Unicorn On Strike! -- Fighting the Emerald Blocker

[SANDSCApe]

For others who have the Crystal Unicorn and are seeking your FIRST Emerald Dragon, look for the Nature family from which you are missing the most hybrids, and pair your Unicorn with one of them.
If your Unicorn breeds with a Nature hybrid instead of a pure Nature (like Panda), you will bypass the blocker. Okay, the fails will be longer than even a 1-hour Panda, but at least you may find a missing breed among them.

The Nature-Fire family will offer the shortest set of fails, but if the only Nature hybrid you're missing is the Emerald itself (lucky you!), the 1-hour Panda breeding -- unfair as it is -- will be a relatively small obstacle.

(Believe it or not, the only Nature-Fire I've EVER been able to breed is Fairy Ferret! So if I were trying for my first Emerald, Unicorn-Ferret would definitely be my choice for the Garden.)

[Anyuszko]

Sand, it is a very good idea. There is only one thing that must be thought: if you breed your unicorn, it doesnt produces money, with a lvl 10 one it is like 100k minus a day.

[SANDSCApe]

Sand, it is a very good idea. There is only one thing that must be thought: if you breed your unicorn, it doesnt produces money, with a lvl 10 one it is like 100k minus a day.

True -- the Unicorn was meant for greater things than cranking out Nature hybrids. But if a player only has 1 Unicorn and no Emerald, the only way to breed more ultra-rares is to put that Unicorn in the Garden ... or continue breeding 4 elements in the hopes of breeding a 2nd Unicorn. This sacrifice of the first Unicorn's earnings was necessary even before the extended Panda breeding time was imposed.

I just don't want players to completely give up on their hopes of breeding their first Emerald Dragon. At the very least, if they find themselves with an empty nest or short hatch time, they should take at 1 or 2 shots at the Emerald each day, whether with a Panda or a Nature hybrid.

Two things I would absolutely NOT recommend:
1. Spending 5 gems to speed the 1-hour blocker.
2. Spending hours looking at a series of 1-hour Pandas with your one and only ultra-rare creature trapped in the Garden, earning nothing.

Let the Unicorn alternate between earning coins and trying for the Emerald. Again, this advice is ONLY FOR THOSE WITH ONE UNICORN AND NO EMERALD. (Emerald owners have a wealth of options which I will not go into here.)

[danni7788]

True -- the Unicorn was meant for greater things than cranking out Nature hybrids. But if a player only has 1 Unicorn and no Emerald, the only way to breed more ultra-rares is to put that Unicorn in the Garden ... or continue breeding 4 elements in the hopes of breeding a 2nd Unicorn. This sacrifice of the first Unicorn's earnings was necessary even before the extended Panda breeding time was imposed.

I just don't want players to completely give up on their hopes of breeding their first Emerald Dragon. At the very least, if they find themselves with an empty nest or short hatch time, they should take at 1 or 2 shots at the Emerald each day, whether with a Panda or a Nature hybrid.

Two things I would absolutely NOT recommend:
1. Spending 5 gems to speed the 1-hour blocker.
2. Spending hours looking at a series of 1-hour Pandas with your one and only ultra-rare creature trapped in the Garden, earning nothing.

Let the Unicorn alternate between earning coins and trying for the Emerald. Again, this advice is ONLY FOR THOSE WITH ONE UNICORN AND NO EMERALD. (Emerald owners have a wealth of options which I will not go into here.)

100% agree. Speed breeding will only condone TL's decision and you're only hurting yourself (through lack of coins) to keep the unicorn in the den.

But where oh where is my lovely unicorn? one day. Won't give up breeding 4 elements until I get it. Sand, I saw you had your red/lightning breeding with emerald.. What an awesome idea for so few fails!

[danni7788]

I really think if I ever get a unicorn I'll go for a second one before I try for emerald so that I don't lose out on all those coins. Then I can keep one as a money maker

[SANDSCApe]

As for my own Unicorn, it is NO LONGER ON STRIKE. If others did not join me in putting theirs on strike (I only asked players who had more than one Gem creature), that's fine too.
My Unicorn spent the first few hours of the strike with a Frostfang, nearly 2 days slacking off with a Skyger, then finally an 8-hour dance with a Lightning Leopard. (I dumped all eggs except that last one.)

Unlike urging other players to refrain from buying gems, this strike did not seek to take anything away from TeamLava (I can't afford gem purchases anyway). It was meant to be a method of passive protest, similar to a hunger strike. Whoever didn't get it, forget it.

The advent of the Electric animals, new expansions and the Twilight Troll tournament seemed to effectively divert most players' attention away from the issue of breeding in the face of the Emerald blocker. I welcomed the cooling off period and chose to redirect my attention to quietly finding ways to circumvent the blocker.

[igames4me]

We'll I decided to follow sandscape suggestion . But instead of putting green and red + crystal ( I have all red and green animals)
I put green and rock+ crystal since I'm missing grassquach. And first try got grassquach 14 hrs.
Even if I didn't get emerald but hey got one that I was missing.

[55lee55]

I also tried SANDSCApe's suggestion, and for me it worked like gangbusters!

Except I am still missing the Emerald Dragon. I expect that will stay missing.

