Bone Collector
Bone Collector
Poisonblade Rogue
Skeletal Archery
Sacrifice the Weak
WORKERS
Summon Skeletons
Jandra, the Negator
Skeleton Javelineer
Poisonblade Rogue
Next Hand
Death Rites
Thieving Imp
Graveyard
Pestering Haunt
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($9)
Worker - ($8)
Bone Collector - ($6)
Bone Collector - ($4)
Tech II (Blood) - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 2, reshuffle, draw 4
[B]Board Info:[/B]
[B]In Patrol:[/B]
[I]Squad Leader[/I]: Hooded Executioner (3/3+A)
[I]Elite[/I]: Bone Collector (3+1/3)
[I]Scavenger[/I]: Skeleton (1/1)
[I]Technician[/I]: Bone Collector (3/3)
[I]Lookout[/I]: Skeleton (1/1)
[B]In Play:[/B]
Garth Lv.7 (3/4)
[B]Buildings:[/B]
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Blood)
[B]Economy Info:[/B]
[B]Cards:[/B]
Hand: 4
Deck: 5
Disc: 0
[B]Gold:[/B]
Gold: 0
Workers: 9
[details=Thoughts]
I debated between playing another Bone Collector or playing Sacrifice the Weak. Because I have Death Rites coming up, I am thinking that simply having lots of units is actually the better play, but I could be wrong. If he had Argagarg out I might be a little more afraid of those Centaurs. Since I’m redrawing a new hand here anyways, I might even get StW again in my new hand which would be ideal. Teching in only one Crashbarrow, because I want my other Death Rites. I’m going for Blood because I think it gives me the best chance of ending the game with Crashbarrow spam (plus Death Rites) while I safely hide behind my Skeletons. Another reason to keep my board strong is just in case he decides to spend all his gold to max Midori for a Garth snipe. He -could- do that, but he would be stuck at Tech I while I still have a strong board. [/details]
Tiny Basilisk
Barkcoat Bear
Playful Panda
Spore Shambler
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($8)
Worker
Tech II (Feral) - ($4)
Midori atk Hooded Executioner, break armor, deal 1 dmg, dies
Calamandra - ($2)
Ferocity gives Centaurs Armor Piercing and Swift Strike - ($0)
Centaur atk, kill Hooded Executioner, overpower kill Skeleton, you get 1 gold
Centaur atk kill Elite Bone Collector
Float ($0)
Discard 2, reshuffle, draw 4
[B]Board Info:[/B]
[B]In Patrol:[/B]
[I]Squad Leader[/I]:
[I]Elite[/I]: Calamandra (2+1/3)
[I]Scavenger[/I]:
[I]Technician[/I]:
[I]Lookout[/I]:
[B]In Play:[/B]
Rich Earth
Centaur (3/4) [Overpower]
Centaur (3/4) [Overpower]
[B]Buildings:[/B]
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5
[B]Economy Info:[/B]
[B]Cards:[/B]
Hand: 4
Deck: 7
Disc: 0
[B]Gold:[/B]
Gold: 0
Workers: 9
Thoughts
It’s not good that I’m not able to kill his Tech II or maxband Garth. Also, Calamandra is exposed to giving free levels to a second hero. I can still pull this off if I can pile on the pressure to turn tempo around once I hit Tech II.
Crashbarrow
Deteriorate
Sacrifice the Weak
Skeletal Archery
Death Rites
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + Scavenger gold - ($10)
Garth casts Death Rites (Whenever my units die this turn, sacrifice an opposing lowest tech unit) - ($6)
Garth sacrifices my remaining Skeleton to draw a card, which kills Centaur 1 from Death Rites
Garth summons another Skeleton - ($5)
Garth sacrifices that summoned Skeleton to draw a card, which kills Centaur 2 from Death Rites
Play Crashbarrow - ($2)
Crashbarrow kills Calamandra and overpowers 3 damage to your Tech II, no more targets for Death Rites
Bone Collector kills your Tech II, your base takes 2, I gain a skeleton
Garth attacks your Tech I for 3 damage.
