40 instead of only 15 shielding capacity regeneration.
   B. Improved description to be more consistent.
 Life Weaving:
1. Pain Link: Fixed the damage transfer to no longer target nearby structures but only units.
 Lord Cyrian:
1. Fixed the description of the upgrade card for upgrade 3 in German.
 Lyrish Knight / Lyrish Knight (Promo):
1. Passive ability Steadfast: Ability is now displayed as a 5th ability in the card tooltip (does not fit on the card visualization).
 Mind Control:
1. Infinite Domination: Added the missing origin name of the debuff immunity tooltip.
 Regrowth:
1. Emerald Blessing: Improved the translation of the Godspell name to be more accurate in German.
 Sleet Storm:
1. Heavy Rain: Improved the upgrade card visualization of upgrade 1.
 Stone Warrior (Frost):
1. Active ability Blessed Shatter Lance: Fixed the ability to properly work against some frozen conditions.
 Sunken Temple (Nature):
1. Autocast ability Gifted Plague: Fixed an issue that caused upgrade U0-U2 to not spawn Pest Creepers.
Non-Player Cards:
 Lost Crawler:
1. Passive ability Blowout: Improved the description to be more accurate.

[Disclaimer: The following is about the entities introduced by the nature battlegrounds preset.] 
 Caustic Sentinel:
1. Autocast ability Acid Spit: Added an impact visual effect to the projectile.
 Overmind:
1. Autocast ability Infinite Domination: Fixed a bug where the ability did not change the population count when mind-controlling a unit.
 Swamp Drake:
1. The general mind-control immunity that allowed power expenditure without actually granting the target has been removed.
 Wheel of Juvenescence:
1. Fixed a typo in the card's name.
2. Gift of Juvenescence: Improved description to be more consistent in non-English languages.

[Disclaimer: The following is about the testing entity, exclusively available on the test server.] 
 Teststrike:
1. Adjusted the internal classifications and removed the visualization of a Fire affinity.
2. Increased the unit's life points from 5,000 to 10,000.
3. Increased the average damage dealt over 20 seconds from 5,000 to 10,000.
4. Changed the size type from XL to L.
5. Decreased the visual model size scaling from 200% to 135%.
6. Added a German card name to search for it.
7. Active ability Fire Lance:
   A. Fixed incorrect handling of overkill damage.
   B. Removed M-sized counter damage bonus.
   C. Improved description to be more consistent.
8. Passive ability Fiery Birth:
   A. Increased damage from 10,000 (30,000 in total) to 30,000 (90,000 in total).
   B. Fixed incorrect handling of overkill damage.
   C. Removed M-sized counter damage bonus.
   D. Improved description to be more consistent.
 

That's all for this patch! See you in the Forge!

Doesn't mean they are bad, the three Gold Tier winners (including you) are already very good entries.
I wasn't part of this jury and didn't join their deliberations, but the process is usually setup in a way that you set "standards" what you expect from the tiers and after that you review the entries. On creative contests, it is quite arbitrary where to draw the line, you can either do that (very? too?) loosely or set some (hard? harsh?) standards beforehand, usually it ends up somewhere in between that. But it can always be argued afterwards that you could have moved either harsher or more loose. 
But what I'm 100% sure is that its no good if you move in with "we have to have a 1st place winner". That compromises the whole process too much right from the start.

When the entries are all so bad, they simply skipped platinum.

Skylords!
The Jury has ended their deliberations, so it is time to reveal who made it into the winner tiers of the CCC#11:
Note: Some of those are quite large in size - sorry for everyone with a slow connection. I added spoiler tags around the entries so you can view one by one.
Gold Tier - @Bini Inibitor - Slav Squad
 
Gold Tier - @Hrdina_Imperia - Unpopular Opinion
 
Gold Tier - @pierakor - Lost Good
 
 

Silver Tier - @Metagross31 - Construct
 
Silver Tier - @Volin - Ouch!
 
