No Jav or Haunt in my opening hand, so my options are Imp or Jandra. If I go Imp, I can drop Graveyard and Haunt next turn and start accruing card advantage (provided cstick doesn’t open too agressively).
Moving forward, I’ll obviously need to think of Fencers, but I should also keep Discord and Two-Step in mind. Makes me think I should tech Shadowblade instead of Tiny B as an anti-hero measure, but we’ll see.
I’m not sure if Graveyard is really a good idea here, or if I should bring Vandy out (or both, and delay tech 1?). cstick has 5 extra gold to flood the board with, but if he goes down on cards I could punish that by replaying Imp. Then I could try to stabilize with GPT or Vandy + Shadow Blade. Sounds a bit risky, but yeah, let’s try and play the long game here.
STARTING HAND
Timely Messenger
Older Brother
Wither
Bloom
Brick Thief
WORKERS
Fruit Ninja
Brick Thief
NextHand
Bloom
Helpful Turtle
Tenderfoot
Timely Messenger
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($8)
Worker - ($7)
Play Timely Messenger - ($6)
Bloom Timely Messenger - ($4)
Messenger trades with Imp
Midband Grave - ($2)
Grave breaks his yard
Build Tech 1 - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 2, reshuffle, draw 4
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: L3 Grave (3/4+A)
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
*
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 6
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 7
Thoughts
I debated on whether or not I wanted to break the Graveyard here. The alternate line was to trade off Grave for the Imp, then just play another hero + Older Brother + Tech 1. That leaves me with an extra card in hand, and an extra gold, but neither hero is as good as Grave, and Older Brother isn’t really that good either. Plus, getting rid of the Graveyard is pretty nice. Next turn, I’ll probably build a Heroes’ Hall and either play the Twins if I draw them or max Grave. I might try and keep things at Tech 1 for a little while, and use Geiger shenanigans in conjunction with Twins and Fencer(s).
Imp in elite was a potentially fatal mistake. Switching gears here, rushing to tech 2. My tech 1 should hold up, barring something like Reversal+Fencer. Then I could tech up and maybe snag a Shadow Blade kill with Vandy. Potent B should be tough to deal with, and Mimic could help counterattack.
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($7)
Worker - ($6)
Play Timely Messenger - ($5)
Grave + Messenger kill Taxman
Max Grave - ($1)
Float ($1)
Discard 2, draw 4
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout: L7 Grave (4/5)*
In Play:
*
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 4
Deck: 2
Disc: 5
Gold:
Gold: 1
Workers: 8
Thoughts
It sucks to give up the +1/+1 rune from Bloom on Grave just to save a gold, but the extra gold is pretty important to allow me to build Tech 2, hire a worker, and play Rambasa Twin next turn. I considered some different lines where I built Tech 2 this turn instead, but none of them let Grave survive through him playing Zane, so I like this a bit more. I’m teching Fencer + TD because they leave me open between building Finesse or Present Tech 2, or potentially staying at tech 1.
I could trade maxband Zane into Grave, but then I won’t have much to do next turn. I’d rather field a couple of cheap patrollers and tech up. I wonder if cstick is aiming for TPoS…
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($10)
Worker - ($9)
Zane - ($7)
Wandering Mimic, gains haste - ($3)
Mimic kills SQL
Deteriorate technician - ($2)
Jav finishes technician from long range
Midori - ($0)
Zane and Haunt trade with Grave, Midori to lvl 3
Float ($0)
Discard 1, draw 1, reshuffle, draw 2
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician: Midori lvl 3 (2/3)
Lookout:
In Play:
Wandering Mimic (4/1)
Skeleton Javelineer (1/1), runeless
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Balance)
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 3
Deck: 8
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 9
Thoughts
I’d like to kill Grave before he uses that sword of his, too bad that means both tech building stay up. If cstick has GGuide+Fencer+Starlet, I’ll be in trouble…
I’m workering Graveyard and not teching a 2nd Mimic. Instead I’ll rely on Fairies for air power, since I doubt cstick has teched Finesse’s air units (YLDs would seem a saner choice).
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($9)
Worker - ($8)
Vandy - ($6)
Mimic trades with River, Vandy to midband
Midori kills Tenderfoot
Vandy to maxband, dooms Javelineer - ($4)
Javelineer breaks your tech 1
Gunpoint Taxman - ($2)
Heroes’ Hall - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 1, draw 3
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Gunpoint Taxman (3/3A)
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout: Vandy lvl 5 (4/5)
In Play:
Midori lvl 3 (2/1)
Skeleton Javelineer (3/2), runeless and doomed
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Balance)
Heroes’ Hall HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 3
Deck: 5
Disc: 4
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 10
Thoughts
Looks like cstick had a bad draw, but I can’t let him keep both tech buildings for a big swing next turn. I can get the tech 1 to cut off his hasted options (not accounting for Now!) with either a doomed Jav or a big flier, but either way Mimic is probably a goner. In which case, I’ll just go ahead and set up Meta.