Worker - ($1)
Tech Lab (Necromancy) - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 3, draw 3, reshuffle, draw 2
[B]Board Info:[/B]
[B]In Patrol:[/B]
[I]Squad Leader[/I]:
[I]Elite[/I]:
[I]Scavenger[/I]: Skeleton (1/1)
[I]Technician[/I]:
[I]Lookout[/I]:
[B]In Play:[/B]
Garth Lv.7 (3/4)
Bone Collector (3/3)
[B]Buildings:[/B]
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tech II HP: 5 (Blood)
Tech Lab HP: 4 (Necromancy)
[B]Economy Info:[/B]
[B]Cards:[/B]
Hand: 5
Deck: 7
Disc: 0
[B]Gold:[/B]
Gold: 0
Workers: 10
[details=Thoughts]
DEATH RIIIIITES!!! I don’t think he can come back from this. [/details]
Yeah, I think getting Garth to max level early really sealed the deal.
I’ve struggled to get Rich Earth to work in my own games. I feel like it usually just puts me way too far behind in board presence to do anything. I basically had player 1 initiative with player 2 economy this game because of it. (although I suppose Rich Earth somewhat equalizes the economy.
I’ve always wanted to try this opening with Rich Earth though (but I never seem to get the right first hand draw!)
I rolled 20, so you can go first again. I’ll keep playing the same.
While that opening does let you get value out of Rich Earth, I never felt like it was that much stronger than a more standard opening whenever I’ve used it. I almost always worker Rich Earth nowadays, with the main exception being against new players. I think optimal play by an opponent will punish focusing so much on economy enough that it’s rarely worth the investment.
Cal seems like a solid T1 hero. Rich Earth needs to be played early or never. Merfolk better as Scavenger bc Technician would trigger early draw without teched cards
[details=Thoughts]
Debated whether I should do Jandra or the Imp. I opted to do Imp because I’m playing Pestering Haunt as a counter to his Merfolk, and since I’m playing an extra card, I might as well make him go down a card too. Doom Grasp just in case Calamandra gets out of control. [/details]
STARTING HAND
Playful Panda
Spore Shambler
Tiger Cub
Ironbark Treant
Young Treant
Rampant Growth
WORKERS
Rich Earth
Tiger Cub
NextHand
Tiny Basilisk
Playful Panda
Ferocity
Verdant Tree
Forest’s Favor
Discard
Ironbark Treant
Spore Shambler
Rampant Growth
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($5)
Roll 4, discard Playful Panda
Young Treant, draw Rampant Growth - ($3)
Worker - ($2)
Tech I - ($0)
Tap Merfolk Prospector - ($1)
Float ($1)
Discard 3, draw 5
[B]Board Info:[/B]
[B]In Patrol:[/B]
[I]Squad Leader[/I]:
[I]Elite[/I]:
[I]Scavenger[/I]:
[I]Technician[/I]: Young Treant (0/2)
[I]Lookout[/I]:
[B]In Play:[/B]
Calamandra (2/3) [L1]
Merfolk Prospector (1/1)
[B]Buildings:[/B]
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
[B]Economy Info:[/B]
[B]Cards:[/B]
Hand: 5
Deck: 0
Disc: 3
[B]Gold:[/B]
Gold: 1
Workers: 6
Thoughts
Tech decisions are always tricky, deciding between Ferocity or Behind the Ferns, and Tiny Basilisk or Centaur. Leaning towards Tiny Basilisk bc it will allow me to assassinate high value targets and I am reaching Tech I first (unstoppable by Tech 0). Tiny Basilisk will definitely benefit from Stealth once he gets some Tech I, but right now Swift Strike will help it to stay alive
No worries. Tomorrow I’ll be leaving on a short backpacking trip till Saturday, so I won’t have any internet access anyways.
