About God Field

So recently I noticed that 5th gen, Pekora and Matsuri have started streaming/playing the game God Field. Suisei & Shion also joined in to play on Pekora's stream. Pekora also mentioned potentially doing a tournament for the game (not confirmed yet though). It seems like we might continue to see more streams of this game within Hololive.
However, I haven't seen anyone TLing any stream clips, which is a shame since it's a very funny game, made even more entertaining when Hololive members are playing it! I suspect it's because the game isn't well known to the overseas audience, so I decided to make this guide for TLers and EN fans who are interested but don't understand the game. I've provided examples from Hololive streams so that you can practice following along.
If you don't know anything about God Field, in short, it's a party card game. You could say it's like the Mario Kart of card games, and by that I mean it's a mixture of skill and unfair RNG mechanics and lucky card draws. The game also has the weird ability to make players start role playing, somehow due to its weird "God" theming and its unusual card and status names. You'll see players start to say silly things as they attack each other cards like "Goodbye Sword" or inflict weird status effects like "Fog". But these aspects are what creates very hilarious interactions and dialogue between the players, some of which I'll include at the end of this guide as a bonus.
You can also play the game for free here, but there's no tutorial, so I recommend reading this guide as you go.

Basics

The goal is to get your opponent's HP to 0. There are two main card types, attack (攻) cards and defence (守) cards. During your turn, you use attack cards to attack an opponent. The opponent can use defence cards to defend against it. 1ATK is equal to 1DEF.
EX: Suisei attacks Pekora with the 14 ATK "Violent Flail" (a very fitting card for her). Pekora defends with "Iron Armor", a 5DEF card, so she takes 9 damage. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=3161)
When defending, you can stack as many defence cards as you want at once. But for attacking, it's a bit different. You can only use 1 attack card normally, but you can combine "combo attack" cards to make a stronger attack. You can tell if it's a combo attack card if it has a "+" in its damage, for example "+3 攻" or "+3 ATK". Note that combo attack cards don't have to be used in a combo, they can also be used as standalone attacks.
EX: Polka attacks Lamy with a monstrous 10+13+10 card combo, a total of 33 damage. Lamy defends with a 1, 3, and 9 DEF combo, a total of 13 DEF, so she takes 20 damage. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=3314)

Elements

Some cards are color-coded, meaning they have an element. Elemental attacks can only be blocked with an elemental defence of a certain element. Fire & water (red & blue) counter each other, and stone & wood (grey & orange) counter each other. Elemental attacks are very hard to deal with, because you often won't have the specific elemental defence needed in your hand. Elemental cards themselves are also more uncommon than non-elemental cards. Note that you can use elemental defence cards to defend against non-elemental attacks too.
EX: Lamy attacks Botan with "Fire Crossbow", a +4 ATK fire card. Note that she used a combo card by itself instead of making a combo, which was actually a good play, because it preserved the card's element, making it so that Botan needed water element defence to defend it. Of course, Botan didn't have it, so *she took 4 damage. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=2603)
*This is a funny moment during a 3v3 team game of "Botan/Polka/Suisei" vs "Pekora/Nene/Lamy", where Botan says she'll "be a wall" for her teammates, and proceeds to get brutally focus-fired by the opposing team. More on why that happens later.
Actually, there are two more elements that behave quite differently: light (yellow) and dark (purple). Light cannot be blocked, and can substitute as Fire/WateStone/Wood for both attacks and defence. So it's like a wildcard element, as well as being virtually undefendable (a few cards can block it). Dark can be blocked by anything, even by non-elemental defence, but it kills the opponent if even 1 damage goes through. As you can imagine, both of these elements are very scary to deal with.
EX1: Shion attacks Pekora with "Justice Lance", a 5 ATK light card. Note that none of Pekora's defence cards are lit up, showing that they can't be selected, because again, light element attacks are unblockable. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=5623)
EX2: Botan attacks Nene with "Killer Fork", a 5 ATK dark card. Nene didn't have any defence cards, so she died despite having 24HP due to the dark element's instant kill effect. Note that Botan likely knew she had no defence cards, because in the early rounds of this 3v3 team game, Team Suisei/Botan/Polka all attacked Nene, causing her to use her up defence cards early on. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=2977)
You might be thinking that if you combine something like +10 ATK cards with a 5 ATK dark element card, you have the recipe for an OP combo. But actually, stacking attack cards of different elements will cause the entire attack to become non elemental, so you'll lose the "dark instant-kill" effect. However, there are combo cards which are elemental, so if you're lucky enough to get a +5 ATK dark element, you can combine it with a 5 ATK dark element to create a very lethal dark element attack.

Tip for Following Along as a Viewer

It can be hard to add up all the cards and consider the elements for a given interaction, especially when the players play very fast. Some cards are also both attack and defence cards, meaning they have an ATK and DEF value, making it extra hard to understand if you don't know the kanji. So as a tip, the game itself will show the total ATK, total DEF, and elements of a given interaction. It's shown below each of the two "card columns" of the field.
And as mentioned before, usable cards will light up in your hand, so you can tell if the streamer was forced to take an attack because they had no cards to play, or if they took it in purpose to save their cards for later.
EX1: Polka attacks with a 9ATK card and +10 Light ATK *card. Remember that non elemental and light don't combine, so it's actually just a non elemental attack altogether. Note the "19 攻" near the bottom left, showing the total attack, and the fact that it's black means that it's non elemental. On Nene's side, it shows a black "15 守" , meaning the total defence is 15, and is also non elemental. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=2679)
*The light card Polka used is called "Meteor", hence why Polka says Suisei's catchphrase in reference to it.
EX2: Lamy attacks Botan with 3 wood ATK and +1 light ATK. Since light substitutes as wood, you can see in the bottom-left that it becomes an orange "+4 攻", or in other woods, a 4 damage wood attack. Once again, Botan is unable to defend, since elemental defence is very rare. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=2926)

AoE Attacks

Some attacks have a "%" in their damage, for example "50% 9ATK". What this means is that they have a % chance of hitting each opponent with that much damage. So with "50% 9ATK", if you're in a 8 player free for all, you can think of it as flipping a coin for each of your 7 opponents, and if it lands on heads, they get hit by 9ATK. Depending on luck, the attack can either hit everyone, miss everyone, or do some mix of hitting/missing. AoE attacks are all elemental by design as well, making them extra annoying.
EX: Polka attacks Pekora/Nene/Lamy with "Rain Deity's Sword", a 50% 9ATK water card. And to her luck, it successfully hits all three of them. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=2771)

Spells

Spells work basically like how they do in RPGs; they cost MP, and they can be used infinitely. You'll notice after a player uses them the first time, that the card stays in the bottom right of the player's hand. It's sort of like they "learned" the spell. Most spells are simply elemental attacks that cost MP, but there are some other unique effects they can do as well. In general, spells are much stronger than regular attack cards in this game, since they're essentially infinitely reusable elemental attacks. But they're usually hard to use since MP is a somewhat uncommon resource, and spells themselves are uncommon as well.
EX: Pekora vs Shion. Pekora has a measly 2HP, and Shion uses the spell "Ice", a 4ATK water spell that costs 2MP, to finish her off. Luckily, Pekora draws "Moonlight Shield" just in time, which reflect spells, and manages to survive. But if you recall, spells are reusable, so Shion just uses "Ice" the next turn. Miraculously, Pekora draws "Moonlight Sword", which also can reflect spells, and survives yet another turn. Finally, for a third time, Shion casts "Ice", but this time Pekora is all out of luck. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=5637)
Spells actually have an interesting side effect. Because of how card draw works (you replenish the same amount of cards that you use), when using a spell, it counts as if you "used it" even though it remained in your hand. So your hand size will increase by 1 every time you use it, meaning it gives +1 card advantage. So if you have a cheap cost spell, you can cast it many times over the course of a game to continuously increase your hand size - and thus create a massive card advantage over your opponent. If you've played card games before, you'll realize that this is a very powerful effect.
EX: Pekora attacks Shion with a 6 ATK wood spell. Watch Pekora's hand in the bottom-left, and notice that she gains a card slot in her hand when she uses the spell. Also note that her hand is much bigger than the default hand size, as she's already used the spell a bunch before. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=5152)

Statuses

There are very non-traditional status effects in this game, so I'll explain each one:
Fog: The background becomes blue, and various things become blocked with a blue fill. You can't see what cards other players play, unless they're attacking you. You also can't see anyone's HP/MP/Money, besides your own, and you cannot select who you target when you attack.
EX: Shion uses the "Fog" spell on Pekora. Pekora actually has a consumable that can cure it called "Heart Shell", which can cure all statuses, so she uses it. But "Heart Shell" is single-use, and if you recall, spells are infinite use, so Shion just casts "Fog" again right after, since the MP cost is low. The interaction itself is funny, with Shion constantly teasing her about "absolutely wanting Pekora to not be able to see~" (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=5547)
Dream: All cards you draw have a 50% of being "disguised" - meaning they can actually be a different card then what it visually appears as. It'll reveal what the card really is when you use it. A "disguised" card will have a misty filter on it. Note that cards can't turn into cards of another type - meaning you can't defend with a defence card, but then it turns into an attack/spell/consumable card with 0 DEF. It'll always turn into another defence card. And if it's an elemental defence card, it'll turn into an elemental defence card of the same element. This makes it so that you can't play a "wrong" or "invalid" card as a result of dream.
EX: In a close game of Pekora vs Matsuri, where both players have 7HP left, Matsuri attacks Pekora with a 11ATK combo. Pekora's only defence card is a potentially fake "Flame Boots", a 3DEF card, so she thinks she will lose, especially since elemental cards tend to have low DEF, so even if it's fake, it'll still probably turn into another weak card. However, it's actually revealed to be "Flame Armor", a 12DEF card, so she survives with excitement. (Volume Warning https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=4706)
Flash: You can only use up to 1 defence card when defending.
EX: Polka hits Botan with *"Horror Wheel", a +11 ATK card. Botan counters with "Uranus Ring", which inflicts flash to whoever damaged her, so Polka gets the "Flash" status. Then, Lamy attacks the "Flashed" Polka with the 9 ATK "Power Halberd", which is difficult to defend since she can only play 1 defence card. To top it off, Polka's under "Dream" as well, meaning she doesn't know if her 1 defence card will be good enough, since it may change into another, weaker card. This interaction shows a special yellow text (まぶしい) that translates to "bright". So while getting hit, Polka says "It's bright! What's with this brightness?" (https://youtu.be/22rt5Xnte6k?t=1043)
*You might be wondering why Polka used a combo attack on its own, since unlike in the previous similar example with Lamy, it's non-elemental, so it should be better to combine it with another attack. It's because she was new to the game - Nene actually starts explaining it to her about "+" and "combo" cards during that timestamp after she plays it.
Dark Cloud: If you're hit with a % attack, it has a 100% chance of hitting.
EX: Shion hits Pekora with "Flare Axe", a 50% 10ATK fire card. Pekora is already under Dark Cloud, so she gets hit. This interaction shows a special purple text (不可避) which translates to "inevitable", as in it's inevitable the hit will land. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=5967)
Cold->Fever->Hell->Heaven: These disease statuses give -1/-2/-5/+5 HP per turn. They're related in that diseases can get "worse" at a 5% chance each turn, or when you catch another disease. When a disease becomes worse, it turns into the "next stage" disease. Meaning cold turns into fever, which turns into hell, which turns into heaven, and after heaven, you'll simply die.
Heaven is quite odd since unlike the other diseases, it gives you HP per turn rather than dealing damage per turn. But instead you have a 5% chance of dying at the end of your turn. So it can create some thrilling situations where a player is nearly unkillable because of the +5HP per turn, but also can die at any moment if their luck turns bad.
EX: Lamy uses "Heaven Herb" on herself, which gives +20 MP, but also puts herself under "heaven". Note the +5HP that appears after as a result of "heaven". Polka questions the play at first, since heaven is very dangerous so you'd rather give it to someone else, but then she realizes you can cure it later. So Lamy used it as a desperate way to heal herself, as her HP was running low. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=3144)

Common Keywords

There are some common card effects that are important to know.
Bounce Attack/Spell - Redirects an attack/spell to anyone in the game, even to the person who bounced it! A quirk of this mechanic is that the attack/spell will become unblockable if you bounce it and it redirects to yourself.
EX: During a team battle, Polka uses the light element spell "Meteor" on Lamy. Normally, light is unblockable - but Lamy plays "Sky Helm" which bounces spells. It then bounces to... (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=3010) Polka's ally Botan, causing Polka's attack to kill her own teammate, who only had 7HP, and no way to counter light element.
Reflect Attack/Spell - Reflects the attack/spell back to the attackecaster. Fairly self explanatory, but it's good to be aware of, as it's the common cause of funny moments, along with "Bounce".
EX: Pekora vs Shion. Pekora has only 7HP and is on her last legs, while Shion has 22HP. Shion plays "Ice Age", a 75% 30ATK water spell. Shion thinks she just won, as it's nearly impossible to deal with 30 water damage. But... (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=5268) Pekora uses "Moonlight Sword", which is an attack card that can also be used as a defence card to reflect spells, and makes a comeback.
Cast Spell w/o Cost: You can combine a card with this effect to cast a spell for free. This is why you'll see players occasionally cast a spell without enough MP, and combine it with a seemingly unrelated armoweapon.
EX: Polka casts the spell "Meteor" which costs 7MP on Lamy, but she only has 1MP. She then combines it with the consumable card "Spiritual Doll", which allows a spell to be casted with no cost. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=3074)
Block Attack/Spell - It allows you to fully block certain kinds of attacks, regardless of how high the damage is.
Counterattack - A defensive keyword that activates upon receiving damage. You'll see counterattack on a set of cards known as "Elemental Planet Rings", like the "Uranus Ring" mentioned before. They all have very different effects. Some effects scale based on how much damage you took, meaning you might intentionally take more damage to boost the effect. A common mistake is to use defensive cards with a counterattack card, because it may weaken the special effect.
EX: Pekora vs Shion. Shion counters Pekora's 11ATK "Gravity Mace" with "Saturn Ring", which counterattacks with double the received damage, as stone element. So Pekora was countered with 22 stone ATK. If Shion instead tried to fully block the attack while using Saturn Ring, it would've dealt no damage. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=6025)
Inflict "X Status" on Damage - If the attack deals at least 1 damage, it'll also inflict a status.
EX: During the 5th Gen FFA, Lamy attacks Polka with "Bogus Spear", which has "inflict Dream on hit". Polka gets scared, saying "I have to completely defend this!". Earlier in the stream, nearly everyone had spent a long time under the effects of "Dream", so she was afraid of experiencing it again. It's a very scary status to be afflicted with. (https://youtu.be/22rt5Xnte6k?t=4301)

Consumables

These are mostly cards that simply heal HP, MP, or cure statuses. Though there are actually some with much more wild effects, like the "Heaven Herb" mentioned previously. An interesting part about these cards is that you can use them on someone else, so for example you can heal allies in team matches. One more notable feature is that they're in a separate category from attacks or spells, and this game only has blocking cards that work against attacks and spells. As a result, there is no way to block consumable cards.
EX: Continuing from a previous example, Pekora uses "Heart Shell" to cure her teammate Lamy's "Heaven". She was afraid that Lamy would die from heaven, leaving her in a 1v2 situation, so she waited a few turns for it to heal her, then cured her. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=3237)

