RACE #2 - Top 4 - Cstik ([Demonology]/Law/Anarchy) vs EricF ([Past]/Peace/Blood)

Codex Codex play-by-forum
1

@cstick will be going first in this titanic battle, which features EricF on the same deck with which he defeated Cstick in the round-robin, but Cstick using his other deck. Let’s see how it turns out!

2

Well, I’m literally twice as experienced as I was the last time we played, so hopefully this game goes better for me.

gl;hf

P1T1

StartingHand Workers

STARTING HAND
Poisonblade Rogue
Jandra, the Negator
Deteriorate
Pestering Haunt
Thieving Imp

WORKERS
Poisonblade Rogue

NextHand

Sacrifice the Weak
Graveyard
Summon Skeletons
Skeleton Javelineer

THOUGHTS
I think this is a pretty good opener. The key is that Zane can come in and kill anything.

Discard

Deteriorate
Jandra, the Negator

Tech 0 card(s)
Get Paid - ($4)
Worker - ($3)
Play Thieving Imp. You discard at random (Random.org 5) - ($0)
Play Pestering Haunt - ($0)

Discard 2, draw 4

Board Info:
In Patrol:

  • :psblueshield: Squad Leader: Thieving Imp
  • :psfist: Elite:
  • :ps_: Scavenger:
  • :pschip: Technician:
  • :target: Lookout:
    In Play:
  • Pestering Haunt
    Buildings:
  • :heart: Base HP: 20

Economy Info:
Cards:

  • Hand: 4
  • Deck: 1
  • Disc: 2
    Gold:
  • Gold: 0
  • Workers: 5
3

[details=Player 2, Turn 1]Forgotten Fighter -> Worker
Neo Plexus
Fading Argonaut
Nullcraft
Hardened Mox -> Discarded

Cstik’s next turn has 5 gold (which forces a worker skip to mid-band Zane), and 3 attack in play. However, it would cost 2 cards & a worker skip to Sacrifice the Weak without losing the Imp, so a Fading Argo in Squad Leader defends well against all lines of attack (Zane can at best trade for Oni, Deteriorate makes Haunt trade for Fader, a 2-for-1 card advantage, albeit not gold efficient from my side. Though he would still have to worry about a Nullcraft next turn.
[/details]
Discard a card
5 gold (5)
Worker (4)
Fading Argo (2)
Onimaru (0)
Discard 2, Draw 4.

SQL - Fading Argo (2/3 +1) [3]
Tech - L1 Onimaru (2/3)

Base - 20

6 workers, 0 gold
Hand: 4
Deck: 1
Discard: 3

4

P1T2

Tech StartingHand Workers

TECH
Twilight Baron
Gunpoint Taxman

STARTING HAND
Sacrifice the Weak
Graveyard
Summon Skeletons
Skeleton Javelineer

WORKERS
Poisonblade Rogue
Graveyard

NextHand

Skeletal Archery
Gunpoint Taxman
Summon Skeletons
Twilight Baron

Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($5)
Worker - ($4)
Play Skeleton Javelineer - ($3)
Build Tech 1 - ($1)
Pestering Haunt attacks your base for 1 - ($1)

Discard 2, draw 1, reshuffle, draw 3

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

  • :psblueshield: [I]Squad Leader[/I]:
  • :psfist: [I]Elite[/I]:
  • :ps_: [I]Scavenger[/I]: Thieving Imp
  • :pschip: [I]Technician[/I]: Skeleton Javelineer
  • :target: [I]Lookout[/I]:
    [B]In Play:[/B]
  • Pestering Haunt
    [B]Buildings:[/B]
  • :heart: Base HP: 20
  • :heart: Tech I HP: 5

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

  • Hand: 4
  • Deck: 3
  • Disc: 0
    [B]Gold:[/B]
  • Gold: 1
  • Workers: 6
5

[details=Summary]Plasmodium -> Worker
Tinkerer
Time Spiral
Temporal Research

Tech in Brave Knight + Overeager Cadet
[/details]
6 gold (6)
Worker (5)
Tech I (3)
Tower (0)
Fading Argo kills Imp
Discard 3, Draw 1, rs, Draw 4.

