TEPPEN for Dummies Part 4: Green, The Stalwart Guardian

After discussing some of the fundamentals of the game, I have decided to once again showcase some of the Heroes in TEPPEN. And this time, we are now going to look into the Green Heroes of this game. 

Green is associated with defense, with most Unit cards sporting high HP and has tons of benefits that could help your Hero and units survive longer. Meanwhile, Green Action Cards consist of providing Shields and other buffs that can help your units survive long fights and is designed to counter a popular color, Red, that relies on constant offense to deliver the killing blow. 

Green is also a powerful color due to one important ability, Seal, which disables all effects of a single unit, making them ineffective against certain units you deploy. 

As per usual, I will be discussing each Heroes' Hero Arts, strategies on how to maximize them, and my overall opinions of the character in question. 

That said, let's get started.

A. X

The Blue Bomber is back in action in this real-time card game. X is specialized in the healing of friendly units, give them buffs that synergizes with healing abilities, and providing added protection from hostile effects that can hinder your strategies. Despite all of these useful abilities, X is considered to be the worst Hero in this game due to the fact that his skill would only benefit units to the fullest if they are alive on the field, which makes him somewhat bad against units that focuses so much on destroying cards on the field. Sure, the same can be said for Rathalos with his offensive-style kit, but unlike Rathalos, X has little offensive options outside Unit cards with Veil and gimmicky decks that can either hit, miss, or both.

1.A. Heart Tank
AP Cost: 18
Effect: Gives +7 HP to a friendly unit. 
It's basically Shinku Hadouken but in healing form, but it's not as useful as the latter Hero Art. This, in my opinion, is his worst Hero Art due to it having no additional benefits. While it can work to some certain decks, you better off using his two other Hero Arts. 

2.A. Charge Shot
AP Cost: 21
Effect: Gives all friendly units this effect "When their HP is increased, gain +1 Attack". The effect cannot stack. 
It's one of his premier abilities that makes him a powerful force to be reckoned with and made him a serious threat to a lot of decks following the introduction of the Haunted by Memories card expansion (which would be discussed in a future entry, hopefully). However, given the nerfs that was given to it (increasing its 16 AP cost to 20 and then to 21), X has once again become a joke that he already is, which is particularly sad since it's his one of his ONLY good Hero Arts. 

3.A. Gaea Armor
AP Cost: 21
Effect: Gives <Veil> to all friendly units.
While it may seem a powerful ability, keep in mind that you need a specific card set-up to make this Hero Art work. Veil is an ability that only few cards have, which is saying something, as it basically makes that unit with Veil untraceable by certain cards and even most Hero Arts. However, Black has tons of destruction cards that destroy units at random while some cards that inflict Seal would remove Veil right off the bat, there are tons of Reds that deals burn damage a group of units without the ever need of targeting them, which makes Gaea Armor's use questionable at best. But regardless, providing Veil to units is very beneficial if you are focusing too much on buffing allies without being worried of having them hindered with Actions and other skills that can target your units.  

B. Chun Li

A Chinese martial artist known for her agility and high-speed kicks, Chun Li is known as one of the more powerful Green Heroes in TEPPEN, capable of providing defensive and offensive support to units, as well as the only Hero capable of generating additional MP through one of her Hero Arts. She is a versatile Hero capable of carrying various builds, be it offensive, defensive or a mixture of both. 

1.B. Kikosho (subjected to a buff in a latest patch)
AP Cost: 17
Effect: Grants <Shield> to all friendly units.

Post-buff
AP Cost: 14

Remember when I said that Dive Attack is a definition of an all-out assault? This Hero Art is the definition of an all-out defense in TEPPEN. Since Shields stack in this game, it's very crucial to use such a tactic to protect your units from long fights, especially against Red since they are focused more on destroying your units through effect damage.

2.B. Hyakuretsukaku (known as Lightning Kick in the English dub)
AP Cost: 13
Effect: Gives +1 Attack and <Heavy Pierce> to a friendly unit (when a unit with Heavy Pierce destroys an enemy unit, enemy is dealt damage equal to that unit's attack with Heavy Pierce). 
For a low, low cost of 13 AP, you can be able to give a friendly unit with enough firepower to deal much punishment to anyone who gets in your way. Excellent for an aggro-heavy deck with Combo and Agility. Also useful for powering up your MP batteries. 