Money

You may have noticed that both players and cards have "￥" on them. "￥", or money, is used for three specific cards: "buy", "sell", and "exchange". These cards are fairly common, have very unique effects, and can be OP when used right, so I'll explain them thoroughly.
Buy: target a player, then the game chooses a random card from their hand. You then have the option of buying that card from them. The real power of this card comes from its glitchy side effect - similar to spells, after buying a card, it actually increases the buyer's hand size by 1. But unlike spells, it also decreases the seller's hand size by 1, meaning this gives a +2 card advantage. You might notice a player's hand size becoming extremely small or big, as a result of multiple uses of this card. Needless to say, this card is extremely powerful.
EX: Pekora gets lucky and manages to buy Shion's "Real Ghost Sword", a 12ATK lifesteal card. This effect is very powerful and essentially means the card has 24ATK in terms of value. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=5331)
Sell: choose one of the cards in your hand, and target a player to forcefully sell it to. It has the same side effect as "buy" cards, meaning you lose 1 hand size for using it, and the opponent gains 1 hand size. So at first it seems like a terrible card since it has -2 card advantage, but it actually has its uses. For example, what happens if you sell a $30 card to someone with $0 money? The victim is forced to buy the card no matter what. If they're too poor, they pay in MP instead. If they have insufficient MP, then they pay in HP. So they can actually die from being too poor to buy a card. So when used on a poor player, this card actually becomes an unblockable MP drain, and/or an unblockable attack.
EX: Suisei says "Peko-chan, Peko-chan, looks like you don't have any money right now" and then sells her an expensive Heart Shell. To add insult to injury, she already has two Heart Shells, and because she has no money, she lost 15MP instead, which she crucially needed because she has 3 useful spells in her hand. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=3217)
Exchange: allows you to freely exchange your HP, MP, and money at a 1:1:1 ratio. This card is pretty straight forward, and doesn't have any crazy side effects like the others. The thing to note is that there are very few ways to gain HP/MP/money in this game, so this card is one of the most versatile cards in the game and combos well with all HP/MP/money cards.
EX: Shion vs Pekora. Shion has been using the spell "Treasure", which costs 5MP but gives 10$, to reach a total of $60. And as her HP runs low, she uses "exchange" to turn 60$ into 40HP and 20MP. As a result of this, while taking Pekora's attacks, she was able to fully heal herself, and leave herself with 20MP for a strong spell later, all the while increasing her hand size by a lot due to spamming the spell "Treasure". (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=5798)
These cards all belong to the "trade" category, so like "consumables", they aren't considered an "attack/spell", so they cannot be blocked.
Note that money is not used to play cards, this value is strictly only for buying and selling. Cards don't have any cost to play them (except MP for spell cards).

Guardians

Certain cards will allow players to summon elemental guardians, which have a 25% chance of casting cards after every opponent's turn. The cards they cast depend on their element, the dark guardian for example will randomly choose between 5 dark element cards. Also, guardians don't need MP to cast spells. Guardians have a 10% of disappearing when the player they belong to gets hit. There's also a money guardian and a healing guardian, which are less deadly since they don't attack, but still are quite annoying if left alone for too long.
In general, guardians are a huge threat, as it's impossible to keep up with the amount of elemental defence cards needed to block their elemental attacks. The value they generate over time is so threatening that players in a team or FFA game will often start focus firing you for having one.
EX1: Pekora uses "Guardian Sealed Jar" on her teammate Lamy, to give her a guardian. She gets the darkness guardian, which has the potential to win the game on its own by constantly sending out dark element attacks. However, its threat causes Lamy to get *brutally targeted by Team Suisei & Polka, and eventually the guardian falls (Summoning https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=3042) (Disappears https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=3115)
*If you remember, Lamy had to use "Heaven Herb" on herself before due to her HP getting low. This was from the same game and happens right after this. So her HP was getting low because of the guardian her ally Pekora gave her.
EX2: Remember the Botan moment from before, where she says "I'll be a wall for everyone!" in a 3v3 game? The reason she said this was actually because she played "Guardian Sealed Jar" before, and thus you can see she has a guardian icon next to her on the top right. So she was playfully speaking to the fact that she drew the opposing team's aggro. And indeed, she ends up taking the brunt of the opposing team's attacks and dies first for her team. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=2603)

Apocalypse

There's an optional setting in the game where when a certain number of turns pass, the apocalypse starts. When this happens, the background changes, and there's a high chance of drawing "devil" cards, which have various effects, most notable of which is just straight up receiving unblockable damage. It's basically a "hurry-up" mode - a way to stop games from being too long. Another fun interaction is that since devils count as cards, you can actually: draw a devil, take damage, devil gets discarded/used so you draw another card, you draw ANOTHER devil, take damage, and repeat. So you can simply die from endless devil damage, all from one card draw!
Pekora/Matsuri/Polka didn't use the setting, so there are no examples of it. But I explained it in case one of them uses it in the future.

Playing The Game

Within the RNG, the game has some interesting mechanics and strategy, which I've tried my best to cover. But if you want to understand the streams fully, I ultimately recommend playing the game yourself, as there's many unique card effects that I haven't covered. In addition to effects, knowing the card names and draw rarity adds much needed context to what the players are saying. There are times when players will play multiple powerful rare cards in a row, which adds to the hilarity.
The game is free and playable on browser and mobile. There's a "bible" on the top-right where you can check card effects and rarities, and modes where you can play vs AI, with friends, or with strangers. This game is very fun with friends, but is boring alone IMO. However, there's no tutorial, and the UI is confusing, so you should familiarize yourself with the game first before introducing it to friends.
It also has a NND style chat, so if you're wondering about the floating text that sometimes appears, it's the hololive members typing it.
The game uses odd "God"-themed terms for things, which I avoided using in the guide to prevent confusion. But you'll need to know them to play the game, and the players themselves make references to it, so here's a chart:

God Field's Terms	Regular Game Terms
Artifact	Card
Curse	Status
Miracle	Spell
Sundry	Consumable
Ascension	Death
Seizure	Death by Heaven
Forgive	Allow (allow an action to happen without playing any cards in response)
Pray	Pass (if you have no attack cards, pass and draw a card)
Bible	Glossary / Card Library
Gift Rate	Draw Chance
Phenomena	Global Effect
Prophet	Player
Hidden Melee	Private Lobby

Again, one of the charms of the game is how it makes the players "role-play" as they attack each other with unethical cards combos and statuses, so I'm hoping that whoever TLs any clips can capture the nuance and wordplay well. Thanks for reading!

Bonus: Stream Highlights

• Pekora vs Shion. Pekora gets excited as she draws "Dangerous Pestle", a 30ATK light card, a powerful and unblockable card which has the effect of randomly attacking anyone in the game. Shion's HP is below 30. Pekora gets cocky towards Shion as she uses it. Can you guess what happens next? https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=5610 The attack hits herself and ends up losing the game soon after because of it.
• Shion vs Pekora. With Pekora at 46HP and Shion at 17HP, Shion's chances look dim. In addition, she takes Pekora's "Gravity Mace", an 11 ATK card, without defending, instead countering with "Saturn Ring", a defence card that counterattacks with double the damage that she just took to the attacker as stone element - so 22 stone damage is dealt to Pekora. But Pekora still has 24HP, so the situation still seems bad. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=6025) Until Shion plays a "Waterfall", a 25ATK water spell, which is just enough to make a nearly perfect sudden comeback against Pekora.
• Pekora vs Matsuri. Pekora attacks with an insane 31 attack combo. And the base attack card, "Ghost Sword", has lifesteal, so the whole attack gets lifesteal as well. (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=4040) But Matsuri counters with "Reflecting Sword" which reflects non elemental attacks. Now, not only does Pekora have to deal with the attack, but Matsuri gets "ownership" of the attack, meaning she gets the lifesteal as well.
• Matsuri vs Pekora, Matsuri has been building up MP all game, making Pekora think that a massively strong spell was coming, which forced her to waste turns playing defensively. But it was just a bluff, and Matsuri exchanges all her MP for HP instead. Pekora says "Eh? Suddenly your HP is at 90... wait a second, weren't you saying you were gonna use that MP for an attack?" (https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=4319)
• Team Battle: Polka noticed that Pekora did not block an attack in the previous turn and plays the "weakest" card in the game. Botan says "There's no way you'll die, right?" https://youtu.be/LugGHWGuVIc?t=3357 Self-explanatory.
• Matsuri vs Polka: Polka inflicted Dream onto Matsuri earlier, so Matsuri cures herself with "Heart Shell". Then Polka hits her with "Bogus Spear", which inflicts "Dream" upon damage. Polka then teases her about making her dream forever in a creepy voice. Later, they have a cute convo about waking up when Matsuri finally cures herself again. https://youtu.be/8qhduadHdtM?t=2502
• 5th Gen FFA: Earlier, Botan used "String of Fate" which causes a random "Phenomena", which is like a global status effect. It caused "Mushroom Outbreak", which causes everyone to lose control of their attack for 3 turns, as the game automatically plays random attacks cards for them. This causes Nene to unwillingly attack Lamy with an overkill combo, consisting of "God Sword", a 30ATK card, and "Angel Bow", a +15 ATK card, making a total of 45ATK. Nene blames Botan for it. And shortly after, Botan is forced to use "Magical Stick", an attack which uses all your MP and deals double your MP's damage. But the Mushroom Outbreak makes her target herself. (https://youtu.be/22rt5Xnte6k?t=1911)
• 5th Gen FFA: Polka and Botan both buy a card from Nene. Then Polka plays "Nocturnal Broom" on Nene, which removes 3 cards from the target's hand, and just like "buy", the hand size permanently gets smaller. Watch as Nene's hand size shrinks, and as Nene laments the loss of her "Diamond Sword". (https://youtu.be/22rt5Xnte6k?t=2170)
• 5th Gen FFA: Nene despairs as she dies to Polka's 10 light damage Meteor spell. But Nene's "Ascension Bow" which she had in her hand, comes into play, which has the effect of activating as a "75% 30 Light ATK" card upon dying. (https://youtu.be/22rt5Xnte6k?t=3524) She manages to take out Botan with her death, but misses against Lamy and Polka. This card is able to turn the game into a draw.
• Polka online ranked vs Horse. Polka sells "Gold Club" to Horse, a 1ATK card that costs 25$. It's a card that basically only exists for buying/selling. Horse counters by selling it back. But Polka counters by selling it back, thanks to having an extra sell card. (https://youtu.be/UH8eQRXbpUU?t=3575 )Later in the game, Horse actually sells it back once more, but Polka has another sell ready and immediately sells it back.

i'm starting to feel like modern Yugioh is a clown car, and every time the banlist apprehends the first few clowns that lead the format, 4-5 more step out to take their place. we didn't even have Linkross in handcuffs yet before VFD took the wheel and Vanity's Ruler got into the passenger seat. happy new year
 
This post will give recommendations for decks that can generally do well while generally remaining in the $50 to $150 price range.

• Estimated pricing includes a sample completed main deck and some or all of an extra deck, but no side.
• Pricing is based mainly on singles and you can easily save a lot of money by buying cores for most of these lists all at once.
• Decks were chosen usually based on having some degree of success in recent TCG formats.
  • These deck choices and rankings are heavily based on online tournaments such as Konami's Remote Duel Invitationals, LCS, and other assorted online events.
  • Performance on DuelingBook's ranked ladder also slightly factors in to the placement of these decks, with data taken from Ygoscope.
• Many decklists will include some middle-range power cards that might drive the price point up, which can be cut for players on an extreme budget. For instance, a set of Ash is $25-30 currently, but Ash is included in many of these lists as a generic staple that players might already own.
• Conversely, decklists are oftentimes easily upgraded by adding power cards such as Forbidden Droplet and Triple Tactics Talent.

Decks are grouped into four "tiers" and listed alphabetically by tier. Decklists are built prioritizing simplicity and effectiveness on a budget. Not all of them are perfect, but this post is not an F. Unless there is a particularly offensive deckbuilding error that you want to point out, please don't use this thread to nitpick at the sample decklists. Don't feel obligated to stick to the sample lists either; you should experiment and play cards that feel comfortable and/or optimal to you.
Feel free to leave suggestions for budget players, whether it's a budget tech choice for one of the decks on this list or whether it's a different deck that you think can compete in the coming months.
[Last updated: 23 Jan 2021]
Previous version: October 2020 Post
 

S Tier

The best bang for your buck. Decks in this category have the capacity to top premier events, though they're almost always supplemented with expensive power cards.
 

Drytron

Price: $100 Imgur | DuelingBook

• New Ritual-based combo deck from Genesis Impact that has a lot of recursion from the Graveyard, boasting a strong grind game as well as potent turn 1 boards that can win the game outright.
• The level 1 Drytron cards tribute other Drytron cards or Ritual cards in hand/field, so this deck abuses Cyber Angel Benten's lack of a once per turn clause to gain a ton of resources and search a lot of power LIGHT Fairy cards, such as Herald of Orange Light and Vanity's Ruler.
• Drytron Nova is an automatic 3-of inclusion in every competitive version of this deck, but also currently sits at around $40 each in NA. Novas are a massive boost in consistency, though the deck is honestly still playable without it, and is quite cheap otherwise. With even one copy of Nova, you should look to also include three copies of Drytron Fafnir (their Field Spell) which can search Nova as well.
• The absence of Nova + Fafnir from the main leaves a lot of space to be filled. There are many ways you can go about this.
  • The sample list plays a small Pre-Prep engine with Herald of Perfection. It's very simple to play, especially if you're unfamiliar with the deck, and helps raise your overall ceiling - athough optimized competitive builds have generally moved away from Pre-Prep.
  • Another viable Ritual engine is the Megalith engine, which provides numerous options. These variants generally also suffer from consistency issues, made worse by the lack of Novas in the budget version. Less consistent access to Alpha means less consistent usage of extra Ritual monsters.
  • You could play cards that search Drytron monsters in an attempt to patch up consistency. Examples include Where Arf Thou, or normal summons that fetch Drytrons such as Cyber Dragon Core (getting Emergency) and Mathematician. Also viable is Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin, which is an interesting tech in Drytron that helps you beat handtraps like Droll & Lock Bird.
  • Finally, you can always just play more handtraps or generic power cards.
• This deck is a relatively new deck, and is getting support in Lightning Overdrive, which might indicate that it's relatively safe from the next banlist. However, there's no telling what Konami will do, so don't take my word as gospel.

