CAPS 2017: robinz ([Discipline]/Fire/Truth) vs. shax (Mono Blue)

Lovely in theory, but of course useless to do this turn, when the mirror would get trashed without being able to do anything :slight_smile:

OK, this is more complicated than I thought. Iā€™ve never had so many units on the board when Iā€™ve been clearly losing :slight_smile: I might not take by turn until tomorrow.

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take your time :slight_smile:
Next post HAS to contain a smiley now.

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Happy to oblige :slight_smile: Although it doesnā€™t reflect my feelings on the game state - after much deliberation Iā€™ve let Oni live, despite knowing you have that AoW somewhere in your deck. Iā€™m as dead as a dead thing, but hoping for a few miracles somewhereā€¦

P1T7


Tech StartingHand Workers

TECH
Hallucination
Burning Volley


STARTING HAND
Young Lightning Dragon
Smoker
Free Speech
Senseiā€™s Advice


WORKERS
Fox Viper
Savior Monk
Grappling Hook
Morningstar Flagbearer
Aged Sensei
Fox Primus
Smoker


NextHand

Burning Volley
Firebat
Young Lightning Dragon
Safe Attacking


Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($11)
Worker - ($10)
Tech 2 Discipline - ($6)
Grave - ($4)
Senseiā€™s Advice on Rambasa twin and yet-to-spar Lobbeer - ($3)
sparred Lobber trades with Insurace Agent
Sparring Partner kills Newsman, exposing his les - 3 cost spells are perfectly OK!. Oh, you get $1.
the remaining Lobber kills Scribe, staying alive due to the Senseiā€™s armour. You draw.
ready Sparring Partner - ($1)
spar with Rambasa
Rambasa kills Quince, taking no damage. Mirror Juggernaut is trashed, Grave to lvl 3.

Float ($1)
Discard 2, draw 2, reshuffle, draw 2


[B]Board Info:[/B]
[B]In Patrol:[/B]

  • :psblueshield: [I]Squad Leader[/I]:
  • :psfist: [I]Elite[/I]:
  • :ps_: [I]Scavenger[/I]:
  • :pschip: [I]Technician[/I]: lvl 3 Grave (3/4, sparkshot, readiness)
  • :target: [I]Lookout[/I]:
    [B]In Play:[/B]
  • lvl 3 Quince (1/4)
  • Sparring Partner (2/2)
  • Rambasa Twin (4/3, 1 +1 rune)
  • Lobber (2/1, haste)
    [B]Buildings:[/B]
  • :heart: Base HP: 18
  • :heart: Tech I HP: 5
  • :heart: Tech II HP: 5 (Discipline)
  • :heart: Heroesā€™ Hall HP: 4

[B]Economy Info:[/B]
[B]Cards:[/B]

  • Hand: 4
  • Deck: 8
  • Disc: 0
    [B]Gold:[/B]
  • Gold: 1
  • Workers: 11
Thoughts

From my myriad of options, I think there are 2 key decisions here. The first was: which of the 2 spells in my hand to play (given that Censorship Council stops me from playing more than 1)? The second was, which hero to kill?

Free Speech is obviously a really great spell for me here. It stops any Art of War (I know heā€™s got one in the deck somewhere), as well as Oniā€™s readiness and frenzy. It stops Quince getting up to any more mirror shenanigans for a turn. It stops any Injunctions or other of Bigbyā€™s nonsense, if he had any of that planned. It seems a no-brainer, and was how I was first planning the turn.

But in the end, I decided that leaving both his Juggernaut and its mirror brother on the board was just a mistake. Admittedly, Iā€™m likely to be dead whatever I do - but allowing him to not only do 8 base damage next turn, but likely keep that up indefinitely, is just too much. I may not get another chance to kill Quince so ā€œeasilyā€ in the future, so I think I have to take it. That sadly necessitated the play of Senseiā€™s Advice, so Free Speech canā€™t happen. Down with censorship! (Although Iā€™d have struggled to pay for both and get everything else done.) And it meant I had to leave Oni alive, with AoW likely to come next turn. I have a clear advantage in bodies, but Iā€™ve only got a few turns to get my own aggressive options online before I just lose.

The advantage of playing this way is that, if he doesnā€™t have AoW, my Tech 2 is likely to survive. Iā€™m loading the deck with spells, aiming for a pure heroes strategy, supported by YLDs. I have Training Grounds in the deck, if I ever get time to use it, so Iā€™m happy to put in a second copy of Jainaā€™s ultimate, as well as a Hallucination. Wouldnā€™t it be fun if I can get those to line up?