SQL- L1 Onimaru (2/3 +1)

Fading Argo (2/1) [2]

Base - 20
Tech I - 5
Tower - 4

7 workers, 0 gold
Hand: 5
Deck: 4
Discard: 0

6

P1T3

Tech StartingHand Workers

TECH
Injunction
Censorship Council

STARTING HAND
Skeletal Archery
Gunpoint Taxman
Summon Skeletons
Twilight Baron

WORKERS
Poisonblade Rogue
Graveyard
Skeletal Archery

THOUGHTS
Oh, I like this. Since I drew both of my tech 1 units, and have a bad hand for turn 4, I already wanted to get to Tech 2 fast, and now that he built a Tower instead of developing his board, I’m super safe. Since he didn’t kill my technician, I also get to tech in 2 more cards (dark pacts, probably) before I reshuffle, unless he kills it this turn.

NextHand

Jandra, the Negator
Deteriorate
Sacrifice the Weak

Discard

Thieving Imp
Pestering Haunt
Summon Skeletons
Injunction
Censorship Council

Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float + scavenger - ($8)
Worker - ($7)
Play Twilight Baron - ($3)
Play Gunpoint Taxman - ($1)
Pestering Haunt trades with Fading Argonaut - ($1)

Discard 1, draw 3

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

  • :psblueshield: [I]Squad Leader[/I]: Twilight Baron (4/4 + A)
  • :psfist: [I]Elite[/I]:
  • :ps_: [I]Scavenger[/I]: Gunpoint Taxman (3/3)
  • :pschip: [I]Technician[/I]: Skeleton Javelineer (1/1)
  • :target: [I]Lookout[/I]:
    [B]In Play:[/B]

[B]Buildings:[/B]

  • :heart: Base HP: 20
  • :heart: Tech I HP: 5

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

  • Hand: 3
  • Deck: 0
  • Disc: 5
    [B]Gold:[/B]
  • Gold: 1
  • Workers: 7

Edit: added stats to units for convenience

7

[details=P2, Turn 3]Tinkerer
Time Spiral -> Worker
Nullcraft
Brave Knight
Battle Suits

What I’m doing here isn’t optimal, but it’s my best chance for keeping the board under control and building gold advantage (card advantage is only marginally relevant, as Cstik can Dark Pact)

Tech in some Tech II stuff: Kidnapping + Ogre Recruiter
[/details]
7 gold (7)
Nullcraft (5), kill Javelineer
Brave Knight (2)
Worker (1)
Level Oni once (0)
Discard 2, Draw 4.

SQL - Brave Knight (3/3 +1)
Tech - L2 Onimaru (2/3)

Base - 19
Tech I - 5
Tower - 4

8 workers, 0 gold
Hand: 4
Deck: 0
Discard: 5

8

P1T4

Tech StartingHand Workers

TECH
Dark Pact
Dark Pact

STARTING HAND
Jandra, the Negator
Deteriorate
Sacrifice the Weak
Summon Skeletons (Technician draw)

WORKERS
Poisonblade Rogue
Graveyard
Skeletal Archery
Jandra, the Negator

NextHand

Skeleton Javelineer
Injunction
Thieving Imp
Pestering Haunt
Censorship Council

Discard

Summon Skeletons
Sacrifice the Weak
Deteriorate
Dark Pact
Dark Pact

Reshuffle and draw from Technician
Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($8)
Worker - ($7)
Build Tech 2: Law - ($3)
Play Bigby - ($1)

Discard 3, draw 5

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

  • :psblueshield: [I]Squad Leader[/I]: Twilight Baron (4/4 + A)
  • :psfist: [I]Elite[/I]:
  • :ps_: [I]Scavenger[/I]: Gunpoint Taxman (3/3)
  • :pschip: [I]Technician[/I]:
  • :target: [I]Lookout[/I]:
    [B]In Play:[/B]
  • L1 Bigby (2/3)
    [B]Buildings:[/B]
  • :heart: Base HP: 20
  • :heart: Tech I HP: 5
  • :heart: Tech II HP: 5 (Law)

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

  • Hand: 5
  • Deck: 0
  • Disc: 5
    [B]Gold:[/B]
  • Gold: 1
  • Workers: 8
9

I forgot to list the still-alive Nullcraft in my summary, does that change anything about your turn?

