Alteil Set 10: Toromea

One of the more interesting combos that I witnessed during the recently concluded Set 10 tournament was a Refess file making use of Sword of the East / Toromea. If you are lucky enough to own a set of Legendary Heroine / Catira, then completing a set of Toromea would be a worthy goal for you in Set 10.

While I don't remember the name of my opponent, I remember how deadly his setup was. It makes use of Toromea's Start Skill Strict Captain. It gives one warrior subtype unit AT+10, and if it is a Refess unit, AGI+2. Toromea also generates 2 SP and becomes focused in the process. Toromea has another skill called Perfect Concentration which removes the 2 SP you generated if Toromea is focused. So you have to have another unit with an action skill that utilizes 2 SP and has an adjusted AGI value of 5 or greater so that the 2 SP generated by Toromea does not go to waste.

The following are Refess units that fulfill the warrior subtype.

Card name	Lv	LP	HP	AT	DF	AGI	RNG	Types	Rarity
Light Spearwoman	3	1	45	25	0	2	3	Unit	**
Folrart Spear Knight	3	1	25	45	0	2	3	Unit	*
Folrart Dual-Wielding Soldier	3	1	45	35	0	3	1	Unit	*
Folrart Flying Cavalry	2	1	10	30	0	2	3	Unit	*
Elite Folrart Dual Wielder	4	1	40	40	10	3	1	Unit	*
Folrart Hammer Soldier	3	2	80	10	0	1	1	Unit	**
Folrart Standard Bearer	1	1	15	10	0	4	3	Unit	*
Folrart Berserker	4	1	70	40	0	2	1	Unit	*
Mammoth Brigade	4	3	100	30	0	1	1	Unit	**
Legendary Heroine / Catira	4	1	70	0	0	3	1	Char	EX
Folrart Rear Guard	2	3	45	20	0	3	1	Unit	*
Folrart Scout	2	1	30	20	0	4	1	Unit	*
Unknown Warrior / Justice	3	1	40	30	0	3	1	Char	****
Folrart Greatsword Soldier	3	1	65	35	0	1	1	Unit	**
Sword of the East / Toromea	2	1	40	30	0	4	1	Char	***

And out of this list, only Catira and Folrart Dual-Weilding Soldier, Elite Folrart Dual Weilder, and Justice have skills that have an SP cost and AGI of 3 or greater. Catira's skill Unleash Heroine's Sword is the deadliest since it removes the target enemy unit within range from the game. And Catira is hitting at 5 AGI because of Toromea's start skill. And the conditional use of AT 100 or higher is easier to fulfill with cards like Justice and Judie.



Toromea is also great as a level 2 unit with equivalent stats of 50 HP, 50 ATK and 4 AGI. Expect to see more Refess decks in Folrart because of this great new multisphere card.

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Alteil Set 10: Brave Hero / Dilate

Just when you thought there was no way to improve a BKR / Bringer / Winston deck, Set 10 introduces another card to add to Gowen's arsenal. Check out the stats and skills of Brave Hero / Dilate below.

For a level 4 unit with RNG equal to 1, 60 HP with 5 DF is decent if you need a tank. And in my opinion, Dilate is an even better tank than Beast King Rivera (BKR) because of several factors. Don't let that AGI equal to 1 stat fool you. Because of an almost always guaranteed rank up, that AGI is actually equal to 4. Dilate is an excellent wall, before Bringer is placed down on the table.

Heroes Don't Give Up is the Close Skill that makes Dilate almost impossible to kill. Just like Justice, Dilate needs to be fatally wounded twice in order to close the unit. (Although Justice is at a slight advantage since the second hit has to be greater than 10 HP, and she has no rank down drawback, but most of the damage nowadays is).

The Start Skill Flash Paladin Gauntlets works well with the Close Skill since it fully restores Dilate's HP. I've seen players use one of the mini-proxies, Mermaid Observer, to get the Falkow level up to 2. Though I doubt anyone will be using Dilate in a Wizard Kingdom deck, then his Start Skill would also do wonders for a Wizard Kingdom army.

Finally, while an ATK of 30 might be considered subpar for a 5-star card compared to Bringer or even Urgant, let's not forget that Dilate is in a BKR deck so that ATK level will probably be boosted by the time a player gets to Mid or even End game. And Red Death Slash solves the problem by doubling the attack power and hitting the entire enemy row in front of Dilate.

Out of all the Dilate versions released, I consider this card the best Dilate card to date. It is a shame Ibert had to die to bring out the best in Dilate (notice the cape he is wearing in the photo).

So Gowen players who might already have completed a BKR - Winston deck have a new card to gun for. And who knows, the META might even be changed to Dilate - Bringer - Winston at some point.