3.B. Yawn
AP Cost: 20
Effect: A friendly unit gains the following effect: "when it leaves the field, gains 4 MP".
Now THIS is is what makes Chun Li very dangerous to deal with as this skill can be beneficial to you, no matter what happens to your friendly units, while also serving as some form of a comeback with the added MP.  This works well in a deck filled with MP batteries and Ascended units as the faster MP regen time can help you gain MP even faster while Ascended units can just get rid of those with the Yawn effect to have a new unit on the field while also giving you additional MP to conduct more combo plays. (Ascended is a unit that you can put on another unit to activate its effect, destroying the previous unit in the process)

C. Nero

Oh look, it's everyone's favourite deadwe-! I mean, demon hunter. Well, sort of. Nero focuses on a mechanic called Growth that allows units to gain several benefits upon levelling up. Each unit with Growth requires a certain amount of Experience to level up, which can be achieved by playing Unit cards whose MP is equal or greater than the required Experience needed to level up. Another competent Green Hero that is seeing tons of play as the game went on due to his sheer versatility and the amount of Growth support that was added to the game. 

1.C. Devil Bringer
AP Cost: 15
Effect: Grants +2 Attack and <Spillover> for a single attack. (Units with Spillover deals damage to enemies adjacent to the friendly unit's original target, but the damage itself is halved for those enemies)
It's one of his more versatile Hero Arts due to the fact that it's use is not limited to Growth decks. However, this also means that you need to build certain decks that can cater the needs of this Hero Art, such as those with <Crush> (Units with Crush can deal damage to enemies without taking counterattack damage) and those with Combo-centric strategies. Despite this, the Hero Art isn't seen that much in higher PvP ranks. 

2.C. True Power
AP Cost: 12
Effect: A friendly unit with <Growth> gains one level. 
It may not seem to be a good Hero Art at first, since that players would only be limited to using Growth-centric cards, but for people who have played the game for a while now have since seen tons of Growth-related support cards that helps in making the Hero Art shine, which has since allowed the Hero Art to see some play in some shape or form. It's one of his less used Hero Arts, however. 

3.C. Hey, Nico!
AP Cost: 17
Effect: Adds 1 Gerbera, Ragtime, or Tomboy to your EX Pocket. 
Despite its random nature, Hey Nico is one of Nero's more powerful and versatile Hero Arts as not only it can allow him to get a powerful card to his hand, but this also allows him to become a lot more flexible with his deck options. Each of the cards added to his hand at random has different effects. Gerbera can inflict 12 damage across all enemies, Ragtime prevents units from attacking for 13 seconds (the mechanic is known as Halt), and Tomboy provides an ATK and HP bonus totaling up to 10 points. While not all of them are particularly useful in all situations, it at least gives Nero some options in dealing with specific threats. 

And last but not the least...

D. Felyne

Every Monster Hunter's favorite buddy has also crawled his way in TEPPEN as a lovable character and a Hero with great potential. Felyne harnesses one important mechanic in the game, which is Tribes, that allows him to utilize in his favor. Felyne is also capable of providing defensive bonuses to allies when he gets the chance, while also capable of causing mischief by stealing important resources from enemies. 

1.D. Shieldspire
AP Cost: 14
Effect: Provides +3 HP to a friendly unit and an effect that reduces any damage it takes that are 3 or lower to 1.
Versatile Hero Art and is the first one you can learn to this cute critter. Pretty useful to apply on allies that rely to survive for long bouts in order to be useful including MP batteries and allies that triggers certain effects when taking damage. 

2.D. Coral Orchestra
AP Cost: 16
Effect; Targets one friendly unit on the field and all Unit cards on your hand and EX Pocket that has a similar Tribe to that of the chosen unit have their MP reduced by 1. Their MP costs cannot go to zero. 
Pretty useful but very gimmicky, and it has a high chance to fail more than it can succeed. It does work well if you are using dual-colored decks, but even that requires a lot more setup to make it super useful. Not as used as Shieldspire.