 

Virtual World

Price: $150 Imgur | DuelingBook

• Combo deck with an extra deck toolbox, using Synchro and Xyz monsters to break boards or to win the game with True King of All Calamities and their recurring boss monster, Shenshen. The Virtual World monsters have a shared restriction which means that Link monsters are usually not played in this deck at all.
• Most of the main deck VW monsters can dump other VW cards from Deck to GY, and their continuous spell Qinglong is a searcher in the GY. Combined with Virtual World Mai-Hime - Lulu's ability to search for VW cards as well, the deck is consistent at doing the same combos and executing its gameplan almost every game, as most combinations of 2 Virtual World cards result in some type of combo.
• Despite being one of the top decks in the format, this deck is also quite cheap. Staples aside, the most pricey card in the main is Lulu at around $18-20 each. Can you get away with fewer copies of her? Probably, but you really want to get 3 due to Desires, and her being one of the best cards in your deck.
• Saw success immediately after PHRA release, even in the previous combo-infested format where Virtual World took the most representation and top cut spots at LCS 8, eventually winning the entire tournament. Post-banlist, they also took the most top cut spots and then won LCS 9, versus an entirely different playing field full of Zoodiac, Drytron, and Eldlich variants.
• Recent combos using Chaofeng, Phantom of the Yang Zing to search either one of the Virtual World tuners (Lulu or Laolao) have opened up some new combo routes that make Foolish Burial Goods a lot more forgiving to play, allowing you to still end on impressive boards despite using Qinglong somewhat suboptimally. On the other hand, Chaofeng's price also spiked quite heavily after LCS 9, so you may not want to play it.
• Non-budget players will first and foremost want to add Zeus to the Extra Deck, as it helps greatly with going second and also dealing with threats like Dragoon. Another common inclusion is Triple Tactics Talents, though this card is by no means mandatory in the deck, and has also seen a decline in popularity lately.

 

A Tier

Strong decks, but limited either by a lack of access to powerful staples or by the natural ceiling of the deck. You could still top a regional with one of these decks on a good day.
 

Altergeist

Price: $75+ Imgur | DuelingBook

• Control + backrow deck with incredible recursion and the ability to come back from almost no resources
• Altergeist have seen sparse success ever since FLOD, and are a respectable budget contender. They've have had a fairly modest showing online, and saw recent success with a top 8 finish at LCS 9. That deck was a Dogmatika variant piloted by Lars Junginger, playing the recently released Artemis, the Magistus Moon Maiden to make it slightly easier to summon Ecclesia in some hands.
• The Dogmatika engine is viable even on a modest budget. It's possible to simply play Dogmatika Punishment as a powerful trap capable of utilizing your extra deck, and even a single copy of Ecclesia (around $20 each right now) goes a long way for improving the power of this package. Of course, the deck is also perfectly playable as pure Altergeist.
• Budget players are most hurt by a lack of Pot of Extravagance, Infinite Impermanence, and Evenly Matched. The first three of these cards have reprints, but none are quite cheap enough yet to be easily accessible on a budget.
• The extra deck is extremely flexible (as Altergeist are typically played with Extravagance, anyway) and several options are simply tech cards, such as Elder Entity N'tss.
• Main deck trap choices are also extremely flexible. Torrential is quite powerful against Virtual World, but this could easily be swapped out for many other cards depending on your budget, available card pool, and locals demographics.
• The release of Blazing Vortex in early February also brings along an incredibly powerful staple card in Pot of Prosperity. Altergeist, along with virtually every other deck that enjoys running Pot of Extravagance currently, will appreciate Prosperity as well. Many OCG decks are choosing to play both Extrav + Prosperity in their decklists. Of course, Prosperity is also a Secret Rare, and is virtually guaranteed to be around $100, so this is not applicable on a budget.

 

Prank-Kids

Price: $150 Imgur | DuelingBook

• Floaty combo/control deck with 4 maindeck Prank-Kids that all float into any other Prank-Kid when used for a Link or Fusion summon
• Got a great boost in Phantom Rage with Prank-Kids Meow-Meow-Mu, a Link 1 Prank-Kid monster that makes this deck incredibly consistent and turns any single Prank monster into full combo.
• Prank-Kids Place is a little pricey, currently sitting at around $17 per copy in NA. While it contributes to your overall consistency (as it's equivalent to any Prank name), you can definitely get away with cutting copies of Place if your budget is tight.
• Notably took 1st place at the Canadian Remote Duel Invitational in mid-January, piloted by Hanko Chow.
• This deck appreciates the inclusion of Predaplant Verte Anaconda (currently over $30 apiece in NA) which can dump Thunder Dragon Fusion to help field Battle Butler, your main win condition. It was dropped from the provided list for budget reasons, but it's a great inclusion if you have a copy already. In conjunction with cards like Link Spider, it also improves your ability to play through disruption and through Nibiru.
• This deck has many characteristics of a great deck, but suffers from similar problems as Zoodiac in that it struggles to play through disruption on your normal summon, or cards like Ash negating your first Prank-Kid effect. The inclusion of Polymerization in the main deck helps to combat this, but also popular are builds that don't play Poly at all and instead just load the main deck with handtraps and powerful staples like Forbidden Droplet.
• Pot of Desires is included in this example main deck to help boost consistency and overall power, but some players opt not to run it.

 

Salamangreat

Price: $50+ Imgur | DuelingBook

• Link-based midrange deck with a lot of recursion and a special in-archetype technique, where 1 Link Monster is used as the entire Link material to summon another copy of that monster, granting bonus effects
• The deck is somewhat halfway between control and combo, establishing respectable boards turn 1 with a fairly compact engine, allowing many handtraps to be played. Their real strength comes in turn 3 and beyond, where their arsenal of free summons from the GY, coupled with their stellar resource recycling, easily overwhelm the opponent.
• The majority of the deck is dirt cheap and is mostly able to be built with commons from SOFU+SAST supplementing 3 copies of Structure Deck: Soulburner.
• Accesscode Talker is a huge part of this deck's success, able to steal games easily with the help of Update Jammer. Accesscode is not at all affordable on a budget, so the sample list plays Zeroboros instead. Owning one copy of Accesscode is a tremendous improvement to this deck's strength.
• Salamangreat has found little competitive success in bigger online tournaments this format, but still regularly performs well in smaller events, remote duel locals, and the like. It's also a fairly safe choice, as it's somewhat unlikely we see further Salamangreat hits on the next banlist.
• The provided list plays Rivalry + Strike, a potent option allowing you to sometimes win games even into established boards. Strike is quite solid in the current format, as even the combo decks don't usually end on ways to punish a lot of set backrow.
• Parallel eXceed is an optional card, and can be cut in favor of more backrow or handtraps. On one hand, it allows you to more easily link climb when going second, and can easily add a Dweller or Bagooska to your board going first (Dweller is very good right now, as well). On the other hand, players may prefer to run more defensive cards instead of eXceed.

 

Subterror

Price: $100+ Imgur | DuelingBook

• Subterrors are a control deck with a focus on flipping monsters face-down and generating constant advantage with Subterror Guru.
• Pure Guru control is the most played variant, and is more or less a stun deck that tries to abuse Guru as much as possible. While most Guru lists online are Numeron and/or Dragoon hybrids, the pure version saw some success earlier this format at the Benelux Remote Duel Extravaganza, finishing top 4. You can watch that deck profile here, and the sample list is generally based off of that list.
  • While Dragoon isn't budget-friendly, the Numeron engine is very accessible for little cost, and is a viable variant of this deck as well. Numeron cards aim to make Number S0: Utopic ZEXAL going first or simply OTK going second. S0 is an extremely powerful card that can prevent the opponent from playing the game entirely if it resolves. If you are interested in this version, you can check the Subterror list on the previous budget post.
• The sample list doesn't have a complete extra deck, mainly because it doesn't play Extravagance and you barely go into the Extra Deck to begin with. Relinquished Anima is a decent option if you can shell out the $7-8 for it, since sometimes you can turn Fiendess into Anima. Apart from that, provided Extra Deck options include anti-Maximus cards for the Dogmatika matchup, and Aussa + Zoodiac Drident in case you face a Zoodiac player. Taking their Zoo monster and then slapping your Drident on top can be potent.
• This deck usually plays Extravagance over Desires, but Desires is quite a serviceable replacement. Similarly to Altergeist, this deck also enjoys Pot of Prosperity post-BLVO.

 

B Tier

Like the above category, but generally weaker, less consistent, and/or impacted harder by a lack of access to a certain card(s).
 

Dinosaurs

Price: $100+ Imgur | DuelingBook

• Dinosaurs are an aggressive deck with consistent access to Evolzar Laggia/Dolkka and Ultimate Conductor Tyranno, a formidable boss monster with incredible OTK power and disruption.
• Dinosaur's strength tends to be largely meta-dependent, particularly how well it can counter the existing top decks. During the previous two combo-infested formats with decks like Dragon Link and Adamancipator running around, Dinos had several extremely impressive showing at events, such as TeamSamuraiX1's win at the first NA Remote Duel Invitational, as well as all three first-place players at LCS 7 (a 3v3 event) playing Dino.
• In the current format, Dinosaurs are struggling. The Virtual World matchup is difficult, and it's hard for Dinosaur to build to beat all of VW, Drytron, Eldlich variants, and the plethora of rogue decks running around. Additionally, Mystic Mine is not very potent this format as both Virtual World and Eldlich have in-engine outs to the card, which is another blow to the Dinosaur strategy. Finally, the popularity of handtraps like Skull Meister and Artifact Lancea in the side or even the main deck are also reasons this deck has declined.
• The provided variant still plays Mine, as it has utility breaking boards. Deckout is a much less reliable strategy against VW and Eldlich, but you can still stall for some turns until you can make a push for game. The addition of Cosmic Cyclone is also an attempt at neutering cards like Chuche and Conquistador.
• If you wanted to build this deck without Mines, you would have to find replacements for quite a few cards (and frankly, Dinosaur does not have very many good ones). Most power staples are not budget, such as Lightning Storm, Talents, Droplet, etc. This deck also really appreciates Pot of Extravagance, which still sits barely out of budget range at around $25 each in NA.
• Budget Dino must also deal with the lack of Animadorned Archosaur, an extremely powerful addition to the deck that opens up many new combos. However, sitting at around $60 per copy, the card is inaccessible on a budget.
• The provided list plays the Simorgh combo, bringing out the WIND barrier statue on turn 1 to steal games. Though a full extra deck is provided, very few cards are actually needed, as the deck typically plays Extravagance anyway.

 

Dragon Link

Price: $100-150+ (depending on Extra Deck) Imgur | DuelingBook

• Dragon Link is a Link-centric combo deck that was a dominant force in the meta for about half a year, but lost a lot of resilience and power with the recent bans to Linkross and Dragon Buster Destruction Sword.
• The provided budget version of this deck actually has a ton of extra deck flexibility due to not needing to play Synchro/Link cards related to the Halq/Kross package, meaning that you can play Knightmares, anti-Dogmatika cards, etc. This also means that the budget version doesn't actually care about the Linkross ban at all.
• This deck has seen a great deal of variation online, playing a variety of different engines and tech cards. A few of these include Vylon Cube + Smoke Grenade, the Rose Dragons, several different Dragonmaid cards, and even an FTK variant involving Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu. However, few of these are viable for budget players, especially if you do not own a copy of Halqifibrax.
• An interesting option the deck has is to use Union Carrier to equip handtraps such as Artifact Lancea. On the opponent's turn, Hieratic Seal can be used to return the handtrap to your hand, making it live immediately. This is something you may want to consider in the main deck if you frequently have to deal with decks like Virtual World and Dinosaur. Another option is to equip Ally of Justice Cycle Reader to Carrier (they're both machines) and then bounce it to hand, as a weapon against Drytron. Carrier isn't in the example list, but this is a really interesting option to consider.
• With Linkross out of the picture, playing Fibrax alone is an option if you either already own a copy or can afford the $20 needed to obtain one. You may have to retool your combos to incorporate Fiber, but the card can definitely add flexibility and resilience to your deck if you use it well.

 

Paleozoic Frogs

Price: $50+ Imgur | DuelingBook

• Backrow-heavy control deck that summons its Traps to the field as monsters and pressures the opponent with Toadally Awesome
• After being absent from the budget post for about a year, Paleo makes its triumphant return as its boss monster, Toad, returns to 3. Toad's reprint in Maximum Gold also brought this card down from $20 each to just a few bucks, making the entire deck extremely cheap.
• As a control deck, Paleo suffers from more weaknesses compared to Eldlich, Altergeist, and Subterror. Notably, the engine tends to bleed advantage unless you've managed to maintain access to Swap Frog, and you can be quickly outpaced by stronger decks. However, in games where you can establish a Toad early, or where you can maintain control with your backrow, you can do quite well.
• Paleo saw a surprising amount of success in various remote duel events this format, though some of that success is likely due to the format being unexplored and some sort of "new toy syndrome" as Toad recently went from 2 to 3.
• Paleo struggles to out Dragoon, especially without access to Ice Dragon's Prison, a $40 card. An interesting option catching on in the meta lately is the use of Mirror Force cards, particularly Quaking and Storming, as they both pressure Dragoon. Still, the card puts quite a lot of pressure on this deck.
• Speaking of Dragoon, some Paleo players opt to play that package in this deck as well. Swap Frog is a one card Dragoon as you can simply dump Ronin, turn Swap into Almiraj, and then revive Ronin to make Verte from there.
• Fiend Griefing is presented as an interesting option which is very decent in the current meta, particularly vs Drytron. Combining it with Absolute King Back Jack is a classic combo that Paleo played a long time ago in 2017, during early Zoo formats.

 

Shaddoll (Magistus)

Price: $100+, can be closer to $50 with fewer copies of Schism Imgur | DuelingBook

• Classic Fusion-based archetype from 2014, debuting in Duelist Alliance. Somewhat of a midrange combo deck that can slow the game down with El Shaddoll Winda or be very aggressive with El Shaddoll Construct
• Winda is a troublesome floodgate that many decks struggle to out, especially combo decks such as Drytron. Shaddoll cards are currently played in several Dogmatika variants due to the sheer power of Winda and the utility of Shaddoll Schism.
• The current meta is favorable for Shaddoll not only due to Winda being effective vs Drytron, but also due to Ariel being very strong against a large chunk of the format, including Eldlich variants. Her ability to banish 3 cards from the GY is so strong that some decks are splashing in Sinister Shadow Games + Ariel just for that option, which we saw played in some of the 60-card Eldlich decks at LCS 9.
  • The growing popularity of Shaddoll cards has also caused Shaddoll Schism to go up in price substantially. Currently, it's around $17, but it may continue to rise.
• The deck's biggest problem has always been its inability to consistently resolve a fusion spell on turn 1. Invoked Shaddoll was a popular hybrid in earlier formats, but with the release of the Magistus archetype in GEIM, Shaddolls got access to Rilliona and Magistus Invocation. This is an improvement since Magistus Invocation can fuse from hand and field whereas the regular Invocation can only fuse from hand when summoning Shaddolls. Additionally, Artemis provides a super convenient way for the deck to turn any Shaddoll into a LIGHT monster, which is important for summoning Construct.
• While the full Dogmatika package is very expensive due to Nadir Servant being a $75 card, one option is to play just one copy of Ecclesia (around $20) along with Maximus and a playset of Dogmatika Punishment. Maximus and Punishment have a ton of synergy in the Shaddoll deck in conjunction with Apkallone's GY effect, and this combination is deadly even on a budget.
• Other normal summons such as Mathematician and even Gale Dogra are potent on this deck, and can be played in addition to Rilliona or as a replacement for her. Yet another option is to run 1 copy of the now-cheap Eldlich the Golden Lord as a LIGHT monster for Shaddoll Fusion that can easily revive itself.
• Another popular variant is a very trap-heavy list, sometimes cutting the Magistus cards entirely. PAK and SirEmanon's YouTube channels both have their own takes on this, if you're interested.

