GG. It does seem to be a rather one-sided scenario. I think part of the problem is that the turn 2 Blue player often faces a catch 22 scenario where they need to gain info to determine if they can protect a hero, but they have to commit to a hero in order to use Lawful Search to get that information. If I were to suggest a design tweak, it would be to make Lawful Search an upgrade or unit rather than a spell.
A game to get a feel for P1 again before we do the set of 10 is probably a good idea, but Iām afraid that will have to wait a short while. Iāll post a turn when I get an opportunity.
No worries, Iām in no rush Not sure how Lawful Search would work as a building or Upgrade, maybe if it cost 2 and it was 1+tap to use? The ability has to cost gold, and being able to peak at hand every turn renders Eyes of the Chancellor less good (and it already isnāt great). Perhaps if you dropped the card draw, and gave Eyes a buff of some kind (though again, Blue and Truth are decently okay in most other matchups, buffing too much would be dangerous)
This is what I would try first, if given the task:
$0
Lawful Search
Upgrade
$1: Draw a card, sacrifice this, then choose one:
Look at an opponentās hand.
Look at an opponentās discard.
Itās almost the same, but provides 2 advantages. It doesnāt require a hero to play, and it can be āfloatedā to a later turn. I donāt know if those advantages would be enough to imbalance other matchups or not, though.
I woke up this morning and realized I had overlooked 2 options for problems Iād tried to solve, due to bad results from those cards early in the thread. But, I think I can make better use of them now that I have more experience with this matchup. Iāll try them during this game to confirm that they actually arenāt as bad as my first impressions would suggest.
"P1T1
StartingHand Workers
STARTING HAND
Arrest
Porkhand Magistrate
Jail
Building Inspector
Manufactured Truth
WORKERS
Jail
NextHand
Traffic Director
Bluecoat Musketeer
Reputable Newsman
Lawful Search
Spectral Aven
Discard
Manufactured Truth
Porkhand Magistrate
Arrest
Tech 0 card(s)
Get Paid - ($4)
Worker - ($3)
Building Inspector - ($2)
Bigby Hayes - ($0)
[details=My Thoughts]
I want to play a little safe as all that float makes me smell an Arrest + MTruth + tech up counter play, which would be rough for my tempo. So instead of the Heroās Hall, Iāll max out Vandy, and play next turn for Heroās Hall + Tech 2. Grabbing Shadow Blade to bleed his cards more, as heās already pretty low on cards, and Hooded Exec for another cheap body + Free Speech insurance. [/details]
[details=All Teched Cards]
Metamorphosis, Dark Pact
Shadow Blade, Hooded Executioner
Dark Pact, Crypt Crawler [/details]
###Main:
Vandy kills Inspector
Heroās Hall (6)
Tech 2 Disease (2)
Worker (1)
[details=Workers]
Poisonblade Rogue, Jandra, the Negator, Skeletal Archery, Graveyard [/details]
Patrol as below
Discard 3 Draw 4 rs Draw 1
Tech 2 cards before my next turn
###Board Info:
####Buildings:
Base HP: 18
Tech1 HP: 5
Tech2 HP: 5
Heroās Hall HP: 4
####In Patrol:
Squad Leader:
Elite:
Scavenger: Skeleton Javelineer (1/1)
Technician:
Lookout:
####In Play:
Vandy (4/4 lvl 5)
###Economy Info:
####Cards:
Hand: 5
Deck: 6
Disc: 0
####Gold:
Gold: 1
Workers: 9
[details=End of Turn Hand]
Summon Skeletons
Hooded Executioner
Sacrifice the Weak
Dark Pact
Deteriorate [/details]
[details=End of Turn Discard][spoiler]
[/spoiler][/details]
[details=My Thoughts]
Pretty wasted jurisdiction Free Speech, Iām totally fine with teching up and waiting for my big play. Meta + another DP, hopefully get a triple off next turn or the turn after [/details]
Yeah, I knew I was in trouble the moment you picked the Brave Knight to discard. I expected you to doom the Newsman that turn, so I wanted to have him copy the Knight, hit something for 5, then die as a Technician during your upkeep, with a sturdy 3/3A patroller to defend Bigby. Obviously that didnāt work out, as I instead had to scramble to find an alternate defense, heh. Good job playing the Imp there; GG.
I think the Knight can actually be really good if used carefully, but Jurisdiction still seems just too expensive to be a competitive choice. The flexibility it offers is tempting, but it doesnāt seem worth the price tag (though maybe it would work well with a spec that can provide extra income?).
Speculation aside, I think thatās probably enough practice. Do you want to start the 10-game thread?
Jurisdiction seems like a late-mid- or late-game card to me, and especially if youāre P2. You want to be already swimming in gold and something bad/surprising has just happened, so that Jurisdiction can find you exactly the answer you need.
I think double Jurisdiction was two much for T3 (especially since you know youāre going to want Free Speech against Vandy), but one might have been okay. But teching one or 2 in on T4/T5 seems more useful, because itāll arrive when you can afford to do it and something else.
I guess by teching Jurisdiction instead of Free Speech, youāre really making it accessible through Bigbyās draw, which let you play it one turn earlier than youād be able to if youād just had Quince. But it meant you were paying 2 extra to play Free Speech on the turn after Vandy starting taking advantage of spells and abilities, so you didnāt really get a lockdown from it. Maybe it would have worked if youād been Player 1? But then youād have been really starved for cash.
My plan was to tech in only 1 Jurisdiction and Stash it, but Vandy hit max before I got it in hand, so I decided to double my chances of drawing it and then worker one of them. My hope was to never need to use it, but between allowing me to use Bigby for draws without the risk of having to sacrifice him to make room for Quince, and the flexibility of being able to use an early Injunction should the need arise, it seemed worth trying as a backup option.
Once I start playing Flagstone Garrisons, it becomes completely obsolete, as I become able to tech in the spell I need, draw my entire deck, and play it that turn. Maybe with other specs it could work as a late game option, but in this case its only potential value is to deal with situations Iām not yet otherwise prepared for before I have access to Tech II. And yeah, it does seem to be too expensive for that.
Itās just too expensive in general. I think itās niche useful in a Truth tech plan where you arenāt sure if youāll need a clutch injunction, community service, free speech or boot camp / elite training, but outside of that I havenāt found the added expense to ever be worth the flexibility in mono blue. You usually know by the time youād use it which of those spells you might want in a pinch.
Not sure how Lawful Search would work as a building or Upgrade, maybe if it cost 2 and it was 1+tap to use? The ability has to cost gold, and being able to peak at hand every turn renders Eyes of the Chancellor less good (and it already isnāt great). Perhaps if you dropped the card draw, and gave Eyes a buff of some kind (though again, Blue and Truth are decently okay in most other matchups, buffing too much would be dangerous)
[I]Squad Leader[/I]:
[I]Elite[/I]:
[I]Scavenger[/I]: Building Inspector (1/1) $1 tax
[I]Technician[/I]:
[I]Lookout[/I]:
Base HP: 20
Patrol as below
Base HP: 16
Squad Leader: Vandy (2/3+1armor lvl 1)
Elite:
Scavenger:
Technician:
Lookout: