I'll post my thoughts and stories on the characters I chose for my team: (long post incoming!)
Magic:
![Pop Fizz smilie](//forum.darkspyro.net/images/popfizz.png)
/ Best of the Beast
I have three Magic characters, and i'll be getting no more at this rate as I hate Wrecking Ball, Double Trouble and Ninjini.
My usual Magic element of choice is Spyro. I feel an attachment to him as he was one of the first characters I used, being from the SA starter pack and all, and because of my general love for the Spyro game franchise. I enjoy using him in-game and I've managed to have fun with him in Battle Mode because I adopt an aggressive attack style where I pursue the enemy relentlessly.
I got Voodood last christmas and I love him, just not as much as Spyro.
I'm in a phase of liking Pop Fizz, though I generally don't like him as much as I wanted to. I
love his design, and I love the idea of alchemists thematicaly speaking, but I've realised I don't like the complexity of Pop Fizz's game mechanics, finding it fiddly to juggle all the different potion varieties and the beast form all at the same time. He's a character with a lot of features crammed in to him, which must be great for other people i'm sure, just not something I personally like in a Skylander. I will probably be going back to Spyro at some point as my main Magic 'lander.
Tech:
![Boomer smilie](//forum.darkspyro.net/images/boomer.png)
/ Demolition Troll
I quite like all the Tech element Skylanders except perhaps Bouncer, but I plan to get no more than the two I already have.
I love Trigger Happy enormously, and thought he was a great addition to the original starter pack, but from a gameplay standpoint I can never get over his fragility. I've tried both of his paths and enjoy the gratifying power of Golden Money Bags, but otherwise I generally don't use Trigger Happy much, and completely avoid him in PvP.
I use Boomer as my go-to tech Skylander because of his hidden layer of finesse: I've found his ability to delay the explosion of his dynamite a really fun mechanic to toy with that can lead to great eureka moments in PvP where I roll the dynamite all around the battlefield and hit my opponent at frightful distances. His Soul Gem bomb-kicking can be useful as well, though I still need to practice with it. Boomer may do dissapointing damage and have some fragility, but i'm hoping he'll be buffed somewhat in future Skylanders games.
Water:
![Gill Grunt smilie](//forum.darkspyro.net/images/gill.png)
/ Water Weaver
I'll soon get my third Water Skylander, but my water element of choice will always be Gill Grunt. I was drawn immediately to his design the moment I held his toy. I'm a person who likes colours, and I love the shades of blue that fly about as Gill Grunt sprays water accross the battlefield.
I've had fun with Zap, especially since I reset him to Tesla Dragon, but he has never topped the character who I regard as the one true water element. I doubt Wham Shell will make any difference too, though he does look fun. (I plan to level him down Commander Crab, because I like the idea of the homing starfish attack.)
Fire:
![Ignitor smilie](//forum.darkspyro.net/images/ignitor.png)
/ Soul of the Flame
When Skylanders was first being advertised before the original game released, Ignitor was the first Skylander that I felt drawn to just because of his design. Recently however i've been tiring of him a little. I find the overpowered-ness of Soul of the Flame boring. (I've yet to try Blademaster.) I'm hoping S2 Flameslinger might re-invigorate my interest in the Fire element as i'm not bothered with most of its other members: I used to have an Eruptor, in fact one of the first non-starter pack Skylanders I owned, but found his gameplay boring and hated his design. He just never looked right standing amongst my other Skylanders. I also went through a phase of wanting Sunburn, but that wore off for some reason.
Earth:
![Prism Break smilie](//forum.darkspyro.net/images/prism.png)
/ Crystaleer
I like all of the Earth element, but won't get any more after getting Terrafin, except possibly a Granite Crusher.
Prism Break was the first non-starter-pack Skylander I bought, but I had to reset his path to Crystaleer before I realised the attachment I felt to him. I don't use him that often and don't have much of a hang of his controls, but always have a blast with him anyway when he is used. Getting Dino-Rang was a fun idea I hadn't been considering before, though he didn't change my opinions on Prism Break.
Air:
![Warnado smilie](//forum.darkspyro.net/images/warnado.png)
/ Eye of the Storm
The Air element's alright, but the only one I could ever be bothered to own is Warnado. I once had Sonic Boom and I really wanted to like her, but found her minion-spawning mechanic to be clunky and boring despite it's uniqueness.
The youth club I go to (to which I donated my old Sonic Boom by the way) has a Lightning Rod which I have fun with, though I wouldn't want to own one myself.
Life:
![Stealth Elf smilie](//forum.darkspyro.net/images/stealth.png)
/ Forest Ninja
I never found the life element all that interesting, so Stealth Elf was the only character I ever had plans to get. I once had a desire to get Camo, but that wore off for some reason.
Stealth Elf is a great little character to use. I had alot of fun levelling her as a swashbuckling-pirate-themed Pook Blade Saint who wore a pirate hat. I eventually reset her though, as whenever she was used at my youth club she would always win PvP battles because of how overpowered Pook Blade Saint was in SA. To my surprise, I found Forest Ninja to be even more fun anyway! My usual PvP partners at my youth club are never able to tell when her decoy is being used, so I can always catch them out with it!
Undead:
![Cynder smilie](//forum.darkspyro.net/images/skycynder.png)
/ Nether Wielder
For me, Cynder is the only undead element. The others look horrible save for Chop Chop, who i'm having reconsiderations for now he's been buffed in 'Giants.
I'd felt drawn to get Cynder, being quite a fan of the Legend of Spyro series. I couldn't be bothered to wait for her to release in the UK, so I payed £25ish on Ebay to have her shipped to me from someone in the USA. I then got Ignitor and Dino-Rang and played a new savegame of SA using these three characters, and had a blast!
Giant:
![Tree Rex smilie](//forum.darkspyro.net/images/treerex.png)
/ Treefolk Charger
Tree Rex is the only Giant I can be bothered to own. The Giants are a cool idea, but Tree Rex is the only design that I actually like. I had him down the Lumbering Laserer path for a while which was fun to use, but I couldn't convince myself to settle with the armour he wears from the Pod Maker upgrade. I reset him to Treefolk Charger just recently, and I'm having a lot of fun with it so far.