Gelu Crypt Guide (by Adriatik)

(this guide is brought to you by Adriatik (EU-57))
Are you looking far into the future at that level 93 that doesn't seem to be any closer? Are you dreaming about unlocking Dracon and rocking the Crypt rankings? 
Well, even without him, you can already perform top scores with Gelu, the uncontested crypt master - at least until an aforementioned Tower wizard comes along to steal the crown. Even so, your records could last longer than you think against Dracon players with the right strategy.
Do notice though that from Player Level 93, Dracon will slowly take the lead, but until it happens, here it is the common strategy to apply.
=Hero Choice=
As we already said our hero choice is Gelu.
Gelu can be obtained for free in the first days of an account, after playing for seven consecutive days.
Further, you can obtain his hero shards from: 
* Champion market (3 shards/30K champions coins), 
* Main Story chapters 16, 17 and 18 (5 shards per sharpshooters)
In order to maximize his Crypt potential, it is important to upgrade him up to 4 stars and to unlock his Spell Mark slot as soon as possible on him.
Slayer is the best spell mark recommended for him regarding this exercise. Before obtaining Slayer however at a minimum LV3, you can firstly use Mirth (leveled up as much as possible). 
==Spells==
Part of the Gelu strategy consists on casting his spells continuously on specific units which we will develop soon.
Short of Air Arrow we will make sure of all of his spells, including Stone Skin (a great way to trigger Giant's Magic Awakening skill). Damage spells are useless in Crypt so we can't take advantage of Gelu's arrow - simply put, it would be a waste of mana.
==Masteries==
Here is a list of mandatory masteries:
The last mastery slot is a flexspot, which can be one of the following:
Archery has the lowest impact if you are not going to use any ranged units in your formation - and therefore would not benefit any of your units. But if you need to make replacements, then it can be slightly beneficial.
Earth and Water Magic have probably the lowest impact due to their fringe use on reducing the cooldown of either Mirth (which once replaced with Slayer renders the mastery useless on Gelu) or Stone Skin (exclusively beneficial for usage on the Giant as described before).
Air Magic is probably the best choice as it allows casting Precision more often, which unlike Stone Skin actually has offensive capabilities.
=Formation=
Here is the optimal formation I recommended (first row represents the frontline):
* Storm Elemental: very high damage dealer due to its fast attack animation.
* Giant: another high damage dealer with fast animation that also greatly benefits from its own Magic Awakening. Nemesis and Thunder Rage also provide high amounts of AoE damage that will lead to bursts in your score.
* Arch Mage: Improves the damage of the Caster placed on the same row with it. Group her with Gog.
Awakening choices:
** Magic Affinity (1L): targets get shifted very fast in Crypt due to the waves of enemies, so this way it doesn't lose its Attack Speed bonus.
** Arcane Magic (2R): for further increase in attack speed of it and Gog
** Third awakening skill is not relevant for Crypt (and since it requires level 95 at that point you will probably already be switching strategies)
* Gog: Core damage dealer in the formation especially as you get closer to unlocking Dracon (where it will become absolutely mandatory!). Fire wall is subject to the randomness of the mode so it may force you to repeat attempts a couple of times.
Awakening choices:
** Fire Flood (1R): expanded range will benefit you more in the Crypt than the extra duration.
** Red-hot Forbidden Spell (2L): More unit damage is much more impressive than synergy with burning in Crypt
** Magic Weave (3R): this is a no-brainer since the formation is abundant in Casters, but do note that it requires level 95, point in which this strategy will lose viability. 
* Efreet: Strong dps unit with an AoE damage ultimate makes it an excellent choice for Crypt.
Awakening choices:
** Flame Feaster (1R): More damage to more units is always great in Crypt.
** Fight in Fire (2L): We always choose in Crypt the option that benefits offensive capabilities (defense is irrelevant).
** Magic Weave (3R): Same as for Gog. 
*Magic Airship: Another unit with a fast animation speed and dealing good damages, another huge benefit is the buff he provides to units with its own magic awakening skill, enhancing attack speed and damages of all the friendly castlers.
* Lich: Fast animation and high damage, while also benefiting from an AoE damage skill make it a good choice for Crypt.
