Denizen of the Sanctuary

[AkinaSS]

Ok i'm only short of 2 medals, this and Victor among Victors, which i probably need about 30 or so more victorys. However this is the medal that got me stumped. The requirement is gain 3k G in symbols in a map w/o a temple. I mean how do you tell how much you've gained? Lets say i gained 20 blue symbols from Sanctum Guard, and then i leveled up a blue land to lvl 5. So my symbols are obviously worth more now, but how do i tell how much they're worth or even what's their original worth? What about the lap bonus i gained from symbols, does it count? Thanks.

[Culd Fusion]

I was just about to post a response to you when there was a power surge and my computer shut off. So I get to write all this again... but maybe I can actually make it more concise than it would have been the first time.

Well there are two ways to see how much value you have in symbols. The quick and dirty way is to look at your lap bonus under the symbol section. (The lap bonus doesn't help you to get the medal, it just gives you extra G to play with.) That number is 10% of your total value in symbols, so just add a zero to that number. So if you got 37 bonus G for your symbols, your symbols are worth 370 G. But: that only applies if you have more of each color symbol than anyone else. You don't get the lap bonus if someone else outsymbols you. For this purpose though, that's probably not an issue, since it's very unlikely that a computer player is going to aquire any symbols on a templeless map.

The other way is to actually count how much you have in symbols. When it's your turn, hit the R1 button and go to Symbols. It will show you everyone's holdings. For each color, multiply the value of the symbols by the number you have of that color. Add up all the colors and, viola, that's your total value in symbols.

The tricky part to getting the medal, aside from aquiring the symbols in the first place, is that the value of each type of symbol can only be raised to a maximum of 99 a piece. (At least on the map I played. I'm not sure if this number is variable.) That means you'd need at least 31 of the appropriate symbol to win the medal. Of course the number you really need will depend on how many different colors of symbols you end up with, and how much they're all valued at.

Thinking of it in terms of needing at least 31 symbols, 3000 G is a lot. I'd suggest relying more on your Coins of Piety than the Sanctum Guard, since 5 more symbols each time is a big deal. Something that worked well for me, was to use creatures with First Attack, and battle against an aggressive Cepter like Zagol. This will give you more opportunities to kill his creatures, hopefully netting you more symbols.

[AkinaSS]

Thanks, and i got the medal. I can't believe how easy it was. Its helps that i put 4 coin of piety into my deck though.

I do know that you can access your symbols info from the menu, but i just never paid much attention to it since i seldom buy symbols in matches. The 10% lap bonus you get from having the most symbols of that element info can also be found in the manual i just discovered. Guess i never paid attention to manuals either, which in this case made me look rather foolish . Oh well i'll get over it, especially since now i only have one more medal to go, woohoo...

[Thumpasaurus]

I just got this medal, and I noticed on the medal it keeps "score" like many other medals. But the interesting thing about this score is it says "Maximum Symbol Magic at time of win".

So just to clarify, you MUST win (can't get this medal if you lose the match), and the value of your symbols must exceed 3000 at the TIME you WIN. If you raise your symbols over 3000, but they fall below that when you win, I am fairly certain you will NOT win the medal. So be careful about brutalizing your opponent into releasing land or abandoning land because symbol value drops when that happens.

The way I did it was fighting Zagol at Alta, using high strength creatures such as Executors and Knights, along with things like Yetis, Storm Giants, Trench Worms, and Clerics for their fire/wind/neutral killing abilities--the creatures Zagol uses. 1 Sanctum guard helps as well. For items I had 4 coins of piety, a couple offering dolls, plus a few defensive items like gaseous forms and plate mail. Finally, my spells had 4 binding mists, 4 Auroras, and some senility and disease. I didn't use Evil Blast, but if I had more room for spells, I would have.

Then I would zap his creatures with mist (best) or senility or disease, then moved in for the kill and use piety coins or offering dolls. I did include one or two claymores for use on the Sanctum Guard. I cast Aurora at every opportunity. This worked pretty well, and I finished the match (to 15k to be safe) with 6700+ in symbols.

[utawoutau]

I find it really useful to fight win a uni-color deck to win this battle. Symbol value maxes out a 99, so if you have a large chain of one territory type you will create a buffer so that you don't have to be afraid of attacking your enemy.

Plus, having a uni-color deck increases the chance that you will earn all of the same type of symbol.

[ChamoftheGemini]

There is a third way to check how much in symbols you have. In the default controls press 'R1' and it brings up a 5 listed menu. The option of 'Cepter' once chosen, shows how much land (also where allocated and Value), How many symbols (again also where allocated and value), and current available magic.