Player 2 Turn 2
Tech, Starting Hand and Workers
TECH
Bone Collector
Nether Drain
STARTING HAND
Sacrifice the Weak
Skeletal Archery
Poisonblade Rogue
Graveyard
WORKERS
Jandra, the Negator
Skeletal Archery
Next Hand
Pestering Haunt
Deteriorate
Poisonblade Rogue
Summon Skeletons
Bone Collector
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($7)
Worker - ($6)
Build Tech I - ($4)
Pestering Haunt trades with Merfolk Prospector
Build Tower - ($1)
Float ($1)
Discard 3, draw 1, reshuffle, draw 4
[B]Board Info:[/B]
[B]In Patrol:[/B]
[I]Squad Leader[/I]:
[I]Elite[/I]:
[I]Scavenger[/I]: Thieving Imp (2/2)
[I]Technician[/I]:
[I]Lookout[/I]:
[B]In Play:[/B]
[B]Buildings:[/B]
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tower HP: 4
[B]Economy Info:[/B]
[B]Cards:[/B]
Hand: 5
Deck: 6
Disc: 0
[B]Gold:[/B]
Gold: 1
Workers: 7
[details=Thoughts][spoiler]
I don’t think there’s any reason for me to attack and give him a free card, so I might as well shut down his Calamandra stealth options and set myself up for a good 5 card draw next turn.
After completing my turn, I was thinking about it a little bit, and I could have summoned Garth + Skeleton, Sac The Weak his Treant, and then killed Calamandra, but I would have gone to 4 cards, he would have gone to 6, I would have to skip Tech I, and Merfolk would have survived to continue giving him gold. It’s just a little too costly to try get that hero kill I think.
[/spoiler][/details]
Playing Forest’s Favor will keep Cal alive with the ability to heal (by levelling) again; the downside is that I shouldn’t play any cards from my hand next turn unless Treant (Technician) dies, but I think I have enough board presence to pull that off.
I’m taking a risk by teching Tech II and a Geiger spell before I have built Tech II because they might draw dead. It would be bad to draw both next hand, and only slightly better to draw only Rampaging Elephant. Silver lining from going down on cards from Forest’s Favor is that it reduces the probability of this occurring; chance of drawing both goes from 27.7% to 16.8%, although probability of only Rampaging Elephant was 27.7% in both simulations. Even if I get a terrible draw, I can still use Cal’s maxband to get a Tiger without meeting the Tech reqs, so I think the risk is worth it.
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($8)
Worker - ($7)
Bone Collector - ($5)
Poisonblade Rogue - ($3)
Float ($3)
Discard 2, draw 4
[B]Board Info:[/B]
[B]In Patrol:[/B]
[I]Squad Leader[/I]:
[I]Elite[/I]:
[I]Scavenger[/I]: Poisonblade Rogue (2/1)
[I]Technician[/I]: Bone Collector (3/3)
[I]Lookout[/I]:
[B]In Play:[/B]
[B]Buildings:[/B]
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tower HP: 4
[B]Economy Info:[/B]
[B]Cards:[/B]
Hand: 4
Deck: 2
Disc: 5
[B]Gold:[/B]
Gold: 3
Workers: 8
[details=Thoughts]
I’m floating gold instead of building anything else in the hope that I can get out garth with enough money to Doom Grasp his soon-to-be-difficult-to-deal-with Calamandra. He has some pretty scary board control right now, so I think my only real hope is to get those scav and technician bonuses and hope I have enough to swing things around in future turns. [/details]
STARTING HAND
Ironbark Treant
Rampaging Elephant
Ferocity
Spore Shambler
WORKERS
Rich Earth
Tiger Cub
Verdant Tree
Ironbark Treant
NextHand
Merfolk Prospector