10

No, I remembered the Nullcraft was alive.

11

[details=P2; Turn 4]Temporal Research
Hardened Mox -> Worker
Neo Plexus
Overeager Cadet

No attacks at all is pretty weird. Let’s check the board status:
Defense; 5, 3 / 3, 5
Attack: 3, 3, 1 / +1 for 3, +1 for 3 from leveling Oni. or +2 for 5 from suiciding and bringing out Drakk, +3 more for 2 for max Drakk + Overeager

One option:
Onimaru hits Baron for 3, dies, Bigsby to L3
Max Band Drakk (1)
Worker (0)
Overeager Cadet, gains Haste
Nullcraft finishes off Baron
Overeager Cadet trades with Taxman
Brave Knight kills Bigsby
Discard 2, rs, Draw 4.

This looks cool, but leaves me super vulnerable to all manner of things, ranging from Max Zane + Deteriorate to Censorship Council + Vandy/Deteriorate + warm bodies. Better to get my own Tech II established, I think. Then the choice is between letting both of us have a board, or just leaving L3 Bigsby vs. Overeager + Nullcraft. There are no really good attacks for Cstik if I leave everything alive, so that’s fine.

Tech in Bloodlust & Octopus
[/details]
8 gold (8)
Tech II Blood (4)
Overeager Cadet (4)
Worker (3)
Level Oni to 5 (0)
Discard 2, rs, Draw 4.

SQL - Brave Knight (3/3 +1)
Elite - Overeager Cadet (3/2)
Tech - L5 Onimaru (3/4)

Nullcraft (1/1)

Base - 19
Tech I - 5
Tech II - 5
Spec: Blood
Tower - 4

9 workers, 0 gold
Hand: 4
Deck: 5
Discard: 0

12

P1T5

Tech StartingHand Workers

TECH
Judgement Day
Pirate Gunship

STARTING HAND
Skeleton Javelineer
Injunction
Thieving Imp
Pestering Haunt
Censorship Council

WORKERS
Poisonblade Rogue
Graveyard
Skeletal Archery
Jandra, the Negator
Pestering Haunt

NextHand

Injunction
Deteriorate
Pirate Gunship
Summon Skeletons

THOUGHTS
rekt

Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($9)
Worker - ($8)
Play Injunction to disable your Tech 1, knight, and cadet - ($5)
Baron trades with Oni. Bigby midbands - ($5)
Bigby + Taxman break Tech 2. - ($5)
Play Censorship Council - ($1)

Discard 2, reshuffle, draw 4

[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]:
  • :target: [I]Lookout[/I]:
    [B]In Play:[/B]
  • L3 Bigby (2/3)
  • Gunpoint Taxman (3/2)
  • Censorship Council (5)
    [B]Buildings:[/B]
  • :heart: Base HP: 20
  • :heart: Tech I HP: 5
  • :heart: Tech II HP: 5 (Law)

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

  • Hand: 4
  • Deck: 7
  • Disc: 0
    [B]Gold:[/B]
  • Gold: 1
  • Workers: 9
13

[details=P2, Turn 5]Neo Plexus
Tinkerer -> Worker
Battle Suits
Ogre Recruiter
+Blood Lust

So… Drakk can be max of 4 ATK, which is “just” enough to break the Council with some Nullcraft help, and then I get more stuff in play so it’s all good! Or just get Bigby off the board, and set up no good attacks for Zane / Taxman.

Tech in General’s Hammer (for if Drakk dies) and War Drums (in case he doesn’t)
[/details]
Draw for tech death
9 gold (9)
Worker (8)
Drakk (6)
Blood Lust Drakk and Bigby (4)
Mid-band Drakk (1)
Drakk hits Censorship Council for 3
Nullcraft hits Bigsby for 2
Discard 3, Draw 4, rs, Draw 1. Float 1 gold.
Drakk and Bigby take 1 damage. Bigby dies, Drakk to max-band.

