My ELO Deck of the Week: Foxy Ladies

This week's featured deck is my very own Foxy Ladies Mono PussyCat deck. I am proud to share this deck because it has helped me win most of the daily tournaments matches on both Type 1 and ELO formats.

The theme of this deck is balance and diverse strategies as each card can provide. As a first round play you may either play Muze, or Candice to confuse the opponent on what strategies are you cooking up. Veronica and Jeyn are you mid-round game breakers as they will be the one to provide you with separation either for pillz or life point advantage. Clara will be your blocker/big finisher card while Ella is your best damage reducer card.    

Jackie and Noodile to become Collector cards

Urban Rivals has announced that Jackie (Uppers) and Noodile (Roots) will no longer be available in the shop’s packs. However, to those players who already own them can continue to use them as normal.

Both aforementioned cards will be turned into Collector cards and expect that each cards will receive the "CR" affixed after the card names on the day or so.

ELO Weekly Tournament : No Massive Damage Reduction

Last week's ELO tournament was a "No SOA" week,  this week's ban list is a "No to massive damage reduction week" so any cards that value has a 3 and up damage reduction value are be banned for this week's ELO tournament. Notable cards that are included are Sakrohm's Uranus, the Root's Arno, the Rescue clan's DR duo of Slyde and Steve.

It's fortunate for the PussyCat clan players that no member (aside from Charlie and Wanda) has been included on the list so expect the PussyCats will be one of the top ELO constructed deck for the week. This week is also serve as reprieve for most of the GHIEST clan cards as only Bristone was banned so expect this clan will also include on the top deck constructions for this week.

The Importance of Bluffing in Urban Rivals

The bluff is usually an important part of any card game known to man and this includes Urban Rivals. It will probably take a player years to master the fine "art" of bluffing but in Urban Rivals, you are given the chance to learn and master how to bluff early on in the game. In this guide, I will teach you how to bluff, which instances the bluff is applicable, and like the title said, why bluffing is important in Urban Rivals.

Tips on How to use Timber as a Leader

Damage dealers rejoice! If you think damage is the best attribute in Urban Rivals, then Timber will probably be your Leader card of choice. In my opinion. this Leader card is severely underrated because it is available for your use in a lower level compared to the other Leader cards. Having said that, the Timber strategy might come off as one-note albeit a very effective one, if used properly.

Timber is definitely one of the earliest powerhouses a novice player will have his hands on. You can actually get this Leader card for free when you reach level 5 in Urban Rivals! Yes, you heard me right, for free! (Actually, all Leader cards are given for free as long as you go up in levels.)

Two-hit combo cards will benefit a lot from Timber's ability which is Team: +1 Damage. He adds 1 point of damage to all cards in your draw, including himself. He has 6/6 stats in his fifth level, which is effectively 6/7 because of his ability. With Timber in tow, some "weak" cards in the past become a lot more useful than ever. This is Timber's prime specialty. He's the "fairy godfather" (albeit a scary and gruffy one) of the neglected clan minions.

Aside from that, the ability of Timber gives an edge to the cards that your opponent usually underestimates. Mona from Montana and Zatman from Uppers are prime examples of cards that your opponents let through because of their abilities. Now if Timber is in your draw, then they would be hesitant to let these two cards deal their damage, after all they become virtually 5-damage cards instead of their original 4-damage, and in Urban-Rivals, every damage point counts.

Timber also makes a great combination with damage reducers which can act as damage-dealers. Examples of this are Uranus of the Sakrohm clan and Vermyn N of the Bangers. They are popular for their excellent damage reduction, but with Timber they become even more troublesome because not only can they reduce damage they can also dish out the damage itself! Talk about double-edged.

Returning to my previous statement, Timber is so underrated because it is a Leader card everyone can get at a low level. One thing you must remember when you play this card is to just play it as if you're using the more popular Leaders. He is bound to get underestimated after all, so when your future opponents are too condescending, show them what Timber is made of! Damage remains a big thing in this game, no matter how much new abilities are introduced. They will not know what hit them. I bet, when your opponent loses to you, he will always remember that name: Timber.