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Why Can Banks Get Away With It?

I just checked the data from PS Bank's website. As of December 26, 2011, 7:01 PM, the savings deposit rate (what a regular person will earn on a savings account in a year) is 0.5 percent. So if I deposit 1000 pesos in the bank today, I will have 1005 pesos in the bank a year from now.

Meanwhile, the bank's auto loan rate (what the bank will earn from a borrower in one year) is 6.5 percent. That is 13 times the savings deposit rate. That means that if a person borrowed 1000 pesos from the bank, that person will have to pay the bank 1065 pesos at the end of the year. That's a net income of 60 pesos for the bank, for every 1000 peso transaction between a borrower and a lender.

The bank's profit for a housing loan is even higher, since the bank's housing loan rate (what the bank will earn from a borrower in one year) is 8.5 percent. That is 17 times the savings deposit rate. That means that if a person borrowed 1000 pesos from the bank, that person will have to pay the bank 1085 pesos at the end of the year. That's a net income of 80 pesos for the bank, for every 1000 peso transaction between a borrower and a lender.

Why can banks get away with it? Shouldn't the depositors be well compensated by the bank? Without depositors, banks wouldn't have any money to lend. Shouldn't the central bank be placing a cap on the minimum amount of interest savings deposits should earn. 0.5 percent interest is way too low. A single ATM transaction's charges and fees wipes away any interest earned for an entire year since ATM transactions are pegged at around 10 pesos per transaction.

Depositors should become wiser, and look for alternative ways they can invest their money in, aside from banks (is a thought that might have crossed your mind by now). And while that is true, other investments are seen as riskier compared to a bank deposit. So the fear of losing the principal amount is what drives depositors through bank doors. And that in my opinion is why banks can get away with outrageous discrepancies between borrowing and lending rates.

But there are also many other reasons why people continue to use banking services. Employers force their workforce to bank with their preferred partner instead of paying the employee outright under the guise of convenience. But this creates earning opportunities for banks through inter-bank transactions. I sometimes think that there is a conspiracy or unwritten agreements between banks during pay-day. The ATM of the bank you're supposed to withdraw your money from always seems to be off-line during payday. This forces the regular Joe to withdraw his money from a competing bank's ATM, incurring inter-bank transactions, and wiping any potential savings on his salary.

Zero sum game theory might also be at work. Instead of people banding together and pulling out all their deposits from banks, forcing banks to increase interest rates to entice more depositors, people will place their money in the bank as long as it earns an interest (no matter how small) since they will be better off than the people who refrain from using the services of the bank and who's money doesn't grow at all. By not working as a group, lenders are out-witted by banks.

And government policy is also an issue. If the heads at central bank are in the pockets of bankers, then they can continue to peg interest rates at ridiculously low levels, justifying that increasing rates will slow down the recovering economy. But the only benefactors from low interest rates are banks. And banks will continue to invest the money they have in risky ventures knowing that they can be bailed out but the government in case they make a mess.

Banks like to crow about increased earnings despite tough economic times. But these earnings again are a result of the outrageous discrepancy between the borrowing and lending rates. And if this continues in the future, people might someday wake up and realize that the banking system is obsolete, and will place their money elsewhere or create an entirely new system for financial transactions. But by that time, the current banking heads will have made their fortune and retire comfortably. Institutional change is a slow process, and will only benefit those in power. Perhaps I should aspire to be a banker.

Here are some Bible verses to think about related to the topic of lending.

Psalm 15:5
Who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

Exodus 22:25
If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.

Deuteronomy 23:19 
You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest.

Alteil Set 10: Mini Proxies

Set 3 was memorable because of the introduction of proxies. The 5-star cards of the set featured Animus (Lawtia), Limier (Refess), Oseon (Falkow), and Pullermia (Gowen) which allowed players to play two spheres because of their open skills, adding 3 sphere levels to another color aside from the sphere they belong to.

Set 10 tries to continue the multi-sphering trend introduced by Set 3, and somewhat by Set 9 with the introduction of cards that I would describe as mini-proxies. These cards are only 1-star and 2-stars so they should not be that difficult to obtain. And they all have a common open skill of adding 1 sphere level to both spheres that the card belongs to.

I've seen all but Wandering Bard in action in Folrart. Crest Saboteur Knight seems to be a favorite, in tandem with Animus in opens for decks which make use of Estaforse, Bringer, and Belus.

I would imagine that Urgant decks would make use of Exiled Military Aide but I haven't really seen one in play.

Mediator of Sun and Moon is good for Lawtia Revival decks with Limier and Healing Priest. It has also seen some action in Verlaat & Eskatia decks.