3.D. Plunderblade
AP Cost: 14
Effect: Takes a random card from your opponent's Deck and add it to your EX Pocket. 
I have nothing much to say but it's rather a useful Hero Art if you can get your enemies to unable getting their key cards right away, but even then the card you can get is random and there's a chance that you may be able to steal a dead card at that point. It's also a good thing though, as you can just use this Hero Art to potentially thin your opponent's Deck. 

And that's pretty much all the Green Heroes in TEPPEN. While Green is not particularly a strong color in the current meta, it's nonetheless competent in its own way.

Thoughts? Feel free to comment. Thanks and have a nice day! :)

TEPPEN for Dummies Part 3: Active Response???

So what is Active Response? What does it have to do in achieving victory in TEPPEN? 

Today, we'll be discussing about it. 

According to TEPPEN's official website, Active Response 'refers to the time after an Action Card is put into play, during which each player can “react” to each other by playing additional Action Cards', which means the state only activates when using an Action Card. (GIF was sourced from the TEPPEN Wiki page)

During this time, the following takes place:

1. The match timer stops. 

2. Players are given 10 seconds to play an Action Card in return.

3. During Active Response, both players get an additional 2 temporary MP (as represented by the blue squares on the MP bar), which you can use during this phase only. The blue squares will be consumed first before the yellow bars.

4. Each player can take turns in using Action Cards, which refreshes the 10 second timer. 

5. Should Active Response ends, card activations occur in reverse, meaning the last Action Card used will have its effect resolve first and vice-versa. 

6. The match timer resumes after all Action Cards during Active Response resolve. 

Playing around with Active Response is an important key factor in winning and losing fights. Using Units won't be enough to stop your opponents from their tracks!

And that's all for this edition. If you have other TEPPEN knowledge that you want me to tackle, let me know down in the comments! 

Have a nice day!

TEPPEN for Dummies Part 2: General Rule of Play

In the previous entry of this new series, we discussed what Red Heroes have to offer in terms of gameplay and strategy. However, there's one particular mistake I made as I wrote that article. 

I DIDN'T EVEN EXPLAIN THE MECHANICS OF THE GAME!!!! How can people be able to utilize the characters they have if they don't even know how to play it?!

*sigh* Well, today, allow me to make up for that blunder, by discussing how the game actually works and the rules of play that you need to understand in order to win. 

What you see here is the battle screen, where all matches in TEPPEN will take place. Here are some of the things that you need to learn in order to win. 

1. Cards. The stronghold to victory.
Yeah, that's right. Cards. You defend yourself by using this. Playing a card will allow you to either play unit or unleash a certain effect. There are two kinds of cards, Unit and Action cards, both of which have various gameplay styles.

A Unit card has an MP Cost, an Attack (represented by the number inside a red triangle) and HP (represented by the number inside a blue shield). Attack is the amount of damage you deal to enemies, while the HP is the amount of damage it can take before it's destroyed. Once it reaches zero, it's removed from the field and sent to the Graveyard. 

Meanwhile, Action Cards only has an MP Cost but it has various effects that you can utilize to gain the upper hand.

Cards also come in various rarities; Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Secret. (with the latter being variants of other existing cards but animated)

2. Heroes. The avatar of power. 

The one in the left is the Hero you're currently using. In your Hero, you can see its current Health (the big number), number of remaining cards in your Deck, and the number of cards in your Graveyard (where all used Actions and destroyed Units usually being sent).

3. Hero Art; true strength unleashed!

A Hero Art is a unique ability that each Hero has. They can learn up to three but can only equip one per battle. Using a Hero Art requires AP which can be acquired by playing cards. The amount of MP is the same amount of AP you'll generate. Once a Hero Art has been used, you have to wait for a short while to use it again, even after getting the amount of AP you'll need. 

4. MP, the conduit of courage.

MP is required to play cards. It charges over time, providing you 1 MP every five seconds. During the start of matches, you gain 4 MP by default and it recharges from there. Max MP is also affected by the number of attributes you put in your Deck (which will be discussed in a future entry). Certain effects and Units can either accelerate your MP charge time or slow it down. 