But I now have all of the possible critters except the Dragon, and a total of eight Pegs which except for one Level 10 that I had, the rest are either Level 4 or queued up to evolve, but they replaced my other duplicate Dark/Nature hybrids and the $ are already noticeably improved.

Thanks for the awesome suggestion Sand! I am not experienced with playing these breeding games so this is confusing as it is, then when TL throws in things like the 5 gem cost to speed breed for an Emerald when I spent days trying before the fine was added and still don't have an Emerald.

And before I get bashed for being lucky, yes I am very lucky and I spent some real money getting here as well, so if you have constructive criticism go for it but if you are plain green with jealousy, I suggest you look in the mirror and do some repair there first before you go to fixin' on me because I worked hard to fill out my stables. I have done nothing illegal. You too will get all of the critters eventually, as will I if I bother trying to breed for the Emerald Dragon. I didn't get my Unicorn until recently at Level 30. I only have one and have been struggling with most of the rest of you trying to pay the enormous prices for expanding then clearing the Fail Shale.

But I want to thank Sand for pointing this breeding strategy out to less experienced players like I am who may not see the implications that may be obvious to the majority. And I want to say that for me Sand's strategy produced a Spruce Moose that I had been unable to breed and enough Pegs to replace my duplicate Dark/Nature lower earners.

I am tempted to try for more duplicate ultra rares in the other element mixes, but I will rest a bit I think and catch up on evolving my new Pegs and saving for future expansions.

At Level 4 they earn more than most of my much higher level critters, and are obviously not an Emerald Dragon, but they aren't chopped liver either. How long will it take TL to drop their earnings? Don't know why but I expect that to happen soon.

Thanks Sand for explaining the strategy of breeding the Unicorn with the Dark/Nature hybrids. You are wiser than I, for sure, and for those in a position to try it I can tell you it works better than the random breeding I was trying.

I suggest that if you are saving to expand or buy obstacles, do that first because you will need the income from your Unicorn if you only have one like I do, but once you have put the downpayment on obstacles, then tying up income from your Unicorn won't be as noticeable while you wait for over a day for them to clear out.

Of course there is always the likelihood that TL will throw a wrench into a good thing, even though it is simply a good breeding strategy. So was spending your days breeding your Unicorn and Panda as fast as possible in order to get that rarest of rare and now more so Emerald Dragon.

But in lieu of getting the Emerald Dragon, which I failed even using Sand's strategy, having a backup herd of Pegs popping up and down making money for you is the next best thing, my opinion only of course and I can speak for no one but myself.

Thanks Sand!

[SANDSCApe]

We'll I decided to follow sandscape suggestion . But instead of putting green and red + crystal ( I have all red and green animals)
I put green and rock+ crystal since I'm missing grassquach. And first try got grassquach 14 hrs.
Even if I didn't get emerald but hey got one that I was missing.

Congratulations to both you and 55Lee55 on your WONDERFUL FAILS while breeding for your Emerald Dragon with NO PANDA PAIN!



Lee, I got your message and dropped by to admire your new Moose!
If your Gem-Dark-Nature combo keeps breeding duplicates of Aurora Pegasus, welcome them! Feed them and make them your Unicorn deputies. Just think - 3 or 4 of those can together earn as much as one Unicorn at the same level for LESS food! They will more than make up for having your Unicorn on maternity leave in the Garden. Keep trying for the Emerald now that it's your only missing animal! Please don't give up.
(I couldn't send you a private message because your box is full.)

As excited as I am for you folks, I'm given up on my own patchy album for now. Just making oodles of mischief with Emerald Dragons in Satyr Sanctuary.

[SANDSCApe]

I also tried SANDSCApe's suggestion, and for me it worked like gangbusters!

Except I am still missing the Emerald Dragon. I expect that will stay missing.

But I now have all of the possible critters except the Dragon, and a total of eight Pegs which except for one Level 10 that I had, the rest are either Level 4 or queued up to evolve, but they replaced my other duplicate Dark/Nature hybrids and the $ are already noticeably improved.

Thanks for the awesome suggestion Sand! I am not experienced with playing these breeding games so this is confusing as it is, then when TL throws in things like the 5 gem cost to speed breed for an Emerald when I spent days trying before the fine was added and still don't have an Emerald.
...

But I want to thank Sand for pointing this breeding strategy out to less experienced players like I am who may not see the implications that may be obvious to the majority. And I want to say that for me Sand's strategy produced a Spruce Moose that I had been unable to breed and enough Pegs to replace my duplicate Dark/Nature lower earners.

But in lieu of getting the Emerald Dragon, which I failed even using Sand's strategy, having a backup herd of Pegs popping up and down making money for you is the next best thing, my opinion only of course and I can speak for no one but myself.

Thanks Sand!

LOL. You must have posted this while I was typing my last one. OMG! EIGHT Pegasi?! You know pegasi are cousins to unicorns, right? They are not only eclipsing the income of the lower Dark-Natures; they are replacing the income of that elusive Emerald Dragon, EASILY!

You simply MUST continue with that Unicorn-Planther pair or whatever Gem-Dark-Nature combo you were working with. Or if you have enough super Darkies, just go with the Unicorn-Panda thing every hour or so. Your pegs have got the money thing covered. Eight Aurora Pegasi! I am SO laughing at TeamLava this week.