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Gkyr
Chef
First I would like to open by reproducing the succinct new Tourney opposing troop probabilities originally offered by @samidodamage (thank you, samidodamage):
The higher probability enemy units by tourney now are:
Marble: Heavy Melee
Steel: Mage
Planks: Light Range
Crystal: Mage & Heavy Ranged
Scroll: Light Ranged & Heavy Ranged
Silk: Light Melee & Heavy Melee
Elixir: Light Range, Light Melee & Heavy Melee
Magic Dust: Light Melee, Mage & Heavy Ranged
Gems: Light Melee, Heavy Ranged & Heavy Melee
Got it? The three Basic goods Tournies are probability-dominated by one troop type, the three Refined goods Tournies by two troop types, and Precious Tournies have a probability dominated by three troop types. To flesh this out, I would like to follow this with my brief Tourney battle notes. Disclaimer: I am an Elf and I Manual Fight (after the first eight Tourney provinces), YMMV.
Regarding expiring battle buildings: if one has been working the Magic Academy and has a supply of buff buildings, it is always good to build UUU and ELR, the first because it buffs all troops and the second because of our reliance on LR troops in all Tournies. That leaves MMM and Dwarven Armorer. Build MMM only if you use Mages, which I only use in Marble, Crystal, Dust and Gems but your preference may be different. DA can only be obtained from the Spire (at present) and is therefore less available. I use DA for the hardest Tournies only, which seem to be Scrolls and Dust for most of us.
Marble: All types of squads will appear, with an emphasis on HM. This will give your Blossoms a chance to shine. If you don’t have at least 2 star Blossoms, then Rangers. If you are not up to 2 star Rangers, the Archers will do well. Three star Golems plus Sorceresses make a lethal team, if you know how to use them. When Mist Walkers are added to the enemy mix, better use Archer/Rangers; the Blossoms are too 'squishy' (low defense) to survive. Similarly, an abundance of Mage-killing LR and LM troops demand a LR rather than Mage lineup.
Steel: these are simple enough that I wail through them using the advantaged troop types. We all love our LR and Mages fall to them easily. Rangers are buffed against Mages. If you run out of LR then 3 Golems & 2 Bud Sorcs are a good combo. I start making extra Rangers a week early.
Planks: The preponderance of LR, especially Mist Walkers, makes Orc Strats my main troop. They are a pain to train since Orcs are needed elsewhere for research and upgrades, especially in the higher chaps, but there is no better squad for this Tourney. I keepsix seven Grounds of Orc Strats upgraded in my city and make them in the Training Grounds. I start increasing them one week before the Plank Tourney. Drones are also buffed against LR. The AM of my FS tried using Drones once but was disappointed at the results; I tried them and was also not impressed. You can save your OS by mixing in a Golem; the opposition will usually go after the Golem and spare your OS.
Crystal: The opposing Mages are weak against LR, but Inno makes sure that you use up a lot of your LR in this Tourney, thanks to the pairing with HR. When appropriate, my favorite pairing is banshees with LR. Blossoms (or priests) with LR is also effective. I go into this Tourney with extra LR. Folks don’t give Dryads much respect but they deliver 50% more damage than other LR. They are especially effective against HM but must be protected because their defense is weak. Rangers have extra attack buffs against Mages, so stock up but be prepared to go through a lot of them.
Scrolls: this is a tough Tourney. I like to use banshees against HR; Blossoms are too defenseless against LR. But I go through a lot of banshees. If I get tired of losing Banshees to the higher-initiative LR, I use Golems in place of Banshees when Banshees are in a position of receiving a first hit. Banshees are only even with HR, no advantage, but they are very easy for me to train in droves.
Silk: I have lately learned to use HM in this Tourney more often. In early provinces I use a lot of LR, HM and dogs. In later provs I often use Blossoms and HM. This is the Tourney where I use the 2BudSorc-3Golem strategy; probably better suited to MF than Auto-fight. BudSorcs strongly debuff the opposition, thereby doubling the effectiveness of the tank-like Golems. Expect the BudSorcs to die but even a squad whittled down to just 1 BudSorc can cast debilitating spells.
Elixir: Lots of all-Golem fights, lots of LR/Golem fights. I start upgrading my Temple of the Toads AW one week before the start of this Tourney. Seriously.
Dust:
Judging by the number of complaints in the forum, the Dust Tourney has got to be the most difficult. Many posters agree on this. This is because the ‘featured’ shady character squads are Heavy Ranged, Light Melee and Mage. Among these three, then, the opposition has a potential buff advantage over every squad that one might field. Since there is no way of knowing how these three will be apportioned by the RNG there is no way to prepare for the Tourney in the days before. The battlefields are consistently among the less obstructed and so the opposition light melee becomes just that more menacing. Each fight has to be approached uniquely, relying on experience.
Dust does not lend itself to positive advice. My notes merely tell me that I have no use for Orc Strats and I do not rely on Mages, so I don’t site MMM. (This allows me to double- or triple-site MMM for those Tourneys where Mages are Key. For me, these are only three tournies: Marble, Crystal and Gems).