 

Unchained

Price: $50+ Imgur | DuelingBook

• Floaty destruction-based archetype that generates advantage when its cards are destroyed, enabling its gimmick of using your opponent's monsters to Link Summon.
• Can be built to go first or to go second quite effectively. Since going second is very difficult this format, the provided list aims to go first, playing a bunch of trap cards.
• Fairly modest online performance, doing alright at smaller events and more recently finishing top 8 at the second YuGiJoe online series as well as occasional Luxury events. After the December banlist, Unchained has rapidly gained popularity in online remote duel events, and is one of the more prominent rogue decks this format. This success could be because the format is generally slower compared to previous ones, and many destruction-based cards such as Torrential Tribute are very popular currently, which this deck enjoys.
• Mega-Tin reprints of Abomination's Prison as well as their Link 2 have helped make this deck a great deal more affordable. I:P Masquerena being more affordable is also a nice boost, though it's by no means essential in this deck.
• This deck's best weapon is its opponents being unprepared for it. Playing improperly into backrow or Unchained floats can very quickly be fatal. It also matches up decently into some backrow decks as well as Dogmatika variants, which rely on destruction-based removal from Dogmatika Punishment and Elder Entity N'tss.

 

C Tier

Decks in this category have the capability to be just as good as the ones above at times, but often tend to suffer from multiple problems including consistency and power.
 

Burning Abyss

Price: $100+ Imgur | DuelingBook

• Versatile control-based Graveyard toolbox deck that has been swinging in and out of meta relevance since its release way back in 2014.
• Gradually got more and more cards back from the banlist, with Cir and Graff being unlimited on the December 2020 list. The deck is now more or less "full power" with the exception of Beatrice, who is still limited.
• The deck aims to establish Beatrice on turn 1 backed up with trap cards. The BA cards as well as Beatrice are extremely floaty, so this deck can put up quite a fight in grind games. Fiend Griefing is a solid card in the current meta, and is excellent in the Burning Abyss deck as you can send Farfa for further disruption, Graff/Scarm for followup, or Back Jack for more traps.
• This deck was frequently mixed with Phantom Knight cards back in 2016 (often called PK Fire). Nowadays, Phantom Knight decks are typically either built pure or with an extremely compact BA engine. While it's possible to play a more dedicated hybrid build, the release of PK Torn Scales combined with most key BA cards being unlimited means that it's just better to focus on one or the other.
• Many other options are playable - Desires for draw power, playing more traps, more handtraps, etc. Consider Needle Ceiling over Torrential as it can be harder to pull off, but combos better with Trap Trick. Players with access to Ice Dragon's Prison should play it, and adventurous duelists can even opt to play Fire Lake of the Burning Abyss.
• As a deck easily capable of churning out Rank 3 Xyzs, you also have easy access to Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS Sky Thunder, one of the most powerful extra deck cards in the format. If this is an accessible option, it should be played.

 

Sky Striker

Price: $100+ Imgur | DuelingBook

• Spell-heavy control deck that usually maintains only one monster on the field at a time, in the extra monster zone.
• Formerly an extremely dominant control deck, modern-day Striker no longer accrues infinite resources through resolving Engage multiple times, but instead is easily able to kill you with an Accesscode Talker push after whittling down your LP and resources for a turn or two. The standard combo involves laddering from Halqifibrax -> Selene -> Accesscode and then dismantling your opponent's board before swinging for game.
• You may have noticed a problem: if you're on a budget, you can't use Accesscode. This is a pretty big blow to the deck's overall strength. Some players opt for alternatives such as the Utopia Double package, which Zoé Weber played in the second EU Remote Duel Invitational last format. Another option is to simply not run it at all, and close games the old-fashioned way.
• In previous formats, this deck was oftentimes played like an anti-meta going second deck, packing tons of removal cards and usually 3 copies of Mystic Mine in the main deck. In the current format, this strategy is a lot more difficult due to several factors - it's very hard to go second this format in general, and Mine is a lot less effective vs the top decks right now.
• Instead, the sample list plays a going-first strategy with powerful trap cards like There Can Be Only One and Solemn Strike. It's possible to build this deck to go second, but you'd probably want to play board breakers instead of trap cards, and potentially also maindeck PSY-Framegear Gamma.
• Yet another way to play this deck involves (surprise) Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon and multiple copies of Red-Eyes Fusion. Instead of using cards like Widow Anchor and Afterburners to muscle through disruption and stick a Mystic Mine on the field, you use them to get to your Dragoon and either win the game immediately or put yourself in a position where your opponent can't play through the Dragoon disrupt.
• Roze is the most expensive card in this list. If your budget is tight, you can definitely cut her down to 1.

 

Zoodiac

Price: $100+ Imgur | DuelingBook

• Xyz-focused deck with a gimmick allowing you to use any one Zoodiac as the entire Xyz material requirement for another Zoodiac. This lets you stack Zoo Xyz monsters on top of each other, making use of their effects.
• Plays a compact engine combined with around 20 slots dedicated to handtraps, traps, and draw power. This deck is also commonly played as a hybrid deck, oftentimes with Eldlich and sometimes with Dogmatika cards. Both of these options are quite expensive, so they are not shown.
• The deck's strength in competitive play comes almost entirely from Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS Sky Thunder, an extremely powerful Xyz monster that Zoodiac can effortlessly make due to Zoodiac Boarbow. Zoo is also easily able to summon Zeus with many materials, allowing it to repeatedly nuke the board.
• Budget Zoo without Zeus is extremely weak by comparison. Relying solely on Drident + handtraps is not a reliable win condition, so cards like Parallel eXceed and Pot of Avarice are included in the sample list to give this deck a boost. While Megaclops is a troublesome boss monster in some matchups, the big three decks (Drytron, Virtual World, and Eldlich) generally don't have much trouble dealing with it.
• Even with Zeus, the deck has been struggling in the current competitive meta. Noteworthy is its performance at LCS 9, where out of a whopping 51 Zoodiac variants that entered the tournament, only 1 survived until top 16.

 

Up-And-Coming

Decks to watch out for, oftentimes due to recent online success or new support being announced. Some might also be decks that could potentially be on the main body of the post, but need a little more time to prove themselves.
 

Tri-Brigade

Price: $100 (for now) Imgur | DuelingBook

• Link-focused deck that plays a variety of Beast, Beast-Warrior, and Winged Beast monsters. The maindeck Tri-Brigades cheat out powerful Link monsters, provided your GY is set up. This deck also trivially access the Simorgh link, which can sometimes seal games on its own through the WIND Barrier Statue.
• In the current format, Tri-Brigade has seen fairly sparse success, usually mixed with Zoodiac. However, BLVO gives us Tri-Brigade Kitt, a great boost to this deck and a fantastic combo piece.
• Further support in LIOV and beyond is also very promising, making this deck a potentially solid investment for the future.
• The Tri-Brigade core is currently quite cheap, but this could change in the future depending on hype and the market.
• owo

 

Traptrix

Price: $100-150 Imgur | DuelingBook

• Control deck with an extremely powerful Link 1 monster, Traptrix Sera, that pumps out constant advantage.
• The sample list incorporates a very small Dogmatika engine. Dogmatika Punishment itself is very cheap, and is one of the best generic traps in the game right now. Just 1 copy of Ecclesia (around $20) provides a substantial power boost to this mini-engine, as dumping one copy of Titaniklad with Punishment and grabbing an Ecclesia for next turn is extremely powerful. Another option is to dump El Shaddoll Apkallone, then adding and discarding Ariel in order to trigger her effect and banish 3 cards, which is insane value.
• If you can't get Ecclesia, you could simply play just Punishment as a generic trap. Another option is to play pure Traptrix, incorporating more power traps/handtraps, and quite frequently the Utopia Double package as well.
• This deck is definitely still getting support, as LIOV brings a new Link 2 and main deck monster.

 

Plunder Patroll

Price: $100+ Imgur | DuelingBook

• Pirate archetype with ridiculous recursion and a unique tag-out and equip mechanic based on Attributes being used in the game.
• The pirates become equips for one of (currently) three Patrollships, extra deck monsters that can all discard Plunder Patroll cards in hand to fuel powerful effects. The ships become stronger when manned (equipped with) a Plunder card, with bonuses such as ignition effects becoming quick effects, or being able to replace the discarded card with a new one from the deck.
• Many Plunder lists play Forbidden Droplet, as it has great synergy with the cards. Without Droplet, you could fill the space with several different options. This deck chooses to play the Undine package, but you can also go for cards like Foolish Burial Goods, Salvage, Silent Angler, Tenyi Spirit - Shthana, Toadally Awesome + Bahamut Shark, or just more generic staples.
• This deck is getting at least one more support card in LIOV, that being Ravenwing. Many people speculate that they'll also get another Patrollship of a new attribute, which would be a huge buff to the deck.

 

Honorable Mentions

• Megalith, Madolche, Pendulum decks, Cyber Dragon, Orcust, Mermail Atlantean, Magical Musketeers, Crusadia (Guardragon), ABC, D/D, Generaider, and more - Decks that are fairly decent but have been left off of the post to make room for other decks that have seen more recent success or have fewer budget resources online.
• Dragonmaid, Eldlich, Infernoid, Invoked variants, HERO, etc - Decks that are pretty good but are sorta in limbo due to some expensive individual cards, such as Chamber Dragonmaid, Cursed Eldland, Invocation, etc.
• Cubics, Phantasm, Chain Burn, Evilswarm, Yosenju, Dinomist, and much, much more - Unfortunately, there is not enough room to cover every single decent, super-cheap deck.

 
 
I hope to keep this post updated for the foreseeable future. Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions.

Link to FGA wiki page

If anyone missed last league's edition, we've made this into an official (well, subreddit official) wiki page called 'Frequently Given Answers', link above. Formatting's a bit better there (you can link to individual sections!) but keeping in line with what we did with the infothread we know there's plenty of people who prefer a post due to local format setups (RES/CSS/darktheme/etc), so here you go! I'll also be using a linked comment as a changelog for anyone that's curious what's changed, if anything.
NOTE: These answers are mostly collected from the questions threads and suggestions by the community so, inevitably, some will be opinions or advice. There are exceptions for everything, especially in PoE!

Things that will make your life easier

1. Best stash tabs to buy first are Currency and/or at least one Premium tab. Former for solo play, latter for the ability to sell items publicly easily. Both is even better.
   
2. There is customarily a Stash Tab Sale every third weekend. If on a launch weekend it will be delayed by a week.
   
3. Don't be afraid to look into an item filter asap. It will save you a lot of headaches.
   
4. You can buy skill gems from Nessa and similar vendors on page 2 of their shop (you may need to do a quest before that page shows up). So don’t fret about the gem choice from the quest reward!
   
5. Doing a Trial of Ascendency is league-wide. Meaning doing it once in a league means all other characters in that league don't need to do it again.
   
6. When highlighting a support gem you'll notice a popup with all of your current active skill gems. This details what skills the selected support works with.
   
7. If you're still unsure if a support is working with an active skill gem, the skill's icon on the toolbar will have small boxes denoting what supports are currently active on the skill.
   
8. The medicine chest quest gives you some specific gems (i.e. ancestral call) as well as a choice of flasks (most notably a quicksilver flask).
   
9. Completing the quest in The Library (connected to the gardens) in Act 3 will give you access to an early NPC that sells every skill gem available up to that point regardless of class. Completing the quest 'Fallen from Grace' in Act 6 will give you a vendor for every buyable skill gem.
   
10. You can move the minimap with the arrow keys
    
11. Skill gems in your alternate set of weapons will also gain exp. That's up to 6 (usually) more skill gems you can level!
    
12. If you are too far above or below the area's monster level you will have an experience penalty. Rule of thumb: try to stay within 6 levels of the area.
    
13. Any maps dropped in the campaign will be tier 1. Anything higher can only be received via Zana, inside maps, or inside map-like areas like the Temple of Atzoatl or the Eternal Labyrinth (specifically the chests).
    

End-game

1. Use common currency on maps when you have some extra. (e.g. An orb of scouring can get a map back to white for easy 20% quality!)
   
2. To use a divine vessel place it into the map device along with the appropriate map (there will be text on the atlas for it) and kill the boss. The filled divine vessel will then be inside the map device still. Don’t forget to pick it up and take it to Sin (Epilogue zone)!
   
3. Using a single sacrifice fragment instead of a map will generate a vaal side area from the map device. Using a sacrifice fragment with a map in the device will increase the map's quantity by 5% per piece, up to 20% for four unique pieces. (You can’t double up the same fragment)
   
4. Sacrifice of Midnight (top-right one) is the most rare of the four. Don’t burn those willy nilly.
   
5. A complete set of sacrifice fragments in the map device (arranged appropriately) will give you access to the Apex of Sacrifice. This same strategy is also used for Shaper, the Pale Council, Uber-Atziri, etc. (four different fragments of the same set into the map device)
   
6. Sextants are used on watchstones to apply the effect to the entire area the watchstone is slotted into! Unlike Map Mods many sextant mods are beneficial.
   
7. Watchstones can be ‘banked’ in the sidebar on the left of the atlas. They won’t do anything there but it saves you valuable inventory space.
   

Things that will help you craft

1. Beasts can be used in beastcrafting only after fully completing your first Einhar mission. A particularly useful beastcraft is adding a removal (bleed/freeze/curse/etc) affix to a magic flask.
   
2. Quality items (whetstone, scrap, bauble) will give 5% to a white item, 2% to magic and 1% to rare/unique items up to 20%. (GCP's always give 1% to gems) This applies to maps as well!
   
3. Item affixes are reliant on item level, a lower item level means less possible affixes. You cannot improve an item’s iLvl, so stop alteration spamming that iLvl 4 quicksilver flask you got from Act 1!
   
4. Dexterity (Evasion) pieces favor green sockets, Strength (Armor) pieces favor red and Intelligence (Energy Shield) pieces favor blue. Hybrid pieces follow this logic.
   
5. You can craft affixes on gear from the crafting bench in your hideout. This is very important for keeping your resistances capped.
   
6. A corrupted item (using a Vaal Orb) is not alterable. With the sole exception of their sockets. Those can be altered (re-colored/fused/etc) via the crafting bench, but any craft will cost an additional equal amount of vaal orbs.
   
7. A Divine Orb does not re-roll the numbers completely, they stay within the affix range that was already given. So a 6% Cold Res roll on some boots will re-roll between 6-11% and no higher. Be careful! (NOTE: most legacy gear will also be changed to the current non-legacy version if a Divine Orb is used)
   
8. High quality items have a sliiiiightly higher chance to 6-socket and 6-link. Every little bit helps!
   
9. Incubators in your weapon swap will not gain kills towards their completion.
   

End-game

1. If you corrupt a map and end up making it unidentified it has the same affixes as before. So make sure to actually read the affixes of a rare red map before corrupting it just in case!

Things that will help you plan

1. Just because it's unique does not mean it's good. Well-rolled rares can be and often are better options than uniques. Read the text.
   
2. 'More/Less' are not the same as 'Increased/Reduced'. It's very important to know that. More specific info here
   
3. You will earn either 22 or 24 Passive Skill points through quests in all 10 Acts, depending on Bandit choices.
   
4. PoE is a game of extremes. Support a few (usually just one) skills as much as possible instead of supporting a lot of skills a little.
   