5. EX Pocket. Freebies are always a good thing.

The EX Pocket is a slot where cards that are added to the hand through special means are placed. You can only add two cards in it. Any excess will be sent to the Graveyard instead, so be careful. 

6. Unit slots. The foundations of a good offense. 

This is where you can put units. Only three units can appear at a time. 

7. Attack gauge. Charge through and show no mercy!

Unlike in most card games, attacking is determined to the way the attack gauge reaches the other side. If the attack gauge maxes out, it launches an attack, dealing damage to an opposing enemy unit in the opposite slot. If there are no units on that slot, it damages the Hero instead. 

8. The enemy Hero. Make them step aside!

The aim of the game is to get the Hero's enemy to zero HP. You can do so by playing your cards right. 

Also, keep in mind in some of these tips;

A. A match lasts for five minutes.

B. The player with the most HP after the timer reaches zero is declared the victor. If both players have the same amount of health after the five-minute duration expires, it results in a DOUBLE DEFEAT!!!!

C. It's not game over when you ran out of cards from your Deck. As long as you have cards in your hand and the timer still ticks, you can still fight. 

D. The flag button on the top-left is the surrender option. Do so if you want to quit fighting, but this will result in a loss. Only do so if you think that you'll lose no matter what you do. It's not shameful to admit defeat every now and then, it will just make you ensure yourself that you will do better next time.

That's all I have for today. If you have other tips in mind, feel free to leave some in the comments. 

TEPPEN for Dummies Part 1: Red, the Epitome of Offense

EDIT: This is my first blog write up I ever made in three years, so please bear with me about this as there had been a looooooooot of things that occurred in real life. Had a job, some struggles in life, certain reflections, and of course, the pandemic. Either way, good to be back. :)

If there's one video game genre that I like playing, it's card games.

Card games are considered to be one of the few genres that come and goes, but what makes a card game stand out, is the metagame. One thing is for certain about it though, and that is the metagame constantly changing. From card strategies to the way each mechanic interacts with the current game state. 

And there's no other card game to discuss this particular topic than TEPPEN. Sure I can go with other card games at the moment, but TEPPEN is a card game that I am currently attached with, so there.

TEPPEN is a digital collectible card game that was first released back in 2019, developed by Capcom and GungHo Online Entertainment, under the name Project Battle, which consists an all-star cast of Capcom characters, and it has since grown to become an interesting card game in its own right.

The gameplay does not focus on phases like other card games, but it has a unique real-time strategy and turn-based elements that make it a different card game than those that existed in the market. 

There are four attributes, all of which have different gameplay styles; Red, Green, Purple, and Black. Red focuses on damage and aggressive gameplay, Green on defense, Purple with field manipulation, and Black on destruction effects. 

As of the time of this writing, there are 16 Heroes that you can pick and choose to utilize, all of which have different styles of gameplay. And this is where the meat of this new series will focus on, discussing the Heroes of TEPPEN and how can you win with them. 

For the first part of this new series, we will be first focusing on the Red attribute, known for dealing direct damage against enemy units and Heroes, while also providing offensive buffs to allow your units to hit a lot harder. 

I will also discuss the playstyle of each Hero, their Hero Arts and some tips on how to maximize their use, as well as my opinions on said Hero Arts.

That being said, let's get started: 

A. Ryu (from Street Fighter)

Known as a martial arts expert of mysterious origins, Ryu's gameplay focuses on dealing damage to enemy Heroes and units, which makes him a very straightforward Hero with a lot of firepower. His kit has a lot of ways to dish tons of damage to enemy units and I consider him to be one of the easier units to master due to his on-point gameplay.

Hero Arts:

1.A. Shinku Hadouken
AP Cost: 20
Effect: Deals 7 damage to an enemy unit.
Exactly what it says on the tin. This Hero Art deals 7 damage to an enemy unit, which is nothing to scoff at, since there's a lot of powerful units with 7 or less HP and a single swipe from this Hero Art would ensure you the upper hand. This card works well with units and Action cards that deal direct damage to enemy units once they hit the field. Used to be a powerful skill due to its 18 AP cost but was later increased to 20 to make it a lot more balanced. Still useful to this day, though. 

