Urban Rivals is a browser-based massively multiplayer online (MMO) card game, similar to traditional collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering and Legend of the Five Rings. Your goal in Urban Rivals is to collect as many cards as you can and use them to defeat your opponents. The following is a guide to help you understand the finer details of the game and put you on the path to becoming an Urban Rivals champion!

game formats

In Urban Rivals, there are four different game formats to play. Each of the formats has rules regarding deck construction and gameplay. The Type 1 and Type 2 formats are differentiated by the number of “stars” or character points allowed in your deck. Type 1 decks allow a maximum of 25 stars, while Type 2 decks are for 26 stars or more. The Survivor format is a branch of Type 2, and the goal is to have the longest winning streak possible.

The most popular format is known as ELO, which has a tournament ladder. Its rules are similar to Type 1, but it includes a list of cards that have been banned for being dominated. The ELO format has weekly prizes depending on how well you rank on the tournament ladder. Each game format will have its own deck-building strategies, but this guide provides general deck-building and play strategies that should apply to all game formats.

terrace construction

Your 8 card deck, 4 of which will be randomly used in each battle, is the key to winning battles. No matter how good you are, a bad deck is bound to cost you the battle. As such, deckbuilding strategies are very important, with most decisions being made before battles actually take place.

* Clans – The first thing you have to decide is which clan to choose. Each clan has a bonus that applies to all its members. The Bangers, Junkz, Rescue, Sentinel, and Ulu Watu clans all have attack power bonuses. The All Stars, Montana, Sakrohm, and Uppers all penalize their opponents’ attack power. The Fang Pi Clang and La Junta clans have damage boosts, while the Pussycats reduce the damage of opponents. The Gheist, Nightmare, Pirana, and Roots clans cancel opponents’ powers, while the Skeelz clan protects their powers from cancellation. The Freaks clan deals poison damage to their opponents, while the Jungo clan gives themselves more health. Which clan you choose will depend on your preferred play style.

* Clan Identity: Not only does the bonus clan have to fit your play style, but you also have to think about the Urban Rivals clan identity, backstory, and ideals that resonate with you. If you don’t like gangsters and guns, Montana mafia clan will definitely not suit you no matter how good their clan bonus is. Similarly, if you like the idea of ​​military superiority and guerrilla warfare, the La Junta clan will appeal to you.

* Mono vs Dual – There are 2 most frequently played deck compositions: Mono-Clan and Dual-Clan. Mono-Clan means that your deck of 8 consists of characters from only one clan (plus perhaps a leader). Dual-Clan means that your deck contains cards from 2 clans. The choice between the two arises because the clan bonus from a card only works if you have at least 2 cards of that clan in play. So using a Mono-Clan deck ensures that your clan bonus is always active, but suffers due to a lack of diversity. A double clan deck, on the other hand, will find battles where one of the cards will not have its clan bonus. However, this disadvantage is offset by the fact that you are using 2 clans whose bonuses work well together or cover each other’s weaknesses.

* Card Cost: Once you’ve decided which clan you want, the next step is to choose which cards go in your deck. When you’re starting out, you’re unfortunately limited by the cost of the cards. Power cards usually cost a lot of money in the Urban Rivals game, but you’ll be able to afford them the more you play and the more tournaments you enter.

* Star Assignment: In Type 1 and ELO games, you are limited to 25 stars or points in the deck. Choosing which combination of star levels goes in your deck is important. Want more 5-star powerhouses in your deck, knowing you’ll have to put in a lot of weak 2-star cards to balance them out? You could luck out in battle and have all your 5 stars on the line, or you could end up playing with 3 or 4 2 star cards, pretty much handing the game over to your opponent. The other option would be to fill your deck with mostly 4 and 3 star cards to make sure you build a decent team every battle. Once again, the choice will depend on your play style.

* Card Abilities: The next step is to figure out which cards work best in your deck. It is best to choose cards whose abilities complement your clan bonus. For example, if your clan’s bonus gives you a big attack bonus, then you could use cards that don’t have that great attack power but deal a lot of damage, since the clan’s bonus is already boosting your attack. You should also add cards that are more specialized, like ones that stop abilities or buffs, or walls that reduce damage taken. As a whole, you should have an overall goal for your deck, and the majority of your cards should either support or work towards that goal.

How to play

Now that the deck is ready, the next thing to focus on is how to fight well. Both you and your opponent start with 12 life and 12 pillz, and your goal is to end the battle with more life than your opponent. As you might expect, there are many ways to achieve that result.

* Poker: You can treat a game of Urban Rivals as if it were a game of poker. The person who is able to read his opponent the best and bets wisely usually wins. The pillz you use to increase your attack or damage are like poker chips. Go all-in with a powerful card? Or do you save your pillz for a time when you expect your opponent to launch his big attack? Just remember that pills are actually more important than life, and should be kept and used wisely.

* Objective: When the battle begins and the cards are revealed, the first thing you need to do is decide what your objective and plan of attack is. Do your cards have enough damage to do a 2-hit KO (i.e. deal 12 damage using only 2 cards)? If so, then you should focus your pillz on those 2 cards. Do you intend to open with a poison card and defend while dealing damage? Then you have to make sure you have enough walls and defensive cards to pull it off. In either case, you should also know your opponent’s plan of attack and be ready to counter him.

* First turn: The first turn of the battle is arguably the most crucial. The player with the most stars/points at the table will start first, giving the weaker player a chance to watch their opponent play before deciding what to do. It is common to open with a bluff, playing a strong card using very few pillz. If the opponent reacts by using too many pillz, he could have won the first round but would be at a pillz disadvantage. If the opponent doesn’t spend pillz to defend, you would have done a fair amount of damage with only a small investment in pillz.

* Pillz Advantage – During each round, the player with the most pillz available usually has the advantage and can dictate how the battle will play out. The player with the fewest pillz has the fewest options and usually must either go all-in or concede a round. So it is very beneficial if you can spend pillz more efficiently than your opponent (as long as you keep winning battles). This stems from the first turn bluff strategy: if you bluff successfully, you will have a huge advantage and can extend it throughout the battle, constantly putting your opponent on the defensive.

Hopefully this guide clears up some of the less obvious aspects of the game and makes your experience playing Urban Rivals more enjoyable! As you’d expect, practice makes perfect and you’ll start to see how others play and be able to change your strategies accordingly. And don’t forget there are almost 20 different clans you can experiment with, so don’t be afraid to play with them!