Someone tried playing Folrart Flame Swordsman in an Ermitage based deck, but I didn't really see that deck's potential.

One would think that these cards would be a great Stronghold counter. But since they are played first, it is actually Stronghold of Chaos that serves as a great counter to these cards. But for players who cannot afford 5-star proxies or Galdirea SS opens, then these mini-proxy cards serve as an alternative way of multi-sphere play.

Have fun gaming and testing. Feel free to give your comments, ideas, and suggestions below too. 

TM-1151 Ultrasonic Tape Measure

My friend is an Architect so I decided to give her the TM-1151 Ultrasonic Tape Measure (UTM) as a Christmas Gift. I field tested the gift for her. And I must say that I have mixed feelings about the device. The UTM is that size of about 2 scientific calculators placed back to back. It uses a 9-volt battery. And it works using the principle of sound waves, where you send out a wave and wait for it to echo back. In order for the tape measure to actually work, you have to be facing a literal perpendicular wall so that ultrasonic sound can bounce back. Even the slightest angle can result in the signal getting lost, resulting in a reading that will display ERROR. The laser pointer is great for checking if you are pointing in the right direction, but it is only useful at night. If there is a lot of foliage, or obstructions between the wall and you, then expect an ERROR signal once again. So while the device claims an accuracy of between .5% to 1% deviations, getting an actual reading will be a challenge. If you are on a geological survey team, with nothing but nature on the field, then this gadget is not for you since how many natural rock formations resemble an actual perpendicular wall? So this device will only probably work great in urban areas. The device advertises a maximum range of 60 feet. But I was only able to measure a maximum distance of about 10 meters. So again, think twice before you even make this purchase. I'll try to field test the device first before actually paying for it.

Alteil Set 10: Justice

Ever since Alteil revised its main website banner, players like myself have probably wondered who the female character was on the right. Zagar is clearly the character on the left, but we have never encountered the girl on the right ... until now. Set 10 introduces us to the Unknown Warrior, Justice.

At this point in time, it is hard to say which type of Refess deck will benefit the most from Justice. Units of AGI greater than 2 usually don't jive with EX Lap files. And Justice is meant to be a front liner with a range of 1. I initially thought she would be another Fistara. But Fistara is deadlier in my opinion once she makes use of her start skill when focused. And that skill is dependent on Refess level. Justice on the other hand seems to be appropriate for Refess files with plenty of units, so perhaps EX Lap or Eternal Morning might have some use for her. 

Not many Refess units can hit two enemies at the same time. Silverion seems to be the most memorable two-hit Refess unit, and then Rapidshot Magic Archer (which also has AGI 3 but only has 20 HP). So Justice seems to be a better Rapidshot Magic Archer, but Silverion's increasing attacks beat Justice.

So the more I analyze Justice, the less potential I see in the card. I have tried to look for Solar Kingdom / Warrior types in order to ensure the activation of her Auto Skill, and I was surprised to see that there are actually many units that fit this criterion, as can be seen in the list below. 

Light Spearwoman	3	1	45	25	0	2	3	Unit	**
Folrart Spear Knight	3	1	25	45	0	2	3	Unit	*
Folrart Dual-Wielding Soldier	3	1	45	35	0	3	1	Unit	*
Folrart Flying Cavalry	2	1	10	30	0	2	3	Unit	*
Elite Folrart Dual Wielder	4	1	40	40	10	3	1	Unit	*
Folrart Hammer Soldier	3	2	80	10	0	1	1	Unit	**
Folrart Standard Bearer	1	1	15	10	0	4	3	Unit	*
Folrart Berserker	4	1	70	40	0	2	1	Unit	*
Mammoth Brigade	4	3	100	30	0	1	1	Unit	**
Folrart Rear Guard	2	3	45	20	0	3	1	Unit	*
Folrart Scout	2	1	30	20	0	4	1	Unit	*
Unknown Warrior / Justice	3	1	40	30	0	3	1	Char	****
Folrart Greatsword Soldier	3	1	65	35	0	1	1	Unit	**

Still, the reason I initially liked Justice was because of the Close skill which I believe more Refess units should have to rival Lawtia undead's free revival. As long as the total damage to Justice does not exceed -9 HP, then she lives on. And it is just right that the Close skill has 0 SP activation. This was the same skill of one of the units in the Batora EX 2 AI. (Except that unit was fully healed). Justice skill is a nerfed version. You will have to damage her twice, and the second damage has to exceed 10 HP. So she is kind of a better version of EX Light Magic Archer in this respect. Well, looks like Refess will have to keep hoping for better cards in future sets.