Silver Tier - @Redmark- I see dead people
 
Silver Tier - @Dolewan - Loading Screen
 
 
 
Silver Tier - @pierakor - Clapping

Besides those tiered prizes, I have talked to the SR Team, and since we got no Booster Code this time I wanted to still honour those who participated in some form - they will receive a Mini Booster. 
Prices will be sent out as soon as possible.
Final Words
First, I'd like to thank the jury again for doing their duty - especially on the creative contests it can be an ungrateful work. Please be civil if you disagree with their judgement.
In the upcoming days, all entries will be uploaded to Tenor, so you can access them inside Discord.
Creative Contests are usually low in participation, but I think some of the entries speak for themselves that it was worth doing it. Not the contest the masses want, but the contest we as a community need.
Next up in the CCC will be something more mainstream again, I promise! 😃
 

Mapmaking Fundamentals - Camp Design (Cont.)

Area Formation - Lodgement
The type of camps a map designer employs has a major effect on the feel of both the map in its entirety and also specific subsections of the map. For example, Mo, which will be discussed below, transitions from a one-path map from T1 to T3, to a lodgement map in T3 & T4. Camp formations in Mo then transition types accordingly. Lodgement maps, or map subsections, are sufficiently different from normal maps that they deserve particular attention. In these types of maps, the player is required to progress and conquer land, as normal, but under the constant threat of permanent or semi-permanent enemy patrols. The patrols occupy a large portion of the enemy power budget, leading to a situation where the camps themselves are often of reduced strength. Many camps in lodgement maps are in fact only half-camps, containing only some of the aspects of line or center-based camp formations. The reason for these seemingly incomplete camps is that lodgement maps are not balanced on a camp-by-camp basis, as is true in the previously discussed maps like Blight and Crusade, but as an area. While each camp on Blight is self-contained, the entire area of a lodgement map should be regarded as a single complex line camp formation. This also means that strategic depth in the given area is not measured camp-by-camp but area-by-area. To help demonstrate this, we will discuss several examples below via visual illustration.
Lodgement Formations: Encounters with Twilight

Encounters with Twilight - Lodgement

As already mentioned, many lodgement style maps feature a series of half-camps guarded by permanent or semi-permanent patrols. In the case of Encounters with Twilight, each half-camp, or strongpoint, is functionally equivalent to a non-respawning frontline. The patrolling Vileblood and Whisperers function as reserve and support lines respectfully. This design encourages a player to either preemptively destroy patrols or to avoid them altogether to isolate enemy strongpoints which are weak on their own.
The patrol units in a lodgement map are highly relevant to the player’s experience, and Encounters with Twilight’s patrols are a masterclass in good camp design. The patrol’s primary goal is to hamper or repel player advances against NPC strongpoints. Since these strongpoints do not respawn, every time a player is able to destroy a target, they permanently weaken the area’s defenses, reducing its strategic depth. Vilebloods therefore represent the perfect reserve line as they can either prevent forward progress until the support arrives via their area of denial on-death effect, or they can force a player forward into an enemy strongpoint by blocking the path of retreat. The Whisperers are good complements, able to function both as a support and archer line. Their damage is decent; they can heal multiple allies simultaneously, restoring the integrity of damaged strongpoints; and provide a large area blind. This creates a dichotomy. The Whisperers discourage ranged units, while the Vileblood discourages slow melee units. Many veteran players of Encounters therefore lean towards swift melee units like Burrowers to snipe strongpoints while avoiding the incoming patrols.
Lodgement Formations: Mo