2.A. Denjin Renki
AP Cost: 15
Effect: Enhances damage-dealing effects from cards that causes damage (i.e. cards that damages enemy units or Heroes) and cards that further increase effect damage from your hand, EX Pocket, or the field by +1. The buff provided by this Hero Art can stack. 
Another card that focuses on augmenting effect damage. A must-have Hero Art for any deck centered in pressuring your opponent through burn effects (such as cards like Headshot and Sneak Attack that deal direct damage to the enemy Hero). Once of the more unique Hero Arts that have been tweaked to make it a lot more spammable and a lot less powerful. (since its past effect costs 22 AP and provides a +2 damage bonus)

3.A. Metsu Shoryuken
AP Cost: 12
Effect: Gives <Combo> to a friendly unit (Units with Combo can allow them to deal damage twice once their attack gauge maxes out)
While being a very spammable Hero Art due to its low AP cost (arguably the lowest in the entire game), this Hero Art requires a lot of Deck-building to make it work. Also, in a meta where destruction and <Seal> effects are a thing (Seal nullifies all abilities from that unit but they can still gain effects afterwards), Metsu can be difficult to utilize and requires the exact moment and cards to maximize its use. Works well with cards that have high Attack and has <Rush>. (an effect that greatly increases the attack gauge of a Unit card the first time its played)

B. Rathalos (from Monster Hunter)

The King of the Skies. Rathalos is a powerful wyvern that has an offensive-centered kit, focusing on buffing allied units to unleash devastating pain on the opposition. I consider him to be a favorite of mine due to a variety of ways you can build him, from a buff-centric deck to several variations of burn decks. 

Hero Arts:

1.B. Dive Attack
AP Cost: 19
Effect: Grants +2 Attack to all friendly units on play. 
This is the definition of an all-out assault in TEPPEN. The damage increase is pretty significant especially that Red focuses on offense, meaning that your already high-damaging allies can hit even harder. It's one of Ratha's more used Hero Arts nowadays after being given a slight buff in the past. (reducing its ridiculous 25 AP cost). A must have for Rush and Flight-centric decks. 

2.B. Wrath Awoken
AP Cost: 22
Effect: Grants <Flight> and a certain amount Attack to a friendly unit equal to number of Action cards used to increase Attack of units in play. Capped at +3. 
Flight is a powerful effect that deals damage to the enemy Hero directly, regardless whether there's a unit on the opposing field, and can only be blocked through either an opposing unit with Flight or outright Sealing or destroying that unit through card effects. With Rathalos being the King of the Skies, it's natural for such a Hero Art to exist in his repertoire. This skill is one of the few skills that has been heavily used in the past due to how powerful it can become as the battle progresses (since the skill used to have 18 AP and having no limit to the attack increase) and it is the reason why it's nerfed. Still seeing some play but not as rampant as before. 

3.B. Blazing Wall
AP Cost: 14
Effect: Gives <Shield> to a friendly unit and +2 Health (Shield blocks an opponent's attack. Can stack.)
For an offensive powerhouse like Rathalos, players can first assume that this Hero Art can be a bit out of place at first, but the more I realized how this skill should be utilized, the more I understood why it's considered to be one Rathalos' best Hero Arts, let alone one of the best in the game. Keeping your offensive momentum is crucial, and with the Shield and HP bonus that this Hero Art provides, this can allow your unit to survive an encounter with an enemy unit at a specific time of the match. The low AP cost can allow you to provide enough protection for all your key units at the exact moment you need them. You can also use this Hero Art to protect your important allies from incoming attacks or until you get the right card you need. It's THAT flexible. 

C. Jill Valentine (from Resident Evil)

Known by many names including 'supercop' and 'The Master of Unlocking', Jill thrives in a mechanic called Explore which allows players to search for units or Action cards that are not present in the current Deck, allowing players to gain access to additional strategies and extend their options in dealing key threats. 

1.C. Ultimate Weapon (subjected to an upcoming buff)
AP Cost: 17
Effect; Explore for the Rocket Launcher Action Card
Note: Rocket Launcher (MP Cost: 3)
Deals 10 Pierce Damage to a random enemy unit (Pierce Damage: excess damage dealt to a defeated enemy unit will be dealt to the enemy Hero instead).