5. Life/ES > Damage when planning a tree. Rule of Thumb: 150% or more increased max life from tree if going a life build. 200% or more increased ES from tree if going ES.
   
6. You can only have 1 spell totem up at a time barring specific effects like Searing Bond or Multiple Totems Support. Up to 3 by default for Ballista totems
   
7. Mana reservation does not decrease max mana. This is relevant to effects like base mana regen or Arcane Surge.
   
8. You can change your bandit reward later
   
9. If you kill all 3 bandits you get +2 passive skill points from Eramir (old dude sitting in Forest Encampment) as opposed to the specific effects from the bandits.
   
10. Large items (Chests, 2H weapons) cannot roll with 5 sockets until iLvl 35, and cant get 6 sockets until iLvl 50. Even with jeweler's orbs! You can 'force' 6 sockets with the crafting bench but it's usually not worth it.
    
11. You can only have 1 curse at a time on enemies barring specific effects. Note: You can still only have one mark at a time no matter what, additional curse limit simply allows you to slap a hex on top.
    
12. You can respec ascendancy nodes but they cost more refund points per node (5). If you want to change ascendancy completely you’ll need to unspec out of all ascendancy nodes and hit the ascendancy shrine in any version of the labyrinth (hint: Unspec the ascendency nodes in the treasure room, no need to do the entire lab run unascended).
    
13. Read 'Trigger' support gems carefully. Cast on Critical, for example, only works with an attack triggering a spell.
    
14. Trigger gems and effects can trigger multiple skills, but will do so (unless otherwise stated) one at a time and sequentially. More info here
    
15. Aqueducts and its later incarnation Blood Aqueducts in Act 9 contain the divination card 'Humility' which can give you a Tabula Rasa.
    
16. 'Low Life' is defined as 35% max health or lower. Chaos Inoculation is not low life since it reduces your max health to 1 and you can’t be at 0.35 hp. This does, however, make CI eligible for full life effects like Damage at Full Life support.
    
17. Lily Roth will sell every buyable gem (similar to but more than Siosa) but all at level 1 after completing her quest. Vendors elsewhere in the campaign will sell gems at a higher level.
    
18. Make sure to look for corrupted 6-link chests (either via trade or vaal side areas) when you want to ditch your 4-link or Tabula. They're much cheaper than a normal 6-link and actually have rolls on them! Just make sure to search for the specific colors you need since you can't change them easily!
    
19. You can buy Glassblower Baubles from the weapons vendor on the last page in exchange for 8x whetstones
    
20. Leech has a cap! There are ways to increase it but by default you cannot gain more than 20% max life per sec or 10% max ES per sec from leech alone. There are lot more calulations involved in that though.
    

End-game

1. Running a map unidentified will give an additional 30% quantity bonus. This does not apply to Unique Maps since their affixes are for the most part fixed.

Things that can get you killed

1. Support gems increase the mana cost of an ability, more linked supports = more mana spent
   
2. You don’t have to do the Labyrinth right away. You can come back when you’re overleveled. Many people do this.
   
3. Hexes always have Less effect on Bosses (e.g. Dominus, Piety)
   
4. You can use Scrolls of Wisdom and other currency like Orb of Chance on Strongboxes. Identify them first!
   
5. Read a skill’s green text! For example: Withering Step shares a cooldown with Blink skills. So if you trigger Wither Step with CwDT you won’t be able to use Dash for a short period!
   
6. Barring specific effects, Life/Mana Flask effects will end once you hit full life/mana respectively. This includes effects from affixes like freeze immunity. By extension, utility flasks (like a quicksilver flask) have affix effects last for their full duration. Aka put your anti-freeze on a utility flask!
   
7. Cast when Damage Taken (CwDT) requires a linked skill’s required level to be under a certain level in order to trigger it. CwDT also requires more damage taken to trigger with higher levels. Many players leave CwDT at lvl 1 for this reason. So be careful leveling your skill gems!
   
8. Make sure you have + X to maximum life rolls on some of your gear by Act 5 (Alternatively, ES focused builds should always shoot for ‘% increased ES’ anytime they can). PoE’s per level scaling is negligible at best, the vast majority of your health/ES comes from gear! Rule of Thumb: you should have ~300 Life/400 ES total per Act you've completed.
   
9. Elemental resistance has a cap of 75% barring specific effects (e.g. Purity of [X] aura). The game is tuned to expect you to be at this cap past Act 4. Chaos resistance, on the other hand, doesn't need to be anywhere near 75%, most get 0% and can function fine (although more is never bad of course).
   
10. Multiple vaal skills will divide the soul count amongst themselves and as such each skill will charge slower per additional vaal skill equipped. Note: Once a vaal skill is fully charged it will stop taking in souls.
    
11. After progressing through each end-boss fight (Act5/Act10) your resistances will go down by 30% for a total of -60% to all resistances past Act 10, gear accordingly
    
12. Incoming chills, freeze duration and stun chance on you are based on your maximum life barring specific effects. In short, the less max life you have means longer you’ll be frozen / higher chance of being stunned.
    
13. Critical hits guarantee elemental ailments (shock, ignite, freeze) assuming you did enough of that element’s damage to reach the monster’s Ailment Threshold, as shown with Shock here.
    
14. Barring specific effects, Chaos Damage ignores Energy Shield and goes straight for your health.
    
15. Mind over Matter (MoM) and similar effects will only apply to damage hitting your health, so your Energy Shield will still take full damage (but your mana won't drain either).
    
16. Dying after Act 5 will make you lose experience (5% total to next level), but will not decrease your level or put you into a negative value. Higher penalty (10% total to next level) after Act 10
    
17. By Act 6 you should have an "of Staunching" (anti-bleed) and "of Heat" (anti-freeze) flask. They help avoid many of the more common 'one-shot' moments you may run into.
    
18. Flasks don't level up with you! Check in on your flask level every now and then while leveling, or else you might be short a few hundred life.
    

End-game

1. All mods on maps will make them more challenging, certain mods will be betteworse for certain builds.
   
2. Reflect damage is one of the deadliest map mods in the game, and has claimed the lives of many new and experienced players alike.
   

Hideouts

1. Hideouts will persist through leagues so feel free to put a decent amount of time getting your abode perfect. It’s not going anywhere.
   
2. The basic hideout locations are listed in the hideout selection when talking to Helena.
   
3. There are a lot of hideouts not listed in Helena’s default selection, most of these rare tilesets are in maps and will not appear everytime. Usually they require a large number of runs to find. (I still don’t have a Tower Hideout…..)
   
4. Hideout instances last much longer (30 min) than normal instances, so don’t worry about a normal disconnect, your map portals will still be there.
   

Lord's Labyrinth (Lab)

1. If you die you get tossed back to the beginning (Aspirant’s Plaza), unless you’re in a hardcore league, then you are still very very dead.
   
2. Look at the bronze tablet by every door, it will show you a map and reveal where the nearby door goes.
   
3. Izaro has different mechanics in his first two arenas. (Specific Info). The third arena will be a combo of the previous two (with traps included in uber lab).
   
4. Look for hidden rooms on the minimap! They can hold Darkshrines which can give permanent (for the lab run) buffs, a guaranteed unique, less trap damage and more. Hit tab and read the text at the top-right to see exactly what it did.
   
5. Uber (Eternal) Lab has trials that will only spawn in maps, randomly. If you need to get those last few go to Global chat 820 and watch for the trial you need and/or use ‘The Dream Trial’ Prophecy.
   
6. Map layouts and Izaro's mechanics will change day to day.
   
7. Decorative Chests (marked on the map nodes with a hollow circle) give an item to make the next Izaro fight easier (usually instantly destroying/removing one of the mechanics.)
   

Text Commands/Buttons

1. Typing “/passives” will let you see any passive points you have from quests. And after you finish the campaign it will tell you any you are missing.
   
2. [ctrl]+[enter] will let your type out to the person who most recently whispered you.
   
3. [ctrl]+[right-click] or [ctrl]+[left-click] on the doodoorway/gate/ into an area to give a list of all instances for that area as well, more importantly, giving the option to generate a new instance. Newer players: This means you can enter a new ‘copy’ of the area with everything reset. |PS4 Players: Highlight an instance and hit Triangle.| |Xbox Players: Highlight and hit Y|
   
4. Right click the level up icon on a skill gem level up notification to hide it without leveling the gem. If you would like to level it up afterwards the gem icon at the bottom of your inventory page. |Xbox Players: after socketing, hit Y to lock gem level|
   
5. To find the tiers and ranges of rolls you must first turn on advanced mod descriptions on options->interface->”Advanced Mod Descriptions”. You then must hit your advanced mod button while hovering over an item to get the pertinent info (default is left alt) |Xbox Players: Hit LS after activating the setting|
   
6. [shift]+[click] on a stack of items to have the option to take only a certain number of that item onto your cursor. This applies both to in your inventory and when removing from your stash. |Xbox players: Highlight item and hit B, hit Y to pick up that amount, X to send that amount to stash if it is open|
   
7. Open chat and hit [ctrl]+[alt]+[left-click] on an item in your inventory to link said item to chat. After hitting enter the person you’re talking to will be able to hover the link and see your exact item.
   
8. [ctrl]+[left-click] on a master to open their relevant window. (i.e. Do that on Niko to open the delve menu)
   
9. Click on a skill in your toolbar and look at the top of the popout. The button labeled “always attack without moving” is a great thing to use on movement skills and some specific primary skills. What it does is if you target a skill out of it’s range it will simply use the skill in the direction of the click as opposed to moving in range and then using it.
   
10. [shift]+[ctrl]+[left-click] a currency in a vendor to buy a whole stack at a time. Save your fingers some torment.
    
11. Holding shift while using a currency will keep the item on your cursor and allow you to spam the entire stack. If you're accessing your stash at the time you can spam your entire stock of said currency. |Xbox players: With currency picked up, hover an item and hit X|
    
12. Holding ctrl and using the mousewheel will quickly cycle through stash tabs
    
13. Teleport between areas with commands like "/hideout" or "/menagerie" or "/delve"
    
14. Entering "/reset_xp" will reset your xp/hour metric (mouseover your exp bar at the bottom). Very useful for comparing experience rates between maps/mechanics.
    
15. Hitting (by default) ‘v’ will open the relevant menu in each area. i.e. beastcrafting menu in menagerie, azurite upgrades menu in Delve, etc etc.
    
16. "/remaining" will give you a text prompt of how many monsters are left in the instance.
    
17. Entering "/dnd [message], /afk [message], /autoreply [message]" will give a notification of [message] to anyone whispering you until you shut it off. /dnd is just hitting /dnd again, /afk turns off if you move. Note that only /dnd will actually block messages.
    
18. ctrl+click on the passive tree will skip the confirmation step and save you a click.
    
19. F1 will give a stat breakdown of your computer, including connection metrics. If you're lagging or frameskipping this is how you check. Hit F1 again to cycle through different layouts.
    
20. Using '~' before a trade search in poe/trade will give an approximate search. In other words it will search for similar text not exact, like "~multi" will return affixes of "Global Critical Strike Multiplier, Critical Strike Multiplier, Melee Critical Strike Multiplier" etc etc
    

Vendor Recipes

^{Arranged by the Act they’re most often used, they can be used at any time at any vendor you can sell to}

Act 1

• 3 health/mana flasks (same type+tier)=1 flask higher tier
• 1 Portal Scroll = 1 Wisdom Scroll
• Iron ring + G/B skill gem = Ruby/Topaz/Sapphire Ring respectively
• 1 item with 3 linked RGB sockets = 1 Chromatic Orb
• Blue Wand/Sceptre/RuneDagger + [X resistance] Ring + Orb of Alteration = added flat damage of [X element] (higher ring rarity=higher bonus) on weapon
• Weapon + magic or higher Rustic Sash + Whetstone = Weapon with %Physical damage roll (higher belt rarity=higher bonus)
• Boots + quicksilver flask + Augmentation Orb = Blue boots with 10% movespeed roll. This can be repeated for an additional +5% on the movespeed roll, up to 30% (note that repeats will increase req level to 0/10/12/24/32/44 respectively)
• Orb of Transmutation/Orb of Alteration/Blacksmith’s Whetstone = 4 Wisdom Scrolls

Act 2

• Life Flask + Mana Flask (of same tier) + Orb of Fusing = Hybrid flask

Act 3

• Flasks with a sum quality of 40% or one normal rarity 20% flask= Glassblower Bauble
• Gems with a sum quality of 40% or one 20% gem= Gemcutter's Prism
• 1 of each Two-Stone Ring = 1 Prismatic Ring

Act 4

• Skill gem + Orb of Scouring = Skill gem with -1 level
• Skill gem + Orb of Regret = Skill gem at level 1

Act 5+

• Level 20 Skill Gem + Gemcutter's Prism = 20% Quality Level 1 Skill Gem
• Item with 6 sockets = 7 Jeweler's Orbs
• Full Rare Set Recipes = (Chance/Chaos/Regal Orbs)
• 7 Vaal Skill gems + Sacrifice Fragment = Vaal Orb

Helpful Links

^{Look at the sidenav of this sub for more!}

• POE Wiki
• POELab - Labyrinth daily tracker. Someone else runs the layout and maps it out for you! Also includes shrine locations and Izaro mechanics as soon as they're found.
• Path of Building - Downloadable, powerful build concept tool
• Path of Building - LocalIdentity Fork - An expanded and more frequently updated version of PoB
• PoePlanner Lighter, online build concept tool
• poe.ninja - PoE Economy Tracker. Easy way to pricecheck specific items/currency/etc. Also a very robust method of browsing top-tier builds.
• poe/trade - Official player-to-player trading site

NOTE Real money trading (RMT) is NOT supported or accepted by GGG you will get banned when you use IRL money to buy anything in poe that isn't from their own site/in-game store.