Mo - Half-camps
If Encounters with Twilight’s patrols are a masterclass in good lodgement area design, Mo’s patrols are the prime example of what not to do. In this section of Mo, the half-camps, or strongpoints, function as the archer and support lines while the patrols represent the frontline. This is a solid design and the strongpoints themselves, both the half-camps shown above as well as the various towers stationed on the center plateau, are well designed and interesting. The issue is that the player will almost never reach these strongpoints to claim them for himself until after the patrols have stopped spawning. This happens primarily because the patrols are too strong, and their spawn points are badly placed. In Encounters with Twilight, the patrol spawn exists at the point farthest from the player’s initial entry into the area. In Mo, the patrol spawns are located closer to the player than the vast majority of strongpoints. Additionally, the northern spawn is so close to the player’s intended strongpoint that it actually becomes a liability for the player to attempt to establish a beachhead in what otherwise should represent an ideal location to facilitate further conquest of the area.
The primary lesson to learn from Mo’s bad example is that not only the composition of patrols is important, but also their location. Patrol spawns should be located as far as possible from the player’s initial entry and expected expansion into the lodgement area. This gives the player the ability to expand without having to worry about enemies spawning in the very midst of what should now be conquered territory. Additionally, it allows the player more time between spawns to move forward and capture and/or degrade enemy strongpoints in preparation for total conquest of the area.
Lodgement Formations: Behind Enemy Lines
While the above 2 maps have lodgement sections, Behind Enemy Lines is a giant lodgement map. The player starts in the center and is required to slowly expand outwardly in all directions under constant siege while preventing the enemy from generating more powerful patrols via Twilight Disciples. Behind Enemy Lines is the synthesis of all the ideas we are covered so far in this document, and it is therefore the perfect conclusion to our analysis of BattleForge’s camp design.
Behind Enemy Lines - Expansion Zones

Zone 1 – Vulnerable initial starting zone.
Zone 2 – Half-camps supported by patrols. Natural expansion zone, guarded by terrain features.
Zone 3 – Hybrid camp design. These camps are simple line & center-based formations simultaneously with destroyable spawners. Fortifiable by the player post-conquest, also permanently reduces patrols and naturally intercepts disciples.
Zones 4 & 5 – Complex line-based formation camps. Permanently safe locations once conquered.
Final Camp – Multilayered complex line-based formation camp. Map ends when destroyed.
When considered zone-by-zone as just outlined, it is easy to see that Behind Enemy Lines moves from simpler to more complex camp formations as the map progresses. Each zone also gives the player tangible benefits, such as a more easily defensible location, easier access to the Twilight Disciple path, and periodic permanent reductions in the quantity of patrols. In exchange though, the player must now defend an increasingly larger portion of the map. Additionally, both permanent spawn locations are sufficiently removed from the player’s own strongpoints and are located outside of the natural progression of the map. This gives the player options in how to respond to incoming threats. Finally, the map contains a large mix of terrain features. Chokepoints are connected to wide pathways, which are flanked by cliffs, both favorable and unfavorable. This allows the player a plethora of ways in which to approach the map.
Behind Enemy Lines - Zone 3 South, Hybrid Camp Design

 

Appendix I: Standard Camp Layout Diagrams

 

 

Mapmaking Fundamentals - Camp Design
This was originally written as an internal design document meant to guide our current development of new campaign maps. It has been shared here for interested players and as an aid for aspiring community mapmakers. 

Introduction
BattleForge campaign maps have a particular feel to them, and this feel is a fundamental component of the unique experience which is playing BattleForge. The goal of this design guide is to use existing campaign maps, particularly the best campaign maps, to understand and to categorize the distinct features of the camps in BattleForge’s campaign, such that we can better design future campaign maps. This guide is therefore intended to categorize the design choices of the original devs and to act as a reference for future development for both community and official map development.
Legend
Given the nature of map design, this guide uses a high density of visual examples to illustrate map design principles and standard practices. Across all examples, a standard legend is used.
Purple – is used to highlight NPC camp formations. Purple text is used to describe the various dynamics occurring in the enemy camp. Light Blue – is used to highlight spawn locations and any special interactions which these spawn locations enable. Orange – is used to highlight non-standard flanking routes available to players. In the majority of cases, orange designates available paths for flying units, but it can also represent potential cliffing opportunities, particularly for artillery units such as Firedancer and Firestalker. Red – is primarily used to highlight player attack routes. It is secondarily used to highlight key features of camps which affect said attack routes. Black – is used to highlight terrain features.
Table of Contents
1. Player Agency - Angles of Attack:
2. Camp Formations – Line vs. Center Based
   A. Simple Line-based Formations (Blight)
   B. Complex Line-based Formations (Nightmare Shard)
   C. Center-based Formations (Crusade & Siege of Hope)
3. Area Formation - Lodgement
   A. Encounters with Twilight Analysis
   B. Mo Analysis
   C. Behind Enemy Lines Analysis
4. Appendix I: Standard Camp Layout Diagrams