Tips on How to Win in the Weekly ELO Tournament

The ELO tournament in Urban Rivals is one of the only few ways a player might win those coveted Collector cards in the game. The other two being buying the cards themselves (which can be worth millions of in-game currency) or participate in official once-in-a-blue-moon games/events which are hosted by certain moderators.

Going back to ELO, there's an important thing to remember before joining in on the fun of this weekly event, and that is how to create a winning ELO Deck. There are many cards which are banned from ELO play. Add to that, every week, one clan is banned from the ELO tournament entirely. That is a pretty tough situation, especially for ELO newbies.

Vansaar The Trainer

A large fraction of any card game, Urban Rivals included, revolves around leveling up. In Urban Rivals, it is pretty easy to gain star-count (Urban Rivals' version of a level) by using the Leader card: Vansaar. If you are serious with your leveling-up goal, then this Leader card is a staple in your training regimen.

Right now, you may be asking why you should use Vansaar.

Well, first of all, each of the cards in urban Rivals gain experience everytime they finish a battle. One thing that most people neglect when they play the game is being conscious of the improving star count of each of their cards. As a player, one should also consider this because in the end it would be a crucial part of deck building. This is where Vansaar enters the picture.

One thing's for certain, Vansaar is not a battle-centric Leader card. He is unlike any other Leader because he's more of a Trainer than a Commander. It would be a mistake to use him in the daily tournaments because he doesn't bring anything in that mode of playing. Vansaar has a more specialized Leader ability and he is best played in ventures other than direct combat.

There is a specific room in Urban Rivals, the Training Room, which caters to the level-up process and Vansaar hastens this through his innate ability. The main point of using him as a Leader is the things you can get from him in that particular room, he's practically the special Training Room card. Basically, he adds a bonus to the card's gained experience. Think of him as an EXP Bonus but in a form of a card. If you can imagine a "coach" then that's how Vansaar actually works. With a card like Vansaar you can gain levels in a fraction of the actual "cost". He gives a boost where it is necessary and thus, saving you the time and effort of leveling-up.

Most people hate the level grind part, including myself. Vansaar makes all of this a thing of the past. With no Vansaar card in hand, it's not a surprise that many people hate level grinding. It's because there are much more important things to do than just gaining levels, so it would feel tiresome to level grind especially without a Leader card like this one.

When he was introduced as a part of the game, I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, someone who actually helps not just the cards, but the player himself! Players usually don't understand how to use Vansaar the first time they play, with this guide, I hope I helped you at least get the gist of how he is best used in the game. Always try training those new cards using Vansaar, the minute you get them!

Tips on how to win in Urban-Rival's survivor mode

Survivor Mode is the "endurance test" all players should experience in the online card game, Urban Rivals. Only the players with equal amounts of strategic knowledge and deck building talent can last in this game mode.

There are two types of decks a player can use in Survivor Mode, one is the Type 2 deck (anything goes) and the other one is the ELO deck (a more restricted form of deck). If you're new to the game, you have better chances at winning in ELO Survivor compared to Type 2 Survivor because the former relies more on strategy while the the latter gives unfair advantage to older players who have a more extensive card collection.

In building your 8-card deck, you must have at least 2 utility cards, 4 cards which can form 2-hit killer combos, and 2 other cards which can deal alternative damage (like cards with poison or life-stealing abilities). A good deck must contain two clans, unless you have all the best cards of a single clan. The likes of Rescue, La Junta, Fang Pi Clang, GHEIST, and Jungo have proven time and again that they can work in a mono-clan deck. Clans with attack-reducing or power-manipulating bonuses tend to work well together. Lastly, the unique bonuses of the Skeelz, Pussycats, and Freaks, make them a good supporting half-deck to powerhouse clans like Uppers and Montana.

When playing Survivor, you must always take note of your current life points and pillz allocation. As you win battles consecutively, your life will begin to increase while your pill count will decrease. This decrease in pill count will give you far less freedom to make your moves, thus, you must literally survive the upcoming rounds through sheer strategy alone.