No Patrol

Brave Knight (3/3)
Overeager Cadet (2/2)
Nullcraft (1/1)
L6 Drakk (3/4)

Base - 17
Tech I - 5
Tech II - destroyed
Spec: Blood
Tower - 4

10 workers, 0 gold
Hand: 5
Deck: 5
Discard: 0

14

P1T6

Tech StartingHand Workers

TECH
Surprise Attack
Surprise Attack

STARTING HAND
Injunction
Deteriorate
Pirate Gunship
Summon Skeletons

WORKERS
Poisonblade Rogue
Graveyard
Skeletal Archery
Jandra, the Negator
Pestering Haunt
Deteriorate

NextHand

Thieving Imp
Dark Pact
Twilight Baron
Skeleton Javelineer
Sacrifice the Weak

Discard

Pirate Gunship
Summon Skeletons
Injunction
Surprise Attack
Surprise Attack

Thoughts

Well, that was basically the worst possible outcome. This looks pretty bad.
I decided on this plan because I thought my best chance at winning was making him deploy a bunch of stuff to the board, then killing it all with Judgement Day. I was worried about other lines because they either let him play another maxband hero or hit me with crashbarrow on turn 7. Unfortunately, without Judgement Day in hand, this could be game over.

More Thoughts

I tried to plot out some of my possible lines. Here are my rough notes:

break tech 1:
+no T2 for 2 turns, no oc/bk next turn
+cant play another hero until drakk dies
+maybe set up a good judgement day

-he has a shitload of attack and can break stuff

drakk 3
bk 4
oc 3
nc 2
fa/np 3

kill drakk:
+he has a lot less attack on board
+I might be able to protect stuff
+free levels

-He can play and maxband a hero
-He will have tech 2 on turn 7

bk 3
oc 2
nc 1

A1a:
Zane (7)
Zane + Taxman break T1
Tech 3 (2)

Response:
Drakk + Bk kill T3
oc + fa kill T2
Nc kills zane/cc

lose if no judgement day, good shape if I do

A1b:
same as above, but play Vandy and put her in Technician

Response:
fargo or drakk -> vandy
bk + oc: t3
nc + drakk/fargo/plexus: t2 OR Zane + CC
compared to above: good shape if judgement day, more likely b/c tech draw
no dark pact next turn

A2a:
Max Vandy (3) buff taxman + NC
Taxman -> T1
float 3
Vandy in tech

Response:
NC + Farg/OC -> Vandy
Farg/OC + Drakk -> T2
BK -> CC

  • can play zane
  • no T2 is bad when T3 isn’t built
  • probably worse than a1a/b

A2b: above, but w/ skeletons
vandy in sql
buff oc instead of nc
response:
drakk + unit trade w/ vandy
other bad stuff
max Oni

B1a:
Zane (7)
Vandy (5)
Tech 3 (0)
zane + taxman kill drakk, midvandy in sql

response:
Oni (8)
bk + oc kill vandy
max oni (3)
T7: I judgement day, then get crashbarrowned

B1b:
as above, but skeletons->t3 and max vandy pumping a skeleton and nc

response: max prynn gets him through to vandy, get crashbarrowned on T7

B2:
L2 Zane (7)
Vandy (5)
Max Vandy (1) buff taxman + nc
Taxman->drakk, zane->mid
zane->bk
vandy in sql

response: die to suits

Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid + float - ($10)
Worker - ($9)
Play Zane - ($7)
Play Vandy - ($5)
Build Tech 3 - ($0)
Taxman + Zane break Tech 1 - ($0)

Discard 3, draw 5

[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]: L1 Vandy (2/3)
  • :target: [I]Lookout[/I]:
    [B]In Play:[/B]
  • Gunpoint Taxman (3/1)
  • L1 Zane (2/1)
  • Censorship Council (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: 5
  • Deck: 2
  • Disc: 5
    [B]Gold:[/B]
  • Gold: 0
  • Workers: 10
15

[details=P2, Turn 6]Temporal Research
Fading Argonaut
Kidnapping
Land Octopus -> Worker
Blood Lust

Now things get interesting… hopefully I don’t draw Hammer + Recruiter off my Research! If I draw War Drums I win instantly, otherwise I need to decide how much damage to do…

Tech in General’s Hammer #2 because clearly that’s the direction this game is taking.