Player Agency - Angles of Attack
BattleForge is a game well beloved for how much agency it gives to players. Players can choose which modes to grind for rewards, which cards they collect, how their decks are constructed, and how they approach each map. The continued cultivation of player agency has and must continue to inform map design. One of the most prominent aspects of player agency is how a player can approach a map, which enemies they fight, which paths they follow, and how they attack any given camp. Given this document’s focus on camp design, it is worthwhile to start our analysis by visually highlighting a good example of camp design which enables player agency by a multiplicity of angles of attack.
In nearly every example shown in this document, there are a number of red and orange arrows highlighting some of the available angles of attack for each given camp. I strongly encourage the reader when following along in the analysis of each camp to also consider how the original devs used the terrain features and enemy layout to enable and disable different angles of attack; the reader ought to then consider how this affects the player experience in both positive and negative ways. The diversity of approaches both within and between camps is one of the major factors that contributes to BattleForge’s maps remaining interesting even after dozens of playthroughs.
Blight Enclave 1 - Northeast


Camp Formations - Line vs. Center Based
In general, the vast majority of camp designs in BattleForge’s campaign maps fall into 2 distinct categories, line-based and center-based camps. Line-based camps are so called because the enemies in the camp are visually aligned into line formations, similar to real life pre-modern army arrangements. Each line is typically made up of only a couple different types of units and both the front and reserve lines are often supported by buildings. Center-based camps are so called because the enemies in the camp are clustered in the center as a group. While initially clustered, center-based camps quickly self-differentiate when attacked. Contrary to their line-based counterparts, center-based camps are highly diverse, utilizing as many different enemy types as possible but with a deemphasized focus on towers.
Simple Line-based Formations: Blight
The majority of camps in Blight fall into the category of simple line-based formations. What this means is that the camp is made up of 2 lines, a frontline and a backline. The frontline is typically melee units, a support building (Waystation), and towers. The backline is composed of support units or buildings (Shamans, Bandit Sorceresses, Waystations), long-range backup (Bandit Sniper, Artillery), and melee reserves. While higher tier camps have increased unit diversity, most simple line-based camps make use of only a small number of distinct units in each line. Diversity is more to be found between the lines than within them. While most camps have spawners, these are usually not the focus of the camp, with several only being triggered by the global map timers. In all cases, while the camp itself is fortified, it also feels lived in. When looking at the camp, the defensive formations are believable, and the player can imagine that the Bandit camps also double as homes.
Blight Enclave 2 - Southeast
Blight Enclave 3 - West

Complex Line-based Formations: Nightmare Shard
Nightmare Shard’s design revolves around defending the Forge Shard and destroying 4 camps, each of which is themed after a different element. Each of the four primary camps falls into the category of complex line-based formations. This type of formation is a more complex version of the simple formation illustrated above by the examples from Blight. While simple line camps only have a front and backline, often with no spawner, complex formations have multiple layers of defense and almost always make use of a well-protected spawner. The general design idea is that the frontline, largely made up of melee units, impedes the player’s initial progress, while being kept alive by a possible support line. Simultaneously, an archer line, made up of ranged units and towers often protected by terrain or walls, provides the primary source of damage. Once the frontline dies, the archer and support lines, still protected by towers or a fallback artillery location, delay the player until the frontline can respawn from the spawner farther back. These types of camps at their best create the feeling of a great ongoing battle where the player slowly and steadily advances against the enemy. At their worst, they feel like an unending slog against a never-ending horde.
Nightmare Shard - Shadow Camp