Now, if you stock up on cards with pill-manipulating abilities (like most cards from the Piranas clan) you might edge out your opponents in the early rounds. The most lethal poison card available in the game, Sylth of the Jungo clan, can also give you control on the first round. Provided your abilities go through, it will cause total mayhem if your opponents aren't careful. It is therefore safe to assume that when you reach the higher levels of Survivor Mode, you must use every technique in the book.

If you head on over to the Urban Rivals message board, most Survivor veterans will tell you that a good bluff can save your life in this mode. Bluffing may be risky but there's a bigger chance they won't be able to see through your bluff especially when they think you have less pillz to spare. Throwing out highly useful cards in the early rounds to scare off your opponents may either make them use their own strong cards or throw away their useless cards. Whatever the case may be, it will all come down on how you utilize each card in your draw.

Enter the Legend

A new group of characters has just turned up on Urban Rivals - the legendary characters. They are not available in the shop and cannot be exchanged between players. There's only one way of getting hold of them and that’s by winning them! Each legendary character is linked to one or several missions that allow you to win them. But be warned, these missions have a time limit and you must complete the mission before the deadline is up to win the character. When there are no missions left allowing you to win a legendary character, you can still play for it. However, to make it available again, you must wait for a new mission to appear in which you can win it. The time this takes may vary. 

ELO Tournament: No SOA for this Week

Another week of ELO tournament and the theme for these week is "No Stop Opponent's Ability", so characters with SOA ability are being slapped with the temporary ban (see updated ELO ban list). Which mean GHEIST and Roots gets the bulk of the ban as well as known SOA cards from other clans.

So if you have SOA cards in you deck, then make the necessary adjustments by replacing them with much better cards, If your using Gheist or Roots chances the only way you can play them is either on Type 1 - Non Elo format or Type 2.

Tips on How to Win on Daily Tournaments

In the online trading card game, Urban Rivals, the best way to earn clintz (the in-game currency) and credits (money used in buying booster packs) is to participate in the daily tournaments. Playing one game during tournament time will net you a 50 clintz bonus just for participation. Managing to be in the top-third of the ranking will give you 50 clintz and 1 credit. Being in the top 10 gives you an insane amount of clintz aside from the bonus credit! To buy character cards, you must have enough clintz. To buy one of the booster packs, you must just have a minimum of 20 credits. Easy peasy? Well, not exactly.

Being the top third tier is not an easy route, there are a lot of things to consider before you can achieve that goal. One is to have a good Daily Tournament deck. There are two types of decks you can create and they're generically named as: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 decks must not exceed the 25-star count limit while Type 2 decks is a free-for-all deck creation system.

One of the most important things in these Daily Tournaments is earning Battle Points. These battle points or BP's are awarded to you after every battle regardless if you lose or win. Of course you get bigger BP's during a victory, but losing will also net you some BP's as well. Quitting on the other hand, deducts BP's from your pool! So, that's the first of my tips in winning in the Dailies: "Never quit a battle during daily tournaments!"

My second (and most important) tip involves what type of deck you must build.

I will now share a special secret with you that gave me so much victories in daily tournaments, you won't believe it! Make a deck with a 26-star count, preferably a mono-clan like Sentinel or Rescue, and then play in the Type 2 Daily Tournament room. With a lower-than-usual star-count, most people with Godlike decks will beat you to a pulp, but in the instance you win a match against them, it will net you a 20+ BP's in one match! Several times, I even got 30 battle points after beating my opponent's full 20-star draw with my measly lesser-starred draw. Try replicating that in Type 1 rooms, I assure you it will be really hard. That's the beauty of the deck selection process.

Third tip is "Never waste a minute of time!"

The trick to winning tournaments is utilizing the whole hour alloted for it. There's no room for chatting with your opponent or just plugging GG tags every time your battles end. If you're seriously wanting to win and make it to the top of the pack, be mindful of the time. This is the perfect opportunity to earn clintz and credits!