[WhoseYerLilith]

UGH! I finally did it- jeezus what a gruesome medal to get! After taking some of the advice here, I had loss after frustrating loss- I played once to 25K and ended with 1500 worth in symbols, then I had 4100 in symbols but lost because Gemmory got to the castle first. Then I found the perfect opponent: Morroc. I chose Atla and used my neutral/yellow deck.

I don't remember the individual breakdown and Im really not going to type out card by card. My general strategy was to use 4 Paladins and 4 Clerics with 4 Coins of Piety. I also included 4 Auroras, a Sanctum Guard and a Tetramorph. I only have one Senility (though I have 18 Slows- which pisses me off) so I threw that in there. I included some Rusts and Suppressions as well. It went slow at first, My drawing hand was 2 Coins of Piety, 2 Auroras and a Claymore- then I drew a Paladin and naturally couldn't summon him. Things got easier along the way, using the Sanctum Guard I took 5 green symbols from the east area, then took 15 reds, 10 turns later I took 20 yellow and just concentrated levelling that up as quickly as possible, casting Aurora every turn I got it. Little did I know that the godamned mech-freak decided to play with his "Science" deck rather than his "Demonic" Deck so I was battling Dragon Zombie's (which none of my creatures had an easy time killing) and of course the never-to-be-seen spell "Pressure". I held on to my Suppressions as long as I could to try to get Pressure out, but he would always play it the turn he got it- luckily I only think he has 1 or 2 in his deck, so hopefully 4 Aurora's would still be able to topple it- it did. I set the match for 40K and when I got my lap bonus at 30K I saw I had 2150 worth in symbols. There was an edgy time once where he got magic depleted and had to let go two of his Level 4 lands that I had symbols in, but luckily I landed on the squares and could level them up within 5-10 turns later leaving him with nothing but Level 5 territories everywhere (protected by Astral Queens' Camouflauge) and on my next lap bonus I saw I had 3770. I finished a few turns later with 5345 and couldn't believe I finally got this accursed medal. Four more to go!

[Thumpasaurus]

Congrats. This medal definitely requires some of the most careful planning to get, but is very much attainable once you know what you're doing. Gotta wonder though... why make it hard on yourself by playing an opponent who uses Pressure?

I finally finished getting my last medal today (Victor among Victors--what a stupid stupid medal...) I guess I'm done with single player now. Although there are still a few cards I don't have enough of... (just 1 Nuclear Fusion! That is not enough!)

[WhoseYerLilith]

Believe me- had I known he would use Pressure, I would have definitely chosen another opponent. I'd been playing him in Story Mode over and over again trying to get the last damned idol (the 1 only card Im missing) and he used the "Demonic" deck which doesn't include that spell- so I definitely didn't see it coming in the versus mode. By the time I realized he had it, we were 30-40 turns in and I had already begun to acquire symbols.

I just got my 47th out of a pure random vs. battle for fun- "Changeling" was the last spell I needed- sigh, now on to more Morroc dueling to get the last damned idol, and a few more alphas/betas to due the Bundlegear Medal.

Hey Thump, I have 9 Nuclear Fusions (Morroc uses them a lot and with all the playing Ive been doing, Ive got my hands full with them- lol, Ill trade ya for some Senilities!)

[Thumpasaurus]

Nine? Wow, I could sure use em! Oh well... I've got 3 Senilities. It's not possible, but if it was, I'd surely trade one of them for another Nuclear Fusion. ;D

[WhoseYerLilith]

Sigh...if only. Well I completed all 50 medals, it is rather anti-climatic, isn't it? You'd think you'd get a big to do or a really great secret card. The last few maps look kind of fun.

[Thumpasaurus]

Yeah, nothing really happens with 50 medals. But I'm really glad to have all the maps--they're good to have in multiplayer.

I had this thought... wouldn't it be cool if once you had all 50 medals, you could create a book with each of the cards represented on each of the medals? Afterall there are 50 medals and 50 cards in a book. Then if you used that book of medal cards to win a match versus the CPU, you would win the super secret card #490 that is something ridiculously powerful... ;D

I was going to try out my little random theory, except there are a couple of medals that aren't represented by cards (Goligan and Culdra for Performer of the Mission, Supreme Ruler of the Universe).

[s6]

So that's it for happy endings, huh? All maps? Congrats! anyway.

I guess it solves the "Normal Land" option mystery in Versus mode? (All I have is 'normal' land at this point in my game.)

[WhoseYerLilith]

Yeah I just played the map "The Abyss" so much fun.

Oh- Doesn't that option change once you beat story mode once? Then you can change it to Normal, Random, or All Neutral.

[Screwu]

How does the symbol value tie in land? I was just trying to suck as many symbols out of him and was getting 30 plus of each kind and still not getting the medal but I was holding no real land. I still don;t get how this works.