A major factor that determines if the camp is enjoyable or frustrating is how the camp manages strategic depth. In the 3 examples included here, the strategic depth of the camp is handled significantly differently. In the first example above of the Shadow camp, absent Mana Wings or leaving the camp until post-T2, the player is forced to attack into small chokepoints with no capacity to retreat due to the wild magic zones. Paired with enemy Vilebloods, whose death temporarily blocks any forward progress, this often leads to a choice between reaching the spawner but sacrificing a large portion of your army to Vileblood acid; or delaying to save your army but facing a second wave of Vilebloods. Choices such as these are frustration fodder because the player feels trapped into making a bad choice with little capacity to adapt. Still, the distance between the spawner and the initial engagement zone is very small, and if this were a T2+ camp it would likely be well balanced given stronger player damage and CC spells. In general, lower tier complex formations should have lower strategic depth, measured here as the distance between the initial engagement zone and the priority target, as well as the capacity of the enemy to continue fighting.
Nightmare Shard - Frost Camp

The Frost camp is an example of a fully fleshed out complex line-based formation. There is a center frontline, with both an archer line and support line directly behind. The sides have additional archer lines (towers + ranged units) which can continue to attack the player if they try to run for the spawner, which is well protected at the very back of the camp. This overlapping multi-layered defense is the major component of any complex line formation. It is also believable. Given the available troops, the arrangement of the Twilight forces makes logical sense. A player given the same troops would likely place them in a similar fashion.
Another key part of all well-made complex formations is permanently destroyable strongpoints. In this case, the Frost camp is formidable not just because the units can respawn, but because the towers help to hamper forward progress. When the camp is originally encountered, it is at its strongest. But, if players are careful and destroy the towers before launching a full assault, they increase the chances of taking the camp without being repealed or losing most of their forces. This creates a give-and-take with the camp where it feels like the player and the enemy are actually matching wits against each other. The best complex line formations have a strategic depth that can be degraded or circumvented by smart players, but which acts as a formidable wall to the reckless.
Nightmare Shard - Nature Camp

Similar to the Frost camp, the Nature camp has multiple layers of defense. The Twilight Pikemen slow enemies while they get damaged by a substantial contingent of Twilight Slayers and a well-positioned Twilight Bombard. The camp has 3 forms of CC: slow, blind, and M-knockback. These make it very difficult to reach the spawner which is located very far back in the camp. While the ultimate goal is the spawner, the Twilight Bombard is provided as a solid secondary objective. By destroying it, the player makes any subsequent attacks on the camp much easier. Additionally, one of the most intriguing aspects of this camp is that, absent the single Bombard and Whisperer, all other defenses are T2 or below, while the camp is a T3 camp. It is the perfect example of how a well-designed camp with significant strategic depth can provide a challenge even to higher tier players without the need to utilize stereotypically powerful units. This camp also well illustrates that many complex line formations make use of only a few units with little compositional diversity in the camp as a whole.
Center-based Formations: Crusade
Crusade - West Bottom Camp

Crusade - West Middle Camp

Crusade - West Top Camp

 
Center-based Formations: Siege of Hope
Siege of Hope - Western Enclave

Siege of Hope - Town Guard

Good feedback, thank you. I will take that into consideration in the future. 👍

Interesting idea, and also loving the possibility of Magma Hurler recolor 🤩
Side note, how do you change the colors/hue of the card picture? 

Hrdina we all know you only play Magma Hurlers, so any booster contents are redundant anyways.