But realistically, his Juggernaut, by itself (and he could well have a second in the deck) is just too strong. I could sword it next turn if he leaves Grave alive (unlikely), but that of course only half kills itā€¦


[Details=Further comment]
Ooops, I just realised that I wrote Hallucination, when I meant to tech Dreamscape. (I knew which spell I intended to tech, just misremembered what it was called.) Iā€™m not sure if Iā€™m allowed to correct it, but I canā€™t be bothered asking because it likely doesnā€™t matter anyway.
[/Details]

"P2T7


Tech StartingHand Workers

TECH
judgement day


STARTING HAND
Free speech
Insurance agent
liberty gryphon
Art of War


WORKERS
Porkhand Magistrate
Bluecoat Musketeer
Jail
Spectral Aven
Lawful Search
Building Inspector
Free speech


NextHand

Spectral hound (goes back into deck as per my next post explains)
Traffic Director
liberty gryphon
Manufactured Truth


Discard

Arrest
Reputable Newsman
Scribe
Insurance agent
Art of War
Insurance agent
judgement day


Tech 1 card(s)
Get Paid - ($12)
Worker - ($11)
Onimaru continues to study the art of war - ($8)
Onimaru smashes tech II, 2 base damage
Summon bigby - ($6)
Kill grave with justice juggernaught, you draw and bigby to lvl 3
Build tech III - ($1)
Summon insurance agent, insure rambasa twin. - ($0)

Float ($0)
Stash 1, Discard 0, draw 2


[B]Board Info:[/B]
[B]In Patrol:[/B]

  • :psblueshield: [I]Squad Leader[/I]:
  • :psfist: [I]Elite[/I]: Onimaru lvl 8(7/4)
  • :ps_: [I]Scavenger[/I]:
  • :pschip: [I]Technician[/I]:
  • :target: [I]Lookout[/I]:
    [B]In Play:[/B]
  • Censorship council
  • Bigby lvl 3(2/4)
  • Justice juggernaught(4/3)
    *Insurance agent(2/2)
    [B]Buildings:[/B]
  • :heart: Base HP: 20
  • :heart: Tech I HP: 5
  • :heart: Tech II HP: 5 (Law)
  • :heart: Tech III HP: 5
    [B]Economy Info:[/B]
    [B]Cards:[/B]
  • Hand: 3
  • Deck: 1
  • Disc: 7
    [B]Gold:[/B]
  • Gold: 0
  • Workers: 12
Thoughts

Liberty gryphon next turn. Iā€™d say itā€™s GG but he could snapback my onimaru for a sudden reversal.

"

strange issue with the spreadsheet thinking I had two copies of a card despite me only teching one. So I only had one card left in hand and stashed it but somehow drew up to 4 cards. Used rng.org to put one of the cards back into my deck so I only have 3 cards in hand like I should.

Edit: sorry about the slew of edits, forgot to update tiny little side numbers. should be all good now.

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you played an Insurance Agent, but he isnā€™t listed in your board stateā€¦

whoops fixed!

Insured rambasa is a nice combo of things

1 Like

P1T8


StartingHand Workers

STARTING HAND
Firebat
Safe Attacking
Burning Volley
Young Lightning Dragon
Training Grounds


WORKERS
Fox Viper
Savior Monk
Grappling Hook
Morningstar Flagbearer
Aged Sensei
Fox Primus
Smoker


NextHand

Free Speech
Burning Volley
Senseiā€™s Advice
Lobber
Young Lightning Dragon


Discard

Safe Attacking
Young Lightning Dragon
Training Grounds
Burning Volley
Firebat


Tech 0 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($12)
rebuild Tech 2
summon and max Jaina - ($4)
Quince makes 2 mirrors - ($0)
spar wth Jaina

Float ($0)
Discard 5, draw 5


[B]Board Info:[/B]
[B]In Patrol:[/B]

  • :psblueshield: [I]Squad Leader[/I]: Lobber (2/1+A, haste)
  • :psfist: [I]Elite[/I]:
  • :ps_: [I]Scavenger[/I]:
  • :pschip: [I]Technician[/I]: Rambasa Twin (4/3, 1 +1 rune)
  • :target: [I]Lookout[/I]:
    [B]In Play:[/B]
  • lvl 3 Quince (1/4)
  • Sparring Partner (2/2)
  • max Jaina (5/4, sparkshot, 1 +1 rune)
  • mirror Illusion (0/1)
  • mirror Illusion (0/1)
    [B]Buildings:[/B]
  • :heart: Base HP: 16
  • :heart: Tech I HP: 5
  • :heart: Tech II HP: 5 (Discipline)
  • :heart: Heroesā€™ Hall HP: 4

[B]Economy Info:[/B]
[B]Cards:[/B]

  • Hand: 5
  • Deck: 2
  • Disc: 5
    [B]Gold:[/B]
  • Gold: 0
  • Workers: 11
Thoughts

Well, this is probably pretty much it. A Gryphon is about to appear (surely thatā€™s his stashed card, and he doubtless has a second one in the deck too). I donā€™t have any real way to deal with it - except for hoping that I draw a YLD next turn (and can play it!). If so I should have at least one mirror alive to copy it and take out the Gryphon.

And at 10 gold itā€™s so expensive he wonā€™t be able to do a lot else. Iā€™m sure that is why he insured the Ramabasa twin, being the most expensive unit around (that is actually likely to die). Thatā€™s why Iā€™ve hidden it behind the Lobber in SQL. Of course he can kill the Rambasa with the Juggernaut wherever I put it, but at least then he canā€™t use it to kill Jaina or (in combination with some buff) break a tech building. And by putting it in Technician I at least get some reasonable benefit out of it (increasing my odds of getting that YLD).

Of course, he might well be planning a Judgement day. If so, killing everything of mine, getting the 4 gold from the insurance, while his JJ stays alive AND he plays the Gryphon, is probably game over. Annoyingly, he has exactly enough gold to do it all (6 to max Bigby and play JD, leaving 6, which with 4 from insurance, lets him spend 10 on LG). Oh, and he can save 2 gold by killing Jaina with the Juggernaut first. It would be a sylish way for him to get his deserved win though :slight_smile: (Although Iā€™m curious why he didnā€™t just pummel me with Peace Tech 2. Probably too boring, but I think it would have finished me off a lot quicker!)

As it is, if he doesnā€™t have both JD and LG in hand, AND my Tech 2 stays alive, AND I draw YLD (and I probably need Jaina to stay alive too), I may have some slight chances. Just the odd straw to clutch at then :slight_smile:


"P2T8


StartingHand Workers

STARTING HAND
Lawbringer gryphon
Manufactured Truth
Traffic Director
Spectral hound


WORKERS
Porkhand Magistrate
Bluecoat Musketeer
Jail
Spectral Aven
Lawful Search
Building Inspector
Free speech


NextHand

Spectral hound
Insurance agent
Arrest


Tech 0 card(s)
Get Paid - ($12)
Summon traffic director - ($11)
Manufacture the truth, Traffic director becomes a Lobber - ($10)
Newly minted lobber trades with your lobber.
Justice juggernaught kills Jaina, two lives activates and Bigby to max lvl.
Bigby trades with rambasa twin, you draw and quince to max. I get insurance. - ($14)
Summon Quince - ($12)
Onimaru kills your Quince, mine to lvl 3.
Maxband my Quince - ($10)
Summon Lawbringer gryphon, mirror becomes a copy - ($0)
Insurance agent trades with sparring partner

Float ($0)
Discard 1, reshuffle, draw 3


[B]Board Info:[/B]
[B]In Patrol:[/B]

  • :psblueshield: [I]Squad Leader[/I]: Quince lvl 5(1/5+A)
  • :psfist: [I]Elite[/I]:
  • :ps_: [I]Scavenger[/I]:
  • :pschip: [I]Technician[/I]:
  • :target: [I]Lookout[/I]:
    [B]In Play:[/B]
  • Censorship council
  • Justice juggernaught(4/6)@
  • Lawbringer Gryphon(7/6)
  • Mirror Gyphon(7/6)
  • Onimaru lvl 8(4/1)
    [B]Buildings:[/B]
  • :heart: Base HP: 20, flying
  • :heart: Tech I HP: 5
  • :heart: Tech II HP: 5 (Law)
  • :heart: Tech III HP: 5

[B]Economy Info:[/B]
[B]Cards:[/B]

  • Hand: 3
  • Deck: 8
  • Disc: 0
    [B]Gold:[/B]
  • Gold: 0
  • Workers: 12
Thoughts

That should be game. Now that I got a board wipe, censorship council will exert itā€™s full strength. Two heroes dead against a heroes hall strategy and two tech IIIā€™s breathing down his neck. All hail insurance agent for making this possible!!

"

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Just a note that the Law gryphon is actually Lawbringer Gryphon - your tracking got mixed up at some point, but the original tech was a Lawbringer, so its all kosher.

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I get the Gryphon names mixed up so I probably rewrote the card at some point and failed to notice the difference. This whole time I was double checking stats on the database with the correct name staring me in the face too.

Gg, nicely played that turn. I knew the Gryphon was coming, but thought I would have more stuff alive. With no Quince to make mirror dragons Iā€™m just dead. Well played :slight_smile:

@EricF

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@shax - reading back through your comments makes the game seem more interesting that I generally felt it to be while playing it :slight_smile: It was especially amusing (in a strange way) for me to read your comment after your T6, where you said that Onimaru was going to die and hoped for no Free Speech next turn. As you may have seen, I certainly could have killed Oni, AND I had FS in hand - and at one point planned to do both of these. As youā€™ll see from my own comment the following turn though, I decided that, despite the high likelihood of AoW, I was better off killing Quince - which necessitated (as far as I could tell) the play of Senseiā€™s Advice, and therefore no Free Speech. [Note that I checked on the rules forum whether playing FS would have stopped the mirror being a copy of the Juggernaut, but was told that it wouldnā€™t, as indeed I expected. I only hid it from you because I didnā€™t want to give away that I had a FS in hand.]

In hindsight I think I effectively lost the game as early as my T3, where I seriously underestimated the possibility of you paying 4 to midband Oni and kill Grave. Letting you get a max Oni so early in the game meant I was always on the back foot after that. I did think I was coming back a few times, but you played well and stopped me really getting anywhere.

To any spectators: was there anything seriously stupid I did, aside from the aforementioned oversight on T3? Could I have improved any of my turns in an obvious way?

Yeah, I was surprised by those moves, too. Seemed unexpectedly ballsy, and paid off.

I didnā€™t see any tactical errors in your play, but there might have been different Tech choices to make that would have turned out better.

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