Awakening choices:
** First awakening skill: irrelevant, the summons will be of little to no help here.
** Death Sacrifice (2L): This is the obvious choice as it benefits Lich's offensive capabilities. Besides, Life Drain is not useful here, and we don't have other Necropolis units to take advantage of the other option.
** Magic Contract (3L): Same as for Gog.
* Beholder: One of the fastest animations in the game, better even than Storm Elemental. Surprisingly, it will deal most of the damage in the lineup.
Awakening Choices (most negligible):
** Mana Strike (1L): with two eyes left open (the rest will close very fast as units die quickly in Crypt), this doubles the Unit Damage bonus from Spell Penetration. It's a small bonus though.
** Second and third awakening skills: irrelevant, as neither boost your damage capabilities.
==Substitutes==
Since there are quite a few SR+ and an SSR unit around, here are some budget options to consider:
* Firebird: slow attack animation but Flame Breath can decimate its row quickly.
* Ice Elemental: the freeze nicely supports Gog's Fire Wall. Also deals decent amounts of damage while providing mana to cast more spells (if you have trouble with it).
* Pegasus: unlike most other ranged units, actually has a fast attack animation, easy to farm, and deals quite a bit of damage too.
* Roc: Very similar to Firebird but slower attack animation.
*Druid: Another unit with a fast animation speed, another huge benefit is the buff she provides to units with its Heart of Nature skill. An alternative (though equally expensive) choice is the Mermaid as she also boosts your units.
==Emblems==
Earlier in the game you will want to focus your Holy Emblems on your main formation. For this reason, investing in Crypt is only a luxury option. However, here are some recommendations (for 4-set bonus), should you have sets available:
* Everlasting Secret: Giant, Mage, Druid, Mermaid
* Anger: Gog, Efreeti
* Jealousy: super accessible with Endless Inferno and can fit on any unit with a decent Critical Hit rate.
* Wall of Knowledge: standard Astral Giant emblem, which works great here since we have so many Caster units
Again, this is not the key part of this strategy. Emblems should be considered as interesting for the specific support skill or additional damages bonus obtained. It could also allow you to increase continuously your score as you will get new ones on a regular basis and so to equip more units with them. Finally, it is an interesting alternative for keeping your score rising if you don't upgrade part of your crypt lineup continuously.
=Strategy=
The strategy is quite simple.
==Preparation==
* Increase the global power of your crypt lineup according tailored rosters. I am highly recommending you to use this [], which can perform this optimization automatically for you.
* Privilege buffs could provide you some additional bonus regarding your damages or your capability for spelling continuously, especially the following buffs: Unit Attack, Hero Power, Unit Crit, Initial Mana and Mana Regen.
==Battle==
Cast your spells as soon as you can, continuously, on the Storm Elemental/Giant spot using Gelu's spells: Frenzy, Precision, Stone Skin (important on Giant only) and Slayer/Mirth. Depending on your formation, it is possible to switch Storm Elemental position with Beholder according to which one performs better for you.
To get the best possible score it is recommended to apply the restart trick:
* Wait until you are have 2-5s left - pause the game (as late as possible but without "missing" to pause on time before the timer expires).
* Observe the score. If it's significantly good (above your current final score), finish the round accordingly - don't forget to take note of the statistics in battle so you can analyze which units performed best.
* If it's not, just exit the battle. You won't lose the attempt for the day and you can try to do better.
The only downside of this approach is that you will not be able to see the statistics as a result of the run - so it's hard to tell which units are not performing in a bad round.
With the restart trick, you should be able to keep upgrading your score without sacrificing rewards for experimentation. In the end your score heavily depends on your units (which you have, how developed they are etc.), so you need to experiment and adjust. This can be a slow and painful process, but luckily, if you consolidate a good position in your server, you will do this only once in a while.
=Conclusion=
You should awake all the crypt lineup units, with Gog being a high priority. I also suggest you permanently increase Gog's ranking (Stars) and its potential as much as possible (for it is easily farmable in the Barracks). This applies to any R/SR units that can easily be farmed (with lower currencies). Ideally of course you want your entire crypt lineup units at 6 stars with LV15 skills, but I would not prioritize this in the detriment of your main formation(s) of course.
The highest score possible relies on several tries and a good cup of courage and determination. Consistent part of the job is partially random due to the nature of how Gog works. You can try to find the best position for it in your lineup or just follow mine as suggested in the formation chapter. 
Good luck!
Category:Guides