Gems: This Tourney is always rich in terrain obstructions in addition to three categories of opponents. As such it is tough for unscouted auto-fights to win but it is often presents an advantage to manual fighters who can use the obstructions to their advantage. Range army has an advantage over melee troops unless there is a preponderance of LM and LR to contend with. Auto-fighters should really take time to scout and adjust their troops and starting line accordingly in this Tourney. The obstructions can also be an advantage to auto-fighters by keeping the Light and Heavy Melee squads away from them for the first round or two.
The higher probability enemy units by tourney now are:
Marble: Heavy Melee
Steel: Mage
Planks: Light Range
Crystal: Mage & Heavy Ranged
Scroll: Light Ranged & Heavy Ranged
Silk: Light Melee & Heavy Melee
Elixir: Light Range, Light Melee & Heavy Melee
Magic Dust: Light Melee, Mage & Heavy Ranged
Gems: Light Melee, Heavy Ranged & Heavy Melee
Got it? The three Basic goods Tournies are probability-dominated by one troop type, the three Refined goods Tournies by two troop types, and Precious Tournies have a probability dominated by three troop types. To flesh this out, I would like to follow this with my brief Tourney battle notes. Disclaimer: I am an Elf and I Manual Fight (after the first eight Tourney provinces), YMMV.
Regarding expiring battle buildings: if one has been working the Magic Academy and has a supply of buff buildings, it is always good to build UUU and ELR, the first because it buffs all troops and the second because of our reliance on LR troops in all Tournies. That leaves MMM and Dwarven Armorer. Build MMM only if you use Mages, which I only use in Marble, Crystal, Dust and Gems but your preference may be different. DA can only be obtained from the Spire (at present) and is therefore less available. I use DA for the hardest Tournies only, which seem to be Scrolls and Dust for most of us.
Marble: All types of squads will appear, with an emphasis on HM. This will give your Blossoms a chance to shine. If you don’t have at least 2 star Blossoms, then Rangers. If you are not up to 2 star Rangers, the Archers will do well. Three star Golems plus Sorceresses make a lethal team, if you know how to use them. When Mist Walkers are added to the enemy mix, better use Archer/Rangers; the Blossoms are too 'squishy' (low defense) to survive. Similarly, an abundance of Mage-killing LR and LM troops demand a LR rather than Mage lineup.
Steel: these are simple enough that I wail through them using the advantaged troop types. We all love our LR and Mages fall to them easily. Rangers are buffed against Mages. If you run out of LR then 3 Golems & 2 Bud Sorcs are a good combo. I start making extra Rangers a week early.
Planks: The preponderance of LR, especially Mist Walkers, makes Orc Strats my main troop. They are a pain to train since Orcs are needed elsewhere for research and upgrades, especially in the higher chaps, but there is no better squad for this Tourney. I keep
Crystal: The opposing Mages are weak against LR, but Inno makes sure that you use up a lot of your LR in this Tourney, thanks to the pairing with HR. When appropriate, my favorite pairing is banshees with LR. Blossoms (or priests) with LR is also effective. I go into this Tourney with extra LR. Folks don’t give Dryads much respect but they deliver 50% more damage than other LR. They are especially effective against HM but must be protected because their defense is weak. Rangers have extra attack buffs against Mages, so stock up but be prepared to go through a lot of them.
Scrolls: this is a tough Tourney. I like to use banshees against HR; Blossoms are too defenseless against LR. But I go through a lot of banshees. If I get tired of losing Banshees to the higher-initiative LR, I use Golems in place of Banshees when Banshees are in a position of receiving a first hit. Banshees are only even with HR, no advantage, but they are very easy for me to train in droves.
Silk: I have lately learned to use HM in this Tourney more often. In early provinces I use a lot of LR, HM and dogs. In later provs I often use Blossoms and HM. This is the Tourney where I use the 2BudSorc-3Golem strategy; probably better suited to MF than Auto-fight. BudSorcs strongly debuff the opposition, thereby doubling the effectiveness of the tank-like Golems. Expect the BudSorcs to die but even a squad whittled down to just 1 BudSorc can cast debilitating spells.
Elixir: Lots of all-Golem fights, lots of LR/Golem fights. I start upgrading my Temple of the Toads AW one week before the start of this Tourney. Seriously.
Dust:
Judging by the number of complaints in the forum, the Dust Tourney has got to be the most difficult. Many posters agree on this. This is because the ‘featured’ shady character squads are Heavy Ranged, Light Melee and Mage. Among these three, then, the opposition has a potential buff advantage over every squad that one might field. Since there is no way of knowing how these three will be apportioned by the RNG there is no way to prepare for the Tourney in the days before. The battlefields are consistently among the less obstructed and so the opposition light melee becomes just that more menacing. Each fight has to be approached uniquely, relying on experience.
Dust does not lend itself to positive advice. My notes merely tell me that I have no use for Orc Strats and I do not rely on Mages, so I don’t site MMM. (This allows me to double- or triple-site MMM for those Tourneys where Mages are Key. For me, these are only three tournies: Marble, Crystal and Gems).
Gems: This Tourney is always rich in terrain obstructions in addition to three categories of opponents. As such it is tough for unscouted auto-fights to win but it is often presents an advantage to manual fighters who can use the obstructions to their advantage. Range army has an advantage over melee troops unless there is a preponderance of LM and LR to contend with. Auto-fighters should really take time to scout and adjust their troops and starting line accordingly in this Tourney. The obstructions can also be an advantage to auto-fighters by keeping the Light and Heavy Melee squads away from them for the first round or two.
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