• Vorici Chromatic Calculator A calculator to tell you the most efficient use of chromes for an item
• Blight Anoint Simulator - A more interactive way to see what you want to anoint
• Mikelat’s Mana Reserve Calculator Online tool to assist with planning mana reservation (also can account for life reserved)
• Filterblade Loot filter customizer
• EngineeringEternity's Beginner Guide - Widely cited beginner guide. Look for his D3 transition guide as well!
• poe.house - Copyable hideout layouts!
• poemap.live - Handy site for map trading, particularly bulk map trades

Thanks for all the positive feedback and corrections - I made some edits.
Hi everyone! I thought I'd write down some things about BB (Boom Beach) that I wish I had known or realized early on. I don't think I am a BB expert or even a very good player, and in fact I have only been playing for a bit over a year. But I have been following the BB subreddit for a while now, and there seem to be a lot of people that don't know the most basic principles of the game, so maybe this post can be helpful. Some of these things I realized myself over time, but mostly I learned about them from other players in guides, posts or videos. The following is just my selection of beginner's tips. I am not going to say everything that there is to say about each point; look it up, if you want more details. I just think the following is essential BB information you should know about, whether or not you follow the advice.
First of all, I am going to assume, that everyone wants to play the game in such a way as to progress fast and potentially go far (on the leaderboard, on the Crab, or with a TF). That assumption might not be correct, and BB lets you play any way you like. If maxing everything before upgrading your HQ works for you, or if you enjoy having 5 green MPs, then that's ok; but don't complain that the game is broken or that you don't progress as fast as you'd like.
FOCUS ON OFFENSE
This is the best advice anyone can give you, and the most frequent advice appearing in the comments here. Offense is overpowered in BB. You can completely ignore upgrading or even just building your own defenses for a long time, and at any time, you should focus on your offense. When you prioritize offense, beating bases many levels above you is no problem and getting resources is easy. This concept can be hard to embrace when you are new to BB and it might seem wrong to totally neglect your defense, but that's the way it works. Your defenses will never, ever be strong enough to keep you from getting raided.
DON'T TRY TO SAVE RESOURCES
It doesn't work. This is a big beginner's mistake. You will just get raided and lose a large part, especially with a low level Vault. Instead, it works much better to get all the resources you need for your next upgrade all at once.
DON'T RELY ON RESOURCE PRODUCTION - GO RAIDING
Your production buildings and resource bases are a small factor when it comes to getting resources. It's best to get what you need by attacking.
GET WHAT YOU NEED, START AN UPGRADE, STOP
Again, you cannot save resources effectively. Go raiding, start your next upgrade, then don't attack anymore. This way you don't have to mind getting raided yourself, since you won't have much to lose. And you will always get raided.
GAINING AND LOSING RESOURCES
The amount that an attacker gains is not the same as the one that the defender loses. How much you can gain from a player base is determined the moment you first scout it, with various subtractions and additions being performed by the game. From that moment on the amount will never change. When you get attacked you always lose a certain percentage of your resources (depending on your Vault level), but your attacker might gain more or less than that. The game creates or destroys resources as needed.
THE TRIBE RESOURCE BOAT
This is actually a way to save resources, although you can't see how much exactly there is on it. The recources on this boat just accummulate indefinately, without a limit. You gain Gold from freed villages and Wood, Stone and Iron from resource bases. You can actually lose some of the resources on the boat when one of your resource bases gets taken, but the boat is still a great way to save resources, so try to not use it every day, but rather save up for later. When you get it is up to you, find out what works for you.
CURATE YOUR MAP
You can "save" resources for your next upgrade on the map, in the form of player bases that you keep around for attacking. I suggest you just scout bases as soon as they appear, rather than waiting for Fridays or the next Crab, when they might have the highest amounts - they might, but it varies anyway. When you scout a base, have a look at the possible rewards, and put a note/symbol/emoji in the comment field. Find a system that works for you. My suggestion: use a red emoji for a base that you don't want to attack - either because it would yield a small reward or because you think it might be too tough for you at this point. That's the most important part, because you can then exchange the base for another one after 24 h. Use other symbols, if you want, like a symbol for bases with an especially big reward, or a symbol for a base that you can beat very easily without boosting statues. Just get rid of the bases that don't work for you - until you reach a point where you might want to push you VPs (Victory Points) by attacking everyone you can.
HOW YOU GAIN AND LOSE VPs
You gain VPs from successfully attacking bases. The Cycle of Evil will never give you any VPs, player bases always give you 2, NPC bases give you 1 (and sometimes two, see below). You lose one VP when a new NPC or player base appears on your map, and when your home base gets raided. Don't feel bad about either of these events. It's an unavoidable part of the game. You will always get raided and you will never be able to clear your map and just have it keep that way - the game will always give you new targets to attack (and make your base appear on other players' map, unless you stop logging in for a few days). Invasions are just BB's way of matching you with opponents. Over time you can accumulate more VPs, because of the player bases you destroy. You get 2 VPs for that but only lose one when a new base appears, and in the end you can also gain more VPs that way than what you lose by being raided yourself. You also gain VPs from the Diamond Chests that are already there immediately after exploring a new map region, but not from the Diamond Chests that randomly appear throughout the day.
MANAGE YOU VPs
On lower levels HQ level factors into the matchmaking, but mainly it is based solely on VPs, regardless of other factors, like EXP level, or a players "strength". You will get matched against bases many levels above you. If you focus on offense, that is not really a problem. Just be careful not to rise too high too soon, or you will mostly face very tough or even unbeatable opponents - you will "hit the wall". If you follow the previous advice about stopping to attack when you have the resources you need, then this won't happen to you. Getting rid of VPs is difficult; you can put your HQ on the beach to make yourself an easy target, but without a lot of resources you will be an unattractive target and it will be a slow process. Better to avoid reaching that point. Here's what you do, while you are still at a lower level: You attack the Cycle of Evil events (especially Dr. T and Immitation Game) and NPC bases, and then just as many player bases as you need. You do get more rewards when you move up in the VP range and rank, though: You will get slightly more from the rewards boats and the Supply Chest, and more importantly, the player bases will yield higher rewards. Just move up when you choose, and don't rush it early on. Early on you can use this rule of thumb: multiply your EXP level by 10 - this would be a fine VP range for you. But when you focus on offense, you can also go higher than that.
NPC BASES ARE VP NEUTRAL - KIND OF
These bases will mostly give you one VP when you destroy them, and since you also lose one when they appear, there is no change in the end. I said mostly, because sometimes they will give you 2 VPs. However, this second VP comes out of a pool of only 200 extra VPs, and once you have received the extra VP 200 times, NPC bases will always award you only one VP. You actually have a higher chance of getting a second VP when there are more still left in the pool. I still think you are better off attacking them before attacking player bases at a low level, even though initially you might gain more VPs in relation to the resources you gain.
PLAN YOUR UPGRADES
You don't have to plan too far ahead, but think past your next upgrade. Consider the event cycles, and leave expensive upgrades for these times. IT (Imitation Game) yields a lot of resources every Friday. Depending on your time zone and waking/working hours you might be able to do two events right after the other. The Mega Crab on the last weekend of each month can give you a lot of resources, make sure you max your storages for your level by then and if you are at a point where you can only upgrade turrets, then keep expensive upgrades to start during the event. Wait until you collect your resource boats. I already talked about the tribe boat. You can also wait to collect the other two: You have until the next day to collect the daily reward and until the end of the next OP to collect the Operation reward. Spend Diamonds if that fits your real life schedule better, otherwise just be patient.
UPGRADE ORDER
I already said you should focus on offense - let's be a bit more specific. Upgrade the following, in this order, as soon as you can:
HQ (Headquaters - unlock new troops, abilities, LCs, upgrade levels - no downside to upgrading)
ARMORY (start this with normal resources, then finish it instantly with Diamonds - that's the best use for Diamonds and allows you to have an Armory upgrade going at all times)
SCULPTOR (extra statue slot)
VAULT (pulls the teeth out of getting raided with each upgrade)
LCs (Landing Crafts - bring more troops; less important at certain HQ levels, depending on your troop combo, but don't fall behind too much. While a LC is upgrading you can still use the troops on it, but if they die you can't retrain them until the upgrade finishes. You might want to save that attack with all troops for your OP attack.)
GB (Gun Boat - gain extra GBE; this can make a big difference)
Other people might suggest slightly different orders, and those are fine, too. Just try to max all of these as soon as you can. If at any time you have enough EXP for the next HQ, interrupt the cycle and start again at the top. Next, you upgrade what you need/want most. Storages are important, and I recommend upgrading the Radar in such a way that you always have some regions to explore. Turrets are definetely last.
ARMORY UPGRADES
Try to always have an upgrade going in the Armory. When you get a new level, first upgrade Barrage and Artillery. Then upgrade your main troop combo, then other GBAs (Gun Boat Abilities). Then upgrade troops you might want to use or switch to in the future. I suggest Zookas (especially for OPs (Operations)), Scorchers and Bombardiers as troops that are also good to have, regardless of what you mainly use. Just don't try to evenly upgrade everything, that will take too long and leave you too weak.
TROOP COMBOS
I won't give you specific advice on what to use. Have a look at what works, see what you like and pick something. Consider that the main game, OPs and the Crab all work a bit differently - e.g. Warriors are a fine choice for the main game, but they won't get you far with the other two, so you might want to also upgrade something else. Personally, I used Warriors early on, then switched to TMed (Tanks and Medics), then added Grenardiers in the mix, then switched to Torcher (Tanks and Scorchers), now adding Bombardiers or useing All Scorchers. That has worked well for me, but it's not a recommendation - e.g. HZ/Hooka (Heavies and Zookas) is one of the strongest combinations in the game, as is RZCM (Riflemen, Zookas, Cryoneers, Medics). Take your pick. Eventually you will have every troop upgraded anyway, but until then, make some choices.
HEROES
Heroes, their various abilities and how you use them make a big difference in your attacks. I won't go into detail here, I suggest you look up how and when to get the other 3 heroes, and what their abilities are. Focus on maxing the more important of these abilities, rather than spending your Tokens on abilities you don't need and having too few Tokens for the good ones.
STATUES
This is one of the most important aspects of BB. Let me start with the second most frequent advice one can find in the comments: Don't use green or blue statues. Just don't. Blue statues (Ice) do have a purpose and you will see everyone at the top of the leaderboard using them (and boosting all of them). I won't go into it, but believe me, Ice does a lot less for a lower level base - not enough to justify occupying a statue slot. And green statues (Life) are definately not worth it at all. I already said that saving resources doesn't work and that production buildings are not much of a factor. Since green statues help with these things that don't work, don't use them. They do much less than the percentage might suggest, anyway. Upgrades always keep getting more expensive, but the amount you get from green statues doesn't increase much (just a little bit when you upgrade a production building or gain a new resource base, and there's a limit to both). You are much better off with even a single RR (resource reward) statue. While you would need to waste multiple spots and maybe PP (Power Powder) on several green statues, RR statues boost all your rewards and in just a few attacks you get more extra loot than the greens would have produced for you in a day - that is, if you don't get raided that day and lose the resources again. Don't use green statues. Another statue type that is probably not worth using is PSC (Power Stone Chance). Again, the percentage value of the statue might make it sound much better than it is. Getting Power Stones is important, but you can get enough by playing the game without a PSC statue and have the slot free to put to better use. What you should use are red statues (Magma) which give you either extra TD (Troop Damage) or TH (Troop Health) and purple (Dark) GBE (Gun Boat Energy) statues. While you are still at a low level, purple RR statues are also extremely useful. One RR statue might be enough, and lets you put down more offensive ones, but I suggest you use two, or even three, if you buy Extra Builders. There is no one-size-fits-all recommendation for how many of each of these you should have. You can only have one MP (Masterpiece) of each kind, so definately put out one of each type. If you use SZ (Smokey Zooka) on OPs (or aim to do so in the future) or All Scorcher, you will need a quite a few GBE statues (3 or 4, or even 5). Otherwise you might want to focus on the red statues, especially TD, which will also be essential for getting far in the Crab. It depends on your goals and the troop combos you use - you can easily find more specific advice elsewhere.
GETTING MORE RED AND PURPLE POWER STONES
You mostly get purple stones from Dr. T events, red ones from IT (Immitation Game) and normal bases, and all kinds as rewards from boats, the Supply Chest, the Crab, Warships and the Submarine. If you follow the advice here, red and purple Power Stones will be more valuable to you than green and blue ones. There is a little trick that lets you get more of them: Instead of turning blues and greens into PP right away, upgrade them to the highest level (Crystal) but then hang on to them. Every now and then the Trader will have a deal where you can convert a certain number of one kind to another. This way you might be able to turn up to 25 blue/green Crystals into 25 red/purple ones right away. Keep in mind that there is an achievement for destroying 3000 statues, if you want that, then build statues rather than converting the stones directly.
STATUE STORAGE
This is definately not a high priority building, but it can be rather useful. You can store newly made statues here to deploy them later. Just know that you cannot swap out active statues. Once a statue is placed you can only destroy it, you can't put it into storage. That makes statue choices a lot more important - you can't simply swap out TD/TH/GBE as you need it or use those for attacking and Ice when you're offline. Still, the Statue Storage is useful: You can save a statue for your next Sculptor upgrade (when you unlock a new slot), you can save statues to replace others later on (like RR statues you don't want anymore), you can save Ice MPs (if you really must), or you can save TD/TH guardians to swap out when you're trying to go far on the Mega Crab.
BOOSTING STATUES
Over time you will collect PP (Power Powder), either as rewards, for example from the Mega Crab, or from destroying MPs/converting Power Cyrstals (gaining you 7 PPs). These PPs can be used to boost statues, doubling the percentage of their bonus. This lasts for 3 days on green statues, 8 hours on blue statues and 3 hours on red and purple statues. You can add more time with more PP any time. Use this option wisely. When you can do your attacks without boosting, do so, but use it when you need it. Your TF might require boosts, and it's generally worth boosting when you attack the Mega Crab. I suggest boosting your RR statues, since that way you can easily get a lot from just a few attacks. In any case, find a balance where over time you are still gaining more PP than you use - you might want it later on in the game.
TRADER
The Trader arrives for every weekend. The deals she offers are mostly nonsense and not worth it, but sometimes you can exchange Power Stones or resources to your advantage. Appart from the deals you can also get Trader Crates, by paying 3 Tickets that you earn by playing the game (the first Crate is free each week). There are differrent kind of Crates, giving you very small or rather large rewards. There is a fixed cycle, and you won't get two huge rewards right after the other. Get these crates when you need them, but if you count on getting a specific extra resource, you had better have a couple of tickets. One nice effect is that the resources you get from crates can overflow your storages. These crates are also your main source of Hero Tokens, used to upgrade Hero abilities.
WHAT TO DO WITH GOLD
Wood, Stone and Iron are used to uprade structures (buildings, boats). As you level up and upgrade your structures you will see that you need mostly Wood at first, then more and more Stone, then more and more Iron. Gold is used for a number of things: You use it to pay for Armory upgrades - that is one of the most important aspects and you should try to always have enough Gold for your next upgrade (by planning to attack, not by saving up). You also use it to upgrade your Heroes, which is important but should not be done at the expense of an Armory upgrade. Next up is exploring new regions. It's good to always have something to explore so you don't waste Gold, when you have a lot of it, so upgrade your Radar accordingly. No need to go crazy maxing your Radar and exploring everything you can, though. That will just put you on more people's map, which doesn't help you. You can look up specific guides for when you should upgrade your Radar, where to get which Hero, &c. There's even a guide on how to avoid playing against other people for a while, if you want, although that won't speed up your progress. Next, Gold is also needed to attack and to retrain lost troops. The prices for both go up as you reach new EXP levels and upgrade your troops. For me this has never been a problem, just be careful when you are low on Gold - e.g. avoid this scenario: starting an Armory upgrade you can barely afford, then attacking to gain other resources for another upgrade, only to not have enough Gold to attack/retrain. There's two more things you can do with Gold: You can pay for Submarine Dives and convert it to Raw Crystals. Treat both of these as a way to get rid of extra Gold. The Submarine lets you convert Gold into other resources, Diamonds, Power Stones and Prototype Modules with a small chance to get a Classified Item. Upgrade your Submarine and go for deep dives with question marks, put don't prioritize it over more important things.
TRIBES
You discover these fairly early, but you can't use them for anything until much later. You can unlock two tribes at HQ 18 and the other four at HQ 20 (with max Radar). As soon as you unlock the first Tribe you also gain the ability to convert any of your 4 resources into Raw Cyrstals, which are used for Tribe Boosts. Use this to get rid of extra resources, but it's not worth spending resources you need for an upgrade. The exchange rate for each rescource gets worse every time you convert that resource, but it resets every two weeks. Raw Crystals can be used to upgrade Tribes and to buy Tribe boosts. Each Tribe can be upgraded to level 5, at which point you can buy its boost 5 times and won't lose out on resources when using its militia. The boosts also reset every two weeks.
TRIBE BOOSTS
These will be more or less relevant for you each time, but can make a huge difference. You might get more resources, or more Power Stones from attacking, more GBE or a cost reduction for a GBA, various boosts to a single troop (more damage, more health, higher speed, life leech,...), and damage or health boosts for certain defenses. I suggest you focus on maxing the Spiritdancer and Lifewell Tribes, then the two offensive ones, then the defensive ones. Get the boosts you want and can afford.
TRIBE MILITIA - DESTROY BUTTON
Once you unlock a Tribe you get the option to immediately destroy any NPC bases in the Tribe's area, and once a Tribe is fully upgraded, that option starts making sense. You get all the resources (including extra from RR statues or Tribe boosts), but don't have to waste time attacking it. If you choose to use PSC statues, you might want to attack them manually, anyway, because you can get slightly more Power Stones. And you might want to attack them if your pool of 200 extra VPs from NPC bases is not yet depleted - you don't get any of those from using the Destroy button.
UPGRADING TURRETS
Even when you play offensivly and neglect your defenses, there will be times when you have no other buildings to uprade, so you will have to build or upgrade turrets to gain EXP for your next HQ level. It's hard to say what the optimal strategy is at this point. You have two main choices. A) You upgrade whatever gives you the most EXP per time to progress as fast as possible- typically that will be lower level turrets. B) You upgrade (and max) the most useful turrets first. I'm not giving any recommendations here. I went with option B and maxed the following for my level, in that order: SLs (Shock Launchers), RLs (Rocket Launchers), BCs (Boom Cannons), CNs (Cannons). The priority order here depends on which troops you want to counter most. High level BCs seem to be a decent deterrent against some players, but that's just my impression. Remember, you will never be able to stop determined attackers, at any level.
BASE LAYOUT
Since I suggest you focus on offense, this won't matter for a long time. At any rate, the goal should not be to defend against attacks (that doesn't work) but rather to gain Diamonds and Intel when you get raided. Set up your defenses with that in mind. You will get raided, but you can try to cause enough casualties to get the rewards. Its hard to defend against every single troop combo with one layout - try to set up a base that can deal some damage to the most common ones, rather than being good against just one. Hide your mines! This will be next to useless against players that scout properly, but I find that most don't. You can hide mines behind a lot of things - some work better than others. Try Statues, the Iron Mine, high level turrets like STs (Sniper Towers), BCs, CNs, Stone Storages. Group normal mines together in groups of 3, so that Medics can't out-heal the damage dealt to low health troops. Place Shock Mines in the most likely path of Warrior rushes. Put some Boom Mines around the HQ. Think about - and observe - where your attackers will most likely use Barrage and avoid putting any mines in that area. Don't have trees in places where they turn transparent because there is a mine behind them.
WEAPONS LAB - PROTOTYPE DEFENSES
I won't say much about those, except that you should save your prototype modules rather than place proto defenses as soon as you can. They won't do much for you early on, and it will be nice to have enough modules stockpiled later on, allowing you to place more and better ones. By then you won't need my advice on how to use them.
SPENDING MONEY
This is a personal choice, it certainly isn't necessary. I don't think that it's ever worth buying Diamonds or the "special offers" you sometimes get, but I have been buying Instant Training for a while now, and that is worth it for me. It definately helps with the Crab. Extra builders let you progress faster; if you consistently get them, you might want to deploy an additional RR guardian.
TF
TFs (Taskforces) are one the best aspects of BB. Join one as soon as you can. TFs do OPs (Operations) together, attacking the same bases (not at the same time), with the damage done by one registered and saved for subsequent attacks. Just join one, you'll find out how it works. Each OP lasts 24 hours and you only have one attack per OP - try not to miss it! You should find a TF that fits your activity level, experience level and (to a lesser extend) HQ level. When you first join a TF as a low level player you might feel useless, but that doesn't have to be the case. You might be able to finish off a defenseless PC (Powercore), allowing other members to attack a hard target, or you might be able to take out some key defenses or mines. The troops you use in the main game might not be useful for OP attacks - don't bring Warriors. HZ/Hooka might be a good all-around choice, Tanks work in the lower and medium range of OPs and AZ (All Zookas) can be phenomenal, but without Smoke and lots of GBE that won't work too well for a lower level player. Learn from the others in your TF, and follow base notes and instructions in the chat. One thing that can make your attacks very effective, even at a low level, is Cpt. Everspark's Universal Remote, so try to get Sparky as soon as you can. You don't even have to upgrade Universal Remote, it works just fine on the first level, and lets you take out key defenses.
MEGA CRAB
This event happens every month, on the last weekend of the month. You get 40 attacks, and when you don't destroy a stage in one attack, the damage you caused is saved, just like in OPs, IT, or the War Factory. When you destroy a stage you gain one more attack. You can get a lot of resources from this event. If you want to go far, you will need high level troops and a good statue setup. You can only get a Legendary Trophy if you got a Diamond Trophy the year before.
WARSHIPS
This is a whole different game mode. I like it a lot by itself, others hate it. Getting to the Diamond tier isn't too hard, though and gives you 500 Diamonds, plus lots of other loot (in the season reward and over the course of it) for the main game. Here are some very basic tips: It takes some getting used to. Just remember that it's about being faster than your opponents - so focus on everything that makes your attacks not only successful but also fast. All Heavies, All Heavy Choppas, Flares, TD, TH, Bombardiers are things to look out for in every season, but there are nuances and every season is different. Set up your Warship not to defend against an attack, but to make it last as long as possible. Look at the tech tree, look ahead and ask yourself what you will absolutely need and what you will not need - choose wisely. Watch your opponent's attacks, and learn from their tactics and base layouts. Generally, try to get to the next ER (Engine Room) level quickly, rather than hanging out at one level for a long time. Many people seem to struggle with the Sky Shield proto defense - you can actually often flare something that seems protected; focus on the lower one of the two circles. There is much more to say, but this will have to do as beginner's tips.
CLIMBING ON THE LEADERBOARD
Once you are in a position to do this you are far beyond the need of these tips. You will need to reconsider your statue choices at a certain point (saving Ice statues in storage might come in handy). Also, I can't confirm this, but I heard that it's a good idea not to destroy the last stage of Dr. T events, as that is supposed to give you a slightly higher chance of getting a player base in an invasion.
USEFUL ONLINE RESOURCES
You already know this on (https://www.reddit.com/BoomBeach/), check these out, if you don't know them:
https://www.reddit.com/boombeachrecruit/
https://boombeach.fandom.com/wiki/Boom_Beach_Wiki
https://hoppernet.net/
There's also many YouTube videos and Channels worth looking at. Have fun playing Boom Beach!

