Ghostkershield VS Faerie Tabard

1. The Weapons

Now, you may ask: What's so great about these weapons? Well, for starters they are both weapons that can be found in the Hidden Tower, ensuring a stable price. The Ghostkershield, or G-shield, sells for 8 million neopoints in the tower; the Faerie Tabard or FTab costs 500 thousand neopoints less, at 7.5 million. Now, those amounts may sound like a lot for a common Neopian, but for the Battledomers it's actually a small sum for the amount they defend. Also, don't think of the Faerie Tabard as being cheaper. The difference is nothing that matters. So, let's now look at their stats.

Ghostkershield: Blocks ALL Dark icons, 5 earth icons, 3 wind icons, 3 light icons and 5 physical icons.

Faerie Tabard: Blocks ALL Water icons, 5 fire icons, 3 wind icons, 3 earth icons and 5 physical icons.

Yes, when I say all icons, it means all icons of that type. That means if an opponent of 700 strength boost attacks someone with 10 dark icons who has a defense of only, say 10, then if they use Ghostkershield they take no damage at all.

So, in this comparison it is easy to see that in icon amount, the two weapons are actually identical. The difference is the type of icon. Trust me, in the Battledome the type of icon matters a lot. Also, the Faerie Tabard blocks all of water, but nothing of dark. Ghostkershield blocks all dark, but nothing of water. Faerie Tabard blocks fire, but not light. Ghostkershield blocks light but not fire.

So, that's a basic overview of what the weapons do. Now, let's shed some light on the history of these weapons.

2. Pre- Kelpbeards Trident Era

Ah, the good old days. This is the time before the weapon Kelpbeards Trident was released. Unlike today, when the Faerie Tabard and Ghostkershield are considered nearly equal, this was not how it was back then. The Ghostkershield was considered better by nearly everyone. Why?

The reason is simple. Back then, dark icons were very common in the Battledome, with weapons like Sword of Skardsen and Jhudoras Bewitched Ring.

The Ghostkershield nearly nullified all of these, and threw in a bunch of other icons. It was considered perfect. On the other hand, Faerie Tabard was shunned. It let through all of those dark icons. Water icons were rarely seen in the Battledome, and most were not popular.

So, the Ghostkershield was considered much better. Only a few equipped the Faerie Tabard. The other Battledomers shook their heads, not understanding why someone would choose Faerie Tabard over Ghostkershield. Soon, however, this would all change.

3. The Release of Kelpbeards Trident

Then, the day came. The day all of the Faerie Tabard owners were waiting for. TNT released the Kelpbeards Trident. It is no exaggeration to say that this shook the foundations of the Battledome. From then on, no longer would Faerie Tabard be shunted to the side, while the Ghostkershield hogged all of the glory. From then on, Faerie Tabard became a common shield used in Battledome sets.

Now, most of you are wondering: What did this weapon do?

Well, Kelpbeards Trident, for one, looks awesome. Ignoring how it looks, it was released in the Hidden Tower, ensuring a stable price of around 9 million neopoints. What did it do? It did mass water icons nearing the total icons of Sword of Skardsen.

This was the moment the Faerie Tabard owners had been waiting for. There was a limitless supply of this weapon. Also, it got many icons through the Ghostkershield, which does not block water. The Faerie Tabard, however blocked nearly all of this weapon.

Soon, the Kelpbeards Trident, or KBT, spread through many Battledome sets, and the Faerie Tabard entered many sets as well.

4. Modern Day

Not much has changed since then. It can be said that Faerie Tabard blocks a bit more of the newly released Twin Faerie Blades than Ghostkershield, but not by a large amount. As a matter of fact, some people claim that 2-player Battledoming is now a guessing game between Faerie Tabard and Ghostkershield. The Faerie Tabard, though, seems to be a bit more popular choice, while others still stick by the Ghostkershield.

5. Which one should I get?

Now, first of all, if you lab your pets or don't train defense at all, neither. Yup, your neopoints are better spent elsewhere, perhaps on a Ring of the Lost?

Now if you do train defense evenly with your strength, you have a number of options here. First of all, I would suggest you get one of the shields last. If you have that many neopoints, you should invest in a 100% freezer, a ghostkerbomb and some multi-use attacking constants. It really depends on you, although a freezer is essential.

Also, if you only do 1-Player Battledoming, I would say that generally against most opponents a ghostkershield would be a better option. Some do use water like the Koi Warrior, but for most the former is your better option.

If you train defense and have a tank pet, one option is to get both. A note, if your opponent uses both of them, use weapons that use mainly air icons, like a Pirate Captains Cutlass. A ghostkerbomb gets past a lot of icons through both.

Now remember that there are a lot of combos with this weapon. For example:

Faerie Tabard+ Ring of the Lost

Faerie Tabard+ Mask of Coltzan

Ghostkershield+ U-Bend of Great Justice

6. Countermeasures

Note: These are just a few. There are many more.

Ghostkershield: Portable Kiln, Kelpbeards Trident, Mask of Coltzan. Tortured Snowball is cheap, but one-use.

Faerie Tabard: Sword of Skardsen, Pirate Captains Cutlass, Ramtors Spellbook. The cheapest is Scroll of Dark Star and Scroll of Moon Light.

Both: There are many tactics against this, most people who use both will also use a species attack, so that means you have to do more than six icons to beat your opponent. Here are some weapons, depending on your budget, that you can use.

Low Budget: Use two Scrolls of Moon Light.

Medium: Two Portable Kilns.

High Level: Two Pirate Captains Cutlass.

Extremely High: Many, including the peas and the Ghostkersword.

So, all in all I think that both of these weapons are great. It's really up to you which one you want to use. Try them out and see.