Tech 0 card(s)
Get Paid - ($10)
Javelineer dies
Zane - ($8)
Vandy hits Grave, both survive with 1 hp
Taxman trades with Grave, steals 1 floating gold, Zane to lvl 3 - ($9)
Fairie Dragon, puts feather rune on Grounded Guide - ($5)
Zane to maxband, shoves Guide to die in elite - ($2)
Pestering Haunt
Float ($2)
Discard 1, draw 3
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Zane lvl 6 (4/4A)
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout: Fairie Dragon (4/2)
In Play:
Vandy lvl 5 (4/1)
Pestering Haunt (1/1)
Buildings:
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Balance)
Heroes’ Hall HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 3
Deck: 2
Disc: 7
Gold:
Gold: 2
Workers: 10
Thoughts
That’s a well-timed Wither, and some solid patrolling. No point fetching Meta like this.
I want to keep cstick from mounting a full-on virtuoso onslaught, but I can’t afford to clear the board+break a tech building (with 1 more gold for Shadow Blade, this could’ve been a game-ending turn…). As it is, I see two options:
A: Vandy and Taxman kill Grave, Fairie rune and Zane maxband kill Guide, Zane patrols. This way, cstick keeps both his tech buildings (and a full hand, and 12$), but he needs a 3-card combo (Guide+Fencer+Starlet) to get through Zane. OTOH, Vandy is vulnerable to a redrawn Wither, ending the threat of Meta.
B: Shadow Blade and Taxman kill Grave, Fairie rune on Guide, then Vandy and Zane walk under it to break tech 1. This way, I keep Vandy and Zane in better condition (more hp and pre-maxband, respectively), and cstick can’t deploy haste other than Now!, which I doubt he’s teched. The problem is, I’ll be fatally vulnerable to Temporal Distortion, which I do suspect is in cstick’s deck. Even if it’s just a ~30% chance, I can’t take that risk.
Reversal is out for now, so Fairie can patrol, and I’ll play Haunt to let the two of them crack any tech building. It might discourage cstick from pouring gold into tech 3.
…
A hand full of spells… I really need one of my heroes to survive this turn!
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - steal - ($12)
Play Geiger - ($10)
Play Cloud Sprite - ($8)
Play Now! on Cloud Sprite - ($7)
Cloud Sprite trades with Faerie Dragon
Play River - ($5)
Play Tenderfoot - ($4)
Tech 0 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($12)
Dark Pact, my base to 18, I draw 2
Deteriorate Tenderfoot
Haunt trades with Tenderfoot
Surprise Attack - ($7)
Sharks trade with River and Geiger, lvls fizzle
Exhaust Vandy and discard to fetch Metamorphosis - ($6)
Metamorphosis - ($0)
Zane readily breaks tech 2
Float ($0)
Discard 1, reshuffle, draw 3
Board Info: In Patrol:
Squad Leader: Zane lvl 6 (6/5A)
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout:
In Play:
Vandy lvl 5 (6/3)
Buildings:
Base HP: 18
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Balance)
Heroes’ Hall HP: 4
Economy Info: Cards:
Hand: 3
Deck: 12
Disc: 0
Gold:
Gold: 0
Workers: 10
Thoughts
cstick went for Cloud Sprite (and Now!) after all, I didn’t expect that. Still, that was a pretty slow turn, and I have the means to punish it.
Pity I can’t afford 3-hero Meta, but I think clearing the board with sharks, breaking tech 2, and having 2 demon heroes left standing is not a bad position to be in. It’s slightly better than teching up and banking on T-Rexes, anyway.
Fairie Dragon
T-Rex
Sacrifice the Weak
Surprise Attack
Discard
Skeleton Javelineer
Dark Pact
Dark Pact
Metamorphosis
Fairie Dragon
Tech 0 card(s)
Get Paid - ($10)
Zane tries to sneak, is detected, trades with SQL, Grave to midband
Vandy invisibly and readily breaks tech 2
Exhaust Vandy and discard to fetch Dark Pact - ($9)
Dark Pact, my base to 16, I draw 2
Dark Pact, my base to 14, I draw 2
Potent Basilisk - ($5)
Wandering Mimic - ($1)
Worker - ($0)
Last turn’s patrol should’ve been the other way around, now cstick is in control of the board. I’ll try to set up my current patrol to be as awkward for him as possible, but with the right cards in hand he could just plow through it.