Hi there! NAFA grad from COVID batch here! I previously wrote tips to not waste time at NAFA. Currently studying in NUS. If you're looking for post O levels/ITE options, look no further! 4 years ago, I attended NAFA's open house after receiving my O level results and back then I was as clueless as the many DMs I've received asking about NAFA ;) . So I'm making this post to clear those doubts!
Edit: Added academic calendar to general curriculum and important degree update

Content

Things to note before entering NAFA

1. What is NAFA and who is it for
2. Available Courses
3. When and how to apply
4. Application Timeline
5. Financial Aid

During your study

1. Useful Acronyms
2. Life at NAFA
3. Understanding NAFA's SOAD Standard
4. General curriculum
5. Electives
6. Using workshops/Loaning of equipment
7. Internship
8. Overseas Immersion/School Exchange Programme
9. CCA

Post-Diploma

1. Furthering studies at NAFA
2. Furthering studies at a local university
3. Finding Work

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Things to note before entering NAFA

[1] What is NAFA and who is it for?
NAFA, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts is Singapore's pioneering art school. It is a private arts institution. It provides diploma studies with a study duration of 3 years just like poly. The special thing about NAFA is that it provides 1-year degree programmes which any student (usually from relevant diploma courses) can pick up.
Well, we always say 'art is subjective', it is a freedom of expression. The school is really open to anyone (and that is on the account that you have a portfolio or passed the test). Literally, you can have aunties and uncles as your classmates! You also have people doing art because it's fun but in all seriousness do not sign up if that's what you think. I'd like to think of NAFA as a school that guides you in the beginning and later on they just kind of let everyone be independent learners. Anybody can say that NAFA teaches you the foundation but they do not intend to fully teach you long term or up to a professional level. The school is excellent for people who have existing art skills (you've won SYF, art awards, distinction in art before you were even 17 years old) and wish to be a local artist. It is also great for people who are passionate and have some sort of basic skill or are/have developing skills already (that's me!) however this group should avoid Fine Arts. You can also be passionate and start on a blank slate but be prepared to work doubly hard for the grades. The school is not competitive, it depends on talent to stand out.
Do not come if you are doing for the sake of the diploma because the difficulty of NAFA's diploma is no joking matter. Dropping out is common in every course and you do not wish to contribute to that. That is also the whole point of NAFA charging exorbitant school fees so that you don't run away. Many people actually bet their future on NAFA because they couldn't go to poly/uni course of their choice and it ends up being wasted because it's not what they wanted! You may have heard people of saying that the school's standard is trash but the truth is, it's not the school's problem 100% of the time.
For students looking to enter NAFA Foundation Programme, it's still new and dodgy. I strongly advise you guys to take O levels and head to Poly instead if you still wish to pursue further education at local universities. I personally find no point in skipping a year and getting L1R4>25 with an O level cert where you might've passed math seems to be a more lucrative choice to use for entering NAFA. The only benefit you're getting from the programme is a debt $$$.
Entry requirements:
O Level: L1R4 equal or less than 25 points excluding English (can use CCA points)
ITE: Full-time Higher Nitec or Nitec
Other Local/International Admission Requirements
Important note:
NAFA diplomas do not equate with polytechnic diplomas.
NAFA being the oldest art school does not mean that it is the best place to go instead of Laselle.
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[2] Available Courses
One misconception is that NAFA has double diploma programmes for 3D Design. I'd like to announce that it is false. The school is not capable of teaching 2 types of diploma at a time but rather mash it up. So if you intend to take my course for example Diploma in Design (Landscape and Architecture), it is usually the 1st word that is mainly taught which is 'Landscape'.
​
List of courses:
School of Art and Design
3D Design

• Diploma in Design (Furniture and Spatial)
• Diploma in Design (Interior and Exhibition)
• Diploma in Design (Landscape and Architecture)
• Diploma in Design (Object and Jewellery)

Design & media

• Diploma in Advertising
• Diploma in Graphic Communication
• Diploma in Illustration Design with Animation
• Diploma in Screen Media

Fine Art

• Diploma in Fine Art
• Diploma in Art Teaching

Fashion Studies

• Diploma in Fashion Design
• Diploma in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing

School of Arts Management, Dance and Theatre
Arts Management

• Diploma in Arts Management

Dance

• Diploma in Dance

Music

• Diploma in Music
• Diploma in Music Teaching

Theatre

• Diploma in Theatre (English Drama)
• Diploma in Theatre (Mandarin Drama)

​
[3] When and how to apply?
Once you received your results is usually the time applications are open. Local and international students have until March to apply. It varies annually. More here ->How to apply
Method of Application: Online portfolio submission or physical admission test
Neither is better than the other. You method depends on whether you can show what you have within a given deadline.
​
Online Portfolio Submission
Minimum 10 images, various mediums allowed and a short writeup of 100 words.
1.Make the portfolio for the course that you want
To make them pick you directly for the course, make it look like you are built for the course.
2. Have a variety of work
Fine Arts doesn't only consist of drawings, it can also include some sort of sculpture or performance work. Same goes for the other departments. Click here for what each course requires. If you wish to showcase a single type of work because you are unable to show more, it can make your portfolio look okay/bad compared to other people.
3. A passionate statement
Only 100 words. Tbh I wrote what I wished to do after my diploma (plans have since changed and it was an odd statement lol). I don't suggest writing about your contribution to the sch because as long as you're a student you're contributing. Make it short and simple.
​
In case anyone is wondering, my application portfolio was mediocre, showing 11 images consisting of sketches/paintings/photos. If you have a god-tier portfolio because you have that artistic talent, there's a good chance to achieve a 1st-year full-coverage scholarship once you step into NAFA. You can submit whenever you want but my estimated deadline was 2 weeks after applying at the open house which waived my application fees ($70 better treat yourself Haidilao).
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Admission Test (if someone has taken the test feel free to provide more info)
The test dates are staggered once per month from January-March. Held in groups. Consists of a drawing test and write-up.
I only know that the drawing test isn't difficult. People who took the test do not intend to submit a portfolio as it's quick and efficient. Nothing much to add on.
Important note:
If you are writing a 2nd choice as a safety net please be cautious. I do not recommend as you may get the 2nd choice instead if the slots for your 1st choice becomes full. They will just shift you to the 2nd choice and that's where the 'appeal' part comes.
Choose to submit a portfolio if you can commit to the deadline, it usually gives you an upper hand over admission test applicants because you're showcasing more.
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[4] Application Timeline (I only know O levels if anyone can kindly tell me I'll update)
O levels:
January
Receive results > submit JAE > apply for NAFA
February
Wait for JAE AND NAFA results > receive JAE results 1st > receive NAFA results 2nd
You’ll receive NAFA results before poly starts unless you apply late. I applied during Jan on the day of the open house and got my results mid-end Feb. March is the last month to receive results.
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[5] Financial Aid
NAFA Financial Aid
Now, we all know private school isn't cheap and many passionate young souls I've met depend heavily on financial aid like I do. If you're a Singaporean with a tight family income, the bursary is attainable for you. It covers half of the annual school fee. Can only be taken once for each year of study. If you are able to claim the bursary for all your years, you’d pay a total of $7050.
For those who are hoping to start at NAFA but is at a really tight end, you need perfect grades in art and portfolio to be considered a scholarship/merit in your first year. You'll need testimonials and pass the interview. If you ain’t good in art, pass this opportunity however you can work for scholarship/merit during your diploma years. I’d score close to the 4.0 (3.8X) in Year 1 in order to get a scholarship to cover my Year 2 fees.
Other options are the 0% interest study loan by DBS. You can make use of your PSEA which you can also use your sibling account to cover your own sch fees.
Last option but not really one is the student assistantship scheme should you already be a student of NAFA. The pay is peanuts, I would not recommend but it's nice to have a one-liner in your resume that you did some work for the school :).
There are NAFA students with a possibly far worse situation than yours but they are extremely talented and hardworking to end up not paying a single cent. NAFA is really expensive so if you do intend to work to cover the fees, take care of your grades as well. It is not impossible to do so. I chose to not work as I was in a hectic design course and needed to maintain my grade for university.
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Next, you would need to understand how the system works.