Draw 2:
Neo Plexus
General’s Hammer

Alright. My attack force is 3, 4, 3, 3 = 13
With my remaining 5 gold:
Kidnapping: +4 for 4 (and Taxman dies, so kind of like +5, but 1 attack is wasted, so really only +4)
Neo Plexus + Blood Lust: +5 for 4
Defense: 3, / [20] , 5, 5, 5, 1, 1
[/details]

Tech 1 card
10 gold (10)
Nullcraft breaks Censorship Council
Fading Argo, gains Haste (8)
Temporal Research, draw 2 cards (5)
Drakk kills Vandy
Neo Plexus (3)
Blood Lust on Neo Plexus and Zane (1)
Worker (0)
Neo Plexus (4), Brave Knight (4), Overeager Cadet (3), and Fading Argo (3) deal 14 to your Base, leaving it at 6
Decline to build my Tech I
Discard 2, Draw 3, rs, Draw 1
Zane and Neo Plexus take 1 damage, Zane dies.

SQL - Brave Knight (3/3 +1)

Fading Argo (2/3) [3]
Overeager Cadet (2/2)
Neo Plexus (2/1)
Nullcraft (1/1)
L6 Drakk (3/2)

Base - 15
Tech I - destroyed
Tech II - destroyed
Spec: Blood
Tower - 4

11 workers, 0 gold
Hand: 4
Deck: 4
Discard: 0

1 Like
16

P1T7

Tech StartingHand Workers

TECH
Guardian of the Gates
Guardian of the Gates

STARTING HAND
Thieving Imp
Dark Pact
Twilight Baron
Skeleton Javelineer
Sacrifice the Weak (Stashed)
Dark Pact (Technician Draw)

WORKERS
Poisonblade Rogue
Graveyard
Skeletal Archery
Jandra, the Negator
Pestering Haunt
Deteriorate

THOUGHTS
I didn’t draw Judgement Day. It’s literally the last card on top of my deck. I’m probably dead now. I stashed STW to kill Nullcraft.

NextHand

Judgement Day
Guardian of the Gates
Surprise Attack
Injunction
Sacrifice the Weak

Tech 2 card(s)
Get Paid - ($10)
Play Bigby - ($8)
Play Twilight Baron - ($4)
Play Thieving Imp. You discard a card (Random.org 2) - ($1)
Play Skeleton Javelineer - ($0)

Stash 1, Discard 2, draw 1, reshuffle, draw 3

Board Info:
In Patrol:

  • :psblueshield: Squad Leader: Twilight Baron (4/4 + A)
  • :psfist: Elite: L1 Bigby (3/3)
  • :ps_: Scavenger: Thieving Imp (2/2)
  • :pschip: Technician: Skeleton Javelineer (1/1)
  • :target: Lookout: Gunpoint Taxman (3/1)

Buildings:

  • :heart: Base HP: 20
  • :heart: Tech I HP: 5
  • :heart: Tech II HP: 5 (Law)
  • :heart: Tech III HP: 5

Economy Info:
Cards:

  • Hand: 5
  • Deck: 7
  • Disc: 0
    Gold:
  • Gold: 0
  • Workers: 10
17

Good choice forcing a discard, otherwise I’d just have a 100% win. However, my hand is:

Battle Suits
Ogre Recruiter -> Discarded
War Drums
Blood Lust

you miss the War Drums, and I can:

P2, Turn 6
11 gold (11)
War Drums (9)
Nullcraft hits your base for 7, destroying it!

GG - that was intense, (and even featured the one case where it was reasonable to not re-build a destroyed building)

1 Like
18

Yeah, I missed drawing Judgement Day on turn 7. It was the last card on top of my deck :sob:. Good game.

19

Couldn’t you have dug for it with dark pact (s)?

You were likely dead to T8 double General’s hammer regardles. I was really surprised you let our boards just build up - I guess you were going for the Injunction blowout?

20

Well I played Injunction on turn 5, and when you killed Bigby I ended up with an absolutely terrible hand on turn 6. I figured it was better to patrol Vandy than try and float 2 gold and play Vandy and dark pacts on turn 7.