Temporal Distortion
Rampant Growth
Playful Panda
Forest’s Favor
Discard
Spore Shambler
Rampaging Elephant
Ferocity
Now
Barkcoat Bear
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($7)
Worker - ($6)
Basilisk trades with Bone Collector
Cal to L5 - ($4)
Tap Cal, summon Predator Tiger - ($0)
Float ($0)
Discard 3, draw 5
[B]Board Info:[/B]
[B]In Patrol:[/B]
[I]Squad Leader[/I]:
[I]Elite[/I]: Young Treant (0+1/2)
[I]Scavenger[/I]:
[I]Technician[/I]:
[I]Lookout[/I]:
[B]In Play:[/B]
Calamandra (4+1/5+1) [L5]
Predator Tiger (4/4)
[B]Buildings:[/B]
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
[B]Economy Info:[/B]
[B]Cards:[/B]
Hand: 5
Deck: 0
Disc: 6
[B]Gold:[/B]
Gold: 0
Workers: 8
Thoughts
I considered playing Ferocity to keep Basilisk alive and building Tech I, but the only teched card my next hand could have (80% chance for 4-card hand) is Temporal Distortion, which is meh for a 2 cost Tech I and means that I stay down a card. Bringing in the Tiger now, means I build Tech II later, but get Tech II unit a turn early and go back to a 5 card hand. Predator Tiger will force them to setup their patrol zone around it’s unstoppability by Tech 0, this means either playing two Tech II and going down a card or bringing out a hero and risking hero death. I think the latter is more likely because Cal is max level and I cannot bring out a second hero next turn (until I build Tech II) so hero death next turn won’t hurt them too bad
Calamandra is far, FAR too scary to be left alive!
Player 2 Turn 4
Tech, Starting Hand and Workers
TECH
Doom Grasp
Hooded Executioner
STARTING HAND
Graveyard
Skeleton Javelineer
Nether Drain
Sacrifice the Weak
Doom Grasp
WORKERS
Jandra, the Negator
Skeletal Archery
Pestering Haunt
Skeleton Javelineer
Next Hand
Nether Drain
Thieving Imp (2/2)
Deteriorate
Bone Collector
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($11)
Draw 1 card from Technician
Worker - ($10)
Summon Garth - ($8)
Summon Skeleton - ($7)
Poisonblade Rogue trades with Treant
Garth casts Doom Grasp which sacrifces my summoned Skeleton to kill Calamandra. Garth to level 3 - ($3)
Garth casts Sacrifice the Weak, which kills your Tiger - ($1)
Float ($1)
Discard 2, draw 1, reshuffle, draw 3
[B]Board Info:[/B]
[B]In Patrol:[/B]
[I]Squad Leader[/I]: Garth Lv.3 (1/3+A)
[I]Elite[/I]:
[I]Scavenger[/I]:
[I]Technician[/I]:
[I]Lookout[/I]:
[B]In Play:[/B]
[B]Buildings:[/B]
Base HP: 20
Tech I HP: 5
Tower HP: 4
[B]Economy Info:[/B]
[B]Cards:[/B]
Hand: 4
Deck: 10
Disc: 0
[B]Gold:[/B]
Gold: 1
Workers: 9
[details=Thoughts]
Whew, this Calamandra was starting to get out of hand, but thankfully the big gold float pays off and I’m able to get a board wipe against him here. Bye bye Calamandra! I’m going -another- turn without Tech II, but I feel okay about it since he won’t have Tech II either and I’ll be getting rid of that massive Calamandra threat. Floating 1 gold so that I have enough to worker, tech II, and Doom Grasp or Executioner Boost (I don’t know if I will, or if I’ll draw the cards, but having enough to do so is great). [/details]
I think Necro and Anarchy have a lot of tricks up their sleeve that make them quite versatile. I did a search for different specs in play-by-forum tagged threads, and they were both easily the most popular. Do you mean that you find them easier or harder to theorycraft?