During your study

[1] Useful Acronyms
SOAD: School of Art and Design (Department)
SOAMDT: School of Arts Management, Dance and Theatre
SOM: School of Music
D&M: Design and Media
FA: Fine Arts
3DD: 3D Design
FS: Fashion Studies
FYP: Final Year Project (used in almost every SOAD course lol)
OIP: Overseas Immersion Programme
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[2] Life at NAFA
So you wish to know how life is like at NAFA? First thing, don't expect the same amount of glitz and glamour that exists in polys. It's much quieter where you won't even hear a mouse die.
Because entry to the school is quite easy, the population regularly consists of graduated ITE students (can’t make it to poly/NAFA is the last golden ticket) alongside many international students. O level cert holders are like a small 10% or less. So if you’re young, prepare to take care of the older lot and expect to carry lazy people.
You have to be very committed to the course and can’t skip class. More than 3 times and they start deducting marks. The workload is heavy and even if it comes in small numbers, it is intense. The number of student to lecturer ratio is not a big difference but later on, consultation times may not suffice. Facilities are sufficient unless you’re in a design course. There are CCAs in the sch but not all courses got time for it. Staying in school late is a common culture. Fine Arts students after class just camp in their respective studios and design students would camp till closing 11 pm at the computer lab waiting for renders to finish. Every student will experience staying late and you can say its #lifeatnafa.
The culture here is not as toxic and dramatic as poly but more towards weird because we’re creative artsy-fartsy people. It’s easy to get along with course mates but there’s a chance for things to get somehow cranky along the way. Could be you or your classmate. Everyone is pretty open and wild. There’s a lack of competitiveness which is both good and bad.
There won't be a course that goes without presentations. That's the point of producing works ain't it, to show it off to the audience. Group work to individual work ratio is about 3:6 so if you worry about bad groupmates, don't worry I've faced them too and it can't be helped ;). Carrying other people during group work is also common. NAFA does stand for lazy people what to do. Your complaints hold no power. (Arguably, many students want the school to make entry to the courses more difficult as there seem to be too many bums to handle)
If you're mentally depressed or anything the school does try to help but no legit support system other than the ECG counsellor (which I find it practically useless). Now, the school deals with this quite often so they don't give a damn about your life. Ownself take care ownself is the usual term.
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School events anyone can participate:
Open House (1-day Sentosa fun time with other Open House ambassador)
Orientation (has a 1-night camp! Recommend)
NAFA Fun Day
Overseas Immersion Programme (1-3 weeks long, Asian countries. Recommend but need $)
Student Assistantship Programme (1 year-long contract. Peanut pay)
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The list of programmes here may not seem much but you can add it in your portfolio (except Fun Day). There may be volunteer work available within some courses itself. Do try to be active
And that's about it. Nothing special just expensive and less fun.
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[3] Understanding NAFA's SOAD Standard
Take a look at what past graduates have produced within their 3 years as a student. Only you can judge whether the school is great or the right fit for your goals (in being able to attain this particular level of skill for XXX course once you graduate for example). The best standard can be found under the best graduate tab.
2020 The Grad Expectations
Graduation Showcase
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[4] General Curriculum
Academic Calendar
The 1st semester of your study begins at the start of August and usually ends late November or early December depending on the type of assessment received. The 2nd semester begins in January till May. The span of 1 semester is always around 4 months with a 1-week break in between. We don't really have any sort of term 1/2 thing like poly and is much compressed, so breaks are less. However, you do get compensated with a 3-month vacation between years so that's fair.
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*Applicable to SOAD only
Year 1
1st Semester: Foundation Study (not the same as NAFA Foundation programme for N level)
+ Basic art and design theory
+General Education
2nd Semester: Course Foundation
+ General Education
+ Basic course theory
(+ Electives)
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Year 2
1st Semester: 2nd Set of Course Foundation
+ Intermediate theory
+ 1st project
+ Basic report/essay writing
(+ Electives)
2nd Semester: Last set of Course Foundation
+ Another set of projects
(+ Electives)
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Year 3
1st Semester: Internship/School project (wouldn't want to get this)
2nd Semester: Final Year project (practically on your own)
+ Report/Essay writing
+ Research and development
(+ Electives, not recommended to do during this semester)
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It’s clearly not much different from poly, slightly worse at certain points. Weekly school hours per week will increase each semester e.g year 1 sem 1 is 18hrs a week for classes, next semester you may get an additional 2-4 hrs increase of class time. The longest time I had for class each week was 24hrs, pretty sure the same goes for any SOAD course. Do expect late-night classes. It is inevitable because most lecturers are teaching part-time so do bear with them.
Important note:
For a lighter schedule, do electives early as that's one of the simplest things to do.
The difference in timetable won't affect application to university.
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[5] Electives
1 common mistake students commit is not reading the student handbook (from studentnet)/contract on the number of credits required for graduation. They end up finishing their electives during Year 3 Semester 2 which is the time one should focus on their FYP. Start doing your electives once you’re in Year 1 Semester 2. Good planning consists of not stuffing your modules until it’s way past 24hrs/week (also known as overloading). You’re required to do cross-disciplinary modules 2-6 credits worth (meaning not related to your course, if you’re from D&M you have to do either FA/3DD/FS) and course-related electives worth 2-6 credits. Days before module registration, plan out the electives you want to do based on your given timetable and then rush to pick on the day of the module registration with no hesitation to secure your placement. You may have to do an elective that is unfamiliar to you.
My sample plan:
Year 1 sem 1: Can’t choose yet
Year 1 sem 2: Photography (Highly recommend, popular as well but must have time and skill + a friend who's free who be your model). 2 credits
Year 1 sem 2 special term (aka holiday): OIP to Hangzhou. China Academy of Arts for 3 weeks. Considered cross-disciplinary to FA. 3 weeks long. 4 credits
Year 2 sem 1: Intro to Rapid prototyping from 3DD (laser cut/3D print) (didn’t really learn how to use the machine as there are technical officers and I messed up at the end but still passed, great elective for embarrassing yourself if you’re a 3DD student who frequents the workshop ;) ). 2 credits
Year 2 sem 2 - onwards: No more electives can focus on FYP
Important note:
Plan well so you accumulate just nice 120 credits for graduation. No point in exceeding the total credits as you have to pay extra for it. If you miss a few credits for graduation, you will be retained for another semester to finish.
Cheat tip: if you go on the OIP to China only, you instantly get cross-disciplinary credits.
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[6] Using Workshops/Loaning of equipment

• The 3D workshop at wing B level 1 operates Mon-Fri 8 am to 6 pm but you need permission from the lecturer or Technical officer to use the machinery.
• Laser cutting and 3D printing in the 3D workshop operates from Mon-Fri 10:30-4:30 pm and it is based on a first sign up first serve basis. Booking is always done a week prior to the day of actual usage and maximum of 4 people per day (unless you let others share your slot). Every Friday the slate inside the workshop outside the room is wiped clean for students to book for the week ahead. Even if your name is on the booking board and you don't end up cutting, you will get a temporal ban after multiple attempts. Do ask the Technical officer about the laser cutting template as well and follow accordingly when you create the template so as to not cause a problem of cleaning up your drawing which may overtake another timeslot.
• Camera equipment for photography/filming can be loaned from a guy named 'Jack'. Priority goes to courses that require it, followed by the photography elective and so on. Loan lasts for a week and extension can be asked for after loan period.
• Photography Studio/Darkroom use needs to have a form signed, given to 'Jack' and then approved. Literally, find this guy for all your photography needs.
• Fine Art workshop time depends on the course instructor. People from other courses are free to walk in when its empty but usage not possible.

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[7] Internships
Usually done in Year 3 Semester 1, this is one of the key semesters every student should complete for it plays a very important role in your portfolio for finding a job post-graduation. The school has a reputable network, however for courses like Fine Art and illustration the intern positions may be limited because Singapore is not very welcoming for such talents. There are top companies who are willing to hire NAFA students on the basis that they have good grades and a juicy portfolio. So if you want the best, you got to be the best.
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[8] Overseas Immersion/School Exchange Programmes
Slots for OIP is limited (especially the ones to China), requires an interview. I think the max for some trips were 35-40 people at most. There are subsidies available and coverage varies.
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Places NAFA has flown to:
*Xiamen (3 weeks)
*Hangzhou, China Academy of Arts (3 weeks)
*Beijing, Beijing Technology University (3 weeks)
Bangkok (1 week?)
Korea (might've stopped)
Japan (might've stopped)
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*Special programme during Year 1 Semester 2 vacation only
I forgot the cost but I've personally have flown to Hangzhou. Best experience ever despite getting a C. Crazy stuff happened at one of the finest Arts school in China :)
Important note:
If you miss the chance to fly, fret not, NAFA's degree programme is a collaboration with a foreign university and they will open an exchange programme for 1 month (that is if COVID doesn't persist). Not sure about the cost though.
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[9] CCA (The price list is not updated as of 2020)
List of currently available CCAs:

1. Muay Thai ( $63 10 sessions)
2. Yoga (basic: $50 12 sessions, intermediate: $42 10 sessions)
3. Entrepreneurship club
4. Urban runners club
5. Volunteer club

Short story: Long ago, I actually joined the photography club only to end up leaving before they even started anything because everybody was too busy to meet up and thus disbanded.
During my time, Muay Thai is the most popular followed by Yoga. Do check out NAFA OSC account on IG to find out what they do. Looks like they added Korean language class too hmm
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Post-Diploma

[1] Furthering Studies at NAFA
NAFA Degree courses for Arts Management and Music
Update (thanks to the comment below): NAFA is going to change its programmes and collaboration starting from AY2021/2022. The new degree courses are collaborating with UAL (University of Arts, London) and it’s changing from one year course to two-year course which includes 5-7 weeks of going to the colleges in London. All the courses are affected except for Arts Management and Music.
Students with A Level certificates, as well as those without relevant diplomas will be allowed to enrol into NAFA’s degree programmes.
The stuff I wrote may not apply anymore but I will still leave it here as a reference for NAFA's 1-year degree. The degree website is empty for now.
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How do you determine if taking NAFA degree is worth it and why should you take or not take the NAFA degree? There’s always a mixed bag of opinions over the degree. Personally, I’m not a fan of it but I won’t be biased and input the pros and cons that can better aid in one’s decision.
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PROS
1.Existing CGPA from diploma is Low
Finding a job with the private diploma cert and low grades can affect your career progression. Make up for the mistakes that were done during the diploma study and try to do well for the degree.
2. High CGPA, expecting a scholarship (or free ride) for the degree course
If you easily meet these 3 criteria (1) Singapore's local unis are too expensive for your taste, (2) you might be older than 21 years old and need to work ASAP, (3) "broke" but did quite well during your diploma and has an excellent portfolio to show, taking the degree might not be such a bad option. In some instances, the 1-year degree + years of work experience can allow one to take up a master degree at local uni if the pre-requisites are met.
3. Changing career path (still art-related)
It's possible to change paths from design to fine arts. However, for a degree that lasts only for 1 year, it is impossible to acquire a decent knowledge at a degree level compared to the diploma stage in my opinion. Usually, the people who apply for the design degree e.g Spatial Design, have prior knowledge from the related course of study either from NAFA or other polys. 1 year is not enough but never said that it’s impossible and has been done over the years.
4. Increase in starting salary
Nobody says this when asked why they want to take the degree but I'm sure they want an increase in starting salary. If you have a fear of starting out with low pay and want to bump it up by sacrificing a short amount of time and money, go for it.
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CONS
1.Not a legit degree
This isn’t a biased answer but an honest one. NAFA's degree is not a professional degree. 1-year won't be enough to acquire a lot of knowledge. There are no internships and full training of Softwares/techniques whatsoever. It's basically aimed at NAFA/poly students who have an existing skillset and internship experience during their diploma studies or international students with similar qualifications. I'm not discouraging anyone who wishes to take the degree because some companies do take in students and if they're lucky, they can work for them after graduation.
2. Not 100% applicable for postgraduate studies in Singapore
The local universities may not kindly cater to all NAFA degrees. A number of students after getting a NAFA degree would choose to study overseas to pursue a masters. If getting NAFA's degree is a mean of broadening your studying experience by going overseas, why not? One real-life example that I've heard of works is landscape and architecture diploma + Spatial Design degree + 3 years of work experience at a good company + an excellent portfolio which eventually led this person to enter NUS Masters in Landscape Architecture. Spatial Design has a chance for relevant postgraduate courses although this may not be the same for the other NAFA degrees.
3. Not worth if you are a Singaporean
The cost of NAFA's degree is considered affordable for an international student and it was practically built for them. If a Singaporean were to study at local uni for 3/4 years including subsidies + tuition grant for a design degree, it'd still be cheaper than a NAFA degree. Plus an actual degree from the public unis is still considered much valuable.
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If you stand for better higher educational standards after staying there for 3 years, I say work hard and flee.
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[2] Furthering studies at a local university
It’s not impossible. It was already allowed a million years ago. It just a matter of effort you put during your diploma years. The current standard at NAFA has dwindled where only less than 10 NAFA grads emerge victoriously so don't be surprised knowing that NAFA barely has high flyers, the school doesn't even push for it. Even my juniors don't know my degree existed 1 year ago...
2 things to note:

1. NAFA diploma is not allowed entry into many courses that are irrelevant from the diploma unless the GPA is high. The usual entry requirements are GPA 3.5-4.0 also dependent on the 10th percentile, juicy portfolio and testimonial (I didn't need it FYI)
2. Chances are higher for relevant degrees although any degree will definitely have entry requirements to meet. Some degrees require O level pass in elementary/additional math (they say they don't check anymore after 2019 but I don't want to play out my chances). I know of students who were optimistic about their GPA but they did not read the instructions beforehand.

You will be fighting with the best from poly, JC and beyond. Do your best to represent yourself as a student from NAFA and you'll find a way to stand out from the crowd.
A warning note to future/existing international NAFA students: I know most of y’all only started living in Singapore just before the beginning of the diploma. I don’t know whether your international qualifications can equate with O levels so consider your future plans in Singapore carefully. My dear international classmates weren’t called up for uni interview (GPA already wasn’t helping, no offence) and the super stringent admission criteria crippled their hopes. Many have remained in NAFA to do the 1-year degree or have returned to their home country. I cannot answer for employment rates. If neither one is the option you want to end up with, do take note.
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[3] Finding Work
COVID really struck a lot of people hard. I can count the number of my coursemate who is employed with my 10 fingers or less. The full-time employment rate is terrible, believe it or not. The school hides it like the fine print in the student contract. Here in the Graduate Employment Survey, you can see the ending choices of NAFA graduates.
I really can't tell the success rate of one finding a job even based on IG stories itself. I see quite a number of freelancer or people doing other things. Who will remain in the same industry? The top 10% in the cohort but even the best have struggled or are still struggling to find a job. NAFA students are not only fighting among themselves, there are poly students with similarly named courses out there too with a proper educational lineup that a NAFA diploma can't compare with.
A portfolio is usually the passport for finding work and the past 3 years of study is meant to fill it up. Don't waste time being a stubborn student especially when you will be spending a lot of money to study. The best way to make yourself look hire-able is to definitely have good grades and a portfolio. Can't emphasise anything else other than that to convince the company to hire you.
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Wrapping it up

NAFA is one of the schools that provides a unique and alternative route away from the usual poly lifestyle. I had some crazy times in there be it social life or workload. It isn't a bad school (I quote 5/10) but if you can work for what you love, you'll do just fine.
The Open House is open and I suggest for those interested to take a look. A whole bunch of admission guides are up for talks.
NAFA Virtual Open House
If you guys have any questions, comment down below so others can read or if you're shy, drop me a DM but I may be busy to reply. Thanks for dropping by!