Post-buff:
AP Cost: 16 
Effect: Effect; Explore for the Rocket Launcher Action Card and give it -1MP
Note: Rocket Launcher (MP Cost: 3)
Deals 8 Pierce Damage to the targeted enemy unit and deal 4 damage to units adjacent to the initial target. 

As of the time of this writing, Ultimate Weapon can be considered as one of her more underwhelming Hero Arts due to the fact that there are many ways to counter this card. The 17 AP cost, for an effect that just explores a single card isn't worth it, unless you have a lot of cards that utilizes on Explores and cards that Explores other cards, is a bit of a letdown. There are also better Hero Arts to utilize Explores. You can still use it and I doubt it will see some play even after the buff, despite being a lot more dangerous now, but that's just me speaking. 

EDIT: Following the recent buff, I must say that the Hero Art has seen a lot of use now than ever, even more used than the popular Antibody Activation, which is pretty surprising. Got to hand it to GungHo for making such a previously-underwhelming Hero Art into a force to be reckoned with. 

2.C. Genesis
AP Cost: 17
Effect: Two random cards that you get from all Explored cards will get -1MP and will be added to your EX Pocket (EX Pocket are two additional slots separate from your initial five-card hand) but its MP cost cannot go to zero. If only one card is added via Explore, that card will only be added to the EX Pocket without the MP discount.
A very gimmicky Hero Art that would focus on recycling Explored cards. Would only be usable on a deck that is centered on certain Explored cards like Shield and the ever-popular Detonation. A bit more used than Ultimate Weapon, but not as good. 

EDIT: Well, after the buff given to Ultimate Weapon, I got to say that Genesis is now her LEAST used HA at this point. Big Oof to this one, sadly. 

3.C. Antibody Activation
AP Cost: 15
Effect: If your Explore count is 3 or more, grants <Shield>, +1 Attack, and +2 HP to a friendly unit. 
Now THIS is the Hero Art that makes Jill a force to be reckoned with. This is a Hero Art that benefits the aggressive use of your resources while also keeping up you offensive momentum. Also, all Explored cards, useful or otherwise, can benefit the quick up-time of this Hero Art. 

And finally...

D. Amaterasu (from Okami)

The Sun Goddess has a lot of strategies at her disposal, such as buffing units and removing key opponents from play. One of the few Heroes that are easy to use and master with the right cards, and once you do, victory is assured with Amaterasu on your side. 

1.D. Great Divine Intervention (subjected to a nerf in the upcoming patch)
AP Cost: 21
Effect: Grants +3 HP to all friendly units and 3 damage to all enemy units. Any enemy defeated by this damage is removed from play and won't trigger its Death Abilities (Death: activates after the unit is defeated)

Post-patch
AP Cost: 23

This Hero Art is amazing in so many levels, but it also because its only one of the few abilities that can help you get rid of enemies and removing them from the game. Excellent on a deck filled with high Attack units and high HP. Units with <Growth> (an effect that grants different bonuses for allied units with <Growth> once it levels up. You can level them up via playing other friendly unit cards) can also benefit from this Hero Art to ensure they live long enough to activate their effects. 

2.D. Thunder Edge
AP Cost: 16
Effect: Grants +1 Attack and <Agility> to a friendly unit. 
Decent Hero Art and with a that grants two effects, which is a lot better than Metsu Shoryuken but has more AP. Good for Flight, Rush, and Combo-centric decks. 

3.D. Celestial Envoy's Miracle
AP Cost: 20
Effect: Your Hero gains "All friendly red units gain +1 Attack". 
Not as used as other of Ammy's Hero Arts due to the fact that it restricts you from playing solely Red units, but its not entirely a bad thing since there's a loooooot of good Red units in the game. Can be compared to Thunder Edge in terms of viability due to the fact that the Hero Art can greatly aid decks that can provide a lot of aggressive pressure against enemies. 

And that covers all the Red Heroes in TEPPEN. While they have some varying degree of success in the current meta, one thing is for certain. Red has been a powerhouse in the game and will always have a place in any meta, especially Jill because, as of writing this article, she received tons of support.

Let me know your thoughts about this write-up and feel free to leave a comment for any constructive feedback. Thanks!