Last tip I have to give you is "Play with the best of your ability."

It's already a given that everyone in the daily tournaments are in it to win it, but there are instances when you will be battling with newbies. Don't pity them, just be cruel during Daily Tourneys! Getting to battle a newbie is like food served to you in a silver platter, make them suffer for facing you! OK, you may then apologize AFTER the hour is through just so you can erase the bad karma. But whatever you do, always try to beat the opponent no matter who they are. There's always room for friendly matches after tournament times, but during daily tourneys its business. Like what they say: "Never mix personal issues with business. It's just not right."

Good luck on the Daily Tournaments and see you there!

Hungry for Power - New Characters Released

They’ve been lying low now for several months but it couldn’t last. The Uppers throw themselves back in the fray and they’re angrier than ever. To lead the revolt, they can now rely on Herman, who’s what you'd call heavy reinforcements! Meanwhile, the Bangers welcome Garrik, the city’s speediest delivery man, the Nightmare wheel out Arawaka and La Junta take on Isatis.

Urban Rivals Video Trailer on Youtube

Love the animation on this trailer specially the one when the Skeelz's Cley evolves.

Suggested Two Clan ELO Deck (with Review)

Here are the suggest two-clan deck for ELO format this week.

Mutants and Ghouls (Nightmare and Skeelz)


Both the Nightmare and the Skeelz clan are several of those clans that possesses two of the great clan bonuses: The Nightmare's can cancel out opposing clan bonuses while the Skeelz  protects their individual abilities. Combining the two is a challenge.

The deck is composed of good 2- and 3-star cards from each clan along with 5-star Nistarok and Eloxia. Eloxia is the star of this deck she can be played as a bluff card to invoke the poison effect or a finisher on late round. Nistarok will be the deck's blocker/damage reducer card which is use to face off opposing massive big massive cards like Cassandra, Splata, etc.. Praxie will be the other blocker card as well as the surprise finisher if encase the the opposing player plays their damage reducer cards last.

Suggested Mono Clan decks for this weeks ELO

Mono Rescue Deck

Mono La Junta deck

Assessment: I have been having some success using this decks before. The Junta deck here has been doin great last week with the no 5-star ELO format.

New Elo Ban List back to "Normal" proramming

The experiment banning of almost all 5 star cards on last is somewhat a wake up call to us how are good are we in creating good decks in Urban Rivals. Player where able to create good decks out of the 2, 3, 4 star cards to which there are a lot of non-5 star cards that can beat a 5 star card head on. This week's ban list is somewhat a "back to normal programming" of a list of some sort.

We'll another week of ELO tournament. Let keep on experimenting and create the best decks in Urban Rivals.

Top Cards got banned in this week's ELO meta game

This week's ELO meta game is undergoing a "Martial Law" phase in the because almost all of the staple and power cards in most Urban Rival clans has been slapped with the ELO ban by the UR staff leaving players to greatly restructure their best ELO deck or skip the ELO format for now.

New Characters released

Urban Rivals has released another set of new characters. These are Fang Pi Clang's Tsubame, GHEIST's Elke, Sentinel's Kyle and Sakrohm's Pieter.

GHEIST getting No love on ELO game format

As of late, the most of the GHEIST clan best cards has been given an "off-limits" tag by the UR staff due to being "too powerful" to be used on the ELO format. Cards like Leviatonn, Toro, Bristone and Rolph have been the most banned characters for a long time. Recently Methane, XU52 and Z3r0 D34d has been added to the list of weekly ELO banned characters which forced most of the player to either persevere by using the remaining unbanned cards like Anibal, Wardom, Lin Xia, Dolly, Arkn and Vladimir or change clan altogether.

There are some buzz among the players that Anibal and Arkn has been banned before and it's no surprise they will be included again on th ban list on the the upcoming ELO weeks.

It's high time that the UR staff/developers should add another GHEIST character on the upcoming weeks to give the players more options when playing GHEIST clan.